May 07 09

Link Dump: Articles & Thoughts

This week’s link dump post is a bit more article-based, with little to no free stuff or tutorials in the mix. I know, a more heady load, but it’s good for ya! Get those gears workin’ and thinkin’ and maybe something sweet-ass and original will come out of ‘em. Anyway, it’s basically a roundup from the usual sources, a few announcements, some cool case studies, and some food for thought for those of you of the filmmaking persuasion but not in the ‘I-need-to-know-this-effect-now’ category, go ahead and read past the jump. You other lot, check back at a few previous posts an’ git yer learnin’ there. Otherwise, on we go…

Gimme the goodies…

Apr 23 09

Link Dump: Tutorial Edition

As promised, here’s a pretty mondo list of tutorial and resource sites for your educational pleasure. I’ve organized the list, just like last week’s, into what made the most sense at the time. If you’ve got additions, suggestions, objections, or anything else, definitely feel free to comment on the post and let me know about more knowledge available for free on the ‘net. Yess…knowledge….

Gimme the goodies…

Feb 08 09

Showcase: Games, Zombies and ‘Net Stars

Well, it’s been about three and a half months since my last post, and while I apologize for the wait, I haven’t completely neglected this blog.  I’ve amassed a pretty massive collection of showcase and link dump material for the next while, and continue to receive newsletters and am on the prowl for tutorials and resources.  Long story short, the final project’s finishing up, and there’s a vast pool of links about to come your way in the next few weeks.  Starting now… Gimme the goodies…

Oct 27 08

Showcase: Various

Alrighty… I think I stop trying to come up with meaningful titles for the topic part of each entry, since most of my posts are so scattered.  Hopefully there’s some good stuff in there for you guys though.  Anyway…since I didn’t get to it last night, here’s this week’s showcase entry. Gimme the goodies…

Oct 10 08

Link DUMP

Alrighty…sorry for the late post, but I think I’ll make up for it this time.  I’ve got a whopper of a list tonight…tons of stuff I’ve been discovering over the past two weeks.  So I’m not going to intro…here they are: Gimme the goodies…

Sep 25 08

Link Dump: Rigs

Alright, well I haven’t collected any links that are new to me, but I started digging through my collection I’ve amassed over the years doing research for the project, and came across a few things that will be helpful.  We’re not actually building rigs for the shoot, but it was a thought in the beginning, so naturally I got excited about it.  So, here’s what I’ve got to offer right now, feel free to leave additions and whatnot in the comments. Gimme the goodies…

Sep 22 08

Showcase: 10 Minutes

Alright, so this film clearly had at least the budget to transport crew to a foreign country, if not the budget to recreate an entire small town for the film.  However, looking past that, the point I want to make is this: take a look at the amount of cuts in the film.  The dramatic, realistic effect (not to mention huge technical respect from peers and knowledgeable audience members) that a fluid, long take gives a film is so great that you have to sit back in awe and admiration.  Children of Men had the same effect on me in their climactic sequence where there’s an 8-to-10-minute shot with no cuts throughout.  It’s a wonderful effect and something that only really takes planning at its most basic level, and anybody can do that, no matter their budget.  It’s simple and practical in principle, painstaking in execution but pays off hugely in the end, plus I love the short film, so I figured I’d show it off and offer the little idea for you fellow filmmakers out there. Gimme the goodies…

Sep 18 08

Link Dump: Eclectic

Well this one’s another brief and rather scattered one, we’re entering the planning and scheduling of the project now, so I’m thinking about how we’re going to do the practical, on-set effects or complicated shots we’re going to need to pull off.  And since I spent my high school years researching that kind of thing, I’m excited that I finally have a use for all that amassed knowledge and inspiration.  So, here goes the short list… Gimme the goodies…

Sep 11 08

Link Dump: Storyboarding

Well this one’s going to be very quick, as it’s been the most busy and hectic and honestly frustrating week so far at school and I am exhausted to the point of brain-no-function. So here it goes… Gimme the goodies…

Sep 03 08

Link Dump: Screenwriting

Alright, well, regrettably, this one’s going to be really short. I haven’t actually amassed many links this past week. Somehow I just didn’t look around I guess. I also was catching up on some things I’d posted a while back and still hadn’t gotten around to reading. Nonetheless, I’m posting now, so enjoy what I did find and take advantage of the resources I can provide. This week’s topic is screenwriting. Gimme the goodies…

Sep 01 08

Showcase: Via Optima

Well, this one’s also got to be quick, but I definitely want to share it. I discovered Via Optima via (haha!) their Instructables article on making a short film for 80 bucks. Now, that headline alone would grab most anyone’s attention, but being into this field as I am, it certainly grabbed mine. I haven’t finished the article yet – been very busy lately – but it sounds like a decently written article from two clearly talented young filmmakers. The film referenced in the article, and the most on their site, is their latest achievment in their brief filmmaking careers: a short called The Shepherd. Of course the acting isn’t award-winning, but given the fact that these were two guys and only a few friends and family members making the film, their production value is outstanding, and the story something I could see coming from Cronenberg, Aronofsky or maybe even Lynch. Backing away from Hollywood names and grand-scale comparisons, these are simply kids making a movie in their senior year of high school. It’s a short thriller by two 18-year-olds, and right from the title sequence they had me hooked. Definitely worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch. Oh, watch the trailer too. And take a peek at their Vimeo profile and website.

Feb 24 08

From Here To Awesome

I stumbled upon this video today while surfing the Google blog, and decided it was worth showing to you guys.  It’s a great testament to the fact that indie filmmakers indeed have power, and possibility in the socially-confined world we’re living in today.  It also links to a few good videos with filmmaking tips, a video from Head Trauma and director Lance Weiler, both useful and interesting shot videos to really get your head around the fact that you have power, you can go out and make a short film and get the audience and make a splash.

The key here in my mind now, though, is that it’s a short film.  Of course the length doesn’t actually matter, if the trailer looks good enough, someone will buy it, but if it’s a short film that looks thoroughly professional, well done and generally entertaining, it’s a good step in the right direction.  The most important thing, though, is that it’s important to the filmmaker, and that they care about it and love it enough to carry it on despite the difficulties.  Personally, LATENT(CY) wasn’t that project for me.  But I’m hoping that after school ends (or even before) I’ll have scraped together some film-loving friends with enough interest and passion and drive to make another short film, and hopefully this time, we’ll be proud enough to make a campaign out of the thing.

It also occurred to me that if you’ve already got a short film made that can be shown on YouTube and other video sharing sites, then show it.  And not only that, post bulletins about it, send messages about it to all of your friends, make a website, sell DVDs, get the name out in the public’s eye because it’s your project, and it’s your responsibility to showcase your own work.  After all, if you’re not proud enough to show it off, what kind of impression does that give?  Best of luck and happy filmmaking!

Feb 21 08

A Note on Shaky Camera Work

Earlier today I got an email from StudioDaily, a pretty fascinating online industry magazine and resource website about filmmaking, visual effects and editing.  In the letter,one of the headlines was this:

Over at Film & Video, Bryant Frazer talks with director George A. Romero about his return to low-budget filmmaking with Diary of the Dead using Panasonic HDX900 and HVX200 camcorders.

So naturally I emailed that quote off to the first friend I thought of when I think of zombie movies, and he responded pretty quickly saying that he didn’t like the new “Blair Witch sort of style that’s coming back.”  That I can completely understand, so I responded with the following passage, which is the basis for this post:

I kind of like the shaky cam style that’s on the rise, it’s more viral and amateurish, and it blurs the lines between amateur films and professional ones, making it so that it doesn’t matter as much anymore to the audience if it’s a “real movie” because they can’t always tell, so it’s not worth bothering about.  If it’s good, it’s good, and it deserves praise, if it’s bad, well, they leave it alone (or flame it, the bastards).  Sometimes it’s hard to see or hard to handle (I got mildly nauseous watching Cloverfield), but I think it’s a cool way to kind of get the super-hype of paying high attention to lighting, costumes, and even set design a little bit out of the way, and letting amateurs get more into the field, simply because the cheapest way to film (handheld and shaky) is often the most real feeling, because it’s not completely stable like a statue, nor is it to the extent that Cloverfield was (though that was pretty wonderfully done).  Basically, it give me even more of a chance to go out and shoot random stuff, put it all together in some sort of cohesive, understandable and entertaining story, and then market it and get attention because it looks real, it could be real, and if it’s good, people will appreciate either the documentary-ness of it or the realistic acting and detail of the thing.  So basically I don’t put anywhere near as much effort into the preparation of the film that Hollywood does, and I can still come out with a viable film to show at festivals and gain a reputation among the biggies of the business.  So that’s why I like it.  As a style, though, you’re right, it’s hard to take sometimes.

Now, that being said, I haven’t seen the trailer for this, but I’m going to look it up and see what I can find, heh.

NOTE: You can see the trailer here.  And I actually was a little disappointed with it when I watched it.

Feb 21 08

Stop The Violence film Complete!

As some of you may know, I was involved with the cross-country-collaborative effort for the Stop The Violence documentary film. The film was contributed to not only by AnimiVirtus Productions (me), but also Neighborhood Studios, a group based in Ohio. The film was basically a series of interviews with students, teachers, parents and other high school staff about the issue of school and teen violence and aggression, and essentially coalesced into a 20-minute film from two different parts of the country with one core message: Stop The Violence. Take a look at the film below, and please add it to your DIGG, StumbleUpon, and del.icio.us collections to help us raise awareness about our cause and the effort we’re fighting for. Thanks for your support!

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2773469669682076759&hl=en]

DIGG Link | StumbleUpon Link

Dec 29 07

The Waiting Room…in the can!

The Waiting Room is finally completely shot and locked! I’m super excited to finally have this done. We fiddled with lighting more than usual on this shoot, and I liked it quite a lot. Direct light from my work light was too harsh, so we simply bounced it off a tinfoil-covered piece of cardboard sitting on the desk on the opposite wall, which gave a perfect soft back light from behind me. Next, we taped a piece of tin foil on the window in front of me, pointing the two track lights on the ceiling toward it, bouncing that light off the tin foil and onto my face, giving a nice soft glow that looked almost like it was coming from the paper I was writing on. It was a very nice effect, and perfect for the scene. Michelle really helped out on this shoot, being the cameraperson, the lighting technician and whatnot. It was fun to play with the lighting and get the shots I wanted to get in a relaxed, small-scale environment. Unfortunately, I only had the chance to take four pictures while shooting this stuff, but at least it demonstrates the lighting configurations I had set up. Take a peek at all of them here.

I think an awesome thing about low- and no-budget filmmaking is the ability to just improvise with what’s there at the time, with what you’ve got and what you know. I knew I had two little tin foil reflector type pieces (actually I just knew metal is reflective and I had some at the time), and I could use those to light up the scene in the way I needed and wanted. I’m excited now to relax tonight, and I have all day tomorrow to cut the thing together, start figuring out music, and finish up my school violence piece I’ve been not-so-diligently working on since last Spring.