Self Assignment 1 (Learning by Doing continued...)

While in preproduction for the short film that I had mentioned in my previous post "Learning by Doing", I had decided to practice with something shorter and easier before diving directly in to a real production.

Wow! What an eye opening experience that was.

The self-assignment:

Find two actors, set up the camera, boom mic and some lighting, hand out a script and make it cinematic. Easy, right?

Well, that depends on how you look at it. For me, the goal was to make this small "test" movie as cinematic as possible. So that meant structuring every shot, framing and reframing, setting up rack focusing, blocking, booming, monitoring and checking the script over and over.

Yes, the script. One thing I learned is that if you don't stick closely to your script, you run the chance of botching the whole damn thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure in every case there will be some changes once you are on set but sticking to your plan is really important.

Overall, it was a great experience. Everyone involved worked very well together and was totally willing to shoot pick-ups on a second day due to some minor inconsistencies and oversights on my part.

When all was said and done and the rough cut was watchable, I was definitely pleased with the final result for my first time out with a real cast and crew.

The short film will be online soon. Here is a screenshot from the footage (notice the use of shallow depth of field)...


(shot on the DVX100b w/M2 and 50mm Pentax prime)

The next self-assignment is in preproduction now and I should post something about it soon. Stay tuned.

Learning by Doing - Here We Go...

Many people believe that the best way to learn how to make a movie is to just start making one. And to a degree, I am one of those people.

Since going to film school is neither feasible nor practical for me, as well as countless others, I am piecing together my knowledge of filmmaking through the internet, books, instructional video (when I can get my hands on it) and trial-n-error monkey business with camera and lights (none of which I am about to post here).

Of course, the hands-on with the equipment never quite matches up with the theory as easily as one would like it to. With that said, what you learn from this is way more valuable than sitting through a lecture or reading a book. It's much like learning to ride a bicycle... You can read ten books on how to mount the bike, peddle the bike, apply the breaks, use hand signals, repair a flat tire and so on... but the first time you get on the bike, you WILL fall over. Eventually you learn.

Now my time has come.

Time to hop on that proverbial bicycle and ride.

Partnered with another filmmaking enthusiast and with script in hand, I set off on my first real journey into narrative film... and when I say film I really mean DV since I'm no elitist film hotshot by any stretch of the imagination.

We have a dialog-heavy script that is fairly short (10 minutes or so) and a few cheap props which are mostly things that are laying around the house. Aside from the camera and lighting equipment, this will be a ZERO budget film... and we intend to make the most out of it.

Currently, we are casting for our film and making it very apparent that nobody will be paid money. Of course we are offering "copy and credit" and intend to promote the hell out of the film once completed.

As for casting resources for the zero-dollar filmmaker, we have found that Craig's List and Mandy.com are the best places to post for actors. We have a decent size list just from posting one casting call for a gig that doesn't pay.

This is all very exciting and I expect to learn a boatload about production just by doing it. So check back for updates... I will post the outcome.

Why Make Films?

So I'll pick up in the middle...

Over the past few weeks I have been preparing (mostly mentally since I'm a real "last minute" type of guy) to shoot an archival documentary of an old war hero's annual journey to reunite with the men of his army regiment. Oddly enough Ken Burns beat me to it with The War on PBS.

The truth is that my documentary will most likely never be released to the public. Sure it would be nice to get some recognition and pats on the back from people that I don't know but that is not the point of this film. This is a personal piece. The hero is my grandfather. The story is for my family.

What's the point of blogging about this?... you ask.

Well, it made me think about why we make films and the vast number of reasons. But don't worry, this won't be one of those "Top 100 Reasons to be a Filmmaker" posts or anything like that.

Being a frequent consumer of online information and somewhat active on forums and other blogs, I come across many different styles of filmmaker and many more different personality types. The combination of the two is almost limitless.

So now, I am asking myself (again), "why do I make films?".

It is hard for me (and I'm sure many others as well) to completely wrap my mind around each and every reason but there are some obvious points that bubble up to the surface. Here are my initial thoughts:

• Purpose - A feeling of direction in life and the medium to conduct this direction seeking. What better way to convey your specific thoughts and messages than through an easily consumed media such as film or video. What do you find easier... reading a book or watching a movie?
• Escape - The realities of life can be a bit much at times and many people escape into movies or television on a daily basis. For the most part they are just watching and being entertained. When making films, one can escape into the process which can take you deeper and further away from reality than many other things.
• Recognition - This seems to be many peoples main reason though few will admit to it. I'll admit that I do enjoy the occasional praise and notice from other peeps. With that said, if recognition is your main reason then you are setting yourself up for a difficult journey into film making.
• Accomplishment - When a film (or miniDV in my case) is in the can there is no better feeling. No matter how small the project was, it would have been a significant amount of work and the feeling gained after completion can be quite euphoric at times. Personally, films are about the only thing I am good and completing ;) so this one is up there on the list.
• Fame and Fortune - Ummm... this shouldn't really be on any filmmakers list although we all fantasize about it. But if these are your main reasons for making films you will need to be a savant or film genius to succeed... and if you are and you do make the big-time, give me a call and hook me up.

Lately for me "Escape" tops my list of reasons but hopefully with this personal piece that I am doing, "Purpose" and "Accomplishment" with rise to the top of the list. In my opinion, filmmaking should be about personal fulfillment and nothing else (unless I get discovered then you can scratch all of that).

Just thought I'd share.

BTW... I'll try to post some of the b-roll if I get anything good.

What's with everything?

Is it not said that, just before the fall of any great civilization, that civilization will be at its peak of artistic expression? Are we peaking?

Everywhere I look I see great art. I see lousy art. I see mediocre "canned" art. Nearly everyone is an artist in some way. It is artist overload!

It's much like having free reign at a candy store. You eat one sweet and sugary treat after another and another and another. Before you know it, you are sickened by the very thing you love most. And then you vomit. Several weeks later you feel ready to try candy again but something is wrong... you have an ulcerated stomach lining and can't seem to hold anything down. Now, no matter how delectable the treat, how fine the chocolate, how creamy the confectionery, every piece of it disgusts you.

I am an artist. You (most likely) are an artist. Combined, we know many other artists.

As I search for inspiration (mainly on the internet <-- lazy), I come across the same garbage copied and recopied. Wait! I know what you are thinking... "hey jerk-load, that's how great art is created, by copying the greats and using the ideas of others as a framework...." and so on. Yes. This is absolutely true but I have not been seeing a lot of framework add-ons lately... except of course, this (Drift by Carl Burton).

Could this be an effect of social media and the need to feel accepted by our cyber-peers? Maybe. Could this be the end of our civilization? Probably. Or, could it be that things have always been this way but since we are so interconnected through blogs and forums and chatrooms and instant messages and cell phones and email and the telegraph and television and radio and streaming downloads and streaming uploads and file transfers and data sharing and voicemail and the telephone and newspapers and magazines and cars and airplanes and buses and bicycles and motorboats and railways and paved roads and highways and byways and parkways and driveways and banners and flags and bags filled with rags that everyone's art is shoved into everyone else's face all of the time??? Hmmm... gives ya something to think about.

Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy shoved art. It just messes with my inspiration in that sometimes I am truly inspired by this glut of art and sometimes I am discouraged.

I'm probably just going nuts.

Regardless of all of the above, I've recently stumbled upon a good website. Check out Motionographer.com for some real inspiration (or discouragement).

By the way...

I have been meaning to post a link to this guy's podcast for quite some time. Overall, I'm not that fond of his films but what he has to say is great!

If nothing else, listen to his first three podcasts "Not for the Fain of Heart", "Knowledgeable Idiots" and "Forget Hollywood". He really puts things into perspective for beginners.

Check him out http://podbazaar.com/view/126100789566373898

Well worth the price of admission (free).
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HD is for Losers!

High Def is for losers. This may not be entirely true but...

Seems as though everyone is jumping on the HD bandwagon just for the sake of HD and writing off standard definition as "old-news". Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly impressed with well shot HD, it is amazing but...

I feel that many beginning filmmakers (other than myself) and cinematographers use the high quality HD picture as a crutch. I've seen tons of footage and film shorts shot with HD that look like complete garbage. Additionally, I have seen standard-def footage where I had to ask myself, "was that high-def?"... and it wasn't.

"... but isn't the industry going HD?". Of course they are. What you should ask yourself is "Do I really need to spend more cash to shoot HD if all I am doing is compressing my footage for internet viewing?". My answer is "probably not".

If you are going to film-out and have a professional distribution deal HD is probably a good place to start... but if this is the case, you probably wouldn't be reading a beginner's blog anyway.

Just a note: Though there are now HD cameras that shoot 24p in the $1K to $3k price range, there are some things to consider. Number one is "professional features" such as manual zoom and focus, XLR inputs for mics, fast shutter adjustment, etc. Also, the lens quality and diameter are crucial to the quality of the picture (not just more pixles).

When it comes down to it... who the hell cares! Shoot good SD and you can tell everyone it's HD and 99% of people you tell will believe you.
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Just a Thought

Everyone is a filmmaker.

Not everyone is a good filmmaker.

Given a video camera, a computer and some editing software, anyone can make a film.

And they do.
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Welcome Welcome Welcome

Well, here we are. Post number one.

Hopefully, the header description for this blog explains it all. Obviously, I have an issue with dropping lots of cash on film school... as should you.

It's simple really. Do you have natural talent? Maybe, maybe not. If not, you aren't going to "learn" natural talent in school. Do the schools know this? Yes. Do they care? No. As long as you are signing the checks to pay the tuition, they will blow sunshine up your skirt all day long.

What if you have real natural talent? Won't film school give you the tools and hone your skills? Yes, it will but... you can force yourself to read books and give yourself exercises and assignments for free! Plus, from what I hear, unlike other industries, nobody cares if you have a film degree as long as you can produce top notch stuff. (that is only what I have read and heard, albeit from several sources)

Isn't film school a great place to network and get ideas from other aspiring filmmakers? Yes, but so is the internet. Compare the costs: Film school could be $20,000 to $50,000 per year whereas a good high-speed connection is about $40 per month or $480 per year.

So what, my parents are paying for it anyway? Come up with a clever way to get your parents to spend that money on killer camera and sound equipment (usually never happens but worth a try) and start putting it to good use.

Anyway... I am probably going to piss off an entire shitload of people who are attending, have attended, teach at or work at some sort of film school. That is not the intention of this blog. My intention is to school the rest of us... those with low income parents, those who are getting too old to go to film school (myself included), those who want to do it the hard way... and most importantly, those who just want to make films for the love of making films (again, myself included).

I have been severely infected with the film making bug. I am too old and too broke for film school. With this in mind, I am on a quest for knowledge and a mission to make movies anyway (good movies, not that YouTube garbage). Whenever I can, I will share what I have learned with you.

Thanks,
Mr. Down and Dirty