PurpleMacaroni Productions presents "Girl vs. Boy"

A

AmyO

Well-known member
Well, I've sat on the sidelines for the past few fests. Unfortunately, I'm more of a lurker than a poster, so my post count isn't high enough to vote for all the great films I've seen (I plan on changing that for this fest though :) ). When I heard the theme for the new fest, I just had to come up with something. So, I'm officially announcing my entry into the fest.

Girl_vs_Boy_poster.gif


Starring:
Susana Margarita
and
Kevin Alexander

I have been so impressed with everyone's production threads, and a little intimidated as well. But, I just have to keep telling myself that it's all for fun and to learn something about filmmaking. I only aim to be better than my last film, not anyone else's.

Good shooting to you all!
 
BTS/Production Updates

BTS/Production Updates

5.31.07 (well, in Hawaii, maybe...)
Forgive the textspeak, but - OMG! After processing Quicktime after Quicktime I finally got my flick under 50mb. Wow. I'm really glad I got it done at all, but I had to make a few sacrifices. I think I'll go back and do a "director's cut" or more like a remaster as the cut itself is fine. It just needs a bit of TLC in the color and sound departments. But, I owe it to the kids to submit a version since they were very patient with me in the production of this.

5.26.07
I'm loving the new Final Cut Studio, but the FX are taking longer than I hoped. I think I've got it down, but I'll be cutting it close to the deadline, and that's something I hoped to avoid.

5.17.07
We wrapped filming last night! w00t! Again, it took me longer to set up than to actually shoot, but we managed to get everything done before my stars had to get to bed, being a school night and all.

Now comes the part I'm better at - editing! I like making short films and all, but the filming is kind of a chore sometimes, all just leading up to the time where I can sit down at the computer and put all the pieces together.

Oh, and there's a random screen grab on Page 4.

5.05.07
We had a family trip planned since January, and I thought it would be fun to shoot some of the movie out on the beach. Kevin was a trooper and did his one stunt over and over, allowing me to get it from a few different angles. (You may recognize the "I do my own stunts" t-shirt in the poster. It's a very appropriate shirt for him.) Ana persevered through the cool late afternoon air so we could get in our last few shots. I finally looked through the footage today and I think we're 90% of the way there. I at least have enough to start a rough cut. Check out the screen grab on page 3!

4.23.07
Agent Robyn has received her mission!

We shot the first couple of scenes yesterday. My star was quite the trooper and didn't complain as we did take after take. Every now and then she'd want to know how much we had left, and she really wanted to know when we were going to use the Palm pilot in a shot! She sailed through the two hour shoot like a pro and we got some great footage. I might have to redo a couple of shots because of technical issues I didn't catch on set, but I'll play around with the footage and see what I can do with what I already have.

A couple of shots are on page 2, post #19.

4.15.07

Instead of working on taxes, I opted to do a little green screen shoot. Just a warm up for our first actual scenes next weekend. More details with pictures on Page 2!
 
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Haha nice. Welcome.

And your poster looks great. Cool vintage feel to it.

Have you seen Robert Rodriguez's "Bed Head"? His production company Los Hooligans is named after a comic strip he used to do at the University of Texas. The comic strip was about young kids, his neices and nephews, getting into trouble. Anyway he has a great student film in the tradition of his comic strip called "Bed Head" that is a brother vs. sister kind of thing. This seems to have that kind of vibe to it. Looking forward to it.
:beer:

EDIT: great tag line too.
 
Thanks for the welcome, Keystoned.

I have seen "Bedhead". It was a bonus feature on El Mariachi, I believe. I totally forgot about that though. I think the tone of my film will be different, but I am definitely taking a page out of his book and "employing" family! Since my kids are always around, it's easy enough to rope them into acting in my projects. In fact, Kevin wrote a story that he wants me to turn into a short film. I think we'll do it after SpyFest.

Look forward to your film (even if I can't pronounce it ;) )!
 
Amy:

Get right in there. It is a little bit intimidating, but I've found this site to be so full of help and support when you need it. Everyone is competing in this contest, but they're also cheering each other on at the same time. Sounds a bit mushy, but true.

Good luck with the film!
 
Love it! Can't wait to see this one... You'll have to share any funny rants you have about working with child actors. :)
 
Kholi said:
I actually like the title "GIRL VS BOY" in anything. =PPP
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I hadn't thought of it quite that way . . . :)

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. Our main shoot isn't until the end of the month when we go on vacation/location, but I've got some scenes planned for around the house I can shoot before then. I hope to have some production diary notes and BTS shots in a couple of weeks.
 
I've been a lurker and sitting on the sidelines for awhile myself. I'm planning to jump into SpyFest too. I've got two boys one of which (at least) will make an appearance in my as yet untitled piece. It's fun to get the kids involved, but at 7 and 10 mine can only take so many takes (no pun intended) until they have to go run around awhile.

Good luck! Looking forward to "Girl vs. Boy"!:)
 
Green Screen Shoot!

Green Screen Shoot!

Well, I shot some of my special effects footage today. Took me all morning to set up lights (that's what I get for being a one girl band!). The actual shoot lasted only an hour, but all three kids had to get in on the action even though I will probably only need the footage of Kevin. Cheyenne kept playing with the camera and bumped the scene file switch a couple of times. I caught it the first few times, but not when it really counted. I shot everything in 24P "normal" rather than 24Pa! UGH! So, now I have to try to get the interlaced frames out, or I might be looking at a reshoot. I haven't given up on it though.

Next weekend marks the official start of production. I suppose that means I should lock my script and finish my gadgets! :)

Here are some pics from this afternoon's shoot. Enjoy.

Cheyenne checking out the camera. She is facinated by every photographic device I own.
Chey_DP.jpg


Lighting set-up and testing (it can be kinda boring...)
Kev_Wait.jpg


When you don't have a garage, a playroom must make due.
I should point out that the lights are not mine. I borrowed them from the Northwest Film Center.
set_up.jpg


Agent Robin spotted at Mount St. Helens.
(A quick and dirty key test to see if my footage is salvageable.)
Ana_comp.jpg
 
Amy... Welcome aboard! I filmed a short last year, that still has yet to be edited and I used my children. WOW! what a tiring yet fulfilling experience. My kids have been helping with Mine and Matt's film SLEEPER and it is a blast. They love being on the set. Train them early and show them how fun it is and you will most likely find, like I have, that you care make film and spend time with your family all at the same time!!! You don't have to sacrifice time with the family to follow your dream!


On a side note... What are you using to key with? I would be glad to share a few tips with you are on keying if you need help!

Best of luck and again... welcome aboard!
 
Thanks Mark.
I pulled a still into After Effects and used Keylight. I only played with it for five minutes. I also have Conduit by the Pixel Corps, which is a plug in for Motion, but I didn't want to start testing it last night. If I get stuck, I'll be sure to send you a message.

That's great that you can get your kids involved in your project. I hope they have fun.
 
Gotta say I'm jealous of your light kit. I'm still working on saving up for stands for my home depot utility lights. I'd love to pull a key off something other than my 5.99 green party tablecloth. The thing is built for generating lightspill. I'm sure your DP has it all covered!
 
Kurtmo - don't be too jealous. I borrowed the lights from work - the Northwest Film Center. Just one of the perks! My greenscreen is just a $25 roll of Tech Green paper from B&H Photo. Not too pricey an upgrade from your tablecloth.

And, the good news is I figured out where my "assistant DP" flipped the scene switch, so I was able to split the clip and remove the pulldown. Yay!
 
Pre-production testing

Pre-production testing

So, I got a new Letus35a adapter (for my DVX) and I decided I should test it out before the big first day shoot tomorrow. :) I popped on a 50mm 1.8 Canon FD and shot some footage during dinner prep. The whole backwards and upside down thing is a bit tricky, but I started to get the hang of it. Luckilly, most of the shots tomorrow are tripod based.

Here's a screen grab for those who care about such things (with a touch of Magic Bullet Max Contrast added):
Chey_Sink_CC.jpg


I'm a little nervous about tomorrow, but it's exciting to actually get into it.
 
Day One wrapped

Day One wrapped

A couple of pics from our first offical day of shooting (production diary entry on page one):

A gold star if you can identify the book she's reading . . .
Day_One_1.jpg


Blowing off some steam in between takes toward the end of the afternoon.
Day_One_2.jpg


Next shoot isn't until next Monday when we take a short trip to the coast.
 
What do you intend to do with the greenscreen monitor? I've got some "monitor" type of work to do in TCD and I'm trying to decide weather I use a DVD player or Composite the video in post. At this point, I'm planning the post composite route.

BTW, nice reaction by your lead. I hope things go as well with my younger crew members!
 
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