FEATURE: DEUCE OF SPADES - How I made a period full feature film all by myself on ZERO budget

Deuceofspades said:
WEHEEEEEEEEEEEEE Here it is!

My latest brew: The SECOND special Feature Intervew. Lots of neat shots and never seen before snipit of my film and you also get to meet actor JORDAN WARREN (that kid has so much talent, it's mind boggling)

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Thanks for posting! Checking it out now. You rock extra hard, Faith.
 
zeke said:
OK Ted I see what you mean.
But why not stay in Vegas or add/use Acid Pro?
I'm not sure what limitations Corrado ran into.
Vegas isn't Pro Tools, but it supports surround mixing, punch in recording, Acid loops, VST plug-ins, imports Broadcast Wave, unlimited audio tracks.

Same for Acid Pro 7. Vegas is currently multitrack only I think. Acid Pro is Multi Track and Multi Channel. With access to high quality 32bit VST based instruments and effects, should be able to do quite a lot. Both use the same Media Manger so resources can be shared between programs. Both support all standard timecode options. Both can work with either mov or avi based files if needed.

I understand your concern, but there is quite a bit of depth to Vegas and Acid Pro that many are not aware of.
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Like I said, I don't know much about Vegas, but if it can be considered roughly equivalent to FCP, which also has all the post-audio features you mentioned (music scoring being another question), you'd find that audio processing and mixing is so far superior in PT that it simply isn't a discussion. There's a reason why virtually all big-time audio post houses and music recording studios are Pro Tools-based...

So it seems, like they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas : )
 
Ted Spencer said:
. It might be a lot less painful than a week of hell at the end.

I hope all of this is helpful!
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Ah, what's ONE week of hell more or one week less? I have been in HELL for over 120 weeks now anyways LOL - (but such sweeeet Hell it is)

:thumbup:

But seriously, I'm gonna start investigating. My last film THE PARK BENCH, I mixed entirely in house, since it was not for release. So I never got to that phase of the filmmaking process. I'm sure it's going to be entertaining LOL.

"I'll be just fine!"

(I hope LOL)
 
pdsage10 said:
This analogy is dead on. Even when you do export OMF out of Avid or FCP, you still are going to have a fun time organizing them in ProTools. Sometimes fades you have added transfer correctly, sometimes they dont. Also, sometimes clips end up in the entirely wrong slice in ProTools. So, start now cause if you have tons of clips and in turn tons of slices, then your organization is gonna take some time.
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Not sure what you mean by a "slice" in Pro Tools...

?
 
pdsage10 said:
Each row controlled by an individual fader is called a slice on a mixing console, so I just use that term regarding ProTools as well.
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Funny...I've been using mixing consoles, large and small, for...well...practically forever, and I've never heard that term. "Channel strip" might be closest, or just "channel" or "module".

Here in NYC, "slice" usually describes a subset of "pizza"... :beer:
 
Ted Spencer said:
Like I said, I don't know much about Vegas, but if it can be considered roughly equivalent to FCP, which also has all the post-audio features you mentioned (music scoring being another question), you'd find that audio processing and mixing is so far superior in PT that it simply isn't a discussion. There's a reason why virtually all big-time audio post houses and music recording studios are Pro Tools-based...

So it seems, like they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas : )
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Paul, I'm not disagreeing with you on this, but would it kill the mixing house to at least try Acid Pro 7? It's affordable, has lots of cool features and wouldn't require Faith to spend a week prepping her audio. Acid is way more than a looping program now, has been since version 6. It also supports rewire which should help in working with other rewire supporting apps. She could literally create a custom database with Media Manager, save it to an external drive with all the assets and then someone on the other end could open it in Acid Pro. (Talking about video and audio clips).

Anyway Faith, you're my hero and removed any excuse I have to making my own. Good luck. If I lived out in Cali I would offer to help.

Joe C.
 
Ted Spencer said:
Funny...I've been using mixing consoles, large and small, for...well...practically forever, and I've never heard that term. "Channel strip" might be closest, or just "channel" or "module".

Here in NYC, "slice" usually describes a subset of "pizza"... :beer:
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Yeah, at USC a few of our instructors and industry lecturers call them channels, but the majority of them call it a slice. But an apple is an apple, what ever you want to call it. :)
 
I have been in audio post for a couple of decades and I have never heard the term, "slice". Must be a USC thing. Most people I work with call it a channel strip. I asked the mixers at Blu Wave at Universal if they had heard that term and they just looked at me funny ;-)

Dan
 
Im gonna have to go to Tomlinson Holman's office tomorrow and tell him he is wrong and then Im gonna get my tuition back. And most definitely gonna have to tell Ioan Allen off. :laugh: J/K
Maybe this is a case of academia verses the "real world".
 
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It wouldn't be the first time in this industry that many people call many things many different names, sometimes regional, sometimes in different strata of the business.

Go hang with some California grip and gaffers for a few days, then go on a NYC shoot and use the same terms, you will get the same, "what the heck are talking about" looks. Then go to London, same thing, the "sparks" over there will really look at you funny ;-)

Dan
 
zeke said:
Paul, I'm not disagreeing with you on this, but would it kill the mixing house to at least try Acid Pro 7? It's affordable, has lots of cool features and wouldn't require Faith to spend a week prepping her audio. Acid is way more than a looping program now, has been since version 6. It also supports rewire which should help in working with other rewire supporting apps. She could literally create a custom database with Media Manager, save it to an external drive with all the assets and then someone on the other end could open it in Acid Pro. (Talking about video and audio clips).
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It's about standardization, and that's about compatibility and ease of workflow. Industry standards are like languages. In the USA that's English. You could easily argue that French is better, but the vast majority speak English here, so English it is. In the professional audio world, everyone long ago agreed to "speak" Pro Tools. No matter how good Acid may be, it isn't going to matter any time soon. Pro Tools in pro audio production is what it is, what it has been, and what it will be for the foreseeable future...
 
zeke said:
Paul, I'm not disagreeing with you on this, but would it kill the mixing house to at least try Acid Pro 7? It's affordable, has lots of cool features and wouldn't require Faith to spend a week prepping her audio. Acid is way more than a looping program now, has been since version 6. It also supports rewire which should help in working with other rewire supporting apps. She could literally create a custom database with Media Manager, save it to an external drive with all the assets and then someone on the other end could open it in Acid Pro. (Talking about video and audio clips).

Anyway Faith, you're my hero and removed any excuse I have to making my own. Good luck. If I lived out in Cali I would offer to help.

Joe C.
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Actually, I might call upon you when I get to that dreadful mixing stage. Cause I have no clue as to hwo to do this...

:huh:

More learning curves, more hoops to jump through. If I was a circus poodle, I'd be rich by now LOL...

Woof woof!

Meanwhile I cut a scene in 2 hours today :eek:... It was so easy when i was done I was like:

"That's it? HA! Let's tackle to the next scene!"

I had alloacted a whoe day for it and find that I now have time to get started on a second one...

By the way... I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE SCENE TO EDIT FROM SCRATCH :thumbup:
I do want to go over about 4 other scenes and tighten them, but that's easier work. Kinda like cleaning up a house as opposed to BUILDING it ...

I am starting to see light at the end of that tunnel :))
 
Faith,

Congrats on your film, it looks fantastic! And the whole production blog reminds me of the "Corrado" thread. But I had one question, (which probably has been asked before, but I haven't had time to read through the 46 pages) Do you have distribution in place?
 
mattlj25 said:
Faith,

Congrats on your film, it looks fantastic! And the whole production blog reminds me of the "Corrado" thread. But I had one question, (which probably has been asked before, but I haven't had time to read through the 46 pages) Do you have distribution in place?
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That is true, many people ask me this question. So now my turn to ask one:

Why do you ask ? :) (not saying you shouldn't ask - and yes I will answer your question imminently - but I'm just wondering.... Why do people always ask that same question)...

The way I look at it, seems I have to have a finished product first before I can shop it. I also think that while I finish my film I am gaining in stature and popularity and racking up extra points for strong press support. This is all ammunitions I am collecting along the way, to be utilized in my "looking for distribution" phase down the road. I guess if I had tried to line up distribution a year ago I would have gotten the boot from most everyone. Today, my film is starting to look a lot more appealing. If I had signed a small deal back then, I might have sold myself short. So maybe lining up distribution at this stage of the game is a bit like premature you know what ;)...

But I oculd be wrong...

Cause after all, "it's not like I REALLY know what I'm doing. I'm just doing it... Somehow"

(this is becoming my favorite quote HAHA!)

Anyone here who has advise or experience with distribution, please share for the sake of all of us rookies :)
 
PS: for those of you who missed my recent post (which is now several pages back)


A NEW CAST INTERVIEW WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY :). It's pretty cool - you can see my cigarette shot in it... And quite a few new shots / excerpts from the film. Oh and let's not forget: My dragstrip flagging shots. Those rocks (from a hotrodder's point of view).




 
I only ask because I'm a rookie myself... and If you have or get (which you probably will) distribution, then it's that much more inspiring because you literally took an idea to the screen, without spending a dime. Your film is guaranteed to make money, which is something not a lot of rookies, or any filmmakers for that matter, can say. This is inspiring, which fuels my interest, which brings on more questions. ; )

When you get distribution, you will have defeated the giant!
 
Ted Spencer said:
It's about standardization, and that's about compatibility and ease of workflow. Industry standards are like languages. In the USA that's English. You could easily argue that French is better, but the vast majority speak English here, so English it is. In the professional audio world, everyone long ago agreed to "speak" Pro Tools. No matter how good Acid may be, it isn't going to matter any time soon. Pro Tools in pro audio production is what it is, what it has been, and what it will be for the foreseeable future...
Click to expand...

I know a lot of people using Nuendo and Sonar who will disagree with that statement.

Worse case scenario, after picture lock, she renders out her movie as QT (using a codec that is available to both her and the people using Protools, DNxHD comes to mind) with either stereo or mono dialog track.
Someone opens it in Protools, finishes, mixes down to both stereo and 5.1 surround, output a series of mono wav files (for surround...) at a predetermined sampleing rate... Assuming Protools matches time code, she could pull each audio track back into her vegas project, render to Blu Ray or DVD. No real need for OMF.
 
zeke said:
I know a lot of people using Nuendo and Sonar who will disagree with that statement.

Worse case scenario, after picture lock, she renders out her movie as QT (using a codec that is available to both her and the people using Protools, DNxHD comes to mind) with either stereo or mono dialog track.
Someone opens it in Protools, finishes, mixes down to both stereo and 5.1 surround, output a series of mono wav files (for surround...) at a predetermined sampleing rate... Assuming Protools matches time code, she could pull each audio track back into her vegas project, render to Blu Ray or DVD. No real need for OMF.
Click to expand...

Boy, I am getting an anxiety attack just READING the above... Oye... My poor head...

Wait.. Let me pull my favorite quote out of my sleeve:

"I'll be just fine!" LOL

Which reminds me, I was editing that very scene late last night and laughed when I heard Johnny, laying under the car, telling his buddy Art to "get out of here" "I'll be just fine" when he knows damn right that, if Art leaves, he won't be. Cause he can't get back up on his crutches by himself. So he'll be stuck under that car until... Well...

The audience is left to ponder whether Art ever came back to help him up or whether he spent the night under that Ford, out of pride.

I suspect the later.
 
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