Dec 1st Status Check

Will be shooting January 6th, 7th, and 8th. That leaves about 3 weeks for post-production. Looks like about 15-25 visual effects shots. Hopefully I can get them done in time.
 
Finished shooting this past weekend with a bunch of practical special effects and a 35mm adapter. Reviewing the footage and I am pretty pleased.

Hopefully it cuts together well :)
 
I used the micro 35 adapter with nikon lenses - it seemed to go very well - and way easier then I anticipated - i expected to be fighting the adapter all day - and i only forgot to turn it on once
 
First shoot is tonight!!! I am as prepared as I'll ever be! Still need to pick up some makeup... And get some bottles of water (For cast/crew). I'm so excited!!!
 
briceman said:
First shoot is tonight!!! I am as prepared as I'll ever be! Still need to pick up some makeup... And get some bottles of water (For cast/crew). I'm so excited!!!
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Mine is tomorrow or Christmas Eve. Probably the latter. Assuming I get the camera rig built. And my wife doesn't distract me again... :engel017:
 
NBCshooter said:
Okay. My writer just told me idea number 2 today (I passed on his first idea). And . . . I liked it! A couple weeks ago, I basically told him, "Look, I want to start with a _________ and a _________, then, here's where all the exciting stuff you write goes . . . and then, it ends with a shot of ____________." I can't believe it, but he actually wrote-to-order. Executing his idea convincingly will of course be a challenge. But at least it has many of the elements I was hoping for.

I may not get a completed script until AFTER the holidays, so I'll really be under the gun on this project. Also, I was hoping to shoot this on an HVX200, but that just may not be realistic. I REALLY don't wanna shoot this on my DVX since I may have some expensive scenes to shoot, and I definitely want that footage on a better camera. So I'll have to borrow some other 24P camera to do that with (my friend just sold his SDX900s). Too bad, since I really wanted that "Best Camerawork" prize for that bitchin' handheld bracket.
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NBC-If you shot it on the SDX, it wouldn't be eligible for prizes correct?
 
Just finished digitizing my first night shoot. Footage looked OK. Performances were great! Hope I can make it work!
 
Some of my footage had some glitches in it!!! Good thing I had a ton of coverage and three takes of each shot (usually)!
 
When you say glitches, do you mean lost frames during capture? If so, recapture those shots & you may find out they're clean. That's usually the case with me anyway. I had a few lost frames while capturing our footage, but I'd go back & recapture and it was fine.

Was up late editing, and will continue to do so up to Christmas, resuming on the 26th. We're going to reshoot a couple of scenes as day for night for continuity with another scene we shot that way, and the fact that the DVX footage will be a lot less noisey that way.
 
Well... it was like small tiny glitches in the frame, not lost frames. Also, having some audio issues. Sounds like little digital audio glitches when trying to digitize, but when played back on the camera, it sounds fine. Whats up?
 
briceman said:
Well... it was like small tiny glitches in the frame, not lost frames. Also, having some audio issues. Sounds like little digital audio glitches when trying to digitize, but when played back on the camera, it sounds fine. Whats up?
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It *might* be from the capture..unless the dirty head warning was on while you were filming and you ignored it.

Couldn't hurt to try recapturing to see if they show up again...and in the same place.

If they show up in different places, mix and match. (And turn off EVERYTHING else while capturing and they may not show up at all).
 
Well... the glitches do occur around the time the dirty head warning came on... I finished the take, and cleaned the heads (using a head cleaning tape) fixed it up fine. But, the two takes before the warning came on had some problems.
 
Well, here I go again. I'm rejecting the script from my writer and going in a different direction. So, again, I'm without a script.
 
You're where I was about 4-5 weeks ago. I could tell by the second draft that the writer we were working with was just not going to benefit our time schedule ... so we canned him, and I just started from scratch myself. It's so much easier when you don't have to depend on someone else.

You know you've got it in you ... just have a brainstorming party with some friends over beer & pizza, and come up with a cool, unique story.
 
Envision said:
. . . and I just started from scratch myself. It's so much easier when you don't have to depend on someone else.
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I HATE depending on someone else! It's soooo much easier to write what you're going to shoot yourself, I know. As both the director and the DP, I know what I can and can't shoot. I know what shots will really pay off that are still easy to get. And I know that shots that are super hard to stage, I just won't constrain myself to, and I just won't write those kinds of things in. Everyone (writers) accuses me of making films "backwards." It's the only way I know how to do it. Assess what you CAN shoot, then write to those constraints!

Envision said:
You know you've got it in you ... just have a brainstorming party with some friends over beer & pizza, and come up with a cool, unique story.
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I was getting so depressed over this, Envision. Then, holy crap, Envision! I read your post and got all encouraged! I started writing down some storylines from some other movies thinking that might jump start some idea-making process . . .

Then I called my best friend to run them by him (who's also a cameraguy). Then an actual IDEA came out of talking for a few minutes about what made the other movies great. From there I went from ONE idea . . . I said, "What if . . . blah-blah happens and . . ."

And there it was! An actual original (as original as anything gets these days) idea for a sci-fi short! I couldn't believe it! We talked on the phone for maybe 20 more minutes and fleshed out the beginning scene, some of the middle stuff, and the ending! You have no idea what a breakthrough this is for me. I'm a great story editor, but I can't EVER think of the damned story itself. This is a first for me! It's all pretty shootable (since we're both cameraguys, we know what we can shoot and what we can't) and it's all fairly easy to make believeable. I'm off and running, now! I'm going to actually start storyboarding in Storyboard Artist before writing the script (it's easier for me to do it that way).

I can hear voice-over king, Don LaFontaine's movie-trailer voice in my head now . . . "In a world where . . ."
 
NBCshooter said:
Everyone (writers) accuses me of making films "backwards." It's the only way I know how to do it. Assess what you CAN shoot, then write to those constraints!
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Unless you've got a studio behind you, or a rich uncle, that's how it should be done. Otherwise, the film comes out looking like crap, trying to do things you really can't do on your budget.

NBCshooter said:
You have no idea what a breakthrough this is for me. I'm a great story editor, but I can't EVER think of the damned story itself.
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Me, too. Sort of. I can thiknk of the story, though. I just can't write it. But if someone ELSE does, I can go in and punch it up.

That's how I spent most of my theaterical formative years...whispering in the ears of writer, directors, scenic designers..."why not try it this way...."
 
Glad I could help and be of some inspiration, NBC. Now, if you kick the crap out of us in the fest, I'll be kicking myself later, but for now I feel good about being of assistance! :)
 
Envision said:
Glad I could help and be of some inspiration, NBC.
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Thanks, Envision! You were! Well, I lied, I am actually writing an ACTUAL script in Final Draft right at the moment . . . (but I also have Storyboard Artist open in another window). This is actually fun!
 
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