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

Hi Guys!

MY DEUCE OF SPADES U.S. NATIONAL TOUR has begun!!! First stop? Las Vegas for the NAB convention. Any of you going? if so then:

I will be doing a SONY VEGAS presentation each day at 2PM, in the North Hall, SONY PAVILLION, to share how I used SONY VEGAS PRO to edit my feature film DEUCE OF SPADES.

Hall C5, C10001.

Presentation will feature my project timeline and I will go over, step by step, how I achieved some of the artistic looks of the film, director's commentaries, DVD animated menu and more.

Presentation will last one hour and I intend to be available afterwards if anyone has any questions.

Hope to see you all there! It would be great to meet some of you "in the flesh" :)

PS: The SONY pavillion is simply put: AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited to be part of the SONY team this year!
 
I wish I wasn't so bogged down with expenses so I can order a dvd!

I'm so inspired by Faith's journey that I really want to chuck my desk job in the next few years to make my own dream come true. Serious congrats Faith! :)
 
Can't believe I've missed this thread for 3 years dammit.....

Listen, I don't do period pieces...I just don't...never been my thing, closet I ever got was maybe "Happy Days"...

That being said, that trailer was so awesome that if I had the money, I would buy a DVD RIGHT NOW...

I'm always in awe of these big Hollywood movies that pull of entire set pieces set in different periods, I wonder where they find the cars, figure they restore them..always assumed it was a multi million dollar thing and could not be pulled off by any mere mortal. Right now, as I rewatch your teaser trailer, I am inspired to dream bigger, do more...create better....if anyone ever says "Dream's dont come true, I WILL direct them to this film"...
 
Had an amazing evening last night at the SONY VEGAS user reception at NAB. It was an absolute thrill to have the SONY spokes person get up on the stage and read the critics quotes my film has racked up, to the entire crowd. I then got up on the podium and shared my story for a few minutes. It was met with a huge applause. Many people came to talk to me afterwards to shake my hand and congratulate me and ask me questions. What a great way to kick off my tour!

As the Sony slogan says: BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE, YOU CAN MAKE REAL.

Remember if you are attending NAB: Come meet me at 2PM each day at the SONY PAVILLION, I will be doing a daily presentation from 2 to 3PM and answering any questions afterwards.
 
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Meanwhile, in Ionia, MICHIGAN, my film was shown at the historial IONIA THEATER in front of a crowd of hot rod enthousiasts. WE had a very good turn out, including cool cars and the street was closed to traffic for the event :). So cool I can't even describe it! but they say a picture is worth a thousand words... So:

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Another day at NAB. Had the pleasure to meet several dvx users, including out very own infamous Barry Green :D... Was funny because I was asking "this guy" some questions about the new Panasonic camera, not realising it was Barry... And likewise I think it took him a couple minutes to realize it was me LOL - he was super helpful as always and gave me a tour of new camera & lenses... Meanwhile, back at SONY pavillion, I was eying out the new F3, and was also given a tour by DP there, once again I learned a lot. Decisions decisions... I undoubtedly wil be upgrading my camera for my next film, so NAB was a good way to "shop around" and compare. Still in love with Panasanic look, but also very very impressed with F3 and F100 low light capability and virtual lack of noise. Knowing me, I'll have another series of night scenes and low key lighting scenes, for which a noiseless camera would be invaluable... Saving me also from having to haul a lot of light and the logistics problem that causes (blowing fuses, needing a bigger generator etc etc). Mmmmm..

Well, no need to worry too much about it just yet since i am not starting on anything else for a good while, gotaa promote my film and maybe a little "rest would not hurt my health either. I;ve been pushing myself wayyyyyy to hard for 4.5 years now... Sometimes I wonder how I have been able to go on and not get sick.

I was also drooling on cranes, jibs, seadycam set-ups, all the things I would love to have for my next feature... But probably can't afford to buy and haul... Then again now I do have an enclosed car trailer that could haul a lot of junk to and from my shoots...

A freaking crew sure would be nice right about now too LOL.

Well, it's 4AM here in Vegas and tomorrow is my last presentation. Hope to meet more of you guys then. Come by SONY pavillion at 2PM, I'll be there.
 
ALSO AND BEFORE I FORGET: Any dvx users in Vegas wanting to see my film, it will be screening at CINEMARK THEATER inside ORLEANS HOTEL CASINO - see below:




 

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Shoot. Missing this by 6 weeks as I'll be in Vegas in June :)

Sounds like NAB is a great spot. Have fun and keep up the good work.

-Martin
 
NAB is now over :( ... I had an absolute blast and the Sony Creative Software team was a pleasure to work with. I was able to meet and talk to the engineers that build some of the features in Vegas and pick their brains, as well as present them with my "wish list" ;) and they were very easy to talk to, very supportive. I was very proud to be part of the Sony team :)). A lot of people came to me after my presentation and throughout the event to thank me for sharing my story with them, and said it was the shot in the arm they needed to go on with their own projects. Amen.

The highlight of the event for me was the Vegas user reception Monday night, where three users were honored and featured for their exceptional use of the software. I was one of the three :))) and got up on the stage and had t whip up a 3 minute speach to sum up my story. The enthusiasm of the crowd was overwhelming. It was a great honor. Ironically I find that the more you are praised, the more humble you feel. You'd think it'd be the other way around but trust me when I say this: Every time I meet fans that are completely CRAZY about the film and make a big whooplapla about meeting me I feel ulterely humbled.

NAB now behind me I prepare for the Premiere of my theatrical master, April 22.

It's official, I have made a DCP version of my film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dreaded the expense (around $8,000) but now that I have those masters in hand I feel very happy.

The DCP masters are on big hard drives and have an encryption protection system: The Theater ingests the footage from the drive into their digital projectors but can't play it unless they are given a key by my lab, FOTOKEM. The key is in the form of an email sent to the theater, ahead of the showing, and the email contains a file the theater downloads into their projector. That file will unlock the footage for a determined amount of time, which I dictate. During that window, the footage will play . Once that window has expired the footage will lock, and the projector no longer will be able to play it. This insures a level of peace of mind, knowing that foreign theaters for exemple would not be able to screen my film more than what we agreed on and they are paying for.

:) You got to love technology!

At any rate, I am screening my DCP master for the first time Friday the 22nd at CINEMARK theater in Las Vegas (Orleans theater)... Tomorrow I go there to perform a QC check, make sure the footage unlocks and the film looks and sounds good...

Exciting!!
 
Great news Faith!

Can you tell us more about the theatrical situation? How many theaters and where? I'd love to see it on the big screen...
 
I've just had a chance to watch it - friend of mine whose into vintage cars had got a copy so borrowed it and will post feedback here :)
 
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