One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

very cool! man theres alot of talent here in Vancouver and BC :)

Hey Stabb, we shot a short with Tammy Gillis a few weeks ago, I think she was in one of your first films. Small world.
 
One Man Cast, One Man Crew,

One Man Cast, One Man Crew,

I thought it was excellent work considering the coldplay video probably cost stupid money - you managed to get the same feel & pace thru out.
The car crash scene in the coldplay video is the only thing that smells of $$$ - otherwise you pretty much hit the nail there.

I myself, am a starving music producer who got bitten by the fierce industry wolves last year & am healing myself with this film/video stuff since then - MY "dirty Raver" video is the first project I have fully edited & shot so - I kinda feel the same way as you.
The track was meant to come out last year but, my record label got ditched by thier major corp backing - so I decided to learn to shoot my own video & put it out myself :)
But enough about me  :-X  - back to you & your excellent work - keep it up - you have definitely earned your diploma on the natural science of "reverse"
& the editing was just right  ;)
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Stabb,

What a small world. I didn't really think anyone was going to recognize the locations. Good Eye!

Did I think anyone was going to snatch the camera? Umm, the thought crossed my mind.  :-/ I basically walked across the street backwards (not for the cool effect but to keep an eye on the camera ;)) Looked across the street to make sure no one was walking on the side walk who could potentially snatch it, got into character in about .3 seconds. And then ran back across the street. The neighbourhood is really good. I've lived here all my life so far, and feel it's pretty safe. Man, the thought of it now makes me shiver.

Carrington, Thanks for the compliments. The car crash was the one thing I knew I couldn't duplicate, I could of staged something to represent that, but then I'd have to tie it into the ice cream idea, and I kinda liked the purpose to be very simple, innocent and child-like. I was thinking about a bike crash, but I don't have a bike, nor do I have someone to double to make the two events similiar. That would of been pretty funny tho, a bike crash then two of us rolling down a hill. haha.
So did you produce that track? I really liked your video, the colours and footage look great. Especially since a lot of the footage is dark, the footage still has a brilliance to it. good work. That guy in it, well I was gonna comment on his dancing but I'll just leave it at this ... ...  ... great video!!
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Thats funny. When I watched it, I thought the same thing! I was like "WTF is he doing leaving the camera there?!" :o
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Hey you gotta take some risks for a chance to make something great!
I'm just glad I have a tripod now and I wasn't leaving it on the monopod that broke it before. :'(
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Well Im here to break the rules & go at this - the way I go at my music - RAW & DIRTY 8)

I did take up film school about 10 years ago for about a year but - music took over my soul & I somehow made my way back into the game again just recently - with the editing first then the dvx'ing.
I wanted a very seedy - lofi look but with an element of control here & there.The guy is meant to come across slightly warped & posessed so - his dancin is a bit - lost it - out to lunch - whatever ;)

I did produce the track but, I am more into the video than the track to be honest - the project has been more about constucting a video together & the track is just a bonus - a side salad.. . if you like ::)
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

?

I got Lost in Translation on this one.

You produced the Coldplay track?
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Sorry John - you have every right to be confused  ;D

I seem to have rambled on a bit much about my "Dirty Raver" project (on another post) & got carried away.

You are right about the camera being there .. . on its own - no one to look after it.. . scary stuff.
Which ever way you look at this "coldplay" inspired clip - it still looks very classy & should be a good foundation for more cool stuff to come.
I look forward to the b-boy backspins & the reverse helicopter & caterpillar's  :o
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

LOL

I was so confused I dropped like 33 extra dopamine tablets. :D
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Yeah, I couldn't help but think myself "did he just leave the camera there? no way, someone else had to be watching it!"

Guess we're all a little touchy when it comes to expensive equipment. I myself have lost a camera... left it on the roof of a car... drove off... was rushing to the wedding we were supposed to be filming with that very camera...

anyway, enough of my sad stories...

As for the composition... it's hard to say what could've been done better. Composition is something that more feels right than just being told how to do it right.

If you're leaving the camera on a tripod and shooting yourself, it's almost impossible to maintain a good composition because you don't fully know what it's gonna be until you're in the frame and by then, the shot's already being taken...

My advice though would be to try to follow some basic principals and elements of design and try to work them into your shots (ie, if you see some good value in some light or a great line or something, those make compositions more interesting). Also, following the rule of thirds is something so many people starting out with film overlook. Not something that needs to be followed 100% of the time, but it generally makes for more interesting shots. You seem to have a natural eye for a lot of that and many of the shots were well composed and looked great! Especially the shot of you throwing your hat and coat away.

I think you've got the basics of everything you need, just need to refine it a little more. Best part is, the stuff you have is the stuff you can't teach... so I wouldn't fret too much. Just brush up on some technical stuff and you'll produce some amazing things.
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

ThinSpirit hit the nail on the head.. you got the natural talent that cant be learned. I look forward to seeing some more from you.
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Hey Jarred, I know Tammy too. It's a small city.

Colione... nice reverse lipsync. This was awesome work... kept me interested right to the end.

Another video to use this technique (with some dancing too) is Spike Jonze's video for Pharyde's "Drop". It's just a fun romp, and they were masking the backwardness by walking backwards, but there's a little video on the Director's Series DVD on how they did it (especially getting the lipsynch right).
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

I swear.. we should all get together with our arsenal of DVX's and make one epic Vancouver Film with 20 cameras for coverage. Maybe an epic battle scene at the old naval base at UBC :)
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Thinspirit,
Rules of thirds? You mean breaking the frame up into thirds? Both horizontally or vertically? that seems like it would serve as a good guide.
Thanks for the compliment, a large part of the reason for videos like this is for me to learn the technical side of filming and editing. Produce something, see how i like it, and what I like and dislike about it. To try different techniques, and see which ones turn out best. Basically experiment to get a better understanding. Also Robert Rodriguez's 10 minutes film school's don't hurt. ;D

Jumar, I heard about that video. I'm sure I've seen it, but I can't remember how it goes. Spike Jonze has a DVD out? With what on it? His videos? I should pick that up.

Jarred, Let's do it. There's an old naval base at UBC?? Cool, 5 years there and I never knew. Organize a shoot, and everyone from around town with a DVX can bring theirs, and for participating you get a free battery ... right???
... well that's how I'd like to see it organized. ;)
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

i shouldnt call it really a naval base.. its on spanish banks and the main building is a hostel now, but I have heard rumours that there are all sorts of tunnels and bunkers around there by the beach.

Sure Ill give you a free battery if you write a thank you on those red peices of paper that have 50 written all over it.
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

I'm totally up for a Vancouver DVX mega shoot. That would kick ass.

Have you guys seen Dancer in the Dark? One of the musical dream sequences in that was shot with 100 cameras.

We could handle pretty a pretty good bullet-time range too, or have the cameras covering the entire downtown core (from rooftops, parking garages, etc), and shoot something in real time.
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Jumar,

Holy, that would be amazing. Shoot a sequence in real time with a bunch of DVXs.

Jarred, sure. I have tons of red paper. I'll fill all the extra space around the "thank you" on the sheet with 50's. ;)

A friend told me I should send the video to muchmusic and MTV, so I posted it there and in the coldplay forum. hehe..we'll see what happens!
 
Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

.hctaw ot nuf yreV

Your very talented! I've been waiting for the perfect band to try out a few time change tricks. Since I havent ever seen them done before I better not spill the beans but I can tell you that you can really tweak peoples perception of time using on set mechanical tricks and optical tricks. Also special lighting can do some amazing things. For example its possible to take a city street full of people on a rainy night and make it appear that that the rain is going in reverse and everyone is walking foward normally or visa versa. You wont need to have them walk backwards at any time either. Or you can make one person walk forward but move backwards. These are all in camera tricks so dont forget to play around with special props and lighting. Another thing is slo mo. Theres a great thread here on the subject. It details exactly how to get TRUE SMOOTH slo mo out of your DVX100. Thanks Colione for posting your video. The pace and your talent as a dancer made it very addictive to watch.

Brett Erskine
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Premiere Visions
1761 W. La Palma Ave., Suite #302
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Re: One Man Cast, One Man Crew, One Manly Camera

Hah, count me in if you need another camera. Sounds like it would be a blast. ;D
 
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