xl70e3
Skywalker
This past week something really cool and unexpected happened to me...
A couple of weeks ago I was approached by Hewlett-Packard about making a video for their marketing department for some annual conference/forum sort of thing. 8-10 minutes video telling about their corporate software solutions with a $26k budget. And that's not even the cool part. At the meeting on tuesday I showed them some 3d mockups, some ideas I had and even though they liked 'em, they chose to go different route because the producer and director they invited said it would be too hard/expensive. Whatever... Apparently I'll be working on the video anyway, but only on the vfx/compositing part. I'll know more when the script is written.
Now for the cool part. That director guy I met in HP office worked with them for the past few years, he is a quite well known TV series/documentaries director. On our way outside and to the subway (as we both happen to live without wheels at the moment :crybaby: ) we started talking and he said he needed some vfx done for the upcoming film and asked me if I was interested. To make long story short I came to their office located at the second larget movie studios in Russia later that day to show some stuff I did and see what kind of work they needed.
The studio (the office I visited) is a part of one of the biggest distributing companies in the local movie industry and studio itself specializes on these historical/social TV documentaries. I was shown the stuff they need to have made for those flicks - and it's nothing extraordinary - you know, the opening titles/credits, plates to be used for interviews' comments, some simple vfx, color correction etc... And, well, I got the job
Working on one film right now and have 5 more on the queue in April. Then a 40 episodes documentary during summer and some live-action series come fall.
I'm not really crazy about motion graphics, compositing and stuff - I'd rather be behind the camera or in the director's chair than sit in front of the computer for hours - it's just somethng I had to learn as most of us here and something I happen to be good at. But hey, I'm working on TV now, my office (though I'm still working at home, I'm more comfortable this way) is at the frickin movie studios, where the first 3 floors - sound stages - are crowded by actresses and the 4th is basically all editing and processing rooms.... there are carts with film cans rollin all over the place, crazy.
This may sound weird, but for me this is something I've been waiting for since I was a little kid and it's now such a natural environment to be in, as if I always worked there. There are 3 editing rooms in my office (dpsVelocity, anyone ever heard of it? :huh, lots of Betacam decks, Mackie boards, preview monitors, cases full of tapes... and best of all the hall is littered with equipment. Huge movietech dolly, hydraulic jib, tenths of feet of track, an old 35mm camera with a 10-lenses case (they said it's not working, but man, do I enjoy just looking through the viewfinder... oh and the lenses seem to be great, something to think about when I get a 35mm adapter) and tons of boxes I've yet to check. Haven't seen their cameras yet, just lots of AntonBauer bricks charging and a Z1 noone uses. Oh, there is also a $1k ABC Handyman stabilizer for MiniDV that I can try with my DVX as they also don't use it and never plan to. And it seems I can borrow some other equipment too, when I need to - the guys over there are really cool, although they never seem to be working when I come, just drinking beer and playing GTA...
Pheeew. I sure typed a lot there, sorry about that. But I'm just too damn excited. Never saw it coming and here I am doing work in AE that will be seen by millions in less than two weeks. I got into the freakin industry... jeez. One step closer...
A couple of weeks ago I was approached by Hewlett-Packard about making a video for their marketing department for some annual conference/forum sort of thing. 8-10 minutes video telling about their corporate software solutions with a $26k budget. And that's not even the cool part. At the meeting on tuesday I showed them some 3d mockups, some ideas I had and even though they liked 'em, they chose to go different route because the producer and director they invited said it would be too hard/expensive. Whatever... Apparently I'll be working on the video anyway, but only on the vfx/compositing part. I'll know more when the script is written.
Now for the cool part. That director guy I met in HP office worked with them for the past few years, he is a quite well known TV series/documentaries director. On our way outside and to the subway (as we both happen to live without wheels at the moment :crybaby: ) we started talking and he said he needed some vfx done for the upcoming film and asked me if I was interested. To make long story short I came to their office located at the second larget movie studios in Russia later that day to show some stuff I did and see what kind of work they needed.
The studio (the office I visited) is a part of one of the biggest distributing companies in the local movie industry and studio itself specializes on these historical/social TV documentaries. I was shown the stuff they need to have made for those flicks - and it's nothing extraordinary - you know, the opening titles/credits, plates to be used for interviews' comments, some simple vfx, color correction etc... And, well, I got the job
Working on one film right now and have 5 more on the queue in April. Then a 40 episodes documentary during summer and some live-action series come fall.
I'm not really crazy about motion graphics, compositing and stuff - I'd rather be behind the camera or in the director's chair than sit in front of the computer for hours - it's just somethng I had to learn as most of us here and something I happen to be good at. But hey, I'm working on TV now, my office (though I'm still working at home, I'm more comfortable this way) is at the frickin movie studios, where the first 3 floors - sound stages - are crowded by actresses and the 4th is basically all editing and processing rooms.... there are carts with film cans rollin all over the place, crazy.
This may sound weird, but for me this is something I've been waiting for since I was a little kid and it's now such a natural environment to be in, as if I always worked there. There are 3 editing rooms in my office (dpsVelocity, anyone ever heard of it? :huh
, lots of Betacam decks, Mackie boards, preview monitors, cases full of tapes... and best of all the hall is littered with equipment. Huge movietech dolly, hydraulic jib, tenths of feet of track, an old 35mm camera with a 10-lenses case (they said it's not working, but man, do I enjoy just looking through the viewfinder... oh and the lenses seem to be great, something to think about when I get a 35mm adapter) and tons of boxes I've yet to check. Haven't seen their cameras yet, just lots of AntonBauer bricks charging and a Z1 noone uses. Oh, there is also a $1k ABC Handyman stabilizer for MiniDV that I can try with my DVX as they also don't use it and never plan to. And it seems I can borrow some other equipment too, when I need to - the guys over there are really cool, although they never seem to be working when I come, just drinking beer and playing GTA...Pheeew. I sure typed a lot there, sorry about that. But I'm just too damn excited. Never saw it coming and here I am doing work in AE that will be seen by millions in less than two weeks. I got into the freakin industry... jeez. One step closer...
