FEATURE: Rise of the Beast-the new feature from STARS Pictures

The satellite stuff is okay for a rough. It'll look better when you add "space" and the stars and all behind it. Are you going to zoom through the clouds and all down to the street (maybe we see the scene from above) then cut to the action. There's a tutorial on how to do it on Videocopilot. http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/earth_zoom/

-Nate
 
Yeah, VC is where I learned it. The issue is that the google earth images are copyrighted. I've asked them for permission, but they haven't gotten back to me. The images I'll have to use otherwise are from a NASA version, but unfortunately they only look good at the range I've used so far. I'm experimenting and seeing if I can clean up some of the closer views, but I don't know
 
Good luck with the project. I get the sense you like to shoot very run'n gun style. Me too.

The Canon T2i is a great little camera. A lot of bang for your buck, plus it takes pretty darn good stills too.

If you haven't seen this clip already, check it out, as I think you might find these directors' style kinda fun (they did Crank 1 & 2 and Gamer), and maybe get some ideas for your chase sequences or some camera rig ideas. I know I did from watching this earlier today.

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I AGREE
 
hey, Chris.. how advanced with after fx are you?
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It really depends on what I'm doing. I just started learning After Effects a little over a month ago. I'd say I'm intermediate with AE. Like, I can follow the steps without being told where everything is, but I can't quite use it creatively yet.

Good luck with the project. I get the sense you like to shoot very run'n gun style. Me too.
The Canon T2i is a great little camera. A lot of bang for your buck, plus it takes pretty darn good stills too.
If you haven't seen this clip already, check it out, as I think you might find these directors' style kinda fun (they did Crank 1 & 2 and Gamer), and maybe get some ideas for your chase sequences or some camera rig ideas. I know I did from watching this earlier today.
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Great vid! Where'd you find that? I especially like the idea of wearing skates.
 
El Director said:
Great vid! Where'd you find that? I especially like the idea of wearing skates.
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That dude simply loves shooting from roller blades. He did that in Cr2nk also. The shots they're getting are great. In Crank they used HF100s to match up the the A1 for shots like these and he also did some roller blade stuff with the A1.

-Nate
 
It looks like it works well. I have a pair of aggressive skates so that should work fine. We also have a hand truck for me to stand on and someone to pull as well.

Update: I ordered two batteries for the T2i today on ebay. Got a screaming deal on them! I don't have the camera yet, but I guess I'm committed now. lol
 
I learned that NASA World Wind (the earth imaging software I'm using) does have a few cities that have the same kind of quality as google earth. One of those is Seattle, which is the opposite side of the state, but that's okay. We never actually named the city in the movie, so Seattle works. I just got done redoing the earth zoom effect with these new images and it looks GREAT! =D Now I just need to go back and fix the Satellite animation.

I should be getting the camera next week, and the batteries should arrive a week or two before we start shooting. One month to go!
 
OMG! That's so awesome. I noticed you changed the shoot dates on your blog. I was praying about this last night, glad to hear it's on it's way and things are going good. How's the KS app going?

-Nate
 
Indeed. My dad and I are taking a week long backpack trip at the end of August so I had to move everything up a week. Also, got the new animation rendering in Blender right now.
 
Kickstarter ended up being a bust for me. I was honest and said that some of the funds would be used to purchase a camera. They told me they that they frown upon using the funds to purchase equipment. On the brightside, my lead has been stepping up as an executive producer and fronted the rest of the funds we needed for the camera. It's on it's way now from New Jersey. This is going to be a long week...

I've ordered a dimmer control for my work lights. At least it'll allow me to make the light not so intense when needed. I also made a reflector out of foil and a pizza box. I think I need one more.
 
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It's not a problem. My big reason for wanting it was to get the camera, which we have now purchased and is on it's way. The only thing I'm really missing is the hard drive space, but I think one of my friends is going to be able to hook me up. Other than that, I have pretty much everything I need. =)
 
Received the first of nine items from ebay today-The memory card! Still to arrive:
the Camera
ND filter pack
Two batteries
Extra batter charger
lens hood
screen protector
extension cord dimmer (to control my lighting)
Thermal paste (my computer needs it)

I didn't have the dough to get a better lens so I'll have to make do with the stock lens. I don't want to hear anything about it. =) Next on my list is the hard drives. I did the math and figured out that based on the amount of footage I'll shoot, I need just a 500GB drive and another one or two for backup.
 
I gotta be honest here and say that I don't understand the rush. If you don't have the proper equipment to do it right then hold off a bit till you do. Why go into a project with a half hearted effort from the beginning. You are only wasting your time and your talents time. I understand your desire to see your film come to life, but why bother if it is gonna be crap because you cut so many corners. If you ever want to be taken serious as a filmmaker and not just some kid you gotta think about these things. I have been working on my feature film for over 3 years now, we had to put off shooting 2 different times totaling 1 years time because we didn't have the proper equipment and I didn't want to blow my chance. We are just now wrapping from principal photography which we have been shooting for almost 4 months. Not counting our B roll and pickup shots yet to be shot. Then we will likely be spending 6 months editing this. I have seen your previous work and it shows of your impatience. The time you spent making "Leap" (shooting and editing) is about the time we spend on a short (20 minutes or less) and that was your feature film. I appreciate your passion as a fellow Christian filmmaker, I just wish you would slow up a bit and do it right. If you don't have the proper equipment or people now... wait till you do!
 
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Umm no matter what don't let negativity push you down. There is a lot of that around every corner. In my opinion I say you go with the energy that starts and keep the fire burning hot and finish the film with that energy. The longer the film takes to complete the easier for that energy to fizz out. I would choose knocking out a couple of films over 3 years instead of one that hasn't been finished yet. No budget films only have that energy behind it to keep it fresh and alive unlike a lot of studio films that have a deep pocket but no soul. Just do what burns you and keep doing it.
 
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