Boppy the Cat Actor, The New Project and Looking Forward.

Last Friday

The day started ominously with a derailed train cancelling all trains to Watford, but one scandalously expensive cab ride later, Mark and I arrived at Frazer's with a car full of gear. After a slow start the ball was soon rolling and we managed to film half the entire film. We got pretty much everything in the bag that we planned to.

It was one of the better filming sessions I've ever had, it was relaxed, we had the house to ourselves, the street was quiet and we took our time with everything. It was a very collaborative day, with Mark Frazer and myself all pitching in ideas and coming up with new angles and ideas. Filming Frazer's cat Boppy was a lot of fun, he's a gorgeous, friendly ginger tom who enjoyed strutting his stuff around the house. It was nigh on impossible to get him to do specific things, but hey -  that's cats! We knew he wouldn't be learning any lines!

Line! Meow?

The whole shoot went smoothly but slowly, and was a very relaxed affair. We wrapped up as the evening was beginning to arrive in earnest, and arranged transport home. It wasn't until I got home that I realised we never actually stopped for food (a perfect opportunity was present when we watched back the footage but I was so focussed on the filming I wasn't thinking about stomachs) and we had subsisted the whole day on biscuits and jaffa cakes. I got home, nauseous as hell from the long car ride (which was unusual as I never get car sick) and I literally collapsed, mentally and physically exhausted. I hadn't felt the torpor hit me until I stopped moving. Dee had made a great curry which I gratefully devoured and then I went straight to bed, leaving lighting bags and suitcases where they fell (gently).

I've since got the footage on to the computer and I've started to put the pieces together. It certainly looks better than average, although of course I'm already seeing improvements I could have made on the day. This should help inform me when we shoot the second half of the short.. I've got the basic scene together from my current footage, it's quite underwhelming but I haven't really chopped away at it yet or tried to edit it into shape, so of course it will feel flabby and lacking any drive at the moment. I've got some background audio to add too, as well as some basic foley work which could be fun!

Lighting

So, Friday was the big debut of my new lights and it went great. It's been a long time since I've had control of powerful lighting and we were able to use a combination of the new lamps, natural light and household lighting to bring the scenes to life. Good lighting makes a world of difference, I look forward to getting more practice. At the moment I'm still a beginner, and I've noticed that it is very easy to overpower the camera with the lighting which can lead to scenes looking like they are taking place under floodlights. You can dial it back a little in the editing stage, but you can't perform miracles. I've picked up a great book called Painting With Light, by a famous cinematographer called John Alton who worked on a number of classic noir movies and was a pioneer of cinematic lighting.

 It is written from a different era, so there is a lot of information about studio lighting of old (olde?), but it's highly informative so far, I haven't felt the need to skip anything. The link above will take you to the amazon UK page if you want a look for yourself. I'm hoping the book will teach me a thing or two and I'm already excited to apply what I will learn. While I enjoy my cycle commute (most days!) I am sad that I no longer get to read on the train to work. My books are all going unread!

This Friday

This Friday I'm going with Andy from Syncrovise to shoot a product information video, my first "offical" venture. We're going to be filming a how-to about fitting bathroom seals, a nice simple shoot that shouldn't prove too taxing (best not speak too soon) and will end with a slap-up dinner at Andy's place. Sounds like a plan!

Sell to Live

I've been selling some of my Xbox 360 games this week. I've been a gamer for years and I've owned many many games, but a few years ago I had to start cannibalising my own collection in order to afford new games, so I never have any more than a few games at any one time. Although it feels good to get rid of the clutter, I still feel a pang of sadness when I sell a game on. Especially these last few. I am genuinely sad to see them go. Sliding them into their bubble wrap envelope, having one last look at the artwork, remembering the good times. It's unpacking a new game but in reverse. They were games I had been following for months before their release, I only bought them a few months ago, had loved playing, but I need to sell them on just to stay afloat. To be honest, they are games I probably wouldn't be revisiting any time soon, I have Skyrim now and that is literally the only game a human being needs. After that I've got Arkham City, the new Batman smack'em'up. I'm set for a good long way and won't be needing to retread past conquests. Selling them on is logical, but knowing I'll never play Saints Row The Third again leaves me sad. I make no apology. I love video games. Always have.

But on to bigger brighter things. Roll on Friday, roll on the food, and roll on the weekend!

Bright Lights Big City

Well last week's burglary threw everything off kilter. Last Saturday's filming session for the new project was put back two weeks so Frazer's beard will continue to grow unchecked.

Some good news however. Andy at Syncrovise (who did the website for Bacalao Performance Company) has decided to bequeath humble little me with a continuous lighting softbox set! Two high powered lamps on telescopic light stands complete with reflective umbrellas, diffusers, and even storage bags. A gift!

Like this, only twice!

Anyone familiar with this blog will know that I've had a little trouble trying to find a solution to lighting problems, with professional level kit being so expensive, and lighting such an unsung hero of cinematography. Robert Rodriguez used table lamps and sunlight to light the scenes in El Mariachi. Lars Von Trier and the Dogme 95 guys put down a rule that special lighting (anything beyond the lighting existing in the scene plus one camera lamp) was not allowed in any of their Dogme films. People have worked around professional lighting in the past and with good results. But for me it was becoming a stumbling block that took up too much of my time during a shoot. Interiors are always so dark, especially for video. Any lights I put together from cheap kit were either fiercely bright or ineffective. Regular human living conditions are just not bright enough for Mother Video, who requires eye-straining brightness to bring life from the mud.

In a way, I'm happy that we hadn't already started filming our new project (although understandably less happy about the circumstances), as we can now use a professional grade lighting rig during filming (I should probably say "videoing" or "taping" but filming just sounds much cooler) and the whole project will look better. But don't get your hopes up, I'm still a fumbling amateur who can't walk and think at the same time. .

Andy is also looking for a video producer to help him shoot a couple of product information video for a business that he is building a website for, so he asked me if I would be interested. The answer is a resounding hell yes. So now I have two shoots lined up! Next weekend we are finally all-stations-go on the new project with Mark and Frazer, and the following weekend I will be filming three product information videos with Andy.

If it all goes well I will be happy to offer my services to Andy for any future projects. This could be the first step on a very interesting path. At the very least, I'm going to have some work for my portfolio, something I hadn't really given much thought to before now.

Andy was telling me that he would have had a difficult time getting his own company started if it wasn't for the generosity and support of his former employer, and he tries to keep that ethos in his own dealings with people and to offer the same support that has helped him get started. This is a principle I've tried hard to go by as well. When you are starting out, you have a big hill to climb. But meet people, help them out in their time of need, and a culture of reciprocation and support will go a long way especially when you don't have money or resources. When you find yourself stuck, you'll have a support network that will be there when you need them. That's a hell of a card to have.

This is what gets you places. A talentless person with contacts will get further than a talented one with none. We see it every day. If you can be both, then you'll have a bright future.

Cats, Lamps and Links

New Project


We have a deadline for our new project, the whole short should be ready to show by the end of February. We plan to do all the filming over a weekend during the Christmas break so that should be plenty of time to get all the post production done. I don't plan to talk about the details too much, as the video won't take long to put together and I'd like people to see it with fresh eyes and fresh minds, so I hope you don't mind if I talk around it enigmatically.

I can say that there is a starring role for a cat, so I spent today filming my cat, Sir Digby Chicken Caesar, as he walked around the house. All he wants to do is hide in dark corners and under tables though. He's not our star for the project, but he is the stand-in for "rehearsing". 

Rehearsing what I can make a cat do. 

Which is not a whole lot, it seems! 

"far out man."

Amazon UK Links


You might have noticed the Amazon box ---> over there. I've also been adding links to any books I review that will take you to the relevant Amazon page. If you buy something on Amazon after clicking through on my page, then Amazon pay me for the traffic. Hey, if it can help keep me stocked in MiniDV tapes, it's worth a shot! 


I have tagged any posts with book reviews with a "book review" label so you can see all my reviews/recommendations. Click here to see the posts.


If you're interested in any one of my projects more than others, each project also has a label, for easy reference.


Clamp Lamp

Remember my clamp lamp I bought in order to have a cheap n' cheerful spotlight in my toolbox? You might recall from this entry that the lamp cast a horrid light, owing to it's super reflective dome, as it is actually designed for reptile vivariums and not for lighting. Why did I choose it? Some American brands of these lamps are perfectly suited to film-making. But this UK one was just too shiny. I decided to paint the inside of the dome to make it matte, using a spray can of grey primer car paint we had in the shed (just the cheap generic car primer from Halfords).

Here's some before and after pics:

The metal dome, very reflective.

The light shining on a wall, horrible!

After a quick spray-paint

So much better!

It's not going to outshine any professional equipment, but it's a light I can use! It also comes with a clamp so you can fix it onto certain surfaces and edges, which saves someone from holding it.




Right, well I'm off, Dee's cooking pizza and I really should get over there and start chopping some peppers! Is anyone else watching Community? God damn, I'm loving that show. 

Wailing and gnashing of teeth

THE LAMP part 2

Remember my clamp-lamp from the previous post? Well, I found one online and bought it. It's basically a heat lamp with a metal dome reflector for use in vivariums. Well my lamp arrived quickly from an online reptile house and yesterday I bought some filament bulbs for it so I could give the lamp a test run before tonight's shooting of Sofia and her show. The important thing to note here, and which shows a lack of foresight on my part, is that tungsten filament bulbs are being phased out in favour of energy saving bulbs. We're already at a stage where you cannot buy bulbs of a high wattage in the store (I had to settle for 60W). Good news for the planet, bad news for the no-budget film-maker.

Well, instead of a clean sharp light with bold shadows as this youtube video had showed me, I was treated to some of the ugliest light I've ever seen. Harsh patchy concentric rings of light all bunched together, like the headlight of a 70's car. It was awful. Thus commenced the wailing and gnashing of teeth. I spent some time trying to fix it. My first thought was that it was the super shiny dome that was causing these reflective rings, so I tried to remove it, only to find the particular lamp I had bought had an irremovable dome. Quick thinking Dee rushed to the bedroom and brought out a white shirt. We stretched the fabric over the dome and it diffused the light quite well, but not well enough. This light certainly isn't the holy grail of budget lighting I was hoping, in fact, until I make some kind of modification, it is beyond useless.

I'm beginning to think I should perhaps spray-paint the inside of the reflective dome with a matte white finish so the light is still reflected but it loses the harsh ringed reflections from the dome. Come to think of it, my dome is a lot more glossy than the dome in the video. I'm talking reflector dome here, and not my head, although let's be honest, my dome does get glossy.

I pulled out my old worklight to compare it to the horrible unusable light the lamp was giving off, and the worklight, despite giving off the light and heat of a small nuclear explosion, gave a far more consistent light. Why did I ever doubt you, worklight?

It's hard to escape the feeling that sometimes travelling on this journey is basically lurching from one disappointment to the next. Maybe I shouldn't have let myself get so fucking excited about a lamp, like it was the answer to all my problems.

TONIGHT - BACALAO FILMING

Got a lot of stuff to take to work with me today, because I'm going straight from work to meet Sofia. On previous trips to work when I've had to come "equipped" I have injured my wrists carrying all this stuff across various trains and tubes, so today I have opted for the big dusty suitcase on wheels. Pulled it out from under the bed, vacuumed all the dust off it, and loaded up. I got my camera case, big tripod, worklight, worklight stand (the nuclear fucker will burn a hole in whatever it sits on otherwise), external microphone and leads. The camera case itself takes up 85% of the suitcase, the rest is wedged all around it. The tripod is massive, but it's wedged into a large outside pocket on the front of the case. Get in! Moving this around the streets of London is still a chore, but it's not the it complete bummer it has been previously. As I dragged the case along the uneven cobbled streets, the rattling of the wheels concerned me. I know that the camera is not meant to be subject to vibration, and I was having bad visions of the camera being shaken into tiny pieces inside it's foam casing. I'll keep you posted.

Ran out of time for breakfast this morning because I forgot the microphone and had to rush to find and pack it. Powered down through some mini cheddars and a fruit corner once I got to work. I'm feeling powerful. Let's see how long that lasts.

Catch-up time!

Been a bit of a while between updates.
HOUDINI

The big news is that I have got a new project, filming a music video for Medway noiseniks Houdini. They are friends of Frau Pouch, the band I filmed live a while back at New Cross. We're just in the planning stages at the moment, but it's exciting, and this is a first for me - to be filming a video for a band that I wasn't already friends with. This is the litmus test, my first foray into commissioned work. They are a tight, furiously talented band and I urge you to see them live if you get the chance. They play Medway and London on a semi-regular basis. Catch them with Frau Pouch if the opportunity arises, for a double whammy of filth and noise.

Check them out here: http://www.reverbnation.com/houdinisaur

LIGHTING

So the new video is in the pipeline and I really want to use this opportunity to elevate the visual quality of my videos (only time will tell if the opportunity is utilised) so I have ordered a new light to illuminate my video subjects. I want to keep it simple and inexpensive, although I do admit I did have a browse through some "proper" lights with tripods and dimmers and barn doors and all that fancy malarkey - however, money is too tight to mention, as the wise man once said (before contradicting himself by talking about money money) and it behooves me to seek a more frugal measure. I have written before about worklights, and how I utilised a worklight I had bought several years ago (to illuminate a night-time barbecue party) as a possible film-making solution. Some of the budget film-makers on the net don't rate worklights as a decent lighting tool and insist that proper lights are the only way to go, and while some of that may be equipment snobbery, there is actually a valid argument here. This excellent little tutorial video makes clear points and actually proposes an even cheaper solution than worklights which works a lot better.

The video suggests using reflector lamps as a point light, the kind you might use to illuminate and heat a reptile vivarium. It's a simple average glass bulb in a metal reflector dome, and it comes with a clamp so you can fix it to objects.

A far cheaper solution and a more controllable light than worklights, which can be a little overpowering as they are essentially halogen floodlights.

A top tip from the video is to use bulbs where the visible filament is small and straight, rather than curly, twisted or circular in shape. It means checking your bulb before you buy, but it means you get sharp crisp shadows (thanks to the straight filament) rather than the fuzzy, graded shadows that are caused by light rays being thrown every which way. I paid a little more to get a lamp that could take a bulb up to 250watts so I had the option to go bright. When the lamp arrives I'll let you know how it works! I'll be using it as a point light for the Houdini shoot and also next Monday, when I will be filming some footage of a theatre show performance for the Bacalao Theatre Company, a project I took on a little while ago.

BACALAO

Sofia, an old friend of mine and a talented performer, singer and actress is promoting her one-woman show, titled simply Sofia - The Show, an autobiographical piece about her childhood in Portugal and her life in London. What's interesting about the show is that it will take place in unusual spaces, such as people's homes which will be opened as public space. Sofia contacted me to help her and her director, Marianne, get a video sample of their work for their website, with the eventual aim of using the footage to show to possible backers to get funding for their new show. I filmed some footage of Sofia performing the show in a theatre space recently but time ran out on us, and I was really disappointed with the quality of the footage once I got it home. The room was dark and we had no extra lighting, so I had to use a wide open aperture, which when combined with the zoom meant that I had a really shallow depth of focus which made it hard to focus on Sofia as she moved about the stage. Sofia's vibrant red clothing - which looked fine on the viewfinder - came out bizarrely blocky and pixelated once I saw the footage enlarged. Another blow came in the form of the audio, which suffered from the loud air conditioning in the studio space. While human ears soon tuned out the drone, the microphone was not so kind. A little more experience (and equipment) and perhaps I could have taken steps to minimise this, but I learn hard lessons on every shoot I do.
Marianne and Sofia were both really great on the night and gave it their all, and I felt gutted that I couldn't give them something that reflected that.

I loved Sofia's work and both her and Marianne are really lovely genuine people, so I want to give them something that can benefit them. I hope I can salvage some footage of the performance and combine it with what we film on Monday. They've both worked so hard to organise all of this and I really want to help.

This may sound really obvious, but I am discovering that it's really not easy to do something well. It's difficult.

SURVIVING THE TOILET CIRCUIT

This project has not gone away, but has been put back a little. Not too much to talk about at this stage, things are still happening behind the scenes, and it all still feel a little vague and up in the air. I must admit, Mark from the Explorer's Collective has been prodding me for a meet-up, and I really should get together with him and talk about it. I've been keeping myself out of the loop because the guys involved have some stuff to work through - outside of the filming - and I don't want to muddy that. Time to catch up though.

BRAIN FIGHT

This has also slipped into the background as I have been so busy lately... now I am worried that it will soon be too cold/dark/wet to be able to organise a large group of people for an outdoor filming session. I must contact Joe of Frau Pouch and have a chat.

BIKE

Not video related, but I bought a bike last week, using my workplace cyclescheme. Should be picking it up in a few days. I'm unfit, overweight, and broke... so cycling should save me a lot of money on my exorbitant monthly train fares. Well, we'll just have to see how it goes!