On Monday 18th March I will be filming Houdini playing live. I really enjoy getting stuck in with live performance, moving around the throng of the crowd with the main camera to get nice close angles on the performers, with a camcorder set up on a tripod getting a good angle of the band and crowd to use as cover shots.
Sometimes I manage to convince someone to lend me a second camcorder so I can get two angles as cover which gives me a few more options when putting the final cut together. It's good to have more than you need when filming something live and unrepeatable.
Until the 18th I will continue to plug away at a new Astralis video. It was only yesterday that I finally got all the footage labelled, catalogued and inserted. So now I have my ball of clay, but I definitely don't have a sculpture just yet.
I'm still working with Final Cut Express as I haven't quite saved up enough for Final Cut Pro X yet. The difficult part will be the changeover, for simplicities sake I want to completely finalise all my projects with my current editing software before moving over. This means finishing Where's My Milk You Bastard and the Three Sided Football footage as well. The former is being polished up and added to on a weekly basis, the latter has been sadly sidelined while I wrestle other projects but should be receiving some attention soon.
Projects... so easy to start so hard to finish. Must be more disciplined.
Showing posts with label new project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new project. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Monday, 17 September 2012
Post foley session
Dee and I took a few hours out yesterday to record a list of noises for an upcoming project. We needed things like doors closing, fridges humming, bottles clinking. Nothing too exciting.
I have no devices specifically for recording audio so I used the Canon XL1S camera. I dedicated a miniDV tape specifically for foley purposes. Basically I'm capturing video but with the lens cap on, as all I care about here is the audio. I didn't use the onboard microphone that comes with the XL1S but instead a nice sennheiser boom/shotgun microphone that was donated to me a few years ago. It has a pistol grip and rubber dampers to prevent sound or vibration travelling up into the microphone and a removable fluffy windguard so it can be used outdoors
I used my recently bought headphones plugged into the audio output of the camera so I could hear everything the microphone was picking up. I'm always suprised by the intense sensitivity of the microphone. You can hear everything, from planes and vehicles going past to neighbours squabbling, cats meowing from the other side of the house and boilers running. If the microphone cables knock or drag then that is picked up as a loud noise. It's imperative to be as graceful as possible while holding the microphone, constantly being aware of the cables of the microphone and of the headphones, which are all plugging into the same area on the back of the camera so they do tend to tangle with one another and create noise. Then there is the camera itself, it's heavy and cumbersome and at times it was difficult to hold the camera, operate the microphone with care and also to keep an eye on the audio level meter which is on the camera body. It never became impossible but it was frequently tricky.
My favourite moments - standing with Dee in the sunny garden recording outdoor ambience. We took turns with the headphones and you could hear distant birdsong, rustling leaves, and bees buzzing past the microphone in flight. It was really beautiful. We weren't even recording at this point, we were just listening. I also loved recording the freezer - once the door was opened you could hear all of the ice shifting and crackling as the room temperature air mingled with the cold air. It sounded like being inside an iceberg. You can't hear it with the naked ear, but with the microphone it sounds amazing.
We got half the list recorded and uploaded. Next step is recording the rest of them, then getting the sounds into the short film.
I'll keep you posted!
We got half the list recorded and uploaded. Next step is recording the rest of them, then getting the sounds into the short film.
I'll keep you posted!
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Foley day! And where's my milk, you bastard?
Let's open the blog post with a big reveal. The title of the long-gestating new project is:
I've got the first edit a little tighter. It's not quite ready for public consumption yet but it is getting a bit better with each pass. Now it's time to fill in all those audio gaps, which means...
Today is foley day! Dee and I will be arming ourselves with our trusty microphone and recording footsteps, fridges, ambient noises and background audio.
As for how I am going to capture the audio, I will be recording from the microphone directly into the camera as I have no separate sound recorder. I am going to dedicate one DV tape as my foley tape, which will always be used for this purpose on any future shoots. Re-recording over a DV tape can eventually cause the audio and visuals to creep apart and no longer run in time with one another, but as I am only recording audio I will likely leave the lens cap on for most of it, so I'm not too worried.
I should probably keep a separate foley folder for all the sounds I capture, some may get re-used for other projects.
You can actually buy or download a lot of these everyday sounds, but I prefer to capture my own. I am able to use the same equipment I capture dialogue with and choose the same settings, so that acoustically everything sounds in context. It's harder work, but it's satisfying and the end result should be better because of it. Plus I get to learn!
Wish us luck, we've got a long-ass list, hopefully we can get a fair bit done today.
Where's My Milk You Bastard?
Today is foley day! Dee and I will be arming ourselves with our trusty microphone and recording footsteps, fridges, ambient noises and background audio.
As for how I am going to capture the audio, I will be recording from the microphone directly into the camera as I have no separate sound recorder. I am going to dedicate one DV tape as my foley tape, which will always be used for this purpose on any future shoots. Re-recording over a DV tape can eventually cause the audio and visuals to creep apart and no longer run in time with one another, but as I am only recording audio I will likely leave the lens cap on for most of it, so I'm not too worried.
I should probably keep a separate foley folder for all the sounds I capture, some may get re-used for other projects.
You can actually buy or download a lot of these everyday sounds, but I prefer to capture my own. I am able to use the same equipment I capture dialogue with and choose the same settings, so that acoustically everything sounds in context. It's harder work, but it's satisfying and the end result should be better because of it. Plus I get to learn!
Wish us luck, we've got a long-ass list, hopefully we can get a fair bit done today.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Three sided football
Well, the showreel was assembled but sadly the opportunity that lurked on the horizon has darted off into the distance for now, but never mind! While the current project slowly bubbles away in the background a new video-making opportunity has come knocking at my door.
Owen - friend, librarian, beard owner and all-round good guy - is a member of the team behind the Plumstead Make Merry festival. They also have a hand in other events such as the upcoming Three Sided Football tournament and it seems that the tournament is a great opportunity to get some video up on the website. It's also a great opportunity to answer the question: What the hell is three sided football?!
For those not familiar, three sided football is a game in which the typical "us against them" confrontational nature of two-sided football is replaced by a strange mix of game theory and tactical play. It is played on a hexagonal pitch with three goals and three teams.
The winner is not the team that scores the most goals, but the team that concedes the least. As one team starts to gain a lead on the other two teams, it is in those team's interest to team-up against the current leader. Allies become enemies become allies, with allegiances constantly switching as each team tries to keep the ball out of their own net. It's a fascinating concept and I can't wait to see a game in action. As a video project I imagine it will be a lot of fun to create and I'll be working closely with Owen at every stage to bring it together. We're going to film the tournament and also some talking heads so that we can not only show you the game, but also put it in context and explain how it works!
For more about the philisophical roots of the game, check the wikipedia page.
For now, it's time to crack on with the short film for Mark and Frazer, I need to finish that first! Ah, projects, so easy to start, so hard to finish! It never quite feels perfect.
Owen - friend, librarian, beard owner and all-round good guy - is a member of the team behind the Plumstead Make Merry festival. They also have a hand in other events such as the upcoming Three Sided Football tournament and it seems that the tournament is a great opportunity to get some video up on the website. It's also a great opportunity to answer the question: What the hell is three sided football?!
For those not familiar, three sided football is a game in which the typical "us against them" confrontational nature of two-sided football is replaced by a strange mix of game theory and tactical play. It is played on a hexagonal pitch with three goals and three teams.
The winner is not the team that scores the most goals, but the team that concedes the least. As one team starts to gain a lead on the other two teams, it is in those team's interest to team-up against the current leader. Allies become enemies become allies, with allegiances constantly switching as each team tries to keep the ball out of their own net. It's a fascinating concept and I can't wait to see a game in action. As a video project I imagine it will be a lot of fun to create and I'll be working closely with Owen at every stage to bring it together. We're going to film the tournament and also some talking heads so that we can not only show you the game, but also put it in context and explain how it works!
For more about the philisophical roots of the game, check the wikipedia page.
For now, it's time to crack on with the short film for Mark and Frazer, I need to finish that first! Ah, projects, so easy to start, so hard to finish! It never quite feels perfect.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Rough cut of the new project nearly ready.
I've almost finished the first (reeeaaallly) rough cut of the New Project. Just got one more scene (of eight) to cobble together and then it's done. After that I just need to fine tune the scenes, edit them down to make them tight, play with the audio tracks and record any foley sounds and effects, then it will be ready to show to Mark and Frazer. The ever patient Mark and Frazer.
After that it will be a bit more tidying up and working out how to transition between the different scenes, then colour correcting where needed, adding titles and credits. Very short credits!
I have to admit that I have spent a little too much time with some scenes, meaning that they are almost finished while others are barely started. I will be a little more disciplined from now on and be sure to finish one job before moving on to the next.
Once the (reeeaaallly) rough cut is ready I can watch it with a notepad and take note of all the scenes that need extra audio. Getting the audio fixed is the next step.
Some scenes were actually filmed without audio - with the intention of adding it later. A lot of this extra audio was pre-planned and recorded on the day - this is where obsessive note taking comes in. Sometimes I wish I had an assistant just to take notes (and make me tea?), but I'm trying to do everything myself, the benefit is that it forces me to be efficient (or to make horrible mistakes and learn the errors of my ways).
Other scenes will need the audio recorded, which should be fun both to record and to edit in to the main mix.
This is provided I can stay out of the hospital! In three days I've had three cars run me off the road in London while cycling. Each one was a damn close call. I'm beginning to wonder if someone has it in for me.
Thanks for reading!
 |
| I found this when I google image searched "patient". Not really relevant. |
After that it will be a bit more tidying up and working out how to transition between the different scenes, then colour correcting where needed, adding titles and credits. Very short credits!
I have to admit that I have spent a little too much time with some scenes, meaning that they are almost finished while others are barely started. I will be a little more disciplined from now on and be sure to finish one job before moving on to the next.
Once the (reeeaaallly) rough cut is ready I can watch it with a notepad and take note of all the scenes that need extra audio. Getting the audio fixed is the next step.
Some scenes were actually filmed without audio - with the intention of adding it later. A lot of this extra audio was pre-planned and recorded on the day - this is where obsessive note taking comes in. Sometimes I wish I had an assistant just to take notes (and make me tea?), but I'm trying to do everything myself, the benefit is that it forces me to be efficient (or to make horrible mistakes and learn the errors of my ways).
Other scenes will need the audio recorded, which should be fun both to record and to edit in to the main mix.
This is provided I can stay out of the hospital! In three days I've had three cars run me off the road in London while cycling. Each one was a damn close call. I'm beginning to wonder if someone has it in for me.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Second half of the New Project filmed!
After multiple delays and cancellations over the past few months, Frazer, Mark, Boppy the tomcat and myself finally reconvened at Chez Fraz in Watford to finish shooting the footage for our ten minute long video project.
(click the "new project" tag for more posts about the project)
We had already got the first half of the project in the bag in February so we only had half the scenes to shoot. Last time we took a while to get the ball rolling but this time we were quicker. We knew were to store the bags, how to set the rooms up, and we learned lessons last time. We got filming quickly and the day moved along at a good clip. We started early and, to my surprise we finished early, by 7pm.
We didn't break for lunch (again) but we snacked on biscuits and crisps throughout the day. Which got me thinking, is it better to graze during a film shoot or break for lunch? The hour we saved was certainly a bonus and I never felt hungry as the day went on. I only wish I'd bought better food, there's only so many Oreos a man can eat in one day and still function fully. Towards the end I was feeling like a bit of a monster.
On the subject of filming, what I found interesting was that no matter how well prepared we felt for a scene, we would always find ourselves re-inventing it. There was always this gap between theory and practice, but on a Friday in a house in Watford the gap felt massive. What we planned in our heads or on paper just seemed so different when people were actually acting it out in front of you. We re-assessed and reworked every scene collaboratively, paced around the house and tried ideas out, finding what works and what doesn't. Even something as simple as walking to the fridge while on the phone became a tricky puzzle. I'm not sure if we were overthinking it or perhaps just seeing things properly for the first time. There's so much that we do unconsciously, and when asked to replicate natural behaviour for the camera suddenly even basic movement becomes surreal. Well, none of us are trained or even practised at any of this stuff, so we're learning a lot as we go! Hopefully that theory/practice gap will be a bit smaller next time.
Still, we got the lot done, I got to see Frazer play a few minutes of Dark Souls on the 360 (looks great!) and Mark and I cracked open some cold beers on the cab ride home. The cab company sent a nice spacious black-cab style car so we got to stretch our legs and pretend it was a limo.
Very happy with how it all went. I'm yet to see the footage as I'm still working on the Soup Studio session video and I need to keep everything compartmentalised.
(click the "new project" tag for more posts about the project)
We had already got the first half of the project in the bag in February so we only had half the scenes to shoot. Last time we took a while to get the ball rolling but this time we were quicker. We knew were to store the bags, how to set the rooms up, and we learned lessons last time. We got filming quickly and the day moved along at a good clip. We started early and, to my surprise we finished early, by 7pm.
We didn't break for lunch (again) but we snacked on biscuits and crisps throughout the day. Which got me thinking, is it better to graze during a film shoot or break for lunch? The hour we saved was certainly a bonus and I never felt hungry as the day went on. I only wish I'd bought better food, there's only so many Oreos a man can eat in one day and still function fully. Towards the end I was feeling like a bit of a monster.
On the subject of filming, what I found interesting was that no matter how well prepared we felt for a scene, we would always find ourselves re-inventing it. There was always this gap between theory and practice, but on a Friday in a house in Watford the gap felt massive. What we planned in our heads or on paper just seemed so different when people were actually acting it out in front of you. We re-assessed and reworked every scene collaboratively, paced around the house and tried ideas out, finding what works and what doesn't. Even something as simple as walking to the fridge while on the phone became a tricky puzzle. I'm not sure if we were overthinking it or perhaps just seeing things properly for the first time. There's so much that we do unconsciously, and when asked to replicate natural behaviour for the camera suddenly even basic movement becomes surreal. Well, none of us are trained or even practised at any of this stuff, so we're learning a lot as we go! Hopefully that theory/practice gap will be a bit smaller next time.
Still, we got the lot done, I got to see Frazer play a few minutes of Dark Souls on the 360 (looks great!) and Mark and I cracked open some cold beers on the cab ride home. The cab company sent a nice spacious black-cab style car so we got to stretch our legs and pretend it was a limo.
Very happy with how it all went. I'm yet to see the footage as I'm still working on the Soup Studio session video and I need to keep everything compartmentalised.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
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!
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!
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!
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Faster than a speeding bullet
It's all go this week. Sometimes I have trouble updating the blog because I have nothing to say, other times I just have no time to say everything.
Friday
Filming the "new project" finally on Friday. Don't know if we'll get it all done, but it would be nice to get halfway through! Heading straight out to Watford with Mark, where we'll meet Frazer and we'll get cracking with the filming. The day is falling fast upon us and I'm going over the script from lots of different angles trying to make sure I've got everything covered, that we'll have all the props, how each scene will be lit, where I will put the mic, the state of the house and the depth of beardyness we need Frazer to be rocking. I'm trying to make sure I really know it all inside out and that I can keep the whole thing feeling "together". I'm glad we've already had the test run. We're in good stead. I've already made my inventory list for the day, so that we don't arrive at Watford only to discover we're missing our tapes or audio cables. I don't quite feel prepared, but then again, I don't think you ever feel ready. It's tough, combining the work required for these video shoots with a full time job, a long cycle commute (in the freezing fucking cold), spending quality time with Dee and the dog, not to mention a heavy compulsion to do nothing but play Skyrim and eat Shreddies for 72 hours in a row.
Saturday
It's a busy weekend, filming Friday, back at work for Saturday, then finally home for some relaxation on Sunday. Both myself and Dee have been so busy and pre-occupied lately that we have forgotten that Saturday is our 8 year anniversary! And I'll be at work! Terrible timing. I'm hoping we can out for a meal together on Sunday, we don't get to do that sort of thing enough, and times are hard financially, as I'm sure many of you reading this will attest.
Next Friday
Next Friday I'm meeting Andy from Syncrovise to shoot my first product information video. We're doing it for one of his Syncrovise clients, I imagine we should get all the taping done in 5 or 6 hours.
I've also got a paid gig coming up with Andy filming a website segment for a company that erects estate agent signs. I can't thank Andy enough for the support he's shown in getting me started up with proper work. If all goes well perhaps Syncrovise will be able to offer basic video work as part of their website creation package and Andy can keep the odd video job coming my way. I'd be happy with that! My major goal is to create a short film that I can be proud of. It's what I've wanted to do ever since I started. But if I can get paid while earning experience working with a camera in different environments and bossing people about, as well as drinking tea while editing (biscuits optional but risky for the keyboard), then HECK YES sign me up.
The Mayor is Outside (but he'll never find me)
I'm at my day job right now and as I type this Boris Johnson is just outside my building getting ready to officially cut the ribbon on Exhibition Road, which has recently been rebuilt into a shared traffic/pedestrian space, a (quite nice actually) open paved area that reaches from South Kensington station all the way up to Hyde Park. I'd go and check it out if I wasn't trying to squeeze every industrious minute out of my tea break before I go back to work. Realistically, I don't even have time to write this blog entry!
I wonder if there will be acrobats and toffee apple stands? That's what happens at these things, right? Ah well, back to the grind, and I'll have more for you soon!
Friday
Filming the "new project" finally on Friday. Don't know if we'll get it all done, but it would be nice to get halfway through! Heading straight out to Watford with Mark, where we'll meet Frazer and we'll get cracking with the filming. The day is falling fast upon us and I'm going over the script from lots of different angles trying to make sure I've got everything covered, that we'll have all the props, how each scene will be lit, where I will put the mic, the state of the house and the depth of beardyness we need Frazer to be rocking. I'm trying to make sure I really know it all inside out and that I can keep the whole thing feeling "together". I'm glad we've already had the test run. We're in good stead. I've already made my inventory list for the day, so that we don't arrive at Watford only to discover we're missing our tapes or audio cables. I don't quite feel prepared, but then again, I don't think you ever feel ready. It's tough, combining the work required for these video shoots with a full time job, a long cycle commute (in the freezing fucking cold), spending quality time with Dee and the dog, not to mention a heavy compulsion to do nothing but play Skyrim and eat Shreddies for 72 hours in a row.
Saturday
It's a busy weekend, filming Friday, back at work for Saturday, then finally home for some relaxation on Sunday. Both myself and Dee have been so busy and pre-occupied lately that we have forgotten that Saturday is our 8 year anniversary! And I'll be at work! Terrible timing. I'm hoping we can out for a meal together on Sunday, we don't get to do that sort of thing enough, and times are hard financially, as I'm sure many of you reading this will attest.
Next Friday
Next Friday I'm meeting Andy from Syncrovise to shoot my first product information video. We're doing it for one of his Syncrovise clients, I imagine we should get all the taping done in 5 or 6 hours.
I've also got a paid gig coming up with Andy filming a website segment for a company that erects estate agent signs. I can't thank Andy enough for the support he's shown in getting me started up with proper work. If all goes well perhaps Syncrovise will be able to offer basic video work as part of their website creation package and Andy can keep the odd video job coming my way. I'd be happy with that! My major goal is to create a short film that I can be proud of. It's what I've wanted to do ever since I started. But if I can get paid while earning experience working with a camera in different environments and bossing people about, as well as drinking tea while editing (biscuits optional but risky for the keyboard), then HECK YES sign me up.
The Mayor is Outside (but he'll never find me)
I'm at my day job right now and as I type this Boris Johnson is just outside my building getting ready to officially cut the ribbon on Exhibition Road, which has recently been rebuilt into a shared traffic/pedestrian space, a (quite nice actually) open paved area that reaches from South Kensington station all the way up to Hyde Park. I'd go and check it out if I wasn't trying to squeeze every industrious minute out of my tea break before I go back to work. Realistically, I don't even have time to write this blog entry!
I wonder if there will be acrobats and toffee apple stands? That's what happens at these things, right? Ah well, back to the grind, and I'll have more for you soon!
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Friday's filmed rehearsal of the New Project
On Friday Mark, Frazer and I gathered at Mark's house to shoot our "dry-run" pre-recording recording. We basically act out the storyboard as a filmed rehearsal. We get to work out a lot of logistical problems in this early stage and the editing (of which I am halfway through) also lets me get a good feel of how the final piece will come together, and helps me identify what we need to change.
These filmed rehearsal sessions are normally a pretty laid back affair, we're not doing it on location so we're only working on an amalgamation of what the final project will be like. We don't have a lot of time before we film "for real" so we've had to settle for a date and location we could all do, but this didn't give us ideal conditions. Mark had just got back from Slovakia the day before, and the kids were home and Mark and Jana were hosting a dinner party in the evening. Now, I do take these pre-recording recordings seriously, we all do, but it does get hard to keep the focus when we're working among barking dogs (any given day at my place) or arriving dinner guests or baby poop emergencies. The fact that we're also not working on location means that we're only guessing how the final filming will work.
These sessions are useful, but I feel they could be more useful, and I feel that I should plan them better. What I don't want to do however, is basically film the project twice, once as a "rehearsal" and then again as the final piece. I purposefully hold back during the rehearsal, and I don't insist on repeated takes or solid acting performances. I worry that the best performances will be in the rehearsal but the best lighting will be in the final version. I felt that we might have hit some of these problems when we did the Bangers and Mash music video, some of the spontaneity gets lost in repetition. My hope is that by having our rehearsal off-location we can all save ourselves from "going through the motions" and the event can feel fresh. This approach has it's own problems though, the biggie being that I'm not seeing the location (in person) until the day of filming.
I'm currently putting the video together from our rehearsal footage, and straight away I'm seeing lots that I want to change, so I'm happy we have this opportunity to iron out the kinks and to make a better version. I also have a better understanding of the sound issues we might face and continuity/camera movement.
As fun as it is seeing the project come to life, it is also painful because my work is so badly done. We filmed it mostly in one room, so the footage feels repetitive. The room served as several different "sets" depending on which corner we were in, including a toy kitchen that Mark's eldest, Oliver, would use to serve up slices of plastic toast to us as we filmed. He also proved to be a useful AD, and would operate the clapper board and yell "action" before a take. The kid's got a big future! Of course, Frazer looked ridiculous in the toy kitchen and there are only so many camera angles you can use when filming a full grown man on his knees at a toy oven. Hopefully filming in Frazer's actual kitchen will give us a lot more scope for moving around (unless it's as small as my kitchen. Dee and I tried to cook dinner together a few days ago and all those knives and hot saucepans whizzing around in close proximity was pretty risky).
Basically, I'm making a shitty version of the film on purpose just so that I can remake it better. My rehearsal filmings always feel like this.
I would never show ANYONE (not directly involved with the project) the rehearsal footage because I'm not even trying to make it with any standards. It's more important that I get done badly and finished than I get it done well and don't finish it. You can imagine my horror when one of Mark's dinner guests (a video production professional no less) arrived early and dropped in on us while we were filming. I stopped abruptly and my focus shifted quickly from getting the filming finished to doing just about anything else, helping Mark with his PC optimization problems,and standing around reading the script over and over like I'm arranging everything in my head, basically just buying time. I also felt for Frazer, who I'm sure didn't want to act in front of an audience, especially when that audience actually knew more than a thing or two about filmmaking, and we knew a grand total of jackshit. Andy is a nice guy - he even gave me a lift home with all my gear after the filmed rehearsal, but it's like Bruce Lee walking in on your ten-year-old self while you practice crane kicks and kung-fu faces in the mirror. I still can't help feeling like an utter fraud in those situations.
Call it shame, call it paranoia, I knew what I was making was shitty, but I didn't want anyone else to see it in case they think that this is me on any given day, a shitty filmmaker who rushes everything and doesn't even stop to consider what he is doing.
Or maybe that's exactly what I am, and I don't want anyone to know it.
These filmed rehearsal sessions are normally a pretty laid back affair, we're not doing it on location so we're only working on an amalgamation of what the final project will be like. We don't have a lot of time before we film "for real" so we've had to settle for a date and location we could all do, but this didn't give us ideal conditions. Mark had just got back from Slovakia the day before, and the kids were home and Mark and Jana were hosting a dinner party in the evening. Now, I do take these pre-recording recordings seriously, we all do, but it does get hard to keep the focus when we're working among barking dogs (any given day at my place) or arriving dinner guests or baby poop emergencies. The fact that we're also not working on location means that we're only guessing how the final filming will work.
These sessions are useful, but I feel they could be more useful, and I feel that I should plan them better. What I don't want to do however, is basically film the project twice, once as a "rehearsal" and then again as the final piece. I purposefully hold back during the rehearsal, and I don't insist on repeated takes or solid acting performances. I worry that the best performances will be in the rehearsal but the best lighting will be in the final version. I felt that we might have hit some of these problems when we did the Bangers and Mash music video, some of the spontaneity gets lost in repetition. My hope is that by having our rehearsal off-location we can all save ourselves from "going through the motions" and the event can feel fresh. This approach has it's own problems though, the biggie being that I'm not seeing the location (in person) until the day of filming.
I'm currently putting the video together from our rehearsal footage, and straight away I'm seeing lots that I want to change, so I'm happy we have this opportunity to iron out the kinks and to make a better version. I also have a better understanding of the sound issues we might face and continuity/camera movement.
As fun as it is seeing the project come to life, it is also painful because my work is so badly done. We filmed it mostly in one room, so the footage feels repetitive. The room served as several different "sets" depending on which corner we were in, including a toy kitchen that Mark's eldest, Oliver, would use to serve up slices of plastic toast to us as we filmed. He also proved to be a useful AD, and would operate the clapper board and yell "action" before a take. The kid's got a big future! Of course, Frazer looked ridiculous in the toy kitchen and there are only so many camera angles you can use when filming a full grown man on his knees at a toy oven. Hopefully filming in Frazer's actual kitchen will give us a lot more scope for moving around (unless it's as small as my kitchen. Dee and I tried to cook dinner together a few days ago and all those knives and hot saucepans whizzing around in close proximity was pretty risky).
Basically, I'm making a shitty version of the film on purpose just so that I can remake it better. My rehearsal filmings always feel like this.
I would never show ANYONE (not directly involved with the project) the rehearsal footage because I'm not even trying to make it with any standards. It's more important that I get done badly and finished than I get it done well and don't finish it. You can imagine my horror when one of Mark's dinner guests (a video production professional no less) arrived early and dropped in on us while we were filming. I stopped abruptly and my focus shifted quickly from getting the filming finished to doing just about anything else, helping Mark with his PC optimization problems,and standing around reading the script over and over like I'm arranging everything in my head, basically just buying time. I also felt for Frazer, who I'm sure didn't want to act in front of an audience, especially when that audience actually knew more than a thing or two about filmmaking, and we knew a grand total of jackshit. Andy is a nice guy - he even gave me a lift home with all my gear after the filmed rehearsal, but it's like Bruce Lee walking in on your ten-year-old self while you practice crane kicks and kung-fu faces in the mirror. I still can't help feeling like an utter fraud in those situations.
Call it shame, call it paranoia, I knew what I was making was shitty, but I didn't want anyone else to see it in case they think that this is me on any given day, a shitty filmmaker who rushes everything and doesn't even stop to consider what he is doing.
Or maybe that's exactly what I am, and I don't want anyone to know it.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
New Year, New Vids
Well Christmas is over but I'm still on my long break - got one week left and I'm luxuriating... lazy days and long nights! Still waiting on a couple of Christmas presents, with some lost in the post. Working my way through our liquor collection having already sunk all of our Christmas and New Years wine. Tis the season to be pickled.
I made some videos last night, while playing with some footage I captured and listening to Nowa Huta's soundcloud. Quite by accident the two just seemed to fuse together beautifully.
Here's the two videos I impromptuly made (my spell check says that is NOT a word), to go with two songs from the new Nowa Huta release, Real Gold City.
As you can see they are different treatments of the same footage, the first just uses the basic footage I captured, the second I tried to be a bit more experimental and merged several layers at high contrast and in different colours. I used an additive composite to turn the black backgrounds invisible, so each layer affected each one underneath it with the colours mixing. As it turns out the first video, made from largely raw footage, was a lot more effective and fitting. Funny how that turns out sometimes! Anyway, they were just quick little projects with no planning, but it was nice to be working on something again.
You can probably tell where the footage is from, I have been hypnotised by the lava lamp I bought Dee for Christmas, so I tried to film it, but to get the image big enough to fill the screen so I really needed to zoom right in. Because of this the final footage is blurry but that gives it it's own special kind of weird glow which I really like.
Filming our test run of the new project on Friday! Will have more for you soon. Hope you all had a great Christmas and the new year that you wanted. It always ends up being a little disappointing, doesn't it? That's why I spend my new years getting drunk at home singing karaoke.
Speaking of drinking, I'm off to rustle up more alcohol.... fare thee well!!
I made some videos last night, while playing with some footage I captured and listening to Nowa Huta's soundcloud. Quite by accident the two just seemed to fuse together beautifully.
Here's the two videos I impromptuly made (my spell check says that is NOT a word), to go with two songs from the new Nowa Huta release, Real Gold City.
Nowa Huta - Real Gold City 3
Nowa Huta - Real Gold City 1
As you can see they are different treatments of the same footage, the first just uses the basic footage I captured, the second I tried to be a bit more experimental and merged several layers at high contrast and in different colours. I used an additive composite to turn the black backgrounds invisible, so each layer affected each one underneath it with the colours mixing. As it turns out the first video, made from largely raw footage, was a lot more effective and fitting. Funny how that turns out sometimes! Anyway, they were just quick little projects with no planning, but it was nice to be working on something again.
You can probably tell where the footage is from, I have been hypnotised by the lava lamp I bought Dee for Christmas, so I tried to film it, but to get the image big enough to fill the screen so I really needed to zoom right in. Because of this the final footage is blurry but that gives it it's own special kind of weird glow which I really like.
Filming our test run of the new project on Friday! Will have more for you soon. Hope you all had a great Christmas and the new year that you wanted. It always ends up being a little disappointing, doesn't it? That's why I spend my new years getting drunk at home singing karaoke.
Speaking of drinking, I'm off to rustle up more alcohol.... fare thee well!!
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Wheels, motion and daylight beards.
It's almost Christmas time! Looking forward to a nice long break. So what's been happening? Why, let me tell you!
Last night Frazer and Mark came round for a cup of tea and a script edit, and we finalised the exact story. We also worked out some of the logistical problems we'd be facing, coming up with second strategies for uncooperative cats and a complex formula for what we call the daylight/beard light ratio. We also agreed (at least I was immediately convinced) that Daylight Beard is a killer band name, and if nothing else, we will always have that as a fall-back.
We've set our date for the rehearsal filming (early Jan) and the actual filming (late Jan) and we'll have about a month to put it all together in post. It is a short film, probably only ten minutes or so in length, but I will be working on it only on evenings and weekends so I'm glad to have the time and not feel rushed. We may also have a title for the project but we're probably going to keep it under wraps until our first screening as it is tied in to the story itself.
Now that we have a solid foundation I can't wait to start storyboarding and working out all of our logistics, such as cat stunt doubles, shot order and editing plans. Typically, the pre-production (which for me means sketching and looking wistfully into the distance in deep rumination at the office) and post production (editing and sound) stages are the most creatively joyful, while the actual filming is the most stressful. When I say most stressful, I mean that relative to the stress levels of the rest of the project, which are practically zero, save the odd software crash or spilled tea. I love the filming days! And I'm getting better at being organised not getting overwhelmed.
Slowly.
I won't be posting again til after the holidays. All this fancy wine isn't going to drink itself.
Have a great Christmas everyone!
And keep one eye on the horizon for the upcoming album...
Last night Frazer and Mark came round for a cup of tea and a script edit, and we finalised the exact story. We also worked out some of the logistical problems we'd be facing, coming up with second strategies for uncooperative cats and a complex formula for what we call the daylight/beard light ratio. We also agreed (at least I was immediately convinced) that Daylight Beard is a killer band name, and if nothing else, we will always have that as a fall-back.
We've set our date for the rehearsal filming (early Jan) and the actual filming (late Jan) and we'll have about a month to put it all together in post. It is a short film, probably only ten minutes or so in length, but I will be working on it only on evenings and weekends so I'm glad to have the time and not feel rushed. We may also have a title for the project but we're probably going to keep it under wraps until our first screening as it is tied in to the story itself.
Now that we have a solid foundation I can't wait to start storyboarding and working out all of our logistics, such as cat stunt doubles, shot order and editing plans. Typically, the pre-production (which for me means sketching and looking wistfully into the distance in deep rumination at the office) and post production (editing and sound) stages are the most creatively joyful, while the actual filming is the most stressful. When I say most stressful, I mean that relative to the stress levels of the rest of the project, which are practically zero, save the odd software crash or spilled tea. I love the filming days! And I'm getting better at being organised not getting overwhelmed.
Slowly.
I won't be posting again til after the holidays. All this fancy wine isn't going to drink itself.
Have a great Christmas everyone!
And keep one eye on the horizon for the upcoming album...
Friday, 16 December 2011
As of today, we have a date set for the filming of our short. Mark, Frazer and I originally planned to shoot over the Christmas break but there is just too damned much Christmassing going on, so we will be shooting in late January.
Our deadline for completion is the end of February, by which point we plan to have the film ready to show and also to put online, so that all four of you reading this can watch it too!
Looking forward to setting sail for sunny Watford, where Frazer's home will double as our glamorous film set. I'm meeting Mark and Frazer on Wednesday to finalise the script, then I can do a final draft of the storyboards and (with a little luck) we can get together in London (probably either my place or Mark's) to film a test-run. This will give us an indication of how long it will take, what problems we will hit, and how the whole thing edits together. I really can't stress enough how useful I've found these informal filmed dress rehearsals to be, so many wrinkles get ironed out that it makes the final shoot so much simpler - but still of course, not without complications and troubles - I've learned to accept that nothing is ever going to go fully to plan, but as long as you're prepared then you can deal with problems as they arise, and there will beblood problems!
In the run up to the shoot, feel free to enjoy this sexy shot of our principal cast members, Frazer and Boppy, chilling in the sunshine.
More to come soon, until then, here's a clip of a waving bear.
Our deadline for completion is the end of February, by which point we plan to have the film ready to show and also to put online, so that all four of you reading this can watch it too!
Looking forward to setting sail for sunny Watford, where Frazer's home will double as our glamorous film set. I'm meeting Mark and Frazer on Wednesday to finalise the script, then I can do a final draft of the storyboards and (with a little luck) we can get together in London (probably either my place or Mark's) to film a test-run. This will give us an indication of how long it will take, what problems we will hit, and how the whole thing edits together. I really can't stress enough how useful I've found these informal filmed dress rehearsals to be, so many wrinkles get ironed out that it makes the final shoot so much simpler - but still of course, not without complications and troubles - I've learned to accept that nothing is ever going to go fully to plan, but as long as you're prepared then you can deal with problems as they arise, and there will be
In the run up to the shoot, feel free to enjoy this sexy shot of our principal cast members, Frazer and Boppy, chilling in the sunshine.
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| Sunshine seems like a distant memory... |
More to come soon, until then, here's a clip of a waving bear.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Happy Monday Everybody!
Going to try to keep a Mon/Thurs update schedule for the blog. Got enough on at the moment to keep this up, it should be a good motivator for me, too! Thought I'd give the blog a cleaner, less cluttered look too. I've got a couple of new pages up as well, including a friends page on which I list people I work with, want to work with, or recommend. Check it out, I'm sure it will grow as time goes on.
Codename: "New Project"
Got the majority of rough storyboarding done for this now, just working during the evenings sketching out ideas with a biro and clipboard. Some scenes are going to be re-worked but I should be meeting with Mark and Frazer soon over a beer to discuss the exact changes, and then I can prepare a storyboard that we can shoot our rough cut to!
We plan to be finished by February.
I've been cherry-picking bits on shot grammar and shot formation from some books in the library. I used a browser-based brainstorming tool (http://www.popplet.com/) to create a handy visual flow chart that I refer to when I storyboard scenes. This is my main board for that purpose:
Obviously this is something I've put together using my own shorthand so it might not be as useful to someone else, but I'm including the image as it's an exercise I highly recommend (popplet is a great site for creating something presentable, alternatively many people prefer to brainstorm more creatively by hand. There is no right or wrong way to do this!). It really helped me crystalise the process I need to go through when thinking about my shots. It's so easy to forget to be mindful of everything you need to pay attention to, especially when you're working essentially as a one-man crew. Of course, my shots and framing are usually far from perfect, but I am working on this! It's a good thing if your own work disappoints you, it keeps you moving forward. Here's that excellent Ira Glass quote on the subject of self-disappointment from a previous post if anyone missed it.
Bacalao Performance Company
The talented people at Bacalao have their own website up and running and you can find it here:
http://www.bacalaocompany.com/
You may remember I shot the trailer for Sofia The Show for Bacalao, and not too long ago I was delighted to be invited to a special one-off performance of the show. Sofia The Show is an autobiographical performance by Sofia Marques that takes place in her own house as she celebrates her birthday, and looks back on the particular tragic connection she shares with the date, as well as events that shaped her childhood in Portugal and her adult life in London. It was certainly the most intimate show I'd ever seen, and very moving! The whole evening was wonderfully put together and rather than slip out after the show ended, as I expected I would, Dee and I stayed for drinks and to talk with the other audience members, as well as the talent themselves, Marianne and Sofia. I felt honoured to be able to sit in on such a wonderful show.
Several months ago I introduced Sofia and Marianne of Bacalao to a friend of mine, Andy, who runs his own website development company. Andy worked closely with Bacalao to build the website they needed and his dedication and talent are not to be overlooked. If you're ever in the market for a professional website, I highly recommend him. Here's his site:
http://www.syncrovise.com/
Poetical Cabaret
One more very worthy plug! As well as being one half of Bacalao Performance Company, Sofia also co-runs the Poetical Cabaret, a multi-faceted performance night that runs a few times a month in London. It's free (although you can make a small donation to children's charities on the door) and the night features everything from poetry to comedy to burlesque to bands. It's a wonderful night out and I really recommend you go if you are ever in the neighbourhood! Regular nights are held at the excellent White Lion in Streatham and the Moustache Bar in Stoke Newington.
Well, that's me spent for today, check back on Thursday for the next installment. I hope you like the new look. Also, feel free to send any sympathy my way, I'm currently suffering under a heavy cloud of illness that has kept me out of human circulation for far too long. I will also accept cash, liquor, miniDV tapes or Xbox games.
Codename: "New Project"
Got the majority of rough storyboarding done for this now, just working during the evenings sketching out ideas with a biro and clipboard. Some scenes are going to be re-worked but I should be meeting with Mark and Frazer soon over a beer to discuss the exact changes, and then I can prepare a storyboard that we can shoot our rough cut to!
We plan to be finished by February.
I've been cherry-picking bits on shot grammar and shot formation from some books in the library. I used a browser-based brainstorming tool (http://www.popplet.com/) to create a handy visual flow chart that I refer to when I storyboard scenes. This is my main board for that purpose:
 |
| (click for larger) |
Bacalao Performance Company
The talented people at Bacalao have their own website up and running and you can find it here:
http://www.bacalaocompany.com/
You may remember I shot the trailer for Sofia The Show for Bacalao, and not too long ago I was delighted to be invited to a special one-off performance of the show. Sofia The Show is an autobiographical performance by Sofia Marques that takes place in her own house as she celebrates her birthday, and looks back on the particular tragic connection she shares with the date, as well as events that shaped her childhood in Portugal and her adult life in London. It was certainly the most intimate show I'd ever seen, and very moving! The whole evening was wonderfully put together and rather than slip out after the show ended, as I expected I would, Dee and I stayed for drinks and to talk with the other audience members, as well as the talent themselves, Marianne and Sofia. I felt honoured to be able to sit in on such a wonderful show.
Several months ago I introduced Sofia and Marianne of Bacalao to a friend of mine, Andy, who runs his own website development company. Andy worked closely with Bacalao to build the website they needed and his dedication and talent are not to be overlooked. If you're ever in the market for a professional website, I highly recommend him. Here's his site:
http://www.syncrovise.com/
Poetical Cabaret
One more very worthy plug! As well as being one half of Bacalao Performance Company, Sofia also co-runs the Poetical Cabaret, a multi-faceted performance night that runs a few times a month in London. It's free (although you can make a small donation to children's charities on the door) and the night features everything from poetry to comedy to burlesque to bands. It's a wonderful night out and I really recommend you go if you are ever in the neighbourhood! Regular nights are held at the excellent White Lion in Streatham and the Moustache Bar in Stoke Newington.
Well, that's me spent for today, check back on Thursday for the next installment. I hope you like the new look. Also, feel free to send any sympathy my way, I'm currently suffering under a heavy cloud of illness that has kept me out of human circulation for far too long. I will also accept cash, liquor, miniDV tapes or Xbox games.
Friday, 9 December 2011
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!
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
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:
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| The metal dome, very reflective. |
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| The light shining on a wall, horrible! |
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| After a quick spray-paint |
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| 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.
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.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Surviving The Toilet Circuit - A Brief Retrospective
These are some pictures that my partner Dee took while we were filming our first full scene for now-defunct project Surviving The Toilet Circuit.
It was a great experience. We were shooting in a stunning Whitehall block right on the riverside that we managed to get access to thanks to a friend. As you can see, when you're working without a crew, any moment that the cast aren't performing they will be holding lamps or microphones or operating the clapperboard. Dee found herself doing a lot of this too, when she wasn't taking pictures she was invaluable as my AD! I just want to add how wonderfully open, honest and helpful everyone was. I really enjoyed working with these guys.
Big thanks to the ever pleasant and ever hard-working Diana, Brian, Fiona, Vince T, Vince N, Pablo, Frazer Neil and Mark. An extra big thank you to Kitty for securing the flat for us to film in and for tarting up to play our working girl! You all gave so much time and energy to the project and I am so grateful for that.
The pictures are testament to how beautiful the flat and the building itself were. A really great location and opportunity. It doubled as label manager Clint Coxon's opulent pad for the purpose of the shoot.
If you're interested in what went wrong with the project, or why it ended up being unsustainable, I have written about it in a previous entry here.
Click for larger images.
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| Brian's scene - Clint: the decadent alcoholic label manager |
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| Setting up the corridor entrance |
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| Brian stepping in for soundman duties |
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| Fiona (playing the A&R agent Felicity) on soundman duties |
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| Neil - playing guitarist Mitch - relaxing in between scenes |
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| Frazer and a hard earned beer for his duties as co-writer and cast member |
The writers behind Surviving The Toilet Circuit, Frazer and (the unphotographed) Mark have co-written another project, a short film which we will be shooting this Christmas. One location, one main actor, ten minute running length. That sounds a little more digestible!
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Some real news!
Actual developments this time, not just posts about me playing Grand Theft Auto. Whatever next??
New Project!
Well I sat down for a drink and a (bloody lovely) burger with Mark and Frazer on Monday night, in a really flashy pub (Horniman's) by the riverside in London Bridge.
We talked through a lot of ideas for a short film, some of which I think had major potential to grow into really interesting projects. However, remembering how our last over-ambitious project ended up, we elected to go for the simplest possible. The reasoning being that if we can conquer a small project, we'll be better informed to take on a bigger project in the future and if it doesn't work out, it's no big loss. After all, no-one says we only have one project left in us. Might as well start small. Baby steps! I like Mark and Frazer a lot and I really trust their judgement and ideas. Frazer has written a couple of novels and in his efforts to get published, he recently got a literary agent, exciting times!
We settled on an idea that was set largely in a single location, with one main actor, and - perhaps riskily - an animal performance. We should be able to shoot it over a single weekend. More info to come soon! Mark and Frazer are working on the plot as you read this. It's not the most sweepingly ambitious of our ideas, but it will be the simplest to shoot. I'm really looking forward to storyboarding this idea, it feels like a much more appropriately sized project.
Does anyone else think of What About Bob whenever someone says baby steps?
Smashing Fun
I called into work this morning and arranged to take the day off as holiday, just feeling absolutely annihilated after cycling in to work for the last few weeks. 20 miles a day is a real shock to the system, not to mention the London traffic. Decided to be productive on my day off and picked up the laptop only to immediately drop it and absolutely shatter the screen.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkkk. Hopefully it's just the screen, need to plug it into a monitor (probably next week at work, no monitors in the house) and see if the rest survived. I don't know what the next step is. I probably need to stump up for a replacement screen.
Stand Up, Sit Down
Some news so fresh it is still piping hot and not entirely confirmed, but hopefully I'll be taping a stand-up show for new comic Robin Adams in the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to it! I think I'll try at least a two-camera set up, one main one on the man himself and a second one off to the side for coverage, depends on what I can get away with in the venue. Need to think about sound too, will be a good opportunity to get some experience here. Will find out what the venue will let me do! Maybe they won't allow any filming :-|
London
You know... sitting in that flashy pub I mentioned earlier surrounded by expensive suits really made me think of the weird relationship I have with this city. I always feel under-dressed in places like that. Probably due to my scraggy t-shirt and jeans look. I live in a pretty decent corner of the overall grubby/crimey/stabby suburb of Lewisham in Greater London (we had a good presence in the 2011 London riots!) but I work in South Kensington, one of the most affluent areas of the Central London, home of Harrods, the Royal Albert Hall and insanely high house prices. The further I get to the centre of the city, the more I feel like an outsider. I think it's a paradox I'm not alone in feeling, seeing as so many of us working in service positions can't afford to live anywhere near we work. It's a chasm I constantly feel that I'm standing near the edge of. I'm impressed by the city, but simultaneously I know it owes so much to the wealth divide. I love London, but it is a weird fucking place. On the plus side, it's one of the greatest and most tolerant melting pots on the planet. I got to say, I fucking love me some tolerance. We need to pump people full of it, because there is a shortage in this world.
Tag it and Bag it
As always I'll be using tags in these blog posts, so you can filter my posts by the project you're interested in. The new project is currently tagged... well... "new project"! I'll rename the tag once we have a title for the damned thing!
Saints Row The Third (is the word)
Don't even bother trying to contact me tomorrow. I'll be locked up indoors with Saints Row The Third, denying the existence of the outside world.
So Peter Jackson, if you need some fresh eyes for your new Hobbit movie, sorry son but I'm BUSY.
Bye :-)
New Project!
Well I sat down for a drink and a (bloody lovely) burger with Mark and Frazer on Monday night, in a really flashy pub (Horniman's) by the riverside in London Bridge.
We talked through a lot of ideas for a short film, some of which I think had major potential to grow into really interesting projects. However, remembering how our last over-ambitious project ended up, we elected to go for the simplest possible. The reasoning being that if we can conquer a small project, we'll be better informed to take on a bigger project in the future and if it doesn't work out, it's no big loss. After all, no-one says we only have one project left in us. Might as well start small. Baby steps! I like Mark and Frazer a lot and I really trust their judgement and ideas. Frazer has written a couple of novels and in his efforts to get published, he recently got a literary agent, exciting times!
We settled on an idea that was set largely in a single location, with one main actor, and - perhaps riskily - an animal performance. We should be able to shoot it over a single weekend. More info to come soon! Mark and Frazer are working on the plot as you read this. It's not the most sweepingly ambitious of our ideas, but it will be the simplest to shoot. I'm really looking forward to storyboarding this idea, it feels like a much more appropriately sized project.
Does anyone else think of What About Bob whenever someone says baby steps?
Smashing Fun
I called into work this morning and arranged to take the day off as holiday, just feeling absolutely annihilated after cycling in to work for the last few weeks. 20 miles a day is a real shock to the system, not to mention the London traffic. Decided to be productive on my day off and picked up the laptop only to immediately drop it and absolutely shatter the screen.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkkk. Hopefully it's just the screen, need to plug it into a monitor (probably next week at work, no monitors in the house) and see if the rest survived. I don't know what the next step is. I probably need to stump up for a replacement screen.
Stand Up, Sit Down
Some news so fresh it is still piping hot and not entirely confirmed, but hopefully I'll be taping a stand-up show for new comic Robin Adams in the next couple of weeks. Looking forward to it! I think I'll try at least a two-camera set up, one main one on the man himself and a second one off to the side for coverage, depends on what I can get away with in the venue. Need to think about sound too, will be a good opportunity to get some experience here. Will find out what the venue will let me do! Maybe they won't allow any filming :-|
London
You know... sitting in that flashy pub I mentioned earlier surrounded by expensive suits really made me think of the weird relationship I have with this city. I always feel under-dressed in places like that. Probably due to my scraggy t-shirt and jeans look. I live in a pretty decent corner of the overall grubby/crimey/stabby suburb of Lewisham in Greater London (we had a good presence in the 2011 London riots!) but I work in South Kensington, one of the most affluent areas of the Central London, home of Harrods, the Royal Albert Hall and insanely high house prices. The further I get to the centre of the city, the more I feel like an outsider. I think it's a paradox I'm not alone in feeling, seeing as so many of us working in service positions can't afford to live anywhere near we work. It's a chasm I constantly feel that I'm standing near the edge of. I'm impressed by the city, but simultaneously I know it owes so much to the wealth divide. I love London, but it is a weird fucking place. On the plus side, it's one of the greatest and most tolerant melting pots on the planet. I got to say, I fucking love me some tolerance. We need to pump people full of it, because there is a shortage in this world.
Tag it and Bag it
As always I'll be using tags in these blog posts, so you can filter my posts by the project you're interested in. The new project is currently tagged... well... "new project"! I'll rename the tag once we have a title for the damned thing!
Saints Row The Third (is the word)
Don't even bother trying to contact me tomorrow. I'll be locked up indoors with Saints Row The Third, denying the existence of the outside world.
So Peter Jackson, if you need some fresh eyes for your new Hobbit movie, sorry son but I'm BUSY.
Bye :-)
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