Filming is Done!

I finally have all of my footage to create my film and start editing. The process of filming wasn’t difficult but the scheduling with the other actor was at times. It was just conflicting schedules with work. The last film shoot was the fight scene; we had two samurai swords that we used. Fight choreographing is a lot harder than it looks but we went through a few scenes of fighting and we eventually broke one of the swords and we had to stop. I had a few more scenes I wanted to do with the swords but we got some good footage. I’ve started to edit some footage and it looks really good; it was a nice beautiful day. I will be editing my film for the next week or so and then let my director see the first rough cut and get some feed back. I’m still trying to get a feel for how I want the film to flow; I think there could be a variety of directions that would look really great. I just have to find the right one.

Almost There

I will be shooting the final scenes of my senior film project this Sunday. I have been planning fighting sequences and special effects for weeks now. I feel really great about the location; I think it will provide some cool shots and hopefully work to my advantage. It’s an outside wooded area and with any luck it will be sunny that day. I plan on getting some photos of the main character, so that I can start to develop the poster I have in mind for the film and also my presentation board. All of next week I will be finishing up the editing process and getting feedback from my director. My overall hope and expectation of the film is to be fun for people to watch and see a little bit of samurai action.

Writing Center commercial shoot!

Being in the studio on Tuesday and having a little bit of time setting up the lighting for the practice run, I thought it would be a good idea if we went somewhat outside of the studio. I understand that this is a Studio Production class but with this being a commercial and not a studio shoot, having a little roaming privilege would be cool. I thought of having a few shots in the actual student center of the tutors and the students working together would mesh well with what we shoot in the actual studio. I just think that the commercial should be flashy and get peoples attention.

For example: this is a commercial I found from Concordia University for there writing center, and they used a classic 1950’s style of a Leave it to Beaver atmosphere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo5N_gWrWWQ

We could go in a similar route and use themes of popular icons that are relevant to the generation of current Shepherd students. I think this would be a good opportunity to flex the muscles of the communication department to the entire shepherd campus.

Camera Operator in the Studio

While working in the studio this semester I’ve had an array of jobs and takes including Producer, Floor Manager, Cameraman one and two, and Lighting director. All of these jobs were fun and informative, I enjoyed being the cameraman the most because that is a particular interest of mine. I like working with new cameras and getting acquainted with there different functions. When operating the camera its your job to focus the shot so that the guest/host looks as clear as possible. It’s also your job to set the white balance, which gives you a better color temperature in your overall picture.

One of the funny moments I had the first day while operating camera one was when the director ask to give a two shot, and I wasn’t sure what that meant. Then they told me through the headset that it just meant a shot with the two people in it. I felt like a goober, but I learned a lesson and now understand the lingo studio floor talk.

Capstone film progress

I’m starting to get very excited, I have my entire locations planned out and ready to shoot when the day arrives. I have been preparing and for the special effects and feel that they will deliver a surprising dimension to the film. I have filmed the first half of the film already and even started to edit some of what I could. The final scene is the most difficult and time consuming. I’m just trying to plan things out with my friends that are involved, so that we can all be on the same schedule.

With the film starting to take shape I’ve been sampling music to go along with the film. I’ve found some really good beats that will fit with the atmosphere, and my friend Lamar, who is starring in the film with me, actually has some of his own raps that he has allowed me to use. So overall I’m very excited to get the finial scene done so that I can put everything together.

Multi Camera Production

With our first two dry runs in Studio Production I’ve had the privilege of being camera one operator and producer. The atmosphere was very legitimate; I had a headset on when I was a cameraman so that I could communicate with the director. The communication is extremely important between the director and the people on the floor in case a problem occurs, or general directions and camera shots.

When watching Hamilton Hamish you can tell that he has a passion for multi camera work and his passion turns it into an art form. He’s considered the best in the business and he’s worked with incredible artist such as, Cold Play, The Gorillaz, Jack Johnson, and Kanye West just to name a few. He is always in control of his staff and they have an outline and run-through for every major show. Hamish does more than just music shows he’s also done work with Victoria Secret in a 2009 fashion show http://youtu.be/Td8eM7pxmew. Hamish works with multiple cameras and a plethora of angles so that people can see the dimensions of the show.

My personal favorite area of multi camera work (aside from music) is sporting events. There is so much riding on good camera work in any filed of sports. Football is one of the most televised events in America and the camera angle itself plays an important role. With instant replay the referees depend a lot on good camera work so that they can get the right call, and not get killed by the home team fans. This is a clip I thought displayed good multi camera work in a sport I love to watch. http://youtu.be/fAoO11MNfgU