Quintessential Studios' Weblog

This last week was very eye-opening for me in a few ways. It’s not that any of these ideas are new to me; it’s just that I’m looking at them from a different viewpoint. Sometimes, you just take “facts” for granted. Sometimes you have epiphanies but you don’t give them all that much credence. I’m looking at these things anew. I’m “just” realizing the implications of this information and how it will really apply to me in my future and my future career path.

It all started with LAFCPUG on Jan 18th. There Michael Cioni, from Light Iron, talked about the “transformation” of digital cinema. He talked about the current workflows and how people just need to understand that this is how it works these days.

After a couple emails with Michael, I decided to peruse his company’s website and discovered free classes that Michael delivers there. I wasn’t the only one, as many of the attendees at the Jan 25th class had been at LAFCPUG the week before too. This class, first in a series they teach, is called “State of D-Cinema”, D-Cinema of course meaning “digital cinema”. This class pointed out the history and major time points of digital cinema and touched on this thing called “philosophies”. This is where I had one of those “duh” epiphanies. People have different philosophies, this transcends all areas of life beliefs, including technical, and indeed it is hard to reach agreement between people with different basic deep beliefs or “philosophies”.

I’ve talked about this before in a different vein, old computer mainframe operators complaining that there will never be anything better than mainframes and thinking they will have a job forever. But I’ve also talked about this in the very same vein, film projectionists thinking that film will “never go away”. Well, and as was pointed out in the “State of D-Cinema”, as much as you may like film, you won’t be able to manufacture it yourself and soon the manufacturers, if not already, will stop making it. They do not make film projectors any more, period. Think about it. Digital projection is the majority now in theaters. “All will be digital!” (Until something different comes along!)

Where are we now?
With all of this “digitalness”, comes the awareness that the only ones in the process who have been doing things digital for some time now, are the post production people. I mean think about it. Even animation, a very “production” sided activity is lumped in with the techies in post. Why is that?

Now, with the state of digital cinema as it is, we have post personnel needing to be a part of the production phase more than ever. It is so much so, that really, post is production. We have DIT’s, Data Wranglers, etc. on the set. We have to apply coloring samples to the raw picture so directors have an idea of what they will get in post. And we have lots of technology sitting there in “production” that once was just in the editing bay.

This is just a scratch into the surface of what is all there and expected right here and now. There is wireless transmission of “instant” dailies and on and on. What the heck will the future be like? Post is Production, there’s no doubt. It’s even a little pre-production.

More on the technology of post
Post production software has transformed too and is even transforming more than the general public is aware of. Final Cut Pro X floundered on the scene last year to much disgruntlement. It was “mainframe operators” saying you can’t get rid of mainframe computers, really. Since post is really all technology (not talking about the art of cutting, just the tools), then we really have to look to what technology itself is doing.

iPads and tablets are where computing is going. It’s funny how technology goes in circles. We used to have dumb terminals in the workplace, all connected to a, you guessed it, a mainframe computer. Then we got desktops networked into the mainframe. Then the mainframe went away. Or did it?

Let’s face it. Software is going to the cloud. Storage is going to the cloud. The software companies are going to subscription based software for a number of reasons. Yes, they are! There will no longer be a need for desktops. You will be able to do all of your work on “dumb terminals”. Whether those dumb terminals are iPads, iPods, tablets or mac airs, who knows. But seriously you will only need interfaces in the future. It’s all going to the “cloud”.

Current post production consists of big computers and lots of storage hardware and personally owned copies of software. Enjoy it while you can. Before you know it, these will all change.

I’m not saying I’m for this change. I’m just saying it’s an inevitable destination. I think the very aware ones are already preparing for this. I think the next level are just going with the flow of what’s here now and maybe are the bleeding edge guys. Then come the clueless who just wonder “why are they changing things that are working just fine”. And then, even below the clueless, are the “mainframe operators” who will yell to no end that “they can’t get rid of mainframes!”

Next blog post: What is Adobe Prelude?

I guess I’m pretty lucky. 2011 wasn’t that bad for me. Looking over the news and a lot of Facebook posts, people are really looking forward to saying goodbye to 2011 and hoping that 2012 will be much better.

I do hope 2012 is much better for everyone. I also hope it’s better for me too, better is better, right?

I won’t say everything was great in 2011 because not everything was. Life is a pretty rocky road. You get dealt good and bad and hopefully, you have the ability to stand the bad. I seriously don’t know how some people move on from tragedy. I’ve heard it said that some lose something in their face, it becomes a little less bright or they wear their sadness there. As I get older, I feel like that slowly happens to me as well. At times, I can’t imagine living past a certain age. I thank my family for giving me the greatest reason to carry on, to enjoy seeing change and growth in their lives.

I live my life mostly in the pursuit of helping others but I also try to do as much of that through doing what I love to do too. Quintessential Studios was formed with some grand ideas. I envision a huge facility of video and audio recording and editing stages and bays. I think of it as a co-op sort of situation where the community comes and is able to take advantage of space, classes, etc. I make moves to push Quintessential Studios in this direction as much as I can, little by little. Currently we are an “independent production company” and as so, we are doing a little more each year. 2012 should be a really good year for that side of things. I also try to build the local filmmaking community by running Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire. We’re experiencing growth in that area and I’m very excited for 2012.

We have 10 meetings scheduled for 2012 and one super duper party planned for 15 April in Las Vegas during NAB! Hope to see you there!

Thank you to everyone who helped make my 2011 what it was and I hope you all have the best year ever coming up.

I will do my best to make it a great one. I look forward to more interaction with more people and growth along all areas. I’m really seeking some life balance this year and so far things are shaping up to be, mostly, great.

I’ll post more here too, I promise….

Do you have an interest that is shared by many or by a very rare few?  Perhaps you like photography.  That’s a big subject with a large fan base.  Perhaps you like to keep African Killifish.  That’s has a bit of a smaller appeal.  I, myself, have had various interests in my life (the above subjects included!) I’ve had more hobbies than years of my life.  I guess you could say I get bored quickly.  More than that, I get very interested in things, very easily.  Life interests me!

In the “good old days”, if you wanted to find out more about something, you’d go down to the library, check out a couple books on the subject, read up on it and give it a go.  Additionally, you could find a local store that specialized in that sort of thing and chat with the store owner for hours at a time.  The later worked very well if it was a popular activity, like tropical fish or photography.  It also helped in being able to get supplies for said hobby or future business idea.  I always seemed to want to grow whatever my hobby was into some sort of business venture.  I guess that is the entrepreneur in me!

I once saw a program on TV about this twelve-year old millionaire and he started with a pair of hamsters!  (Yes, I even tried to raise hamsters too!) I mean isn’t that what they say, “If you want to be happy, do what you love for a living!”  (I’ve also had more jobs than years of my life!)  But, I AM happy!

There have long been magazines on just about every subject too.  Sometimes, you’d get lucky and there would be a local club related to the subject of your interest, as well.  This adds a whole new level of enjoyment and education to your hobby/business interest.  I have been involved with a few different clubs in my past as well.  Heck when I was ten, I started the Riverside Tropical Fish Club.  There were only three members but I even managed to get a sponsor to donate free samples of fish food and water conditioner to the club.  After that win, I tried, unsuccessfully, to get a donated remote control car to my bright idea of a club, “The Riverside R/C Club!” Oh well! You can’t blame a kid for trying!

So, I guess you can say I’ve had a long history of starting groups.  It’s one of the best solutions for loneliness that I know of!  Join or start a group!  At the very least, you’re going to meet some cool people with the same interest as you.

A “user” group is a group of people that share an interest in “using” some thing, usually a piece of software or suite of software.  There are computer user groups too, like Mac User Groups or PC User Groups.  They are usually put together so that you can learn to use that particular thing better or to get new ideas on how to use it.  There are, for example, graphics user groups who cover creating things with graphics programs like After Effects or Cinema 4D or Maya or something similar.

One of the benefits of a user group is that with the combined membership, you have clout.  You have more clout than with just yourself.  Companies in the field want to communicate to your group and know that a group will benefit their business in many ways.  This is so true that they often give stuff to the group, like prize giveaways and big discounts.

More than the above points, user groups are just a lot of fun!  Meeting people with the same interests, talking about projects, networking, getting new ideas, etc. are some of the great aspects of being a part of a user group.

Currently, I am signed up with lots of filmmaking related user groups and attend three or four on a regular basis: Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group, Los Angeles Post Production Group, Southbay Filmmakers and Digital Media Artists Los Angeles to name a few.  This is in addition to the filmmaking group that I run myself (Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire, “IFIE”).

Each meeting or meetup I attend is great.  Very nice people are there and we all share a passion for what we do.  I can’t say enough about networking.  The bonds from a user group are usually a lot stronger than ones made “on the street”.

I see all kinds of people at user group meetings, from ones who just come to see the presentation and never talk to anyone to those who have their core friends that they meet there to those that are really good at meeting lots of people and engaging many conversations.  So, whoever you are, there’s a place for you there too!

My own group uses a lot of different things.  So, I have set out to make it an official user group for whatever products we use.  We are an official Avid User Group, an official Adobe User Group, an Apple User Group, a Focal Press User Group, a Peachpit User Group, an O’Reilly User Group and a Sony Vegas User Group.  Each of these designations has its own unique benefits.  All of which translate to a better user group experience.

User groups usually have a set meeting date and time, say the first Wednesday of the month, like mine, from 7 to 10 PM. Some are very strict with their schedule and start and end on time and others are a bit more lax and tend to go over, like mine!  I think the only problem I have is that I want them to go on longer.  Some groups have after-meeting get-togethers, like over pizza or beers or a late night Denny’s run, for the hard core members (who don’t have to be home so soon). Some are held AT a pizza place!

They also usually stick to a basic format, say some networking or introduction time, announcements, presentations of various sorts and then a raffle or auction of some sort.  The prizes are sort of an enticement to stay till the end, usually.

Like the good old days, we still have the options of the library and the local store owner.  But unlike the old days, we have all kinds of new ways to get information.  The Internet has helped tremendously, not only to look up information regarding your interest but also to find user groups to join!  Meetup.com is a great place to start looking.  If any of the above sounds appealing to you, I recommend finding a user group near you to join.  Not only join, but attend the meetings and functions.  You’ll have a blast.

My impression of In the Cut: Employing the Art of Editing Seminar by Thomas Ethan Harris at the Egyptian Theatre 2/17/2011

Part I

It’s hard to convey the sheer brilliance of the seminar a lucky few of us had the chance to attend last night.

I’ve seen glimpses of this type of information, namely in two places, Peter D. Marshall’s directing course and in an introductory speech by Professor Daniel Jacobo from Chaffey College on the Tao of Super 8.

Granted I have not attended any film schools nor have I studied too in depth in regards to film theory, but I would agree that this type of expertise could probably be gotten at any film school, through lots of diligent study, but this night we were treated to an intensive course in intelligent filmmaking through exposure to some great scenes and lively discussion about the particular editing techniques used (or not used).

As a fairly new editor and filmmaker, I was completely unaware of the insidious disease that has been being transmitted to the youthful filmmakers of my and the upcoming generation of filmmakers, the infectious disease of (actually less-than) mediocre filmmaking.

It didn’t take long to discover that I and thousands of “filmmakers” the world round were engaging in unsafe activities and further propagating the existence of such deadly things as “mumblecore”!

It was nice to get professional treatment right there on the spot, in this make-shift “clinic”, the Steven Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian. An “inoculation” directly applied to the filmmaking wound of mediocrity that is festering and infecting the future of filmmaking.

“Dr” Thomas Ethan Harris not only provided emergency treatment but also provided education to help us prevent future outbreaks….

To read more go to http://bit.ly/frdpmN

At the end of 2009, I felt kind of alone, in regards to filmmaking.  The people involved in the projects I’d been a part of, kind of went off to do their own things and I was left in a creative void.  In fact, it was quite a deep, empty void, for me personally.

I felt deep inside that it was my own fault that people were disbanding and I’d even had some harsh words to some.  I felt regret and remorse in my heart and, honestly, felt very near to ending it all.

That probably isn’t a very positive PR thing to admit, but I feel that maybe I should talk about it because there may be other people out there, who might be experiencing similar thoughts.

One particular day, as I was leaving school, almost with the intent to end it all, I decided to visit a friend. I figured I’d kind of get some things off of my chest and start to make my rounds, to tie off the loose ends, so to speak.  I also knew in the back of my mind that communication was always the key to solving problems, so it might help me out of my doldrums too.

I guess, luckily, he was home.  We talked about random things and eventually got around to how I wished I had had more filmmakers or people interested in filmmaking around, people who want to learn the things I wanted to learn and shared the same passion for it as I did.

We talked about successful groups that we had each been involved in, groups of all types, beer making groups, tropical fishkeeping groups, etc.  There were some things that each had in common.  Just having someone to listen to me, helped.  Talking about those groups, sparked something in me.  I decided to create a filmmaking enthusiasts group (and subsequently, to put my death plans on hold.)

Honestly, I didn’t care if it was just a bunch of people who wanted to get together once in a while and drink coffee and talk filmmaking.  The point was to have a group, some like-minded folks to be around, to build comradery.

I started to promote locally to see if I could garner any interest.

Jan 5th, I got six people to join me for coffee.  Everyone there was very interested in starting a group and felt that it was definitely a needed and worthwhile venture.

I decided to front up the money to put the group on Meetup.com and went to work promoting the hell out of the group.

Over the last eleven months, we’ve grown to over 300 registered members and a good average of 50 people in attendance to our monthly meetings.  We have over 30 sponsors and lots of support from various other groups and organizations.  I truly do plan to take this to an even higher level next year.

Our end of the year/one year anniversary meetup/”mini-expo”, while not as big as I’d planned, was quite a success overall.  It was held at the UC Riverside’s Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts.

We had presentations from Douglas E. Welch, Maxon Computer and Avid.  We gave away nearly $6,000 in prizes. Everyone seemed pleased.

If you are interested in joining IFIE, please sign up here: http://IFotIE.com

Quintessential Studios Action

Production wise, I’ve been still shooting B camera at LAFCPUG meetings, completed some marketing videos for a chiropractic marketing firm and some of their related services, covered a couple events, shooting stills and video and even did some shooting at a cousin’s wedding. (“I don’t do weddings”, BTW.)

I’ve helped produce/fund a couple of independent crowd-funded films: ‘Invasion of the Not Quite Dead’ and ‘Solomon Grundy’.

I’ve attended MANY industry expos and conferences and even was a technical adviser and cameraman for one (paid).

In October, I produced a live shoot for the band Pandemic Unleashed.  One of the videos can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=180094208668072&oid=197727010181

Educationally, I’ve completed three more college classes this year: Sound Recording in Media, Advanced Editing (FCP) and TV Studio Equipment.

In Summation

People can become depressed for many reasons.  That’s part of life.  It’s not a chemical deficiency.  It’s a lot of things.  The main thing that IS going to help them, though, is communication and understanding.  Be there for people and listen.  My friend saved my life and he doesn’t even know it.  I’ve decided to take the time to be interested in others and to help see them through to reaching their goals in life.  Actually, I’ve kind of always been that way.  I just wanted to point out that you do matter and we can help each other out, every day.  And, a little goes a long way.  So, thanks for being interested in what I do and say and I hope I am able to return the favor!

As a part of NAB Show’s Broader-casting sessions was the panel “Big Idea, Small Budget: ‘Zombieland’s’ Production Innovations”, produced in association with Film Independent.

Digital technologies are providing filmmakers many more opportunities to create larger scale blockbusters on a much lower budget. Since we discuss digital filmmaking here on this blog, this panel was right up my alley!

Moderated by Josh Dickey, Deputy Editor of The Wrap, this panel was composed of Panelists:
Maher Ahmad, Production Designer, Zombieland
Michael Bonvillain, Cinematographer, Zombieland (not present)
Paul Linden, FX Supervisor, Zombieland
Ruben Fleischer, Director, Zombieland

To start off, the budget of this film was $21 million dollars. This is actually small for “Hollywood” films so consider that these cost-saving ideas are scalable and can apply equally to micro-budget, no-budget or mega-budget films.

There were basically four points that were covered with regard to “How exactly did you save money in production?”

Ruben Fleischer explained that he came from a low budget background (the first point) and from music video production and that producing Zombieland was a make-break moment for his career. The low budget background enabled him to approach the process with that type of mentality. Being given a hard cost budget to make his film, he had to juggle every cost involved along the way.

To Fleischer’s credit, he assembled a first-rate crew, industry veterans who not only had the experience to get the best quality but who also were smart enough to be able to work within a variety of budgets. This was an area in which he didn’t skimp on the budget. As Maher Ahmad added, “It can cost you a lot more in the end if you ‘try to save a few dollars’ on your management’s salaries”. He mentioned that some advice from his dad that helped him and that was to not be the “smartest” guy on the production and so he hired people “smarter” than him. He also said, “You have one job and that is to choose”. There are many choices brought to you by members of your team and you choose. You are the filter.

During the Q & A portion of the panel, he was asked how did you balance “letting the creative people alone to do their jobs, while still maintaining your own creative vision for the movie?” He said that part of the professionalism of the heads of his crew was the fact that they all worked within his creative vision for the film. Working with good people will help any production save money.

Tax incentives were another point where they saved money. It is not only important to find a suitable location but it could also be to your advantage to research what tax incentives are available in that certain state. This shouldn’t be the only deciding factor but it can be considered. Zombieland was shot in Atlanta, GA. Another sub-point here, a “smaller” community can really be excited for you to film in their area. Fleischer said that they were able to film in the mansion in the movie at a very low price for that very reason.

The two other points were kind of combined together in the presentation and those were “knowing the movie” and “preparation”. Preparation included, storyboards, previz, production design, VFX (which included 747-matte enhancements and digital squibs), greenscreen driving, shooting smart and quick and digital filmmaking.

Michael Bonvillain shot the movie in HD on the Genesis camera. The Genesis camera was good w/low light and there was a huge savings in having footage immediately vs. film development costs. Short comings were that the DIT tech does takes time and pulls away from the focus of the shot, discussing options but overall the shooting is faster. Also, blowups are great vs. film, not as grainy when blowing up a portion of the frame for a shot.

Paul Linden described the various VFX processes and the use of digital squibs vs. practical squibs. The decision was made pretty early on to go with digital blood spatter, not only because of the sometime misfiring of real squibs (blood packs that explode out), causing wasted time in retakes, but also that they could create any effect they wanted. They showed some examples of how they were put in and also how they could shoot, say some zombie getting their head smashed with a shovel or some other large object and that they could just shoot it with a shortened handle and VFX in the end of the implement and the resultant harm.

While some things seem extraordinarily expensive, like the giant indian statue in one scene cost $10,000 to make, they explained that that was cheaper than some other alternatives. (I don’t know about that but okay!)

Also, 150 smashed cars were used in the film. It’s cheaper to buy already smashed and crashed cars and move them around as you want them then it is to smash up good cars!

All in all, Ruben Fleischer was proud to announce that they came in $2,300 under budget!

A mention was made that with the newer, lower cost acquisition tools that are available to anyone these days, that there is no reason that these points can be applied to filmmaking at any budget.

This was the focus of another panel, I also attended, The Twenty-First Century Camera Crew and How it Works. I will discuss that session in my next post.

I’m blogging for http://www.inlandsocal.com/iguide/movies/ now, under their sub-heading “Inland SoCal Filmmakers”.

Here is the blog that was published Feb 22, 2010 from http://www.inlandsocal.com/iguide/movies/content/your_films/stories/movies0222dslr.1428f70a0.html

DSLR Videography Is Taking the Main Stage

by Eric Harnden

In April, I was on the Digital Production Buzz talking about finding deals when building your studio. I wrote up more about that here:http://wordpress.quintessentialstudios.net/?p=86

From that post I said, “A little more on knowledge: Overall knowledge of your subject can always be improved, and for me, I spend a lot of time going to expos (like Createasphere, DV Expo and NAB*); Seminars, Meetups and User group meetings (like LAFCPUG**) and I most always learn something new. In fact, I was surprised that I knew more about the Silicon Images’s SI-2K camera*** than a Moviola camera rental rep…. All because I had just seen it demoed and talked about at another event…. Of course he knew a LOT more about EVERY other camera out there and a TON about compression and data rates of the different cameras and, so, I did learn things from him.”

Last week, I went to an Orange County Meetup given by the MCAI-OC (Media Communications Association International Orange County). It was called “ALL About DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) Videography” and I learned all about the hot new Canon cameras that are now being used to shoot video, not just for home fun but for commercial video and movies. It was a very comprehensive event covering pre-production, production and post. Canon reps were there and Rob Terry showed how he used them to shoot 40 commercial spots in two days for the Kellogg garden company! While I have read and watched a lot of videos on the web of what’s being done with these cameras, I didn’t know the actual workflows of them. This is mainly because I am not shooting with them yet and so haven’t delved into them that much.

The tide is rising, though, on their impact upon the indie film world and I figured it was about time to dive a little deeper into this wave!

The very next day, I attended the Createasphere Entertainment Technology Expo in Universal City and one of the main events was the Canon Intensive Workshop, where, you guessed it, they covered the exploding market and uses of these new cameras. These cameras are being used to shoot movies now. George Lucas is using them right now at Skywalker Ranch for some shots in his upcoming feature, Red Tails.

If that wasn’t enough, I decided to take part in “From the Camera to the Web – Your Files and What to Do With Them” and “Sound – An Audio Primer for DSLR and Small Crew Productions” not really realizing they were both part of the “DSLR Video Track”. And so, I ended up learning more than I ever wanted to know about DSLRs and working with them.

During these two days of intensive DSLR videography training, I meet some great people who said they would be willing to trek on down to the IE and give the Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire presentations. So, stay tuned for an announcement about that.

Meanwhile, I picked up a bunch of free magazines to give out at our next meetup. Another benefit from expos, lots of free swag!

Speaking of which, I am in talks with DV Expo who are going to offer the IFIE’s free and discounted passes to their September 2010 show in Pasadena, CA.

____

*NAB, National Association of Broadcasters. They put on an annual week-long expo  in Las Vegas every April.

**LAFCPUG, Los Angeles Final Cut Users Group. Meets every 4th Wednesday of the month in Hollywood.

***The camera used to film Slumdog Millionaire.

The Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month. Click here for more information.

Jag35.com makes 35mm adapters for digital cameras.

With the advent of digital cameras, one issue has been, “they’re too good!”  In other words, everything in the viewfinder or frame is in focus.

Depth of Field Example - Logan Parks

There is a quality to film and film cameras where things at a certain distance are in focus and other things at other distances are out of focus.  That band of in-focus area is called the “depth of field”.  It can be narrow or wide.

Most digital video cameras have a very wide depth of field. This means that most everything you are seeing in the shot is in focus.

With a narrow depth of field, you can concentrate the viewers attention on what you want in the frame.  Some independent filmmakers cheat by zooming all the way in, which narrows the depth of field, and actually moving the camera back and forth to pull off a movie-like effect.

Other digital filmmakers go a step further and use a DOF adapter or 35mm adapter.  This is a device that allows you to mount lenses from still cameras to your video camera.  This allows you to adjust the focal plane to whatever subject you like within the video picture.  These adapters can be very costly, some cost more than the cameras themselves.  Jag35.com a local manufacturer in Rancho Cucamonga, has created a line of inexpensive 35mm adapters to help the budget-minded filmmaker.

Jag35 will be demonstrating the use of 35mm adapters and other helpful products at the March 17th meeting of the Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire.

Details of the meeting can be found here: http://www.meetup.com/Independent-Filmmakers-of-the-Inland-Empire-Meetup-Group/

The Assassination at India Palace

OR

Well, The Food Was Pretty Good!

You think you're funny, Funny Man!

Pulling from my “education” of the Metro shoot, the plan was to have the writers all work together on a story for this next 2 Hour Film Project.

I even preselected a genre and sort-of story line for the writers to bring to this meeting. (Since they didn’t really get a chance to write the last time, I figured that I’d have them at least show me what they could come up with, given some time on their own.

Our production manager secured an Indian restaurant for this location and, since he’s connected, got the dinner thrown in. (Amazing how many more people showed up for this rehearsal!)

Everyone, and some new people I never met before and who didn’t even end up being on our 48 Hour Film Project, gathered around and I gave these specific instructions: “Okay, so I want everyone that is going to write to sit down together over dinner and come up with a story.”

Everyone got up to get their plates and proceeded to have dinner and to not work on a story at all!

Time was ticking away, as we didn’t have the place for that long and after dinner and after realizing that no one had done any writing at all, I put the writers together to come up with something.

At this point, it was becoming clear that everyone had had their own idea of what we were going to do and that chaos was going to reign supreme again.

The director went off to shoot some establishing shots he said he had in his head and most of us just milled around.

After some time, that same fussy actor from the last shot came to me to declare that the actor and partner “couldn’t stay long”. I said it was alright if they left. The trouble, it seems, stemmed from the fact that the idea they were working on, that actor was helping with the writing tonight as we were short one writer, who happened to take a wrong turn and got frustrated and decided to just go home!

Again, the director had his own idea for the story. And what we ended up shooting was a mix of the two ideas, I think….

Again, the 1st AD had his setup messed with by the production manager. (He didn’t like the lighting set up but didn’t realize that the 1st AD and the director and grip had already figured out that because of the glass entrance, the lights couldn’t be set up that way. Those guys being more passive-types, just opted to let the PM do his thing, as it wasn’t worth the fight.) It was just a practice run after all.

One of the ideas for the story was created by our PM. Everyone kind of went with that idea with a few twists. Our director is very good at taking some idea and putting a funny twist on it that appeals to more people. Our PM told us he used to be a stand-up comedian and so his character would be sort of funny. Uh, well, yeah, right…. Nevertheless, our director made a funny short out of it called Assassins Anonymous.

Laugh Clown Laugh!

We didn’t get close to the amount of footage and there were a lot of mad people at the end of the night!

After we wrapped, the first AD, the director and I met at my house. We talked long into the night about what worked, what didn’t, what we could do to improve things, etc, etc.

We seemed to iron things out fairly well. I had the feeling, that we’d be better off, if I got rid of some people, three in particular, but as fate would have it, I wouldn’t even have to raise a concern.

To be continued…

See the video:

First Signs of Problems

If you’ve ever been on a film shoot, you know one thing for sure. There is a lot of waiting
around!

One of the first “two-hour film projects” we did was called “Berlin Metro“, not at first but it came to be known as that eventually.

This practice shot was mostly arranged by our Production Manager. Our Production Manager was very good at finding locations and support for our crew as he was “connected”, being a lawyer and all. The first shot was at an empty warehouse that one of his friend/clients had just rented and was currently empty.

The goal of this meeting was to go through the whole process, from random genre, character, prop and line of dialogue selection to writing to shooting to editing.

The basic idea we had was that everyone would be included in the brain-storming process and then after a basic story idea was formulated, the writers would spend time by themselves writing the story. This basically is a good idea and as long as you keep your roles heavily defined, this works.

“Defined roles” are the key words in this case. Who does what and who listens to whom? During the first few meetings leading up to this “dress rehearsal”, we talked about who wanted to do what. I felt it was best to try to let people do what they were most interested in doing, first, then add to that as needed.

What hats were given out? Well there was the “Production manager-writer”, the Producer, the “Director-writer”, the “Assistant Director-writer”, a “Grip”, some “Sound Guys”, an “Editor”, a couple of “Actors (who ended up wanting to be writers)” and a couple of just “Actors”. Oh! And, my two “Writers”. It was all a little up in the air at this point, ’cause you never know who’s going to be with you at the end and I was a little unsure how it would all settle down and sort itself out.

The “pre-production” meeting is still a little fuzzy to me, as it was while it was going on (just because it was a bit chaotic) but I do remember some details and the production and the post pretty vividly! There was some talk about a character and a prop and an escaped killer and the writers started to put it all together. During that time, we started setting up lights in the warehouse and stuff and our production manager kept “writing” with “the girls” (the writers). (more on this later)

While setting up, one of the crew says, “this looks like a subway” and thus the subway shot came into being.

While the girls were writing, our director-writer was doing some writing of his own. He kept popping out and telling the writers, “Okay, this is the story!” He would add, “Oh, but don’t let me mess you up.”

I recall one of the writers saying, “Oh but I like that idea” and eventually they just went with his idea.

INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT

Camera blocking, lighting and actions were being set. The first signs of problems weren’t even apparent to me but they were occurring. The 1^st AD had set up a way that the lights and fan should be run (for a subway effect) and had someone set up to run them. Then our “creative” production manager, who was running the b-camera decided that he could run the lights instead, to solve a problem of our director wanting more people in the shot. (This would cause effects problems, more about later, but was just another example of his not being able to think outside the box.)

During the setup of the lights, I had my first personal indication of future problems. One of the actors (that really wanted to write too) came up to me and said, “Who’s in charge? I mean who should I be listening to?” She went on to tell me that we were doing a lot of standing around doing nothing and that this was all taking too long. Basically, she was right in her observations but to me it was her attitude and delivery of said communication that rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like, “You know, you just don’t go up to your producer and say those things!” I suppose it was my lack of initiation in “running things” that led to these attitudes but inside, I also felt I should let these things shake themselves out at this stage of the game.

As we shot, and shot and shot, the night became longer and longer and attitudes were starting to show themselves. The production manager kept stewing and saying loudly under his breath that we had to wrap things up. The feisty “actor” kept mentioning how late it was. Our director just had to get another take of that shot. And, I eventually had to say, “Okay, THIS will be the last shot.”

We wrapped and everyone was pretty beat. I thanked everyone for their time and work and the “post-production team”: director, production manager and I went off to “edit”.

Later, I would discover that my 1^st AD was very happy with “his experiment” of seeing how people would react under the continued stress of an unorganized situation. That, I would immediately decide was a good idea and continue on with. The 1^st AD, the director and I would have many meetings as to what worked and what didn’t and, believe it or not, these personnel “problems” would eventually sort themselves out.

What I learned: Defined roles are defined for a reason. Stick to them!

To be continued…

(Next 48 Hour Installment: The Assassination at India Palace)