So last night a film i shot a few summers ago had a screening at PCC campus on Killingsworth. The film is called “Crackin’ the Code”. The audience seemed to enjoy it and most stuck around for a q&a afterward. It is still a bit strange to be part of q&a’s but people seem interested in how independent films get shot. The nuts and bolts of making a no budget film look close to pro is on many filmmakers mind.
After the q&a i got to meet and chat with a number of folks and of course i forgot to load up on my business cards before hand. It would have been good to have a few. Note to self: Networking 101 have marketing materials and industry events.
Anyway look for “Crackin’ the Code” DVDs soon. Director Steve Coker and Actor, marketing manager, producer, awesome fellow, Harold Philips are working very hard to get this to the public eye!
So the other night my roommate and I engaged in a 3D cinema experiment. Using two canon 5Dmark2’s we created a very simple live action 3d shooting apparatus. Our preliminary test worked out and the next day we did a bigger test using a different configuration.
This is the first rig we set up. It worked out very well but to make it more mobile and ad the ability of pan and tilt we changes some things around
I have however discovered after spending a day processing it into a red/blue viewable medium that it is very important to be very accurate with the position of the cameras. In many ways we “ball parked” the positioning of the cameras we used levels and the likes but it was not perfect. The footage certainly reads as 3d. The human persistence of vision allows for some margin of error but i have discovered that that margin over time will lead to one hell of a headache. For our next 3d rig build i am for sure going to take more care and time in accurate camera positioning.
Anyway if you have a set of red/cyan 3d glasses you can see the fruits of out labor. It is about 45seconds long, not long enough to get a headache watching.
Well as per usual i have left the old blog to gather dust.
I have been working with a group of still photographers who are interested in cinematography. The possibilities that cameras like the 5Dmark2 the 7D and the new rebel t2i offer have excited many dedicated stills guys to merge into the video market. For one such group i have been acting as a middle man between the two worlds. Its been great fun working with these photographers and i think that some of there working practices could certainly benefit the video shooting world. One thing right off the bat that stills guys are boggled about is the lack of true color accuracy in the video world. Cameras that don’t shoot in a recognizable spectrum, post production monitoring and the likes. In the stills world color accuracy from camera to final delivery is critical. It has made me really evaluate how i manage color in my work. I have also had to give the dedicated stills guys a bit of crap from time to time. It is in the nature of the experienced still photographer to be very macro focused about everything in the frame at all times. There has been more that one experience on set with a still photographer as the cinematographer where we spent hours finessing a single shot when we needed to move forward. Still photographers think about telling a story in one frame and sometimes neglect thinking about how the performance of the actors and combination of many shots tell the story. Its not that i think that they need to abandon there attention to detail but limit it to a point that will allow them to be productive in the independent film making arena. You sometimes have to make sacrifices to keep on schedule, its just the nature of the low budget film world. I have however worked as misc. crew on a production that was poorly manage and poorly executed and in my opinion a fiasco. When ever i give the stills guys too much crap they always remind me of that project. The creativity and enthusiasm that this group of photographers brings to the world of film making is exciting and i look forward to seeing how it influences and integrates with the motion world.
Published at: 05:11 pm - Thursday November 12 2009
I got news recently from Director Mark Steel that “Marvins’s Plan” was accepted at the Myrtle Beach Film Festival! Filmmaker Magazine named it in the top 25 best fests in the US. Exciting news!!! For more info about the project check out the “Marvin’s Plan” web page! and the IMDB Page.
Earlier this year i worked on a films with Vancouver, WA. filmmaker Mark Steel, on a project called “Marvin’s Plan.” “Marvin’s Plan” is a short film about Marvin (played by Director Mark Steel), a nerdy middle-aged man who is not doing well. He has taken on a roommate to help pay the mortgage. He sells sperm to pay for his dates – dates that don’t go very well. He is continually dumped. In the midst of his despair with his lot in life, Marvin decides he wants a child. This is the story of how he goes about achieving this new goal.
It was a fun shoot that took place in locations around Vancouver, WA. and Portland, Or.
Published at: 08:11 pm - Wednesday November 11 2009
A few months back i worked on a film for fellow Art Institute of Portland graduate Vincent Caldoni. This short screened at the Northwest Film and Video festival on Sunday night. The film is called “Reception” and was featured in the short film program. The film takes place in two locations, one interior and one exterior. I was the cinematographer on the interior material. I used my Canon 5DmarkII and we used mainly window light with one added fixture. Vincent shot the exterior footage on a Canon Hv20, at least that is what i think he said he shot it on. With a little rendering and some color correction the footage works well together. It will screen one more time Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 8:45 PM, please go and check it out. It is part of the SHORTS III program. More info at the NW Film and Video festival website.
Vincent Caldoni runs Portland acting company with screen actor Robbert Blanche Have a look at their site and get a hold of them if you are at all interested in screen acting. Portland Acting Company
Last note. I have a few new credits on my IMDB page. Including “Reception” Mentioned above.
