How's everyone doing?
 

Thought I would check in and see how's everyone doing. Despite having everything ready to go, I've been too busy to shoot frame #1. Hopefully that will change this afternoon.

How about you guys?

Mine is technically finished. Very simple idea. Unfortunately I have to reshoot my indoor shots because the lighting was not what I expected. I used some amber lights and thought they would look nice, but everything came out really orange.

Oh well, live and learn.

Stacy

Terrible, awful....got nothin', no idea, no nothin'...

New dog figured out she can jump a 3' fence...so we've had guys coming by to give quotes on a new fence we can't afford...
Broke the race bike Sunday, so I've been workin' on that every night gettin' ready for the next race....($250.00 in parts should show up Friday)
Mom called today and I have to look at her garage door opener....going after work today...
Racing on Sunday so all I have is Thur night, Fri night and Saturday.....

Arrggg....I was probably foolish signin' up at this time of year. Its always like this....yet I always think I can get things done.

Bob T.

Doing okay. Only half-way there, but not stressing at all, since it won't help. Our crew has a very tight schedule this week since we're all working like crazy in various jobs, so we only have about 1 hour to shoot each evening when everyone is available for a short while and while we have available light for the outdoor scenes.

So we've been shooting guerilla style around town. We scouted locations before shooting and developed a plan for everything we needed for each shot, so we can pretty much just pull up, do a quick set up, shoot, and take off pretty quickly.

Two nights ago was probably the biggest challenge, because we had to build a set in my garage to mimic a location that we can't shoot in. I think it turned out okay, but will involve a little work in post.

Tonight will involve a few simple shots of a computer screen with text moving across it, and the we just have two more nights of shooting, with Friday looking to be somewhat technically complicated since it will involve small children and a wayward balloon that we are trying to set up to follow a specific path (fishing line to the rescue)...all for a quick 2 second shot.

I'm doing all the editing on Saturday. If we did all the shoots correctly, it should be a pretty quick edit.

-Jon

Nothing at all! :(

I thought I was going to have some help this time with a group of new friends, but it turns out that they will be in CA the whole time diving and shooting sharks! So, it's just me again and I'm as tired of shooting myself as everyone else is of seeing me.

Mike

Things are moving along for me. Got the script written (and rewritten once), half the cast is cast, location secured. Currently working on storyboards and trying to find second cast member.

Scheduled to shoot saturday night. Unfortunately, that is the earliest time available because I have to wait for everyone to have time and also work around the schedule of the location. But, with all the preproduction I'm doing, it should be a quick edit.

Half an idea, and a schedule with the neighbors to meet in the morning. But at least I have a New York minute to do it in!

My script is written. I've got a rough sketch done on the story boards. Half of my two person script is cast [can't find a lead to save my life]. Locations are secured. I plan on one short shooting session tomorrow night after dinner if I can find a lead. But no lead = no short.

The editing should be straight forward, I'm not worried about that. Aside from the casting of the lead, my only worry is about using my interview lighting kit for this narrative. It'll be my first time lighting for a narrative production.

Maybe the stars will align... and not just to get my name on the wall of shame...

Good luck to all...

What's a lighting kit?


Haha, just kidding. I wish I had one though.

I'm seriously starting to wonder.

Everybody else is talking about scripts, crews, locations, yada, yada...

It's just me and my camera. What have I gotten myself into? Damn. :(

Stacy

Sometimes, that's all you need. I depends on what type of end product you are trying to create, and using the right tools to achieve the look and sound that you are striving for. For our crew, we have been using the DVCs to force us to hone our skills from lighting, sound, scripting....the whole package...and to complete the entire production in both the most effective, and most efficient way possible.

Case in point: For the first challenge, we came up with a basic idea, and immediately went out and started shooting. We ended up with awkward acting, forced scenes, and a generally cheesy look. Despite more effort than we should have put in to trying to 'fix it in post', we weren't too happy with it.

For the second challenge, we wanted to focus on a better look, so we spent most of time on sets, locations, props and framing, but the story and acting were not very strong.

For our third entry, we really wanted to tighten up on pre-production by putting alot of effort into a good storyboard. It turned out to be a fairly complicated and lengthy shot list, so a detailed storyboard was really a lifesaver. It helped to make shooting and editing a breeze. Unfortunately, we overcomplicated the story a little bit, and went way overtime in the rough cut, so alot of it had to get cut out to shorten the movie, making the storyline suffer from a viewers perspective. Not to mention that the audio was only half-decent and the lighting was lousy.

For this go-round, we are not too thrilled about the story, but we are trying to cover the rest of the bases so that at least the the entire production process is streamlined, effective, and at produces a technically proficient end result. It seems odd that I spent about 4 hours on Monday evening building a little set piece in my garage for a shot that will last about 10 seconds of screen time, but hopefully the effort will be worth it after I see the final edit on Saturday.

-Jon

Newbie McNewb!!!!
 

This is My first Short Film ever so I am struggling with everything but i am happy with my idea and my actors are great! My biggest issue is lighting!!! I hate lighting!! I need ideas on how to light better! I can't seem to get rid of shadows on walls behind my talent!

Good news is I am shooting with the sony HVR-V1U and I love it!!!!

anyone else?

Trust me...your not alone.... :)

Bob

To get rid of those shadows behind your subjects, you can do one or more of the following:

1. Move your subject further away from the wall
2. Raise your light up and angle it down (the one I use most often)
3. Diffuse your light more (won't get rid of the shadow, but it will soften it greatly)
4. Move the light more to one side
5. light the wall separately (will help, but won't get rid of the shadow completely)

HTH...

Got to admit, I may be wall of shame. Shot a Heinz competition commercial instead of tending to DVChallenge business. I could use the $57,000 prize, you know....

see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLw2EAmEbUc



and this week I am doing a 48 Hour Project film......If I don't squeeze it in tonight, I'm to the wall of shame, I think...