DVC 18 - Scene 7B - Roxzane Mims & Dick Mays
 

Since this theme was wide open, we did a scene from a script we had written with three women from our acting class. Rox made an appearance as the bartender in Namian. We have worked with each other since meeting in acting class in 1994. She makes it such a pleasure to be on the set. My acting students are a little scared of my terse direction but love working with Rox. Rox directed this entirely and added a supernatural feel to it that I (as writer) didn't expect. As an exercise it was fun to hand control over and see put the scene together in post. Did a little of the push/pull color correction, and patched in sound from a H4N Definitely more work, for just a little better audio. But then, Namian was ruined by bad audio, so live and learn.

Filmed more B-roll inserts like the feet, little touches and things to make it more interesting. Jib shot was shortened as the Canon 7D went out of focus real fast. Like to have my FX1 back for some things.

Spent three hours doing the wind sound with jingles of small chains and stuff. Need to get a real job as Uncle Sam probably is tired of paying me unemployment while I learn audio effects. Overall, it was fun, and a little bit of footage my new actress Jennifer can use to show an agent.

yeah its 18 not 19 but it wont let me edit the title

Dick... I have to say that this was a well crafted piece! I thought your camera angles, edits and pacing of them all worked exceptionally well and were very comfortable visually. Your audio was excellent, and levels of everything matched well in the overall piece. The improved (and as you indicate occasional problematic) DOF of the 7D added a nice Hollywood 35mm film look to the piece overall.

As your story progressed, I kept wondering about the next thing in the plot. It definitely had my interest - so much so I had to go back and watch it again and kind of ignore the story and look at the various elements I commented on above.

I think that technically this may be your best piece ever.

Your actresses were very good, very comfortable in their roles and completely believable.

Nicely done. You set the bar high on this one.


Chris Swanberg

(ps. I am planning to sell my Z-1 and opt for a 7D but now you have me worried with your comment about wishing you still had your FX-1.)

Chris,

Keep the Z1. The rolling shutter issue is so bad on the cmos sensor, I'd prefer to use 3CCD camera for all handheld. A viberating platform, like in a car, causes real bad jello. But for tripod, closeups, and slow dollies, the 7D is great. Canon has a new rebel with the same sensor and video capabilities for under a thousand dollars. Buy that and hide the receipt from the wife.

Thanks for the kind remarks. This is the first time Jennifer has ever been in front of a camera.

Thanks for giving some technical details so I could say more than, "Wow! Nice work!" :)

First of all, I think Jennifer has a great look on camera. Very natural. My only suggestion to her would be to enunciate just a bit more clearly. But I really liked her in this role. Loved it when she thought the action of the seer was funny--just like a young gal would.

Thought the lengthy explanation from the seer was hilarious. I've heard something similar before from a gal who does bio-resonance healing.

I don't care if the H4N is more work--the resulting audio is quite good! Sync may have been off by a frame or two early on...or not. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's that or just the way the actor talks. All of your audio work paid off, because it sounded very professional to me.

You wanted us to be engaged in the story. We were. Great job, all of you.

I'm a big 7D fan, so I'm always happy to watch a video shot with one.

I wasn't sure exactly where this one was going. It was very intriguing and dreamlike for sure. However, it definitely feels like a small part of a larger whole, (which I believe it is.)
It was a fun scene to watch, and there were a couple particularly nice shots, I'd be interested in seeing where the whole story goes.

I found this film quite nice too. Well lit and well shot. The characters and story held my interest. Again, one of the best I seen you do.

As to the 7D, I think its filmic quality helped this film.

I do not agree with your comments on the 7D, and going mobile. The trick in moving the camera is not letting it turn on its own axis. Thats were the jellow comes in, in my opinion. Get it stabilized on a shoulder mount to you aren't inadvertantly rolling it, and you will avoid most jello issues.

Lorinda,

I think you caught me dubbing dialog from one take to another early on, because of ouside car noise. Very keen eye/ear you have! I added a few external car sounds to gloss over the issue. i used camera audio and was able to replace with the H4N flawlessly on most clips.

Chris,

I used a conterbalanced monopod stedicam to film a sailing video. Other people seem to think it is fine, but I can see the wobble. You may have better steady cam gear than I. My goal is to make a real film someday and the vertical slant issue is noticeble to me on any fast moving object, even with the cam on a tripod. I'm betting Cole & Ben have a camera with a CMOS sensor as the handled there seemed to jiggle.

Well it's a mystery, and the story left me hanging at the end. Who did the guy in?
Aw heck who cares, the girls are hot and they're kissing... "Cut!"
I listened to it with headphones on, so the voices sounded a bit echoey. I probably need speakers... But I could hear fine subtle hints of great sound, the madam was coming through the right while the sisters were in stereo giving a sense of theatre sound.
Your actresses also have good screen presence, get them into your feature film quick!

I have used my 7D on a few jobs now, all without the aid of an external monitor. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I get back into edit mode, BAM! Rolling Shutter...shot after shot worthless. I am starting to learn the camera and where the anti sweetspots are and avoiding them. The 5D and 7D make EXCELLENT B-roll cameras.

As for your film, I hate to be the naysayer, but it was too talky for me. I lost interest pretty early on, and was kinda put off from the kissing scene. Acting, photography/lighting, and directing were very nice. Script may have kept me more interested if I knew the rest of the story.

Clint,

Although I agree with you that the rolling shutter makes the CMOS cameras not suitable for handheld or action films, It's a great tool when used properly. I plan to use it as a primary camera for 80% of a film, just have to know when to use the 3CCD alternative. BTW, I agree with you about the scene too. It would probably get cut to half that length if it were to be used in a film. But I am proud of the performances my acting students gave on this one.