Thanks to digital video for gapless subclips.

Straight 8 is a GREAT way to teach filmmaking discipline. I own a half dozen Super 8 cams, and I like to give that challenge to student filmmakers. "Here's your ONE cartridge, here's the theme, sit down, write out something around the theme, shoot it and drop it in the lab at the end of the day. We'll screen it in a week when it gets back".

Nothing like the limitation of in-camera editing to emphasize pre-produciton.

Great story on the festival. I think you captured the essence beautifully. Informative on more than one level. A terrific piece that not only explains, but demonstrates the subject.

Thanks Sean, the whole point of straight 8 style was it was one take and one take only. No recording over, ever! I rolled for exactly 2 minutes 27 seconds! I didnt look back at any takes and the first time we saw it go out was when it was transmitted live on the programme. The head of five news made a commitment to broadcast it no matter how it turned out. It was an experiment, a fun one, but very hard.

There is a making of which should explain the issues we came up against. Everything had to be storyboarded and written the day before. We even did a taped rehearsal with stand in interviewees. On the actual shoot we rehearsed each scene half a dozen times before we went for an actual take. Once that take was recorded we moved on regardless of how clean it was. There were a number of mistakes with timings and audio levels in the piece as everything was mixed live by me on the camera, camera mic turned on and off, lip mic, radio mic or whatever faded in. The rhythm was the hardest thing, it was out on a number of takes. But to get audio to come in on exactly the right "beat" was so so hard.

XDCAM made it completely gapless. When I turned on and rolled I knew it would be like Super 8 and start exactly where it left off. Tape would have been a different matter. I would have had to press return video on the lens to back up and make sure it was timecode joined. Not ideal at all! Also the XDCAM system meant when I rolled it was a split second before it started recording. When I turned off it turned off instantly.

Trailer for "RETURN TO LAKE HAVASU"
 

http://www.returntolakehavasu.com/index.html

This is a trailer for a documentary about story behind the making of the 1971 heist movie called "Day of the Wolves". I've just started post on the project and wanted some kind of trailer up on the project site. Currently a little long at 4 mins, and very rough in places, but feedback welcome.

My first practice video
 

Here's a video I made with two friends who agreed to help me out learning filmmaking. Practice really helps. This is my first video based on a quick idea I had. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oqD-DKu-co
Art version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNfdDGB3nIs

Shot with Canon XHA1

The main problem I had was exposure. It was hard to get equal exposure for various scenes and the worst came out the scenes where I was strictly following exposure meter and zebra stripes.
So I guess I have to trust my eyes more than the exposure detector.

Bodybuilder cramps up during competition!
 

This is a brand new excerpt from the bodybuilding documentary Raising the Bar 2.

Behind the scenes at the 2006 Masters Nationals in Pittsburgh, Dave Pulcinella encounters a recurring problem. Having brought his bodyfat and water to extremely low levels for the contest, his muscles begin to rebel and tighten up at the worst possible moment. Will Dave be able to continue or will he have to bow out of the competition as he was forced to do at his previous contest?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cluyc24vqc

www.mikepulcinella.com


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You were able to make something foreign to me have a human side. I am not interested in nor do I understand body building. By showing the kinds of problems that happen behind the scenes you made the subject more identifiable. Even though it is hard to watch the pain he is going through, it gives the subject more dimension to see his struggle. Good work.

Unlike Marcus, I can relate to body building (not the steroide side though), and the films you have made are truely epic. I really liked them and, since today, I'm a subscriber att YouTube. Great work, especially in mixing v.o. with the shots.

Thank you very much Marcus and Peter!

I have been told that these films appeal to the average viewer as well as to fans of bodybuilding and of that I am very proud. I never intended to make a "bodybuilding" video but just wanted to tell a good story.

Mesmerizing.... almost a touch of haunting.

Was a bit challenging to discern the words the Drummer was expressing yet the imagery along with the dreamy beat gave me a sense of someone who's perception of the physical world was going out of focus as they were transitioning to the spiritual world.

I liked it.

Brevis 35mm: Anorexia Part 2
 

Part 2 of a series of short films for UK's Channel 5 about Ali, 18 year old sufferer of Anorexia Nervosa.

Shot using the JVC HD201e and the Brevis 35mm adaptor. Diffuser CF3L

Sigma 20mm F2, Nikon 35mm F1.4 and 50mm lenses F1.4.
Zeiss 50mm F1.4 and T2, 85mm F1.4
Nikon 105 F2

Graded with vignettes in FCP6

http://web.mac.com/philip.bloom/Phil...xia_films.html

That's what I was going for. Thanks!

Underwater H.264
 

For those lucky enough to EDIT with a PC and use EDIUS.
Here is a underwater Quicktime Clip I rendered straight out of the HDV timeline in one very easy and straight forward process.

Specs 40 meg, H.264, 1.5mbps.

http://www.hdvunderwater.com/videos/under.mov

Whats it look like on ya MACS?

Amazing Subject
 

Amazing subject, well put together, compelling story.