Video Production

So Much for the Day Off

Within about an hour of this morning's post, I get a phone call from the UPM of the other thesis film that's been shooting since last Thursday asking if I'd like to be an extra because a bunch of their extras didn't show. "Suuure" (I was also kind of hungry and wanted...

Film School History is Made

For thesis films we get three days of shooting. The original plan for the thesis I was working on was to shoot the final scene today, but it would have only been half a day since the actors had to leave by noon. Instead, we finished early last night so the decision...

5 Ways To Make Video Look Like Film

So you wonder why your home movies and YouTube masterpieces don't quite have the same production value as say, SNL's Lazy Sunday. Well the people that made that get paid to do it, so I would hope it looks good. But there's some tricks you can do to liven up your...

The F2s

The F2s are officially done. Basically it was a short exercise to get us used to working with film. The entire crew was from the first year class, so this time we got to do all the fun jobs like directing, cinematographer, production designer, etc. It was a short,...

We Are Doomed (So They Say)

We left to meet the Phelpses at a turnpike stop in the late morning, after having some delicious homemade Chai Tea from our host's mother. The Phelpses had told us that they had already scouted the location and were splitting up into two groups, so no matter which way...

The American Pillow

I am currently writing this on a yellow pad (now transcribed) in the back seat of a Jeep Grand Cherokee en route to Athens, GA. It's been an exciting couple of days. Best to start with the beginning. We left on the eve of a massive storm across the southeast. A...

The Film-Look

Despite the popularity of DV, filmmakers seem to always be after that elusive film-look. Though HD and Digital Video keep rapidly advancing, film has set the bar high. While the realistic look of DV is more appropriate for some mediums (documentaries, mockumentaries,...

BTL of the Week

So BTL of the Week, as the name implies, was supposed to be a weekly post recapping the BTL job I just performed on an F3. Well F3s are now over so I'll just do a recap of the jobs us first years did and what I learned that will be useful for thesis (as we have to do...

This Might Have Been Useful A Month Ago

Our F1s were shot with a Canon XL1, along with the rest of our weekend projects. It's always been called a prosumer camera, and now we have a better idea as to why. >>Geek Speak Warning The main reason is a lack to set focus. The standard XL1 lens has auto-focus...