Green Screen: Making The Impossible Possible
March 10, 2010
Green screen is one of the most well liked techniques employed in the creation of films. How often have people been awed by the fantastic antics done by super heroes on the enormous screen? Many have wondered how heroes are able to jump from a tall building without getting hurt, or how a heroine or model is ready to travel to different nations in the blinking of an eye. Well, this will all be attained by shooting in a local studio with a green background and then inserting a background of any place of imagining a director wishes.
All this is formed possible with the help of green screen. An actor can go to worlds that she hasn’t ever been, bringing with them situations and places that you have only dreamed of, which can be done with the strategy of the green screen that’s both convenient and cost reductive. This methodology is very common on television.
One of the best examples where this technique is employed is in the weather forecast section in news. The TV frequently presents a person standing in front of an animated globe, talking about the assorted weather conditions around the globe as clouds and raindrops are conjured up on screen. Actually, there is simply a green screen present and later the animation is added to the background. This technique is followed by pretty much all the television networks.
This technique is simple, all someone needs is a camera, a green screen and video revising software. The person has to make sure that the color is the same through without even a tiny change in the shade. The surface must be even while taping or else it is going to be extraordinarily tough to edit that express segment. Another critical point while using this technique is that the subject should contain a small amount of the same green color. However, one must note that only a minute portion of the topic can be green or in similar shades. When the subject contains a little portion of green, one can hide or minimize the impact of the edges that might appear if the perimeters are uneven or not uniform. The part of the subject coloured in green must be minimal. Else, when it is edited it will seem like there is a hole or an empty space in the subject.
Once the green screen is erected, the very next step is to shoot the topic. To achieve perfection using this technique, the subject should have a well defined outline as it’s going to be better to trace and cut the subject out and superimpose it onto the new background. There should be no loose edges on the topic and the lighting has to be absolutely perfect. The camera should focus on the subject and not on the background. This is critical as the topic may not look clear when it comes time for editing. This method gives the best results when shot in the out of doors.
There are a lot of other websites giving various forms of advice on how to use green screen but a lot of them are not very detailed or concise. Before following these, make sure to check my own articles and reviews on Green Screen and Green Screen , additionally, you can reach me at phillipguye@hotmail.com or 1-323-851-3825
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Astronauts and Funk Music
February 26, 2009
Today I create a new category, named 2009 Music Demos, where I’ll publish totally new music tracks made with the latest gears but with the same talent behind: myself :)
These tracks are demonstrations of my skills and creative ideas and in each post I’ll explain the inspiration that moves them, the images I would like you to see while listening to them and the feelings.
Astronauts and Funk Music
This first post is dedicated to big 80s space operas, movies, novels and sci-fi culture. This is also a trip to old good 80s with their catchy rhythms, synths and guitars.
This first demo starts with a space choir, an opening orchestra and choir theme, I can say epic and grand, that creates images of galaxies, shuttles, astronauts and the infinity of the universe.
The choir evolves into a rock instrumental piece, with 80s synth effects that add a spacey feel to the entire track. I can name it “space rock”.
The next style is jazz, a universal style that will never end to please our ears, today, and in the next centuries.
Synths are back in an 80s pop mix, while a really catching funk part ends the demonstration, making us really uplifting and excited.
I dedicate this music work to Richard Garriott, Lord British in Ultima and significant figure in the video game industry.
On October 12, 2008, Garriott launched aboard Soyuz TMA-13 to the International Space Station as a self-funded tourist, returning safely 12 days later aboard Soyuz TMA-12.
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Surveying the Land of Scape
February 18, 2009
Taegen Carter is a movie director. He is also the owner of Mythmaker Entertainment, a company that produces shorts and features in the genres of adventure, sci-fi, thriller and drama. Taegen tells us about the production of Scape, that should be completed around June of ’09. Let’s read his words, in this exclusive article that could be a page of a well written diary or a best selling novel.
Surveying the Land of Scape
Making a film sucks. It’s hard. Really hard. When it’s finished, and people sit in darkness, silently watching in a matter of minutes what may have cumulatively taken years of work, it’s worth it. But really, the process couldn’t be harder. Start with the fact that an alarmingly high number of people will look at you in utter pity when you mention you’re making a feature film. Mix in some healthy doses of family doubt, maybe a pinch or two of high school friends making ten times more money than you in a real job, and that’s just the beginning. But don’t get me wrong, I’m an optimist.
Maybe it’s my optimism that continues to lead me, often blindly, toward my goal of becoming a professional (see definition of professional: paid) director. Having directed a ninety-five minute feature film already, you might be wondering if the guy writing this article enjoys pain. Sure, maybe a little. But with experience at my fingertips, my second feature had to be easier, right? No. Not a chance. The following is a chronicle of my pain experience, and some of the many problems that arose.
I spent six months writing the script and raised a budget mainly by begging investors (see definition of investors: family) for money. The sum of which was not very much. Just enough to pay a skeleton crew of ex-students, get a deal with the acting union SAG and rent some camera equipment. The law of filmmaking says this: the closer one gets to filming, the more will go wrong. One week before filming and things were really getting dicey. I was still converting my script to a series of shots that I wanted to film, rehearsing with actors, coordinating logistics and dealing with problems. That’s what filmmaking really is, by the way, problem solving.
Problem A: the actor in your opening scene, the scene that is the most important save for the ending scene, tells you a week before filming that he doesn’t own a car and the filming location is 300 miles away. Problem B: the costume rental house will not accept insurance, so you must charge 4 times the value of the clothes on your credit card as insurance. And it’s a period piece movie, so there’s a lot of expensive clothes. And the total charge is so much you don’t have enough credit cards to put the charges on. Scratch that, there’s a credit card you never use in your chest of drawers at home. So you max out your credit cards, hope to hell no one damages or loses or steals the clothes, buy your actor an Amtrak ticket and make a note to pick up a very large bottle of antacids at Costco to help stave off ulcers that you know are on their way. Yes, this is all true.
Even now, I dread looking at a FICO score. Four days before we were to leave from Los Angeles for Santa Cruz, disaster struck. A quarter mile from the sixty-acre horse ranch we were going to film on, a fire started. I had no backup locations. Half the budget for the film had already been paid out. I couldn’t get it back. We had to film. I checked the fire report hourly, popped antacid tablets and realized that we’d film in some random forest even if it meant getting arrested for trespassing or filming without a permit.
All ten of us drove up to a summer rental house and crammed ourselves into our tiny, modest hovel. Later that day the fire dissipated, the police barricades came down, and we found out our location had been saved. Now came the fun stuff. Filming. I had a total of 12 days to film 76 pages. A Hollywood film typically shoots about 3 pages per day. Do the math on my movie. Yeah, we had a lot to film in a really short amount of time. The first shot of the first day took place in a colony for the diseased. We had ten extras to help make the colony feel real. Five actually showed up on a very cold morning. Three actually got back into their cars thirty minutes before filming and left. And these were people who were going to get paid! We had two extras to make a colony feel like a colony. Equipment wasn’t working right. Light was changing fast. And as always, there were lots of things to think about. Those antacids became like Pez to me. I put myself and most of the crew in early nineteenth century clothes and we started filming. Problem solved. Kind of.
Every second on set sends a problem the director’s way. People have questions. People want to know what you think about fill-in-the-blank. It is a director’s medium, for his better or worse. Throughout the twelve days, we had more problems than grains of sand on every beach in the world. I had arguments with the crew. A production assistant got bored four days in and left. Not good when your production assistant is also your makeup artist, wardrobe and caterer. The main prop for the film, a mask the villain wears, showed up very very late into filming via mail.
And on top of all of that, our opening scene became a disaster. If you can’t hook people in the first five minutes of your film, what’s to keep them from continuing to watch? No pressure. The opening included two horses. Not a problem when shooting on a horse ranch, right? The ranch would only give us one horse, and told us this fact an hour before filming. Next problem, it was an Appalachian horse. And it kicked my actor off several times. I was near tears. The scene was definitely not working. The actor who came up via Amtrak for the day had come in vain. And he was going to leave for Los Angeles the next morning. And I had four days of filming left. I was not going to cover the number of pages I needed to finish the film. And on top of that, I now needed to write a new opening scene after a very difficult and very long 12-hour day.
Every morning, after 6 hours of sleep, I would get up, figure out what scenes we were shooting and prepare for each scene. We’d spend the entire day and sometimes nights filming. We’d usually get back to the house around 8pm, eat dinner, watch the footage we shot during the day, transfer the footage and sound to hard drives, go to sleep and start the process over. Now, with only 4 days left, I also had to come up with a new opening. I wrote something and we filmed it on our last day. Having already cut 8 pages from the script while we were filming, I wasn’t too happy about filming a scene twice.
But the new opening scene has cut together incredibly well. In fact, the film is my finest work to date. If a filmmaker’s problem solving skills are his tools to building the film, then problems are the essence of filmmaking. Without these problems, creativity stagnates and the product is awful. I’m convinced that Scape wouldn’t be as good as it is without the stomach-churning dilemmas that appeared throughout the process. Now, as I finish writing this, I’m preparing to write my next screenplay. You’re probably wondering if I read what I just wrote. I know, I don’t make sense. Oh well, you have to do what you love. I wonder if the person who coined that phrase did?
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Music, Movies and Independent Films In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world. Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea? Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of...... - Sounds like music and networking Wizzit Magazine interviewed me about Blogging and Social Networking. I have to thank Matti Mattila, the reviewer and open networker. If you remember, Matti wrote A musician story. Here is a short excerpt from the magazine article that you can download here in pdf format. Sounds like music and......
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Music, Movies and Independent Films
July 30, 2008
In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world.
Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea?
Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of 2008. We are a new company in the Philadelphia area that specializes in independent film. We started it after working on a t.v. sitcom pilot called “Two One Five.” Myself, and my two partners Keelen Monahan and Matt Tomko had all been working individually on producing, directing, and writing and decided to put our efforts into one basket by opening up what would eventually become Clocktower.
How much is difficult to manage a movie studio?
I don’t know that it’s as difficult as it is fun. We are all doing something that we throughly enjoy doing. There is a strong workload, especially since we are a new company, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are a very hands on company working directly with our actors on a one on one basis. We try to cater to all of their needs as well as our own.
I’m a music composer, so the question is natural, how much music is important in the production?
As a musician myself, I think that music is one of the most important thing in a film. If you’re trying to paint a picture to set up a scene, background music is key to setting a mood. A good song will always have the scene set perfectly and you may not even notice it in the background, but when you have a bad song you, as the filmgoer, will always notice the mistake of choice.
What is your latest production? Can you tell us something about it?
Right now we are working on a few things. We are working on a feature film called “Describing the Moon,” about a guy in his mid-twenties struggling with trying to please his friends and complete his life’s goal of becoming a script writer. It’s a fantastic script that’s really dialogue driven, and very funny. We will be finishing up auditions for that next weekend, and should begin filming in October. Two One Five is a big priority as well, we are shopping around to try and sell and make an entire season. As well as entering short film and television festivals to get the name out. The entire episode is up on our website for free viewing at Clocktower Pictures. We are also looking into opening up a second branch of the company under the banner Clocktower Music helping to produce local artists and independent musicians. So we have a lot going on.
How we can define an independent movie and why it’s important that indies are supported in their work?
I think independent film is a very important thing because it brings out more creativity in people. When you’re writing without cause and shooting without big budget you’re working harder at making something the way you see it, so you’re getting the original vision of what you’re going for. It’s like an artists painting, you want to express your own ideas in your own way, not someone else. Too many hands in the cookie jar is never a good thing.
Do you think internet can help indies?
I think the internet is a great advantage for people in any area of creative arts. You can reach out to millions of people at the single click of a button for your company, your movie, your art, your music anything you want. I think with the advent of facebook, myspace, mandy, craigslist, and countless others we’re living in an age where getting yourself out to the masses of people is just that much easier, and that much better.
How do you see the future of movie production?
As far as movie production in general goes, I see it bulking up even more. Budget’s for production are getting larger by what seems daily, actors are making more and more money, and the intake is getting outrageous. On a smaller scale, Philadelphia is getting its own studio soon which has already scene production in the city jump up ten fold.
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How to film an award winning movie with no money
February 4, 2008
This is a very interesting story about a director with a great idea but no money. Kely McClung is a director writer actor editor. He’s been able to film his movie with no money and very low resources. But he made it! The award winning Blood Ties is his first feature film. His first short film, AM Session, was recently nominated for HBO’s Short Film Award. Here’s what he wrote for us.
How to film an award winning movie with no money
The four year, twenty-three day, ninety-three minute movie!
Yeah, yeah. The movie’s not that long, it just has been for me. Everyone else, besides friends and family, will get to see the 93 minute version. And the reality is, I might be on it another couple years, though what anyone sees will still be the 93 minute version.
“Blood Ties” was filmed with no money by a crew of three in both the US and Thailand (with just a few moments over the border into Cambodia). Just to make things a bit more complicated, we filmed in the mountains of Virginia, Washington D.C. on the Mall, The Port of Miami, and Atlanta. Our crew numbers stayed at a maximum of three and our cast grew to 154.
And post production? Me. Sound, visual effects, editing, ADR, Foley, graphics, titles, music? Me. Which is not to say everything is great, it’s just what we could afford on a no budget movie. Every time I’d get ready to fire myself, I’d remember that I’m the only guy I could afford! And even with that, I definitely had some long talks with myself.
Is it worth watching? We hope so, and our success on the beginning of the film circuit says we might be right.
Blood Ties won The Action on Film International Film Festival’s “Action Film of the Year”, The Audience Award for “Best Director” at the Big Bang Film Festival, “Best of the Festival” at the Indie Fest USA International Film Festival, “Best Visual Effects” at the same, and has been nominated for various other awards at various other festivals.
Could I teach something about directing? Yeah, probably, even though Blood Ties is a first movie. About editing? Yeah, I’m known as a strong editor. After Effects, sound editing, composing for film, and 200 other subjects involved in making a movie? I’m pretty sure I could. But that’s not want I want to teach or preach or pass on in these few words.
The lesson I hope to share right now is in creating a vision – not only of the movie and what you want it to be but how you want to be perceived – keeping it in mind, and striving toward it with as little compromise as possible no matter how long it takes. Knowing that in twenty or thirty years, your first film won’t matter in the scheme of things except that it will always be, no matter how successful or not, your first film.
One of the things to strive for is surrounding yourself with a strong cheering section. My film partner, my family, my amazing girlfriend. Though they might not physically take on the work, without them, there is no movie.
My film partner, Robert Pralgo put up the initial money, as well as a seemingly endless trickle of money since. He also co-starred, help cast, pushed, pulled and dared me to make a better movie than what we thought was possible.
My family never talked down to me even though I am the one brother of five who they all have to worry about if I have a roof over my head.
And the Amazing Amanda let me see the movie from many different angles, again setting me up to challenge myself to make it even stronger.
Our crew of three rotated several times, and our cast gave their all because they somehow knew that I believed in what I was doing. There would be no movie without all of their many efforts. I give credit to almost everyone I meet and genuinely mean and feel it. They color the way I look at myself and my work, and are reflected in the images jumping around on screen.
And jump around they do! Blood Ties embraced the hand held look simply because I knew where I was wanting to shoot, a tripod, a dolly, or a steadicam would get us arrested. “You mean you aren’t supposed to shoot on the Mall or the Port or in the streets of a foreign country without permission?” Permission is relatively easy to get, if you pay for it. And that just wasn’t part of the budget!
I am sure I could talk about the making of the movie for the about the same length of time it took to make it. And maybe I’ll get the chance to write more. There is a lot more information on our website and other people are starting to talk and write as well.
What I hope with this introduction is to pass on the challenge to others to make the movies they want to see. To learn and persevere. To look at the art around them and if they find themselves saying “I could do that” – then to do it!
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Knights and Film Music Today I publish a new music track, inspired by knights, chivalry, code of honour, battles and dangerous wilderness exploration. This is a demonstration of my talent with orchestral arrangements. Knights and Film Music The Knight is an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of courage and honour. Knighthood was...... -
A Beautiful Interview Ceri Shaw suggested me an interview from our friends at Americymru. So here's this beautiful interview with Dr. Karl Jenkins (I include also the link to their ticket giveaway competition for his performance at Carnegie Hall NY on March 6th 2010). A Beautiful Interview Dr. Karl Jenkins is Britain's greatest......
- Frugal Ideas - Beauty Tips to Kitchen Decorating Being frugal is a great way to save money. Here are some frugal resources to check out: Fun and Frugal Beauty Tips - Some great ideas for saving money on beauty related expenses. Here are just a couple of ideas from the article: 1. To dry nail polish in a......
- Reading and movies What is reading, but silent conversation. Walter Savage Landor, writer (1775-1864) I love the idea that reading is silent conversation. The books that touch us most fall into that category. Right now I am especially enjoying the Henri Nouwen books and the Alexandra Stoddard books that I wrote about a......
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Living Below Your Means Does Not Mean Living Poorly. It's all in what you make of it, really. As I am sure you are aware of, there are plenty of people who live below the ridiculously low poverty line (both here in the U.S. and the rest of the world) that are very happy; and there are also incredibly...... - The Difference Between THEM and US When It Comes To Money. We all have them. Friends that spend like there is no tomorrow, they buy the latest cellphone, the biggest flat screen TV, the newest model BMW. They buy a McMansion to impress their friends and families, eat out every night of the week, and go on extravagant vacations that they......
- 450 Random Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan." Barbie''s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. Studies......
Growing Independent Film Industry in the Southeast
January 11, 2008
Heidi Yost wrote this exclusive article. Heidi (photo) is a talented actress. In this article, she explains Film Industry situation in the southeast, talks about her experience as artist and gives also important hints for the new actors.
Growing Independent Film Industry in the Southeast
When I returned home to Louisville, Kentucky from my three year-long stint in Los Angeles as a professional actress I expected more. I anticipated that my recent win as a Marilyn Monroe Look-Alike by Premiere Magazine and my appearances on Beverly Hills 90210 and Matlock would have every talent and casting agent in Louisville falling over themselves to represent and utilize my homegrown talents and experience. It didn’t happen. I felt like Yukon Cornelius after I swung my mining pick into the ground and brought it to my mouth to taste for traces of the delicious silver and gold acting opportunities at home and “Nuthin’. Hello, I won the Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest!
Fifteen years later, to my delight everything is coming up roses in the Southeast independent film industry. Is it because I am no longer a platinum blonde ingénue and now a sultry redhead? Is it due to widely available and affordable video and film equipment? Has the increase of Los Angeles film location shooting in Kentucky infused the film community here: ELIZABETHTOWN, SEABISCUIT, THE INSIDER, STRIPES, etc, etc? The 48 Hour Film Festival, among others may have tempted some independent film makers who otherwise would not have stepped behind a camera with simple, short formats and alluring prizes. How wonderful to have developed an extensive filmography in my own hometown due to the indy boom.
Louisville has had a thriving arts community for the entirety of my life. The city has claimed a local ballet, orchestra and professional theater company: Actors Theater of Louisville (that had everyone I auditioned for in Los Angeles inquiring). The River City also boasts a cultural center, the Kentucky Center for the Arts that is used for a myriad of artistic and mind expanding events—from K.D. Lang concerts to poetry readings by Maya Angelou.
The semi-professional theaters in Louisville are also noteworthy and prolific. I cut my teeth at the KY Contemporary Theater before I got my B.A. and moved west. Pandora Productions produced a compelling version of SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES. Since, then Susan Linville, Founder and actress at the Necessary Theater has offered amazing productions with compelling new scripts as does Looking for Lillith. The recent one-woman show WOMEN SPEAK IRAQ developed and performed by Shannon Woolsey was performed with such virtuosity and passion for the widest range of opinions and postures I could imagine.
My training, my stage and life experiences experience have given me the depth that I claim and utilize now as a film actress. Oftentimes, people will ask me which medium is my favorite. They both have their draws. In the live theater experience, the actress has the opportunity to get immediate feedback from the audience, has a substantial amount of time to build emotional crescendos and has the obligation and luxury to live in the moment and keep going whatever the immediate reality (not fun when scenery or a co-actor is falling on your head).
Film offers the luxury of another take, if the first one or fifteen takes aren’t the cat’s meow, you can do another. Film tends to pay better. (However, anyone who acts for the pay is a little misguided). You can capture the moment forever on film (This can be most upsetting for some who aren’t involved in savory productions). Most films have a larger audience than the theater does.
Advice for the film actress: study. If you wish to be an actress, learn from the best in your community who teach. Do not study under an opera diva and expect that you will be taught the subtleties of a fine camera performance. Do not study at modeling agencies who are primarily interested in increasing their bank accounts. Study under those who have the experience you are seeking. Universities are an excellent place to learn and perform as an actress.
If you are younger than college-age and wish to act, go see as many plays and films as you can. If you enjoy someone in a stage performance, find out his/her name and if you may have a few minutes of their time to see how they gained their polish. Community theater is a great place to start. Hopefully you will get a sane director and be able to squeeze into the cast despite the member of the board of director’s narcissistic casting. If you think that Hollywood is political—spend a summer in a community theater!
Surround yourself with positive people. If you consider someone incredibly talented as an actor or director, but he/she is constantly negative, overbearing or abusive—go elsewhere. Life is too short and no matter how badly you want to act—it’s not worth it.
The directors that have had the distinct pleasure of working with are great collaborators. Chris Courson from Lightspeed Productions first cast me as a lead in his film called EMMA’S CODE for Louisville’s 48 Hour Film Festival. Immediately after that in July 2007 he wrote the most amazing short called CIRCUS NUTS and cast me again as a lead. We were so pleased with the results we will be shooting a feature-length on this premise this summer.
Chase Dudley is a young director who was open to my suggestions when he needed other quality actors for the independent feature film LAST SEEN ALIVE (knowing people always helps good actors who are easy to work with get cast). Tracy Dudley his wife wrote an amazing screenplay with a strong female lead, Detective Malone. Tracy was very open to working together to make the script and character as believable and formidable as possible. The process and final product was such that we are planning on working together on a sequel in 2008. LAST SEEN ALIVE will be available at www.amazon.com in late January 2008.
- Game Engine Dr. Roberto Dillon has written this article about his Music-Emotion Driven Game Engine. I think this idea to really have potential. Game Engine In the fast developing world of videogames, sound has traditionally played a less important role than other features, such as graphics. Nonetheless, recently, due to the latest......
- Documentary Filmmaking This is a special article written for us by James N. Weber. He has worked on Socially Aware Media, especially documentaries, in South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Mexico, and is currently working on a project on food security in Guatemala. His work and more info can be found......
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The Elegance of the Art Doug Stahnke is a sculptor. And this is a wonderful exclusive article he wrote for us. The Elegance of the Art Let me begin by first defining some terms as I apply them: talent – I think there is a simple truth here. You were either born with it or you...... - French Language Lessons Have Real Appeal With Business Language Champions If you can remember the French language lessons from your school days you may recall the monotonous chanting of verbs or the cassette player on the teacher's desk crackling out the almost inaudible sound of an overly-enthusiastic French gentleman booking a train ticket to La Rochelle. It was fun, but......
- Knights and Film Music Today I publish a new music track, inspired by knights, chivalry, code of honour, battles and dangerous wilderness exploration. This is a demonstration of my talent with orchestral arrangements. Knights and Film Music The Knight is an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of courage and honour. Knighthood was......
- Assistance Improving Your Home Help can be found easily when it comes to home improvements. You can hire a local handy man to come and help you or you can pull in some favors from friends and family members, either way it is very easy for help to come and guide you through your......
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Guide to Buying and Selling Antiques If you're looking for something unique to adorn the rooms of your home, then a hobby that you may want to delve into is buying and selling antiques. There are a couple of different things that you are going to need to consider when it comes to buying and selling...... - Free Summer Movies and Equity Indexed Annuities Free movies and equity indexed annuities? That's admittedly a strange combination. So be it. The frugal side of Mr. ToughMoneyLove is briefly emerging again today. I like free stuff just as much as the rest of you, as long as I don't have to embarrass or inconvenience myself trying to......
- Is Age Really a Problem for Important Jobs? Geriatrician Dr. Greg Sachs takes on the issue of presidential candidate McCainâs age. Is he too old to run for president? In a round about way, I think he is saying ânoâ. Regardless of our political leaning or those of Dr. Sachs, I think he is right. Older people have......
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Mel Gibson: what in the world happened to you? "Man you're really losin' it And you've really done a lot of junk now But you keep on abusin' it What in the world happened to you It's bad enough you do it to yourself..." The song is called What Happened to You and it is a really fun......
Documentary Filmmaking
November 14, 2007
This is a special article written for us by James N. Weber. He has worked on Socially Aware Media, especially documentaries, in South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Mexico, and is currently working on a project on food security in Guatemala. His work and more info can be found at his homepage.
Documentary Filmmaking
On the video shelf where the Dewey Decimal starts with a number, there is an odd conglomeration of videos: a man gorging himself on fries, some guy living with grizzlies, and a bunch of slide shows of old wars. It’s the documentary shelf, a mix of the sensational, humorous, serious, and (supposedly) true videos.
So let’s say you want to get your work on that shelf. Maybe you know this awesome woman down the street who invents things. Or maybe you’re interested in the affects of high fructose corn syrup on your body. Here’s how you can do it, and really, you can.
Throughout my experience with documentaries, I’ve developed what I call Socially Aware Media. In other words, I try to make sure that my projects are dedicated to making life better for people, or at the very least, trying not to hurt people. A key issue for me is how people are portrayed, as many of the people I interview or film are oppressed in some way. I do my best to treat them with respect, and try to convey their own words, instead of shaping it into the message that I (or the intended audience) would like to hear.
To give you an idea on what it takes to make a documentary yourself, I’ll use my biggest documentary, Fuerza, as an example. Fuerza is a 30 minute documentary on immigration from Apan, Hidalgo, Mexico, to Goshen, Indiana, U.S.A. I and three others started pre-production in November of 2005, and then put together a short proposal (video and written), which we submitted for a grant in spring 2006. The grant was a meager $5,000 (mostly for travel) plus access to equipment and editing space.
Through the summer of 2006, we conducted interviews and taping, making sure we got some major events such as protests and important local meetings. In late August, we spent a week in Apan, where we interviewed tons of people who had lived in Goshen or had family in Goshen, as well as city officials. Then we spent three days at the border, interviewing the border patrol and attending a press conference for Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.
After the trip, we tracked down some pivotal interviews, and interviewed local politicians, and started transcribing, translating, and writing the script. Finally, we started with the actual edit. By this time, I was spending 40 hours a week on the video, on top of my college classes, in order to have it ready by our premiere date in November 2006.
We premiered it a year after we started preproduction, on November 9, 2006, to a packed theater in downtown Goshen. Since then, we’ve sold hundreds of DVDs and been invited to show the film and speak at universities like Notre Dame, churches, schools, and homes.
One of the biggest challenges to making a documentary is finding the money. You’ll want about $1000 per minute of final product. At least. And if you’re wanting to make money, find another career (or more likely, hobby). There is very little money to be made, and very few documentaries actually become profitable. On the projects I’ve completed so far, I stand to actually make about $200 total (plus a lot of travel). So I do this because I love it.
In Fuerza, we had a lot of difficulty knowing how to apply some of the ideas of Socially Aware Media to a scene where a Mexican mother breaks down and cries over her son who had emigrated to the U.S. It’s a highly emotional scene, with footage of the son watching the video of his mother cry, followed by a heartfelt directive from mother to son to “Work hard so you can return home.”
We ended up cutting time the mother cries in half, and then probably half again, until we reached a point that did not gloss over the pain she felt, but also didn’t exploit either the mother or the audience.
So if you have an idea for a documentary, do it! Go find the money, and if you can’t, there are ways of doing it dirt cheap.
- An Artist Portrait (Part One) This is a fantastic article written exclusively for my Weblog by Frank V. Cahoj. Please feel free to comment here or send him emails. He'll be happy of this. An Artist Portrait (Part One) My name is Frank Cahoj and I have been an artist since I was born. I can......
- Game Dev Famous Game Dev Vince Desi writes for our Weblog! He will write a series of articles, and this is the Part One of an article about being successful in Independent VideoGame Developer Art! Become a famous Game Dev now! Game Dev (Part One) Part 1. The 3 Essential Elements: I......
- Reading for fun This is a nice article from Isaac Marion. Isaac has been running the online textual variety show, BurningBuilding.com, since 2003. He lives in Seattle, Washington, where he works various mundane jobs while trying to make his writing/music/art career take off. Reading for fun Recent studies have shown that across the......
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How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course...... - An Artist Portrait (Part Two) This is the Part Two (and final part) of the true life story as artist written by Frank V. Cahoj for our Weblog. (Part One) An Artist Portrait (Part Two) I give an unbelievable amount of credence to these two early periods in my life: one of everlasting creation, one......
- Learn About Easy Video Player There are many money making options available in the market today but you need to have the knowledge of which is best one for you. Out of all the options the most lucrative one that can make you earn money spinning profits is the affiliate marketing. This form of online......
- The Top Home Internet Business Opportunity – Catapult Your Income Online What’s the best home internet business opportunity around today? For people looking to start making money online this question occupies your thoughts most of the time. Not surprising then, that a whole industry has sprung up selling the dream that easy cash can be made on the internet in a......
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Boost your Business Blog with Video Blogging As a result of video sharing websites such as YouTube, the popularity of hosting videos on the internet has really gone right through the roof in recent years. More and more people online are preferring the idea of watching a short video in place of reading a great deal of...... - Attraction Marketing - The Art Of Expression To really attract the right person to you and your business. You really have to dig deep inside yourself and find out who you are and express that. For me it is natural, I am a musician, martial artist and a marketer. All of these things require you to Dig......
- Cash Building Strategies Series: Busting Out the Myths Since we’re talking about earning a living online; it’s important that the issues of internet fraud be addressed. You want to be aware, but there’s no reason to let doubt get in your way when deciding the online business path you should take. Scams, spam and fraud seem......
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