Tuesday, 3 April 2012
movie making HOW TO--EQUIPMENT
MOVIE MAKING HOW TO--EQUIPMENT
When thinking about the film making equipment you will need for your project, you will need to make a list as soon as your budget and schedule have been worked out. This is when you will need to contact film making equipment rental houses to see which ones have the best price on what you need. Some of this equipment is used often and you may need to reserve it much earlier than you will actually need it.
You will need to get a list of vendors that offer the film making equipment rentals that you need. Some rental houses can put together a complete package for you, and others may be a bit more constrained. As long as you have a complete list of equipment needed you will be able to find the right rental house to serve you.
When you contact the vendor, ask if they will have the equipment you are going to need by the time you will need it. Tell them what your project will require in the line of film making equipment. Most of the rental houses are current on the latest equipment, and could help you with information you weren't aware of.
It is imperative that you reserve the equipment for the dates of your shoot. This should be done in advance, and is called a hold. This does not mean you will need to pay for the equipment before you pick it up. If the film making equipment has already been put on hold for someone else, you may need to accept a hold for a later date. If you know that the date you have given is the date you will be getting the equipment, ask the vendor if you can firm your order. The rental house will contact the people with the hold prior to you and ask them to firm the order or give up the hold. When you firm an order, you will be obligated to pay for the equipment from the day you have the hold, even if you don't use it then. If your plans change, you will need to contact the vendor as soon as possible so they can make other arrangements with other customers.
Since you are renting equipment that has had several users, it is a good idea to test it out before you are actually ready to shoot the film. The vendor is not liable for anything if you use faulty equipment and waste time and money. Most rental houses will ask you to show proof on insurance, if anything should happen to equipment while you are using it, you are responsible for replacement. If you do not have insurance, the rental company will put you in touch with an insurance company that will cover the production.
Make sure you get a signed agreement on the terms of the film making equipment rental, cost, time of pick up and return, and a list of liability and responsibility terms. Check the equipment when you pick it up to make sure it is all there. It is much better to find a missing element while at the rental house than when you are ready to shoot. Check everything with your list to make sure nothing has been left out, you will avoid wasting time on trips back to the rental house to retrieve missing equipment. Check everything over thoroughly and don't miss anything, no matter how small. You may want to pick up the equipment a day or two before the day you will be shooting. This will give you plenty of time to test the equipment so there will be no surprises.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
So Many Cameras, So Little Time
So Many Cameras, So Little Time
Without the camera there is no film, no movie to make. If you start making film on a regular basis you will learn to capture image with a number of different cameras. You will have your favorite but there will be many different ones that you have to hold. At a certain point using film became all but obsolete and digital took over. The introduction of the digital camera made capturing image infinitely easier.
Film cameras are good to work with in the beginning because they teach you how to use a lens. You learn about depth of field and how so push and pull focus plus a variety of other things that you will use when directing the camera. I like to think of using actual film as more organic. The image is a bit hazy and lacks that artificial crispness that a digital image can have. However there is no denying that digital is immediately gratifying.
In the beginning digital was no match for film, but the technicians tweaked it until they developed cameras that are amazing. Film has been relegated to high art and now we have no second thoughts about shooting in digital over film. The costs of processing are totally absent when you use digital to shoot. Getting your film developed was so expensive that in many cases it was prohibitive, but now there are completely acceptable digital cameras in a variety of cost ranges.
Find a digital video camera and a tripod to work with. You will need a tripod with fairly thick legs for sturdiness and a good fluid head for panning. Also before you buy your tripod, make sure that the camera releases from the tripod easily and quickly. You will want a camera that has a good battery system for remote shooting.
There are, any number of great digital cameras out there. You should be able to find a decent camera to shoot action between $500-$800. If you can manage to scrape together $1,000 a good camera is the Samsung VP X220L camcorder with wired external lens. This camera has a neat compact body and it is very durable. A testament to this fact is that this camera was used in the Jack Ass show.
Do some product research, buy your camera and start shooting. Handle your camera so you know just how to pan and focus with the equipment you will be using. Play it back and see how it handles different lighting levels and shutter speeds. Check out how it focuses automatically and practice a bit of manual focusing.
I suggest that you start carrying a camera and building an image bank. An image bank will give you basic generic images that you will need to use as cutaways and various other functions in your film. Learn to look at things through the lens. Direct and build different scenes in the frame and shoot them in still photography first. Before you start production of the actual film, practice shooting with your new camera. You can shoot your crew and the talent. Shoot anything that moves until you get it down.
Without the camera there is no film, no movie to make. If you start making film on a regular basis you will learn to capture image with a number of different cameras. You will have your favorite but there will be many different ones that you have to hold. At a certain point using film became all but obsolete and digital took over. The introduction of the digital camera made capturing image infinitely easier.
Film cameras are good to work with in the beginning because they teach you how to use a lens. You learn about depth of field and how so push and pull focus plus a variety of other things that you will use when directing the camera. I like to think of using actual film as more organic. The image is a bit hazy and lacks that artificial crispness that a digital image can have. However there is no denying that digital is immediately gratifying.
In the beginning digital was no match for film, but the technicians tweaked it until they developed cameras that are amazing. Film has been relegated to high art and now we have no second thoughts about shooting in digital over film. The costs of processing are totally absent when you use digital to shoot. Getting your film developed was so expensive that in many cases it was prohibitive, but now there are completely acceptable digital cameras in a variety of cost ranges.
Find a digital video camera and a tripod to work with. You will need a tripod with fairly thick legs for sturdiness and a good fluid head for panning. Also before you buy your tripod, make sure that the camera releases from the tripod easily and quickly. You will want a camera that has a good battery system for remote shooting.
There are, any number of great digital cameras out there. You should be able to find a decent camera to shoot action between $500-$800. If you can manage to scrape together $1,000 a good camera is the Samsung VP X220L camcorder with wired external lens. This camera has a neat compact body and it is very durable. A testament to this fact is that this camera was used in the Jack Ass show.
Do some product research, buy your camera and start shooting. Handle your camera so you know just how to pan and focus with the equipment you will be using. Play it back and see how it handles different lighting levels and shutter speeds. Check out how it focuses automatically and practice a bit of manual focusing.
I suggest that you start carrying a camera and building an image bank. An image bank will give you basic generic images that you will need to use as cutaways and various other functions in your film. Learn to look at things through the lens. Direct and build different scenes in the frame and shoot them in still photography first. Before you start production of the actual film, practice shooting with your new camera. You can shoot your crew and the talent. Shoot anything that moves until you get it down.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
How To Produce Your Own Film
How To Produce Your Own Film
You may want to start out by producing your own film, if you are up to the task. It is a great burden to take on a project, especially when you are new to the business. If you can accomplish this, you will have a film you can show to display your commitment to a film making career.
Once you decide to produce your own film, you will need the resources to make your movie. A film grant is one way to get the funding for your film, but it can be difficult to get this type of grant. You will need to know how the process works when applying for a grant. There are different types of film grants, money, equipment, room and board, film, music, producing, screen writing, directing or a combination of any or all of the above.
Each grant giver has certain guidelines you must meet to qualify for their grant. Quite a few of them want you to produce a documentary of some type. Many of these grant projects have been given awards and are shown on television because they are so inspiring.
The purpose of these grants are designed to help film makers who are unable to get other funding. Others do not have the money to get into a good film school, but they have the talent. These grants create great film makers as well as wonderful films. Some grants allow film makers to get regular funding in the future, after they have shown what an excellent film maker they are.
When a grant funder is considering a project to give to, they look for the passion the film maker has for the project. This is the most important point of consideration when reading a grant application. The film maker will carry this passion and dedication throughout the film making process, no matter how long it takes to finish the film.
The Guerilla Filmmaking Grant was designed to encourage creative, resourceful filmmaking for artists working outside of the "Hollywood industry". Twice a year they award $1000 to produce, shoot, and edit a feature length film. The film maker has control over the look, feel and content of the film. A DVD release of the movie is included. The film maker keeps all rights to distribution. They also include Marketing Advice to help the film maker distribute and sell the movie. All film rights are retained by the film maker. Anyone in the world that is thinking of producing an English language feature film may apply for this grant.
You need to go to http://www.mediadarlings.org/filmgrant/ to check out the entire grant process of this grantor. You will find all of the information you need, and all of the guidelines you must go by to apply for this Guerilla Filmmaking Grant. If you have any questions you can contact them.
There are many places an independent film maker can apply for. Just type filmmaking grants into your favorite
search engine and you will see what I mean
You may want to start out by producing your own film, if you are up to the task. It is a great burden to take on a project, especially when you are new to the business. If you can accomplish this, you will have a film you can show to display your commitment to a film making career.
Once you decide to produce your own film, you will need the resources to make your movie. A film grant is one way to get the funding for your film, but it can be difficult to get this type of grant. You will need to know how the process works when applying for a grant. There are different types of film grants, money, equipment, room and board, film, music, producing, screen writing, directing or a combination of any or all of the above.
Each grant giver has certain guidelines you must meet to qualify for their grant. Quite a few of them want you to produce a documentary of some type. Many of these grant projects have been given awards and are shown on television because they are so inspiring.
The purpose of these grants are designed to help film makers who are unable to get other funding. Others do not have the money to get into a good film school, but they have the talent. These grants create great film makers as well as wonderful films. Some grants allow film makers to get regular funding in the future, after they have shown what an excellent film maker they are.
When a grant funder is considering a project to give to, they look for the passion the film maker has for the project. This is the most important point of consideration when reading a grant application. The film maker will carry this passion and dedication throughout the film making process, no matter how long it takes to finish the film.
The Guerilla Filmmaking Grant was designed to encourage creative, resourceful filmmaking for artists working outside of the "Hollywood industry". Twice a year they award $1000 to produce, shoot, and edit a feature length film. The film maker has control over the look, feel and content of the film. A DVD release of the movie is included. The film maker keeps all rights to distribution. They also include Marketing Advice to help the film maker distribute and sell the movie. All film rights are retained by the film maker. Anyone in the world that is thinking of producing an English language feature film may apply for this grant.
You need to go to http://www.mediadarlings.org/filmgrant/ to check out the entire grant process of this grantor. You will find all of the information you need, and all of the guidelines you must go by to apply for this Guerilla Filmmaking Grant. If you have any questions you can contact them.
There are many places an independent film maker can apply for. Just type filmmaking grants into your favorite
search engine and you will see what I mean
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Filmmaking is Storytelling
Filmmaking is Storytelling
My first introduction to film in school was during a film analysis class, although technically, it was classified as a philosophy class. The professor was quite pompous and made a big deal out of discussing how to actively view a film. No speaking was allowed, and we were to take notes while viewing. He was a little like the Movie Nazi. We discussed film theory and the power of the director in the making of a film at great length.
As a cultural phenomenon, film traces the human need to tell stories back to our oral traditions. Aside from recording history, we all want to be entertained and we all want to hear a good story. If you are going to make a film, you have to have a great story and then be willing to run with it. Talk it up to everyone you know. Enlist the help of others and win them over to the cause of your film. Give your film a catchy name--one that will pop out of people's mouths.
Promote your film shamelessly before you ever have anything in the can. Sell T Shirts with your film logos and sell bumper stickers. Make a website and develop a fan base. Start a blog and be just as edgy and out there as you can, but make sure that people have your film's name on their lips, regardless of how good it is.
I have a friend who produced a film about her high school experience 10 years ago, and this summer it will be distributed. She developed a website, sold things from her film promotion stock, and made a very good fan base for herself before the film was even edited. Her fan base, through the purchase of T-shirts and other promotional items, paid for various things throughout production of the film. She managed to get it made and now her film has been picked up for distribution 10 years later.
To be a filmmaker is to have a big picture mentality on a small picture budget. It is tough to stay true to the storyline when you have a bottom line that is keeping you from the production. One of the reasons you want to talk your film up is that, in the beginning, you will need to find a crew. Usually you will have to use talent that is willing to work for nothing (or next to nothing). You may have to act in your own film as well....and write, direct it, and edit it. Do what you have to do to get the film "in the can" and ready to edit.
You will have to develop tunnel vision with the project. If you have a day job, get used to the idea that you may have to take an extra job for a while to buy a camera or other necessary equipment for shooting. If you have the good fortune to still be a student you have great resources for equipment. If you are not a student, then maybe you can decide to go back to school and study film. You will have at your disposal some of the best resources an aspiring filmmaker can have. Film programs at universities have awesome loan programs that are a hidden resource.
At college, while you can take film equipment out on loan, you may also have access to edit bays and sound booths. In some cases, they are available 24 hours a day. Students are up all night anyway, right? Also, when forming a production crew, students provide good talent for your film when you are in need of actors. You may want to take turns crewing for your friends' films, and they, in turn, will act in yours. Do what you can to build a crew, gather the bare minimum of equipment needed to shoot, and develop a shooting schedule. Once you have the crew and the guns to shoot, everything starts to gel. Press onward.
My first introduction to film in school was during a film analysis class, although technically, it was classified as a philosophy class. The professor was quite pompous and made a big deal out of discussing how to actively view a film. No speaking was allowed, and we were to take notes while viewing. He was a little like the Movie Nazi. We discussed film theory and the power of the director in the making of a film at great length.
As a cultural phenomenon, film traces the human need to tell stories back to our oral traditions. Aside from recording history, we all want to be entertained and we all want to hear a good story. If you are going to make a film, you have to have a great story and then be willing to run with it. Talk it up to everyone you know. Enlist the help of others and win them over to the cause of your film. Give your film a catchy name--one that will pop out of people's mouths.
Promote your film shamelessly before you ever have anything in the can. Sell T Shirts with your film logos and sell bumper stickers. Make a website and develop a fan base. Start a blog and be just as edgy and out there as you can, but make sure that people have your film's name on their lips, regardless of how good
I have a friend who produced a film about her high school experience 10 years ago, and this summer it will be distributed. She developed a website, sold things from her film promotion stock, and made a very good fan base for herself before the film was even edited. Her fan base, through the purchase of T-shirts and other promotional items, paid for various things throughout production of the film. She managed to get it made and now her film has been picked up for distribution 10 years later.
To be a filmmaker is to have a big picture mentality on a small picture budget. It is tough to stay true to the storyline when you have a bottom line that is keeping you from the production. One of the reasons you want to talk your film up is that, in the beginning, you will need to find a crew. Usually you will have to use talent that is willing to work for nothing (or next to nothing). You may have to act in your own film as well....and write, direct it, and edit it. Do what you have to do to get the film "in the can" and ready to edit.
You will have to develop tunnel vision with the project. If you have a day job, get used to the idea that you may have to take an extra job for a while to buy a camera or other necessary equipment for shooting. If you have the good fortune to still be a student you have great resources for equipment. If you are not a student, then maybe you can decide to go back to school and study film. You will have at your disposal some of the best resources an aspiring filmmaker can have. Film programs at universities have awesome loan programs that are a hidden resource.
At college, while you can take film equipment out on loan, you may also have access to edit bays and sound booths. In some cases, they are available 24 hours a day. Students are up all night anyway, right? Also, when forming a production crew, students provide good talent for your film when you are in need of actors. You may want to take turns crewing for your friends' films, and they, in turn, will act in yours. Do what you can to build a crew, gather the bare minimum of equipment needed to shoot, and develop a shooting schedule. Once you have the crew and the guns to shoot, everything starts to gel. Press onward.
Friday, 7 October 2011
BUFFY COMICS NEWS
Angel: After Fall #1 100 Penny Press Edition Available Now
Starting this month through all of 2011, two different Hundred Penny Press editions that cost you, well, only 100 pennies! For your buck here, get the extra-length story that kicked off the Whedon-Lynch-Urru masterwork, Angel: After the Fall! Picking up where the TV series left off, this epic debut sees Angel-along with the City of Angels-cast into Hell!
Starting this month through all of 2011, two different Hundred Penny Press editions that cost you, well, only 100 pennies! For your buck here, get the extra-length story that kicked off the Whedon-Lynch-Urru masterwork, Angel: After the Fall! Picking up where the TV series left off, this epic debut sees Angel-along with the City of Angels-cast into Hell!
Monday, 4 October 2010
business opportunity review 2
business opportunity review 2
aswell as the repair business another booming niche is private investigation. Course in private investigation are quite easy to find online and teach all the essential detective agency knowledge
some of the best private detective courses even inlcude some tech gear like vehicle trackers to help get you started
aswell as the repair business another booming niche is private investigation. Course in private investigation are quite easy to find online and teach all the essential detective agency knowledge
some of the best private detective courses even inlcude some tech gear like vehicle trackers to help get you started
Everyone's looking for the real thing
Everyone's looking for the real thing when it comes to online business opportunities.
There are so many so called Gurus out there selling their "Essential" money making program
it makes your head spin! I know its difficult to believe ANYof the hype that surrounds them.
There are a few that i have looked into and can unreservedly recommend
1) learn how to repair things, people are always buying stuff that goes wrong if you can supply a repair service for gadgets such as mobile phones you could be onto a winner
There are so many so called Gurus out there selling their "Essential" money making program
it makes your head spin! I know its difficult to believe ANYof the hype that surrounds them.
There are a few that i have looked into and can unreservedly recommend
1) learn how to repair things, people are always buying stuff that goes wrong if you can supply a repair service for gadgets such as mobile phones you could be onto a winner
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