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We make movies (boom mic operatin')
KrunkMcGrunk
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
QMM is much better at OPs than me
QuestionMarkMan wrote: »Since there isn't any kind of dedicated filmmaking thread or resource around here. I'd like to put together something that can help out anybody interested. Right now I'll just post links and little descriptions.
Websites
General:
The Anonymous Production Assistant's Blog. If you want to get into the industry, chances are you're going to be a PA at some point, and this gives you a little heads up on what it's like.
Studio Daily blog. Lots of tech related industry news.
FilmSound.org. Everything you could want in Sound Design.
My Film Project '09. This guy chronicled his process of making an independent feature film and includes lots of materials including his proposal and screenplay.
Truly Free Film. Blog which breaks down film-festival advice to its most essential elements and delves into hardcore topics such as copyrights and branding.
Screenwriters:
Celtx. If you don't have Final Draft or any kind of screenwriting software. Celtx is free and is pretty good from what I've heard.
Wordplayer. This was started by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, the guys who wrote the Pirates movies and lots of other things. The most useful thing for me are the columns which give lots of advice for writers as well as general industry advice.
John August's blog. More helpful advice and tips.
Hollywood University: or How to Get a Job in Hollywood. Started by a girl from Kansas who wanted to move to LA to work in TV. Lots of tips as well as general advice to newbies wanting to move to LA or just enter the industry. She also just started the HU Scriptwriter's Network which is like the facebook for screenwriters. If you're looking for work, roommates, or whatever it's really helpful.
Books
For me, the first book to read is Sydney Lumet's Making Movies. It is as Roger Ebert states on the cover, probably the best text anybody could read about the art of making motion pictures. Through thirteen chapters Lumet (the director of by my count 45 films, including 12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network) discusses almost every facet of filmmaking there is. It is a brilliant account by a director who is both insanely prolific yet exceptionally consistent. The book successfully communicates all the arduousness that can go into making a film, something which is difficult to explain simply to those unfamiliar with filmmaking.
He also gives one of the best inspirational filmmaking quotes on page 10.“For anyone who wants to direct but hasn’t made a first movie yet, there is no decision to make. Whatever the movie, whatever the auspices, whatever the problems, if there’s a chance to direct, take it! Period. Exclamation point! The first movie is its own justification, because it’s the first movie.”
For cinematography, this book is required reading at USC. It's a good technical book to have and is relatively up to date. If you want to learn the old techniques, John Alton's Painting with Light is excellent. It was printed in the 40's so there are bits that are outdated, but the techniques are incredibly useful.
Editing-wise, I've gone on a Walter Murch binge and there are some great books out there that really can help editors out. In the Blink of an Eye was written by Murch and goes into his basic techniques. Behind the Seen is about Murch being the first person to use Final Cut on a big studio feature. VERY good book that delves into his whole process for a film. Finally, there's The Conversations which is half about his techniques and half about his philosophy and interests. Read this one if you're still interested after the other two.
Screenwriting: There are a lot [url=http://www.amazon.com/Screenplay-Foundations-Screenwriting-Syd-Field/dp/0385339038/ref=pd_sim_b_1[/url]of[/url] books on actual screenwriting, but really you need to just read a lot of scripts to get an idea of the form. For basic formatting, The Hollywood Standard is a good book to just have at your side when you have questions. Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman is probably my favorite screenwriting book as it's less about the writing and more about what it's like to be a screenwriter in Hollywood and all the problems you can encounter outside of writing.
KrunkMcGrunk on
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Anyhow, I'm freelancing to build up my resume, so I can work in TV news. I just finished my first freelancing job. It's the first time I've ever done any shooting outside of classroom assignments/internships, so it was a bit nerve wracking at first. But once I got into the groove everything was smooth sailing.
Now I have to edit the whole thing together in Premiere Elements (fuck).
I want to see some people's projects. Post em up. I want to hear what people are interested in doing.
I saw there were some people here who work in television and film (something I'm also very interested in). Maybe I can do a little learning here.
Edit: I just got an email from my dad who might have my first real freelance job. A friend of the family is getting married and wants the rehearsal/wedding taped. Now I have to figure out what equipment to rent (I don't have anything for audio but a mediocre internal mic on my camera), and how much to charge. Maybe a boom would do it? Anything else would be too intrusive or expensive I think.
i like to make fun of a friend of mine for using it but i want to be sure i am not an idiot
also can anyone comment on the decentralization of the film industry--yea or nay?
As in film productions moving away from Hollywood?
I'm the soul thief in the title
yes
this is what i have been hearing from people in the business
that they are basically moving to wherever the incentives are or wherever it's cheapest, and MAYBE keeping a place to crash in LA since the studios are still there
Also, where are you going to school?
Oh you
I'm no film buff or critic or anything, but I did notice it was a little difficult sometimes to hear your actors voices over the music - I'm not sure if it's their pronunciation or if I'm just deaf, but I thought that was weird
that's how they work
the little djinn sits in there and magic and then later you have film
Well, soooorrreeeeeeeEEEeee!
That sounds like solid advice. Luckily, internships are mandatory for the second year of my program, and after that (if I do well), my teachers will help find me new ones. I go to school at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Where'd you go to school?
Well, there will always be films shooting in Hollywood because everything one would need is there. I'm not sure if more films are being shot elsewhere over the past couple of years, but we have a friend who works for the production side of Universal and she says that they're only filming one film in Hollywood this year. Granted, this was a month or two ago so things might've changed, but that's pretty crazy.
Also it depends on the job. Ugly Betty was filmed in New York, but the writers wrote together in Los Angeles (they had a pretty sweet writer's room too). A lot of television shows shoot in LA too.
Thanks! You're actually the first person to bring that up, but I'll go through the sound levels again this week to make sure
cause ibis
you see
instead of iblis
edit: it probably cost hundreds of dollars but you wouldn't know it from the quality
i am both laughing at your $20 lights and microphone, and also crying
Vegas is basically iMovie for PCs. Which is to say, if you're naturally an amazing editor, you can get something passable out of it, but the deck is stacked against it.
And productions themselves are shooting abroad more and more frequently, yes, but the deals are still made here, people still meet here, all the behind the scenes stuff still happens here. There's just nowhere else in the country where you'll interact with as many film people.
You can also buy some white posterboard to use as a cheap bounceboard to help with lighting
it's you
one of the legs on the tripod was wobbly so I went to adjust it a little bit and it broke.
Great short. The PA fan in me liked how you integrated some of their other jokes into the story (I wish I could hate you to death).
Also, that camera is hot, hot, hot. God damn that was some good looking video!
The only thing I can say is, you may want to consider adding in a couple more tight shots for scene-setting purposes. Like, when you transition from the car to the convenience store, you just sort of cut there. Maybe you could have inserted a tight shot of the mustache on the main character's face as he walked down one of the isles. It would kind of bridge the two scenes together, while letting the audience know that you've gone from one location to another.
i don't want to think about what he spent on his tripod
it was definitely in the triple digits
This is a good idea.
My main issue is that even though two of us have film minors, nobody really has any quality training in lighting, and I took basic lighting like 9 years ago so I don't remember all of it. I think my manager is really underestimating the amount of time it takes to get the department up to speed so we have a decent level of quality across the board.
I was at the IU School of Journalism in Indianapolis. It was pretty nice re: internships because there were quite a few choice ones in town, so I didn't have to relocate or anything.
Rob O'Thero, you guys are using premiere right? If you're still learning it, I cannot recommend Adobe's Classroom in a Book series enough. It will run you through all the basics, some intermediate stuff, and some advanced stuff. It is top notch for leaning any Adobe software. You can probably get it off of amazon for about $40.
We also have the full lynda.com membership, which has training on it too
Also, I have a guide for DIY diffusers if you are interested.
What's lynda.com?
Thanks! We actually cut out another scene that was basically a big nod to the comic because of time issues (and it didn't really matter storywise), but we're going to make another version with new credits and an upgraded score, and any changes people suggest.
You have no idea how glad we are to have that camera. The only thing bad is that it tends to wash out color so we have to bring it back in color grading.
Another person suggested that we cut out the first shot moving down the isle and just cut to the shot of him floating down it, which I think is basically what you suggested.