Chick Flick & the 48 Hour Film Project
It's happened. Another 48-Hour film has been produced and screened. Now it's a waiting game to see if we measure up! It's interesting seeing the competition from year to year. Last year only a few teams had upgraded to HDSLRs or otherwise "fancy" cameras, giving their films a very professional look. This year nearly everyone had some depth of field advantage. The ones that didn't have this used their cameras in filmic and oft-times inventive ways. Ambition was high.
One thing I notice year to year, however, is that as technical skill goes up storytelling remains a constant. That is, it's either there or it's not. For 48HFs it's most often not. A script is thought of by some as an annoyance. A waste of time, perhaps. "We'll improv it!" is a popular refrain. Films then languish with exciting visuals that go nowhere and lead the viewer not on a journey but on a slideshow. And time after time the winning films have a story to tell. I've seen this in the screenings I've been apart of and had it reinforced when I attended the 2010 Filmapalooza screenings for the Best of City winners for last year's 48HFP. Each film told a story. Beginning, middle and end. Some of them were more powerful than others, some written more wisely, but they were all stories. Even the impressive, effects-laden masterpieces had something that drew the viewer in and kept them concerned beyond just nifty special effects.
My tips for anyone wanting to participate and, perchance, win - story. Brainstorm with anyone, but designate one person as your writer and sequester them around 9pm on Friday night. You'll get a much more focused story as a result. The "write by committee" scripts usually feel that way. Unless everyone is comfortable writing with each other, you end up getting a bunch of different ideas no one can agree on and you go out Saturday with an unclear idea of what needs to get done. Really these rules can be carried over to non 48HF Projects. Story is king!
Well, without further ado, here's our entry for this year. No awards have been announced, but I think we rocked regardless!
This film was made for the 2010 48 Hour Film Project in Los Angeles. This is the ORIGINAL cut of the film. A re-cut will be uploaded soon with improved sound and extra footage.
Team: GadZook Films
Genre: Film de Femme
Character: Jamie (or Jared) Woodnit, Actor
Prop: Keyboard
Line: "I have no idea."
Facelift
Hey! WordPress 3.0 comes out and boom, I update the look of the site. Whaddya think? Oh boy, I'm excited. We've got another shoot coming up in late July, then the 2010 48 Hour Film Project in LA with a star-studded crew. Then part 2 of the Troubadour series films in September. Busy. Subscribe to all our channels! I'll be creating handy links and buttons here to help you do that, but your continued patronage is important to us! Thanks!
Crazy Train
What's this?? Another video?! Are we insane or just moderately productive? A little of both? After seeing this video you may lean one way on that notion. This is the first part of a planned trilogy featuring The Troubadour. I directed and edited this thing, in addition to my typical producing duties.
Next month we shoot "Turkey and Nathan" a short about self-worth, and then in August we sojourn back to the 48 Hour Film Project and attempt to kick ass. Without further adieu - "Crazy Train"!
Boy tries to impress girl. Girl is more than she seems. Ain't that the truth, am I right guys?
Starring Dan Gallo, Erika Godwin and Tyler Rhoades.
Written by Señor Rhoades.
Shot by Alejandro Zuniga.
Produced, Directed and Edited by Dom Zook.
GadZook Films www.gadzookfilms.com
Leaves
Ooh, ooh! Looky! New video! This puppy was written by Tyler Rhoades, and stars Tyler and the inimitable Patrick Donahue. You might remember Patrick from last year's 48-Hour entry from us, "Double Feature." Well he's back and it looks like he has a score to settle! Anyway, enjoy the film! And don't forget to Like it, give it a thumbs up, or head over to Funny or Die and give it a Funny! rating. Thanks folks!
Update
I need to get back to working on this more. In a software update about a year ago I lost all my fancy CSS and classy looks. I got distracted and this poor blog sat unnoticed for eons. Well, I've re-upped my commitment! I'm going to try and fix it this weekend and get it back to its former glory.
I was writing an article on the term "professional" and the myth of the no-budget movie. I realized I was sounding quite a bit hypocritical in those articles. So stay tuned to see if I'm able to dance my way around the terms and paint myself in to a pretty picture. I somehow highly doubt that.
Working on a couple of new projects and trying to get a consistent, reliable crew ironed out. Hopefully I can get completed (or near completed) projects back from various sources and get those up and out there soon. Anyway, bottom line, still truckin'!
Screenwriter
I'm not a writer. Never claimed to be and it was never my intention to become one. But if I've learned anything in LA it's that you need to be the master of your own destiny. And that means I need to assume some writing duties.
I'm not going for anything big just yet. Just gonna ease myself in to the pool and take a few practice strokes working on a web comedy series I've been brainstorming for the last 6 months or so.
If you have any words of advice, books to recommend, or prayers - send 'em in. Except the "just write" nugget. It's an excellent piece of wisdom that I've heard now about 3 dozen times. Thanks!
iPhone 3G S and movies
This is a post from my nearly brand new iPhone 3G S, Apple's newest entry into the cell phone market. This baby shoots video as well, and spies have reported that the current hardware is capable of shooting in HD although that function is not yet enabled. Still these are exciting times and I am working on a number of ventures to take advantage of this new hardware. More info as it becomes available. And of course more film news and stories coming soon!
Vixia update
*Sigh* You know when you have something that's so close to perfection but there's just one tiny problem? Yeah. It exists with the Canon HF11. As detailed in the previous post I've been having audio issues stemming from my use of an external mic attached to the camera via a 1/8" mini-plug. All to spec as outlined in the HF11's manual.
I sent it in a few weeks ago only to get it back not but a week later with a "could not duplicate" notice. Er. I'm not sure how you couldn't duplicate something as inherently simple as plugging in a cable to the back of the camera. It's not rocket science. So, thinking I was doing something wrong I retraced my steps and tried the camera out again. I was able to duplicate the problem 6 different ways using a variety of cables.
So I made a little video to help my friends at Canon Technical Support hear what's going wrong. Sadly I failed to capture the video for you all to admire, but it basically consisted of 1 minute of video where I recorded using the on-board mic for 30 seconds and then connected an external mic for another 30 seconds in one take. No fancy editing, you can hear me shuffling in the background. The minute that mic goes in the plug the clicks begin, regardless of whether the mic is actually turned on or not. I could take the mic off the cable completely and would still get the issue.
So I spoke with Canon again and they said to ship it back and they'll take another look. If this turns out to be what they intended I'll post a sample video for you folks and you can give me your feedback. Till then cross your fingers that they'll figure out the problem and/or send me a brand new (working) camera.
In other news we're in the final post phases of a new short that I hope to have up in a couple weeks. I'm excited for this one.
Canon Vixia HF11
Hey all! So for Christmas I splurged and bought myself a new camera with which I hoped to shoot more videos. Here follows a bit of drama about this camera and my ownership thereof. So here's the specs: Full HD, 1920x1080. AVCHD codec (just like the HVX-200). A revolutionary (for this price-point) 24mbps recording mode, which means more data in less space. And the big ta-da is the fact that this camera records to a solid-state memory card. Two, in fact. A built-in 32GB and a slot for any SDHC card you care to throw at it. Let me tell you the 32GB is a LOT. About 200 minutes at full rez, 1080/30i. Camera is tiny, like digital camera tiny. Images are crisp as you might expect from an HD camera, but it's also just a lowly one-chipper. Only with an insane amount of structured lights and a solid pair of sticks could you even hope of shooting anything longer than 10 minutes on this. Luckily, that's not my goal.
Anyway, I used the camera for a shoot a few weekends ago, the results of which can be located below. But first, here's my main issue: sound. I have a decent shotgun mic - the Azden SGM-1X. Now, this camera is a consumer model. It doesn't have XLR inputs or anything that fancy. You can't ride the levels or attach multiple mics or headphones. It has a mini 1/8" external mic plug located in the back, just above the battery. I have a few XLR-to-mini adapter cables, which, it should be noted, have worked perfectly in the past. So I get the mic plugged in to the camera, set up the shot and begin recording. Immediately upon hitting record I pick up some sort of electrical interference. I call cut, make sure all cell phones are off and resume shooting. The noise comes back. It's intermittent, like three rapid clicks, pause, a couple more clicks, pause, three more, pause... and so on. Seems to be fairly random. I call cut again, take out the mic and listen... no clicks. I review the footage and sure enough you can hear the clips in the source. What's causing this?
Well, we needed to shoot while we had daylight and to match people's schedules. I decide it's something I can cut around in post if I really cared. It was quiet enough that it would probably get lost anyway. Then we shoot the next scene. While the camera is rolling I look down at it to make sure my headphones are fully in and the external mic is connected properly and here another click. It was then that I noticed the clicks corresponded to the Access light. Everytime the camera was recording to memory that light came on, and each time it came on it caused a click in the audio which was transferred to the footage. Great.
After discussing options with some of my more technically inclined friends I tried all available options. Ferrite cores, different cables, recording while plugged in to the wall as opposed to battery... nothing helped. Then I contacted Canon. They were pretty speedy with a response. Unfortunately their ideas included turning on a TV so I wouldn't notice the sound so much to switching off an option that wasn't even available (the "wind screen" which is only available when you use the onboard mic and conveniently is automatically shut off when you connect an external mic). Great. So they told me to send it in. Which I did, today.
Who knows what will happen to my poor camera that I had for just a scant period of time. But until then, watch this little short I shot with a bunch of friends over a weekend. Fun times. Next short should be out in a few weeks.
Stray Doug from Dom Zook on Vimeo.
Film Fighting Workshops!
Friend of GadZook Films, Kevin Inouye (aka the Fight Designer), has some upcoming workshops up in Seattle. I highly recommend these classes. Kevin knows his stuff and is a great person to talk to about filming needs. Even the smallest projects would benefit from Kevin's expertise. Don't guess when you can know, especially if you're using weapons on set. And Kevin knows. Check 'em out!
Film Fighting Workshops
from Fight Designer, LLC.
March 28th, 1-5pm.
Intro to Film Fighting
This class is perfect for the martial artist or stage combatant wanting to learn how to adapt their skills for fighting on camera. Topics covered include camera awareness, playing the angles, basic on-set protocol, and how to use the medium to make your fights look good. Everyone will get time in front of the camera, with time to analyze the results as a group.
$45 pre-registration, $50 at the door.
April 4th, 1-5pm
Tricks of the Trade
This class delves into how we can use video or film to really push the limits of what we can show in-camera. Creative use of angles, editing, props, and some very minor stunt gear can help us make superhuman stuntmen/women out of just about anyone. Our hits can be harder, our falls can be higher, our moves flashier, or our violence more convincing. The emphasis here is on techniques that could be available to the typical low budget Seattle area production. While the stunt performers will get to have the most fun, this class could also be of great interest to anyone wanting to direct, shoot, or coordinate action scenes, and we may get participants from several areas of production. Those willing to get messy may get to play with blood effects.
$45 pre-registration, $50 at the door.
April 18th, 1-5pm
Modern Firearms for the Stage and Screen
Gun handling skills are essential for modern action scenes on the stage or the screen. We'll cover both safety and style, with a focus on modern police/military tactical firearms use. Learn how to stage a gunfight that's safe and reads as a FIGHT! Besides basic handling, we'll look at the specialized tools of our trade, carrying, drawing, reloading, and reholstering, weapons disarms/retention, and small unit tactics. We'll also explore reactions to gunshots and blood effects. Everyone who wishes to will get to fire blanks, as well as handle a variety of weaponry.
$50 pre-registration, $55 at the door.
COMBINED REGISTRATION:
Sign up for all three workshops for $125!
Registration:
Email Kevin Inouye at action@fightdesigner.com to put your name on the registration list. Be sure to include which workshop(s) you will be attending. Payment can be made in advance or on the day of your first workshop, via cash or credit card.
Instructor:
Kevin Inouye has been doing fights for both stage and screen for the last decade. His training includes recognition through the Society of American Fight Directors, but has also been heavily informed by his studies of both Asian and European martial arts, a psychology and research background, and by additional stage combat and stunt training from the International Order of the Sword & Pen, Hellbenders fire stunts, and Hazard Factory stunts. He is sole proprietor of Fight Designer, LLC, providing fights, gun wrangling, instruction, and prop weaponry to the Seattle area and beyond.
Venue:
Lee's Martial Arts is located in West Seattle, at 3270 California Ave SW.