As you advance your new career as a flic maker, you are going to have to get some "tools." I've given you some in previous blogs...here are more:
First, Stu Maschwitz is the author of The DV Rebels Guide and co-founder of The Orphanage effects house. He has a blog right here on Blogger called ProLost. If you're not familiar with The Orphanage...looky here!
Next is Mark Christiansen. He is the author of Adobe After Effects (6.5 & 7) Studio Techniques. He is also the #1 beta tester for After Effects. Go to his blog called Flowseeker.
And, I have learned tons (not knowing how to use After Effects until now ) from Andrew Kramer of CreativeCow.com and Video Copilot.net. Go into ITunes and d/l CreativeCow's video blogs (there are two so far) and (if you have inexpensively acquired After Effects 6.5,) do those projects!
These three professionals are taking me to the next level of flic making. Thanks guys!
By the way, Hellboy has a ton of special features on the making of that movie. Also Guillermo del Toro, the director, and the creator of Hellboy comics, Mark Mignola, do an informative commentary together. Dave Basulto is hot right now. His podcast, Filmmaking Central is going strong and he'll soon be broadcasting a video podcast. Be sure to d/l his interviews with both Mark Christiansen and Stu Maschwitz.
Coming up: Today, my business partner informed me of an idea he has for a sequel to a short film we did last month! He's supposed to email me with the script tonight. I will check it over and throw him some ideas back, then we'll schedule a shoot. I think he's talked with the principal actors from the first short and they're on-board. Check back for details of the process we use to make this flic.
Exciting stuff!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Too much work!
"Gee, Flic Maker Scott, you've given me a lot of information, but I have a lot of excuses...now what?"
Obviously, the first thing is LOSE YOUR EXCUSES! You know the old saying...but if you don't: "Excuses are like assholes, everybody has one and they stink!" Look, you're not getting any younger. And if you are young, early twenties or even just out of high school, TIME is about to speed up on you! Ask anyone in their mid to upper thirties!!
Okay, that's not really the reason for this post. I actually wanted to give you some of my best resources. Just remember that none of this does you any good if you're the type of person who lets all those excuses get in your way.
I gave you a list of my favorite podcasts (or as I like to call them, AUDIO BLOGS) in my post "Time to go to work (part 1)" Here's a list of my favorite commentaries:
The one that started it all for me...Spy Kids 2 (why, in a moment). To all of us low-budget flic makers, Robert Rodriguez is our personal JESUS CHRIST (relax, no disrespect to JC). You don't have to like his movies. I'm not huge fan of his movies, I like most of them, but I'm a disciple of his movie-making! Not only do his commentaries go, nearly, step by step through the flic making process, he adds a 10 or 15 minute flic making school to his DVD's (his cooking schools aren't bad either).
Why Spy Kids 2? To begin with, I have always liked commentaries. When I pulled out Spy Kids 2, I had been writing prose (stories) and was close to finishing a feature length screenplay. I put on the commentary and from the moment Robert started talking, I was hooked. He was excited. Later, listening to his other commentaries, I found out why. He was excited to be shooting a digital, high definition movie. In Spy Kids 2, he talks more about the PROCESS of movie/flic making than he does the actual movie. He throws in a few things about Spy Kids here and there, but most of it was the process. Then I discovered the 10 minute film school. And what really excited me was, my buddy told me Robert does a film school for all his movies (he's since changed them to flic school - see Sin City.)
I'll just say here that anything Rodriguez has done, get/listen to the commentary! Now, more on that list:
Underworld - Writers and Director
Pirates of the Carribean 1 - Writers
X-Men 3 - Writers
Ice Age - Directors
Collateral - Director (in depth characterization/story building)
Paycheck - Director
Sum of all Fears - Director & Producer, Director & Author (Clancy)
And last, the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast (found on ITunes) has a ton of interviews with mostly the writers of some the hottest movies. Start there if you're currently trying to get screenwriting down. My favorites: Pirates 2 and X-Men 3. For more on screenwriting, check the 2b pictures podcast for a 5-part lesson.
For Later!
Obviously, the first thing is LOSE YOUR EXCUSES! You know the old saying...but if you don't: "Excuses are like assholes, everybody has one and they stink!" Look, you're not getting any younger. And if you are young, early twenties or even just out of high school, TIME is about to speed up on you! Ask anyone in their mid to upper thirties!!
Okay, that's not really the reason for this post. I actually wanted to give you some of my best resources. Just remember that none of this does you any good if you're the type of person who lets all those excuses get in your way.
I gave you a list of my favorite podcasts (or as I like to call them, AUDIO BLOGS) in my post "Time to go to work (part 1)" Here's a list of my favorite commentaries:
The one that started it all for me...Spy Kids 2 (why, in a moment). To all of us low-budget flic makers, Robert Rodriguez is our personal JESUS CHRIST (relax, no disrespect to JC). You don't have to like his movies. I'm not huge fan of his movies, I like most of them, but I'm a disciple of his movie-making! Not only do his commentaries go, nearly, step by step through the flic making process, he adds a 10 or 15 minute flic making school to his DVD's (his cooking schools aren't bad either).
Why Spy Kids 2? To begin with, I have always liked commentaries. When I pulled out Spy Kids 2, I had been writing prose (stories) and was close to finishing a feature length screenplay. I put on the commentary and from the moment Robert started talking, I was hooked. He was excited. Later, listening to his other commentaries, I found out why. He was excited to be shooting a digital, high definition movie. In Spy Kids 2, he talks more about the PROCESS of movie/flic making than he does the actual movie. He throws in a few things about Spy Kids here and there, but most of it was the process. Then I discovered the 10 minute film school. And what really excited me was, my buddy told me Robert does a film school for all his movies (he's since changed them to flic school - see Sin City.)
I'll just say here that anything Rodriguez has done, get/listen to the commentary! Now, more on that list:
Underworld - Writers and Director
Pirates of the Carribean 1 - Writers
X-Men 3 - Writers
Ice Age - Directors
Collateral - Director (in depth characterization/story building)
Paycheck - Director
Sum of all Fears - Director & Producer, Director & Author (Clancy)
And last, the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast (found on ITunes) has a ton of interviews with mostly the writers of some the hottest movies. Start there if you're currently trying to get screenwriting down. My favorites: Pirates 2 and X-Men 3. For more on screenwriting, check the 2b pictures podcast for a 5-part lesson.
For Later!
Time to go to work (part 2)
Now let's jump into movies. This is a little more fun but not as much information. Just watching movies will do nothing for you unless you know what you're looking at. The rule is watch the movie first, commentary second...that's because I hate spoiling the end of the movie; simple as that. But it also keeps the movie fresh in your head and you can focus on the commentary (sometimes this is hard).
REWIND - What am I talking about? Most, not all, DVD movies have an extra audio track where the director, writer/director, screenwriter(s), producers, actors...talk about the movie while it is playing. I'm sure most of you know this but it brings me to a point. My personal opinion is that the best, most educational, of these commentaries are the ones by...can you guess?...what do you want to be?...an actor?...not if you're on this blog...a producer?...probably not, they're PRODUCERS...Okay! You got it - screenwriter(s), writer/director, or director.
I've also found that when there is a group of these people on the commentary, they tend to say things like, "Ooo, that was cool." OR "This is the part I like..., That was neat...A funny thing happened here." This is all fun stuff, but doesn't teach YOU how to MAKE your own movie. Though that's not always the case, I've just found it best to stick with commentaries with just the director or just the writer(s).
This is a little touchy, but you'll need to, inexpensively, get your hands on some software to take your movie commentaries with you. 1)IMToo DVD Ripper Platinum 4 will rip audio tracks from a DVD into 192 bps mp3 file...Nice!
However, some new DVD's are copyright protected and the ripper won't work. But since we're NOT copying movies and reselling them, it's illegal, get a copy of 2)DVD Decrypter. Which is easier said than done. It is so good, Macrovision (the copy protect people) bought it, i.e. it's hard to find. But if you manage a copy, the Ripper will rip the audio from the file created by Decrypter.
Lastly, 192 bps is a big file and you want to cram as many educational audios on your mp3 player as you can. Remember, I mentioned 3)the software that comes with a Creative brand MP3 player in part 1? (say yes) It has a nice converter that will take a 192 bps file and compress it into a compact little 32 bps file and, as far as I can tell, there's no quality loss. Windows media player, I think, will convert to 64 bps (and .wma file, which is the same) so that's better than nothing.
As I mentioned before, listening to the podcasts and commentaries will point you into other directions to learn such as books and blogs. This is enough to get you started on the right track. It doesn't happen over night but it's a fun process.
Let me know what you think.
REWIND - What am I talking about? Most, not all, DVD movies have an extra audio track where the director, writer/director, screenwriter(s), producers, actors...talk about the movie while it is playing. I'm sure most of you know this but it brings me to a point. My personal opinion is that the best, most educational, of these commentaries are the ones by...can you guess?...what do you want to be?...an actor?...not if you're on this blog...a producer?...probably not, they're PRODUCERS...Okay! You got it - screenwriter(s), writer/director, or director.
I've also found that when there is a group of these people on the commentary, they tend to say things like, "Ooo, that was cool." OR "This is the part I like..., That was neat...A funny thing happened here." This is all fun stuff, but doesn't teach YOU how to MAKE your own movie. Though that's not always the case, I've just found it best to stick with commentaries with just the director or just the writer(s).
This is a little touchy, but you'll need to, inexpensively, get your hands on some software to take your movie commentaries with you. 1)IMToo DVD Ripper Platinum 4 will rip audio tracks from a DVD into 192 bps mp3 file...Nice!
However, some new DVD's are copyright protected and the ripper won't work. But since we're NOT copying movies and reselling them, it's illegal, get a copy of 2)DVD Decrypter. Which is easier said than done. It is so good, Macrovision (the copy protect people) bought it, i.e. it's hard to find. But if you manage a copy, the Ripper will rip the audio from the file created by Decrypter.
Lastly, 192 bps is a big file and you want to cram as many educational audios on your mp3 player as you can. Remember, I mentioned 3)the software that comes with a Creative brand MP3 player in part 1? (say yes) It has a nice converter that will take a 192 bps file and compress it into a compact little 32 bps file and, as far as I can tell, there's no quality loss. Windows media player, I think, will convert to 64 bps (and .wma file, which is the same) so that's better than nothing.
As I mentioned before, listening to the podcasts and commentaries will point you into other directions to learn such as books and blogs. This is enough to get you started on the right track. It doesn't happen over night but it's a fun process.
Let me know what you think.
Time to go to work (part 1)
Maybe you're saying to yourself, "I know nothing about making movies. Where do I start?"
Well the first thing (and the last thing) you need to keep in mind is ACTION. You can very easily over think this and DO nothing at all. You can over research, know everything you need to know, and still DO nothing. ACTION is key. With that in mind, start learning. This is what I did:
I'm a music person, so I already had an MP3 player. It's a must for my plan. You can buy a cheap one at Wal-Mart (I recommend "Creative" brand for the software it comes with - more on that later). I won't advocate buying a lot of stuff in this blog, but your education will be gotten while you do other things. You'll get your education by listening to podcasts and commentaries. You put them on your MP3 player and go on about your life.
Let's start with podcasts (or any mp3 audio). I got this idea from listening to audio books. I could rip a book off a CD and take it with me. Are you seeing the big picture? Go to ITunes, Juice, other pod downloaders and search for anything pertaining to film making (yeah, I said film - but it works). Look for anything on screenwriting, or whatever it is you want to learn. Here's some of my best examples: Creative Screenwriting magazine, Filmmaking Central, Filmmakers Forum, 2b Pictures, and Twenty One Productions. These are a few that give you the basics and more. Any new ones I come across will be posted in the blog. D/L them from the beginning. Some haven't put out a podcast in awhile but there is still good stuff there. Listen while your at work (if possible), while your doing laundry or dishes, washing your car, going to sleep, etc.
When I'm listening to them (over and over and over) I always catch something that leads me to something else, like what book to read (check your library), what camera to shoot with, another podcast to listen to...so keep a piece of paper handy.
NOTE: You can't listen watching TV! Don't waste your time watching 24 or American Idol (good shows but you're just wasting time and not learning anything.) Watch MOVIES, what a concept! (see part 2 on movies)
(see you on part 2)
Well the first thing (and the last thing) you need to keep in mind is ACTION. You can very easily over think this and DO nothing at all. You can over research, know everything you need to know, and still DO nothing. ACTION is key. With that in mind, start learning. This is what I did:
I'm a music person, so I already had an MP3 player. It's a must for my plan. You can buy a cheap one at Wal-Mart (I recommend "Creative" brand for the software it comes with - more on that later). I won't advocate buying a lot of stuff in this blog, but your education will be gotten while you do other things. You'll get your education by listening to podcasts and commentaries. You put them on your MP3 player and go on about your life.
Let's start with podcasts (or any mp3 audio). I got this idea from listening to audio books. I could rip a book off a CD and take it with me. Are you seeing the big picture? Go to ITunes, Juice, other pod downloaders and search for anything pertaining to film making (yeah, I said film - but it works). Look for anything on screenwriting, or whatever it is you want to learn. Here's some of my best examples: Creative Screenwriting magazine, Filmmaking Central, Filmmakers Forum, 2b Pictures, and Twenty One Productions. These are a few that give you the basics and more. Any new ones I come across will be posted in the blog. D/L them from the beginning. Some haven't put out a podcast in awhile but there is still good stuff there. Listen while your at work (if possible), while your doing laundry or dishes, washing your car, going to sleep, etc.
When I'm listening to them (over and over and over) I always catch something that leads me to something else, like what book to read (check your library), what camera to shoot with, another podcast to listen to...so keep a piece of paper handy.
NOTE: You can't listen watching TV! Don't waste your time watching 24 or American Idol (good shows but you're just wasting time and not learning anything.) Watch MOVIES, what a concept! (see part 2 on movies)
(see you on part 2)
It's a start...
So I've been kicking around ideas for my first blog and decided I would start with how I got this idea in the first place.
I've spent the last two years learning the basics of flic making. Not film making, because I couldn't tell you the first thing about using a film camera. I wouldn't even want to. Why not? Check out Robert Rodriguez's commentary on El Mariachi. He says there's only about $600 on the screen. The rest of his $7000 budget is film alone! Low-budget FILM making is a contradiction in terms.
I had written some screenplays and figured I'm a handy kinda guy, why not shoot a few scenes, piece them together and make a movie. So I grabbed a buddy of mine (he had a tad more experience) showed him my short and we were on our way. I started this blog to journal how I get an idea from my head to the screen, or at least to DVD.
In my next blog...How YOU get started!
I've spent the last two years learning the basics of flic making. Not film making, because I couldn't tell you the first thing about using a film camera. I wouldn't even want to. Why not? Check out Robert Rodriguez's commentary on El Mariachi. He says there's only about $600 on the screen. The rest of his $7000 budget is film alone! Low-budget FILM making is a contradiction in terms.
I had written some screenplays and figured I'm a handy kinda guy, why not shoot a few scenes, piece them together and make a movie. So I grabbed a buddy of mine (he had a tad more experience) showed him my short and we were on our way. I started this blog to journal how I get an idea from my head to the screen, or at least to DVD.
In my next blog...How YOU get started!
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