Chevy Chase

Today, Chevy Chase made a visit to Flashpoint to talk to students about his experiences in film and television. Apart from obviously being extremely funny, he gave us some lessons that I, personally, did not expect.

One student asked, "What did you do to become successful in the business?" Chevy talked for a few seconds about how he got started and then said "collaboration."

The audience had to hold their laughter, because the idea of collaboration has been smashed into our heads with a sledgehammer over the last several months. For a second there, I thought someone on the Flashpoint staff had told him to say that.

But it's the truth! Collaborative efforts where everyone works well together is the key to achieving a good project. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you can't work with people, then you can't do the job.

Chevy wasted no time in making the crowd laugh. He made everyone chuckle just by making a face. He also talked about his father, who passed away in 2005. He was an extraordinary role model to Chevy, who taught him that having a sense of humor is the greatest human characteristic.

"When asked to identify the most important human characteristic, most people said concsiousness. My father told me having a sense of humor is the answer. You have to be able to laugh."

Words to live by.

DM

Easy Like Sunday Morning

This picture is Daley Plaza on a cold sunday morning. I find it amazing that a city so busy with life on a weekday can look like this on a Sunday. Granted, it was rather early in the morning but nonetheless, downtown was empty and cold for much of the morning.

Sunday was the day I officially started working as Director of Photography on another short film. This film was much different than my own, since it was indoors and in only one location. This made filming a lot easier.

Don't get me wrong, it was still a lot of hard work, but it was very refreshing not having to rush from one location to another, only to be halted by authorities who don't want you to film there. I have two more films to work on, both of which I am producing. Although I am excited by all of these films, I am eager to sit down and edit my own film.

On a side note, I loved being the cinematographer. I feel like it is where I belong.

DM

Lost Wallet

The film "Lost Wallet" finished filming today after a few quick insert shots were filmed on the north side of Chicago. After going through a 3 day production on what will likely be a 3 minute film, I can only say this...

It was cold. Too cold.

That was pretty much the biggest downside, along with the cloudy skies on Monday. Even the weather, however, wasn't horrid, and we were able to finish what we needed to. Now we get down to editing the film in about a week.

With location shooting, you have to be very careful. Careful not to piss off people who think you shouldn't be there. For that matter, careful not to piss off people who know you shouldn't be there. We had several different locations, and there were many changes to these places on the days of shooting.

If you're a student at Flashpoint, and you heard that my film was stopped several times by several organizations, then what you have heard is true.

But we persevered, and we succeeded. Now we must make the most of this post production time and be prepared to take that camera back out if need be. Although I should hope we have everything we need.

Yes, it may have been cold, but I had a lot of fun doing this.

DM

Hope for the Best...

"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst" is what my new Assistant Director is pounding into my head. He could not be more right, and I feel this is a motto many filmmakers should live by if they don't already.

With production on my first film just a few days away, many have been excited to see what it will be like during shooting. I have decided that I will use my GL2 camera to show off some of the behind the scenes filming, even though it is only a two day shoot. With this material, we can craft a short documentary on the making of the film. Coupled with what hopefully will become a great film, we can show the two off as part of our film reel.

In fact, if prospective students can see this short film and the making of it, perhaps it will be a helpful advertisement for how Flashpoint film students spend some of their time on a school day.

Monday & Tuesday we begin shooting "Lost Wallet" in downtown Chicago.

Pray for good weather. Please.

DM

I AM 3D BEOWULF!!!

He is Beowulf, and he is very angry.

Tonight was the Film Society's long awaited IMAX premiere of Beowulf in 3D. If you see this film, it is imparative that you see it in IMAX 3D, since it added greatly to the entertainment value. There's nothing quite like putting your hands to your eyes to shield from flying arrows...or was it because the 3D glasses were too damn big for my face?

There hasn't been too much posting going on lately, and that is because of pre-production on my film. I will likely give you an update later this weekend or maybe next week and show off some location pictures and props.

In other news, here are a few pictures of working with the crane and another hi-def camera. After spending some time on the dolly and operating the camera, I feel like its where I belong.

It just feels right to be sitting there, no matter how uncomfortable it may be at times.

If we get to play with new toys for class every week, then i'll be a very happy student.

DM

A Little Lighting

After sitting through a few classes with the Panasonic HD camera, I must say that I am rather impressed with its quality. Yes, reviews seemed to say that it was bulky and heavy, but last time I checked, most cameras of this quality were like that.

And at the "ahem" affordable price of $5000, you couldn't pick a better camera.

I decided to take a few pictures with my phone of the lighting stage. The class was expirimenting with lighting techniques. I'll tell you one thing - I never thought it would take so long to set up a shot with the proper lighting.

Filmmaking takes time, but it's worth it. At least to me. I'll let you take a look at the rest of these picture. More on this later.











Until then,

DM

Moby Musica

The ever popular Moby. Alas, I am not well educated on his music, but I'm sure that all of you have at some point listened to it. He has written everything from the hyped-up techno to laid back downtempo genre.

The reason I bring up this subject is because of his website http://www.mobygratis.com/. This website was brought to my attention by one of our film professors at Flashpoint, and with good reason.

The link sends you to a portion of the Moby's official site where you can discover a hub of his very own music. That's right filmmakers! This music is for you, as long as your non-profit. Students, independent filmmakers, and even kids just looking for music to listen to are able to browse this hidden vault and find something they enjoy. This music is not for those who wish to use it for financial profit. As long as your project is non-profit, then your good to go.

Oh one more thing. It does require a little information from you, but it is well worth it. Take advantage of it. I know I will. Thank you, Moby.

http://www.mobygratis.com/

DM

Film Society Future

This weeks screening for the Flashpoint Film Society was "Brotherhood of the Wolf" which I had never seen before. This French action film turned out to be quite an adventure, and another good turnout allowed for a great movie experience.

In the coming weeks the society is aiming to broaden its horizens, by including trips to festivals and screenings outside the boundaries of Flashpoint. In mid-November students will be making a trip to Navy Pier to witness the IMAX opening of "Beowulf" which I'm sure will be a great success.

In December and January we will begin showing student films from both in and out of the classroom. Students will submit their short works and we will screen it before a feature. In fact, we may have a night where we just screen student work.

So many possibilities at this point, and that's the best part.

DM

Now We're Cooking

With Flashpoint Academy in full swing, filmmaking students have had a taste of acting, directing, production, and screenwriting. Although I love all these aspects dearly, the best part is just beginning. You see here the Panasonic AG-HVX200, which is the camera of choice for the school, and the camera in which I will shoot my first film.

I have heard a number of excellent things about this camera, most of which are good. The few bad things are that it is a little heavy and the viewfinder is low res. Beyond that, this camera seems to be exactly what we need.

I will try and have a more detailed review after I have used it myself, so expect a full report in the coming weeks. Nonetheless now that we're going to be working with these cameras, I feel like the next couple of weeks will be the most challenging and exciting.

Another Flashpoint Film Society screening tonight - Brotherhood of the Wolf. Also, on the 16th, of November Beowulf at IMAX!

More to come,

DM

Flashpoint Film Society

Recently I sat down with a group of fellow film students with a plan to start a society aimed at showing films to other students. Each Thursday night we now screen a classic movie in the screening room on Flashpoints main campus.

This weeks film was Ghostbusters, and it was a blast.

This film was the groups debut, and I must say the event went rather well. We had a good turnout and that made for a great movie experience. Someone once told me that seeing a film on the big screen is so much more enjoyable than on tv.

He was damn right.

The organizing members will keep you posted on what the next film will be. To all those who helped out or attended the screening, thank you for your support and we hope to see you again next time around.

Remember that all Flashpoint students and faculty are welcome to join! Spread the word!

DM

Lesson Learned

This past Friday the students at Flashpoint took part in an all day filmmaking event. Students were divided up into 8 different groups to make their own 30 second film with the recently released game "Team Fortress 2."

Following a storyboard session, the students would record shots and dialogue with this game using 3 of the characters seen on the left. Then the editors would go to work by constructing the short in time for a screening at the end of the day.

This proved rather difficult, primarily because of the lack of time allowed to construct this film.

Our group had a great idea. Everyone was contributing to the pre-production of our film. Story ideas were mixed together to create a clever 30 second short. Storyboarding allowed for our short to have a clear direction.

Unfortunately, with the lack of time to prepare the camera shots and fact that known of the team members knew little about the game (myself included), the experience took a hard turn and almost fell apart.

We got down to business, however, and were able to turn out a short film that we are allowed to revise this coming week. Although it was rather hectic, and at times aggravating, the overall experience is undeniably helpful to our future careers.

If you can't collaborate successfully, then you can't be in this business. Period.

DM

The Fun Part

After a first full week at Flashpoint Academy, I must say it is good to be back in the swing of things (school things that is). Over the next couple of weeks, we will be introduced to a variety of technology that we will be using for filmmaking, video game design, etc. The trick is to not freak out and drop something.

What is most exciting to me is the classroom space. I originally anticipated the location being nothing more than a few white walls and some desks, but it has turned out to be an entirely different atmosphere. Keycards allow entry to every room...even the bathroom, and editing suites and cinema rooms await our projects. Theres even a screening room, where we can not only view our own films, but screen our favorite films of all time.

As I have said to pretty much everyone that has asked, there is a lot of terminology being thrown at us, but it is all for the best. In very few days we will be diving into the fun part of school....the filmmaking.

I just have to make sure some short film ideas come to mind within the next couple of days...

More as the week progresses

DM

Pictures do the Talking

Here is Flashpoint Academy's classroom space. This is only the 5th floor, and Flashpoint also has a lobby on the 1st floor and more classrooms and labs on the 6th floor. Enjoy.

More in the coming days...

DM

Here We Go...

Well here I am sitting in front of my computer, and no idea what I should write about... I do have pictures of the Flashpoint classroom facility nearing completion, so I figure i'll just post a few of those for you to look at.

Within the next week I am hoping to have some of my own photos of the classroom facility, since these are from the fine people over at Flashpoint. If you want to see the rest of the pics, just head over to flashpoint academy's website, located in the links section.

I suppose it is a little awkward returning to school, although I'm really only saying that. I haven't felt any affects of hitting the books again. Perhaps this will change over the course of the next week.
Along with preparing supplies for school and gearing up for orientation on Monday, I am hoping to get a few short film ideas out in the open. I just have to make sure they are presentable first, since most of my ideas are so unorganized at the moment.

Although, since this school is going to be a collaborative effort, perhaps a few other students wouldn't mind bouncing some ideas around the table.

Here comes the fast track.

Let the filming begin

DM

Lifetime Connections

With the Flashpoint school year approaching fast, I can't help but think about the relationships that will develop within the next two years. Not only do I hope to create friendships that will last a lifetime, but I hope to also establish connections with various people in the industry, and not just the film industry.

It's not just about making a film. You have to connect your film to other elements of the industry. Along with the film program, the school is offering recording arts, visual effects, and video games. Recording arts is already a popular subject, and with video games and visual effects making advances every few months, I can imagine that I would be using one of them in the near future.

So these next two years will help develop not only my filmmaking skills, but it will also help me establish connections with people already in the industry, as well as people within the same program I am in. I wrote in a previous post that film is a directors vision brought to life by his/her cast and crew. Perhaps establishing connections gets that building process started. More on this later...

DM