Sound Challenges

When I started filmmaking, I knew that at least one department would be a challenge beyond any other. Sound is that department, and I recently had a chance to work on the sound design of "Lost Wallet" with the film's talented sound designer, Kevin Weber.

I have a profound respect for recording artists, for they have the patience and determination to take on such a task. Kevin sat through the film a couple of times and gathered notes on what sounds he needed, and then went to work. The level of care and detail that goes into sound design is unparalleled. Each frame is important, and although most movie goers may not notice great sound, they can certainly notice bad sound.

That is why Kevin, along with other Flashpoint recording arts students, are working hard to make these films work. "Lost Wallet" is very sound dependant, and with its complicated story already, it is quite a challenge to overcome.

For you filmmakers reading this, I will have picture lock tomorrow morning. Very exciting.

DM

Natural History: Part 1-4

Many of the films at Flashpoint will stand out when they are screened to the rest of the class, but one in particular will make a statement far different than any others.

"Natural History: Part 1-4" is the short film I am thinking of, and today was the first of a two day shoot. It was a rather interesting setup, with a set of three walls with an opening of roughly 6x6. See for yourself below.

It has in its title "Part 1-4" because of its chapter setting. Although this is a short film, it encompasses a mans entire life. From birth (yes, there is a baby) to a teenage boy, to a middle aged man, to an elderly man. It is rather impressive work. For now, just enjoy the poor quality pictures I took with my cell phone. I'm sure I'll be posting more on the subject of Flashpoint films at a later date.


Until next time,

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

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

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 Midnight Circus

In 6 weeks I will be shooting my first film. This is a short film, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier. A first draft has been written, but there will be some revisions this weekend. Then I must pitch to fellow students and assemble a team to work with during shooting and post production. There is much to do.

For those of you living in Chicago, may I suggest a trip to Daley Plaza this weekend. "Midnight Circus" will be performing over the next few weeks leading up to Halloween. I caught a glimpse of the acrobats and performers as I was leaving school, and it was quite an excellent show. You can see on the left that the show is performing at numorous times everyday, so perhaps you'll be able to catch a show...

Click over to http://www.midnightcircus.net/ for more information.

Not very good quality, but I did manage to capture a few videos with my phone. Enjoy.



Until next time,

DM

Atom Films

The blog today focuses on a recently discovered website. Well, I'm sure it's been around for a while, but I just recently learned of its existence. http://www.atomfilms.com/ has a vault of short films, with everything ranging from horror, to comedy, to action.

In recent weeks, I have been planning on shooting my own short film and possibly uploading it on this website. If you have any short films yourselft, I would almost advise you do the same. Whatever the genre of your short film is, it's a pretty good bet they have a category for it. You can view anything from documentary shorts to blood and gore.

Something for everyone.

So click over to atomfilms.com, (there's a link posted in the column on the right) and enjoy what it has to offer. Hopefully within the next couple of months, you may find a short film of mine somewhere in this vast library of movies.

DM