iPhone Movies?

Can I Make a Movie With My iPhone?

    It is a question that I had not really investigated since I do not have an iPhone. I am low budget and so is my phone. The question did interest me so I did some investigating during the last month and here is the answer.
    Yes you can.
    You can make a movie with one and someday someone will get one in over a thousand theaters.
    Before you grab your phone and run out and shoot Cloverfield the lost footage I have to remind you that the rules do not change. You still need to remember that you are making a movie. If you want to show it to anyone, but a few close friends and your youtube fans then I will suggest again that you remember what we have learned about light and sound so far.   Get to know your camera whether it is a Dslr or an iPhone before you spend time and effort making a movie.
    Okay let’s get down to it.
    There is a minor industry for tripods and lenses for these phones and dollar for dollar I have to admit some of them produce a image equal to my favorite camcorders. For a tight shoot, I mean both budget and space, these camera phones could be very effective. So far from what I have seen I would rather use them indoors than outside.
    I am going to include two videos for you today. One will give you a great tutorial on the camera phone and all that you will need to shoot you film.  The second video is a sample short film shot using the iPhone. I would like to hear from those of you who try this style of filmmaking. If someone makes a really good one I will put it in our Trailer Park.
    One more thing before we get to the videos. I would like to add a coming attractions page to this site. So if any of you have Feature Films that you would like to promote email me.
    First Video is a Tutorial that is about 10.00 minutes.  To learn more about iPhone filmmaking visit our new blog on the subject at this link click here

Sounding out the Zoom H2

                                    No Budget Sound, The Zoom H2

    You want to have the best quality sound possible for your film. This is more important than your camera.

    Wait a second, get off of that ledge. I know how you feel. Our cameras are our babies. They are our pride and joy and some of us sleep with them under our pillows at night.

    Hold it, I don’t mean me. Just some of the rest of you guys. I am normal, my camera is stored in my wall safe.

    Sound is more important for this reason. Your intended customer will forgive poor lighting or an image or two that they can not make out, but they will lose patience quickly if they have to say on more than one occasion “What was that? What did he just say? Huh?”

    Bad sound will kill your digital film project.

    Bad sound will scream to all involved that you do not know what you are doing.

    Sound will send your film packing faster than visuals ever will. Sound needs your full attention and the best way to get quality sound on the cheap is to use a Zoom.

    You can use the Zoom H4 and attach a mic to it for all your recording needs. Or you can use a Zoom H2 and use it as the mic.

For under 150 dollars you can get a brand new Zoom H2 online, attach a boom and you are ready to compete with the pros.

    Here is a short video tutorial on what you will need and why.

Making Trash Or A Treasure.

            Will It Be Trash or Treasured?

    You are going to make your digital feature film.
    Guess what, so will thousands of other people during the next five years. 95 percent of what gets produced will be trash. It will be dull and mostly poorly produced and terribly acted. That is the facts. Look at Hollywood with tens of millions of dollars to throw at a project and most of what they produce will be crap.
    Out of that remaining 5 percent some treasures will be found and on rare occasions those who believe that they will be producing trash will actually produce a treasure.
    One of the clearest examples of this is the horror classic The Evil Dead. Most of the people working on it with the exception of the director seemed to have thought trash. That not counting family and close friends about eight people would ever see the film. Instead it became a cult classic. It spawned two great sequels and is about to spawn a reboot (thankfully done by Sam Raimi).
    Sam Raimi had a vision and he stuck to it. No one could see what he saw until they saw the film. Just like no one can see what you see until they see your film. You can tell everyone you meet about it, but what ever you say or write down about it will be nothing compared to the real thing. You are going to have to trust your vision even when all around you are shaking their heads.
    Look it, let us be real for a second. The odds are against you, but to achieve anything great the odds will always be against you. I can’t tell you that you will do a great job and everyone will love you. All I can say is that if you do not try you will never succeed. Your trash many end up being just that thrown in the trash, but it could end up being talked about, wrote about and revisited again and again for decades to come. You might actually produce something that may be treasured.
    Good luck with you low budget digital feature film and here is the first part of a documentary about the making of the Evil Dead. If you want to watch the rest of it just visit Youtube.