Digital Peep Talk

   

                You Are Not Alone

    This is about Digital Filmmaking so do not worry I am not about to sing a Michael Jackson song. Instead we are going to spend some time with some of the low budget filmmakers who have made it.

    Micro budget to low budget filmmaking is a lonely job. There is more failure than success. There will be more setbacks than steps forward, but if you push on there will come a moment when you are sitting all alone in the dark watching the end credits of your film rolling by. After the credits roll you may decide to put in away in a drawer or go out and find a way to get it onto a thousand screens. It will be up to you, but the road starts with you believing that it will be done. Can be done gives you time and a way out while will be done forces you to act.

    If you do nothing today, but write a page of your script. Study a tutorial in an area where you are weak. Read a good book on the craft of filmmaking. Network with other film makers. Get a set of lights or even a dollar pack of c47s. Pat yourself on the back, tell yourself job well done for to day and keep going.

    Remember that speech from the last Rocky movie, “You keep moving forward, you keep going forward, that is how winning is done.” Damn right and that is how films get made. Film making is for the relentless and digital feature filmmaking is for the last knights searching for the Holy Grail, dying along the way is always an option, but other than that it is the only reason why the film should not get made.

    Okay no more talk from me today, let’s hear from some guys who got the job done.

    First up is Kevin Smith.

Next up is the king of do it now filmmaking. He got many of us into the industry. Let's go to ten minute film school.

     Last up for today is a guy who has been an inspiration to many of us in the micro to no budget film world. If you live and breath this world then you know about Oklahoma Ward, if not here is the first video in what would become a two year march to the completion of his feature film Crawl. If you want to know what the walk you are going to take is really going to be like watch his youtube post.

Lighting Solutions

                DIY LIGHTING

    The art of film making can be summed up as the art of controlling the visual environment. The digital filmmaker is sort of performing a magic trick. It is about what you see and what you do not see. We do this through lighting.

    I understand that there is the matter of location and set design, but in the end they will be defined by how well we light the images to be recorded. Our stars require light. What good is having the most beautiful actress on earth in front of your camera if she is poorly lit.

    We must light well and up until a few years ago this was done with massive banks of lights and softboxes.

    You can get a good set of softbox lights online for under 200 dollars. If you go that route I would suggest getting a set with a jib arm, they really do come in handy. If you cannot afford soft box lights or the most popular lighting set up of the moment Led lights then I would suggest that you do it this way.

    Get yourself some clamp lights and construct a few of the legendary PVC lighting stands. Here is the legendary tutorial on how to make yourself one.

    Next up is one of my favorite lighting tools. I do not own one myself, but I am hoping to order a few for my next project from the guy who offers up this tutorial. The china lantern is a great all purpose lighting tool. Great diffused lighting up close. Face it when you are a low budget or no budget filmmaker you are going to have to do a lot of things yourself and is that really such a bad thing. In Hollywood they get to through money at their problems, in the micro budget world you have come up with ways to get the job done.

    Last note before I go today, if you like this blog and wish it to continue and grow could you take a moment to add us to your Google plus and to please give us a like on Stumbleupon. I am also looking for more trailers for our trailer park, if you know of any please leave a comment and I will check them out.

     I am also interested in interviewing anyone who is shooting a feature using a Canon camera. If it is your first film or your tenth I would like to do my first interview for this blog. Good luck with your projects, next up we will probably look at some more low budget cameras.