Filed under: observe and report | Tags: Andy, Beames, film, Kelly, Leonard, nick, Observe, report, Samantha, short
A little delayed this post, but last weekend I started principle photography on ‘observe and report’, a short film aimed at the film festival circuit. As I have mentioned the story hers previously, I will let you bring yourselves up to speed on what happens. This project has been a long time coming, and I think it really has the ability to be something special.
The Sunday we filmed in and around the Newcastle CBD, with Samantha Beames, an actress from Sydney who I have had the pleasure of working with before. Sam was very gracious to donate her time to the project, something which as a filmmaker shows me that I hopefully have a film that people want to see.
Crew wise, this is actually going to be the smallest shoot I have done. The reason for this is simply to keep everything low key. The weather on Sunday was a bit mixed, but we managed to get most shots required with Sam.
Next step in the process, is to complete filming next weekend on the 9th & 10th April, where we will be filming in newcastle to complete our exterior shots and then moving to film our interior scenes with our ‘lars’.
Below, I have placed some screen caps of the raw footage taken last weekend. I hope you’ll agree with me that the quality of the footage is great, especially since we have not yet graded anything. Another update soon.
Nick
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and hit some words and stuff out for this blog. It is meant to have been a diary of sorts for my journey towards bigger and better things in the film industry. Perhaps then, it is perfectly ok that there have been no new posts, as there has been a halt on said journey for a while now. It could be easy to blame this on my day job, since my full-time work (of which I work hard at) takes up alot of my time, not just the 37.5 hours a week when I am physically in the office. The biggest factor on my inability to produce anything recently though has been money. I have moved house twice in the last 6 months, which of course takes a big toll on an pocket change one might have lying around. Add to that my very nice, yet very european and therefore expensive car has needed alot of work done. Upwards of $5000, again within the last 6 months, in fact.
So, these factors have all contributed to my procrastination into film land. I’m broke. Bankrupt. No loose change. In the red. Well, not really, but I have literally had ZERO cents to spend on my passion thus far. However, everyone everywhere has some financial struggle or pressure, yet still manage to do something worthwhile with their time. With that in mind, I am working on something big (well, not budget wise). I am filming it this weekend in fact.
I will create an entirely seperate blog for the project though, so in the meantime, better late than never….my new year’s resolution is to have a short film play in an international film festival (one that is recognisable).
Oh, also, I recently provided some DP skills as B Camera on a music video shoot for a musician called Pat Capucci:
Filed under: Screenwriting, Uncategorized | Tags: 7d, Brett, Canon, DSLR, Extra, Glidecam, HD, Movie, Trailer, Trousdale, Webfest
As mentioned previously, I have been working on a new concept for developing/emerging filmmakers. MovieExtra Webfest is holding an online competition to pitch a 7 part web series, with a winner picking up a $50,000 budget to produce the series. Now I don’t want to say too much about the project, it’s now with the competition judges to be determined as a finalist or not. What I will say is what is on the trailer information:
Insert Hero Here tells the story of Max, an over imaginative, yet kindhearted guy, who wishes life was more like Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, or Spiderman. Follow Max over just one epic day in his life, as he battles villains, monsters and phobias to win the heart of the woman he loves, Hayley. To do that, Max must stand up to Michael, Hayley’s unfit boyfriend, and retrieve a picture of Michael being unfaithful to her. A picture that has ended up in Michael’s possession. After being bullied for so long in his life, Max knows that this will be the one chance he has to make a difference in the world. To right a wrong. To prove his love. And all this whilst Max is dressed in his Live Action Role Play costume as a wood elf…
The idea itself was borne out of the combination of two things. A personal issue I had been dealing with terribly, as well as the learning of what a Live Action Roleplay Group (LARP) is, and that there are people who dress up and physically act out and play characters from a fictional setting in the real world. A kind of real-life world of warcraft type thing. I absolutely love this idea! To pretend to be someone else, to make-believe you are fighting an epic battle, to forget about the issues effecting you in real life is exactly what filmmaking is all about. It’s about emersion into a fictitious world.
And so I have crafted a story of seven parts, each to be no longer than 3 minutes long, telling the story of Max who escapes his uneventful life in fantasy, wishing he were as brave and as noble as some of the heroes he plays. As is always the way with me, I just had so little time to actually get a trailer together, that I had to settle for just 1 actor being available with the short notice I needed people on. Brett Trousdale played the part of Max for the trailer, which I actually view more as a screen test, as I aim to complete a short film around this story next year. I have worked previously with Brett on a couple of projects, and he is a fairly talented young actor, who listens to your ideas, and gives a bit of input too. That’s important.
I filmed the footage myself, with a Canon 7d, Sigma 18-50mm and Nikon 28mm glass, a tripod and glidecam 2000 pro and rode video mic. That’s it. There wasn’t time for lighting control, which is a shame since I think I could have made a great looking internal scene, but c’est la vie. A bit of Premiere Pro and After Effects work, and voila. An OK looking trailer. What’s next? Well the finalists are being announced over the next few days I believe. Fingers crossed, but as I mentioned, I now have a crackin’ story in my head that should see the light of day sometime in 2011.
View and vote for mine and other entries into the competition here: http://apps.facebook.com/moviewebfest/showentry?entryurl=%2Fcontests%2Fshowentry%2F650736&ref=mf
Nick
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- Firepower!
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- Even wizards can’t do everything
Filed under: Screenwriting
With all the short film scripts I write, there is ultimately something in there that I can relate to, or a part of it (sometimes incredibly small) that I have dealt with in real life and have tried to push to the extreme to really make it entertaining. Never has that been truer, than for a concept I have been quietly developing recently. I believe that this ultimately might make your film OK, pretty good, or excellent. Story is how every film starts. It needs to be written. What will dictate whether that story is OK, or excellent, or maybe shit, is that it needs to be not necessarily ‘believable’ but ‘relatable’. It is so much easier for an audience to connect to a story and characters if they can say “yep, been there” albeit in a less dramatised version in their lives.
It’s OK to think, I’m going to make a zombie horror, or an 80′s action buddy cop film, as long you yourself as a writer can relate to it. It may be as small as one of the character’s has one of your personal traits, or as big as the story being a stroke for stroke account of what has happened in your life (if that’s true when you are writing your zombie survival film, I worry), so long as people who will ultimately see your film can relate to it. That’s how people are affected by films. The Shawshank Redemption for example. One of my favourite films. Written & Directed by Frank Darabont, the film pairs two unlikely friends and the struggle one of those friends has dealing with life incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. Could I relate to the harsh existence of a prisoner, no, could I relate to the feeling of everyone thinking you’re guilty when you are innocent, no, but what I could relate to was the friendship between Andy and Red. It reminded me of the friendship I have with my best mate back in the UK, who I haven’t seen for 4 years, but I know when I do get back over there to visit, our friendship will still be as strong as ever.
And there you have it, something I can relate to. It’s interesting, but I thought I would post this as I am considering it more and more with every word I write. ‘Can people relate to this’. The concept I am working on is being prepared for the Movie Extra Webfest here in Australia, with a $50,000 budget to produce a 7 part web series up for grabs to the entry deemed the best (obviously). More on the story of my entry as it is developed.
Nick
A great movie
Well, as promised, in no time at all I have completed my entry into the Channel [V]/Bluejuice competition to create a music vid to their upcoming single Head Of The Hawk. Overall, I am pretty pleased. I shall waste no time, below is the video. Watch. Enjoy.
Might look into making some more music videos now, I like them!
Nick
Hmm, apologies my blog titles are becoming more and more…shit. Today saw me shoot into Newcastle, where the weather was absolutely gorgeous, to film this concept I have now had in my head for nigh on 6 months. My first attempt at selling it to someone was a pitch for the John Jameson Production Opportunity. It feels good to finally have it “in the can”. As I have previously mentioned, the whole idea swings around a bank note, and it’s point of view of the world. I had a number of friends help out, some being actors, some will never be acting again…
I jest, everyone freely gave their time and put some great effort into the shoot. Will it be perfect? No, of course not, but for the timeframe we shot this with, and with zero budget (seriously, I have spent $0) it’s looking not so bad so far. I hope to get the edit done very quickly, so look out for the video soon. Thanks to everyone to helped out. Just to re-iterate, I have shot 99% of the music video on the GoPro Hero HD, a tiny little HD camera perfect for these POV shots. Below is a pic of the gear I primarily used, held by a very tired me.
Nick
Photo. Then Sleep.
Unfortunately, I never got enough time to put together an entry based on my idea for the Herald Newspaper Comp here in Newcastle, NSW. Instead, I shall be using the same concept to portray a music video. Who for? None other than Bluejuice. These dainty young musicians along with the music channel Channel [V] are conducting a competition to find the next music video for their upcoming single “Head Of The Hawk”.
A very cool idea, hence why I am putting together an entry, still encompassing the whole point of view of a banknote. I shall post more as it develops. For now, have a look at the little concept vid I chucked together over an hour today.
Nick
It seems a while since I’ve done any blogging, primarily because I’ve been completely snowed under with work…yawn.
Running on from my concept submitted to John Jameson Productions & Metro Screen (For funding opportunities that I clearly missed the mark on), I am making a live action version of “circulation”, for entry into the Newcastle Herald 2 minute showdown.
The comp features a relatively small prize pool, but as I always do, it’s good to have something with clear deadlines, such as competitions. The comp itself centres around the filmmakers’ ability to create a 2 min short film featuring items specified by the newspaper, and edited ‘in-camera’. This can pose a problem because traditionally, in-camera editing was easy to do with tape formats. You would shoot in a linear fashion, rewind slightly to get the shot length you wanted, and then start recording your next shot.
However, with the death of tape (it’s all but over people, face it) and digital mediums becoming prominent, stopping and starting a shot means that a new file will be written, which means that somehow those shots will need to be stitched together. The most common way for this is with a NLE (Non-Linear Editor). I know what you’re thinking, but if footage is stuck together in an NLE, how is it edited “in-camera”. An interesting question, and one which I will not answer until I get my entry together.
For now, here are a couple of test stills using the GoPro Hero HD. I really like this camera as it is small, inexpensive, robust and can shoot 1080p! In fact, I’m also putting a pic of the GoPro so you can see how small it is.
Nick
Bank Note Smiling
Bank Note Sad
GoPro Hero HD. Crazy small.
Filed under: Ecstacy.Face Facts
I’m sure there are 6 happy people out there, chosen as finalists for the Ecstacy.Face Facts short film comp. I, am not one of them, with the finalists having been notified by end or working day today I believe. I can’t wait to see the finalists, who should be posted by Friday on the Face Fatcs website, I’m positive there will be some stiff competition. Below is my short film, a nice experiment in a few new post production tools, and at the end of the day, I have a nice 60sec commercial to add to my showreel. On with the other short films!
Nick
Filed under: Ecstacy.Face Facts
I have recently started working on an entry for a competition here in Australia supported by the Australian Government to make a 60 second short film about the effects of Ecstacy for young people. Being a young(ish) person, I decided to give it a go. My short film will be told in the 1st person narrative, where a young woman’s body plays host to the effects of ecstacy after popping a pill. Should be an interesting little short, and I will be breaking down the short between live action, shot with a few friends, and VFX using 3d studio max. I’ll be using After effects to stitch all the footage together. Studio Max is a new program to myself, so it’s always painstaking to learn new commands, shortcuts & behaviours.
Right this minute I am exporting a sequence to use in After Effects. Only 15 secs long, (I’ll have 3 such sequences in total), below is my current view. 18 hours left! Competition details can be viewed here.
Can you tell what it is yet?…
Nick
