Walter Graff has just posted instructions for a low-cost do-it-yourself teleprompter. Looks like it works... and at a fraction of the cost of professional teleprompters. Good stuff if you need such a thing. While you're at Walter's site, be sure to check out his "Instruction" page, particularly the "What's in my Light Kit" article.
DIY Underwater Camcorder Housing
Last summer I linked to a DIY underwater camcorder housing that could be built for $70.
Since Summer is now officially upon us it's only appropriate that I share another design for an underwater camcorder housing. If you have a Dremel
Ten Commandments from HDforIndies
Mike Curtis posted an amusing and, more importantly, instructive rant over at HDforIndies. The post, entitled "OK Indies, listen up - 10 THINGS NOT TO DO", is a litany of Bad Things that Mike probably encounters once a day in his work as a post-production guru. Eight of the DON'Ts are technology related. Five, in fact, deal in some way with the Panasonic DVX-100. That camera has earned its spot in the Pantheon of Great Indy Film Tools, no doubt, but its framerate settings (60i, 30p, 24p, 24pAdvanced) can cause a lot of problems if you don't fully understand them. The fact that most of these problems happen in post-production only adds to the misery -- if you've shot in multiple formats without understanding their differences and potential incompatibilities, you may have really hurt your project.
If you don't understand this stuff, check out the CallBox DVD or read carefully in the DVXUser forums.
The two non-technology issues have Mike addressing the fact that so many poor independent filmmakers want him to do their tech consulting for free. Though his blog (like many others, including this one) provides information freely, Mike's really in business to sell his expertise and information. Since the "product" Mike sells has no physical properties (i.e., it's not a car or a widget) people seem to think that it should be given freely since it can be asked for freely.
I can relate. Since I teach, it's my obligation -- and it's my pleasure -- to give my information freely to my students. I also try to serve the community (both the film community and my local community) in different ways. But you have to draw the line somewhere in order to do your own work and to pay the bills.
Mike's answer to people needing answers to specific post-production questions is that you can "pray to Google" or hire him. I'm someone who's done both. Here's a post from the past of my own experience in hiring Mike as a consultant.
Head Trauma Re-Mix in Philly
Yo, Philly readers: Here's a screening that would make William Castle's head spin: Lance Weiler's Head Trauma will screen with a live soundtrack, featuring performances by Bardo Pond, members of Espers, Fern Knight and DJ Chief Wreck'em. Some theatrics are being thrown in for good measure and there will also be some interactivity. Bring your cell phone.
Details can be found at I-House (the venue) and on the Head Trauma website. Or check out the flyer here.
I'm not a connoisseur of horror and suspense films, but I enjoyed the film when I caught it on DVD
Costuming Forms and Resources
Wardrobing on my previous films has often amounted to browsing through each actor's closet and, if they're lucky, making a quick stop by the Goodwill. For my new project, though, there are about 20 characters, not to mention 150 extras, all of whom we have to dress for a mid-19th century masquerade ball.
Just kidding.
In all seriousness, we're going to have to do a little costuming for the new project I'm working on. It's nothing elaborate -- just a uniform for a baseball player -- but a even single costume means taking measurements. I found the following forms online, and they've been useful for me. Maybe they'll be useful for you.
The first form listed above comes from The Costumer, a costume rental house.
The second form comes from MIT's OpenCourseWare website, specifically their Fall 2004 course entitled Costume Design for the Theater. I browsed the site for a few minutes. It looks like it could be a great, and free, resource for budding costumers.
Also, while I'm on the subject, MovieMaker Magazine had a pretty good article about low budget costuming last summer.
Finally, if you're serious about looking at the art of the costume designer, it's tough to go wrong with Screencraft: Costume Design
SXSW: The Whole Shootin' Match, indeed
After a hellish 13 hour trip from Austin to Knoxville (don't get me started about the airline industry) I'm in Knoxville scouting locations for a film. Before I get completely absorbed with that work, here are some final notes on my last day or so at SXSW. Tuesday was my panel, Blogging about Film. Alison did a nice job moderating the conversation, and I really enjoyed sharing the microphone with Joel, Agnes, Mark, and Lance. All had very smart things to say, and we had different perspectives on the issues raised by Alison and the audience.
Many of the people in the audience -- a crowd of about 75 -- were bloggers themselves. At least some of them (Anthony Kaufman, Mike Tully, and AJ Schnack, to name just a few) could have just as easily been on the panel.
One of the more interesting discussions that arose concerned the question of whether bloggers are journalists or not. We also addressed some of the ethical issues that can arise when blogging about film, like whether you should review films by your friends.
After the panel, a few of the people mentioned above went to the Iron Works BBQ to continue talking film. I then caught 638 Ways to Kill Castro. I wasn't planning on seeing it, but it was a good way to stay out of the torrential rain. Castro is a fairly typical leftist documentary (e.g., interviews and archival footage, romantic longing for the revolutionary spirit of the 60s, damning evidence of US government's covert activities, etc.). It's all very upsetting, but the film offers little in the way of suggestions about what the audience should do with its anger. Even more troubling is the fact that the film also asks very few questions about Casto's own record on human rights. Of course, the question of whether such abuses make one worthy of assassination are never asked, in part, because the parties that want Castro dead don't care about his human rights abuses -- they simply want to exploit Cuba for their own ends. Still, in a film that takes as its subject the covert use of power and violence, it seems odd to neglect discussing Castro's own abuses in this regard. Despite these misgivings, I was, in the moment, oddly entertained by the film -- a combination of wry commentary and ironic archival footage give it a sense of humor (as well as a sense of the absurd), which is lacking in so many other earnest, liberal documentaries. My questions linger, though.
After the movie, I hung out with James Johnston and Amy McNutt. We talked politics, movies, and sugar substitutes over at a restaurant with some fine vegan deserts. Yum.
Finally, I made it over to Eagle Pennell's The Whole Shootin' Match. With all due respect to Frownland, Hannah Takes the Stairs, Quiet City, and the Zellner / Duplass shorts program, this was my favorite film of the festival. Shot in the late '70s, the film has been credited with inspiring Robert Redford to start the Sundance Institute. The film follows two blue collar Texas guys that can't seem to get their act together. One's single and an inventor, of sorts; the other is a married man who has trouble staying faithful to his spunky wife. It's more than just a very real, funny, sweet, and unsentimental masterpiece -- it ranks alongside Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep as one of the most vivid pieces of celluloid Americana I've ever seen.
The Whole Shootin' Match was a perfect last film to see, a reminder that the strong currents of do-it-yourself American independent filmmaking that were on display at SXSW flow from tributaries that go way back and have, for many of us, long since been lost or forgotten.
After I walked out of the theater, I ran back to the hotel in the rain, changed into dry clothes, and headed over to the closing night party, thanks to a ride from David Lowery.
I stayed for a while at the party, long enough to offer one more set of congratulations and compliments to the makers of all the films that I had liked, and long enough to talk face to face one more time with friends, many of whom I had met face to face for the first time in Austin.
The last conversation I had was with a very talented new friend in which we discussed collaborating on a project together. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can touch the promise and anticipation of making new work with people you respect. There are things that can't be put into a swag bag, listed in a festival catalog, or even projected on a screen -- and yet these intangibles of festival-going are why we attend in the first place.
As much as I was enjoying the party, it was time to call it a night. As if on cue, the rain had let up. So I walked back to my hotel in the dark with my mind buzzing, not with alcohol, but with something far better -- ideas for a new film.
An Articulate Movement (of Inarticulateness) Articulated?
Following up on Anthony Kaufman's post of a couple days ago, Eugene Hernandez writes about what's in the air in Austin this year -- you can call them DIY, no-budget, or self-reliant filmmakers. This year, with Hannah Takes the Stairs, Quiet City, Frownland, Orphans these films are the toast of the town. I've been traveling for the last 24 hours (in Knoxville to scout locations for a film I'm shooting), but I have more thoughts on this which I'll try to articulate later.
Then again, I feel like I've been articulating thoughts about this stuff for the last year and a half. It's nice to see indieWire discussing it, even if they do refer to these films as "mumblecore." I believe it goes broader and deeper than that limiting name.
Anyway, here's the article.
SXSW: Anthony Kaufman Gets It.
The article: "The SXSW All-Stars: A New Ultra-Indie Movement" Read it here.
SXSW: Hannah Take the Stairs
Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs had its World Premiere at SXSW last night. There was a lot of anticipation about the movie -- it was billed as one of the must-see films of the festival, and when I arrived at the Paramount Theatre it's clear that people took that buzz seriously. Two different lines -- one for the festival passholders, one for the general public -- stretched around the block. By the time that Matt Dentler, SXSW's Director, was on stage introducing the film, I think every last of the Paramount's 1200 seats was filled.
And the movie? It does not disappoint. It's a wholly successful romantic comedy, and it's Swanberg's most technically accomplished feature.
The plot is admittedly slight: A woman looks for love and satisfaction from three different suitors, two of whom are co-workers. On one level, that's "all." But, as with so much, it's all in the telling.
Last year, I remarked that Swanberg's LOL suggested hints of Renoir, and I'll reiterate that here. Like Renoir, one of Swanberg's primary talents is his ability to fill his films with immensely likable actors, and this film, which is almost completely comprised of other independent filmmakers, has an ensemble that's as warm and generous as any I've seen in a long, long time. Greta Gerwig, in particular, is a knockout.
Most of the time the humor is not "funny ha ha" (to quote the title of a film made by Andrew Bujalski, one Hannah's stars). The "comedy" is really an orientation, an optimism and humility, that one senses in the person behind the camera. But, yes, at times, the movie is (with a nod to Swanberg's last film) laugh out-loud funny.
The film is romantic, too, but not in the conventional sense of that word. It's romantic not because it dramatizes the coming together of two passionate, fated lovers, but because it documents the hard-won moments of real closeness that young lovers can share and then, so quickly, lose.
Reflecting on it this morning, I thought of Dave Hickey's introduction to Air Guitar. Hickey suggests that love songs matter because they play a social function: They help lovers find each other. With all the love songs in the world, you begin to search for your soul mate by finding the person that likes the same love song as you.
Hannah Takes the Stairs isn't plotty enough to be a movie for the masses. Still, it will find its audience -- at lots of festivals and on DVD. Among those audiences, I imagine that more than a few young couples will see this together and, in both liking it, they will learn something about themselves and each other in the process. How many films can you say that about?
A Long Weekend of Short Filmmaking at William & Mary: Pt. 2
Saturday morning at William & Mary began with Troy Davis giving Ashley and me a tour around the William & Mary's Swem Library Media Center. The Director of the Media Center, Troy was my host for the weekend and one of the primary organizers of the Media Center's Long Weekend of Short Filmmaking. The Media Center is several things in one -- an equipment training center, an equipment check-out center, a recording studio for music and podcasts. It's anything and everything that students want and Troy makes himself, and his assistants, available to students to teach them anything from iMovie to Logic Pro.
Troy has been the Director of the Media Center for a year and a half, and it's impressive what he's accomplished. On a technical level, he's helped secure some superb editing facilities (several Mac tower stations with Final Cut, Logic Pro, and the rest of the works, each in its own sound controlled environment). For a guy who describes himself as a "dabbler" when it comes to film, I was impressed with all the smart technology purchases he has been making, not to mention his ability to talk in depth about the subtle differences between various pieces of equipment they own.
Since there are, no doubt, places like this at universities across the country, the biggest accomplishment isn't the equipment and stations he's amassed -- it's the sense of community generates out from this media hub. A lot of that, no doubt, is due to Troy's vision for the Media Center as a place that is accessible and inviting (as opposed to exclusive and intimidating). The Media Center, in fact, is littered with Troy's self-desribed "propaganda" -- humorous, well-designed posters -- that invite students into the space and use the equipment.
After the tour, Troy and I recorded a podcast that covered making and teaching film. He had thought a lot about my work and had some great questions, which is really flattering. (The podcast will be posted at some point on Media Center site. I'll link to it when it's available.)
The podcast led into a "self-reliant filmmaking" workshop that I conducted with some of William & Mary's film students and faculty.
I began by discussing the work I do on this blog, including my reasons for starting it, and how it's transformed my own film practice. I then opened things up for discussion, which led to a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from what video camera to purchase to some simple strategies for first-time documentarians. Ashley threw in some good advice during the conversation, to boot; I was happy she had joined me.
Our workshop group talked for nearly two hours, so Ashley and I had a quick break for lunch before I ran off to a screening of some of my own short films at the historic Kimball Theatre. The films looked good in this classy venue, I was happy with the turnout, and the questions the audience asked were, again, really good. (I even received some email from audience members after the screening thanking me for sharing my work.) There was a little reception in the theater lobby afterwards, and I enjoyed talking with some of the William & Mary faculty members that had come to the screening. That conversation led to a coffeehouse where Sharon Zuber, who teaches W&M's production courses, and I compared notes about how to teach film production.
We closed out the day by stopping by the premiere of the Cans Film Festival (pun intended), a student-organized screening of films produced at a variety of Virginia universities. (There weren't any entries from Virginia Tech -- maybe next year?) Ashley and I weren't able to stay for long -- I was beat and we had a long drive back in the morning. We did manage to catch one zombie flick before we left.
Before we left on Sunday morning, Troy treated us to breakfast at one of Williamsburg's many pancake houses. Ashley and I had seen a number of pancake houses on our drive in, and I suppose they reflect the fact that Williamsburg is a haven for retirees and a magnet for tourists (motto: "Where History Lives"). The three of us had one last movie-saturated conversation, and Troy told us about his next dream for the Media Center -- restoring an unused auditorium in the William & Mary library and making into a screening facility/microcinema.
As we drove out of town, past a few more pancake houses, I thought about a place like Wiliamsburg. Even with the occasional major production (like Malick's The New World) coming to town, it would still be surprising to see Williamsburg develop into the next Austin. Williamsburg's a town of 12,000 people, and a lot of the people are transient (whether they're tourists, college students, or retirees). That's a tough place to build a film culture. Of course these things don't only apply to Williamsburg. If this sounds like your town, too, well, so be it. It sounds like mine.
The thing is, something is happening in Williamsburg. Things like the Kimball Theatre, and the William & Mary Media Center are part of the puzzle. The "corner pieces" of that puzzle, though, are a dedicated group of people with vision, passion, and resourcefulness. That's the real lifeblood of regional filmmaking and film culture. Some places don't have this, or have enough of it. Luckily, for Williamsburg, it has Troy Davis, Sharon Zuber, Arthur Knight (coordinator of Film Studies at W&M), and a host of student filmmakers. Something tells me that their numbers will only continue to grow.
A Long Weekend of Short Filmmaking at William & Mary: Pt. 1
The College of William & Mary brought me to Williamsburg, Virginia this weekend to participate in a "long weekend of short filmmaking." It's been a busy, and rewarding, weekend. Friday, after arriving to town, I was a judge at 24Speed, William & Mary's variation on those twenty-four hour filmmaking contests that have grown in popularity throughout the country.
In this case, eight teams of six filmmakers each were provided the same line of dialogue (a line from one of last year's videos: "I'm not taking you out, I'm taking you down") and a 1920s yearbook from the college's archives, which they had to use as a prop. After a drawing in which they received two film genres at random each team had to choose one genre in which to work. They then had 24 hours to produce a three-to-five minute video.
By the time of the screening the place was packed. Each of the eight videos had their charms and their share of cleverness. Of course, all of them had their rough spots, too -- what video produced in 24 hours wouldn't? It's funny, though, how those "rough spots" (some out of sync dialogue, say, or let's-roll-with-the-first-and-only-take-performances) become charming in and of themselves when you consider the context of how quickly these things were produced.
After watching all the videos, the two other judges and I had a healthy debate about the merits of the eight videos. Every video, to its credit, managed to produce at least a handful of laughs, jolts, or cringes.
Speaking only for myself, as a judge I was looking for videos that had adequate craft, for starters. Beyond that, though, I wasn't necessarily looking for the best shot or best edited video. I was looking for videos that gave me a fresh take on the genre instead of merely rehashing it. That might sound like a tall order, but there were more than a couple that did this.
Ultimately, after forty-five minutes, the other two judges and I had settled on the prize winners. The winner was a mockumentary that used consistently smart deep-focus cinematography to execute its jokes with a lot of subtlety; an honorable mention was awarded to some ambitious students that came this close to nailing their chosen genre, the musical. That's right, in 24 hours they wrote, scored, shot and edited a musical. It was rough around the edges, sure, but it definitely had me eager to see what these guys could accomplish in 48 hours, and that's worth something.
That night, after the screening was over, I realized that I had experienced a change of heart about competitions like 24Speed. In the past, to be perfectly frank, I've had some reservations about the benefits of such competitions. I guess I feared that the 24 hour time constraint reinforced bad habits (mainly, thinking that making a film is something you can rush through) and emphasized competition over collaboration. I see, now, that I've been wrong.
First, the competitive nature (at least at this one) was entirely overshadowed by the fun everyone was having. That was great to see. Competition can push people to do better work, even (especially?) with art. You just can't take it too seriously.
Secondly, and even more importantly, I see now that what these competitions can do is remind us that there are times when it's better to make something as quickly as possible just to do it.
More than anything else, watching these videos (and meeting the students that produced them so quickly) I was reminded of the collaborations I have undertaken in the past with friends on videos for Termite TV. To an outsider, such projects might seem "insignificant," but I always learned something by making them, even if the final product sometimes ended up being kinda rough.
This afternoon, browsing Termite TV's website, I ran across a quote from Manny Farber's "White Elephant Art vs Termite Art" essay, which reads as a kind of found poem for what I saw at 24Speed: a peculiar fact about termite-tapeworm-fungus-moss art is that it moves always forward, eating its own boundaries, and likely as not, leaves nothing in its path but evidence of eager, industrious, unkempt activities
Part 2 of W&M's Long Weekend of Short Filmmaking coming soon...
ADDENDUM:All of the entries for the contest are now online for viewing by the general public.
Cool Tool: Gage-It
While at Home Depot the other day I ran across a nifty little all-in-one measurement tool called Gage-It. It allows you to measure screws and bolts; nuts; steel, brass & PVC pipe; wire size; and nails. It also has a couple of rulers (metric and standard) and a conversions table for weights and measurements. I feel like I'm always going to the hardware store trying to find a screw that's the right size for this or that thing around my house, plus it seemed like a useful thing to have with you on a film set, so I picked one up. The thing cost something like $1.99.
I can't even seem to find the manufacturer ("Armour Technologies, Inc.") online, much less the item itself. The only other mention I could find was at Toolmonger, from whom I grabbed the pic above. But if you're looking for one, try Home Depot. I ran across mine in the screws/nails aisle.
Finally, as an aside, writing this post made me realize that I've become so conditioned to finding products on the internet (and the internet has become so synonymous with shopping) that, when I run across something that can't be found for sale anywhere online, it seems... well, it seems weird. And by "weird" I mean conspiratorially weird, even creepy. It's like the thing doesn't exist, even though I have one right in my hands. Am I alone on this one?
Spilled guts: DIY gore
Generally, I'm of the opinion that most movies could use less gore. I'm not a snob that dislikes horror movies; I simply think the power of suggestion is stronger than the power of spectacle. Still, there are times that filmmakers have just gotta "go gross" to do a story justice. (Exhibits A through C: David Cronenberg, Paul Verhoeven, and George A. Romero.)
So, without further ado, here are the latest installments in my continuing effort to present crafty DIY resources.
Lost in Light Launches
Jennifer Proctor and Aaron Valdez's Lost in Light project website has officially launched. If you missed my post about it in October, the project is "devoted to preserving, archiving, and making available 8mm and Super 8 films that are otherwise being lost to time." Now that the project has begun, Jennifer and Aaron are ready to start accepting Super 8 and 8mm films for free transfer to video and inclusion on their videoblog. They are also accepting creative works made in Super 8 and 8mm for posting to the site.
Click here to find out more about having your Super-8 and "regular" 8mm movies transferred to video for free. The transfers they're offering are flickerless, and they look good. Check out their first post to see a sample.
If you're interested in submitting creative work, click here.
Lost in Light
A few weeks ago, in an effort to show my students some of the more interesting film and video work being created for the web I discovered Have Money Will Vlog. It's an ingenious site that helps media artists raise funds to produce their web-distributed videos and films. The project budgets are in the $2000 - $3000 range, and the donations are usually small -- $10, $20, and so on. Of course, that money adds up when you consider all the people online. You get what you pay for, too. The work you'll find on HMWV is about, oh, a zillion times better than anything you'll see on YouTube or Google Video. (Unless, of course, you have some predilection for watching pre-teens doing karaoke in front of their webcams.)
Anyway, if you've not yet run across Have Money Will Vlog, now is a particularly good time to check out the site (and to dig in your pocket for some loose change) because funds are currently being raised for a project by Jennifer Proctor and Aaron Valdez, two Iowa City filmmakers. The project is called Lost in Light and, in Jennifer's words (via email) the project is "devoted to preserving, archiving, and making available 8mm and Super 8 films that are otherwise being lost to time."
In fact, as they state on the Lost in Light websites (HMWV site, official site), "we will provide free Super 8 and 8mm to video transfers to anyone who asks, in exchange for posting their video to the Lost in Light site and on the Internet Archive with their choice of Creative Commons licenses. In addition, Lost in Light will include articles and features by members of the filmmaking and film preservation communities, video tutorials for making 8mm films, as well as creative work, all with the goal of preserving and championing this important film format."
So, send them your Super-8 and 8mm films. And send them some $ while you're at it.
Storyboard Template
While testing a trial version Apple's Pages application I ran across a storyboard template. Pretty cool. I modified the original file a little and made a template that I like. Enjoy.
Here's more info on aspect ratios, courtesy of Wikipedia.
David Lynch self-distributing Inland Empire
David Lynch has decided to self-distribute his new film, Inland Empire. The Hollywood Reporter has the story. Says THR:
After a flurry of rumors pointing to just about every indie studio in the business, director David Lynch has worked out a deal with French producers Studio Canal to self-distribute his three-hour epic digital video feature "Inland Empire," in the U.S. and Canada. Producer Mary Sweeney said the plan will "explore a new model of distribution."
Lynch will work with well-known theatrical and home video partners to launch his epic fever dream of a film, retaining all rights to the low-budget project in each service deal. The partnerships will be announced within the next week.
If you've read any of the press about this movie so far, you already know it's a labor of love for Lynch. He shot it on DV over two and a half years; he says he's never going back to film. To me, DIY distribution is a logical next step. What makes this noteworthy is DIY is so often associated with younger filmmakers trying to "break in." Here we have an older, established filmmaker going back to basics
Of course, some will say that Lynch's decision to self-distribute is simply a response to the fact he didn't receive any offers, or good offers, from major distributors. I have no idea if Lynch did or didn't get offers but, even if that's true, one shouldn't take that as an indication of quality: Should we be surprised, especially in today's climate, that this film scares off distributors? Lynch has never made blockbusters, this film is 3 hours long, and it's reportedly one of his most impenetrable movies (and that's saying something).
Self-distribution (or brokered self-distribution, like IFC's First Take or Truly Indie) is, more and more, the way that the real labors of love reach audiences these days. Is it surprising, then, that Inland Empire is any different? Yes, a little. But that makes me that much more interested.
Until we hear more about how the release will unfold, you can watch Lynch, and IE stars Laura Dern and Justin Theroux, on YouTube doing Q&A at the New York Film Festival. More indieWire coverage here. The reviews from NYFF and Venice have already begun.
And, speaking of getting back to basics, here's an amusing review from the past.
Super-8 Labs and Stocks
Following up on a few of the small-format posts I made in August, OnSuper8 has recently compiled two useful PDF's: One files lists labs around the world that process Super-8; the other file lists all of the stocks available. I was surprised at how many stocks are available these days! You can find the files HERE.
Home Movie Day (Richmond Edition)
The Richmond edition of Home Movie Day, which was run by the Richmond Moving Image Co-op, was great fun. There was a nice turnout and everyone attending (myself included) learned some good tips about preserving their small gauge films. For Ashley's complete write-up, including an explanation of what James Parrish of RMIC is explaining to her, click on the photo.
DIY Camera shoulder rest
Here is an Instructable for a DIY camcorder shoulder mount. The author is in Europe (Germany, maybe?), which means some of the tools and lingo in his how-to need some translation. I'm not sure the Home Depot or Lowe's carries the type of gutter holders that this guy is using, and I'm still trying to figure out what "Replacement sponge from a Plastic smoothener" [sic] is. But resourceful readers will figure out a solution in a jiffy, I'm sure.
By the way, the approximate cost was listed as 12 Euros (about $15). Compare with this one.
[Via Make]