FilmmakerIQ.com » Featured http://filmmakeriq.com Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:57:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 33 Jaw-Dropping VFX Breakdowns from Television http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/33-jaw-dropping-vfx-breakdowns-from-television/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/33-jaw-dropping-vfx-breakdowns-from-television/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:00:29 +0000 John P. Hess http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=10648 What was once considered a cheap and disposable medium, television special effects were historically relegated to whatever was left over in the movie studio’s prop department.

Must... Not... Break the Suspension of Disbelief

But now, Television Programs have grown to become major cultural events in our society. And with the availability of technological magic, visual effects for the original “boob-tube” can now match almost anything being seen on the silver screen.

Here are 33 visual effects breakdowns made under tight budgets and deadlines of Television.

24

Boardwalk Empire

Bones

The Cape

Crossing Jordan

CSI: NY

Defying Gravity

Dr. Who

Episodes

ER

Game of Thornes

Heroes

House

John Adams

Knight Rider

Lost

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Pan Am

Sky Channel ID

Spartacus

Swords and Sandals

Teen Wolf

Terra Nova

Ugly Betty

The Walking Dead

Wishbone

Maybe not as flashy as the others, but this show played from 1995-98… which is like ancient times right?

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/33-jaw-dropping-vfx-breakdowns-from-television/feed/ 1 The Internet Goes on Strike over SOPA, Productivity Skyrockets http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/the-internet-goes-on-strike-over-sopapipa-productivity-skyrockets/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/the-internet-goes-on-strike-over-sopapipa-productivity-skyrockets/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:50 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=10523 Now that it’s too cold to go camping on Wall Street, interwebs are abuzz with a new protest meme denouncing SOPA. This should not be confused with their decades long protest against soap.

If you’re reading this on Wednesday January 18, 2012 and you decide to head over to Wikipedia for a quick read up on the history of Gilligan’s Island you’ll be greeted with a black screen of protest. Or maybe you want to spend some quality time on Reddit or BoingBoing… nope, they’re black. Oh well, at least there’s always LOLcats at ICanHasCheezburgers…. wait… NO! In this world gone mad not even the Thai Food Blog is safe!!!!!

All these sites and others have pledged to conduct a one day internet shutdown as a symbolic protest over two bills that are making their way through the United States Congress. Apparently with complete disregard for the fact once you go black, you don’t go back.

As a way of joining in, all of our links within this article will go to the “dark sites” participating in the protest. After all, who needs to check facts during an internet protest. Just take our word that everything you read here is the gospel truth…

So what the hell is SOPA?

It is a winner take all fight to the death between Media Giants (MPAA, RIAA) vs Tech Giants (Google, Facebook). These bills, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) were designed to put a check to online piracy – a move that is very popular with organizations like the MPAA and RIAA who see people enjoying and sharing entertainment freely as the first sign of the apocalypse. But the bill, in its current state, grants to the government the power to block websites that not only host, but link to sites that illegally use copyright infringed work.

How the hell does it work?

Because it’s difficult for U.S. companies to take legal action against “rogue” foreign sites (like The Pirate Bay) SOPA’s aim is to cut off pirates ability to do business by requiring U.S. search engines, video hosts, advertising networks and other providers to not allow them to use their services. That would mean sites like Google couldn’t show flagged sites in their search results, and sites like PayPal couldn’t process payments for them. It would also mean sites like YouTube would go dark because user uploaded material that may violate copyright law.

These tactics where used to some degree to try and kill Wikileaks when Paypal, Visa, MasterCard, Amazon and others blocked them from using their services. That in turn lead to the group Anonymous to launch Operation Payback that snowballed into a wave of hacking attacks. The big deference being those where voluntary actions by service providers and they where not under any legal obligation to do so.

Why the hell should I care?

The bills are controversial because they would change the digital landscape if they became law and murder millions of kittens. It could mean the shut down of many user generated content sites and force them to enact dictatorial policing actions.

Google and Facebook, are known for never selling their user information to third parties (ahem!), are weighing in on this obtrusive action of the government calling it censorship. Yes, there is no shortage of irony:

But I digress….

You may be asking yourself, isn’t copyright infringement already illegal? Why yes it is. The way copyright enforcement currently works now is if a copyright holder sees an act of infringement, let’s say on Youtube, they can issue a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Warning. The other side can protest this warning and use many of the legal copyright defenses (like fair use or parody). If they can’t come to terms, the matter can be taken to the courts. But this is only effective in sites based in the United States.

SOPA steps up the action by giving the government the power to shut down access to sites that infringe on copyright material. And the shut down is being done at the point of accusation, which means just the whiff of infringement could lead to a shut down.

SOPA’s critics say the bill’s backers just don’t understand the interwebs’ series of tubes, and therefore don’t appreciate the implications of the legislation.

When the hell does this go into effect?

In its current form most likely never. It was expected to fly through committee then on to approval in the House. But now after the interwebs went batshit, it’s being extensively “reworked.”

The White House said the original legislation’s technical provisions “suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity,” and that it wouldn’t support legislation that mandates manipulating the Internet’s technical architecture.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has said SOPA won’t come up for a committee vote as-is.

They plan to resume revision of the bill in February and it likely is to last for months. That means the bill could change a lot from day to day. One thing is for sure, these giants will continue to fight it out for years to come, crushing us all in their wake.

Perhaps this time the Tech Firms have a valid points, but make no mistake neither side really cares about your freedoms. Especially when they conflict with profits.

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/the-internet-goes-on-strike-over-sopapipa-productivity-skyrockets/feed/ 6 IQ Film Premiere: “Treachery in Three Dimensions” http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/iq-film-premiere-treachery-in-three-dimensions/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/iq-film-premiere-treachery-in-three-dimensions/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:42:18 +0000 John P. Hess http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=10354 Filmmaker IQ’s John Hess is proud to present “Treachery in Three Dimensions” – a short Film Noir Parody.

LOGLINE: Some one is converting Hollywood Classics into 3D, Only Private Eye Ronald M. Vorhees can solve the MYSTERY!!

Behind the Scenes

“Treachery in Three Dimensions” was shot on the Canon 5d with most of the set located in John’s garage. Here is the timelapse of the on-set activity

Development of Script and Post in our IQ Discussion Group

(The Shorts Workshop)

Script Project: Treachery in Three Dimensions

On the Set of ”Treachery in Three Dimensions”

Wakey Wakey Time Mr. Vorhees

Editing Treacherously: T3D – Edit in Progress

Be sure to check out our discussion area for more great content and post your projects for feedback and advice.

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2012/01/iq-film-premiere-treachery-in-three-dimensions/feed/ 3 Helping Newt “Rebuild the America We Love” for $64 in Royalties http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/12/helping-newt-rebuild-the-america-we-love-for-only-64/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/12/helping-newt-rebuild-the-america-we-love-for-only-64/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:39:00 +0000 John P. Hess http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=10243 by John Hess

When I woke up today it was morning in America, but it wasn’t until the afternoon before I realized I helped create the dawn. That’s when I saw Newt Gingrich’s “Rebuilding the America We Love” ad and noticed those images that all political pundits where dissecting where in part created by me.

Turns out Newt used part of his Tiffany-esque $250,000 ad budget to pay me $64 in royalties for the right to use one of my Stock Videos as a main component in his spot that some are calling “Morning in America 2.0.”

Now my work is being compared to everyone one from David Lynch to Michael Bay. I hope that isn’t what they consider “fair and balanced.”

You may remember this image I posted in a review of the Sony AX2000 back in April of 2010.

Ignoring the bizarre lighting on Newt’s talking-head shot (looks like he’s trying out for “Best Tan” on Jersey Shore) and the fact that its reminiscent of Ronald Regan’s “Its Morning Again in America”, see if you Eagle-Eyed Filmmaker IQ followers can spot it in Newt’s ad:

That’s right, there it is at 0:04.

I also featured the exact same clip in the video review:

Here is the classic Ronald Reagan TV Ad: “Its Morning in America” from 1984.

Now unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your political stance), my small contribution to Newt’s Campaign has not had a positive effect. Since posting the ad on December 5th, Newt’s numbers have been steadily declining…

Perhaps it was because like Newt’s smile that white picket fence is made out of plastic.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond dared ask in this article: “Can you identify all the Iowa landmarks?”

Well Mr. Hammond, the location is Harveston, a man-made lake just under 5 years old in the City of Temecula, CA. The flag from the stock shot is down and winter has stripped the trees of their former lusciousness.

Here is a quick image of myself in the historic spot captured from an iPad. I rushed out to grab this before the sun went down and I left the CF card for my DSLR at home.

How did a clip from a camera review end up in a highly contested Republican Primary?

Well being a starving filmmaker with a healthy appetite, I recycled that footage to microstock website iStockphoto.com – selling it for anyone to purchase and download. (Hint, you should purchase and download as well)

In the year and a half it’s been there the file has done very well. It was nominated and placed in their premiere Vetta Category (translation: Most Expensive) and has brought in about $700 in Royalties.

iStockphoto doesn’t show you who purchased the file, only when, so I’m forced to guess the agency that created the ad purchased it on October 14th, 2011 for which I received a handsome royalty of $64.40.

From a quick shot grabbed with an unfamiliar camera to a brief 2 second highlight in a national political campaign, this little clip has sparked considerable internet commentary.

It was first brought to my attention while browsing Cracked.com in an attempt to avoid doing anything productive when I saw this:

Some more on what the media is saying about the ad.

The ad begins, almost David Lynch-like, with scenes of small-town America, panning in slow motion at times, most effectively, when a large hand is shown in close-up gently sweeping over a wheat field, suggesting a wise farmer — or perhaps the hand of the Almighty himself? — tending to his precious crop. You may not realize it when you watch this unusually evocative image — one of several in the ad — but that’s very likely Newt’s own hand on camera, and the wind-blown golden harvest beneath it is the proverbial “amber wave of grain” meant to symbolize the resurgence of the American heartland, overseen, of course, by the very white-haired shepherd who once angrily shut the entire federal government down.

Huffington Post

It’s an upbeat spot themed on a slice of Americana — some of the shots are reminiscent of the movie “Armageddon”

Politico

Some people say the America we know and love is a thing of the past. I don’t believe that because working together I know we can rebuild America,” Gingrich says in the ad, over video of a landscape and the American flag hanging from a front porch, blowing in the wind.

ABC News

The campaign confirms to CNN that it will spend $250,000 to run the spot state-wide in Iowa, which holds the first contest in the presidential caucus and primary calendar.

CNN

His one-minute commercial will be seen on cable and broadcast networks in Iowa, said a campaign spokesman, R.C. Hammond. The upbeat and positive ad features strong patriotic themes, with Mr. Gingrich speaking directly into the camera.

New York Times

Newt Gingrich began this week by releasing a minute-long campaign ad titled “Rebuilding the America We Love,” in which the veteran Republican insists that the wholesome, idyllic, small-town America that we all recognize from movies and advertising still exists. The ad is not terribly convincing, partly because it’s a rather uninspired retread of Ronald Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” spot from 1984, and partly because, while Reagan was talking up the good times, Gingrich is talking down the bad.

Slate

Newt Gingrich has a new ad up, and it’s clear what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to get elected as Richard Milhous Reagan.

Esquire

Gingrich’s ad feels eerily similar to “Morning in America,” the iconic ad President Ronald Reagan aired in his 1984 reelection campaign. Set to an almost identical soft soundtrack, it blends footage of a suburban porch and humming factory, a mountain sunrise and main-street flower shop, as well as a couple of quintessential Iowa scenes: the State House in Des Moines and fields of grain.

Washington Post

He delivers his rosy message over images literally lifted from “America the Beautiful” — predawn scenes of “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountains majesties.

The Atlantic

The spot is being supported by a near Tiffany-esque $250,000 ad buy in Iowa.
Mediaite

The ad itself is well-produced, and captures some of that elusive Reaganian “Morning in America” quality, very obviously the intent of his campaign team.

Hot Air

It sounds like Newt is promising “Morning in America” again

National Review

Where this starts to get weird.

They say imitation is the greatest flattery, but I don’t think that is what these parody and remix creators where thinking. I guess they each owe me $64 now. Oh well, it’s the Holidays I guess I won’t sue. Plus that last guy scares the shit out of me.

Parodies aside, it’s a good thing Newt paid me that $64 and didn’t steal that stock video. Not only because now I can afford healthcare. But because… Don’t Cross Us. Ever. Seriously. Just Don’t.

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/12/helping-newt-rebuild-the-america-we-love-for-only-64/feed/ 3 3 Documentaries Made by Stanley Kubrick http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/11/3-documentaries-made-by-stanley-kubrick/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/11/3-documentaries-made-by-stanley-kubrick/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:49:57 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=9601 Stanley Kubrick made three documentaries early in his career. Created between 1951 – 1953 Kubrick acted as director, writer, cinematographer, and soundman for the shorts. They include the first film he directed and the first color picture he made. They also offer an early insight into the legendary filmmaker’s craft.

Day of the Fight (1951)

Day of the Fight is a 1951 short documentary shot in black-and-white and also the first picture directed by Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick financed the film himself, and it is based on an earlier photo feature he had done as a photographer for Look magazine in 1949.

Flying Padre (1951)

Flying Padre is a short black-and-white documentary, which is notable as the second picture directed by Stanley Kubrick, after Day of the Fight. About a Catholic priest in rural New Mexico, Father Fred Stadtmuller. Because his 400-square mile parish is so large, he uses a Piper Cub airplane (named the “Spirit of St. Joseph”) to travel from one isolated settlement to another. The film shows him providing spiritual guidance, giving sermons at funerals, and serving as an impromptu air ambulance by flying a sick child and his mother to hospital.

The Seafarers (1953)

Stanley Kubrick’s first film made in color. Lost for over 40 years! It was supervised by the staff of The Seafarers Log, the union magazine. For the cafeteria scene in the film, Kubrick chose a long, sideways-shooting dolly shot to establish the life of the seafarer’s community; this shot is an early demonstration of a signature technique that Kubrick would use in his feature films.

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/11/3-documentaries-made-by-stanley-kubrick/feed/ 1 24 Amazing Videos of Autumn Zen http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/10/24-amazing-videos-of-autumn-zen/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/10/24-amazing-videos-of-autumn-zen/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:20:01 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=8981 It’s Autumn and it is time to get back to work, school or procrastinating about that screenplay you said you would write over the summer. During these stressful times it’s good to take a break with a little moment of zen. To help you out we gathered together these amazing fall videos for your tranquil repose and inspiration.


Featured Image by Aurelio Asiain.

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/10/24-amazing-videos-of-autumn-zen/feed/ 1 50 Star Wars Vintage Toy Commercials http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/09/50-star-wars-vintage-toy-commercials/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/09/50-star-wars-vintage-toy-commercials/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:15:15 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=8911 If you are feeling nostalgic for the your old classic Star Wars toys, look no further because we rounded up over 50 vintage commercials. If you are too young to be feeling nostalgic, get off my lawn and get a job hipster! That makes me think if I still had my old toys I could sell them now and retire. Damn you mom and your garage sale!

The Kenner toy company produced a line of Star Wars action figures based on characters in the original Star Wars movie trilogy. Over 90 unique action figures were produced and sold from 1978 to 1985, during which time over 300 million Star Wars action figures were sold. Although the original Star Wars film had been released in May 1977, Kenner were unprepared for the unprecedented response to the film and the high demand for toys. Therefore, they missed the lucrative Christmas market, but instead sold an “Early Bird Certificate Package” (informally known as the Empty Box promotion) which included a certificate which could be mailed to Kenner and redeemed for four Star Wars action figures as soon as they were released in early 1978.[1] The box also contained a diorama display stand, some stickers, and a Star Wars fan club membership card. Kenner’s success with the Star Wars line motivated creators of other action-adventure movies to market their own action figure line.

Wikipedia | Kenner Star Wars action figures

Image by Solo

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/09/50-star-wars-vintage-toy-commercials/feed/ 0 101 Movie Cliché Supercuts http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/101-movie-cliche-supercuts/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/101-movie-cliche-supercuts/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:15:28 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=8433 To help demonstrate the silliness of the movie clichés, some obsessive-compulsive fanboys have collected those silly things we see over and over in various films into these single massive video montages of overused platitudes. We figured it was only fitting that we create a Super-Mashup of these Epic Supercuts!

What’s your favorite or most hated movie cliché?

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/101-movie-cliche-supercuts/feed/ 1 30 Amazing Stanley Kubrick Cinemagraphs http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/30-amazing-stanley-kubrick-cinemagraphs/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/30-amazing-stanley-kubrick-cinemagraphs/#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:15:33 +0000 Dennis http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=8383 Stanley Kubrick was devoted to images, telling his stories as visually as possible. His images have an arresting power that few if any other directors can match. Dublin-based film critic Paul Lynch may have summed it up best speaking on A Clockwork Orange:

With colour, Kubrick found an alacrity and an arrest in his images that began to transcend the subject material of his stories…Those widescreen shots seem to push the natural boundaries of the screen, to absorb every photon of light. Kubrick wanted to do to his audiences what he did to Alex in A Clockwork Orange: to peel back our eyelids until we are forced to see every beam from the projector. He did not want us to blink.

There is a cold pedantry to his work, an unfeeling, ivory-tower vantage that, when married to the analytical care he took with his craft, can leave you feeling a little cold towards his films.

What is a Cinemagraph?

Cinemagraphs are still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement action occurs. The term “cinemagraph” was coined by U.S. photographers Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck, who used the technique to animate their fashion and news photographs beginning in early 2011.

They are produced by taking a series of photographs or a video recording, and, using image editing software, compositing the photographs or the video frames into an animated GIF file in such a manner that motion in part of the subject between exposures (for example, a person’s dangling leg) is perceived as a repeating or continued motion. (See Tutorial Links at the end of this Article.)

Watch carefully some a very subtle.

IMAGES VIA: If we don’t, remember me.

Lolita

Dr. Strangelove

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Clockwork Orange

The Shining

Full Metal Jacket

Eyes Wide Shut

*A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Cinemagraph Tutorials:

]]> http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/30-amazing-stanley-kubrick-cinemagraphs/feed/ 25 7 Pro Tips to Surviving the 48 Hour Film Project http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/7-pro-tips-to-surviving-the-48-hour-film-project/ http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/7-pro-tips-to-surviving-the-48-hour-film-project/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:30:15 +0000 John P. Hess http://filmmakeriq.com/?p=8222 The 48 Hour Film Project is a popular filmmaking event that asks teams of filmmakers to write, produce, shoot and edit a short film in the span of 48 hours. As someone that has participated in three events (the last time after I vowed never to do another one again) and shoots on tight schedules for a living, I’ve put together seven pro tips to help you survive this grueling filmmaking stunt.

The advice I will dispense is based on my experiences which haven’t all been stellar. Listen to me and hopefully you can avoid some of the pitfalls of this weekend of insanity. If you don’t, who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky… or you might end up putting your fist through a wall.

But trust me at least on the first one.

Tip 1: Know your workflow

Workflow is a fancy smancy term post production guys like to use for describing how they turn raw footage into a finished product. If you’ve never made a film STOP READING RIGHT NOW! Go make a short film this minute.

We’ll wait…

Okay, now that you’ve actually made a short film from start to finish, you should know how to take footage from a camera, put it into a computer, edit it and burn a DVD or make a digital render for submission. It’s good that you learned this stuff before trying to skim the help files during the 48 hour project while watching the deadline tick closer and closer.

Similarly be careful of testing out new process/techniques with this project. Your friend just got a new DSLR and your used to shooting tape? TEST IT OUT FIRST before diving into a timed contest.

Tip 2: Separate out Preproduction, Production and Postproduction duties

As a team captain you really don’t have much choice but to be involved in every step of the production of your film. However you will see much better results if you delegate various stages of film to different people. Why? – Because each person will be required to put in less but more highly concentrated time into their part of the project.

Here’s a hypothetical. Let’s say you are the director/team captain. You have one writer (or a couple of writers). Once you pick your genre on Friday, you discuss the story with the writers and let them go off and bang away at a keyboard until they are satisfied with the script. They may take all Friday night to write and revise. Saturday morning rolls around, the writers go to bed and sleep while your Production team (who are fresh and ready to go) shoot the script. After a long shoot day, the production team hands off the footage to the Postproduction team (who are also fresh and ready to go). It’s late Saturday night, but the editor (who hasn’t been on set or writing) is able to work late into the night because he/she is hasn’t been toiling on set.
In this way the team members are contributing less time but you can overlap their efforts to get the most out of your 48 hours.

You’re job as a director/team captain is to coordinate the teams so they work and communicate with each other efficiently. And this means having CLEAN AND EFFECTIVE NOTES especially between Production and Post-production.

Tip 3: Get some Sleep

Seriously.

On Friday night, you get your genre and you’re pumped and ready to go. “How can I possibly sleep right now” you ask yourself… well you’ll find out real soon on Saturday night when your body gives out and you collapse into a deep slumber. I’ve seen it happen to teammates on two separate occasions.

Nothing good comes from a lack of sleep. You just become less creative, slower, and more irritable – all very bad things to happen on a 48 hour project.

Do whatever it takes to sleep on Friday night. You’ll need the energy if you want to make it through production. If you must, you can pull an all nighter once production is over but try to put in a few hours of shut eye. Everything about the project will be better for it.

To maximize the amount of rest, go back and see Tip 2.

Tip 4: Write with a Quick Production in Mind

This is a tip that can be a bit hard to understand for the inexperienced writer. There are a lot of shortcuts to telling a story that may require less production in other ways.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Use as few locations as possible: nothing slows down a production more than a company move – this is where you movie you cast and crew to a new location. Avoid these at all costs and tell a story that happens in one or two locations

Avoid special effects shots whenever possible: One or two scenes with a special effect can add some excitement to your film, otherwise avoid them unless absolutely needed.

Voice Overs save time: Yeah, it’s considered a story telling crutch, but what do you think you’re making here? Voice overs can help you establish story and exposition without a lot of on-set effort.

Avoid excessively long scenes and long monologues: Your actors will thank you.

A lot of times, less is more: I’ll leave it at that.

Try to tell “smaller stories”: Its okay if you pull the superhero genre and you have to have a bad guy bent on blowing up the world – but bring it down to a personal level. Maybe he wants to blow up the world because he didn’t get any presents on his birthday. Keep the stories smaller and they’ll translate better on screen.

Don’t sweat the line and prop: it’s generally pretty easy to slip it into whatever you’re making. If you can make your film all about the line/prop – go ahead, otherwise just make sure it’s in there so you can prove that you made it during the 48 hours.

Tip 5: Don’t be afraid of a little Comedy

Even if you pull Drama, a little bit of comedy will help the medicine go down.

Of course that’s my directorial style coming through…

But let me set up the screening scenario for you: There are usually about 10 films being shown. Depending on where you live, between 50% -90% of those films are going to blow chunks. I mean really bad. A couple of them may be utterly unwatchable.

And since everybody in the audience is a “filmmaker” – they’ll all be judging you on every level while being fantastically insecure about their own film.

So in short, there’s a lot of pent up tension in the room. And when there’s that kind of tension, the natural reaction often is to laugh often at the slightest provocation. The really bad films will get quite a few unwanted laughs.

If you can harness that nervous energy with some light hearted humorous moments in your film, you’ll disarm the audience and “trick” them into following your story instead of trying to determine exactly what brand of camera you shot with.

Besides, everyone is there to have a bit of fun. Watching dreary film one after the other gets on your nerves and a little light hearted fun can be welcomed.

Tip 6: Manage your Set

How you handle your set depends on a variety of factors including what type of script you’re shooting and what kind of equipment you have – experience will guide how you run a set. Here a few things to think about:

The first shot will take the longest: Actors need to get into makeup and costume, the camera needs to be set up, the lighting needs to be put together, people need to get used to working with each other. Whatever you decide to make your first shot, keep this in mind and don’t set up unrealistic expectations.

Let people know what’s happening now and what’s happening next.

Keep you cast and crew together as much as possible. Even though an actor is not needed in this particular scene, having her nearby means we won’t have to waste time finding out where she went when we’re ready to shoot her scene.

Shoot Multicamera if you can: The last project I did, we shot two Canon 5ds. This saved a great deal of time and provided the editor with a lot more creative choices in the cut. Whether you shoot opposing angles or same angle with different compositions (medium and close up for example) – you will save a great deal of time shooting with more than one camera.

Keep a finger on the mood of crew: Do they need a break? Are they getting grumpy? With such a tight time crunch, on set tempers can become an issue. Strive to keep everybody in a good relaxed mood and never ever lose your cool.

NEVER SKIP A MEAL BREAK – seriously don’t ever. These people aren’t getting paid, at least let them eat.

NEVER SERVE PIZZA AT A MEAL. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a slice of pepperoni. But pizza is both high in fat and carbs – which means your cast and crew will be groggy and slow after the meal. Save pizza for the wrap party. Instead, serve light protein and carbs – sandwiches, salads, pastas, kabobs… This will keep people peppier after the meal.

Have a lot of sugary sodas and alternative drinks on set: I never inhaled a Coke like I do when running around on set. I know it’s bad for me, but it can be the only thing keeping me on my feet. Not everybody is like that (or needs to fly a camera stabilizer for 10 minutes at a time) so have other options available.

Production is a social event: The work is being done between “action” and “cut”. Outside of that, people are there to have fun and mingle. The best time for group bonding is when everyone sits down and breaks bread. Coming out of this party mode and back into work mode can be a challenge once you get back into it, it will be a tighter and stronger team. You don’t want to schedule an extremely hard scene right after a meal, but you can use your meal time to build intra-team relationships that may be required to pull off a big tough scene.

Tip 7: Have Fun

This sounds like one of those B.S. tips that an author tags on to fill out the list – but I assure you this one is the most important one.

First of all, no one gets discovered or famous from their 48 hour film project (don’t believe me? Name one… I’ll wait as you Google it). So immediately get those dreams of fame and fortune out of your head. Remove the thoughts of winning awards too… you don’t need those anyway and they don’t mean jack.

And get rid of the idea of making something “great” – I’ve seen a lot of 48 hour films and they all have to be qualified as being “created in 48 hours” so that you ignore their shortcomings. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good films being made, but they don’t hold a candle to the short films where the writer spent months crafting a script and the director studied it closely and crafted it perfectly.

You are doing the 48 hour project because… wait… why are you doing this again?

To make a film… in 48 hours… to just say you did it and have fun doing it. That’s got to be your only reason.

The root of all 48 hour disasters is taking this thing far too seriously. If you want to make a great short film, go and make it but spend more than 48 hours on it.

The 48 hour film project is just an excuse to make a film and be done with it in one weekend. If you or someone on your team starts getting frustrated over something – defuse it immediately. Laugh it off. Nothing in the film is so important to get upset over.

In other words, don’t be a dick.

So seriously, just have fun. Make a movie, and then post it in our forum for all to see!

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