Videocracy Blog

I was just reading an interesting article on the Creative Cow website about a new plugin available for After Affects, Adobe Premiere, and Final Cut Pro…this program is called DE:Noise…like to remove the noise.  And apparently that is just what this plugin does, it removes noise and artifacts from digital video, and film that has been scanned…

Of course this is no alternative to proper lighting, because we all know that poor lighting produces grain.  Especially when working with film….I would love to try out this program and see what kind of results I would get…

What’s interesting is that with Digital Video, they make plugins that will make your video look more like Film…which is achieved by adding a slight grain or noise to your video.

Now with this plugin people will be able to do jut the opposite, they can take their Film, and make it look more like video…well sort of….Video will never look like film, and film will never look like video…they have two different aesthetics to them.

There is an example on the website that takes and excerpt from the classis silent film “The Great Train Robbery” and cleans it up.  The film looks slightly blurry which is often what happens when you try and remove grain.  But what’s interesting is, it has completely removed the artifacts…

This plugin seems relatively cheap, the full version only runs for 99.95 until September then it goes up to over 100…

http://www.revisionfx.com/ Check out the website for more info…I know I will.

Well July is nearly over, and I have met my personal deadline of wrapping up shooting by August 1st.  In mid-June I set the wheels in motion to start work on my new short film, which as of right now is untitled.  I am lucky to have a job that lets me take out equipment when I need to, because making a movie can be expensive.

I started filming the last weekend in June, we started slow, my film consists of me as crew/director, and 2 actors.  The two actors worked well together, and got along well.  They were able to go over their scripts together and learn from each other.  It worked out well and made my life a little bit easier.  My goal was to finish shooting the last weekend in July, or by August 1st.  I have completed that goal, and have even began post-production.

There is a lot to be said about the entire process and experience I had shooting this film.  First thing I learned is you have to separate yourself from the camera, I initially wanted to have a cinematographer on this film, but the guy I had lined up backed out about a week before shooting began.  But that’s okay, I just did it myself instead of struggling to find another cameraman.  Probably not the wisest move, filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and I was having a really hard time, being both camera and director…and in a lot of cases grip, gaffer, and all around crew.  I find things in post that I couldn’t have noticed on set because I was too busy worrying about my actors.  So in the next film (and there will be a next film) I have to have a cinematographer…someone who’s only job is to operate the camera and let me co-ordinate the actors.  Together we will act as crew…but separately we have our individual jobs.

There is a lot of learning that goes on throughout, things that could have been done better, or done differently… the important thing is you make your mistakes quickly so that you can do better the next time.

I’ll be anxious to continue editing on this film…There is of course a huge difference between what was in my  head initially and what the end result will be…of course as with anything in life, you have grandiose ideas in the beginning, but in the end you are happy to just have anything at all…I think Goddard said that…maybe it was my mentor, either way…In the end I will have something to show for my hard work, and for the hard work of my actors…and the people that did come out to help on  crew.  Everyone involved deserves a gigantic pat on the back, and I deserve a weekend in Pennsylvania…which I do believe I will take…

In the mean time, if I could just think of a title for this film then my work will be complete…but I  got at least a month to come up with a name.  Hopefully it will call out to me, or smack me in the face…either way…it needs to come out of my subconscious…

Well, Until Then…

Christian

The power and popularity of YouTube has come up in the media once again. Listening to NPR’s Day to Day I learned that there was a Democratic debate last night that was powered by YouTube and CNN. In a similar fashion to audience members asking questions to the candidates by writing their question on a note card, YouTube and CNN has allowed it’s users to record a video question to the candidates. The videos were then voted on by other YouTube members and the best and brightest questions were shown to the candidates and they then gave their response.

I think it’s just fascinating the way this election is using todays popular tools and resources to get their message out there…as far as this debate format goes, the man giving the introductory video stated that this is a great way for these candidates to reach out to a majority of today’s voters.

According to the Podcast I listened to earlier, There was a lot of videos that were uploaded to YouTube that were just nonsense, which is unfortunate to think that the youth of American would use such a powerful and amazing platform to ask stupid questions…I can’t think of an example off hand, but as you can imagine it probably was along the lines of “Do you like Tacos.” These are the same type of people who don’t vote using their head…well the people who did use this tool for it’s intended use will learn the most out of it.

Anyway, don’t take my word on any of this…there are 38 very intelligent questions, each worth checking out…

http://www.youtube.com/debates

The power of YouTube makes anybody a filmmaker, and anybody can get their message out to the entire world with the click of a mouse. Putting the power of YouTube to good use for once is remarkable…We’ve seen enough videos of dramatic squirrels or people falling in holes…it’s about time this tool is put to good use…
From what I understand the YouTube/CNN Republican debate will be in September…

It’s been a big week this week for me personally…my work, my films…my current epic (of 20 minutes) is coming along. 1 week from today I will be well over half finished with principle photography. One of the bigger hurdles I had to get over was getting permission to film in a movie theatre. When i was a student I attempted to gain access to a movie theatre and was turned down. So I was a little nervous as to whether I would get clearance or not. I wrote the script with the Times Cinema in mind…so that was where I started. The times is a one scree theatre that used to show mostly old movies, now they show a mix of old movies and new movies.

I called the Times, and spoke with the manager…much to my surprise he was more then willing to let me shoot my film there. On top of that, he was excited. He wants to help me out any way he can. AND on top of that…he asked if I’d consider showing the movie there when it’s finished…of course it didn’t take much for me to twist my arm on that one.

So that’s very exciting, I will not only be filming in one of my favorite theatres…I will also get to show it there…

The other big news is I finalized arrangements with a friend/professor who has asked me to be a “guest animator” on his short animation. I will be flying to Pennsylvania to animate the first weekend in August. He laughed at the idea of me flying/renting a car to animate in his film (he thought I was driving out). I look forward to the opportunity, it will be good for my resume and the experience will be great. Plus it will be great to visit the town I once lived in for 5 years…

More good news to come I’m sure…

Stay Tuned for more films/flash/photography…

Christian