SUNDAY
Director and I got an early start and went to meet the composer for the film. He was a cool guy who really had a handle on the film noir type of sound for our project. So as we captured our footage into the computer, we made sure we talked to him about what would be happening in the scenes he would be working on and let him see some of the scenes. But capturing was moving slower than expected. For those who don't know, 'capturing' means putting the footage that you shoot into your computer to be edited.
The edit system that we were using was a Windows based system called Sony Vegas, that we were intending to use along with Sound Forge for the music. Though I am familiar with editing, I was not familiar with THIS system. I know how to use Mac based Avid and Final Cut Pro and I had it on my laptop, but the decision was made on Friday to use Vegas which was okay with me. I knew wouldn't be able to make heads or tails out of Vegas that quickly, but one thing I am good at: I know how things should look, so I decided not to worry...at least initially. At Noon when we were still capturing, I began to worry. I pace when I am thinking anyway, when I am worrying, I can wear a groove in the floor.
Good News: everything is captured. Bad News: Its 1:30pm.
Okay, I had a good idea of what and how the film should be put together, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to figure out Vegas, so the solution was to have Director put hand to equipment and I would tell him what clips to take. Did I mention that the beautiful audio that we recorded was on DAT? Well, it was. The problem: editing fast. Can't do it if you also have to sync up audio.
To shoot, I used my Panasonic DVX100a, our other shooter used a Sony camera, I don't remember what it was, but it was a nice camera. Here's the problem. His camera had not been set up to record sound because audio was being recorded to DAT.
So, even though my footage had audio, such as it was, as a guide, the Sony had no sound. There was the clapper on DAT, but we would have had to sync up sound to each clip we selected.
The rest you can guess.
We called it a day somewhere around 1:45, 2:00 that afternoon. There was NO WAY we would be able to get all of that edited. Maybe if we had put everything into my laptop, I could've put something together with Final Cut, but by that time we would've had to have been done by 5:30pm because we were an hour and a half away. Our 5 minute film would have had to be done and turned in by 7:00pm that night.
There was no way we would make it, and so my friends and neighbors, (heavy sigh) we could not finish and therefore were DQ-ed.
EPILOGUE
Now, here is the thing about this reversal of fortune.
First, I don't believe in failures. I do believe and always will, that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes. So, some of these things you will recognize, but you REALLY learn when it happens to you, so you newbies, pay attention:
1. When doing a competition of this kind, DO NOT SLEEP.
Invest in COFFEE, ENERGY DRINKS, NO DOZE WHATEVER. Have gum, walk around, do exercise, DO SOMETHING. You cannot sleep. Sleep when you are dead, have a nice day.
2. It is a good idea to be very clear about what needs to be shot and how.
There was a point at which I really didn't have a clear idea of what or how to shoot. I think that I am a good shooter, so at one point I asked the Director to just let me shoot for him and I would shoot what made sense to me. So what I shot was close ups, when our other camera shot wide shots. This can be unsafe, because you don't know what you are going to get, but I tried to do what made sense and in terms of the footage we acquired, it was okay.
3. If you are not behind the camera, you are IN THE SHOT.
Even if you are not in the shot, ASSUME THAT YOU ARE IN THE SHOT. There were some pivotal scenes with good shots and expression that could not be used because someone was in the shot, which cuts down on the number of choices you have. If you have to ask, the answer is YES.
4. Don't fix it in post.
Yes, you can fix some things in post, but don't rely on this. Everyone knows this, but it bears repeating.
Some other things I learned:
The smallest crew that you can do things with is two. Yourself and one other person. We had ten people on our group, five actual production folks. I learned this for myself, just from observing what our group did and comparing it to my shoot over the past October.
For myself, I think I need to learn how to be more assertive. I'm no shrinking violet, people who know me know this is true. I tend not to be intimidated very easily, either. However, I do seem to let myself let protocol dictate my actions a lot. Not that this is a bad thing. But it isn't my job to tell the Director what to do. As part of his crew, it is my job (the way I understand it) to help the Director with his vision whatever that may be.
A few months back, I did a shoot with a friend where the shots he wanted were some that I'm not a fan of, however, I did know this person and trust that HE knows what he wants and why. He's a smart guy. He's the Director. I have to respect that. I do, however, throw out some ideas. If they are used great. If not, that's okay. I expect the same when I am Director.
...So, that is the story of the film short competition. Feel free to contact me and tell me your opinions, your sob stories, your 'I told you so's'. I would love to hear them. Or if you have any knowledge or insight, give that as well. I know some of you will definitely give your opinions
Later.....Spinner
Director and I got an early start and went to meet the composer for the film. He was a cool guy who really had a handle on the film noir type of sound for our project. So as we captured our footage into the computer, we made sure we talked to him about what would be happening in the scenes he would be working on and let him see some of the scenes. But capturing was moving slower than expected. For those who don't know, 'capturing' means putting the footage that you shoot into your computer to be edited.
The edit system that we were using was a Windows based system called Sony Vegas, that we were intending to use along with Sound Forge for the music. Though I am familiar with editing, I was not familiar with THIS system. I know how to use Mac based Avid and Final Cut Pro and I had it on my laptop, but the decision was made on Friday to use Vegas which was okay with me. I knew wouldn't be able to make heads or tails out of Vegas that quickly, but one thing I am good at: I know how things should look, so I decided not to worry...at least initially. At Noon when we were still capturing, I began to worry. I pace when I am thinking anyway, when I am worrying, I can wear a groove in the floor.
Good News: everything is captured. Bad News: Its 1:30pm.
Okay, I had a good idea of what and how the film should be put together, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to figure out Vegas, so the solution was to have Director put hand to equipment and I would tell him what clips to take. Did I mention that the beautiful audio that we recorded was on DAT? Well, it was. The problem: editing fast. Can't do it if you also have to sync up audio.
To shoot, I used my Panasonic DVX100a, our other shooter used a Sony camera, I don't remember what it was, but it was a nice camera. Here's the problem. His camera had not been set up to record sound because audio was being recorded to DAT.
So, even though my footage had audio, such as it was, as a guide, the Sony had no sound. There was the clapper on DAT, but we would have had to sync up sound to each clip we selected.
The rest you can guess.
We called it a day somewhere around 1:45, 2:00 that afternoon. There was NO WAY we would be able to get all of that edited. Maybe if we had put everything into my laptop, I could've put something together with Final Cut, but by that time we would've had to have been done by 5:30pm because we were an hour and a half away. Our 5 minute film would have had to be done and turned in by 7:00pm that night.
There was no way we would make it, and so my friends and neighbors, (heavy sigh) we could not finish and therefore were DQ-ed.
EPILOGUE
Now, here is the thing about this reversal of fortune.
First, I don't believe in failures. I do believe and always will, that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes. So, some of these things you will recognize, but you REALLY learn when it happens to you, so you newbies, pay attention:
1. When doing a competition of this kind, DO NOT SLEEP.
Invest in COFFEE, ENERGY DRINKS, NO DOZE WHATEVER. Have gum, walk around, do exercise, DO SOMETHING. You cannot sleep. Sleep when you are dead, have a nice day.
2. It is a good idea to be very clear about what needs to be shot and how.
There was a point at which I really didn't have a clear idea of what or how to shoot. I think that I am a good shooter, so at one point I asked the Director to just let me shoot for him and I would shoot what made sense to me. So what I shot was close ups, when our other camera shot wide shots. This can be unsafe, because you don't know what you are going to get, but I tried to do what made sense and in terms of the footage we acquired, it was okay.
3. If you are not behind the camera, you are IN THE SHOT.
Even if you are not in the shot, ASSUME THAT YOU ARE IN THE SHOT. There were some pivotal scenes with good shots and expression that could not be used because someone was in the shot, which cuts down on the number of choices you have. If you have to ask, the answer is YES.
4. Don't fix it in post.
Yes, you can fix some things in post, but don't rely on this. Everyone knows this, but it bears repeating.
Some other things I learned:
The smallest crew that you can do things with is two. Yourself and one other person. We had ten people on our group, five actual production folks. I learned this for myself, just from observing what our group did and comparing it to my shoot over the past October.
For myself, I think I need to learn how to be more assertive. I'm no shrinking violet, people who know me know this is true. I tend not to be intimidated very easily, either. However, I do seem to let myself let protocol dictate my actions a lot. Not that this is a bad thing. But it isn't my job to tell the Director what to do. As part of his crew, it is my job (the way I understand it) to help the Director with his vision whatever that may be.
A few months back, I did a shoot with a friend where the shots he wanted were some that I'm not a fan of, however, I did know this person and trust that HE knows what he wants and why. He's a smart guy. He's the Director. I have to respect that. I do, however, throw out some ideas. If they are used great. If not, that's okay. I expect the same when I am Director.
...So, that is the story of the film short competition. Feel free to contact me and tell me your opinions, your sob stories, your 'I told you so's'. I would love to hear them. Or if you have any knowledge or insight, give that as well. I know some of you will definitely give your opinions
Later.....Spinner
As soon as I can, I will make the 'film' available 