tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73616261655132565172024-02-06T18:49:54.855-08:00MICRO BUDGET MASSACRE : THE NO BUDGET FILMMAKING BLOG Brought to you by Mycho Entertainment group and genre Director MJ Dixon (Creepsville, Slasher House, Legacy of Thorn). Learn how to make your own heart stopping horrors with minuscule budgets :)Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-73325576783020056672016-06-30T09:49:00.004-07:002019-01-02T02:58:57.119-08:00HOW ACTING CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER DIRECTOR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back in the days of VHS and late night horror on TV, when I was about 15 years old, one of the rare pleasures I had was staying over at my friends house, who had Cable TV and access to a whole host of rarities that would never, ever air on the 4/5 terrestrial channels most of us in the UK had. On one of these nights we watched a film that I had no idea what it was, a slasher horror set in supermarket that was fairly interesting and fun, yet the main thing that baffled me about it and made it stick in my mind was that one of the actors in it was 'Sam Raimi' the DIRECTOR of Evil Dead.<br />
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The film I later discovered went by several names, which made actually finding it again pretty tough. I eventually found it under the title Intruder (although it did go by Night Crew : The Final Checkout in the US for a while) and was always confused about why Raimi had turned up, outside of that his actors profile was pretty sparse (mainly reduced to cameos) and it just always stood out to me as odd. Years later the Evil Dead Trilogy finally came to DVD and on it was a very entertaining tit bit of information about 'The Intruder' via its special features. Raimi talked about how he wanted to get more experience as a Director by being on the other side of the camera to put himself in his actors shoes.<br />
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It was something that, to me at least, made perfect sense. What better way to understand what it was like to be an actor than to be an actor? I had done some acting for other peoples projects when I was young, simply because I was there and available and, most importantly... Free! Because of this, I knew that it would fairly easy for me to gain some more experience as an actor simply due to the fact that I work around other filmmakers all the time and as a result I ended up with, what I call, an 'Accidental Actors Resume' in order to gain more of an insight into what actors go through on set.<br />
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Here are the 3 things that I learned whilst acting in other peoples movies and how they helped me grow as a Director.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. ACTING IS THE MOST FUN YOU CAN HAVE ON A FILM SET</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On set of Vampire film HUSH (2011)</td></tr>
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My love has always been for Directing (or more accurately filmmaking), but that and most other production jobs come with a bucket load of stress. The one job that I always find breaks this rule is being an actor, now thats not to say it doesn't come with its own responsibilities, like Learning lines, hitting marks and, sometimes portraying extreme emotions, as well as it being physically taxing at times. All that aside though, its a good time, in reality you're playing pretend and its great fun to interact with other performers and if you get a really juicy role it can be the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off, unless thats required for the part of course.<br />
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On Legacy of Thorn, we had to grab some reshoots and inserts, our stunt performer wasn't available and I got to spend the evening running around as Thorn, due mainly to me being the only crew member there that was over 6ft. It was the most fun I had over the entire shoot, which was a fairly good experience to begin with, but it really was so good and cathartic just to run around dressed as a masked maniac for the afternoon. This really led to me not worrying about my actors when we were on set so much. Every so often I would get people who would complain, but for the most part actors are having a great time and so I learned just to let them get on with that. If people are happy and having a great time they'll give you a much better performance and create a much better atmosphere on set.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. HOW MUCH INFORMATION YOU GET INFLUENCES YOUR PERFORMANCE</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing the title Character in WishMaker</td></tr>
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This seems fairly obvious, the more information you have about your character and how your director wants you to approach that character the better. This isn't always how it works out though. A few years ago I would cast an actor in a role and then begin to talk about things like character and watch their eyes go vacant, all they really wanted was to go home, pop the credit on their IMDB and move on to the next thing. Of course, I took this for a long while to mean that actors didn't really care about anything that wasn't laid out in black and white on the pages of the script. In actual fact, good actors DO care and if there isn't enough information available they fill in the blanks themselves.<br />
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A few years ago I worked on a short film called 'Liam Is...' as an actor, the director gave me a huge insight into my character, his life, his backstory his relationship to the other characters and we worked on how he would be portrayed. Up until this point, I had mostly walked onto a set, said lines and been killed or chased or attacked or whatever and then gone home, hoping I'd done a good job. With Liam Is... however all that information was amazing to have and for the 3 or 4 days I was on set, I found it amazingly easy to slip into that character whenever the cameras started rolling because I had a sense of his past as well as his presence and for the first time I really understood the discipline of being an actor.<br />
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Now I make the effort to talk about our characters in as much depth as possible, even the small ones in order to try and make them more rounded. Of course, I still often get the glazed over look from some performers, but for the ones who listen it makes all the difference.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. YOU SHOULD BE AS LITTLE OF A PROBLEM AS POSSIBLE</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being gutted on set of NightMan 3</td></tr>
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This one works backwards from my other points, but being a director and producer on low budget stuff, I was fully aware of how much constant questioning can become a problem. Some actors want to know everything, or just want to create problems for you. From things like "I can't get there for the call time" after they cleared it with you 3 days ago to "I have to work today sorry" after you've covered everyone else's expenses and paid for locations and catering, and these are just a couple of the most common ones. Some actors just want to create more problems and that just adds pressure to the already impossible task of making a movie on next to nothing.<br />
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When someone asks me to play a role, I take this on board, fully aware of the stress that it causes myself and my producer Anna, and I work on making myself as flexible as possible. I read the script, learn my lines, check if I need to bring anything (Costume, food for specific dietary requirements), find out what time I need to be there and then apart from that, I simply make contact the day before to confirm the time. That's it. To my shock and amazement, I've found that filmmakers actually like it when people don't cause them extra problems.<br />
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I recently work on a short film called 'Night-Man 3' and the director Kieron Johnston contacted me about a week before shooting to ask if I would take a role in it, he'd had an actor drop out and I was fairly local. He was having problems getting in touch with his actors and I could sense that it was a little stressful for him. Of course, the last thing I wanted to do was add more stress to his plate. So I asked him when we were shooting, what I needed to bring and left it at that until the following week, when I checked in to make sure the times were still correct (things like that shift fairly often) and up until I arrived I got the feeling that no one was sure if I'd actually turn up as I had been so relaxed about the whole thing. If you knew me, you'd know I'm on the least relaxed people on earth, so if I didn't make it an issue its not that tough, trust me.<br />
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Once there, I also tried to make myself as useful as possible on set in between takes and that went a long way to making the day, way more fun and helped us get done quicker. Going that extra mile aways helps.<br />
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Overall its good to stand in someones shoes, it helps you understand them and their craft and as a filmmaker, standing in the actors spot helps you realise what its like to be them and what kind of information you need to be fed so you can apply that to your craft. Not only that, but acting is fun, at least until you have to watch it back and you realise you suck. </div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b> <b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://mycho.co.uk/" style="color: #4d469c; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYUeSJaHGfnGXPnEzMAxeRkW6sB6xT1tPd0Pfa1WHw2vE_VWXagG_tiYmfs3tKCAjhEBPve7LH5g8Xa4K08MLkBwU8nd8Bo9sFBLxTZjS-vgfoccZ9vfOFUpJY1jT8hwuqQWf-6U_dOw/s640/CleaverBannerAd1.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-85394813229689649262016-06-02T07:08:00.002-07:002016-06-02T07:08:59.716-07:00INDIE INTERVIEWS : FILMMAKER/AUTHOR - JAMES PLUMB<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>Based in Cardiff, Wales, Filmmaker and recently debuted Author James Plumb is well known in the UK for directing brit remakes of classics 'Night of the Living Dead' and Slasher classic 'Silent Night, Bloody Night'. Plumb also debuted his first novella as part of the 'Year of the Zombie' book series with his new undead tale 'Little Monster'.</i></b><div>
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<b><i>I caught up with James Plumb to talk about remaking classics, his latest film 'Kerb Krawlers' and the challenges of being a first time author. </i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Every journey starts with an origin story, How did you know you wanted to make films?</span><br />Origin story, huh? Well, I was bitten by a radioactive video cassette on a school trip and the next day… Wait, wrong guy…<br /><br />I guess I’ve always known. I was obsessed with film at a very early age when my parents were watching “Jaws” on TV while I was in my bouncer. Every time Bruce would eat a kid, I’d go mental clapping my hands and shouting “Big Fish, Big Fish!”<br /><br />Later on during school holidays, when my mum was doing her studies at the library, I’d plonk myself down in front of film reference books which dissected films through its stills. So I was exposed to famous horror set pieces from “The Exorcist” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” years before I got to see the films themselves.<br /><br />In 1987 my dad brought home a JVC VHS homevideo camcorder from work and let me get my grubby little hands on it. I was seven years old and the thing was nearly as big as me. Straight away I was making these weird little Twilight Zone-esque shorts. Creepy little films about dopplegangers, ghosts and crazy cat ladies with skeleton babies… These gradually became more and more elaborate.<br /><br />As a teen in the 90s, I was lucky enough that my local newsagent stocked Fangoria, Gorezone and Starburst cementing my genre fandom. I got a job at the local indie videoshop and devoured the horror section, moving onto sci-fi, action, basically any genre stuff.<br /><br />After that I guess I didn’t have a choice.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdc5IJDH1y8f_gYig7v3YM2GhZ1sag7t2DI5rRaWl9HwKbIyeNlyB_Rt-tb31HMqpu254airNyNneZGOTrOGaaRkTqUatsDNY7A27iecyQeYXoEhIkIRGCZC8m6eDKw6s9wdKyMo413w/s1600/A10gYjv5UmL__SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdc5IJDH1y8f_gYig7v3YM2GhZ1sag7t2DI5rRaWl9HwKbIyeNlyB_Rt-tb31HMqpu254airNyNneZGOTrOGaaRkTqUatsDNY7A27iecyQeYXoEhIkIRGCZC8m6eDKw6s9wdKyMo413w/s320/A10gYjv5UmL__SL1500_.jpg" width="229" /></a><b><br /><span style="color: red;">How did you become involved in Night of The Living Dead : Resurrection and Silent Night, Deadly Night : Homecoming?</span><br /></b><b>Both of those projects came from the producer Andrew Jones. He saw my short film/love letter to slasher films “Final Girl” back in 2011 and asked if I wanted to make a zombie feature. At first he didn’t tell me it was a remake of NOTLD, just a zombie film. I was initially hesitant as, although I’m a fan of a number of zombie films, from Romero to Fulci to O’Bannon to Kitamura, there’s been so many bad or unremarkable zombie films I didn’t want to add to that mountain, unless there was a hook, something to hold my interest. Then he revealed it was a remake of THE classic zombie film, I freaked out and started crafting a polite e-mail why I didn’t want to make a zombie film, let alone a remake…<br /><br />Thank god I didn’t send that e-mail, because here was a guy offering to produce my first feature film! Anyway, I turned that polite e-mail into a manifesto of why I’d do the film under certain conditions. Andrew was very patient, and at our first meeting agreed to each and all of the points.<br /><br />Andrew’s initial idea was to do a British spin on the original, which is such a classic tale that you can set it anywhere. So we didn’t try pretend we were shooting in the States or even London, we decided to make it Welsh through and through, to give the film it’s own accent. By setting it in the UK, we turned what could be seen as disadvantages into strengths, e.g. in the UK not everyone is packing heat. So it would be harder for our characters to dispatch the zombies, no double taps to the head. Developing that led us to the conclusion that if a family member got bitten, the characters would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that the logical course of action would be to kill their loved ones. If there was even the slightest chance that their relatives could get better, wouldn’t they take that risk? This led to locking undead relatives inside the house, creating a pressure cooker environment, which meant that inside the house is just as dangerous as out there.<br /><br />While editing NOTLDR, Andrew approached me with SNBN. I loved working with the cast and crew, so the opportunity to reteam with my new extended family was an easy decision to make.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">As we all now filmmaking can be tough, what were some of the downside of going out on your own?</span><br /><br />I don’t have much frame of reference cos I’ve always been an indie guy. But juggling filmmaking, the day job and parenthood can be a little rough sometimes. But totally worth it.</b></div>
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<b><br /><span style="color: red;">On the flip side, what were the upsides of doing it by yourself?</span><br />Independence! And the control that comes with it.<br />That’s what I love about your Mychoverse, you have complete creative control over it. </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">What were the differences for you between working on an established property like Night Of The Living Dead or Silent Night Bloody Night as opposed to working on a Brand New work like Kerb Crawlers?</span><br /><br />There was a level of freedom with an original property like Kerb Crawlers, which I didn’t feel we had with the remakes. We could literally take the film in any direction, across any number of genres. With NOTLDR, we took the film in a number of direction within the zombie siege sub-genre, but it was still within that box. With SNBN, we chafed against the complex giallo-esque plot, so we ended up following the original more than I would have liked.<br /><br />With Kerb Crawlers, we set up our protagonists in Act One, then flip the tables entirely in Act Two, by Act Three we’ve changed it up again.<br /><br />When I saw From Dusk Til Dawn at the cinema, it had an immense effect on me. Starting as a hard-boiled crime film and then flipping to a vampire monster movie so suddenly, showed me how a film could manipulate and subvert an audience’s expectations.<br /><br />Basically, I love mindfucking the audience.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">If there was one piece of advice you could give to filmmakers, apart from 'just make movies' what would it be?</span><br /><br />Just make movies.<br /><br />No?<br /><br />Learn basic storytelling.<br /><br />The ability to convey information through mise-en-scene. <br /><br />Show don’t tell. <br /><br />Horror is one of the purest forms of cinema, the intention is to make the audience feel something: fear. It’s all well and good having beautifully composed shots but if they don’t convey meaning, then you have to rely on the characters spouting exposition, and in a horror film that will grind your film to a halt.<br /><br />The angle of a shot, and the way you cut to another shot: 100% affects the meaning of your film. Learn the grammar of cinematography.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">And finally, what is next for James Plumb?</span></b></div>
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<b><br />Middle of last year, I decided to put the filming on the back-burner due to health reasons within my family. It was a hard decision, but the right one for me at the time. The day after I made the decision, Wayne Simmons (author, horror convention organiser and lovely humanoid) dropped me a message to ask if I’d like to take part in a zombie novella event as part of David Moody’s (author, bald and also lovely humanoid) Infected Books label. I was speechless.<br /><br />When I did regain my speech, I told him I was honoured but could I have twenty-four hours to think about it. I’d just decided to put my family first and although I’d written a number of scripts over the past few years, it had been awhile since I had written prose, let alone a novella. <br /><br />But I was intrigued. It was a challenge; could I write a novella? And I had an idea, originally it was a film idea, one that I had plotted out, and written about 40 pages of script for. But there were elements of the idea, which appeared to work better as prose. <br /><br />So I bit the bullet and agreed.<br /><br />Aaaaand it was a challenge. A fun/rewarding/terrifying/frustrating challenge. <br /><br />Funny thing about the feedback from early proofs of LM, everyone said it’d make a great film. So I may dust off that script and finish it…<br /><br />The book is “Little Monster”, it’s out on Amazon Kindle from 1 June 2016 as part of the Year of the Zombie event. Blurb below:<br /><br />Your six-year-old daughter has been bitten by a zombie and now hungers for human flesh.<br /><br />What do you do?<br /><br />Do you double tap her in the brain?<br /><br />Or do you become the ultimate enabler and feed her human flesh?<br /><br />And where do you get human flesh from?<br /><br />This is the dilemma that Gareth and Jen face with their beautiful daughter Ana.<br /><br />What will they do?<br /><br />And how far will it go?<br /></b><br /><b>You can pick up a copy of 'Little Monster' now at <a href="http://madsciencefilms.com/?page_id=254" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b> <b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i></div>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-37425234815623801752016-05-26T05:02:00.001-07:002016-05-26T05:02:31.873-07:00INDIE INTERVIEWS - FILMMAKER KURT DIRT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kurt Dirt is a musician, filmmaker and self proclaimed Duke of Puke, a well known artist in the UK indie Underground scene having </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">contributed to movies like Troma's 'Return To Nuke Em High' and a string of other Indie concoctions as well as recently debuting his own latest gore soaked masterpiece in the form of the shot on Hi8 'Life is Cheap'.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><i>I recently caught up with Kurt to discuss low budget filmmaking, old skool formats and what inspires him to make movies.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">Every journey starts with an origin story, How did you know you wanted to make films?</span><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" /><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" />I was a pretty sickly kid so I'd be asleep most of the day and awake all night, therefore I got hooked on late night ITV and channel 4 horror / weird movie marathons. I'd come in to school the next day and excite & horrify my classmates by telling them about what i'd seen. Of course sleep deprivation, fever and calpol always made my memory of the plot lines a little more trippy! I loved seeing the fear / disgust on their faces and I get the exact same buzz when I screen my movies today!<br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">With more and more people choosing to just go out and shoot their own movies now, what made you take the DIY approach to making movies?</span><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" /><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" />For me it's about maintaining control and the fun, I do this for my own enjoyment and to entertain fellow weirdo's. I have ideas for a hundred movies and I don't think I could ever pitch one of them to a studio / production company without being sectioned or put on some kind of register. I also like the way DIY movies look, to me they feel more dangerous. My main inspirations for 'Life is Cheap' were Troma,Yorkshire low budget film makers Smile Orange and the early films of Alex Chandon such as Bad Karma</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">As we all know DIY filmmaking can be tough, what were some of the downside of going out on your own?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>Money is an obvious one, we were really lucky to have some generous donations via kickstarter (triple figures is mega bucks to us!) but there were costs for things such as travel expenses for actors etc that stacked up pretty quickly, also getting people all in one place can be a knightmare, it certainly pays to sit down, work out where and when you need everybody and plan it properly. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7z4r97ZKiQL2tzqOsPMZnM2rEAvdbXAtbvmkiKy9xsqalfbEOHzvkZFR-4XFwoebsoD3CR66TPZ1yl3qkj9A2aNq0oNHFzrg1BSrujg9swwtCWz2TXTRR60DpcfNE5M1M_Q2r3UY1sQ/s1600/LIFEisCHEAP_VHS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7z4r97ZKiQL2tzqOsPMZnM2rEAvdbXAtbvmkiKy9xsqalfbEOHzvkZFR-4XFwoebsoD3CR66TPZ1yl3qkj9A2aNq0oNHFzrg1BSrujg9swwtCWz2TXTRR60DpcfNE5M1M_Q2r3UY1sQ/s320/LIFEisCHEAP_VHS.jpg" width="176" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>On the flip side, what were the upsides?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><br />As previously mentioned there's the freedom, we weren't bound to any set in stone script or screenplay so we could kind of riff on what worked on camera and what didn't work. All of our cast were fantastic but Ben & Louise in particular really shone when it came to improvisation and building on their grotesque characters. As a director I think it's important to stick to your vision for the project but it really does pay to listen to your cast and crew and allow people to think outside the box and come up with their own ideas, shoot everything and see what works and doesn't work when it comes to editing. My main indicators for what was going to stay in the movie was if I was struggling not to laugh behind the camera or if I was squirming to the point of thinking "what am I doing with my life?" <br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" /><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" />Another great thing is getting to see the enthusiasm people put in to the project, especially the actors / crew working for little or no money, a good atmosphere on set / a buzz around the project as a whole can be really infectious. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDPJK4t5TnxOMgCKxj2TBeecSEyQnRC2CmhUEXkC7urkq487L0E08NX5C-rH7oOGav2kAULAyq78ue1JO2KhlCBG31Qi5x_G0_WRDxsJQjeZhP9_gjG6pE4XPlISb6Yb7Yagwbic5zRA/s1600/11988735_10153161959538437_7227416902234489442_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDPJK4t5TnxOMgCKxj2TBeecSEyQnRC2CmhUEXkC7urkq487L0E08NX5C-rH7oOGav2kAULAyq78ue1JO2KhlCBG31Qi5x_G0_WRDxsJQjeZhP9_gjG6pE4XPlISb6Yb7Yagwbic5zRA/s320/11988735_10153161959538437_7227416902234489442_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>You recently produced 'Life is Cheap', which you shot on Hi8, what were the challenges of working on an old skool format?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><br />Really not as many as you may think. What I love about working with Hi8 is that everything instantly looks kind of grubby and a little worn, you get all these cool little glitches and dirt without having to spend time and money on plug in's. The only real restrictions we faced were when it came to digitizing the footage. I work on a Mac and for some reason the majority of digitisation devices only come with PC software so we had to hunt around for a compatible programe online. The other is sound. Even if your going for the whole grunge / video nasty asthetic it's always worth still recording everything with a boom / sound recorder. I really regret not doing so on 'life is cheap', fixing audio issues in post was a nightmare and left us with lots of great scenes which were unusable due to actors lines being muffled or distorted.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">Apart from 'Just make movies' what advice would you give people starting out making their own films?</span><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" /><br style="line-height: 22.719999313354492px;" />Be yourself. Don't feel like you have to make films based on what you think other people want to see. Take time to sit down and work out what kind of aesthetic you want, what you want your audience to feel and do your research. Reading books by people I admire like Lloyd Kaufman, William Castle and John Waters and then making notes was a great help. Network and find other people who share your excitement and get them on board. Helping out on others projects can also be a great learning experience, for me working in various capacities on Lloyd Kauffman's 'Return to Nuke Em High', Liam Regan's 'Banjo' and Heidi Moore's 'Dolly Deadly' taught me much more than any film school could. </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;">And finally, what is next for Kurt Dirt?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Me and Ben (joeby cleftico in life is cheap) have been making plans for our next project, a gory buddy road movie with Jimmy Savilles ghost and Peter Sutcliffe. Ben has written some songs for it already and they're hilarious, definitely secured our place in hell. Also I'd like to take a break from comedy/ exploitation make a really scary, gruelling Horror movie, something that will make people feel like I did when I was a little kid cringing infront of the TV watching Evil Dead or the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, too afraid to get up and stop the VCR. I've been working a 'day job' at pasaje del terror in Blackpool and as well as being fun it's great research in to what not only makes people jump but scares them on a deeper psychological level.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>You can pick up 'Life is Cheap' now at </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><a href="https://videorgasm.bandcamp.com/">https://videorgasm.bandcamp.com</a></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b> <b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-82707066759226719852016-05-24T03:19:00.001-07:002016-05-24T03:19:32.109-07:00NIGHT SHOOTING : FILMING ON LOCATION AT NIGHT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTV9ylFTI7_4lxL_FHqPWxVaiDedkXieaqh4yQ5suh23IGO5o1DEocQx9oWr5sfjmO_cFK9rGvvsi2jXpzJFFaSlogEmg7-RDQfxs9JButG_d4CP7rZVGYlcpNR9j_7i6u_-E46hsbM_Y/s1600/LocationsBanner3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTV9ylFTI7_4lxL_FHqPWxVaiDedkXieaqh4yQ5suh23IGO5o1DEocQx9oWr5sfjmO_cFK9rGvvsi2jXpzJFFaSlogEmg7-RDQfxs9JButG_d4CP7rZVGYlcpNR9j_7i6u_-E46hsbM_Y/s640/LocationsBanner3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>Shooting at night s probably one of the toughest things you can attempt as a low budget filmmaker, this is because, no matter what you are shooting on, your camera needs a good amount of light to capture a good quality image. Shooting at night reduces your light sources drastically if you are shooting in urban areas and if you are shooting in the woods, the middle of country side or even somewhere that isn't usually accessed after dark it becomes even trickier business to get that light onto your cameras sensor.</b><br />
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<b>One work around is to shoot 'Day for Night', which involves shooting the scene in sunlight (works best shooting on cloudy/overcast day) and then grading in post to make the image look a little like twilight. I tried this early on when I started making films and really hated the results, I've always found it better to shoot in darkness and bring in whatever light I can. The result is always a far better image.</b><br />
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<b>Having a budget usually solves this problem by hiring huge spotlights and generators to help make up for the lack of good light, but this is expensive and something that is usually saved for large budget productions. If you, like us, are usually make stuff on spit and buttons, then you'll need to come up with more creative solutions to work around your lack of light.</b><br />
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<b>Here are 3 tips to help you get the most out of shooting at night and how to take that into account when you are looking for your location.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. PICK YOUR LOCATION WISELY</span></b><br />
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<b>The easiest way you can start to combat shooting at night is by picking your location wisely. A few years ago, when we were working on preproduction for Creepsville, I would wonder around at night looking for the best lit streets, alleys, carparks, you name it and once there I would look at how much light is already there from street lamps, security lights. Then I would look at what other extraneous light sources there were like shops signs, obviously the more light the better. This means less light I have to bring along with me, which in turns means less disturbing people and less drawing attention to yourself.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCb5HAMhHl62k-1WyuyqzpKFL0vBJJKEghD5Y0gfaLwd6H8EHWOuoUDtc_VUmbdxwz9tg930R8DzrAWcavoYG8qwD_2WPSrV5DgG0M8LPIgYl_oPMxql1Vah7YJWFw2-Q1-FAJpRWaOg4/s1600/IMG_6891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCb5HAMhHl62k-1WyuyqzpKFL0vBJJKEghD5Y0gfaLwd6H8EHWOuoUDtc_VUmbdxwz9tg930R8DzrAWcavoYG8qwD_2WPSrV5DgG0M8LPIgYl_oPMxql1Vah7YJWFw2-Q1-FAJpRWaOg4/s320/IMG_6891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legacy of Thorn (2014)</td></tr>
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<b>On Legacy of Thorn, when it came time to shoot the infamous 'bridge scene', I spent months looking for a bridge that we could shoot on without being disturbed that would also give us enough light to cover the action. The first one we tried, we scoped during the day, took note that it had street lights above it and figured it would give us enough light. On returning in the evening, not only did we find that most of the street lights were broken, but it was also a well known hangout for crackheads who made themselves a problem very quickly.</b><br />
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<b>We eventually found something closer to home that fit perfectly and although it had some street lighting, we still had to make up the difference with our own portable flood lights.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Get Legacy of Thorn on DVD and Digital HD now." border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZQd9PV2opjc59YBQpQtDalLJXR1C_ISioA-s7YlPM8esHT4VsOxPlhjInkhMX76w1GDBqDApXC3rexrcQyyqCxAvpJeigGTw8gA7JN8HqgR9161K4JJoaBJejZ5GgEbgGhW_019ix-E/s640/ThornFacebookBanner5.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. PORTABLE LED LIGHTS</span></b><br />
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<b>Chances are, if you are out shooting in the woods, on the street or in an abandoned factory at night, you're not going to have access to power. This always something I try to avoid, simply to make life easier for us and give us more freedom in lighting. However, if its not possible, we bring out the portable, rechargeable LED'S. These are bright flood lights that charge on the mains and give around 3 Hours + of continuous use and weigh next to nothing. They are fairly harsh, but used correctly (with gels or diffusion) are a great way to light dim sets when there is no good natural light. They cost around £45 each when I bought them in 2013, there are now better cheaper options out there too.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKV_96ZOuTY2ozr_VqvpzrLtDEawi9UE0SyzZHG43GpwDx16SsMwzm7ElzCcOfRwt9Gv7m7VbaW66DEMoggpNBL1BiKBWJGG2SMumKk4ZFrA3SKqH9uUdEhUuNiXYZufbK1fH3yLXPvvo/s1600/IMG_9661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKV_96ZOuTY2ozr_VqvpzrLtDEawi9UE0SyzZHG43GpwDx16SsMwzm7ElzCcOfRwt9Gv7m7VbaW66DEMoggpNBL1BiKBWJGG2SMumKk4ZFrA3SKqH9uUdEhUuNiXYZufbK1fH3yLXPvvo/s320/IMG_9661.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaver : Rise of The Killer Clown (2015)</td></tr>
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<b>On shooting Cleaver : Rise of The Killer Clown, we were shooting a scene in a car, in the middle of the night, in a residential area. The last thing we wanted to do was pull a generator out there, or we certainly want to run cables across the road. The street lamps gave us some coverage, but nowhere near enough once our actress was in the vehicle. In stead we matched the street light colour on LED's with gels and just used whoever was free as light stands. It matched the natural light, but it gave us the extra light we needed to make the scene more visible.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SX4QYwsBm0B_kJHOG5kph7URnuySmfR7PcJlu4WAUjpx206ZSr3mfbI90DdnSpOQA6JoHCJ-1il0pIxjBR-qAOl-LRq4Da-AvW59CoUn09gijXY4joK3pbp84UluE4NMvHEu_Xn-4WM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-12+at+00.47.30.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SX4QYwsBm0B_kJHOG5kph7URnuySmfR7PcJlu4WAUjpx206ZSr3mfbI90DdnSpOQA6JoHCJ-1il0pIxjBR-qAOl-LRq4Da-AvW59CoUn09gijXY4joK3pbp84UluE4NMvHEu_Xn-4WM/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-12+at+00.47.30.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaver : Rise of The Killer Clown (2015)</td></tr>
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<b>These lights are great in place of having to drag a noisy generator down and even then it takes an expensive generator to run even our low wattage work lights, never mind our red heads or spotlights. Using these also means that should we need to, we can use a smaller generator to run other low power things like charging stations and smoke machines.</b><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">P.S. Before I could afford my own portable LED'S I made some for about £5/$7 each, find out how <a href="http://microbudgetmassacre.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/seeing-light-5-diy-led-lights.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></i></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. FAST LENSES</span></b><br />
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<b>One the best weapons to combat low light situations is using a fast lens on your camera. This is something that wasn't even really a choice when I started out filmmaking, if your camera's fixed lens sucked in low light (which they all did) then that was that. Now even the most inexpensive DSLR'S can capture great low light images with the right lens attached, If you're shooting on an interchange lens system camera, you should try and have at least one fast lens that opens to at least f/1.8. This will help you get more light into your camera and make picking up a usable image just that little bit easier. Its best not rely on this, but it can give you that extra boost once you've done the above. There are also cameras like the Sony A7S/A7S2/A6300 that can shoot in incredibly low light with out damaging your image, but I still advise taking location and lighting into account even with miracle cameras like that available.</b><br />
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<b>When shooting the infamous 'Bridge Scene' on Legacy of Thorn, even with choosing the best location for light and having the portables there, I still ended up shooting almost every shot on my Canon 50mm f/1.8 to get a better image. The downside of this is that the depth of the image was very shallow, but the upside was that I got a better image and because we were shooting in a wide open space it meant that the close focal length didn't impact what I wanted to get too much.</b><br />
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<b>These days if we're shooting outdoors I try to plan my shots around the widest opening lenses that I have. Its not always possible, but its worth thinking about.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i><br />
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<br />Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-9447236218062507372016-05-19T03:57:00.001-07:002016-05-19T04:00:32.073-07:00INDIE INTERVIEWS : WRITER/FILMMAKER PAT HIGGINS <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;">Pat Higgins is somewhat of a legend in the UK's low budget indie scene. Since the release of Trash House in 2005 the Essex based filmmaker has gone on to produce a slew of internationally released horror titles such as Killer Killer, Hellbride, The Devils Music, as well as being one third of the creative force behind the 'Death Tales Anthology' series. As if he wasn't busy enough Pat also takes his time to run filmmaking and screenwriting masterclasses for the next generation of filmmakers.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;">We recently caught up with Pat to discuss his filmmaking career, his inspirations, the state of the UK indie market and his current and constantly evolving film project 'House on the WitchPit'.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Every journey starts with an origin story, How did you know you wanted to make films?</span></b></div>
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<b>There were a couple of films that had a huge influence on me as a kid. I saw Star Wars on opening night as a three year-old, which was probably a considerable factor, but the other ones that left me thinking "this is what I want to do" were a rerelease of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, (which I sat through fidgeting waiting for the squid fight, but when the squid fight turned up it basically rewired my brain) and Flash Gordon. </b></div>
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<b>So the seeds of cinema were sewn early. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with Gremlins turned up in 1984. I was too young to see it thanks to the 15 certificate, so I spent almost a year obsessing over every piece of merchandise and counting down the days until the rental release. That year kind of shifted my outlook to comedy-horror, before The Shining and a grainy tenth-generation pirate copy of The Exorcist shifted my brain and my outlook yet again a few years later.</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">What made you take the DIY approach to making your own movies?</span></b></div>
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<b>Once I got out of Uni, I spent a while trying to shift a spec script that I'd written with a friend of mine. As a gradually realised that selling that script was very, VERY unlikely to happen, I began to focus on the idea of shooting something myself just to kick my career off. I set up my limited company in 2003 for a completely different reason; Jinx was originally intended to sell individual stand-up comedy clips to mobile phones (at a point when video on phones was somewhere between bleeding-edge technology and outright science fiction). Remember, this was before things like YouTube even existed. The window for that business opportunity lasted about a second a half. One minute, it was impossible, the next minute it was commonplace. So I was left with a media company with no real purpose, and a burning desire to make a film. So we took some money that we were intending to buy a car with, and make TrashHouse instead.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">As we all now filmmaking can be tough, what were some of the downside of going out on your own?</span></b></div>
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<b>I'm pretty sure I only ended up getting attention because we did what we did at a point when it was stupidly tough to make a movie. According to MJ Simpson, there were about 14 British horrors made in the year we made TrashHouse, whereas last year there were around 250. There were no options in terms of VOD, of course, so we were reliant on old-school distributors and getting our flicks out into bricks and mortar shops like Blockbuster. We managed to overcome so many hurdles to get the early films out there. The hurdle we never overcame was how to get the money to trickle back down to us once it had gone through the hands of multiple distributors. As a result, our first three films lost a considerable chunk (or, indeed, all) of their investment, despite coming out on DVD or limited cinema releases all over the world. Keeping going in the face of those kinds of issues is very, very tough. </b></div>
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<b>Here's an example. Just last week we re-released our awesome horror romantic comedy Hellbride on VOD (which your wonderful readers can pick up extremely cheaply from <a href="http://www.jinxmedia.co.uk/" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">http://www.jinxmedia.co.uk</a> - go and do it. It's funny and it's scary and people like it). Now, that movie's been out for the best part of a decade. Out on DVD in the UK, in the US. Various streaming platforms worldwide. Our best estimate is that just over a third of a million people have seen that movie. </b></div>
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<b>The money from the fine people who purchased the High Definition VOD version last week will be the very first payments that Jinx has ever seen for that film. We shot it in 2006. </b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">On the flip side, what were the upsides of doing it by yourself?</span></b></div>
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<b>Well, let's stick with Hellbride as an example. It's a genuinely sweet romantic comedy that just happens to have some fairly horrific bits of business (mouths getting stitched shut, brides hacking at one another with axes) and the odd genuinely filthy joke. If that movie had been made within the system, there would have been two options. You could have lost the gore and the dick jokes and made the thing a PG-13 date movie, or you could have lost the sweet, genuine romantic comedy and made it a full-tilt horror for the Saw crowd. Odd little movies that do their own thing aren't welcome within the system. The majors are massively risk averse in terms of the 'products' they make, and as cinema prices rocket the audience have become extremely risk-averse too, and I really don't blame them. if it's going to cost you north of £50 to go to the cinema once you've thrown in parking and popcorn, you want to make goddamn sure that the movie you watch is going to fulfil your expectations for your evening out. So the wonderful freedom allowed by doing things as a tiny indie is something you just won't find anywhere else.</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">You recently shot House on The Witch Pit, a completely different approach to filmmaking, what was the idea behind creating the never 'finished' film.</span></b></div>
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<b>I wrote the first draft of something that was then just called 'Witchpit' in about 2002, and over the years the script has been through countless reimaginings with only the title remaining the same. Eventually, I came to embrace this. I loved the idea of a movie becoming almost an urban legend in itself. Where people who both thought they'd 'seen' it would come to discover that the versions they'd seen were so fundamentally different that they were effectively different movies. This approach also sidestepped the whole piracy thing that dogged the early stages of my career. I'm extremely excited about some of the versions that will be appearing towards the end of the year. It's not going to carry on forever, though. The experiment, for better or worse, ends on January 23rd 2020, four years after the premiere. I talked about some of these ideas over at <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pat-higgins/why-you-cant-watch-my-new-horror-movie_b_8707724.html" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer;" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pat-higgins/why-you-cant-watch-my-new-horror-movie_b_8707724.html</a> for those that are interested.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">If there was one piece of advice you could give to filmmakers, apart from 'just make movies' what would it be?</span></b></div>
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<b>Be genuinely lovely to everyone you work with. Treat them like family members. If they let you down, try to understand why and continue to treat them nicely (although you may, of course, wish to avoid placing yourself in that position again). Feed people. Be honest with people. Never force them into a corner or mislead them.</b></div>
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<b>Not everyone you meet will follow these same ideals. The industry has a few unpleasant sharks in the water, and you may well run into some of them. Don't become one of them, no matter what happens. Make sure that every night, when your head hits the pillow, you can sleep the sleep of the righteous and the just. That's more important than anything else. The things you put out there are the things that will come back to you.</b></div>
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<b>Make sure your conscience is clear. If it's not, do something about it.</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">And finally, what is next for Pat Higgins?</span></b></div>
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<b>The Witchpit experiment continues for another three and a half years, obviously. I've also got an absolutely KILLER script called Your Lying Eyes (which is probably the best thing I've ever written) which we'll hopefully be selling to a third party rather than making ourselves. There might very possibly be a sequel on the horizon that we aren't allowed to talk about yet. We keep busy, keep trying new stuff, keep breaking new ground. At the end of the day, there will be loads and loads of time to sleep when they shovel dirt over your head. Nobody's death bed wish was <em>ever</em> that they spent their life making less cool stuff.</b></div>
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<b>You can find Pats work and more at <a href="http://jinxmedia.co.uk/">http://jinxmedia.co.uk</a></b></div>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-3042060061811255152016-05-17T03:50:00.000-07:002016-05-17T03:59:01.537-07:00THE WAPAH!! CHECK LIST : 5 Ways to Check Your Location Has EVERYTHING You Need.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLbg5xhjafDGD1AQEvm1I1782rhJS6jTK5tVY75K7Lxs7mVH-x1CqeMDqhdEAiQt5vWNy2FzqmYh3mxLCNMuaZw4jBLdRrWusu9pIZtDV3YUKd2GUzRqQ8RtuyFkGQugImwv_4MUDPY4/s1600/LocationsBanner2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLbg5xhjafDGD1AQEvm1I1782rhJS6jTK5tVY75K7Lxs7mVH-x1CqeMDqhdEAiQt5vWNy2FzqmYh3mxLCNMuaZw4jBLdRrWusu9pIZtDV3YUKd2GUzRqQ8RtuyFkGQugImwv_4MUDPY4/s640/LocationsBanner2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>So you've found the perfect place to shoot. It has the right aesthetic for your films tone and its functionality matches your script perfectly, but there are some things that you'll want to bear in mind before you start booking your cast and crew.</b><br />
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<b>Once you've found your location, we talked about some ways to do that <a href="http://microbudgetmassacre.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/finding-locations-3-easy-ways-to-find.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>, you'll need to make sure that it suits your needs and that its a viable venue to set your movie. Not all locations are created equal and there are 5 things that you need to look at to make sure that where you want to shoot works for you. </b><br />
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<b>I created something called 'THE WAPAH!! CHECK LIST', which are 5 things that you should look at when you are scouting for places to ideally shoot your next film.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span><span style="font-size: large;">ATER</span></b><br />
<b>One of the first things I do is check that there is running water on location. Especially if you are going to spend any length of time there. It seems like something that wouldn't be that important, but if you don't have access to running water, trust me, you notice fast. This could just be a bathroom or kitchen and if you are shooting in a standard suburban house or commercial facility then, chances are, that they'll be water for bathrooms/washing/cleaning up/doing hair and makeup/special effects etc. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB12LH3hJwkyQfDIFa85XULmWQ7qG3n83Dh9ool96QcqnjNrVAkZu2bEYZ5rlAp7kJXVrC2cN7YC-QPNh1ZWb44Va0690UYZODRf66mxUhO3uInXiavXY5DhizOG6T_9nf5OsfOnI8Rc/s1600/IMG_4964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB12LH3hJwkyQfDIFa85XULmWQ7qG3n83Dh9ool96QcqnjNrVAkZu2bEYZ5rlAp7kJXVrC2cN7YC-QPNh1ZWb44Va0690UYZODRf66mxUhO3uInXiavXY5DhizOG6T_9nf5OsfOnI8Rc/s320/IMG_4964.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legacy of Thorn (2014)</td></tr>
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<b>However when you're out shooting in warehouses, old buildings and abandoned places (as well as out in nature) Water starts to become harder to come by. This is where you need to figure out how much water you need to bring yourself, for people and for functionality. Drinking water should always be brought anyway (don't EVER let your cast and crew drink from taps in abandoned or old buildings), but you should be aware of how much you need and what you need it for. </b><br />
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<b>On <a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" target="_blank">Slasher House</a> and <a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" target="_blank">Legacy of Thorn</a>, we shot in old, non functioning government buildings. They had electricity and some running water (only cold), but there was no water flow to the showers in either case. This was a problem when most people returned from shooting each evening covered in dirt and sticky blood. Obviously before we got there we had to figure out a solution to that. Which brings us to...</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">MENITIES </span></b><br />
<b>Based on how much access and the type of access we have to water and facilities, I then look at the local amenities to figure out just how far we'll have to travel to do things like shower/use the bathroom/get refreshments. This should, again, give you a good idea of what you need to bring in terms of equipment, food, water and what you can have access to on the day. What shops are available locally? How far is it to get to them?</b><br />
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<b>The distance between your set and your amenities can make a huge difference. If you're working with a small crew and suddenly someone you NEED has to take a 90 minute round trip to pick up food or take an actor to the bathroom or what have you then you are gonna see a lot of downtime when you're not shooting and this is when thing start to overrun and cause problems. Also, if you've every met an actor who can't shower for a couple of days, then you'll understand how important it is to find somewhere for them to wash regularly. </b><br />
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<b>On Legacy of Thorn, the school we shot in (and lived in) for 14 days, had electricity and running cold water, but then water only ran in the admin building and not to the showers down in the sports block. We bought solar showers as it was the height of summer, but they were less than successful, luckily we had scoped out the leisure centre before hand, about 20 minutes down the road and told them what we were up to, they agreed to let us use their showers and we scheduled in time in the day for actors (and then crew) to go and get washed if they needed. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">P</span><span style="font-size: large;">OWER</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYQ0N-z0wac7Zs3ol_tBUYN_P1DLgmOWGt-EY6w0N4Un9v_3q_1AIkUk3HNLFLkDlJs4V2wbH5fYECxI0LZIm2cycE_5HQThFfyr5HxL6iaM-gP4YJlNFuhEEYCygVLZJPYGyBS4x3Dw/s1600/IMG_1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYQ0N-z0wac7Zs3ol_tBUYN_P1DLgmOWGt-EY6w0N4Un9v_3q_1AIkUk3HNLFLkDlJs4V2wbH5fYECxI0LZIm2cycE_5HQThFfyr5HxL6iaM-gP4YJlNFuhEEYCygVLZJPYGyBS4x3Dw/s320/IMG_1204.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>Obviously if you are shooting a movie, you are probably gonna need power. Although not in all instances, which is why its actually 3rd on the list (that and it helps me spell WAPAH by being here). After checking our water supply and amenities I look to see how much power (if any we have). How many power points are there? Are the functional? Are they wired safely? How many extensions will we need to set up how many lights? This way I can plan exactly what I need to pack in terms of power/lights and if we need a generator or not.</b><br />
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<b>If we're shooting outdoors, we use rechargeable led lights and scout with that in mind to try and find places with decent natural light already, If we're shooting in the day, this becomes less of an issue obviously and its entirely possible to shoot with natural light and some reflectors. If you're shooting in doors at night you'll probably need power. This is also useful for things like recharging gear, batteries, running footage off the camera and making cups of tea (The most important use of power on a British set). </b><br />
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<b>On Slasher House 2, we needed to shoot in a graveyard, but getting power out there was a problem that we found impossible to solve. To try and regain control over lighting, we asked a lovely friend of ours who had helped us out on a previous film, if we could use there expansive garden to build a graveyard and run power from the house. The only problem is that they only had one outlet we could run power from, we thought it would be enough at a push and very quickly we started to find that we would lose power to the 3000 watts worth of lights we were running. This meant having to pause filming every 20 minutes of so in the pitch black on a -1 December evening. Make sure you have enough outlets to run your equipment properly.</b><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>ADVERTISMENT</b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">CCESS</span></b><br />
<b>What kind of access you have to your location is important and it will ultimately determine if the location is right for your shoot. Can you only get in to the location at certain times? Can you access it around the clock? Is it a 6 hour drive away from base camp? Is it near any civilisation at all? Can you drive to it or do you have walk on foot? There is a huge list of things that will make getting to a location a problem and you sometimes have to weight up if that location is worth using if its too difficult to get to.</b><br />
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<b>You also want to be aware about how long you have at the location, if you need to work around a business then you will probably be shooting after hours, if you need nightfall then you'll have to check that you have access at night. Its worth checking if you can house your cast and crew there to. The easiest shoots i've had are the ones where we lived on set (or in the same complex) as there wasn't travel to worry about or driving back and forth from location every day. Plus it makes its easier for everyone to bond.</b><br />
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<b>On Slasher House 2, we had our main location around the clock, which was fine as we needed to shoot at night because of the locations huge factory windows, we just couldn't cover them. This was fine as we could get in anytime we wanted, The only stipulation was that if we didn't leave by 10 when the gates closed, then we had to stay until 5 in the morning when the gates opened. This led to either having to rush through what we were doing as soon as it got dark, or finishing in the small hours in the cold and then having wait to leave. It took us a while to try and swing the right balance, so its important to try and factor these things early on if you can.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span><span style="font-size: large;">EALTH AND SAFETY</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPV9qzyxxjmszato0-yqRDeZQqLQwJDVSAmj8BJzcXOgEFMKC6j-uKv11pNBalfdusizZBU-1L4OJCnHYD9rdrGS51dZwDrJxS0sMJ5bq5R7UpzEHrtPPO408PuPz1izC2PxmmYs6gyw/s1600/P1060697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPV9qzyxxjmszato0-yqRDeZQqLQwJDVSAmj8BJzcXOgEFMKC6j-uKv11pNBalfdusizZBU-1L4OJCnHYD9rdrGS51dZwDrJxS0sMJ5bq5R7UpzEHrtPPO408PuPz1izC2PxmmYs6gyw/s320/P1060697.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>After I've checked all the above, I then do a huge sweeping check that I consider the MOST IMPORTANT one of all. Health and Safety. This really goes to looking at most of the previous things over all, Is the power safe? Is there enough water to clean wounds? (Real ones rather than sfx) Where is the nearest hospital? The nearest first aid kit? and then I look at what has to happen in the scenes and looks at where our actors will be and how to keep them out of as much danger as possible. Looking for things like loose flooring, nails, low hanging roofs, doors, wires anything that I think might be a hazard and just look at what I need to stay away from and what I can clean up or make safe again. </b><br />
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<b>Its most important of all to keep you cast and crew safe. If they are going to be crawling around of the floor then I'll make sure its swept and that any sharp objects are removed and just generally try and make it as comfortable as possible without ruining the aesthetic. If there are any stunts, I look at how we are going to do them safely and securely and wether we'll need mats or not. A lot of it is really just common sense, like "don't touch that live wire", "Don't hold that 1000 watt light with your hands" or "don't kick this pile of asbestos boards thinking they are plaster" (That one was me on my first shoot). </b><br />
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<b>Also and this is a BIG ONE : Make sure you have Insurance, even if you are just making a little no budget movie, make sure that have insurance that covers you in case of any accidents to your actors and the public, you'll save yourself a load of problems should the worst happen. In all honesty there have been very few accidents on our sets, Thats probably down to a mixture of luck and planning, things do just happen, especially when people are in the heat of the moment during a performance and all you can do is do your best to try and account for what could go wrong. Just be careful and ask your actors and crew to do the same, but try and stay safe.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Get Legacy of Thorn on DVD and Digital HD now." border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZQd9PV2opjc59YBQpQtDalLJXR1C_ISioA-s7YlPM8esHT4VsOxPlhjInkhMX76w1GDBqDApXC3rexrcQyyqCxAvpJeigGTw8gA7JN8HqgR9161K4JJoaBJejZ5GgEbgGhW_019ix-E/s640/ThornFacebookBanner5.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ADVERTISMENT</a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-24890308293059817062016-05-12T04:09:00.000-07:002016-05-12T04:15:56.220-07:00INDIE INTERVIEWS : LIAM REGAN - DIRECTOR OF BANJO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><b>Liam Regan is a UK born filmmaker who has recently made waves in the indie community with his low budget debut feature Banjo based on his short film Confessions of Peltzer. Since premiering last year the film has played all over globe and solidified Mr Regan's status as a up and coming filmmaker to watch. </b></b></span></div>
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<br />Inspired by filmmaking legends such as Lloyd Kaufman (Who makes an appearance in Banjo) and Frank Henenlotter, Liam Regan wears his love of genre movies on his sleeve with a style and approach that is reminiscent of the golden age of splatter cinema. <br /><br />Micro Budget Massacre recently caught up with Liam about his experience making Banjo and what comes next.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">Every journey starts with an origin story, How did you know you wanted to make films?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Ever since I can remember, I've always been enamoured with horror movies, some of my favourite childhood memories was when my Mum took me to my local video rental store and I would instantly be overcome with goosebumps and have a outer body experience (became dizzy) whilst browsing through the video boxes with gnarly artwork. A few of the memorable films I rented were the likes of 'Cat's Eye', 'Critters 2: The Main Course' and 'Ghoulies Go to College'. <br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" /><br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" />I quickly became a fan of creature feature flicks and with the addition of Sky Television in our household (in the early 90's) my love for the genre grew further as channels such as Sky Movies Plus and 'Bravo' showcased such milestone films in my life like 'Child's Play 2', 'Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge' and 'Basket Case 2'. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>However it wasn't until the Summer of 1996, when one of my weekly trips to Blockbuster Video resulted in a purchase (My Mum purchasing that is, I was only 11 years old at the time) an ex-rental video tape of 'The Toxic Avenger Part 2', a movie that showcase a dark mixture of horror and comedy, fused with exploitation and ultra violence, I had never seen anything quite like it before, and then when opening my Sky TV guide magazine back in September of 1996, I noticed that the channel Bravo was having a Troma season in October, and this eventually introduced and exposed me to their back-catalog of films. <br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" /><br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" />Titles such as 'Surf Nazis Must Die' and 'Rabid Grannies' made me excited for every Saturday evening to roll around, with my eyes firmly glued to the TV at 10pm in excitement. So thank you to Troma Entertainment, they corrupted my fragile little mind, to want to be a filmmaker with self masochistic tendencies. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">With more and more people choosing to just go out and shoot their own movies now, what made you take the DIY approach to making your first film?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>I realised that nobody was going to give me money to make the kind of movie, that deep down in my heart, I wanted to make. Plus, I'm a nobody (still am) - Prior to Banjo, I had no track record, other than a shitty 13 minute short film titled 'Confessions of Peltzer' and numerous IMDb credits as a production assistant on independent genre movies I've worked on over the years, and why should they give me money? This is a business at the end of the day, and investors at least want to see a return, and I'm wanting to make a movie about a guy who snaps his penis (based on a true story) and summons his imaginary friend, which in turn, manipulates him to shoot up his office. <br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" /><br style="line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" />Banjo isn't a possession movie, or a zombie movie by the numbers, so it's a gamble - and it was a gamble for yours truly also. Plus, I didn't want to compromise my vision, I wanted this to be purely my movie, with my name on it, I have always viewed filmmaking as immortality in a way, leaving art behind for generations upon generations to discover (now I have panic attacks about all physical media being destroyed and digital rights being lost in the apocalyptic wasteland, long after I die. Paranoia is a bitch!),</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">As we all now DIY filmmaking can be tough, what were some of the downside of going out on your own?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>It's a very long, lonely and self masochistic process. You write the movie on your own, then you have like a hundred people help you during the actual film shoot, and then you're on your own yet again. It can be depressing, self deprecating, yet it's the best kind of film school I have ever experienced. You make a million mistakes, and ruin and tarnish relationships and friendships, but through the blood, sweat, semen and tears, you create your film-baby. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">On the flip side, what were the upsides?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Creative freedom and expression, I had producers, actors, you name it drop out during pre-production, due to the extremities and content of the initial drafts of the screenplay. However I felt like I managed to strike the right balance, and I was able to hire the people I wanted to work with and move forward with the project, and held the vision I always had for 'Banjo'. I remember the first draft of the screenplay having at least 12 rape scenes, I remember being heavily influenced by hardcore exploitation horror movies during that period. I cut that down to 1 rape scene, which people never mention in reviews or interviews. 'Banjo' is essentially a rape-revenge movie, but has never been branded by that genre, which has puzzled me. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTITbDDV0s2XitAaCDa9yA-Jz_C6OZL_dupeQlDWJ0K388GqGZQlx9BK5xtg0Pl7ztnz8FkEPVEZ6uY2JjsFpww6FwdixmYRTy7vr0ywoki8VX7S4lemZqdu8QUEwA4h8IzL8xVYYBDQ/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTITbDDV0s2XitAaCDa9yA-Jz_C6OZL_dupeQlDWJ0K388GqGZQlx9BK5xtg0Pl7ztnz8FkEPVEZ6uY2JjsFpww6FwdixmYRTy7vr0ywoki8VX7S4lemZqdu8QUEwA4h8IzL8xVYYBDQ/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">So after that hard work, your filmmaking journey is far from over, what happens when the film is done?</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">The film is finished and everyone thinks you're rich and a millionaire, when in reality, you're broke as you have ever been in your life, and are clutching at favours, and you'll meet a dozen people wanting to take advantage of your current desperate situation. People you would class as friends will inevitably end up on your shit list by the time the year is through. You'll make another million mistakes on trying to find a sales agent/distributor for your project, and then you'll waste a shit load of money on film festivals that don't even consider your movie, even though you have paid them an </span>extortionate fee to at least watch the movie. I think the best way I could put it is: "Life is not a movie. Good guys lose, everybody lies, and love... does not conquer all." </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">Every film is an experience and more importantly a lesson, what did you learn that you'll take with you to your next movie?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Don't write too much dialogue, create more action sequences and make a much more fucked up movie. Lloyd Kaufman (President of Troma Entertainment) is my favourite shit disturber, he dealt with "taboos" and subject matters that the Hollywood system were too afraid to conquer back in the 70's and 80's, and I'm wanting to carry on that tradition. The key is to make a movie that nobody forgets, sure they can love it, or hate it, but they'll never forget it, that's the dream. I absolutely love making films, it's what I was put on the earth for, and I don't care if I need to max out more credits cards, or take out more loans or work as many legally available hours I can at my day-job, nothing will stop me from creating, it's the best therapy out there. I want to entertain people, I consider that as one of the major importance in life, other than finding the cure to cancer. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="color: red;">And finally, what is next?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>I'm currently writing a rape revenge/black comedy titled 'Parents Evening' which if you put the following movies: 'Heathers', 'Jawbreaker', 'Detention', 'Class of 1984' and 'I Spit On Your Grave' in a blender, you would have the 'Parents Evening' protein shake ... full of bodily fluids. I hope to shoot that in 2018, and if anyone wants to give me money for 'Banjo 2: Make Room for Daddy' I would be more than happy to bring those characters back, but it all depends on the success of the home video/on demand release of 'Banjo' which is due out on Amazon and iTunes by late 2016. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>For more information, feel free to add me on Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/refuseliam" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/refuseliam</a> or follow me on Twitter @refuseliam</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>For more information on 'Banjo' please like the page at </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/banjofilm" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; line-height: 21.299999237060547px;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/banjofilm</a> or follow us on Twitter @banjomovie</b></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-14146984412243375042016-05-10T03:44:00.000-07:002016-05-10T03:44:30.604-07:00FINDING LOCATIONS : 3 Easy Ways to Find Your Next Film Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>As we've talked about before, finding the right location can make or break your movie. Shooting your film in the right place adds so much production in terms of style, look and value that to over look it is setting yourself off on the wrong foot.</b><br />
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<b>In big budget movies, it not uncommon for sets to be built on a sound stage wherever possible, this is usually due to the amount of control the creative team needs over the set, i.e being able to remove walls, lighting, shooting around the clock. If you're shooting on a budget its unlikely (although not impossible) that you can build your 'Church Interior' or 'Canadian wilderness' from scratch as a set on a sound stage. This usually means that you have to find something the preexists in the world.</b><br />
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<b>This is both a blessing and a curse. Finding a pre-existing location means that you have less control over things like weather, power, access, angles, food establishments and the list varies drastically from place to place, meaning a lot of prep and compromise most of the time. The upside however, is that you get something real, something that you can't build, something raw and lived in and that is really what adds the value to your films.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">FINDING YOUR LOCATION</span></b><br />
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<b>Following are 3 ways of sourcing locations when you are working on a limited budget, These 'suggestions' are by no means the best , or the only, ways of finding the right location for your film, but hopefully they'll help you think creatively about what you need and help you look at where you shoot in more productive way.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES</span></b><br />
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<b>Finding locations can be tough going. Especially if you need anything outside of student flat or family home, things start getting difficult pretty quickly. This is when you need to employ some of your unique circumstances to finding what you need. By 'Unique Circumstances' I mean this, Everyone has access to something unique that no body else has access to, in terms of locations.</b><br />
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<b>This is basically looking at what you have access to personally. Can you make a film out that creepy looking shack your dad built at the bottom on the garden? Does your Aunt work at a High School after hours? Does your mate have the keys to the warehouse on a weekend? All these are great starting points to finding a great location to shoot in that isn't 'Mark's Studio Apartment' and also a brilliant way of getting the creative juices flowing. There a few things than coming up with a scene or even an entire film based around an amazing location. </b><br />
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<b>I always 'try' to write locations based on something I know we have or can get access too, even if that means taking a pause from writing for a moment and throwing it out there to people I know with a "Does anyone have access to..." and usually I receive a "No, But I have access to...", sometimes this will dictate where the film is set and sometimes the direction a film will go. You have to be creative and compromise when it comes to low budget filmmaking. </b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slasher House (2012) Douglas Prison : Isle of Man </td></tr>
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<b>For Example, I originally wrote Slasher House to take place in an old run down mansion, when we were offered an abandoned prison, it was too good to pass up and we adapted and it worked out for the better, both visually and thematically. It also meant we had to adapt one scene to be set in a 'Gallows' which was a pretty awesome, if not terrifying, experience and also added another dimension to the film.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. YOUR NETWORK</span></b><br />
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<b>After you've spent your first couple of movies exhausting and exhausted your family and friends locations, you should have begun to develop a 'network' of people to work with, to show your work to and who also make movies. This is your community and these are the people you can turn to for help. </b><br />
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<b>Other filmmakers are a great conduit for resources, this is because, just like you, they spend their time making movies and, believe or not, have come up against most the same problems you have when it comes to getting locations and come out the other side. Its a great way to to find creative solutions to problems, by talking to people who have already solved those problems and getting their advice.</b><br />
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<b>The biggest advantage of this, is that it gives you a new perspective and helps you think outside the box. One of the biggest mistakes I see people making in terms of locations is that they need something so they look for "INSERT LOCATION HERE" and that alone, when one of the key ways to solve the problem is finding something that can do the same job, but provides earlier access. Other filmmakers will have been through this and will be able to help advise you and what can substitute your needed set. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vvZUIvr3dWrgWflaMhKhapSqGEQN_VXzhhUrkBZoO-iTl0o1JtzZTG-zQO6SgMFsO8UgvNeK8mFhGpMhvFSNGYBT4lWNwS3M3gZNeC_CFRmzGpBJGVBmDk5caLog_hmcqztQkPrXsJM/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vvZUIvr3dWrgWflaMhKhapSqGEQN_VXzhhUrkBZoO-iTl0o1JtzZTG-zQO6SgMFsO8UgvNeK8mFhGpMhvFSNGYBT4lWNwS3M3gZNeC_CFRmzGpBJGVBmDk5caLog_hmcqztQkPrXsJM/s320/IMG_0037.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legacy of Thorn (2014) : High School Oldham : Main Building</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakO6QtqcmJUVLBU0uClhjxJeXz1tDAz6ioaGcZ5_QxMbsQgccf2kRU6OpznD_09QjUyBmELokarWBqG1xcKhyphenhypheniSBzx5OCNvaKGCabbYJUlmqJoRJK7Xte7LysdbicluTJuGustZqu91Q/s1600/IMG_5982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakO6QtqcmJUVLBU0uClhjxJeXz1tDAz6ioaGcZ5_QxMbsQgccf2kRU6OpznD_09QjUyBmELokarWBqG1xcKhyphenhypheniSBzx5OCNvaKGCabbYJUlmqJoRJK7Xte7LysdbicluTJuGustZqu91Q/s320/IMG_5982.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legacy of Thorn (2014) : High School Oldham : DT BLOCK</td></tr>
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<b>What I mean is, for example, on Legacy of Thorn we needed a hospital, but getting one that looked operational was tougher than we could have imagined. Instead we found a section of our old college that looked very similar to a hospital corridor (along with first aid room) and dressed it up to stand in for it. Throwing in some posters, a couple of extras in long white coats and nurses uniforms and we had a what we wanted but without the red tape of shooting a real hospital. </b><br />
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<b>Sometimes its worth talking to other filmmakers about how they made it appear that they shot in a location.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. JUST ASK</span></b><br />
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<b>Possibly the simplest approach to finding the right location is to find the location you are after and just ask. It seems like there might be more to it, but its really as easy as that. Sometimes if we need a specific location we just find the place we want and then ask. Sometimes we're successful and sometimes not, but no one has ever done anything worse than say 'No'. Usually people just want you to cover electric or a small charge to use it, sometimes they might even just let you have it for free as long as it doesn't conflict with business hours etc.</b><br />
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<b>The real issue with this approach is that it can become a numbers game and thats a lot of ground work, but if you're willing to put that work in, you'll almost certainly find the location that you're after. Just find the type of location you're looking for and make a list of suitable candidates, from here your kind of politely cold calling and explaining your project and what you want to do. Some people won't care, some will be interested, but won't be able to help you and you'll come across those who will do whatever they can to accommodate what you're doing. Its pretty much that simple.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slasher House 2 (2016) Warehouse </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slasher House 2 (2016) : Warehouse</td></tr>
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<b>For Slasher House 2, we needed a government facility (or something that could pass for one). We actually live in the town that has the government facility that solved the Enigma Code (now a tourist attraction), but they were a flat out 'NO' out of the gate. We decided that we would have to found something that could work instead of and figured a 'Lazer Quest' could work. We emailed every Lazer Quest in a 100 miles radius and out of 25 we got a response from 2, we met with one. It didn't work out due to the times we needed, but we had the location should we want it. </b><br />
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<b>We eventually went in a different direction that worked out better for us, but I'll talk about that in a future blog. </b><br />
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<b>I should point out, that its important to be honest and up front here, telling them you're shooting a family drama when really you're shooting a gore soaked torture porn is counter productive when you turn up on the day and start spraying the place down with food colouring and syrup and if they think they've been fooled, chances of them signing a release form are slim and even if they do and then find out they've been lied to they'll just flat out refuse the next filmmaker that come knocking and its your job to make sure that we pave the way for everybody in the community.</b><br />
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<b>Just like any aspect of filmmaking, employing creative thinking is your friend and if you think about what you need in front of the camera creatively you might even surprise yourself in what you come up with what you think of outside the box or sometimes its as simple as just asking. </b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" target="_blank"><img alt=" Get Legacy of Thorn on DVD and Digital HD now." border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZQd9PV2opjc59YBQpQtDalLJXR1C_ISioA-s7YlPM8esHT4VsOxPlhjInkhMX76w1GDBqDApXC3rexrcQyyqCxAvpJeigGTw8gA7JN8HqgR9161K4JJoaBJejZ5GgEbgGhW_019ix-E/s640/ThornFacebookBanner5.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" target="_blank">ADVERTISMENT</a></td></tr>
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<br />Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-62660849360375818852016-05-05T03:37:00.001-07:002016-05-05T03:37:20.994-07:00INDIE INTERVIEWS : FILMMAKER JASON IMPEY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRqdn_gLHxj7VmgYSr9xna1nmNs8bt0OwQD0s2UziRj7zGPakE8y1U1hlFAkgZXxb8jfKwjujYSAa741ruoE_fcgjedJhzibv_2rvTfyLtC_c6KmHg-en6fbcIa_0_gLWiRLA2yhZg5g/s1600/13164267_10156880515290504_8725624498601318287_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff-Kbt0_qhCCf9H7UEsyv2HVHkInWzscFsHgzgUXE3qI1fs4rutt-WfgjvcLaQiOt95pTxgyUAJ_alzusL3nc24JkDZF4tnucb_aUJp4uVgNEvAO3X-TzJCMf53Y70pcWX3DNe3KpY-o/s1600/InterviewJasonImpey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff-Kbt0_qhCCf9H7UEsyv2HVHkInWzscFsHgzgUXE3qI1fs4rutt-WfgjvcLaQiOt95pTxgyUAJ_alzusL3nc24JkDZF4tnucb_aUJp4uVgNEvAO3X-TzJCMf53Y70pcWX3DNe3KpY-o/s640/InterviewJasonImpey.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Jason Impey has had quite a prolific career as a filmmaker. The UK based filmmaker with titles like 'Tortured', 'Home Made' and 'Fluid Boy' under his belt has almost 100 director credits to his name on IMDB and wears his love of exploitation cinema on his sleeve. </b></div>
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<b>MicroBudget Massacre talked to Jason about his approach to DIY filmmaking and the pit falls of taking on the daunting task of making feature length movies with very little money. </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRqdn_gLHxj7VmgYSr9xna1nmNs8bt0OwQD0s2UziRj7zGPakE8y1U1hlFAkgZXxb8jfKwjujYSAa741ruoE_fcgjedJhzibv_2rvTfyLtC_c6KmHg-en6fbcIa_0_gLWiRLA2yhZg5g/s1600/13164267_10156880515290504_8725624498601318287_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRqdn_gLHxj7VmgYSr9xna1nmNs8bt0OwQD0s2UziRj7zGPakE8y1U1hlFAkgZXxb8jfKwjujYSAa741ruoE_fcgjedJhzibv_2rvTfyLtC_c6KmHg-en6fbcIa_0_gLWiRLA2yhZg5g/s320/13164267_10156880515290504_8725624498601318287_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="color: red;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
Every journey starts with an origin story, How did you know you wanted to make films?</i></span><br />My story starts way back when I was just 5 years old and loved sitting at home watching good old VHS’s and TV. I was a bit crafty and watched a few horror videos at a young age I sneakily got my hands on and have been hooked ever since. I really enjoyed viewing all this stuff - but it went further in my head. I was interested in how and why a film was made, why shoot it that way, why use those shots, and was very intrigued as to how it was all put together and ended up being in my hands on this tape. </b><div>
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<b>This lead to only one thing, I armed myself with my fathers family home movie camera and went out shooting amateur shorts at the age of 10 getting my dad to edit them together on the VCR. Eventually this hobby led me to college to study media and filmmaking and I have never looked back since. It makes me happy, is a way of life and I honestly could not imagine doing anything else! </b><div>
<b><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>With more and more people choosing to just go out and shoot their own movies now, what made you take the DIY approach to making movies?</i></span></b><div>
<b><br />As I was so young and inexperienced when I started making films it was the only real way to go about it, but I am so glad I did as I learned so much by just going out and giving it a go, and if anything it just fuelled my curiosity in to the world of film and allowed me to discover a real passion I have. I grew a better appreciation of independent filmmaking and discovered I actually really like raw DIY movies and it pleases me to contribute to this society.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>As we all now DIY filmmaking can be tough, what were some of the downside of going out on your own?</i></span></b></div>
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<b>Finance is always going to be a downside for me unfortunately. Its sad but true that DIY filmmaking can cost a fair bit of your money and extremely hard to make money from, but don’t get me wrong, it can be very rewarding and in some ways wouldn’t change it for the world, but living as a full time freelance indie filmmaker I’ve had the odd tight month and a few scary weeks here and there not knowing where the hell my next pay cheque is coming from.<br /><br /><br />Another sort of downside I would say is restrictions on your production. Its not always possible to get on camera what you hope for if your doing it all yourself, however there is an up side to this as it makes you think outside the box and can sometimes make the process more creative, it certainly keeps you on your toes!<br /><br /><br />Time is one of my biggest enemies. Theres never enough of it to get everything done, mainly on the actual filming days and this leads to a major downside for me - stress! I can get really down and a bit depressed when everything starts falling apart like running out of time, not being able to get a location, not finding enough cast members, when it goes wrong it can go wrong bad and be very upsetting and get right on top of you, however you have to try and remain strong and keep trying as when you do get through it you hopefully have a movie there that you can take some pride in and be proud that you made it.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">On the flip side, what were the upsides?</span></b></div>
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<b>Through making films in a DIY manner I’ve met some great people that share the same passion and interests as I have and become good friends. I have had fun times, and being on a indie film set is really one of my main ways of socialising. A real upside is when everything is complete and you realised you actually made a film, that is your special piece of art that will last and can be seen again & again, it feels like a real achievement when you get through it and you have something to show for it, and at the end of the day I’m doing something I love doing so I can’t really complain that much! <br /><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>You've Produced and Directed nearly 100 films now including shorts over the last 20 years, what is your process for making so much stuff so quickly?</i></span></b></div>
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<b>My main way of achieving such a prolific track record of films was just literally go out and make stuff. I managed to get a few good people together and had a bit of equipment as I freelance in the world of film anyway which allowed me to have access to the odd thing I needed, so luckily I was able to phone up who I thought I needed, grab my camera and go out guerrilla style and just shoot stuff. </b></div>
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<b>I would even sometimes just map the rough idea out back in the day and ad-lib the film and just shoot the coverage I thought I needed to tell the story in a location that was quiet that I thought we would not get bothered at! A bit naughty I know but did the trick, and some of my best work was made this way! As I did most of the jobs on the production myself I really only needed a simple idea I could play with, a few people in front of camera and a place to shoot, once that was sorted the rest was just fun playing about and being creative. <br /><br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>Apart from 'Just make movies' what advice would you give people starting out making their own films?</i></span></b></div>
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<b>I would say if you want to make a film don’t run before you can walk. Start with a short, find your own style and way you like to work. Experiment and play about a bit before you get too stuck in and choose who you work with very wisely, it only takes one bad seed to ruin a production. </b><br /><span style="color: red; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-style: italic;"><b>And finally, what is next for Jason Impey?</b></span></div>
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<b>Well, I am a lot slower at making films than I used to be. I have become a lot more fanatical how I like stuff over the years and become more OCD with everything. I also take on a lot more freelancing work to get by as a filmmaker, but there are new productions on the way, including shorts and a feature in which I am returning to my roots - the horror genre!</b></div>
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<b><i>You can check out more of Jason's work at his official site :</i> </b><a href="http://jasonimpey.co.uk/">http://jasonimpey.co.uk</a></div>
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<b>______________________________________________________________________</b></div>
<b> </b></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>ADVERTISMENT</b></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-31850187640373595302016-04-18T03:43:00.000-07:002016-04-18T09:47:23.923-07:00AUDIO APRIL : Low Budget Recorders <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpLM_mLBSrqUvgkoAKWZkUOVK_yhyphenhyphen1Zk9lYeyWJ_o2HO1DX9FXf4h0VdMl2w1NN6MIbgxOun663cKDGtDpiiQj2G1TD7IdwedoS2vR9mgLcStMOUFOtZED8aN7814rz6YZUJ3KeLMyUw/s1600/AudioApril3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpLM_mLBSrqUvgkoAKWZkUOVK_yhyphenhyphen1Zk9lYeyWJ_o2HO1DX9FXf4h0VdMl2w1NN6MIbgxOun663cKDGtDpiiQj2G1TD7IdwedoS2vR9mgLcStMOUFOtZED8aN7814rz6YZUJ3KeLMyUw/s640/AudioApril3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Now before we get started let me just say, when it comes recording sound on set, there is absolutely <i>NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A REALLY GREAT PROFESSIONAL SOUND GUY!!</i>.</b><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Someone who really knows what they are doing and can capture professional quality sound is indispensable and if you can afford a professional sound guy then thats exactly, without a doubt, what you should do.</b><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></b><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">However, if you're making a film on buttons and glue, the chances are you can't afford to hire a really great sound person and so the temptation is is to get your mate 'bob' to do it because he kind of, sort of knows his shit about music or something. This is a big mistake. </b><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></b><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Filmmakers often overlook sound on their films and they really shouldn't, good sound is probably more important than a great picture, as you probably heard a billion times before, but its very true. </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>As I discussed last week, I shoot a lot of heavy action stuff, as a result, myself, my camera and my sound gear are often right in there with the action and fairly often a stray sword or stick or machete or puppet will take out my audio rig. My camera is fairly durable from small knocks, but the right angle can dislodge my audio rig and send it to the floor. I've lost many a microphone this way, which is why last week I discussed the inexpensive <a href="http://microbudgetmassacre.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/audio-april-20-video-mic.html" target="_blank">Takstar Microphone</a> which cheap enough to replace with ease. </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB12LH3hJwkyQfDIFa85XULmWQ7qG3n83Dh9ool96QcqnjNrVAkZu2bEYZ5rlAp7kJXVrC2cN7YC-QPNh1ZWb44Va0690UYZODRf66mxUhO3uInXiavXY5DhizOG6T_9nf5OsfOnI8Rc/s1600/IMG_4964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB12LH3hJwkyQfDIFa85XULmWQ7qG3n83Dh9ool96QcqnjNrVAkZu2bEYZ5rlAp7kJXVrC2cN7YC-QPNh1ZWb44Va0690UYZODRf66mxUhO3uInXiavXY5DhizOG6T_9nf5OsfOnI8Rc/s320/IMG_4964.JPG" width="320" /></a><b><br /></b>
<b>On my most recent feature I've destroyed two recorders with simple little accidents and so it was important to me that I was able to replace them cheaply and quickly without sacrificing quality, but whilst also keeping my camera rig as light as possible. Here are some of the options I've looked at. I shoot both Visual's and Audio myself so I've taken that into account. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">ZOOM H4N (£250)</span></b><br />
<b>The largest and most common of my recommended recorders (there are some newer,</b><br />
<b> better versions, but I haven't used them so I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending them). This is pretty much the standard for low/no budget indies and its a great recorder. Heavy, durable, lots of control over audio input and of course XLR inputs for higher quality audio and making it compatible with much better mics from the off set with the use of adapters. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Its well suited to a dedicated sound guy and adding this model to a large rig is fairly common, but for lighter rigs it probably adds too much weight. I've aways used one of these with a separate sound person on set, I did use a Tascam equivalent on my latest film in an emergency after we busted the H2N recorder and it knocked the rig off balance a little too much, meaning someone else had to operate it.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you can shell out a couple of hundred quid for a recorder no bother this is probably your best option and it takes standard SD cards (as well as SD-HC) and can also take large (and small with an adapter) jack microphones. There are newer versions and options from Zoom out there, but this is a good solid standard to have on set and works very well if you have a seperate sound guy and give great quality results.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ZOOM H2N (£150)</span></b><br />
<b>A mid range audio recorder, they retail at around £150-£200 and although the body is a plastic build, it feels fairly solid. It comes with a built in mic that be set to various functions and, most importantly for recording for film, it comes with a Mic input (3.5mm jack) and Headphone input. One of its most useful features is that the gain is controlled by a wheel on the side of the unit rather than button (like the Zoom H1) so theres no handling pick up or clicking if you're having to adjust the input whilst shooting. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVI8KhefvYI0Ev44iGCJkvcPCWHXKycWYVNpVpGe86Y06e8l1Nw9KpNlONAL5lIVQ8XzUZoKgTfj9wmwKGjiNXFtcWdFA_ZoTbgS9Eb5gzH6VbqOKyf20l0ZJLLjH743Y9uFsxIAfeWw/s1600/P1030372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVI8KhefvYI0Ev44iGCJkvcPCWHXKycWYVNpVpGe86Y06e8l1Nw9KpNlONAL5lIVQ8XzUZoKgTfj9wmwKGjiNXFtcWdFA_ZoTbgS9Eb5gzH6VbqOKyf20l0ZJLLjH743Y9uFsxIAfeWw/s320/P1030372.JPG" width="320" /></b></a><b>The Zoon H2N takes standard SD cards that load into the bottom where the mount is also situated. This becomes a pain when trying to change cards as the whole thing has to be taken off your rig in order to get to the card or battery hatch. To get around this, I opted to use a larger card so that change overs became less frequent. It is also very bulky, not as much as the larger recorder like the H4N, but the actual shell of the recorder itself is curved and so its tough to mount it to anything aside from the supplied tripod mount on the bottom. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Still the quality from the recorder is great and it really does an amazing job, especially for a recorder than doesn't have an XLR input, I'm always surprised at the great recording quality that I get from the H2N just using my budget £20 video mic. I used this recorder on a dozen features and shorts and I was very happy with the results. Its perfect for those who want something a little less flimsy than the Zoom H1, without the bulk of something larger. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ZOOM H1(£100)</span></b><br />
<b>A smaller, stripped down version of the H2N, the Zoom H1 is a sleek little recorder than has the same features as its big brother the H2N, but packed into a smaller body. This brings with it some advantages, it can be mounted to rigs easier, having flat sides I often create a velcro mount and attach it to my mic rather than having to add and extra bracket to add the recorder. It also has a standard tripod mount of the bottom and its MicroSD input is on the side which is easily accessible as well as only taking one AA battery, rather than 2 like the H2N, which is also easy to get to, most of the time with out having to remove the recorder, in a lot of ways it improves on physical functionality of the H2N.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacgT7XsLCdhjtyKjndWWsfj6Xd6B9RRhhDy5Cs0d3bg5HrD5eHKQ7G5WXHLOuGNDRBhoHHDjq85UkM28SpIdzAjJvteANyoiv7fAZsdDaDCWIIdTwSm2Fujy2Hc6cv7hNm3eSX28pgwk/s1600/P1030370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacgT7XsLCdhjtyKjndWWsfj6Xd6B9RRhhDy5Cs0d3bg5HrD5eHKQ7G5WXHLOuGNDRBhoHHDjq85UkM28SpIdzAjJvteANyoiv7fAZsdDaDCWIIdTwSm2Fujy2Hc6cv7hNm3eSX28pgwk/s320/P1030370.JPG" width="320" /></b></a><b>There are some drawbacks however, the unit is made of cheap plastic and so there quickly becomes an issue with handling noise (even with external mic use) unless you have shock mount. The other major issue is that the quality settings aren't controlled by a menu system like H2N, but rather, by series of physical switches on the back of the recorder, its handy and straight forward, but the mount is right next to them and during my first use I mounted my recorder only to find that my rig would knock the switch changing the quality from WAV back to MP3, so this is something to be conscious of. They overall units are also pretty fragile and break very easily if you're not careful.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Overall though, at the price, the quality of the actual recording is the same as the H2N and the ZOOM H1 features the same 3.5mm Mic and Headphone inputs. The input here is controlled by little buttons on the side which cause some issues with handling noise, when filming so its something to keep in mind, but for £100 (or about £70 used) this a good option for no budgeters and a great back up to have in case your larger recorder fails on you. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8GB eSYNIC STEEL RECORDER (£9)</span></b><br />
<b>After smashing two recorders on set, I looked into some potentially cheaper options. Whilst browsing ebay I came across the eSynic Voice Recorder. It cost me about £9 and I took a chance on it just to have a look. The overall build quality of it is really good, it feels very solid and durable and feels like it could take a few knocks without much trouble. Its also the smallest recorder I've ever owned, its about the size of a 10 pack of cigarettes and its very light and flat, meaning that I can make a velcro mount to attach to my mic easily. In fact its so light it just rests against the shock mount fairly well. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The recorder comes with an 8GB built in memory and fixed internal battery and connects to a computer via usb to run off the files and charge, meaning that it has no external storage, which can be a good thing in terms of not having to change over cards & batteries, but the downside is that if it runs out of space or charge then its a case of waiting for it, however they are so cheap it would be easy to have two. </b><b>It is a bit temperamental when it comes to saving files though and the instructions it came with a pretty useless. I did discover via a youtube review that the stop button needs to be pressed twice to save the file rather than the pause button or record button like the zoom recorders. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcfLHCBAXunUSQS1qAA1uFwV_g-PgZUHAM66b43pXjF-rx18a2_FXFpOk1JYc-uytbL_jEayQm_lpxVV9cAXX6S1TpduACawqOHgqqeWek7VgBc0O8xOGRl-VcP1qeez3X97MgPojLCo/s1600/P1030371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcfLHCBAXunUSQS1qAA1uFwV_g-PgZUHAM66b43pXjF-rx18a2_FXFpOk1JYc-uytbL_jEayQm_lpxVV9cAXX6S1TpduACawqOHgqqeWek7VgBc0O8xOGRl-VcP1qeez3X97MgPojLCo/s320/P1030371.JPG" width="320" /></b></a><br />
<b>The monitoring suggests that the audio is peaking or distorting at times but on playback it turns out fine which is odd. Another baffling thing is that the WAV files it records can't play back from the preview (for mac at least), they need to be converted to WAV's again (I use Toast Titanium) in order to hear them back. Its not much work, but an extra pain in the arse. It is not really that reliable as an audio recorder, but if you are using a DSLR without a headphone input this acts as a good preamp to let you monitor what your recording by connecting the mic input to the input on the camera and then headphones to the other input. They aren't labelled though, so you'll have to guess which is which. Still for £9 the quality was surprisingly good from the recordings I got and there is a negligible difference between this and the Zoom H1 and H2N for 10 times less than Zooms cheapest option. </b><br />
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<b>_____________________________________________________________</b><br />
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<b>Out of all of them, the Zoom H1 is the best quality at the best price. They are cheap enough to be replaced (which happens often here) or have a spare and if you can afford a few its worth hooking up some lav mics and having them attached to your actors. The audio from them is great quality and the H1 is light enough that it doesn't effect rig weight almost at all when attached directly to the camera or microphone. If you have a dedicated sound guy then the Zoom h4n is a better option with more durability but I found it too heavy to attach to my light weight rig and keep the freedom of movement I wanted. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>There is no one purpose tool for audio and of course all these recorders have different strengths and weaknesses, but it is possible to get decent usable audio from even a £9 recorder if you spend the time understanding its limits and how it works. Remember, better gear won't make you a better filmmaker, the same way that cheap gear won't make you a worse one. </b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"> </span><b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i><br />
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<br />Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-51481986346629100772016-04-11T03:34:00.002-07:002016-04-11T03:34:30.870-07:00AUDIO APRIL : The £20 Video Mic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfHUy7EjFTYwyblEBSEY_suNe3XcTF9tyPHFRr7QqMZbc4-A3kr8ePh5Wa1OV3cSfheZyCg15th_ix5zXuMOiksEg_SDGgimEfG2GSOW4WhBiazaZuq26nu3ZuUWQAQEATKBgwvxFbg/s1600/AudioApril2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfHUy7EjFTYwyblEBSEY_suNe3XcTF9tyPHFRr7QqMZbc4-A3kr8ePh5Wa1OV3cSfheZyCg15th_ix5zXuMOiksEg_SDGgimEfG2GSOW4WhBiazaZuq26nu3ZuUWQAQEATKBgwvxFbg/s640/AudioApril2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Now before we get started let me just say, when it comes recording sound on set, there is absolutely <i>NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A REALLY GREAT PROFESSIONAL SOUND GUY!!</i>.</b><br />
<b>Someone who really knows what they are doing and can capture professional quality sound is indispensable and if you can afford a professional sound guy then thats exactly, without a doubt, what you should do.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>However, if you're making a film on buttons and glue, the chances are you can't afford to hire a really great sound person and so the temptation is is to get your mate 'bob' to do it because he kind of, sort of knows his shit about music or something. This is a big mistake. </b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><b>Filmmakers often overlook sound on their films and they really shouldn't, good sound is probably more important than a great picture, as you probably heard a billion times before, but its very true. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Getting good sound works very much the same as as getting a good image. It depends on having the right equipment and having the right person using it. As I discussed in my last blog, I've had people with 1000's of pounds worth of equipment show up on my set and deliver unusable sound and I've had a sound guy use a £30 mic and a cheap digital audio recorder and give me great sound, the difference is that one guy knew what he was doing and the other didn't.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCfRVCZ5_7unlPWhxDsfYevwtfciOUWHzapWIiZUtddlXtyHrfy5GPg4WOWdWNxZdFH0w1XudfYZXlroZYTy9fOO0goMo1MR1d7mq6xE6PaWGwycLYlz5KG9wLhpanrT8EgsDmsABKUM/s1600/P1030361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCfRVCZ5_7unlPWhxDsfYevwtfciOUWHzapWIiZUtddlXtyHrfy5GPg4WOWdWNxZdFH0w1XudfYZXlroZYTy9fOO0goMo1MR1d7mq6xE6PaWGwycLYlz5KG9wLhpanrT8EgsDmsABKUM/s320/P1030361.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My old Jessops VideoMic. Its seen better days.</td></tr>
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<b>After pretty disastrous sound on my first 3 feature films, I decided that I was going to teach myself how to record sound myself. I couldn't afford anyone else to do it and unlike actors/sfx artists/Cinematographers etc its very difficult for sound people to use films as 'exposure' outside of their reel (it shouldn't be this way, but the simple fact s no one notices good sound). The decision to do it myself was based on not having to underpay someone else, who would get very little out of it.</b><br />
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<b>I already had a decent(ish) audio recorder (Zoom H2n) and on my last feature <a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" target="_blank">Legacy of Thorn</a> we had borrowed a Rode VideoMic Pro, I really liked the results and so when looking for a mic that was the kind of thing I knew I was after, being that its a fairly common 'go to mic' for low budgeters. They retail at about £150 which is a decent price. I had a really great Jessops Video mic that cost me £30 15 years ago and it worked great, too great for the price, but it had seen better days and was beginning to fall to pieces and so moving over to a Rode seemed the best option. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Get Legacy of Thorn on DVD and Digital HD now." border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZQd9PV2opjc59YBQpQtDalLJXR1C_ISioA-s7YlPM8esHT4VsOxPlhjInkhMX76w1GDBqDApXC3rexrcQyyqCxAvpJeigGTw8gA7JN8HqgR9161K4JJoaBJejZ5GgEbgGhW_019ix-E/s640/ThornFacebookBanner5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">ADVERTISMENT</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TAKSTAR SGC-598 MICROPHONE</span></b><br />
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<b>I was about to drop the money on it when I found a video on youtube (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Dwrd3mMX0" target="_blank">this one</a>) that compares the Takstar SGC-598 with the Rode VideoMic Pro and I found that the difference was negligible at best. The huge difference in the two mics was that one cost (at the time) £160 and one cost £23. That didn't seem right, but the results in the video kind of spoke for themselves.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80MPqjus_L2sCZzMzmMyiIRX6J9sXhYLkwC4SEH_1movegFs8jQ-eTMDDBtn3N1HH9A1NAuiYQ5HOK9otk0PiDw0QW1XDLdXauBy0Z8N63FrofMED7m7ajSJyQnLXT4-NYqjojgviGhU/s1600/P1030362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80MPqjus_L2sCZzMzmMyiIRX6J9sXhYLkwC4SEH_1movegFs8jQ-eTMDDBtn3N1HH9A1NAuiYQ5HOK9otk0PiDw0QW1XDLdXauBy0Z8N63FrofMED7m7ajSJyQnLXT4-NYqjojgviGhU/s320/P1030362.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>For £23 I figured 'whats the harm?' and picked one up. Amazingly the results we're exactly as they had been in the video, there was very little difference between the VideoMic Pro and the Takstar SGC-598, In fact once I got a handle on it, I found that I could get a better result out of it than I had ever got from the VideoMic Pro.</b><br />
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<b>The mic also has a 10+ decibel boost which is handy for quieter moments, although I've found that it does add just a little bit too much hiss at times, however this can easily be reduced in post without too much damage to the audio. It also comes with a battery that, no kidding, I haven't changed in nearly 2 years and is still going strong. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdddhtbwcTH2Uyzc8Pe-y2msVkyhPUODpsSEjcPZv6yyVJuY9i4mieofHRjCZ_3Mp8zJp7f7URUq0Ove42PAvTr6l0pcfdElJq3yX0kS5tTEBWWfCsORJnsMSMFgqhZ5vOwhJBcmgVXhA/s1600/P1030364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdddhtbwcTH2Uyzc8Pe-y2msVkyhPUODpsSEjcPZv6yyVJuY9i4mieofHRjCZ_3Mp8zJp7f7URUq0Ove42PAvTr6l0pcfdElJq3yX0kS5tTEBWWfCsORJnsMSMFgqhZ5vOwhJBcmgVXhA/s320/P1030364.JPG" width="320" /></a><b>It also comes with a shock mount, which is one of its greatest assets. Most other cheap mics I've tried out, have dreadful handling noise that makes most audio unusable, but the shock mount on the Takstar is fantastic and reduces the noise amazingly well. </b><br />
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<b>It best feature though is the fact that they currently cost around £20 each. I shoot a lot of action orientated stuff and as a result the amount of times mic get clips, hit or damaged as a result of me being in on the action is fairly frequent. If that was happening to £150 mics, I would be in deep trouble pretty quickly, but as these are so cheap, I pick up a couple at a time so that I always have a spare and so I can have extras on set should I need them. </b><br />
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<b>I've been through 2 on my latest feature. </b><br />
<b>I would suggest getting it as close as possible for the best results, but I'd suggest that with any mic.</b><br />
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<b>Don't get me wrong, this is not the best mic in the world, but for £23 its definitely the best value mic out there and it does give great results and I've struggled to find one as good for close to that price. I've use it on 3 of my own features in the last 2 years and dozens of other peoples projects and its never let me down. </b><br />
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<b>Its damn good and its damn cheap. If you take the time to learn how to record good sound then a low cost mic won't hinder you at all. So if you're on a budget this is great and affordable option that is readily available and won't break the bank no matter how many mics you break. </b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-54806226041965659582016-04-04T03:48:00.001-07:002016-04-04T03:48:47.562-07:00AUDIO APRIL : DIY Audio (Getting Audio Without A Sound Guy)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhH20QEi7O9WV0kkwbMhVSORN92fgIuahDG_dMAxX2Ik7d69upykC0luj_PDTjmG5Rc8-OfAIgj7bFOGNZYeqxMtBGQGURNw5MZMDZ0JDz0npD1mjXJy6vmGc3RzNsszxv6g9-UCp45wU/s1600/AudioApril1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhH20QEi7O9WV0kkwbMhVSORN92fgIuahDG_dMAxX2Ik7d69upykC0luj_PDTjmG5Rc8-OfAIgj7bFOGNZYeqxMtBGQGURNw5MZMDZ0JDz0npD1mjXJy6vmGc3RzNsszxv6g9-UCp45wU/s640/AudioApril1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhmkTJAom2zzv2yx5DhibtvMT_PaxBX4yyDaxhhLx7lcQmLM63T2cJT_1rVfBuEn8tCrL5B_-eATW46HQnVr2qogUE6WcVM26ZeQ7qsjLe86QpArsae2UoRXtL7sUykVKPfRGMWm1NQ8/s1600/Al+Sound+Guy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhmkTJAom2zzv2yx5DhibtvMT_PaxBX4yyDaxhhLx7lcQmLM63T2cJT_1rVfBuEn8tCrL5B_-eATW46HQnVr2qogUE6WcVM26ZeQ7qsjLe86QpArsae2UoRXtL7sUykVKPfRGMWm1NQ8/s320/Al+Sound+Guy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slasher House (2010)</td></tr>
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<b>Now before we get started let me just say, when it comes recording sound on set, there is absolutely <i>NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A REALLY GREAT PROFESSIONAL SOUND GUY!!</i>.</b><br />
<b>Someone who really knows what they are doing and can capture professional quality sound is indispensable and if you can afford a professional sound guy then thats exactly, without a doubt, what you should do.</b><br />
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<b>However, if you're making a film on buttons and glue, the chances are you can't afford to hire a really great sound person and so the temptation is is to get your mate 'bob' to do it because he kind of, sort of knows his shit about music or something. This is a big mistake. </b><br />
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<b>Filmmakers often overlook sound on their films and they really shouldn't, good sound is probably more important than a great picture, as you probably heard a billion times before, but its very true. </b><br />
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<b>My first couple of films, I had dedicated sound guys, I couldn't afford 'professionals', but these guys had just come out of college/university studying music or sound production and claimed they could do the job and when you're working with nothing and people are offering their 'expertise' for free the temptation is strong to take them up on that. The sound I got from these guys was bad, for different reasons each time, by the end of the 3rd feature I literally thought "Fuck, I could do this better myself". So that's what I decided to do.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PWx8R9WGb3iINAPS41aJwdeIdRZT0we_nsjdBMOl5m4NP01JqUZnCckcg98I6YC5F9pLQwt7vo2gzEo3n_7h0_WopIvNj-Uq0UEGu5fP9fr62KXxH2DSYBjcQmOFkxjiuqoyZ7bODJo/s1600/IMG_4964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PWx8R9WGb3iINAPS41aJwdeIdRZT0we_nsjdBMOl5m4NP01JqUZnCckcg98I6YC5F9pLQwt7vo2gzEo3n_7h0_WopIvNj-Uq0UEGu5fP9fr62KXxH2DSYBjcQmOFkxjiuqoyZ7bODJo/s320/IMG_4964.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Legacy of Thorn (2013)</b></td></tr>
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<b>A quick note : On Slasher House we sent our sound guy home about half way through and we're lucky enough to get the friend a cast member, who was working for the BBC as a sound recordist, to kindly donate his time to help us finish up. The second half of the film had much, MUCH better sound, which goes to prove my original point, there really is NO SUBSTITUTE for an professional sound guy. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THINKING ABOUT AUDIO EQUALLY</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDykMbeA_5CgusfFPCZzfNwo7cVVQQlV3bQQsg8Oe6TpQbn3BuOYTOU1Qk_Ncc-V6qZxD9dArXyo6oYpRXru9N56KECVZGmGnluf6HDsKe45HY2r75LBb8nSnvy_5goC-a2Q_bNLs88cE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-04+at+10.29.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDykMbeA_5CgusfFPCZzfNwo7cVVQQlV3bQQsg8Oe6TpQbn3BuOYTOU1Qk_Ncc-V6qZxD9dArXyo6oYpRXru9N56KECVZGmGnluf6HDsKe45HY2r75LBb8nSnvy_5goC-a2Q_bNLs88cE/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-04-04+at+10.29.49.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Mycho SuperBeast MK1 : With Audio set up</b></td></tr>
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<b>Remembering that audio is half your picture is a good start and if, like me, you can't afford a professional sound recordist then you need to start thinking about how you're going to get you're audio on set whilst you're filming. This comes down to a bit of practice and a fair amount of planning.</b><br />
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<b>When I'm planning my shot lists, I now plan, from scene to scene where I'm going to get my audio from too. For me, making narrative film, the important stuff becomes dialogue. Almost everything else is going to be done again in sound design (or at least can be if its not right), but dialogue is something you're going to have a tougher time covering if you fuck it up.</b><br />
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<b>So when shooting any scenes with dialogue my intention is to get my mic as close to the source as possible. My mic is mounted to my rig along with my external recorder, along with headphones for monitoring and at first I would run a cable for long shots and mid shot and have someone hold boom for me. This however started slowing me down a little with having to change out connections and reposition mics every time and was only remounting the mic to my rig for close ups. Then I noticed something in my edit. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>ADVERTISMENT</b><br />
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<b>When I was matching audio, the wide shots, the mid shot and close up dialogue almost always matched up, or at least close enough, with the other shots. Of course the close up audio was always the best and clearest and so I was adding that every time and just adjusting levels for distance in post. So then I stopped getting my audio at the wide shot, but instead starting getting it on the mid shots and close ups. I even set up my rig so that the mic was closer to the actors (Using a magic arm) for better quality sound.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqrNn2S8erB74UHfu4rkDGyGjC96lTjOChswChtjaE18pOsrjpjvv5wUFxFvnAPxKU4hWx8w_y5J84bxyicaE58eXYwtrGjHgK9GlGXlzVyLBj7dTxo2vfSsbHd_cqRuEhuMg7vrISgs/s1600/01716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqrNn2S8erB74UHfu4rkDGyGjC96lTjOChswChtjaE18pOsrjpjvv5wUFxFvnAPxKU4hWx8w_y5J84bxyicaE58eXYwtrGjHgK9GlGXlzVyLBj7dTxo2vfSsbHd_cqRuEhuMg7vrISgs/s320/01716.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hollower (2015) : MonoPod Boom-Pole</b></td></tr>
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<b>If you're doing a shot with just one or two lines, just make sure you jump in after an just grab a couple of clean decent takes of those lines too. The more you have to work with in the edit the better you're final piece will be and more importantly the easier it will be. On top if that, grab some general room tone, about 30 seconds will do it, just to fill in the gaps. I quiet often find that if I forget I can snatch it from pauses in the dialogue, but its not a great habit to get into. </b><br />
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<b>Its important to note, that after shooting a scene I also get 3 takes of just the audio from the actors standing them much closer to the mic, I find myself using this audio as much as possible as its obviously the best quality of the lot. I'll also have actors give me any noises that they'll make through out the scene. Fight noises, grunts, gasps and anything else we can think of, very similar to the way Robert Rodriguez recorded dialogue for El Mariachi.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVOXI_rgoPWl8i7fbnZRISoiATQhHBgG4-Q9U-b9m5TF6j8DDNpLZl52iNGHR1_c1SdsbYjH36K_nr95xjqalnXS1B2xsLTGirNKx3S12ETNoNDtyM0C44ldO12zpQ2boNDL2Hfh1dJo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-04-04+at+11.26.21.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVOXI_rgoPWl8i7fbnZRISoiATQhHBgG4-Q9U-b9m5TF6j8DDNpLZl52iNGHR1_c1SdsbYjH36K_nr95xjqalnXS1B2xsLTGirNKx3S12ETNoNDtyM0C44ldO12zpQ2boNDL2Hfh1dJo/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-04-04+at+11.26.21.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>MychoBeast MK2 : Added magic arm and iPhone Monitor</b></td></tr>
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<b>After that I'll often wander round set just recording sounds that will be useful in my sound design, some of these sounds you pick up fine whilst recording visuals, but its often a good idea just to wander around getting sounds that keep the sense of the space, like bangs, doors, interesting background and other things that would be hard to find in stock afterward. </b><br />
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<b>Now obviously this works well for narrative filmmaking, where your actors are reading and performing the same lines over and over, if they're good actors then they're timing and beats should be pretty close, if not exact, every time. I know one actor who is so good at this that they take any decision making out of my hands as every take is exactly the same, including timing and tone.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you're shooting a more run and gun style, or shooting doc stuff, then you'll probably have to reconsider your set up. But for me this works great and is actually easier for me than spending hours syncing files up in post afterwards.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>BUILDING MY AUDIO RIG</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I originally built this rig for use with a Canon T3i and eventually my Panasonic G7, it works fine with both. In building an audio rig, you need FOUR hugely important components that will help you capture your sound on set. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>EXTERNAL RECORDER</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyKpU_Dz6n9R4v_Ab8AKCEm_UDq3VAqULiq1Skf5v1sdncQWNfoobw-0f5P8EllbBy7LIw0Unk5TTHjKxRCXngOTzA7vnAVg4Ladr_Landg3orwvgw76BXdv4ECpIpRqBGxeipm_DBL8/s1600/P1030254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyKpU_Dz6n9R4v_Ab8AKCEm_UDq3VAqULiq1Skf5v1sdncQWNfoobw-0f5P8EllbBy7LIw0Unk5TTHjKxRCXngOTzA7vnAVg4Ladr_Landg3orwvgw76BXdv4ECpIpRqBGxeipm_DBL8/s320/P1030254.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>If you're shooting on a DSLR or Mirrorless camera then the sound directly from your camera isn't going to be that good, this due to the poor pre amps that a featured in most models. If this is the case then you're going to want an external recorder to record your audio, like in the good old days of shooting on film. I use Zoom recorders as I find them the best value for money in terms of quality, but there are plenty of other options out there.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>There are literally dozens of affordable recorders available for this type of things and they range from about £100 - £1000+ depending on the level of professionalism you're after. They offer solid digitally recorded sound and are a clear upgrade from using the sound that your camera records. You might be lucky enough to shoot on a camera that has a decent sound input and also allows you monitor your sound which is the is the most important aspect when recording. Most decent recorders also allow you to monitor levels via the LCD screen on the front, they'll help you know pif your sound is too quiet, too loud or when it peaks. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I'll be looking at recorder options in another blog over the next few weeks.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MICROPHONE</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikSEvjXClfMjCGM5JfugdcdS_gaptdFWe0UB_L4EfbzIQKfodkwJeMS9d7Ww074I9ZqVa5ZYiIPEpdCX98N7lpDl65TkT2R-SKTvqAYJmk9YP4SQ-PBfXvLx_eqp5jeSPxjdzUsfUPzU/s1600/P1030252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikSEvjXClfMjCGM5JfugdcdS_gaptdFWe0UB_L4EfbzIQKfodkwJeMS9d7Ww074I9ZqVa5ZYiIPEpdCX98N7lpDl65TkT2R-SKTvqAYJmk9YP4SQ-PBfXvLx_eqp5jeSPxjdzUsfUPzU/s320/P1030252.JPG" width="320" /></b></a><b>To record decent sound you're going to need a decent microphone, something that records good quality audio. There literally hundreds of options out there and the prices can get pretty serious, pretty quickly, but for the low budget beginner there are still some great options out there. Most notably the Rideo VideoMic and the Rode VideoMic Pro, which are cheap, solid solutions to good on set audio. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Its important that you make sure the microphone you get suits your needs and does what you need it to do. For me, I needed a boost to the sound input for quiet scenes and so I made sure the microphone that I chose allowed for that, but really the sound you get and how good it is comes down to how close you can get that microphone.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I'll be looking at Microphone options over the next few weeks.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>HEADPHONES</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8rj4WYd1mTLphNoKstlHwXmCVBIU3sxr380EJxa7pz9S9GQ9VLpVLgsnk_bK6hbKSOdJWc_szQZ9k_ak7IcTKrl37iqMxYWc1ymGNSJ9LDFE5vkDVxz96c9ARqxSG7KDde9VmZapopg/s1600/P1030258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8rj4WYd1mTLphNoKstlHwXmCVBIU3sxr380EJxa7pz9S9GQ9VLpVLgsnk_bK6hbKSOdJWc_szQZ9k_ak7IcTKrl37iqMxYWc1ymGNSJ9LDFE5vkDVxz96c9ARqxSG7KDde9VmZapopg/s320/P1030258.JPG" width="320" /></b></a><b>After you have your recorder and microphone set up, you'll need to be able to monitor what it is you're recording. This is incredibly important if you're recording your own audio, because this is where you'll know if you need to do retake, or if your audio peaks and generally just getting what you need. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I would suggest in purchasing a pair of large 'can' style headphones, they block out outside noise to give you a better overview of exactly what you are recording and the levels and quality of that recording. I've had to use in ear headphones in a pinch before and they are no where near as good. You can some usable headphones these days for as little £10-£15, although the more you spend the more durable they'll be and the longer they'll last, just don't forget to be monitoring your audio at all times. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MOUNT</b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7mKqMqfilPIh0emjDIy4-mEAdz6-CbcKwuQFUAbH1nX3eICTouQPUktP6TI6q_VO9jV2_RwxvSFsKZpkJKiocI17fQdgycREN9ncTQ3Rk2iPgIGPRgldbIBTfPQhgDDT26NPrm1lRNk/s1600/P1030257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7mKqMqfilPIh0emjDIy4-mEAdz6-CbcKwuQFUAbH1nX3eICTouQPUktP6TI6q_VO9jV2_RwxvSFsKZpkJKiocI17fQdgycREN9ncTQ3Rk2iPgIGPRgldbIBTfPQhgDDT26NPrm1lRNk/s320/P1030257.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>You'll need something to mount your microphone and recorder to, most cameras have a hot shoe adapter for mounting a microphone, but if you also have a recorder to mount then you'll need something to extend the amount of space you have to mount things to or you'll need to add a separate mount for your recorder. I found that for my eternal recorder a GoPro bike mount works great. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you want to get your microphone closer, you'll need an extension cable for your microphone and something to mount it to. I found that I could get extra use out of my old MonoPod (which I picked up for £15 over 10 years ago) by adding a hot-shoe and mounting my mic to that for wide shots using it as an extendable Boom-pole. If you don't have a monopod, I've got away with using a £1 selfie stick before. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I'll look at low budget mount options over the next few weeks. </b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>______________________________________________________________________</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Like I said before, the best way to get great sound is 'hire' a really great sound guy, but I promise that doing it yourself is much better than relying on someone who doesn't know what they are doing. It will save you time, effort and major headaches when it comes to post for one and it will help you under stand the importance of audio when you <i>can</i> afford to hire someone. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This is the first in my Audio April series, over the next month I'll be looking at how I record sound on set, what I use to do so and how I mix it afterward.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-17639648142931446532016-03-29T06:43:00.001-07:002016-03-29T14:51:18.590-07:00LOW BUDGET LENSES : Wide Angle Adapters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pQD_zd8yZzJ_ML0f8NNg-uTc9W3wn3H1jnnLeMZHyE84I1q7b7P7pMuH04gdui1Jc3Uvu0eTe2ox3Wf8PRmS7B9ZKm4EuE11wtPHNpmMu1Wr_S1JBegShSWtsqkAaPDnlqlBQCwCVjU/s1600/LowbudgetLenses3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pQD_zd8yZzJ_ML0f8NNg-uTc9W3wn3H1jnnLeMZHyE84I1q7b7P7pMuH04gdui1Jc3Uvu0eTe2ox3Wf8PRmS7B9ZKm4EuE11wtPHNpmMu1Wr_S1JBegShSWtsqkAaPDnlqlBQCwCVjU/s640/LowbudgetLenses3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Making low budget narrative films, I'll often find myself on a location that leaves me with very little room to shoot in terms of physical space. Using a long focal length is great and adds a depth to your image, but if you are shooting in an enclosed location then suddenly that becomes an issue unless you want to shoot entirely in close ups. If you're making low budget movies, the chances are that you are not going to be able to build all your sets and so removing walls, ceilings etc to create more room is not usually an option, which usually means that you have to shoot in pre existing environments and not every film is shot in a spacious warehouse or street, more times than not I find myself having to shoot in very tight locations with very little space.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo3Rs3_uJqUT_A4oh8FxmHg0PxZy4Vn4GBIGrx8lI8rN8evDnUbVRBvLyULCY73uS0fxQeKFWmLl5IIuHa4QHxc1ZY65b9c0OhUVhnsr6rFLUgyWqeCs0Znz67r3FTh9O1fTz-jaj3fo/s1600/Photo+29-03-2016%252C+14+11+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo3Rs3_uJqUT_A4oh8FxmHg0PxZy4Vn4GBIGrx8lI8rN8evDnUbVRBvLyULCY73uS0fxQeKFWmLl5IIuHa4QHxc1ZY65b9c0OhUVhnsr6rFLUgyWqeCs0Znz67r3FTh9O1fTz-jaj3fo/s320/Photo+29-03-2016%252C+14+11+38.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Wide Angle Adapters</b></td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>This is where your wide angle lens becomes especially useful. Most people using an interchangeable lens system have a 'Kit Lens' which will come out to between 14mm-16mm (depending on brand etc) which is a fairly wide. However not always wide enough. Even at the shortest focal length I've sometimes struggled to have a wide enough angle to get my shot. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>I looked into wide angle options, but trying to find a low budget wide angle lens can be tricky and finding one at a cheap price even harder. The fact is, if you are shooting zero budget movies, which most the time I am, then you will find it tough to drop £150 - £1000 on a wide angle lens. I was in that position a few years ago and so I looked to find another solution. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WIDE ANGLE ADAPTERS</b></span></div>
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<b>I picked up a wide angle adapter on ebay for about £15, its a simple screw on adapter that attaches to your filter thread at the front of your lens and just expands your angle that little bit more. I was dubious when I picked it up, just because it was so cheap, but the results were great and really helped me open out the angle enough to get the kind of shots that I was after in those small spaces.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DI2bXQNQiLszLovUMEO8eR25iStumrbwen_Ao9fVkZHgRWgVQB9BiAI4QQQVXiqCtk8he8Qw7l1s2NMBkEny3fwII3SNkdeIGgP6on4703TV4HB5LEZHGQtA7KUAeLZkWKP4mmFIr-4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-29+at+13.50.00.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DI2bXQNQiLszLovUMEO8eR25iStumrbwen_Ao9fVkZHgRWgVQB9BiAI4QQQVXiqCtk8he8Qw7l1s2NMBkEny3fwII3SNkdeIGgP6on4703TV4HB5LEZHGQtA7KUAeLZkWKP4mmFIr-4/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-29+at+13.50.00.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>SLASHER HOUSE 2 : 14mm f/2.5 with Adapter</b></td></tr>
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<b>It comes in fairly handy too when doing tracking and steady cam shots as it just opens the image up a little more and ensures you have something wide enough for full coverage. I used the same adapter for the last 5 years on almost every project I've shot and as a result I never needed to buy a wider lens. When I finally moved to Panasonic cameras last year, the first thing I did was buy a new wide angle adapter for its kit lens. Then later adapted it to a 14mm prime that gives me a great image without having to pick up a wider lens.</b></div>
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<b>When I first look into the adapters I did hear complaints about them distorting images through the glass, but I'm happy to say that I've never had a problem with this at all on shorter focal lengths. I did adapt it to fit a 50mm lens a few years ago and the due to the longer focal length the image become very soft and blurred, but thats about the only issue I've had. </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>...ITS ALSO A MACRO LENS</b></span></div>
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<b>Oh yeah, not only does this lens open out your wide shots, but it screws in half to become a macro lens. This means that you get right in close to small objects and get some incredibly close shots. I have a little signature shot I try and fit into every film. A close up of an eye opening. In the past, with conventional video cameras I would really struggle to get close enough to get the shot in the way that wanted, but with this lens it makes it a breeze. Its really good for getting in there and just getting some awesome details, especially when it comes to smaller objects. I even used it to shoot a very 'arty' title sequence for a film last year featuring some small creepy dolls, but more on that later.</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPedBEV830fLLco4nlzHx3cGMXcpqtgBLkfzy_PmiGaexN20PxdLWZEr_rYvdDWy12g-wZSPc1lGnbfWkbS4zUcz3mR93D1qOJcGXt-rDvtrl9V_DGxeOTDFmOTxRWpXvN53ki54xvtZo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-29+at+13.58.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPedBEV830fLLco4nlzHx3cGMXcpqtgBLkfzy_PmiGaexN20PxdLWZEr_rYvdDWy12g-wZSPc1lGnbfWkbS4zUcz3mR93D1qOJcGXt-rDvtrl9V_DGxeOTDFmOTxRWpXvN53ki54xvtZo/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-29+at+13.58.23.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>SLASHER HOSUE 2 : Macro Adapter on LX100</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TELEPHOTO ADAPTERS</b></span></div>
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<b>For those who need to go the other way, there are also telephoto adapters that do the opposite and give your existing lens some extra zoom by magnifying the image without you have to use digital zoom and degrade your image. Its not something I've ever had to use, but its just another tool for around the same price that can help add a variety to your existing equipment. </b></div>
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<b>_____________________________________________________________</b></div>
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<b>You will certainly get better result from spending the extra cash on a decent wide angle or zoom lens, but for a low budget solution I have certainly found the results negligible. This works great for me and it is a brilliant cheap option if you can't fork out for an expensive lens. </b></div>
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<b>As always just remember that a better lens won't make you a better cinematographer in the same way that a cheap lens won't make you a worse one. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-22950795506369721352016-03-21T05:17:00.000-07:002016-03-29T14:50:54.525-07:00LOW BUDGET LENSES : THE ONLY 2 LENSES YOU REALLY NEED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YV9x4CPi4aufZwQ3Utw62-BE1-IsuIv19UgbjwWqLqF7xNcHV5x2d1AuwacosCK-Y74PiSzk63AmQD9gsDqELPoR73CRIVwQgvBKfgCwQ7xNR_EqQ4ShhEXfwtIpwFyNDA6wQBI41_Y/s1600/LowbudgetLenses2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YV9x4CPi4aufZwQ3Utw62-BE1-IsuIv19UgbjwWqLqF7xNcHV5x2d1AuwacosCK-Y74PiSzk63AmQD9gsDqELPoR73CRIVwQgvBKfgCwQ7xNR_EqQ4ShhEXfwtIpwFyNDA6wQBI41_Y/s640/LowbudgetLenses2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about a set of low budget Primes for under £50($70), of course they were only suited to mirror-less cameras (You can find it <a href="http://microbudgetmassacre.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/low-budget-lenses-3-prime-lenses-for.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>), which came as a bit of a disappointment to those low budget filmmakers still shooting on DSLR's, which are great option for those who can't splash out on something more expensive, but lack some of the cheaper lens options available for MFT (Micro Four Thirds) cameras. A lot of people asked me about options for their Canon EF mount cameras and what options were available to them. </b><br />
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<b>Since 2010 I have shot on Canon entry level DSLR's, I only recently moved over to using Panasonic in fact. Over 6 years I shot 4 features between a 550d(T2i) and a 600d(T3i) as well as over 35 music videos and promos that aired on TV in the UK and US, so I know just how much a viable tool these cheap cameras can be. But when it came to budget lenses, there are very few cheaper options available. However that doesn't mean that there are none. </b><br />
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<b>In the 6 years I've been using the cameras I have had a grand total of '3' lenses and the truth is that I only ever really used 2 of them and the good news is, the two I use are the cheapest lenses available. I shoot narrative films and music videos mainly and so the lenses I use are suited to that and, of course, depending on what you're shooting will determine the lenses that you shoot on, but up until November 2015 I shot using just these two pieces of cheap glass. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Canon Kit Lens 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6</span></b><br />
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<b>If you're buying your first Canon DSLR, you most certainly will pick it up with what is known as a 'Kit lens' (a lens that comes packaged with the camera). The Canon standard kit lens is pretty well known for being a decent 'all purpose' piece of glass that covers most bases for the average no budget filmmaker. </b><br />
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<b>It has a decent focal range of 18mm - 55mm that means you can get both wide angles and those tighter shots with nice depth of field. Where this lens really falls down is in low light. It works great if your shooting in bright, sunlight spaces and at it widest it opens up to f/3.5 which is decent enough for most low(ish) light scenarios. But anything closer in anything other than great light is going to mean that you need something a little bit faster to get a good clean image. The lens however is great for things like crane shots, steady cam rigs and dolly moves.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hollower (2016) Canon 18-55mm f/3.5 (Kit Lens)</td></tr>
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<b>One thing I did was pick up a wide angle adapter lens, just to open it up a little more for steady-cam shots etc. It cost me around £15 on ebay and its saved my ass more than a few times when the location just hasn't been open enough and saved me dropping a small fortune on wider lenses. The adapter also screws in half to become a macro lens fort shooting extreme close ups, which came in extremely handy in getting those close up eye shots that I love so much.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">CANON 50mm f/1.8 (The Nifty Fifty)</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs7X7o6efN3O29oUkBzmv00Ye6kSh5IxvLJhUvRTZM-XXQZJOvx-fyPnXCBsJ9DX1b5_5DwA4xgDU6sJ_Igs8NKBwmA7ETQI15iNB9-OiapzlQpn5mAg1UP1CskkdEXqiFF37e2QwcE8/s1600/P1020619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs7X7o6efN3O29oUkBzmv00Ye6kSh5IxvLJhUvRTZM-XXQZJOvx-fyPnXCBsJ9DX1b5_5DwA4xgDU6sJ_Igs8NKBwmA7ETQI15iNB9-OiapzlQpn5mAg1UP1CskkdEXqiFF37e2QwcE8/s320/P1020619.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>The cheapest Canon lens outside of picking up the kit lens is the Canon 50mm f.1.8. Its known in the photography and filmmaking community ads the 'Nifty Fifty' and it is definitely the most bang for your buck when it comes to lenses. I picked this up for a steal of £90 back in 2010, for Slasher House, but since then they can be found on ebay for as little as £50 (not to mention cheaper clones etc).</b><br />
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<b>Being a faster lens, and a prime, the image quality that comes out this lens is amazing and it really goes that shallow depth of field that a lot of filmmakers look for in their image. Along with that, you can shoot in some very dimly lit spaces and still get an amazingly usable image. Mix that with the fact its the cheapest lens available in Canon's range and you're onto a winner. If I shoot outdoors in available light at night (I do fairly often) then this is my go to lens for sure.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lTaMF0jCqX6dZSe0DgdtCfd-3Cbmbw753uSEdArgTAfAx6HG1TswtNixXJb1Hzwa2tX2WvtdKsOtbYJDySHTo9z3c8uYYIwCYkPegfI5YobxLu7HNLnPtokyrGkcV9ATtByDDUB8Hok/s1600/IMG_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lTaMF0jCqX6dZSe0DgdtCfd-3Cbmbw753uSEdArgTAfAx6HG1TswtNixXJb1Hzwa2tX2WvtdKsOtbYJDySHTo9z3c8uYYIwCYkPegfI5YobxLu7HNLnPtokyrGkcV9ATtByDDUB8Hok/s320/IMG_0046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaver : Killer Clown (2015) : Canon 50mm f/1.8</td></tr>
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<b>This is my work horse lens, meaning that for 5 years, I used it as much as I could and found unless it was a wide angle shot, or I was in an extremely small space, this lens did everything I needed of it and it performs amazingly in low light. I used this lens mainly for mids and close ups and its gives some stunning results. It is easily my favourite Canon lens and well worth the small price. If you're shooting on Canon SLRs this the lens to you want to have in your collection.</b><br />
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<b><br /></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">TELEPHOTO LENSES?</span></b><br />
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<b>I considered adding a telephoto lens to the article, but in the end I decided not to. I was given a Canon 70 - 300mm f/4 a few years ago (someone had a spare) and over the course of 4 features I have used the lens 4 times and in all honesty I probably didn't need to (although it was helpful to have it), but really, in modern narrative filmmaking, unless you're shooting westerns, sports or car chases, you aren't gonna crack out that telephoto lens all too often.</b><br />
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<b>In reality its probably better just to drop £10 or so on a Telephoto adapter lens if your using it for a shot every now and then, that way your saving your self a few hundred bucks for something that you'll use infrequently unless your shooting sports stuff.</b><br />
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<b>There are certainly much better and more expensive lenses out there, but if you're looking for something that gives you bang for your buck without changing up your gear or switching to another camera then these are brilliant options and I know literally dozens of filmmakers who have got by for years using this exact same set up and we've shot dozens of commercially released work on these lenses.</b></div>
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<b>Just remember that what you shoot on is not a substitute for talent or skill and no lens is going to make you a better cinematographer or filmmaker the same way that no lens will make you a worse one. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">ADVERTISMENT</td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-91477006080846273642016-03-14T05:19:00.000-07:002016-03-14T05:20:59.574-07:00UPGRADE YOUR iPHONE CAMERA FOR £15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEGrJotJeForfsdBjUtUhKhQWMxISzkbYu4nhP6RMgKBco3PUn7Kv6_UX9OWPKN0IJi3xr5Dd_uruMrGUa-Q-BHq-JSwR6qDeYXajp6QM-wF3fXOwPM5G6DWl14N2t8FEcX4BNE1x150/s1600/IPhone1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEGrJotJeForfsdBjUtUhKhQWMxISzkbYu4nhP6RMgKBco3PUn7Kv6_UX9OWPKN0IJi3xr5Dd_uruMrGUa-Q-BHq-JSwR6qDeYXajp6QM-wF3fXOwPM5G6DWl14N2t8FEcX4BNE1x150/s640/IPhone1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>It's probably not ground breaking information anymore for someone to suggest that you can shoot movies on your iPhone. These days people are doing it all the time and there are some fantastic results out there (Hooked Up and To Jennifer are a couple of great horror examples) that prove that anyone has the power of filmmaking in their pocket and with the newest models shooting 4K, it seems more and more like a legitimate filmmaking tool.</b><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red;">YOU CAN APPLY THIS TO ALMOST ANY SMARTPHONE THAT RUNS ANDROID OR IOS.</span></b></i><br />
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<b>I've been shooting stuff here and there on my iPhone now for a few years, I don't do it all the time as it not usually the tool that best suits what I'm doing, but I made a micro short for some film students a couple of years back on an iPhone 4 just to show that can be done. Of course, like I said, these days that is common knowledge.</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fUFfrwgk2GQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fUFfrwgk2GQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b>My biggest problem with shooting on an iPhone is that its fairly basic when its comes to actually filming with it. There are rigs out there that are fairly inexpensive like '<a href="https://beastgrip.com/" target="_blank">The Beast Grip</a>' (£150-£300) that allow you to do things like use pro lenses on the camera, but at that point I start to think that maybe you should just go back to your normal camera and just spend that money on a Canon Rebel or GH1. Also I'm not sure about dropping an extra £300 on my already £600 phone. So as usual I started looking for a more low budget solution.</b><br />
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<b>The biggest upside of shooting on an iPhone, as far as I'm concerned, is that its so portable, Mainly because it fits in your pocket. Adding rigs and lenses and such starts to take away from its best function in my eyes, the fact that its almost invisible, this also make its great for guerrilla filmmaking without drawing attention. So I was looking for a way to just make the phone function as a camera without turning into something the size of DLSR.</b><br />
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<b>What I've put together here is a list of add ons that I picked up to helps give me a little more flexibility with phones camera and the whole set should cost you less than £15/$20.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>FilmicPRO (£8/$11)</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7JYNYxVJ2k8SBQkGQjrGsSce-2BK40VP7IEKOR6DOVaLKJd62aDdNz243rI9qyKoGWTryeMn2uBixBYrVACU0fVhtOQBAFrCDmrxBbmzV0pJfXMt-cqR9nxQGL2eVxU421iOR_Yuf40/s1600/Photo+14-03-2016%252C+10+37+02.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7JYNYxVJ2k8SBQkGQjrGsSce-2BK40VP7IEKOR6DOVaLKJd62aDdNz243rI9qyKoGWTryeMn2uBixBYrVACU0fVhtOQBAFrCDmrxBbmzV0pJfXMt-cqR9nxQGL2eVxU421iOR_Yuf40/s320/Photo+14-03-2016%252C+10+37+02.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>FilmicPRO App for iPhone</b></td></tr>
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<b>This is the foundation of turning your automatic phone camera into a useable camera for shooting. It was available for £2.50($3.99), but checking whilst I updated this, I found they had raised the price a tad to a whopping £8!. Its fair enough, its a great app that allows control over White Balance, Exposure and Focus and the ability to lock them once you have your image the way you want it. </b><br />
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<b>Depending on your phone you can shoot up to 4K resolution at 100mbps and its give you greater control over other input like audio and data rates as well as giving guides for various ratio sizes and will even export in your chosen ratio should you wish. Pro seems to work on anything for iPhone 4s and upward and for a HUGE 79p there is FilmicClassic that gives you the same functionally (without the higher resolutions) on older models. </b><br />
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<b>The app is also available for Android devices too. I got it for Free a couple of years ago during a promotion so its worth watching out when they do something like that again, but if you dont want to wait, £8 isn't much to drop for such an impressive video app.</b><br />
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<b>Check it out <a href="http://www.filmicpro.com/" target="_blank">FILMICPRO Official Site</a> for more info. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MINI TRIPOD (£1/$1)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz17zldHlJp6N0ZVLX1od6Tc2_JUUI8tP2A29imd5KekgVf6kkWWpciHPJES2UYPDEv1a0juEmZi72PAE2OhCiLnDu5nO5v9KjAivvcW9jKrFvIK_cz5xQIqFDeP2Q25NDMccWx4r2xY/s1600/P1020601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz17zldHlJp6N0ZVLX1od6Tc2_JUUI8tP2A29imd5KekgVf6kkWWpciHPJES2UYPDEv1a0juEmZi72PAE2OhCiLnDu5nO5v9KjAivvcW9jKrFvIK_cz5xQIqFDeP2Q25NDMccWx4r2xY/s200/P1020601.JPG" width="200" /></a></b></span></div>
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<b>The PoundShop/DollarStore is a wonderful, magical place. One of the reasons is that they sell things like this. A tiny tripod with a phone mount at the top. Now on its own this thing offers up increased stability just using it as a mini camera handle. It just removes your hands from the actual camera to give you more stability in your shots. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHsA_TGbZe8k4uODNG-4-l6qo84neygHxmbq98PKWRvnsVnK2DwY6QJF02a59Y67bYuZwdTTR1lwHNmRIBYdIG-Z2idKzfuTg-SBKGsSCIrEd450KfA0-VqCloMf6zd1VyneARoIt3hY/s1600/P1020611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHsA_TGbZe8k4uODNG-4-l6qo84neygHxmbq98PKWRvnsVnK2DwY6QJF02a59Y67bYuZwdTTR1lwHNmRIBYdIG-Z2idKzfuTg-SBKGsSCIrEd450KfA0-VqCloMf6zd1VyneARoIt3hY/s200/P1020611.JPG" width="200" /></b></a></div>
<b>The main reason to grab this, is for the actual phone grip at the top, this is because it has a 3 1/4 inch screw that fits to most tripods and rigs. This means that I can effectively use the phone camera on my nice tripod, My slider, my crane and even my steady cam if I wanted to. It just makes your Phone camera that much more adaptable if you're shooting on it.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>SELFIE STICK (£1/$1)</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjj-O43g-IZx48U_ydoY8cU-AMRdSbbVthfpyUnwyhaI6rbp3dyT4dkMQaSDp6RIztmKeT2dnJVZV9JUFdwKZQccdSj8_zeMB4fDXM1U5CugZHMNtsFlvwvggMEo_5q10KigOnQSsZdA/s1600/P1020602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjj-O43g-IZx48U_ydoY8cU-AMRdSbbVthfpyUnwyhaI6rbp3dyT4dkMQaSDp6RIztmKeT2dnJVZV9JUFdwKZQccdSj8_zeMB4fDXM1U5CugZHMNtsFlvwvggMEo_5q10KigOnQSsZdA/s320/P1020602.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>I hate these things, for their intended purpose anyway, I initially picked on up at the Poundshop/DollarStore to use as a quick boom pole for a shoot just to get my on board mic a little closer to the subject. It, again, came with a camera grip and I soon found that I could get some interesting shots using it with the phone, due to how light weight it was.</b><br />
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<b>Since then I've been messing with it and, using two of them, have managed to make a basic shoulder rig and even mimic crane shots. Like I said, its also worth having to get your external mic in closer too, but in all honesty its a fantastically adaptable little tool. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><b>ADVERTISMENT</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>CLIP ON LENSES (£5/$7)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9EmdbicdiwubYt4I_uyELznmGT3zRMDQGVEG44ZbfY8ZxcxgJZX-Ig0An4FguThuFMwHP45GgQ6eYwpIu-JYTejHWPQHSPT0oJVd2DTCEEX9h25C40JxVYWTeXFr58NOgR0HSWuH3sY/s1600/P1020606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9EmdbicdiwubYt4I_uyELznmGT3zRMDQGVEG44ZbfY8ZxcxgJZX-Ig0An4FguThuFMwHP45GgQ6eYwpIu-JYTejHWPQHSPT0oJVd2DTCEEX9h25C40JxVYWTeXFr58NOgR0HSWuH3sY/s320/P1020606.JPG" width="180" /></b></a><b>The camera(with FlimicPro) is pretty awesome in terms of functionality. Its not going to give you quite the depth that you get with a more expensive camera and really operates more with the functionality of a Camcorder. One of the biggest sticking points that I came up against was the fact that the camera had limited lens options apart from being able to zoom slightly, or move closer or further away.</b><br />
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<b>For £5 on ebay, I picked up a selection of clip on lenses that simple clip and adapter over your camera and then allow you ad a variety of different correctional lens over the pre existing camera. With this kit I got, There clip on adapter, A 2x Zoom lens, A Fisheye lens, A Wide Angle Lens and A Macro Lens for extreme close ups. They are a great little collection, especially for the fact that they cost a couple of pounds and they make the functionality of the lens just that little bit better. </b><br />
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<b>The lenses are great and although, if I have my protective case on I get a little vignetting on the wider lenses, zooming in slightly fixes the problem and they really give me a lot more options when shooting. They also fit in a tiny little bag that comes with them and can fit in your pocket. </b><br />
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<b>Here are some pictures of a Ninja to give you an idea of the difference they make.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvta4HUXMzj2fBYDmpvDxsEHb8WXyOmy1ypQj3ZPbbeKz-1cdg__oLAgD3UrWr_7MFzIfjPWXYWRZpvpIwE8aoreD2E9YXLnrAC14arObvZGCZwFBleSQtMmmj-_1xwNapjgEnOX3_yk/s1600/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+18+45.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvta4HUXMzj2fBYDmpvDxsEHb8WXyOmy1ypQj3ZPbbeKz-1cdg__oLAgD3UrWr_7MFzIfjPWXYWRZpvpIwE8aoreD2E9YXLnrAC14arObvZGCZwFBleSQtMmmj-_1xwNapjgEnOX3_yk/s320/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+18+45.png" width="320" /></a></b></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Standard iPhone Lens</b></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wBt7eMpKaG28-_4D8GJdibtpjMstuEJzfLJKg2sQsJpSy7rQGFqvonl_4x3FYr36-lBXBDbgMabeTFlj2eiRbucq3aXLqTHon9JPk0yi9eP5uAq6xvODuCt0Rc1sSSesunE2atVk2iQ/s1600/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+19+35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wBt7eMpKaG28-_4D8GJdibtpjMstuEJzfLJKg2sQsJpSy7rQGFqvonl_4x3FYr36-lBXBDbgMabeTFlj2eiRbucq3aXLqTHon9JPk0yi9eP5uAq6xvODuCt0Rc1sSSesunE2atVk2iQ/s320/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+19+35.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Zoom Lens </b></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNVOI0o9X_CUhLGSZ25YZPmQxY55iIhssXGnODitxUSrT5JWjfyJCVJ8xyvXEKj3kYUFLw21SjgA5jysAKtb-AiRWYPqdL0BY5GKpm5zv_deUdDJPkiSVW-9-U7B1qr4zNmU-vu1K21Q/s1600/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+21+04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNVOI0o9X_CUhLGSZ25YZPmQxY55iIhssXGnODitxUSrT5JWjfyJCVJ8xyvXEKj3kYUFLw21SjgA5jysAKtb-AiRWYPqdL0BY5GKpm5zv_deUdDJPkiSVW-9-U7B1qr4zNmU-vu1K21Q/s320/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+21+04.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fisheye Lens</b></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JAMEsmsnLZxLcYPZTaEwIeM2B50FUSTkAKLuuponXXbZmKQP9SKhpeKB8Ncjjfh3ImUZlts71kHyKYfypQr4D0oC25fU-cXoJdjsYcW4cUbbb_lUiZ7Mz2h7LlHQzDIsFClalYpQ4Mw/s1600/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+21+41.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JAMEsmsnLZxLcYPZTaEwIeM2B50FUSTkAKLuuponXXbZmKQP9SKhpeKB8Ncjjfh3ImUZlts71kHyKYfypQr4D0oC25fU-cXoJdjsYcW4cUbbb_lUiZ7Mz2h7LlHQzDIsFClalYpQ4Mw/s320/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+21+41.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>WideAngle Lens</b></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTTXx356eQNiK8t67It1S-t_vJf0sdY9-maIM0aLdS1uBqSR56jBp1L9ZVuzGylNA65-lHhOqofSqa3Hx4YWI0YrI8jegDXg7MNV1EzshlkItXKDNt42oHEgCh_hHD_hFHPyA4EYa7D0/s1600/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+27+06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTTXx356eQNiK8t67It1S-t_vJf0sdY9-maIM0aLdS1uBqSR56jBp1L9ZVuzGylNA65-lHhOqofSqa3Hx4YWI0YrI8jegDXg7MNV1EzshlkItXKDNt42oHEgCh_hHD_hFHPyA4EYa7D0/s320/Photo+13-03-2016%252C+13+27+06.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Macro Lens</b></td></tr>
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<b>This lot aren't going to turn your camera into a rival for Arri Alexa or even a low end DLSR, but they will give you more functionality and more options when it comes to shooting. The saying goes that 'The best camera is the one you have with you" and in this day and age your smartphone camera is the camera you are most likely to have on you at any given time. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7NRccghyphenhyphenJ66ftoJQZJ6uMxJqRQmkuPO_EXMkgNfJx1sLTdeYT4l4b7Vkn-2nLAgnE17IZTncs3k6oH-jofNtKvIPtmfU9QFGYFxb_uYEDZAyUmOm7TBiWHLfnvnA8RmBo6_fMS6YJ6s/s1600/12799158_10153394132372747_3034095325962486736_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7NRccghyphenhyphenJ66ftoJQZJ6uMxJqRQmkuPO_EXMkgNfJx1sLTdeYT4l4b7Vkn-2nLAgnE17IZTncs3k6oH-jofNtKvIPtmfU9QFGYFxb_uYEDZAyUmOm7TBiWHLfnvnA8RmBo6_fMS6YJ6s/s200/12799158_10153394132372747_3034095325962486736_n.jpg" width="200" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>VHS App</b></td></tr>
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<b>The camera is till fairly basic and so getting decent professional looking image can be tough going, but the upside is that using your phone forces you to think about things like composition and lighting more, which can only be a good thing. There are some pretty cool apps out there that add different kinds of style to the camera too. We're having a lot of fun at the minute using the VHS app from <a href="http://rarevision.com/" target="_blank">Rarevision</a> (£2.99) and the Lens+ App (Free) which allow you to recreate old film stocks and video styles which make for some cool and creative shooting. </b><br />
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<b>Remember, i'm not saying that you should replace your camera with a smart phone, I'm just suggesting ways that you can make a camera that you carry with you everyday more functional, any camera can look bad in the wrong hands and any camera can look great in the hands of an expert, but its worth exploring what you can do to make your smartphone work for you as a filmmaker.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"> </span><b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Get Legacy of Thorn on DVD and Digital HD now." border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZQd9PV2opjc59YBQpQtDalLJXR1C_ISioA-s7YlPM8esHT4VsOxPlhjInkhMX76w1GDBqDApXC3rexrcQyyqCxAvpJeigGTw8gA7JN8HqgR9161K4JJoaBJejZ5GgEbgGhW_019ix-E/s640/ThornFacebookBanner5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-30324842557469938822016-03-07T03:56:00.002-08:002016-03-08T07:41:46.160-08:00LOW BUDGET LENSES : 3 PRIME LENSES FOR UNDER £50<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUCDuU7XXIZcm3_6m4UEtjQj5RkxgrgWT1Lsrf0GPg1zwVMd-XTJqYNryUaJ5WBRjioDBecVe2sW_NEM6X3pk1Lh0WhZLWg0Lhk7q_Y00ivAsIZiJYn6FSDr7U2NHaJtUdz-P8785HtE/s1600/LowbudgetLenses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUCDuU7XXIZcm3_6m4UEtjQj5RkxgrgWT1Lsrf0GPg1zwVMd-XTJqYNryUaJ5WBRjioDBecVe2sW_NEM6X3pk1Lh0WhZLWg0Lhk7q_Y00ivAsIZiJYn6FSDr7U2NHaJtUdz-P8785HtE/s640/LowbudgetLenses.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>When choosing Lenses a lot of it comes down to personal taste. For me, I'm shooting narrative film or music videos, mostly in dark/enclosed environments and so for me these things are important factors when looking for glass to put on my camera. </b><br />
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<b>The biggest problem I faced when I first started buying lenses for my Canon t2i 6 years ago was that after I picked up the very affordable Canon 50mm f1.8 for £100 (You can now get clones for around £50 on ebay) the list of affordable lenses ended. As a low budget filmmaker, finding cheap glass for the camera was tough going. Luckily the kit lens and the 50mm are more than enough to cover most narrative situations with the 'Nifty Fifty' acting as my work horse lens. I also picked up a zoom lens eventually, but in all honesty I must have used it about 4 times over the course of 5 features. The main problem I had always came when I needed wide angles at low light.</b></div>
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<b>When I moved to Panasonic, after 5 years of shooting on a Canon, I was spoilt by the LX100's low light lens that was f1.7 wide open. Thats at its widest angle too, which solved a lot of those problems for me. The issues with it came with the form factor, main that it was a compact, fixed lens camera </b><b>(although you wouldn't think it from the images it can produce)</b><b> and as a result had a digital focus ring rather than manual. After working with manual focus for the last half decade, I found it a pain. The upside was the camera shoots 4K and so I was reluctant to move back to Canon.</b></div>
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<b>Then Panasonic released the G7. The price was equivalent to upgrading to Canon's newest 'Rebel series' camera, but with the added bonus of shooting 4K and a better FHD Codec. It was a no brainer, except for the fact the camera had a Micro 4/3 mount. A mount that I hadn't used before and of course I thought back to how unaffordable Canon's lenses were for me when I started shooting on DSLR's. I didn't want to have to drop a bunch of money on getting a whole new set of glass for a new mount on top of dropping a chunk of cash on the new camera. So I started looking for a low budget solution. </b></div>
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<b>What I found was an extremely cheap and absolutely incredible set of Prime lens made by a company called Fujian (although search C-mount on Ebay for 'off brand' results) that covered almost everything I needed in terms of image and focal range and the amazing thing is I picked them ALL up for just over £50 (although they are available a lot cheaper). I've broken them down for you all below. The prices are based on what is available this morning on Ebay.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>25mm f1.4 CCTV (£12/$17) </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lVGenyfgGYkAOKrphnQoQ8JqQVpb68Tz4F-ul-LgjmLujMRUam96cDZIq5bFgm9xq8uiZ7zfu8TiYk6a2AcHIXgCctxjZIAofvb8B5Gdi3CQtDFi78kPQ348PQQxQtMh-G0SuPcv4V0/s1600/P1000811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lVGenyfgGYkAOKrphnQoQ8JqQVpb68Tz4F-ul-LgjmLujMRUam96cDZIq5bFgm9xq8uiZ7zfu8TiYk6a2AcHIXgCctxjZIAofvb8B5Gdi3CQtDFi78kPQ348PQQxQtMh-G0SuPcv4V0/s1600/P1000811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lVGenyfgGYkAOKrphnQoQ8JqQVpb68Tz4F-ul-LgjmLujMRUam96cDZIq5bFgm9xq8uiZ7zfu8TiYk6a2AcHIXgCctxjZIAofvb8B5Gdi3CQtDFi78kPQ348PQQxQtMh-G0SuPcv4V0/s320/P1000811.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>A solid wide angle lens, although the focal length is obviously not as extreme as Panasonic's native 14mm prime, it's wide enough for most situations. The wonderful thing about it is that it creates the most beautiful images of the 3 (which is pretty impressive as its the cheapest) and although it has soft edges at low aperture that only adds to the vintage film look that this lens puts out. </b><br />
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<b>The 25mm is my go to lens for most situations it's wide enough that it can achieve tracking, dolly and even steady-cam shots whilst giving enough depth of field to maintain that film look. The best part though is the price. I paid just £17 for mine and only because I needed it in a hurry, i've seen these tiny bad boys for as little as £10. If I had to pick just one of these lenses for a shoot, it would be this one.</b><br />
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<b>Take a look <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25mm-f1-4-C-Mount-CCTV-Black-for-Olympus-PEN-E-PL5-E-PM3-E-PM2-E-P1-BT-Brand-New-/281897280604?hash=item41a263245c:g:GdoAAOSw3KFWg8SL" target="_blank">HERE</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">35mm f1.8 CCTV (£14/$20)</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_6c_Jb81XIG5IEksC2JsJeyNbdE0C_8TKWygWTs0bre4UnFWpJrLpzCQrIlSGhdsarU2x5J2joXmzUnQwlH75aYA24od09oRs3dOIpx1V9SAXXv0ZNarkNXfFT-1tuuA95Prd_f-hpY/s1600/P1020209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b></b></a></div>
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<b>This was the first lens I picked up, originally to fit it to a Canon Eos-M. When I moved to Panasonic I tried this out with a 99p adapter on my G7 and was instantly amazed at just how much better than the LUMIX kit lens it looked. It was what instantly inspired me to try the other C-mount lenses. </b><br />
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<b>It's not quite as durable under low light with it landing at only 1.8 (or 1.7 as is it says on the lens) when fully open, which you wouldn't really notice until you start using the 1.4 lenses more often, but a slight ISO shift should solve most problems in that regard. This is a great medium lens and fantastic for mid shots. I use this mainly for long conversation shots and action stuff where I want a tight image without losing the detail of what is happening in terms of movement. </b><br />
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<b>Take a look <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35mm-F-1-7-C-mount-2-3-CCTV-lens-body-for-Digital-Camera-Micro-4-3-Sony-NEX-FX-/330776515890?hash=item4d03d11532:g:9GAAAOSwT6pVpfmN" target="_blank">HERE</a></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">50mm f1.4 CCTV (£20/$29)</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnAXOnuSzFRkr_g6p8RU4y6iL9oV9iKgzKQeKj28o6DVdR54JmQJ4GlDB4KyzrN6kPRUrjF3lE7rFET-81EAj_BaOSZ5IYNWZKfJu7ttz9XnOnF4ybjJ3tV8TndsZzR7Q1V0pI5TfS80/s1600/P1020356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b></b></a></div>
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<b>This is very similar to the Canon version in terms of the image it produces. I loved this focal length in my Canon t2i and only really bought the C-mount version to make lens changes faster on set, this is because the lens cost me £27 (once again, only because I needed it in a hurry), I have seen them for £15 at times. This is the most expensive lens out of the set and at £15/£20 that's not a lot.</b><br />
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<b>The upside of trading the Canon 'nifty fifty' for this on was that I found I wasn't switching out adapters when I'm on set, I can just screw the 'Fujian' lens onto my adapter and its ready to go. There is also the fact that this 50mm is 1.4 wide open, making it just that little bit better under darker conditions. Its an incredible close up lens. </b><br />
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<b>Take a look <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50mm-f1-4-2-3-CCTV-Lens-C-mount-for-M43-GF2-GF3-Gf5-EPl3-EPM1-NEX-5-7-Pentex-Q-/181850342438?hash=item2a57200426:m:moM5mc2ZUu7XmZk4qsQU60g" target="_blank">HERE</a></b><br />
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<b>I was blown away by the quality of these lenses, like really, really blown away. They can feel a little cheap sometimes, as some parts are made of plastic and they sometime feel a little fragile, although they are more than durable. They are also Manual Iris which means setting the aperture by hand, I found this tricky at first (mainly just knowing if I was getting the right exposure), but in 3 short months its become second nature and I actually prefer it to an electronic one. On top of that any kind of auto focus is also off the table, but thats something I didn't use on my Canon so its not an issue for me here.</b><br />
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<b>I've been shooting a feature using these 3 lenses since December and I love them, they look so filmic and make shooting in low light conditions an absolute breeze. The 25mm is wide enough for most long shots although I do have a 14mm </b><b>Lumix prime</b><b> (With wide angle adapter) in case I need and extreme wide, but I use it very rarely. I can say with great ease though that moving to Micro 4/3 has been a great decision for me as a no budget filmmaker.</b><br />
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<b>Obviously this is bad news for anyone not shooting Micro 4/3 as the lens aren't compatible with Canon's standard FD mount, for me this was another reason that justified my move to Panasonic's brand of cameras. Although the Canon Eos-m (On Ebay for just over £100) has a smaller mount and takes them no problem, so if you're intent on sticking with Canon then it is an option and they really are just a mirrorless version of the the 'Rebel series'. </b><br />
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<b>In the end though, the kind of image you want comes down to several factors and its all about personal taste. This is what works for me and it may not be what your looking for, but at under £50 for 3 great prime lenses it certainly worth a look for anyone shooting on a budget who just wants more options.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-4981618012368857412016-02-29T10:23:00.000-08:002016-02-29T10:23:48.941-08:00RAISING THORN : Why I'm Glad my 1st Feature was My 3rd Feature.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TcjBZmnk1jcMxVHBeDwX_qzexTPvBlYYz4Op3rI4yQ-B_lf_lfDHpj-MCMXYfpvl7sMzQdXud2f_3GudBTOvrVXRGbL9Q48oRl5ppCGC035RCfJj_IKcw1LCcmwMoZ6SvESq1lji1LU/s1600/ThornMBM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TcjBZmnk1jcMxVHBeDwX_qzexTPvBlYYz4Op3rI4yQ-B_lf_lfDHpj-MCMXYfpvl7sMzQdXud2f_3GudBTOvrVXRGbL9Q48oRl5ppCGC035RCfJj_IKcw1LCcmwMoZ6SvESq1lji1LU/s640/ThornMBM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>4 years ago today I handed over the first draft of a script to </b><b>my producer and partner Anna, I had been working on it since I was about 15 and on 29th of February 2012 I finally finished it. The date was important, I had set it as a deadline almost four years earlier, because the films story took place on February 29th, it seemed fitting. </b></div>
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<b>In all honesty I always thought Legacy of Thorn (Known as Thorn then) would be my first low budget feature, but as fate would have it, it was my third. Looking back now at all the delays and mishaps that led to the film taking almost 10 years to get off the ground it all seems like a blessing in disguise. The film happening when it did was great for a lot of reasons, the main one being, that, until that point, I hadn't really been ready to make it.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwPNMyCnStku-s_EmqortCx2KAJxX6tPoKWTSeFDT12ddGRDNw9xgJ_kzBGU22eMzzlzglR0x3tyxEffVZ8O9ct6rOQ-X46hKZ_EYCasxfymnwPLiA7VUAS6YLf4wQjh09WrpEMi-5_U/s1600/ThornPoster2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwPNMyCnStku-s_EmqortCx2KAJxX6tPoKWTSeFDT12ddGRDNw9xgJ_kzBGU22eMzzlzglR0x3tyxEffVZ8O9ct6rOQ-X46hKZ_EYCasxfymnwPLiA7VUAS6YLf4wQjh09WrpEMi-5_U/s320/ThornPoster2" width="214" /></a><b>I had come up with the story when I was pretty young, initially starting life as a Halloween fan film idea of sorts, I quickly went a different direction, taking the elements from my idea that were factual and therefore I could use them with out a law suit (mainly the nordic rune elements that inspired Halloweens later sequels) and then starting with everything else from scratch. Overall it was a pretty simple concept, Kind of Halloween meets The Terminator (Two films which I always felt went hand in hand in terms of tone) but told between two time zones that ran against each other. </b><br />
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<b>The problem I always had with the traditional 'Slasher' set up, was that they always have a strong opening and then 40 minutes of downtime before they got to the 'good stuff'. The solution I eventually came to was to think of it as two films. One set on February 29th 2008 and one on February 29th 2012, the first playing backwards and the second forward. This way, not only could I break up the downtime, but I could essentially conceal important elements in the story that would feel otherwise mundane. Of course, 15 year old me would have been able to understand any of that. </b><br />
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<b>So as I tried to get the project off the ground, It never seemed to work quite how I imagined it, over the years I would try and make it work, but at the time didn't have the correct understanding of screenwriting and story structure to do so and so I focused my attention on other things. I was disheartened, because I'd always imagined it would be my first 'proper' feature. Another disguised Blessing. </b><br />
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<b>Eventually, over 10 years later, after making a butt load of horrible short films and some ok ones, I felt a little more confident that I had the filmmaking tools to make it work. By this time I was in preproduction on my actual first feature 'Creepsville' that I had started to develop with another writer after we graduated. Of course, I still wasn't sure I was ready and so I decided to makes another short film to help us get our heads round using the gear we'd be shooting on. </b><br />
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<b>I dusted off the old script for short film version of Thorn I'd written (Essentially a scene taken from the bigger movie), another writer friend of mine asked if he could polish it up, and then we shot it in an evening in my friends garage, we put it out there and people dug it, it even won first prize in the Scary or Die competition in 2009 against some pretty amazing entries. It was at that point that I started to feel like 'Thorn' should have been my first feature, and again I felt disheartened. Once again, it was a blessing in disguise. </b><br />
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<b>Creepsville came and went, It was a tough shoot and that was for a relatively simple concept. We got to the end, but the shoot had been a huge mess, After graduating University a year before, that was still a shoot that I've always considered my 'True Film School'. The film suffered in a lot of ways from my lack of experience. I thought to myself, this could have been 'Thorn', I could have fucked <i>that</i> up, and I felt less disheartened.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aGvkpOvAnem0ooCL2oaX13Q2H-75NqtAcXLueICdEaeRViouOySSK0PpXAuRgf0NB5lFG3iGzxO9zu8UMrbJyAp6a-cbQ7QjzgVRuDlAxSf51V9XwgKgfJgGuWXQRW7BEAHhTdsuJFM/s1600/SlasherHousePosterThorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aGvkpOvAnem0ooCL2oaX13Q2H-75NqtAcXLueICdEaeRViouOySSK0PpXAuRgf0NB5lFG3iGzxO9zu8UMrbJyAp6a-cbQ7QjzgVRuDlAxSf51V9XwgKgfJgGuWXQRW7BEAHhTdsuJFM/s320/SlasherHousePosterThorn.jpg" width="226" /></b></a><b>In 2009 Post on Creepsville was underway and taking a long time (I was fairly hand offs with it) and rather than sit around waiting I started working on the idea for my next film. "This time" I thought "It's sure to be Thorn". </b><br />
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<b>Then out of the blue I got wind of two films that were in production that sounded scarily similar to my 2005 feature script 'Slasher House'. I panicked, SH was one of the best ideas I'd ever had (make of that what you will) and it was a pretty low budget screenplay. One location, small cast. I realised it was now or never and I polished up the script and moved the film into preproduction in a bid to 'Get there first'. (Ironically the two film never even went under the lens). </b><br />
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<b>Thorn ended up on the back burner, but this time it felt a little better. See I had planned for Slasher House to be an ensemble movie and the 4th in a series. Thorn being 1 of 3 leading up to it, The other 2 being Hollower and Cleaver : Killer Clown. This would mean that I would have to change my whole series structure, but the upside was, Thorn played a big part in the Slasher House script. I decided that Slasher House would serve better as an introduction to these characters and we could tell their stories later on. Which we did.</b><br />
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<b>Slasher House was shot in 2010/2011 and locked picture in 2012, the day after the Premier I receive dozens of calls and messages asking of there was was going to be a Thorn movie. By the time it came out on DVD in my homeland (The UK) Thorn was already an audience favourite. Now I felt like if there was a time for the Thorn movie, it was now, but whilst making the film, I'd had an inkling this would be the case.</b><br />
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<b>Like I said at the beginning, a few months earlier on February 29th I had handed the first draft of a script to Anna and during this time I had been working on getting the final script ready. The script was HUGE and there was no way that I, as an inexperienced filmmaker, could have made it as a first feature, I mean the finale features a goddam Helicopter for crying out loud. </b><br />
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<b>The true blessing was that the film allowed itself to be ready before it would allow me to make it and I'm glad it did. Legacy of Thorn is one my proudest filmmaking achievements and had I made it earlier I'm not sure I'd be able to say that.</b><br />
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<b>In February 2013 we started preproduction of Legacy of Thorn and one year later it Premiered in London on February 28th. Of course there was a whole adventure along the way, but that is another story for another Leap Year.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<br />Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-53398133959072432592016-02-15T03:59:00.002-08:002016-03-02T23:50:21.026-08:00CREATING LIGHT LEAKS 'IN CAMERA'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X_lXOEa5b8kBufdqaX-CJSX-UrAkoK7nhcoWH3G96a7eAKzawM66aTJdDTpTtQ-RJsMtd12bm4OiNj-LhttETSDat9jA9x94XTGsBMQd5PPFtWd7WhxyHtvd79S-mYtZsiClpYBR4B4/s1600/LightLeaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X_lXOEa5b8kBufdqaX-CJSX-UrAkoK7nhcoWH3G96a7eAKzawM66aTJdDTpTtQ-RJsMtd12bm4OiNj-LhttETSDat9jA9x94XTGsBMQd5PPFtWd7WhxyHtvd79S-mYtZsiClpYBR4B4/s640/LightLeaks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>If you've been following this blog or if you watched any of our movies, you'll know that we love to try and do things as practically as possible. We try and capture as much as we can in camera, from colour to practical effects. In the age of 'Fix it in post' I have to say that I've always felt more comfortable getting as close as I can to the final product on set than I do trying to get the same effect in post production. Thats just me and how 'I' do things though. </b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from Hollower (2014).</td></tr>
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<b style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">I get it, digital effects and post production does a lot of good, I do use a whole heap of things from Colour correction to Masking to CG and I'm a big promoter of visual effects and post work, if it is needed, just not if its done for the sake of it. I've saved many shots and even whole scenes in post, because something just didn't work on the day, but surely the goal is to get it right at 'showtime', or as close as you can. My 'opinion', and thats all it is, on digital effects and heavy post production is that its a great tool to help you when all else fails. You're main goal should be that all does not fail.</span></b><br />
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<b>I started shooting my fourth feature at the end of 2014, the film, Hollower, is the story of anagoraphobic who can't leave his studio apartment. In the film there was a scene in which he attempts to leave his 'fortress of solitude' only to find that his condition won't allow it. My first thought was how I would present this visually, and I immediately jumped to what digital effects I could add in post production to represent the severity of his illness, immediately light leaks and an adding various blurs and distortions sprung to mind. I stopped myself there and just took a step back and remembered my 'Don't fix it on post' rule. How could I do what I wanted to do 'In Camera'? </b><br />
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<b>Then I realised I had the answer.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">LENS WHACKING</span></b><br />
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<b>Lens Whacking is an old school and pretty well documented photographic technique, that involves creating light leaking directly onto the cameras sensor rather than being filtered solely through the lens. The technique also adds some very interesting blurs and distortion due to the way that the lens is held in front of the camera. In terms of the effect I was looking for in the film 'Lens Whacking' was clea the way to go.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KqUXy1i7kwzmDI9CFAvPnyDL0Xub7RBY_UmW-WlJn0g3rIlMl-Nw5OvB9z4iVq9DyxjQFkDg213jPHWqwIZ2udrgM0yPmIKLttvPfT6QHN62sf0kHt2pKdhnNpWQbsNCJAGaWZca0Og/s1600/P1020094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KqUXy1i7kwzmDI9CFAvPnyDL0Xub7RBY_UmW-WlJn0g3rIlMl-Nw5OvB9z4iVq9DyxjQFkDg213jPHWqwIZ2udrgM0yPmIKLttvPfT6QHN62sf0kHt2pKdhnNpWQbsNCJAGaWZca0Og/s320/P1020094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interchangeable Lens System Camera (Canon 600d/T3i)</td></tr>
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<b>First of all, your camera will need to have an interchangeable lens system, this is much more common these days with the advent of DSLR'S and Mirrorless system becoming a pretty standard part of the No/Low Budget filmmakers arsenal.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNES41wRfa31VtwZyAkQ32UX2RYBkVaNUphFiBEFp5NSTreCLSwUclJhnuJOOHppANBWFHpwuNLeVhl0Ge4gfxc0r9oC9Zpg-qEaTnmNW1vFr2wgrpkF9PAkKdd7-Qa38as7r4nLIkdVA/s1600/P1020095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNES41wRfa31VtwZyAkQ32UX2RYBkVaNUphFiBEFp5NSTreCLSwUclJhnuJOOHppANBWFHpwuNLeVhl0Ge4gfxc0r9oC9Zpg-qEaTnmNW1vFr2wgrpkF9PAkKdd7-Qa38as7r4nLIkdVA/s320/P1020095.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remove lens from Camera.</td></tr>
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<b>The effect comes from removing the lens and setting your cameras 'Operate without lens attached' to on (It called something different depending on the camera model, but its a pretty universal feature and on the Canon it just involves hitting the Video button without a lens attached) this allows your camera to shoot without having your lens attached (Obviously). </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-QfQyf1mI6wPTWSZDUqBfPYN_xieZI0gwhPXa2vKuKso1GZTkdqn3JVI85qLv3Mu2FUfFMbnTVvuhtRF3DFhtCwGUDpCQOZUR9phJzHYQYHLa2mpD4SCzBqQbkz1pkU3iqmgciRzLwE/s1600/IMG_2187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-QfQyf1mI6wPTWSZDUqBfPYN_xieZI0gwhPXa2vKuKso1GZTkdqn3JVI85qLv3Mu2FUfFMbnTVvuhtRF3DFhtCwGUDpCQOZUR9phJzHYQYHLa2mpD4SCzBqQbkz1pkU3iqmgciRzLwE/s320/IMG_2187.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The option looks different on the Panasonic G7.</td></tr>
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<b>Now you have pure, unfiltered light hitting your sensor. You can now simply hold your lens up to the sensor, but instead of attaching it, you allow light to slip in through the gap between the contacts. Moving it around until you have the desired effect. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1L_KgZvtQcsie_XsmsKXVI6Ypy3yZ3EjTOBJy3dtt-a_He5H5srYYHkItiSeymtMif5fjJYN4tbpz_9jcl2AzJoN8RdeCUgSTrWySPD1munGWljWQliQftOcMeeB4RfBP20L6-1a6sY/s1600/P1020096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1L_KgZvtQcsie_XsmsKXVI6Ypy3yZ3EjTOBJy3dtt-a_He5H5srYYHkItiSeymtMif5fjJYN4tbpz_9jcl2AzJoN8RdeCUgSTrWySPD1munGWljWQliQftOcMeeB4RfBP20L6-1a6sY/s320/P1020096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hold the lens over the sensor without connecting it. </td></tr>
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<b></b><b>I've found that the effect works best with Normal or Longer focal lengths and shooting on a Canon 600d (T3i), I got the best results from using the 50mm 1.8 as the shorter focal lengths seemed to give less desirable results. It takes a little experimenting to get it right, but the results can be something fantastic. </b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE PINSTRIPE PIGEON BAND</span></b><br />
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<b>A few months after shooting Hollower, I was hired to shoot a video for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinstripepigeon/" target="_blank">The Pinstripe Pigeon Band</a> to go with their new track 'Never Be Apart'. The song was a slow ballad and the band wanted something that had a restless, dreamlike feel to go with the song. I immediately thought of 'Lens Whacking' as a way to achieve the look the band wanted. I explained my approach and they loved the idea and so thats what we did, I also shot at high frame rate and played the song a double speed (So that it matched when conformed back to 25fps) to help sell the dreamlike visuals that they were going for and I was very pleased with the results.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1DiphRuLHiuoKEANc2tXBJKvBqsk7TH36hNwnX-gP11dT_0VhlYeGRqVv4Ecb7CPWmhjMKx8oC-lq9aiipCRICk0pHpUxWXbFZ2uHshkes2b3saI9ANKx-ha2gNmTmFORUdvDb4mHcg/s1600/10676149_957236574308020_5751976129457295922_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1DiphRuLHiuoKEANc2tXBJKvBqsk7TH36hNwnX-gP11dT_0VhlYeGRqVv4Ecb7CPWmhjMKx8oC-lq9aiipCRICk0pHpUxWXbFZ2uHshkes2b3saI9ANKx-ha2gNmTmFORUdvDb4mHcg/s320/10676149_957236574308020_5751976129457295922_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still from 'Never Be Apart' The Pinstripe Pigeon Band</td></tr>
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<b>I did hit a snag however. After we shot the story elements using the technique, we arrived on location to shoot the bands 'performance' element. Because we were based about 4 hours away and the video had come together in relatively short notice, we hadn't seen the location outside of photographs and it was actually much smaller than we thought it would be. This was fine for close ups, but the wide shot was a vfx shot and had to be locked off, this meant that I couldn't take the lens off for the shot and so it suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the video. </b><br />
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<b>This was the one place I knew I would have to 'fix it in post' and add my leaks after. It came out ok, saved by some time in the edit fixing the problem, but it really did hit home just how much difference doing something practically actually makes. It also serves a good example of both approaches. You can check out the full video for 'Never Be Apart' below. </b><br />
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<b><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-y8YINwaUT8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-y8YINwaUT8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></b></div>
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<b>So overall my point is that you should rely on post to save your ass, doing things after the fact is great, but giving a little bit of forethought to how you want your final piece to look can really, doing as much as you can there physically on set can bring your stuff to life, Plus its a lot more fun :)</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>ALSO IF YOU'RE BASED IN UK, MICROBUDGET MASSACRE AND THE MILTON KEYNES FILM NETWORK ARE HOSTING THE FIRST OF THIS YEARS SPECIAL 'MYCHO MICROBUDGET MASSACRE MASTERCLASS' LIVE SHOWS ON TUESDAY 8TH MARCH. <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i></b><br />
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-12397783169670500532016-02-08T03:17:00.001-08:002016-02-11T01:01:47.268-08:00COLOUR GRADING IN CAMERA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDV0HCpNO8oSY59_nVh9xweAOkQ9VJHRzFhB6wUd3J6OWnFzTojeXzmxXH_Wz2G3Gman8TQYsCv1x9nDddA4P2yVNt0JsW31WxV311sEAibWU6t_eS-_jTeTy57Dv9dTbrbiRNdUWWvo/s1600/GRADINGInCamera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDV0HCpNO8oSY59_nVh9xweAOkQ9VJHRzFhB6wUd3J6OWnFzTojeXzmxXH_Wz2G3Gman8TQYsCv1x9nDddA4P2yVNt0JsW31WxV311sEAibWU6t_eS-_jTeTy57Dv9dTbrbiRNdUWWvo/s640/GRADINGInCamera.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Last week I talked about the advantages of getting your image how you want it 'in camera', this saves me a lot of post production work, especially when it comes to grading. A lot of projects I work on have to have a fast turn around and I know that a good deal of that will be grading the footage right at the end to give it its final look and bring out the colours and depth that the production needs.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmPeyQamDeK5pkCnAh-7EKwBCMsBls6yzmznQXf0C4zkfVa54UpdEpkuLd03WXELmDOOA0FIIsa5NxbZMyv4rAZgHkzUleJ-sPnYaRi0opxe7VW9xS9eHBN3Qv_LYNuxulMBIgr6-AqI/s1600/P1060326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmPeyQamDeK5pkCnAh-7EKwBCMsBls6yzmznQXf0C4zkfVa54UpdEpkuLd03WXELmDOOA0FIIsa5NxbZMyv4rAZgHkzUleJ-sPnYaRi0opxe7VW9xS9eHBN3Qv_LYNuxulMBIgr6-AqI/s320/P1060326.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Raw Camera Image (Ungraded/Corrected) Slasher House 2</b></td></tr>
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<b>As a general rule, I try to get my image as close to the final product and the truth is, these days, I do very little colour correction after the fact as well. There are a lot of reasons for this, but mainly because its the that I personally like to work. As usual, <i>Its not the right way or the wrong way, just my way.</i></b><br />
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<b>As chance would have it a friend of ours, Georgie Smibert (Who played Deputy Howells in our latest feature film '<a href="http://mycho.moonfruit.com/cleaver/4587768192" target="_blank">Cleaver : Killer Clown</a>' and our Short 'Slaypril Fools Day 5' ) needed to shoot an audition for a film role she was applying for. As recompense to our actors giving up their time to work on our stuff we're always happy to help with showreel and audition stuff (A good habit for No budget filmmakers to get into) and she wanted to shoot the audition as a 'scene'.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcYcPNXzltLPngagFcITvTz3wKrJjtFkJxwpw7K6V-dIorzZmegRfms88FZoPVG6wNVKUwRHudqvApqDa4hxEYO3twr-sYi8dl57o0AGO6R2Rt8FqWlCIH8rxJzhx13Y-3MeAejynZTI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+15.46.16+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcYcPNXzltLPngagFcITvTz3wKrJjtFkJxwpw7K6V-dIorzZmegRfms88FZoPVG6wNVKUwRHudqvApqDa4hxEYO3twr-sYi8dl57o0AGO6R2Rt8FqWlCIH8rxJzhx13Y-3MeAejynZTI/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+15.46.16+%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></a><b>We made the choice to shoot the scene as if we would shoot it on a set, but just from her angle, as if it were just that take from the overall coverage, this was mainly so the other actors didn't distract from her performance.</b><br />
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<b>Now Georgie was going to cut it herself on a basic windows editor (Movie Maker I think) and so therefore I knew she wouldn't have access to correction tools or anything like that. So we decided that we would get the footage that she needed ready to go straight from camera, but it also gave me a chance to take some reference pictures in terms of how I approach colour grading.</b><br />
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<b>I do my colour grading and correction 'in camera', before I even start shooting, I hate to rely on post for 'anything' and as such I approach shooting in a very practical way, so that, for the most part, I'm just making cuts and not spending weeks on trying to get colours, tones, grades right. I think about it at the time (or usually months before hand) and then make sure I get the desired image there and then. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS7mDjjFjV2SFGKM_KeenjtF7ay-Ux57jIT3DpIHmqSNP39CdEszqipCqTu_htX6FDz9lE9JWwz6EEVyEG1ta0rQGSZWafgO5i94o1KCIAjxs3qLZuEomSBfPZeg3eo8FR-TXCBFS5Dc/s1600/P1020022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS7mDjjFjV2SFGKM_KeenjtF7ay-Ux57jIT3DpIHmqSNP39CdEszqipCqTu_htX6FDz9lE9JWwz6EEVyEG1ta0rQGSZWafgO5i94o1KCIAjxs3qLZuEomSBfPZeg3eo8FR-TXCBFS5Dc/s320/P1020022.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Original 'Flat' set up for room to Grade/Colour Correct</b></td></tr>
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<b>The camera I use currently is the Panasonic G7, which give me unbelievable control over everything from Curves, to Contrast to Saturation to Colour Temperature and beyond. All things that I would tweak in post otherwise I can now just do in the camera itself. I used to a lot of this on the Canon 600d too, although that gave me a little less control overall, its still had an unbelievable amount of control via its picture profiles and my last 3 features were shot on it, I had to do very little in way of correction or grading in post even on Canon's Rebel series. I'm fairly new to the G7, but so far it makes controlling my image input a breeze.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86bo9_GGKl1_NMzwdU_uYfzC0DbUCdihJiIRBYx3bxNgQGsIHZCIgooPdu6LpfYphgPhNrPjh-PrrgCq0S0qUVVLeKUpCXjSggf3U58RXNDZfjEvd4iapc4s5xlkreMY9Smx3B14a2XY/s1600/P1020020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86bo9_GGKl1_NMzwdU_uYfzC0DbUCdihJiIRBYx3bxNgQGsIHZCIgooPdu6LpfYphgPhNrPjh-PrrgCq0S0qUVVLeKUpCXjSggf3U58RXNDZfjEvd4iapc4s5xlkreMY9Smx3B14a2XY/s320/P1020020.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>'In Camera' Colour Correction</b></td></tr>
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<b>To me the change is very noticeable and a much nicer image. I added a 'hair light' at the rear just to bring out Georgie a little more. But that was a cool LED with no gels or filters or anything, all the colour came and depth came from just working with the cameras Profile settings to get the desired level of Contrast and Saturation and of course Colour temperature and White Balance. I also enhanced the sharpness a little too, but thats really just lends a hand with focus and as we weren't doing any post at all this would really be my only chance to fix that.</b><br />
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<b>The biggest thing I've found is the use of white balance and how it drastically effects the tone of the image, I was always advised to balance to white of existing light in the room, but really experimenting with the colour balance opens up a world of style right in your camera. I may do a colour chart to demonstrate how balancing to different colours effects the image, if you want something like this, let me know in the comments below, I tried finding one online, but so far, no luck.</b><br />
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<b>Anyway back to Georgie's Audition, the scene in question was quite light and fairly comedic, So I went for a brighter, lighter colour to keep the tone light, pushing the cameras colour temperature toward a warmer Orange tone. If I were doing a Horror or a Sci-Fi or a Thriller I would make a drastically different choice in terms of what colours I would balance to. This is how I apply a grade 'in camera'. </b><br />
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<b>Now, obviously this approach gives you less control in Post, but for me that is the intention. It forces me think about the decisions I make and, of course, it forces me to be a little more prepared. Now balancing to different colours can give your image a completely different feel. I'll make these choices fairly early on in larger productions and do tests with lights/gels etc to get the look that I'm after. </b><br />
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<b>Adam Dillon (Nathan from Slasher House) dropped in on his way to the Premiere of our other new feature Hollower last weekend and I stole a moment from him to demonstrate the approach and the drastic difference it can make. I had my camera set for a a few different looks I'd been working on.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOhAjLuqHgLhdNA1fCqcHHl5Ec7uz5LlSV7IVp3UcugzA9z4kuUPRoxmtz2ESt0FD1EOegjP-vBHJlElMR2xNXZMIJRS8vq6blkoejsZkHu9uXRueW4Y-r1P6pfqo3KDCHbgRUmjlfE0/s1600/P1020080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOhAjLuqHgLhdNA1fCqcHHl5Ec7uz5LlSV7IVp3UcugzA9z4kuUPRoxmtz2ESt0FD1EOegjP-vBHJlElMR2xNXZMIJRS8vq6blkoejsZkHu9uXRueW4Y-r1P6pfqo3KDCHbgRUmjlfE0/s320/P1020080.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>So this what the original 'Normal' image looks like. Set for the the rooms natural White Balance. A fairly standard shot. To grade it i would probably pull the curves out to make the shot a little more 'Flat', like in the first example (The G7 isn't really the best for shooting flat images, so you work with what you've got) but t</b><b>his is pretty close to how I would shoot, if I were preparing to do colour work in post. As you can see its a fairly bland image in terms of colour. Below I've worked on some quick picture profiles, just to show how much of difference shifting colour can change the tone and style of an image. </b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzky7tkTMC4fI61tBnNRZGpxUZB7ZodKlbbTN7FpWDrDhI7b1pgEsNh1GcFBzLvGNjrFC60YeeRM_ylbumjfwu8mapsygvt11johvU2sbu9vDKtgN2X6iFSUEssBDjj2pP50f_JJhrUFw/s1600/P1020088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzky7tkTMC4fI61tBnNRZGpxUZB7ZodKlbbTN7FpWDrDhI7b1pgEsNh1GcFBzLvGNjrFC60YeeRM_ylbumjfwu8mapsygvt11johvU2sbu9vDKtgN2X6iFSUEssBDjj2pP50f_JJhrUFw/s200/P1020088.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUsuMll7brFUlhgPqWEM-V8oN-NHwPuHsZmO9dBd5lrC1J3DBhytwA52NipJCYVod6Ctmtfw-4oYgsOGDTYFjufAucebyWy-_HIJfgitP7j6YAu_bO2IF_6KVST4EBLBgX8e7FeIm_Qw/s1600/P1020089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUsuMll7brFUlhgPqWEM-V8oN-NHwPuHsZmO9dBd5lrC1J3DBhytwA52NipJCYVod6Ctmtfw-4oYgsOGDTYFjufAucebyWy-_HIJfgitP7j6YAu_bO2IF_6KVST4EBLBgX8e7FeIm_Qw/s200/P1020089.JPG" width="200" /></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHQACNVh68wylzEFNT0l9FB8B_otAKrjRcXBMAhSDwpy6Fl9tZ0777GJHeiYVb6sUaSnxwtD0I2l-6ZMyUjJWrOiTIGOgVxq4l5vuEROP7cA0Et-L7vylFex-26yYCX2fhiBckoezGgA/s1600/P1020091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHQACNVh68wylzEFNT0l9FB8B_otAKrjRcXBMAhSDwpy6Fl9tZ0777GJHeiYVb6sUaSnxwtD0I2l-6ZMyUjJWrOiTIGOgVxq4l5vuEROP7cA0Et-L7vylFex-26yYCX2fhiBckoezGgA/s200/P1020091.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnHWPDmNfa9U7J4mYZsueU4beBvCpsJCCl_iJ6OdhU_Z7YGYKZOVS9cgaIwg8n5qkA4HFX0E10WsJMRiNz7LnWNFXFHeynixUlBatXp9sv_9NAwR_pwKRYM-UHWjWGH2HbRGGazevMF8/s1600/P1020090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnHWPDmNfa9U7J4mYZsueU4beBvCpsJCCl_iJ6OdhU_Z7YGYKZOVS9cgaIwg8n5qkA4HFX0E10WsJMRiNz7LnWNFXFHeynixUlBatXp9sv_9NAwR_pwKRYM-UHWjWGH2HbRGGazevMF8/s200/P1020090.JPG" width="200" /></a></b></div>
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<b>Obviously its a fairly quick example. On set I'd take much more time in lighting my subject and surroundings first, but for the sake of a quick reference of what I'm talking about, this should demonstrate it fine.</b></div>
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<b>All of these images are raw JPEG frames from the camera (The Panasonic G7 allows you to save stills straight from the footage in camera), uploaded straight from the card. As you can see each Grade changes the mood of the image dramatically, each one of these grades was created 'in camera' by adjusting the cameras visual settings. I used a cool LED to give me a little back light, but that was it. My camera only stores 4 looks, but really the looks you can create using just your camera are almost infinite. This is before I've even started to bring other colours into the mix using gels/filters etc.</b></div>
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<b>I understand some people just won't understand my approach, its extremely counter intuitive to the way most people have become used to working, you just have to look at a modern standard film workflow and how big a part 'grading' and 'colour correction' play in that to know why this approach won't suit everyone. It 'sometimes' doesn't suit what I'm doing either, as I talked about last week. If I can though, this is my preferred way to work, to me I see it like painting on set and its a lot of fun. </b></div>
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<b>This is just one of the many ways I work, and it suites me, it might not suit you, but for me filmmaking has always been about thinking outside the box and trying things that are new to me. </b> </div>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-15628949847834555052016-02-02T04:34:00.004-08:002016-02-04T02:59:24.588-08:00TO GRADE OR NOT TO GRADE<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3d48YAVoeXH1MSo5U3j17Cu9I-S_vygvGKBuggvCO7xeWlVyFO4U1l77sVJIpe_Y-PWSHV3d_EgGSp8FVbdXylxlZKJ_R9exLBlpQhbL7dgLbutwXJ6JI9rDxMGRppPLKHPfwzbHFeE/s1600/GRADINGPart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3d48YAVoeXH1MSo5U3j17Cu9I-S_vygvGKBuggvCO7xeWlVyFO4U1l77sVJIpe_Y-PWSHV3d_EgGSp8FVbdXylxlZKJ_R9exLBlpQhbL7dgLbutwXJ6JI9rDxMGRppPLKHPfwzbHFeE/s640/GRADINGPart1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>I was recently asked by a filmmaker friend, if he should shoot flat to give him some room to colour correct and grade in post or if he should use physical lighting to get the look he wanted. I thought it was an interesting question and it had me look at how I approach that aspect of filmmaking and how and why that has changed since I started making movies. </b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lqDfgSb0rs4505Onp7-GwWDzpV59OEx9RuxB2DrQgtU1lTW5a674Rrk0zmt5fyNUf8CqdFCfzilT74NLNLZImG2G2jlFseM_gj0V6SLSrtfkW9gW8t7oEtKURmdPJ6S_dic51uMtH8o/s1600/77084_333391180102130_843112049_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lqDfgSb0rs4505Onp7-GwWDzpV59OEx9RuxB2DrQgtU1lTW5a674Rrk0zmt5fyNUf8CqdFCfzilT74NLNLZImG2G2jlFseM_gj0V6SLSrtfkW9gW8t7oEtKURmdPJ6S_dic51uMtH8o/s320/77084_333391180102130_843112049_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from <br />
Code of Silence Music Video</td></tr>
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<b>If you've seen any of my work, you'll know how important colour is to me when I'm putting together ANY project. It is one of the first things I consider when I begin pre production. A lot of inspiration for this comes from Italian Director Dario Argento and his use of colour thematically across his work in the 70's and 80's as well as the fact that I grew up reading comic book and 'marvelling' at their use of vibrant colour as a language. As result colour always seemed like an equally important aspect of any visual medium to me. Especially filmmaking. </b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graded shot from Sinnergod/Blaze Bayley video 2012</td></tr>
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<b>Its strange to think that, even as short a time ago as the late 90's, colour wasn't given a lot of thought when putting together the look of a film. Go back and look at almost any big budget film shot in the 90's, they all have a the very same, flat, grey cinematic look, that not exclusive, but for the most part. I mean back in the early 2000's David Fincher was still considered a stylised 'out there' director and he was certainly one the directors who paved the way for this line of thought that 'colour' was, in many ways, as important as anything when telling a story. </b></div>
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<b>As we come closer to the new 20's, every film that appears in theatres is now heavily 'stylised' in its own right, a far cry from their 90's counterparts. Grading is now a permanent part of the workflow and it looks like its here to stay. So today I wanted to talk about my approach to colour and grading and how it has evolved over the last few years since I started making feature length films.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>*Please remember, as with resolution, lighting, lens choice and compression, Colour and grading is a very small part of what makes an image look 'cinematic'.</i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TO GRADE OR NOT TO GRADE</span></b></div>
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<b>Since I started filmmaking I've graded hundreds of projects. Being an early adopter of programs like HITFILM (Back when it was called AlamDV over a decade and a half ago) one of the programs primary functions outside of VFX was colour grading and it was a new an exciting tool for us as backyard filmmakers. Soon everyone was adopting it and grading became a huge part of the no budget workflow in a world where there had been no room for it before and it opened up a world of possibilities for us as visual storytellers.</b></div>
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<b>The problem arose for me when I started to notice a trend, a well documented trend, that you've most likely come across before. All films started to look the same and when Hollywood finally took the tool to its full extension we started to notice that every film came with the same look. </b></div>
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<b>That 'Orange and Teal' thing that you now see on every big budget movie that hits theatres in this day and age. I hated it. Not the grading itself, I actually really like the look of a lot of these films, but just the fact that all films both low and high budget started to all just look exactly the same and in the medium of visual storytellers that is dangerous ground to walk on. In many ways, 'grading' films has made us lazy, its become the go to tool of the 'fix it in post' generation.</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TO GRADE</span></b></div>
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<b>When I made Slasher House (back in 2010) I didn't have the equipment or the know how to really get the look that I wanted for the film. I had a clear idea of what I wanted and how the final film should appear on screen, but I was left with the option of lighting it flat and colour grading it in post. The film, for better or worse, is known for its 'nuclear' grade' and, for the most part, taking the grading approach and pushing it as far as I did really helped get the film noticed. But for me, I just wasn't happy. It didn't feel natural, it felt artificial. It felt lazy.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/107409964708263019886" target="_blank">+Slasher House</a> 2010</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Grade from <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/107409964708263019886" target="_blank">+Slasher House</a> 2010</td></tr>
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<b>Grading is an extremely useful tool, when I'm pushed for time on set its sometimes easier for me to shoot with a flat profile and spend my time in post just getting close to the look I want. It is an extremely powerful in terms of setting tone and it can help tremendously if you are relying on your post production time.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graded shot from the MychoTV web series. 2011.</td></tr>
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<b>I directed a web series in 2011, and we had very little on set time. Sometimes about 2 hours to shoot entire sequences and we just didn't have the time or the equipment to light the way I would want to, so shooting flat and taking care of it in post was the best way to go. Its very much the same story on a lot of music shoots, with limited time with bands or performers, I'll make the choice to shoot flat as possible and do the work in post afterwards. For short form stuff, its an approach that works great for me, but in terms of how I want stuff to look, its still a compromise.</b></div>
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<b>The same thing happens when I'm shooting bright, daylight exteriors. Apart from work with colour temperature, there isn't really too much I can do in terms of lighting when I'm working on a low/no budget. So I'll usually make the choice to shoot smart with available light, shoot with a flat or neutral profile and make any adjustments in post if needed. </b><br />
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<b>For me, this comes with drawbacks, It feels artificial at times and thats not the aesthetic I look for when I'm shooting. After doing this for a couple of years I decided to rethink my approach.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot used in Legacy of Thorn 2013</td></tr>
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<b>For my next feature in 2013, Legacy of Thorn, I was determined to evolve the look of the film and made the choice very early on that I wanted everything to be as physical as possible and I decided that I wouldn't stop with just pour practical effects. I decided that I would shoot everything as I wanted it to appear in the final film 'in camera'. The result was far better, it felt more natural, more real. I'd never been happier with how one of my films looked and I knew, for me, that this was the way I wanted to do things from here on in.</b></div>
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<b>The next too features I worked on had very little in the way of colour correction at all. In fact Cleaver : Killer Clown, had none apart from a couple of slight colour balance shifts and some adjustment to brightness and contrast in the odd shot to match colour, but again, for the most part the film footage you see on screen is the footage I shot in camera with nothing altered. </b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from Cleaver : Killer Clown 2014</td></tr>
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<b>After getting through 2 films using almost no colour correction at all, I felt that I had found comfortable space to work in, that really worked for me and the style that I wanted to bring to my films. Using combination of lighting, gels and colour temperature in camera I found it easy to get the look I wanted without ever having to run it through colour software at all. This had some huge benefits for me.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from Hollower 2015</td></tr>
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<b>First off, because I was doing it this way it made me think about the film and its colours in a lot more depth, right down to props, costumes and even hair colour of my actors. The approach 'forced' me to look at how I was using colour to help tell stories and best of all, saved me, literal weeks in post production because the footage was as close as I wanted it to final product meaning that a large part of my post workflow suddenly just disappeared.</b><br />
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<b>Now technically I actually DO do 'some' form of colour grading, the difference being that I do it 'in camera' before I even shoot anything, but I'll talk more about that next week.</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">SLASHER HOUSE 2</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graded shot from Slasher House 2010</td></tr>
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<b>When it came to Slasher House 2 I was faced with an 'interesting' dilemma. The look of the original film had been popular with the vibrant colours of the grade really standing out as a feature, but I had evolved my filmmaking style since then to use as much in camera lighting as possible. The challenge was taking the style of the original film and recreating it, physically, in camera.</b></div>
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<b>The approach I took was using gels to emulated the colours and choosing costumes and locations as wisely as I could in order to keep the unique colour aesthetic, whilst helping it match the 'in camera' style that we had now employed in our filmmaking. This mixed with adjusting the cameras colour temperature and the contrast/saturation on my 'custom picture profile' helped me get the look I wanted, that has way more depth than I could ever add with a computer in post.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ungraded shot from Slasher House 2015.</td></tr>
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<b>The added bonus of this, now that we're shooting our first 4K film, was that I could cut my footage with very little post processing, meaning I risk very little degradation in the image, which is more common when shooting compressed images. It also means that I can work faster and have a finished product in much less time simply by taking a little extra time on set getting it right.</b></div>
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<b>Overall the most important thing is that this is what works for me personally, everyone has their own style of working and their own way of doing things and above all, you should be finding the approach to the look of your film that makes you the happiest. </b></div>
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<b>Ultimately my advice to my filmmaker friend was, "do it however YOU want to do it, its your film after all". I understand the importance of both approaches and I've seen some amazingly well graded stuff that puts my stuff to shame, and the same is true when watching people get their look right 'live on set'. It doesn't really matter how you achieve what your looking for, its all about making YOUR films YOUR way. In the end, as always, thats all that really matters.</b></div>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-62228337433093123122016-01-25T09:01:00.000-08:002016-01-28T03:07:50.860-08:00EDITING 4K ON A BUDGET<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_SFokEDS-yzVcPx-69hgPB9pIJtehd09OPtR37ZcxgN5RHcHNzCOthVfccLOCrZzqOIyLdZGOAKrgrEfHPcZBo3IebOIQeAFXc6PT_tadWUVu2PBvcgTVkALWuiGYWpEwm9HPRcV9i8/s1600/4KPart3Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_SFokEDS-yzVcPx-69hgPB9pIJtehd09OPtR37ZcxgN5RHcHNzCOthVfccLOCrZzqOIyLdZGOAKrgrEfHPcZBo3IebOIQeAFXc6PT_tadWUVu2PBvcgTVkALWuiGYWpEwm9HPRcV9i8/s640/4KPart3Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>One of the biggest complaints against using 4K is how it affects workflow when it comes to editing, this concern comes from the fact that shooting in 4k obviously creates way more data to manage. I'll admit that when I decided to make the jump to a camera that shoots 4K I too was concerned about how much it would slow me down, or even if I'd be able to do it at all.</b><br />
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<b>I made the choice of getting a camera that could shoot HD 1080p very well, but gave me the option to shoot 4K when I was ready. </b><br />
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<b>Now my machines are both Mac, I find their build quality and functionally worth the amount I pay for them, people may disagree but I've edited on both low end Macs and high end PC's and personally have had no end of trouble when it comes to anything powered by Microsoft, which is a shame as their choices in editing software are actually more to my preference. </b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tbZqJkzepvHjcKD46Wm5Zj7Mjl7zZ1UhmRo28mfFUs6aXvErySw8pBjbkN0_4I8td8P6Pb6Ps8u3dnqikOHUZ5IO2EfkEYn3D5r6zrO7hhciUOrHWswquKn4nJS0J_w8T9MOS43dB0I/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-01-25+at+16.21.30.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tbZqJkzepvHjcKD46Wm5Zj7Mjl7zZ1UhmRo28mfFUs6aXvErySw8pBjbkN0_4I8td8P6Pb6Ps8u3dnqikOHUZ5IO2EfkEYn3D5r6zrO7hhciUOrHWswquKn4nJS0J_w8T9MOS43dB0I/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-01-25+at+16.21.30.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My system spec for my 2011 iMac</td></tr>
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<b>Either way, this is just my opinion, editing on whatever you're comfortable with should be your main goal.</b><br />
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<b>The truth was, however, that cutting on my 2011 out of the box iMac just wasn't as taxing as I had been led to believe. My machine has cut several features and dozens of music videos using Macs standard Graphics Card and only 4GB RAM. That sounds insane right? But it managed, not only fine, but actually quite fast.</b><br />
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<b>Editing 4k on the other hand, well thats a different matter, but 3 months into editing a 4K feature and the same system handles it just fine. </b><b>Pulling the footage from an external self powered USB 3.0 harddrive (which are very inexpensive at £60/$90 for 2TB, I consider that to be a very good deal.) and it really doesn't have any problem pulling the footage from it during the edit.</b><br />
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<b>The problem it really has is playing back the footage in realtime. The computer really doesn't like it, even in 'Preview' or 'Quicktime' it struggles. The workaround for me was very simple and it should work in any non linear editor on any system.</b><br />
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Note : I did try this on Final Cut 7, but because of how the program uses your Memory it really just couldn't do it. But it works fine on programs like Hitfilm, Premiere Pro CC and FCPX (and probably Sony Vegas too, although I can't say for sure). </span></i></b><br />
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<b>4K WORK AROUND</b></span><br />
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<b>Creating ProRes LT proxies I was able to load the footage into a 1080 timeline (all of it) Like a strip of film and then leave it to render. depending on what I've shot, it usually takes around 20 minutes to render the 4K footage for a 3-5 minute scene on my current set up.</b><br />
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<b>Then I just work my way through and remove all the footage I don't want and of course you are left with your scene. Its very similar to cutting and arranging a strip of celluloid.</b><br />
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<b>After that I simply copy and paste the footage back into a 4K timeline, which is linking back to the 4K footage and then export. </b><br />
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<b>Now I have a 4K master that I can use to export my films to HD, whilst having both a better quality image AND my work ready in a higher resolution for when its needed down the line. All done on a low spec, lowest price, out of the box iMac. </b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;"><i>PLEASE NOTE : I am aware of the Proxy media approach (creating a lower quality clip for editing) however this, for some reason, still causes major slowdown on a low spec system, which I assume is down to having an initial 4K timeline. My system even warns me that this will happen when I try it.</i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><i>This work around is essentially a way of making your own proxies as you need them in your timeline without having a playback issue. </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><i><br /></i></span></b>
<b><span style="color: red;"><i>P.S. Remember to empty your cache when done to remove the unused render files when done with your cut.</i></span></b><br />
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<b>Now this probably sounds backwards to most editors out there, and it is, for me too, but its a work around that saves me having to drop money I don't have on extra RAM and the result is fine. </b><br />
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<b>The fact is, it has made me a more efficient filmmaker, knowing that the more coverage I have to shoot means a more taxing time in the edit means that I shoot what I need to much more efficient standard to make my life easier when I come to cutting the footage. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRESEoZ0JGTNTIq6V1OuvVA0bvpA-W_yIo2MVZM204Ae3-hu2pfx5AY0IJ52dlb9wZur3O2oiBF9kRLANlt3VKZMPTa0MkmeC_iGoX60RhLRTT-YtOBuEjpdrJ0G2vq8BGs4giRYx7d5w/s1600/P1060834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRESEoZ0JGTNTIq6V1OuvVA0bvpA-W_yIo2MVZM204Ae3-hu2pfx5AY0IJ52dlb9wZur3O2oiBF9kRLANlt3VKZMPTa0MkmeC_iGoX60RhLRTT-YtOBuEjpdrJ0G2vq8BGs4giRYx7d5w/s320/P1060834.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raw footage from Panasonic LX100 : Slasher House 2</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Is 4K harder to edit than 1080? Of course it is, you're dealing with 4 times the information and unless you're willing to drop extra cash on your system to make it top notch, then, like every other part of low budget filmmaking, you have to find a way to make it work.</b><br />
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<b>My overall point here, is that, filmmaking overall is a series of challenges. From writing to production to post and you need to keep all of these thing in mind, overlooking the whole journey whilst you're working. It doesn't matter if you're shooting SD, HD, 4K, 8K or 50K, you should be thinking about your whole process from beginning to end and how what you are doing on set will affect your post production. </b><br />
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Just remember that resolution is a very small part of what makes an image look great.</i></span></b><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: red;">MJ</span></i></b><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"> </span><b>You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/microbudgetmassacre/" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FACEBOOK PAGE</a> :)</b></i><br />
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<a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-30138749300301760972016-01-18T03:42:00.001-08:002016-01-21T15:33:58.690-08:00SHOOTING 4K ON A BUDGET<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7Sudsm0TXFaHTMhjlUyhwtjXYsls2IWMs5c0Q7ngbY5aS7lBwaX2CVKnGQH2up2KEXhdkt3s5MtYziO5nPzH3I9AteahKqNgV-CKcI7iM1BulX0oqHk0H2HCqEqu6KTvdVSqrSM3X68/s1600/4KPart2Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7Sudsm0TXFaHTMhjlUyhwtjXYsls2IWMs5c0Q7ngbY5aS7lBwaX2CVKnGQH2up2KEXhdkt3s5MtYziO5nPzH3I9AteahKqNgV-CKcI7iM1BulX0oqHk0H2HCqEqu6KTvdVSqrSM3X68/s640/4KPart2Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>This is part of a series of Blogs looking at implementing 4K into your filming workflow for lo/no budget filmmakers. You can check the others below :</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://microbudgetmassacre.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/3-reasons-why-you-can-and-should-be.html" target="_blank">PART 1 : WHY YOU CAN AND SHOULD BE SHOOTING IN 4K</a></span></b><br />
<strike><b>PART 3 : COMING SOON</b></strike><br />
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<b>MAKING THE JUMP TO 4K</b><br />
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<b>I've been shooting on entry level Canon SLR's since 2010 (Our feature Slasher House was actually the first feature shot on a 550d, even though it wasn't the first released). I upgraded to a 600d about 2 years later with the intention of moving up through the range, but I found that the entry level ones performed as well for me as the next teir line and so found myself sitting comfortably there. After 4 features however, I felt like I wanted to take it up a notch for my next one.</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNOH5NOMN3l4jaI3yIAUdPjxv8PeWnt4ZtZL9ivTGDB6c4gnOpoYtQdIp-S4MgrfWC32MhZWlv-iAjbw4Kixzci3JoTnHznixXz7CFg3T04xoC-G2jOXjJvK41EUtBfOtxucgqcpTyUw/s1600/IMG_6263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNOH5NOMN3l4jaI3yIAUdPjxv8PeWnt4ZtZL9ivTGDB6c4gnOpoYtQdIp-S4MgrfWC32MhZWlv-iAjbw4Kixzci3JoTnHznixXz7CFg3T04xoC-G2jOXjJvK41EUtBfOtxucgqcpTyUw/s320/IMG_6263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still from Legacy of Thorn : 600D/T3i</td></tr>
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<b>When I decided to move from Canon I wasn't really looking for anything with Higher Resolution, I was just looking for a slightly nicer image and I felt like I'd pushed the Canon as far as I could without spending some serious cash on either upgrading to a full frame or spending some serious cash on lenses and I was starting notice how soft the image was compared to a lot of modern cameras.</b></div>
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<b>I was really just looking for something that fit my work flow and had a clearer, cleaner image. After some serious research I settled on moving to Panasonic who seemed to have a much nicer image coming out of their cameras that suited the work I do perfectly. It was here that I discovered that they were slowly making the jump to 4K with the introduction of the GH4, this intrigued me. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I'm a low budget filmmaker and so dropping £1000+ on a new camera still wasn't really an option and so I decided to figure out a low budget solution for shooting 4K. </b><br />
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<b>_____________________________________________________________</b></div>
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<b>LOW BUDGET 4K OPTIONS</b><br />
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<b>If I were to buy the set up I have now (including external audio recorder) today, it would cost me less than £1000 for two of the best cams on the market, both shooting 4k.</b><br />
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<b>Following are 3 low budget options for shooters looking to move to 4k but, like me, don't have a lot of money to spend. I found three different options for 3 different budgets, whilst remaining in what I would consider to be a Low budget category of under £1000.</b><br />
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<b>PANASONIC LX100 (£400)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5C8vG4DMueiR8kO15QdKbPxQq_YNvcPZ_QrDFMmk02ZTE2dA9Zbcf6WSycSEJhDPttw6TUbuRk214hyWqi7Yc-m21RFvi5GAezZUIIqw6FmcXaU1e_4Tw4gNvPPaTbykojEwYqC72eXs/s1600/panasonic_lumix_dmc_lx100_digital_camera_1082158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5C8vG4DMueiR8kO15QdKbPxQq_YNvcPZ_QrDFMmk02ZTE2dA9Zbcf6WSycSEJhDPttw6TUbuRk214hyWqi7Yc-m21RFvi5GAezZUIIqw6FmcXaU1e_4Tw4gNvPPaTbykojEwYqC72eXs/s320/panasonic_lumix_dmc_lx100_digital_camera_1082158.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>The LX100 is an incredible little camera. Its a point and shoot with a fixed lens (An incredible Leica 10.9-34mm F1.7-2.8) that literally fits in a jacket pocket and shoots 4K! The camera shootS AVCHD/MP4 1080p at a variety of frame rates (A fairly low bit rate, but nothing to worry about) and 4K (Although limited to MP4, but with a very good 100mbps bit rate). The camera is a great low end 4K solution.</b><br />
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<b>I picked one up a few months after they came out for about £700, but since then they've dropped quite dramatically to £400 new on ebay (less if you go used). Since January last year it has been my 'Main' filmmaking camera, Which sounds crazy as its considered a 'tourists' camera. The fact that it fits in my pocket is one of its best features and you find yourself out and about just shooting 4K whenever you want. Its lens suited all the needs I had in terms of focal lengths I use the most and it only really fell down for me in terms of telescopic zoom (Of which I've used 4 times in the last 5 years). Its amazing in low light too with 1.7 wide open.</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D_hLKJ2crzYHSxx-dNkoj8DWw0j5fbtf_TrBRIK8cfEb7DdDcVuC9-z3HjA3wETgR8cTPWtC7VqgSIUuUECJtFyudO8Hm6qloNjJawNqStluur-OKnvVdc7PAheN7wT_EMTEHqCWls4/s1600/P1070020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D_hLKJ2crzYHSxx-dNkoj8DWw0j5fbtf_TrBRIK8cfEb7DdDcVuC9-z3HjA3wETgR8cTPWtC7VqgSIUuUECJtFyudO8Hm6qloNjJawNqStluur-OKnvVdc7PAheN7wT_EMTEHqCWls4/s320/P1070020.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Raw Footage from LX100 : SLASHER HOUSE 2</b></td></tr>
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<b></b><br />
<b></b>
<b>I was a little concerned about shooting exclusively in MP4, but so far the compression hasn't really caused me any noticeable quality loss with anything I've produced on the camera and in November I started shooting my 5th feature on it and the results from the camera were incredible. If you're on a tight budget and looking to shoot 4K right now, this is a great option.</b><br />
<b></b><br />
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<b>Another slight draw back is that there is no mic input on the camera, I thought about that being a deal breaker, but I record sound to an external recorder anyway and so it never really became a big issue at all. In fact in some respects it made my life a bit easier and made me more cautious with my audio capture on set, which, trust me, is a good thing. The pros of the camera far outweigh the cons and with no need to add lenses it means that the costs of the camera are kept down.</b><br />
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<b>___________________________________________________________________________________</b></td></tr>
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<b>PANASONIC G7 (£550)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaciP8OMEUShgFp5bYvMjCGgdm99bKLOPjnvRXyXAQuE3_7CHRe7_3LbvrPCq8z6_vgQ_-4egZhcCd90yxYypTcGwgDp_RGYR1DD4ollLNPIJDtTAGfiEWamphxC1Bs76ymxz9l9VClE/s1600/panasonic_dmc_g7kk_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_micro_1148282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaciP8OMEUShgFp5bYvMjCGgdm99bKLOPjnvRXyXAQuE3_7CHRe7_3LbvrPCq8z6_vgQ_-4egZhcCd90yxYypTcGwgDp_RGYR1DD4ollLNPIJDtTAGfiEWamphxC1Bs76ymxz9l9VClE/s320/panasonic_dmc_g7kk_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_micro_1148282.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>Using the LX100 was a great experience, but I did find myself missing the manual/fluid movement of lenses when focusing and zooming. About midway through the year the Panasonic G7 landed and I really liked the sound of it. It seemed to me like it had all the technical features of the LX100 but with the one thing I was missing, interchangeable lenses (Oh and an audio input!).</b><br />
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<b>I picked one up just before Christmas for about (£300!!! yeah thats right, That was with a store discount and Panasonic were offering £200 cash back if it was bought before a certain date) and it was an offer I really couldn't pass up. The fact that this was a third of what I paid for a 550d (T2i) in 2010 is crazy.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WvBuWDrkzaaZhUNdGJ1pa3Bk48isvxMXNmUrd6ZM_mdb8fsYBCCLYSrzGLW4tbmFfLNHBV823yYALUkmrglFFDKxMvacMAdqiAPLqC-koolTueJq8c2V0zr2uNA9o_s-RmLOwjunY8s/s1600/P1000811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WvBuWDrkzaaZhUNdGJ1pa3Bk48isvxMXNmUrd6ZM_mdb8fsYBCCLYSrzGLW4tbmFfLNHBV823yYALUkmrglFFDKxMvacMAdqiAPLqC-koolTueJq8c2V0zr2uNA9o_s-RmLOwjunY8s/s320/P1000811.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Raw Footage from PANASONIC G7 : SLASHER HOUSE 2</b></td></tr>
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<b>Again, some drawbacks are that it still only shoots in MP4 when shooting 4K (again not really a huge issue), but this time there is an added mic input (although no headphone output STILL!). The camera is Micro 4/3's which means I was able to use some awesome (and super cheap) CCTV lenses that I bought for my malfunctioned EOS-M straight off the bat and they really brought this new camera to life for me.</b><br />
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<b>Its an incredible and super low budget little machine for indy filmmakers and its has a much smaller form factor that a lot of DSLR'S and mirror less cameras at this level. I managed to shift to using this as my 'A' cam on our newest feature (demoting the LX100 to B cam) with no fuss whatsoever. It also drags over some the GH4's camera profiles that help with getting those nice flat shots with plenty of dynamic range and has some pretty nifty focus updates coming sometime this year. This really is the best camera I have EVER owned.</b><br />
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<b>PANASONIC GH4 (£900-£1400)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5wayA__MzbbXN4H96dVcuG9lBXDjQps8ge-ruljXE3OHiSeoK4nkxvF8vUTBJF5hBFXBq-Tvuo4IHVg37us1BqEN9FAbzM_Iim3tboTuY8pFzDVYFSBVnsPmHJ7_cErIyOBTN2CAZb0/s1600/gh4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5wayA__MzbbXN4H96dVcuG9lBXDjQps8ge-ruljXE3OHiSeoK4nkxvF8vUTBJF5hBFXBq-Tvuo4IHVg37us1BqEN9FAbzM_Iim3tboTuY8pFzDVYFSBVnsPmHJ7_cErIyOBTN2CAZb0/s320/gh4.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b>The GH4 is well known as a great piece of filmmaking kit. During my 4K research the camera came up over and over again. It now sits at just under £1000 for just the body and a little more for a complete Kit. The price of it has been steadily coming down over the last year and I expect to see a large drop when Panasonic releases its next model.</b><br />
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<b>Now I don't own a GH4, so I don't really want to dive into any major depth about the usefulness of the camera as my exprience with it is limited. What I do know, is that it is incredibly similar to the G7, but with all the little niggles that that camera has taken out. It features better a better 4K codec (Mov) and a headphone output. In general this is a great home run camera for 4K filmmaking and although its a little outside of my budget right now I'll certainly be looking to make this my 'A' camera in the future. </b><br />
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<b>HONOURABLE MENTIONS</b><br />
<b>This isn't the end of your options when it comes to 4K, the newly release GX8 is essentially a bridge between the G7 and the GH4 that seems like a great option for a B cam set up. The FZ100 is a bridge camera with a built in lens and is similar to the LX100 in a lot of ways but with the form factor of a larger SLR. These cameras weren't really options as far as I'm concerned due to things like low light performance and price and because of that I didn't feel they were viable options for me.</b><br />
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<b>Of course, this is all my opinion. The great thing about filmmaking is that its like being an artist. You find the brushes (or in this case cameras) that suit what you do best. I believe that there is no One 'Perfect' camera, but when your making low budget stuff its better to try and get as close to that as possible.</b><br />
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<b>This may all sound like an advert for Panasonic cameras, but I promise that that is not the case (although some free kit would be nice), the simple fact is, at this moment in time, Panasonic are offering the right kind of picture quality that I'm after at a budget that I can afford as a low/no budget filmmaker. Sony have affordable(ish) options, although not really in my budget range, but they just weren't for me.</b><br />
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<b>Listen, of course there are better options at a higher price that only shoot HD that and if you cash afford something at those prices then that great and you should go an do it. The point here is that you can buy an excellent HD camera with a 4K option, for the price of an equivalent camera that only shoots HD. To me, thats a no brainer. </b><br />
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<b>The good news is I think we'll see a shift in more companies offering this kind of tech at entry level prices, especially with Nikon releasing 4K DSLR into the market in the next few months, 4K will become common place before we even know it. </b></div>
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<b>But the most important thing isn't what your shooting on, its what you shoot and how you shoot it. So don't get caught in the resolution battle. Use what you have to do what you can. If you're always chasing tech you'll never have time to make anything. If 4K shooting had been out of my reach I wouldn't have stopped making movies and neither should you.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Just remember that resolution is a very small part of what makes an image look great.</i></span></b><br />
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<b>MJ</b><br />
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-22475096846047245362016-01-11T03:06:00.001-08:002016-01-15T10:05:05.705-08:003 REASONS WHY YOU CAN AND SHOULD BE SHOOTING 4K<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTs1L11MTG1Eqd3Tw4EB_6cOfepjPz7CSctqd-uCq-O2EnNkII1Uh-WJTjJd4s-QvIvsgy_3UI79Ev5Wh1M8VK4_jKvYBpA9-cso3l40J8_qgHEuoRBl3gvvJfArpNNM0TvSxUIu-QCo8/s1600/4KPart1Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTs1L11MTG1Eqd3Tw4EB_6cOfepjPz7CSctqd-uCq-O2EnNkII1Uh-WJTjJd4s-QvIvsgy_3UI79Ev5Wh1M8VK4_jKvYBpA9-cso3l40J8_qgHEuoRBl3gvvJfArpNNM0TvSxUIu-QCo8/s640/4KPart1Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Before I start let me just say, today, right now, in terms of film production, there isn't a necessity to be using anything more than the standard 1080 HD that ANY camera worth its salt comes fully equipped to shoot. 1080 is perfectly acceptable and then some and it will be for a long time. 4K is not a necessity by any means, At least not yet. That brings me to the main reason I decided to make the jump.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvx17oAUzQWtZ37VROMg8rez2qYVx3K65BFbxAuB95ZO82nIrHCTc7GAMZnzpnm1AtlllF0UPv9AejIq-8s0lMJ8pZB2pm7PGmMJvh-yUDFVT67zghfR2jL0z5c1VujBjOSPTBN1Oz74w/s1600/CreepsvillePoster9low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvx17oAUzQWtZ37VROMg8rez2qYVx3K65BFbxAuB95ZO82nIrHCTc7GAMZnzpnm1AtlllF0UPv9AejIq-8s0lMJ8pZB2pm7PGmMJvh-yUDFVT67zghfR2jL0z5c1VujBjOSPTBN1Oz74w/s320/CreepsvillePoster9low.jpg" width="226" /></b></a></div>
<b>In the late 90's and early 2000's the video revolution was in full swing. Canon had released the XL1, which, thanks to a slew of indie horrors, including Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (which was actually only partially shot on the XL1) became the go to camera for making video features on the cheap and soon places like Blockbuster had their shelves filled with some inventive (some not so much), low budget horror movies. It was a good time to be a horror fan.</b></div>
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<b>Eventually the HD revolution began as the prices for High Definition tape and cameras finally started to come down and the tech became affordable for your average consumer. In 2009 I made an SD horror feature called Creepsville, exactly the same time the next year I shot my first HD film Slasher House. A year or so later when we started trying to sell them I noticed something disturbing.</b><br />
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<b>A lot of the films I loved as I grew into adulthood were now facing extinction because they were we're shot in SD and without brand recognition they weren't being picked up for rerelease anymore. Most of these titles we're now being deleted from existence, from the point of view of the market anyway. It stands to reason that one day in the not too distant future we'll see the same happen to HD (1080). Which brings me to my first reason.</b></div>
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<b>1. FUTURE PROOFING</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoaadFkMaOnfAbP1IruA6EOT4fO_1tLR2DIpBoa9MkNoodnNcaWIx91jy064KQ0xG6WyrXzsnZ18XewaPubwfDXpm83tWZAjiwoP0fclxkJf1zNd6ThuEJr6iYe9j6bhlYR4yyo2XomY/s1600/SlasherHousePoster4low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoaadFkMaOnfAbP1IruA6EOT4fO_1tLR2DIpBoa9MkNoodnNcaWIx91jy064KQ0xG6WyrXzsnZ18XewaPubwfDXpm83tWZAjiwoP0fclxkJf1zNd6ThuEJr6iYe9j6bhlYR4yyo2XomY/s320/SlasherHousePoster4low.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="225" /></b></a><b>For most distributors SD just wasn't an option anymore, they were interested as hell in the High Def film, but they told me in no uncertain terms that "SD just wasn't an option for them anymore" in fact they told me that "Anything produced before 1999 in terms of new films was not worth them taking on". I watched a lot of filmmakers face that struggle as we transitioned into the new High resolution technology (of course there were odd exceptions like Marc Price's Colin that slipped through) and failed to find a home for their Standard Def features.</b><br />
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<b>There is now continued interest from distributors in my HD film Slasher House 5 years on, But no distributor wants to touch the SD Creepsville because its not 'viable' for them to try and shift Standard Definition programming anymore, even though ultimately the film wold end up on DVD which is of course Standard Def, distributors now demand a higher quality master.</b></div>
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<b>So with that said, why wouldn't the same eventually happen with 4K? Well, it might, but the life of any films shot on 4k will be longer than anything shot in SD going forward. 4K resolution also boasts the size (from my understanding at least) as cinema screen resolution, which puts it just higher than digital protections lowest standard (2k). There is every reason to believe that we'll sat at this standard for a fairly long time, if not permanently.</b><br />
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<b>2. ITS CHEAPER THAN YOU THINK</b><br />
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<b>"Surely this cinematic quality comes at a price?" We'll yeah it does, but that price doesn't have to break the bank anymore and in 2016 is not really anymore than shooting 1080p. The truth is, that in the last year, 4K has become a very affordable option for everyone. I looked into shooting in higher resolution in 2014 when we came back from the Premiere of Legacy of Thorn and it just wasn't an option for me as a low budget indie with cheapest options being £4000, before adding tens tuff to make them functional.</b><br />
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<b>Today you can start shooting out of the box for as little as £400 (or less if you buy used) as there are now many more options thanks to companies like Sony and Panasonic leading the charge to bring the tech to the everyday consumer. We're now talking the same price as Canon's latest Rebel (T*i) models but with the added bonus of four times the resolution.</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNIASA57EfjgxTS7X3NOdcRjVKmNgQu_xZ6sr1UrCeYmwgfg7nFCITjJOcMPEWEHWbAVpz-uQM0s1ugNO-Hxr1QU_6yjW3ktn1inC-uFplr5_nMEi2D2FieAK0DXRk7f6sHzJSiqTd80/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-01-11+at+10.42.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNIASA57EfjgxTS7X3NOdcRjVKmNgQu_xZ6sr1UrCeYmwgfg7nFCITjJOcMPEWEHWbAVpz-uQM0s1ugNO-Hxr1QU_6yjW3ktn1inC-uFplr5_nMEi2D2FieAK0DXRk7f6sHzJSiqTd80/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-01-11+at+10.42.43.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoqtEGPQV3feyNJfCp5qSTWeSyrz2McNMITGuzYvDfyJuu7U2KrFqbD4DGHOSJVa2R3Ho7pVv_T6BUVVf3ATlkQlBrR1MwmKmuP3n8TM52DnZcQJYpMpyyqSyylg4in4BDbR-_NT6unw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-01-11+at+10.44.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoqtEGPQV3feyNJfCp5qSTWeSyrz2McNMITGuzYvDfyJuu7U2KrFqbD4DGHOSJVa2R3Ho7pVv_T6BUVVf3ATlkQlBrR1MwmKmuP3n8TM52DnZcQJYpMpyyqSyylg4in4BDbR-_NT6unw/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-01-11+at+10.44.08.png" width="200" /></a></b></div>
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<b>The best part is that, this tech is becoming cheaper all the time, its all ready fallen to 10 times less than it was 2 years ago. Next year it'll be available for much less again and pretty soon, shooting in 4K will become the norm and thats a good thing. I mean, even your phones (mainly Samsung) have been shooting 4k for a couple of years now.</b><br />
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<b>I've detailed a list of 4K options in Part 2 of this blog (coming soon) that range from solutions for the penniless filmmaker to something a little fancier for those with a bit more money to spend, but of course I've kept within the low budget ethos of this blog, It really is worth looking at the options out there now as you'll find...</b><br />
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<b>3. IT REALLY IS BETTER THAN HD</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_c0ziAYYh7_nZtAmbLwYrCGUN4KmN_RIbllVuL1COO2s3SLqiLReXY1KPemNmzNLPoFB674XM1TJsEszA9d-ADYllfOLMG-PbF6G5iou2ttAiZaH7RLb47J7dJHtGjEgNfrJ84gIehLU/s1600/P1070032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_c0ziAYYh7_nZtAmbLwYrCGUN4KmN_RIbllVuL1COO2s3SLqiLReXY1KPemNmzNLPoFB674XM1TJsEszA9d-ADYllfOLMG-PbF6G5iou2ttAiZaH7RLb47J7dJHtGjEgNfrJ84gIehLU/s320/P1070032.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shot from Panasonic LX100 (4K) : Slasher House 2</b></td></tr>
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<b>This seems fairly obvious, as you are working with more resolution. But I often hear, and have been guilty of thinking it myself "How much difference can it make?". I have to say, in a few short months of shooting both HD and UHD (4K), even shooting 4K compressed to a MP4 container, I would say the difference is VERY noticeable and in a very positive way.</b><br />
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<b>I was concerned that it really wouldn't make a difference, and that shooting 4K would ultimately be a large risk with added expense, but the second I got the rushes back from our first shoot I could see a clear jump in quality, even from the 1080 AVCHD that the same camera also shoots.</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FqoC7RW_5Hk6qd_ZmdKXOVDAbCFHSRGnzqNb0J4j1RnUvedmEn-VRGH5E5UF6f0WEzUijrfYU4E2Me0Q-5EcngRhx9X19wr7mplP2w6Ga7Wo41_v10wIAMdxgYHsp6JvHKLp3tHicvk/s1600/P1000811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FqoC7RW_5Hk6qd_ZmdKXOVDAbCFHSRGnzqNb0J4j1RnUvedmEn-VRGH5E5UF6f0WEzUijrfYU4E2Me0Q-5EcngRhx9X19wr7mplP2w6Ga7Wo41_v10wIAMdxgYHsp6JvHKLp3tHicvk/s320/P1000811.JPG" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shot from Panasonic G7 (4k) : Slasher House 2</b></td></tr>
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<b>Another worry a lot of people have is the expense of things like storage etc, Obviously the files are about 4 times larger. but buying new harddrives didn't break the bank too much as the prices are dropping so dramatically it set me back the same amount as I would have paid 2 years ago for quarter of the storage, so it kind of evens out, I got two 2GB usb3 drives for around £100 (one edit, one backup) and they run fine on my out of the box 2012 Imac (the cheapest you can buy too).</b><br />
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<b>You should take into a account that a low end machine will struggle with 4K playback from time to time and if you don't have a butt load of Ram, you're gonna have a slightly slower machine when it comes to cutting, but I've found a decent work around that I'll talk about in Part 3 (Coming soon).</b><br />
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<b>I'll try and cover elements here in more detail over the next couple of weeks.</b><br />
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<b>Please note that 4k is not the be all and end all. Its important that you don't worry about this too much, if moving to 4K is an option, you should certainly consider it for the first reason alone, but its more important that you just keep making movies.</b><br />
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<b>Whether it's on 8/16/35mm film, Analogue Tape, MiniDV, SLR, Compact Camera, your iPhone or a 'Red Max Ninja Dragon T2 Turbo : Street Edition', Don't let technology worry you its all there for one reason. To help you tell stories and in the end it really doesn't matter how you do that as long as you do it well.</b><br />
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<b>MJ</b><br />
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<a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-610990044645331262016-01-04T03:52:00.001-08:002016-01-06T02:15:53.581-08:00THE ULTIMATE FILMMAKER TOOL : THE IPAD - THE FILMMAKERS BEST FRIEND<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fBo694O5as_lFznJNmLSOsWKQW-FgMyI1HqNnndWe1DXf1ukzHutRfSP1yGXVb6xExnMtOVolPdx0ttYzKAiYWfgFOLLciKuepiWWRYUYjQ0pZlYgTqtsusQlYX3-X8wUDIDdimYuYU/s1600/UltimateToolBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fBo694O5as_lFznJNmLSOsWKQW-FgMyI1HqNnndWe1DXf1ukzHutRfSP1yGXVb6xExnMtOVolPdx0ttYzKAiYWfgFOLLciKuepiWWRYUYjQ0pZlYgTqtsusQlYX3-X8wUDIDdimYuYU/s640/UltimateToolBanner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>**PLEASE NOTE <i>: I am not sponsored by Apple in any way to write this post , if I was, I would hope they'd send me something better than an outdated, refurbished iPad 2.</i></b><br />
<b><i>You should also note that I'm a Mac user so it made sense for me to go with the iPad, but I'm sure that a cheaper Android (or other) tablet can do just as good a job as this thing.</i></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyd_-mxwacXZoA4WzltcjNKy8S4lcl1tbQ8aP5ayIrtr-wSWJWpIOsC-GVaE_eCrWZVit_z2vyS5ZUdbRfWq2qGghd3tBTS1JyP6Csu_I8D6SIAHkGr7_8eASj5VRcQbzIb7bCR2mv4g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-08+at+20.34.42.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyd_-mxwacXZoA4WzltcjNKy8S4lcl1tbQ8aP5ayIrtr-wSWJWpIOsC-GVaE_eCrWZVit_z2vyS5ZUdbRfWq2qGghd3tBTS1JyP6Csu_I8D6SIAHkGr7_8eASj5VRcQbzIb7bCR2mv4g/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-06-08+at+20.34.42.png" width="320" /></a>A decade or so ago, back when I was making short films on a camera the size of a small car (joking of course, but not by much) I remember the feeling of dread as I would stare at the boxes and boxes of equipment and paperwork that needed to be lugged along with me for even the smallest shoot.<br />
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Hell, even just doing a reccee (Location scout) would involve me having to load up a large rucksack or sometimes a car with a stills camera, video camera, pile of paper work, scripts, notepads, sketchpads and various other 'useful' items and that was just to look over a suitable location.<br />
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When I started pre production on Legacy of Thorn (My 3rd feature) in 2013 I was looking for a solution for something completely different. For years I had used an old chalk slate to sync sound, but that always seemed a little cheap and we were trying to take a step up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4fjH7W6tppGHFxsweDlcHoVHLMDphMH2kdw7Oj2nXvZx36uBrWPUDeyzY8Mc_LVmbaYrlIgT-QVEw0rUkVCMB_lQ2MbTg4R0FLg5Tya6dP6S7B7SXuGwmHCJvDW_Fh-3kxsKGjFUXZA/s1600/IMG_5466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4fjH7W6tppGHFxsweDlcHoVHLMDphMH2kdw7Oj2nXvZx36uBrWPUDeyzY8Mc_LVmbaYrlIgT-QVEw0rUkVCMB_lQ2MbTg4R0FLg5Tya6dP6S7B7SXuGwmHCJvDW_Fh-3kxsKGjFUXZA/s320/IMG_5466.jpg" width="320" /></a>Looking into a new slate, I started to notice how expensive they were, for a piece of plastic that you write some stuff on they were fairly over priced and electronic ones were 100's of pounds out of our budget. Looking into low budget solutions I discovered that you could actually load one of these things onto an iPad via an app. The only problem was that an iPad cost about 4-8 times more than your standard chalk slate.<br />
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After some research I discovered that I could pick up a refurbished iPad 2 for £200 * (which was just over double what I would have paid for the plastic white board slate) and that would come with a decent 16gb memory, that seemed like a good deal if it could do what I needed it to do, but that wasn't quite enough for me to pull the trigger on it. I did some more research.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkae4OR1CI95A-PTkqqFx7sTPE27Jd0QArtu5tljhGnxI__c2digRFDfoXp7MTKjwVfJNk0ub76zFRNK0ZeiGj7189MMocpVlL16Tl26U9PLTM4JEsRxQ926XatAL_JWsp434UU60ht_4/s1600/IMG_9639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkae4OR1CI95A-PTkqqFx7sTPE27Jd0QArtu5tljhGnxI__c2digRFDfoXp7MTKjwVfJNk0ub76zFRNK0ZeiGj7189MMocpVlL16Tl26U9PLTM4JEsRxQ926XatAL_JWsp434UU60ht_4/s320/IMG_9639.JPG" width="320" /></a><i>*You can get a much more up to date iPad for much less than paid for this one today.</i><br />
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To make the investment worth while it needed to be able to take over more than just just marking <br />
duties, it would have to be able to do a whole lot more. It became obvious to me very quickly that not only would I be able to do a great deal of other things on using this little device that could slip in my shoulder bag, in fact, I could almost cover my entire creative process from start to finish.<br />
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So here is a list of of the apps I use throughout production from start to finish, some are free, some are cheap, But i've made a point to never spend more than a few pounds/bucks on anything to go with it. So lets get started.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">PRE PRODUCTION :</span></b><br />
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<b>CELTX (£7/$10)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJH4qHc4dxbwA2lQGZNtSwG1AFaoq75VIKJX75b41IaZY9NxhZ2zcQ7ddPAdNRiJj9ix5bTtRTH_FXytLMfD7ux27CpYidxMx0vonmGiPqgtwcuQDRIk2fksuSN-p_w_jIPFXGbdTaOM/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+11+32.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJH4qHc4dxbwA2lQGZNtSwG1AFaoq75VIKJX75b41IaZY9NxhZ2zcQ7ddPAdNRiJj9ix5bTtRTH_FXytLMfD7ux27CpYidxMx0vonmGiPqgtwcuQDRIk2fksuSN-p_w_jIPFXGbdTaOM/s200/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+11+32.png" width="150" /></a>Celtx is a paid app, it costs about £7($10) and although there are free apps out there that do a similar job, I use Celtx on my main laptop and desktop for writing when I'm at home so it made sense to have an app that would be compatible with the scripts I had already written.<br />
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The app itself is fairly similar to the desktop edition, with a few things tweaked to make it work with touch screen tech, but nothing major. Since I got the app I've actually written two features on it from start to finish, the small screen size makes navigation a bit more difficult, but its certainly possible to use the app to write your next film.<br />
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I paired it with an iMac keyboard to make typing more comfortable, but in a pinch its fine to use the touch screen keys if your out on the road. It doesn't feature then Prose setting that the desktop version has, but that seems tone all thats missing.<br />
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<b>PAPER (Free)</b><br />
Paper is probably the best app on the iPad in terms of sheer value and power, in the last 2 years I've watched it go from a fairly capable, if somewhat limited, tool to a powerhouse for tablet artists. The original version came with one pen tool and a limited colour set. I bought the extra art tools for about £5 and it really opened the app up for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN1jumoBE7eZ__48MayksKpW_XppAJ9ykGWmgws5imT4IJYfYt50dLakWE4067JG3wZCpdgZEWxrnqpTCCak56QfTWil1Lm55bITAwJ_JLy1NqxzdUFNE7Uv1Lv66q_GyUQCk92wJncw/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+14+03.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN1jumoBE7eZ__48MayksKpW_XppAJ9ykGWmgws5imT4IJYfYt50dLakWE4067JG3wZCpdgZEWxrnqpTCCak56QfTWil1Lm55bITAwJ_JLy1NqxzdUFNE7Uv1Lv66q_GyUQCk92wJncw/s200/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+14+03.png" width="200" /></a></div>
The app now comes with all these tools as standard and its still free on IOS. I've used this app for everything from costume design, to storyboarding, to expressing ideas to cast and crew and plotting out movies. Its an extremely powerful tool and probably my favourite to use.<br />
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There is an official 'pencil' you can buy for about £50, but i've found that a basic Stylus from poundland (Comes in a pack of 2) works just as good :)<br />
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<b>CAMERA (Free)</b><br />
Your iPad comes with a camera app as standard and its improving all the time with updates and added features. Now instead of taking a whole bunch of gear to a location for reccee's I simply take the iPad and run off some pictures through there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4yGOVmX_Pgjk8LHLJosoC3YwjHSx6L5_vQPCq3qwsXGq9C-O5WwJ8mR3SBE5a2ISEzlPlIj4amXgj5KQjbzamuC2SugPPeLxiQLSl7hxENnpo5Bm2fBu196KRYZWLK2tIt5z287fC00/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+15+59.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4yGOVmX_Pgjk8LHLJosoC3YwjHSx6L5_vQPCq3qwsXGq9C-O5WwJ8mR3SBE5a2ISEzlPlIj4amXgj5KQjbzamuC2SugPPeLxiQLSl7hxENnpo5Bm2fBu196KRYZWLK2tIt5z287fC00/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+15+59.png" width="320" /></a></div>
The biggest advantage of this is that I can send them to other crew members instantly via dropbox, or the cloud and of course I can skim back through them with ease to show team members what we found there.<br />
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Its exposure and focus is automatic so it not really any good for judging light levels or anything like that, for that I would take a smaller camera rig if needed, but for grabbing reference pictures its perfect and it means I have my notepad at the ready on the same device should I need to take notes.<br />
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<b>VIDEO (Free)</b><br />
Another app that comes as standard and another app that is extremely useful. Its really just a functional extension of the camera app and comes with same exposure and focus draw backs, but it has a fair few uses.<br />
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<i>There is an app called FilmicPro that costs about £3($5) but it does give you control over exposure/focus.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3kNKZ7dHFuo5doNTO2O4najmoLmxs9GdL0qVdI9O942XWOcPO4su6py9KOFOE_GLYhpUGiJQPkfPLwKWpHjpPWFvSw-L7zg7NJL1WO9nlY56Y3RJ3inC_tua3VARaV-5_Iw6JDuzLfM/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+17+26.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3kNKZ7dHFuo5doNTO2O4najmoLmxs9GdL0qVdI9O942XWOcPO4su6py9KOFOE_GLYhpUGiJQPkfPLwKWpHjpPWFvSw-L7zg7NJL1WO9nlY56Y3RJ3inC_tua3VARaV-5_Iw6JDuzLfM/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+17+26.png" width="320" /></a></div>
First of all, Videos of location can be more helpful than stills at times and if I can't make a scout, its amazing to be able to have a video sent over to me from the location. We never set foot in the location from Slasher House before shooting as it was essentially in another country on a small island. Our contact there sent us a video of the place and we could judge its suitability from that.<br />
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One of its more interesting uses is the ability to video storyboard. I'll quite often shoot a video storyboard of a scene during a scout to make sure that the location has all my desired angles and if it doesn't what do they have to be changed to. The best part about doing it on your tablet is that you can be cutting the video storyboard (I'll talk about that later) in the car on the way home, If you're not driving that is.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">PRODUCTION :</span></b><br />
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<b>MARKER SLATE (Free)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_vSA9a2HSoL1TTqvCc8zHCwTXsh4cII4Zo9xvQHyTiS_QNW1Yb3nXNPdT_NA4v7lxqSQeXWJ9guAOdKmUWxrUmire6340sHPAidJ7ZZolUKME3_XBkZ9xCU7vSs0j4OgYm5t6O89ZKI/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+17+52.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_vSA9a2HSoL1TTqvCc8zHCwTXsh4cII4Zo9xvQHyTiS_QNW1Yb3nXNPdT_NA4v7lxqSQeXWJ9guAOdKmUWxrUmire6340sHPAidJ7ZZolUKME3_XBkZ9xCU7vSs0j4OgYm5t6O89ZKI/s200/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+17+52.png" width="200" /></a>The main reason I invested in the tablet in the first place was that I was aware that I could use it as a Clapper board and it would look a little bit more professional than using the old skool chalk board that I'd use for the last few years. It was only researching all these other things that it could do that really sealed the deal for me.<br />
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If you're shooting sync audio, which we usually do, then you'll usually need to be marking each shot with a slate. The View Finder Marker Slate is free, its a pretty basic clapper, but its everything I need when it comes down to finding and syncing shots in the edit.<br />
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There are probably much better slate apps out there, in fact, I know there are, but they cost a fair chunk for an app and the free one I use works just fine.<br />
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<b>SIDE BOOKS (Free/£1.50 unlimited docs) </b><br />
The days of having dozens of paper copies of the script littering the set are over. We can now take our script in the same slimline package as everything else and share it out with the rest of the cast and crew to read on their phone or tablet.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-sCLZ8PwUAOytCwRrFlC3Tg-zxfx5xPdRi_gxg_Fgeojy78N_b5FEmQN137GU9s_KAS9K2mgGMOsLj1NdItgJWhkWf8YmMbhCxikNRt0I0pVjv4OnYLVeA0_M6MUapF2TNZuScJdE1A/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+19+03.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-sCLZ8PwUAOytCwRrFlC3Tg-zxfx5xPdRi_gxg_Fgeojy78N_b5FEmQN137GU9s_KAS9K2mgGMOsLj1NdItgJWhkWf8YmMbhCxikNRt0I0pVjv4OnYLVeA0_M6MUapF2TNZuScJdE1A/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+19+03.png" width="320" /></a><br />
Side Books is another free app, I just transfer the script onto it before we go to the shoot and then I have instant access to it when we need to check anything or run dialogue. It really cuts down on having a lot of extra paper to carry around etc. Now we can even use it to have people sign releases etc.<br />
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I believe there is an extra charge to store more documents of about £1.50, but it stores half a dozen documents as standard as far as I remember.<br />
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<i><b>Note : we usually do have one hard copy just in case. </b></i><br />
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<b>LENS+ (Free)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXaU3CofL37SBleoGRRXppkCCswRmNFN-UnmRIzooVoJUCiuNi7Ne9SgQWGpB7uGCEWfreswjfobpYvdPVxFEPkI50-zZAz9b-IbEwKN6WuJGc6GzAfPahC1jnb0UfRT_ZOxgM0ZnEdw/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+22+09.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXaU3CofL37SBleoGRRXppkCCswRmNFN-UnmRIzooVoJUCiuNi7Ne9SgQWGpB7uGCEWfreswjfobpYvdPVxFEPkI50-zZAz9b-IbEwKN6WuJGc6GzAfPahC1jnb0UfRT_ZOxgM0ZnEdw/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+22+09.png" width="240" /></a></div>
As I've said before, you could easily shoot a decent looking movie on a phone or an iPad now (especially with the quality of the camera in the newer iPhones which now shoot in 4k), whilst the camera app built in to the iPad is pretty basic, Lens+ allows you to emulate some cool, old skool film stocks in the camera itself and it leads to some fun results.<br />
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It is by no means professional looking, but its fairly useful for specific tasks. I used it to shoot some old style movie footage on the go a while ago for a prospective project that came out great and I tend to use it for shooting some pretentious behind the scenes on music videos which is pretty awesome if you're a hipster.<br />
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<b>PLAY MEMORIES & PANASONIC IMAGE APP (Free)</b><br />
This a quite app specific, but as I currently use Panasonic Lumix and Sony Action cams these two apps respectively let me use the iPad as a monitor for those awkward shots, such as crane shots, high shots where I can't get a good look at the LCD.<br />
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Sometimes I will just use it as general monitor, although being self shooter that doesn't come into play too much, but it is incredibly useful for the action cam that does have an onboard monitor and the Panasonic app even allows you to control the camera remotely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH5emWs1IAisoFcptGUnmpRKKxtaN4Lt4C3JqKjYmYUKrRZfgtDTI_29ycZaP5OIw4Iptr-N-yEKCi1kIE-W4Pd7g2EA_o8ULKrH6h_fmXT5Gqersm5xlvElStVrVKFdc77qNBt7Dj1w/s1600/unnamed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH5emWs1IAisoFcptGUnmpRKKxtaN4Lt4C3JqKjYmYUKrRZfgtDTI_29ycZaP5OIw4Iptr-N-yEKCi1kIE-W4Pd7g2EA_o8ULKrH6h_fmXT5Gqersm5xlvElStVrVKFdc77qNBt7Dj1w/s200/unnamed.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubJQ8J1vbwP2k67M30HgcdZZL1ivN9X15C43PpT8C-pUzDR73MqPs3avaqOZ9d0z8XREcrW0a_heHikJm4JuB-TejLu_Xx70p0ntcW2c2Y4QbaObimJKoruMQ5IbDWPb14TyMbZ50scU/s1600/unnamed-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubJQ8J1vbwP2k67M30HgcdZZL1ivN9X15C43PpT8C-pUzDR73MqPs3avaqOZ9d0z8XREcrW0a_heHikJm4JuB-TejLu_Xx70p0ntcW2c2Y4QbaObimJKoruMQ5IbDWPb14TyMbZ50scU/s200/unnamed-1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>INSTAGRAM (Free)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIld4ocm4vDZKfcrjdnTxelhXtFe4ffTAo07Ur7GVWASU4tNSomwED2k_EXmMwI4KxAJ9gla9mnjWmP3IoZ7GdLO4bXgjechqzpLRq_V_SMlrviWe4h95OFHHa4U6hZ52HXt74cYtUB0/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+23+59.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIld4ocm4vDZKfcrjdnTxelhXtFe4ffTAo07Ur7GVWASU4tNSomwED2k_EXmMwI4KxAJ9gla9mnjWmP3IoZ7GdLO4bXgjechqzpLRq_V_SMlrviWe4h95OFHHa4U6hZ52HXt74cYtUB0/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+23+59.png" width="240" /></a>Instagram is one of those apps that everyone uses these days. The main reason I find it so useful is that I can take, edit and share pictures directly to our Facebook/Twitter etc from it in seconds and thats very helpful when you're out on set.<br />
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Usually we're shooting in some abandoned school, factory, prison, wasteland etc and so wifi access on our sets is usually impossible. If we're shooting for 14 days, that could mean 14 days blackout on social media pages, which as a growing company is not good.<br />
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Instagram gives me the ability to send picture updates from set quickly and efficiently using my data plan. It also means that I can snap a picture, upload and then be back to shooting in seconds. You can do it with other social media apps these days, but this my favourite.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">POST PRODUCTION :</span></b><br />
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<b>IMOVIE (£3/$5)</b><br />
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IMovie for IOS is a touch screen, stripped down version of the app that comes pre loaded on Apple machines. This is by no means a pro grade editor, but for cutting quick pre vis stuff on set, its an absolute godsend.<br />
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Its does cost about £3/$5 or something like that. but its well worth the money if your looking for something that can do basic edits on the run. That said, with enough storage space on an modern iPad, i'm convinced you could cut at least a short film on one of these things.<br />
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I don't use this one as often as I should, but its nice to know its available to me should I need to do editing on the move. Like the desktop version its a very powerful tool, even if its missing one or two of the apps features.<br />
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<b>GARAGE BAND (£3/$5)</b><br />
This is probably my favourite app. Its a touch screen version of the program that comes free with any Apple System although this version will only set you back around £3/$5, it lacks some of the desktops editions functionality, but it more than makes up from it with touch screen keyboards, drums and things like Smart Guitar and Bass and even a full Orchestra at the end of your fingers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJIrxeZGCoE-e7iRB6Kk9-H8LJsAzR5mr6RLA-taw-Er-zzf_evG14xBwvcrMZ0u7jge3-jjYIgYP76XtS0wumIc8oWaCkx9i4-3hAquxjpw5fUYi-VOyV-iR-aqIYGXdUNi-yHrn2wk/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+25+43.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJIrxeZGCoE-e7iRB6Kk9-H8LJsAzR5mr6RLA-taw-Er-zzf_evG14xBwvcrMZ0u7jge3-jjYIgYP76XtS0wumIc8oWaCkx9i4-3hAquxjpw5fUYi-VOyV-iR-aqIYGXdUNi-yHrn2wk/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+25+43.png" width="320" /></a></div>
This is one of those programs that I couldn't do without. I've written entire scores and albums using this thing, as well as it being useful for creating general ambience for projects, trailers etc. For about £10 you can also pick up an 'Irig' that will let you plug in mics, guitars and even a full mixing desk should you want to.<br />
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I use it as is and its full array of instruments is really incredible and the best part is that you can export your projects to the larger desktop version if needed to take advantage of the mastering tools, a larger array of sounds and of course in my case, auto tune ;) <br />
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<b>PHOTOSHOP TOUCH (£7/$10)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinouXhT4m9mGr_AXE6JZEm-jXGx6JnyDq8QddFKUJniJWxVcsKLnNkmaXUNRSzgfoF4PmaAC4qUZIyra-R3KdoBQ59Qn2VGQkfBGhw2GbOnoQ5_HDtpGZXHZez2hFPoJvbOwoHWdFR47U/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+26+48.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinouXhT4m9mGr_AXE6JZEm-jXGx6JnyDq8QddFKUJniJWxVcsKLnNkmaXUNRSzgfoF4PmaAC4qUZIyra-R3KdoBQ59Qn2VGQkfBGhw2GbOnoQ5_HDtpGZXHZez2hFPoJvbOwoHWdFR47U/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+26+48.png" width="320" /></a></div>
This is about £7 and the most expensive app I own I think. Its another stripped down touch screen version of a desktop program, this time its Adobe Photoshop, but it has a lot of the functionality that the full program has, albeit a lite version. It is a bit of fuss to get your head around but its extremely useful for doing any graphic design work on the go.<br />
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I use it mainly for colouring as that seems to be its strong point, I can use the Paper app to sketch something out, do some quick, decent quality colouring in the Photoshop app and then message it straight over to cast and crew so they have an idea of whatever it I'm talking about in terms of colour for sets, costumes in my designs. It also has some cool features and filters that are similar to the ones found in the full version.<br />
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<b>BLOGGER (Free)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOuV2NDheYuTG5m5iciqU5fLht7lwuduS82q-jJbfsUSKuyPwdTPbivB9CWY_e8_ZHaHsgWn5M1HgSmhQf5T0lLpMR1bbPonebk9hK_D2LroblT3b9d86d-08XVNM9ozYOoHqRwgIfaU/s1600/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+28+45.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOuV2NDheYuTG5m5iciqU5fLht7lwuduS82q-jJbfsUSKuyPwdTPbivB9CWY_e8_ZHaHsgWn5M1HgSmhQf5T0lLpMR1bbPonebk9hK_D2LroblT3b9d86d-08XVNM9ozYOoHqRwgIfaU/s320/Photo+04-01-2016%252C+10+28+45.png" width="320" /></a>If, like me, you keep online production diaries and write for blogs such as this one, then the FREE Blogger app is perfect. Almost 90% of the posts on this blog were at least drafted via the app. Its almost as fully functional as the full browser version, which of course you can still use via the tablets web app if needs be.<br />
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I use it all the time and its super handy to have on set or at home. I'm working on this blog write now using it and I figured it was good app to end on.<br />
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I've been using this outdated, refurb now for over 2 years and I've never felt the need to replace it. I use it day in day out across the entire creative process and beyond it. Its not just a tool I take on set, its a tool that I use all day every day to help me keep on top of all my film related tasks.<br />
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It really is the most impressive tool in my whole kit and even though my screen is cracked and its grubby from its time spent in warehouses and abandoned buildings it comes with me everywhere and beyond its filmmaking uses, it serves as a great way to watch movies if I find myself at a loose end and that to me is what makes it a filmmakers best friend.<br />
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<b>MJ</b><br />
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<a href="http://slasherhouse.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPu6CJIEpbCpWivAc2t8nyAGg3J_2PJa_4gDxt11SmP1ED5TygFf4sw3yNKqc8IyvShoxGJSzz68wjLfeJ4McxxXr7DatQpUrUl-nn1kgA4IzHYAt7N5zOfoXSzpZzL2tlMdnLVkZV50/s640/SlasherHouseDVDAD12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>Mychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18018215221599398373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7361626165513256517.post-10103228770428479182014-04-30T03:21:00.000-07:002016-04-04T08:40:28.981-07:00SEEING THE LIGHT : £5 DIY LED lights<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">MJ Dixon is an Award Winning Filmmaker and Director of Low Budget worldwide releases including<a href="http://slasherhouse.com/">Slasher House</a> and <a href="http://legacyofthorn.com/">Legacy Of Thorn</a>. He has also seen over 30 music videos and shorts appear on major TV channels around the world as well as running filming workshop The Micro Budget Massacre. He mostly spends his time leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><i>READ FIRST!! Once again, please understand that this is just my outlook and opinion on aspects of filmmaking, Im not saying its right or wrong, it's just how I do things and how I view things, Filmmaking is about listening to everyone, your peers, professionals and everything in-between. This article is here to be nothing more than helpful to people looking to make movies, hopefully thats you.</i></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The simple fact is, production gear can be expensive. Sometimes really expensive, I lately looked into getting some professional led panels for studio shoot and discovers that to get 2 (in reality I would need at least 3) would cost me well over £1000 . Which as a low budget film producer and video director just doesn't come easy. I also understand that money doesn't grow on trees for those of you just starting out, who want to learn the craft of filmmaking. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>A few years ago I was booked by a band to make a professional music video, It was one of my first as an official company and so I wanted to keep it self sufficient. I didn't have a lot of gear at the time as I was just starting out. The video needed some lights and a black backdrop and through some careful planning I managed to pick that up with the deposit the band gave me. However it left me little money left for the rest of the video.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>A lot of the scenes they wanted in thier story element needed to be shot outside on the streets and I couldn't take my newly bought plastering worklights because I couldn't afford a generator at the time to run them. So I knew I needed a portable light of some kind, however anything useable and bright enough was well out of my budget. After wandering around the £1 store one day, I came across the I perfect solution.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I found some ultra bright head torches for £1 each, they ran in AA batteries and were pretty bright, brighter than any other LEDs I go had come across. But not still bright enough. I needed a way to triple the power of them.</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Hollow Demise Video Still. Lit with LEDs in an underpants box. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>At home I had a cardboard window box from some underwear I had had gotten for Christmas. I bought a couple of the lights and realised that they lights slotted in perfectly. I dropped 4 lights in and closed the plastic Perspex of the box top over the lamps and it worked perfectly. Actually, too perfectly, the light was too harsh. A sheet of kitchen roll later and the light was diffused enough to use, Albiet handheld. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Being made of a cardboard box meant that the light probably didn't have too much shelf life, but it worked in the in the rain for the duration of the shoot. It did however mean that I could reinvent the light to have more longevity. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>So I invented the Tupperlight.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tupperware tub £1, Bright LED Head Torch £1 x 3, 12 Kodak Batteries £1</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make sure your box fits the lights tight to stop them from moving during use. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Add A thin sheet on Kitchen roll for Diffusion if needed. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This is by no means a 'perfect' solution, it has to be hand held for a start (although i'm sure it would be easy enough to mount of a light stand), but it works and is perfect on a low budget. Everything I needed to build this light featured here, I picked up for £4 (+ £1 for 12 low voltage batteries), This one has three lights, which is fine, my original had four, Although you can make a bigger one with a larger casing with as ,many lights as you want. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>No budget Filmmaking is just about being creative with what you have and even though i have since replaced this cheap solution with more reliable lights I still use the Tupperlight every now and then..</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>You can check out the video that I used it on below. </b></span><br />
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