Script in hand, shooting this weekend, then a whole week to edit instead of a few hours. I may even have to throw a few effects in. Love the extra week!

I’ll tell you what this first week got me. I hit brick walls on two good ideas (they weren’t mine) and it took me ‘til just now to come up with a third one. So I agree--thank goodness for the extra week!

I'm lovin' it too.

Having Sunday to shoot is a BIG help. Especially since all day last Sunday was spent writing story/script.

Having a ball.

2 scenes left to film, gonna have to reschedule one of them due to weather. and I already had to reschedule another one due to weather! Lousy unpredictable MI.

More time is a double edged sword. You have to do more with the short, and I like the excuse of only having 48 hours to make a short. I'm losing sleep over this one.

Hope I don't get disqualified, but I'd rather not ask because it's already in the short.

Living on the edge...

Done shooting. Rough edit pretty close. And lots of time left. This is definitely the most ambitious I've ever been for DV challenge.

I'm finishing filming this evening (one afternoon and one evening in total), then edit.
It's really great that we had a weekend to film, because it's a lot harder if you're a full time worker.

Hope I don't get disqualified, but I'd rather not ask because it's already in the short.
We should have a discussion about specifics between challenges--been meaning to talk about “greeking” (hiding or changing corporate trademarks that have not been cleared) but never seem to get around to it. You’ve probably noticed that we’ve gotten a little lax so whatever it is, you’ll probably be fine, Dick. Or not. ;)

Man, that’s great that some of you guys are nearly done! I'm getting excited about watching your films.

I don’t remember what it’s like not having my back against the wall. We got a couple hours of sunshine today after days of rain so I grabbed my camera and the actor and shot as much as possible. They’re mostly hand held shots, which I promised myself I wouldn't do anymore, but I think they'll work okay with the story. The rest will have to wait until Friday, and a critical component in this deal depends on a guy who hasn't returned my emails.

You’ve probably noticed that we’ve gotten a little lax so whatever it is, you’ll probably be fine, Dick. Or not. ;)

Man, that’s great that some of you guys are nearly done! I'm getting excited about watching your films.

I don’t remember what it’s like not having my back against the wall. We got a couple hours of sunshine today after days of rain so I grabbed my camera and the actor and shot as much as possible. They’re mostly hand held shots, which I promised myself I wouldn't do anymore, but I think they'll work okay with the story. The rest will have to wait until Friday, and a critical component in this deal depends on a guy who hasn't returned my emails.

I'm counting on the lax part. BTW, my whole short is hand held. These crime dramas have made the jiggly camera okay. My story, I'm sticking to it.

Just finished my rough edit. Barely made the 5 minute limit. Wish I had time to ADR/Loop some audio, oh well.

Lorinda, if you watch 24, CSI or Fringe (or most any other action drama or show) you'll notice a LOT of hand held shots. It gives your shots a more organic feel.

I chose to shoot a lot of scenes hand held for the look and to shoot more setups quickly.

However, the shows are using much larger/heavier cameras which smooths out the handheld shots where hand holding a smaller 6lb or so camera can become quite shaky if you're not careful. Although NYPD Blue was very shaky at times not to mention the Bourne movies.

It's art. It's subjective.

Now to score this puppy and get it uploaded before Sunday!

.

However, the shows are using much larger/heavier cameras which smooths out the handheld shots where hand holding a smaller 6lb or so camera can become quite shaky if you're not careful.

I attach an 18" monopod to my little HV30, to get a steadier shot. It's the poor man's steadycam.

Should I be freaking out that I barely started today and won't finish shooting 'til tomorrow?

Yes.
.
.
.
;)

Actually, I won't be done shooting until tomorrow, either, so you've got company, Joseph. Looking forward to seeing what you've done this time!

Jim, you nailed down the problem I have with hand held shooting. Mine always looks like home video to me because of the camera shake, plus, today I looked at some stuff I shot and it's tilted! I have to tilt my head, too, or it almost makes me dizzy...

Is there a problem with corporate trademarks? I didn't quite understand the comment about 'greeking' (I'm a little new to this).

Handheld: We have an Indicam (love it) but I didn't have time to set it up. We finished shooting on Tuesday, about 6 hours of shooting/driving/rehearsing/setup time total (1 afternoon and 1 evening) to get 35 minutes on tape. Takes me about 20-30 minutes to balance my XL2 on the Indicam sled (on a good day) so I could't afford the time. Call me goofy but it seems camera shake becomes more 'aesthetic' the longer the lens you have...

Heheh, appreciate the company, Lorinda. And let's just say that I took a very abstract approach to this DVC's theme, and it's quite a departure from the previous two.

Oh, and based on everyone's comments, I think hand-held will be the other theme this time around ;)

Like a total newbie, I somehow misread the due date -- the whole time I'm thinking everything's due tonight!

*smacks palm on forehead*

Ha ha! Gotta be a relief, huh?

Aaron, I asked Dylan to give us some guidelines on the trademark deal. Here’s part of what the chiefest head whip-cracker had to say, “…if your characters walk past Starbucks, that's fine. If your characters are all drinking Corona, no problem. It doesn't enhance the movie or make the story. If it DOES make the story, like using copyrighted music, then it should not be allowed.”

Don’t know about anyone else, but that makes me feel better about some of my past entries. He is so cool… :)

Anyway, let that be the guide for your films. If anyone has doubts about your footage, shoot one of us an email and we’ll talk.

I agree: starting to look like we'll have a pretty good turnout! I have to voice my gratitude for the extra week as well. Makes it much more feasible to create a film that I don't feel embarrassed about. Looking forward to watching some films next week!

So close to being done now, I can taste it. Like I said earlier, this is easily the most ambitious project I've worked on for the DV challenge.