Just thought some filmmakers here would be interested in joining DVDA in another exercise. If anyone has any questions I'm always here. There's already some cross-pollination going on and I hope that it will continue and grow:

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DVDA announces the second of our digital video moviemaking challenges: DVDA CHALLENGE #2: UMBRELLA is open to anyone. The first challenge: The Bathroom Movie, was a great starting point with a handful of rousing submissions (all linked in DVDA). The format of the second challenge follows the first: produce a 1-5 minute DV short using any methods available and post the results in the DVDA forum (a thread will be started once people are close to finishing).

The theme of DVDA Challenge #2 is: 'umbrella'. That is all.

You have until Oct. 25 to post a link to your movie in DVDA.

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DVDA is a Delphi forum dedicated to the craft of small budget moviemaking. Joining Delphi and participating in DVDA is free. Members of DVDA are a blend of professional and serious amateurs seeking to improve their discipline through discussion, sharing of news on creative and technical issues and criticism. To join DVDA, become a Delphi member (free) and then go to http://forums.delphiforums.com/DVDA/start.

For those who might have missed it, Keith produced the best of the bunch in the first Challenge. Here is the link to the short that he produced:

http://forums.delphiforums.com/dvda/messages?msg=133.1

Well, everyone's was interesting. R/Kain's was very well done.

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : Well, everyone's was interesting. R/Kain's was very well done. -->>>

Yes R/Kain's was very well done, I was remise to not mention it. Also worth looking at. Here is a link to R/Kain's work:

** NOTE - ADULT CONTENT **

http://www.riderlesshorses.com/flix/electrogamma.mov

Those things were amazing indeed.... I might actually take up
this challenge (even though I have to plan my moving accross
the country etc.).... I'll see if I can fiddle it in somewhere in
october. Heck I might even find some nice umbrella's when I'll
be in Paris next week...

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : I might actually take up
this challenge (even though I have to plan my moving accross
the country etc.).... I'll see if I can fiddle it in somewhere in
october. Heck I might even find some nice umbrella's when I'll
be in Paris next week... -->>>

I have an image in my head of a classic gallic beauty waiting forlornly on a bridge. All the colours are muted, almost monochrome, except for the pastel colour of her umbrella, dipping sadly over her shoulder.

I had a couple of images on my mind too... with (wait for it) RAIN!
Ehehe... Will see what I can do. If I can't get it completed in time
I'll at least show what I've shot and such. It is a very busy time
atm for me though (have to go to paris for work and such).
But.......

Thanks!

Holy cow my vision of this project is way off base! I am working on a Yakuza Mafia fight thing. Now I just need to find the acting talent to help me pull this off.

Heh. To tell you the truth a fight scene is the first thing that came to mind.

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : Heh. To tell you the truth a fight scene is the first thing that came to mind. -->>>

I had a feeling that a few of us had similar visions of zannyness (is that a word?). Just think cars exploding, women and children running for their lives, and two Yakuza fighting to the death. All this done with under the DVDA umbrella motif. I wonder if the City of Houston would allow this to take place downtown.

"But officer I'm filming my next DVDA assignment. We didn't mean to burn down half of Houston."

Paul,
check out this link:

http://www.japan-zine.com/featureyak.htm

just in case you do film a yak scene, have your actors brush up on Yak-ese.

<<<-- Originally posted by chorizosmells : Paul,
check out this link:

http://www.japan-zine.com/featureyak.htm

just in case you do film a yak scene, have your actors brush up on Yak-ese. -->>>

That stuff is great! It will be added to the script. Thanks for pointing out that link.

For some real life weird japanese news which can also be used for story ideas, check out this link:

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/index.html

they are english translations of stories from the japanese paper, lots of interesting stuff going on over here.

I found me a couple of interesting umbrella's! and now I'm waiting
for the rain... I got an idea so hopefully I'll have some time the
next weeks to shoot and edit some... I'll keep my fingers crossed
(or does this get me in trouble while operating my XL1-S?)

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : I got an idea so hopefully I'll have some time the
next weeks to shoot and edit some... I'll keep my fingers crossed
(or does this get me in trouble while operating my XL1-S?) -->>>

Note: DVDA does not endorse filmmakers charging at government installations with umbrellas lowered yelling: "Death to the western Satan!"

Too bed... hehe. I've have my umbrella already secured. Now I
need some rain (it is sunny atm) and a person to assist me... And
ofcourse time. I think I'm going to shoot some nice reference
plates in Paris... might come in handy. Oh, and my umbrella is
coming along!

- After all day the Umbrella Killa arrives at the party of the bubble drug merchants. The moment of truth. He lifts the umbrella and ... it WILL NOT OPEN.
- Exhausted, after running out to Dylan's truck and running back in with an important floppy disc containing a fake email for the Killa's laptop I impatiently try to enter an extremely antiquated elevator before it has finished completely settling down to ground level. I trip over its lowering bottom and propel myself face first into the elevator. Not only am I injured, the FLOPPY DOES NOT WORK IN THE LAPTOP.
- To "save time" we decide to move the car from our first location to the next street location four city blocks away. Instead, we spend nearly twenty minutes carrying heavy bags and cumbersome equipment around a cavernous underground parking trying to find the car. We resort to speaking to an East Indian security guard who explains the grand unified theory of finding your car in a parking lot which, sums up, means: remember what exit you came in from. After ten minutes of being lectured by this gentlemen we realize that the car is five spaces from where we were standing, talking with this guy.
- After pressuring and cajoling a woman actor to appear in one of the outside scenes we were ourselves late because of 3). She was not pleased.
- Leaving the Umbrella Killa alone with the laptop while trying to download the fake email that is supposed to be stored in the laptop is not a good idea, it seems. While out of the room for five minutes, I return to find that Angus ("the Killa") has DISMANTLED THE LAPTOP ostensibly "to make it better" and IT WILL NOT COME BACK TOGETHER.
- After lecturing people on gun safety I shoot the Killa in the eye with a laser dot sight.
- Panicking and calling everyone I knew to come to the party. I run out into the hall and hammer on my neighbour's door and recruit a morose looking nerd to be in the party scene. I don't get anything out of him. He just sits there. He turns out to be a film student.
- To add silliness to the final party scene I have the gangsters blowing bubbles. But the bubbles I've bought are these new, alien kind of bubbles that you can touch. These leave HIGHLY NOTICEABLE DANDRUFF ALL OVER ANYONE THEY SETTLE ON. At the end of the night there is a coating of nuclear winter over all the furniture and floor.
- One of the only three girls we got for the party scene shows up dressed like a prim college girl with a white collar and red sweater. I immediately launch into a tirade over her clothing (she was supposed to be slutty) which ended with me saying "you don't look like a girl who would be at a party". Finally, Dylan solves this by telling her that 'red doesn't show on DV that well'.
- At the end of the day stabbing myself accidentally with the sword prop

DVDA member R/Kain Blaze has produced the first Umbrella Challenge film. It's freaking hilarious:

http://www.freestylemega.com/move/lone.mov

His commentary here: http://forums.delphiforums.com/dvda/messages?msg=215.176

I've been blogging my trials and tribulations making Umbrella Killa on keithloh.com.

http://www.keithloh.com/video/umbrella/

Thoughts from Dylan on this...

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : - After all day the Umbrella Killa arrives at the party of the bubble drug merchants. The moment of truth. He lifts the umbrella and ... it WILL NOT OPEN. "

Solved this problem with what else...
DUCT TAPE. Extended the release cord so the Killa could pull it with one hand.

- To "save time" we decide to move the car from our first location to the next street location four city blocks away. Instead, we spend nearly twenty minutes carrying heavy bags and cumbersome equipment around a cavernous underground parking trying to find the car. We resort to speaking to an East Indian security guard who explains the grand unified theory of finding your car in a parking lot which, sums up, means: remember what exit you came in from. After ten minutes of being lectured by this gentlemen we realize that the car is five spaces from where we were standing, talking with this guy.

THAT WAS FUNNY!!! This is basically exactly how Keith described it. Except the guard kept explaining it to us as we were loading our gear into the back of the car.

- After pressuring and cajoling a woman actor to appear in one of the outside scenes we were ourselves late because of 3). She was not pleased.

Wasn't she supposed to meet up with us at the Subway 2 hours earlier? I blame her.

- After lecturing people on gun safety I shoot the Killa in the eye with a laser dot sight.

"It's funny 'cause it's not me." -Homer Simpson

- Panicking and calling everyone I knew to come to the party. I run out into the hall and hammer on my neighbour's door and recruit a morose looking nerd to be in the party scene. I don't get anything out of him. He just sits there. He turns out to be a film student.

Stupid nerd. He'll never work in this town again!

- To add silliness to the final party scene I have the gangsters blowing bubbles. But the bubbles I've bought are these new, alien kind of bubbles that you can touch. These leave HIGHLY NOTICEABLE DANDRUFF ALL OVER ANYONE THEY SETTLE ON. At the end of the night there is a coating of nuclear winter over all the furniture and floor.

I can't get it out of my clothes! I think I made the funniest comment of the day about that, but it's much to rude to be repeated here in polite company. Y'all can guess what it was, but it was probably even ruder than that.

- One of the only three girls we got for the party scene shows up dressed like a prim college girl with a white collar and red sweater. I immediately launch into a tirade over her clothing (she was supposed to be slutty) which ended with me saying "you don't look like a girl who would be at a party". Finally, Dylan solves this by telling her that 'red doesn't show on DV that well'.

Then I also said "What Keith is to polite to say is he'd like you to dress more like a hooker." So she did. In a very nice shade of blue.

Anyway, I can't believe we got it all done in one day. I am so friggen tired. Going to bed now.

http://www.keithloh.com/video/umbrella/gallery.html

All this great looking stuff is due to Dylan Couper. Dude, you rock.

Thanks Keith (blush)
I just checked out the footage. I'm really, REALLY surprised how light the party scene was. It looked much darker through your viewfinder (which is what I was going for). Glad I gelled the lights down. It'll be really interesting to see how it comes together.
I'd like to point out to everyone that even though we had my light kit there, we only used the apartment lights. This was a combination of lack of space, time, and Keith and I being too exhausted to move by the time we got to the inside stuff.

Just so all the forum readers know, the guy with the shaved head in this pic

http://www.keithloh.com/video/umbrella/screencaps/unsuspecting.jpg

is our very own Keith Loh. Director, producer AND actor! Whatta guy... ;)

Hey Keith, when do the umbrella entries close, or have they already?

Bugger.... I'm just reading you guys are voting for an extension.
I wish I'd know that earlier. I just spend a whole weekend doing
nothing more or less (to rest). I didn't had any time due to lots and
lots of work and doing Paris. So if I had known.... What is the
new deadline if you guys moved it?

I'm not exactly sure when we will close it out. Everyone is extremely busy in life and other opportunities. I think we will close it out when we get more than two entries. And here I am getting ahead of myself seeing as I haven't even edited my entry yet.

So, I would say, do your Umbrella film. The Bathroom film challenge trickled in two weeks later than our second extention, I believe. :)

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper : Thanks Keith (blush)
I just checked out the footage. I'm really, REALLY surprised how light the party scene was. It looked much darker through your viewfinder (which is what I was going for). Glad I gelled the lights down. It'll be really interesting to see how it comes together.
I'd like to point out to everyone that even though we had my light kit there, we only used the apartment lights. This was a combination of lack of space, time, and Keith and I being too exhausted to move by the time we got to the inside stuff.
-->>>

Actually, having that apartment light on was key. All the filming on that side of the room was sharp but the dark areas were pretty grainy. Especially near that bookcase. I will attempt to edit around them.

Keith, ok I'll try and get something done - I had an idea this morning while I was brushing my teeth :). I have a directing/producing course over the next two weekends so time will be short, but I hope I can find some time - it should be a blast. Might have to be a camera and tripod only shoot! (No lights, sounds anything :) )

Where do I go to submit it?

forums.delphiforums.com/dvda/start/.

You'll have to register in Delphi (free).

The thread to look for is this one:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/dvda/messages?msg=215.37

Glad to see some more try this.

I've posted the first outtake from 'Umbrella Killa' up on keithloh.com. It's a clip that Dylan has been bugging me to see since we wrapped up.

http://www.keithloh.com/video/umbrella/clips/index.html

I think it's a great steadi-shot. Pretty soon Dylan is going to be shooting his own version of "The Russian Ark".

Hey, that's better than I thought it would be. Hard to tell how smooth it is though, cut down to web format and all. Do you notice my footsteps at all in the full size version?

What Keith didn't say is that that was the 4th take we did, and we shot that one in a hurry as there was a security guard sitting in his big pickup truck wanting to drive through the alley. He graciously waited while we did the last one. I wanted to do one more to do the running spot differently, but I think Keith and I both decided it would be better not to push the generosity of the security guard. We got out of there before he asked to see our shooting permit. :)

Who's the dodgy guy in the beanie with the umbrella? Is it one of you guys?

No. He's a friend. Guess what he does for a living. It should be obvious by his gaunt shape and glasses.