I've given up...At least I get to see my name on the wall of shame! ;)

What an interesting four hours it's been! I'm running up and down the stairs from my bedroom to the living room after forgetting so many things, I'm back and I'm forth, my dad's doing everything in his power to help me, and the scene eventually gets shot.

I was almost ready to quit again shortly after posting my last message. Upon setting up all my equipment (I have a lot more crap than I realized, and practically everything needs a damn battery), I wasn't getting the results I'd wanted. Using my dad as a lighting stand-in, I hated the way the image looked. Yeah, I know, "LCD viewfinders" and all, but even considering that, it wasn't pleasing. Then it was suggested--I'll let you guess by whom--that I simply bounce the light I wasn't happy with off of the wall behind it to get rid of the ugly shadows I was seeing. So simple, yet so effective, and with a white piece of cardstock clamped onto a spare tripod, the setup was truly complete.

Shot some different angles, did at least three takes of everything, got to the last shot of my mental list, and realized I'd forgotten to check the focus. Shutter speed? Check. Iris? Check. White balance? Check. Focus? More like "doofus". I didn't notice anything particularly offensive on the LCD panel, and though it isn't a guarantee, I've found that what looks good to my eye on it ends up looking just fine in the end. But maybe I'm just delusional, and I'll have to shoot all this again tomorrow. Meh, no big deal, it was pretty fun! I'm still waiting 'til morning to check out my footage, though, there's something about a good night's sleep that gives me a less self-deprecating attitude when it comes to my own work.

I also got my first production still, which was exciting. Got my bad side (indistinguishable from the rest of my sides, as it turns out), but I can handle that. I went setting up the camera and had you-know-who take a picture. He may be my only crew member, but damned if he doesn't go the extra nine miles to help me.

I sincerely hope the rest of you are experiencing something like this, and wish you all the luck in the world on your respective projects. Keep on keepin' on!

Well, I shot the whole thing yesterday!(Saturday) and things couldn't have gone better. Seriously, I've never had shooting go more smoothly. Weather was great, no problems by anyone or anything! I still need to record the V/O narration but other than that, production is over! I'm about to start capturing the footage onto the computer. Glad to see most of you are coming along well! Happy filming :)

OK, this is completely cliche, but I swear this is how it happened. I went a week with nothing, and I mean nothing. I had so much of nothing that I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get anything. Then one day after work I took a nap, and there is was in a dream.

I know what you're all saying, "Sure, it came to you in a dream." But it did. I swear it did.

Actually, it wasn't a complete idea, but it was enough to build upon and mold into something that will be really challenging for me. I don't know if it will be good enough to win, but it is going to be so challenging for me to put this thing together that I know I am going to learn from it.

I want to thank Dylan and everyone else involved with this challenge. This is exactly what I needed to move me to the next level.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Glad to hear everyone's having a blast!

Aaron: what happened? Sorry to hear you are not going to make it.

Robert: do you have footage of the old & new results of the lighting setup? If you do it may be cool to extract some frames and put it up somewhere for comparison. Lighting is something I still need to learn a lot about.

Edited with PremierePro 1.5, exported to Adobe Media Encoder [... so missed out File > Render As = step 1. on DV Challenge Web Video Tips by Rob?] Is that why I can't get the final Save to accept {"error compiling movie; Error Unknown"}
even though I've adjusted all the settings "available" under General, Video & Audio tabs as listed on "Tips". Or how can I establish which version of Quick Time Player I downloaded last month ... I swear it doesn't say under QT Properties; but it's suspect in that it does not list any system later than Windows 2000. Should I simply buy QT 7 and get on with it? Or follow Pete Bauer's line for PPro users. Sort of time when I wonder what the hell does the word "render" mean, precisely. But that can wait a month ... as long as I can get this clip somewhere/anywhere via satellite/garbage disposal and disappear shortly to the wild ... or

to quote Sean McHenry from another thread ... is this the way to go >>>

On the issue of what media type to post. We have been round this bend before but, here's my opinion on it. Some of us who use our PCs to edit cannot use the latest QT Codecs, like h.264. Try to use something simple and generic, like the older formats of windows media or older QT formats. Yes, they are bigger and slower but, if we all can see the videos, we'll all be voting on level playing grounds.

As for why we can't all use the latest codecs, you'll want to re-read some of the threads on that but my Avid squalks - LOUDLY - then dies if I add QT codecs it can't handle, such as in the latest QT versions. Other have some of these codec issues too.

Another hint might be, if you can upload to either lulu.tv or video.download.com, it is converted at their end to a standard wmv or qt streaming format. Download.com takes a week or more to get the uploaded files converted and listed >>>

I've given up...At least I get to see my name on the wall of shame! ;)

Hey Aaron,

Don't give up yet man, we still have about two weeks! I don't have anything either, but I'm still thinking day and night. I guess the later is called a nightmare!

Mike, President-Procrastinators Club of America

So what we were delayed because a "citizen" called the cops on us, reporting that "...two men are roughing up a guy with his hands tied behind his back."

Yeah, so what we were delayed when the actual owners of the boarded up building at where we shot showed up to ask us what we were doing.

Yeah, so what that we shot in an area that even the rats are afraid to visit and yet, as soon as we show up with a camera, it turns into a three ring circus with everybody one notch under God walking by asking what's going on!

At least a concerned citizen didn't rat me out to the to our Homeland Security cell phone hotline while I stood roadside on the Atlantic City Expressway carrying a dangerous looking object (video camera) in my hand. I was more worried about getting clocked by a casino bus! And that ocean wind! My audio is lousy. Also, I need a bunch of innoculations to prevent whatever I might have contracted in the back seat of Charlie Weber's unmarked car.

Other than that, we had a blast shooting our segment of the challenge. The rest is up to my partner in crime. Thanks to Barry Green for assisting with some user settings since I have not received my DVX Book.

So what we were delayed because a "citizen" called the cops on us, reporting that "...two men are roughing up a guy with his hands tied behind his back."

Yeah, so what we were delayed when the actual owners of the boarded up building at where we shot showed up to ask us what we were doing.

Yeah, so what that we shot in an area that even the rats are afraid to visit and yet, as soon as we show up with a camera, it turns into a three ring circus with everybody one notch under God walking by asking what's going on!

At least a concerned citizen didn't rat me out to the to our Homeland Security cell phone hotline while I stood roadside on the Atlantic City Expressway carrying a dangerous looking object (video camera) in my hand. I was more worried about getting clocked by a casino bus! And that ocean wind! My audio is lousy. Also, I need a bunch of innoculations to prevent whatever I might have contracted in the back seat of Charlie Weber's unmarked car.

Other than that, we had a blast shooting our segment of the challenge. The rest is up to my partner in crime. Thanks to Barry Green for assisting with some user settings since I have not received my DVX Book.
Dang, Hugh, I'll bet money your short video's going to be better than last night's episode of the "Sopranos" (don't get me started)!

Looking forward to seeing it, knowing all the 'fun' you had shooting it.

Robert: do you have footage of the old & new results of the lighting setup? If you do it may be cool to extract some frames and put it up somewhere for comparison. Lighting is something I still need to learn a lot about.

You and me both, buddy! But I may be able to come up with something later today. I have yet to capture my footage, and even once I do, I didn't actually record anything last night with the less-than-satisfactory lighting, so I have no example to give. All of my equipment is still set up and ready to go, however, and most of it is still in place (just in case, as I mentioned, the focus was screwy and I have to do it all over) so I can just recreate the scene again tonight, no problem.

I'll do it as soon as I can, and show everyone what little I know about this stuff.

I know what you're all saying, "Sure, it came to you in a dream." But it did. I swear it did.

Hey, man, I believe you. Once you start having Lucid Dreams (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Lucid_Dreaming) on a regular basis, you can pretty much believe anything's possible when it comes to the subconscious. Some might say the most direct route to what you really, truly feel is through dreams (if you ever become conscious during one, try asking out loud to speak with your subconscious, see what happens, it's a trip), so I say take this as a blessing and run with it. Glad to hear you're moving along!

The story boards are prety much done. I need to write a voice over. My monkey is busy building props. I have a wife, 2 little ones, a full time job and I'm taking 16 credits this term, ao there'll be no shooting until spring break, which is next week, so I wont really be able to take advantage of the expanded time limit. That makes me a bit sad, I would have like to have had more time in post.

ANYTHING will be better than last night's episode of the Sopranos. We did have fun shooting our segment, however. As a matter of fact, the burly detective just came to my desk and asked me to meet him and the tall guy for coffee at a local cop hangout. It's off to discuss our next project! NO. I will NOT be eating doughnuts!

Now, if these meatheads would only study their lines! Ahh the camera LOVES pretty beefcake actors. If they would only study their lines.

Thanks, Ed! If you want, give me your e-mail. I will fly you some screen shots.

Other than that, we had a blast shooting our segment of the challenge. The rest is up to my partner in crime.
If you're the type to keep track of such things you may be wondering why you didn't see Hugh's name on the sign-up list. That partner in crime would be me. Yes, we're doing an East meets West movie! Good thing we had this extra time; we're gonna need every second of it.

You held out on me, Hugh! That's great behind-the-scenes action--an adventure on its own. I just hope you got some really good stuff to make up for mine! :)

Dear Lorinda:

I was hoping you'd read about it on here! It's funnier on the written page as opposed to hearing it verbally. Besides, I didn't give it any mind until I started reading about everybody else's trial and tribulations. I didn't know everybody would be sharing such stories

One thing's for sure, Lorinda: No one else is privy to the funny outtakes you and you alone will be getting in the mail! Besides, I am really counting on you to save my audio from the wind monster. Girl, do you have your work cut out for you! PLEASE! SAVE MY 90 SECOND SEGMENT!

Other than that, dear friends, my segment is going out to Idaho for final edit tomorrow. Filmmaker extraordinaire, Lorinda Norton, is putting it all together for our DV Info friends. Thank God for her.

If you're the type to keep track of such things you may be wondering why you didn't see Hugh's name on the sign-up list. That partner in crime would be me. Yes, we're doing an East meets West movie! Good thing we had this extra time; we're gonna need every second of it.

You held out on me, Hugh! That's great behind-the-scenes action--an adventure on its own. I just hope you got some really good stuff to make up for mine! :)
Oh man, how sweet is that??? I would kill to have that kind of help in my back pocket. I love editing but really cringe about getting out there for the acquisition part. Smart thinking guys.

She likes to make me out to be the brains, but please, folks, trust me, I am a moron compared to the depth and breadth of her intelligence.

Trust me on this.

Might I suggest that others follow suite: Movie making is a collaborative process. Team up with filmmakers from different cultures, backgrounds and geographical locations. If we can get Dylan to extend production times to accommodate those of us who'd like to collaborate with others from other parts of the country, heck, who knows? We just might need that extra four days to mail out segments to our collaborator!

Just a thought.

I wouldn't count on that production time extension ;) It's a *challenge* after all!

I just meant for mailing time.

Can't shoot at Waffle House. Can't get corporate permission. So I had to make due with a local coffee shop. Only half done shooting becuae my male actor got a paying job for the weekend, emcee of some trade show event. I hope the exterior lighting next weekend matches yesterday's shots...

Reviewed footage last night. A couple of shots with soft focus, but not a problem for web viewing. I guess I won't spend the $5K to have my short transfered to 35mm.

I was really looking forward to the DVC. Unfortunately, the events my documentary is attempting to document are taking their sweet time to unfold, providing me with a fantastic supply of footage but thoroughly exhausting me and my crew. I also just got my second commercial job!

All things considered, unless a brilliant and simple (read: low-budget) thought strikes me like lightening, I shall proudly take my place on the wall of shame. I will however complete a 3 minute teaser/trailer for my doc as an alibi.

Hell, Joe! Everybody knows REAL paying jobs/documentaries take precendence over fun DVCs. I vote to keep Joe's name off of the wall of shame.

I have a job (paying) coming up that is going to take all of my available bandwidth to deal with, so I guess I'll have to sit this one out and wait til DVC6. I do have an idea that only takes a couple of actors and a long road to nowhere, if you're stuck, I'd be happy to share it.

So I finished shooting the scenes a few minutes ago, for the second time, and it looks like I'll have to do it yet again tomorrow; still too damned dark. Working without a proper production monitor and no real lighting instruments (beyond the worklights I've got that make such horrible shadows) is quickly becoming a major pain.

Got some shots of my example setup, but they won't do much good, as I'm still very unhappy with the footage.

Better luck tomorrow, maybe. I'll see how it goes.

A couple of shots with soft focus, but not a problem for web viewing. I guess I won't spend the $5K to have my short transfered to 35mm.
LOL, Dick! As usual, you crack me up with your ultra-dry humor. Hope it works out for you this weekend.

@ Robert: Don't know what look you're trying to achieve, but consider this as an inexpensive solution: Buy a good-sized white china lantern at an import store, a 250 watt bulb, and a "socket on a cord." Hang it from a mic stand, the ceiling--whatever. It makes soft light that bathes a wide area. You can use poster board, black foil, etc., to flag unwanted light. And for a monitor to check lighting, what about a little TV?

@ Hugh: You're such a softie. :) Nope, no matter what comes up, if we can’t submit a movie in time it’s straight to the wall. Now, keep in mind that so far this wall hasn’t materialized; however, that doesn’t mean it won’t go up for DVC5! So come on, you guys. At the risk of sounding like an old-timer, back when this thing first started we only had a week. The winner, Aaron Koolen, shot and posted his in six hours!

Oh, and Robert...the way your luck's been running if you do this lantern thing make sure the bulb stays in the center of the lantern. I'd sure hate to feel responsible for your house burning down! Might be a good idea to keep a fire extinguisher handy... :)

[QUOTE=Lorinda Norton]LOL, Dick! As usual, you crack me up with your ultra-dry humor. Hope it works out for you this weekend.
QUOTE]

What? Was I the only one here planning to go to Sundance with my short? I was told 35mm was the way to go for optimum viewing...

just got back from schlepping my gear three vertical miles (then back) in deep snow, with a recently injured knee, just to get a single shot. which i may or may not use. dropped my lens cap in the snow twice. wiped out on ice once. is there an award for Most Idiotic? this video is either going to be really cool or really incoherent. it could go either way. i can't tell yet. ppppbbbbbbtt......

toddling off to a hot toddy....

dropped my lens cap in the snow twice. wiped out on ice once. is there an award for Most Idiotic?


Did you get it on tape??????? :)

Mike

guess i shoulda worn a helmet cam...probably would have turned out better than the originally intended shot....

is there an award for Most Idiotic? this video is either going to be really cool or really incoherent. it could go either way. i can't tell yet.

What, are you reading my mind, or something? But for the name attached to your post, those thoughts could be my own. Only add "cheesy", "predictable" and "self-indulgent" to the list of possibilities. I'm rewriting the scene I've shot twice already to be a bit shorter, more to the point, and in a way that should allow me to do some more convincing acting. I hope the third time's a charm.

Best of luck with whatever you're shooting, Meryem, and I hope you'll eventually post that clip whether it's in your movie or not. Hate to see it go to waste.

Yes- I love your determination and certainly know the feeling. At least you are out schlepping :)

I ordered a very essential item off eBay today so now I'm just hoping it will arrive in time. My movie's pretty much ruined if it doesn't. I also sent payment for an Audio-Technica wireless mic I bought on eBay which I'll also be needing.

Hopefully Canada Post comes through for me!

thanks, robert. what a comfort to know there is such stiff competition for the category of Most Idiotic.

thanks for the encouragement, you guys, and to mark for starting the thread we needed to share our scraped knees (or, as my now-5-year-old sez, our "ow-ies"....)

I'm in the exact same boat! Waiting for several ebay items to arrive...lol. A couple came in, but that won't work until the rest show up. Hope your make it in time for you.

Well the third time was as charming as it's gonna get. The shorter scene is much more natural, I feel, and will make for better storytelling (yeah, that's the ticket). Those interested in lighting, I'm sorry I don't have any photos or diagrams of my actual setup, but you can see a brief example of what I had, and what I ended up with:

http://www.gyroshot.com/images/MartensBefore.jpg
http://www.gyroshot.com/images/MartensAfter.jpg

The first shot's from the first day of shooting, the second is from tonight; you'll note that, thanks to the revised script, I've changed the camera angle significantly, so I'm afraid there's no direct comparison. I never captured the footage from the second shoot, and now that I have what I want--or a reasonable facsimile thereof--I don't plan to. No deck, camera that already needs repair, you know the drill: I'm not taking any chances wearing the thing out further. Don't worry, though, it wasn't anything to write home about. Just a brighter, but still wholly inadequate version of the first night's footage. Even the "good" shot shown above is suspect, in my opinion. I got two takes tonight, each with a different brightness, thanks primarily to the fact that I turned the lights off between takes and forgot what settings I used when I went back. Might use the one I show here, might not. You'll just have to wait and see, suckers!

And this is the ONLY glimpse of me you're gonna get 'til the thing's finished, so savor the moment. If you'd like to download the shots, go right ahead, and use one as a desktop background if you like. Or maybe stare at one and listen to "Baby Elephant Walk". Dee de-dee dee DEE dee dee dee dee dee.

Ba dah Ba dum....what a wonderfully annoying song. Thanks! I won't be able to get THAT outta my head for at LEAST a day!

Hey, nice lighting in that second shot. I need to be taking notes. One of my scenes is (supposed to be) inside of a bar. The "challenging" part will be to light it so that it doesn't look like it's lighted. I may try some of those $30 'Grafflight' solutions....

Ba dah dah dah ba dum ba dah bum ba ba da ba da bum.....oh @#$%!!!

ever just shoot something, love the footage, and think the story is half decent. . .then come up with a much sweeter path to take your story thus teasing you to change the last half of the script 100 different ways? Yeah, that's where I'm at. Lucky for me, no re-shooting will have to occur in order to change the ending. I'm also having trouble scoring. . .searching endlessly for the royalty free that will do my story justice. haha

the immortal dave barry advises that the best way to get an annoying tune out of your own head is to go infect someone else with it.....

Ba dah Ba dum....what a wonderfully annoying song. Thanks! I won't be able to get THAT outta my head for at LEAST a day!

Ba dah dah dah ba dum ba dah bum ba ba da ba da bum.....oh @#$%!!!


Don't you just hate that! The only way I have found to cure it is to turn the radio on and start singing along. If you sing like me, do it in private. The new song will stop the old one most all of the time, then turn off the radio and see what happens. Sometimes the last song you heard will be the next one going through your head, so pick one you like, but a lot of the time the new one won't "stick."

Concentrate, Concentrate!

Mike

Ha ha! Now that you're all preoccupied with that goofy song, my victory is assured! Can't win if you can't concentrate, right? Thirty gig iPod, here I come!

Seriously, though, I just finished shooting a few more scenes (it's like I actually care this time, or something), this time with my parents. They went much better than expected, and we've successfully cleaned up a large part of our kitchen as a result. My mom's quite happy about that. And while we're on the subject, she's the reason I even have half the shots I do; at every turn, for every setup I was unsure of, she had an idea that worked wonderfully. And she's a hell of a set dresser, too. I haven't the slightest idea what credit to give her now.

I'm sure some of you are getting sick of my suddenly happy-go-lucky attitude, but please understand that I've never managed to get this much done, let alone so smoothly, before. If I can keep it up, you'll be annoyed ALL the time.

I'm glad to see some people not only have ideas, but footage as well. Man, this reflections theme is kicking my ass. I got nothing (good) so far... But hey, I still have two whole weeks, which is plenty of time. Oy.

Sticktoitiveness, Robert, that's what I think it's about. For the first week or so, though I had my idea, it felt horrible, and I wanted to give up. At some point I realized just how much time I had left and decided to go ahead with the idea I wasn't too fond of, and it seems to be working out so far. Slow and steady wins the race, mind over matter, that kind of thing; I never knew mere persistence could be so effective, but here I am. Also--can't remember where I read this, sorry--"Don't get it right, get it written" is good advice. You say you have no good ideas, well, get them on paper. That way you actually have something to work with. If it's no good, you can edit it, but we never get to the editing stage if we never write anything in the first place.

Even if you think your ideas aren't good, I say do one of them anyway. If we never get our bad movies out of our heads, we'll never make room for the good ones. And they're probably not that bad, after all. We are our own worst critics, they say.

Might I suggest plugging "reflect" or "reflection" into the search field at http://www.thesaurus.com/? Look through the results, there may be some synonyms that spark an idea or two.

I'm stagnant. 1 week to go nothing shot. I suck.

On the song, try this link. This will replace that song with another. It least this one has visuals...

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

badger, badger, badger, mushroom, mushroom....

Sean McHenry

One week to go? I thought we had until midnight on the 8th?

let's take a poll...what is worse, posting something incoherent that only makes sense to you, in your own pea brain, or hanging by your thumbs from the wall of shame?

opinions?

LOL, Meryem! By far, hanging by your thumbs is worse. Your movies are always great. Finish it up so we can enjoy it!!! :)

Too late Meryem. I should have volunteered my thumbs like a man.

But there's always next time for the wall. Thank you sincerely for all the encouragement and guidance.

let's take a poll...what is worse, posting something incoherent that only makes sense to you, in your own pea brain, or hanging by your thumbs from the wall of shame?

opinions?


So far it looks like thumbs for me. I guess that would be thumbs down huh!

Mike

I'm stagnant. 1 week to go nothing shot. I suck.

On the song, try this link. This will replace that song with another. It least this one has visuals...

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

badger, badger, badger, mushroom, mushroom....

Sean McHenry


AAGGHHHHH!!! Curse you Sean McHenry!

I clicked on your link....silly me.

And to think that today is my birthday. I am spending it with that sweet little ditty stuck....stuck....STUCK in my head all day long.

lol.

-Jon

Far be it from me to criticize any of the contenders for writer's block. I'm not even competing this time around, but I can be a cheerleader on the sidelines (no pom pom jokes please)

Although I have learned that it is typically better to plan the production, and write, stage, shoot and edit with a clearly defined plan...sometimes it is okay to just run around with a camera and see what you can come up with in the edit......even if it is just telling a story, sometimes it is fun to watch (as evidenced by my 2 1/2 year old last night sharing what she learned at last week's library storytime session)

http://homepage.mac.com/lunarparcel/Lunarparcel_Movies/iMovieTheater131.html

This would never qualify as an entry, but shot in 2 minutes, edited in 3, online in 10 minutes - start to finish - I actually favor it considerably over my entry for DVC #1.....

..but think about what you could do with 2 more weeks to go.

Just grab a camera, drive around and do some pick up shooting for the next 4 days, even if it is just interviewing your neighbors about UFO sightings.....and that still gives you a week and a half to have fun with the edit.

In the end, it is true...the Wall of Shame is only made out of balsa wood, but it really is cool to be able to say you entered, competed and posted something for everyone to see and maybe even enjoy - no matter what it is.

YOU CAN DO IT....RAH RAH RAH.

Enough pep for today...I gotta go get some coffee.
-Jon