Thanks for the replies! I've been doing video for about 2 1/2 years now and have only begun to scratch the surface. I've released a commercial DVD with music video's I've directed, shot and edited and it's been incredible.

My main forte' is music production though. I've been doing that since 91 and truly love the musical aspect of video. I'm hoping to establish the same type of contacts that i have here in Hawaii in Jersey. The only thing I've heard is that it's really reallly realllly realllllly cold there. (compared to hawaii of course).

The only thing I've heard is that it's really reallly realllly realllllly cold there. (compared to hawaii of course).

Yeah, well compared to Hawaii.....

The climate varies in NJ quite a bit. Far northern NJ is mountainous and gets a lot of snow. A couple days ago they had 8 inches but here in South Jersey we just had rain and temparatures in the mid 40's. Personally I find the winters very mild, especially after living in upstate NY for 15 years. I think I can count the days where the temperature fell below freezing this seaons on one hand so far. We typically get some cold weather in January and February, and a few significant snow storms. But the ocean really moderates the cold. It 's generally 10 degrees colder if you go 40 miles west of here. And it might be 5 degrees warmer still at the shore than at my home.

I just did a Google Earth search and noticed that New York is relatively close. Is it close enough to say work in the city or is the commute to crazy? Being more in the music industry those were my initial thoughts about moving.

Sure lots of people commute - often spending hours a day on the road. There's also Philadelphia where I commute... about 25 miles due west of my home. To get to our office in Center City Philadelphia it takes me maybe an hour and fifteen minutes during rush hour, or 40 minutes late at night.

With either Phila or NYC, if commute time is important then you need to study the rail maps. I think the train from NYC goes down the shore as far as Point Pleasant.

Hey all,
There is a possibility in the next couple of months that I may be moving to New Jersey and I know absolutely no one there. I would love to get connected before I get there. I may even be looking for a gig or two... hehe....

I dont know exactly where we will be moving to but it was mentioned as "Jersey Shore".

aloha!

Ya ya, we are here, so just don't come out here and claimed you discovered this place.

It will be great the have our numbers increased by one more. There is lots going on in NJ, near the shore is Silent Bob although we haven't met and depending on where you move to you may be able to profit from the NY scene.

Welcome in advance, you can email me and I'll point you in some direction.

Hiya Rob!

I'm in the Atlantic City area. I'm about to shoot a 30 minute short (I have the local acting studio, Weist-Barron Ryan, of New York furnishing the professionals I need to shoot this thing). I just checked with Ursela Ryan yesterday who advised me that her assistant is doing a character breakdown and will have the talent complete a script read through to allow them to pick and choose their parts. So, reach out if you want. Maybe I can use the help since I'll be shooting interiors with DV Rack and exteriors without (I guess I'll need a camera operator for the interior stuff so I can work the laptop. I'll have to settle for a Jersey guy since a certain young lady in Idaho won't be able to make this shoot as my "A" cam operator. She'd better be able to make the next shoot or I'll notify her union rep! ;-))

Welcome. Jersey is a great place to shoot movies.

So, Hugh....you're throwing on the guilt then trying to soften it with that "young lady" talk, are ya? Well, it won't work with me. ;) Believe me, though, I'll do everything I can to be there for the next one.

Rob, I don't know your time table or if the move is even certain. But, if it is, I'm hoping you'll take Hugh up on his offer and let me know how it goes. I want to be prepared!

Honestly? You'd have a great time, because he's a great guy. And his screenplay is really good, too! :)

That's right, Lorinda, Dear. Pile on the syrup and whipped cream. Drizzle the honey from the plastic squeeze bear. Throw around the peppermint soap. All of your sweet words will not get you out of your obligation to help make my movie a hit. I'm no fool! I always try to hire the award winning talent! Yes, gentle readers, in case you don't know, Lorinda took home top honors for this last DV Challenge. So yeah, I'm gonna hire the the one woman who's gonna make my movie look great (she also has a dolly crane!). Movie making is a team effort.

My only concern at this point is the difficulty in shooting two scenes: A full moonlit beach at night and a passing thunderstorm at an outdoor cafe. I will think of something but mark my words, I will shoot those scenes. I will make them happen. Practice practice practice.

I'm in NJ as well. Jackson, NJ. Just moved there from Linden, NJ and I commute to NYC for work still... What a drag.

I'm in the Philly suburbs but try to spend as much time as I can at my house in Wildwood Crest "down the shore". I figure I spend almost half the year there . . .weekends and all summer. This June I'll be moving the G5 and 30" monitor there . . . but it's tough to edit on those beautiful summer days when the beach is calling just a few blocks away in one of America's best beach towns! The Jersey Shore Rocks!

OK sorry, looks like I'll be heading to LA now.... Im in LA as i type and its only 50ish and I'm freezing!!!!! (hello.. im from hawaii...)

I appreciate all the friendly help though!

Hey, I just wanted to give a shout out to the Jersey crowd. I've been in Nevada for many years, but I was born in Passaic County and raised in Ocean County. I came west after high school.

I return to New Jersey every summer to visit family. This is not a good thing for them because they usually end up spending their lots of their hard earned cash on me at Great Adventure.

Been in Ocean County most of my life except for a few years out of punishment for bad behavior as a TV news reporter/anchor. Back since the late 80's. commute daily to Trenton.

For those local, I play sax with the Hillcrest Gang, (www.thehillcrestgang.com) any gigs they have at the Red Lion in Brick, I will be there. (cutting back on my playing out due to time constraints)

Bill, I'm from the Long Beach Island area. How about you?

Toms River

Welcome Bill! Back in the 1970's I had my first "real" job as tech supervisor for the performing arts center at Ocean County College :-) Have always liked that area, and I still try to get out to Island Beach State park whenever I can.

Hi Boyd,

Your name is kinda familiar. I attended OCC from 77-79. Journalism courses etc.
I actually attended the last Valhalla... remember that?

Bill

Hmm... I musta missed that because I don't know what "Valhalla" is (aside from the mythical one ;-)

I was working at OCC a few years before you actually - 1972-73. Those were some fun, wild times!

Hiya Bill, I'm in Lawrenceville, near Princeton. Not a native, but have been here since '86. Don't think I'll live anywhere else, although provincial France has its appeal.

I actually live in Lawrenceville as well. I'd continue to live for a good while too if I could afford it :)

Well, it looks like we're all in the South-ish part of NJ. Maybe we should get together for dinner some evening.

Boyd,

Valhalla was in the Student Center, buy a Stein and drink all night, well one night it kinda got outta hand, and some, er inebriated, students killed some of the trees on the Mall by the Planetarium etc, and not like a Dog kills grass, though I think some of that happened too, the trunks were cracked from the weight of the evening.

that was it for Valhalla for the OCC Vikings! coffeehouses continued for a bit.

Some of you will know of Walter Graff, member here and many other similar web sites. Every so often, Walter gives lighting/production workshops in NYC, which are all-day affairs and cost only $100 per person for hands-on instruction. Walter just announced a series of these during the month of April and Tim Gray (see above posts) and I wanted to go, but just couldn't make the dates work.

I emailed Walter to see if we could set up a workshop for later in May for a "Private" group made up of Tim, me and any others on this thread living in NJ. We could not only receive some professional instruction, but meet each other in person for the first time. Perhaps some semi-permanent association could grow from that - a NJ Network. If you are interested, post, IM, or email me. Could be fun.

Jack Barker
Lawrence, NJ
iJack33 (AIM)
RogueCrew@Verizon.net

I just wanted to say that I think this is a great idea for two reasons:

1 - I need to learn how to light.
2 - This could be an invaluable resource for independent movie makers. We could:

a - trade actors and contacts.
b - help each other out with projects.
c - have someone to show our crappy finished products too.
d - collaborate (GASP!)

Not to make us sound not serious, but here is a little about me. My brother and I are young "film makers" interested in putting together a couple movies. We've been making videos since we were really young (he's 30 and I'm 27 now). It's now time to step it up.

We are not in it for the money. Actually, we seem to be in it for the lack of money. I hate to say it, but this is a labor of love. We have day jobs that pay the bills.

I got interested in the sound end of things. I managed to pick up a small sound kit. Mike (my brother) fancies himself as a writer. He's written a couple shorts and just finished the 1st draft of a 90 min movie. He managed to pick up a JVC HD100. This is our first real camera that we actually own. We've been using a DVX100 for the last year, but it wasn't ours.

We're filming a short this weekend. It's going to be rough since there isn't a large enough crew, but we will make do. The lighting is going to be a really rough point - we have a small kit but the only real experience I have is some interview lighting (been doing a lot of interviews for a different project). We've decided that we want to have a trial by fire with this project and learn the hard way. This will hopefully give us some experience that will help us work with others.

After this (read after next weekend) we want to volunteer on other local projects. Get some experience, meet some friends, and get a community going. Want a boom operator/sound guy? I'm willing. We can also be operate a camera, rig lights, etc. Crap, if you need a "science advisor," I might be able to help with that too. I can't believe that all the independant movie makers in NJ have their stuff together so much that they wouldn't die to be part of a community. This is a golden opportunity.

Hey everyone, this is actually my first post on this board. I been out the game for a while and its was such a relief to find these boards cause everyone here really seems to know what they are talkin about and thats a real breath of fresh air to me. Anyway I live in the great state of New Jersey, the manalapan area, Im 21 and have been a faithfull filmmaker since i knew how to hold a camera. The past few years have been extremely rough and I had to put off any and all projects. Now things are starting to look up and I started writing and experimenting with little projects. But what I really want is to collaborate with someone from NJ who is like me. Actually, I have NEVER had the pleasure of meeting up with someone who loves the art as much as I do. Here in Manalapan there are no serious filmmakers, anyone who i did try to collaborate with wanted to shoot an action scene in their backyard. I love action, but I seem to long for something that has more meaning then muzzle flashes. I honestly am dying to get something off the ground before the end of the summer. Im sure everyone here knows that huge huge feeling of emptiness when you have not said the word "action" in a while. If there is anyone in this state who shares my love for the art, and who would want to put two great minds together, then please reply. Again, thanks everyone for your proffessional and knowledgable info found around every corner in this site.

Chime in on the other NJ thread.

i didnt even see that.

definetly. im up for it. i wanna get back in the mix of things so bad my heads gonna explode.

I'm in Atlantic City and have access to real cops (and real characters, as well) who want to act plus a PD here and there who will allow us to use the property. I like the idea.

Ed, Hugh. How does Sunday, May 21 work for you guys? Please email me (bottom of my post, above). If we don't get a quorum, we don't go.

Edit:

Just heard from Walter Graff. He would be glad to accommodate us and the group should be 6 in number. So come on guys, jump in.

just sent you an e-mail jack. Im in.

I just noticed that earlier, I posted about cutting back on my playing time, well it's cut back to zero for the moment.

Lighting has always been a bear for me. Especially as a one person production department. Just ordered an Arri light kit with a softbox, hoping that will help a bit, the old Smith victor kit is falling apart!

Jack not sure how my schedule works but I am definitely interested.

Jack I sent you an e-mail. I'm very interested.

okey dokey, checked my schedule.... I'm in.

Wow! I'm really psyched. I thought it would take weeks of arm-twisting to get a quorum for this gig. So anyway, I guess that closes this intake, as Walter likes to keep the groups small to allow everyone some hands-on time.

The group:
Kenn Bell, Bill Mecca, Ed Grabowski, Hugh DiMauro, Tim Gray, Mike Gray and yours truly, Jack Barker.

In the immortal words of Kevin Spacey as "Detective Jack Vincennes" in LA CONFIDENTIAL:

JACK'S BACK!

And Jack, tell your cousin, Bob, that he looks really good with that white hair of his! And he's still a hit with the ladies, at his age! HA!

Who knows, after the workshop, whiskey and coffee?

Kevin Spacey - what an excellent actor! Deservedly, also one of the Garden State's favorite sons (South Orange) and he's one of Hollywood's biggest supporters of independent film.

Oh yes! I agree! I became a BIG Spacey fan after his performance in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

There's also Roy Scheider.

There are so many, I couldn't choose. "The Shipping News", "American Beauty", "The Usual Suspects", and of course his incomparable turn on the TV series, "Wise Guy," as the sympathetic uber-villain, Mel Profitt.

Gene Hackman. Steve McQueen. Ben Kingsley (Krishna Bhanji)

Hi. Coming in to this thread kinda late. But I live in NJ (Princeton) and do documentary & video art. Not as a day job (I teach), but the video work consumes much of my free time. I wonder what types of video you other folks who are in NJ do.

Sorry I missed out on the lighting workshop, but if there's ever another, I'd be interested.

Hi Carolyn, welcome to the thread and to DVInfo - maybe the best site of its kind.

We have organized the Lighting Workshop for Sunday, May 21st, in NYC and as it turns out, one of our number has had to drop out, so there is a place available. Not one of us has ever met another, except here at DVInfo and we're really looking forward to changing that and to a great workshop.

Drop me a line if you're interested.

Jack Barker
Lawrence, NJ
iJack33 (AIM)
RogueCrew@Verizon.net

BTW, my IM is always on since I work at my computer all day.

I'm in west Essex county, very near the border with Morris cty.

I doubt I have the knowledge and experience that most here do, but I'm hoping to increase that as much - and as soon - as possible.

Looking forward to spending lots more time on this board.

Welcome to DVinfo Denis! Will look forward to hearing about what you're up to.

I kept trying to find time to join this forum for quite awhile and now thanks to the slow render times of Ppro I have that time.
I'm from New Jersey and have been full time working the event video business for the past 5 years using Sony and Canon cameras, Premiere, Ppro, Avid and FCP.
I hope I can be of help to this community.

Welcome Enrique! There are a number of us New Jerseyans here at DVinfo:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=7664
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=12648
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=28047

I'm in Northern NJ, near the border of Morris, Passaic, & Essex Counties. Very new to the forum myself, and just moving up from consumer products.
Recently purchased a Panny HVX-200, tripod, dolly, a few mics, and have ordered a new computer for the latest Adobe suite w/Flash. Have been doing video on/off for family/friends for more than 15 years, and have decided to take the plunge after much encouragement from others. What I'm looking for now is more experience in the "real world." Have worked on/off with a local producer for about a year, but am always looking to learn from others, as well as my mistakes. If you ever find yourself in need of either a second camera, or "crew help" with one of your projects, contact me. If I'm available, I'll do what I can.

Denis

I'm from Plainfield, New Jersey, in Union County.

Hey Boyd, I remember your area from the time when I was stationed at McGuire AFB a looooooong time ago. Other than Pleasantville/Brigantine area and Ocean City for weddings haven't hung out much in that area lately.
Dennis, might take you up on that. I have to check my schedule because I think that I overbooked a wedding and two graduations on the same day. I'll let you know very soon.
Glenn, glad to meet you.
I checked Boyd's threads and I see a few friends there. Good to know I'm in good company and at the risk of sounding "Dumb" wish I remembered to log in more often a few years ago before I got deleted for lack of use of this forum.

I'm from NJ. Riverside Nj