The Daily Production Rant at DVinfo.net

Dave Luda · October 14th, 2010, 10:34 PM

I'm a newb so indulge me... I thought it might be interesting to post a daily production rant. 12:18pm EST @ first I thought "wtf, captain obvious". Then about 4 hrs later I thought "wtf am I gonna do" Then T+6 hrs later I had what I hope is an original thought. That remains to be seen. 12:30 am EST and I have "conception" on paper. Tomorrow the goal is an actual dialogue on paper. Then asking all my friends to give up a weekend for a few slices of pizza and some beer. I'm having fun already!!! That may last a day or two ;) Tune in tomorrow for my next rant...if I can think of one.

Lorinda Norton · October 14th, 2010, 10:43 PM

LOL...you won't have to "think of one." Believe me, it will come to you--on a daily if not hourly basis. Glad you're having fun, Dave. :)

I took the liberty of moving your post to a thread named so because of you! This will be our usual "How's it going" thread. So, have at it, guys!

Dave Luda · October 14th, 2010, 11:07 PM

sweeeeet...4,6,8,10 characters

Andris Krastins · October 15th, 2010, 08:38 AM

I'm neck deep in other projects, but sometimes a thought comes up, and it speaks: "Masks, masks, masks!"
I want to hide from it.
Had some ideas, but I don't have the technical means for them. So waiting for other sparks.

Dave Luda · October 16th, 2010, 07:00 AM

Morning of Day 2.5 (east coast).........coffee, staring blankly at a page of what appears to be some form of the english language scribbled everywhere and in every direction, I swear at one point the words actually moved. I had an image of picking up the notepad and all the words floated to the bottom of the page like one of those kids toys filled with clear liquid... FOCUS!

Dialogue, well interesting dialogue is tough oh and this little thing called 'Life" keeps buggin the crap out of me. Shoo!

I'm still having fun :)

Dylan Couper · October 16th, 2010, 04:32 PM

Suggestion... when doing projects with tight time limits like this, sometimes the best way to work is...

1) Which actors can I get on short notice (lock them down)
2) What location can I use easily without restrictions (lock it down)
3) Write script for that single location with your actors. Make the first draft 2 pages. By the 3rd draft, you'll have 6 pages, which you'll then kill yourself cutting down to 3-4 again. :)
4) Shoot it within 2 days of writing it, and leave yourself as much time for post as possible.
5) Get your rough cut done within 12 hours of shooting.
6) Breath
7) Realize you still need to polish your cut, color, foley, score, titles, render, updload... all within the last 2 hours before the deadline. :)

Henry Williams · October 16th, 2010, 08:15 PM

I'm getting a VG10 monday/tuesday (yey!) so have the additional fun of learning to use a new camera on this shoot! (to be fair I've got a script written, a location locked down and one of the two actors, so I'm not doing too badly...)

And I'm sooo excited about being able to do a shoot with lovely shallow DoF and a decent sized light sensor rather than my old XH-A1 :)

Lorinda Norton · October 18th, 2010, 09:59 AM

A little behind, as usual. My son bailed me out by coming up with an idea last night, so now I have to find actors and turn the concept into a script. Then there's location, props...man, I'm feeling tired already. Gotta light the fire for this one!

...And then Henry had to remind me that my XH A1 is OLD. ;)

Marc Burleigh · October 18th, 2010, 10:41 AM

Was so fired up for this one... but then my Peter Jackson ambitions smacked into a wall of reality.

Getting scrambled to cover the miners' rescue in Chile meant putting this challenge on the back burner for a couple of days. But a flawless resolution of that news story and my return home on the weekend meant it was time to come up with something to avoid the Wall of Shame.

OK, so my entry won't have the cast and script I originally envisioned, but I still managed to throw together a first act last night. The next couple of acts are to be knocked down over the next couple of days, hopefully leaving time for a decent edit. As usual, getting reliable performers together seems the hardest challenge. Reckon this will have to be a two-hander. And, for this entry at least, KISS rules.

Henry Williams · October 18th, 2010, 01:48 PM

Many apologies Lorinda! The XH-A1 is a great cam, I love mine to bits and the only reason I'm using the VG10 is cos I want to test it out in a proper shoot environment before I start using it for cherry shots on paid jobs.

That and the lovely shallow DoF ;)

Great to hear how everyone's doing. Best of luck with all the shoots!

Marc Burleigh · October 19th, 2010, 07:33 AM

The craft cart last night had Saint-Emilion, ravioli in black truffles and profiteroles with artisanal ice-cream. Needless to say the cast was very well fed, very content indeed with the catering, but not so productive. Nothing shot. Note to self: don't overdo the bribery; next time, stick to sandwiches and soda.

Timothy White · October 19th, 2010, 08:42 AM

I'm having trouble with my script. :/

I have in my mind the basic idea, but I'll need about 4 people to carry it out--and when I'm the only one to operate the camera and act at the same time... Frustrations!! :P

I'll see what I can come up with, but I may have to drop out. :(

Bob Krieger · October 19th, 2010, 09:08 AM

Writing is an art... that seems to be evading moi at the moment. I have an opportunity to write and direct an episodic piece (2-3 minutes each) for inclusion into a local weekly program. The skits should have one continuous story arc throughout the 13 episodes.

I'm not asking for ideas or help (at this point) just ranting that the mind is blank and my day job isn't helping one darn bit.

Lorinda Norton · October 19th, 2010, 09:44 AM

Hang in there, guys! When we run it down to the wire we don't get to fine tune them as we'd like; at the same time I've seen some really good short films come out of 48 hour contests.

Timothy, we've also seen some great films right here from guys who had to do it all. It's a challenge framing oneself and figuring out interesting shots, but if the story is compelling enough static shots work just fine. So don't give up!

Last night I handed over the reigns to a friend of mine who has never done this sort of thing. The story became his so he's going to write, co-direct, and act in it. All I have to do is help with cast, crew, location, props and all that stuff. Which means I just became a producer. Love it! :)

Bruce Foreman · October 19th, 2010, 11:41 AM

Finished most of the shooting last night. Got real lucky, my most loyal actor was finally able to reach his cousin (the guy who played the Apache in the DVC "film trailer" challenge) and my daughter found us a woman interested in acting.

The team worked smoothly with each actor "improvising" some with very positive results.

Dang this is fun.

October 14th, 2010, 10:43 PM	#2
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	LOL...you won't have to "think of one." Believe me, it will come to you--on a daily if not hourly basis. Glad you're having fun, Dave. :) I took the liberty of moving your post to a thread named so because of you! This will be our usual "How's it going" thread. So, have at it, guys! __________________ Lorinda

October 14th, 2010, 11:07 PM	#3
Dave Luda Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 63	sweeeeet...4,6,8,10 characters Last edited by Chris Hurd; October 15th, 2010 at 06:41 AM.

October 15th, 2010, 08:38 AM	#4
Andris Krastins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Lielvārde, Latvia Posts: 326	I'm neck deep in other projects, but sometimes a thought comes up, and it speaks: "Masks, masks, masks!" I want to hide from it. Had some ideas, but I don't have the technical means for them. So waiting for other sparks. __________________ Our Fire Films - a free film project.

October 16th, 2010, 07:00 AM	#5
Dave Luda Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 63	Morning of Day 2.5 (east coast).........coffee, staring blankly at a page of what appears to be some form of the english language scribbled everywhere and in every direction, I swear at one point the words actually moved. I had an image of picking up the notepad and all the words floated to the bottom of the page like one of those kids toys filled with clear liquid... FOCUS! Dialogue, well interesting dialogue is tough oh and this little thing called 'Life" keeps buggin the crap out of me. Shoo! I'm still having fun :) Last edited by Dave Luda; October 16th, 2010 at 07:04 AM. Reason: to give C.H. something to do ;)

October 16th, 2010, 04:32 PM	#6
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Suggestion... when doing projects with tight time limits like this, sometimes the best way to work is... 1) Which actors can I get on short notice (lock them down) 2) What location can I use easily without restrictions (lock it down) 3) Write script for that single location with your actors. Make the first draft 2 pages. By the 3rd draft, you'll have 6 pages, which you'll then kill yourself cutting down to 3-4 again. :) 4) Shoot it within 2 days of writing it, and leave yourself as much time for post as possible. 5) Get your rough cut done within 12 hours of shooting. 6) Breath 7) Realize you still need to polish your cut, color, foley, score, titles, render, updload... all within the last 2 hours before the deadline. :) __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

October 14th, 2010, 10:34 PM	#1
Dave Luda Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 63	I'm a newb so indulge me... I thought it might be interesting to post a daily production rant. 12:18pm EST @ first I thought "wtf, captain obvious". Then about 4 hrs later I thought "wtf am I gonna do" Then T+6 hrs later I had what I hope is an original thought. That remains to be seen. 12:30 am EST and I have "conception" on paper. Tomorrow the goal is an actual dialogue on paper. Then asking all my friends to give up a weekend for a few slices of pizza and some beer. I'm having fun already!!! That may last a day or two ;) Tune in tomorrow for my next rant...if I can think of one.

October 16th, 2010, 08:15 PM	#7
Henry Williams Major Player Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lewisham, London, United Kingdom Posts: 408	I'm getting a VG10 monday/tuesday (yey!) so have the additional fun of learning to use a new camera on this shoot! (to be fair I've got a script written, a location locked down and one of the two actors, so I'm not doing too badly...) And I'm sooo excited about being able to do a shoot with lovely shallow DoF and a decent sized light sensor rather than my old XH-A1 :)

October 18th, 2010, 09:59 AM	#8
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	A little behind, as usual. My son bailed me out by coming up with an idea last night, so now I have to find actors and turn the concept into a script. Then there's location, props...man, I'm feeling tired already. Gotta light the fire for this one! ...And then Henry had to remind me that my XH A1 is OLD. ;) __________________ Lorinda

October 18th, 2010, 10:41 AM	#9
Marc Burleigh Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Paris (France) Posts: 143	Was so fired up for this one... but then my Peter Jackson ambitions smacked into a wall of reality. Getting scrambled to cover the miners' rescue in Chile meant putting this challenge on the back burner for a couple of days. But a flawless resolution of that news story and my return home on the weekend meant it was time to come up with something to avoid the Wall of Shame. OK, so my entry won't have the cast and script I originally envisioned, but I still managed to throw together a first act last night. The next couple of acts are to be knocked down over the next couple of days, hopefully leaving time for a decent edit. As usual, getting reliable performers together seems the hardest challenge. Reckon this will have to be a two-hander. And, for this entry at least, KISS rules.

October 18th, 2010, 01:48 PM	#10
Henry Williams Major Player Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lewisham, London, United Kingdom Posts: 408	Many apologies Lorinda! The XH-A1 is a great cam, I love mine to bits and the only reason I'm using the VG10 is cos I want to test it out in a proper shoot environment before I start using it for cherry shots on paid jobs. That and the lovely shallow DoF ;) Great to hear how everyone's doing. Best of luck with all the shoots!

October 19th, 2010, 07:33 AM	#11
Marc Burleigh Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Paris (France) Posts: 143	The craft cart last night had Saint-Emilion, ravioli in black truffles and profiteroles with artisanal ice-cream. Needless to say the cast was very well fed, very content indeed with the catering, but not so productive. Nothing shot. Note to self: don't overdo the bribery; next time, stick to sandwiches and soda.

October 19th, 2010, 08:42 AM	#12
Timothy White New Boot Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 10	I'm having trouble with my script. :/ I have in my mind the basic idea, but I'll need about 4 people to carry it out--and when I'm the only one to operate the camera and act at the same time... Frustrations!! :P I'll see what I can come up with, but I may have to drop out. :(

October 19th, 2010, 09:08 AM	#13
Bob Krieger Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Abita Springs, LA Posts: 245	Writing is an art... that seems to be evading moi at the moment. I have an opportunity to write and direct an episodic piece (2-3 minutes each) for inclusion into a local weekly program. The skits should have one continuous story arc throughout the 13 episodes. I'm not asking for ideas or help (at this point) just ranting that the mind is blank and my day job isn't helping one darn bit.

October 19th, 2010, 09:44 AM	#14
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	Hang in there, guys! When we run it down to the wire we don't get to fine tune them as we'd like; at the same time I've seen some really good short films come out of 48 hour contests. Timothy, we've also seen some great films right here from guys who had to do it all. It's a challenge framing oneself and figuring out interesting shots, but if the story is compelling enough static shots work just fine. So don't give up! Last night I handed over the reigns to a friend of mine who has never done this sort of thing. The story became his so he's going to write, co-direct, and act in it. All I have to do is help with cast, crew, location, props and all that stuff. Which means I just became a producer. Love it! :) __________________ Lorinda

October 19th, 2010, 11:41 AM	#15
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Finished most of the shooting last night. Got real lucky, my most loyal actor was finally able to reach his cousin (the guy who played the Apache in the DVC "film trailer" challenge) and my daughter found us a woman interested in acting. The team worked smoothly with each actor "improvising" some with very positive results. Dang this is fun.