How's the progress?

Dick Mays · March 21st, 2006, 07:27 AM

[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...

Meryem Ersoz · March 21st, 2006, 04:39 PM

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....

Mike Teutsch · March 21st, 2006, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

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

Meryem Ersoz · March 21st, 2006, 05:24 PM

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

Robert Martens · March 21st, 2006, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

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.

Bradley L Marlow · March 21st, 2006, 05:50 PM

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

Mark Utley · March 21st, 2006, 05:51 PM

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!

Meryem Ersoz · March 21st, 2006, 07:22 PM

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"....)

Bradley L Marlow · March 21st, 2006, 08:58 PM

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.

Robert Martens · March 21st, 2006, 10:47 PM

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.

Edward Slonaker · March 22nd, 2006, 08:28 AM

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 @#$%!!!

Steve Shilson · March 22nd, 2006, 09:23 AM

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

Meryem Ersoz · March 22nd, 2006, 10:12 AM

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.....

Mike Teutsch · March 22nd, 2006, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Slonaker

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

Robert Martens · March 22nd, 2006, 12:36 PM

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.

March 21st, 2006, 05:50 PM	#81
Bradley L Marlow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Central Wyoming Posts: 484	Way to go Meryem! Yes- I love your determination and certainly know the feeling. At least you are out schlepping :)

March 21st, 2006, 05:51 PM	#82
Mark Utley Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 479	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! __________________ Mark Utley

March 21st, 2006, 08:58 PM	#84
Bradley L Marlow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Central Wyoming Posts: 484	Yeah Mark... 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.

March 22nd, 2006, 08:28 AM	#86
Edward Slonaker Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hell's 6 acres in S. Texas Posts: 203	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 $30 'Grafflight' solutions.... Ba dah dah dah ba dum ba dah bum ba ba da ba da bum.....oh @#$%!!! __________________ Edward Slonaker El Pilon Productions San Patricio, Texas www.elpilon.com

March 21st, 2006, 07:27 AM	#76
Dick Mays Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 690	[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...

March 21st, 2006, 04:39 PM	#77
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	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....

March 21st, 2006, 05:24 PM	#79
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	guess i shoulda worn a helmet cam...probably would have turned out better than the originally intended shot....

March 21st, 2006, 07:22 PM	#83
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	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"....)

March 21st, 2006, 10:47 PM	#85
Robert Martens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 820	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.

March 22nd, 2006, 09:23 AM	#87
Steve Shilson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Windsor, Ontario Canada Posts: 49	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

March 22nd, 2006, 10:12 AM	#88
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	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.....

March 22nd, 2006, 12:36 PM	#90
Robert Martens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 820	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.