Two days left on the last thesis show. This is another six day double - the Director of Photography gave up his film to DP and co-write this show. To my knowledge, this is the largest thesis production ever. It’s a sci-fi film with massive sets built on both soundstages and a giant warehouse. They [...]

Florida Green Production Plan - Tips on how to make your production environmentally friendly.
Cinematographer Job Description - Just in case you weren’t sure, a list of responsibilities for the cinematographer.
Avid ScriptSync demo - As much as I don’t like Avid, this is pretty awesome. You can import your script and Avid analyzes the dialogue and [...]

I’m Second Assistant Director (2AD) right now. This is my last ATL job and second to last thesis show. I wouldn’t call this show a disaster…yet.
The main problem is lack of communication. The UPM and I have been kept in the dark about what’s going on from the Producer. Generally, before Director’s Prep, the ATL [...]

15 Must-Have Freeware Programs for Filmmakers [Digital Filmmaking Blog] - Free is always good, and this list covers all stages of production. If the software can do what the descriptions say, this is some amazing freeware.
Music Video Cliches [Coudal] - Read this.
It’s Getting Hot In Here: Scranton Style - Someone has way too much time [...]

Bring a backpack.
Get the sound cart off the grip truck. Go find a quiet spot and build the boom. Stuff all the extra cables and pre-amp inside the backpack. It will make moving around a lot easier.
Find craft services and chill with the Sound Mixer as you wait for everyone to get setup.
Watch rehearsals. Come [...]

Just got off another three day thesis show as boom operator. The director is a big Sam Raimi fan, so Unmasked was about superheros. It was also one of the most elaborate sets I’ve been on.
On the first day, Dr. Squid and the Electric Avenger had a showdown in a house, with the Avenger smashing [...]

Lighting for High Definition (HD) - Lighting for HD definitely makes life easier for experienced professionals, but I wonder if this will hurt those just starting out. Will we soon become dependent on what the monitor tells us and forget (or never learn) how to take light readings or determine contrast ratios?
How to Be Creative [...]

I had my meeting with the Dean. I don’t think it could have gone better.
“I’d like to take the footage that didn’t make it into the documentary and turn it into podcasts.”
“You know, I’m feeling in a real experimental mood. The school is trying to do all sorts of new distribution methods and this was [...]

I’ve got a meeting with the Dean of the Film School today. It’s nothing bad, I scheduled this meeting. When I went to Steelcase for my documentary, I got a two hour tour that covered a lot of interesting office design topics. About a minute ended up in the final cut of Cubicles, so I [...]

This was a trick that was used during one of the shows I was on last weekend. It was a funeral scene inside a church, so the pews had to be full of mourners. The only problem was we had about ten extras, half of which were crew. Fortunately, the camera can be fooled.

This is [...]