Session 3 Has Come to a Close

We had our premiers of "A Little Bit O'Moonshine" and "Pranking 'Alex'" on Friday. Sara's whole family was in attendance, and we had a wonderful time. 

This last session was lots of fun and very productive. I've had such a great time over the past six weeks instructing 2 Films, 2 Weeks. I hope all of my participants had just as much fun as I did! 

I will leave you with some concluding images from Session 3:

Sara and her family brought me a bouquet of flowers! They were beautiful!

Below we see our intrepid film maker enjoying the premier of her films with her family. I see Oscars in the future!

Hope everyone has a fun and film-filled rest of their summer!

Session 3 Continues!

We are plugging right along in session three. Today Sara and I shot the second movie-- a thriller set in an eerie cemetery.

The end of last week was full of lots of adventures and learning though. While we were editing our first movie, we found a few Final Cut Pro tutorials that explained how to use the program to create a "bleach bypass" technique, most commonly seen in drama films. We also learned about keyframes, which enable the editor to add movement to their footage.

Yesterday, we experimented with overlay techniques in Final Cut to see if we could make it seem like one person was actually two people. We almost succeeded, however the clips all came out a little transparent-- which was definitely a cool effect, but not exactly what we were looking for. We also learned how to crop an image, so we tried to place two images side by side, but there was a pretty obvious seam.

Today we filmed the first part of our movie in the St. Mary's Cemetery in Corvallis. It is one of the older cemeteries in town, so we were able to find lots of old tombstones to use as a back drop. Tomorrow, we're going to continue with the shoot, but we are almost finished with the movie.

Sorry there are no pictures of the shoot right now. There were only the two of us physically on set, and we were both extremely busy. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon!

Session 3 Has Begun!

Session 3 of 2 Films, 2 Weeks started this past Monday. We developed our first movie, about an insurance salesman with an unexpected secret.

On Tuesday, the participants learned some essential film making techniques. They learned about composition, cinematography, different styles of acting, and much more!

Here Sara and Johan set up the tripod an essential piece of equipment for film making.

After they had been given a tutorial in basic camera operation, I took Sara and Johan outside to test out their new skills. Below they are working hard to frame up a shot of the lovely scenery around the BEC.

Sara looks quite the natural behind the lens. Here she is testing out her blossoming camera operating skills!

When it was Johan's turn behind the lens, he decided to try out a low-angle shot.

It certainly was fun experimenting with these two! They certainly got a great feel for camera operation!

Filming!

Today we filmed our movie! It was so much fun! Sara was the cinematographer and director, and I was the actor.

Below, Sara sets up an extremely high angle shot. Good thing we had plenty of tables to use to add extra height!

We were all quite busy, so unfortunately did not have very much time to take more pictures! :(

Tomorrow, we start to edit!

Gearing up for Session 3!

Well, I officially have two sessions of 2 Films, 2 Weeks under my belt, and I am so happy with how well each one went. I truly could not have asked for better participants! They are all great film makers.

I hope everyone continues to make movies even after the film studio is over. There are lots of opportunities out there for aspiring film makers, and if that's something that is appealing to someone, then it is important to keep practicing!

Session 3 starts August 3rd, but as for me, I am working on a few promotional videos for businesses around town. My first shoot is tomorrow, and I am very excited. I've never directed anything like a promo video, and am excited to see what it is all about! It is important to remember that with all film making, the goal of the director is to tell a story, regardless of subject matter or type of film.

I can't wait to meet my session 3 participants!f

Celebration for Session 2

I can't believe that Session 2 of 2 Films, 2 Weeks is already over! It was so much fun. The movies all turned out wonderfully! I am very proud of both of my participants and hope they had as much fun as I did. We held the culminating viewing this last Friday. All of their families came and we had lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. It was one of the loveliest movie premiers I have ever been to!

Below we have the participants of 2 Films, 2 Weeks posing for a photo op with their instructor!

Here we see Patrick with his mom and dad.

Here, we see Luke with his family.

I see Oscars in the future of these budding film makers. I only hope they'll remember me when they are accepting their awards!

Shooting Continues!

Today we finished up shooting for movie number two! Yay! We got some wonderful footage and had a blast. We started to review the clips to begin preparation for a long day of editing tomorrow!

I love the collaborative atmosphere of a film set. It's one of my favorite parts of film making. Patrick and Luke certainly make a great creative team!

Both Patrick and Luke reprized their roles of Bro-d and Dan, robbers extraordinaire!

Patrick wields the boom to record the best sound possible!

It was a great day of shooting; I am looking to the day of editing even more!

Film #2 Begins to Come Together...

Today was Day 1 of filming for Luke and Patrick's second film (unnamed at present). It was really exciting to see the concepts that we learned yesterday come into play on the shoot. We certainly shot lots of footage and now have lots of coverage to work with!

In this film, both Patrick and Luke took on multiple roles. They each played one of the main characters and were joint cinematographers.

Below, Luke poses in costume and as his alter-ego Bro-d, the 12 year old bandit forced to steal one million dollars to pay off his debts. 

Here, Patrick is our acting cinematographer, framing up a shot outside. He certainly looks like a natural behind the lens! (The shot turned out great too!)

Below, Patrick and I (the boom operator for this shoot, and sometimes cinematographer) plan out the choreography between the camera and the microphone for a panning shot of Luke.

After all of this hard work, our stars and crew needed a little down time!

We were able to film quite a bit of our movie, but there is still lots of work to go! Thankfully, we are able to resume shooting tomorrow. I'm sure it will go just as smoothly as today! I know I am looking forward to reviewing the footage!

More Advanced Techniques

Today, I introduced Luke and Patrick to more advanced film making techniques. We learned all about different conversation shots and the concept of "coverage". Below, we see Patrick and Luke both drawing fictional storyboards that give examples of four different types of shots: the wide shot, the medium shot, the close up, and the extreme close up.

Drawing on the board is always fun, and the two did a great job with their drawings!

Here are their drawings in a little more detail. (Shot before they were quickly erased!)

Here, Luke is carefully illustrating the "two-shot". During this drawing session, we all drew different types of conversation shots including the two-shot, over the shoulder shot, standard shot, and reverse shot.

Here are the wonderful pictures! The two certainly grasped these concepts quickly!

Patrick colors in his wide shot of a pine tree.

Now that Patrick and Luke are armed with this new information, they can enter into their shoot tomorrow prepared and full of many techniques that they can use to make their film even more awesome!

And Now for the Editing...

Every film maker knows how important editing is. Here Luke and Patrick work together to create movie magic!

They worked very hard for a very long time on a couple of projects. First, they learned their way around Final Cut Pro using some footage I shot with my friend that they dubbed Locked Out?

After they felt they grasped the concepts presented with the use of Final Cut Pro, they moved on to editing their own cinematic masterpiece The Disappearing Friends.

They certainly had lots of fun adding in lots of fun effects and stitchin the clips together to create a cohesive narrative!

A completed first film marked the end of yet another fun day at 2 Films, 2 Weeks!

Shooting The Disappearing Friends

Luke and Patrick decided to shoot on location at Ashbrook Independent School because of its rather versatile setting. We used the area facing the wetlands as well as the parking lot. It was a lovely day for shooting. The sun was out, but it certainly was HOT! It was also a bit windy, but luckily we were armed with our recently constructed windsock (pictured below). Its super fuzziness really helped cancel out wind noise!

Below, Patrick sits on the lawn contemplating his upcoming role in the scene.

Our intrepid cinematographer and star walk side by side on the way to shoot a scene. Luke was having a blast with the headphones on and the camera in hand.

 Here's a great close-up of Luke working the camera. It looks like he's using the manual focus ring to achieve  completely cinematic look!

Here, Patrick lends a hand, and tries out directing for a bit. He and Luke are working together to accurately portray the visual disappearance of their protagonist.

This was a very fun shooting day, and very successful. Everyone was so focused that there was even time at the end to make up some super funny bloopers!

Celebration and Viewing

Friday was a bit bittersweet as it marks the conclusion of the first session of 2 Films, 2 Weeks. We held our celebration/screening of the two films Dances with Werewolves and  Billy's Boss at 4pm. Everyone's families came, which lent the BEC an atmosphere one would expect at a movie premier!

Everett and his family even gave me flowers, which was so sweet!

Below is Everett with his parents.

Georgia and her Mom.

Karl and Ben with their parents.

I had lots of fun over the past 2 weeks and feel very lucky to have met and worked with these blossoming film makers!

I am even more excited for Session 2 to begin!

Session 2 Begins!

Hey all,

I just have to say that Session 1 of 2 Films, 2 Weeks went absolutely WONDERFULLY!! It was so much fun, and the movies turned out great. I am so proud of all of my new film makers!

Session 2 begins this Monday the 5th.

I am so excited!

Filming the Teddy Bear Movie-Day 2

Hello Everyone! Today, we finished up filming The Teddy Bear Movie. We shot some much needed coverage and captured wonderful takes for all of our scenes! We finished out the day of shooting with a fun photo shoot with our two teddy bear stars. The pair was incredibly photogenic and an adorable couple to boot!

Here they are amidst the grass enjoying a sunny day.

Karl and Everett help the bears pose together.

The bears enjoy a lovely day in the sun!

Karl inspects a piece of petrified wood during snack break.

Georgia smiles in the sun during snack break.

Another great day of shooting!

Filming the Teddy Bear Movie-Day 1

So, as of right now, our second film is lacking an official title, which will soon be remedied, but for right now I will just refer to it using our working title, The Teddy Bear Movie. Below are pictures chronicling our shoot courtesy of Georgia who was acting as our Production Assistant for the majority of the film. 

Below, we see Ben framing up a shot, while Karl assists. Karl is playing our protagonist Billy, while Ben is trying his hand at cinematography.

This picture beautifully captures the ordered chaos of a film shoot. Everything is happening simultaneously, and yet it always turns out in the end!

Ben is looking very impressive here as our intrepid cinematographer shot against a beautiful and dramatic sky! (In film making, we would call this a low angle shot.)

Here Karl (or Billy) is acting quite the fugitive, running for the door of the building he must "break into."

Ben watches in the background while Everett and I work together to find out the best place to put the boom so that we capture the best sound of Karl running to the door.

Here, Georgia takes on the role of paparazzo, taking a fun action shot through a bush of Everett, looking very much like an official cinematographer.

All in all, it was a very successful day of shooting. We shot more than 50 individual clips! Everyone was working wonderfully together. We've become quite the professional team. While we worked tirelessly, we still needed to capture a few more shots during day 2 of shooting...
More on that in the next post!

Day 6: Development of the 2nd Movie

Today we finished up Dances with Werewolves and even added a little bonus blooper reel! We also developed our second movie, which will be shot tomorrow... working title: The Teddy Bear Movie...

Very excited to begin work on it!

Day 5: Editing Dances with Werewolves

Day 5 marked the creation of Dances with Werewolves  in its polished form. using Final Cut Pro everyone had their own go at the computer to help craft a movie that they were all satisfied with.

Below, Georgia is working hard at the computer... perhaps turning the film black and white?

Karl and Everett offer their opinions on the movie so far

All that remains to be finished on Dances with Werewolves is the blooper reel! And come Monday, production will begin on the second movie!