A particularily difficult series of undertakings...
We have done four shoots since I last posted.
Monday, Feb 6th
We shot a whole bunch of green-screen last-night for scenes too difficult to get in the cold. Although the shoot went really well, I am finding the set-up takes an overly long time. To anyone considering doing this crazy no-budget film-making thing, try and pull a few good friends into the mad scheme as well, and make sure they learn how to set up at least some aspect of a film shoot. Being the only guy that knows where everything goes, runs camera, directs actors, while managing to stay focused is just asking for scrambled brains!
Sunday, Feb 7th
On Sunday afternoon we shot outdoors at -30°C (-38° with windchill).
I must say, for being that cold, it went really well. Not a single case of frostbite, and my camera kept rolling on with only a single battery. I did not expect that.
We weren't foolish enough to attempt dialogue scenes under those conditions, but we did get a whole bunch of pick-ups of our actors walking, some much-needed vehicle scenes and a bunch more really important shots.
The light didn't cooperate, as it was clear and sunny. Our previous outdoor shoot was overcast and dim, so the footage isn't matching as well as I'd like. Overall, however, I can't complain. We got some very good shots, and I have managed some not terrible solutions in post.
Thursday, Feb 11th & Saturday, Feb 6th
Earlier in the week we did an indoor shoot with heavy dialogue that also went splendidly, even the audio worked out. We have resorted to the tried-and-true shotgun mic on a boom pole method. I can see why it's the go-to way for up-close filming; even with my low-end Rode Video mic, I am still getting very usable sound. Coupled with some new audio editing tricks its all working out.
Speaking of audio tricks, I have been trying since we began to remove the 'Power-Corp Humm' from a bunch of my recorded dialogue without success. Finally, I managed to hit pay-dirt by using a piece of free software called Audacity and some careful tweaking.
Software has been a real bastard of a problem since I started filming. My old copy of Sony Vegas Pro doesn't like my new Windows 10 PC in the slightest. So after a month of wrestling with it, I gave up and decided to play with DaVinci Resolve. Although my computer keeps telling me that my GFX card doesn't have enough video RAM to handle its awesomeness, it just seems to ignore the error and keeps working. I am still a little nervous that the whole thing is going to swallow it's own head at some point, but hey, for now its working.
We have another small green-screen shoot tonight. Then Thursday night we have plans to shoot our final scenes. Whew... almost done all the filming. Then I just have to finishing editing this sucker!
JJ
Monday, Feb 6th
We shot a whole bunch of green-screen last-night for scenes too difficult to get in the cold. Although the shoot went really well, I am finding the set-up takes an overly long time. To anyone considering doing this crazy no-budget film-making thing, try and pull a few good friends into the mad scheme as well, and make sure they learn how to set up at least some aspect of a film shoot. Being the only guy that knows where everything goes, runs camera, directs actors, while managing to stay focused is just asking for scrambled brains!
Sunday, Feb 7th
On Sunday afternoon we shot outdoors at -30°C (-38° with windchill).
I must say, for being that cold, it went really well. Not a single case of frostbite, and my camera kept rolling on with only a single battery. I did not expect that.
We weren't foolish enough to attempt dialogue scenes under those conditions, but we did get a whole bunch of pick-ups of our actors walking, some much-needed vehicle scenes and a bunch more really important shots.
The light didn't cooperate, as it was clear and sunny. Our previous outdoor shoot was overcast and dim, so the footage isn't matching as well as I'd like. Overall, however, I can't complain. We got some very good shots, and I have managed some not terrible solutions in post.
Thursday, Feb 11th & Saturday, Feb 6th
Earlier in the week we did an indoor shoot with heavy dialogue that also went splendidly, even the audio worked out. We have resorted to the tried-and-true shotgun mic on a boom pole method. I can see why it's the go-to way for up-close filming; even with my low-end Rode Video mic, I am still getting very usable sound. Coupled with some new audio editing tricks its all working out.
Speaking of audio tricks, I have been trying since we began to remove the 'Power-Corp Humm' from a bunch of my recorded dialogue without success. Finally, I managed to hit pay-dirt by using a piece of free software called Audacity and some careful tweaking.
Software has been a real bastard of a problem since I started filming. My old copy of Sony Vegas Pro doesn't like my new Windows 10 PC in the slightest. So after a month of wrestling with it, I gave up and decided to play with DaVinci Resolve. Although my computer keeps telling me that my GFX card doesn't have enough video RAM to handle its awesomeness, it just seems to ignore the error and keeps working. I am still a little nervous that the whole thing is going to swallow it's own head at some point, but hey, for now its working.
We have another small green-screen shoot tonight. Then Thursday night we have plans to shoot our final scenes. Whew... almost done all the filming. Then I just have to finishing editing this sucker!
JJ
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