New uses for cigarette cases

Double Trouble

Just a quick and basic test of using a matte to get myself on screen twice at once. We'll be using this effect soon in a short comedy about time travel called Bob Time. I feathered the edge of the matte to keep it from being too harsh. I think I can see some blurring along the line of the matte, but it's not too obvious.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

On set photos from filming 60

60-8042, originally uploaded by awardsounds.

Alan took a few photos when we were filming last week. Check them out here.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Magic Lantern extends the Canon 5D's video capabilities

Magic Lantern firmware introduction from Trammell Hudson on Vimeo.

The Canon 5D mk2 already has some very tempting features for film making. Trammel Hudson has written a firmware hack that unlocks some of the audio capabilities and adds useful onscreen guides for framing and metering. More here.

To be honest, if I was film making with a high end SLR I'd probably invest in a good portable sound recording rig unless I was planning to record in some very contained spaces.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Buyacredit.com- fund a film by selling space in the credits

The idea of selling shares in a movie to raise financing for it is not new. Buyacredit.com is the latest variation on the theme. Three teenagers are selling mentions in the end credits for £1/$2 a share with the aim of raising a million to make their movie. The video on the front page looks like a spoof, so I don't know what to make of the rest of the proposal. Let's assume it's genuine and wish them luck.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Recording the voice over for 60

Recording the voice over for 60, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

Scarlett and Gabe are Voice 1 and Voice 2 for 60. We have recorded 4 takes and I'll pick and mix the best versions to dub over the live action.

See more Venn production photos at the Venn Flickr set

Getting the film look with digital video

This tutorial is for Adobe After Effects, something I don't have access to at the moment, but I'm sure a lot of it can be reproduced in other programs. Plus, the information on camera settings was really useful.

via 1000 Dollar Film

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Be your own ILM

1000 Dollar film has found a video showing some of the tricks software can pull to improve footage with information from still photos. Wow.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Boom

Boom, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

I bought a monopod for a camera, mounted the microphone on it and used it as my boom mike. After some teething troubles (I unwrapped the cable from arround the metal tube because I'm sure it was causing interference) it worked quite well.

Despite the suspension the mic still picks up the scrapes and squeaks as I shift the boom, and clinks as the cable waves into things, so I'm learning the art of holding it perfectly still for a whole take.

Become a fan of Venn

If you're on Facebook there is now a new way for you to track Venn. Sign up as a fan of the series at this page. Updates and news will be posted there as well as at venn.tv and here.

Technorati tag: Venn, Spinneyhead

Venn.tv

Venn now has a home- www.venn.tv.

Now that that is sorted out I can do some more work on finding funding and rewriting the first two episodes. The first draft of the new versions is a bit naughtier than the previous versions.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Venn - more designs

I'm about to put together a promo booklet for Venn, to send to possible investors, and today I've done a couple of rough designs for the cover.





It also seemes appropriate to redo the relationships diagram as a Venn diagram.



Technorati tag: Venn, Spinneyhead

Bloody Omaha

Three graphic designers, a car full of props, dozens of takes and a lot of ingenuity recreate the landings on Omaha Beach.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Venn - Episode 0

This is the teaser episode for the upcoming series from Spinneyhead Presents. I'm working on a business plan to film at least one episode a month and back them up with workshop and "how to" pieces.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Venn title logo ideas

Venn, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

A few ideas for the Venn title logo that I sketched over Christmas. Episode 0 is going to have a simpler logo.

Filming Venn episode 0

Filming Venn episode 0, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

I've just uploaded a few pictures taken when we were shooting Episode 0 on December 8th.

We're not quite going to get the video out before Christmas. Alan and I are putting the final touches to it at the moment. He's doing the sound and I'm going to clean up the titles and do some colour matching. It should be ready early in the New Year.

Francis Ford Coppola's studio in a van

Before the success of The Godfather sent him off making a string of high profile, big budget films, Coppola had wanted to be an experimental film maker, directing smaller, more personal works. For his latest movie he trimmed his equipment down until it would all fit into a Dodge (Mercedes) Sprinter.

via Jalopnik

Technorati tag: Equipment

Teas are good

We shot footage for Venn episode zero (a teaser/promo for the series proper) on Saturday and I started editing it together yesterday. It's very English, but right now I'm trying to get the "Tea and Sympathy" sequence down to a minute.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Venn

A bunch of film-making related links

I've been collecting links for the last week or tow and forgettimng to put them here on the blog so-

Investing in Digital Content I: The Problem with the "Hits" Model and Investing in Digital Content II: When it Actually Does Make Sense. A pair of guides for venture capitalists, via DISContent

Movie making manual on wikibooks.

PVC Fig Rig.

DIY Zeppelin wind shield.

Filmforge, a version of Drupal for video content.

The Manchester Open. Submit proposals for the 2009 and 2011 Manchester International Festivals.

Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking: Practical Techniques for the Guerilla Filmmaker

The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook

Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint

Subscribe to the Spinneyhead podcast

You can now get a RSS feed of Spinneyhead's videos on Revver, so that you don't miss new ones when I add them.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Venn test titles 1

The first of a few rough versions for the title sequence to Venn. It has to be fairly simple because it's going to change every episode so the Venn diagram shows who interacts with who during the episode that follows. Obviously the actor's name will be in the circle as well as the character's.



Arguing with Flash, because I hadn't used it in so long, meant that I only got the one title idea done today. I'll try to get at least one more, and some work on the title, done tomorrow.

Technorati tag: Titles, Venn

Titles

I'm looking for ideas, rules, etc. for title sequences. I've got a strong idea of what I want to do, but no clues on the soundtrack etc. yet. Anyway, some notes and inspirations.

Inventory: 22 TV Opening-Credit Sequences That Fit Their Shows Perfectly

The worst title sequence on TV. Ever.

Fifteen seconds to set a TV show's perfect tone.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

1000 film funds

Listed by Netribution after they failed to get funding to set up a list- 1000 film funding options in 45 countries.

Moxie Makers

For too many years talented filmmakers with engaging stories and fresh, distinctive voices have had to fight with public and private financiers for their first feature film to be made - Moxie Makers will change this.

Existing on the cutting edge of technology, with new opportunity and talent development at its core, Moxie will make exciting and original films that will stimulate and entertain both UK and international audiences.

Relationships

Yetsreday I drew up a spider diagram of the relationships of all the characters as they are at the beginning of the first episode. They rapidly change, of course. All future characters should somehow link in to this structure, which shouldn't be too hard. The web will grow outwards as the series goes on and actors come along with ideas for situations and people they'd like to play.

Names in blue are characters I don't have any current plans to use. Julie is most likely to be written into an episode eventually- dropping in, causing chaos and then leaving again. However, if an actor comes along with a compelling reason why they should play That Bastard or Whatsisface then I'll write something for them.

Click on the picture for a larger version.

We have a title!

And the title is Venn!

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

The independent future?

Over at Kung-Fu Monkey John Rogers has some comments on the coming micro film making revolution. He's confident it'll arrive, just not as fast as others are claiming. The technology to make the films and series cheaply is here, and getting cheaper, but he's not so sure about distribution and the necessary culture shift to go over to getting your television from the Internet.

I'd like to think that countries with a greater penetration of broadband will get the jump on the US in this area. The UK passed the States in percentage of broadband users a few years ago and is likely still ahead. Perhaps there'll be a British invasion of web content in the next few years that will help push the American industry.

I want Short Tales About Love and Sex (whatever it ends up being called) to be part of that invasion.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales - some thoughts on tone

I've written one and a bit episodes of Short Tales, and have a few scenarios for future stories. So I've worked out the tone I want to set with the series.

The working title is Short Tales About Love and Sex. The Sex part should give a lot away. There's going to be some adult subject matter, our Tales will be quite dirty.

When I think of an adult/dirty sitcom three titles come to mind. Two of them were brilliant, one was rubbish. This isn't going to be Gimme Gimme Gimme, for example, where screamed swear words passed for humour and the main characters were one dimensional at best. Nor is it going to be Men Behaving Badly, great as that series was. For the first few episodes at least, I think it's going to feel most like Coupling (in fact, the blurb on the Amazon page for Coupling sounds a lot like the way I'd describe Short Tales).

Some of the stories I've got planned drift into, and occasionally beyond, Coupling territory. Without going into complete plot breakdowns there'll be tales about earth shattering orgasm (or the lack of), shopping for sex toys and sexual fantasies. Mostly details are going to be conveyed in conversation, but people are going to end up in bed. I'd like to avoid the L shaped blanket (and as many as possible of the other cliches in the list), but still keep all nudity implied rather than seen. There'll be lots of head and (bare) shoulders shots and the occasional bare back but nothing more (well, male characters can have bare chests exposed I guess). I know it's a visual medium and you're supposed to go for show, not tell, but you can always show that a character has no clothes on without having any nipples on display.

The benefit that Short Tales will have is that it's about a rotating cast of characters, so we don't have to leave the same four or six people in limbo with occasional disturbances. We can go away and concentrate on someone else for a while once it's established that, yes, A and B do end up together and they are happy. There are many reasons for this, the most pragmatic of which is that this is a low/no budget production and I want my actors to go on to better things when they get the chance (and then come back when they're famous to give Short Tales a bit of extra cool). This turn over will allow a greater number of subjects without falling into soap opera-ness.

This isn't the final word on tone and themes by any means, but I hope it serves as an introduction. I shall expand upon it as episodes are written and shot.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Kate

This character has yet to be cast.

Kate is Mark's fiancee. She seems sweet and innocent, and a little dizzy, but has a keen mind and develops very dirty imagination. Sarah and Kate become friends after meeting at Kate and Mark's engagement party. The friendship is one of the catalysts for Kate's exploration of her naughtier side.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Spinneyhead studios shopping list

I plan to put some applications in for funding, effectively requests for an equipment budget for Spinneyhead Presents. It's always good in those situations to know what you're asking for the money for, so it's time to draw up a shopping list. I've asked Alan to look into sound equipment, so I'll consider some video and software requirements.

We really need a better camera. A good high definition camera like the Canon XH A1, for example. I read a neat suggestion in a review about shooting footage in high definition and using the larger image to simulate pans and close ups in the editing for standard definition output.

To get the steady shots necessary to take advantage of HD in this way we'll need a solid tripod. I'd need to do some more research, but Manfrotto is a name that came up in an initial search.

EBay may be a good place to go for lighting equipment. But I'll look into some of the options suggested in this article first.

Software wise I'd like the latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro, or, even better, the full CS3 production bundle.

I shall expand on this list as I think of new stuff I need.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

More thoughts on titles

I've been thinking about titles since reading Alan's suggestions, and I really like his first two suggestions- Connections and Intertwine.

These two words come close to summing up the style of story arcs I want to have in the series, with the focus drifting away from the initial four main characters onto those who start out in the background and then back again. Connections, or Connected, also calls to mind Six Degrees of Separation. And either one would be able to use one of two great early nineties indie hits for a theme if we were rich enough to do that sort of thing (Brownie points if you can name the ones I'm thinking of).

Intertwined is a little more insular than Connections, but would better describe the way storylines wrap around each other. I'm imagining a title sequence of vines wrapping around each other, or the pipes screensaver gone a bit mad.

For myself, I came up with the deliberately obscure Venn as a title suggestion. It's from a similar idea to Connections, calling up the way the characters' lives overlap with each other. It would be a good excuse for a gimmicky title sequence where the interactions of the episode are described graphically. So the title graphic for the first episode would look like this-

That may be a little too geeky, I don't know.

Does anyone have any comments or refined suggestions based upon these three ideas?

Technorati tag: Spinneyhead

Microfilmmaker magazine

An online magazine for the no-to-lo budget filmmaker. I'm particularly going to be checking out the article on revolutionary ways to promote your film.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

4Talent - Pilot

PILOT is an opportunity for drama screenwriters to win the chance to have their work produced and screened on Channel 4.

We're inviting exciting, talented writers to submit a treatment for a six-part drama series, an outline for a pilot episode for that series, and a script for a sample scene from that episode.

12 writers will be selected to take part in a packed weekend of industry workshops and masterclasses. They will then be hot-housed in one of three Scottish independent production companies, where mentoring producers and Channel 4 script editors will help them develop their series idea and complete a first draft script. After eight weeks of paid training, each writer will pitch to a selection panel. Only one idea from each production team will be selected. These three writers, along with their producers, will hotfoot it down to Channel 4's HQ in London to pitch to 4Talent and the Channel's Commissioning Editor for Drama, Sophie Gardiner.

One creative team will head home with a £90,000 commission to produce a pilot episode of their drama series, including a fee for the winning writer to complete a final draft script.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

60 seconds of fame

BAFTA and Orange have teamed up to organise a 60 second film competition. Upload your one minute masterpiece, have it voted on and possibly win yourself a place at the BAFTA awards ceremony.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Open Source video editing alternatives

I'm going to try to do the next Presents project on open source software as far as possible. Here's a list of open source video editors that could be useful.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

What's in a name?

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead


Let's get this started with some ideas for names for the Short Tales project:

Connections
Intertwine
Reflections
Falling Apart
Drifted
Finger
The Ian Seat (by the way Mojo now has an Ian Seat, well, actually it's called Ian's Chair)
Cheats
Infidelity
Just Three Words
Confused
Three Second Rule

Short Tales - an update

I haven't had much to report on the project for a few weeks, but it's been moving forward. Whilst in America I got some footage of myself on Times Square and under Niagara for what might become a running joke involving Robert. I've extended the script for part one, but I'd like to add more to take it nearer to fifteen minutes (at the moment it's just over ten). I've also authored the dvd for Memory. When I've had it tested on a few different systems and I've designed packaging I'll look into selling it through Lulu, Spinneyworld and local shops such as Magma.

The next step is to match actors to characters. There are four speaking parts in part one- Sarah, Paul, Gareth and Mark. I'd also like to have Mark's fiancee and possibly Vicky appear in a scene, even if they don't say anything. If there are more than six actors interested in the project then we'll put them in the background in the pub and party scenes of part one and bring their characters in later.

Other stuff worth thinking about-

Funding

To do this properly I think we need a sponsor. However, the best way to get a sponsor is to present them with an example of what they'll be paying for. So we should produce the first episode and then start shopping it around, online and off, to see who'll give us money.

Locations

The first episode has scenes in Paul's house, a pub, somewhere where an engagement party is held and Gareth's bedroom. I think I have somewhere for Paul's house, but need to find locations for all the others. It would be nice, with domestic locations in particular, if we can find places we can use again.

Title

We still need a better title than "Short Tales About Love and Sex".

Meeting

I'll arrange a meeting in the next couple of weeks. If you'd like to be kept informed of the plans send me an email or leave a message in the comments.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory- the dvd

I've spent the day exporting, converting and compressing the five episodes of Memory and the trailer to get them into a format suitable for use on a dvd. Tomorrow I'll practice with DVDStyler and start thinking about extras to put on it. There are quite a few pictures taken on the various shoots and I could compile the outtakes and create a before and after demonstration of colour correction and sound dubbing.

The dvd will be for cast and crew initially, but once I've got the files in place I'll be able to make more copies and sell them through Spinneyworld.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, DVD

Short tales character sketch- Vicky

This character has been cast. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Early to mid 30s. Vicky works with Paul and has recently moved to Manchester. He's one of the few people in town she knows and she's a potential romantic interest for him.

Vicky was married for a while, leaving her husband after he cheated on her. She's obviously a bit touchy about infidelity. There's a story in there about her going on a date with someone from work only to find out he is married.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales- first draft

I'm working on the second draft, but in the mean time, here's the first draft of episode one.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short tales character sketch- Robert

This character has been cast.

I'm going to be visiting America soon, so I thought it would be neat to get some footage to incorporate into the story. From that idea came the character of Robert.

Mid to late 30s. Robert is Gareth's step brother. He keeps getting phone calls from his little brother, but is rarely in the same city and sometimes not even the same country. I'll try to play him as non-geeky, even though that would be completely against type.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Julie

This character is yet to be cast. If you're interested please get in touch. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Early 30s. Julie is Sarah's sister and Paul's ex. She lives in another city, possibly even another country, and doesn't turn up that often. When she does I'm sure chaos would follow.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Mark

This character is yet to be cast. If you're interested please get in touch. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Mid to late 20s. Mark is an ex-boyfriend of Sarah's. Her University relationship, he is the person she's been with longest to date. At the start of the first episode he has just told Sarah (and Paul and others) that he is engaged. He doesn't play a big role in the first episode, but his engagement party is an important part of the story.

This character is open to development and his own storylines. They don't have to be about his relationship with Sarah, in fact it would be better if they weren't.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Gareth

This character has been cast. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Mid 20s. Gareth is a bit like a younger version of Paul, they worked together for a while and became friends. Gareth is actually quite happy in his current job, though he does feel bad that he seems to be the only one of his group of friends who has job satisfaction.

Paul sometimes wonders if Gareth and Sarah would be suited for each other, and wavers between playing matchmaker and leaving well enough alone. Gareth, if he absolutely couldn't avoid the subject, would admit that he thinks he's far too geeky for a girl as hot as Sarah and she'd never think of him that way.

So obviously they're going to sleep together.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Sarah

This character is yet to be cast. If you're interested please get in touch. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Early to mid 20s. Sarah is the younger sister of one of Paul's exes, Julie. They got on well when he was seeing her sister and stayed in touch, on and off, until Sarah came to Manchester to study. Secretly (she won't even admit it to herself) Sarah would like Paul and Julie to get back together because she's afraid their friendship might slowly die otherwise.

Sarah has a history of picking the wrong men, often because she has an aversion to taking advice. She has just started her first job and is discovering how dull employment can be.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales character sketch- Paul

This character is yet to be cast. If you're interested please get in touch. These notes are rough and will be tidied up as the character develops within the script and further as an actor fleshes them out.

Early to mid 30s. Paul works in IT and embodies some of the geek cliches. His house is a mess, but it does hold a large collection of consumer electronics. He's stagnating in his current job, but has yet to do anything about moving on.

Good natured but directionless, Paul always tries to do/say the right thing but feels he's not as wise as he wishes he were. Keeps insisting that his relationship with Sarah is just so she can introduce him to her hot friends, though it's obvious there's a lot of (platonic) love in it.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Short Tales- format and names

I'm going to make production of Spinneyhead's next project as interactive as possible. Until I set up forums and stuff the interactivity will be handled through this blog. I'm going to set up an overall label for Short Tales and secondary labels for character sketches, writing, production issues and any other areas that crop up. Please leave suggestions and start conversations in the comments of the relevant post. There will still be a fair amount of work done by email and by getting together. Please don't leave your emails in the comment thread, but get in touch with me and I'll add you in to messages.

This first production post is to raise two important issues- format of episodes and the little matter of a name.

For internet episodes the big constraint is file size. Based upon the experience of compressing for Memory, I think I could produce ten minute episodes and still have them at a suitable quality whilst staying small enough to fit under Revver's maximum size limit (100mb). However, I also remember reading that the average length of a YouTube video is in the region of two and a half minutes, suggesting that aiming at shorter attention spans works better.

Another, offline, factor I've been considering is the lengths of tv shows. I'm not looking at producing half hour episodes, but fifteen minutes would slot easily into many stations schedules. I'm thinking of marketing the first episode as a pilot, showing a local station like Channel M what we can do with nothing and seeing if they'll fund us to give them something for the late evening.

So I'm writing a fifteen minute script. The first draft is a mere nine pages, which roughly equates to nine minutes, but I wrote it before I started thinking of fifteen minute episodes. However, fifteen minutes is a bit long to compress well for the internet. So I'm thinking of splitting one fifteen minute episode into three five minute acts which each serve as webisodes.

Naming is a big deal. This project is currently called "Short Tales About Love and Sex". It's a working title and really, really needs changing before broadcast. Single word titles are popular- Coupling, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld (though the last two were named for their central character and we can't do that with this project as it's going to involve an ever changing group of characters). I don't think anything longer than three words is going to work, and if we do go for a phrase rather than a word, it has to sum up some key theme of the series- Men Behaving Badly is the best example I can think of for this.

Of course, it'll be hard to name the series until you know a bit more about it. At the moment I know the most about what I want to do with it and the themes I want to explore, and I can't think of a name. So I'm not expecting miracles from you. I'll post the first draft script and some character sketches and you might begin to get some ideas.

Here's to working together.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Backyard FX - Stunt fighting

Indymogul does a regular vidcast on low budget film making. This week- stunt fighting.

Where did I put my nunchuks?

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

The Great American Road Trip

4 guys, a bare bones plan and adventure on their minds. This site chronicles their travels. Be a part of the grass roots movement and get out on the road!

via Business Opportunities Weblog

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

FROM SMILERS TO GUTBUSTERS – SCRIPTING FOR COMEDY

FROM SMILERS TO GUTBUSTERS – SCRIPTING FOR COMEDY

A 10wk course beginning 2 October 2007

Beginning with the question ‘What is humour?’ this course will cover the techniques and skills for crafting comedy material for broadcast, performance and publication. We will also look at industry requirements and finding markets for your comedy writing.
o The nature of comedy, what makes people laugh and why
o Comedy writing techniques
o One-liners and sketches for radio, TV and performance
o Stand-up material
o Sourcing markets for comedy material

For more information contact:
Courses for the Public, Ellen Wilkinson Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Tel: 0161-275 3275
e-mail: cce.reception@manchester.ac.uk
Web: www.manchester.ac.uk/coursespublic

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

One week film challenge

Toshiba have offered to give me a laptop to review for a week or two. The details haven't been finalised yet, but I hope to get it later this month. They've said I can test it in any non-destructive way I can think of, so I'm going to see how good it is for making movies.

The challenge is to plan, shoot, edit and release a short film in a week, with as much work as possible done on the laptop. We'll start by batting around a few ideas now so I can put together a rough script or treatment for the start of the week. Work on the script over an evening, shoot stuff the next couple of days and then edit it all together.

I don't know when I'll be getting the laptop, and it may turn up at short notice, so I can't say when I'll be doing this. If you're interested, would like to be involved and/or can seed the project with ideas of what you'd like to shoot, please get in touch.


Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Bluescreen

Today, I noticed some YouTube videos on Chromakey (Blue / Green Screen)

The tutorial can be found Here


Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Writing romantic comedy

Less tongue in cheek guidelines for aspiring romcom writers.

Writing romantic comedy screenplays.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

"Without you I'm only me."

Screenwriter Ken Levine breaks down the modern romantic comedy formula.

Be sure to include five block comedy scenes. Zany sequences that generally involve destruction, humiliation, emasculation, dogs, and toilets. If they were making SOME LIKE IT HOT today Joe E. Brown would be giving Jack Lemmon a bikini wax. THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH would be Ben-Gay in Marilyn Monroe's panties.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory - Part 5

The finale. Hannah learns the truth about her father's death, and is faced with a terrible choice.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory - Part 4

Delayed due to my being away from the relevant pc over the weekend. Episode 4 of Memory.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory- Episode 4 delayed

Episode 4 of Memory will be uploaded on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I apologise for this, but I am away from the computer holding all the necessary files for a few days.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory- on location in the Green Building

Memory- on location in the Green Building
Originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

Part of a photo set from the day we shot in the Green Building. Mary prepares for the final scene.

The rest of the set is here. Tim also has two sets of photos, of filming and of the Green Building location.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory - Part 3

Part 3 of Memory is now online.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Episode 2 of Memory is now online. Hannah brings her friend George in to do some research, and more secrets are revealed.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory - Part 1

Part one of the five part series is now online. The remaining episodes will be released every Friday for the next four weeks.

This is our first piece of narrative video, please tell us what you think and ask any questions arising. We look forward to hearing from you.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Memory

Earth shattering kabooms

Detonation Films provide effects footage of gunshots and explosions, ready for chroma keying and other methods of compositing. Some of them are free, some charged for.

via Indy Mogul

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Memory is Not Part Of Manchester International Festival

But we are part of Not Manchester International Festival. Memory will premiere on the 29th of June, to coincide with the Festival's fringe, and there will be a get together to plan future projects.



Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Not Manchester International Festival

The very models of modern indie film makers- Learning from Four Eyed Monsters and We Need Girlfriends

Memory is ready to roll out- episode 1 will premiere on June 29th- and I'm contemplating new projects. What I want to do is a romantic comedy of self contained episodes, something a bit less involved than Memory.

We Need Girlfriends, by Ragtag Productions, is a good model for what I want to do next. Every month there's another seven minute episode featuring the romantic misadventures of geeky, insecure Henry, dumb, arrogant Rod and well meaning, average Tom. Newly single, the three must try to handle the complexities of New York's dating scene. They're hindered by live in exes, bad Myspace profiles and Rod's constant reinventing of the English language. Subplots and story arcs are carried over from episode to episode, and more than one story has generated merchandise.

Myspace supplies a lot of WNG's music and extras as well as a plot device. I imagine their friends list gets plundered regularly for help. They've mastered the art of asking for locations as well, filming in local restaurants and laundrettes. I'm only jealous because they're doing so much of the stuff I want to try.

I don't know what the cash flow is like for we Need Girlfriends, but I imagine it's heading toward being self sustaining as the mass of "Don't scam my squirrel" and Team Henry T-shirts start shifting. No doubt there'll be a DVD collection in the future. The ultimate success, up until recently, would have been spinning a tv series out of the concept. Now, however, that would be a retrograde step. Network television would water down the geeky purity of the show then cancel it because a lot of its natural audience lives elsewhere.

The cash flow for Four Eyed Monsters is more transparent. The front page of the film's site asks us to help Arin and Susan out of their $100,000 credit card debt by signing up to Spout or buying their DVDs.

The full film was put up on YouTube briefly and I managed to catch it. Mixing confession and fiction the result is something satisfyingly different. Reality and artifice blur in the film's ending and the acting/ directing team's video blogs about the experience so that it's hard to tell just how biographical the whole project is. But you simply don't care.

I'm not going to steal any of the stories or catchphrases from these projects. (Which is a shame, because there are some bits in We Need Girlfriends that are similar to stuff I'd thought of doing, and I'll have to fight not to claim Squirrel next time I spot a girl I fancy.) But I do want to foster some of their attitude. The internet has allowed them to find an audience and collaborators, as well as making it easier to distribute the finished product. It takes a lot of faith in yourself and your audience, and it won't always pay off big, but its a lot less risky than hoping to find one person in a studio who'll green light your pet project.

Spinneyhead will be working on an unnamed romantic comedy project soon. I'm plotting individual stories and whole arcs at the moment. If you'd like to be a part of it, no matter what you can contribute, please get in touch.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Indie Film

Fever Pitch

Got an idea for a film or TV show? Fever Pitch is a competition where you present first a 25 word pitch then a 150 word synopsis. The ten best will have five minutes to convince a panel of professionals and the audience of the genius of their idea at the 2007 Screenwriters' Festival. Closing date is Friday 2nd June.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Script Frenzy

From the people who brought you NaNoWriMo comes Script Frenzy. The idea- wite a full length screenplay or script in the month of June.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Script Frenzy

Voice over

Voice over, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

We spent a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon recording Mary's overdubbing for the film. Whilst it would have been better to have got the sound right on location, by having a muffled microphone or not filming on so windy a day, this worked out quite well. Alan is going to work his magic and we'll have dialogue you can actually hear over the wind noise.

More stuff on compression

Two useful links from Alan-

Wikipedia on video compression.

XVid setup guide.

Technorati tag: Video Compression, Spinneyhead

Mobile TV

Kyte.tv is a new contender in the world of online television. You can upload content and stream it to viewers around the world from your laptop and even some smartphones. How it fares against YouTube et al remains to be seen, but the number of channels available to content producers is a good thing.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

The art of the edit

I found this in the Spinneyhead archives- Making the cut, an article about the art of editing film. It makes a good companion to the last post.

Technorati tag: Video, Editing Spinneyhead

Thelma Schoonmaker- master editor interviewed

Thelma Schoonmaker has worked on most of Martin Scorsese's films and is often cited as the person who gets his visions cut together just right. The Independent interviewed her about her life and career in film. Sadly there were no words of wisdom on just how the art of editing works.

Technorati tag: Video, Editing, Spinneyhead

Lessons Learnt on Location

Filming has ended on Memory and I'm struggling with the initial edit. Then we'll need to do overdubbing and colour correction and some more sound stuff. But no more location shoots are needed.

It's been a learning experience. I know now a lot of things that should make future projects a bit easier. So long as I write them down and keep referring back to them. So here they are.

Get a Continuity Monkey

I was tempted to have every member of the team be [Job Title] Monkey, but there are probably union rules against that sort of thing. So I'll stick with just having a Continuity Monkey. In our first filming session, thankfully indoors and not on a restricted timetable, Mary needed to change outfits more often than she should because I hadn't sat down and worked out which scenes were where in the story's time line. Next time I need to get together with someone a week or so before the shoot and work out continuity, then have them there on the day to make sure I don't mess with it.

For future shoots I'd quite like a cinematographer as well. Someone who can get the best shots from the camera whilst I direct or try to act. Even my cheap mini-DV camera has dozens of settings any number or combination of which could have improved the quality of our footage and cut the amount of post production colour and levels balancing I'm going to have to do.

"Have you checked the sound?"

This became Tim's title on the first day's shoot. At the end of a take always rewind a way and check the quality of the soundtrack. It's better than getting the tapes home and finding you've mangled the soundtrack because of one of the following-

1. Silent Movie

When using an external microphone with in-line amplification, as we were, just leave it turned on no matter what and change the battery every so often. It's easier than having to remember to switch it on every take.

2. Wind Noise Blows

We have no useable dialogue from the filming session in Salford Quays, hence the need to re-dub the sequences. For future exterior shoots I'm going to look into making one of those furry microphones.

3. Electromagnetic Fields Are Not Your Friends

Our first problem with EM hum was our own fault. Trying too hard to be clever, we plugged the transformer into the camera whilst filming and got a 50 Hertz buzz on some key takes. Luckily, the worst of it can be removed with filters but we shouldn't have let it happen. Second time was beyond our control because of all the electronic equipment and related sockets we ran the mic cable past when filming in an office. Orientation of the microphone can make a difference in these circumstances, so experiment.

Suggestion- get some headphones and plug them into the camera, so you can hear what the microphone is picking up. This should allow you to spot the problems above sooner.

Reflective surfaces can be great, or grating

There's one shot from the first day that I quite like, featuring Mary and multiple reflections. If you can keep yourself and your equipment out of shot, reflections are great. There's another shot of Dave where I didn't realise I was reflected in the television screen directly opposite the camera until the next day.

Turn off your phone

Particularly if you're the director. I'm addicted to telecommunications. It's surprising we didn't lose more takes to phone calls and text messages.

Do some reconnaissance

I managed to check out all three locations before turning up with a camera and crew, taking photographs for reference. This helped me plan shots and saved time on the day. Wander around the location with an idea of what's to be shot there but don't let it limit you. Remember that you're making a visual piece and look out for great shots to work into the story.

Of course, this doesn't always work out. When I first looked at the Green tower I decided that there had to be some footage shot on the balconies. When the day came the wind at the top of the building was strong enough to nearly knock me off my feet, so we went inside and filmed the scene over the breakfast bar. There was no such option in Salford Quays, which I had photographed on a calm Autumn day but had nasty winds funneled off the ship canal when we shot.

Product placement

Most films are about the merchandise these days, so I feel no shame at appearing in the first episode of Memory wearing a Spinneyhead "I'm Your Stalker" T-shirt.

As many takes as you feel comfortable with

Location shoots are deadline driven. You have to get all the shots required by the script in the time allowed you. However, if you get all that footage and some of it simply doesn't work when you get to the editing stage you've wasted a lot of time as well. I shot internal footage from at least two different angles, getting three takes on occasion. This also gives more option at the editing stage in case the perfect take proved hard to get.

Have Fun

Let's face it, the moment this begins to feel like work you'll want to do it less. Enthusiasm is the main driver of no-budget filming, so once you lose that you're in trouble. The good thing is, unless you go on to make big effects-heavy features, the sense of fun is going to stay with you even after you start to make money from your projects.

Technorati tag: Video, Filming, location, Memory, Spinneyhead

Video compression basics

Progress on editing the footage for Memory is slow, I know. Soon, hopefully, I shall be facing the problem of compressing video files for upload. The BBC has a short introduction to compression technologies, both hardware and software, which can serve as a start.

Technorati tag: Video, Compression, Spinneyhead

Video camera format wars start again

The next few years could be confusing for those of us buying camcorders, as different standards, formats and media fight for dominance. I'm sticking with Mini DV for the foreseeable future, though hard disk cameras could be a good option when the prices drop and they can promise equivalent quality.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Central Casting

The wikipedia entry on stock characters. There's also a few lists of stock characters for genres- war, sci-fi and horror, but none for crime, which I'd be interested in seeing for a non-Presents project I'm working on.

Technorati tag: Characters, Spinneyhead, Stereotypes

Cheap Movies

Cheap, but influential.

Maybe we've got something to learn. Looking at the budget for El Mariachi, well over half was in the cost of film reel and the post-processing colour conversion. Brings the cost down nearer to our £35.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

The trailer for Memory is now online

From Spinneyhead Presents-

Memory

Original music by Alan Ward.

Featuring Mary Hooton, Kate Ambrose and David Robertson.

Thanks also to Clare who helped with the initial edit that I've tweaked to come up with this version.

It's permalinked here if the embedded Flash version isn't working for you.

We should be filming the last of the footage we need in the next week or so, and then I'll get down to editing it all together. After that there'll still need to be a last session recording voiceovers for the stuff we shot in Salford Quays because all you can hear is wind noise..

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

A few links

Digital Departures, a scheme to fund three micro-budget feature films in the northwest- specifically Liverpool. £250,000 sounds huge compared to Memory's budget of 35 quid, but I guess it is tiny compared to other professional film ventures.

The Urban Screens conference, to be held in October, will cover the creation of content for big screens such as the one in Exchange Square.

Kinofilm. I will make it to one of their nights eventually. Kinofilm on MySpace.

Wysiwyg film distribution.

Castings Factory.

Girls on Film

Girls on Film began in March 2005 when a group of creative women arranged to meet at the Cornerhouse in Manchester. Alissa Juvan had contacted the women, who were all on Media Training North West's Digit-elle scheme, with a view to starting up a film group.

Spiderbrace

The Spiderbrace is a shoulder mounted rig for getting steadier shots from your video camera. Not quite a full steadycam, but slicker than the $14 version.

via BoingBoing

Revenue

A list of websites that pay for video content, either through charging for downloads or advertising schemes.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Chase Scene

Would it be telling to say that there isn't a chase scene in Memory? Shame, I think what we need for the next film is bike chase scene. Only so we can try a camera mount. As long as we don't make it like any of the 80s bmx movies, we'll be ok. Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Location, Location, Location

Ian's film (which currently has the title "memory") has started shooting in Manchester.

I managed to take quite a few photos today of the cast and crew (which will be released later), but just to wet your appetite a little bit, the photos I took of the location and the view can be found here.


Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Film Sound

www.filmsound.org

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

BigStoryLittleFilm

The BigStoryLittleFilm competition challenges you to make a short film (of no more than 5 minutes duration) based upon or inspired by something from the Bible. Maybe a story, a theme, a character, a particular passage or phrase or even a word – it’s up to you.

The winner, category winner and short listed films will be
screened at a special Gala Awards ceremony at a leading
cinema venue in Greater Manchester on 9 June 2007.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, BigStoryLittleFilm

Five pound entry for a film festival

A digital short- Colin Can't Be Killed- made on a budget of £5 has been picked for inclusion in the DNA Film Festival on Toronto. This is the sort of exposure we're hoping for for Spinneyhead Presents' productions.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Film Festival

Fonts and Stuff

Fonts and other resources for film makers.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Font

How to make a short film

Darren Rowse at ProBlogger is having another group writing project. I haven't decided what, if anything, to do for it yet, but I did find one piece that's already been submitted that deserves linking to-

How To Make A Short Film For Tropfest

With the exception of meeting the festival requirements, everything on that list applies to any short film project. We've done a bit of the first five parts, but are still in pre-production in other areas. The filming schedule has slipped back to starting in October as well, but that's just the way it goes.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, How To

Video Blogging- Microphone Tests

It seems logical that Presents should have a video blog, so here's the first one. It's actually a couple of weeks old, I had problems getting it uploaded. Microphone Testing, in case you wanted to know the sort of silly things I say when I'm put in front of a camera unscripted.

Technorati tag: Video, VideoBlog, Vlog, Spinneyhead

Revver 1.0

Revver, Spinneyhead Presents' video host of choice, has left beta and is now officially in version 1.0. This means a better looking interface for everyone and more comprehensive stats for uploaders. I finally managed to get the video blog I did w8ith footage from testing microphones (my own fault, hadn't compressed it enough) and it should become available soon.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Revver

Going semi-pro

Part one of a series on producing low/no budget videos that look more professional than the outlay would suggest. As with so many articles of this type, the comments hold as much information as the post.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Anatomy of a shootout

A documentary on YouTube showing how the short film Semi Automatic was made. (Semi Automatic part 1, part 2)

Note I don't have headphones to hand, so I can't watch this with sound. I'm bookmarking it as much for my own reference as anything else.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Stunt cam

One of the ideas we've been knocking around for Spinneyhead Presents is the purchase of a few "stunt cams", cheap video cameras that could be strapped to bikes or cars or dropped off buildings because their survival isn't paramount, only the footage. They'll probably be found on Ebay or in a Cash Converters. Then we might make something like "I dropped my Super 8 off the Golden Gate", but with footage of the actual fall.

via BoingBoing

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Microphone Blimps

If you're aiming for any sort of quality sound on location recording, you need to cut down the wind noise. Can get very expensive, very quickly. So how about we make a blimp of our own? Better still, I want eyes on mine

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Call for submissions

I know we haven't even started shooting the first Presents presentation, but I want to hear people's ideas for future films. If there's the momentum from Memory I don't want to lose it waiting for scripts.

Send your thoughts to spinneyhead and become part of the adventure.

(PS Still looking for someone to take the role of Rob if you're interested.)

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Scar tissue

How to make realistic wounds with latex and pigments.

via boingboing

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, prosthetics

10 Ways to make yourself a YouTube star

The Register surveys the ways to viral stardom. Number 11 will soon be "Make a serial story in five minute bits".

2. Animals do the funniest things

If it's popular on cobbled-together Saturday Night clip shows, why shouldn't it work on YouTube as well? And, thankfully, you don't have to put up with a presenter mugging between vids. Cats seem to do particularly well on YouTube for some reason (that reason being they reliably fall off things or go mad when you point a camera at them). Obviously, the most common way is to nick footage from the TV, but that's just lazy.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead

Location, location, location

I'm working my way through writing all the scripts for the first six part serial. There's one key scene that takes place in a relatively high tech office. Does anyone have a workplace that might suit. I promise filming will only take a couple of hours and you'll get a mention for your help in the credits.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Manchester, Location

Manifesto

It makes this sound a bit political, but I couldn't think of any better word for it. This rough statement of what Spinneyhead Presents is about is open for expansion and modification so comments are welcome.

Spinneyhead Presents exists to produce original videos for distribution on the internet and eventual release as collections on DVD. It has an initial budget of £0 and whatever the participants are willing to donate.

The Product

The rise of sites such as YouTube has given non-professionals the chance to get their videos viewed by a potentially huge audience without having to worry about bandwidth and other limiting factors. Spinneyhead Presents' host of choice is Revver.com, for reasons explained below. Onto this site we will release short (5-10 minutes) video serials which can later be collected and released in longer format.

These videos will primarily be dramas- the first mixes elements of science fiction and murder mystery- but other works will be considered. Over time we will build up a back catalogue and company of actors and crew.

The Business Plan

Spinneyhead Presents will host its videos through Revver for one reason. Revver puts adverts at the end of the clips it hosts and we get paid for clickthroughs. There are also adverts on the Presents weblog. When we have serials completed they can be burnt to DVDs and sold through the site and shops such as Magma.

Payment will be based upon input to a project. The proposed breakdown will be- 25% to Spinneyhead Presents, to fund future productions, 25% divided equally between participants and 50% divided based upon time dedicated to the project. I'm going to have to build a spreadsheet to cover this, but that's not a problem.

The Future

Some of the money earned by each Presents production will go back into the coffers to fund equipment and props for later videos. Hopefully we can also build up a company of actors and crew who will keep coming back for shoot after shoot.

I'm sure that everyone involved wants something different from this endeavour, from experience to exposure and, if we're lucky, some money. Maybe, amongst other things, we can launch some careers.

Technorati tag: Video, Spinneyhead, Manifesto

First Draft

I've put the first draft of the script for Spinneyhead Presents' first project online. Constructive criticism, questions etc. are welcome.

Technorati tag: Script, Video, Spinneyhead