Making a Film pt.8

So we were going over the shot list. Basically planning out every second of the film and were the camera is going to be placed. Basically without giving away much, the main character in our film at one point is tripping off drugs. He is sitting on the couch, while weird imagery flashes and very bizaare lighting. At this point we needed him to get up off the couch. I was thinking about how he should do this. During these meetings I get somewhat animated and act out what the character is going to do. So I'm sitting on the couch like he is going to be doing. Instead of standing up, I decide to slide off it like a snake, or better yet a slug. I was kind of half joking when I did it. To my suprise my teammates loved it. So there it is. When you watch the film and the drug induced character slides his way off the joke, just remeber thats all thanks to me and being a nutty bastard.

Making a Film pt.7

Mayhem....So everything goes smooth and we finish the music video, and I'm very proud of it. I should've known things were going too well. The first sign was when the DVD burner failed. So I burnt a data disc and hoped in my car to Long Island to deliver it to be put on youtube. The whole Northern State was closed down so I had to jump on the LIE, then the turn I was suppose to make, the whole street was shut down due to an accident. Im on the phone trying to find a new route when a cop angrily yells, "Get the hell off the phone!" I don't like people yelling at me, especially when I'm talking and I snapped. I yelled back, "Maybe I wouldn't have to be on the phone finding out where the hell I'm going if you didn't shut down the street!" They didn't like this and made me pull over and gave me a ticket for being on the cellphone. How much? One hundred and fifty freakin' dollars! Jesus! So I finally make it my location and guess what...the video doesn't work. A hundred and fifty dollar trip for nothing! So now we are on our final day to submit this thing and the problem lies not without editing, but figuring out this technologicly thing they call computers. Cross your fingers for us.

Making a Film pt.6

Oh, how I love deadlines...The video is just about done, but now I want to polish it and have that summa-bitch shinning. The problem is the last day to enter the video into the contest is tommorrow at the 17...and my editing partner gets home from work at 10 PM. Sooo...we have to do crazy editing all nite, get it perfect, and then I got to drive out to Long Island with the final DVD and upload it to Youtube. AWESOME! Anyway I'll have the video posted on here tommorrow. My nipples are getting hard just thinking about it. I already did some more editing on it, and I'm getting very happy with it. I think people will like it, at least I hope so. Rite now I'm working on getting a logo for our company to throw on the front of the video.

Making a Film pt.5

Editing sucks. Especially when you got a 1 day deadline and a pain in the ass "rap superstar" busting your balls, and to top it all off, you still don't even have the god damn finished song yet. Rite now things aren't looking great. We have the footage, the equipment, just not the time. We can get something out there no problem, but I want the best we can do. I just watched the whole 2 hours of footage jotting down notes. Some shots looked better in person, while a few just put my jaw to the floor. Oh another thing...one of my favorite shots, my cameraman forgot to hit record and we lost it. I noticed it but didn't get on his balls about it. We can't be fighting between us in a time where we are locked inside a tiny room editing. I heard a story that Scorsese used to edit with his wife. One time he got so angry he threw a typewriter at her and came within inches of killing her. That is editing my friends.

Making a Film pt.4

Controversy with the music video. The group went back into the studio today with two singers and the famed DJ Chaci (DJChaci.com). Chaci added some scratching to the record, which basically I think kicks ass. The singing however...when I first heard it, I thought it sounded like some cats being skinned alive in the alleyway. Maybe I was a little harsh, but I knew deep down it wasn't rite. So I got on the phone rite away and the artist's agreed with me. Regretfully, one of the singers is getting cut out of the song....Hey, thats the breaks kid. Overall tho, I'm happy with the improvements. Some more funny stuff about the song...The second rapper, "Gatsby", dropped "shit" in the sing. "Shit" is a big no-no on on youtube! So that is being turned into "ish" now. Now for some more controversy. Gatsby also says the line, "Shove It!" The controversy is that it sounds exactly like "Fuck It!" I just hope that no one realizes the song says "Paul is dead!" when played backwards. I'm off to go edit this bad boy now.

Making a Film pt.3

Ok, so we just shot the music video the whole day today. From 10:30 AM to about 7:30 PM. It was a grueling shoot with the sun beating down on us, and we used all exterior locations. The video might be a little random, but its not about the concept, its more about cool looking shots and giving the viewer a feel of New York. The way I would describe the video is the "Suburbs meets the Hood". You have 2 Suburban Long Island boys, with their fancy cars and clothes, coming to my neck of the woods, which would be the ghetto of course. So vibrant colors and clothes and cars, splashed up against graffiti walls, and shady looking blocks. Its a clash of cultures, but I feel it works. I was very happy with the shoot overall. We got some really cool looking shots, but I haven't been able to look them over yet, thats for tomorrow. Hopefully all turns out well.

Making a Film pt.2

Well we got a little sidetracked. Me and two members of my team (Pit Stop Enterprises) are actually shooting a music video tommorrow for the "Sons of 1984", two white rappers named Gatsby and AD. This video will be entered into a youtube contest judged by 50 Cent and Common. The winner gets to record a single with G-Unit records and $10,000. Now how do I feel about this? Well since Eminem is non existent now a days, I think there is definetly a market for a white rapper. The thing is I'm not going to present them as gangsta in this video, cause they're not, they're two white boys from Long Island. 50 Cent....whatever, that style of rap is going out of style anyways, that overly gangsta stuff. And I also feel the streets are getting sick of 50 and G-Unit. The problem with them is overexposure. 50 is in movies, sneakers, Vitamin Water, Video games, and clothing...its a little overkill. However, I do like Common a lot. He is a "concious" rapper, who actually says things in his rhymes and shys away from gangster lyrics. He is also a really artsy dude. I'm not really expecting to win this contest, considering the fact that we were told about this contest like 5 days ago and the finished product is due August 17. Im sure there will be a lot of really well done entrys, but either way people will get to be exposed to their music and to our filming abilities. This is a warm-up for us until we film "Found", but all in all in should be good. I'll update about the shoot tommorrow.

Making a Film pt.1

Making a Film part 1
Ok...heres the deal..I have just begun the serious "pre-production" on my film, "Found". This is what I love doing in life and this is honestly my dream. But let me tell you now, making a film is a lot of hard work. If you seriously want to make a film, you must realize you are going to have to invest a lot of time and money. Also, be prepared to be on people's balls all the time and be prepared for some arguments. Now my role exactly is Writer/Director/Producer. I have another director and producer on my team, but I am the one who wrote the script. My script had to be subjected to criticism and I'm already on my fourth draft. As for money, I already dropped 3 thousand on a camera and I still got to chip in on lighting and sound. Right now where in "pre-production", meaning we are doing a shot list and storyboard, then its location scouting and casting, hopefully begin actual shooting in late August-early September. You have to write out every single shot in a film. Think for a sec how many shots are in a film. We are only doing a 12 minute short and it is already a major pain in the ass. I will update this blog more as we progress...