Student’s Ad Gets a Remake & Makes the Big Time

It seems that any amateur with a digital camcorder today can teach professional advertising agencies a lesson using CGC.

The thought that you do not have to be a professional to create a good video commercial is becoming widespread, in a trend known as CGC (consumer-generated content). Paraphrasing tApple's old slogan a bit — think differently, and that's exactly what Apple did.

A television commercial for the new iPod Touch from Apple, scheduled to begin running on Sunday, is being created by Apple's longtime agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day. It is based on a commercial that an Apple devotee named Nick Haley (an 18-year-old English student), who says he got his first Macintosh when he was 3 — created one day last month.

His spot, set to a song titled “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” by the Brazilian band CSS, offers a fast-paced tour of the abilities of the iPod Touch.

Mr. Haley claims he was inspired to make the commercial by a lyric in the song, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.” He says he based the visual elements on video clips about the iPod Touch and other new products, which can be watched on the Apple Web site (apple.com).

After he uploaded his commercial to YouTube, it received four stars out of a possible five and comments that ranged from “That’s awesome,” followed by 16 exclamation points, to “Makes me want to buy one and hack it.”

As of yesterday, Mr. Haley’s spot has been viewed 2,131 times on youtube.com but among the viewers were marketing employees at Apple in Cupertino, Calif. They were so impressed that they asked staff members on the Apple account at TBWA/Chiat/Day to get in touch with Mr. Haley about producing a professional version of the commercial.

“I was sitting on the bus and I got this e-mail on my phone,” Mr. Haley, a native of Warwick, England, said in an interview yesterday from the University of Leeds, where he is a “fresher,” or first-year student.

The message said, “‘We represent Apple and we’ve seen what you have produced and we’d like a chat with you,’” Mr. Haley recalled, adding: “This seemed ridiculous and far-fetched. My initial reaction was, someone wanted to steal it.”

As soon as he was convinced that the message was real, he came to Los Angeles this month in his first visit to the United States. He worked on the broadcast-ready version of his spot with creative executives at TBWA/Chiat/Day, part of the TBWA Worldwide division of the Omnicom Group.

Consumers creating commercials “is part of this brave new world we live in,” said Lee Clow, chairman and chief creative officer at TBWA Worldwide, based in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Playa del Rey. “It’s an exciting new format for brands to communicate with their audiences,” Mr. Clow said. “People’s relationship with a brand is becoming a dialog, not a monolog.”

As for how faithful the professional spot is to the amateur version, Mr. Clow said, “we didn’t mess with his content” because “it has a charm to it, a youthful fun.”

“My input was totally respected,” Mr. Haley said happily adding that he considered the agency’s commercial “pretty similar” to the original. The experience of working with the agency executives was “overwhelming, surreal and fantastic, all in one,” said Mr. Haley, who is studying politics at Leeds. “This is my first taste of advertising," he offered.

He also added a thoughtful response when asked what it means if consumers like him are willing to make commercials. “That’s the whole point of advertising; it needs to get to the user,” Mr. Haley said. “If you get the user to make the ads, who better?”

I believe this is the original (now at half-a-million views):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KKQUZPqDZb0

...and this is a "video response" to it from another YouTube user:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIttOsrKdBE&NR=1

By STUART ELLIOTT for The New York Times
(c) 2007, NY Times. All Rights Reserved.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/business/media/26appleweb.html?ex=1351137600&en=b987a520b69cfc59&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

MAN PUSH CART

It's 3:00 a.m. in Manhattan, the hour of rumbling garbage trucks, glaring headlights, and the bluish florescent glow of the all-night delis.

Trudging alongside the honking traffic, Ahmad drags a coffee and bagel cart to a busy midtown corner.

Hours later, he is swiftly and efficiently selling steaming cups of "coffee regular" to rushing New Yorkers. In the afternoons, he battles traffic to return the cart to a warehouse, occasionally peddling bootleg DVDs for extra cash along the way.

A solitary, quiet loner, Ahmad strikes up slightly awkward friendships with Noemi, a young Spanish woman who works at a newsstand, and wealthy, jovial Mohammad, who is shocked when he realizes Ahmad was a famous singer in South Asia.

Through Ahmad's relationships with both his new friends, and his estranged family, we come to understand that he is haunted by a tragedy in his past.

A beautifully crafted character study that captures the textures of a very specific New York experience, Ramin Bahrani's Man Push Cart is a subtle, insightful portrait of a man struggling with issues of identity, self-worth, and the harsh realities of finding a place to belong in a vast, often-unfriendly American metropolis. - Sundance Film Festival

'Man Push Cart' is an absorbing slice-of-life movie. I have to admit that I was suspicious from the previews that it would be one of those "noble" entries one finds that becomes drawn out and tedious. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find how accessible and enjoyable this film really is.

Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) is a typical immigrant protagonist. Coming from Pakistan, he lives and works in New York City, the quintessential immigrant city: One that's filled with opportunity as well as bewildering urban bustle and stress. Like many with ingenuity, he has his own business. He's a street vendor who sells hot beverages to commuters on a busy city street. The portrait of him and his life unfolds along the way in ways that are engaging and colorful.

We soon we find out that he has come to the one year anniversary of his wife's death, and he has been estranged to his son, Sajjad, whom his inlaws have custody. He is a hard worker, like so many immigrants, and this initiative pays off with one customer who hires him to do some work on an apartment.

It is during this liason that we learn that Ahmad was famous previously. However, this new business associate gets him some new business for which he was famous, and from here he meets a lovely Spanish immigrant (Leticia Dolera) who becomes his new love interest.

He does what he can, but he has to choose between love and money, welfare and family along the way. He has a friend named Muhammad (Charles Daniel Sandoval) who checks up on him, and from their conversations we pick up on their lives. Reflecting on making ends meet Ahmad says, "[It] Gets harder for people like you and me...What I need to do, I'll do." What makes 'Man Push Cart' so worthwhile is the intimate view of his struggles and motivations--what makes him tick and the decisions he makes to have a better life.

Complications develop and some of the movie borrows a bit from Italy's classic 'The Bicycle,' but the story is so authentically presented that it feels more like a documentary of real people than it does a movie rehash. The direction by Ramin Bahrani is excellent for making us walk in the shoes of Ahmad and feel the struggle of his journey pushing the cart. - JP's Picks © 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

"This is what Sundance is really about... I loved it."  Roger Ebert
"Moving and touching, and possessed of intelligence and integrity." - BBC
[One of] the best fiction entries at Sundance '06." - Dennis Lim, Village Voice
New York Magazine interview with director Ramin Bahrani

FILMS TO DIE FOR...AND BIG NEWS!

Halloween is just around the corner and just like pumpkins, a new crop of horror films is ready to be harvested. Hopefully, this new crop will yield a new "Great Pumpkin" and maybe some other unexpected surprises.

Sean McKnight of Cinema Alliance observed, "The big one coming up is SAW IV this weekend. I've seen the first couple of these and think this new version is just another entry into the let's-see-how-many-different-ways-we-can-kill-people-with-power-tools torture porn genre." Creative writers are supposed to be creative...

Another new entry is 30 DAYS OF NIGHT with a very sca-ry looking trailer and a movie adapted from a very scary book.

But the really BIG NEWS appears to be a new way of cashing in the distribution of horror films in general. Suppose someone came up with the idea of having a horror party for all the fans of the horror genre...something like Chiller Theatre...but on a much larger scale...

And suppose they called it HORRORFEST 2007...

And suppose they offered eight new horror films in the span of two weekends...

And suppose these films were not on television...

Suppose that these films were only available on big screens in 350 cities and that the program ran from November 9th to the 18th...

After Dark Films Horrorfest 2007 invades theatres with 8 Films to Die For® on November 9-18, 2007. The films will be shown on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at midnight. This thrilling nationwide horror film festival is coming to a theatre near you. Become one of the first of the Horrorfest Army to purchase your All Access Passes and grab one of the scariest Goodie Bags ever offered.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT HORRORFEST 2007!
http://www.horrorfestonline.com/

CLICK HERE FOR THE HORRORFEST 2007 TRAILER!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/horrorfest2007/trailer/

It's very possible that the success of HORRORFEST 2007 will lead to a new HORRORFEST each and every year. AFTER DARK FILMS also has plans for alternative marketing and distribution of their "niche collections" on DVD and selling them to fans of this genre all over the world via television channels, cable and the Internet.

This is a company absolutely worth watching, but also note that even with mild success, they will still need new horror films every year. Independent filmmakers producing films of this genre should keep this in mind because the sky is the limit. This could be a big source for sales of your low or no-budget horror films with or without name actors. Clearly, AFTER DARK FILMS will be looking for quality productions.

THIS IS THE 2007 STARTING LINEUP:

THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE - On an otherwise ordinary night, the young Ian Stone encounters a mysterious creature and is forced into the path of an oncoming train. Rather than facing certain death, Ian finds himself reborn into a new life that feels strangely familiar. After his second death, it becomes apparent that Ian is being hunted by an evil presence, and will be forced to die every day until he can solve the mystery of his own life.

NIGHTMARE MAN - After receiving a mysterious mask, Ellen Morris believes she was attacked by an evil being she calls ‘Nightmare Man’. Her husband, Bill, believes she is crazy. On their way to the mental hospital their car breaks down and Bill goes to get gas, leaving Ellen alone. When Nightmare Man appears, Ellen takes off into the woods, unsure whether she is hallucinating or not. She stumbles upon a cabin filled with friends who unknowingly becoming prey the moment Ellen steps inside.

CRAZY EIGHTS - Six people are brought together at the funeral of a childhood friend. While settling the estate, they discover a map, which leads them on a search for a long forgotten time capsule, at the request of their dead friend. What they discover reawakens repressed childhood traumas and leads them on a journey through their long abandoned childhood home: a home with a terrible secret and a mysterious dead girl who will lead them to their strange fates.

UNEARTHED - A vicious creature that’s been trapped for 900 years, gets unearthed during an archeological dig in the middle of a desolate town. As the carnage escalates, the local sheriff and a group of stranded civilians must find a way to destroy the creature that only has one mission – complete annihilation.

BORDERLAND - When three Texas University students travel to a Mexican border town on the eve of their graduation, the last thing they expect is to face their own deaths. Without warning, they fall prey to an ancient blood cult hellbent on finding candidates for human sacrifice. Based on true events, Borderland tells a story which blends the raw fear of Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the stark reality of In Cold Blood, evoking a world soaked in paranoia, fear, and dread.

MULBERRY STREET - The city that never sleeps may shut its eyes for good when a deadly infection turns its residents to savage creatures. There is only hope for a small few, including six recently evicted tenants who must protect their crumbling apartment complex as the city around them is thrown into chaos...

TOOTH AND NAIL - A small group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world take refuge in an empty hospital with plans on re-building society. They rescue a young girl who is the victim of a brutal attack, but soon discover that they were followed by a savage band of cannibals known as Rovers. The Rovers begin to kill them one by one, and the trapped survivors must find a way to outwit their stalkers.

LAKE DEAD - Three beautiful sisters learn of a long lost grandfather, but only make this discovery upon the news of his grisly death. Enticed to visit grandpa's old home after hearing of an inheritance, the sister's head to the back country with some friends. We quickly follow the group of friends through the gates of a redneck infested hell. The psychotic family occupying the inherited property goes on a long awaited, and much enjoyed killing spree. As the family's twisted motives unravel, the sisters discover a terror worse than death.

Film descriptions (c) 2007, AFTER DARK FILMS, All Rights Reserved.
Portions of the blog from MICRO-BUDGET FILM PRODUCING, DIRECTING and DISTRIBUTING (c) 2007 by Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

VISUAL EFFECTS for all

Somebody famous once said, "I do not know what I do not know."

Before I read "Encyclopedia of Visual Effects," I didn't realize how little I actually knew about what's involved with creating both advanced and basic visual effects.

As a complete amateur, I had been working with Apple's Final Cut Pro for about 5 years and Motion since it released some years ago. In doing so, I've barely scratched the surface of what this powerful video software can do.

"Visual Effects" is an excellent resource for somebody who wants to dig deep into the power of the effects that are possible with video software such as Shake, Motion and Adobe After Effects. If nothing else, this book gave me a newfound appreciation for the massive amount of hours and time it takes to create the professional video effects seen in Hollywood movies.

The lessons in this book contain a wealth of step-by-step instructions for creating the type of "eye popping" effects seen in movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter and War of the Worlds. Also included are valuable lessons on fixing mundane---but important---things that most people never notice unless they look closely and see that they weren't done correctly---things like shadows for computer generated objects, color correction and lighting angles.

Although the tutorials are relatively easy to understand, most are quite time consuming, but this is how you learn, isn't it? It was fun getting my first taste of Shake via the trial version included on the DVD-ROM (along with other trial software). However, I must admit that I only actually worked through about a fourth of the tutorials in this book simply because of the time involved. Even though I didn't finish all the lessons, I came away having a much better understanding of working with complex compositing, filtering and all that other cool stuff. There is nothing easy about this.

If you want to really take a dive into powerful visual effects, this is a terrific resource to start with. But be prepared to devote A LOT of time to learn the material in this book. You'll learn what every professional videographer knows: there are lots of wonderful techniques available to create marvelous visual effects, but even after you've learned the techniques, producing great work takes many, many hours of tedious work. Nothing worth while comes easy. - By Bryce Inman (Franklin, TN United States)

This is the ultimate recipe book for Apple visual effects artists working in Apple Shake, Adobe After Effects, and Apple Motion. An impressive lineup of Hollywood and independent effects pros have pulled together this compendium of the coolest and most useful effects from A to Z ("Adding Clouds" to "Z-Depth Effects").

The book includes everything from practical everyday commercial techniques to many breakdowns of well-known shots from blockbuster films. Among many other effects, readers will learn to create light sabers from the artists who created them for Star Wars Episode 3; learn to freeze time from the wizard who invented the effect for The Matrix; and learn to create matte paintings from the pros who did them for Lord of the Rings.

Coverage includes rotoscoping, painting, warping and distortion effects, 3D CG integration techniques, dramatic lighting, adding lightening and fire, matchmoves, advanced blue- and greenscreen techniques, and much, much more. DVD-ROM included. Foreword by Ron Brinkmann.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321303342/ref=pe_606_7310810_pe_ar_t1
© 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Why Formats Don’t Matter

With the right lens, and the right vision, does it really matter if you shoot with Sony F23 or Fisher-Price PXL2000?

We waste too much time talking and thinking about acquisition formats. How does DVCPRO HD compares to HDV and HDCAM? The benefits and drawbacks of 1080p, 1080i and 720p. The supremacy (or idolatry) of 24fps. The wonderful quintessence of 4K.

But none of that really matters. Recording formats are too removed from subject matter to make a big difference in the quality of a story. This goes for corporate, documentaries, broadcast, indie films and Hollywood blockbusters.

OK, formats make a difference, but not as big a difference as we usually think. Image quality is more than just pristine pixels. Image quality is about having a picture with a story that's worth viewing.

Here’s what really determines image quality. Executive Producer summary: The closer it is to the subject being recorded, the more it affects image quality. Corollary: The greater the distance from the subject, the less it matters, but there is one significant exception.

Content
If the subject isn’t interesting, even IMAX can’t save it. You would think this goes without saying, but consider all the beautifully shot and edited films and television programs that you didn’t finish watching. Compare the expensive travesty that is The Adventures of Pluto Nash to any cheap-but-great installment of "Ask a Ninja." Actually, don’t compare them; I won’t inflict Pluto Nash on you. Just go to www.askaninja.com.

Audio
Sound isn’t picture, but poor audio draws so much of an audience’s attention that it doesn’t matter what’s on screen. You need to have good clear sound in any production. People gloss over and ignore small visual gaffes, but any drop in audio quality pulls the audience away from the image and, more importantly, the story. That’s why they’re called "audiences," not "videences" (don’t mention "viewers"; that undermines my platitude). Attention to sound is the cheapest way to improve production values—much cheaper than chasing the current hot image format.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE by Jim Feeley for Studio Monthly
FILM & VIDEO (c) 2007, Access Intelligence LLC. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/currentissue/8268.html

I started on this quest of learning to make narrative film just before the HD insanity hit all the film forums. The hot topic then was 24p or not, and I was (and still am) convinced yes, 24p is a necessary tool. The DVX 100 was the hot new camera, and Danny Boyle had just wowed us all with a very scary horror feature film, 28 Days Later, released in 2003 and shot on Canon XL1s and XL1S's.

Director Boyle explained that one of the reasons they chose MiniDV as a format was the quick set-up for lighting when compared to conventional film. In the film, there are multiple wide shots of a completely deserted London. The police and authorities limited the amount of time that they would give Boyle and his crew to film these shots because they required shutting down all traffic in certain areas of a very busy city, so they needed to do it as quickly as possible. They used multiple cameras-six in one shot and ten in another-and filmed them in as few takes as possible. Boyle said that it would not have been possible to film the shots which made London seem abandoned without the DV camcorders.

I'm not rich but I knew from study that good lighting and sound were at least as important as the camera. Of course, I wanted the camera first, but the cams were morphing into the 100A, then 100B models and Canon made the leap into native 16:9, something I really wanted, so the purchase got put off a little longer with each new iteration of the technology.

Along the way, I stumbled on a kit of professional lights, which was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. The result was that for about 18 months, I had nothing but a kit of fresnels and a zip light, while my funds were being, um, "refreshed". So I used them. I did lighting setups and photographed them with a cheap digital still camera, learning something new with each setup.

To this day, I am grateful that fate stepped in and got me started on the fundamentals, rather than letting me have a shiny new camera to play with, because that is all it would have been - play. -Jack Barker

UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS

It used to be that in order to get one's career off the ground, all you needed to do was write a great screenplay, send out a few query letters, book an agent and sit back waiting for the bidding war to start.

Good writing is not all it takes. These days, in an industry over-saturated with good writers and strong scripts, writers no longer have that luxury. The competition is just too fierce. In fact, a writer expecting their screenplay to be bought or sold merely on the merit of their brilliant work is much like the fat girl who expects to be asked to the prom by the handsome quarterback based on her sense of humor and good personality. I'm not saying it isn't impossible, but historically that scenario is just not very likely.

For a writer to get the best shot for his work, to get the exposure that they need and to pave themselves a successful, professional path, they have to familiarize themselves with how this whole thing works. Writers simply no longer have the luxury of expecting somebody else to do all the hard (and sometimes dirty) work.

No one wants it for you more than you do, so the fate of your career has the best hopes when resting in your own hands. Only you can make it happen. Therefore, as soon as the writing is done, its your job to remove the Writer hat, and replace it with the one that says Business Person.

Sadly, there is no set path or a standard way to get an agent or manager. Neither can you gain exposure or pave your way to big screen success. Because of this, the writer must be that much more innovative, ingenious and prepared.

Agents and managers will often tell you that query letters don't work. Producers will tell you that they'd rather hire their cousins for open assignment work, and studio execs will say that you will never get your screenplay sold if you don't have an agent and a produced screenplay credit to your name. Therefore, it's up to the writer to become aggressive (in a friendly, professional way) about breaking all the pre-set barriers and getting their script read.

How does one do that? Here are a few ways:

1.) Network with other writers, with assistants, with friends. Someone must know somebody who could be of help. Don't be shy when trying to get your screenplay into the right hands hands.

2.) Research agents, managers and other professionals who work with similar material, and try to figure out how to best get to them. Can you write them a targeted letter? Do you know someone who might know someone who delivered coffee to them? It's much better to deliver a few scripts to the right people than to paper the town with your work, hoping that someone will pay attention.

3.) Sign up for every seminar, class and conference that deals specifically with the business side of writing in your area. Succeeding as a professional writer is not easy, so don't think you can do it by yourself.

4.) Get coverage from professionals and practice your pitch with the likes of Good in a Room to ensure that your material and your presentation are up to professional standards, rather than just cutting muster with your friends.

5.) Read marketing books that will help you establish your brand and promote your product.

6.) And, if you are ready to put on the producer's hat, consider whether your screenplay is one that could be produced on a nominal budget with the help of other aspiring filmmaker friends.

Most importantly, pull on every available resource to perfect your screenplay and prepare yourself. This industry does not give anyone too many breaks, so make sure that when your screenplay is ready and you are prepared to go out there, your have all the tools, knowledge and experience to grab that chance!

By ScriptShark Director, Lee Zahavi-Jessup

Portions of the blog from MICRO-BUDGET FILM PRODUCING, DIRECTING and DISTRIBUTING (c) 2007 by Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Post Workflow "The Road to Empire"

"We can Fix It in Post” is an old adage used in production. It was meant to be reassuring when used by producers and a mocking inside joke when someone in the crew said it. In most cases, its better, and cheaper, to get it right while on the set than to try to do it in post. But on "The Road to Empire", like many independent films, there was really no other option. The production funds were scant and this meant compromises in locations, shooting and audio.

Often the locations like inside a hospital, restaurant and airport could not be locked down so the production had to shoot while business at those locations continued, often with only a few hours to shoot an entire scene. DP Tobias Datum had little time to light, and only two assistants, and the production sound team was at the mercy of the outside world. Despite this all, the editor, colorist, VFX and sound artists were able to fix things in post without skyrocketing costs. In fact, the entire film cost $60,000 with only a small part of that used for actual production.

The challenges were just beginning after the Super 16mm film was in the can and the compromises made during production had to be faced head on and still with very little money. This meant doing the DI on a desktop and doing over 2,000 lines of ADR on location. Yes, ADR on location.

"The Road to Empire" is a road movie about a couple traveling in a Hummer from Houston to a small town in northern California called Empire. “Ostensibly the trip is to visit the husband’s father who owns a farm up there, but this is just a cover story,” explained writer/director Michael Sibay.

“He is supposed to deliver something and he is involved in some shady activities. Along the way the trip becomes more dangerous and the wife becomes more suspicious that there is more to it than an innocent vacation as he’d explained. She starts demanding the truth, he denies it and she breaks away and decides to discover the truth on her own. What she discovers has very serious consequences.”

Any producer would look at this and immediately think of a few things: multiple locations, scenes in a moving vehicle, day and night scenes. Not cheap. But yet Sibay was able to do it and the film was finished all for under $60,000.

Sibay estimates if all the services donated during production and post were paid instead of volunteered (or the hopes of backend compensation) the film would have cost around $1.2 million, still a pittance in film terms.


READ MORE by Matt Armstrong
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/topstory/8678.html
(c) Access Intelligence LLC. All Rights Reserved.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED

Things I've Learned...
By Keith Boron: Directed of MURDER IS LIKE SEX.

What Difference Does A Piece Of Paper Make?

If you have any plans to sell a movie that you are making, you MUST treat it as a business venture. If you are only considering the creative side of things, you risk losing control of your rights to sell the movie.

The main production aspect I am going to focus on is using, and keeping, the proper forms for your project. This applies even in a microbudget movie which you are making with friends. In fact, you should assume that you have no friends working with you - then, when you work with the occasional loyal friend, who is not solely after any potential profit, you can be pleasantly surprised.

First of all, you need release forms for every actor or actress in your movie. Have them sign them as soon as they start working for you. Their signature is your guarantee that you will be able to release the movie with their footage intact. I am not going to go into detail about how these forms should be worded, because it is covered elsewhere on this site (hint: read the production articles from Tim Ritter). I'll just add that once you get them signed, keep them in a safe place.

When working on my feature, I misplaced a couple (well, O.K., several) of them, and it wasn't easy tracking down some of the extras that are in the movie. If you don't have a signed form for someone in your movie and they decide they don't want to be associated with it, you will either have to cut their scenes out, or forget about releasing the movie.

The same thing applies if you use any copyrighted music in your movie - you'll need a signed release form from the copyright owner, and you might also have to pay them to use it.

Unless you plan to shoot the entire movie on your property, you'll have to deal with location forms:

If you are shooting in a business building, you need a signed release form from the owner of the business. For one of the locations in my feature, we got the manager of the business to sign the form, but he neglected to tell the owner about it - which led to an unpleasant confrontation when the owner showed up on shooting day. Fortunately, we already had the footage we needed, so we made a quick exit.

If your location is on city property, you should purchase a permit for the time you are shooting from the city official that issues them. You should also inform the city police about what you are doing.

I also believe each person working on the movie should have a contract which states exactly what their job is, how long they will have to do it, and what they will be paid. These contracts should be looked at by a lawyer to make sure there are no issues against them.

Finally, you may want to form a company to sell your movie and will have to decide how to split any profits. All I can say here is to make sure you learn as much as you can about these procedures, and make sure that you can trust the people that you are working with.

So, in conclusion, pay attention to these pieces of paper, they make all the difference.

READ MOREhttp://www.b-independent.com/production/things-boron.htm

Blair is Seeing RED

Blair Paulsen has worked on the cutting edge of technology for many years. He and his company, Alacrity Media, bought their first desktop video editing solution from ProMax back in 1997, just a few short years after ProMax was founded in 1994.

He started out with an Adobe Premiere configured system on a beige G3 Macintosh computer using external SCSI drives for video storage. Fast forward to 2007, and he is now starting to shoot and edit video shot with the revolutionary 4K RED ONE(TM) video camera and is seldom found without his Intel-based MacBook Pro in tow.

Blair is busier than ever with a successful company over a decade long in the tooth, but it was several years into his career before his formal studies and career were aligned.

After an anticipated long wait and much fanfare, the RED ONE(TM) camera from the Red Digital Cinema Company has finally been released to a daring but happy few. A longtime ProMax customer, Blair Paulsen, bought lucky serial #0019 and was one of the first 25 to receive his camera. We took the opportunity to sit down with this pioneering RED ONE(TM) camera owner to discuss his experiences in the industry and how he got where he is today.

You have a standing invitation to any and all of our upcoming FREE seminars. Even if you are not local, Southern California is a great place to visit year-round and you can make ProMax one of your stops. In addition to the seminar, you're welcome to take a tour of our facility, meet your sales rep or favorite support tech, or put the finishing touches on the dream editing suite you've been imagining.

This month's Final Cut Pro 6 Quick Tip will help you make your "shaky" footage smooth with Final Cut's Smooth Cam filter.

Copyright © 2007, ProMax Systems, Inc. Recognized leader in custom configured, reliable high performance video editing and storage systems.

Copyright Your Work

There have been some urban legends and rumors going around about how to copyright your work if you don't have the funds.

The most common story goes like this: Take your song, script, novel or whatever and put it in an envelope addressed to yourself. Mail it. When you get it back, don't open it and you will be protected.

Okay, let me set the record straight. This is the dumbest idea I have ever heard. DUMB, DUMB. DUMB!!! As Forest Gump would say, "Stupid is as stupid does". Now, I am not saying that this won't work. But let me clue you in on a few facts. If your idea is stolen and you go to court over the issue, a good attorney for the other side will make a case that you dropped an empty envelope in the mail, opened it when you received it, and then inserted your work.

Peep this, copyrighting your material with the Library of Congress won't cost you an arm and a leg. Depending upon the work, it could cost you less than $45.00. And to be honest, it is harder for an attorney to fight you with a certificate of copyright from the LOC than an envelope mailed from South Central, LA. So why take the chance? Register your property the right way.

The other rumor going around regarding the poor man's copyright is that you can go to the bank and put your material in a safety deposit box. The bank record can be used as a copyright certificate. But again, why go through all of that when you can
just do it the right way and save yourself from any loopholes a good attorney might try to exploit?

The fact is that even if you register your material the RIGHT way, there's still no guarantee that someone will steal it or that you will be victorious in a court of law if they do. The best advice is to try and cover every angle and use the proper channels. I have had work taken from me even though it was copyrighted. Going to court and collecting all the documents needed to prove your case is no fun.

One of the advantages of registering it with the LOC is that you can find out if there is any work similar to yours already copyrighted. That way, you get a heads up if there may be potential infringements. Stay away from any urban legends that could open the door to problems down the line.

submitted by RonCineTV.com

Format Wars: HDV Output

I've been shooting in HDV for about two years, and it used to kill me to scale my gorgeous 1920x1080i footage down to 720x480 to produce an SD DVD. Then, in late 2006, the first high-definition recordable DVD options started to become available. I've been producing in high definition ever since.

It's been a rough road with lots of hurdles and hidden gotchas. But there are several viable options, and if you shoot in HDV and aren't already producing HD discs, now's the time to make the big change. Trust me, the first time you see your high-definition video on an HDTV playing from optical media, it will make the effort worthwhile.

I’ll start by giving you a brief overview of the two competing HD technologies, Blu-ray and HD DVD. Then I’ll walk you through the current state of each market—HD DVD in this first edition, and Blu-ray in the next—covering both the recorder and authoring software side. After reading the two articles, you’ll know what’s possible in each format. You'll also know which products you need to purchase to make it happen, and the potential playback pitfalls.

I’m not describing how to master Hollywood Blu-ray or HD DVD mass-produced titles. My primary focus is on HDV shooters seeking to produce low quantities of HD DVD or Blu-ray Discs on recordable media.

As non-mass-market producers, we’re in a great position to leverage high-definition video irrespective of the format war slowing general acceptance. Whatever you’re shooting, a corporate announcement, advertisement, or similar project, you can specify that the client will need a Blu-ray or HD DVD player to watch the video—or maybe even the cool new LG SuperBlu player, the first to play back DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray. And the same goes for wedding and other small-quantity event videography.

The drawback is that manufacturers producing the consumer HD DVD and particularly Blu-ray players can make changes that might affect small producers unexpectedly, which means you have to be very careful in understanding and controlling the playback environment. More oabout this in the Blu-ray production section presented in the next installment.

Let’s start with a look at the two competing HD formats.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE By Jan Ozer
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/hdhdv/depth/format_war_hdv_part1_100807/

Screenwriting 101

Jeanne C. posted these notes recently taken:

Michael Palmieri spoke for about 2 hrs. Monday night, Oct 1 at The Neighborhood Playhouse. I was able to attend and took some notes for my own files. They are far from complete but perhaps better than no information.

MP feels that in spite of the many books written on technique and craft that in his mind the most important thing a screenwriter can do is spend a great deal of time getting to know his/her character(s). When he spends three months just developing and becoming acquainted with his character(s), the work can be written in a month. He suggests speaking dialogue out loud when developing a character. Perhaps talk it into a tape recorder and play it back.

Things to be aware of in developing characters: Ask the protagonist "What aren't you telling me about yourself?" "What is your darkest of secrets?" Go deep and the work will write itself but only after doing the character-development work.

MC believes screenwriters should take an acting class and actors should take a screenwriting class so that each gets an idea of the other's craft. He believes this to be basic to writing and delivering dialogue.

MC says once the writer begins the writing he should just "let it rip." Get it down and then rewrite. "Don't worry about theme. Theme will emerge."

One question asked was about a writer's fear of making the message too obvious in a screenplay. His response was most people have to be hit over the head with the message because average folks go to work, come home and "pop a beer" and never get around to identifying or thinking about their feelings.

Another question prompted a commentary on the fine line between working creatively and emotional issues. It led to a discussion on channeling, work being compulsive and the sense of "flowing" in creating. MC shared that his father was an opera singer and suffered from bipolar disorder. He feels that there is a times a fine line between the creative personality and mental disorders.

Films that are selling right now are family films and action films. The former do not require a big budget. Romantic comedies are not in demand. Romantic comedies have historically been based on what was thought of as unique attraction to an opposite: black to white, very rich and servant class, married to unmarried, same sex, etc. but since all of those are accepted now their comedic appeal no longer exists.

Comedy is the hardest to write because it come from a more gut wrenching place. It generally comes from pain which the writer has distilled into comedy. Comedy comes from the ultimate hell.

The juice/comedy in "Knocked Up" came from the minor characters keeping the two main characters apart.

Two of his favorite films are love stories between two straight men i.e. "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Superbad."

He spoke at length about Michael Arndt's "Little Miss Sunshine." He knows Michael A. and says that what prompted MA to write it was that he was so turned off by the Jon Benét Ramsey's beauty pageant aspect. So MA wrote a play about a chubby little girl who went into a beauty pageant for her own reasons and not for anyone else. The Mother's arch was to be the smallest and it was; but the real change came in the relationship between Olive and her Dad. Olive wanted to enter the contest for herself and her Dad came to accept that that was enough, simply for her to do it because she really wanted to.

The Grandfather in LMS was based on an 85 year-old ladies' man that Michael A. knew in Brooklyn. Michael A. used some of the older man's advice regarding women in the Grandfather's dialogue.

Michael feels that if you want to be in this business you need to live in Los Angeles. It is where the industry is. Independent films may have a market in NYC but to make commercial films you have to "meet and greet" and get to know people. Getting material to major stars is next to impossible.

MC says that the writers' strike will open the door for new writers if and when it occurs.

Insomnia Student Film Festival

Apple.com is featuring the Insomnia Film Festival, a 24-hour production marathon to be judged by Fred Armisen, Nora Ephron, Terry George, Mary Harron, James Mangold, Mira Nair, Jim Sheridan, Barry Sonnenfeld and Luis Valdez.

The Festival offers entrants a chance at the SlingJam award, SlingJam being the peer-based film sharing and review website started by very-Harry-looking Harry Potter movie producer David Barron.

From the IFF website:

"Members of the winning team will receive a private group video iChat with David Barron. This one hour face-to-face discussion will offer the winning team the chance to have their Insomnia film critiqued, and their questions answered by one of Hollywood's leading producers."

If he's smart enough to turn a tallent search into a film festival, he's probably smart enough to sell your film ideas. Worth the tight deadline for the chat.

See the IFF site at Apple.com for details:
http://www.apple.com/education/insomnia/prizes.html

GET NOTICED WITH PINNACLE

USE THE NEW FREE free editorial software from Pinnacle

In the ever-growing world of small web videos, audiences are becoming picky about the content they are viewing. While fast connections are available almost everywhere, people want to watch better content, whether or not they have to wait for download time. Editing video, images and audio has therefore become just as important as the rest of your content, and Pinnacle has stepped in to fill a large empty space in the Windows operating system.

Pinnacle launches VideoSpin, a free solution which will allow you to edit videos, pictures and music into content that people will really want to watch. Pinnacle VideoSpin is actually based on Pinnacle's Pinnacle Studio consumer video editing software. Because the free editing application is based on its bigger brother, you can open projects that have been saved in the free version and continue working on it with more advanced tools when you're ready to upgrade.

Because the software is mainly drag and drop navigation, anyone can make their movies better with a little creative editing.

VideoSpin is a brand new tool that allows you to create your own movie clips in minutes using your own videos and pictures.
- Mix videos, photos and music together
- Add Titles and Transitions
- Upload to the web in a snap!
- Do it all for FREE!

Would you like to be part of the public beta?

DOWNLOAD the editing software for free from the Pinnacle website: HERE
http://www.videospin.com/

By Ko Maruyama
http://audiovideo.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=190405