Karin Chien on Independent Producing

Among Karin Chien's impressive credentials, is the fact that she has had two feature films accepted at Sundance. She is also on the advisory boards of IFP/New York and the Tribeca Film Institute, curator of The Chinatown Film Project, teaches independent film producing and finance management at NYU and New York’s School of Visual Arts, and is very much in demand as an independent producer.

Karin Chien gave an extremely well-organized, practical and informative 8-hour workshop in NYC entitled: Filmmaking Outside the Box: Smart Strategies for Independent Producing.

Karin was quick to emphasize at the outset that “Your life is much more important than your career.” Anyone considering embarking on a career as an independent film producer needs to recognize the fact that film producing is a constant challenge, and is not a path to a moneyed or stable lifestyle.

When considering whether to embark on a project, one should consider if you want to spend at least 5 years of your life on that endeavor. Karin stated that the minimum rough timeline breakdown for producing an independent feature film is 1 year to fully develop the project, 1 year to raise the funding, 1 year for principal photography and post-production, 1 year doing the festival circuit, and 1-2 years distributing the film. And, it is important to know that those five years could easily become ten.

READ MORE by wingatefilms; http://wingatefilms.wordpress.com/

Little-Known Grants and Fellowships for Screenwriters

While searching for new grants and opportunities for aspiring screenwriters, I recently came upon the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship at the site for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Graduates of the fellowship include Dennis Clontz, who according to Oscar.com was "part of a team of Los Angeles Times journalists awarded a Pulitzer Prize for spot reporting on the Northridge earthquake." Not bad.

Jeffrey Eugenides, also a Pulitzer winner, and author of The Virgin Suicides, as well as Middlesex (for which he won the Pulitzer in 2003) went through the program as well.

It's absolutely true. Opportunities are available - however slim - to anyone aspiring to learn to do it right.

More information here.

the Simpsons in 3D

Some filmmakers and animation artists have free time and they might never get the opportunity to work on a project that was viewed by millions. So they search for that opportunity, find it and then they work...

1,342,950 viewers and this is not copyright infringement. It's based on the original SIMPSONS opening with the bus stop and more. This was made by devoted fans who wanted to display their skills in 3D animation. Waaa-hooooo.....

PITCHING at MEETS, FESTIVALS and EVENTS

To the readers asking for advice on pitching at events, maybe we should call this, "How to throw your money away" since it seems that someone will always figure out a novel method to take your dollars.

Looking at the lines outside the hotel of one of these so-called "pitch" festivals and "pitch" meetings, it would appear that the promoters have discovered the "goose that lays the golden eggs". Amazingly, people are paying good money to be here and they are so desperate to tell others their ideas that they will pay to fly across the country and do whatever it takes for the privilege of doing so in style at a Los Angeles hotel. What was it that P.T. Barnum once said?

The trick in trying to sell your idea and get it produced is not to be one of the hundreds paying to pitch your idea to people sitting back and wearing dark sunglasses. These people, as a group, can best be described as "Simon Cowell wanna-bees" and they are there to be entertained and to watch you make a fool of yourself. Some have been bribed into attending with free rooms, dinners and drinks from those sponsoring the event and while they might really be representing a production company, they don't have a care in the world about you or your project.

It's amazing how easy it is to exploit screenplay writers just starting out in the film industry. Many will spend hundreds of dollars so they can return home and tell their friends how they had their fifteen minutes of fame and how some unknown production company promised to contact them in the future.

There are plenty of better ways to get production companies to look at your work and hear you out but sad to say, they are not as glamorous as visiting a big hotel and attending a pitch meeting.

Instead of paying to speak to reps from production companies you would be far better off spending your money on cell phone bills, certified letters and contracts or developing your screenplay and getting your business plans in order. Yes, it takes leg work and it takes time to make phone calls every day. Be persistent!

And after all is said and done, you can tell screenplay writers that they are being "had" but they will all do what they want to do.

©2008, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

Film Investment Meeting at St. John’s University

Film Synergy leaders Brian Zen, Donald Bertrand, and Tom Lassu (Chief Synergy Architect) are making themselves available TODAY at 3:30pm for an investment and Film Financing Talk/Networking event.

The discussion will be held at St. John’s University. Tom says admission is free, but security is tight on campus, and you must register at http://zenway.us/events.

According to Tom:

"The Film Industry segment starts around 3:30 PM. The presentation is titled 'Film Synergy and the Current State of the Motion Picture Industry'; it is an overview/summary of the insights that we gained last year during the course of organizing film financing seminars."

As for the crowd mix, he says:

"The group consists of mainly Asian investors, professionals, business students, financial advisors, some Wall Street people, and a few film industry folks as well."

For interested filmmakers looking for a serious talk about investing and financing, this would be a good opportunity to network in the New York area at an event where you will receive direct exposure to industry professionals who can get you legitimate information on your next step.

Time: 2 - 6 PM
Cost: FREE (You save $30!)

Place: St. John’s University
101 Murray Street, Room 118
New York, NY 10007

RSVP required via Zenway. Questions: 646-388-0887

What are the chances of securing financing at a film market?

“What are the chances of securing financing at a film market and is it worth the cost?”

I need not ascribe the above quote to anyone since it’s the question asked by every filmmaker–sometimes with a tone that anticipates disappointment.

Gay Courter, maker of Freedom from Famine: The Norman Borlaug had a different query: “If I have all the financing and all I need is distribution, wouldn’t it be better and easier to just call them directly?” Neither better nor easier, I’m afraid to say.

Gay’s question was not naïve but strategic. A best-selling novelist and Emmy-winning filmmaker, her previous films had been commissioned; but this time she had to shop around. Essentially, she was trying to figure out if market hopping and conference schmoozing were a necessity or a luxury.

When thinking of attending Hot Docs, SilverDocs, or IFP in North America, or SunnySide of the Doc or IDFFA in Europe (to name just a few), the question is not what we will get out of any individual market, but what you are building toward in the long run.

After time and cost are considered –from entry ticket ($0–1,000+) to travel and accommodation to the cost of marketing materials ($100 for business cards, at the very least)–what you’ll get in return is not priceless… I’m afraid to say once again!

Nevertheless, if markets and conferences didn’t have a purpose or didn’t deliver, they’d have died out a long time ago, or else only executives and distributors would attend; yet many Indie filmmakers persevere. The latter are neither wealthy nor masochistic. They know–just as Gay quickly learned–that it’s not about a silver bullet. It's all about a thousand handshakes.

READ MORE by Story Consultant Fernanda Rossi, The Documentary Doctor - http://der.org/community/doc-doctor.php

© copyright 2008 Documentary Educational Resources

Zen Utopia of Independent Film

I just returned from a meetup tonight after scoring a cab in the rain with an interesting cadre, only to note the flash flood warning. Of course, that's not why I'm blogging.

Our mighty (and mysterious) publisher on high has made the following request: "Can you write an article asking for what features people want?"

Indeed.

This is a fittingly 100% independent forum for independent filmmakers, and we do our best to focus a little attention on all the creative vision and bone crunching hard labor that goes into designing the story and making the statements a world like today really needs.

This site has undergone some recent changes, with a bit more always planned, and it looks like we might have room soon for a bit more expansion.

If this were your site, and you could have a forum to say anything you wanted about independent film development, what would you have us put here? It's open-ended and nothing is too strange to ask. Yes really. Amuse us. Make us think.

What's your perfect film community site like?

I've done my part with a text editor and some spare CSS, but the idea is a bit wider for speculation. Let us know what you'd like to interact with and know about from the independent film community. We'll do our best to pull strings and get you to the content you really need.

Send new site feature requests to requests@myfilm.com and let us know your interests. Special requests welcome.

Color Correction 201

Did you wish that you could enhance a washed-out sky or push the color on a less-than-vibrant hill of grass? How did they do those wonderful black-and-white and color effects in Sin City or Pleasantville?

Let's take a look at a powerful color-correction tool, the Color Corrector. This filter looks similar to the Color Corrector 3-Way, although it is a bit stripped-down. This tool is used to accomplish Secondary Color Correction or Selective Color Correction. The goal is to isolate and affect a single color in an image, for enhancement or effect. In a way, it is a bit like blue-screen or green-screen keying effects, where we are only trying to completely control one color.

The Color Corrector filter usually lives next to the Color Corrector 3-Way filter in the Video Filters folder or pull-down menu, as with Apple's Final Cut Pro. It could also be part of the Color Corrector 3-Way filter, as with Adobe's Premiere Pro. Check your user's manual for your particular software package.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND LEARN: http://www.videomaker.com/article/13511/?utm_source=enews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2520&utm_content=enews_2008_07_1&utm_campaign=traffic

©2008 Videomaker, Inc.

Streaming Media Podcast: All-Stars & Format Wars

The first in a series of podcasts with Streaming Media All Stars, this spirited discussion with Nico McLane includes Jan Ozer and several opinions on Windows Media, Flash, H.264 and the needs of enterprise users.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN IN: http://media.switchpod.com//users/streamingpodcasts/StreamingMediaPodcast20.mp3Copyright © 1998–2008 - StreamingMedia.com, an Information Today Inc. company. All rights reserved.

Success Is Not Convenient

I was having a consultation with an actor about changing some of his operating procedures - so that he might achieve more success doing the work he loves.

His story is a common one; he holds down a full time job with a car rental company and he hates it...it's a 40–hour a week albatross around his neck and he
desperately wants out. He wants to act full time.

As I went over a set of procedures that might change things for him, he asked me this, "If I do everything you say, can I become a movie star in two or three years?"

I started to chuckle, until I realized that he was serious. I knew that this sort of conception of his future might prove to be a stumbling block so I tried to reassure him with the truth.

"No, that's unlikely," I said, "but, with some hard work, it is possible to replace your current income with acting income - in two or three years - and free up your time to actually pursue movie stardom."

He seemed disappointed in my answer...but reluctantly accepted it. I saw the time and suggested that we get together on Saturday to continue working on his plan.

He responsed and said that Saturday was his `day off' and he didn't want to work on his `day off.'

Oops! Now we had reached a REAL stumbling block! I had to be honest, "Well, then, I can't help you. If you can't work on your new career on your day off, you don't have what it takes to succeed."

He argued that he needed his `personal time.' He was insistent that acting shouldn't interfere with his one day at the beach. If your job doesn't place you on the path doing what you love, then all of your time away from your job must be devoted to the hard work of achieving success if you ever really hope to be successful.

Many actors have attached so many `conditions' to achieving their goals and dreams, that those goals and dreams have become little more than wishful thinking.

Here's the inconvenient truth about success, "In order to achieve your dream, your progress toward it must be continuous."

The successful person always exhibits the following character traits:

1) Has a vision rooted in the future.

2) Knows that success demands a price of admission and is eager to pay it.

3) Has an absolute passion for new skills.

4) He loves the game. (Successful actors seek to understand the rules, learn the strategies, and develop a `game plan.')

"Unceasing effort is the price of success."

READ MORE by Bob Fraser at http://tenny.8sidedfilms.com/2008/07/17/bob-fraser-success-is-not-convenient.aspx

Bob Fraser as one of television's most successful comedy actors, writers, directors and show-runners.

Copyright ©2008 GoDaddy.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

J.J. Abrams: The Mystery Box

"Lost" creator J.J. Abrams talks about his inner-working "mystery box" as it pertains to the creation of his mysterious island, and all the best scenes of the films and tv shows that have inspired him.

Hope, potential and infinite possibility as well as how not to hurt Tom's nose are all explained in a monolog about his grandmother convincing the family to buy him his first video camera because it's better than drugs.

Yes it's true, according the Abrams, "that blank page is a magic box."

On writer's block and Apple computers: "What are you going to write that's worthy of me?"

On organizing social communities: "No community is served when only the elite have control."

Worth a watch.

Walt Disney Studios and ABC Writing Fellowship

In its eighteenth year the Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship is an application based writing program seeking the best and brightest for both television and feature film development.

The application process requires writing samples, proof of current registration with the Writers Guild of America, biography, resume, and a signed and notarized Program Letter Agreement (among other deliverables - the Mous must have discipline.)

It's considered a prestigious program, and the perks are an insider's look at what it takes to write the next Disney or Miramax feature, or ABC prime time pilot.

Television writers turn left.
Feature Film writers turn right.

Joe Eszterhas - On Screenwriting

Screenwriter and author Joe Eszterhas discusses the writing process, and offers some great advice for aspiring screenwriters.

Joe has integrity and Joe is one of our best screenwriters. While so many "writers for hire" completely miss the mark, Joe's "Basic Instinct" was a classic!

Joe writes what he feels, and he writes about what he knows because if you do not believe in what you write about, you might just as well not write at all.

While film schools and so many books by screenwriters (without credits) give you pointers on how to pitch and how to write, it's refreshing to hear someone talk about screenwriting and tell people to just sit on their butts and write about what you love.

PUBLICITY 101: HOW TO PITCH A FEATURE STORY

At a workshop presented by the Writers Guild of America West, their Publicity & Marketing Committee presented advice to screenwriters on how to use the media to publicize themselves and their careers.

In this segment, Variety.com editor Dana Harris and L.A. Times "Scriptland" columnist Jay Fernandez explain how to pitch a feature story.

The Diablo Cody Interview

Here's an interview with "Juno" writer Diablo Cody, former Catholic school girl turned stripper.

From the Writer's Digest Article:

"She took a job as a stripper to have something to write about. And when readership spiked, Cody turned her acerbic observations and no-holds-barred storytelling skills into The Pussy Ranch (diablocody.blogspot.com) a regular blog that attracted a large following."

So there you go. Regardless of your spare tire, receding hairline, and anything the ranch patrons say to you about your little buddies on stage, just remember "GREAT material" and remember to do your little turns like the coaches at S Factor taught you. Maybe when you end up with your entertainment masterpiece they'll give you a special Oscar like they did Sherley Temple. Or maybe you'll just be really good at belly dancing paying for your script workshops. Either way, a win/win, no?

In other news, Scriptapalooza has a new TV series competition up with last years winners to be announced in August. One of their former winners is supposedly writing now for Comedy Central. Whatever gets your foot in the door!

Next-Gen Indy

The long journey to bring the fourth sequel of the Indiana Jones saga to the big screen during the last 18 years has been well documented, but the end result is only now available for evaluation.

In Steven Spielberg's view, that result adheres firmly to the original vision, philosophy, and look behind the franchise. As Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull got ready to hit theaters, Spielberg insisted that what he calls “the old-fashioned B-movie mentality” and the production methodology behind that mentality both remained intact.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and now Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — they have all been B movies,” Spielberg says. “Very expensive B movies, but still, B movies. With the exception of moving the timeline to 1957, I never had any intention to modernize Indiana Jones because my fear was that it would bring the film into alignment with the style and palette of all the contemporary adventures — many of which are based on Manga, comic art, and graphic novels."
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mil/features/video_nextgen_indy/

Spielberg added, "The look we established for Indy is what Indy was and should always be. Once I was immersed in the very familiar world of Indiana Jones, the shots that I came up with and the lenses I chose were, I believe, intuitively similar to what I did 19 years ago. Whenever I had a great idea for a shot that would have been along the lines of nothing I had ever done before, I immediately filed that idea for a different kind of movie, and went back to a little more measured and fun-loving angle that would complement the series, not reinvent it.”

Before receiving his VES Lifetime Achievement award Spielberg sat down for an exclusive interview with millimeter Senior Editor Michael Goldman. He discussed his award, his relationship to the visual effects industry, his interest in combining traditional filmmaking techniques with pushing the effects' medium continually forward, and much more. To listen to a portion of their conversation, CLICK HERE.
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/podcasts/audio/Spielberg_VES2008.mp3


© 2008 Penton Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2D vs 3D on the Big Screen

Just as the 19th century was defined by 2D still photographs and the 20th century was defined by 2D motion pictures, the 21st will be defined by 3D movies. Warner Brothers would like to see all theaters go digital but it may not happen as quickly as they wishe and it probaby won't happen the way Warner Brothers visualizes, but it will happen.

The easy and inexpensive access to high-definition digital camcorders has made it possible for anyone with a few dollars, friends and a computer editing program to make independent movies. Mark Gill says 5000 features were made last year (http://www.myfilm.com/2008_06_01_archive.html#5412619399874773132) but I blog mornings for a few hours and I see the number as probably closer to 7000. I also know that at least 18 million short films were made and a large number of them are on youTube. Incidentally, for those who haven't read it, Mark's speech should be required reading for every filmmaker.

Years ago, George Lucas stated that the days of Hollywood blockbusters were numbered. He explained that "market forces" would make big-budget films no longer economically viable. "Those movies can't make their money back anymore," he predicted. "In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theatres will be indie movies. I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15m." http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a29965/lucas-blockbuster-days-are-numbered.html

In the 1950's, color became the norm and Cinerama, Cinemascope and 3D were added to compete with television. Hollywood originally felt that TV (which was free) would put it out of business. How wrong they were. They soon saw how they had to adapt and by doing so, they made more money than ever. Eventually, we have all been made to pay for TV.

Today, the Internet offers free entertainment and it will soon make TV (as we knew it) obsolete. Why do we really need the news at 6:00 and at 11:00 when we can have it at any time we need?

If Hollywood (and big money) is to compete in the 21st century, the big studios realize that they must have something that the independent filmmaker's do not have. To continue existing, they must control distribution and the theaters or outlets where people pay to see films. But, regardless of whether this happens in the theater or in the home, the future is clearly 3D.

©2008, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

“DOCTORED” FOOTAGE

Digital imaging and the manipulation of pixels has opened up a whole new world where everything recorded can de doctored and changed. Years ago, doctored photographs were much easier to spot and careful analysis could uncover the truth.

In today's world doctored images abound on the Internet and many are accepted as "factual" simply because 1.) they are on the Internet, 2.) they are posted in more than one place, and 3.) people trust what they see.

Photos can be easily doctored in many programs. Videos can be doctored and even sound can be added/edited and the film is forever altered. Sometimes, images are altered for profit and sometimes they are altered for fun. Google "hillary fart", "obama fart" and "bush fart" and you'll see plenty of evidence of suspected tampering. It's not always easy to tell what is real and what is not.

The Associated Press and video services operated by CBS and NBC have jointly pulled video allegedly taken of a tornado in Nebraska last weekend after questions were raised about its authenticity.

The Associated Press paid a storm chaser, Andy Fabel, $295 for footage of the tornado that briefly touched down Saturday afternoon near Valentine, Neb. The video was forwarded Sunday to nearly 2,000 Web sites that subscribe to the AP's Online Video Network, and more than 60 large digital customers that buy AP's online content individually.

On Tuesday, a tornado chaser who asked that his name not be used contacted the AP and claimed that the supposed Nebraska footage was really video he had taken four years ago and that it was a doctored version of a twister that touched down four years ago in Rock, Kansas.

The image was "flipped" to make it seem the tornado was pointed in another direction, and the action sped up. The Nebraska images add power lines and subtracts trees that were in the Kansas pictures.

Upon seeing the video evidence, the AP eliminated Fabel's video from the Online Video Network late Tuesday and contacted its other customers to urge them not to use it, said Kevin Roach, the AP's acting head of domestic broadcast news operations.
"We never want to mislead people," Roach said. "Based on evidence provided to us, we believe that the video was not authentic."

Fabel did not immediately return an e-mail and a message left on his cell phone by the AP but officials with NBC News Channel and CBS News Path said they had talked to Fabel and he had insisted his pictures were authentic.

"There was enough evidence for us to make it suspect," said Sharon Houston, who is an executive producer with the NBC News Channel. The AP has purchased tornado video from Fabel three times before, Roach said.

READ MORE By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080710/ap_on_en_tv/tornado_video

VISUALS vs. VISUAL STORYTELLING

VISUALS are "shots" - an amazing image.

10,000 BC has some amazing magical visual moments - one tribe that has been hit by the kidnappers say that the victims are taken away by "red birds"... and when the "red birds" are revealed and seen, they are boats with beautiful bright red sails that seem to fly and glide across the water. The film contains lots of CGI spectacle stuff and it has *scope* - Roland makes films for the big screen - he may not have the talent of David Lean, but he steals lots of images and shots from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. When characters cross the desert, you get to see the whole damned desert! Stunning and beautiful visuals!

VUSUAL STORYTELLING involves the actions of the characters to tell the story – in much the same way a Buster Keaton silent film does. "Actions" doesn't mean car chases - in fact, cars chasing cars are not really the actions of characters, but the actions of machines. The characters perform the driving.

We want to tell the story by having our characters *do things*. And the basic premise of 10,000 BC has our hero searching for his lost love, and when he finds her – by organizing a group of other people who have lost loved ones to the kidnappers and by sneaking into to Pyramid city to retrieve her (and any others) before they are sacrificed. Though some of this involves *action*, forming the alliances and tracking the kidnapped girl (and even the love story aspects) are *actions* - characters doing things - and visual.

Describing a house or a salt shaker in your script is not a visual. A good visual creates an image that sticks with the viewer long after the house lights are up. It haunts us. Creating an emotional experience without words. It touches us on a subconscious level to give us an experience stronger than the image itself. As screenplay writers, we want to use our *visuals* sparingly - and we only want to use the most evocative and powerful images.

In THE CONCRETE BLONDE, mystery writer Michael Connelly's great novel, a prostitute's body is thrown into a vat of wet concrete. When the murder is discovered many years later, the body has fully decomposed... except for the silicon modified breasts which are still in perfect condition. This image of the wasted body with unnaturally perfect breasts is haunting. It gives us a glimpse of the victim, who put physical attraction above all else. Although the image is filled with irony and tragedy, it is also infused with deep emotion. Years after reading the novel, this image came back to me with perfect clarity. That's the mark of good writing.

READ MORE by William C. Martell - http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip358.htm
copyright 2008 by William C. Martell

Disposable Film Fest

According to a tip from Eric Slatkin, founder of Disposable Film Festival , his new venture "was created to celebrate the artistic potential of disposable video: short films made on alternative cameras like one time use video cameras, cell phones, webcams, screen capture software, and other readily available video capture devices."

It's gaining a lot of buzz with live screenings already booked in San Francisco, New York, and LA. (Online screenings will also be provided by Vimeo for the outlanders.)

This is their second year with the festival, and promises to be an interesting experiment. How often have people caught amazing stuff - only to wish it wasn't a 300 - 400 pixel rendering on a camera phone?

The Deadline for 2009 submissions is July 31st, 2008.

Filmmaker Todd Parker shares his experiences and personal opinions

Any piece of art, whether framed, sculpted, or painted, is always personal. Filmmaking is a very personal business. You must captivate your audience, draw them in with your shots. Do you want a close-up and a slow pull-back as a character reveals some startling or earth-shattering news? "I was thinking maybe I'd have an abortion", was a line uttered by the beautiful Karen McErlean, playing the role of Jessica in my movie BRUNCH. This was powerful! This was intense.

However, those who are not in the business of making films don't truly have an appreciation for all the work that goes into getting a powerful and intense moment like that on screen. You've got audio decisions - do you use the camera mic and a boom or a wireless? Is there a running refrigerator in the background that the audience will hear and be distracted? Are airplanes flying overhead? Then you've lighting decisions - where is the light source in the scene coming from if there is not a window in the environment? One of my hardest projects was a movie almost entirely shot in an elevator. Talk about difficult technical hurdles. And then, through the magic of the eyes of the director, the voice and body of the actors, and the adept fingers of the editor, the film eventually comes together.

"It's Me, Matthew!" is a perfect example of this fluid and graceful composition. Everybody has that moment in their life that they look back on and say "Yes, I made the right decision there". Filmmaking is a journey of decisions and choices from the time you first read the script until you sit in the back of dark warehouse in West Philadelphia on a Saturday night and watch your creation come to life amidst a room of paintings and drawings. It's always personal and thus, it's always the right decision. Yes, "It's Me, Matthew!" was the right decision, for all parties involved.

Todd Parker – Producer

Centrally located between New York City and Philadelphia, Wilmor Production Services specializes in handling all aspects of film and video production, from casting to location scouting to scoring and editing.

CLICH HERE TO LEARN MORE: http://www.wilmorproduction.com

-

NEW VIDEO SITES

There's a new site where you can discover, view and share premium videos, short films and animation. They're showing indy films and other projects by artists and filmmakers,

You will also be able to join their revenue sharing program to make money from your original videos: http://beta.openfilm.com/quicktour/

The site is staying away from YouTube-ish stuff and just showing work by people that are a bit more serious about the craft. The vids seem to be all high quality and in two sizes: big and bigger.

Also CLICK HERE to check out another sitr: www.Vimeo.com.

Tutorial: Generate a Volumetric Light Effect on Animated Text

BCC Rays Cartoon in the Adobe After Effects CS3

This tutorial is going to use BCC Rays Cartoon in Apple Final Cut Pro to generate a volumetric lighting effect on an animated text element. The BCC Rays Cartoon filter will also give the text the appearance of being made of neon lights.

We’ll complete the effect by using the BCC Light Sweep to add a light sweep across the face of the text element and then we’ll use the BCC Colorize Glow filter to provide a soft glowing look.

CLICK HERE - http://blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/briefingroom/2008/06/23/bcc-rays-cartoon-in-the-adobe-after-effects-cs3/

© 2006 Penton Media, Inc.