So after a week of fiddling with various technical issues and upload issues, my edit for the screening of "In The Family" (See below) finally made it's way onto the interwebs yesterday!
We had various synching issues when outputting and uploading but it all seems to be sorted now!
Hope you enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Zan_V0DM8&context=C31a4d13ADOEgsToPDskIJEwxEK6nKxG-AWTzRwIYR
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Friday, 24 February 2012
Macro
I recently bought a wide angle attachment for my camera, which came with a free macro lens. I didn't expect much from it to be honest, but I must say, some of the images I've taken with it have been pretty decent! The depth of field is amazing, and being able to perfectly focus on something 2cms away from your lens is quite cool!
Here's a few I've taken:
Here's a few I've taken:
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
In the Family
On Monday I headed along to the Glasgow Film Theatre for an evening of film related shenanigans. We were to make a piece for the Glasgow Film Festival's video blog about the evening's showing of the film "In the Family".
We had an interview set up for 4 o'clock and so we were there in good time to have a quick recce of the place and set up our kit. Unfortunately after the kit was set up in the GFT press room, a crew from STV arrived and had us take down our kit so that they could conduct an interview with someone. This pushed our shedule to breaking point as 4 o'clock came and went with no sign of them finishing any time soon. Our interviewee, Patrick Wang (director of the "In the Family"), arrived and was kept entertained by Colin in the GFT's café while we hummed and hawwed outside the press room.
Eventually at half past 4, the STV interview finished up and the let us back in to the room to set up our kit again. Patrick was brought in and the interview went ahead. Despite some minor sound issues, the interview went very well and I was very pleased with the footage we took. It was then another dissmantling of the kit, before heading down to cinema 2 to set up for the recording of the introduction to the film and Q&A session after the showing.
The film was very good, very well shot and very moving indeed. It was however 2hrs 49mins long which to my mind is far too long for any film. I felt there was a lot that could have been easily cut out. That said, the story was fairly gripping and it didn't drag too much.
As soon as the credits began to roll, it was action stations to get the cameras rolling before the start of the Q&A. We had had very bad sound issues with the line-out from the microphones when setting up earlier and so were relying on the onboard mics and my Zoom H1 recorder placed on the table they sat at. When it came to editing later however, this turned out to not be such an issue as the Zoom proved itself very well and took some great audio!
I spent yesterday editing the footage, along with some stills and clips from the film, and it should be up on the GFF's video blog later today. My first piece of published work!
We had an interview set up for 4 o'clock and so we were there in good time to have a quick recce of the place and set up our kit. Unfortunately after the kit was set up in the GFT press room, a crew from STV arrived and had us take down our kit so that they could conduct an interview with someone. This pushed our shedule to breaking point as 4 o'clock came and went with no sign of them finishing any time soon. Our interviewee, Patrick Wang (director of the "In the Family"), arrived and was kept entertained by Colin in the GFT's café while we hummed and hawwed outside the press room.
Eventually at half past 4, the STV interview finished up and the let us back in to the room to set up our kit again. Patrick was brought in and the interview went ahead. Despite some minor sound issues, the interview went very well and I was very pleased with the footage we took. It was then another dissmantling of the kit, before heading down to cinema 2 to set up for the recording of the introduction to the film and Q&A session after the showing.
The film was very good, very well shot and very moving indeed. It was however 2hrs 49mins long which to my mind is far too long for any film. I felt there was a lot that could have been easily cut out. That said, the story was fairly gripping and it didn't drag too much.
As soon as the credits began to roll, it was action stations to get the cameras rolling before the start of the Q&A. We had had very bad sound issues with the line-out from the microphones when setting up earlier and so were relying on the onboard mics and my Zoom H1 recorder placed on the table they sat at. When it came to editing later however, this turned out to not be such an issue as the Zoom proved itself very well and took some great audio!
I spent yesterday editing the footage, along with some stills and clips from the film, and it should be up on the GFF's video blog later today. My first piece of published work!
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Festival
So as part of my course, we're heavily involved in The Glasgow Film Festival, unfortunately not in making the films, but producing recordings of the introductions and question and answer sessions that take place before and after the screenings. Occasionally we can arrange an interview with the Director.
I'm filming my piece on Monday evening, a film called "In The Family", a story based round custody rights in Homosexual relationships. We are very fortunate in that an interview with the Director, Patrick Wang, has been arranged for before the showing of the film.
I'm quite excited to be involved in the Festival, it seems like a good place to be when you're trying to get your name out there and prove yourself as a film maker. I'm hoping to meet others in the industry who can perhaps offer guidance or just advice on a few things. I've never actually attended any showings during the GFF in the past so hopefully this will be the first of many to come!
And if all that weren't good enough, I also got a free GFF crew t-shirt and tickets to the showing of my choice. Perks of the job, eh?
I'm filming my piece on Monday evening, a film called "In The Family", a story based round custody rights in Homosexual relationships. We are very fortunate in that an interview with the Director, Patrick Wang, has been arranged for before the showing of the film.
I'm quite excited to be involved in the Festival, it seems like a good place to be when you're trying to get your name out there and prove yourself as a film maker. I'm hoping to meet others in the industry who can perhaps offer guidance or just advice on a few things. I've never actually attended any showings during the GFF in the past so hopefully this will be the first of many to come!
And if all that weren't good enough, I also got a free GFF crew t-shirt and tickets to the showing of my choice. Perks of the job, eh?
Monday, 13 February 2012
Hold still while we stab you in the eye
Well today saw the draining of my Chalazion cyst on my eyelid. Google it and you'll appreciate the pain and discomfort I've been experiencing over the past few weeks! Over to Gartnaval nice and early for a 9.30am appointment with the nurse. A quick stab with some local anaesthetic, a metal clamp turning my eyelid inside out and a scalpel and hey presto - Cyst-be-gone!
Still quite swollen and tender, but I did get the novelty of wearing an eye patch and looking somewhat of a pathetic pirate. I like to believe I looked hard and rough, like I'd been in some bar room brawl, when in fact my pain was all my own decision...
On the plus side, it is now significantly smaller and less painful, and it still has the swelling to go down, so I'm hoping for a decent result!
Managed a TCA session with Jess this afternoon, her first time. Thoroughly enjoyed and a good few problems well and truly crushed.
However plans for a trip up north tomorrow could well be down the pan, I'm not sure it's a good idea with my eye as it is, sorry Willis! I'm as gutted as you are, believe me!
Still quite swollen and tender, but I did get the novelty of wearing an eye patch and looking somewhat of a pathetic pirate. I like to believe I looked hard and rough, like I'd been in some bar room brawl, when in fact my pain was all my own decision...
On the plus side, it is now significantly smaller and less painful, and it still has the swelling to go down, so I'm hoping for a decent result!
Managed a TCA session with Jess this afternoon, her first time. Thoroughly enjoyed and a good few problems well and truly crushed.
However plans for a trip up north tomorrow could well be down the pan, I'm not sure it's a good idea with my eye as it is, sorry Willis! I'm as gutted as you are, believe me!
Friday, 10 February 2012
Pollock Park and a bit of DIY
Yesterday I dragged myself out of bed nice and early to drive the crew over to Pollock Park in the southside of Glasgow to film Paul's "3 Minute Film Project."
Filming went quite smoothly I thought, despite us missing the monopod and Lisa as an actress! Alex got nice and cold lying on the wet grass in his underwear, but the shots were good. To passers by it must have looked a tad odd. Also worth noting, leaf blowers are not acceptable background atmos for a spooky forest scene...
After filming, we headed to the Burrell Collection for some lunch in the cafe and a quick poke round the exhibitions. Oh and we couldn't resist the siren call of the play park.
Today, I had to spend the day in the flat waiting on a painter, so I decided to make use out of my free time and construct a boom pole. Made out of an extendable painter's pole, foam bicycle grips, electrical tape and a tripod screw, it works very well! Cost me the grand total of £9.50 too, which isn't too bad of a poor student on a budget. Quite chuffed with my craftsmanship, and can't wait to put it to use on my next production.
Filming went quite smoothly I thought, despite us missing the monopod and Lisa as an actress! Alex got nice and cold lying on the wet grass in his underwear, but the shots were good. To passers by it must have looked a tad odd. Also worth noting, leaf blowers are not acceptable background atmos for a spooky forest scene...
After filming, we headed to the Burrell Collection for some lunch in the cafe and a quick poke round the exhibitions. Oh and we couldn't resist the siren call of the play park.
Today, I had to spend the day in the flat waiting on a painter, so I decided to make use out of my free time and construct a boom pole. Made out of an extendable painter's pole, foam bicycle grips, electrical tape and a tripod screw, it works very well! Cost me the grand total of £9.50 too, which isn't too bad of a poor student on a budget. Quite chuffed with my craftsmanship, and can't wait to put it to use on my next production.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Can we do that again?
The thing I look forward to most on DVD extras tends to be the blooper reels or the outtakes. In some cases they are funnier than the original feature!
What I like about them is the small insight into the acting and filming world, a reminder that the characters are played by actors and are not real people. Some people find this shattering of character wholly unpleasant and ruins the illusion for them, but for me I think it's quite refreshing to hear a bit of on-set banter and general mess-ups.
When I film anything, I always keep the duff takes and the banter caught on film, it provides a good laugh when you come across it in the editing process, a welcome break from the monotonous splicing and rendering of clips. I've also recently come across messages recorded on the Zoom H1 by my crew during shooting, random little funny sound bites that cheer me up to no end!
Anyway, today was a rather fruitless day in college, we were briefed on our graded unit which we will be staring soon (music video), then spent the rest of the day watching music videos on Youtube and tying up loose ends of editing.
What I like about them is the small insight into the acting and filming world, a reminder that the characters are played by actors and are not real people. Some people find this shattering of character wholly unpleasant and ruins the illusion for them, but for me I think it's quite refreshing to hear a bit of on-set banter and general mess-ups.
When I film anything, I always keep the duff takes and the banter caught on film, it provides a good laugh when you come across it in the editing process, a welcome break from the monotonous splicing and rendering of clips. I've also recently come across messages recorded on the Zoom H1 by my crew during shooting, random little funny sound bites that cheer me up to no end!
Anyway, today was a rather fruitless day in college, we were briefed on our graded unit which we will be staring soon (music video), then spent the rest of the day watching music videos on Youtube and tying up loose ends of editing.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Love Flaps
Today saw the filming of Calum Bryce's masterpiece "Love Lapse" (lovingly re-named "Love Flaps" by the crew).
As part of the classes "3 Minute Films" project, we bailed on our law lecture, which incidentally was cancelled anyway, and headed down to George Square to start filming. We did however hit a slight snag when Calum overlooked seeking permission to film on the square and we were asked to move along by a council worker. The situation was soon sorted after a quick phone call to the council, and filming was able to start again soon after.
It's hard to swap lenses when you can't feel your hands. And feet. But we're professionals (or at least we try to be), so we battle through it. We completed the filming in good time, with some really nice shots (thanks to Paul's new 50mm prime), packed up the kit and strolled up to Alex's flat to film the last few scenes. (N.B. Volvic works well as fake tears)
Managed a short session this evening at the GCC with Jessica, got a few wee crimpy top-ropes done and a quick bouldering session after. Jess is coming along well, good progress, even if she doesn't feel like it. Reaching the top isn't everything when it comes to beginner rock climbing.
More editing tomorrow, maybe some test shots, then shooting Paul's "3 Minute Film" on Thursday. Psyched!
As part of the classes "3 Minute Films" project, we bailed on our law lecture, which incidentally was cancelled anyway, and headed down to George Square to start filming. We did however hit a slight snag when Calum overlooked seeking permission to film on the square and we were asked to move along by a council worker. The situation was soon sorted after a quick phone call to the council, and filming was able to start again soon after.
It's hard to swap lenses when you can't feel your hands. And feet. But we're professionals (or at least we try to be), so we battle through it. We completed the filming in good time, with some really nice shots (thanks to Paul's new 50mm prime), packed up the kit and strolled up to Alex's flat to film the last few scenes. (N.B. Volvic works well as fake tears)
Managed a short session this evening at the GCC with Jessica, got a few wee crimpy top-ropes done and a quick bouldering session after. Jess is coming along well, good progress, even if she doesn't feel like it. Reaching the top isn't everything when it comes to beginner rock climbing.
More editing tomorrow, maybe some test shots, then shooting Paul's "3 Minute Film" on Thursday. Psyched!
Monday, 6 February 2012
Moving pictures
How animation falls into the category of Television production is beyond me (surely if i wanted to be the next Matt Groening I'd have gone on a specific animation course?), but alas the SQA says it does and if I'd like to gain my HND at the end of this course, I have to partake in the animation of my sub standard drawings.
That said, I actually don't mind animation. Despite it being quite time consuming, it's fairly satisfying to see my creations come to life and move across the screen, unconfined by the boring old laws of physics. My animation (based around Narwhals, don't ask) turned out ok I suppose, although it's safe to say it's not my forte.
To pass the animation unit, the student has to produce a 30 second animation of original art work put to music. I drew a few characters, that wouldn't look out of place on a nursery wall, scanned them in, cut them into layers on Photoshop and spent countless hours playing god and giving them life. I wrote a short guitar backing track for it, and hey presto, I had something to hand in: http://vimeo.com/36273302
That said, I actually don't mind animation. Despite it being quite time consuming, it's fairly satisfying to see my creations come to life and move across the screen, unconfined by the boring old laws of physics. My animation (based around Narwhals, don't ask) turned out ok I suppose, although it's safe to say it's not my forte.
To pass the animation unit, the student has to produce a 30 second animation of original art work put to music. I drew a few characters, that wouldn't look out of place on a nursery wall, scanned them in, cut them into layers on Photoshop and spent countless hours playing god and giving them life. I wrote a short guitar backing track for it, and hey presto, I had something to hand in: http://vimeo.com/36273302
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Blogging and other assorted nonsense
Morning all (it's the evening)
Decided I'd like to write a blog today, record my various exploits and mishaps. I'm going to focus the blog around my videography and photography, with a few climbing and mountaineering adventures here and there.
It'll be mainly drivel and such plucked from the depth of my consciousness but bare with me, I might be going somewhere with this.
And with that, I say this: Weclome and make yourself at home.
Decided I'd like to write a blog today, record my various exploits and mishaps. I'm going to focus the blog around my videography and photography, with a few climbing and mountaineering adventures here and there.
It'll be mainly drivel and such plucked from the depth of my consciousness but bare with me, I might be going somewhere with this.
And with that, I say this: Weclome and make yourself at home.
Breaking my teeth, the Dumby way..
Although I started climbing at Dumbarton Rock a little over 2 years ago, I never really projected anything untill last summer. Currently on my plate is the mighty Persistance of Vision (my sport project) and Mestizo Traverse (my boulder nightmare).
As it's now winter, my sport climbing prospects have taken somewhat of a back seat position and given way to cold, hard bouldering sessions.
I headed down the west coast trainline to Dumbarton East a few weeks ago with Michael Jeans after a nice bout of cold and crisp weather. I made small progress on Mistezo, managing to extend my previous highpoint, now being able to stick the move to the arete on every attempt. No more progress was to be made however, so I got out the camera, took some snaps, fannyed about, then filmed Jeans crushing his first 8a of 2012, Pongo Sit Start: http://vimeo.com/35133750
As it's now winter, my sport climbing prospects have taken somewhat of a back seat position and given way to cold, hard bouldering sessions.
I headed down the west coast trainline to Dumbarton East a few weeks ago with Michael Jeans after a nice bout of cold and crisp weather. I made small progress on Mistezo, managing to extend my previous highpoint, now being able to stick the move to the arete on every attempt. No more progress was to be made however, so I got out the camera, took some snaps, fannyed about, then filmed Jeans crushing his first 8a of 2012, Pongo Sit Start: http://vimeo.com/35133750
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