Kevin W Wilson

The amount of paperwork required to make even a small production run might blow your mind, the amount needed for a feature is down right terrifying. Obviously it depends on the level of production you are planning to embark on. A full fledged union feature will require truckloads of paperwork. I'm not kidding. A more independent production can probably get away with much less but there are some things you will need no matter what. Releases, deal memos, contracts, payroll receipts, petty cash receipts, purchase orders, camera reports, scripts, breakdowns, sides, lined scripts, storyboards, schedules, production calendars, business plans, pre-lims, call sheets the list goes on and on. My girlfriend has worked in production offices for over five years now, when it comes to paperwork she knows what it takes to run a production. She's worked as a production secretary on Contagion, Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, American Reunion and lots more. Here's some books she recommends that will help, these can all be found used for very reasonable. The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide (find it used, its much cheaper) The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers (has tons of paperwork examples in it and blank templates) Film Scheduling (old but it gives the nuts and bolts of what you need) If you aren't sure what you need to get your production legal and legit, get a producer. Get a good producer. Tell them your plan, be professional and tell them what you need from them. Inspire them with an incredible pitch that proves you have the creative capacity to deliver on the art side of things. Good producers have connections and will help you find investors who you can inspire too. Good luck!

Sixty bucks is nothing in the world of desk chairs. The crem de la crem of editing chairs are the ones made by Herman Miller. Specifically their "Aeron" model. (you want one, you just don't know it yet) When I worked as an edit assist I had an Aeron chair and it made the long hours of rendering so much more pleasant. They are expensive, but truly worth every penny. Another editor removed it from my room for a client one time and I was forced to use a regular desk chair for a shift. Now, I'm an easy going guy and as the low man on the totem pole I was fine to use what I was given. I had a stack on compression orders on my desk so I shrugged it off and got to work. Within the hour, literally less than 30 minutes of sitting in the downgraded hunk of junk desk chair, I quietly got up, snuck down the hall and reclaimed my Aeron chair. I kid you not, they are that good. They are designed to give you proper posture while leaning forward and keep the circulation in your legs moving properly as compared to a common desk chair. Do yourself a favor, if you will be sitting at a desk for long periods of time, get a good chair. Actually, get a great chair. Your back will thank you for it in thirty years when you can still bend over and pick seashells up on the beach with your grand kids. For $60 though.............. Maybe this one? (get the Aeron)

Sounds like you have this under control, go out and shoot it. Don't overthink it, just get what you want from the scene and you'll always be happy in the end. Good luck young Jedi.

Moments like these I find are far more impressive when viewed from very close. A big wide shot of someone being hit with a car will be complicated no matter how you handle it. Whether you get a stunt person or do wire work it will be annoyingly complex and utilize lots of resources and personnel. If you think small though, you can easily get your point across with something like this. Just think about it in small pieces like you would when structuring in the edit. Think of the chaos that happens when someone is struck by a vehicle. It's terrifying when viewed from an outside perspective. Think of it playing out in slow motion. Play on the husbands reaction, CU on his face as he sees the car and realizes what's about to happen. ECU of her eyes with the reflection of the car inching into her field of view. She drops the umbrella she's holding, CU of her fingers letting go before the impact. CU on the driver's face as he sees the woman in his path, he jerks the wheel, CU of his foot pounding on the brake. CU of her umbrella tumbling down and hitting the ground. Back to regular time. Cut to the husband who is frozen with shock and unable to move. Show his POV, he sees his wife laying in the street next to her umbrella as the driver flees the scene. No physical impact required and you get a very dramatic scene with good build up and tension. Sound will help sell the scene better than visuals anyway. Get a good post person to do sound for the final version and that will be half the work right there. Sound helps sell visuals, not the other way around. You could also approach it from a very minimal postion, we see her begin to cross the street, cut to the husband who hears the whole thing happen behind him he turns and sees the aftermath, just her lying on the ground. Add sound effects and your finished. Most people are terrified of minimalism but it's what cinema is based on and it can be incredibly powerful when utilized properly. Get creative and you'll have this in the can no problem. Good luck and be safe out there.

Depends on various factors but in most cases whoever paid for the drives gets to keep them, usually the production company. Last post house I worked at any drives that came to us from a production were always returned back to the production company for them to decide what to do with.

Another site that does interesting things with colors in films is http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/ It crams every frame of a film side by side to create a "barcode" and show the progression of color through a film. Neat stuff.

It is possible, but probably more trouble than its worth and honestly not a good idea. Get a generator and save yourself a headache. Car batteries aren't designed for prolonged output of continuous power, especially not a 1K Arri. Do you really want to take the chance of stranding yourself out in a remote location with no vehicle power and no lights? Get a little HONDA generator or something. You probably know somebody who has one already, if not they can usually be rented for $75/day. Your local rate may vary though, that's what they cost here in Atlanta. Good luck, stay safe out there.

The noir look of the 40's is a very difficult look to emulate. Certainly not impossible but it takes a tremendous amount of skill to create, noir is really almost a mood more than a look. The camera you shoot on is completely irrelevant to noir. My advice is to hire a DP to create it for you. Gather up lots of photographs of what you want, have some film references in mind and talk with your DP about what you are looking to do. A great cinematographer will listen to your ideas and bring many of his/her own. They will work with you closely to get great images and make you happy with the final product. Trust me, spend some money and get a solid DP. You'll be way happier having an experienced DP guide you through a noir themed project, especially if it's a music video which relies heavily on strong visuals and precise photography.

You need to use your full name, it's one of the site/forum rules. Craigslist is loaded with old VHS camcorders for next to nothing. Here in Atlanta they pop up all the time under the "Free" section and under "Photo & Video" for a few bucks at the most. I frequently visit thrift stores around town and find VHS cams all the time. Look around, they are out there.

Shane Carruth shot his film "Primer" on Super 16 for $7,000 and it's a great movie. He rented a camera for very cheap, got a deal on processing and used short ends and recans. It can be done, you just need to ask yourself how much effort you are willing to put into it to get what you want. Focus more on your story as opposed to what you want to shoot on and you'll be fine.

Sorry Adrian, just keeping it light. No harm meant.

Kubrick stored half exposed film for 2001: A Space Odyssey in refrigerators for several years, shooting part of a shot with the lens masked then unloading the film and storing it until the other half could be shot. If Kubrick thought it was fine, then it must not be that big a deal!

Thanks for the input Greg, always great to have people who were there verify information. Stellar work as well, focus pulling at it's absolute best!

A experienced grip crew will get you shots with no vibration. A quick search through the forum for "vehicle mounts" will turn up dozens of posts loaded with pictures of frighteningly complex rigs and small subtle ones as well, I'd recommend taking a look through some old posts. There's also things like stabilized heads and gyro mounts that can remove most or all of the external vibrations that a camera picks up.

Most of the car chase stuff done in Michael Bay's films is done practically. For wide shots, chase shots, etc. cameras are usually mounted directly to vehicles and the natural vibration from the speed and movement of the cars adds the necessary effect. Almost every show M.B. does also uses the Pursuit Systems Porsche Cayenne to get more dynamic chase moves. http://www.pursuitsystems.com/ Close ups of actors in vehicles are done all the same way with Mr. Bay. He said in an interview years ago he picked it up from his low budget music video days and still uses it. Basically you put the actor in the vehicle and zoom the camera in and out rapidly while the camera operator shakes the film mag. See here: Bad Boys II Chase Skip to 1:37 and watch all the head on CU's from there on for examples of this in practice. The Hummer chase in The Rock uses this technique a lot as well. Once you know, it's easy to spot. It's also good for causing viewers to vomit and get headaches. Enjoy.

Is there a difference between the two? Yes. Is it noticeable? From the sound of your project, doubtful. I think you're going to be fine. The difference should be pretty negligible. It's hard to say 100% for sure not having seen screen grabs or any of the material, but I work with HDCAM and SR all day long and I see no reason it shouldn't work for your situation. I've seen several projects handled this same way with no ill effects. Will is correct. The only major benefit your going to gain from going to 444 is the extra little bit of wiggle room you'll get in color correction. And that will largely be determined by how well your material was shot in the first place. Again, hard to judge having not seen it. I just mastered a 16mm short to HDCAM for a client and it looks great. As long as the transfer to the tape is handled by a decent engineer you should have no issues.

Thanks Adrian. It's always nice when you get that confirmation that your not going about a task in a ridiculous way.

All the hype surrounding the new digital camera releases and silly me, I went out and bought three rolls of Fuji Vivid 160T 16mm film. I'll be shooting a short camera test next week on an unmodified K3, It's a proof of concept test for a title sequence. Haven't shot with the Vivid 160T before but am looking forward to testing it out. One thing I can't seem to get a straight answer on from anyone is how to set my light meter to show the compensation for any filters I pile on the camera. I plan on using an 85 filter so that kills a 2/3 stop putting me at 100, correct? Then let's say I add an ND.3, now I'm down to 50 ASA, right? Is it okay to just set my light meter to 50 ASA instead of doing the math for the filter compensation in my head? I just want to be sure my readings are still accurate even though I'm not actually rating the film at 50 ASA or whatever I end up at. I've been a 2nd A.C. for a few years now, rarely do I see anyone pull out a light meter anymore. Just wanted a straight answer from a trustworthy group. My light meter is a Kenko KFM-1100 and this will be scanned to either SD or HD Pro Res files most likely. Thanks.

I agree with Phil. Premiere is strictly a non-linear editor. That's what it was designed for and what it is used for. Can you color correct in it? Sure, I do quick grades in it all the time for client approvals. Can you edit in After Effects? Definitely, it's a bit cumbersome since that's not what it was designed for, but it can be done. The beauty of the Adobe products, Premiere and After Effects especially, is the many ways they integrate with one another and save you time. It's extremely easy to bounce a timeline back and forth between the two programs, maintaining all your cuts and effects and negating a lot of rendering time. They are very well thought out pieces of software. Stu Maschwitz (super knowledgeable guy) recommends using After Effects for two main reasons. The first is the bit depth, which allows you to work in a higher, more accurate color space. Giving you more control and flexibility with your footage. You can't work at a higher bit depth than your footage natively allows within Premiere. Why? Because that's not what it's for really. Reason two is the ease of use and flexibility it allows low budget filmmakers access to without paying an arm and a leg. Is it a Da Vinci Resolve system? Nope. But it will do a mighty job and make your stuff look damn good if you take your time and know what your doing. After Effects also has a very accurate render engine built in, allowing you to dig a pretty impressive amount of information out of your footage.

I've lived in Atlanta since I was born here, 24 years total. It has its issues but every major city does. I have always enjoyed living here and there is a TON of things to do. I highly recommend the Georgia Aquarium, great experience for anyone of any age. The newly renovated Coke museum is quite impressive as well, lots of free samples and a lot of fun. Little Five Points is the place to go if you're looking to watch a game or grab a good meal. The Vortex and Tijuana Garage are local favorites with phenomenal food. The Sweetwater Brewery offers a great tour of their facility and how they create their unique brand of beer, definitely try some while your here. Olympic Park is a nice place to visit although there's not much to do there. The Cartoon Network/CNN studio tours are cool, a little pricey if I remember correctly but interesting none the less. If you want to see a show the Masquerade offers a great "hole in the wall" local venue with a huge variety of music acts. The FOX Theater is almost always doing something interesting. Last Summer they showed $5.00 movies on Saturday nights. Ghostbusters, the Blues Brothers and Back to the Future were some of the ones I saw, all on original 35mm prints! The Plaza Theater, Atlanta's oldest continuously independent theater is a great old school film theater. http://www.plazaatlanta.com/ Completely non-profit, they have great variety of indie films and off beat cinema constantly in rotation, almost all of it shown on 35mm in a very swanky environment. Incredible popcorn too, buy some while you're there or you'll regret it later. Chandler Park is gorgeous and a great place to take photos if you fancy a photo walk, they also have an adult kickball league that is a blast. Eyedrum is the local hipster hangout but usually has some sort of performance art exhibit going on and some cool galleries on display. The Krog Street Tunnel is worth a visit during daytime hours only, amazing graffiti and street art that literally changes every day can be seen there. Atlantic Station has a bunch of nice restaurants and shopping if that's your thing. Right now they are running an incredible show called "Dialogue In the Dark" and the "BODIES" exhibition. Both highly recommended. http://www.atlanticstation.com/ Click the EVENTS tab. The Mall of Georgia is pretty cool, whether you like to shop or not it has something for almost everybody and can easily fill and afternoon. If you need more info on anything shoot me a PM. I'm always happy to show my city off! Kevin

One trick I used in the past that worked was to put the bulb in the freezer to chill it down several degrees. Popped it into the housing and got instant flickering bulb. The flickering will only last as until the bulbs heats up to room temp. Not the most elegant solution but it worked when I didn't have any dimmers. Wouldn't recommend it as a consistent lighting solution but it works in a pinch.

They have a built in life meter you can view using the free P2 viewer on Panasonic's web site, the download is free. You can also download the free P2 format software while you're there. Anytime you format a card on your computer it will give you a quick readout of how much life is left on the card. http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/support/resource-center/software-downloads.asp?&cm_sp=PBST%20Support-_-Top%20Nav-_-Software%20And%20Downloads

I have this film on DVD and they talk specifically about how they achieved this effect. They weighed out all the different scenarios of how to pull it off and finally settled on doing it all for real, right in camera. They built mirrored bath sets and put them up against one another where the mirror would typically be, so when the camera is looking up at the "reflection" that is actually an actor on the opposite side of the set. When the camera would tilt down they had a stand in on the camera side mimicking the actors movements so that we think we are seeing the actual set of hands when we are really looking at an addition set from a stand in. James Cameron pulled off something similar in a deleted scene from Terminator 2 where the chip is removed from Arnold's head. (shot begins at about :24 in) He used a mirrored set and had Arnold sit on the opposite side so he looked like the reflection, he placed a prosthetic head directly across from the real Arnold to make it look as though the chip was really being removed from Arnold's actual head. He used stand ins on the opposite side to make it look like it was all just part of the reflection. It's quite brilliant and you would never know unless someone had told you. I miss this kind of SFX work, made everything feel so damn real when it worked.

You're work flow won't really be any different than if you worked with the files natively. Obviously converting from one format to another will add time to your overall work flow but in the long run the editing and compression will all be the same. After you've converted the files, everything is the same.

Red Giant Software makes a great little stand alone plugin called Magic Bullet Grinder that does exactly that. Converts h.264 Quicktimes to Apple ProRes. Works beautifully, I use it at the post house all the time for 5d and 7d footage. It's also way faster than compressor. http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-grinder/