Instant Moviemaking

VideoArt: The Concept of Me

 

I've been hankering to get one of those hard drive video cameras to find out how much faster you could put projects together if you eliminate that annoying capture step. However, the camera I really want doesn't exist yet (a High-Definition camcorder that records to a hard drive).

As a compromise, I bought the cheapest camcorder I could get, a Samsung SCD-363, which records video to either miniDV tape or an SD Card. The stuff that goes to the SD card is much lower in resolution than taped images, but the fast turnaround almost makes it worthwhile. This was a test piece I put together from one take on a 512 MB SD card.

Best of 48-Hour Films at NAB NY

ALL 48 Hour filmmakers are invited to attend the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in New York, October 23-26. Geared to the professional production and post-production community, NAB features workshops and exhibits on cutting edge technologies and techniques. Also, 48HFP executive producers, Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, are screening a selection of the Best 48 Hour Films of 2006 on Wednesday, October 25 at 6pm.

 

THE NATIONAL FILM CHALLENGE

October 20-23, 2006

Registration opens on September 1st!

The registration fee is $125. The first 50 teams to register will receive a free Best of the 2005 Film Challenge DVD.

The National Film Challenge is a timed filmmaking competition where filmmaking teams have just one weekend to make a short film! Last year 161 teams from 32 states competed. This year the competition is open to filmmaking teams from around the globe. The first 250 teams to register will be accepted into the competition.

All Louisville 48 Hour films posted

If you couldn't fly to Louisville to catch the 48 Hour Film Project screening there, you can see all the films online at the website of WHAS, one of the local television stations. You don't get to vote for your favorite, though, that's only for those who show up at the screening.

2006 48-Hour Film Tour Complete

Our national filmmaking frenzy is over! Teams from 31 U.S. cities competed in the annual 48-Hour Film project. Now all that's left is Paris. Ah yes! There'll always be Paris!

Cringing in Appalachia

The Appalachian Online is carrying a story entitled "48-Hour Film Project leaves audience cringing." Fortunately, the effect was intentional - it was a gross-out horror film.

Quickflicks screening another hit

    Well, the second annual Quickflicks /Group 101 NYC screening went well, although not without some dramatics. I had checked out the venue the week before to make sure our DVD would play on the house player, that sound was OK etc. I even brought my own DVD player and remote control in case we had a compatibility problem. Fortunately, the house DVD player was the exact same model as mine, so we had a way of testing that everything would work.
    On show night, I brought everything I thought I needed, omitting my DVD player and its remote control, planing to use house equipment. It turned out that they hadn't seen their remote control in quite some time and our DVD was authored so that it was nearly impossible to play the program as planned without a remote (Why are DVD players and other gizmos so totally reliant on their remote? If you lose the remote for some devices, you practially have to discard the device). So I jumped in a taxi and did a last-minute race home to get my remote, returning just in time to start the show. Thank heavens for New York City Taxis!

cranking up for the screening

So now it's time to start cranking up for the annual Quickflicks screening. It's not until August 14, but there's lots to plan when you're pulling together several filmmakers and bringing in an audience. This will be the second year we've done a summer screening at The Frying Pan, an outdoor bistro/performance venue right on the Hudson at West 23rd Street in Manhattan. If the weather holds, it's a really fun event for everyone involved, and a totally memorable evening no matter how the films go. If you're planning to attend, the screening starts at 8 pm and it's free!

post rush lull

I wish I knew why I need external deadlines to get things done. After knocking off 48 Hour films in 5 different cities in just 72 days, you'd think I'd have the drive to knock out some films without external prompting. But NOOOOOO! As soon as the contest series  is over, I'm back to talking about getting films done, but not doing them. I guess that's the dilemma of every filmmaker, novelist, composer, you name it. Without an outside motivator, inertia takes over. Yecch.

corporate marketing

Shortly after finishing my Portand 48 hour film, the one I shot on my Verizon Treo cell phone, I sent out a press release (pretty much that previous post) talking up Verizon and Palm and everything associated with it. I emailed the release to both companies, figuring they'd be interested in a fun story about exciting things people could do with their products.

Imagine my excitement when I got a response from Verizon nearly the same day. My excitement dimmed considerably when read the actual response. I was being informed that it's not Verizon, it's "Verizon Wireless." Well, excuse me! Sorry I mentioned it at all! Amazing!