Movie Directing « Produce (Short) Movies

March 2, 2010

FILMMAKING: Integrity and Choosing the Right Collaborators

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, how to become an actor — Tags: Conversation with Michael Moore, independent film, indie filmmaker, integrity, NAZ Today, Sedona Film Festival 2010 — Leslie @ 2:42 pm

Please forgive me for not writing in a long time. A lot has been happening and it has been challenging to keep up with posting. (Such is the life of a full time college student)

Today’s post deals with picking the right colleagues.

Why am I posting this now?

Well, I spent this weekend shooting footage for NAZ Today of the Sedona Film Festival.

Sedona Film Fest 2010

I got a tremendous quantity and high quality of footage, including an event called “Conversation with Michael Moore” and several great interviews with directors and producers of the films being screened at the festival.

NAZ Today is also usually nice enough to let me post my stuff here, which is cool, especially for this event, because it is totally in line with this blogs main goal, which is to inform actors and other new filmmakers (and older filmmakers) how to do their thing better or to get started or to simply be an inspiration (as others have inspired me).

This material also would have been really great on my reel… But unfortunately, I probably will never get my hands on the footage again.

The colleague I went with to the festival decided that his ambition was more important than a team win or having integrity.

He, essentially, stole material from me, didn’t credit me and used me to get into the festival.

I am pretty shocked and distraught because I have never found this behavior at NAZ Today.

NEVER EVER.

I love working at NAZ Today because it is so collaborative. And while the work environment at NAZ Today encourages personal achievement, it has never been in a sketchy way, such as it was with this new guy this weekend.

That’s why I felt so comfortable there, because it meshed with my personal values and beliefs.

Maybe he doesn’t know that NAZ Today’s M.O. is that we support each other rather than screwing each other over.

But, to me, integrity in any environment is always the best choice.

Ironically, he’s the one that really screwed himself over because when one acts out of integrity, one loses trust.

And he is not good enough to be as arrogant. His shots were lousy and his news package was laughable. And you know who suffers for this? Not me. NAZ Today and Sedona Film Fest for being represented so poorly. I would have posted the package here but it’s too embarrassing.

I’m excellent at what I do, and I’m great at finding great stories. I have worked on the professional level and I would hook up everyone I know if given the opportunity, as long as I like them, trust them, and respect them.

I don’t feel trust, respect or liking for this new guy. (who would?) He’s a douchebag, and he will be treated as such for the rest of the time I have to be around him.

As a side note, I’m going to look at the upside of not getting the Michael Moore material for my reel by reminding myself that I’m a comedian, a comic writer and a comedic director/producer.

I’m not a news person, though I am getting stronger at the comedy (especially working in live TV) by working at NAZ Today, so in an indirect way it is helping with my goals.

So I officially shrug my shoulders and walk away and let them have Mr. Douchebag if they want him.

And my point in writing this is that, if I did care or really need the Sedona Film Fest material for my reel, I would have been really messed up by choosing a shooting partner that lacked integrity.

I actually didn’t choose him, he showed up and I let him help, which was a bad choice, I guess, but at the time I thought I could trust everyone within the NAZ Today organization.

I’ll just take a page out of my hero Trey Parker’s philosophy and be sure to fart on Mr.Douchebag every time I see him.

Anyhoo, here are some stills I took at the event. They’re pretty low quality, but that’s what I have…

Sedona Film Fest 2010

Michael Moore at Sedona Film Fest 2010

Jerry Stiller at Sedona Film Fest 2010

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January 29, 2010

Solid Video Cameras: The Canon GL1, Canon GL2 and the Panasonic DVX100A

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, movie making equipment — Tags: cameras, Canon GL1, Canon GL2, General Filmmaking, mini DV, movie making equipment, Panasonic DVX100A — Leslie @ 9:51 pm

As technology keeps improving, it is hard to keep up with the latest gadget.

I’m sure you already know this, but for a filmmaker, it can be frustrating because if you want to buy a camera, you want to keep in mind that it has to produce a level of quality for you not only for now, but ideally for the next several years, so that you really get your money’s worth.

Unless you are shooting features, I would not go crazy with an expensive camera. Nothing over $10,000.

Don’t break a sweat though, I’m not even thinking in that ballpark in terms of price.

I’ve noticed over the years that the same cameras keep popping up. The DPs that I’ve worked with like them. They’re relatively simple but offer a lot of important features, and they are in a reasonable price range.

Here are my two favorites:

The Canon GL1, Canon GL2 and the Panasonic DVX100A.

Before I continue, I want to make clear that I come from an ACTING background, not a technical one. I am not a cinematographer but I’ve had to familiarize myself with the technology as a director.

I like these cameras because even though they are not HD, they will give you a nice picture and they allow you to manually adjust the shot.

**VERY IMPORTANT** They have external sound jacks, which means you can use a mic other than the one that is inside the camera.

This is key to making movies, even shorts, because poor sound quality is a sure give away to low production value. It’s the kind of thing that no one notices if it’s good, but everyone notices if it’s bad.

I’m not going to get into all the details, but these cameras also have a lot of accessory possibilities that will allow you to get more technical and professional with your shots as you grow into the camera.

They use Mini DV as storage which isn’t going to go anywhere any time soon.

Festivals accept films shot with these cameras. I’ve worked with feature film DP’s that like them.

And all of these cameras can be found on the Internet for under two grand, although the DVX100A might be challenging to find. You will probably come across the DVX100B which is in the $3K price range, but if you are going to pay that much, better to go with a lower end HD cam.

Canon GL1

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November 9, 2009

50 states… 50 filmmakers…

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, Shameless Self Promotion — Leslie @ 12:22 am

I have already written about the blog Self Reliant Film, and there is another post that I think you would be interested in.

He is doing a survey of individuals who are making films in areas that are NOT in the filmmaking centers of the country (L.A. and New York).

So if you’re making films and you’re not in these areas, you might want to nominate yourself or other people you know for each of the states (don’t worry about filling in the blank for each state… just the ones where you know filmmakers.)

(LIke me… In Arizona… It’d be cool if you wrote me in for AZ!)

And I actually did nominate people in NY and LA when they asked for New York and California. That’s where I know the best filmmakers are for that state, and I don’t think that he was against nominating people in the filmmaking centers… I just think that he also wanted to get a wider scope of the country.

Anyhoo, here’s the original post.

And, again, when you get to Arizona, please list Leslie Lello.

If you want to check out my stuff, go take a look at my You Tube channel, which is always a work in progress…

(BTW, more 80’s Chicks, Brittany and Tiffany, on the way soon!)

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November 3, 2009

Learning FilmMaking: Self-Education vs. Formal Education vs. Fast Education

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, how to become an actor — Tags: filmmaking education, General Filmmaking, how to become an actor, Movie Directing — Leslie @ 8:57 pm

I found this site a long time ago and was somewhat impressed by the content of what they were teaching…

Apparently, the 4-day Travel Channel Academy teaches you how to shoot travel videos so that you can become a professional videographer for the travel genre of filmmaking.

I was at one time considering this indulgent program because at the time I was doing so much traveling and still photography that it seemed like the obvious next step.

But after thinking about it I recognized that 4 days was a bit short to get one’s career rolling.

Additionally, I am now in a program (at Northern Arizona University) that costs about the same (for one, 4 month semester) but is infinitely longer, more thorough and will teach me more and leave me with a much better reel.

And it’s accredited, so I’m getting a legit degree as well.

On a website/blog like this that encourages you to go out and just start shooting, would say that there are three steps to getting good at all this.

The first is to go out and do it and learn as much as you can on your own.
The second is to get a mentor and around people so that you can watch and pick up their better habits and techniques. (actually, the best thing would be to combine the first and second steps)
The third is formal education, but only if you’re still getting to work hands-on and only it is an excellent program.

Don’t do 4 day programs that promise you a career. It’s a good place to start for some people I suppose. It’s a FUN place to start for a lot of people, which I think it what initially drew me in.

I would love to get some feedback on this… Anyone take this course or one like it? Any thoughts on this subject?

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October 30, 2009

A Great Film Blog and Final Cut Pro online Video Tutorials for Beginners to Experts

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, movie making equipment — Leslie @ 8:30 pm

Just want to alert you to a couple links that I have found interesting/helpful…

The first is a website/blog called Self Reliant Film. Self-Reliant Film was started in November 2005 by Paul Harrill, who is an independent filmmaker from Virginia.

I’ve been reading his blog for about a year now and it’s quite good. Here is a post that I recently took particular interest in because I have been working my way through learning Final Cut Pro.

In the post he mentions the website lynda.com, which offers a variety of tutorials to excellerate your FCP skills or to help you out when you get stuck. I just signed up for their newsletter and I’m looking forward to becoming a more proficient editor.

Here is the basic “Essential Editing” Course on Lynda to get you started…

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October 26, 2009

Movie Directing and Reels

Filed under: FUN!, General Filmmaking, LA Acting, Movie Directing — Tags: FUN!, General Filmmaking, LA Acting, Los Angeles acting, Movie Directing — Leslie @ 6:05 pm

This is more of a survey than a post…

I have been going through a number of director reels right now and I have a sample of three reels that I would like your feedback on…

The first belongs Jake Barsha of Right Hook Films. I have worked with Jake and I really love his reel… especially the visual quality of it… It’s sexy and has great visual quality (reminds me of a music video). The thing is that we never hear the actors interacting (except for the very end), which is a big part of directing.

The second reel belongs to my friend Jeremy Feig. His reel mostly contains clips with dialogue. I like this because you get a sense of the story and the transactions between the actors.

Third, is my reel. It’s been a “rough cut” for the last year, but now that I have a bit more access to better editing programs (and have become a better editor myself) I’m feeling compelled to redo this…

I would love feedback on how to make my director reel better… (and I’m sure my readers would like that, too!)

Do I add more music? Keep it with dialogue only? Make it more flashy? Playful?

I’ve been tempted to “front” the reel myself… shoot a “hello” intro… What do you think of that idea?

A lot of actor reels do this, and I like it because it puts a face to the material (something that most director reels don’t have).

But is that unnecessary?

Dunno.

I also didn’t add the “Grey Street” music video. I feel it is actually one of my best productions, but it is also a bit violent and I don’t want to repel anyone (Jake’s video is awesome but it’s also a bit violent for me at the end).

Additionally, do I jump genres too much? I know I go from commercial to comedy to drama. I’m really most interested in comedy, so I don’t want to give the impression that I’m aiming for horror or drama (not that I can’t do that, but I have a luke warm feeling toward drama and horror down-right repels me now. I won’t take jobs that are for horror movies.)

Soooo………..that’s why I’m asking you for feedback.

I encourage you to leave comments below. And please add links to YOUR film website, blog and especially to your own director or acting reel.

If I get one or several cool reels, I will maybe do an entire post to highlight them.

Thanks!

Leslie

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October 16, 2009

Part 3 of 3: Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Lloyd Kaufman talk Movies

Filed under: FUN!, General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, South Park Studio, comedy movies online — Tags: comedy movies online, General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, South Park Studio — Leslie @ 9:41 pm

This is is Part 3 of 3.

This one is just Matt Stone and Lloyd Kaufman, taped in April 2006.

I love this one because he gets more into the business of it. Still funny, too.

“Just keep going. Forget about that. Just do something and keep doing something new…”

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October 14, 2009

Part 2 of 3: Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Lloyd Kaufman talk Movies

Actually in this one it’s just Trey Parker and Lloyd Kaufman.

It’s a few years later and Trey and Lloyd discuss last video I posted (that Lloyd shot a few years before this one).

This series of videos were shot in 2007. (God, I love these. Make me giggle and informative.)

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October 12, 2009

Part 1 of 3: Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Lloyd Kaufman Talk about Making Movies

Filed under: General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, South Park Studio, comedy movies online — Tags: comedy movies online, General Filmmaking, Movie Directing, South Park Studio — Leslie @ 8:53 pm

This is Part 1 of 3 posts.

While Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park Studio) were shooting Team America, they were interviewed by Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Films for his (Lloyd’s) documentary/instructional film “Make Your Own Damn Movie”.

This is Part 1 in my blog article series for two reasons…

1. It was shot several years before the other videos I will be posting later this week.

2. Their attitude is pretty bleak. They were not having fun with working with marionettes and apparently they got screwed in their contract, and their probably exhausted from the shoot… so they are a bit down in these two videos.

Still, it’s good to be aware of the down side of things. If the folks at the top are being dicked over, how can you carve out the filmmaker lifestyle that you want, and still get paid the money you deserve for all the long hours and work you put in?

Not that they don’t have lots of money. But I’m thinking, “I want creative control (Trey has final cut on all movies he makes) and I want to get paid”. HOW? HOW? HOW?

If you figure it out please let me know.

(BTW, there was a first video to this series on YouTube but nothing really happens in the first one).