Week 5 Midterm: Midterm

Well, I have come a long way since day 1. Considering that the first class was a surprise and I quickly fell behind I think I am finally all caught up. All my photo challenges were completed. Each homework assignment except the finished optimal resume for Tarintino were finished and turned in. I finished my storyboard, professional photo, field kit, pricing, movie poster, and tweets. I meet with a banker, lawyer, relevant industry professional, and accountant. I have basically busted my butt for the past week playing catch up and am pretty proud of what I have gotten finished considering the circumstances. So far the information I have learned is valuable and I am looking forward to the rest of the class.

I am hoping now that I am caught up this class will be less stressful and my workflow will be much smoother. I have my four pages of the business plan but know it need to be revised and gone over. I am hoping next class we will have some time to go over them and you can give me some suggestions on what to change or add.

Week 4 Photo Challenge: Original Move Poster

This movie poster is for a movie that is currently in production. It is an original script I wrote, produced, and directed. The poster is of an abandoned insane asylum and a mentally insane woman. I used a couple different styles of text to draw in the viewers attention. When selling a movie you want the audience to be intrigued and want more, therefore they will go to the theater and watch it.
I made this very simple and easy for the viewer to understand. The woman is visually disturbing and her eyes stand out. The eyes are important in the plot line and I wanted them to be noticed immediately. The actual building is a little more opaque and hopefully gives the feeling of creepiness. This whole project is currently under production and will be released by the end of the year.
My overall goal for the project is to get it into film festivals across the country.

Week 3 Photo Challenge: Storyboard for a commercial

This is a storyboard for a script I wrote called Las Vegas Cold Case 333. The actual storyboard is for the trailer I am about to start filming next week. The overall premise behind the script is about 2 Las Vegas Metro police officers that were called to investigate a woman in distress at the abandoned insane asylum in north Las Vegas.
The officers are lured deep into the abandoned building by a womans voice calling out for help. One goes missing after a series of unexplained events.
In this storyboard I am showing how the trailer is going to be shot. Basically it is going to showed a panicked woman running and be driven by sound effects. I'm using shadowed silhouettes and quick cuts to build the excitement and suspense. Music is another very important factor in the trailer.
A trailer is an advertisement for a movie so I want the audience left wondering what is going to happen and have the desire to see the movie when it is released. Text and motion graphics are also very important to the overall feel and dramatic events that occur in selling my movie. Keep checking back to see the finished version in a couple of weeks.

Week 4 EOC Progress Toward My 4 Professional Contacts

I have had some progress toward gathering together my 4 professional contacts. I have a regular banker that I work with so she has agreed to talk to me about what is necessary for a filmmakers such as myself to secure financing from a bank. I already have her business card and hope to have the meeting scheduled by next week.
Second, I dont know any lawyers here in vegas so I will have to look one up in either the yellow pages or online. I am hoping to find one that knows his way around the film industry or can at least point me in the correct direction. Vegas has a plethora of seasoned lawyers in the entertainment industry Im sure. Having a good attorney to make sure the film is running on all the proper legal outlets is imperative if it makes money.
Third I will be meeting with my insurance agent who handles my rental, car, and equipment insurance. Again the meeting is to get myself pointed in the correct direction to find an insurance company that handles clients in film related field. Insurance is one of the most important parts of the pre-production process because of if something happens to personal or equipment the production could be sunk before it ever gets started.
The most important role of the pre-production, production, and post-production process is the account. Their the person that know where the money is coming from and going to. They keep track of all the records and purchases along with balancing the books. I still need to find someone that knows the ins and outs of the accounting for a film project.

Week 2 Photo challenge: Professional Work Photo

This is a photo of me in the Grand Tetons working on a Canon 7D SLR digital camera. The 7D allows a filmmaker to shoot high quality digital video on a advanced Single Lens Reflux camera body with a number of options for their lens. The depth of field and ability to shoot in low light conditions has made the 7D the camera of choice for beginning to advanced digital video production. I feel very privileged to be able to shoot with my 7D and the feel I can create with its internal settings makes the difficult shots look easy.

Grand Teton National Park is an extraordinary place to shoot scenic photographs and and video. I was lucky enough to find a day with a sunset that made the sky appear as if it was on fire. Combined with with the snow the reflections from the sun falling behind the mountains were extraordinary. Originally this shoot was going to take place in Yellowstone but the park was closed do to snow and was not scheduled to reopen until April. We made the best out of what we had and it turned out to be a day to never forget. Having Jackson Hole Ski resort close by was a nice perk too.

This picture was taken from a digital phone thus the grainy film quality. 

Week 3 EOC: Where are you now and where are you going?

Where I am now and where I am going as a filmmaker? Presently I am just starting on my career path. I have worked in the industry as a production assistant and have much experience as a cameraman. I am very comfortable editing and creating graphics for my short films. Every project I finish and person I work with gets me a little closer to my career goal. This is the time in my life where I am just burying my head in any interesting project that comes across my desk. As long as projects are steady and I am busy the path is clear.
Where am I going? Well, my goal is producing and filming documentary projects. I need to get my studio set up and able to fully create and produce projects but the ground work is currently being laid. I have many ideas but the reality is simple. My first major production is going to be filming the entire year leading up to December 23, 2012. This is a major event in many peoples life and others show no concern. I will be interviewing and and filming both opinions leading up to the big event and hopefully continue after with followups. With the completion of this project I am hoping to gain exposure for my company. I see a bright light at the end of the dark tunnel and know there is a ton of preparation, scheduling, and filming on the horizon but cant wait for the challenges ahead.