Production Update 3-18-09

We had a great shoot this weekend. My friend Adam came down to help us with the shoot. Adam and I meet back in high school. We where in a film program at C.A.R.T. (Center for Advanced Reaserch and Technology.) We have worked together ever since. We partnered with his production company Minx Media.  



Adam drove from Fresno to Sacramento; witch is a three hour drive at least. He brought army fatigues, and amazing replica guns. He also helped with cinematography, and will be doing all of the sound design for the project.



We shot a lot of scenes over the weekend, and only have a few scenes left to shoot. The editing is coming along nicely, and I will begin the effects as soon as Michael starts finishes some of the scenes.



I can hardly wait to post about the effects process.

Here are some pictures from the shoot.

Production update 3-6-09

Yesterday was another production day, so that makes today a blogging day. We finished our reshoots yesterday. From now on we will be shooting new footage and not just making up for our first day of shooting.

All was not lost though. The footage from the reshoots, where a lot better. Not just in image quality, but in every other way as well. We where able took shake off the rust, and clean out the cobwebs with our first day of shooting, then throw it away and do it better the second time. The only loss is time.

I have had a theory for a while now, that if you write some extra scenes into your film, that you know you will not need, and shoot them on your first day, it will give your actors, and crew a chance to warm up and get used to working with each other. Again the downside is it will coast you a day of shooting.

And now storytime. One of my favorite parts of filmmaking is the stories you bring home from a shoot. I have a small role in our short, and one of the shots was of me and the main character running up a steep hill as we are being shot at. With all the rain the ground was very wet and muddy. I had a few falls. Once I lost traction and was running in place. Almost like a car spinning its tires. And on another take, I fell face first into a bunch of weeds, with my mouth wide open. I ruined the take as I fell backwards chocking on the weeds. That’s a first for me.

Until next time.

Tripods vrs Handleld

Ok. I just want to clarify something I said in my last post. I made the comment that I don’t like using tripods. I wanted to take some time to explain myself.

I’m not against tripods. Like I mentioned before, I do a lot of interviews. Tripods are essential for this kind of work. Movies also benefit from locking your camera down to a pair of sticks. Plus unless you want to do a lot of complex tracking you need a good tripod for a lot of visual effects work.

My point is I simply prefer to use a looser fluid like, movement in my films, when the story lends itself to the style. Let me say that again “When the story lends itself to it.” Just in case you didn’t catch it, story is king.

The short we are working on more than lends itself to this style. We are making a short about someone living in a post Rapture/ WW III world. Everything is desolate. Our main character is in constant danger of being attacked. This camera work adds to the suspense, and helps long shots of a single actor stay fresh.

In conclusion, it’s important to know the rules of filmmaking, but don’t let the rules get in the way of your creative vision. In the end people will care about your fill being good, and enjoyable. Not how closely you followed the rules of proper filmmaking.

Production Update 3-4-09

Hello again. Here is the update I promised.

We have started shooting, but as I mentioned before we had a few problems. First off we have no tripod. Well that’s not so much a problem because I never use one for my movies. I know that putting your camera on stick is one of the cardinal rules, but I love the handheld look. I’m not talking about shaky, just always moving. Michael, the Director/Editor, cut together a short clip with a scratch Voice Over clip, as a test and it came out with the look and feel I was hoping for. I showed it to my sister who said it looked like something from lost. Great. That means its working.

Our first real problem came with our camera. We are using a Cannon XL1. I have used this camera off and on since it first came out, but mostly for interviews and B roll. I set it to manual, as all the filmmaking books would urge, and made sure to focus for every shot, and white balance for exposure changes. Sounds good right? Well we got home and watched our dallies and it was horrible. The main issue was the shadows had horrible noise. First off I am not a proponent for manual control. I understand the need for access to all your cameras factures, but I don't want to. When I am working on a movie I am usually the screen writer, director, cameraman, and vfx supervisor. I don't feel the need to switch to manual and worry about all the cameras features.


Heres a still from the original footage. Not one of the best examples of the noise but you you get the idea.



Here is the new footage.



And one with some adjustments in Photoshope. Not the final look.


We decided the footage was unusable and re shot it on auto mode, but kept the 16:9 aspect ratio. 16:9 was the main reason we where in manual, so when I realized we could get it in auto, I decided to use it. We re shot some of the footage and it turned out great. So all is good except we are now behind schedule, and the rain has made it hard to shoot.

The whether is looking up, so we should be able to get a day or two in, before we go and see Watchmen.

Thank you for reading. Sign up to follow this blog, and make sure you check out filmrealstudios.org. If you have any questions or comments, that you don't want to put in the public comment area, please email me at filmrealstudios@gmail.com

Here are some behind the scenes pictures from our first day our shooting.

Welcome to Film Real Studios

Welcome to the official Film Real Studios Blog. Film Real Studios (FRS) is the name of the studio/production company started by Jared Elrod, and Michael Carpenter. This blog will be written and maintained by Jared Elrod.

Our goals in starting the company our two fold. We want to create really cool films and other media that uplift and share the love of Christ.

Secondly to help other Christian filmmakers, and by doing so hopefully help raise the bar on the Christian film industry.

Our site is filmrealstudios.org

We are currently in production of our first short film. Details to fallow.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email filmrealstudios@gmail.com