Fun Videos for Filmmakers

It's Monday... so here's a fun distraction!


Alright, alright so we've all heard of this "Sh*t [insert name here] Says" thing that's going around the internet, right? (If you haven't... where have you been?) As a short blog post today, I present to you my two favourites so far. 


First up, we have "Sh*t You Never Hear On Set", which is absolutely hilarious for anyone who has ever worked on a film set. Even if you haven't been on set before, you'll probably still find this entertaining, and a fun look at how things work (or don't work) on a working film set. 

Isn't it great? :)


Next we have "Sh*t VFX Artists Say". This is for anyone who has ever spent endless hours on computers working on VFX shots, or ever wondered what it was like to do so... I learned the joy of this last semester, when I spent many, many hours with AfterEffects layering and rotoscoping and doing all kinds of simple VFX work for my film, which starred a ghost. The experience taught me great respect for the VFX artists who do this full time... it's a lot of work!

Alright then that's all for now! I hope these videos helped lighten your Monday.


PS - Have you heard of the documentary that Matt Tingey (the director of the first video) has been working on? It's called "My Other Me: A Film About Cosplayers" - check out the trailer on Youtube: http://youtu.be/dF64evU0AZI

The Importance of Slates

As a filmmaker, one should never, ever underestimate the importance of the almighty slate.

While quickly shooting a little short film with a couple of my friends after Christmas, just for fun, I thought "well, it's just me, the camera, and my friends as actors - there's no need for a slate..."

Oh, how wrong I was.

It is, as I have now discovered, very difficult and time consuming to go through hundreds (yes, hundreds - I didn't realise I had shot so many) of clips from my camera, with basically no reference whatsoever to what scene or take they were. I really should have known, but I simply wasn't thinking.

Now I have to go through each clip, listen to some of the dialogue and match it with the script. I'm less than halfway through, and I am so not impressed with myself.

Lesson learned.

This, my friends, is called a Filmmaker Fail.

A Bad Habit on Set...

It has come to my attention this past weekend that I have a slightly "bad habit" when I'm working on sets. It applies to any set - a professional television series or a student film, it doesn't matter.

When I'm on set, I consume a ridiculous amount of caffeine.