So what do I have to improve? A lot. Really, any thing I do can improve or change in some way.
Regarding The Blood Exchange, I need to remember to focus on the focus. Half of my shots were out of focus. It honestly pissed me off to see Carlos’ face so out of focused so often. There’s something I can fix.
Another thing I can do? I have to work on my audiowork. I don’t think it was as high-quality as I wanted it to be. I have to work on the balance between voice and music, because, I agree, Roger’s voice was sometimes overtaken by the music.
So, looking forward. I’ll have you know that my next film will be completely opposite from the Blood Exchange when it comes to style. I have no set script, only a storyboard and generally what will happen. I don’t know how I’m going to film it. I don’t know who I want to be in it. I don’t even know how it’s going to end. But I’m gonna film it, and I’m just gonna let things happen the way it happens.
My philosophy is that bad ideas are better than no ideas. Whether or not my future film will be good is completely out of my control. It could be complete crap, and I may forever remember it as a failure. However, doing it is better than sitting here and thinking about what could go wrong. What I’ve learned is that failure is sometimes better than achievement. It tells you where to go next.
As quoted from Paul Arden’s Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite, “IT’S BETTER TO REGRET WHAT YOU HAVE DONE THAN WHAT YOU HAVEN’T.”
Words to live by.
2/16/11
The Blood Exchange Reflection
And now comes the time for the post-video reflection. Let’s get started.
So what was good about this video for me? I am proud of how professional it looked. Honestly, it had this sense of formality and structure that made it seem less of an amateur video and closer to a professional video. Combining the awesome camera quality, the tripod, the lighting, and the overall presentation, you have a pretty solidly put-together film. I think overall, professionality was what I was most satisfied with in the end.
My actors were great. Though I think all my actors did a great job, I think the person who stole the show was Anthony, honestly. He was great, I won’t lie. I remember being behind the camera and seeing him yell at Roger with such intensity. He just got so into it, and it really showed in the final product. I enjoyed seeing Carlos pulling out his suave Christian Bale persona during the whole video. He pulled off being a cool dude really well. +10 for the sunglasses. Roger did a pretty good job too, though next time I will have to ask him to speak a bit louder.
This video followed the trend of my last few videos where it evokes a Tarantino feel. I think I’ve gotten pretty good and kinda conveying his style. Therein lies the problem: it’s too much like Tarantino. I’ve been following his lead for a while now, and it’s about time that I stop. Sure, the video looks great and professional. But I need to start exploring some new styles.
Other than that, I think this was a pretty solid video. Expect something different next time :D
So what was good about this video for me? I am proud of how professional it looked. Honestly, it had this sense of formality and structure that made it seem less of an amateur video and closer to a professional video. Combining the awesome camera quality, the tripod, the lighting, and the overall presentation, you have a pretty solidly put-together film. I think overall, professionality was what I was most satisfied with in the end.
My actors were great. Though I think all my actors did a great job, I think the person who stole the show was Anthony, honestly. He was great, I won’t lie. I remember being behind the camera and seeing him yell at Roger with such intensity. He just got so into it, and it really showed in the final product. I enjoyed seeing Carlos pulling out his suave Christian Bale persona during the whole video. He pulled off being a cool dude really well. +10 for the sunglasses. Roger did a pretty good job too, though next time I will have to ask him to speak a bit louder.
This video followed the trend of my last few videos where it evokes a Tarantino feel. I think I’ve gotten pretty good and kinda conveying his style. Therein lies the problem: it’s too much like Tarantino. I’ve been following his lead for a while now, and it’s about time that I stop. Sure, the video looks great and professional. But I need to start exploring some new styles.
Other than that, I think this was a pretty solid video. Expect something different next time :D
2/13/11
OFFICIAL -- The Blood Exchange
Here is the official release of The Blood Exchange!
After hours and hours of hard work, it’s finally here.
Please, comment and tell me what you think!
Watch Here
2/11/11
Editing
I love editing. It’s probably the most unique form of art ever created.
What’s so powerful about editing is that you can take an ordinary movie clip and make it look amazing. You can string together a bunch of ordinary movie clips, color correct, add music, and bam, you have a fantastic movie. It’s a powerful thing.
The thing is, movies are never made perfect. There are a ton of things that happen during filming that can only be fixed with editing. If the microphone picks up some irritating background noise, you can edit it out. If there’s a scene that is too dark, you can brighten it. If you really want to edit someone out because you don’t like them, then you can do it (but doing that takes way too long).
Editing takes a movie and gives it life. There are so many possibilities with editing. The artistic spectrum is ridiculously broad. There are a ton of different styles, defined simply by clip placement, timing, and use of music. It makes movies art.
I used to want to be an editor because I loved seeing movies unravel before me. Every time I make a video, I look forward to editing. Sure, the raw footage sometimes looks good. But editing gives it life—it turns that footage into a living, breathing entity that tells a story. Without editing, movies would not look like they way they do. Special effects could not be achieved. Bad scenes would be preserved. Simply put, editing makes movies what they are.
Some of my videos, like UNDERFIRE War, started off looking like pure crap—we looked like such idiots, running around with Nerf guns and pretending to shoot each other. That video is intense because of editing. The music, the sound effects, the pace of the action, the intensity, are all achieved through editing. It’s unlike anything else.
Some may not enjoy editing as much as I do. But everyone should appreciate how much video editing does for movies. It’s not easy, and it’s not a fast process, but damn, it sure does deliver.
What’s so powerful about editing is that you can take an ordinary movie clip and make it look amazing. You can string together a bunch of ordinary movie clips, color correct, add music, and bam, you have a fantastic movie. It’s a powerful thing.
The thing is, movies are never made perfect. There are a ton of things that happen during filming that can only be fixed with editing. If the microphone picks up some irritating background noise, you can edit it out. If there’s a scene that is too dark, you can brighten it. If you really want to edit someone out because you don’t like them, then you can do it (but doing that takes way too long).
Editing takes a movie and gives it life. There are so many possibilities with editing. The artistic spectrum is ridiculously broad. There are a ton of different styles, defined simply by clip placement, timing, and use of music. It makes movies art.
I used to want to be an editor because I loved seeing movies unravel before me. Every time I make a video, I look forward to editing. Sure, the raw footage sometimes looks good. But editing gives it life—it turns that footage into a living, breathing entity that tells a story. Without editing, movies would not look like they way they do. Special effects could not be achieved. Bad scenes would be preserved. Simply put, editing makes movies what they are.
Some of my videos, like UNDERFIRE War, started off looking like pure crap—we looked like such idiots, running around with Nerf guns and pretending to shoot each other. That video is intense because of editing. The music, the sound effects, the pace of the action, the intensity, are all achieved through editing. It’s unlike anything else.
Some may not enjoy editing as much as I do. But everyone should appreciate how much video editing does for movies. It’s not easy, and it’s not a fast process, but damn, it sure does deliver.
The Sound of Silence
At the end of The Blood Exchange, there will be a period where no one speaks, no music plays, and it’s just things happening. I do this for a reason.
Sometimes, sound, dialogue, and music are detrimental to a scene. Silence is a powerful thing that says nothing, yet conveys so many emotions. Hollywood seriously underrates the sheer power of moments of silence in movies. It’s a shame.
Often in movies, a tense scene is accompanied with heated dialogue and intense music. This is okay sometimes—it depends on the situation. If you’re going for excitement, this is what you want. If you’re going for suspense, then you have to step back and consider how you’re going to achieve this. It really depends on the situation, but I think silence conveys this eerie feeling of realism and loneliness that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand stiff.
Imagine the scene in Pulp Fiction where Butch the boxer is going back to his apartment to retrieve his watch. He does this knowing that there may as well be a hitman waiting for him anywhere. During this scene, there is next to NO dialogue and absolutely NO music. All that this scene shows is Butch walking to his apartment, finding his watch, and finding a surprise in his bathroom. Why is this scene so good? Why is it so suspenseful? They say NOTHING. There is NO MUSIC.
It’s because of the silence.
What a soundtrack often does is build up to the intense part of the scene—it starts out calmer, then builds and builds to the action. That means that you will always know when it’s coming. In real life, there is no soundtrack playing for every suspenseful thing that happens in your life. There is no background music to tell you when something intense is going to happen. That’s life.
What silence does is create realism. This scene worked because it felt real. Butch was just walking through the neighborhood to his apartment. Tensions are high. You felt nervous for Butch because there was no soundtrack indicating anything. Someone could have come outta nowhere and killed him right then and there. Anything could have happened.
I’m not saying to abandon dialogue or music, because a movie is dead without them. But sometimes the best thing to say is nothing. Sometimes the best soundtrack for your life is just nothing. Silence is golden, so shut up and get rich.
Sometimes, sound, dialogue, and music are detrimental to a scene. Silence is a powerful thing that says nothing, yet conveys so many emotions. Hollywood seriously underrates the sheer power of moments of silence in movies. It’s a shame.
Often in movies, a tense scene is accompanied with heated dialogue and intense music. This is okay sometimes—it depends on the situation. If you’re going for excitement, this is what you want. If you’re going for suspense, then you have to step back and consider how you’re going to achieve this. It really depends on the situation, but I think silence conveys this eerie feeling of realism and loneliness that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand stiff.
Imagine the scene in Pulp Fiction where Butch the boxer is going back to his apartment to retrieve his watch. He does this knowing that there may as well be a hitman waiting for him anywhere. During this scene, there is next to NO dialogue and absolutely NO music. All that this scene shows is Butch walking to his apartment, finding his watch, and finding a surprise in his bathroom. Why is this scene so good? Why is it so suspenseful? They say NOTHING. There is NO MUSIC.
It’s because of the silence.
What a soundtrack often does is build up to the intense part of the scene—it starts out calmer, then builds and builds to the action. That means that you will always know when it’s coming. In real life, there is no soundtrack playing for every suspenseful thing that happens in your life. There is no background music to tell you when something intense is going to happen. That’s life.
What silence does is create realism. This scene worked because it felt real. Butch was just walking through the neighborhood to his apartment. Tensions are high. You felt nervous for Butch because there was no soundtrack indicating anything. Someone could have come outta nowhere and killed him right then and there. Anything could have happened.
I’m not saying to abandon dialogue or music, because a movie is dead without them. But sometimes the best thing to say is nothing. Sometimes the best soundtrack for your life is just nothing. Silence is golden, so shut up and get rich.
TRAILER -- The Blood Exchange
Here is the trailer for The Blood Exchange!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAsUI-9uJA
The full video will be up within the next two weeks. Please be patient, I’m doing my best to make it the best video it can be!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAsUI-9uJA
The full video will be up within the next two weeks. Please be patient, I’m doing my best to make it the best video it can be!
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