Even though I posted about this before, the video was taken down to have Foley and new music inserted. The short was scored by Blake Robinson, and his youtube channel has much more music for your ears. Again, this was shot as test footage, and cleaned up to make this little short. Enjoy!
Hello all out there! I’m sort of posting things in reverse, but that’s because newer projects are finishing faster than older projects. This is a video by Vangough that I worked on around February with director Gabe Miller. Since their new album was being released in the fall, the video was delayed to coincide with the release to better promote the band. During the shoot, I was simply a helping hand on set. I worked the crane for a few shots and helped haul equipment to and from locations. I did not help out as much as I wanted to on set, mostly due to the fact that in a lot of the shots, I was the fourth rabbit (not all the band member’s schedule happened to line up).
It was a fun shoot, and I think it only took 2 days to complete. I believe this was the first video I worked on that I did not do set photography. It just goes to show you that everyone starts from somewhere. Without helping out on these smaller sets, I would not have been able to be director of photography on later projects. Nothing is ever handed to you. Start small and work on up by being easy to work with, ambitious, and willing to absorb all the info you can. I hope to take these lessons that I learned from film sets and apply them to all things game development. Look forward to more posts on what I am working on!
Hello all! I have almost finished doing a ton of video work over the summer. One project is still pretty much under wraps until it’s finished or a trailer is released. So before I can talk about that one, take a look at this fan film that director Gabe Miller and I have been shooting.
We planned for the end result to be a live-action trailer about the story from the original game Ninja Gaiden. While filming the necessary scenes and fights, Gabe decided early on to go ahead and film those scenes in their entirety. So the expected end result now is to have a short film that we may release onto the masses if the actual trailer gains some popularity.
We have one more day of shooting with a few pick-up shots needed. After that, all the hard work is left to Gabe to create the visual effects, edit, color grade, and release it! I’m excited about the short, and I’m not just saying that because I shot 90% of the video :) I think it looks great and captures the feel of Ninja Gaiden!
Hopefully fans of the original game will appreciate our hard work (shot mostly in 100+ degree heat!). Once the trailer is finished, I will post it here! Thanks for checking it out!
So recently I have been trying my hand at more director of photography roles. This is the first official video where I am the guy behind the film camera. I helped to establish shots, angles, and some of the action. While this project was a fun shoot for an afternoon, it was all test footage for an upcoming project (involving Gabe, myself, and ninjas).
Director of photography is a fun role for me. Whenever someone describes an event or situation to me, I automatically envision the story in my head as a film. This comes in handy when reading novels also :D So the film that play out in my head is ultimately the film that I shoot. While the editing may change what I had in my head, it is up to the director to bring out his vision. On a similar note, it is up to me to not only inject my style into the filming, but to adhere to what the director wants to create. It’s a very collaborative process.
We actually shot this a few weeks ago in preparation of the short that we are currently filming. I was also 1st cameraman on another short film that was shot a couple weeks ago. Once these projects are edited and fed to the masses, I will post my thoughts on those here. For now, enjoy this fun video and leave any comments below!
So late in the fall (after Noodling), I decided to help out Gabe Miller who was developing a short web series titled “Ghost Car.” We shot over two weekends. It started in late September and wrapped the first week in October. It was a great project, and I’m glad that Gabe decided to work on this short series then dive head first into a feature film that he was writing. A smaller, condensed project such as this allows one to gain more technical know-how without being overwhelmed by the stress of larger productions. I’m hoping to gear up a few small projects like this next year.
For the span of the shoot, I had several roles. I started off more like a PA, operating the boom and handling the gear. Soon that changed to script supervisor. I had to keep track of continuity, decide which scenes to cut, and condense multiple shots into one. I even got the opportunity to be in the film as an extra! I make a little cameo as a druggie in the disgusting mobile home. During the final day of the shoot, Gabe was getting ready for his acting part in the film, so I was basically assistant director. I helped speed through the scene and compose some of the shots. That is probably my favorite part of assisting with films. I guess the technical term would be cinematographer. When someone tells me the action of a scene, I’m already assembling the shot in the form of a film in my head. It is sort of the same when I’m reading a book. As I absorb the story that is written, I’m switching shots and panning in and out of the action. This is going on in my head even if the book makes no indication that the point of view has changed at all.
I hope to get more work behind the camera in upcoming productions. I want to practice and see my work on the screen. If I cannot get any practice as a cinematographer, then I’ll have to wait until early next year when I upgrade my camera. Maybe I’ll start thinking of small productions that I could create and assemble a crew. Who knows!
Gabe is going to be working on post-production during the month of October. I’ll probably post the new trailer once it is finished and provide an update on the project. Until then, enjoy the current trailer!
