if it was a flat wood floor, we used a piece of cardboard box, if it was uneven, we used a wheelchair, also used a rolling lightstand to mount the camera higher.....depended on the situation and what shot the director was looking for.
Re: re:
Dolly shots can be tedious if you don't have an actual dolly. I was the DP on a shoot where there was no dolly and we had to get really creative in order to get the shot that the director wanted. We ended up going to K-Mart and buying a really cheap skateboard and used sand bags to hold the camera down while performing the shot.
As far as casting, this is huge advise. What I try to do when I cast is to try and pick someone who is in SAG. That way they have to be committed or you can contact SAG and put in a complaint of neglegence on your production. It is a lot of paper work but it ensures the actor to be on set and in time. I always have a sit through with my actors individually so that I can explain what I am looking for and give them a bit of information about their character so that they can develop them. This often makes them feel comfortable in working with you too. Actors often are vunerable because you may be having them performing a scene that may be where they may have to break down or do something that may be considered humiliating. If you ensure their safety and make them feel that you will make them look good for the finish result, that often makes them want to be on set and not miss on being in your production. When I am directing or producing or even doing a part in a film where I do not interact with the actors as much, I still often make the actor(s) feel welcomed and sure that they are working a production that is worth their wild.
I directed a short digital exercise where I had a woman who was physically and verbally abused take a knife and castrate her lover. That was a hard scene to shoot with my actress because she had to be vunerable and it required a sexual theme which was a bit ackward. The thing that helped was that I had worked with this particular actress on other productions and she was comfortable in working with me. She knew that even though the scene would be difficult, it would be shot well based off of my previous shoots that she was a part of. She was professional and did a great job because she believed that I would photograph her well during that scene. It is still one of my favorites from film school even though looking back on it today it's just mediocre.
short
Yeah! Pretty soon Im getting people together to set up the zombie short!(thanks HB!).
As for the werewolf short I decided Im going to go for a old style silent movie with dialogue cards and all. I figure this way I can eliminate the constant car noise you would hear in whats supposed to be the late 1800's/early 1900's. It would also cover up my accent and non-actors flubs. Also its different. Maybe its cheating. What do you guys think?
HB showed me how to put music from my CD player onto either the left or right audio track..does that mean if I use a mono VCR it will take out the audio and just have the music(like a silent film)?
FUCK!!!!!
I need to get this out of my system..I broke my Digital 8 camera the other day. I put it in my bag and when I took it out of my trunk the thing flew out and hit the ground. Now it wont come out and I see damage in the frame.
I wanna fucking punch myself in the nuts for this. I loved this cheap but effective 200$ used camcorder. Who knows if its fixable and I cant afford nor want a new camera. I wanted to shoot the bulk of my werewolf short over the next two weeks..the only way to do this is to use my old video8 handycam which has a shitty battery. FUCK FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK...
Yeah I know, I know, Ill get over this and do what I gotta do but damn breaking that camera fucking sucked ass!!!
Finished
I actually finished it last wedsday but I did it! A twelve minute classic werewolf short movie. I had to use my old camera but it actually worked out pretty good..the VCR editing setup actually worked out with a large number of clean edits and not too many rainbows.
Its in B&W and I made it a silent style movie with only music and subtitle cards. This got around corny delivery of dialouge, background noise of cars(its supposed to be a period piece!) and just something different from the usual horror home movie. I followed Morbidfilm's advice and did alot of weird angle shots and shot scenes next to things like old furniture to make it seem like a hundred years ago.
IThink its actually a fun little flick and I have to thank my mother, my stepfather, and my friends Brian and Mai for helping me out. Its influenced heavily by Universal horror, Paul Naschy's movies and The Bark at The Moon video.
Im thinking of maybe skipping any more shorts and actually trying a feature length over the next year or so. Shooting it over time and setting up a cool concept.
Thanks to Morbidfilm, HB, Arcvile and everyone at GZ for the focus.
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