Week 9 Photo Challenge of the Week: Myself as a Producer

This is me Producing.  Tons of paperwork and me buried underneath it all wishing I was doing something else.  But that doesn't mean it doesn't get done, nor does it mean it gets done incorrectly.  I have done great things producing my own productions and managed to get a sponsor for a reality pilot while I was still in school.  How many people do you know who can say they produced a reality pilot before they even graduated?

As producer I know how the industry works.  I don't have a lot of experience in it, but when it relates to me, I get the job done well and efficiently.  I'm not fond of paperwork but I have learned from many professionals the correct way to do the job, and because of it, the productions I work on and prepare for go much smoother than most productions.  I plan for almost every situation I could run into. 

For example, if you look at one of my productions relating to the Initial D project, you will see a professional piece with decent actors and a great set.  The place had good lighting, the cars were organized, the actors were dressed, it is almost as if things went perfectly.  This was not the case, at all.  During the filming of the video, our wireless lavs wouldn't work, our lighting failed, and both of our original vehicles didn't make set.  Thanks to my planning, and thanks to my ability to prepare ahead in the even problems arose, I had two more cars on back up, we ADR'ed on location to keep proper ambience, and the lighting was anticipated so we used a faster lens on the camera.  All of this planning meant I produced a quality production with the appearance of the final project that everything worked out well. 

Week 9 EOC: Things To Do

What do I need to accomplish in order to get my final project finished by next week?  Well, for the most part, everything is done.  I still have a few pages to re-organize and then to label them appropriately.  I still have to print everything + the color pages from all the original content from the blogs here. 

I still have to buy some of the supplies like the paper separators and business card holders.  After that I just print the material, file it, and put it in the binder.  My equipment list is done, the profits and such are finished, and the blogs are done.  My twitter is up to date and I seem to be good to go.  I do, however, need to set up a fax form and a couple stationary items.  The designs are mostly complete.  I need to just set it up for the stationary items and those things.  Other than that I am done.

Nothing left other than what is above.  So I am going to just rant about the plan and how I intend to use it in a real world application.  I am actually integrating the equipment list and employee costs for my actual business plan I am using to set up my dealership ideas.  The cost of production + the equipment list has shown me how expensive this can get so I am finding real world alternatives to both the list and the personnel hired to perform a job.  The cost for production has been drastically reduced to help save the dealership money by hiring me, however, I have not personally taken a hit in the pocket as a result.  The production was affected a bit, but not so much it would reduce the quality.  It just means less people have to do more work.  

Week 8 Photo Challenge of the Week: Business Suit

This is an image of me in a suit.  I am standing next to my father, and the both of us are attending a funeral.  This image was taken more than three years ago.  This is how rare it is to see me in a suit.  I wore a black silk with a hint of blue and charcoal gray.  The red undershirt was picked out by my father because I apparently have no fashion sense for dressing professionally.  The tie also was a choice of his, which I'm not sure was the best by anyone's standards. 

The relevance of a suit depends on the relevance of importance it is to a business.  I've gotten away with many interviews not wearing a suit, and I almost always ace my interviews.  Most of the time, when I don't get a job from an interview, it is because I didn't meet the job qualifications.  But I still walk away with them loving me.  I think the business suit is a standard kind of going the way of the dinosaur.  It seems to be more of a traditional sense now than a required attire.  Most of the time, the people wearing a suit are really high up on the business ladder or attending a very formal meeting of sorts.   

Modern culture today is starting to push away from these kind of traditional formalities.  That is why I think it is all the more important to know your suits.  In the event you have a meeting a where a really nice suit is important, not only important but symbolic to your success story, it could define your you and determine your future status in the position you are mingling with.  It is a good idea to have a nice suit ready for any occasion and to know about the suit itself.  Don't just wear it because it fits you. 

Week 8 EOC: The Importance of the Producer

According to the book “A producer supervises and controls the film project.”  This has been true on all the sets I have worked on so far.  Small or large budget, the producer tends to over see “cast and crew to overseeing the technical, logistical, and financial aspects of the production.”  They are constantly keeping track of all the paperwork and daily production.

When referring to small films, the producer may play a much greater roll.  They may end up dealing with more creative contributions with the script.  The producer and director will often sit down and work collaboratively so many issues with script and filming can be worked out.  They may be responsible for location scouting.  They may be responsible networking and advertising.  They may even play the roll as an executive producer, and front cash for the production. 

On sets I have been on, I have often produced.  The work I would be responsible for would range from networking, finding sponsors, paperwork, storyboards, script writing and script breakdowns, equipment list, hiring crew and actors, etc.  I have taken a load of responsibility for each production I have made due to the lack of additional support.  This can hurt a production unless I take the time, which just makes things take longer than it should.  In the event I ever find a proper executive producer, I would be dumbing down my responsibilities and focusing more on my preparations and Directing.  Eventually, I’d like to co-produce, handling more of the conceptual development, and stick with the directing of everything I work on.  Assuming of course I am not camera guy on another persons’ set.

-Quotes from “The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers”

Week 7 Photo Challenge of the Week: Screen Play Cover

This is the screenplay title page of my short film "One Minute Pitch."  The story is about a young man working his way up a production studio.  He gets many chances to pitch an idea to the producer of his building, but each chance is interrupted, potentially costing him his big promotion.  Then, after he has been working there a while and achieved some status without taking any shortcuts, he gets one last chance to pitch an idea, when the final interruption came from the Producer himself, asking him for a meeting out of respect for the young man's hard work. 

The whole premises is based off of the traditional story of having an elevator pitch ready in case you meet that one person who can change your career for the better.  You have 60 seconds to pitch the idea and you must do it professionally without sounding needy, desperate, over ambitious, or greedy.  Practicing an introduction is a good way of preparing for a solid delivery of your idea, even if the idea isn't so good.  At least you won't come off sounding like an idiot with no manors.

This is an important script to me because it is my first ever script that has been shot.  I have written several scripts before this, however none of them went into actual production.  During the production, I learned quite a bit about the process of making a movie and the importance of a good crew.  Since I had many people flake out of the shooting, it was difficult to produce quality work.  I saw first hand how important it is to make sure the team you work with understands it is a team effort, and that all the hard work is for everyone, not just for the person who wrote the script.  Although I managed to create something decent, I still realize how armature it was.  The creativity remained to be seen, however, even if it wasn't the best quality, and it was a good (and confirmational) start to my filming career.

Week 7 EOC: What is your opinion of Optimal Resume?

Week 7 EOC: What is your opinion of Optimal Resume?

I used Optimal Resume twice so far and I think it works well.  I like how it breaks down the material for you and shows you what a good example is before you have to start making one yourself.  You get to visually see that good example and base your own wording and layout off of it.  There are some issues with examples I’ve seen, however, as to go over why you would or would not doing something.  I like to know why I work on things and set things up the way they need to be.  Optimal Resume doesn’t often go over the reasons for layouts or wording. 

Other than that, it is a good tool for even professionals.  

Week 6: Photo Challenge of the Week: Special Effects

This is a picture I took a couple years ago.  It is a Porches 911 posing at the Pahrump, NV race track, Spring Mountain Motorsport Ranch.  I was on set producing my first ever promo video for myself, showing off my connections, talents, and having fun watching the rich race around the track in expensive cars (they didn't know how to drive).  It was lots of fun!

The picture is slightly edited.  The original was washed in a gray from the camera RAWs, so the first thing I had to do was determine the colors.  This is important because many posing pictures will obscure colors for "artistic appeal."  For example, gray scaling everything, or over emphasizing certain colors over others.  I chose to keep it as original as possible since the balance of the shot was well taken overall.  Also, the colors in the background do not conflict with those of the vehicle.  In fact, I felt the contrasting sky was a perfect backdrop and no re-coloring was necessary.

I increased the curves and levels slightly to emphasize the shadows and darks.  I kept the background a bit grayer then the rest of the image.  I then went in and selected just the reds and increased the saturation and emphasized a more brilliant/deep red, pending on the shadows.  I took out some reflections by blurring them out selectively to avoid unnecessary conflicting images.  I brightened, then darkened the blue sky a bit to emphasize a deeper blue.  One thing I don't like about the Southern Nevada area is the lack of a true blue sky.  It always seems to be washed out a little.  So I fixed that. 

Once the levels were set, color was corrected, and the car was in good balance with the rest of the image, I ended up putting up a vignette lighting around the image to imitate some of the more expensive lenses out there.  I also did this to bring a more pressured focus on the subject at hand.  As a result, I get an image capable of being put in a magazine. 

Week 5 - Photo Challenge of the Week: Directors Chair Photoshop

First, I took a picture of myself and made sure the face was clearly shown.  Higher the resolution the better.  I decided to use a past picture of myself from the CES convention since it was a bit more clear than the ones I had readily available. 

Second, I opened up Photoshop.  I imported two pictures.  The one from CES, and the second picture is the one I am photoshopping my face into.  The picture is kind of low resolution, but it will suffice. 

Third, I took the CES photo and cut out my face.  I used the polygon lasso tool and went around the shape of my head.  I then copied what was selected and pasted on a separate layer.  This enables me to edit just the face and adjust it at will without changing the background. 

Fourth, I sized it and fitted it into the hat.  Made sure I was in the correct position for the facial replacement and kept a good size.  I then used the lasso tool, again, to create the shape of the hat.  Make sure you are in the layer with the hat, not the face.  I cut out a shape of the hat with the tool and then clicked back to the face tool, then clicked "Delete."  This cut out the shape of the hat out of the face.  Not a perfect fit, but then again the face isn't looking the direction it is supposed to. 

NOTE:  You may or may not need to do this, but I had to take the selection from step four and feather it by going to Select > Modify > Feather > 2 pixels.  This helped soften the edges so it more naturally blended into the hat.  With a good cut, you may not need to do this.  Once feathered, then delete. 

Fifth, this step is color correction.  The first thing I did was change the exposure.  I actually increased it by quite a bit.  The reason is simple, the picture I was setting it to was quite exposed and much brighter than the picture my face came from.  I then toned it a bit by messing with the curves.  Made the darks a bit darker, little more contrasty.  Slight touch up in the saturation to make it a bit grayer and I finished it. 

Week 5 EOC: Progress towards my Four Professional Contacts and Progress on Networking

For the business cards I had to obtain, I pretty much just looked up my needs online.  I would search for somebody relatively close by and call them.  I asked a few questions about what they do and what they offered.  Since price wasn’t an issue at the time, I didn’t ask any money questions, but know I would have to in the future.  After that I agreed on who I felt to be the best choice, walked down (everything was actually within a ¼ mile walk from my residence) and grabbed the cards.  A couple people I said ‘hello’ to, but for the attorney I just walked in and grabbed a card. 

My networking progress has been going well.  Since my job requires me to attend a ton of events, such as CES or red carpet coverage, I am able to meet many people.  Although nothing has really lead me anywhere yet, I expect that upon graduation, and upon me starting my own production books for my scripts, I will be able to make phone calls to these people and see what they can do for me and the film.  I am attending and filming the up and coming Film Festival in Boulder City, NV so there is another event I will be networking at.  Looking forward to that, because I’d like to start focusing on my filming career now and not just paying bills.  

Week 4: Photo of the Week Challenge

This is the movie poster for Week 4's Photo of the Week Challenge.  It is a short film I produced and directed a couple years ago.  It is quite possibly the most important film of my life because this was the very first film I have ever made.  It marked the beginning of my actual career in the film industry.

The movie is called "One Minute Pitch" and follows the life of a young man and his career at a production house.  It starts off with him being hired on as "low man on the totem poll" status.  He is a P.A., or runner, the kind of position that has you running around doing all the grunt work.  He meets his first chance to move up in the world when the Producer of the studio house steps into the elevator with him.  Unfortunately, another gentleman riding the elevator ruins the young man's chances and he misses his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Following the story you see the main character miss out once again, each time, bringing him down as though he missed out.  With the conclusion of the story riding on his decision to pitch his ideas and try and take the fast road to the top, the Producer strikes first and offers the opportunity he was waiting for based on the irony of the young man's missed moments.  It is short, has a bit of comedy, and most of all, a successful project. 

Working on this project taught me a lot.  I Produced, Directed, Edited, Filmed, Lit, and did half the audio for the whole show.  It was extremely rough because the lighting and audio guy didn't show up leaving me to do everything on my own.  It showed me the importance of a reliable team.  It also showed me one of the many ways a movie can suffer.  All in all though, once it was done, I had fun and realized it was one of the things I really want to do in my future.