Showing posts with label VIDEOMAKER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VIDEOMAKER. Show all posts
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
HALLOWEEN VIDEO TRICKS
A recent issue of the free newsletter included this article on creating several photographic and special effects tricks to try out in your next Halloween video or indie flick.
SPOOKY EFFECTS!
Get ready to scare up a fright night video! From Halloween special effects to scary scenes, what would this time of year be without some cool spooky looks?
Horror movies have no season, but Halloween tends to bring out the most releases and with them often come in-film special effects created on a big Hollywood budget. But you can make many horror movie effects on your own without breaking your piggy bank. Here are just a few tricks, for more see our special effects DVDs: Make Your Own Special Effects, Special Effects and Green Screen Tips and Tricks.
The Broken Bones Effect
There are few moments in a video that make audiences squirm more than seeing a bone broken. Most people sooner or later in their life experience the pain of a broken bone and seeing it even for less than a second on screen can elicit an involuntary squeamish spasm. Luckily there are some easy ways to achieve this effect with very little effort or cost, and no persons should ever be harmed in the making of your movie.
First, make sure the actor/talent is wearing a long sleeve shirt. The moment you have to attempt this illusion with skin, your expense goes up exponentially and the believability plummets. Take a small water bottle, perhaps the 16.9oz. variety and cut the ends off. Thread it with a small branch of dry wood or a wooden dowel. The bottle represents the shape of the arm or leg, for a thigh or thick body part. A 2-liter plastic soda-pop bottle works nicely. For joints like an elbow, use two water bottles. Frame the shot in a closeup and from an appropriate impact, break the wood and it will appear as if the bone was broken. Using wood really sells a great sound effect for the bone too.
In a similar effect, chopping into a leg with an axe can be done by stuffing a log into an old pair of pants and hacking away in the closeup. Gross as it may sound, using some real meat from the grocery store can be used on top of the log. Flesh coming through the gash makes the effect look very realistic. A rump roast or even chicken breast can work wonders. Be careful not to let the meat go bad or you might risk some health issues later. Make sure to clean up within an hour and dispose of anything that can spoil.
Paintball Effects
One of the coolest trends of the last decade was the use of "paintball" squibs. A squib used to be a semi-explosive device set off with remote charges and electrical signals. Today, people buy what look like paintballs. There are three flavors, the blood packs, dust hits and sparks. With special effects dye, these are expensive but they're easy to use and the dust hits and sparks are really convincing.
Careful planning and being a good shot are essential to making paintball effects work. Never strike near a person's face with these. Wearing padding underneath clothes is essential to approach safety with these paintball effects, but they are never intended to be used on people - only walls, the ground, etc. The red colored, blood-like paintballs are probably the highest risk with the lowest reward in terms of being realistic. Enough people know what a paintball hit looks like and with the risk of injury, you can find better ways to get around shooting a body with fake blood effects.
The most popular re-created special effects in movies has always been making fake blood. There are several recipes for the crimson color, but the main three types are:
1. Blood that will be in someone's mouth
2. Blood for show
3. Blood that doesn't stain
The most common recipe for making fake blood is as follows:
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons of red food coloring
• 1/2 tablespoon of green food coloring, (which surprises most people that the green makes it more 'blood' like, by giving it a deeper almost brick-like color).
If this is blood that people need to have in their mouth, they will be grateful if you use this recipe instead:
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons of red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
Fake blood can be expensive to whip up, but having a blender on site and extra ingredients saves time. It's always better to have too much and not need it than not have enough and waste the crew's time and resources waiting to make more.
Digital blood has become all the rage these days. There are blood splatters, bullet holes, and all kinds of post-production trickery that were out of reach for the average video producer even three to five years ago. Companies like Video Copilot and Motiondrops sell pre-matted digital blood clips that you can easily composite into your footage. Our "Special Effects" training DVD mentioned earlier shows you how to make your own, too.
A recent indie film used digital blood and pulled it off when the bullets hit the actor in the chest. That is, until two clips later you saw the actor on the floor with his white shirt unstained. Remember that some digital blood looks good, but combining it with the old school fake blood will really sell the whole effect. Continuity is key to making any effect and illusion work.
You also need to pay special attention to color correction when using digital blood. Dropping in stock shots of blood splatter can be very convincing, but without taking into account what the lighting conditions may do to colors can destroy the illusion.
Old School Tricks
Never forget that forced perspective can be an effective tool for illusion. From the dawn of cinema, people have used the angle of the camera to cause more realistic trickery than any other method. Recently, The Lord of the Rings trilogy used this trick to make hobbits appear small and Gandalf the wizard appear tall. In a horror film, if shot correctly, staging someone swinging an axe or slashing a knife from a safe distance, can still look realistic and deadly from the camera's point of view and be a bit safer for all involved.
As cool as both practical and digital effects can be, the best scares still come from editing. How long a shot lasts and when you choose to use it results in the best impact. Remember that a few quick cuts of an effect can be the difference between realistic and "get real" - sitting on a shot too long starts to show flaws.
Big budget movies can afford a special effects designer, but many Hollywood movie effects are easy to recreate. In the 1982 movie, Poltergeist, flickering lights on a wall were simply made using a light shot through a fish tank full of water. A fan swirled the water in the tank giving it a cool and eerie effect.
In the latest Star Trek (2009) movie, director J.J. Abrams uses a simple trick to make then-cadet James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) appear to be falling headfirst from space toward Vulcan, a planet in peril. To shoot the number of takes needed with them hanging upside down was difficult for the actors, so Abrams brought in a giant mirror and had them stand on it looking up. They shot with a camera looking down on them with the earthly sky reflected effectively in the mirrors, then they simply reversed the footage in editing.
Glow-in-the-dark paint is good for many things, and you can find glow sticks at any store that carries party supplies or novelties. These phosphorescent wands are great little tools for a ghostly effect. They can be held in a specter's hand, glowing between the fingers or covered in cheesecloth and set in a corner of darkened room with a fog machine making the glow flicker - and, note: during, Halloween, is the best time of year to find a smoke machine on the shelves. Glow sticks encased in a thin gossamer fabric and hanging from twine in a dark woodsy area can bring up all sorts of imaginative ethereal beings from sprites to phantoms. These real, physical subjects might look more believable than using digital effects. Sometimes "smoke and mirrors" are all you need.
Looking for a glowing ember effect but don't want to burn down the house? One answer is a miniature candle that is actually an LED light in disguise, you can find these in most variety stores.
Shooting against the green screen background and editing in today's green screen video editing software has made using green screen effects easier and more affordable than ever. However having it available doesn't mean you can make it believable unless you follow some time-honored techniques practiced by the pros. Using proper placement, perspective and angles, as well as good lighting techniques for green screen will all help your project fool the audience into believing in your story. Videomaker has many good DVD tutorials and features for green screen work, be sure to check them out.
And, remember, for any type of movie effect, whether it's for horror films or weddings, how you execute it and sell it to the audience is the most important "effect" you can create. Making a movie that captures the attention of the audience and immerses them into your tale is the goal - and that's no horror story!
Sidebar: Warning!
Safety is paramount. Never put someone at risk for a video or film. In one local video community, there were two stories of people attempting effects that went south in the last few years. One was trying to get the effect of an axe being put in someone's back. The crew had the ingenious idea of putting two phone books under his shirt and hit him with a real axe. The concept of missing the mark or causing damage to the spine from the impact did not occur to them. Common sense prevailed and luckily no one was hurt.
The second story was less fortunate. Some young filmmakers wanted to use real guns in their short. Without hiring a specialist, the weapons were not properly checked and the shotgun was loaded. The director was merely carrying the gun from inside the house to the garage when it discharged by accident. He spent time in a hospital and didn't lose any toes, but did make the 11 o'clock news and became a Yahoo! News story.
Remember to always be safe. Treat any and all weapons with the utmost caution. Even kitchen knives and scissors need to be handled with care and keep an eye towards the safety of the talent and the crew.
Videomaker Disclaimer: Be Safe Out There!
As with any do-it-yourself project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. This story should be construed as theoretical advice. Videomaker, its editors and authors will not be held responsible for any injury due to the misuse or misunderstanding of any DIY project Videomaker publishes. This story cannot be construed as formal advice, Videomaker will not be held liable in any instance of an action resulting from this story, and Videomaker assumes all our readers will exercise good common sense. This disclaimer assigns the readers all responsibility for their own decisions.
Peter John Ross is an award-winning filmmaker and author of "Tales from the Front Line of Indie Filmmaking".
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
HE FILMS THE WALKING DEAD
JUST ONE OF THE MANY GREAT FEATURES of the Nikon D5100 is it's ability to film in several video modes, including full High Definition. What this technology has done -- purposely or not -- is open the door to a new wave of filmmaking that was heretofore never possible. Now you have the ability to digitally process, handle, and store (and print if you want!) all your photographs or easily weed out the ones you don't want by just pushing the "Delete" button. Voila! No wasted money on those surprise crappy prints that usually filled up most of your envelope of photos when you went to pick them up at the local Foto-mat.
A huge bonus is the added ability to film the action and digitally edit it on your PC or Mac for a virtually professional result. Many DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras -- including the Nikon D5100 -- can also grab still shots . . . right in the middle of filming!
VIDEOMAKER is a nifty little magazine that has an incredible amount of information available to the reader in every issue. They also have a website that is busting out with resources and more info designed for both the beginning, intermediate, and professional videographer.
Their latest e-newsletter included this interview with David Boyd, Director and Cinemaphotographer of the far-from-dead TV seriers, THE WALKING DEAD.
Interview With The Walking Dead DP and Director, David Boyd
Cutting his teeth as a well-known cinematographer prepared Boyd for his most popular project, the AMC series The Walking Dead, which has him working both as cinematographer and director. Based on a long-running cult comic book series, AMC's Zombie-Apocalypse The Walking Dead has won multiple Emmy and Saturn awards as well as breaking several Basic Cable Viewership Records. Season 3 premiers October 14, 2012.
Videomaker spoke with Boyd on the phone about how he got his start and where he plans to go next, and he offered some sage advice for those with stars in their eyes about being a cinematographer in today's digital world.
Videomaker: What made you first think about getting into the cinematography business?
David: Well, I think it happened early in my life. My dad was in the Army and we found ourselves in Paris, France for two years. We drove past a set of a French movie called Is Paris Burning? It was fascinating. It was a set, it was in the rain, it was a bunch of people dressed up in French army uniforms, and there were French partisans. So I skipped school and went back to visit the set. Surprisingly, the French guys didn't kick me out or anything. Instead they said, "Can you grab that thing and bring it over here?" So here I was in the 4th grade dragging cables here and there, you know, and watching it happen. I saw the struggle and I think that never left me. Then I went off to college as a physics major at UC San Diego. My advisors told me that I needed an elective so I picked up the easiest one in the catalog. It was a film watching class called Thursday Night at the Movies. I said, "Perfect." This class is only one day a week, lasts three hours, and I'll get to see a movie and relax a little bit, then go back to my real studies. It was there that I got the bug. The class was taught by a French director by the name of Jean Luc Garande who had co-directed a movie with Goddard. He was from the French New Wave. The guy never wore shoes, never shaved, and would lecture with a burning cigarette. He was free. I'm not sure what he was doing there, but he talked about brilliant stuff so I thought it was great. I eventually found myself spending more time at that class than the other ones. So I called my folks up and said that I wanted to go to the UCLA film school. That's how it happened.
Videomaker: Who are some of the cinematographers that have inspired you?
David: You know, I have heroes but now I know them - which is the strangest thing in the universe. One of those heroes is Gordon Willis who I've always viewed as a heavy-weight. The guy did nothing but make wonderful images. His work included The Godfather, The Paper Chase, and Klute. There was no trifling with him. He did beautiful lasting work. Condrad Hall would be a close second. I couldn't even list on two hands all the movies he did that I love and enjoy. His film, Road to Perdition, was the first film in which I actually stood up in the middle of the movie and asked the person behind me to be quiet. I'm really a very easy-going guy but that's how much I respected his work. I mean the guy shot amazing pictures for 25 years. Owen Roizman is another one, he shot The French Connection. He's just a strong guy. He's actually sponsored me into the ASC. I consider him a good friend. I even get to call him from time to time to ask him, "What would you do here?"
Videomaker: What kind of equipment were you first using when you started doing cinematography?
David: It was film (laughs). I started shooting documentaries and at the time 16mm was the chosen medium. I had to figure out ways to travel with a film camera and load them quickly when I was on a shoot. Now it seems like it would be fabulously easy compared to film. However I think those cameras are still some of the best ever made. The Eclair NPR was my workhorse. I later used an Eclair ACL2. I still have the ACL2 in my closet at home and drag it out sometimes. It was a great, great camera but there's no way we would ever use it on anything nowadays. However, I still use some of the great lenses we had back then. Panavision lenses are the first on my list - in particular the E series anamorphic primes. Those things are the most beautiful lenses ever made. They're beautiful and creamy. Now they have digital cameras that can use these lenses like the Epic and Arri.
Videomaker: What are some of the benefits and challenges you have found with the new digital video technology?
David: I've seen nothing but upsides. I mean, I think digital is great. The idea that you can shoot footage and not have to pay for it is phenomenal. It puts movies into production that normally wouldn't get into production. With this new technology, movie making becomes accessible to anybody. It gets hammered out by the people instead of just the elite. Now you can have people all over the world making movies. As a result, the community gets larger and more vibrant and everybody gets to share, see, look, and get excited about it. It's the best thing that could happen to cinematography. However, it's so easy to do that many cinematographers get lazy. They start shooting without precision. They'll end up just flailing around for a while until they can hit the nail on the head. I think if someone can watch your film with the sound off and still know what's going on, then you've accomplished something. That means you need to plan your shots and know what you need before you start shooting.
Videomaker: If you had to make a movie on a budget, what equipment would you end up using?
David: Well, get a load of this: I just shot a documentary with my wife in the maximum security prison in Missouri using a Canon XL1. We have always loved the way it looks. For our situation, it was a perfect fit even though it's older technology. However, if I needed to do something more formal or have it considered more legitimate, then I would probably use the Canon C300.
Videomaker: What are the key aspects that you look for when choosing to work with a director?
David: I tend to enjoy working most with directors who have courage. What I do takes courage in that I have to defend every move I make and every concept I choose to believe in. If there's somebody that I can partner up with who is also strong and can carry something all the way through to the end, then I'm all for that person. There's a guy named Aaron Schneider who I work with quite a bit now. We worked on a film called Get Low with Bill Murray, Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek. We took that thing from beginning to end without listening to anybody. Sometimes that's trouble (laughs) but 20 years from now we will have forgotten all of the fights and we'll just have that film - so it's worth it. I still consider that film some of my best work and I think Aaron considers it some of his best work too. Some people try to play it safe and try to please everybody which is a losing battle. You just end up with something that is more committee-based than a unique vision. So anytime he wants to do something, I tell him that I'm in because he's got the guts to do what he wants to do. There's another director called Peter Berg who I've also come to admire. He is really similar to Aaron Schneider in that he won't listen to anyone. Giant, powerful people will tell him to do something and he'll just say no (laughs). He told me on Friday Night Lights that he wasn't going to go to the location scouts and he wasn't going to go to any of the meetings because he wanted it to be his vision, not the studio's.
Videomaker: What was the big break for you in the cinematography business?
David: I started out doing documentaries and being on sets for small budget film crews. I would go back and forth between running a camera for a documentary and pulling focus for a feature film which put me eventually into the union after 10 years. When I was a camera operator, one director named Charlie Haid, who was an actor turned director, turned to me and said it's time for you to start shooting. I said, "You're out of your mind." And he said, "No, no. On the next show, you're my DP." So I photographed that show for him and that was how it started. Honestly, I don't think I've ever had the burning desire to like get to some place. I've just gone where the universe has led me. People have said "you have to do this for me", or "I'm putting you on this position now" and I usually say "You're crazy" and they end up putting me there anyway.
Videomaker: What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a cinematographer in Hollywood?
David: I usually tell most people that they shouldn't do it like I did, they should just shoot. If you want to be a cinematographer, you need to pick up a camera and shoot. There's enough cheap and accessible equipment out there to make a movie. The more movies that you can make, the better. However, you want to make something that's distinctive. I don't think Hollywood has the movie business cornered, you can find distribution almost anywhere nowadays. Admittedly, getting distribution is hard but it's no easier to get in Hollywood than it is in a place like Akron, Ohio.
Videomaker: What are directors looking for in cinematographers?
David: Great producers are looking for you to put the pieces of the puzzle together correctly. They want everything and everyone to work together correctly so that the end result is beautiful. Other producers that aren't so great will want someone who doesn't cost much money, that doesn't make mistakes photographically, and things like that. However, the great producer is looking to make something beautiful. When a great producer looks to hire me, they are looking for something great to happen photographically. They know that I'm bringing something creativity to the table.
Videomaker: Any other advice that you'd like to give?
David: Well, as a DP, you have just enough power to get yourself into big trouble and not enough to get out. I go into every show now like a Kamikaze: I'm either going to burn out, or I'm going to succeed loudly. To be a great cinematographer, you have to drag people down some road that don't know that they want to go down, but once they see the results they'll thank you.
Boyd's resume as cinematographer include the 2009 comedy, Get Low, starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray, as well as shooting 42 episodes of the 2002 TV series Without a Trace. Besides season 3 of The Walking Dead, a few of Boyd's other projects soon to be released include Joyful Noise a comedy out this year starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, and two other movies he worked on that are currently in post production, Home Run due out this year, and Dark Skies, due out in 2013.
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