Thomas M. Watt's Blog, page 22

Editing is a nightmare – 3-19-20

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If you’re a writer you know the feeling of crushing procrastination. You love your story but there’s a certain roadblock you can’t quite wrap your head around. Why does your antagonist take this action if what he really wants is this? Why doesn’t the protagonist make the reasonable decision to contact the authorities and instead take matters into their own hands? The lists of rock-and-a-hard place choices is endless.

Well I’m finding out swiftly that goes the same for video editing. There are two action sequences in the short I’m editing (if we can even call them that). I already spent my entire Sunday afternoon cleaning up a simple sequence that features me unclasping handcuffs, unlocking a latch, picking up a rifle, and entering a cell room. As the week progressed I moved deeper into the scene where I’ve met my next major sequence obstacles.

My scene partner looks at the piece of jewelry in his hand, continues on with his dialogue, then hurls it into the cell wall and flees the cell. That’s it, it sounds so simple (and maybe it should be) but it’s turned out to be the crux of my scene. We have multiple takes of the same sequence, but none of the pieces seem to fit together. He pulls out and looks at the jewelry at different times. He practically jogs out of the cell after distracting me. And I am slow to flinch and grab for the jewelry.

It amazes me how such a simple action can make my scene look so f*king stupid. You remember The Office, when Michael Scott shows the James Bond type movie to his coworkers and they all laugh at him? Yeah, this is what that feels like. Funny enough, my only goal right now when I make a short is to keep it from looking like some teenagers put it together on one boring afternoon with an Iphone.

Anyways, thought I’d share my bullshit with you before I get off work and try to figure this sucker out. I’m messing around with different editing effects on Adobe pro premiere, such as zoom in/out and slow motion/speed up. Some of them look really good. An issue with slow-mo is I shot at 30 frames per second, when it appears much better if you shoot at 60 fps for that. When I decided to start directing, I made it a goal to let the story come first. I’ve never seen a film where insane visual effects improved the emotional impact of the story, so I’m trying not to get too invested in that aspect of the process. Anyway, thanks for listening to my complaint.

An Onscreen Minute – 3-18-20

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As I mentioned we filmed again this past Sunday and I had high hopes going in. Brad and I were on night shift the hours before and began production on zero sleep. We planned to have our 3 pages filmed and completed by ten AM, when it would start raining. We weren’t done in time. I was supposed to have a black costume but we weren’t able to find one. The new, extended XLR cable I purchased wouldn’t attach to my recorder. After seeing the footage and audio on my computer – I couldn’t be happier.

I made a genuine effort to give an passionate acting performance. Brad surprised me because he did an awesome job and had some incredible takes. Keep in mind I drag him out for this and pay him nothing. He’s never acted in a single thing in his life.

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Everything I uploaded and watched I have been completely happy with. Don’t forget I already filmed and edited the first minute of the scene one week prior,so the angles and wardrobes had to be continuous in appearance. But dear God is editing a pain in the ass.

If you’ve never edited anything before you might be shocked at the amount of time that it requires. It’s tempting at first to just throw the pieces together like some shitty quilt and sow, but after one brisk re-watch you will see that your video looks like something Michael Scott would make on the Office. Then, you learn a few tricks – like how to zoom or adjust the focus of the picture – and all of a sudden every little scene has an effect. Now you’ve got Gremlins 2.

Going into this, I knew I wanted story to be the emphasis of whatever I shot. Think about Martin Scorsese and how crisps the images are. There’s not a lot of big effects or crazy slow-mo shots in his films. They are focused on raw human emotion & reaction. That’s the kind of story teller I would like to aspire too.

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The really wild part about editing is the amount of time it takes to make your film feel shareable. My total cut is going to be about 3 minutes 30 seconds. That’s fucking nothing. But it’s taking me since Sunday to finally get it to a place where I’M able to watch the entire thing and feel alright about it. Anyway, just wanted to update you. I want to have it posted before next Wednesday, when I’m loosely planning to film a second episode with a different unsuspecting friend who has no interest in being actor.

 

Focus on Story 3-15-20

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Our location

Today we are shooting part 2 of the first episode for my web series. I posted about the first shoot 1 week ago and how much I learned. I’m hoping to have a better experience this time around.

The biggest difference this week should be our focus on story. Instead of just writing a script that seemed interesting than acting it out, I returned to my roots as a writer and put the best script together for the resources I have available.

I’m a big believer in keeping the story simple – give your main character an object of desire that he’s willing to derail his life for. Put many overwhelming obstacles in his path. Whatever lesson he learns to help him overcome those obstacles is your theme, and the attainment of his desired object will be your climax.

For the scene we’re filming today, I changed almost all of the second half of the script. Instead of the incessant back and forth that existed to make the viewer question the sanity of my main character, I’ve given the secondary character an object that will help him in his quest.

Instead of simply handing him this object, the secondary character uses it for leverage to regain his freedom and trick the main character into letting up his guard. I’m especially excited to see how this improvement in story plays out for the camera. I spent the better part of a week editing what we shot last Saturday. It took a lot of effort to clean up unemotional acting and cringeworthy lines.

Another big difference this week is that I’m going to encourage a stronger more emotional performance from my friend. It’s easy to just let him deliver his lines how he pleases – since he is my friend, he is performing for free, and I don’t like being a dick.

But I realize now that’s a huge part of the director’s responsibility. The performance of your actors reflects on your ability to coach them and get the best delivery. I’ve posted the updated script here, for you to check out. When I finish editing the video I’ll post it here as well. Wish me luck, and feel free to point out any critiques you may have. We begin filming at the time of this posting.

Rain Day – 3-13-20

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I’m currently finishing up the 1st shift of my weekend night shift tour. It’s 4 am over here and I’m tired as hell.

Well the video is online and I managed to get some views through some shameless self promotion. 2 dislikes which may or may not have been due to my self promotion style of advertising. I can deal with that.

I’m aiming to create a channel that pumps out 5 min shorts on a weekly basis. I want to create an efficient, reliable source of entertainment to build an audience and improve my filmmaking and story telling skills. I can’t understate how fun and eye opening it is to write a story then see how it plays out with human actors. I learned from my experience last Saturday that giving a main character repetitive lines such as “You’re crazy dude” and “When was the last time you slept?” really do hinder the drama and conflict you’re trying to build.

Over here in Riverside it’s supposed to rain until Saturday. My scene partner says he may be available on Sunday. We shot the first half of our scene last Saturday.

There’s a few obstacles here I’ll have to confront. The major challenge will be finishing a scene in the same location with different lighting. If it is not cloudy outside, it will be a noticeable difference. We could cut to a shot of him hiking and use voice-over to finish the scene. Maybe I could cut the scene early then show the second interrogation as if it’s a separate day. I’d love to reshoot the entire scene but finish it through its end, but that’s when the time and efficiency factor comes into play. For now I don’t really know what we’re going to do.

I do know this – I have to plan better. I should have the script fully fleshed out days in advance and have any materials needed already purchased. I can take pictures of the location we will film in and have a strong idea for where I will be placing my camera. These are factors that I can control.

If we don’t shoot on Sunday, I think I’m going to build a DIY dolly. I also need to work on recruiting real, legitimate actors. I’m partially procrastinating on that end, but I also feel that building up a resume of quality short films will build a reputation for my channel that it’s worthy of people serious about film. That’s all for now, I’m going to try and stay awake as we finish this graveyard out.

Below is my first short scene. If you want to check it out and give it a like, I’d really appreciate that. But if you give it a dislike I will spend the rest of the day boiling with rage and contemplating deeply about the direction of my life until I find a reason to validate my own filmmaking decisions and belittle those who criticize me no matter how justifiable their opinions may be. And then I’ll tell my shampoo bottle and he’ll agree with me. He always does.

My First Short Film – 3-12-20

 

I’ve had a lot going on this week, but I’m excited to announce I’ve finally posted my first short film to youtube. It’s more of a scene. My internet is up and running at a snail’s pace of 25 mbps, but it was enough to upload my short to youtube.

Quarter Million Bust was filmed and shot the day it was born into existence. But if I had a full week to prepare for it I wouldn’t change shit. Why? Because its shortcomings weren’t  visible to me until I watched it on the screen. But let’s start with the positives.

Positives:

My friend Matt did a fantastic job acting. His changes in speech pattern and voice pitch add to the dynamic range of his character.
My B-roll footage. I love the shots of the beer can, the table, the cigarette smoking, and the bird chirps. I’m also thrilled about how an easy 3 note guitar tune sounded as the score.
My camera – it provides clear, excellent picture that responds fluidly with effects.
My recorder & microphone – our voices were much too quiet during the shoot, but I was able to add 15 db of audio to each clip without a heaping serving of white noise.
I learned – Oh God did I learn. What did I learn, exactly?

Negatives:

Act better – I need more emotion when I’m on scene, and I need to realize the emotional significance of the words coming out from my mouth. The emotions need to be a reaction to my scene partner.
Write better – There were a few lines that made me cringe and didn’t make it to the final product. The one that eats to me is my line “Are you in or are you out.” It was partially an exercise in flipping the scene on its head, where I enter as the uncertain one and trade confidence with Matt. But when I deliver the line I seem like the main provocateur, who has been intent on committing the bust the entire time. The line ignores the uncertainty my character entered the scene with. This line should have been a pivot point that showed my transformation. Instead, my transformation is completed entirely with a long, deep pondering pause.
Better shots – Get a close up! I shot our scene from three distinct distances – long, mid and close. Unfortunately, my close up captures about half of each character’s torso. Ideally it should be face only, to display the most emotion. Conversely, my long shot was so long that it was hardly usable. I’m still happy with it, and will do it again, but it is too  far away to consider as one of my primary takes.
Speak louder/position the mic better – without the ability to add audio gain, our voices would have been impossible to detect, and the clip would have been worthless.
Color grading – Oh God, this is the big one. I’m only beginning to understand how color grading works. My skill level is not even on par with “amateur level” – it’s straight up beginner. You can see in the final product how orange our skin tones become throughout the clip. Even with the same takes, the effects change throughout the scene. This is something I’ll have to learn. In retrospect, I wish I colorgraded each take before my final product was completed, so that they remain consistent. I’ll have to do some research and figure out the best way.

So, there you have it – my first short film. Obviously 2 minutes is not long at all, and the lack of action is apparent. I don’t consider either of those cons as this is my first short film ever. I knew going into this that the experience would be mostly about learning my equipment, learning adobe premiere pro, and discovering how to edit my work. I’m overall very pleased with the product.

I filmed the first half of a scene this past Saturday. I’m hoping to film again this weekend and have something new to upload by this time next week. My youtube channel was launched yesterday. I’d like to add a graphic to it as well. I want to dedicate it entirely to short films. I hope that I can maintain the courage to post less-than-perfect short films. I want to stay extremely far away from becoming a youtube vlogger, so for now I’m going to resist the urge to post reality style clips – at least to that channel. I want to build an audience for short films/scenes. Another objective of mine is to post frequently with highly efficient editing – even if that means sacrificing quality. Much like a screenplay, I believe it’s easy to become obsessed with perfection and dwell too long on a project that is only as good as its subject matter.

Anyway, that’s all I got for now. I plan to return to regular posting. Thank you for reading, and if you checked out the clip thank you some more. It really means a lot.

 

Boring Update – 3-6-20

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I promised I’d have the short film edited and uploaded before this weekend. I lied. The truth is that I have it ready to go and fully edited. But I moved into a new place and have to sign up for a new internet service provider. I want to take care of this ASAP, but realistically I think it will take until next week. I do have the practice short edited and ready for upload, I just don’t have any way to upload it from my desktop computer. Maybe I can save it on a flash drive and upload it from a my laptop.

There’s a 50/50 chance I begin filming my web series tomorrow morning. My friend is available for filming and I want to take advantage of that. When I first pitched the idea to him he was completely game – but he’s begun dating a new girl and I think his availability and willingness is suddenly being hindered. Pretty scary considering I want to make him the main reoccurring character.

I wrote the first draft of the script tonight. That’s slightly daunting considering how many drafts of previous scripts I made before I felt they were ready to submit to contests. I know want the story for episode 1 to play out like this – I catch Brad in the woods with a simple rope trap, lock him up in a barnyard stall, interrogate him, and discover a pivotal piece of information that will set up the next episode. Many of these shots I can get at a later time, but I’d like to film the interrogation scene (3 minutes) tomorrow so that I will be able to edit it during the week. Saturday and Sunday will most likely be my filming days.

What worries me right now is not just writing the script, but ensuring I have the appropriate resources. I want this thing to look good and not be shoddily put together. At the same time, if I miss out on filming tomorrow, I will have to wait one more week to make sure he’s available. I do not want to make a habit of flaking out on things.

Anyways, thank you for your patience especially if you’re excited to see how these short films turn out. The practice shoot looks pretty good, but more importantly I learned a lot for future projects. As soon as I have internet service in my new place I will post it here.

Practice Shoot – 3/4/2020

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We may or may not have intentionally decorated the table for this scene

Now that all of my equipment has arrived, my location is set, and my web series idea has been established, it’s time I start learning my gear. I’m a big believer in learning by doing – how easy it is to jump on google and attack the search engine with every imaginable question before taking a single step forward.

This weekend I was able to bust out my recorder, microphone, and camera and capture some shots of a coworker along with sights and sounds of the job. Unfortunately this was all done on the clock, and seeing as how I’d prefer not to get fired – I’m not going to publish it here.

But yesterday I had a day off. It took one spontaneous moment  – “Hey you want to film something?” and my friend Matt was in. The small backyard has a lot going on in it – trees and plants outside, empty beers and ash trays on the table. So the setting was a lock, and we were well on our way.

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That’s my handy little Tascam recorder on the right.

At first I figured we should just improvise something and do our best to repeat the scene in additional takes. But then I realized how amateur that would be, especially after dedicating years to the craft of writing. I wanted a script primarily because it would keep us on track with each additional take. I’m very new behind the camera, but one thing I rely on is 3 different shots – distant, mid, and close. Those 3 separate views of the same scene come together nicely when it’s fully edited.

The other obstacle was comedy. It’s really difficult when you pull out a camera with your friends to keep from saying something stupid to ease the tension. Our minds, or at least mine, are wired to come up with something witty on improvisation. The key to drama is to add tension with each line, have characters transform, and push forward with the plot. This is difficult to develop spontaneously. Scenes are built on action, obstacles, and character growth. You will know if you are a writer that often times these plot developments take prolonged periods of mental anguish to hammer out.

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My shirt’s inside out to hide the fact that it’s a work T

I’m not saying that the script I wrote is any good – but it’s simple and has some of the key elements to be an actual scene. The one-and-a-half page story is about Ryan (me) entering the backyard to inform Trey (my friend Matt) that he is no longer willing to go through with a bank robbery. He complains that the “haul” isn’t worth a possible sentence of ten years. This is new information for Trey – he’s ready to back out himself. Except when he tells Ryan that the haul is actually for a quarter million, the scene turns on it’s head. Now Ryan pressures Trey to go through with the job.

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Matt going over lines

We’ve already filmed and recorded it so I won’t be making any changes, but I’ve posted the script here for you to read regardless. Feel free to offer me any constructive feedback if you’d like.

I’m hoping to edit most if not all of it today. I still need to learn how to color grade, as you will see in some of the disturbing colors of the footage. I anticipate I’ll be spending the weekend learning how to do that. I’d also like to set up a youtube channel, come up with a production company name and design a logo for it. That and write a 5 page script for my mini-series. If I’m on my game, I should be able to finish these tasks by the end of the week. I’ll keep you updated, but for now I’m aiming to have this short edited and uploaded for viewing before the weekend.

Location Ready – 3/3/2020

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I have location picked out for my upcoming web series, which is a fancy way of saying I moved into a new place. But part of that move WAS motivated by the fact that this slice of land is absolute gold for any person trying to show a chilling tale.

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You already know this barn is haunted by a little girl who needs you to free her

You can’t see it to well, but there is actually a swing set and even a slide that were probably built 70 years ago (creepy). The picture above is the barnyard of the property. Inside there are 12 stalls and no horses.

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Can you say “torture chamber”?

So here are the resources for my story – A barnyard, me, incredible hiking trails, and friends. When you’re low budget, the resources inspire the story.

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The house haunted by the little girl’s grandma who only wants to knit in peace

I like the idea of creating a web series of 5 minute episodes. I have an idea for a thriller plot that will keep viewers engaged and allow for using this location and utilizing the mountains. The protagonists locks up another character and interrogates him about the disappearance of his family. It will be unclear whether this captured character is innocent or guilty. It will be clear that the main character is under tremendous stress, and may have lost his mind looking for answers. But the key thing is, the barn is a central part of the story. Frequent, reoccurring use of it will appear logical and not heavy handed.

I want to write the script this week, then post it on here & reddit before production begins. It would be really great to hear feedback, and I think as a writer it’s always refreshing to read a script first before seeing how it all unfolds on the screen. My biggest priority is going to be building an audience of people who simply want to be entertained. That’s more important to me than entering any film festivals or following screenwriting 101 rules at the moment. But for now, I’m grateful for any person who takes the time to read these update and provide any insights they may have. So thank you.

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A rat whose life was wasted gazing through iron bars at a cheese slice he never got to eat now haunts other rats who are happy and well fed.

 

 

Gear Ready – 2/29/20

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This is me drinking a beer

I built the computer. It took blood, sweat, tears, and an absolute certainty that I destroyed $1000 in computer parts but I did it. Along with that, I received my Tascam DR 100 mk II in the mail. It sounds phenomenal paired with my audio-technica microphone.

So I built the computer on Tuesday, using a step-by-step guide on youtube (the best how-to service in the history of man, btw). After it was completed, I plugged it into an old monitor, took a deep breath, and powered that son-of-bitch up. Got the good old “no signal” message and was bummed, but not devastated. I chalked it up to old parts not gemming with the new parts.

A quick trip to walmart the next day and I was all set to pay $50 on a new computer monitor. Upon arrival I discovered the monitors I was searching for were available for shipping, but were not actually stocked in the store. No way in hell I was waiting.

So I purchased a $130 32 inch tv and an HDMI chord. I didn’t anticipate keeping it. I got home, hooked it up, and got the same message – no signal. I was actually convinced that I had broken the graphics card during my build, or possibly shorted something with static electricity during set-up(don’t use latex gloves when you’re building a computer). Sure enough, my Ram wasn’t pushed all the way in. It’s a terrifying feeling using elbow grease on something so expensive and delicate.

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About 1/4 of the mess I created

Long story short, my new video-editing machine is working as good as expected. It took another entire day to figure out how to import footage from my sony a6300 (its a codec XVAC-S that you can import with a MP4 wrapper simply by switching USB connection to MTP on the 4th page of the 6th suitcase tab in the menu options). I still haven’t been able to import any aduio, but I think one final purchase of an SD card reader should do the trick.

I’m hoping to write a 5 page script this week that I’ll be able to film this weekend. In the meantime, I’ll attach some of the images from my camera. Keep in mind I know less than nothing about photography. Any pictures that do look good are in thanks to the camera. Hopefully you can see how great a film quality they have to them, and why I’m so excited to begin bringing my stories to life through its lens.

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A perfect set if only I could use it

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Beautiful shot, mostly because of the firefighter

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I love the movable focus option. Draws your eye straight to the subject.

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If I wasn’t lazy I would have made this the first picture since it shows the scope of the response.

Vague Plan

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Photo by Ali Pazani on Pexels.com

Everything I need to film my first short film should be arriving within 1 week. After that I will have to build the computer, learn how to use my microphone, and adjust to my new Sony a6300 camera. I will not have any lighting equipment, I will only have one 18-50mm lens, and I’ll be posting the video to youtube for under twenty views. I’m ok with that.

When I regularly posted on wordpress I made it a discipline to primarily grow my blog by posting short stories. I think this is especially important if you are trying to become a writer – the temptation to post writing advice and insights is always strong and enticing. The problem is you will only attract writers who are trying to do the same thing as you. You will not build an actual reading audience, because your followers are coming to learn about writing rather than be entertained. It’s also much easier to analyze another person’s work and figure out what they did wrong or could have done better. There is no shortage of online information available that is focused on the craft. What is especially difficult and rare is the ability to prove your craft through your works. I’m going to try my best to build an audience on youtube for my short films. When I feel my work is qualified, I will start entering competitions or submit through other avenues.

For my current project, I already have a pretty decent plan in place. I have a location – an outdated barnyard – and one friend who is willing to act. My girlfriend will be able to help with handling the equipment during the shoot (she refuses to act in a project unless she is “a homeless person sitting in the corner”).

I’m excited to begin typing out a script. Nothing is more revealing than seeing your pages brought to life – last time I wrote a 1 minute script for fun, I was shocked to discover how difficult it was to deliver some of the lines. I’m going to keep the plot close to the chest for now, because I think it’s a great premise for a 1 location story with limited actors. I think it could work as a multi-episode story, too. The plot forces the MC into isolation and leads the viewer to wonder whether he is crazy or has an object of national importance.

I’ve noticed that the number one thing that engages me as a viewer is early empathy with the main character. I’m thinking I’ll begin my story with the main character writing in a journal. This way, I can provide some voice over to give a little bit of background without making it a reoccuring perspective. I see something very similar to the opening of Chernobyl. From there I can see him playing piano. But there has to be something more – something very unique that makes the viewer say “I want to follow this man’s journey.” All great characters stories have this – a unique action that’s both relatable and unique. A prime example of that – my girlfriend saying she’ll only be in a film if she’s a homeless extra. A great film example would be Parasite, where the family allows the toxins to waft through the windows in order to kill their own bug infestation. They are so poor and have such little regard for their own health that they make this bizarre choice. That was the moment I knew I wanted to follow their journey.  Alright, that’s the end of the rambling for now. I’ll have more information in my next update.