This was probably one of my busiest semesters ever.
Mixer's point of view with two of my sound team members awaiting the next shot.
The crew about to film a scene. The house we used was the same mansion in the Tim and Eric "Cinco Brother's" episode.
I finished shooting principal photography for the senior thesis project I'm working on. It was really fun working production. I'm normally more drawn to the post side of things but working on set with a good crew is really exhilarating. It's this weird feeling of waking up 5 in the morning to meet your 7am call time and working 12 hours straight with what seems like dwindling energy barely fueled by caffeine then getting on a good streak of shots and set ups that makes it such a feel good type of job. I couldn't be anymore happier working as a cog turning to help make a good idea happen.
We worked in Malibu Hills for the first part of our film. We arrived early one day and our director of photography decided to drive us around and show us a scenic view point near the location.
I worked production sound so it was really fun getting to familiarize myself with all the gear and workflow. The fun part is approaching master shots in which I felt were much more of a challenge because of how usually wide they were meaning we had to come up with clever ideas of how to set up plant mics and such. It felt good to teach others how to work the gear and work as a team to tackle problems since Murphy's Law basically is always in effect on a film set
A POV shot from the sound car during some downtime. My laptop on standby to backup files in-between breaks. We used a Sound Devices 788T with a CL-9 controller.
At the end of the day, one of the best parts is getting that feeling of camaraderie you achieve with your crew. You really get to know people and it's amazing to see a collective of people working to accomplish that same goal of making a film. It's especially amazing when the people you work with are passionate and knowledgeable about their field. Something about that vibe really makes you feel good.
China balls are definitely a must have for any indie filmmaker.
Our DIT guy standing in to do a blood test. Everyone was in line to basically toss feathers and corn syrup at him.
Our DIT guy standing in to do a blood test. Everyone was in line to basically toss feathers and corn syrup at him.
My main dislike for working with production is the demanding hours. 12 hours straight of work and when I get home all I want to do is sleep. I can keep up doing this every once and awhile but to do this as a career wouldn't be something I'd want to pursue simply because I feel so disconnected from the rest of the world when I do. I like to have a lot of liesure time with family and friends and the production life simply doesn't cut it. It's definitely a tough job choice especially if you're aiming to have a family. All in all, production is amazing but not something I want to put my all into simply because I want to have more time for other things.
An appropriate cheesy sunset shot from the roof of our mansion location to end this portion of the post.
An appropriate cheesy sunset shot from the roof of our mansion location to end this portion of the post.
I just directed a hybrid lyric video in which we used live footage with the lyrics animated and composited in. It felt good to get really familiar with working with actors, lights, setting up schedules and doing location scouting. I never knew how much work assistant directors, grip and electric, script supervisors, and gaffers all do. You can expect an update sometime soon when I get the official release out.
I've been vegging out lately just laying around and catching up on some video games and movies. Definitely a (I hate this word) lazy end to 2012 for me which was an interesting contrast to the constant hustle before that. I wanted to do a holiday greeting card for my clients and family in a motion graphic style but became lazy as the holidays set in. I also wanted to do a personal project but feel my season has hit a creative drought. I'll definitely continue to be writing again since whenever I post I get the urge to do something just to report back to this blog.
Just gotta get back into that creative groove again. Here's some group_inou which always gets me in that kinda mood.
Their stuff is absurd and without explanation but I think that's one of the best parts about their music videos.
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