DC Video: After the Flag

This is the finished featurette I shot of my friend Joe's band.  I'm not happy about the amount of compression, but to upload the other file to youtube was taking over an hour.  So it's pixelated and grainy but works as a way to show the story.  I'll try to recompress another video soon with a clearer image.  But this was a test for me to see if I could produce an inspiring mini documentary.  How did I do?

Pictures from DC Weekend

Went to DC this weekend to film my friend's band.  Ended up capturing footage to use for a featurette which will be ready hopefully in a week.  That's the goal at least.  Until then, here are some of my favorite photos I took during the trip.

DIY DSLR Shoulder Rig

With the arrival of my Liliput 7 inch field monitor my large shoulder rig is ... ok I can't exactly say complete because I am due to add a light and some counter weight.  It's close though.  This is a quick clip to give you a look at it decked out with the camera and monitor.  I'll be taking this to DC with me this weekend to film my friend's concert.  Will definitely have several business cards on hand 'cause this bad boy looks totally legit.  I filmed this downstairs in my sister's bathroom.  My bathroom is not nearly as colorful.

DIY LED on Camera Light

I am pretty happy this all came together.  Researched how to wire led's on you tube.  I made this from the LED strip I had purchased on ebay and an electrical wiring box I found at the Habitat restore.  This light will be an on camera light.  Soldering the wires to the strips proved just a little challenge, not enough to get completely frustrated over though.  That solder is a tricky substance to do right the first time.  But I was glad it works.  Still need to go to radio shack and find a 12 volt source and see if I may be able to connect this thing to a dimmer.  Then I have to make a mount for it so it can fit on my camera and rigs.

Pictures from the Weekend

BA! is evolving into a cross digital platform of videography and photography.  Guess I should have further considered this inevitable direction when I purchased a DSLR hybrid.  Here are a few shots from my photoshoot over the weekend.

Project Update

So this weekend was amazing.  I went to a workshop in Matthews titled "DSLR Bootcamp" so I could learn the basics of this incredible machine I have.  Of course I'm talking about my SLT a33.  Coming from video to photography it's quite a different arena of knowledge to step into.  Yet at the same time the better my photographic skills become, the better quality my shots and video will be.  So it's a necessary path to take in my development as a movie maker.

I pretty much have the core ideas of my ghost story laid out.  Last week I took note cards with me everywhere jotting down each idea as it came to me.  I remained passive and didn't fight or question any of them, just wrote them down as they popped into my imagination.  My inner critic can be the death of a creative venture, so it's best to put him on mute until his nitpicking criticisms become necessary later in the process.  For now I gagged and blindfolded him and hung onto the fin of my intuition as it dragged me into  my shadowy creative depth.  What I've found out is that the photographer is a girl, our artist is a guy named Brian.  The ghost story is a metaphor for hitting your bottom and living the powerless unmanageable life of an addict.

I had lunch yesterday with my friend DJ and we hashed out another foundation for a script.  He had an idea for a zombie movie.  And when I heard the two words "zombie" and "apocalypse" my stomach turned and CLICHE was screaming in my mind.  But I put myself aside and decided to listen openly to his idea.  As it turned out we were able to hash out a solid foundation for a promising story.  I will post more on this as it develops further.

Upcoming Project

I had the camera mounted on a DIY car mount which has since fallen apart.  The hot sun melted the industrial adhesive so I need to reassess my set up and try again.  My first attempt wasn't totally awesome anyway.  Too shaky when I got above 35 mph so I'll have to figure out how to reduce that as well.

DIY ND Fader Filter

Future light kit arrival!

Toast

My friend Chad was around campus and we were able to catch up.  Took this picture to show off my camera.  Actually turned out pretty awesome.

Recent DIY Projects

A couple of shoulder rigs I constructed from pvc pipe.  The bigger rig I took some of the structure from a walker that I found at GoodWill for $5.

Constructed this glide track rig from parts found at local thrift stores and pvc pipe.

Constructed this from a shampoo bottle, a pirated viewfinder cap, a telephoto lens filter, and a shoebox.  Used duct tape and a glue gun to put it all together.  Took the design from another youtube video I had seen.