Day 2 of Filming & Post Production
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Sunday Morning - 11/05/00
Shooting went on
swiftly once we arrived this morning. Once Bumbles (Rory) was made up I was given the task
to film the opening shots of the Bumbles TV
show while they would set up the shot of Andy walking down the stairs. This was shot on my
camcorder in the 'old style' effect - Sepia color tone & jittery motion. I brought
along various props for the various vignettes. An army helmet, spring bouncing eye
glasses, a toy phone, etc.. These props were for separate set-ups & to be used between
the opening titles to establish the Bumbles show. We also wanted this to look like a cheap
cable TV production so we used puppets as his companions (with clearly visible arms
showing). It was pretty funny all in all but at the editing stages of post production it
was all dropped. Cut out of the film mainly for time constraints of the project, but I'll
get into that a little later.
After Tadeo, Chris & Tsioshi completed their stairway shot we moved into the center of the basement & set up the shots of Andy looking at the clown in the boiler room.
Nothing like working
in a cramped position like this. But that's the fun of shooting a film. Once the camera
was set Tadeo prepped Andy (Christian) on what he had to do. Basically just open the door
& step in.
After taking a few shots of that & a few close-ups of his eyes looking both evil & innocent we moved onto the final few setups of the day. Like I said, the bulk of the film was shot on Saturday, this Sunday shoot had much less.
During filming the shots where Andy is walking to the boiler room door Tadeo got a great idea & Chris decided to try it.
This was to do the 'Sixth Sense' shot (as we called it) & shoot the reflection of the gold doorknob as we see Andy reach for it. Setting it up was a pain for Chris but he was able to accomplish it. See, to film Andy's reflection in the mirrored doorknob you will also see the camera in the reflection too. So after blocking his reflection & the lights with some loose pieces of paneling there was no reflection of the camera. What a pro, & the shot looked great.
Next & last shot of the day was of Bumbles laying in the boiler room & the door slowly closing (by itself). This was done by attaching a piece of thread to the door & once the camera was rolling Tady pulled the door shut with the thread. So easy, & looks so cool on film.
Basically that was the shoot, we wrapped around 1:00pm & dispersed. But now came the hardest part - especially for Tadeo. This was the editing & sound work of the project.
The first information I got from Tadeo was that they didn't receive back all the film that they had shot. See Tadeo was only supposed to shoot a set amount of film, but him being ambitious as he is put in the extra cash & bought more film. The film was to only run about 4 to 5 minutes. Tadeo had shot almost 12. The place that develops the film & transfers it to the computer disc for editing only gave Tadeo back 5 minutes of the film. This really pissed him off. See, he didn't have to pay extra for the transfer, they could of gave him all of it, but this place decided on they're own not to give it all to him. So after a bit of bitching at good ol' Columbia he did get it all back.
Now the next problem he had was that the same company screwed up the look of the film. See, with Chris using that color filter, the transferring to the computer disc needed to be processed differently. Tadeo even gave them special instructions to the place when he brought it in. So after going back there with Chris & complaining they again, finally got they're way.
Around this time Tadeo was starting to make a name for himself
around Columbia. Good or Bad is up in the air. With his constant complaining for the best
he could get, & what he wanted to get, his name was surly being remembered.
That's how it should be when your a film maker, after all it is your vision your trying to put up on the screen. So when certain areas of the school don't give a damn & just consider it a stupid student film, really the only way to go would be to complain. This is your film your making & not anyone else's. It's your tuition your paying to learn the craft. Sure you have to try to follow the rules & not step over the boundaries, but when it comes to vision it's all yours baby.
All the students were amazed that Tadeo used a camera with a zoom lens. Hey, they could have used one too - If they only had the ambition to just ask for one like Tadeo did. There was nothing that said that he couldn't use that camera so he asked & got it. He know what he wanted to get & what he wanted his film to look like. I would think an instructor would really appreciate that in an upcoming film maker.
Either way, after all the back & forth at school, Tadeo was finally able to complete his film. He worked the sound in & used a cool circus theme for the end credits. All in all it turned out to be a creepy little film.
His first major success in the world of film was complete.
Next up we worked together on another great idea that again led him into a bit of trouble at Columbia (Broken Warning), & Tadeo's first experience working in frigid temperatures. You can follow that tale by clicking here.
Hey Kids!
Below you can now see the film 'Greasepaint'!
Now watch how we made this little film!
Part 1
Part 2
Greasepaint Becomes a Feature Film!
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Copyright ©2001 Roger B. Domian