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As you may have heard me blabbing about last Friday, I despite green screens. When I say despite, I truly mean with every once of my being.

One of the key parts about me as a director is that I love to immerse. Myself, the audience, but also the actors. I want them to forget about the cameras an equipment. I wants them not to have to think about all the technical aspects. I want them not to want to wait a lot between takes. Making movies should be fun.

It’s really difficult to do this with a huge piece of green fabric plastered all over the place.

For years I have been looking for an alternative other then just shooting on location. I finally found one when The Mandolorian released their BTS footage about Virtual Production Stages.

Here’s what they are. Imagine, instead of an actor staring at a big green room. They are on Endor, or the death star. Instead of having to set up lights perfectly, the light is accurate presented within the stage and the background. With no seams.

This is what a virtual production stage does. A wall of LED screens that display the image. No longer are you putting it in post.

The best part is that these scenes in the background can be edited in real time with Unreal Engine. As well as cameras can connect to the wall and it will react to the cameras movements to make it look like the background is real.

It has to be seen to be believed.

From the moment I saw Indiana Jones leap through a bundle of cobwebs to escape a rolling boulder, I knew I wanted to make movies. My feelings were only reinforced as I grew up—making movies with my family, watching “Close Encounters” at the Cinerama, or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in Factoria.

This may all seem like useless information and backstory, but it serves a purpose. Steven Spielberg famously said he wanted to (and, for a while, did as a teen) quit filmmaking after seeing “Lawrence of Arabia.” He thought he would never be able to top that. I believe every artist has had that experience, stemming from jealousy, low self-esteem, or sheer admiration for another’s work.

Whenever I watch a movie, a part of me asks, “What makes you think you are different? What do you bring to the table?” So, I have contemplated this a lot. I often find my style too broad. I love creating Rom Coms just as much as I enjoy making horror films. What does that say about me?

I’ve come to the conclusion that it indicates my passion for filmmaking. I’ve never doubted that I wanted to write and direct movies, not even for a moment.

I aim to improve the medium, stripping away everything that makes it “show business” and just making it “show.”

Hollywood is too stuck in the old ways of doing things, from budget to lighting to distribution. Rarely does anyone ask why it’s done a certain way; it’s always just “Well, it’s always been done that way.”

I want to focus on utilizing new technology and a process that I call Guerrilla Filmmaking to create movies faster, cheaper, and provide a better experience for the crew. In my opinion, making movies should be just as enjoyable as watching them. Nothing has failed to prove this to me so far. With new technology and outside-the-box methods, we can eliminate aspects that make filmmaking an abusive experience.

Finally, I have two businesses (works in progress) that aim to improve the distribution end of things. A production company to produce films with like-minded individuals and a new type of digital service that will hopefully bridge the gap between corporate streaming services and direct-to-video mid-budget movies. More on that in the future.

I guess what I bring to the table is ambition. It may sound kind of lame, but it is what it is.

M!

As in Mop, Maybe, or Mountain

The first international trip I can remember clearly is going to France. I was around 7 or 8 years old. I was entranced from the moment I stepped off the plane.

Architecture, Nature, Culture, etc. Everything about I loved. I’ve returned 2 or 3 times over the course of my life but I have always wanted to Direct a movie in Paris.

I found a couple production companies I could work at (IFiLM France, Namely). I believe I would have to live at a 6 month BNB.

Do to the Android inability to capture the AR feature. I was only able to scan an object.

MONDAY

• 7:30am – 9:00am – Finalized video editing on “The Amulet”
• 9:00am – 11:00am – went over camera movement in visual media before splitting up into groups for Halloween movie project
• 11:00am – 12:00am – Talked about plot for Halloween movie project and explored locations.
• 12:00am-2:00pm – Started script for Halloween project and practiced editing.

TUESDAY

• 7:30am – 9:00am – Worked on lighting assignment.
• 9:00am – 11:00am – Discussed Email and cover letter assignment in class. 
• 11:00am – 12:00am – Edited my assignment.
• 12:00am-2:00pm – Finished Halloween project script. Sent to slack group chat.

WEDNESDAY

• 7:30am – 9:00am – Further attempted to edit my assignment. Logged what I did Tuesday because I forgot to.
• 9:00am – 11:00am – Went over portrait assignment in class. Did better than I expected. Proud of myself. 
• 11:00am – 12:00am – Made a shot list for a Halloween movie. Shared with the group.
• 12:00am-2:00pm – Practiced some lighting before going to work.

THURSDAY

• 7:30am – 9:00am – Worked on a non school related script. Wrote a few songs.
• 9:00am – 11:00am – Went over lighting styles in class.
• 11:00am – 12:00am – Talked about scheduling for a Halloween movie.
• 12:00am-2:00pm – Finalized some creative projects and logged my day.

When I set out to create the poster I purposefully did not listen to their music at first. I looked at a lot of pictures of them and read a lot about them instead. I noticed a theme of neon lights and “vibe music”.

That always scream outrun to me. So I set out to use a lot of gradients, image filters, and tracing images digitally to create a more retro style poster in the vain of the Rolling Stones or ACDC. Then I punched it up with a more 80s retro wave sorta style.

I did listen to their music eventually. I enjoyed it. Their big hit is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaLVvEhCo6g

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