My First-Ever YouTube.com pieces

Folks - remember when we did our one minute film challange a few months ago? Well I tweaked mine a bit and used it for my first-ever YouTube.com piece. Check it out. It's the abstract one I did with a deck of cards called: "Building A House Full". I've had over 30 people to view it since I posted it yesterday. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pa9tOyCXcs

Also I loaded a Sept. 2006 documentary I did of the demolition of the center span of The Tennessee River bridge. Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guvKLbaXgwQ

YouTube is fun to have an opportunity for a lot of people to see, rate and comment on your work - I feel it helps in the learning process, but it surely was fun to see my amateur piece on the BIG SCREEN last Friday night [Oct. 20, 2006], and in front of a live audience at our Rocket City Short Film Festival. After I saw a few of the competitors pieces I was ready to withdraw mine. There were some very good pieces in all the categories - but what-the-heck, that's part of the learning process too.

The film festival was a success because of all the hard work the Film Coop Volunteers do. A special thanks to Don T. for his technical expertise that kept the show running in spite of the "glitchy" DVD's. Good job all!


Sam T.

Winners Announced for the 2006 Rocket City Short Film Festival!

 Winners Announced for the 2006 Rocket City Short Film Festival

From the Film Co-op e-mail:

"Special Announcement -- Oct. 21, 2006

=============================



Winners Announced for the 2006 Rocket City Short Film Festival


The Alabama Filmmakers Co-op announces the winners of the Rocket City Short Film Festival!


Over 150 people gathered at the Flying Monkey Arts Center in Huntsville last evening to view and vote on the creative productions by youth and adult filmmakers. The winners and those receiving special mention were chosen via ballots completed by our enthusiastic audience.


Youth Category:

Winner -- "Solemates" by Elizabeth Hagale of Huntsville, Alabama.

The Filmmakers Co-op also gives special mention to "The Hunt" by Stuart Russler of Madison, Alabama and to "Jalapeno Chip" by Leah Dunkel and Cayce Savage of Huntsville, Alabama.


"Family Friendly" Adult Category:

Winner -- "Moved" by Jim Issa and Scott Ippolito of Atlanta, Georgia.

The Filmmakers Co-op also gives special mention to "Roommates" by Benjamin Stark and Ethan Crowe of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and to "Boneshakers" by Aaron King of Nashville, Tennessee.


"Mature Themed" Adult Category:

Winner -- "The Assassinator" by Stan Williams, Allen Berry and Jeff Cook of Huntsville, Alabama.

The Filmmakers Co-op also gives special mention to "Phone-A-Clone" by Charlie and Cindy White of Huntsville, Alabama and to "White Bitch Down" by Jon Hill of Atlanta, Georgia.



The winner of the Youth Category receives $50; both Adult Category winners receive $100 each.


We congratulate all the winners and everyone who submitted films to the festival. We know how much time and dedication is needed to produce a film -- even these short ones!"

Rocket City Fim Festival_Don needs HELP!

 "Hello all,
Just a reminder. If you plan to come to the Film Festival this Friday and can come a little early or stay a little late to help with set up or take down, please let me know.

We received well over 30 films so to get the total run time (with breaks, judging, changing DVDs and the normal start delay as people filter in), we are showing only 24 films and expect that to take almost 4 hours total. There is something for everyone in this festival - from film-noir mysteries to a pop-music video, scary halloween to a couple of puppies, tear-filled drama to goofy humor.

Make sure to bring a folding chair, if you can. There is a Crash Boom Bang theater show going on upstairs that same night and I expect they'll need a few chairs. And the Flying Monkey finally got rid of the broken down sofas and chairs - which were often our back-up seating. We expect a great crowd.

Also, bring snacks and drinks or buy from the Monkey's concession stand - or Tina's Cantina will be open till 8 or 9 pm.

Again, if you can come help out, please let me know so we'll have an idea how many hands we'll have.

Thanks and see you Friday night, 7pm ( or earlier),
Don"

I work till 8 on Friday, and probably won't be able to get there until 8:40 or so, so the only thing I could help with is breakdown.

Unfortunatley, Tina's Cantina will be closed Friday for a private function that day.

Rocket City Short Film Festival is Friday, Oct. 20 @ 7 PM

 
2006.10.14 13.11


Friday, Oct. 20 @ 7 PM -- The Film Co-op presents the Rocket City Short Film Festival.

Flying Monkey Arts Center, 2211 Seminole Dr. in Huntsville. Admission $5 / $3 Film Co-op members.

From Don's e-mail:

"Hello all,

As you are probably aware, the film festival is next Friday, Oct 20th.
Believe it or not, we got over 30 entries this year. So many that we'll have to
exclude a few just due to time constraints.

But we have many excellent entries - a few are spectacular. I've watched them
all and except for a few that were too slow paced (typically poor editing
rather than story), I've really enjoyed them. With changing DVDs between shows,
and showing as many as possible, looks like we have 3.5 hours (or more) for
the program. This is exciting news - maybe next year we can show on 2 screens
or over 2 night.

We expect a big crowd for this event and need a few extra hands getting set
up Friday night. Also, I need to show someone else how to set up and use the
new audio/video cart. If you can help out - setting up chairs before the
festival, running concession, helping with equipment, or clean up afterwars,
please let me know. We'll need help setting up starting around 6pm on Friday,
show time is at 7pm. One benefit of working the event is free admission.

Please note, for families or kids: the first half of the festival will
consist of the Youth category films - 5 great entries plus our filmmaking workshop
for kids movie - followed by selections from the adult submissions that are PG
or G equivalent rating. We'll have a break before going to the PG-13 or R
equivalent rated films (we have 3 films that, IMHO, are R-rated and those will
be shown last).

Our audience awards will be done by ballot - one award for youth and one for
adult. We'll need help passing out, collecting and then counting ballots.

Whether you can work the event or not, please come support the festival.
You'll get a great overview of the broad and dynamic local film making scene.
And a chance to meet fellow filmmakers.

Let me know if you can help,
Thanks,
Don"

Photo Flea Market Oct 29 at the VBC.

From Don's e-mail:

"For the kids who participated in the Filmmaking Workshops and for others who
are interested in Film Making... One event I look for every year is the annual
Photo Flea Market sponsored by Sutherland Photo. (I'm not associated with
anyone involved in the fleamarket) Used photo and video gear, sometimes at
great prices. This year, it appears that it is scheduled for Oct 29 at the
VBCC.

This is a great place to find odds and ends that are valuable for film makers
- used light stands, reflectors, filters, tripods.... you name it.
Sometimes you get great buys - like the time I got a specialized clamp for a light
stand for $1 - a new one would have been $25 at the online discount places. I
got old, slightly rusty light stands for $10 each (work just as well as new
ones) I recommend that you think about what you need, price it on-line (e.g. on
e-bay) and carry a price list with you. Most of the venders are small photo
supply stores and they are usually willing to deal - so they don't have to
pack it all up and carry it back home.

Also, they will have used video cameras and film & digital photo cameras.
Old video cameras are more problem than they are worth (in my humble
opinion). But if you have an old SLR 35mm film camera, you might find a new lens for
it... or someone to buy it from you for a good price. Make sure you know
the filter size for your videocamera - you can often find great buys on filters."

Meeting Notes of the film co-op workshop of 2006_10_08

 Alabama Filmmaker's Co-op Workshop
Sunday, October 08, 2006, 2:00, Flying Monkey Arts Center

Type of meeting
Workshop
Meeting called by
James N. Reynolds
Attendees
Elin
Stanley
Danielle
Jim
Ben
Don
Sam
Heidi




Topics
Num.
Topic
Responsible
1.
Rocket City Film Festival is Oct 20th

http://www.filmcoop.org/events/2006/rcsff.html

Film Co-op
2.
DVD and VHS players weren't in the film co-op library so we used the DVD player on the TV in the Film co-op library
Jim
3.
showed his promo reel, then his Western short, “Black Rock Creek”
Nature sounds were dubbed in and looped.
Very good camera angles. Great costume designer for this short.

Ben
4.
made and brought in a new cart for the film co-op equipment. That's where the DVD player and video player were hidden.
Don
5.
discussed two of his favorite sites for finding new material to see, mash-up re-mix and re-use, all legally with content under Creative Commons Licenses or in the Public Domain.

http://www.archive.org

and

http://www.creativecommons.org

Jim
6.
talked about the workshop for kids he organized and led for the film co-op over the past two summers
Don
7.
said she and her friend made a murder mystery spoof called “There's No War in France”. They made it up as they went along. Said they may bring it next time if they can get the better version into a format that will play on DVD.

This led to a discussion of the difficulties of no real standardized format or codecs.
Heidi

Everyone
8.
Emphasized that getting people to show up consistently is difficult.
Don
9.
used storyboards for his Western.
Directed a new group of people. Wrote script in May, shot in September. Makes a detailed shot list as a guide. But only a guide. If something different works, he uses that.
Ben
10.
Unless a simple two person shoot, make sure you have coverage on site (If can't or don't have the time in pre-production to do storyboards.)
Don
11.
posted previous post about a storyboard program on the blog.

http://filmcoop.blogspot.com/2006/10/storyboard-first.html#links

Sam
12.
Next project. Will be Storyboarding. 1st time working with money. Some investments. $200 budget. 30 minute short.
Ben
13.
Storyboarding is like an outline. It's not strict, can vary and change if you want to.
Ben, Don, Sam
14.
November. (17th). Gena Ellis on writing. she was part of team that won the 48-hour film competition. Screenwriter. Auctioned and written a bunch of screenplays. Optioned a lot in Hollywood. 1 script bought by a director in Australia. The film co-op is showing it in November. She will be there will have a Q&A (Question and answer process). Will hold an affordable Screen writing workshop in January.

Scripts people trying to sell scripts.

“Friday, Nov. 17 @ 7 PM -- "Angela's Decision"

Flying Monkey Arts Center, 2211 Seminole Dr. in Huntsville. Admission $5 / $3 Film Co-op members.

Local screenwriter, Gena Ellis, will be present to talk about her experience from script to screen. Gena is an award-winning screenwriter with a wide range of scripts-- from drama to romantic comedy to period pieces to shorts. Her scripts have placed in many competitions, such as FilmMakers' American Gem, Austin Film Festival, OWFI, Scriptapalooza, Moondance Film Festival and the 48 Hour Film Project. Her dramatic script, "Angela's Decision," recently completed production in South Australia.



This is a special showing before the movie makes the film festival rounds. A reception will follow the screening.”
Don
15.
talked about recording studios in Florence in the context of talking about the movie Like Moles, Like Rats.

http://www.likemoleslikerats.com

Stanley
16.
talked about John Sayles next movie is “Honeydripper”, about the first black nightclub where an electric guitar was used. Being filmed here in Alabama in some town near Montgomery.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829193/

Don
17.
talked about a guy doing Guerrilla film showings. Illegal showings of commercial films.

Uses a deep cycle marine battery, and an FM transmitter to show films illegally at the old Home Depot shopping center off of University.

http://community.livejournal.com/huntsville/445031.html

Don
18.
Said the film co-op meeting place and things may be moving upstairs. Unknown if this will be done before or after our November meeting. If before, just wander around asking for the film co-op
workshop meeting, if we don't get information in time.
Don
19.
Remember to check and post (please, others, post as much as you can, especially about your projects and useful information, like your pod casts or homepages, vlogs, videos, etc.)
http://filmcoop.blogspot.com
and the livejournal
film co-op community

Jim

Additional information:

The next scheduled meeting of the Alabama Filmmaker's Co-op Workshop :
Sunday, November 12, 2006, 2:00, at the Flying Monkey Arts Center

Storyboard First

I find one of the best aids in producing a film is the storyboard. It helps the producer to build the story and sequence the shots. It becomes the "roadmap" for the production. It's time consuming, but will give the producer the assurance to proceed with a cohesive work.

A good program Storyboard Tool and free download application for both Mac and PC can be found at:

http://www.atomiclearning.com/storyboardpro


Sammy T 8 Oct 2006

Film Co-op MeetingNotes20060910

Alabama Filmmaker's Co-op Workshop
Sunday, September 10, 2006, 2:00, Flying Monkey Arts Center

Type of meeting
Workshop
Meeting called by
James N.
Attendees
Stanley
Tina
Jim
Sam
Ben
Danielle


Topics
Num.
Topic
Responsible
1.
brought a short video of 20,000 frames a second.
Vision research. camera Phantom 7

High speed detonator placed on top of an empty coffee cup
Straight angle.

High speed photos require a lot of light.
Black and white easier than color (and less expensive) than color.
The trails behind the exploding debris are heat trails. NIH-images cold contrast image enhance
goes through image from by frame and adjusts the brightness upwards . default value usually ½ percent. since the is no on good setting, the above is useful.
Stanley
2.
Brought a portable monitor. An extension for a DVD player usually found in cars or vans. Can plug in headphones, makes for a larger live monitor for your camera.
Stanley
3.
Showed a rant he made about the difficulties of low-budget filmmaking.

Should have done more pre-production, specifically storyboarding.

Show notes to the rant:

http://www.archive.org
http://www.creativecommons.org

Jim
4.
Moved back form Tuscaloosa, made shorts
Ben


Danielle
5.
Rocket City Film Festival is Oct 20th
Film Co-op
6.
Remember to check and post (please, others, post as much as you can, especially about your projects and useful information, like your podcasts or homepages, vlogs, videos, etc.)
filmcoop.blogspot.com
and the livejournal
film co-op community http://community.livejournal.com/filmcoop_work/

http://www.filmcoop.org/filmmakers.html#blog
Jim

Additional information:

The next scheduled meeting of the Alabama Filmmaker's Co-op Workshop :
Sunday, October 08, 2006, 2:00, at the Flying Monkey Arts Center