Notes from 20061112 workshop meeting

 From Don's e-mail:

"All,

I'm not very good at taking notes, especially while hogging the floor...

But here's what I got so far.

Of immediate importance:

1) Tina Leach has offered to help with booking movies. Linda will be ecstatic!!! Also Tina seemed very supprtive of item 4 below - maybe we can have one of those type film nights early in the new year.

2) Trevor Britton will look into what we will need to be able to add a form system tied to a data base to allow people to enter their movie making interests/skills and contact info into an on-line data based accessible via the co-op's web site. This will give us the online data base of local filmmakers, actors,crew, etc. that we've been hoping to build.

3) Next workshop will focus on EDITING. I will bring my iBook and see if I can find a second computer to edit on. We will have a couple of topics:
a) In camera editing techniques (including transitions)
b) Editing overview, trends and theory. We may show clips from classics to illustrate.
c) Editing Smackdown - two teams with the same footage to see if they can create something entirely different. Tom and Elizabeth Hagle will look over the student workshop video to see if there are clips to use, I'll gather other footage and workshop original tape. We plan to load the same takes on both computers, so everyone has the same starting place.

4) RECOMMENDATION: Host an invitational film festival to present award winners, audience favorites and other short films. This could be done in lieu of presenting a theatrical release movie. Movies like "Moved", "AirBand" etc. could be used to attrack an audience for a mix of short films. No competition. (suggest we add a certificate awarded for participation in an "Invitiational" festival, in lieu of payment - something they can put on the film's and key people's resumes.)

Film Festival Discussion with recommendation for consideration by the Film Co-op Board:
1) All Entries must have been Made withing previous 18 months
2) Select an Independant Review Panel to select films for exhibition
3) Focus on LOCAL films (i.e specify that they must have been made by local people from within a 50 (TBD) mile radius of Huntsville. The consensus was that this festival should champion local filmmaking thought not totally exclude those from a wider area.
4) Consider accepting Regional films in their own category
5) Consider dividing categories into "Amateur" vs "Advanced" (not really "pro") where "Advanced" would include those entries that have received awards at other regional film festivals or where the principals involved have been local or regional winners in the past.
6) Do not show "out of competition" films. The group recomended having special non-competitve shows with invited films. These were recommended to be help at least once or twice each year.
7) Allow the student filmmaking workshop to compete - the students are not judges and the judges should be independant of all filmmakers, thus removing any possible conflict.
8) Develop a formal Jury process. We will hold talks in January on techniques for jury selection and implementation used by other festivals. Ask SideWalk and/or Nashville festival management about their process.
9) Develop a sponsorship program to get area business involved in the festival. This will include looking for and contacting employers with matching funds programs, and those such as softdrinks and leading corporations with significant corporate sponsorship of community events. We will address this over each meeting for the next few months, make some preliminary contacts and make recommendations by early spring. Sponsorship may include having sponsor awards where significant donors select a judge to select on their behalf and they provide a separate prize.
10) Develop standards for rating movies and include those with the application process so each applicat must state that they meet criteria for a given rating (e.g. comparable to MPAA ratings)
11) Limit entries to come from Producer or Director, not any other member of cast or crew.
12) Ban movies from advocacy or professional productioin groups.
13) Require Parent approval for all youth entries, with the parent specifically signing that the work was the prodict of the youth's labor, not the parents, schools or other groups.
14) Keep the festival to one evening
15) If appropriate, look at other theater-like options for presenting the festival: suggestions included Rennaissance Theater, Bob Jones, Lee, or Butler Highschool theater, Madison Sq 12, or the VBCC Playhouse used by Theater Huntsville.

Members of the workshop are willing and able to assist with planning for nextyear's festival.

when then spent the next 30 to 40 minutes demonstrating and studying several devices for camera movement - a homemade crane, a ladder-cam, a couple of camera stabilizers, including the "Fig Rig".

The Fig Rig seemed very popular. Here's the site to make your own.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shygantic/tags/figrig/

If I left anything out or anyone recalls something different, please let me know.

Present at the meeting: Michael Adams, Stan Williams, Tina Leach, Allen Berry, Tom Hagale, Elizabeth Hagale, Trevor Britton, Rhodes Rustler, Sam Tumminello, Stanley Hendrix , Sri Mandadapu , Don Tingle

Thanks and I'll look forward to seeing everyone at next months workshop,

Don"

If you have anything you use when shooting with the camera moving, bring it along and show the group.

 From Don's e-mail:

"just a reminder. Workshop meeting tomorrow from 2-4pm at the FLying Monkey If you have anything you use when shooting with the camera moving, bring it along and show the group. I believe we are still meeting in the downstairs room. I'll try to get there a little before 2 to open the doors. If the weather is agreeable, we may set up a couple of the bigger items outdoors - more light and more room to experiment.

Also if anyone can help the film co-op with things like writing the newsletter, negotiating deals for future movies, distributing flyers for movies/events, please let me know. Linda Haynes has been carrying multiple responsibilities for the last few years but is not longer able to do all these things. Please consider volunteering - each item is only a few hours per month and it's a great cause,

See you tomorrow,
Don
"

Meeting this Sunday at 2pm_Move that Camera!

 2006.11.09 23.55

From the e-mail. Don's doing this move that camera workshop. Show up if you can. :)

Sunday, Nov. 12 @ 2 pm -- Monthly filmmakers workshop -- Move That Camera!

If you are making low budget movies, you'll enjoy this months workshop topic - camera movement. Smooth camera movement. How do you create those smooth tracking shots? What about that pedestal shot that glides effortlessly from floor level to an overhead view? Do-it-yourself and very low cost camera stabilizers, dolly systems and even, yes, a DIY camera crane. Learn how to build your own with a total investment of $15 to $50. Bring your camera and try them out (at your own risk!). And if you have a rig that you built or bought and can demonstrate it to the group, please bring it along. Have you ever heard of a "Blue Sky" transition? How about a "Swish Pan"? Simple tripod based camera movements that add visual interest to your productions. The focus is on Camera Movement.


In addition, if you have a work in progress that you'd like to show-off or get feedback from others, bring a clip of 10 minutes or less (must be PG-13 or less equivalent rating). And there will, as always, be time for open discussions on any and all topics related to movie making. Join us. More info: Don Tingle donjtingle@aol.com


Tuesday, Nov. 14 @ 7 pm -- Film Co-op board meeting. Everyone welcome. Flying Monkey Arts Center, 2211 Seminole Dr., Huntsville.

"Move that Camera!"

This months meeting is on Sunday Nov 12 from 2 to 4 pm. Below is the announcement for the meeting that will appear in the Film Co-op's weekly newsletter. We have a topic for this months workshop: "Move that Camera!" and it's about every conceivable way to get moving shots in your production - whether its a low budget indy or just some family video in the back yard.

You've seen the expensive camera stabilizers that cost from $200 to $$thousands. But there are articles on-line for home made ones that work pretty well - a huge improvment over hand held camera movement. Last year, Sri brought one he made and it worked really well. On the web, you'll find that design if you google "$14 camera stabilizer" (ok, the web site is http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ ) But have you heard of the "Fig Rig" - invented by director Michael Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and sold by Manfrotto for a few hundred $$. There's a PVC pipe version your can built for less than $10. I'll bring mine to the workshop.

Also, do you think you need something fancy to do a dolly shot for your production? Stanley brought his garden cart to the workshop to help shoot scenes for Tina's short film and that worked really well, but there are other ways. In the Filmmaking Workshop for Kids, we used a small handtruck rolling over an 8ft folding table (the concrete floor was too bumpy). But I'm working on one that rolls along the rails of a ladder laid over a couple of saw horses. So far it looks promising. It also works for "pedestal" shots. I call it the "LadderCam." I'll bring that.

And if you want to tackle the "crane" shot - I built a small one for less than $50 - believe me, one look and you'll see how I did it.

Study the designs, shoot a few moments on your camera to compare with hand held shooting. Maybe you'll be inspired to build your own or improve upon these designs. One thing is for sure, you will gain some new shot ideas for your next production. But we'll also talk about ways to improve the stability of handheld shots. So join us, share your ideas and practical experience.