Noobies considering Video Drama. (1 Viewer)

[Bruce Cambell]

I did Video Drama for my I.P. and i havent recieved anything back about what mark i got for it. lol that could be just my negligence but i do know the mark can't be too bad considering for the school side of it i got somewhere between 88-94(which factors in the Journal and the rough presentation before Post-production).

First off anyone reading this doesnt need to actually take anything i suggest seeing as my work as far as i know hasnt been picked for Onstage or anything,however, the crucial stuff is to get into research material as quickly as possible.

make sure you get a copy of the 3 booklets called:
Video Movie-Making - Pre Production
- Production
- Post Production

they are compiled by Peter Gough....for those who dont know he is is one (if not the only one) who marks the HSC video I.P's. so getting his booklets would be a smart move. if anyone wants them ill scan them and send them to you as a .zip file or some alternative.

so if your still going through with this the next thing to do is to find all the parts your gonna need (if you cant find them make them). These are the parts aside from a camera and computer for editing( i doubt many schools still use the 32mm crunch-punch method) your gonna need a microphone (a shotgun or unidirectional mic will be more useful to you than a virbrato...).

A dolly is priceless even though its rarely used(a dolly is one of those things that you can build yourself and cause i made mine with "borrowed" parts you'll have to be really interested in making it to ask me).

get ahold of the Onstage cd and study all the best Video I.P's.

I can't think of anything else except avoid a piece with large ammounts of conversation, stick to a chase type scenario and use alot of wordless music. --after you see some band 1 and two projects your know.

oh and a few good action sequences never go astray so heres a link to a video helping god.

http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/index.html

Those that have done Video already plz come and correct my misleadings as you spot them.

 

[cmaddogz]

More tips on HSC Drama - Video Drama IP

Bruce, as somebody who also did Video for their IP, i have to agree with you on all of your points...

I don't believe that Individual PROJECTS have been nominated as yet (see other postings on "Drama" board), so don't worry too much! I think they come out after the entire HSC is over... Individual Performance (not projects - vids, designs, reviews, etc) have been nominated, as have Group Performance... BUT, this is only nomination - remember that if nominated, there is still the possibility of being cut by "the powers that be"...

To put my video into perspective, I spent over 100 hours doing it... I spent about 20 hours in pre-production, roughly 30 in production, and about 75 in post-production... It was a big task, but that's where my passion lies so i enjoyed it... My drama video received a school assessment mark of 98% which shows how much i treasured my entire project overall...I also did a video (and a bit of photography) in Art, which i won the School Art Prize for - and on the art video i again spent approx 100 hours on... The hardest part i found was pre-production... Getting a GOOD idea is crucial - you need to engage your audience for the ENTIRETY of the film... Once you've FINISHED the entire film, a good way to tell how engaged they are, is by watching the blinking patterns of the audience - i know this sounds bizarre, but hear (read) me out... It is a successful statistic that when either FRIGHTENED or BORED, people blink... SOOOOO, if you watch your audience and they seem to all blink at ROUGHLY the same time - you know that this area in the film needs to be cut (ie edited) differently... HOWEVER, with all that in mind, remember that you still need to CREATE the original concept... What i did was, in term 4 wk 2, i sat down for 10 minutes a night for 5 nights and wrote ideas i had... I ended up with 3 A4 pages of simple 3 sentence ideas... I then took these to my teacher who analysed the "conceptually" and said which worked, which didnt, etc, etc... Your teacher, however much he or she may hate you, will ALWAYS want you to get a good mark... It's their head on the chopping block if you don't so they WANT you to succeed... So, as above - your concept is CRUCIAL...

In regards to the LOGBOOK!!! What a great thing this is... I filled 2 entire logbooks (bout 300 pages entirely)... WHY/HOW you ask? By putting EVERYTHING in there... A half of what was in there was cut-outs/stick-ins/drawings/storyboards/costumes/etc... its quite easy to get a good logbook mark, and they way i put drama IP's into perspective is:
IF I WERE TO MARK TWO VIDEOS OF THE SAME CALIBRE, THEN LOOKED AT THE LOGBOOK, WHICH WOULD I GIVE THE GREATER MARK TO: THE 30 PAGE VIDEO, OR THE 300 PAGE VIDEO...
Make your logbook LOOOOONG! It's an easy way to gain marks, especially in "school" assessments...

One last thing i'd like to mention is in regards to pre and post production... In PRE-production i found the most helpful thing to do, once i got my idea, was to lay down an audiobed (ie a soundtrack) - I mixed together 12 sountracks from various locations and created a 6 minute audio-bed... From this, i then put my headphones on, grabbed a pencil and listened to the music and made edits in my head... There are certain points in ALL music where there is a change in tempo/pitch/resonance and THIS is where an edit should be made - NOTE THE TIME IN THE SONG WHERE THESE OCCUR (makes it easier in post-production)... So, i suggest make your storyboard (and your video) reflect the music, as music is often the key to how successful a video is... In essence, some may say this is then creating a "music video" and if you watch RAGE or VIDEO HITS, you are merely (in a GOOD music video), watching a "video drama"... For example (first song of the top of my head): 50cent - 21 Questions... That is a video drama, yet at the same time it is a video music clip... Look how it TELLS A STORY (*HINT* This is how to win marks - does your video tell a story!?!) Moving on to POST-production, make sure you can see a waveform of your audiobed... I suggest editing in Adobe Premiere as it has this function, plus it's easy to use... When you can see your waveform you can see where your cuts (that you storyboarded in PRE-production) need to be made...

Often your video may have issues, that's why i suggest (the biggest pointer i can give you)

- GET IT OUT OF THE WAY ASAP... ITS A LONG AND TEDIOUS TASK -

Your summer holidays (as much as you DONT want to do work) is the BEST possible time to do production itself... lighting in your film is important, and as most people don't have pro-studio lights you rely on natural sunlight... GET OUTDOORS DURING SUMMER WHEN THE SUN IS BEST... It will help you in the long run and take all the pressure off you when you have to do Group Performance and HSC Trials, etc... Get it done soon!

Hope this helps somebody out there - its taken me a while to type this but these tips will help you get those extra few marks...

ENJOY!


- M A D D O G Z -

 

[Bruce Cambell]

cmaddogz your music video suggestion is a perfect idea.

Thanks for relieving some of my paranoia cmaddogz, im just gonna mention a few more things that i've remembered.

Get a hold of the trop fest dvds. i have 2002 and 2003. - These short films are a fucking gold mine when it comes to film styles.

watch old cult movies....most of these movies are PURE GOLD when it comes to story and film technique. there are only two places that i know of that show cult films:

1. The Brass Monkey (Cronulla), every wednesday night from 7pm till 11pm they show proper 16mm projector cult films like "johnny got his gun"---(the metallica music video for "0ne" used clips of .this film and the song was based on the film/novel)... and you'll see early (1950-80's) movies by film makers like Larry Cohen ( Phone Booth, Maniac Cop). so i recommend that is your a shire local to check it out. www.brassmonkey.com.au for further details like address and phone.

2. the Mu-Meson Archives in Annandale ph 9550-1078. this is the home of all cult films and obscurities.

---------

I must have said it before but the be purely clear... Forget any intentions of conversation in your piece. make is as violent and fast paced as you can, cause as far as the rules go you have 5-7 minutes to make something completely original and therfore make sure someone gets Prop shot in the head( its amazingly easy, red food dye, a bit of green, and either boiled flour-water, or just golden syrup... then fill it into one of those $5 plant waters that you pump (pump it about 200 times) then boom exit wound... now your better details check out the site in my first post.

but yeah research and fucking around mixed in with some kind of passion gets you high marks.


and seriously , the hsc let you do way more than tropfest allow. you couldnt show someone swearing as they get shot in trop fest but there isnt to much to stop you now...although you may not get high marks by swearing.

 

[cmaddogz]

Bruce, just to add another dimension to your posts...

I was speaking to a marker form the BoS and they were saying (as i read in the Drama Stage 6 Syllabus) that "originality and clarity of the idea" help you to achieve Band 6, therefore a better mark... Then the discussion of violence in Video Dramas came into play... He said that violence is seen so frequently that its no longer original... So to those who are considering adding violence into their video, i suggest you put a different spin on it... For example, if a person gets clobbered over the back of the head - in stead of showing blood spurting everywhere and making it raucus, gory and graphic - maybe try having the victim reach to the back of their head and mine "oww, that really hurt" (maybe use of subtitles)... This element of comedy is what i used in my art film... I created a "HORRODY" - a horror comedy... Of course ART is a different subject, but same principles involved... So yeah, try taking a different approach to violence...

Gotta agree - watching TROPFEST DVDs is a great idea... Gives you inspiriation, something which is a necessity!

What was the basis of your video Bruce? What was the idea?

- M A D D O G Z -

 

[Bruce Cambell]

My Idea began as this really complex and visually entertaining peice....and it took me from january to midway through feb before i realised that it was impossible to do in 7minutes. so i used the basics of that idea and tried putting an easier spin on it....once again that was to long complete.. so one day while i was writing a script and testing out some animation, i just did this really random "journey" story and i liked the rough cut of it so i re-shot it and added some more angles then spent about a month editing it down and adding more, or cutting sequences that didnt fit.
----
now you'll notice that i havent said anything really in depth about my piece thats cause im not gonna give it away unless someone was so inclined to ask to SEE it. ooh the one noticable thing in mine was that there was no word spoken in the film. and i cut all the ambience and physical noise out except for one shot where there is a fire burning. i did this cause i wanted the sound layering to be the focus of the "journey"( and the title for my project was JEALOUSY)

---
And if your not as paranoid as i am cmaddogz, i'd like to hear what your idea was.

 

[cmaddogz]

Sounds interesting - would love to see it... i really LOVE your idea about the sound... I like that isolation - something quite "groundbreaking" if you will... But yeah, sounds interesting.

Well, i don't give a ratty poo-boy anymore so i may as well give you the basic outline of mine...

Have you ever been walking down the street and smelt the cologne of some girl/guy, and it's the same as your current or ex girlfriend/boyfriend? And that smell makes you think of them??? well that association is the basis of my film - exept instead of having the association through smell, i have used water... So to sum it up in real short: an old man goes to wash his hands, and the feeling of the water on his hands reminds him of his son... Then it cuts to his son under an umbrella (linked via water - ie rain) on his way to work. He goes to work via ferry (linked via water - ie the harbour)... Comes home from work (linked via water - ie rain)... Goes to beach, goes swimming (linked via water - ie water in beach pool)... Meets a girl in the pool, then they go back to his and have intercourse in the shower (linked via water - ie shower)... Don't worry this scene was very subtle and very classy... haha... Anyways, i can't really be bothered to write more of it, but long story short the father dies and yeah, the grandfather is reminiscing about his son... Cuts back to the grandfather and he is crying... Anyways, that's it REALLY badly explained haha....

But yeah... I set up my own production company, and am just making short films and promotional stuff for people... Next year looks like im going to uni to do Bachelor of Film and Television... What you thinking of doing??? I'm interested in helping and seeing the new "breed" of video dramas next year.... So if anybody wants some help email me (cmaddogz@hotmail.com)

- M A D D O G Z -

 

[Bruce Cambell]

yeah thats awesome i love the elemental link you used, that would have gotten so many bonus points from the markers.

yeah i got my letter from the gong during my first week of exams. which i couldnt really enjoy to much cause i had 4 exams that week. but yeah im now auditioning for Bachelor of Creative Arts (performance).

It must be a subliminal thing that people who do video drama do videos after they finish, cause my friend and i have been makiing short films all year under "8586" & "Fisheye lens" productions.( the first one is out respective years of birth, and the other is the lens type we use when making chase films.

so yeah if anyone doing video drama for 2004, needs any help obviously just e-mail cmaddogz or put a post in this thread and ill send you everything i have relating to video drama. (The Peter Gough notes i cant stress enough especially for those that havent done video before.)

 

[cmaddogz]

hi again!!! I did some research into last year's nominations/selections for individual projects for Drama, and I came up with a rough date of the 28th/29th of November... So if it is much like last year - then late this month those who got in will hopefully be notified *FINGERS CROSSED*...

Funny how we are the only ones to post here - cept this is probably one of the most useful threads in the entire Drama board!!! Oh well, not to worry - that's life hey!

What do you use as an edit suite? PC/Mac? iMovie? Premiere? FCP? Just interested... You do any post-production FX in your movie???

- M A D D O G Z -

 

[Bruce Cambell]

yeah i bought a computer at the start of this year. and i spent over a $1000 on the video hardware(which is more than my school put in for their one's fucking $20 usb pieces of shit. but they did by me a camera which was a pretty huge thing considering i havent solved any of the schools big problems like perform in all their variety nights or rock estedfords, nope im just the guy in drama that was the first one to ever pick video project at our school.

wow kinda went off on a tangent there, i started off with Pinnacle. for video editing (www.pinnaclesys.com) which is like kazaa basically (as in its so easy to use that i compare it to kazaa which ive seen people use when they pretend to know who to download things) but i got a copy of Adobe Premiere---fark its like trying to learn french at school, you start off thinking they're teaching you indonesian in a class room with german pictures all around it. but yeah after a few months i got the hang of premiere, its definately the best video program. but for sound i use Cooledit pro2 (which is also as easy to use as Kazaa).

Now with FX i spent ages playing around with that, cause i was gonna use it a lot so i have short clips of me moving my fingers around with lightning running between them. but when it came time to do the proper film, i decided not to use any fx, which was dangerous cause i had to pull the camera back from the fire a lot.

 

[cmaddogz]

Lucky - i had to use my own camera and edit suite... my camera is crap, and i'm getting a loan to buy a new one! FINALLY! Never buy a Panasonic camera, only causes trouble! Haha... Sony or Canon are the way to go!

Pinnacle are good vcc's (video capture cards) for hardware... can be expensive though... Worth the money though... I have some, i dont know what, average one - buying a new one after chrissie!

I used Premiere as well - i have to agree: best editing software out there... Easier to use than any other program, and just as powerful as AVID Xpress! I had an advantage, i've been using Premiere since i was in year 7! So got many quick tips/techniques... Especially in layering! Can create some awesome visual effects if you know how to screen/multiply/chroma key in other footage! However, i used premiere to do my audio bed as well... I was tempted by CoolEdit Pro, but wasnt very expereienced with it - I just used Premiere and a copy BeatMatch v2.0 to mix...

I did HEAPS of effects in my film - using Adobe AfterEffects... Found a whole lot of plugins on the net and used them - things like "OldMovie" (also used on iMovie - CRAP), Digi Rain, a few blurs here and there, etc, the list goes on... about 2/3 of my film has effects on it... I suggest AfterEffects to anybody wanting to use effects in their films...

A powerful machine is a NECESSITY! A fast processor, big hard-disk drive (or DRIVES in my case), and a lot of practice using your software are what i would suggest to anybody... If you can think of anything i've missed out on - holla at me...

Keepin' it real with one exam to go! CANT WAIT TILL ITS OVER! Damn you bush and city and theatre of the absurd! haha...

- M A D D O G Z -

 

[Bruce Cambell]

After effects is the prog i used for FX (sorry for not stating that in my last post) yeah your right about all the computer specs, and my pinnicle is a dv1000 and a deluxe studio 8, they are 2 diff bits of hardware, but for what i used they are definately worth it.

 

[lethal kangaroo]

hey, cmaddogz
How do you expect people to email you for help if you have disabled your adress on the site!?
(this is my subtle way of saying, I'd like some help)

 

[cmaddogz]

sorry all.... hit me up on the e-mail: cmaddogz@hotmail.com if you want some help... My pleasure to do so... I'm offering 2 do lots of help becoz i love it.... to put into perspective my offers - i made onscreen.... could be useful if you wanna make it too!

- M A D D O G Z -

 

[lethal kangaroo]

Hey, thanks man, you'll be hearing from me!

 

[huck fenn]

maddogz person: when did you get your letter?


:/ I'm just feeling.... sad. maybe the post.. or their offices .. or or or or

:/

oh well. back to life...

 

[cmaddogz]

huck...
got it last week... i'm up on skoolies and my mum rang me and said "you made it"... according to the BoS and DET, all the letters have been sent out... so, maybe - MAYBE the post office did screw up somewhere?!?
keep it real....
- M A D D O G Z -

 

[cmaddogz]

lethal kanga...
i was just going thru my previous posts, and realised that i HAD in fact included my e-mail previously! haha... oh well...
- m a d d o g z -

 

[fringey]

What were you doing checking other posts cmaddogz-- re reading your posts to see how smart you sound?! What a total classic!!
Nah this is the funniest post ever on the drama board! I just wish u started it when we were actually doing the HSC would have loved to read it just for a laugh. I'm sure you will all make it as FAMOUS film directors, editors and filmers. You all sound really talented what's more you love doing it and there is nothing better than living your dreams!!

 

[lethal kangaroo]

dogz-
so ya did, sorry 'bout that!
I tried going through your profile and it said 'user has requested that emails not be sent through this forum' or something similar.
But s'all good now!

 

[cmaddogz]

yeah - not to worry hey...
damn, im tired - keep it real

- m a d d o g z -