Do It Yourself Sound, New Composer on Film

It seems that I had another change of plans for my short film, "The Pet". I handed it off to numerous composers and sound engineers just to have them either disappoint or disappear. After waiting a few weeks, I feel that I should just push harder to get this short film finished.

The new game plan is for me to finish the post-sound and hand the music off to another composer. This is a great example of why you should have backup plans, especially when you are not working with a budget. Credit and nice words alone will not keep your crews on your project; approaching and keeping contact with several potential crew/cast members can give you some insurance. If all else fails, at least one person you know offline or online can point you to a friend of a friend that knows how to work a keyboard or a c-stand.

As far as adding additional sounds, you have two options. The first is to record sounds yourself. The second is visiting the free sound project. The website hosts thousands of user created sounds, all royalty free and some absolutely amazing. If you do use these sounds, be sure to thank the original authors. Another alternative for free sounds is visiting FlashKit's Sound FX page. While not as user friendly as the free sound project, it does have seniority by collecting sounds for years before the free sound project existed.

I'm working on an uber-post, as well as a video tutorial for you guys, so keep checking this blog!

Rotoscoping Video Is For Dummies

After shooting another short while waiting for the post-sound and music for "The Pet", I've come to this logical conclusion: Never think that rotoscoping is a reasonable alternative to chromakeying!

During this arduous journey through the post on "Little Man", I'll put up a comprehensive tutorial on how to rotoscope a mask to lift elements from a shot. Before doing so, I do want my readers to remember that rotoscoping is a time and patience consuming process. After three nights of rotoscoping, I haven't even put a dent into the two minutes of footage I have.

After subjecting myself to this self-induced torture, I will do my research on a cost-effective way of building a greenscreen. Until then, may the gods have mercy on my soul...

Climbing Up Jacob's Ladder Again

News rose today that "Jacob's Ladder" was being remade. While my opinion of remakes in general is unfavorable and I quickly try to forget, this one really made me think.

"The Sixth Sense" seemed to be more than inspired by Jacob's Ladder. This would take any sting from the "he was dead all along" twist of the film.

Supernatural films are flooding the market. By the time Jacob's Ladder is released, supernatural films will be played out, so no one is going to take the film seriously.

I would've thought that someone putting together a multi-million dollar film would take these things in mind, but I guess time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

What do you think?

New Crispin Glover Interview

Today I stumbled upon a rather intensive interview of Crispin Glover. It covers an eclectic stretch of Crispin's life from his acting methods, to his books, and to his reflections of many of his past movies.

I do have to warn you though: Each question asked has its own video, so prepare for a lot of page loads.

Check it out.

Edit Is Done, Waiting For Music

The rough cut of my short film, “The Pet”, has just been finished. The responses from cast and crew are pretty positive, which is a relief.

I'm pretty anxious to finish this film, but I'm awaiting the post-sound effects and music. Without those, this film would certainly not be as robust. As I wait, I'm going to be working on the trailer and the website.

Meanwhile, check out the website for Cyn. It's a pretty little short film that you should definately watch out for.

How I'm Editing "The Pet"

I'm currently editing my short, called “The Pet”, using Adobe Premiere Pro. I haven't been taught the methods I use, nor do I say they are the best way to edit a film, but if you are having trouble editing they might help you from getting in a tight bind.

I use the layering ability of Adobe Premiere Pro to my advantage. After importing my film clips, i slice them up into setups and arrange them in order of appearance.



I watch the entire arrangement, and pause to cut each clip after every take. If I see absolutely no use in the clip because of an early flub or mishap after slicing, I usually toss it right away. When I have several clips I want to cut between, they would be placed on top of each other on different layers.



This gives me an easier time assembling the cut. I can run just pick up the takes I want to use as if they were a dish at the school cafeteria, and leave the mystery meat behind. To build the cut, I copy the appropriate take and bring it to my master layer, then trim off the excess. I don't spend too much time on this, but sometimes it's necessary if you are cutting between takes.



I admit, editing takes forever and will give you a headache. I usually do it with a screwball and chips to dull the pain, but if you just apply yourself, you'll end up with a cut you'll be proud of.

If you have your own editing tips and tricks, let me know!

"Making Better Movies" Now on Technorati

Hey everybody. Now this blog is on Technorati!

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Hostel II Tanks, Eli Responds... and then Un-Responds

Eli Roth (director of Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Hostel Part II) took time to write a very loathsome blog about how his latest endeavor failed in the box-office because of piracy.

After what I would presume would be a unfavorable response, Eli Roth's blog post has mysteriously disappeared. But thankfully it was still available in articles and cache.

Hey Everyone,

I'm in Paris, doing press for the French release of Hostel Part II, and tonight I'm off to Rome for the last leg of the press tour. After that I'm going to take a long overdue break, since I've gone from one film to the next without stopping, just to recharge my brain a bit.

I want to thank all of you for your kind e-mails and incredible support for the film. However, piracy has become worse than ever now, and a stolen work print (with uninished [sic] music, no sound effects, and no VFX) leaked out on line before the release, and is really hurting us, especially internationally. Piracy will be the death of the film industry, as it killed the music industry, and while it makes a smaller dent in huge movies like Spider Man 3, it really hurts films like mine, which have far less of an advertising and production budget. Not only that, critics have actually been REVIEWING the film based off the pirated copy, which is inexcusable. Some of these critics I have actually known for a few years, and while I wouldn't dignify them by mentioning them by name, I know who they are, as do the studios, and other filmmakers, and they will no longer have any access to any of my films.

What I'm saying is, this is your last chance to see one of my films for a while. If you haven't seen it, go now, because after next weekend the film will be gone from theaters. There are too many other summer movies coming in, so basically we get two weeks in cinemas, and then the film will live on DVD. I am not directing CELL any time soon, and I most likely will take the rest of the year to write my other projects. Which means I wouldn't shoot until the spring, and you wouldn't see a film directed by me in the cinemas until at least next fall. If everyone on my friends list went to see the film this weekend and brought a friend, it would make a huge difference. Bring a non-horror fan - try to convert them. It's the only way these films will live. But right now the R rated horror film is in serious jeopardy. Studios feel the public doesn't want them any more, and so they are only putting PG-13 films into production. The only way to counter this perception is to get out there and support R rated horror. It's the only message they'll hear. People love the movie, and even though it only cost $10 million dollars (as opposed to the other summer tentpoles which cost $300 million), and has already earned its money back, if it's not a massive money earner then they'll just continue to make the same PG-13 films everyone complained about a few years ago.

To counter piracy, fans can flood file sharing services with fake Hostel II downloads just so no one can ever actually get the movie, but the only thing that really makes a difference is supporting the movie in the theaters. Also - the theater OWNERS know this as well. If horror movies aren't bringing in customers, they're not going to program them. If we are going to send them a message, we have to do it with our wallets, and we have to do it now. I've done all I can to make a great film for the fans, as violent and bloody and fun as possible. The rest is up to you guys...

Thanks again for all your support,

Eli

Considering I haven't seen Hostel II in theaters myself, I really can't say that if the movie was good or not. I didn't even bother because I loathed Hostel Part I. The movie had horrid reviews and was sandwiched between blockbusters. Maybe there's more to this story than piracy. What do you think, Eli?

Eli Roth's blog is on his myspace page so let him know why you think his movie tanked!