gfish: (Default)
gfish ([personal profile] gfish) wrote2002-09-23 12:53 pm
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Film Contest Post Mortem

According to an email I received this morning, the contest received entries from 22 out of 30 groups. Prize winners will be announced Thursday at noon. All entries will be screened during the Port Townsend Film Festival next Sunday at 6:15 PM at the Oracle Arts Center, 1033 Lawrence St Port Townsend, WA 98368.


Lessons learned:

  • We can, indeed, make an entire 10 minute movie in 48 hours. It wasn't even that painful.


  • We're getting better. A lot better. Intersections is probably our best work yet. While fast paced, the shooting wasn't overly stressful. We were pretty efficient while shooting, though the dinner break was unfortunately long. I'm getting better at thinking on my feet, directorial wise. We even managed to use the clapboard for almost every single take!


  • We need to improve our audio. New equipment, new techniques, new post-processing, I don't know. But our audio quality is currently our least professional quality.


  • Lighting is neither as important nor as scary as I had been thinking since Now Be Dragons. Despite my original goal we did end up doing lighting for Intersections. It was minimal and far from perfect, but it was an excellent compromise between visual quality and the time expended.


  • We need to get a better export system. This probably means that I need to buy a new computer. And an SVHS deck wouldn't be too bad either, though a DVD burner might be a better longterm choice.


  • The camera [livejournal.com profile] dymaxion loaned us is great. The image stabilization is good enough that I rarely need a tripod, drastically speeding up shooting times. While it doesn't have a white balance lock it also is pretty smart about the white balance. There were only a handful of shots for Intersections where it was an issue. The autofocus is likewise much smarter than that on my old camera. And the LCD preview is wonderful for keeping the mic boom out of the shots.


  • I need more practice using real scoring, as compared to using an MP3. I should investigate what tools [livejournal.com profile] xiadyn needs to make writing scores easier.