In a business where networking is more essential than a degree, social networks like Facebook and Twitter have been a godsend. The filmmaking industry is impacted heavily by these websites, in good and bad ways, but if you plan to use these sites to leverage your professional contacts and profile, beware that they can work adversely against you.
Filmmaking Tips and Advice
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5 Common Focus Pulling Mistakes
On Friday, I wrote a post that detailed ways to become a better focus puller over the weekend. Now that you’ve had time to improve yourself, I’d like to take a few moments to address some of the more common mistakes that are made while pulling focus. Are you guilty of any of these?
Comment Corner: In the Beginning…
You are important to me. Yes, you. And you have great ideas — grand ideas — and even better ways of doing things than I can even imagine. Sometimes you even take the time to tell me about them. So, I want to try something new at The Black and Blue and it’s all about you, the reader.
Two Actors, One Mark, Easy Solution
When it comes to marking actors, the process is fairly straightforward. However, sometimes it can actually end up being quite confusing: for instance, suppose two actors, with two different colors of paper tape, have to end up on the same mark at separate times in a scene.
3 Simple Ways to Become a Better Focus Puller Over the Weekend
Do you find pulling focus to be tough? You’re not the only one. As Sam Garwood says, it’s “a really simple really difficult job.” The physical act is easy, but the mental pressure is immense. Even if you’re an experienced focus puller, honing the skill is an ongoing battle.
On Set: When Pizza Wasn’t Good Enough
Sometimes when I hear the word “low-budget” I think “long hours.” They always seem to go hand in hand. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the work or don’t find it rewarding, just that there’s a tendency on low budget productions to scoot past the 12 hour mark. That’s fine with me, as long as I get to eat, but going long days with no sustenance is a recipe for disaster – and ill tempers.
How To Never Forget the Names of Talent Again
It can be embarrassing to be trying to get an actor or actresses attention when you don’t know their name, especially if you’ve already met. Whether you’re marking at their feet or pulling focus to their eyes, there are inevitably situations where you will need to speak directly to the on screen talent. Remembering names can be difficult, but you don’t always have to — there’s another way.
Arri Alexa Software 3.0 Loses Its Beta Tag
ARRI has stripped the “beta” tag off the 3.0 Software Update Packet (SUP) for it’s flagship digital cinema camera, the Alexa. The update was originally released early because it enabled so many features that Alexa owners had been dying for such as in-camera playback, audio recording, and a false color exposure check.
RED Epic Footage Roundup: Pics, Video, R3D
RED has been quietly shipping out RED Epic models to its first buyers. In turn, Epic footage, stills and R3D files have begun popping up on the REDuser forums from a variety of posters. I wanted to collect all of those recent forum posts as a chance to see what kind of images we can expect Epic to churn out once it goes into mass production, hopefully later this year.
Filming Top Gear from the Perspective of “The Stig”
Top Gear, the no-holds-barred car magazine show from the BBC, has firmly established itself as a cultural powerhouse. Part of the draw has been it’s anonymous “tame” racing driver “The Stig.” Some say that he blinks horizontally. All we know is he wrote a book in which he talks about how they breathe life into the beautiful cinematography that has become a staple of Top Gear.