how to make a movie...?

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:28 pm

some friends and i are planning to make a movie.
while we have plenty of ideas, we lack the knowledge about the professional productionchain, means which steps are necessary to achieve a final movie (we have some experiences with making videos based on dv, but what we now plan to do is simply in another league).
of course, we did some research, and i will therefore post what we've found out already on our own (guess it's not much and mostly wrong).
so pls, if you don't mind, fill out the gaps and/or correct what's wrong!

after the shootings which we hope to do with one of the new hdtv-cameras, that means, if already avaible for rent and if they dont charge a leg and an arm for it, there are 2 possiblities to proceed:

-online editing, means we have a system that is capable of processing uncompressed 24p hdtv. because those systems are just awfully expensive either for rent or even buying (ok, just kidding),
there's possibility nr.2 which is

-offline editing, means we take a converted low-resolution copy of the original footage, and edit that with "final cut pro" or whatever program capable of converting that copy down to 24fps. after we did that, we export an 24 fps EDL which we give to a professional post-pro-facility, which then puts this EDL in their 100.000$ avid, and the original hdtv-content gets cutted. (hopefully VERY quickly-$$$ Smile

-hope i explained it clearly enough, if not, just ask!

thx!

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2002 9:56 pm

Hey Synergy!
You having DV and final-cut at your disposal are half the battle. You make a template. It's like a composer writes his notes on paper with all the components, and hands it to a Conductor, who passes the different parts to the string section, the brass section, etc. They tune, and bang! His work comes to life.

You have the means to accomplish, with your footage transferred to a low res, a vision of what you want the HD version to be like.
This is smart! Efficient! Saves time, and tons of money! Congratulations! You guy's are not ignorant, anything but, you guy's are right on the mark!

As for the accuracy of the EDL, well I dunno! , Because of the duration of effects and transitions, But, If I was doing the post, I would be delighted with your template alone. The template would allow me to really vibe into what you’re after, and let me concentrate on what I do best. Creating the effects you want, the compositing, transitions etc.

If you pick a picture, one of your favorites, and look for these special touches, that's vibe happening man! Like the Opening of "Contact" where the universe pulls from the sparkle of the young girls’ eye (BTW, You can see the reflection of a person in her eye, against a big softlight, or HMI through a window on the left) That's vibing man! This is what separates the mundane from the great.

Acquire the shots on your high res system, after shot sheeting all the good takes, dub the high res to your DV format, edit in final cut, then imagine what you want and make notes, and take all the time you need. View your work a zillion times until you are absolutely happy with your rough low-res version. Select your music, get all the graphic stuff together (Title/credits), proof read it, with like at least 3 people, make annotations on your notes. Etc.

Then it's book the big guy's system time, your stuff is shot sheeted, so uploading of your HD clips will be quick, using TC, scene #'s etc. Then start vibing. The special effects you will want in HD also, but since it is an effect, if you can accomplish this to your satisfaction on your own, well all the better, saving $$$, perhaps your low res effects can be enhanced, check into that.

Audio, once a timeline is created with at least the essential dialogue tracks, have The HD person give you a copy of the movie with a TC window burn. DVD etc.
There is more, of editing, and of the post-audio.

The question now becomes "I have a movie, a timeline, and time locations for sounds, music, effects, and am ready for audio post, editing, and sweetening, and perhaps surround." What will I need to provide the audio post person, that will sync perfectly when layed back to my movie?

--Rick

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2002 8:00 pm

Hey! Synergy; How is your project going? Made any moves yet? A friend sent me a kller music video done on DV. I liked it a lot! Hope you all are off to a good start. Keep us posted on your progress.
--Rick

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2002 6:33 am

hi rick,

thx for your continued interest, however we are still in a very early planningstage where we check if the project is feasable at all.

and because we will do it in our free times, it high likely will take a very long time, but if we are making progress, means achieving significant milestones, i will keep you informed either per email or at this site.

kind regards!

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