Week 3 PRE-PRODUCTION - Agent 5 - The Greenscreen Pilot

Week 3

Looking for a rehearsal studio. After contacting community centers and other spaces for rent I finally found a studio space from a Google search. The space, Eterea Studios was run by photographer Leo Lam. Spoke to Leo reserved space for fight sequence rehearsal. Our first rehearsal of fight sequence with Hero and Henchman (Kevin Inouye)

WEEK 2 PRE-PRODUCTION - Agent 5 - The Greenscreen Pilot

Week 2

Met with Seattle Heli for helicopter sequence. Referred to Arlington Heli. Drove to Arlington, met folks at the Airfield. Looked at Birringer Farms.

Contacted Kevin Inouye- choreographer of Bullets Blood and Fistful of Cash.

Kevin Inouye advised me it’s always best to lock down locations first then talent.

Contacted Colleen Bell Agency to fill roles of Co star and little girl "Hannah". From Masterlist.

WEEK ONE PRE-PRODUCTION - Agent 5 - The Greenscreen Pilot

The script is finished and I've drawn up storyboards for the 1st episode of my new web series-Agent 5 - Redemption. Time to get to work!

Week 1

Locations - contacted location scout - contacted business owners of warehouse space. Contacted State Film dept. Worked dept. to narrow down warehouse local. Found out we need insurance to secure locations.

Contacted insurance companies- Looking for 1.5 - 2million in liability coverage.

$1,000-$1,500 annual premium. Got quote back from location specialist

re: Farmhouse- $1,200 and $600 finder fee!

Decided to do greenscreen production.

Great Basic Camera Shots and Planning

Helicopter Action Scene

I've written a helicopter action sequence in a script that I'm working on.  I found a great example of one by Stu Maschwitz. He is the author of The DV Rebel's Guide and co-founder of the VFX house The Orphanage.

Bullets, Blood and a Fistful of Cash!

This is a great example of a true no budget action movie!

This movie came out back in 2005 and I couldn't find the DVD for the life of me. Just as I was losing hope I discovered that you could stream the movie from NetFlix on demand. 

I've got to say that the movie was fun and really entertaining. Some of the critics have been really harsh. What Sam Akina did was impressive. He saw his vision from start to finish. 

I have just learned that the DVD will be released in November.  Sam Akina should be an inspiration for anyone out there making a movie with minimal resources. Check it out for yourself! 

By KRISTIN DIZON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER 2005

"Bullets" is a bloody vendetta film that makes the movies of Quentin Tarantino look almost pacifistic. Shot in the area with an all-local cast and crew for about the same price as an average      new car -- $25,000 -- it's also a showcase for how much can be done for so little money.

Addicted to Airsoft!

Just learned about a great website for airsoft guns: www.evike.com

Evike has a section called the BoneYard for deeply discounted guns. 

Buyer Beware. however, there are some great deals on guns with minor

cosmetic blemishes etc.  Got an airsoft M-16 rifle in the mail yesterday. 

Prompt shipping and another good site to feed my airsoft addiction! 

Shoot Underwater Action Scenes!

Recently saw a news report on this underwater camera. 

I've got ideas for shooting underwater action scenes etc but just couldn't afford to do it. This video camera mounted on googles is from a company called Liquid Image. It retails for $150 and shoots video at 720X480.  

There also is another model that shoots HD  video 720P and retails for $250. Check out this website to learn more! 

Cinematic Sound Scapes!

On the web looking for great background music for 

my projects. Check out the audio section of Artbeats.com

The Sinister Cinema and Theatrical Impact sound packs are 

what I've been looking for! Also, check Videocopilot for their

great royalty sound DVDs as well. 

Green Screen Tutorial

Greetings everybody! It's been a while since I last posted. I was just asked about how I set up my lighting for green screen shots. There is a great tutorial on the subject from youtube. The tutorial is alittle slow but stick with it! At about 3:49 Apsolon (host) goes into the actual lighting setup. 

Shell Ejecting Airsoft Pistol (Marushin Glock 21)

Added realism with ejecting shells! I learned about this gun on the DV Rebels VFX board and it is listed at Ehobbyasia.com. Anything that I can do in real life shooting situations is the best. You can always add ejecting shells in post but nothing beats the real thing. The gun ain't cheap; I'll do a review on it once I get my hands on one! Just another tool to add further realism for your no budget action movie!

Terminator Salvation Opens Today!

Action Movie Essentials Part II

Finally, Andrew Kramer of Videocopilot.net has announced the June release of Action Movie Essentials - Part 2. It's about damn time! For those who are unaware; Action Movie Essentials is a DVD full of great muzzle flashes, explosions, dirt hits, etc. The elements are pre matted and you incorporate them into your own action sequences. I use Version 1 all of the time and am glad that they're doing a reboot. Andrew Kramer does it again!  

Another great website for the no budget action film maker to find explosions, muzzle flash etc. is: www.DetonationFilms.com.

My short, Agent 5- Episode 1 uses elements from both of these great websites. 

Search: Agent 5 on my blog to see first hand. Also visit the teaser trailer to check out the new Action Essentials. 

3D Bullet

3D Bullet in Blender with Videocopilot.net

I created a 3D bullet that you see in the clip above using Videocopilot.net's "The Bullet" and open source 3D software called Blender. The Videocopilot tutorial DVD includes great reference photos and a step by step explanation on how to make and animate a bullet and apply realistic textures etc. The DVD also has a quick crash course on how to use and optimize Blender. Blender is a powerful 3D program and free to the public. Check it out!

Look and Color Correction

                  BEFORE                                     AFTER

Working on creating a signature look  for my next action short. I used a gradient layer in After Effects to bring out the sky. Then created an adjustment layer and turned up the overall contrast. 

I was recently reading the Color Correction section in Stu Maschwitz's book: The DV Rebel's guide. This is the most practical and straight forward book that I've read on utilizing post production techniques in the making of no budget action movies. Some great tips about the order of operations when color correcting and creating an overall look for your movie. 

Page 258, 259  Order of Operations - The DV Rebel's Guide - Stu Maschwitz

1) Remove DV artifacts                      6) Add Vignetting and other in-lens effects

2) Add Visual Effects                         7) Color Correction

3) Optimize the shot                          8) Simulate a particular film stock

4) Relight and change object colors       9) Add dissolves, fades, transitions, etc

5) Add Gradients, Diffusion etc         10) color conversions, resizing, sharpen for output

Sounds for Gun fights and Bar brawls!

Inexpensive sounds for no budget action movies! 

I learned about a site called www.prosoundeffects.com from the Tim Ferriss 

book "4 Hour Workweek" The website has sounds for any budget. 

Also check: www.hollywoodedge.com.

Fight: Hollywood Edge Martial Arts & Human Impacts 

Guns: Dynamic Range

Check the site for the audio demos! 

Hand to Hand

Movie: Ip Man (2008)  Starring: Donnie Yen  Director: Wilson Yip   

Fight Choreography: Sammo Hung and Tony Leung Siu Hung

Amazing! Some of the best fight choreography I've ever seen! 

(No hyper active camera shake and edit cuts) 

Check Wikipedia. Ip Man

Green Screen/ Split Screen Test

Testing out split screen in fight sequences.  Combine me and my

digital twin with green screen clips. I would limit my usage with 

this technique but if executed well, would be great for those 

dangerous near miss strikes. Oops! One little problem. 

My digital twin is not looking at me but focusing straight ahead!

Glad this is just a test! 

Green Screen - Making deadly weapons less deadly!

I'm getting closer to shooting and editing my first sword fight in my upcoming short called Past Life. The thing is, what's keeping me up at night is the possibility of anyone getting injured on set! 

I want a full out sword fight with strikes and near misses but be safe at the same time. I decided to utilize green screen sparingly in some of the sequences.  I'll have an actor go crazy swinging his sword and weapons wildly with an imaginary foe and for the close up near miss shots I will add an opponent in post. I want 90% of the action sequence to have both actors there. But that 10% will use green screen for those really dangerous near miss shots. I tried this myself with a fist fight. Striking an imaginary opponent that I added in post.  Me versus me, know what I'm saying? I've got the puncher and the punchee (that really should be a word!) green screen clips and then combined them. 

 

Action Shorts Screening

Best part for me was the open panel discussion with the directors, cinematographers, and actors after the screening. 

You've got to respect people who go out to make a movie, overcome challenges, and see it through to the finish line.  Inspiration! 

Atlanta Film Fest - Action Shorts - April 19th

Just got back from the Atlanta Film Fest. Nice turn out and networking with local actors and producers. 

I was there to see 7 action movie shorts. I would say that the standouts for me where Micah Ranum's First Kill and Frank Fearon's Bridge. First Kill was a serious and dark film about a gun shy hit man.  The Bridge had some good martial arts choreography orchestrated by Black Knight Stunts. 

                               

   

                                                                                

Agent 5 - Episode 1 - "Trust your instincts"

Agent 5 is double crossed by the Syndicate and must rely 

on her instincts to stay alive.

This was my first action sequence edit. Shot on the Canon HV10 

and editing in Final Cut Pro. One of the biggest obstacles was 

recording audio. The HV 10 has no mic jack so we had to rely on 

the built in condenser mic! All gun muzzle flash and most sounds 

were from the Action Essentials DVD and Designer Sound FX from 

Videocopilot.net!