Friday, January 14, 2005

Did a test shoot last night

Anthony and I went to Soundview last night and experimented with the camera and lighting. I used my dual halogen work lights on the 6 foot stand; they total 1000 watts. We did some test shooting in the restroom and it looks acceptable. We also tested the tripod dolly, and even though it still jiggles a little, it's much better than the steadycam for horizontal movement. At some point I'll have to bite the bullet and build a proper dolly and track combo. But for now, it works well enough.

We decided to do the production in black and white, and cinema mode (where there are black bars across the top and bottom of the screen), which will hopefully make it look more "filmlike".

Everything is sort of coming together...we've got the script, the camera, the lights, the locations, the shot lists, and the enthusiasm. We still need actors, a costume, and catering (soda and sandwiches). Beyond that, we're almost there.

Some more stuff...we have several volunteers for crew, and one of them owns a Panasonic GS-120 camera, which is compatible with the GS-70s we're using, so we'll have access to up to 3 cameras for future shoots. I met a couple of technicians from Sound View who liked some of my home-made gadgets. One, John Ecay, has a live variety show on Public Access, and he wants crew for it. I'd do it, but it's produced midday on Fridays, and I have to work. I'll tune in today to check it out though.

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