A 2+ year project has finally happened. We removed the kitchen set from our studio, so I quickly put together a shoot in that space that I had intended for several years. I needed some depth and room to make it happen which was not possible with an entire kitchen cabinet corner sitting there. Our studio converted nicely, along with a lot of love and care from several people, we will have a fully functional set place soon.
A television show has long been gestating for us. Over 2 years ago, we shot segments for this program. We’re not only editing these, but we’re also creating new content. I have set a deadline for early July to get the first pilot episode completed. I’ve already got a handful to make that happen. My brainchild segment is one of the 5 anchor pieces. I love Jon Favreau’s DINNER FOR FIVE, but did not want to be a ripoff. I modeled this on filmmaker panels I’ve attended and been on over the years, but in a more casual way. I am moderating these, but I don’t want to make it about me. It’s about the topic or movie we’re covering from Ohio filmmakers.
We did a 4 camera shoot and luckily there is a kick ass multicam editing part of Adobe Premiere, even in HD. I have started using this to edit even 2 camera shoots because of its ease of cutting. Another great upgrade to the CS4 (specifically 4.2.1 upgrade to Premiere Pro) is a DVD to Timeline ripper, which is incredibly time saving. I can bring a *.VOB file directly to the timeline from a DVD or DVD’s VIDEO_TS folder to the timeline, and then export it to any format I need. Since I can create a nearly lossless AVI file with the Matrox codec, this means a lot of saved time and great quality from DVD. Normally DVD files don’t edit well because they don’t have the whole frames, so I tend to capture them analog via component video, but this direct-to-timeline way is quicker and superior picture quality.
Soon I will have the pilot episode of this show put together. We shot enough roundtable discussions for the first 3 episodes. The other segments will be a focus on various film related items for Ohio filmmakers. Hopefully we can make it educational, yet entertaining enough to bring in “Normies”, meaning normal, non-film people.
Why is it when my income goes down, my ambitions and projects multiply? Things take longer than they used to. I’m less obsessive-compulsive than I was even 3 years ago. I like my time off and relaxing a bit. I blame “V” for chilling me out. I can’t take my cats with me to the studio, so I want to spend more time at home and I don’t like to work at home anymore. I’ve divided the two worlds completely.
Looks like I will be shooting some new narrative works within a few short weeks. I’ve got so much to do and not nearly enough time to do it, but I’ll manage to make it all work. Especially with a lack of paying jobs. A part of me is still a workaholic, so this just means manufacturing more work via self imposed deadlines. I’m a self motivator.
