Happy Holidays everyone! As a Christmas tradition my family would always watch Christmas Vacation every year. That's why I wanted to share a Nostalgia Critic video about the little things in Christmas Vacation that you may have missed the first time around. Enjoy!
What You Never Knew About Christmas Vacation
Here's a video I found on Youtube briefly showing how far we have come in movies as far as special effects go. It's amazing to see the original innovations and leaps and bounds that filmmakers have made to impress the audience on the screen.
What can go wrong while making a movie? Actually a lot! But there are very few instances of productions where absolutely everything goes wrong. The documentary Lost in La Mancha is about the making of the Terry Gilliam film that was never completed. The movie was going to be a take on the classic story Don Quixote, starring Johnny Depp. This documentary is a great look at all the elements that go into making a film and how those elements can ruin a production. A great watch for anyone who wants an inside look at the making of a movie (even though that movie is a disaster).
As an added bonus, this movie is on Netflix!
The 180 degree rule is a concept used in cinematography to keep the audience oriented to the space of a scene. The basic idea is to draw an imaginary line in down the center of two subjects that are talking to each other and keep the camera on one side of that line. This helps avoid confusion on where the characters are in the scene and which way they are facing.
This video highlights the 180 degree rule:
This rule is more like a guideline for newer filmmakers, but can be broken:
The basis of shot composition in either film or photography is the rule of thirds. This splits up your shot into several sections and making is easier to find the best place in the frame for your subject.
Sometimes as a filmmaker, I lack actors. Though in this case I generally use animals, but another great solution would be to use animation. But if you are anything like me, you don’t have much of a talent for this. That’s where Source filmmaker comes in!
You don’t have to know anything about animation, you just play video games and record it. The possibilities are endless when making a movie on this software, and the best part is it’s free!
Robert Rodriguez is the writer and director of such films as Sin City, Desperado, and Spy Kids. He has become one of the most influential people for young filmmakers because of how he got his start by making his first film, El Mariachi, for just seven thousand dollars. The whole process of making this film is described in his book Rebel Without a Crew.
The book is written as a personal journal and details how he raised money through medical testing, the production process, and how he ended up selling it and becoming the filmmaker that he is today. This is a definite read for anyone who thinks that the lack of money gets in the way of making their first movie.
Good quality sound can go further in making your movie look professional than good quality visuals. I've talked about some of the tools before. At Filmmakeriq, they made a very in depth video on how to capture good sound, and it is so detailed, I can’t summarize it here. So you should just watch it!
We already talked about three point lighting. For this entry we are focusing on just the fill light. Specifically the softbox! Like we said before, there are alternatives, but a softbox helps with directing your light. JustEyeballIt from youtube has a fantastic tutorial on how to make one:
In this video he uses a box from Ikea, but this can also be made from cardboard if you are up for the extra work. Also when using your softbox, make sure to monitor the temperature of your light so it doesn’t start a fire! While you will save money building your own, there are decent prices for them online if you’d like to forgo the building process. You’ll spend time or money, but either way you’ll pay!
Having good sound is essential in having a professional looking movie. To do that, we need the proper software to get the cleanest sound possible. My favorite program to use is Audacity. Often I will bring my laptop onto a set and record the sound directly into Audacity so I can start editing the sound right away. This is a fantastic free software that has all kind of tools to clean up your audio and make it sound as good as possible.
Here are a couple more free options that I found:
Jokosher
LMMS
A camera slider can be a decent alternative to the dolly rigs we talked about the other day. They are more compact and easier to make, but don’t have the same versatility. Here is a great video on how to make your own:
Honestly, you can write your screenplay on anything from Microsoft word to Google Docs. But a properly formatted screenplay is designed in a way that one page equals one minute of screentime. this way you can get a much better idea of how long your movie will be. Some screenwriting software can be expensive, but there are plenty of free programs you can use:
Celtx is the software I originally started using. It’s super easy to use and a great one to start with for any new writer. The web version has a monthly fee, but you can still download the free version on to your computer.
Next up is Plotbot.com. This is a browser based program that I’ve been writing on a lot recently because I can access my screenplay from anywhere on any device (Specifically my Chromebook). Also within plotbot is a huge community that can give you feedback on your script.
Here are a couple more that I have not tried but look promising:
To get that smooth tracking shot that you see in movies they use a dolly. A dolly can add a lot to making your film look professional. Here are a few different options for making a dolly.
This first one is from SGNL:
Now that you know how to make squibs for your movie, you’ll need something to fill them with. The following video is what I used to make the blood in Harry Potter and The Muggle Wand and Undying Love. It’s very effective for either film or for Halloween props.
1. Pour 16 ounces of light corn syrup into a bowl.
2. Add one tablespoon of red food coloring.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. To darken the blood, mix in one drop of blue and yellow food coloring.
Now that you have your own lights, let's talk about the basics. The basic lighting setup in film or video is called three point lighting.
The first part in three point lighting is the key light. This is the main light to illuminate your subject and your scene. the keylight is set off to the side of the camera and pointing in at a 45 degree angle.
Next is the fill light. The fill light is going to be less intense than the key and will be put facing the subject on the opposite side of the camera. this is used to fill in any shadows created by the key light.
Finally is the backlight. This is used to make your subject pop out and separate them from the background. The backlight is placed behind the subject and off to the side so it’s not shining into the lens.
Here is a video that goes over three point lighting:
I’ve always liked the way a gunshot wound looks on film. Many people have switched to digital blood splatters because it’s easier and cleaner, but I think nothing looks quite as good as it’s practical and messier counterpart. The following video is what I used for the effects in Harry Potter and The Muggle Wand. It’s a very simple technique and doesn’t require any sort of explosives to project the blood.
The addition of music to your film or video can add a lot! Unfortunately not all of us have the knowhow or the tools to make our own music. That where royalty free music comes in. Royalty free music can often be expensive, but there are a few sites that let you download this music for free!
My personal favorite is incompetech.com. With this website you can browse through music by genre or even moods for your movie. All that is required is that you credit the composer and the website. A lot of the music may even sound familiar to you as this is a popular website for youtubers to use. I used music from this site for Once Daily and The Dragoon Films Trailer.
Another great site is archive.org. This is a website packed with not only public domain music, but also videos and voiceovers! I used this site to get the Beethoven music for Battle for the Treat.
Here are a couple other free music sites that I discovered that only require that you credit the website to use:
purple-planet.com
bensound.com
There are a lot of options out there! Now go on and score your movie!
Be careful with these because they get really hot. I’d also recommend bouncing them off a wall because pointing them directly at your subject may be a bit too harsh. FInally, if you are shooting outside you’ll want a reflector. For this you can simply use a white sheet of posterboard to reflect the sun back at your subject.
Learn about the Basics of Lighting.
Indy Mogul
Film Riot
DIY Camera Guy
