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Showing posts with label filmmaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filmmaking. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Friday, April 9, 2010
Contests, RSS, 3-D, and Tuna videos
SmithWalker Productions is going strong. Finally caught up on all my projects. And I have several new clients. My short, silly film, P.A.W.S. (Puppies Against Waste and Squirrels) is a finalist in an EPA recycling video contest, and a PSA I made for MRWMD has been so well received, some nonprofits have donated money to buy more air time. They also want a few more versions made including one in Spanish. Should be interesting.
I've been really busy researching social media and have discovered the usefulness of RSS feeds (a RSS feed address is a url that you post into a blog or a RSS reader, then you get automatic headline updates from blogs and websites). I need to keep my eye on animal/ocean related news stories for one of my clients, so I made a blog full of RSS feeds: http://podclasstvrss.blogspot.com/
They are also getting into 3D, so I made one for that as well: http://3dsocialmedia.blogspot.com/
One of my newest clients is a marine sanctuary, so I made this blog full of marine sanctuary and Marine Protected Area RSS feeds to illustrate that they don't need to put tons hours into updating a blog. http://socialmediaideas.blogspot.com/
And lastly, I just finished editing two videos for some marine biologists. Last I heard, they are on a boat in the Galapagos giving presentations to the likes of Bonno, Leanardo di Caprio, and a dozen or so other prominent conversationalists. I hope the videos help raise money for world ocean causes.
I've been really busy researching social media and have discovered the usefulness of RSS feeds (a RSS feed address is a url that you post into a blog or a RSS reader, then you get automatic headline updates from blogs and websites). I need to keep my eye on animal/ocean related news stories for one of my clients, so I made a blog full of RSS feeds: http://podclasstvrss.blogspot.com/
They are also getting into 3D, so I made one for that as well: http://3dsocialmedia.blogspot.com/
One of my newest clients is a marine sanctuary, so I made this blog full of marine sanctuary and Marine Protected Area RSS feeds to illustrate that they don't need to put tons hours into updating a blog. http://socialmediaideas.blogspot.com/
And lastly, I just finished editing two videos for some marine biologists. Last I heard, they are on a boat in the Galapagos giving presentations to the likes of Bonno, Leanardo di Caprio, and a dozen or so other prominent conversationalists. I hope the videos help raise money for world ocean causes.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Pigs, Awards, Marine Debris, and Kelp Plans
I just got back from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, CA. It was quite a festival. Very well run and lots of amazing films. My favorite was "No Impact Man". My zebra film ended up winning Best Children's Film. It also won Best Short a couple months ago from a festival in India. Here's a photo of the awards.
As for the Pig part...I have decided to redo part of my zebra film. The stop motioned toys on the timeline look too amateurish. So I am going to animate them in Flash. This will be quite an undertaking. I have to develop a character for each of the domesticated animals. But it will be good to have each animation on hand for the PodclassTV Paint With Media Page. I've started with the pig. I am trying some rotoscoping (drawing over a video). Hopefully, I can get the movement down, then go back and cartoonize the face. Here's 6 test frames. Right now, the pig is kinda scary. Check back in a couple weeks to see what materializes.
Here's what I went through to make my zebra:
Today, I worked all day on fine tuning the Monterey Regional Waste Management Marine Litter Debris PSA (public service announcement). I think it's coming along, and should be broadcast on Comcast soon.
And finally, I am going to start on a kid's kelp ecosystem film soon. I will probably shoot most of it at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I will make a kelp ballast the main animated character.
More soon...
As for the Pig part...I have decided to redo part of my zebra film. The stop motioned toys on the timeline look too amateurish. So I am going to animate them in Flash. This will be quite an undertaking. I have to develop a character for each of the domesticated animals. But it will be good to have each animation on hand for the PodclassTV Paint With Media Page. I've started with the pig. I am trying some rotoscoping (drawing over a video). Hopefully, I can get the movement down, then go back and cartoonize the face. Here's 6 test frames. Right now, the pig is kinda scary. Check back in a couple weeks to see what materializes.
Here's what I went through to make my zebra:
Today, I worked all day on fine tuning the Monterey Regional Waste Management Marine Litter Debris PSA (public service announcement). I think it's coming along, and should be broadcast on Comcast soon.
And finally, I am going to start on a kid's kelp ecosystem film soon. I will probably shoot most of it at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I will make a kelp ballast the main animated character.
More soon...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Lots of filming and film festivals
I've just caught my breath from returning from Jackson Hole and Portland. It's been a great couple of weeks. The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival was a blast as always. But this time I helped lead 4 workshops on new media and spoke on one panel. It was a good experience for me. And people seemed to like what I had to say.
After the festival, I drove to Portland and shot lots of river scenics along the way. Hopefully some of the shots will be used in a Nature film I am working on about salmon. We'll see if my producer likes them. Here's a couple sequences I put together from various creeks, streams, and rivers (Columbia, Snake, Mallad).
I also spent three days in a row shooting coho salmon on Eagle Creek (tributary off the Columbia River). It was a lot of fun and a challenge. I used an Ewa-Marine splash bag. It worked great, but it's still a challenge to use since the camera is basically in a floating plastic bag. I also filmed some dippers hunting for salmon eggs. Here's three short sequences of salmon and dippers.
After the festival, I drove to Portland and shot lots of river scenics along the way. Hopefully some of the shots will be used in a Nature film I am working on about salmon. We'll see if my producer likes them. Here's a couple sequences I put together from various creeks, streams, and rivers (Columbia, Snake, Mallad).
I also spent three days in a row shooting coho salmon on Eagle Creek (tributary off the Columbia River). It was a lot of fun and a challenge. I used an Ewa-Marine splash bag. It worked great, but it's still a challenge to use since the camera is basically in a floating plastic bag. I also filmed some dippers hunting for salmon eggs. Here's three short sequences of salmon and dippers.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Successful and Funny New Media Examples
This funny new media campaign helped save the Bronx Zoo's Funding.
Green Porno creates animal reproduction documentaries with a different slant.
Green Porno creates animal reproduction documentaries with a different slant.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Children's Documentary
I was doing some research today on fun kid's films, and I ran across a couple clips from a kid's doc called "The Riddle in a Bottle". I have actually met this brother/sister children's documentary duo (Sisbro Studios) a while back at one of the wildlife film festivals.
I love how they use music. Here's a clip from another of their films, "Lost in the Woods":
I love how they use music. Here's a clip from another of their films, "Lost in the Woods":
Friday, October 10, 2008
MicroDocs and Comps
Wow time flies. Mark met his deadline of getting the MicroDoc website live. Go to: http://www.stanford.edu/group/microdocs/ and explore the world of corals. 
As for me, the week of my comps has arrived. I will be studying like mad woman this week. I have taken off from Sea Studios so I can focus. I will get three theory questions on Friday. I have until Monday to answer them in the most verbose way as possible. I will have to reference who knows how many of the 50 books, 50 articles, and 50 documentaries.
I am looking forward to getting to watch something entertaining again. In the last couple weeks I have watched:
Primary (one of first films with portable sync sound about JFK and Hubert Humphrey's Primary)
-Why we Fight (propaganda film about Russia)
-3 Errol Morris films (one about a pet cemetery, one about bumpkins in Florida, and one about a man possibly being falsely accused of murder)
-2 films on Bob Dillon
-9/11 (shot from inside the towers)
-Man with a Movie Camera (experimental film commenting on true cinema)
-Silverlake Life (a film about two men dying of aids)
-4 Mark Lewis films (one on rat natural history and the other three on cow, cat, and ferret breeders)
-Ghosts of the Abyss (Titanic documentary)
-Microcosmos (macro cinematography of bugs)
-Winky Dink and You (first interactive TV show)
-This is Spinal Tap (mockumentary on a fake band)
-Battle of Algiers (fiction film based on the Algerian Independence shot documentary style)
-Sweetback's Baaad Assss Song (not sure why I had to watch this. It was a fiction film about a black man in the sex industry who shot a cop and was hunted by the man. Apparently, it was the first 'blaxploitation' film. It was made and distributed with wide success without the help of white Hollywood. You tell me, what does this have to do with science and natural history filmmaking?)
-Animlas: Friend of Food (film about an idealist new farmer who wants to raise, love, kill, and eat his animals. He kills a bunny, lamb, and pig. But he can't bring himself to kill the cow. So he decides that he can't give up meat, but he cannot personally kill the animals either. So he sends the cow to the slaughter house.)
-Hearts and Minds (documentary on the Vietnam War)
As for me, the week of my comps has arrived. I will be studying like mad woman this week. I have taken off from Sea Studios so I can focus. I will get three theory questions on Friday. I have until Monday to answer them in the most verbose way as possible. I will have to reference who knows how many of the 50 books, 50 articles, and 50 documentaries. I am looking forward to getting to watch something entertaining again. In the last couple weeks I have watched:
Primary (one of first films with portable sync sound about JFK and Hubert Humphrey's Primary)
-Why we Fight (propaganda film about Russia)
-3 Errol Morris films (one about a pet cemetery, one about bumpkins in Florida, and one about a man possibly being falsely accused of murder)
-2 films on Bob Dillon
-9/11 (shot from inside the towers)
-Man with a Movie Camera (experimental film commenting on true cinema)
-Silverlake Life (a film about two men dying of aids)
-4 Mark Lewis films (one on rat natural history and the other three on cow, cat, and ferret breeders)
-Ghosts of the Abyss (Titanic documentary)
-Microcosmos (macro cinematography of bugs)
-Winky Dink and You (first interactive TV show)
-This is Spinal Tap (mockumentary on a fake band)
-Battle of Algiers (fiction film based on the Algerian Independence shot documentary style)
-Sweetback's Baaad Assss Song (not sure why I had to watch this. It was a fiction film about a black man in the sex industry who shot a cop and was hunted by the man. Apparently, it was the first 'blaxploitation' film. It was made and distributed with wide success without the help of white Hollywood. You tell me, what does this have to do with science and natural history filmmaking?)
-Animlas: Friend of Food (film about an idealist new farmer who wants to raise, love, kill, and eat his animals. He kills a bunny, lamb, and pig. But he can't bring himself to kill the cow. So he decides that he can't give up meat, but he cannot personally kill the animals either. So he sends the cow to the slaughter house.)
-Hearts and Minds (documentary on the Vietnam War)
Thursday, September 25, 2008
StrangePods
Plastic Plague:
Far out at sea and deep in the nation's heartland, experts are discovering the disturbing consequences of a hitchhiker in our waters---plastic. On the remote islands in the Pacific, a team of researchers is trying to solve the mystery of why albatross chicks with full bellies are starving. Many miles away another team is finding more plastic than plankton in giant garbage patch of ocean called the North Pacific Gyre. Could these two events be related?
Grilled, Baked, Boiled, Fried?
While some scientists work to conserve massive tracts of ocean, others, like Brian O'Hanlon, hope to reduce fishing pressures by tending fish like ranchers tend livestock. O'Hanlon is creating space-age aquapods in Puerto Rico--raising fish offshore where waste is easily diluted by strong currents, unlike many inshore fish farms. In the foggy reaches of New Brunswick Canada, another biologist, Thierry Chopin, is conducting a novel experiment--building ecosystems of salmon, mussels and kelp in hopes of creating a lucrative, environmentally friendly fish farm. Can we reduce fishing pressures, restore fish stocks and protect ocean habitats in time to safeguard the health of life in the sea, on land, and ultimately, ourselves?
Dangerous Catch:
It's become increasingly clear that our massive demands on the ocean are impacting life far beyond the shoreline including Earth's own life support systems. In the West African nation of Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. Biologist Justin Brashares and his team have come to survey antelope, and find that antelope numbers have plummeted along with large animals like lions and leopards that used to keep olive baboon numbers in check. Brashares discovers a shocking link—the month to month hunting pressures on Ghana's bushmeat increases in direct proportion to fish supplies. Could overfishing and bushmeat trading be related?
Poisoned Waters:
Our insatiable demand for seafood affects more than just life in the ocean. Bizarre and often unpredictable effects are rippling out far beyond the shoreline; off the coast of Namibia, a once vibrant fishing community is struggling to recover while putrid fumes rise from the ocean depths, causing townspeople to gag and carpeting the beaches in dead fish. Ecologist Bronwen Currie is working with satellite oceanographer Scarla Weeks and biologist Andrew Bakun to understand what's behind these phenomena. Through dogged sleuthing, the team reveals these stench events are orders of magnitude larger than ever imagined, and may be influenced by the over-fishing of a small silver fish. Could these events really be caused by a massive shortage of sardines?
Far out at sea and deep in the nation's heartland, experts are discovering the disturbing consequences of a hitchhiker in our waters---plastic. On the remote islands in the Pacific, a team of researchers is trying to solve the mystery of why albatross chicks with full bellies are starving. Many miles away another team is finding more plastic than plankton in giant garbage patch of ocean called the North Pacific Gyre. Could these two events be related?
Grilled, Baked, Boiled, Fried?
While some scientists work to conserve massive tracts of ocean, others, like Brian O'Hanlon, hope to reduce fishing pressures by tending fish like ranchers tend livestock. O'Hanlon is creating space-age aquapods in Puerto Rico--raising fish offshore where waste is easily diluted by strong currents, unlike many inshore fish farms. In the foggy reaches of New Brunswick Canada, another biologist, Thierry Chopin, is conducting a novel experiment--building ecosystems of salmon, mussels and kelp in hopes of creating a lucrative, environmentally friendly fish farm. Can we reduce fishing pressures, restore fish stocks and protect ocean habitats in time to safeguard the health of life in the sea, on land, and ultimately, ourselves?
Dangerous Catch:
It's become increasingly clear that our massive demands on the ocean are impacting life far beyond the shoreline including Earth's own life support systems. In the West African nation of Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. Biologist Justin Brashares and his team have come to survey antelope, and find that antelope numbers have plummeted along with large animals like lions and leopards that used to keep olive baboon numbers in check. Brashares discovers a shocking link—the month to month hunting pressures on Ghana's bushmeat increases in direct proportion to fish supplies. Could overfishing and bushmeat trading be related?
Poisoned Waters:
Our insatiable demand for seafood affects more than just life in the ocean. Bizarre and often unpredictable effects are rippling out far beyond the shoreline; off the coast of Namibia, a once vibrant fishing community is struggling to recover while putrid fumes rise from the ocean depths, causing townspeople to gag and carpeting the beaches in dead fish. Ecologist Bronwen Currie is working with satellite oceanographer Scarla Weeks and biologist Andrew Bakun to understand what's behind these phenomena. Through dogged sleuthing, the team reveals these stench events are orders of magnitude larger than ever imagined, and may be influenced by the over-fishing of a small silver fish. Could these events really be caused by a massive shortage of sardines?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Stock Footage Research Links
Best Online Science and Natural History Stock Footage Databases: *based on user-friendly interfaces and the ability to download and view offline clips
BBC Motion Gallery includes CBS, NHK
AlwaysHD
Other Fabulous Science and Natural History Sources:
National Geographic Digital Motion
Landis Wildlife Films
Best Budget Stock Footage Sources:
Pond5
News/Hollywood Stock Sources:
ABC News Source includes APTN, WTN and British MovieTone
ITN Source includes Reuters, FOX News, Channel 4, Granada Wild, Survival Anglia, Partridge
Ina Media Pro
Archive Film Stock Sources:
American Museum of Natural History Archive
Historic Films
Misc. Stock Footage Houses:
Video Tape Library LTD
News and Information for the Stock and Archival Footage Industry:
footage.info
I would love to get feedback about this list. Please let me know if you think I have left out any good stock vendors. And tell me your favorite stock house.
As for my favorite, for general searches I like the BBC the best. They have the widest range of downloadable footage and the best quality. Unfortunately they are the most expensive and don't bend much on clip minimums.
As for customer service and price breaks, I prefer going straight to the production companies themselves.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Rough Cut Feedback
Yeah! One of my instructors really likes my rough cut. (I haven't heard back from the other three). The one I heard from said I was on the right path and only needed to finesse the script and do the real animations. That's the best news I have heard in a long time. He even mentioned he would like to use my film on TerraPod and that I could be paid.
If two of the three other faculty like my film well enough to join my committee, I am on my way to finishing up my masters. Fingers crossed!
If two of the three other faculty like my film well enough to join my committee, I am on my way to finishing up my masters. Fingers crossed!
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