Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The Big Day

Z opened our first autonomous office this past Wednesday. I have run this ramshackle company from my laptop for so many years it is really hard to know what to do with the space I am renting. I have a desk a computer and a window that opens, this is the good life. I have so many projects on their way this month it is going to be really fun to get it all in order. New crew members have come a long with the new office. The film I shot this autumn is still in editing phase, simply because I have never edited a film before. I think I'm doing a good job. I've read quite a bit about the medium and played with the software so i know what it can do. I am anxious to get off the computer and get behind the camera again. I have one film that is in script phase. A sweet love story about a failed medical student and a cognizant zombie on the run from a terrible circ de macabre.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Translation Key




This is a rudimentary key for translating the notes on the treble clef to the string/fret on the guitar. When looking at the picture, the small tab on the top left tells you which guitar strings represent which notes. String 1 note E correlates to the top space on the treble clef. This is shown in the bottom half of the page. Each whole note has the correlating string number inside it. The notes on the treble clef tell you which notes are where. F, D, B, G, E are the notes on the lines. F, A, C, E, are the notes on the spaces. Middle C on the piano is string 5 fret 3 on the guitar. High C is second string, first fret. As you move up the treble clef your fingers will move down the fret board. Each string being higher than the string before it; you can move from middle C down each string until you hit the open first string, High E. The notes continue on above the treble clef as you follow the frets down the High E string. With this key I have been able to translate beginner piano music into guitar tabs. I don't have one for the base clef yet. I want to learn more about this before I move on to something else. I hope this helps if you need it. If you already know this information I would appreciate some pointers and clarification. Message if you have and comments or questions.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Production Day Five

The house was sold so we had to rush a shoot day. we had originally planned to film the next weekend but we only had the key for two more days. Everyone was very cool about it and showed up on time even though I was ten minutes late. We got a lot of film that night. I managed to fill in a lot of holes. I tried getting some supplemental footage with my computer camera. The resolution is not that great but I though the extra film couldn't hurt. Unfortunately I had not practice well enough using the new computer cam. Somehow the files never saved to my hard drive. I don't know what the problem was but I have found a better way to save the files. I rearranged my database of footage to comply with the movie time line. Now all the files go in a specific place and can be retrieved a lot easier than before. The organization database is the best tool I have found for the movie project. I really like how this is turning out. The marketing plan I have for the film is going to have some changes. I feel that this film can really take a piece of the market if advertised correctly. I think it will be great practice for the future when I have a real budget. Here's a clip from the fifth day.

Storyboard Concepts

This is the most dificult problem so far, making an accurate storyboard for the movie. Bakk has helped a great deal with the organzation. I wouldn't be this far without her help. We made a card for each single segment of the scenes and we need to finish the complete set with all of he splash pages and animation included. Once that is done the editing can continue and the graphics designers can create some art for the film. Here is an example of the storyboard cards.

Production Day Four

Sunday was fabulous. Everyone was there in great spirits. Our film was great. We had some intense scenes with Amean and Christina, but she is such a good sport. Amean threw her around some more and even choked her in a few scenes and she was still up for more. I love actors. In any other situation I would be arrested for doing that to another person. But in the movies everything is fake. Here is a clip from Sunday.

Z History

Z in the Middle began in 1999 as a small theater group. In 2004 our first film script was complete. By 2006, shooting began on one of many short films. Last year we worked on films, conventions, comics and classes. 2011 is dedicated to creating many new comic titles, independent films and growing the company.

Production History