You probably have a phone with a camera on it, or a laptop with a lens, and its nature allows you to make stupid faces into it for hours on end. Point being is, never has it been so easy to film! I remember when I was 8 or 9, using a high 8 camcorder, filming me laugh and using two VCR’s to edit the final product. Now if you think that’s ridiculous, then ask anyone over 50 who ever filmed something and they’ll go on about how they literally had to cut the tape, which they would then tape back together to make changes or 'cuts'.
JUST FILM IT
Tuesday, September 20th 2011
If you want to film, then go film! The best films are the simplest ones: ones that are not complicated or have a zillion cuts. I would personally rather watch less cuts and a more detailed story/plot. For example, say you have a shot of a tree that’s far off in the distance. Imagine the camera slowly but surely making its way closer and closer to the subject. Now at first glace we feel as if the tree is the center of attention or the main character but as we drift closer we start to see a new character, which makes the tree seem irrelevant. Now we are so close into the tree that we would never recognize it as a tree because we are so close. Now what is finally revealed after much anticipation and longing, is a chipmunk (a very small creature). Even though the tree is bigger, it doesn’t matter because the chipmunk captures everyone’s attention. Now that story /plot wasn’t too thick, but it would be one shot and it had something that you didn’t see coming until it was right in your face! The best part is, it's so easy to film.
The “Growing Younger” video, is a music video concept I proposed to the band. It was simple, cheap and would probably only take a day to shoot. The concept involved the band riding bicycles down an old county road all done within one take. That was it! So we all sat down and worked out some choreographed “bike movements” and planned the shoot. I called up Chistina Ienna who I had worked with on some local film shoots in the past and asked her if she could help me film it (seeing how I was in the picture and would be unable to film it myself). She agreed and we were off. After about 50 takes and some beer, we were done! We sent it into Much Music and wham! Number 1 for a couple of weeks! Now of course I can't take the credit for this concept because it's been done a ton of times. I first saw this shot while watching “Full Metal Jacket” a Stanley Kubrick film on Vietnam.
But that’s the beauty of art, its all been done, you just have to put your personal spin on it.
- Sasha
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