Sometimes it pays to work with amateurs.

"I just finished shooting a job in New Brunswick.

A lot of people I work with couldn't find New Brunswick on a map, which isn't to say anything negative about the place, just that it's not exactly giving Hollywood a run for its money as a hotbed of film production. Let's just put it this way: Ambitious filmmakers in New Brunswick generally move to the big city, and by that I mean Halifax.

I've worked in New Brunswick before, so I know how to adjust. The crews are great. But most of the people who come in for an audition don't bother putting together an acting resume because the only experience on it would be 'Football Player 3' in their high school production of 'Grease' twenty years ago. 

If that.

The spot I was working on called for four roles: a father, mother, son, and daughter.

The father I cast was an absolute pro. He'd worked in larger markets and moved back to New Brunswick because he preferred the lifestyle. But the rest? Two of them hadn't even been to an audition before...."

You can read the full article here.

MacBreak Studio Podcast

This is a very informative podcast! I have learned a lot of tips, tricks, and shortcuts relating to Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro. They also cover other Apple Final Cut Studio apps like Motion and Compressor.

"Join Steve Martin, Mark Spencer, Brian Gary, Alex Lindsay and friends as they reveal the ins and outs of video production on the Mac. From 3D to audio, video, and compression, learn from the experts how to add advanced techniques to your production workflow and a professional touch to your video content."

Click Here to check it out on iTunes. Or you can subscribe to the RSS feed here.
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Good Production Design

I found a good article entitled "Production design is simple. At least when it's good."

"If your character is neat, a little mess is not okay. If your character loves music, there's no reason for him to have a collection of shot glasses. Unless there's a reason for him to have a collection of shot glasses, in which case he needs to have them.

A novelist can tell you about the shot glasses, then explain why they're there. Why they're perhaps ironic. Or a holdover from a time when the character felt a need to collect something...You can't."

Click here to read the full article.
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Picture courtesy of Philip Burthem

Christian Film Makers Workshop - Bryan, TX

This past weekend I had the opportunity to help teach at a film making workshop in Bryan, TX!

The Jones family who hosted the conference has been working on a 25 min. (approx) short film called Bessie about the story behind "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" - they used a lot of examples of location scouts, costumes, lighting and story boarding from their experience. I have to tell you, I am very impressed with the amount of work they are putting into this movie and I'm looking forward to seeing the final product! Visit their website to watch a trailer for the movie.

The goal of the training workshop was to encourage Christian young people who are interested in film making by providing a two day training course covering the basics of film making and then providing an incentive for them to actually make a film by hosting a film festival at the end of the summer with a $100 Grand Prize!

I got to teach about editing and color correction, and had an absolute BLAST!!

Quick review of my presentation

Stacie and I were the main presenters

"These are the basics of an editing program"

Me having fun :)

Doing some live editing for the group

My bro Caleb, me, Kayleen and Sarah (from DCFM) and Stacie Jones
I had a lot of fun working with this group!

You can see more pictures from trip on the ReelCast Facebook page

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Film language

For those of you looking to stay on top of the filmmaking lingo, you might want to head over to this blog and catch up on some common phrases and what they just might REALLY mean.

That blog also has a link to this one about a Final Cut Pro tip. Nice tip BTW.

-this is my 100th post BTW!! ;)