See John’s reel and get in contact with him at his website JohnHenrySoto.com

The example below is three frames from the original footage for Broken (with Liz Dugas). The material texture created a pattern that clashed with the Canon sensor and a rainbow of moire flickered and shimmered across the frames.

You will need to know how to create a shape and how to set keyframes so that the shape animates over time. There are plenty of tutorials on youtube for this so I’m not going to explain it here.

Create your shapes, use the eyedropper to set the color close to the material, give them a soft edge and set key frames.

When talking with Doug about acting I discovered that when he is laughing and joking with friends, he does these little characters.

I pointed out that a lot of characters we see portrayed in Hollywood movies probably start out this way. Just like comedians can source their material, actors can also draw on the same channel of inspiration.

Actor – Doug Robbs
Characters – Doug Robbs
Concept and Direction – Jhoe Davis

Get in contact with Doug at his webpage cargocollective.com/Dr

The top row is a high key shot with an equal lighting ratio, the bottom row has the left light flagged.

In camera profiles: Smooth vs. Nature vs. Nostalgic

Numbers reflect settings: Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Noise Reduction at zero.

pTool Sanity v2 patch

(special thanks to my son for being patient with me)

Here’s a trick I use to control aperture on Canon EF and EF-s electronic lenses when they on micro 4/3rds mount or Sony mount. You need a Canon DSLR body – while the lens is attached set the aperture. While holding down the DOF preview button detach the lens. Normally the aperture defaults to wide opens but now the aperture stays set after the lens is off.

There are other adapters out there that provide a 2nd iris which sits between the rear element and the sensor. I’m not crazy about them – feels like a recipe for aberrations! But it may be more practical for some shooters who change aperture a lot. In filmmaking I tend to choose my dof and leave the aperture alone. The technique described above is great if you want top performance from the lens and you are not in a rushed environment.

edit:
During a conversation on dvxuser I learned that detaching the lens while the canon body is in movie mode (rebel) or live view (7d/5d) will also lock the aperture. I didn’t know this as I usually leave them in M, Av or Tv (I shoot stills as well).

Its worth pointing out that these lenses were designed to have their apertures at an open position to protect them from movement when the lens is not in use. If you are switching lenses on a lot on a video shoot be aware of what aperture they are on when you finish.

Stealth mode GH2 incognito with an EF 85mm f1.8

This slightly humorous concept came to me after I had twisted my ankle. When talking with a friend about the idea of putting models on crutches, she laughed and said that sometimes models in magazines remind her of broken dolls. Please watch and have good chuckle. Comments are at the bottom of the page.

I put the shoot together for fun and my friend Liz Dugas rocked it. Liz works as a model and dancer, to see more of her go and see the off broadway show Happenstance : The Musical which is showing at the moment.

This was shot with a Canon t2i. For closeups I used the 85mm f1.8 and for wides I used the 17-55mm f2.8

Model : Liz Dugas
Makeup : Poppy Lai
Hair : Una Lang
Camera & Concept : me
Bowie Remix : me

http://elizabethdugas.com/
http://www.poppymakeup.net/
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1971064
http://www.modelmayhem.com/2352081

Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe is read by Javier Marquez. With this piece the goal was to emote rather than project – just like in a narrative script. Concentrating on appearing natural and relaxed, it was great to see Javier alter the way he read each line from take to take. Its particularly noticeable on the first line of the second verse.

Just Actors is a series where I avoid cinematography. Where I avoid worrying about lighting and backgrounds. Its just the actor. By removing these distractions I can better see the actors subtleties.

Directors Commentary – (contains plot spoilers)

How do you find and convince a church to let you use their location to shoot a vampire film? Well it wasn’t easy and it took forever but in the end we didn’t get one, we got two. The first was used to make the dolly shot across the pews and for that church I have Cris Hozven to thank. The second was found by Emily and we shot the confessional and the opening scene with the candles in the Actors Church in Manhattan.

All the exteriors were shot uptown around 189th st at The Cloisters. I did a lot of hunting around to find the perfect stone wall, doorway and arch to create the gothic look.

The apartment with the red walls is mine so this is a ‘shot in New York movie’ 100%. The inside of the confessional booth is also shot in my apartment. This is the final scene where vampire Catherine is staring at the camera. The mesh she looks through was bought at Home Depot.

Through careful planning and editing I was able to make the interior and exterior of the confessional and the pews from the two different churches all look like the one church. When I was writing the ending I was fascinated by the pregnant pause (the delay in dialog that adds consequence to the following words) and …

Barren Woman by Sylvia Plath is read by Sarah Seeds. Prior to shooting I asked Sarah to mime every sentence during her run through. We then reeled back the physical movements to a point where they serve as accents and her facial expressions could then lead.

Just Actors is a series where I avoid cinematography. Where I avoid worrying about lighting and backgrounds. Its just the actor. By removing these distractions I can better see the actors subtleties.

Finished watching True Blood Season 4 Episode 6 “I Wish I Was the Moon” and I felt compelled to write.

It was so cool to see actor Sam Trammell play Sam Merlotte with the personality of Tommy Mickens. A big thank you to the writers for that scene because Sam’s acting was wonderful to watch. For me it is easily one of the highlights of the season so far. The way he walked, the way he talked were all perfectly transposed from the other character. Heh heh … brilliant.

Also I’m enjoying the Bill/Eric role reversal which is like a breath of fresh air in the Eric-Bill-Sookie triangle (which was starting to get a little stale). Actor Stephen Moyer now has some interesting ground to explore. The season so far has left Lafayette’s character (Nelsan Ellis) with very little space to breathe. All I’ve seen is a monotone of apprehension for Jesus and witchery – until he was possessed and started speaking spanish! This is great, I’m left wanting to see more. I really enjoy what actor Nelsan Ellis can do.