Dad, I Think That is the Best Thing You've Done.

I've been doing this film/video thing for about 8 years now. When I type it out loud, it seems like a really big number. Damn, I'm old. I remember meeting Ken and asking him how I can make a simple photo montage with music. Nowadays, you can do that in 2-3 mouse clicks. But, back in the olden days, you had to actually put your photos on the timeline and resize them to fit your safe margins and do transitions between the pictures individually because it needs to be timed for the music...just so. I've definitely come a long way since then and none of it would have been possible without Ken believing in us and investing a lot behind it. Thanks man. Annnnnnd that's enough bromancing for the day. ;-)

8 years ago, my daughter was only 3 years old. From my baptism of fire with Pinnacle Studio, to Edition, to Adobe Premiere and finally to the happy care-free days of using Final Cut Pro, Jemara has usually been nearby. I don't know if was to watch me work or because she's Daddy's Little Girl, but she's always been very attentive and sometimes my harshest critic. Always very honest with me and I've been very respectful of her opinion.

Today she said, "Dad, I think that is the best thing you've done." It was a very telling moment for me and I don't know if she realized just how affected I was by her words. It really meant a lot she felt that way. Especially since I might have to disagree with her, ever slightly. It is the best thing WE'VE done...so far.



Cloudy Logic has just scratched the surface. We have a LOT more in store for you crazy kids. Just wait and see.

Never Stop Learning

That is going to be my mantra as I traverse this new path tread upon old ground. Never stop learning. Hence my excitement at every single production we're a part of. No matter how big or small my role in it, I expect to learn from it. At the end of the day, I only want to become a better filmmaker.

Speaking of learning, here is another HD-DSLR film...with a film contest attached. When I watch this kind of stuff I am envious, but my mind also processes how I can recreate every single shot.

The Story Beyond The Still: The Cabbie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Never stop learning.

P.S. Will someone please nominate John Noble for a significant award? His portrayal of Walter Bishop hails in the league of great thespian performances ever!

Re: Tilt-Shift Photography...Learned

If there is anything you want to learn how to do, just YouTube it. I've gained some serious knowledge off that website and most recently it showed me how to make a photo have a tilt-shift effect. Remember my last blog I wanted to learn how to do it, and now I know.

This is a pic I took while ago at Baguio, Philippines:



And here it is tilt-shifted!



Find out how you can do it too!

Lessons to Learn: Tilt-Shift Photography

I've seen tilt-shift stills before and I always thought it had a very cool look. Someone else agreed with me and I've started to notice stop-motion tilt-shift photography movies. The first time I noticed it was when Disney did their annual Christmas special. Did a quick query in YouTube and found:



I've also seen this Allstate commercial with my man President Palmer:



Ken, we've got to learn the science behind tilt-shift photography.

In the Eye of the Beholder

Alas, I've started this blog, bit I haven't really blogged on it. I guess I need to start sometime and there's no better time than right now. Cloudy Logic is really starting it's 2010 off on a good note. We've been pretty busy and we hope to continue to be busy for the rest of the year.

The first production of the year has been released! A week ago we went to visit Cutty Lue to shoot a biopic in anticipation of his upcoming mixtape release. We just wanted to sit down with him and shoot some footage that demonstrates just how talented this young man is. When we arrived he was writing in a composition notebook and I asked him what it was. He responded by saying he was composing a song for us from scratch. I replied by getting Ken and Brenda to assemble the camera as quickly as possible so we can document as much of this process as possible. Ken got on the EX and we got some good stuff of Cutty composing this original song, just for us! Jay Shropshire (our favorite DP and adopted son) arrived a little later and worked his camera magic. I got my first taste of being a 1st AC, so I can add that to the resume. ;-)

Anyway, after shooting a couple hours of Cutty doing what he does best, we ended up with some wonderful footage. We got him writing, composing, recording, mixing and producing a song from scratch and he did it with such ease. All done from within the small confines of his studio/spare bedroom. The crazy thing is he was recording while we were talking in the background and he kept it in because he said it was hot. Insane.

After the shoot, we go to the new world headquarters for CLP to import the footage. Let the wows and Japanese schoolgirl-like giggles ensue. GREAT footage and more than enough to put together the mini-documentary. While watching it I got the idea to do a music video for Cutty since he did this original song for us. After a few days of editing, here's the final product:



Make sure you watch it again and pay attention to the titles at the beginning. Ken and I almost got into fisticuffs over that. ;-) Many thanks to Cutty for letting us intrude on his Sunday for a few hours. Plus thanks to Ken, Brenda and Jay for showing how we can create some good stuff with very little. Look forward to the bio in the next week or so.

Yesterday we did a music video shoot for a local rapper, Ben-G. The song is an upcoming single called "I'm Gone" (you can hear it on his MySpace page) and we shot it at the Vintage Lounge in downtown Orlando. I got to play a little bit of a gaffer role and occasionally I had to step in as an AD (which meant I kept on reminding Jay how much time we had left). Another great learning experience since I got to help set up 2Ks and 650s as well as find inventive places to draw power from (we had a stinger coming out of a 3rd floor apartment window, down and alley and into the back door of the club). I also realize I need to invest in a good pair of heat resistant gloves because those lights get HOT!

On a different note, Jay is a internet video junkie. He constantly shows me some of the coolest footage I've ever seen and I consider each a learning experience. Recently he showed me a short film that was shot entirely with a digital SLR camera. This is the future of amateur filmmaking folks. Check it out:



What's sick is they shot it WITHOUT any additional lights. They used the ambient light around them! Crazy how a camera can pick up that much light.

Stay tuned!