Filmmaker Swan

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I adore crisp imperfections, the clearer they are the better - guess I'm just weird and probably explains why I never got the job in QA for Tayto

p.s. Has yer man Michael ever worked in the construction industry - if not then that was a great piece of method acting



I adore crisp imperfections, the clearer they are the better - guess I'm just weird and probably explains why I never got the job in QA for Tayto

p.s. Has yer man Michael ever worked in the construction industry - a great piece of method acting that was
Funny you should say that. His dad is a general contractor and he helps him out a lot.



I don't actually wear pants.
What's wrong with distortion? Crisp picture are cool and all, but I'm actually a bit disturbed be extreme HD etc, making everything look so crisp they don't even look real. IT's like going outside completely naked. PUT ON A SHIRT!
It's usually unnecessary, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. I like seeing a crisp picture, because then it doesn't look like you spent $10 on your film. You should at least try to make it look good. I don't see how being crisp doesn't look real when our eyes don't have distortion like grainy film.
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Thanks again, Mr Portridge.



It's usually unnecessary, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. I like seeing a crisp picture, because then it doesn't look like you spent $10 on your film. You should at least try to make it look good. I don't see how being crisp doesn't look real when our eyes don't have distortion like grainy film.
If everyone thought like that, there'd never be any artistic revolution.



I don't actually wear pants.
If everyone thought like that, there'd never be any artistic revolution.
Sure there would be. Technology is constantly evolving, so why wouldn't art? Grain can be good, but I felt it unnecessary here. Crisp is good. Grainy is cheap.



Make your videos grainier and they'll magically create links. Alternatively, replace the 'www' with 'm'.



I like noise too, but it's not for everyone, and I'd like to get technically proficient enough to where I can decide what is noisy and what isn't.
That would be duplicating the video clip on top or bottom, making a mask around areas you want noisy, dropping in noise to the dupe track, and opacity masking those areas with feathering to make it seamless. I'm a fan of noise, too.



It's usually unnecessary, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. I like seeing a crisp picture, because then it doesn't look like you spent $10 on your film. You should at least try to make it look good. I don't see how being crisp doesn't look real when our eyes don't have distortion like grainy film.
That's like saying a painting isn't representative of the human eye. People don;t see with textured canvas pores in the back of objects. Images shot on film are often denoised by digital tinkering, and that actually erases detail. Grain is great..now scanner noise on transfers...that can get ugly in low lit scnes...



Dude the thing is amazing. But yeah I think I agree with the Pants guy that story is most important. I've already said this before but this is all just beginner practice. I have yet to execute a short film from script to screen.

And yeah, I had a stabilizer before this for a few years that was fairly cheap and also really bad and REALLY hard to balance. So I feel your pain.
You know what works decent for stabilization? A very wide lens and body hugging the camera. Then, in post, use a light treatment of stabilization, and when it automatically crops the image in, youll have enough coverage from the wide angle lens, which actually acts as a stabilizer anyway because the more in frame, the less shaky can from movement.



You aren't bad, but I didn't like the second or third on your list. They all seem to be streams of consciousness, and not really story-driven. I love characters and stories, and I don't know what either of those are in those two shorts.

And I take issue with the whole "flicker flicker grainy" thing. I don't see a need to make it look like crap without a definite reason.

Sorry.
No offense taken. Stream-of-consciousness was kind of the point, since I wasn't using a script and we were just having fun shooting. I'm just starting with this stuff. And yeah, the quality being noisy wasn't done on purpose.
Sorry, butting in again. O ne thing i learned is that shooting dar creates bad compression artifacts. Jack exposure up to at least 6 hundy if outdoors on overcast day. Kit lenses usually only open to 3.5 ap.

In post you can darken it with a cleaner signal.

Ive even used a vinylbrecordvjacket wrapped in tin foil as a reflector to give depthbto subject



Really enjoying everything here Swan. In Omniscience, when the camera moves into the bedroom, it seems like the picture gets smaller and then enlarges again. I believe it's just the space you're coming out of but it creates an interesting illusion. Count me as another who's not a fan of a crispy clear picture.



Finally found time to watch these with @IrishSansRed. Good stuff, Beau. I'd say most of them felt pretty experimental, but there were some really good shots in there.

The wife and I both really liked the shot that looked like it was coming from inside a cave, but I think was actually a cutout? That was very cool.

My main takeaway, though, was that whether you make films or not, I thought you could absolutely do soundtracks. I was kinda surprised to read that most of the music wasn't scored specifically for the clip, because they did such a tremendous job of invoking moods (mostly dread). I felt a lot of that sound was good enough to serve as background music for a moderately budgeted indie movie already, without having even been made for the purpose.



Thanks so much Yoda and Mrs. Yoda!

Yeah, they are definitely just experiments, me trying to find my voice and just having fun. I still have the craving to film every day, but I'm not because I'm planning stuff out - I think more pre-production effort will go a long way. I don't think any of what I've posted here has been that great, nor were they ever really intended to be (I'm not that precious about any of these), and I think that's because they were made spontaneously. I have noticed the more effort I put into something the better it will inevitably become. With that in mind, I'm at the point where I want to really plan something out (while leaving some room for appropriate spontaneity, of course) - script, storyboard/short list, etc. - because I think at the very least I have a cinematic voice worth expressing, and with more effort put into it I could end up making something worthwhile. At least, here's hoping!

re: music. Actually, only the first few videos used previously-made music. After that, I was making stuff intentionally for whatever little short I was making. Ideally for future work, with the whole planning of script and stuff in mind, I'll start planning and composing the score ahead of time as well. Coming up with musical themes and whatnot.

Very happy the music has resonated with people. Since I started making music people have told me (online and in real life) that my stuff would work well as film music, and I guess that's turning out to be the case. Hopefully, with practice, my filmmaking ability will catch up to my still-growing music-making ability!



This is some good stuff Swan! I particularly liked the last video. It's looking like you're on the right track to becoming a great filmmaker! I'm not gonna lie, for a couple years now I've been wanting to try my hand at making a short film, and seeing this thread is inspiring me to start buckling down and start making it happen!

Looking forward to your next vid!



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Only two posts? Make her post more!
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
My main takeaway, though, was that whether you make films or not, I thought you could absolutely do soundtracks. I was kinda surprised to read that most of the music wasn't scored specifically for the clip, because they did such a tremendous job of invoking moods (mostly dread). I felt a lot of that sound was good enough to serve as background music for a moderately budgeted indie movie already, without having even been made for the purpose.
Wow what a compliment!
Yeah I had the same impression. I knew Swan played a bit but thought it was just a 'then and now' hobby when he picked up an instrument for 10 minutes. I was blown away



My friend and I were bored so we made a little movie for the first time in a while. Meant to be a bit more light-hearted and silly. He's clearly a master at nunchucks.




I just watched How I Learned to Fly, and it surpassed my expectations by lightyears. It felt to me like Napoleon Dynamite meets The Neon Demon. Loved the music and the humble awkwardness.