After gathering submissions from various people, I finally have arrived at three scripts which I would like to shoot for the 60 second film competition. As the competition closes at the end of September, we now have two whole months to film and edit them. The scripts (to be published along with the finished films after the competition deadline) are:

• Opportunity Knocks - By Jeff Day
• Origins- By Michael Bartlett
• The Big I Am - By Jeff Day

After being blown away by Monster's Ball, I picked up a copy of the miniDV film Everyting Put Together by the same director (Marc Forster). The film was shot on a Sony VX-1000 and I must say that this is by far the best quality I have ever seen from a miniDV camera. It was just like film, but with that realistic edge. I think I may rent one of these to shoot the feature film in, but first I'll need to do a little more research.

Jeff watched the footage and said he was 100% happy with all of it. I also showed it to my fiance and my parents and they were all pleased too. The main criticism was that I went a little over the top with the shaky-cam techniques which I employed to give the segment a documentary look. Other than that everyone was impressed.

My Azden microphone and BeechTek adaptor turned up today as well, so some sound bites to appear here real soon!

At 10pm today - after 3 hours of hard work - I finished editing the play segment shot back in June at the Settlement, Letchworth. I watched the finished artefact in its entirety about 7 times, and noted down all the things that stuck out to me as errors, or bad editing. I noted 5 in total, and most of these are just areas where I feel an 'L-cut' could have been used. An L-cut, for those of you that don't know, is where you place one piece of video after another chronologically, and then let the sound from one of the video clips extend into the other video clip. On Sunday (tomorrow) I will make the adjustments, and then I will get Jeff around on Tuesday to get a fresh pair of eyes to critique the entire work. Overall I am very pleased with the results thus far.

In the last few days I have purchased two rather expensive items that will be absolutely critical to obtaining good sound. Whilst browsing through a BB recently I saw someone mention the fact that what made the film, AI, into a really good movie as opposed to just an ordinary movie was the incredible sound. I've noticed this myself too in advertising. A recent government advert trying to promote teaching was only really worth taking notice of because of the incredible sound. My purchases were:

Azden SGM-2X Shot-Gun Microphone	BeechTek DXA-4S Adaptor

I got the Azden mic for $219 at Tri State Camera. The Beechtek was picked up on Ebay for $140. They conclude all the equipment I really need to make films now. I'll have a review of them and some sound comparisons as soon as they arrive from the states, which is due to be around 20-Jul-02. More info on Beachtek adaptors can be found here.

Colin Barret of SimplyDV has said to me on a number of occasions how he feels a person shouldn't be able to direct until they have done their 'time' in the cutting room. He's often said that learning to edit from someone else's bad footage will help you get it right when you come to direct. And now I know how true that is.

Although things had been moving slowly, progress was steady with the editing. Yesterday night, however, Jeff and I sat down for another 2 hour edit session and only produced one minute of footage and this time the duration didn't include capturing the footage as I had already done that in advance.

Basically, the actress we had filmed from the play had propped up her head with her hand, and she kept changing it for every take - only noone noticed - not even me! I always spot continuity errors in films, so once the edit was complete from out first session I sat down and applied my critical eye. I then spent ages trying to patch up the continuity errors which was very difficult given the low number of takes! Her acting was also broken up by numerous gaps where she forgot her lines or said the wrong thing and had to start again. Luckily the 2 actors who had worked with the woman in question saved the day. They had been very expressive throughout and I was able to draft in clips of them from unrelated scenes to help the problematic 'section' flow better. It's actually fine now, but it was a real headache. Last night's experiences have thrown me into editing now, and really given me some lessons for the future when directing.

Today I uploaded some stills from the footage shot at the Settlement, Letchworth. As you'll see, there were both good and bad results. Lighting can be a worst enemy as well as a great allie when it comes to digital film. I think I'll need to get myself a god ND filter now. Overall, I am very pleased, however. The results when they are at their best look beautiful. Where the light has gone too bright, I have the option of using post-production software to darken it, so all is far from lost! The footage can be found at: this link.

After work, I went home and watched the edited footage from yesterday about 7 times in a row, and then made some adjustments. It's so hard to be objective about this. I did my best to be as critical as possible, but soon I realised that a fresh pair of eyes would be needed to truly find the flaws. I thus contacted Colin Barrett of SimplyDV who used to make his living as an editor. He agreed to take a look at the finished article and give me some honest and constructive criticism. He had the following to say:

Today I worked for an hour to get 45 seconds edited from the 4 streams of footage taken on 24-Jun-02. I called Jeff up and told him to get over as soon as possible. I was in tears - the shots, zooms and angles really brought out the humour of the play. Jeff came round and was pretty impressed. We then worked for another hour to get some footage edited. By 11pm we had to call it a day, but the good news is that we now have 1 minute and 45 seconds done. That's a pretty good start.

Today Jeff and I travelled up to the Settlement, home to the amateur dramatics group The Settlement Players. I had previously watched a number of dress rehearsals for one of their recent performances, as well as watching the main performance too. Working from this, I obtained a script from the director, Wendy, and worked out a small self-contained shot that I could film.

Before we began, I got Peter Fleming (our original contact for the Settlement) to light the set to the level it was performed in. I then White Balanced the camera appropriately to try and get the 'look' of the capture to approach that of film. No filters were used (I don't own any yet, and may only purchase an ND filter rather than going for these so-called 'Film-Look' filters).

I agreed with Jeff that I'd capture some tracking shots of each actor, which totalled 3 continuous shots. Jeff made notes of the actions (such as someone slamming a book down, and a rather aggressive hand gesture to name two) and then we did a final shoot of the segment and tracked between actions. The scene we shot was reminiscent of an intellectual tennis match, and thus we incorporated that style of movement into the camera work.

Due to the quality of the lighting at the Settlement, the picture looked reminiscent of 35mm film when we played it back. I cannot wait to digitize what we have and get some test shots up. Overall, I was thrilled with how the day went. The actors also expressed an interest in possibly appearing in some of our 60 second films.

For legal reasons, I will not be able to upload the finished article once it is finished. I can, however, provide small video clips showing the actors in action and some stills!

Today I posted a recent interview with David Nutley, the man behind Star Wars: Dark Skies.. In his interview, David talks openly about adding specialFX to low-budget movies (his true area of expertise). The interview can be found here.

Jeff and I popped along to see Peter Fleming and his colleagues' play. We realised that they might not be right for our 60 second films, but we agreed that we could gain valuable experience shooting and editing a short segment of their play as a film (Possibly 2 or 3 minutes).

Today Jeff and I met with Peter Fleming, an amateur dramatics leader for a group based in Letchworth. We discussed our ideas and he said that he felt his group could offer us some valuable experience in working with actors. We agreed to meet up next week.

The microphone issue seems to be sorted now. Brad Osbourne, director of Hall Of Mirrors, said that any rifle microphone (sometimes reffered to as Shot-Gun microphones) over $200 will pick up the sound levels and detail I require. I'll probably get the Azden SGM-2X imported from the states as it does add a lot bass to sound, which is what I want. It's main shortcoming is that it can't handle loud noises, like Live Bands, etc, but my films won't have any of that in, so I sould be okay. A great little review of this mic can be found here.

I also made contact with an amateur dramatics group based in Letchworth, whom I hope to work with. Jeff and I have each written a script which we hope to run by them one day. The scripts are for a new competition launched by Camcorder User for films that must be 60 seconds or less. The great thing about local actors is that we won't have the complications that we had last time, with my actress from Coventry.

Also this week I've arranged for David Nutley to do an interview on special effects. Many people know of him due to the huge press coverage his Star Wars film, Dark Skies, got. He has a new movie in production called Storm Ahead. More details can be found by clicking here.

On a final note, I have finished the book, Rebel Without a Crew, which has been an excellent read. I also managed to upload the footage I took at Optex of all the different filters. I accidentally left Interlace mode on, so the images went a bit 'staircasey', but the overall look of each filter is maintained. The page is pretty big, so make yourself a cup of tea while you wait for it to load (Unless you're on broadband). The filters can be seen here.

One thing that rang true from my interview with Dusty Rhodes was that DV film-makers always push sound to the back of their thoughts. Thus, most DV films have very unprofessional sound. I spent the day researching into the best microphones out there, and finally stumbled upon a real beauty called the Azden SGM-2X. There are 3 really good microphones in this price range (I should emphasise that these are Shot-Gun microphones, very useful in recording dialogue.) A comprehensive comparison can be found at this web site.

After being unable to find the Azden mic anywhere in the UK, I contacted Pro Audio Systems. Here is an account of our dialogue:

Dear Pro Audio Systems,

I am looking for a decent microphone to record sounds and dialogue with. My digital camera's in-built microphone is awful - low bass noises are not recorded well and things end up being very tinny. For example, I recorded myself opening and closing a desk drawer. All the lovely bass noise was lost. I was wondering if you could recommend two very good microphones from your store for around or below £200 that will do the job properly. The best Mic I have ever heard of for low-budget productions is the Azden SGM-2X; do you know where I could find one in the UK?

Mike,

Please look at the Audio Technica AT835b, shotgun mic.

If you require any other information, please call the office on 01274 777200.

Colin Barret, of Simply DV had the following advice:

Mike - the broadcasters who use VX1000/VX2000's with 3.5mm stereo jacks use the Beech Tek XLA-1 stereo adaptors which allow two XLR inputs and a stereo unbalanced line output to camcorder. The device allows the ability to switch between line and mic impedances, too. It also has manual level controls which enable you to set up the output to match the cam's unbalanced level inputs, in addition to helping to over-ride AGC (Automatic Gain Control) bumping that consumer cams give you when inputting high-quality mics. These units will actually screw into the base-plate thread - when the cam is on a tripod the unit actually sits between the two. It's not intrusive and works well.

The alternative, of course, is to take a straight XLR to 3.5mm stereo jack cable which you can buy in Maplin, Tandy or whatever. Make sure that the mono mic feed (unbalanced) is wired to a stereo minijack though, as a mono one might only register on one of the inputs in the camcorder and although it's not a big deal you'll get a slightly better response if wired to both.

The problem with just whacking a minijack into the socket is that you have no control whatsoever over what's happening. If, for instance, you're shooting professionally and are employing a boom-swinger to position your rifle mic over the dialogue, then he/she will need to monitor properly. That requires a return monitoring feed - so where does that come from?? You might then decide that you need a sound mixer to control all things audio.... and so on. The Balanced input adaptor is good because it does actually maintain the quality of sound via balanced inputs and give you flexibility to match the gain to that which suits the camcorder. The big problem with direct-in audio is that you're at the mercy of AGC/Auto Limiters, and this really can be a problem when recording dialogue since the compression will kick in as soon as somebody speaks. If you're miking them up properly (either overhead MS or rifle mic or even personal concealed radio mics) your sound will be much better resolved, but as soon as there's a gap in level the AGC will then kick in and lift levels - which is clearly not good enough. This can, to some degree, be gated on a sound mixer (on a "real" desk or even in Premiere)but it's not an ideal solution. Better to get it right to start with.

My advice would be that if you're treating your audio properly then try and spend a lot of money on a Sennheiser mic or similar, but if you're going to give the cam a direct 3.5mm feed then opt for a lower-cost Audio Technica mic instead. Alternatively, get a Sennheiser MKH300 short-barelled mic with a hairy harry windjammer for camcorder-top mounting (like the news crews use) and then supplement it with a decent fishpole (eg: Panamic telescopic) and high-quality cable + headphones so that someone who knows how to position a mic for dialogue can assist.

Trouble with today's DV style operation is that sound is being pushed further and further down the list of priorities, and you can't half tell it on many TV progs these days. I was watching a prime-time BBC2 show the other day, part of which was shot on DV, and the quality of the audio was appalling - really awful. It wouldn't have been allowed in my day!! (These days the accountants have too much control and nobody seems to give a toss, that's the problem).

1. Studio/Guild Route

   After securing the necessary minimum days of on-the-job training, join the Directors Guild with a signatory production company and work your way up the ladder. Some companies allow you to shadow a director, which gives you valuable training.

2. The Independent Route

   Learn how to identify or create a low budget, 90-page script which you feel has something controversial to say. Scrape together some money and execute a 4:1 or 6:1 shooting ratio with high production values. Hire a sales agent and sell the film at AFM, Cannes, MIFED or Raindance, and make a profit for your investors. Repeat this process until you are discovered, or are considered a worthy risk for investors. ie Woody Allen, Steven Soderburgh (Sex Lies and Videotape) ,Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) and Hal Hartlyey (Swoon).

3. Screenplay Option Route

   Write or purchase a script/story and sell it, releasing the screen rights only when you are hired as director. This technique is called holding your script hostage. ie (Return from Alcatraz)

4. Student/Festival Route

   Make a short film or ultra low budget feature and enter festivals, demonstrating your talent, gaining exposure to future clients and agents on the lookout for emerging talent. Hire a publicist to promote yourself,even if it is at the expense of your film. You are aiming to achieve notoriety or celebrity status. ie Buffalo 66, Trees Lounge, Blair Witch Project

5. Agency Packaging Route

   After associating with celebrity actors or writers from a common agency, convince the agency to represent you as part of a package that they sell directly to production companies with you attached as director. The agency will usually attach name stars to your project as well. ie Copland

6. Establish yourself in commercials

   By offering to direct test commercials or pop promos for unknown bands,demonstrate your talent and original ideas,and convince a producer to hire you to direct. ie Ridley Scott, Tony Kaye (American History X)

7. Become a master of the short form

   Write and/or direct short films which demonstrate your talent. Enter festivals and competitions. When you have gained confidence,select several of your short films and approach either a production company (number1 above) or talent (number 5 above) and convince them to let you direct a long form film (feature) ie Shane Meadows

8. Start as an assistant editor

   This has been the classic route to directing used by many directors in the1940s - 70s.Offer your services for free as an assistant editor:log shots, sync sound, until you are promoted to editor. When you have cut several films and impress with your knowledge of shots, get hired to direct a feature. ie David Lean, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese

9. Become a successful stage director

   Most stage directors do not realise how well equipped they are to direct film. Blocking, timing, storytelling and working with actors are all essential directing skills that many film directors lack. Why not start a theatre group with a few close friends (like Steppenwolf in Chicago, or Second City in Toronto) and build a reputation for exciting stage shows. Invite reviewers and agents, and wait to be discovered by a producer,or turn a stage show into a movie yourself. ie Sam Mendes, Stephen Daldry, Andrew Shea

(c) Raindance 2002

Today Jeff Day and myself travelled to the Press Association building on Vauxhall Bridge road, Victoria to meet a director with a feature-film under his belt. Dusty Rhodes wrote and directed the war-time love story, Distant Bridges. The film has been shown in almost every foreign country one can think of: Thailand, USA, Hungary, etc. Dusty was good enough to give us a few hours of his time to talk about the film and also give us some 'tips for young filmmakers'. When Dusty's interview is posted, you can find it at this link. Dusty took us round and introduced us to editors, cameramen, etc. We were even lucky enough to meet someone working with David Nutley on his new Star Wars film.

In other news, my actress was still ill yesterday, so soon I'll begin the shoot of the back-up movie. This will be interesting, as I can't actually film the whole thing in 2 days (which would have been possible with the first idea). This means I'll actually do a bit of filming, then a bit of editing - then back to some filming, then some more editing. Now I know how Chelsea felt, being hit with all those (injury) problems right before the big day!!! Don't think I'll be able to finish the first short film in time for the BBC TALENT competition though, which has a closing date of 31-May-02.

D'oh! My actress has fallen ill and is unsure if she'll recover in time for the shoot which is scheduled to start on 06-May-02. As a precautionary measure, I have developed another script which I can film as a back-up if she can't make it. I also got to see Clerks today - another debut feature. Brilliant, I thought.

In other news, I finally receievd a copy of the movie, Still November, a feature film shot entirely on digital by the director Glenn-Emlyn Richards. They used the Canon XL-1 camera. Some scenes looked beautiful - indistinquishable from 16mm film. Other scenes - er - well, let's just say they looked straight out of an analogue camcorder. I guess this has a lot to do with lighting again, but at least when a Canon is at its best it looks like film - woo-hoo!!!!!