In Case of Fire Cleans Up at Digi60 Festival

In the last two years things have been hectic but with others I made a few short films.  Worst Case Scenario, Fairy Tale, Interview with an Exorcist and Living with your Conscience.  The last one was done in August 2014.

Last Fall I entered the Digi60 and I won two of the four major awards.  Best Directing and Best Cinematography!  The film is In Case of Fire.  We also were  a runner up for Best Picture.  We were only a point behind Touched, a great film starring the fantastic Jon McLaren.

I hope to have In Case of Fire online for people to see soon!

OUT OF THE DARK FILMS

Welcome to the temporary home of OUT OF THE DARK FILMS! 

We're launching Spring 2014!  Our main site is currently under construction.

Come back soon for updates!

F.AQ.

Q: What is Out the Dark Films?

A.  Out of the Dark Films is the home of some great new Web Series and shorts with a distinct look and style that we'll be releasing throughout our first year. 

Q.  Distinct look and style? What does that even mean.  ;-)

A.  Many of our films our being shot in a look that pays homage to Ralph Bakshi.  We love cartoons that are meant for adults and we hope you do too!  But we will be doing live action. 

Q.  What type of genres?

A.  Everything from spy comedies, to science fiction space adventure, Hard hitting comedy with a supernatural twist.  Serious Adventure and Time Travel plus a whole lot more.  We have plenty of Properties and we want to give you a taste of each.  If you like it we'll make more.

Q.  How did Out of the Dark Films get created?

A.   In Fall 2013 Mage Arts, LBateman Design and group of very talented people came together to compete in the Ottawa Digi60 Film Festival.  It was such rewarding experience that we decided to do more.   Below is the film we created, Worst Case Scenario.

Back...Finally

And I'm back.

Sorry it's taken so long for new posts but I'm been away in Bulgaria and in Toronto on a couple of different film sets all month.  

Back to production.  I know a lot of people in the Indy world that try to reach the unattainable and fall flat on there face.  I've done it myself.  When this happened a fellow film maker took me aside and pointed out all the mistakes I'd made and what I should do now.

The best part of his advice was to do something(a short film) that was simple.  Two characters in a room.   Learn to work with actors and the angles and then add complexity in another production.  Learn those skills and increase.

Here's my stepping stone video based on his advice.  It's simple, 3 minutes and I learned a lot on it.  Don't be afraid to make mistakes ( you will).  Although you should do your best to plan for them and avoid them!

Cameras, Cameras and more Cameras

So you've completed you're script, found you're cast and now you're getting ready to shoot. People always ask what's the best camera to use?

It depends. ( People hate that answer) No one camera is the king of everything. Some people say use a Red One, Epic, Alexa, FS100, F3, Canon 5D MII or III, 7D, 2Ti, 3Ti , C300 etc.

Is the Epic a better camera than a 7D? It has a better codec and resolution. That doesn't by default make it the right choice. If money and time are no concern then sure it'd be great to shoot on one.

If you're doing a short, you're not making any money from it. So a DSLR may make more sense. DSLR's are great to able to practice with and shoot with get to know lenses and framing. I think every Indie filmmaker should have a camera they can practice with whenever they want. And they should practice!

Once you're comfortable with the techniques it can be great to work with a more robust format. It also depends on the purpose of your short. Using an Epic on a short with the help of a tech who's familiar with it can be a great learning experience. I do recommend that if you're trying to learn such a camera that you concentrate on the camera work for that shoot, rather trying to direct and learn a new camera.

I have a friend who's a great director and who makes his living as a DOP and an Editor. A few years back I was directing a short. He offered to shoot it so he could “play” with a new Camera and field test it before using the same gear on a feature he was directing.

What am I shooting my new short on? A Canon 7D. I happen to own it and most of the gear needed to go with it. I've taken the 7D with me around the world and it's a good little camera. A 2ti, 3ti or newer 24p capable Canon DSLR would do just as well. I funding the project myself so cost is definetly a factor. I can make the Canon do what I need. Yes an Epic would be nice but it would certainly increase the cost of my project and I'd have to trim corners elsewhere. Now if I had a friend with an Epic willing to come in and shoot for 2 weekends for free I'd be happy to take them up on it.

And remember just because it was shot on a Red doesn't make it any good. It's just as easy to shoot crappy footage on a Red as on a DSLR.

And most importantly content is king. So make sure you have something to say and a good story before you start worrying about what camera you're going to shoot with.

Montreal Comiccon

Needless to say I had a great time at Montreal Comiccon.  It was great having my film in the Horrorfest. 

My favourite part of Comiccon?  The after meet and greet on the opening night.  I got to meet some great film makers and actors.  Looking forward to watching their stuff!

It was fun seeing all the cos-players and attending the events.  For me it was a little different seeing actors in this environment that's more carefree as opposed to in the working environment of a film set. 

Casting for Short Film Clean Up

Script's done and we're on to casting!  I've been very lucky to get a great cast for this project.

Aphra Williams - Best know for her leading role in "A Violent State" winner of the 2011, Ottawa International Film Festival.  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4452275/

Melodie Courval.   A great up and coming talent who's been appearing in many Canadian shorts and the feature 13 Downs.  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4272840/

Ken McDavitt.  Best known for the webseries "A Man of Principals"

I'm happy to welcome all of them aboard!

Montreal Comiccon Horrorfest

I'm happy to announce that my short film "Speak of the Devil" is playing at the opening screening of Montreal Comiccon at the Horrorfest!

Here's a link. 

http://montrealhorrorfest.com/2012/08/short-program-1/

It's my first Comiccon and needless to say I'm looking foward to it!