What I Learned On My First Short Film

I’ve been shooting as much of everything as I can. It’s one thing to shoot your tree being removed, some birds at the park or the dogs playing in the yard, it’s a completely new experience to write, direct, shoot and edit your own short film. Though I learned a lot from the 24 hour film challenge I entered last year, I’m not considering that my first short film. Happy Birthday, You’re a Zombie is my first short and it is very short; just over one and a half minutes long. 

The most important thing I learned shooting this short is that I have a lot more to learn. A lot more! Though I’m well versed at screenwriting, I’m as green as they come behind the camera and as a director.

My friends and family are priceless! When they committed to help then showed up on time and ready to go, it was the greatest feeling in the world. It gave me confidence and it let me know that these truly were people who wanted to be there. They wanted to help, to be a part of what I was trying to do. It inspired me to do my very best. 

My wife is a Saint. She filled so many roles on set that I should have credited her as not only the zombie, but wardrobe, makeup, props master, candle wrangler and a heck of a lot more. I could not have completed this film without her.

Lighting is the bane of a filmmaker’s existence. Therefore, lighting is now the bane of my existence. I’ve been a photographer for thirty years but learned that shooting stills is far easier than shooting film with existing light. I shoot in one direction using settings gleaned from the available light and the shot looks great. Turn the camera around to shoot in the opposite direction and the shot looks like hell. You are constantly checking to ensure consistency in your lighting and it is a hell of a chase.

You can never have enough lighting. I MacGyvered a light that I never used, but I was so happy that it was there just in case I needed it. I had four lights available and I would have been comfortable, and happy, with even more.

 

Timing is everything. In a time when digital means you’ll never waste film, there should never be a shot not covered. I still kick myself for not getting more (and better) coverage of the amazing zombie makeup by Karen Dance. I may never have used it in the film, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t use it in a reel or that she may have wanted some footage to use on her reel. There were a few instances during edits that I wanted to reassemble the team and shoot just a few more angles, a bit more footage. Something I hope to avoid on future shoots.

My creativity has to extend beyond the idea, script and shooting to problem solving. The aforementioned lights were one such dilemma. I had no budget for lights and used a 500W halogen worklight indoors with a reflector to help extend and/or diffuse it. The Dollar Store is a lifesaver. Home Depot should be renamed Problem Solving Depot. I created my own dolly using two eight foot long channels laid on the ground side-by-side and used string to pull a $17 Walmart skateboard across them, the wheels of which I swapped out for Rollerblade wheels. I was forced to think on my feet and come up with affordable solutions to what seemed like problems only lots of money could solve.

My parents often said, “You’ll never get the jail for asking.” They were right. Sometimes it’s hard to pluck up the courage and ask your friends, loved ones and even strangers to help you with your film projects. I took my parents’ advice and asked a lot of people for help because truly, the worst thing they could say was no. No one gets hurt. No one goes to jail. And, I’d never hold a grudge against anyone for saying no. But, now I’d beat myself up if I didn’t ask. And, one more time to all the people who helped me on my film, a great, big thank you!

I’m sure more lessons will penetrate my brain as the weeks go by. And, I look forward to it, both the learning and the filmmaking.

An Easter Quest!

My wonderful neighbours, the McLaughlins, sent me on a very special hunt this morning.

It all started with a note taped, and an Easter Basket tied, to the door.



















Which led me to another clue:
























I'm glad I didn't have to drive to my next clue since I may have destroyed this one.























This clue led me here:


















Then I was off to my next clue here:



















Thank goodness my Easter Bunnies weren't taller because I'd have had a real problem getting a grip on this clue. But, I got it and then I was off to find my next clue here:



















From here I ended my journey with my last clue/treat which also had something in it for my wife...some coffee!



















Thank you so much to my very special Easter Bunnies, Sarah and Liam. You can see their parents hiding in the background in the photo below and I thank them ALL very much for thinking of me today. Holidays are always tough on me emotionally. My mom would always join us for dinner and since she's been gone, I've had a difficult time. What happened to me this morning was truly a wonderful, fun, and much appreciated event that I won't soon forget.

Thanks McLaughlins, you rock!


















My Bounty!







The Chocolate Bunny Milky Ways are already missing. I don't think any clues are needed to find them. They were YUMMY!

Obedient She's Not...

Roxy is our one year old Shepherd we rescued from the Burlington Humane Society. Here's a video to show off what she's learned from successfully completing two obedience courses. She may not be the most obedient dog in the world, but she sure is the prettiest.

My Spider-man Collection

He's still my hero!

I’ve come across a few fanatical collectors of Spider-man memorabilia and I’ll confess that I’m nowhere on their radar, hell, not even in the same hemisphere. Yet, I still feel like a crazed collector even though I’ve spent maybe a few hundred dollars on my collection, where others have spent tens of thousands. That sounds more like a small gathering of items rather than a collection, but I disagree. I would wager that my little group of Spidey collectibles has the same effect on me as another person’s large collection would have on them; it makes me happy, is a very pleasing thing to look at and it has meaning to me.

Why Spider-man?

Aside from the obvious reason that the fictional superhero is just badass, there is the notion that many readers of Spider-man connected with Peter Parker, the guy under the mask. Here was a kid that had all the same problems we had; acne, couldn’t connect with girls very well, a loner, B.O., awkward…all the stuff that adolescent males deal with was right there on the page. While I’m quite certain this was likely one of the reasons that I connected with Spidey, it wasn’t the main reason.

When I was a kid I had a minor reading disability. Well, now I think it was a minor problem, but then it was a whole other story. I couldn’t read more than one or two words at a time. So, where some kids were scanning whole paragraphs and flying through their reading assignments, I was jerkily crawling along. I dreaded oral reading, when each kid the class would read a sentence or paragraph out loud. I was terrible at it unless I figured out which sentence or paragraph I was meant to read, then I’d go over it as many times as I could and sound so smooth and polished when my turn came. Reading was awful, it was a chore; I hated reading.

My parents were pretty smart and felt that reading anything was better than nothing so, they supplied me with comic books. My favourite being, you guessed it, Spider-man. If not for Stan Lee I never would have understood reading for enjoyment or possibly reading at all. I recently wrote a thank you letter to Mr. Lee for his part in my reading happiness. Not that it’ll mean much to him, probably receives thousands of letters a week. Still, it made me feel good.

So many moons later and I still get a thrill when I pick up a new piece to the collection. For those interested in starting their own collection of Spidey goodies, point yourself to the nearest dollar store. You’ll be amazed at what you can pick up for a buck or two. Items that I’ve purchased, often for one dollar, go for much more online. I’m not suggesting that you go to the dollar stores and pick up items that you can sell for more on Ebay. Far from that. I’m telling you to keep those items, open them up and display them. Hell, you want to keep them packaged to leave them to the kids, go ahead. But, keep them. Enjoy them.

Dollar stores aren’t the only place to hunt down treasures. I visited a local Party Packagers store and picked up a Spider-man Marvel Legends (Sentinel Series) for $8.50. I found an Ebay listing for the exact same figure, mint in box, for US $50.

I love my collectibles and don’t see myself ever selling them, though I have given stuff away. You can blame my mom for that; she really was right when she said it was far better to give then receive. I enjoy the feeling of random acts of kindness (RAOK). That’s just part of the experience of collecting Spider-man memorabilia or any kind of collectible for that matter. I encourage you to join in the fun by visiting Spider-man sites, toy sites and other collecting sites. Heck, get out to a toy show, you’ll love it! You meet some very interesting folks with similar interests – face to face, too!

What’s So Cool?

I’m often asked what my favourite piece is from my collection. That is so difficult to answer since I love them all, but when pushed I come up with these three items:

A wrestling mask my wife brought back for me from Mexico.

A crocheted blanket in the shape of a spider web that a good friend made for me.

A plastic head used at retail stores to hold bubblegum that my mom got for me from a local variety store.

There are countless items to collect in the world of Spider-man and countless more in so many other areas. Get out there, enjoy yourself and do a little collectible hunting face to face – you’ll be glad you did.

Here's a few more photos of items I've collected over the years.