Lesson 1: keep camera STILL

Why oh why would you do that:
Let me tell you a story: I once was shooting a jookin competition. (Jookin is a style of dancing created in Memphis TN, I advise you to look it up) I was in a corner with my camera and my tripod and there was also a gentleman, also recording, on his HUGE phone. Now it was standing room only and sadly yours truly was having to protect his camera and telling people I can't see through them. That was ok, I have been in trickery and crazier situations to grab a shot, so I didn't mind it too much. But the guy next beside me, this one guy, shooting beside me, was dancing to the music while holding his phone. This guy was moving his phone up and down, with the beat, and halfway paying attention to what he was doing. Afterwards he tells his buddy beside him how good his shooting was and how good it look on his phone. Well, from one videographer to another, no it wasn't good.

SO what makes a good shot:
Now I could go pages and pages into eye level, rule of third, composition of shots but I will keep this insanely simple for this post. If you want to record something, don't move your camera unless you need to. You don't need to move it to the beat, you don't look at your friend and start bragging how good you are while shooting, and please what ever you do don't shoot the ceiling while your guy is on the ground. So Here are, what I am calling, the Rules of creating a shot.

1. Put you camera on a tripod: Put that camera on the tripod and it will make a world of a difference,  but if you don't have a tripod then find a way to stabilize the camera as best as you can so you can have a decent shot.
2. Put subject or object into focus: Auto or manual, I prefer manual because I have more control over the shot.
3. Push record: And there you have it, only move your camera when needed.

There are so many other rules and ways to make your shot amazing but I believe that until you have those rules down you can't sharpen your craft. How many times have you thought. " ah if I pan right while tilting up I could create the perfect shot" and failed because the last thing in your shot is out of focus. Or you paned too far right and you get something that wasn't suppose to be in there. Always keep it simple until you have practice and perfected a certain technique. And that time will come when that shot needs a extra tilt or pan and it will make all the difference.  Better safe than sorry

Next Time: 
movies

Speaking of go check out thenetflixhorrormovieguide.blogspot.com. 

later

A decision in film I need to make

Whether to try gofundme or not:
For those who do not know what the site is: It is a site where you can propose small business plans and people can either support you by giving you money or by sharing your file to other people who might give you money.
I have been researching this site because I felt like it was a scam. I mean come on, who in their right mind would just give there hard earned money away to strangers. Plus there is a chance the site could just take your money and run, so you can see my concern and wanted to make sure.

What I have found out about gofundme:
Here are some of my findings:

1. This site is somewhat like kickstarter, a legit site, except on a smaller personal scale. Kickstarter are for people who need large amount of funds , for example 60 grand, to start their project. They will pitch their idea and ask people to fund it. Gofundme is on a smaller scale, for example 5 grand, to start on their project.
2. gofundme has been in business for 4 years
3. The way gofundme gets paid is taking a small percent from whatever you make. Lets say you need 5 thousand to start a ice cream trucking business. ( I know it takes more than 5 thousand, but lets just stick with the example.) You go onto the site, pitch your idea and people loved it and the site raised 5,500. Gofundme will take a 2 to 3 percent of that and this will be what you pay, to the site, for using their services. So thats 110 to 165 dollarsthey take form you, which is not bad at all.

My thoughts on using this site:
If this was up to me I would never think about using the site and just save money until I have the amount I need to buy the equipment to properly run my business. But the problem is that I live in a world that sucks my wallet dry. It would take me way to long to save and by the time I did save that amount, I would have to start saving for the next piece of equipment. This art is always changing and if you don't have the proper equipment, you will never flourish. Anyone who has ever started a business had to ask for help one way or the other. So I think I am going to try this site out. Even if I do not make a dime, I will be in the same spot where I am now and thats not a bad thing. It just means I will have to find another avenue to raise money.

I think I know where these blogs are heading
No I really don't know, but I do hope that soon I can home in on a particular subject and type about that. For know it will be about my adventure and what I want to write about.

 Next Time
I will talk about a guy who tried to film while jumping

Ah the things you don't learn in school

Things they don't teach you in school
When I let my wife read my post last night she raised a point that I still don't like to accept:
I am not an aggressive person.

B E AGRESSIVE
You like my cheerleader analogy? Yea me too and I will get back to that in a minute. But let us stay on course and talk about being aggressive. A big problem, something that did not even occur to me until about a year ago, is that I am a very laid back individual. I don't let my emotions get the best of me, and when situations get really tough, I can keep a cool head and get the job done. While these are great attributes, the problem is that I become lazy and I don't pursue opportunities as well as I should. When I don't pursue these as aggressive as I should and don't get the job, I become discourage. And when I become discourage I get into a slump and really don't do anything.
I have learn recently that if you want something, you have to go out and get it. You don't deserve a chance just because you were born and think people should give you a shot. You deserve a chance when you go out, bust your butt, improve your craft, and dare to dream, to reach for the stars. I also learned that you have to fail.

Let me repeat this, you have to learn to fail:
Now I don't mean you go out and purposely screw up a project, but you have to tackle challenges that you know nothing about and try to achieve goals that might seem impossible. Adam Savage said something that has always stuck with me, he said "We grow up in a world where we see failure as a bad thing, failure is not bad, when we fail we learn something we did not know before." So I go out and I tackle a problem and try to discover the answer. Now, 9 times out of 10 I don't find the solution to my problem and sometimes its frustrating and just plain sucks. But what I do find are other things I might have never thought of and store it in my brain for other problems that might occur down the road.

In the End
You can be your biggest fan or your worst enemy. You have to cheer yourself on, and sometimes you have to take the voice thats in your head and mute it. You can't be lazy and you can't sit on your couch expecting a phone call to change your life.

Next time
I will talk about gofundme, and whether I should do this or not

Later

Time to start up again

I'm back into the think tank:

It has been so long since I have written a blog that I expect that all the rules have changed. I have decided that I will start on a new project. It has been a few years since I had an idea that I could run with, but I have to start somewhere right?

Ideas:

1. To start writing down goals and ideas that can be done with only a 1 man crew.
2. Create an audience who actually wants to see my work.
3. Make money
4. The most important one of all: Changing the world around me.

Changing world around me that I don't like:

Now don't get me wrong, I am surrounded by wonderful people who push me and who love me. I am forever grateful for my family and truly blessed. But I left my love, making art with my camera, to support my family. While I will never regret my decision, I have come to learn that my passion will forever be a part of me. I have always felt that God gave me a gift and that I should use it. Because I have not made anything in a while and am not making videos as much as I want to, I have felt miserable and sad. I used to be that guy that chase after his dreams to becoming successful behind the camera. I fought with myself because I believed I had to stop my dreams so I could raise a family. I have struggled  because I wanted to stop and move on with my life but God has had other plans for me. As many times as I have thought "ok this is it, i'm done with this part of my life" I would get a phone call from someone to shoot or get an chance to use my talents. Whenever I get behind a camera, or edit, or record, its a drug. It is a high that doesn't stop and joy that never seems to stop. It's a cloud nine the whole time and when I am done for the day, I smile like the joker. I just can't seem to stop grinning. So this blog will be a guide for me to start up with my art again. To change my world and start to like my life again.

Next time:

I will throw ideas around and make a list of items I need. I have equipment but I still need a lot more. 

Later