Film contests, time, & deadlines

Last month was the annual 48 Hour Film Project for Pittsburgh. I've participated in several of those contests in the past, even taking on the role of team leader. Unfortunately, for this contest, I had to step away. I've probably touched on this before, but it's great experience that really tests your talents as a creative. It's also one of the most draining experiences I've ever been a part of, which is why I elected to sit out this one, in any capacity.

While it is fantastic to work towards that goal of creating a film under time constraints and work with my friends in colleagues around Pittsburgh, I've become a little hesitant towards working long hours on set to reach that goal. Not that it happens every time. And sometimes it has to be done to get the job done. I understand that. It has just been very taxing in the past, so I needed to step away from any offers to participate this time around.

I'll be back in the game next time around. Maybe even in a leadership role, like I swore I'd do again. In the meantime, I never got a chance to share the film projects I worked on late last year. I had some photos I wanted to share from both shoots, which I finally uploaded to my website. I've been moving everything off of Flickr and migrating onto my own website in order consolidate on creative content locations. Check them out if you get the chance. It's always fun to capture the magic that happens on set.

For a little background on the photos, I had the opportunity to participate in the horror-themed 48 Hour Film Project, something that I've become familiar with over that last couple of years. As I just mentioned, I have led a couple of teams in the past, but my ever shifting and busy schedule has led me to take a back seat on the more recent projects.

It's nice to take a less prominent role on set, after working as a Director of Photography over a majority of last year (on the set of Body Farm). I've been asked to work as a gaffer or grip on various other occasions, but my day job always had to take priority over the course of this year. Thankfully, a few contests cropped up that allowed me to help with some filming on the weekends.

As I've mentioned previously in my blog, the 48 Hour Film Project is something that I've become very familiar with over the past few years. As a team leader for both Suture Films and Cipher Eye Media, I was able to work with a great group of talented individuals in all aspects of the filmmaking process. Of course that also included all of the costs and frustrations that came with being involved with the whole process, including the lack of sleep and unexpected hiccups in the process (camera overheating issues, editing software crashing, etc), which I experienced a lot of during my team in charge of teams.

After my third outing as team leader, I decided to help out on an 'as needed' basis, as my crewmates became busier with their lives and I battled some personal demons. As I also mentioned before, I eventually had to take a break from the film scene in Pittsburgh to get some things in order.

2017 proved to be an improvement over the disastrous 2016 that I endured. Anyway, not to get too personal, but I eventually became eager to return to that film grind that I loved and missed so much.

So, when the projects rolled in for 2017, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of them. Pittsburgh's 48HFP also hosts a horror-themed contest in the fall (closer to Halloween). The guys at Reckless Amnesiac (of Hobo Hunters fame) put together a team to participate in the event.

I was invited on by the team to assist with audio recording and any other duties that required extra hands on set. As always, it was a pleasure to work with these guys.

Since I had only operated sound gear a handful of times in the past, this was a bit change to operate a boom and recorder on this production. Sound had never really my thing, but I had always understood the importance of getting good sound on a shoot (something that could be overlooked newer filmmakers).

With the change on responsibilities on set, there always comes the process of thinking of how to efficiently do those responsibilities to the best of your ability. I had the think outside of the box, as this was a different department than what I was used to. How do I get close enough to the actors in wide shots? How do I keep up with actors while they are moving, while also avoiding the frame while the camera is moving with the actors? These were questions that I constantly had to ask myself.

The Reckless Amnesiac crew is also good at finding very unique and appropriate locations to shoot at. This was no exception. They had tracked down an abandoned house with old, creepy objects that were left behind: the perfect location for a horror shoot.

As a side note, the South Side Slopes (our shooting location) have many, many steps. It feels like they go on forever when you're carrying around production equipment. I still get horror flashblacks.

Anyway, the inside of this house was every bit of weird, gross, and intriguing, making it one of the more interesting shoots that I've been on. The dedication, professionalism, and good nature of the crew also made this a very fun shoot to be on, even after we had wrapped in the late hours of the night.

The final product is a film called Infective, which is available on YouTube.

Moving on from that, I was invited to assist with a different crew a month later. This time, I was back in the camera department, assisting with any lighting setups and camera needs. This shoot was very unique, as it allowed us to explore facilities available at Point Park University and Pitt and utilize them as shooting locations.

The contest, the Four Points Film Project, follows the same basic idea as the 48HFP. The result was an awesome little film called Low Probability.

 I enjoyed assisting in this film because I had the opportunity to work with individuals that I had never met before, providing a different approach to the filmmaking process and showing me different techniques.

It was a great new experience, complete with unique locations and some real insight to the screenwriting process. Once again, it was a late wrap, but I was very happy with how the film turned out and hope to work with this group of creatives in the future.

Speaking of screenwriting, I've decided focus more on writing going forward. While I won't be completely leaving the filmmaking scene, my focus on writing will take up more of my time, meaning less film/video/content production (for the time being). I will be updating frequently on how that process is going and what I've learned in the process.

In the meantime, I hope you are all still feeding your creative needs. Feel free to contact me for any assistance in the future.

Cheers!
Steven

The art of game capture: my 'Let's Play', four years in the making

Since I discovered this form of media existed, I have slowly cultivated the idea to produce something to call my own.

I believe it was around 2013 that I stumbled upon the world of Let's Plays. Although they've likely been around since the availability of capture technology, it really seemed like 2013 was the year that it was becoming mainstream. It was the first time that it garnered my interest.

Sure, YouTube celebrities like PewDiePie and Markiplier were at the forefront of the Let's Play movement, but it was a growing company known as Achievement Hunter that introduced me to Let's Play.

I remember stumbling upon my first Let's Play video. Two men were operating the stiff hands of a ridiculous game called Surgeon Simulator while commentating on their flubs as they attempted do heart surgery. It was absolutely hilarious. Since then, I've been following the Achievement Hunter troupe and taking notes on the technology that they use to create these wonderful videos.

The first iteration of my video game project.

Now, I have no intention of ever making a career out of this. I simply wanted to do this because it combined many aspects of my passions in digital media. Video games? Check. Recording? Yeah. Video editing? Yup. The creative development process behind producing a video? Many of the elements are there. From that point on, I was sold on the idea of creating my own Let's Play channel.

But then life happened. In 2014 and 2015, I was moving around a lot in a whirlwind of work and living. I was also more heavily involved in the filmmaking community, meaning that I had to put this project on the back burner. I hate when I'm forced to do that, but there is only so much time in the day.

Around late 2014, I recorded my first Let's Play test run with my now ex-girlfriend. We played together in a world that we created in Minecraft. It was my first taste on how difficult this process could be. Tensions were high as technology was failing. It was definitely not a success. So, I decided to, once again, put the project on the back burner.

Then more moving happened and more fell on my lap, consuming all my spare time. It was 2016 and I was living in a tiny apartment in Pittsburgh. My budget was tighter than usual, but my passions remained the same. My friend came to me with the idea to start a podcast, being one that never shies away from new opportunity, I agreed to work on back-end of the podcast, handling the hardware and software that would record, edit, and release episodes of the podcast.

I found that my aspects of the process could be incorporated into recording for a Let's Play. Once ,
again, I felt the urge to make a Let's Play. This time, I used the knowledge I had gained from recording a podcast.

I started with something simple. I tried capturing a mobile game off of my phone using software that was already built into into my PC. It's a very simple setup for capturing. At that time, the Miitomo app by Nintendo had just released. This hybrid game/social app was perfect for my experiment. I event tried adding a facecam (webcam recording me while I capture my audio and the screen). The results were satisfying.

Unfortunately, I had to shelve my second attempt before I even got around to editing it. This time, it was for more personal reasons. Life really has a way of throwing some curveballs.

The most recent iteration of my gaming project.

Halfway through 2017, life was finally settling down. Again, I wanted to scratch that itch of recording a Let's Play. On a late Saturday evening, I sat down at my desk and booted up the game 20XX on my PC. Without any script or guidelines, I recorded a playthrough.

I was highly satisfied with the results, though pretty amateurish by nature. My next step was to work on the back end and prepare all of the resources necessary to edit and publish my video. After a lengthy process of trial-and-error, software testing, and workflow testing, I was satisfied with my results.

Here is the final product:


Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and thanks again if you gave the video a watch. There's still a lot to improve on. My philosophy has always been that everything has room for improvement. Feel free to pass along any of your own input. I love constructive criticism.

Until the next time.

Cheers!
Steven

Putting the "royalty" in "Royalty-Free"

For us content creators out there, we've been in the situation where there are certain aspects of the creation process that we cannot completely control. We want our vision to come as close as how we see it in our heads, but sometimes the resources or funding aren't always there.

Yes, this is a stock image. Yes, people actually do use these stock
materials for projects (I think).

This is where 'stock' websites come into play. There are resources available for creatives seeking to incorporate something like an image into their project. These websites provide a catalog of media that a user can download. It could be a stock photo, music, sound bit, video, graphic art...the list goes on.

It is always important to note that there are rules and regulations to using stock content. Before, we get into the subject of "royalty-free", let's discuss the "pay" method of acquiring stock content.

When I started my first podcast, Theater N'At, a couple years ago, I needed some music that could break up the introduction (what was called a "cold open") and the rest of the content of each episode of the podcast. I was lucky enough that I had previously purchased some music that was used in a short film prior to the podcast.

Since I had purchased the license to the music, I was free to use that music as our opener and closer for the podcast, without the need to provide any information on where I had acquired the music.

If my memory serves me correctly, this music was downloaded with the purchase of a Standard License, which covers all the basics of use. I believe the price of use was around $50, but once again, you're getting unlimited use out of this music track.

Most stock websites are very explicit about what they want done with their resources and how they want credit to go towards said resource. Is your project for commercial or personal use? That's also factored in.

Now we come to the term you might find on some stock websites: "royalty-free". Instead of paying for a license, sometimes the creator simply requires you to credit their work somewhere in your project. If the stock content is a video clip that is included in your own video project, you may be expected to include information about that clip in the credits at the end of your video project.

It all depends on what the stock provider expects from their user. If you're searching for something specific to add to content that you are creating and editing, don't always go with the first result that pops up in the Google results. Sometimes it's better to take the time and do your research.

Which brings me to my next big project. My next podcast, Decipher the Media, was also in need of some music to serve as an introduction. Instead of using that previous track that I've purchased and continually recycle, I decided to find some new music that would fit well with the podcast.

First, I went to the Google machine. The top results were all "sponsored", but I decided to leaf through them to see what they offered. Like the music I already had, most of them required a Standard License purchase for about $50. I wanted to work around having the pay that price for my startup podcast, but I also didn't want to give required credit in my work for something "royalty-free". So, I dug a little deeper.

I found a website called freestockmusic.com. As generically questionable as it may sound, it actually provides some decent tracks with very few restrictions for usage.

Basically, here's how this website operates, based on the FAQ:

"You sign up for the site and we give you free music. If you still aren’t buying it, you can read the testimonials of our users who will happily agree there is no catch at all."

"We are sponsored by a stock footage company called Footage Firm. Because of this sponsorship, we don’t worry about making money — we only worry about delivering the best resource possible for free production music. In exchange, Footage Firm gets some good PR and marketing."

"Our music comes with a royalty-free, worldwide license agreement that never expires...You are permitted by our license agreement to use our music commercially as long as you add substantial value to the songs."

"The term “substantial value” means you modify or add to the music in a way that makes it uniquely yours. Simply by adding it to a video or singing lyrics on the song, you add substantial value to it."

Digging even deeper, I wanted to make sure there wasn't a catch. I also needed an elaboration on the music usage, since there was no current mention of usage in audio media, such as podcasts.

Here's what I found in the more detailed user agreement:

"For any Stock Files you obtain from us, you may incorporate them into any project, commercial or otherwise, including feature films, broadcast, educational, print, multimedia, games, merchandise, and the internet. Once you incorporate a Stock File into your project, you can share your finished project freely, but you may not share the underlying individual Stock File as a standalone file with anyone else. (That said, you can share individual Stock Files with your client or someone else for the limited purpose of getting their help with your specific project, assuming you are adding substantial value to the project apart from inserting the Stock Files. Otherwise, they need their own license.) You also agree to use your best efforts to avoid letting the Stock File be accessible to others as a standalone file, but since that’s not always possible, your inability to prevent copying will not be considered a breach of this License." 

To my understanding, as long as I'm not just sharing the unaltered music file, I am free to use it in any sort of media project. This includes commercial use. That's a pretty good deal.

As implied, it's important to read these agreements because every royalty-free website is going to have different rules and regulations for using their content. You don't want to get caught in any sort of legal situation just because you didn't read the fine print. So, always do your research.

The particular track I used is now the current opening and closing tune for my podcast. I'm sure that I'll try to switch it up in the future, since these tracks can still be particularly generic and may not be the closest thing thematically.

This is a particularly interesting topic that I'm sure I'll touch on in the future, hopefully in a different format, such as stock video or images.

Until next time.

Cheers!
Steven

This is actually part of a whole series of stock photos. Seriously. Look it up.

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Spending some time with podcasting and recording

So, I did a thing. I've been posting all over social media about my little recording setup and starting a whole bunch of new projects. So, what exactly does it all mean? Well, to break it down, I've been toying with the idea of recording for almost two years now. Recording what? Audio and video that directly feeds into my computer. Not to be confused with location video or sound.

To elaborate, I decided to start my own podcast. While it is still in the process of taking identity, I've always wanted the experience of doing a podcast.

Previously, I have worked to produce another podcast, which was pitched to me from a friend and colleague. While he did the talking with his co-host, I was behind the scenes, monitoring the audio being recorded and the equipment that was being used.

It was a pretty basic setup. Let's start with the hardware. I purchased two USB microphones that were designed for audio recording from a desk setup. I believed that this would be a simple process. Of course, I was wrong. These mics were not designed for simultaneous multitrack recording. At that point, I had to do my research to understand the components of multitrack recording.


I concluded that I needed a mixer that could distinguish and separate the mics that we were recording on. It turns out that USB mics can't be easily integrated with such a setup. I went the cheap route and I was paying for it. Go figure.

So, I had to create a workaround where my computer's sound hardware could separate the lines going directly to the computer's board. It was crude. Very crude. And certain reverb issues would arise in this setup. At certain times, the issues would get so bad that I would have to stop the podcast recording to correct them.

Each host had their designated USB microphone. I would record audio through a multitrack session created in Adobe Audition. Alternatively, I used Audacity for simpler recording sessions. They both work just fine for what I needed to accomplish.

As I mentioned, I had to go into the properties to manually assign instructions to each of the two microphones so that Audition could detect each mic separately to record on their designated track. I don't quite remember the process, but there are instructions that I found on Google. Good ol' Google.

After a handful of episodes, I had to take the back seat with this initial podcast. The hosts chose to record their own episodes with their own equipment while I focused on more pressing matters at the time. I swore I would return to active podcasting... but then life happened. As it always does.

Besides the podcast, I tested some video capturing via software that I found online, overlaying those captures with audio that I would record on the microphone. I never published any of my tests, but I was able to confirm that it was possible with my setup.

I was capturing mainly video games via unique screen capture programs and recording my audio commentary in either Audition or Audacity. I wanted to attempt a "Let's Play" series, figuring out how to put my own spin on it as I went along. None of those old videos every surfaced and I ended up having to shelve the project and put the idea on the back-burner. Again, life happened.

It was around this time that I decided to revisit some of these old concepts and interests. I recently had the chance to record the first episode of my new podcast, Decipher the Media. While it is still a work in progress, I'm taking what I know from previous experiences to improve on my knowledge of recording.

The first episode had a lot of help from Brandon Keenan (a guest on the episode) and KVT Productions, improving the production value beyond my expectations. The setup we used would be ideal for recording and broadcasting sessions. While I plan to get there in quality, I want to focus on building the foundation of recording.

The first thing I did was remove the USB mics entirely from my setup. They were
causing too many issues with recording and were over-complicating multitrack sessions. Instead, I re-purposed some older location sound gear for my recording needs.

I learned that my Zoom H4n has the ability to split audio lines, which can then be fed into the computer on separate tracks. The H4n supports two tracks, which is just shy of what I need for podcasting. I'm hoping to have at least two guests on the podcast at all times, meaning I'll eventually need a mixer that can support simultaneous recording of three mics.

For now, I plan to rely on recording sound for an entire room until I can purchase a mixer with more mic inputs than I currently have. I'll do some tests to see how it comes out in an enclosed setting.

Which brings me to the next part. Given that my current living situation has a lot of extra space, I decided to put some of it to good use. Located on the second floor, I cleared out a small room that was once my office. I grew to despise using that room as my office, so I moved it. Why? I really don't have a good answer, but the space did give me an idea.

I've always wanted to convert a room like this into a small "recording studio". While resources (and space) were always limited in the past, I figured that timing and space provided me with the opportunity to give this little project a shot.

First, I had to clean all of the extra junk and furniture out of the room. With the wood paneling, sound was definitely going to be an issue. To combat this, I'll need get some sound
proofing tarps or foam to cover sections of the wall, minimizing any reverb for audio recording.

For furniture, I was just thinking of a simple setup. I would place a small workstation at one corner of the room. Following that, I could also have a table and chairs set up specifically for my podcasting needs.

I've also considered turning the room into a very small film/photography studio. Granted, this would be very difficult given the dimensions, but it would be perfect for certain smaller projects. I'll be posting some updates once the room is complete. There will also be some podcast updates coming to Cipher Eye Media very soon, if you guys are interested.

Until next time!

Cheers,
Steven