Color may not tell your story, but it certainly reinforces it. Color tells the audience what to expect in a scene before the first word of dialog is even spoken. And, as you might expect, different colors have different meanings.
In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan look at the impact of color in a scene.
The first time a director really gets to see a character is when they first walk on the set. What that character looks like is, more often than not, the responsibility of the costume designer. How does a costume designer decide what an actor should look like? In this episode, we find out.
Hope Hanafin, vice president of the Costume Designers Guild, joins hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan for this episode of the 2 Reel Guys. In it, we discuss the process of costuming; and what caught our attention is that it doesn’t really start with clothes!
Real-life shooting issues like tight schedules, actor and camera problems, tightening budgets, and natural catastrophes, all conspire to limit the number and variety of shots that we are able to shoot for a scene, despite our best plans. (These shots are what we call “coverage.”); When push comes to shove, how do you decide which shots you absolutely MUST have?
In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan show how to use a storyboard to convey what you want to shoot, then illustrate a great technique to help you determine those shots that are critical for your scene.
Every year, hundreds of films that are well shot, well directed, well finished and well acted fall by the distribution wayside because their poor audio makes it impossible for an audience to understand and enjoy them. Poor microphone choices, combined with poor techniques, create large roadblocks which prevent the audience from watching your story.
In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss the basics of sound recording, including helping you to make good choices in microphones, in order to capture the emotions and content that are conveyed through well-recorded audio performances.
The heart of editing isn’t technology; not even the software you use to edit your masterpiece. Instead, the essential part of editing is storytelling. A good editor combines all the different audio and video elements so deftly that the audience is captivated by the story, totally oblivious to the technology and craft involved.
In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss the basics of editing, including deconstructing a short scene from a student film to illustrate how the editing decisions help the audience understand what is going on in the character’s mind.
Lighting does more than illuminate your actors, it illuminates your story. Properly used, lighting can start telling your story before your actors speak a word. However, far too many beginning filmmakers are willing to accept the light as it is, rather than adjust the lighting for their benefit.
In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss the basics of lighting, and provide some examples of how a simple change in lighting can have a dramatic effect on the viewer’s emotions.
Actors can be frightening, especially to new filmmakers. This is because actors live in a world of emotions — experiencing them, then projecting these emotions through their characters into a film. Because of this, many directors don’t know how to work with them. But they’re really not so scary when you realize that they are trying to do the same thing that everyone else on your project is doing — tell the story through the most effective use of their tools.
In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss how to work with actors and provide some simple techniques you can use to solve, or avoid, problems.
Collaboration is at the heart of film-making, but how do you balance collaboration with leadership? In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss collaboration — what works and what doesn’t. Discover why collaboration is not the same as “making a movie by committee,” and that leadership does not mean “having all the answers.”
It is fun to grab a camera and start shooting. But, without spending some time planning beforehand, what you shoot may not be what you want.
In this episode, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss the process of pre-production. Who is responsible for doing the work? How do you balance between what you want and what you can afford? And some simple techniques that can keep the process of organization from becoming overwhelming. Organization may not be “creative,” but good planning is the foundation upon which all creativity rests.
What do directors do that drive actors crazy? What can you do to avoid these problems? In this series on visual story-telling, digital media experts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan illustrate typical actor complaints and provide simple things directors can do to minimize problems on set.
