Another short flicker out of my brain for weeklydv.com called "Attack of the Ninety Foot Toys." The theme this week was (as you may have discerned) 90 Feet Tall. Going with the "B" movie approach and shooting wind-up toys in front of a blue-screen was perhaps a bit too ambitious for this week. Especially as I have a tendency to start these things on Tuesdays. Doh. But I did learn a lot of blue-screen technique. I wanted to make it look like an imported movie with some fake subtitles, but didn't get those in before the deadline. This is the reason the dialogue is so messed up with dubbing. It is intentional, do not adjust your set. Feel free to watch the movie here or at weeklydv.com and comment on either site as well. Thanks. One thing that would have helped me (this particular project maybe not) would have been an actual script. I just had images in my head and went and shot them very rapidly. Then I was challenged with how to tie them all together and come up with fitting dialogue. The crew was difficult to work with and the cast was so dang demanding. Ugh, actors. Anyway, it wasn't until two days later that I noticed my unconscious brain is far smarter than my conscious brain -- the song in the intro and outro is from a band (one of my favorites) called Lamb. How appropriate, what with the giant toy sheep! I was shocked when I realized this and burst out laughing (at work). Go figure.

The theme this time around was "120 seconds" and I had a few ideas, but decided to go with this one. I'll be interested in your comments. It was all shot and edited during the day on Wednesday. I had the concept and willingness to appear in the movie and enlisted my friend Jack to run the camera. Whew! This was the closest one yet -- almost didn't make it in time for the midnight deadline. The challenges were as follows: I had a normal work schedule and Jack and I went and picked up the Panasonic DVX100 video camera for a demo early this morning! Wowzer. This camera rocks hard and appears to beat the competition soundly. This is a 24p prosumer camera for under $4,000! It does 24p, 30p, 30i, 60i, NTSC, PAL, has 2 XLR inputs with phantom power, great design/balance, nice lens, full manual control, stellar features... we couldn't stop playing with it! It is super cool. Anyway, not that you can necessarily tell from the video clip online, but some of the shots were from this camera. We just turned it on and shot. Reading the manual would have been a good idea! Do some research on this cam -- you'll be amazed.

I have two ideas rattling around in my head right now and I will probably put them into motion very soon. I'll need a little help from my friends, so be ready Jack, Bill, Eric... and ...??