The Writer's Loft
by John Wolf
Most authors drool at the thought of doing a book trailer to go on YouTube, he says as he wipes his chin. Yes, I am one of those. So, when the opportunity to actually do one came up and was completed, I was on the top of the world—but that was only the beginning.
Ask and you shall receive, was more like, do a rain dance and get hit by a tsunami. What started out as a desire to do a simple author interview on video as the natural progression to a book trailer has turned into a thirty-minute pilot for a public access television show.
Let me explain. When middle aged men have video equipment for toys, one must have something to shoot to satisfy the savage beast inside and calm the fears of dealing with yet another mid-life crisis. It's the same as governments building standing armies. You have to invade somewhere to justify having them. I met a fellow that has the gear and I joined forces by buying a few studio lights. Now we're dangerous.
The next step is coming up with a story that the public would enjoy seeing. We settled on The Writer's Loft as a title, the premise being, go film writers in their natural environment, the space they find solace to write. This should provide the perfect opportunity to do an interview, get an in depth perspective of the author, and immensely better entertainment than a sit-down talk on an Indian run in a darkened studio with the quiet background hum of the air-conditioning during the slow dragging lulls in the discussion. Within the author's loft are the things gathered to do research and vessels of memories to pick up and show. This approach doesn't limit the discussion to one room. We are free to walk to a favorite place, visit another person, or demonstrate technique and wit.
I wrote a script for the first show not knowing if this was for real or a dream, but taping started the day after the lights arrived and we had a movie to make. I asked my friend Erica Miner to join us, because the theme of the show would be to visit two authors per show to liven up the piece. We went to visit Erica's loft and taped for a second day and had enough material to complete the show. It was as simple as that.
Now the magic was in the hands of our video friend with the gear that included editing software, access to music, and the energy to stitch all this together.
Click on this: next column
The lead-in logo, as they say in the biz, is what you see on the index page of this issue in the video of the month box. The titles come next and on into the show. I can't go that far until the show airs, but hopefully that will be in a month or two.
There are many more pieces to doing this production and I hope to cover them for you as I learn them. Never venture out into the woods without knowing what you're doing—hah! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So I run into a few grizzly bears along the way. That's what bear traps were designed for.
The largest stumbling block to doing a video of any length is the script. It dictates the how, when, where, and why. It eliminates the ahh, duh, and mumble, mumble, mumble by cutting a clear path through the dialogue. The scenes are defined. The camera actions, music cues, and special effects are listed alone side the storyline.
After the script is okayed and briefed to the crew, the shooting can begin, which is a matter of camera angle, a lot of light, and luck. Wireless mikes have to work and be hidden. Actors have to face the right direction, and a million other details.
Once the scenes are down, we went back and filmed each item mentioned by the actors to cut into the edit for detail and interest. When two people talk, having two cameras running is essential to pep up the edit and create interest by switching the scene from one person to the other.
As I progress through this process, I will come back and fill you in. It could be a window onto your own project in your own town. See you in the movies.
|
|
|
Writer, musician, and now movie maker. Life's a trail filled with wonder. I tend to turn over every rock stumbled upon. One day a scorpion is going to run out an nail a toe. |
John
Wolf
Thanks to all the Fox & Quill readers... John Wolf
