Ninja vs Penguin

Penguin June 10th, 2010

Pray for:
- Rosemary gets the provision to return to school
- Wisdom and insight of what to do about Rosemary and what to say to her parents

What happened:
- met with Koo at Java House to talk about climbing Mt Kenya
- went home and converted footage from MOV to WMV for Windows Movie Maker
- went to Prestige to meet with Pastor Faith, who didn’t show
- went to Kibra Academy. Futama finished shooting today. i brought the kids chocolate cake that Helen, from my small group, had made

Yesterday, Rosemary, one of my students, at Kibra Academy came up to me and apologized for not being around. She hasn’t been attending school because she can’t afford school fees.

I talked to the principle today, and he told me that he had already let her come for one term, waiting for payment. She has since started her second term.

In total, Rosemary owes 12,000 KSH ($250 USD) for this year. And most likely the same amount for next year, where she’ll be a senior. Then 5,000 KSH ($75 USD) for the national exam. For a total of $575 USD to finish high school.

It seems like a shame that she should be kept from her future because she can’t afford to go to school. Sadly, her story is indicative of many in Kibera.

My heart goes out to Rosemary. She’s bright, she’s eager, and she’s studios. I would consider her one of the stars in my class. I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about school, that it’s covered. But is that the wisest solution?

This is one of the problems Filamujuani is looking to fix. But how best to fix it? How do you make it sustainable?

I asked the principle if I could meet the parents on Monday. I don’t know what I’m going to say or ask. But if I can figure out a way to keep her in school without directly sponsoring her, that would be preferable. But if we can’t come to a decision, am I willing to sponsor her?

Say I do sponsor her. What about the other kids who can’t pay school fees?

Today, Futama wrapped production on her first short film today, Sumatra.

It was really great seeing a crowd form to watch them shoot. It was to the point where they were getting in the way of the wide shots that Futama was shooting.

Monday, we will start production on Shaban’s film.

• Kenya: Day 30 – Entrepreneurship (1)
• Kenya: Day 24 – Cheers! (1)
• Kenya: Day 19 – Production (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 3 – 7/9/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 2 – 7/8/08 (0)

Tags: Kenya 2010, Missions, Production, School fees, Trips

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Penguin June 8th, 2010

Pray for:
- Bind the strong man over Nairobi
- Release God’s blessing on Nairobi

What happened:
- went to Jah Army
- went home
- Ken came to pick up some gear for his shoot
- went to Prestige to journal. Ran into Rachel. she’s going to take me to Kibera tomorrow morning
- went to Kibra Academy. Futama was ready to shoot.
- went home. spent quite some time talking to the security guard. he basically told me his life story.

Today was Futama’s first day of production. She was so thoughtful and kind that she bought the entire cast and crew soda. Knowing where the soda came from, it was one of the best sodas I’ve ever had.

Reading Futama’s script, watching her direct her own script, working with her actors. And then going that extra mile to treat us all to drinks. Then, she’s going to get the chance to edit it all together and have her very first short film. This toast had so much meaning. This toast, makes everything worth while.

Count me encouraged

I also spend some time talking, Richard, one of the security guards for our complex. We usually exchange pleasantries as I leave or return for the day.

Today, for some reason, he started telling me about his life. He has a wife and a 4 month old son named Sean. His wife helps take care of his mom after his dad passed away several years ago. They live far from Nairobi.

He makes 200 KSH (~ $2.50 USD) per day. Between rent, groceries, and supporting his family, he doesn’t have the capacity to save. “Struggling” was what he called it.

On a side note. Vice President Joe Biden has been here for 2 days. His wife went to Kibera today. They got to experience some “mud”.

Such is life in Nairobi. Highs and lows.

• Kenya: Day 26 – School fees (0)
• Kenya: Day 19 – Production (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 3 – 7/9/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 2 – 7/8/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 1 – 7/7/08 (2)

Tags: Biden, Kenya 2010, Missions, Production, Trips

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Penguin June 3rd, 2010

Pray for:
- That we’d be able to get the Filamujuani documentary done
- that Risiki’s finishing her movie will encourage the others in the class to step up

What happened:
- worked on my screenplay
- chatted w/ M
- went to Kibra Academy. Risiki surprised me with all her pre-production done. so i told her that she would be the first to start production.
- went home

It was really exciting to see the kids engaged in production. Not before too long, Risiki had a small crowd forming around the “sets” to watch what was going on.

She had drawn a whole bunch of storyboards, but when we started shooting, she maybe only used 5.

As we approached the end of the day, she wanted 1 more shot. When she got it, I asked her if she needed Monday to keep shooting, but she said she was done. It’ll be interesting to see it come together in the edit.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to take the finished movie and toss it up on youtube for everyone.

On a side note. Ken and I weren’t able to start the Filamujuani documentary. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make up the time tomorrow or Saturday.

• Kenya: Day 26 – School fees (0)
• Kenya: Day 24 – Cheers! (1)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 3 – 7/9/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 2 – 7/8/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 1 – 7/7/08 (2)

Tags: Kenya 2010, Missions, Production, Trips

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Penguin July 18th, 2009

We finished our first week of production on The Intern Project and dang has it been stressful. We’ve been shooting 2 hour days after a full day’s of work. So we’re tired and hungry but everyone’s been bringing a lot of energy and a can do attitude.

It wouldn’t be production if it didn’t have its problems. We started shooting on Wednesday, but we were waiting for a crucial prop and ended up starting 30 min late. Considering we only had 2 hours, that means we lost a quarter of our day. Needless to say, we didn’t make our day. Then on Thursday, one of the leads told me that they wouldn’t be able to make it to the shoot on Friday. Nor would they be able to do anything next week. Of course, I had to go and reschedule Thursday and Friday.

It was a stretch, but I managed to schedule everything properly. But it meant that we had to cut certain scenes, some rather important. We went so far as to cut an entire role, though it was small.

We had been asked if we could perform something at the “Talent Show”. We opted to give everyone a sneak peek behind the filmmaking process. So we shot “live” in front of an audience. Of course, we didn’t actually shoot it because I didn’t want to stress out my actors. I didn’t even have a battery in the camera.

The “Talent show” ran into our day, but everyone was really gracious and was willing to put in an extra hour. Thanks so much!

On Friday, we were undermanned, so I would set up the camera on some sticks and man the boom mic. There were a few times where we had to prop up the boom because we just didn’t have anyone to help. Everyone’s been serving double duty and getting a crash course on camerawork and directing. Fun stuff.

So, after a week, I can start seeing the episodes in my head. Being so close to the material for so long has made it difficult to tell if I’m putting enough on screen. If the dialogue is saying enough without saying too much, and if the cuts are going to match.

Going into the next few weeks of production, we’re still behind schedule and a lot of people can’t make it. We’ve made the difficult decision of cutting an episode and possibly condensing 2 others. I have a lot to do over the weekend.

It’s a wonder anything gets made.

-Penguin

• The Intern Project: Scene Breakdown (0)
• Project: The Intern Project (0)
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Tags: Production, Projects, The Intern Project

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Penguin June 22nd, 2009

From MakingOf

No matter what you think of Shawn Levy’s body of work (Night at the Museum, Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen), at least he’s working.

Here’s a great peak on set and good look at a few of the important people who make a movie come together. It’s like being on set, but with out craft services.

-Penguin

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Tags: Production, Shawn Levy, Videos

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Penguin October 5th, 2008

Today, we finished principal photography on Jeff and Nancy’s wedding music video. We also finished a rough cut with the wonderful assistance of the other Nancy, who’s been my DP on Interview with an INS Agent, Collide, and Cupid’s Chokehold.

The two of us have really hit our stride and she’s a dream to work with. I had the pleasure of working with her on the edit too.

Once we finished the rough cut, I replaced the proxy assets with the HD ones and rendered it out. Ninja and I spent the last half hour watching the 2 minute video over and over. It’s that good. I can’t to share it with everyone.

There’s still some fine tuning I need to do, but I know it works. Then it’s on to color correction. Yay!

-Penguin

• Cupid’s Chokehold: Day 3 – Compromise (1)
• Video: Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am (6)
• Video: Howie Day – Collide [NvP Music Video] (0)
• Video: Gym Class Heroes – Cupid’s Chokehold [NvP Music Video] (0)
• New Project: Cupid’s Chokehold (0)

Tags: Collide, Cupid's Chokehold, Interview with an INS Agent, Jeff and Nancy, Music videos, Nancy Chan, Production, Projects, Rough Cut, The Way I Am

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Penguin August 21st, 2008

David Bordwell has an article about production shoots. The article covers 3 kinds of shooting techniques.

Shooting for Coverage
Usually, this is one camera. First, you shoot a master shot that will cover the entire scene and its geography. Then you move to medium shots, medium close (if necessary), close ups, and any other crazy angles you can think of.

This was the way I was taught, mainly because I didn’t know any better at the time. I didn’t know anything about editing, so I wanted to give myself options.

Multi-camera
This grows out of the coverage mentality. But instead of using one camera, you use several and roll them all at the same time. This essentially accomplishes the same thing as shooting coverage, it just doesn’t take up as much time. This method is generally used for TV shows and expensive one time action scenes.

Some of the problems of this technique is lighting. It forces the DP to make compromises on how to light the subjects so it’ll be easier to cut. Another problem is you now limit where you can place the camera as to not get them in other shots.

One compromise that I’ve seen people do is to combine multi-camera with shooting for coverage. You still shoot the master, but when you move to mediums and close ups, you use a mult-cam set up. You would still light it the same way, but you would also get a lot more coverage faster.

Shoot for the Cut
This is a technique that I learned about a few months ago. Usually, when you shoot coverage, you’ll shoot the entire scene over again. This gives you a lot of options in the editing room. Shooting for the cut is similar to editing in camera. Instead of shooting coverage, you just shoot the parts you need to cut together. For example, if you have a close up of just one line, instead of doing the whole scene as a close up, you would just shoot that one line.

I don’t think there’s a best way to run your shoots. Depending on your resources, each has its place. But it’s good to know the different tools that are in your box.

-Penguin

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Penguin August 21st, 2008

Tuesday was our first day of shooting Red String Theory. It was weird just being the camera operator. I did my best to just follow instructions and give suggestions as necessary, but I didn’t want to be a backseat director. This was Jesse’s shoot.

We started the shoot half an hour behind schedule but still managed to make our day early. I’m used to barely making my day or running a little over. But then again, I usually only have about 2 hrs to shoot.

There were plenty of shots I wish I had either a jib or a dolly. After watching a lot of great films, I realized one of the big things that sets cinema apart from amateur films is the camera movement. They just LOOK expensive.

Our second shoot is Friday, and hopefully, we’ll be able to wrap it.

-Penguin

• RST on Hold (0)
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Tags: Camera movement, Production, Red String Theory

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Penguin July 28th, 2008

Woke up at 6:20, journaled and did devos.

Breakfast consisted of a style of square egg I hadn’t had before. One was kind of like a pudding, but slightly hard. The other was harder. It was different, not bad, just different. We also had these gingerbread cookies that were really good.

Before going to the Professional Institute, we went to the Bazaar to buy some fruit. We got oranges, bananas, grapes, and peaches. We also saw a gypsy burning some stuff. What they do is wave the smoke around you then they ask you to pay to get a good fortune. If you don’t, then you’ll get a bad fortune.
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Tags: Documentaries, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Production, Trips

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Penguin July 27th, 2008

Didn’t really have a restful sleep, even though I went to bed at like 8. I woke up once at 2 to go pee, and then woke up for good at 6.

Breakfast was good. We had crepes. Some were filled with this cottage cheese/cream cheese like stuff. Others were plain. We also got some of that fantastic raspberry jam.

As I was reading my Bible on the front steps, Nariza invited me into to their morning devos. Pastor David was starting a new lesson on following Jesus.

Then we went to the Professional Institute to do the interviews. We went around a bit looking for a place with some decent sound, but every where we tried had both an echo or you could hear the construction.
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• Kyrgyzstan: Day 1 – 7/7/08 (2)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 3 – 7/9/08 (0)
• Kyrgyzstan: Day 9 – 7/15/08 (0)
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Tags: Documentaries, Interviews, Kyrgyzstan, Missions, Production, Trips

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