Production-Now.com Blog

Recent Movie Editing

2025-07-12T20:23:00.001-06:00

A friend took me to see F1 on 4th of July. I enjoyed it, overall. I hated the romantic interest aspect. Kerry Condon did a fantastic job being giddy about Brad Pitt but then maintaining professional composure. So it wasn't the lack of acting or chemistry. The problem was that from the very start, Pitt's character had to learn to stay, to stick around with friends, to be a long-term contributor. And throughout the film, as we discover more about his physical condition, that idea is hammered home. So when we see him bouncing across sand dunes -- what happened to his vertebre injuries? -- over the end credits, I just felt sad and angry. This is a tradgedy because he failed to grow up.

But I'm not writing this to talk about writing and telegraphing a message. Something else struck me like a slap across the face. The edits. Overall the thing was solid; cut to race day with an overpowering beat throbbing like the engines. But cuts like these just felt wrong:

Centered

My memory has at least two of these, one perhaps worse than this. But with both characters centered on the camera, instead of feeling the conflict of the two drivers, I felt like they were swapping places like The Twins in The Matrix Reloaded. I found it disorienting.

The flim was sprinkled with edits that felt wrong.

Then I got to watch Ballerina. It's been a long time since I enjoyed carniage like that. It was appropriately over-the-top, hilarious, awesome action. And early on I saw this cut and knew I was in for a good ride:

Strong cut

I'm still not sure why it hit me so hard, perhaps evoking the punch-ins from the slow-motion action of 300, but whatever it was, this was the moment that got me hooked.

~Luke Holzmann Your Media Production Mentor

Short Film: Eros Elinore

2022-10-25T21:47:00.002-06:00

This is a "creature feature" featuring succubi. This short film explores how selfishness impacts fulfillment in marriage.

Behind the Scenes

For your convenience, here are the nine chapters of the Behind the Scenes video:

00:00 Scriptwriting
Writing is re-writing.
13:49 Pre-Production
Meetings, script breakdowns, costumes, and more.
32:46 Production Day 1
Cleo's House: Makeup takes time.
40:41 Production Day 2
The Brewery: The oner.
55:23 Production Days 3&4
The House: Solving problems with what you have.
01:13:06 Post-Production
The things you miss will hurt you.
01:25:13 Premiere
Yay! It's done!
01:26:02 Postmortem
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
01:30:42 What's Next?
We shall see...

Looking for the dolly link? Click here to build your own low-budget, portable dolly system that doesn't require any specialized tools.

It took a year -- pretty much to the day -- to complete this film. The script took a long time to finalize, but we were working on costumes and props during that time as well. Several people made this film possible without whom I would not have a movie. Jonathan was vital to the script. Kavi helped me sort out color and costumes and wigs and horns. Laurel created the tails. And Brittany, with the help of Amy, got all the pieces together. This film would not exist with all their hard work.

And then there was the time people gave to this project. The cast and crew (and extras!) gave at minimum half a day to this project, out of their generosity. When I was younger, and a film student, people were way more flexible and could easily devote time to a project. As I've gotten older -- and so my friends have as well -- we now have to juggle work and family and adult responsibilities with creative projects like this. I am so grateful for the time given to this project.

I don't know if there's much more I can offer than what is in the BTS video above. This could easily be because it's been four years since I released the video. Things have dramatically changed in my life, and the specific thoughts and feelings I had at the time are lost other than the recorded interviews I wove together above.

Here are a few things from the video itself that jumped out to me:

Vehicles

I didn't want any technology to show up in this film, but when we were shooting in an apartment complex, we couldn't ask residents to move their vehicles. So, there was a truck in the shot.

There wasn't much I could do about it, but we mostly covered it up. So I let it slide. But then we pushed in for a closeup, and the truck was far more distracting and a larger part of the frame, pulling my eye away from the action. So I, an extra in the scene as Jezebel's latest boy toy, held her bags above my head to block it ... potentially awkward and therefore more distracting. But, overall, I think it worked pretty well.

Costume Props

The horns worked remarkably well ... but they were just held on by some magnets. They certainly were not growing out of the girls' heads. So any little bump would make them wiggle, breaking all illusion of outgrowth. So we had to shoot Randall kissing Elinore's horn a few times so it was gentle enough to not make it wobble. The things you don't think about when you're just trying to solve a costume prop problem.

Fake Tears

Emma was amazing (more on that in a minute), but real tears were a bit of a reach given the shooting schedule and all that. So, to make it possible for multiple takes, she put a few drops of contact saline solution into her eyes before we started rolling and then squeezed her eyes shut to push the tears out. It worked great and scrunching her face actually sold the pain more ... even though it was mostly to get the false tears to start following.

Lighting

I talk in the video above about using just the lights of the bedroom for illumination. The bulbs were, I believe, 45 watts, but our lens could go to at least 1.4. This meant that the camera saw things my eyes couldn't. So when she's in bed after her indescretion, Randall's kiss is meant to convict/hurt her. And I just love the way the light, as he turns them off, falls on her face in the dark. I didn't expect or plan for that, but when I edited that scene, I was thrilled. It was perfect!

Color Correction

I was not good at color correcting four years ago. I'm getting better now -- with much more practice. So there are shots, watching the short today, that my inability to hone the look is all too obvious. And, of course, I'd love for it to be better. But I think it's also important to lean into the Ira Glass' message: Your work may be a disappointment to you, but you need to push through. There is a temptation to go back and remaster it and fix it ... and while that is an option, it's probably better, for passion projects like these, to leave them as they were and keep making more work instead of trying to perfect the past.

Amazing Actress

Emma brought so much to this project. The ending of the film is so much stronger because I just feel her vulnerability. I don't think I even directed her into that. She just absorbed the emotion and let it out in her performance. I love working with non-actors, but there is something great about also having people with experience, too. Especially for moments where they have to carry the scene with a pained, hopeful half-smile.

That's all I've got for you at the moment. I look forward to potentially getting back to producing more in the years ahead.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

P.S. See more short films by Luke Holzmann here: https://www.production-now.com/shorts.html

The Luke Cut

2021-04-23T21:20:00.006-06:00

Several of my friends told me that they very much enjoyed The Snyder Cut. So I decided to check it out. And, yeah, I had a good time. But as I watched video essays about the film, a recuring theme surfaced that my friends had also mentioned: It's a little bloated. It doesn't drag, per se, but it's long and has stuff that could probably be cut.

That's when someone said, "Why didn't they just hire an editor to cut it down instead of spending $100 million?"

Well, turns out that the studio execs really wanted a Marvel Movie instead of a Snyder film, but the question stuck. I enjoy editing, so I decided to take the question as a challenge: Could I cut The Snyder Cut down to a "reasonable" length?

I immedately decided on some guidelines/rules/parameters/limitations:

I need to leave Zack's cool slow-mo shots and stuff because he'd want them.
I can't cut major plot points or rearrange them; I'm not making a different film.
I am only "trimming the fat".

Granted, there were obvious technical limitations, too. Namely, I can't go and select a different shot or remix the music because I don't have access to any of that. The only tools I had were what I could do with my editing machine and an already edited video and music track. I also can't re-record anything or rewrite a scene. I can only cut (and cross-fade, and utilize a few other tricks and tools in my NLE).

The Luke Cut Timeline

I had a blast. It took me a week or so of editing in the hours I wasn't doing my full-time job or spending time with my family or taking part in the various activities that demand my time. And I found a tremendous amount of statisfaction in cutting the almost 4 hour film into less than 2 hours and 15 minutes (including the Epilogue) and several sequences I didn't care about at all, but needed to be there "for Zack".

The Good

There's a sequence where a group of guys pull up to a bank. They slowly get out the vehicles, huge guns drawn. They look suspiciously up and down the street before menacingly approaching the front door where a guard is watching them. As they make their way across the two-lane road, the guard finally takes note of them and lifts his gun to confront them before he is shot in the back of the head by the leader who has already walked past him. Yeah. It made no sense. I was able to tighten the sequence so it makes a little more sense:

Bank

I was able to edit out a line that frustrated me the first time I watched it. A little girl asks Wonder Woman, "Can I be like you someday?" And Wonder Woman says, "You can be anything you want to be." ...which is factually untrue. Wonder Woman is an Amazon goddess. So I cut her reply, and the scene plays much, much better:

Princess

A group of Amazon warriors have been guarding a box for a thousand years, or whatever. They have a huge group of them standing guard all the time. A portal opens and winged demons -- with weapons -- start pouring out. They stand there. An evil looking guy drops in and monologues about how he is there to steal the box and how they will all lose. They stand there. The big bad guy insults them. They give a comeback. Then one warriors finally shoots an arrow and the battle beings. Or, you know, the demons could come through the portal and immediately start shooting...

Battle

And there's some swearing, including an f-bomb when Batman claims he is going to, one day, kill The Joker. We could just cut out the swear word.

Kill

The Bad

There are a few sequences that were absolutely worse. The biggest example: I cut absolutely everything related to Commissioner Gordon from the film. However, there is one scene where he shows up to tell our main characters where to go next. The rest of the scene, I've been told, is just fan service and to look cool. But in the Luke Cut, it makes no sense because you don't know who J.K. Simmons is or how everyone showed up at this roof top.

Also, watching my cut, I did notice there were places where it felt off and needed some adjusting. This isn't surprising since I had simply cut the film and walked away. I did, however, gain a greater appreciation for the role of a director working with an editor to ensure the vision is not lost in edit.

And had I broken the rules I gave myself, I could have cut more and made the movie more fun.

The Ugly

Want to hear us talk about a movie I can't share with you because even uploading highly edited clips brought down copyright claims against me? Of course you do! Check out our little "podcast" where we dicuss it:

The Luke Cut - e59 - No Way to Hollywood

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Full-Body White Background Test Shot

2018-02-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

We took a few hours to test out a full-body white background video made famous by the "I'm a Mac" commercials right after I graduated from film school.

Jonathan has also procured some new giant LED lights and wanted to test them out for an upcoming full-body white video shoot a client wants him to do.

Was it possible?

We setup in my living room (about 10'x15' and shot from the attached dining area, giving us about 25' lengthwise). Without moving any of the furniture, we were able to get a full body shot of me -- who is tall -- and garbage matte out the couch and cabinet. Granted, it would have been much nicer to have more than two feet of shooting space to stand in, but it worked out.

Seamless White Background Test Shot

Profession shoots like this take place on a sound stage with a built-in sloped corner and preset lights and lots of headroom, I'd say we did pretty well with a wrinkled backdrop and chairs in the way of where we wanted to setup lights.

We found Zack Arias's Lighting White Seamless video to be really helpful!

I used DaVinci Resolve to garbage matte things out (e.g. simply cut out the other stuff in the background). Because my toes went over the edge of the white sheet, and I didn't want to take more time on this, you can see that my socks get kinda chopped off at the bottom. Six more inches and we wouldn't have had an issue.

Pretty cool.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

How to Make a Quick Corporate Video

2018-01-01T18:04:00.002-07:00

My friend Kat was asked by her work to "make a quick video" to use on social media. She called me up and explained the project:

15 videos, 2-5 minutes each, shot over a couple days.

How much would it cost to make it? And if it would be too much, what could they do to make it.

Paying someone (like me or my friends) was going to be way outside the budget. But I told Kat I would be happy to teach her how to do it herself, but that it would likely take 8 hours per video (at least at the start). If you have no experience shooting or editing video, it'll likely take a lot longer because there is so much to learn.

Enjoy this a mini-workshop on how to shoot a quick corporate video.

Please note: To make the video 30 instead of 40 minutes long, I just included small portions of Kat talking.

Hope this helps!

If you have questions, as always, I'd be happy to do what I can to help.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Aside: Magicians' Oreos

2016-12-29T17:16:00.001-07:00

They are discussing a guy who recently died because he snuck a box of Oreos. Our character is still trying to sort out his unfamiliar world.

"Magicians can't have Oreos?"

"Diabetics can't have Oreos."

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Aside: Redemption

2016-03-18T18:18:00.000-06:00

"Redemption, Frank; it's real."

"Ah -- Jesus Christ."

Intentional or not -- I'm hoping intentional -- this kind of thing makes me smile. Reminds me of the moment in The Matrix when Neo says, "Jesus Christ," and Trinity asks, "What?"

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Introducing Production Notes: BTS for upcoming films

2016-02-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

If you've been following along over on YouTube, you may have noticed we've done more than 25 episodes of After the Movies where we criticize and praise movies we love and hate. We also talk about why. ...still, for as much as no one wants to listen to our opinions about movies, I think you may be interested in seeing even more about the ups and downs of the movie making process. That's why we started a brand new show: Production Notes.

Project E - Episode 1: Script Writing

Each episode will explore where we are in the production process (this first ever episode is about writing the script and how that's coming thus far; hint: we have a long way to go). We'll take you behind the scenes and give you a look around. But don't worry, we'll be careful not to give away too many spoilers! I still very much plan to have a complete BTS documentary once the film is done as well, where we can reflect on the process.

So now, instead of just harping on other people's failures and marveling at their successes, you can watch us do it to our own productions!

Let me know what you think, and if you have questions, ask!

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Short Film: Damsels

2015-10-25T18:26:00.000-06:00

This short film explores beauty, art, and objectification. How do we shift from the good things of beauty and art into the destructive realm of objectification? What's the difference between appreciating a pretty girl's looks and sexualizing her?

Behind the Scenes

For your convenience, here are the six chapters of the Behind the Scenes video:

Story - 0:00
Explore the over-arching themes as well as the writing and script editing process.
Cast & Crew - 5:20
Hang on for the wild ride of finding people willing to commit to a project and the ups and downs of putting your "perfect" idea out into an imperfect world.
Pre-Production - 13:10
What does it take to get a movie up and running? Here we walk through locations, technology, lighting, props, and more!
Production - 21:57
Immerse yourself in the middle of the action as each day of filming unfolds. This is what it's like to be on a zero-budget film set with Luke Holzmann and team.
Post-Production - 40:46
Witness the highs and lows of learning new software, editing for over 30 days for a 7 minute project, and all the tiny changes that make a huge impact on the quality of your film.
Epilogue - 53:10
Take a few minutes to chat, one-on-one, with a few of the young women who were part of this project; hear their stories and find some encouragement for your own struggles.

This film took seven months to complete, almost to the day. I share a lot about that in the Behind the Scenes above; I'm not going to bother transcribing an hour's worth of content here. There's so much good stuff in the video -- and I worked really hard to put to it together -- so watch it and then read on for even more.

I kept bumping into my own personal limitations throughout this process. In earlier shorts, I could (and did) do "everything": Writing, directing, producing, editing ... even acting a bit. As the years have gone on, and my projects have become more ambitious, I've needed more and more people to make the films a reality. And this movie broke several aspects of my personal self-reliance that were probably a bit unhealthy. I clearly needed help with photography, filming, gathering extras, writing, editing, and producing. I may have still been the one doing some of those things, like writing and editing, but without outside input, the final project would have been far weaker. And had people not agreed to help out, there would be no movie, just a quirky script in a Google Doc.

As is, whenever we hit a roadblock, I wanted to quit. Each challenge proved too much for me and bruised my ego by demonstrating clearly how inadequate I am as a person. I can't do it on my own. I do not have the skills. I don't know what I'm doing. I need help. For someone as naturally prideful as I, this was overwhelmingly painful, to the point where I would often end up laying on the floor, the epitome of can't even. I think this ego crushing may be getting worse as the projects get more ambitious. When you're no longer simply recording a conversation at the park, things get messy and difficult and expensive. I am so grateful that Brittany (my Producer) and Jonathan (my DP) were as involved this time as they were. We got such a great video from it!

Some lessons (not covered in the video above):

Framing is important (the belly button)

This may feel like a no-brainer. But while shooting, we got the wide shot of this scene:

When we went in for the closeup, Abby was no longer in frame:

That's when I asked Elise to move a couple steps over. As her navel came into frame, Jonathan looked at me and said, "I see what you did there."

But it wasn't just about her shapely tummy. Without her in the background, I knew the edit would have felt odd. Cutting to Carley by herself in the frame would have given off the wrong impression, like she was abandoned or alone. It would have made the world feel like it had shifted and the others had disappeared. That can be a very powerful thing to do if you want to isolate a character, but it's bad when you want your scene to flow by unnoticed. We expect to see Abby back there, so by moving her over a smidge, the continuity holds, even if we "cheated" the positioning.

The Tutorials I Watched

I mention two tutorials in the BTS video, and I wanted to make sure ~~I could find them again in the future~~ you could find them.

How to make a super bright LED light panel (for video work etc)
DaVinci Resolve Tutorial - Professional Color Correction / Grading (it gets good around 1:30)

Now, as you can tell from the Behind the Scenes, I simplified the LED light panel build. I used three power bricks per panel and didn't bother with a cover. But after talking with Tori, one of the models, at the film premiere, she told me I really needed to add some heat sink (not only is she a beautiful young woman, she also happens to be an Architectural Engineer and major lighting nerd who is focused on light design and knows a ton about LEDs). She urged me to add a sheet of some kind of heat conductive metal to both the LED and power brick sides of my build to help keep things cool. "The more heat sink, the better," she told me in a way that I could understand.

That's us on the red carpet at the premiere.

With that, I would also recommend using only, say, eight of the 10 strips for each brick. I'm assuming that running the power bricks at full capacity for hours on end probably isn't helping anything. Will you be missing a ton of light by reducing each panel by 20%? Eh ... I don't think it'll be noticeable, and if it lets you shoot longer because things don't overheat, it'd be totally worth it.

As for color correcting, I really don't have much to offer. I really appreciated how thorough and clear his video is. It took me, an absolute color correcting n00b, to a place where I felt comfortable with the tools in less than 15 minutes. Granted, I followed along, pausing at each step to try it myself.

Color Code Your Characters

No, I don't mean like the Power Rangers, nor am I talking about the whole Black Hat vs. White Hat good/bad distinction. This is far more practical.

So in the scene where Abby comes screeching into the studio, a billow of smoke behind her, she has a quick conversation with Tabby about Greer. We cut to her spilling her coffee.

When we cut back to the scene, in has walked Ashley with Carley. Ashley is in a red shirt.

Here's the problem: Since we don't know Ashley yet, I was concerned the audience would initially think this was Greer, come to reclaim her photo slot or something. Then there'd be a moment of confusion when the line of dialog introduces a different name. Then the audience would have to make the huge jump to connecting Ashley to Abby as sisters while also catching who Carley is as we crank toward our first really big visual gag with the cat. It was too much.

Solution?

Make Greer's shirt purple.

The Speed of Editing (don't play to the music)

I know Jonathan made fun of me for my frenetic pace while cutting, but I get bored easily. Keep things moving. The first day of filming, we captured an hour and twelve minutes of footage. On my first pass, I trimmed this down to 45 seconds.

I tell my students all the time that your music should never dictate how long your scene is. Cut your music to fit your scene. After cutting the song I wanted down to those 45 seconds, I watched my edit.

It was felt about two times too long.

So I re-cut the music down to under 30 seconds.

Taking over and hour of footage and turning it into 30 seconds of blazing fast edits takes time. In this case, about 8 edit days (taking into account learning a new NLE at the same time when I switched from Vegas Movie Studio to DaVinci Resolve).

It's Art (dialog)

Much of the storytelling in this piece is buried in the dialog. There is a bunch of talking that fills the movie. The nuances can get lost as we tear through the script at breakneck speed. The fact that Ashley hints at her immature photographer boyfriend ("Boys like you are so myopic"), the longstanding Tabby + Abby friendship ("Thanks, Tabs." / "No, Abs, thank you."), the thoughtfulness and limitless dreams of childhood ("I want to be a doctor, a docent, or a ventriloquist") all slip by, their depth unexplored.

The one theme I'm afraid is totally lost in the moment is the discussion of nudity in art.

Ashley's boyfriend photographer claims that his photos are art, like David or The Birth of Venus. He cagedly starts with an example of male nudity before citing one of the most recognizable female nudes in history. These are both, most assuredly, artistic nudes. So what's the difference? Ashley senses there is one, but we don't explore precisely why.

But the question is an important one, and I hope people think about it, even if we don't take time in the middle of that scene to discuss it further.

There's more to say, to be sure. But I'll stop here. I'm happy to answer questions about whatever should you have any.

Thanks for watching!

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

P.S. See more short films by Luke Holzmann here: http://www.production-now.com/shorts.html

Show to Tell: Wedding Rings

2015-07-07T18:08:00.000-06:00

Thus far in the show, we've seen these two characters interact a couple times in stressful, work-related situations. We've learned that they've known each other since high school and were friends back then, with a slight hint of maybe more.

Now, out of the blue, he calls her while she's home making dinner for her family. And we are shown this:

His Wedding Band

First thing I thought, 'This is building to an affair.'

I'm writing this post, so I don't yet know how the scene ends, but the way the creators of the show are making it, I'm right. A few moments later, we cut back to her in the kitchen:

Her Wedding Ring

All this is done through framing and camera position and the subtle/natural way the characters hold their phones. The filmmakers are showing us something to tell us something. And as one who has watched a lot of movies, this sequence feels almost too "on the nose." But it's a solid visual cue of what this moment in the show is all about.

I was told in film school: "Show, don't tell." That's probably true, but I'd like to suggest that we show to tell. What natural cues can you use in your scene to share with your audience the tone of the moment?

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Aside: Scars

2015-06-24T21:53:00.000-06:00

The point of these things is to remind us that there is no going back. There's only moving forward.

This line comes in one of the best subtle acting moments of the show thus far. And I love this line. It reminds me of an incredibly insightful post by one of my bloggy friends: Stretch Marks. In it she writes, "I think [stretch marks/scars] are beautiful. After all, what other tangible sign do we have of this life-altering transformation?" Give it a read.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

How to Think Like an Editor: Finding the Moments that Tell Your Story

2015-05-08T19:01:00.000-06:00

As I watched "Watchtower of Turkey," it reminded me of my first attempt to edit some footage together. But before I tell you that story, check out this amazing bit of art:

Now go read this great write-up on how he made it.

Okay, back to my story (which is far less impressive, but a little more attainable than taking three weeks to wander Turkey gathering four terabytes of footage and then exporting each usable shot as an image sequence so you can color correct it using a photo app and then exporting it all out as video again for editing along with your 3,000 sound bites). The first time I was handed a bunch of footage to cut, I looked through it and saw nothing usable. Here is that story:

Take heart if you're despairing that your footage is worthless. I've been there. I know exactly what it's like to look at what you have and see ... nothing useful. But this, this is the very heart of editing. Your job is not to have the footage tell you its story, but for you to draw your story from the moments captured as video.

Start, as Leonardo Dalessandri did, by finding all the moments you like and discarding the clips that aren't any good. What can you tell with what you have?

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Image Inspiration: Squares

2015-03-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

Squares

There have been very few shots, of late, that have told me anything. But this one screams: TRAPPED!

Everything in the shot -- aside from the character, off to the side, separated from everything else by the doors framing the scene -- is sharply angular. The lamps. The couch. The windows. The panes. The pictures. Everything reinforces the "behind bars" motif. The character is now alone, hopeless, and trapped.

It's fantastic.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Keep Things Moving

2015-01-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

theawkwardyeti.com

Not only do I find this comic humorous, but it also teaches a great lesson about storytelling, comedy, and editing. We do not need to see the bowels move to the bathroom. In fact, we can cut directly from the moment of surprise to the sound of the toilet flushing. This keeps things moving and focuses the audience on the important moments of the tale.

Do the same in your productions wherever possible.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Visual Joke: Short Skirts

2015-01-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

As filmmakers, we can slip in all kinds of little jokes here and there. This one comes right after a brief discussion between two characters about a girl. Character A insisted that B likes the girl because of the length of her skirts.

"They're not that short," Character B protests.

The next scene includes this shot of a different girl:

Skirt Length

It has no bearing on the story whatsoever as the waitress is a background character. But the wardrobe is absolutely intentional to play the gag a bit longer. These moments aren't just for the humor. These choices help reinforce key ideas and are a great way to practice visual storytelling.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Short Film: Cyclical

2014-08-26T20:43:00.000-06:00

This is a very personal project for me, exploring the cycles I experience of doing well and then falling back into self-destructive activities. The solution, I find, is not to try harder -- as if that has ever worked! -- instead, I must give up my personal ideal of saving myself. I cannot. And this project proved that again and again.

Behind the Scenes

I will not reiterate here what I cover in the BTS video above (there's far too much content). Watch it and enjoy. This post will delve into additional thoughts and comments.

Cyclical was blessed by the tremendous number of talented and funny people who participated. We laughed so much while making this movie. Probably the funniest moment was when we were getting the "leafleting" scene. My initial idea was to have one guy reluctantly take a flyer and the next flat-out refuse with his hand up. Then Megan asked if she could follow him. The result was hilarious! Megan admitted the idea was based on her own fear that people handing out propaganda would chase her down. Perfect. The full clip is fantastic, but I cut it up for pacing reasons. Here's the reaction of the four actors who have just seen the clip:

Laughing

During another take, Megan was eating a pop tart and started eating the crumbs off her lap. She stopped when she realized she was doing it on camera. I told her it was perfect and hilarious. Because it was.

Crumbs

In many ways, these moments of levity made up for the private meltdowns and emotional freak-outs I had while stressing between shoots. This project was overwhelmingly heavy and difficult. Things kept falling apart and even when they were not, I was.

For years I've felt that I hate production, the act of being on set. There is so much pressure to get stuff done and get it right! But this film revealed that the issue is more pointed than that for me. Being on set can be fun -- like when we laughed and took fun pictures; it's the stuff I can't control that freaks me out, almost as much as relying on my technical abilities to use a camera (something I have much improved in over the last few years). There weren't any real technical difficulties with this shoot. The problems were all scheduling/availability issues or questions of if something would actually work. I did not count the number of times I was on the floor or my bed a puddle of raving lunacy. My poor wife.

I've got a lot of growing up to do.

The generosity of people never ceases to amaze me. Zero-budget filmmaking is cool because it forces us to use the resources available to us. But that doesn't mean we can't get cool stuff or great locations. We started out shooting at the park down my street (the same giant park where we shot Applejack) and just wandered through a neighborhood with apartments. Friends and family let me shoot in their houses, apartments and backyards. One friend let us into her art studio early on a Saturday morning so we could have access to restrooms while shooting in the parking lot out front:

Audi

I feel the most gratitude for the business locations that let me film in them. My family eats at Little Basil all the time. I've had their Chicken Pad Thai at least 200 times. It's that good. I think they let me shoot after their peak time -- 8:30pm -- because of our longstanding relationship. Headed West stepped up and let me film after my first location bailed on me; one employee was concerned that my film was cannabis related, as they are not a dispensary. It worked out and we got the few shots we needed. Thank you!

Initially, my plan for the beggar scene was to go downtown late at night and hope nobody bothered us (vagabonds or law enforcement). My wife suggested we go someplace closer. That's when I remembered the off-the-beaten-path storefronts in a shopping center 20 minutes from my house. It was perfect! We rehearsed the scene a few times just in case we only got one take before someone came along and kicked us out. Thankfully, no one interrupted us and we were able to attempt the complex single-take as many times as we needed. That ended up being my favorite shot of the film:

Beggar

By the by, the establishing shot of the clock tower had a ton of shake in it because I grabbed it as an afterthought and didn't bring my tripod. I don't have any fancy image stabilization software, so I uploaded the clip to YouTube and used the Editor as a quick (and free) way to remove the wobble. It worked remarkably well!

One of the issues we encountered in a big way while shooting in "live" environments (places where we had no control over what others did) was the ridiculous amount of background noise. This was particularly bad at the park where a train for kids loops through and a water park bell clangs constantly from the hill. This is one of the many aspects of zero-budget video production that really hurts the overall production value. On the other hand, we happened to get one of our shots with the train, so that was cool. And having a bunch of people milling about the park gave it some nice depth.

The Train Whistle Ruins Another Take

The changing scene was originally set in a giant closet. But I couldn't procure one of those. Instead, I got into an incredible bathroom. Even with all the space (including a jacuzzi-style tub), my long lens struggled to get both girls in the frame. I purchased a new lens after the fact so I won't run into that again. The bathroom opened into a very large bedroom but, again, I didn't have space to get a feeling for the room. To compensate and communicate, I let the bedposts frame the shot. It was the best I could do with what we had (especially since we only had a few minutes before we needed to move to the next location). Out of necessity, I also ignored the fact that it was so bright out and the scene was set around 10pm. No one cares. No one noticed.

Bedposts

We were fast losing light when we shot in Izzy's apartment. The clip where Rex shows up and demands a drinking buddy was thus going to be a single shot. We took it a couple times and moved on. But when I sat down to edit, I liked moments from two different takes. So the next time I had Izzy over, I grabbed a similar bathrobe and snapped the cutaway. It worked.

(Root) Beer

As we approached the fight scene between the girls, they were convinced they couldn't do it without laughing. Their plan, then, was to fight silently, mouthing words but nothing more. This actually worked out really well and is an excellent example of how what is said doesn't matter. Words would cheapen the experience.

I don't have enough distance from this video as of writing this post to know how successful it is as a short film. I'm still too close to the writing and technical aspects to be able to see it as a movie. It's still just the pieces all put together. I'm happy with it, but like everything, I felt like I just had to stop and release it. You can tweak forever, so you have to just publish at some point. And now is that point.

As I mentioned in the Behind the Scenes video, I plan to release this film as an editing course. That is going to take a long time to put together, but keep and eye out. It's coming...

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

P.S. See more short films by Luke Holzmann here: http://www.production-now.com/shorts.html

What Titanfall Taught Me About Movie Making

2014-06-24T19:19:00.000-06:00

I'm not good at shooters like Titanfall. But I've found I've improved as I play.

The same is true of filmmaking as well. You have to practice to get better. You don't even need formal training (just like video games; though, as in both, a few pointers now and then can certainly help). You need to become familiar with your tools. You need to hone your skills.

So, take a break from your hours of video games this summer and spend a few out shooting some footage. That practice will make you better when it comes time to shoot one of your projects.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Have Your Character Break Character

2014-06-02T18:28:00.000-06:00

Let's say you want your audience to know that this girl is falling for a guy. Her character is already well-established as more of a tomboy, dressing in a funky wardrobe.

A Little Boyish

All you need to do to show that her feelings are changing is to get her to choose to break out of her normal style. Dress like someone she isn't. Do something she wouldn't do otherwise.

Lip Gloss While Waiting

This will work for guys as well. He normally bum around in shorts and flip flips? Put him in a tie. All you need to do is break character enough to be uncomfortable but excited.

Then, if you want to break your character's happy anticipation, do something to dash all hope. Then have your character undo what was just done...

Wiping Off the Gloss

It certainly wouldn't hurt to have your star give a few death glares now and again either.

Furious

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

I'm Only Barbie

2014-05-20T23:29:00.000-06:00

I heard the Christina Perri "Only Human" song on the radio. That inspired me to look up the video. I really liked the brief effect they toss in now and again:

Not Only Human

Would it be possible to pull off a similar look in a short period of time, with zero resources, and no fancy programs? Let's find out.

In a word: Yes.

Using a Barbie, a camera, a light, and some electrical tape, I got the shots I needed. Then I cut everything together in Sony Vegas Studio (not Pro) and did the effect work in Gimp (which is free and not a crazy 3D effects program like Blender).

Only Barbie

If something inspires you, try to do it yourself with the tools you have.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

New Free Sound Effects: Ripping Carcass

2014-04-21T17:40:00.000-06:00

I've been dragging my feet on the next Editing 101 lesson because it involves sound. I need to record a ton of foley and sound effects and that takes time. But as I record these sounds, I'm publishing them as royalty-free/public domain on freesound.org so you can benefit from my hard work. I hope I can save you a few hours on your next production!

Grab some royalty free sound effects now.

If you want the specific sounds:

More to come. And, as always, if you need a sound, let me know. I'll try to get to it at some point.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

House of Cards Season 2

2014-03-14T21:07:00.000-06:00

Season 2 of House of Cards feels much like round-robin writing or a Mad Lib. Each episode containes so many disjointed elements I was actively distracted and bothered by them. There is no cohesive flow. But we'll get to that in a moment.

Let's start with a minor positive. Unlike in the first season, Frank Underwood appears to actually do things intentionally at the start of Season 2. He takes action and stuff happens. The first several episodes are a blessed relief after the frustration of my previous experience. Then, with agonizing predictability, the story disappears to the point where Frank and friends no longer really do anything. It's like the Star Wars "prequels" which are brilliantly dismantled by Red Letter Media (please note: this ain't your Red Letter Bible. These videos contain f-bombs and lots of inappropriate content. But the clip above brilliantly demonstrates the disappointment of the characters in Cards. Compared to the content in the show we are discussing, you should be fine). Too much of the tale is spent waiting around for something good to potentially happen to our "protagonist." Maybe.

Despite the continued problems, the show maintained a certain level of interest. The show is well-produced. I don't recall much from season one (a bad sign for the quality of the story), but this season feels smaller. We don't get out much from the few rooms to which we are confined. In that sense, I felt a bit like Rachel and that hacker guy, trapped by house arrest and only allowed contact with a couple people.

Rachel. She's probably my biggest disappointment. Not because of her character but because of what the show does to her. I'm of course talking about the lesbian thing.

Girls are easy

I don't have a problem with lesbians in television or movies, per se. It's just that it's too often lazy and lame. I get that a show trying for sex appeal would have girls making out while naked. But it has to make sense. And these girls do not make sense as lovers. Not because it's not possible. I've read about girls who meet in church, are part of leadership, do lots of Bible study together only to end up physically involved with one another. That makes sense with how physicality works for women (see more in Why Gender Matters by Dr. Sax). But in the context of the story -- how they meet, what they do while together, their personal interests -- it doesn't fit. Rachel's lover is little more than a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Their "love" is tacked on for titillation, not story. bewbs! Really, there was so little about these two girls and their sexual attraction, it was the first glaring instance of writers adding in something that the next writer simply couldn't believe, which is why it never developed into anything more than a reason to cry for a few seconds when they had to break up for now.

But I think I get it. To allow for some religious overtones, we need to make them lesbian lovers who find connection in spirituality, helping kids, and making out. Only then will our post-religious, overly-ironic target audience accept this as "real" ... or, at least, acceptable for a show about absolute power corrupting absolutely.

This is a pet peeve, but if you're going to read Scripture, do us the courtesy of reading the whole passage. Don't just skip the last part of Ephesians 4:31-32 because you don't like saying Jesus Christ if it's not an expletive. Modern culture is woefully ignorant of the Bible and Christian thought. Please stop making us even more ill-informed.

Rachel, of course, leads to Doug. [By the by, there would have been much better Doug and Rachel tension had the girls just been friends from the Fellowship, both thematically and as part of the story.] Like Peter in Season 1, Doug is the only character I have any kind of empathy for in Season 2. He's the only one who actually struggles and has any kind of character arch. He's trying to be a better person, but his infatuation with this girl is messing with him. He doesn't know how to handle it. And that's good because it gives room for a story. You know, those things television shows should be about. But, like Peter, before we can actually explore such a story, that line runs dead.

What about Freddy? He goes through stuff, right? I mean, there's a whole episode devoted to him. Doesn't he have an arch? No. He makes ribs, suddenly has a kid of convenience, and loses. The end. I will say, however, that this was the one moment where I felt Kevin Spacey was actually allowed to demonstrate his ability in subtle acting.

He cares

What about the reporter guy? He's in prison or something. Not much story there.

Claire? She created a bill as a cover to a scandal which was a cover to a news thing and we're supposed to believe she deeply cares about it? Confused writers, perhaps? Meh. Nope, she's still there just as filler. And, unlike Season 1, I don't think Robin Wright has much opportunity to act.

So Season 2 of House of Cards is a character puff piece whose writers constantly had to fight each other to try to keep the story moving somewhere sane. They failed. We're conned into being interested by the meltdown around us, like gawking at a house fire. But who the characters are, why they do what they do, and the vacuous vacancy of anyone who actually accomplishes anything still leaves me wishing there was a story in there. A man who rises through the ranks of government by dumb luck while betraying and destroying others because it may -- or, just as likely, may not -- help his cause is not a story. We're left with this Southern drawling monster man in an empty room as he taps the table.

Why?

Because the entire journey is empty, lonely, and amounts to nothing more than a double tap. ...and not even a clever one like Zombieland.

As we look toward Season 3, I find the only thing I'm interested in is if (and how) Rachel and her lover are going to try to get back at Frank, and what he's going to do about it. Kill her in Episode 1? That'd be redundant. And lame. Much like what happened here. When Frank told me not to worry about the kitten because she'd have eventually grown claws, I didn't feel anything for the girl. Her death was implausible enough, the "shock value" was out of the blue enough, and her character was pointless enough -- nothing more than story convenience and skin from that girl -- that her death hardly registered at all.

What is House of Cards Season 2? A detached, cynical look at a world of business and politics and relationships between selfish, evil people who care about money and power for their own sake, not because these characters would do anything of substance with money or power if they had it.

Reminds me of a passage from Scripture: Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (I Timothy 6:9-10)

Perhaps the writers are teaching the Bible after all...

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Everything is awesome!

2014-02-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Pretty much.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Image Inspiration: A Single Lamp

2014-02-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all you need is a single lamp.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Use Visual Analogies to Express a Complex Idea

2014-02-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

In films, your audience typically doesn't know what's going on. That's why you're telling them the story. But too often there is a tremendous amount of information you need to convey to them. Where are they? When are they? What's going on? It's even worse if you're doing something sci-fi or technical, such as medicine or time travel.

You could have an actor say something incoherent and implausible (employing something like Star Trek's technobabble). This works if "how it works" doesn't matter one whit to the story. You can have your characters simply talk about the Turbo Encabulator and move on.

Conversely, you could make your movie about the incomprehensible nature of time travel, and simply talk in technical terms without regard for your audience. Feeling lost is part of the experience (a la Primer).

But many films walk somewhere in-between these two extremes.

This is where a simple visual analogy can work wonders. Have a character more in-the-know than your protagonist or curious bystander explain the situation to a four year old. Not literally. But what picture could you show a child that would help the kid grasp the situation? Find that, and your audience can follow along.

Example: Your characters have just managed to survive a harrowing trip through a jungle with robots or monsters or aliens in pursuit. The small band has made it into an ancient temple. There is a pause in the action.

Tom: Is this real?
Sam: Real enough.
Tom: So we're in a computer, like Tron or the Matrix?
Sam: Those were separate worlds. This one is more...

Here he interlinks his fingers.

And the audience understands.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor

Aside: How She Really Feels

2014-01-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure eventually Yamada will tell you how she feels. How could she not?

Then we hold on this shot for a moment, letting the irony sink in. See, this girl's been holding back her secret feelings from him for about as long as she's been alive.

Sometimes you gotta give you audience a chance to get it. Taking an uncomfortably long time to get to the next moment nudges your viewers to recognize what's going on underneath.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor