UAT Digital Video

Professor DeNigris' Sabbatical Vlog

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:25:00 +0000

Some of you may know that Professor Paul DeNigris, Program Champion for Digital Video at University of Advancing Technology, has taken a sabbatical this Spring semester to get some additional industry experience working in visual effects in Hollywood. Paul is keeping a daily vlog of his experiences in LA, which he calls "Hollywood at 45." Check it out here:

UAT Digital Video Festival - Date and Livestream Link!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 02:48:00 +0000

The 2014 edition of the UAT Digital Video Festival will be held on Thursday, November 6th at 7 pm MST in the UAT Campus Theatre.

University of Advancing Technology is located at 2625 W. Baseline Road, Tempe AZ 85283

For those not local to Arizona, we will also be hosting a Livestream of the Festival.

Hope you can join us!

UAT Digital Video Festival: 2014 Official Selections!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 03:06:00 +0000

This year's Official Selections:

(Out of Competition)

The Adventures of Barty and the Pirate - Mark Chavez

Modieval - Bryan Ribeiro

Snake Eater - Andreas Olenberg

I Need My Monster - Howard Cook

Focus - Matt Chesin

Ocean - Stephanie Maxwell

(In Competition)

To Judge a Thief - Luke Lowder

Into Nether - Paul Lopez

Films designated as "In Competition" are competing for the Grand Prize, a full-tuition scholarship to University of Advancing Technology's award-winning Digital Video Program. Films that are "Out of Competition" aren't eligible for the Grand Prize but are still eligible for our Audience Award.

Our 3rd Annual UAT Digital Video Festival will take place on our campus in Tempe, Arizona, during the first week of November, coinciding with our annual "Technology Forum." The screening date is still TBD.

Congratulations to all our selected filmmakers!

DV Student Blog: Gwyneth Christoffel's Trip to Croatia!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 02:55:00 +0000

by Gwyneth Christoffel

Without a doubt, I can say my time spent at the Four River Film Festival in Karlovac, Croatia, was one the best experiences I have had in my life. I was extremely fortunate to attend the festival with the support of the University of Advancing Technology.

My newest animated film, The Last Leaf, was screened at the Four River Film Festival. The Last Leaf is about a cute little caterpillar who runs into big trouble trying to get the last delicious leaf on a tall tree. I began the film in November 2013 and finished at the end of January 2014. This was my first go at traditional animation, so I learned a lot during the process.

I fell in love with Karlovac as soon as I stepped off the bus. Even though I had just endured fourteen hours of flying and an hour bus ride, I was excited to get started. A festival volunteer picked me up at the bus station and took me to the base for the festival: the Zorin Dom Theater. The dorm building, which would be my home for the next few days, was a five minute walk away. After settling in and claiming my bottom bunk I headed back to Zorin Dom. As a part of a group of young filmmakers, I took part in some introduction activities and then we made our way to the River Kupa for the opening ceremonies.

Karlovac is known as “the town on four rivers”. Each night, we would attend an outdoor screening on one of the rivers: Kupa, Dobra, Koranam or Mrežinica. The mosquitos and chilly weather didn't stop us from having a great time while we watched the ceremonies. An introduction to the staff and jury members of the festival was followed by a warm welcome from the mayor of Karlovac. After watching a few films, each of us lit a lantern and sent it into the sky to officially begin the festival. This definitely appropriate for the festival's slogan for 2014: “Why keep your talent in the dark?”

After a sleep we were all ready to tackle the first full day of the festival. Three screenings preceded a night on the River Korana. The filmmakers whose films were screened that day got the chance to strut their stuff on the yellow (not red!) carpet. We watched some more films and then gathered around to cheer on Croatia as they won their FIFA game against Cameroon!

Our next day began much like the one before. A couple of screenings took place at Zorin Dom. Each of us then had the opportunity to choose a workshop or lecture to attend for the afternoon. Being an animation lover, I chose “Documentary Animation”. Lead by two filmmakers from Sweden, a group of us learned how documentaries can be effectively driven with just audio and animated visuals. Our teachers had interviewed citizens of Karlovac the day before, asking the question, “What is a utopia?” We were split into five groups and each group was given a thirty second section of audio. It was our task to create a stop motion to illustrate our clip. The three hours of workshop time sped by and then we had to hop on a bus for the river Dobra. This time we socialized, viewed another screening and even had a small birthday celebration for a couple of the filmmakers! By the time we got back to our dorm room we were all exhausted. It had been quite a long day!

When I woke up the next day I had mixed feelings. I was happy because I was having so much fun with my new friends, sad because my time at the festival was almost over, but also nervous because The Last Leaf would be screening that morning! I am happy to say that the screening went incredibly well. The audience laughed in all the right places and I was given some touching compliments. I also got the chance to speak on stage after the screening and answer a couple of questions about my film. The afternoon continued with us splitting off to continue our workshops from the day before. My group finished our section for the documentary animation. I cannot wait to see the final product!

The Closing Ceremony was that night, but due to the rainy weather, we were not able to visit the river Mrežinica. Instead, we sat in the comfy chairs of the Zorin Dom Theater and cheered on our fellow filmmakers who received awards. To end the night, we celebrated and enjoyed each other's company. Just like myself, I think everyone was trying to ignore the fact that our time together was almost at an end.

In the morning I made my way to the Zagreb airport to prepare myself for a 23 hour travel day back to Arizona. This opportunity given to me by the Four River Film Festival and UAT has taught me so much. I learned about myself by traveling to Europe on my own, I learned new techniques from watching my peers' films, but I think the main lesson I learned was about networking. It is an extremely valuable skill for a filmmaker (or any other professional) to acquire. I know now that introducing yourself to as many people as possible, committing to conversation and handing out business cards can go a long way. I now have contacts from over 10 countries with whom I could possibly work in the future. I have already been asked to create animated titles for a fellow filmmaker's upcoming short film!

I am very thankful for the opportunity to attend the Four River Film Festival in Karlovac, Croatia. The trip is definitely something that I will never forget!

UATDV Student Gwyneth Christoffel to Attend Four River Film Festival in Croatia

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 03:04:00 +0000

UAT Digital Video student Gwyneth Christoffel has been invited to attend the 7th Four River Film Festival in Karlovac, Croatia, for a screening of her film "The Last Leaf."

"The Last Leaf"A cute little caterpillar runs into big trouble trying to get to the last delicious leaf on a tall tree in this short animated film by Gwyneth Christoffel.

The objective of "The Last Leaf" was to create a joyful short film to showcase a fun, but gluttonous caterpillar character. With the help of this cute little crawler, the film aims to communicate that one should think twice before giving in to greed. It explores, in a concise and entertaining way, the ideas of conspicuous consumption and conservation.

The 7th Four River Film Festival will take place from June 17-21 in Karlovac, Croatia. Students from more than 30 countries will attend.

"In addition to numerous great films in Karlovac, we offer our participants diverse workshops, performances by young music bands, field trips and lots of networking - all in all, a great time for all young filmmakers!"

Here's their website (http://www.hfs.hr/hfs/festival_777_e_home.asp) and a video about the festival:

Four River Film Festival / Filmska revija mladeži - Totally different from the others from Kinoklub Karlovac / KKK on Vimeo.

Ignite Phoenix #16 videos now online!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 14:51:00 +0000

UAT Digital Video is proud to have provided video production support for the last 2 iterations of Ignite Phoenix, a homegrown event where speakers get five minutes to educate and entice the audience with something they are passionate about. Topics run the gamut from politics to food to dinosaurs to cosplay. It's all over the place, and that's what's exciting about Ignite!

Here's the complete playlist for Ignite Phoenix #16:

And if you missed Ignite Phoenix #15 a few months back, here it is:

UAT DV Festival Call for Entries Now Open!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 14:48:00 +0000

Our 2014 Call for Entries is NOW OPEN! Tell every high school and middle school filmmaker you know!

Grand Prize - a FULL TUITION scholarship to the Digital Video Program at the University of Advancing Technology.

Our categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fan Films, Science & Technology, Animation, Visual Effects, Innovator (for non-students) and Students & Alumni (for UAT folks not eligible for the Grand Prize).

Deadlines will be May 15 (Earlybird), July 15 (Regular), September 15 (Late), and October 3 (Extended).

The festival runs in November (actual date TBD) on the UAT campus in Tempe, Arizona, as well as streaming online.

Submit today! We've switched from Withoutabox to the new film festival submission site Film Freeway!

https://filmfreeway.com/festival/UATDigitalVideoFestival

TEDx Evans Churchill videos now online

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Here's a playlist of one of the events we covered this semester, TEDx Evans Churchill, held in November at Phoenix's BioScience High School!

Student Gwyneth Christoffel wins two Novia Scotia Talent Trust awards!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 21:26:00 +0000

UAT Digital Video freshman Gwyneth Christoffel just completed her first semester at UAT and returned home to Halifax to win two awards from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust!

"Filmmaker Christoffel received the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Artistic Achievement, the trust’s highest honour for a student in any discipline. This is the first time it has been awarded to a person studying film."

Read all the details here: http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1174597-lifetime-pals-score-talent-trust-awards

UAT DV Vlog: Zombie Makeup

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 02:55:00 +0000

Go behind the scenes with the UAT DV crew for "The Buddy System," a zombie film inspired by "The Walking Dead."

Ignite Phoenix #15

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:50:00 +0000

On October 18th, 2013, UAT Digital Video produced the live stream and other video elements for a very unique event, Ignite Phoenix.

Ignite Phoenix is an information exchange for fostering and inspiring Phoenix's creative community. In one evening, you hear 18 passionate speakers from our creative, technical, and business communities talking about their current projects or favorite ideas for just five minutes. Presentations will educate and inspire you, and maybe make you laugh in the process.

2013 UAT DV Program Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 02:43:00 +0000

Here's the latest rendition of our program-wide demo reel!

UAT DV Vlog: Miniature Teleporters

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 02:34:00 +0000

The team behind UAT DV's time travel drama "Ouroboros" decided to build a miniature for the film's teleportation pods rather than rely exclusively on CGI. Check out the construction of the 1/6 scale miniature in the latest edition of the DV Vlog!

UAT DV Vlog: Borderlands Prop and Set Construction

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 02:31:00 +0000

Production continues on our Borderlands fan film "Change of Hart." Check out the progress in this latest installment of the DV Vlog!

Complete w00tstock 5.0 Playlist!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 14:58:00 +0000

Just like last year, UAT Digital Video was on location for w00tstock 5.0 in San Diego. The "geek variety show" created and hosted by Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage, and music duo Paul & Storm is an extravaganza of comedy, music and hijinks. This year we were allowed to expand our coverage to include a third camera in the wings - giving us a perspective on the show unmatched by most other YouTubers. Check out our complete coverage in the playlist below, but be warned - much of the content is NSFW!

What's Expected of a Student Editor?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 00:58:00 +0000

Continuing our "What's Expected" series, let's now take a look at what makes a good Student Editor for narrative film projects.

1. ~~Know~~ Throw Away the Script. Read the script thoroughly, make notes about it, and discuss the intent and mood of the story with the director. But then ultimately don't feel beholden to what's on the page. Be prepared to throw it away and start building the story fresh from what was shot. The script is the blueprint for the director's intent - but that intent may or may not have been captured on camera. Understanding the original story helps you to find it in the footage, but knowing that you have the freedom to deviate from the script allows you to craft the best possible version of the film.

2. Be Organized. Name your takes. Synch your dialogue. Set up multiple bins for sequences, sound effects, dialogue, music, discarded takes, etc. Do all of that up front. DON'T skip those organizational steps "because I just want to start editing." Yes, I get it. You want to be creative right away, and all that organization stuff is BORING. So train an assistant! (See #4, below.) And as you go, you're going to create sequences, titles, etc. - name those too! "Untitled Sequence" is not the movie's name.

4. ~~Do It All Yourself~~ Train an Assistant. I know your inclination is going to be to do everything yourself. "No one knows how I like things organized." And then you're going to fall into the "I just want to start editing" trap (see #2, above), and you won't be organized anyway. So do yourself and the project a favor and find someone a few semesters behind you to train. Teach them how to organize, how to synch, and how to set up a project the way you like it. Then go re-read the script while they set it up for you.

5. ~~Help~~ Force Everyone Else to be Organized. After you (and/or your assistant) put in the time to organize everything, train your team to follow your organization model. Particularly the VFX folks. They are going to deal with a lot of files and can get confused easily with naming conventions. So get them on your same page early, and remind them often. And then be an absolute stickler for names. Don't let someone hand you a VFX shot called "That Shot with That One Guy" when it's properly called "V7.05." The VFX artist who misnamed it won't be happy about having to rename or re-render his frames... but he won't do it again.

6. Serve ~~the Director~~ the Film. Directors can be bullies. They can stamp their feet and say "But it's MYYYYYY vision!!!" Well, great. But what if the vision doesn't work? What if the movie the director intended isn't really there in the footage? Well then it's up to the editor to speak for the movie as well as for the phantom audience out there that will eventually see the finished film. You, Mr. or Ms. Editor, serve the MOVIE and the AUDIENCE. Not the director or the writer. If the movie isn't working, fix it.

7. Focus on the Characters. In general, plot will take care of itself provided you've been given enough coverage. It's the characters that need your love and attention. What are they thinking and feeling? And how do you get that across to the audience? Look for those moments that give us a peek inside the character's minds, and the film will be better for it. It's up to you to make the actors' performances shine. A slight shift of expression, a glance downward, a deep breath, a moment when the actor didn't know the camera was rolling - these are the editor's bread and butter in terms of crafting great screen performances. Seek those moments out and bring them to the foreground.

8. Make the Tough Choices. Plot points don't make sense? Clarify 'em or cut 'em. Dialogue is too expository, too on-the-nose, or just bad? Trim it. Extraneous characters? Eradicate 'em with extreme prejudice. Do the things the director can't (or won't) to make the movie better. Notice this blog post does not have a #3.

9. Take Care of Dialogue. You're probably going to have a sound editor or sound mixer who will at some point take over the audio tracks. But it's on you to make their jobs easier by finding and plugging in the best available take for every line of dialogue - both in terms of performance and in terms of audio quality. Avoiding ADR (a.k.a. "automatic dialogue replacement" or "looping") is your ultimate goal. You can't always get there, but you should make it so that the sound team has to do minimal ADR and can get on with the business of mixing and designing a compelling audio experience for the film.

10. Hand it Off - But be Ready to Take it Back. Once you've reached "picture lock" - in other words, the point at which there will be no more edits to the video track in terms of timing or shot order - it'll be time for you to hand the movie off to the sound and visual effects teams. They've got lots of work to do that probably won't include you for a while. But as VFX renders and sound mixes start being completed, it should fall back on you to insert them into your timeline. There will be a lot of back and forth during this period of postproduction, and when it's over the movie will be in your care again as you export final renders for distribution. Your work isn't done when you and the director call "picture lock" - it's done when the movie is shown to an audience for the first time!

Redrock Micro rig tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 21:49:00 +0000

Continuing our video tutorial series, here's Professor Paul DeNigris with three lessons about setting up the Redrock Micro DSLR rig.

UAT DV Vlog: Behind the Scenes at Nerdtacular 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 23:29:00 +0000

This is the second year in which the UAT Digital Video crew has traveled up to Salt Lake City to film FrogPants Studios' annual Nerdtacular event. This year though, our vlog crew captured the fun! Check it out:

UAT DV Vlog: Borderlands Production Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:24:00 +0000

Once again, go behind the scenes of our latest fan film "Change of Hart," based on the world of the Borderlands videogames. This ep - set construction, lots of dust, and Psychos! New vlog every week!

UAT DV Vlog: Practical Effects!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 21:17:00 +0000

Check this out - the students had some fun with dry ice and burning steel wool in the Advanced VFX class. Stick around til then end to see a sneak peek at a VFX shot from our upcoming time travel film "Ouroboros!"

UAT DV Vlog: Phoenix Comicon!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:59:00 +0000

Check out the cosplayers, vendors, and mayhem at Phoenix Comicon thru the eyes of UAT Digital Video!

UAT DV Vlog: Phoenix Comicon Set Construction

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:50:00 +0000

The UAT Digital Video team had a great time at Phoenix Comicon! Go behind the scenes of our booth construction. More Comicon coverage coming up!

Basic Avid Editing Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:28:00 +0000

Continuing our video tutorial series, here's Professor Paul DeNigris with a two-part "Basic Avid Editing" lesson!

UAT DV Vlog: Behind the Scenes of "Borderlands: Change of Hart"

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:45:00 +0000

Check out the latest installment of our UAT Digital Video vlog, this time taking you behind the scenes of our latest fan film, "Change of Hart," based on the Borderlands videogames. Check out those psycho masks!

What's Expected of a Student Assistant Director?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul DeNigris) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:50:00 +0000

Continuing our "What's Expected" series, let's now take a look at what makes a good Assistant Director, or 1st AD, for student productions.

1. Keep Your Team Safe. Hold a "safety meeting" every morning, outlining basic safe practices, specifying a rally point in case of emergency, and letting the crew know if anything unusual will be happening on set that day (such as pyro, smoke, wind machines, smoke, gunplay, etc.). The safety of the cast and crew is your responsibility (and that of the Key Grip) throughout the shoot day. If you see anything unsafe, it's your obligation to stop work until the unsafe conditions can be corrected.

2. Get a Handle on the Shotlist. Before each shoot day, make sure you have a copy of the shotlist from the director and DP. Do some quick math and estimate how long they're going to have for each setup. The average shoot day is twelve hours long, but when you subtract initial setup time, lunch, etc., you're lucky if you have 10 hours, or 600 useable minutes of production time. A shotlist of 60 shots means your team will have 10 minutes per shot - kind of unrealistic for a student crew. So do the math and advise your director and DP on ways they can condense, combine, and eliminate unnecessary shots.

3. Manage Comms. Your job is dependent on communication. Headset radios (a.k.a. "comms") will be your best friend. Get comms distributed to department heads first thing in the morning. Determine which channels will be used and let everyone know. Insist on proper radio etiquette. All conversations should begin with the speaker self-identifying and then requesting the specific person or persons they want to speak to. "AD for director," for example, or using first names. Repeat requests back to the other person to indicate comprehension and action. For example: "Director for AD, please send in the actors." "AD, actors inbound." Set the tone on radio etiquette for your team and stick to it.

4. Watch the Clock. A wristwatch or a timer is one of your most valuable tools on set. Track those minutes as they tick by. Keep the director and DP abreast the need to move on to the next setup (based on the math you did in item #2). Balance your need to regularly make them aware of the time with their need to focus and create. You're also in charge of managing the timetables of grip & electric, hair & makeup, and wardrobe. Get time estimates from all departments and check back with them to ensure they stick to their estimates. Alert departments regarding the estimated completion time of items they're waiting on. For example, letting the director and DP know when hair, makeup, and wardrobe will complete their work and release actors to set. You're the timekeeper for everyone on set and off. You call lunch break and you call when work resumes.

5. Make the Calls. Technically it is your job to call "quiet on set," "roll camera," and the like. Some directors like to do that themselves, but technically it's your responsibility. At the very least you should be the one to announce to the crew when camera is going to roll ("Quiet on set!"), when another take is being done ("Going again!"), and when the director is ready to move to the next shot ("Moving on!"). Be the person to repeat the director's commands in a loud, booming voice (or over comms as necessary) so the rest of the crew clearly understands what's happening.

6. Wrangle the Cast. Shuttling actors on and off set is your responsibility. Deliver actors to the director when requested, and release actors back to their green room (waiting area) when required, or when you see that the crew is making changes that will take longer than a few moments. In particular remember your #1 job - keep the team safe - and remove actors from set when heavy equipment is being moved, lights are being raised or lowered, or any time you think they might get injured.

7. Follow Abby Singer's Lead. Abby Singer was a Hollywood AD and Production Manager in the 1940's and 50's who exemplified efficiency with his crews. He was the first to realize that when a crew got to "This shot and one more," clean-up could be expedited by immediately beginning to pack any equipment not being used on those last two shots. Nowadays we call the second-to-last shot of the day "the Abby Singer" in his honor. So do like Abby and get your crew working on clean-up as soon as you see that there are only two shots left for the day. That way once "the Martini" (a.k.a. the last shot of the day) is in the can, everyone gets out and gets home more quickly - and you look like the best AD, ever.

8. Make Your Day. This goes hand-in-hand with watching the clock - make sure the director and DP get the footage in the can that they need to tell the story. A day that finishes on time but leaves out important shots or moments from the script isn't a "made day." And a day that goes past 12 hours isn't a "made day" either. If the shoot begins to fall behind - and you know that from the math you did back in step #2 - then it's on you to help the director get control of the shot list, further streamline it, and make the day.

9. Be a Jerk. A crew that works hard all day but goes home on time is happier than a crew that slacks off all day and runs into (unpaid) overtime. Remember that. If you're everyone's pal all day long, you won't be anyone's pal once hour 15 or 16 rolls around. So crack that whip and keep everyone on task!

10. Take Care of Your Crew. Lastly, work with the producers to ensure that the production sticks to the "12 on, 12 off" model - no more than 12 hours of work followed by no less than 12 hours of down time before the next shoot. Stick to that and your crew will love you - no matter how hard you drive them during the production day!