MINICONCEPTDOC #32: AMUSEMENT

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Hello.

I've been sitting on AMUSEMENT for a while waiting for just the right moment. That came yesterday with the arrival of Collingswood's May Fair.

I remember the humble beginnings of this festival. It has graduated to full-blown mayhem!

I used the opportunity to do another continuous take, as in PROMISE, GROUND-LEVEL, RISE, and SECRETIVE. Also, I used it as an opportunity to try my first over-cranking with the Canon 7D.

You see, most of the time when you want to achieve slow-motion in video it is applied as a post-production effect. It's not true slow-motion, and as such, can look a little jumpy, or "fake". The computer plays the footage slower but it blends frames and uses other techniques to compensate for how video operates, with its line interlacing and such...

However, in using the 7D I can record at 60 frames, because it records to hard disk and has multiple frame rate options, and then transcode the footage to 24 progressive frames per second. This works just like slow-motion for traditional, celluloid film: You film at a faster speed (over-crank), then when you play back at 24 frames per second (the standard fps for motion pictures), thus, the film is slower.

The result is a much more convincing slow-motion shot.

I'm happy with it!

Keep a close eye on the crowd. There's an awful lot of characters making their way through. I have my favorite. Who's yours?

Also, in my opinion. This is a masterwork track by Mr. Theo Langason. It adds a surreal element to the short. It's another perfect match. This guy, he should be producing for the heavyweights. I would love to see him working with Kid Cudi. That would be a Grammy for all right there.

If possible, please watch the 720P HD version available at the YOUTUBE site. It looks much better.

Now dear reader, enter the carnival of madness in... AMUSEMENT:



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MINICONCEPTDOC #31: FIRST

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This was a fun but strange MCD to create. With FIRST I pondered considerably. After some intense thought about where to go with it, I walked straight to my media storage cabinet, opened the first drawer, and captured the first second of footage that played. I strung it all together in the montage below.

It was fun to see what popped up. And it became a nine year history of my life, my family, and the films I have made over that time. In essence, this doc has become a document of documents.

The strangest part is to see myself 9 years ago (the image of me on the blue background) in one of my films, then to see myself just a few months ago in the MCD for FALLING. Now I am old, gray, and wrinkled. I look like a kid while making my first doc: ENTHUSIAST. Hopefully I have improved over that time!

FIRST:



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MINICONCEPTDOC #30: RISE

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It was lunch, I was driving to Will-Jax Deli to pick up a grilled chicken sub with broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, and sharp provolone on a seeded roll for me and Tim to split.

Right before I676 opens up to get to I295 I see flashes of fiery orange with black smoking pluming above it.

Traffic is at a halt. Cars were driving in reverse to exit the on-ramp. I pull into the right firelane. This is what I caught before time forced me to exit.

I hate to be a rubber-necker, but it was stand-still, and I was off to the side.

I don't mean to exploit or sensationalize the accident... I couldn't find any information on it. It was just so incredible, off on the horizon. It was truly bizarre.

The footage doesn't do it justice:



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Challenging My Friends

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Recently I have put the MINICONCEPTDOC challenge to friends and students.

I gave my Digital Documentary Filmmaking class the word INFINITY and the results were excellent. I will be posting those soon.

I extend this challenge to you readers. Create your own MCD and send me the link. I dare you!

For today...

I gave my friend Tan Mai the word EMPLOYEE and told him to get to work.

Here is what he made:



To see an HD version click here.

Well done Tan, well done!

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MINICONCEPTDOC #29: CRYPTOGRAM

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Today's MCD is a fun one. A little one, but fun no less. In a sense, it's our first audience interactive short doc. Oh, unless you count ODD, which also posed a riddle, which, by the way, no one solved on their own...

So this is another riddle. I like riddles. There will be no hints with this one (Except for the one already in the film and maybe a couple in this post...). I am sure this will be too difficult for anyone to solve. I will never tell. Never. Ever.

It's kind of fun knowing that no one will ever know what the "Message" says. You may dream of the answer, but you'll never discover it. So sleep, sleep with this challenge thoroughly buried in your subconsciousness.

Perhaps if you fancy yourself a Sherlock Holmes or our great American detective, Bruce Wayne, you might have a chance... but I doubt it. (Laughter on my end.)



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MINICONCEPTDOC #28: APPRENTICE

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This is a document of a father trying to hand down his craft to his daughter. Hopefully I can light the fire of representing reality and all the responsibility that comes with that in my children.

We had a couple of technical difficulties (cameras running out of batteries... again) and some structural and narrative difficulties. But this comes with honing one's craft and finding and constructing stories... right? Heaven knows I'm still learning, making mistakes, and finding ways to be a better documentary filmmaker.

This also gets a bit... meta, if you will.



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MINICONCEPTDOC #27: SECRETIVE

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It goes without saying that I'm dying to know what exactly was whispered into little Mimi's ear. Juni goes on for much longer than I expected. It seems so detailed. What could she have to say?

I want to be in on that world.

My favorite part of this is when they both look up, simultaneously, in the last seconds of the short.

It saddens me to know one day my children will have lives completely to themselves. I know, it seems vain. But right now, it feels like I'm in on everything.

In time, I'll be in the dark about most things, I suppose.

But this is what growing up is, right? It's not that I want to interfere. I believe they should make their own choices, decisions, mistakes... I'm just curious.

I'm going to take a moment to also share my favorite web comic with you. It's called XKCD. I look forward to a new each M,W,F. Mr. Munroe never dissapoints.

Here are a few that deal with today's topic:





In any case, here's to secrets, and the future:



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MINICONCEPTDOC #26: STROLL

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Well, it's official. I am halfway done my target number of MINICONCEPTDOCS. I want six months worth. At two a week, that's 52 minidocs. One for every week of the year. And all combined, they should be a feature length DVD.

That puts the finish line on about August 8th for the final doc.

For today's MCD, STROLL, luck was my friend. I was on my way to the mall and I happened upon quite a site. I was not the only passerby struck by the happening and people with cell phones in hand clamored to capture the event.

My favorite moments in the film are when the parents, who are trying to protect their young are bobbing their heads and hissing. Sometimes it cues up so perfectly it almost seems like they're dancing to the music, which is perfectly crafted by Theo Langason. I don't think a better tune could be coupled with the film.

Enjoy the weather, and STROLL with my new friends:



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MINICONCEPTDOC #25: RADIANT

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Today's MINICONCEPTDOC, I believe, covers all I wanted to express... so I've nothing more to write here.



For you:



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MINICONCEPTDOC #24: MELODIOUS

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The Edison Proposal will be playing an original score written for Robert Wiene's silent classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as part of Philadelphia's F/M, a film and music festival.

Our performance will be at The World Cafe in September. Further details to come!

To achieve this Sunday's word: MELODIOUS, I thought I would set the camera up to capture a writing session for the film. The band meets each Saturday morning at 10:00AM to practice our live set songs and to write music for the film.

In today's clip you can see some intense music theory and discussion on approach and technique. Unfortunately we were missing a member, Kyle, he had family matters to attend to.

I think the soundtrack is progressing nicely as well as a bit of a transition in our set with the addition of some new material that has been getting the band inspired.

I hope it is not a misnomer, and you, dear reader, find my humble attachment of the word MELODIOUS fitting of today's MINICONCEPTDOC.

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In other news, the first 24 MINICONCEPTDOCS will be on exhibition at the Stedman Gallery as part of the Rutgers University Alumni show.

It took a bit to work out the kinks but I built a little Flash site to create an interactive viewing site for visitors.



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