Casting Away

Hola readers!

Anyone else bugged by the lack of Olympic games coverage? Not that I'm a huge fan, but come on NBC at least try to give it the same coverage as the summer games.

Updates

The 1st Auditions are in the books

On Sunday I began auditioning for Love, Concord. Luckily for my sake we only had one person to look at on Valentines. But Monday we saw quite a few people. I was fortunate to have the help of both my lovely wife Sandra, and the always charming Jimmy Freeman. So thanks to both of them for allowing me to focus on the performances. Overall, I'd say I have good feeling about two of the actors who read for me with one of them being a really important character. We're continuing to hold more auditions this Friday as well as next Tuesday, so again if you know anyone interested in getting some acting experience send them to this link:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tlg/1604037064.html

Awesome First Meeting with Wardrobe Manager

On Friday night I met for the first time with my wardrobe manager Ash Hakimi. We talked about the screenplay which he read and had complimentary things to say about. But then we dove in and discussed the different characters and how their clothing style would affect their perception on screen. Ash was full of great ideas I hadn't even considered, because I've never read my script solely thinking about costumes. So with his fresh perspective and focus on wardrobe he opened me up to some new ideas I hadn't thought about.

There's a lesson to learn here for other 1st time micro budget feature film directors, when possible always get a specialist to help you with things like wardrobe, props, make up, etc. Because having someone who's only concern is a specific aspect of the film does two things:

1. relieves pressure from the director.

2. gives you a different perspective which can enhance or change your opinion for the better.

Again, I'm very much relieved Ash is on board and I really look forward to continuing our collaboration.

Compression not a Factor between EX-1 and 7D

On Friday afternoon I also happen to attend a users conference at MacWorld. One of the lecturers was a video compression expert who gave a very engaging presentation about how and why compression is so important. I also learned some great tips for how to compress video better in Final Cut Studio 2 and 3! But for the Q & A session, I had the opportunity to ask him if he thought the compression codecs for the Sony EX-1 had an advantage over the Canon 7D. At first he thought I was asking which camera in general was better, so he began to say how the EX-1 is a jack of all trades camera, and how it's better suited for doing multiple kinds of video shoots. But that 7D was the better camera to shoot things that can easily be repeated and how it's much more reliable in low light scenarios.

When I cleared up my question about picking which camera had a better compression scheme for it's video, he essentially said they're both equal on that aspect. Both camera manufactures have done a great job, therefore my fear of the 7D potentially having a weaker compression of its HD video can now be put to rest. With this info in hand and the various sample video I've shot with both cameras I'm really leaning toward the 7D as the camera of choice to shoot Love, Concord.

Last but Not Least

I'm still in desperate need of a Location Manager/Scout for the feature. If you know anyone or are interested please send and email to: loveconcord@gmail.com.

Well there you have it folks. Next week I plan to write about my trip to Nashville, TN. I'm doing a shoot their for my friend and documentary filmmaker Angela Kline. Her documentary is about a painter who's work is collected by many celebrities all across America.

Until then....

Forward!

-Gustavo