Well, we’ve been moving right along on the first draft of the script, more or less. It’s been fast at times and slower at others, but we’re well into what we think is Act 3. That may all change as we’re not totally sure our structure was right. Plus, we rearranged a bunch of stuff, just to make things interesting.

However, we’re currently taking about two weeks off to take a breath and work on a couple of other things. So things aren’t too bad.

Categories: Blog, Writing | Tags: first draft, hiatus, script 1 Comment »

“How do I get my ideas?” Is that a question possible to answer? What if I asked you why you put your right shoe on first? You’d be stuck for an answer, too. But, I shall attempt to do the difficult—I won’t say “impossible.”

For the most part, my ideas just come. There. Was that helpful? But sometimes I have to go after them (or myself) with a club, especially when it’s just plain easier to do something other than come up with brilliance. So, for lack of really good idea to write in this post, grab your club and come with me. We’re going to hunt some brainwaves. [Continue reading Idea Gathering: Rebekah’s Thoughts …]

Categories: Blog, Tips and Tricks | Tags: ideas, Writing Add Comment »

This is part one in a two part series on where our ideas for movies come from. I’ll be giving you what I do in this post, and then the next post will be Rebekah’s thoughts on the subject.

After, “How did you do that?” the question I get asked the most often is probably, “Where do you come up with your ideas?” My idea generation process is at times crazy. I’ll start with a couple that aren’t too off-the-wall and work up to a crazy one. [Continue reading Idea Gathering — Jordan’s Perspective …]

Categories: Blog, Tips and Tricks | Tags: crazy, ideas, Writing 2 Comments »

I just got a neat device today! The Zoom H4 Handy Recorder. This thing is great for doing on-the-go audio recording. The unit fits in your hand, records to little SD cards, two microphone inputs, and it has two microphones onboard for easy recording. The onboard mics are good, high quality equipment. I’m sure I’ll use it all the time.

Amazon has the H4 in stock for a great price. You might want to check it out if you need a nice portable studio solution. I had used one on-set previously, and the results were fantastic.

Categories: Blog | Tags: H4 Handy Recorder, high quality, microphones, neat device Add Comment »

All trucks use low gear!

Seriously, though. Recently, I learned about a very neat transition in Final Cut. Introducing… The Gradient Wipe!

(Disclaimer: Remember when I talked about cheesy transitions? A gradient wipe can be just as cheesy if you overdo it. Don’t.)

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s jump in. First of all, what is a gradient wipe? My local dictionary says nothing on the subject, so you can make up your own definition based on the explanation. Let’s play with a gradient wipe. [Continue reading Steep Gradient (Wipe) Ahead …]

Categories: Blog, Editing, Special Effects, Tips and Tricks | Tags: effects, final cut, gradient wipe, matte, national treasure, photoshop, transitions, useful Add Comment »