The Trouble With Unicorns

Update

2007-06-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

We are working hardly upon the final edit of the Trouble With Unicorns, and it will be screening at the Evergreen State College COM Building Recital Hall on Wed. June 13th at 7:00 pm, with other productions of the Student Originated Studies: Media program.

A Flickr Photo-Place of Production Stills

2007-03-23T02:07:00.000-07:00

I would bring to the attention of all esteemed readers of this blog that indeed, The Trouble with Unicorns now has a Flickr account, whereupon you can view multitudes of glorious production stills.

Before And After: Mark's Station

2007-03-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

A great deal of time was devoted to the production design of Mark's station, relative to Morgan's station. There is necessarily a lot more going on there than at Morgan's station. The idea behind Mark's job is that he is the man in charge of monitoring the Melting Pit, and for adding more plastic when it gets too low on plastic to process. The monitoring station consists of a desk and a computer console, and various dials and knobs and technical manuals. And then of course there is the unfathomable melting pit operating nearby.

Here is a video detailing the location before production design had occurred.

Here are some pictures detailing the set after a good amount of production design had occurred.

This is the melting pit. You can see light spilling out behind it from two Mickey Mole lights connected to a DIY dimmer switch box, which enabled the lights to be slowly cycled in brightness to create an undulating glow effect.

Brad Makes some adjustments to the Melting Pit.

Morgan directs.

The DVX100A shows what it sees.

Morgan laughs with resolution.

The Panasonic DVX100A is unphased and resolute in its superiority, realizing that we are subservient to it and require it to capture the things we have created for our movie: sets, actors, performances, story, believability, et cetera.

Morgan realizes this and is afraid.

The melting pit monitor is not worried, and continues to pump out its numbers indicative of temperature.

Suddenly the DVX100 goes mad and shoots Brad autonomously.

Thankfully Dan the unicorn has the presence of mind and fortuitous will to save the day. Dan is a unicorn who came to factoryland a long time ago, and has been altered in the way that this place affects all who come here. He wears a flimsy disguise around and grinds his horn down so as to not be detected by his mongoosian fellows. Little does Morgan know, Dan has a secret weapon for him.

Morgan the director and Ron the Mongoose (a.k.a. Phillip Roebuck) comment on the hilarity of this situation.

Production Design Documentation: Morgan's Factory Station

2007-03-23T00:46:00.000-07:00

One of my official roles on the shoot this last weekend was "Oobleck Wrangler". The premise of this fantastical factory in factoryland, is that it manufactures widgets and widget manufacturing accessories. This is slightly ironic, as the term 'widget' is actually loosely a meta-syntactic variable for a manufactured object or device. As a formic manifestation of this somewhat central metaphor of the story, we resolved to have the widgets born of melted plastic.

Morgan's job at the factory is to inspect the widgets as they are spit out by the unfathomable machine that performs this task, and to maintain the correct mix of melted plastic so that they are not malformed. Because Morgan is largely indifferent in regard to his job, he often throws malformed widgets into the accepted tube, and correctly formed widgets into the rejected bucket, the latter of which is periodically taken down to the 'Melting Pit' to be melted back down and continue the unending and inane process. The Melting Pit is where Morgan's friend Mark works.

The following video shows a little bit of the methods we used to create the 'melted plastic squirting out of nozzles' effect.

There are 3 tubes, two with colored oobleck (of a slightly more liquidy mix, in order to facilitate its travel through small plastic tubes) tubes, and one larger one filled with the normative white oobleck. Though just a simple combination of corn starch and water, oobleck is quite the otherworldly substance. Brad can be seen resolutely providing the air pressure for the squirting of the oobleck out of the nozzles, and Morgan can be heard and seen operating the camera. Jed can also be seen occasionally overseeing the goodness of the oobleck.

While our production design may be slightly less than Hollywood, created on essentially zero budget, I think that we have achieved a sufficient level to get our ideas across to a viewer in an interesting way, and that is the important issue to us as student filmmakers.

A Short Videoblog and an Update on Progress

2007-03-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

From Wed. March 14th to Sunday March 18th the Trouble With Unicorns crew have been very busy doing production design and shooting the majority of all scenes that occur in the factory, between Mark Morgan and Ron. There was a good amount of videoblog footage shot, and production stills taken, and as we decompress from this rather intense experience, they will begin to trickle onto this blog.

For now, here is a videoblog shot with a Vidster, showing a glimpse into a shoot at Morgan's station, after our actors had left, and we were shooting closeups and cutaways long into the night.

~ written by Jed Smith

2007-03-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

Wanted to shout about the Unicorn Crew's talent and working-their-ass-off-ism, and single out a special thanks to the make up Divas Geerah and Ashley, who's attention to detail is nothing less than sexy.

Sumner

The point (part 2)

2007-02-27T01:03:00.001-08:00

Why I love making movies... Everyday that I make movies is a day that I don't have to be a security guard in downtown Seattle, finding junkies overdosed in the bathroom. Everyday that I make movies is a day that I don't have to clean up chlorine in an unventalated room and change dirty sheets in a motel that streams porno in all the rooms and charges by the hour. Everyday that I make movies is a day that I don't have to lift boxes of useless stuff, wait on rich people that want me to please them, sell tools for minimum wage, or put up with a bunch of bullshit paperwork that covers the collective asses of the obsenley rich people I work for. Everyday that I make a movie is a day that I start with zero... Just an idea in my head, and some friends to help, and I end up with something that can hopefully make someone think, or make someone happy, or make someone relate, or something that is beautiful. If I start a day with nothing and I end that day with one more small thing, then it was a great day...

Morgan writer/director

PS here is a quote from Alfonso Cuaron "The only reason you make a movie is not to make or set out to do a good or a bad movie, it's just to see what you learn for the next one." Thank god someone else thinks that...

The point

2007-02-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

When is a movie about specific people, people in general, or types of people? Is my movie about the characters? Or is it about types of people? When a character makes a decision, am I saying that this person made this decision, or am I saying that all people make these types of decisions? Where is that line drawn?

Morgan

What we did today...

2007-02-19T23:52:00.000-08:00

As Brad and Jed were chasing after Venu, who posed in front of rubble and Nordstrom's storefronts, I felt that I had realized what we were doing and how beautiful it was. I saw my friends and my collaborators doing their work, making the movie happen. I saw them trying their hardest, expanding, doing uncharacteristic things, learning to work together, changing to work better within the group. I saw the unbelievable level of permission we were giving each other, and how amazing it was that we were letting each other work, and try to create something beautiful together. I think this is a rare thing. Today wasn't about the movie. Today was about us being ourselves, finding a place in ourselves and in the group were we could truly let our insides show to the world. We found room to create today. We found a place where we were OK with who we were and what we were doing, no matter how ridiculous it seems. And this incredible thing made me happy.

Morgan

Unicorn shooting February 11, 2007

2007-02-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

For the scene I was in, we shot at someone's house -- which in itself is/was a great thing. We shot on Feb 11, and as I was driving the trek from Renton to Olympia for the shoot that evening, it started pouring down rain. Since we were going to be shooting outside, I figured I better call Brad to see if we truly were going to shoot -- no answer. Uh oh. So I had no choice but to continue on down the road.....I finally got to the shoot location, and everyone was there getting set up. The first people I see were Morgan and Brad. So far so good......Morgan's adorable personality and NOT so adorable cold were there to greet me. Sicker than a dog -- or should I say Mongoose?, Morgan was determined to get this scene in the can.

For the next couple of hours, the makeup goddesses Ashley and Geerah made me and Sumner up to look like amazing mongeese. Who woulda thunk? Once our furry ears were in place, we were ready to shoot. The clouds parted like they knew better, and allowed us to shoot for the next 2 hours or so. We did many takes to get it just right. The crew, Brad, Jed and the other guys that I can't remember their names.....were so amazing. I was so impressed at the level of dedication that you all have toward this project. Even though it was fricking cold outside! Also, I have to say, that I love, love, love, Morgan's ability to work and communicate with each of us individually. He would take me or Sumner or another crew member aside when he wanted us to try a certain "thing" for a take. Morgan - you have a wonderful way with people. You ARE in the right business. Keep it up. And I still believe you have an "old" soul. Meaning that you seem to have so much wisdom already for not being on earth all that many years. Believe me, you will find the ways to communicate what's in your heart -- just keep working on it. You have left a very lasting impression with me and I thank you for that!!

Last but CERTAINLY not least, thanks so much to Ashley and Geerah for serving us some awesome potsticker soup. YUM YUM! After being outside in a bathrobe and slippers for a couple of hours (thanks again to Ashley for those props!) it was awesome to have some nice hot soup to warm the soul and the body :-).

Hats off to you all -- you are a tremendous team, and I wish you much success. I'll look forward to seeing the finished product sometime in the future!

Thanks again for a very great and memorable experience -- oh of course I can't forget -- Sumner -- it was fun being married to you even if I yelled at you the whole time. Thanks for being such a great scene partner.

I hope we cross paths again on another shoot. Victoria aka Ann

On set in Morgan's Room

2007-02-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we shot the majority of scenes that take place in Morgan's room. Morgan's room is somewhat of a stylistic oddity among the sets that are located in "Factoryland", because it is reminiscent of his old home, Happyland. Thus it is filled with bright colors and stuffed animals and happy things. The room presented challenges in setup of lighting and other equipment because it was so very small. Here is a video documenting the technical setup.

A short narrative about a short narrative

2007-01-29T00:40:00.000-08:00

This is a blog in two parts:

This is our new priority list. I am going to get a huge poster of it made and hang it where ever we are shooting so that we can remember what we are here for.

1) We are here to learn first and foremost. We are here to make mistakes, take responsibility for our mistakes, figure out how we made them, write them down so we don't have to make them in the future.
2) We are here to have fun. What in this script is not fun? How can you not have fun with unicorns and mongeese and strippers and angst?
3) We are here to finish the movie. Not half of the movie, not a few scenes. We need to finish the whole thing one way or another.
4) We are here to make a good movie. This is going to require your best. Your very best. None of us has ever done anything this big before, none of us could do it alone. Give it everything.

I want to give you all a short recap of what has been happening with us. Sorry it has been a long time since I have written, but it has been hectic beyond belief.
So, Brad, Jed and I had storyboarded the whole script, thought up shots, figured out how to visually piece the whole thing together, made a format map for our multiple format conceit. We were worried about the length of the piece since it seemed that it was going to end up at an awkward length, about 45 minutes. So we decided to do an anamtic. This is a device where you basically scan the storyboards, or make small simple animations into a timeline – insert some scratch dialog – and boom, you have a sketch of your movie. But our storyboards were drawn so poorly that this would seem incomprehensible to any audience. We decided that it would be advantageous to do our anamtic with a motion picture camera, incorporate a series of test (format, color, blocking etc.) into it and we would have a clear picture of how long our movie would be.
This is where our major troubles began. First, during the production of our sketch, one of our major actors quit (the antagonist). And then our Production Manager quit. Then we made our sketch and were embarrassed to watch it. We knew that even without performances and production design there were some major flaws in our plan, in the script, in the cinematography, everything. One of the main probles was that we were interested in one dimensional characters - playing with how memory compresses people into stereotypes, explorations of serious material colliding with flippant metaphors and childish interpretation. Instead of coming off as a twisted children’s show, we realized that our main character was just an asshole, our antagonist was just a lonely, worthless person, and our love interest was a drug addict whore with no personality. Indeed we knew this before we began to shoot our sketch. But it was hubris to think that we could do the exact opposite of what a “good” narrative was supposed to do and make it engaging. Indeed our scathing critique seemed like bargin basement student rubbish.
So this is where it started to get intense. Brad, Jed and I started rewriting the script. Our unholy optimism made us think that we could do this in a weekend, but the first 20 hours were required for brainstorming and note taking. We didn’t even write a single change into the script!
And then it crossed our minds that we could write the script and storyboard the movie at the same time. It didn’t work at all. We got two pages in after 8 hours and decided to quit before we killed each other.
So we have been locking ourselves in a room, typing and typing, expanding ideas, moving things around, suggesting character changes etc. And it has been working. This script is good! Really good! But it has been slow. And we aren’t even completely done yet. And we think it needs three more scenes to make sense. And that is probably going to make it a feature.
Now, this whole time we have been preparing for the shoot that was supposed to take place this weekend. But Ashley, our Art Director was away in Thailand for a month and has just gotten back two weeks ago, and Geerah, our other art director has just gotten back from a month in Texas. It turns out that a few days is not long enough to prepare for a shoot (this project is art design intensive, it being a kids show and all).
So we pushed the shoot, no doubt freaking out our actors even more. We sat down today and agreed that we were going to make this movie, against all odds, and that we were going to work ourselves ragged to do so, because the only other option is to quit, and we aren’t going to quit.
We still don’t have a PM, we still don’t have a locked down schedule, we still don’t have a lot of locations down, and we still don’t have a full script. But I have heard a rumor that this is not the first movie to have things go wrong with the production.
I don’t want to make it sound like there is no hope. I have nothing in my heart but hope for The Trouble With Unicorns. It is crucially important to get this out into the world. There are 6 dedicated talented and smart people working on this day and night and at this point we don’t have any option but to make it happen and make it happen the best that we can. We are not prepared to compromise anymore. We are shooting for the moon.

Morgan - writer / director

DIY Steadicam

2007-01-24T01:39:00.000-08:00

Here lies a short videoblog about the DIY steadicam Brad and myself constructed from parts from Ace Hardware a sporting goods store. The pipes and fittings are from the former, the weights are from the latter. It contains an explanation of what the parts do, and a visual demonstration of what effect it has on footage shot with it.

~Jed: Cameraman, Editor, Postproduction, technological helper monkey.

Screen Tests - Production Stills

2007-01-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

The following are some photographic images of the things we have been doing for the last few weeks.

Last week, we did extensive motion and lighting tests with a large variety of different video cameras. Here, we see Brad poking a Fusebox, a small kid's camera, which records in 320x240 highly compressed video onto internal flash memory at 10 frames per second. This may sound like atrocious quality, and that is one way of looking at it. We are of the possibly valid opinion that the artifacts of this format lend it a very interesting aesthetic, which is we think about it right, could be employed to a specific conceptual representational purpose. One must admit that this small camera looks rather formidable on the large fluid-head video tripod that we got from the audio-video equipment checkout facility at Evergreen, Media Loan. These tests are absolutely essential with the large variety of different cameras we are shooting with. Without these tests, Brad and myself could not do our jobs as cinematographers, because we wouldn't intuitively understand how each camera performed under different lighting conditions, and also we wouldn't be exactly certain about what representational purpose is most suited to each format, because we wouldn't be sure of its specific aesthetic properties.

Last week, we scouted some locations. These images are from a hidden alley in downtown Olympia, and is a candidate location for the Alley in front of Morgan's apartment, in which 2 scenes happen.

For the last week and a half, Morgan and Brad and Jed have been working on intensive revisions to the Trouble With Unicorns script and storyboards. We have been using the Animatic we created as a device for making problems with the story more transparent to our eyes, which are tainted with the nearness of creative involvement. This has been going very well, and the revisions we are making to the story is making the movie significantly better in many ways.

Morgan types revisions into CeltX, the free scriptwriting software that we are using.

Morgan has a moment of bursting inspirative ideas

This weekend we have been shooting screen tests with our actors, seeing how their makeup looks under different lighting setups and gels, and seeing if our makeup/costume designs are working as we hope they are.

Ashley, our amazing production designer and makeup artist, delves into her large collection of cosmetic resources. Makeup and costumes are an essential aspect of this production. A few days ago, Ashley made a trip to the Mac store, and spent 300 dollars on some excellent makeup, to bolster her supply of cosmetics that she acquired while in China during the previous month.

Ashley with our actors who play Sarah and Morgan, Julia and Venu.

Here is a closer shot of Venu, who is having a Happyland style makeup job applied by Ashley.

Here is some mongoose style makeup on Julia. This costuming is not quite complete, but we got an idea of how the makeup will look under different lighting setups. Before our first shoot, the Mongoose costumes will include a possibly large amount of Badger fur and faces.

Here is some makeup tentatively being applied to the face of Phillip Roebuck, our actor who is playing Ron. Phillip is one of our more experienced actors, and it is great to be working with him on this production.

Here Phillip talks to Morgan.

Here, Brad takes a brief respite of Nicotine inhalation.

Hopefully this post serves as a somewhat interesting visual proof that indeed, all is not stagnant in the way of progress in Unicorns land.
~Jed: Editor, Cameraman, techno helper monkey

Updates...

2007-01-15T06:59:00.001-08:00

So some new developments on the production front. We gained a production manager. That made us all cry collectively out of joy… then we promptly lost them which made us all cry collectively out of pain and anguish. We lost one of our main actors only to have them replaced by what I think will be a much better fit.
We shot the movie. Well we shot a sketch of the movie. Meaning that we went through our script and storyboards and tried to get every shot we could over the span of four horrifically grueling days. This was, of course, all the week before our class came back from break. This sketch has proved to be utterly necessary in understanding the movie that we had planned to make. Parts of this sketch was screened in our Student Orientated Studies: Media class. This was an eye-opening experience in that a lot of our gags fell flat, some of our scenes just didn’t work the way we though they would, and one of our main characters caught a lot of flak during the critique session after the screening. This and many other factors have led us to the conclusion that the script needs one last definitive rewrite. So the rewrites have been mostly about us throwing out ideas on how to spice things up. The rewrite have consisted of Morgan, Jed and me holed up in Jed’s room as he types madly as we all go back and forth. It has been great. Collaborative writing and brainstorming at its best. So… yeah I am going to go over to Jed’s house today at nine o’ clock and cook everybody some blueberry pancakes while we work through the rewrite.

Brad Hutchinson - Producer/Cinematographer

Letter to Crew and Cast

2006-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Hopefully everyone survived the downfall and subsequent re-rise of western civilization. I spent 48 hours without power, the first 20 forgetting that I had a propane bbq out back, hoping that I wasn't going to stave to death... It has made me think about how delicate the strings are the hold the world as we know it together. I imagined our movie being halfway through production and the the power goes out for good... Or even worse, being done and never having a way to watch it again. I do not believe that it is all about to fall right now, but there will be a day when DVD players don't work, our formats become antiquated, whatever we have done will float away into the ether. That saddened me. In a way, I think that if I don't have something to show for what I have done, then it didn't really happen. Maybe that is just a vestige of being a videographer, of being so attached to the camera, and letting the camera say the things that I cannot. Motion pictures and memory are tied in many ways, and the best thing about them is that they can be shared. There is immense power in that sharing, a kind of validation that doesn't happen anywhere else, and that seems to be something that draws me to the motion picture, and all forms of communication.
But something about this line of thinking does not seem right. Maybe this production and everything we have ever done, our lives, are more like zen gardens. Ephemeral, temporary, beautiful. Maybe the need to hold on to these things - or the symbols that represent them is a foolish and futile effort. We exist, we did things, we were great, or not great, and that's what we have...
But the real reason that I am writing this is to inform all of you of the good news. We have found a Production Manager / Assistant Director. Her name is Vinessa Knowles (that's Vinessa with an I) and I have worked with her before over the summer on a production where I was the DP, Brad was the Gaffer (they should really make a new position on film crews called Monkey - someone who knows a lot about everything and is around to assist at a high level whatever needs to be assisted, like a PA on steroids and crack - that would more accurately describe what he did) Geerah was the Art Director and Ashley was her assistant. The point being that I have worked with her and trust her. She was the most competent person at her job on the set, and she is the reason the movie got made despite the Director not having a really clear vision and my grandiose (nearly unattainable) vision of a near future dystopia. So she is the new point person for everything schedule, money, location, time, food, whatever, anything that is not intention, character, being in the moment, color, shape, line, you know, things like that...

Morgan writer/director

Morgan's ramblings about visual continuity, contrast, and the emotional quality of codecs.

2006-12-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

I just read the post and decided that nobody could understand it without a little contextual information. It has always been the plan to shoot unicorns on multiple formats, in chapters, in order to take full advantage of the children's storybook conceit and to offer multiple perspectives. This last week we have been discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this and beginning to wrap our head around which format is going to be where and why. Most of our discussions have been about the emotional and political connotations that these formats and codecs have, and have been trying to pinpoint ways to fully realize their potential. This are my thoughts about the subject:

Visual storytelling – contrast creates tension, affinity creates lack of tension. As the tension in the script progresses, the visualization of that story adds more contrast in it's elements. Elements generally don't have any emotional quality on their own. Red can mean whatever you want it to mean, whatever you tell the viewer it means. Look at Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Burton creates a very contrasty, black and white spotlight motif to signify dreams. The same asthetic can be used to denote aloneness, or joy. It is the combination of the emotional quality and the mix of elements that creates mood – the placement and use of the elements that create tension.
Differing from other visual elements, formats have information hard wired in them. When we see 16 we think – when we see 35 we think – when we see Hi8 we think -. All of these elements can be exploited. Can they be exploited in the same piece? How can we maintain visual continuity and be constantly shifting formats – constantly commenting on and judging the characters by deciding in what format to shoot them. If one makes a movie in one format – one is making a singular statement – I am shooting on this format, it is commenting on the totality of my subject this way... But when one is constantly shifting – this dialog becomes as important as lighting, clothing, and the words that the actors are saying because it is always changing.
But how is this different from the other visual elements? How is format linked to line, shape, color, depth? We are assuredly not going to change the costumes just because we are shooting in 35 or change the dialog because we are shooting in Vidster are we? At what point are we at the mercy of the format? At what point does it stop being a tool and start being a symbol? Is it always a symbol?
Another question is... the change from one format from shot to shot adds it's own visual intesnity, some more than others. The jump from Vidster to 35 is more intense than the jump from Hi8 to DV. How can we use these formats and codecs as visual signifiers without the visual intensity of the piece being out of control, full blast, 100% all the time? Is that possible? Since the codec lives three lives (one as visual element, one as reproducer of the other visual elements always commenting on them, the last as a signifier in and of itself). How can we break these three aspects apart and make them into one unifying theme???

Morgan Dusatko - writer/director

Technical Considerations of the Pixilation Shoot

2006-11-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

A Technical Description of the Workflow and Tools Used During the Chroma Key Trouble With Unicorns Introduction Shoot

The Pixilation Shoot
On Saturday 2006-11-04, the first shoot of the Trouble With Unicorns took place. This was for the opening sequence of the project, which is in a 2D-animation visual style. Instead of characters made of cutout paper or other materials, (which might be seen as the traditional 2D animation style), this sequence is going to have live people animated in a stop-motion animation technique called pixilation. This will give the characters the surface appearance of being real, but since they are 'pixilated,' their motions will be interrupted and jagged, giving them an animated aesthetic. The characters were captured performing their motions in front of a chroma screen, so that they can be "cut out" and composited in with backgrounds at a later point in the post-production process.

Technical Considerations of Chroma Key Shooting
Here is a still of our makeshift chroma keying setup.

The large green wall you see in the background is actually 6 flats (pieces of plywood stood upright and screwed to stands) taped together. We painted the flats with near chroma-green paint from Ace Hardware. On commercial film sets, chroma screens are often painted with special chroma paint. This usually costs about 60 to 70 dollars per gallon. For the budget-minded individual, one could acquire near-equivalent chroma green paint from your nearest hardware store, for much less money. The amount of gloss on the paint that you buy can be an important consideration. If you buy high-gloss paint, you will get reflections and glare on the surface of your green-screen, which should be avoided at all costs. You might also get an increase in green light bounced back at your actors, which should also be avoided. A full matte green paint on the other hand, might bring about an increase in the amount of light necessary to illuminate the green screen easily. Taking into account these considerations, we decided to get one step above matte in the "matte-to-gloss" scale, which at the hardware store we went to was termed "eggshell gloss".

You might also notice that our actor is standing on a wrinkled combination of clothes... er, cloths. Yes. These clothes represent somewhat a range of colors, from darker green to lighter green to blue. Contrary to what might seem wrong at first, you can actually key two colors (green and blue) simultaniously, fairly effectively. While not desirable, as this adds more complexity to the post-production workflow, it can be effective. We were forced to resort to it in our case, where we were running out of time, and had to find many strips of cloth to put on the floor for keying.

You might notice in the above screenshot that our actor is very far away from the chroma green wall. We did this so that we would get as little 'spill' as possible. Spill is green (or blue) light reflected back from the chroma screens onto the subject, and can create difficulties with color corection in post, or even unusable footage. Lighting is very important in Chroma Key shooting. There is constant battle between even lighting on the chroma screens, and shadows cast onto the chroma screens by the subjects. It is difficult to maintain a balance between even lighting on the screens and desireable lighting on the actors. There are a list of tips for chroma key shooting, that interested readers might peruse.

Technical Considerations of Image Capture
Shooting in the style of pixilation brings about unique challenges for the actor. Essentially, you are using people as puppets. Unlike puppets, people can move themselves. Also unlike puppets, people are more difficult to pose and leave in one position, because they tire easily. Therefore, when shooting pixilation, it is best if the actor has to pause and hold one position as little as possible. For the shoot we were able to acquire a Canon Digital Rebel XTi (400d), from the excellent independent filmmaker's resource, Costco. Our initial plan was to shoot in Canon's digital RAW format, so as to preserve as much of the color information as possible. However, we ended up shooting at the highest resolution JPEG setting instead, for the majority of the shoot. The Digital Rebel XTi can shoot at 3 frames per second, until its memory buffer fills, and it gets behind in writing the data to the Compact Flash card. When shooting raw files, the buffer can hold 10 images before it fills. When shooting Jpeg (large/fine), the buffer can hold 27 images. To shoot in RAW would have put significant strain on our actors, because every 10 frames, they would have to freeze mid-motion and hold their position until the buffer filled.

When shooting for chroma key (see discussion below), color information is just as important as luminance, or brightness information. Most video codecs (DV, for example), and the JPEG still image compression algorithms, apply a method of compression known as Chroma Subsampling. This is basically a technique of compressing the color information more than the brightness information, because our eyes are less sensitive to a loss of detail in the colorspace of an image than in the luminance-space. DV has a Chroma Subsampling Rate of 4:1:1. JPEG has an inferior chroma subsampling rate of 4:2:0, which basically means that there is half as much resolution both horizontally and vertically in the color information. The RAW format has no color compression at all, and thus its effective chroma subsampling rate is 4:4:4, meaning that there is no compression of the color channel.

What does all this mean for Chroma Keying? This means that if we were shooting at SD resolution (720x480 pixels), in the JPEG format, our effective image resolution for keying would actually be half of that (360x240). This would result in a rather blocky key!

Since an 8-bit Morgan the Unicorn is not our goal, it is fortunate that the Rebel XTi can shoot at 10 Megapixels of Resolution, which comes out to 3,888x2592 pixels, which is about equivalent to the 4K standard resolution that Film Studios scan 35mm film at for digital intermediates. Because our final output format for this sequence is going to be HD 1080p24 resolution (with eventual down-conversion to 480p24 to mesh with the remainder of the project, which will be shot on the Panasonic DVX100A), we reasoned that even with the 1/2 effective resolution in color brought about by the JPEG compression, we would have plenty of resolution to bring about an effective key.

We will see just how difficult it will be when we actually start compositing the pixilation characters and the backgrounds we are scheduled to shoot this coming Sunday (11-26). For the backgrounds Brad Hutchinson's and my own plan of attack is to acquire 32bit HDRI images to work with in After Effects (in which program we will be doing the compositing and animation), by shooting in RAW and bracketing 4-6 exposures of each image we take of background materials, and then using the "Merge to HDR" command in Photoshop CS2. While this may seem like overkill (and probably is), it will be an interesting learning experience. More updates on technical matters relating to the Trouble with Unicorns shoot to follow at a later time.

~Jed Smith - Editor, Visual Effects Collaborator

Unicorns Production Videoblog 02 - 17 hours... 8000 pics

2006-11-17T10:00:00.001-08:00

Unicorns Production Videoblog 01 - Horn Shadow

2006-11-14T05:02:00.000-08:00

Brad just won the Cine-X Showcase competition

2006-11-07T01:25:00.000-08:00

with his awsome direct animation epic projector performance My Primary Colors. And won 5 hours studio time at Bad Animals audio recording studio in Seattle!!!!!! Could this weekend have been any better?

Morgan

Last night

2006-11-06T00:44:00.000-08:00

We had a 16 hour shoot last night. There will soon be a few blogs about it. But I just wanted to say it was bliss...

A quick note about my evening

2006-11-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

I just spent 5 hours going to various shopping centers, hanging out in the women's section looking for a bright pink track suit that would fit me. Not a very normal thinkg to do in the South Puget Sound.

Thoughts, and moving to phase 2

2006-10-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

We had the second auditions and callbacks this weekend. I am not sure what to say except we locked down two more parts. But I just got done talking to our potential lead actress, and she unfortunately had to decline. The script is hard, about hard times, about a time when I was having trouble with the other gender. I understand that the female characters in almost everything I write are either hollow, scary, or idealized. I also understand that this is the way that women are portrayed in most of the dominant media culture, and it is our mission to change that. I want someone in that part that can be dynamic enough to explore those themes. I want the characters to be challenged in this movie the way we are in real life, by dynamic people, with things they need to sort out and things they need. But this is a tall order.

I understand why exploring that is something she wouldn't want to do.

So what are we to do then? We are still on our search for someone who can do that, and someone who can compliment her.

A few people have told me that I should think about playing the lead myself. He is based on me after all. I am not entirely opposed to the idea either, it's just that I'm over my head right now, and adding another complicated and new task to the agenda isn't really appealing. But as it is congealing in my mind I find it oddly comforting. This could be an opportunity to really find out some things about myself, a way to really push myself and the artistic process into another level of reality.

This movie is about me remembering my life and idealizing it. This movie is a way to deconstruct that.

I had a thought today that we all lead two lives; a material life and a symbolic life. I realized today that my symbolic life is the inspiration of my art thus far and that this project is another page turning in that exploration.

The First Auditions...

2006-10-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Monday October 16...

Right now I'm feeling as if I have officially gotten in over my head. Keeping what I need to do straight in my head is a difficult task without life, and now I feel as thought I have compounded my problems. 30 minutes doesn't seem that long when you watch it on a screen, but organizing a production, any production is a long and hard task. So today I have been hiding (not something I have a lot of time for). There is just a line that you have to maintain. Humans are creatures of fury, and doing and creating, but they are also creatures of talking and laughing and walking around with nowhere to go. There are many layers to a brain and a heart and they all have to be dealt with.

The first auditions were Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was hard because we got a lot of no-shows. I was also very nervous as I have never been to an actual audition, and have been known to have problems with theater in general. It was really good that Brad was there because he has been to auditions, and has even performed in some plays, so he helped put my mind at ease and offered some suggestions about how to conduct them. We started with a chat to make them feel comfortable, and to get a little contextual information about them. Then I had them run through some lines cold. We would run through a scene a few times and then we would discuss the character, what they wanted and how they were trying to get it through these words. I think I was able to glean a lot of information about the actors, but wonder about the things I missed, and about versatile the actors were (meaning that I felt they were capable of a versatility that I wasn't finding.)

There are two really strange things about auditions. First is that they are competitive, but in a really strange way. It is not like you can beat someone at an audition. It is really about finding the kind of expression that the director is looking for. In sports for example, the competition is quantitative, their worth being judged by how man points you score, how fast you run etc. But auditions are a kind of qualitative competition. There is no way to know before hand what the director wants, and no way of really preparing. You go in, you talk, and either you are what they were looking for or not. This type of judgment is rare, especially when you deal with humans. As an artist you are always making qualitative judgments about the elements of your medium (color, timbre, motion etc.) but I am not used to making these judgments about people. In my personal life I am all about people just being who they are and not asking them to change.

That being said, I really like directing. The emotional transference, and play are cathartic. As actors and directors we are allowed to be emotional beings in a very safe place. No one will judge you or hurt you on a set because it is the actors job to be an emotional being and the directors job to help them through that. Which brings me to the second strange part about auditions, saying goodbye.

All of these auditions were very intense and emotional. I got a lot of feeling from everyone that walked through that door. As we moved through the scenes, we were able to build, usually to an apex of feeling. There was a lot of screaming, and a lot of whimpering. Sometimes it got so intense that me and Brad had to laugh just to release some tension. As a director you bring people to these auditions and you ask them to be performative with their emotions. In the real world that would presuppose some kind of intimacy. So as the auditions came to a close, with all of these feeling being thrown around, how can you tell someone to leave so that you and your partner can talk about what you've just seen, and discuss how well that person will fit into the production? So when the actors left, I felt a little deflated...

So that was the auditions....

I know that this is extremely long but I am just going to write a few lines about the plan of attack from here. The plan now is to decompress from the first auditions. It's sort of like 52 card pickup – except there isn't 52 cards. So we have to figure out what worked, what we can salvage, and what we need to add. It is also important to do some callbacks this weekend and see of there is anything with these people that I have missed.

After that, we need a scene breakdown first, then a shot breakdown. I also have to get in contact with the (hopefully) art director to set her in motion... We have to start work on the animation (which will be done mostly in After Effects instead of physical replacement animation). That needs to be started three weeks from now after the 1^st shoot. Hopefully after that begins everything else should be on a downhill, and easier ie. less time consuming.

Auditions - B's take

2006-10-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

so here I am sitting next to morgan as we sit through our last audition for this weekend. he is explaining character motivation and character goals to a lady that makes me wonder what it would be like if my mom was super suburby and rich. I am waiting to be the line reader... the opposite for the actor. we have had some really great auditions and a lot of no shows. I think we are going to post some of these auditions in the form of videoblogs.
I am all antsy to get the main part cast to get going on the animated opening... I think it is now going to an after effects extravaganza. woo!
-Brad

The Trouble with Unicorns is looking for actors...

2006-10-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Are you an actor who wants to work on a different and challenging project? Are you tired of telling the same old stories that same old ways? Do you want to help do something about it? Are you interested in trying to describe something new? The Trouble With Unicorns is a 30-minute short about a unicorn named Morgan who leaves his happy home and finds himself in Factoryland. He begins dating a stripper that his boss is in love with and after an epic battle, he decides to leave. He then tries his luck in Fantasyland, and ends up alone in the dessert deciding whether to kill himself or join the circus. This project is colliding the styles of children’s television and neo-realism. Think Pee Wee’s Playhouse meets Cassavetes or Dogme 95. We are looking for actors to fill some of the roles… Morgan is a unicorn that is trying to find the place he belongs. He is having to fight his way to happiness. Early 20s. Ron is Morgan’s boss. Ron is uptight and concerned with keeping his job. He falls in love with a stripper, and decides that Morgan needs to die. Mid 30’s – mid 40s. Sarah is the stripper. She wants peace and happiness, and is having trouble finding it. Early 20s. Mark is Morgan’s friend at the factory. He is having trouble with his wife. He also wants peace and happiness and is having trouble finding it. 20s. Ann is Mark’s wife. She is combative, troublesome, and mean. 30s. Dan is the janitor at the warehouse. He knows that he doesn’t belong as a janitor but is too tired to try and change anything. Age unimportant. There will also be various other small parts. We are shooting EXCLUSIVLY ON THE WEEKENDS from January 13 – March 10. The shooting will take place in Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. You will get respect, food, credit and copies with the possibility of a modest payment sometime in the future. I am more interested in actors that are dedicated to working on a new and exciting project than actors with a lot of experience. Willingness to experiment, work collaboratively, and dedication are more important than a long resume and a glossy headshot. Rehearsals start at the end of October and continue into early January and will generally be one or two days a week. Please email a little about yourself and why you are interested in this project, a resume, and photo to troublewithunicorns@gmail.com and we will contact you for an audition.