TIMELAPSE EXPERIMENT #2: still some bugs to work out
So here’s a second attempt at a timelapse and I’m still learning so please forgive the imperfections.
The biggest bother in this one are the jumps in the image 4 or 5 times in the sequence. I was shooting with a much longer focal length, about 110-120mm vs about 16mm before and I believe I also had the lens on Image Stabilization – the combination of these two were probably the cause of the jumps in the image you see. Even walking by the camera with these settings (on the second floor of wood and brick apartment building where the ground isn’t super stable like the concrete floor of my last apartment) would also explain where the jumps came from… shouldn’t IS keep the image from doing that? Fine vibrations are dampened by IS yes. Bumps or moves near the camera can set off the IS to adjust the image slightly that will appear as vibrations in this timelapse. That’s just a theory at this point – but I’ve worked with this lens long enough that I’m pretty confident that IS should have been off.
Other changes – I shot on large jpeg rather than raw (so I could get more images onto the card for a longer timelapse) – and had the intervalometer set to fire every 5 seconds rather than 15. This smooths out the motion and slows it down compared to my first timelapse but you can still see the trees in the foreground moving around erratically, which I understand can be smoothed out if I use a longer shutter speed to let the motion blur a bit. Next time.
BTW, this was shot through the bedroom window of my new apartment. Nice view huh?
Music is Joga by Bjork.
Oh and don’t forget to hit the fullscreen button to view it in 1080p!
“133 YEARS OF MUSIC IN SIX SOLOS”: one of the top 25 films in the 2010 International Doc Challenge
Team Tippius’ entry into the 2010 International Documentary Challenge. Our assignment: Write, produce, shoot and edit a 4-7 minute documentary film based on the genre of music and theme of dreams/nightmares in 5 days. 130 teams from 11 countries are competing for one of 12 finalist spots and a screening at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary film festival, April 29-May 9, 2010 in Toronto.
Yesterday we learned that our entry into the 2010 International Documentary Challenge was ranked one of the top 25 films out of 130 entries from around the world. That’s Part 1 of the good news. Part 2 of the good news is that it was also selected for a special pre-screening at the NFB Cinemathéque on April 9 in Toronto (see previous post). Part 3 of the good news, and possibly the best news, is that we are now free to show it to you!!!
So what’s the bad news you ask? Well, here goes… we weren’t one of the Top 12 films, which means that we are not a finalist in this year’s competition. That’s a big bummer, but we’re keeping our chins up, considering where we did place, and considering we came into this competition with no crew and no preparation – I literally hovered my mouse over the registration button off and on for an hour (“should I do it, should I not”), minutes before the deadline, the night before the 5-day competition began (only a couple of days earlier I had never heard of the competition). That, and it was a lot of fun running all over the city getting private performances and interviews from musicians in their homes, studios, and gigs, at all hours of the morning, evening, and wee hours… I had 6 hours of sleep in 3 days… okay so some parts were more fun than others.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the vid. Please leave a comment and/or “Like” the video. Spread the word – share/send the link to your friends – we want the biggest audience we can get. Cheers!
BTW – Wondering where we got the name ‘Team Tippius’ from? Well with minutes before the deadline to complete our entry, we had to come up with a team name, and lo and behold – our inspiration walks past…
Team Tippius, our frantic, last-minute name inspired by the darned cat.
“133 YEARS OF MUSIC IN SIX SOLOS”: film selected for a special preview screening April 9 at Toronto’s NFB Mediatheque
We received word today that our (Team Tippius’) entry into the International Documentary Challenge, “133 Years of Music in Six Solos”, has been selected for a pre-screening in Toronto, April 9. It will show alongside other Canadian entries at the NFB Mediatheque – John Spotton Theatre at 150 John Street, Toronto, Friday April 9, at 6pm. Admission is free, so go check it out! If we were going to be in town, we’d be there for sure. This event is sponsored by DOC – the Documentary Organization of Canada.
RUN TO END POVERTY: promotional film for Engineers Without Borders
Last summer I was asked by Engineers Without Borders to provide some coverage of the Run To End Poverty event here in Vancouver, BC. Myself and friends Alejejandro Zuluaga and Andres Salas shot it over two days and since, it’s become a fairly drawn-out side project for me (mostly because Christian is too nice and let me stretch deadlines a couple of times) that’s finally been posted on their website, and so I’m now able to share the video with you.
The Run To End Poverty was started by Christian Beaudrie while he was on a placement near Tamale, Ghana with Engineers Without Borders a few years back. It is either 5K or a half marathon and is a fundraiser in support of international development of third world countries where extreme poverty is a real issue. Christian wanted me to emphasize however – the run is not just for Engineers Without Borders – anyone can participate – in fact all individuals and organizations are encouraged to join in their city’s Run To End Poverty (presently held in Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Waterloo) and if their city does not have a run, start one! Contact Christian at the Run To End Poverty website if you want to learn more. Here in Vancouver, the event piggybacks on the Scotiabank Half Marathon and on similar runs in other cities across the country.
One note on the music I’d like to make – and of interest to filmmakers – the two songs you will hear were blasting in the background during the race, and I leveraged this in post, laying down the real tracks for effect without a lot of consideration for rights. I do consider music rights of course – before using Tegan & Sara’s song in the trailer and then the full length versions of Surviving In The Cracks, I got their permission; Anyhow, last summer, when the bulk of this short was shot and edited, I highlighted to Christian this might be an issue, but we decided to push ahead believing the owners of the music would allow it, especially considering the non-profit use of this film. Interestingly however, Youtube muted Dire Straits’ song automatically when Christian tried to upload it there last week, so for now we’re hosting it elsewhere (my Vimeo account – with tight restrictions on embedding and sharing enabled to avoid being blocked again). Youtube is still our ultimate destination to reach the largest audience and in the meantime Christian has approached Dire Straits (and the Soca Boys too) to get their official permission. I am very interested to hear their answer.
2010 INTERNATIONAL DOC CHALLENGE: “133 Years of Music in Six Solos”
Jay Dabbler, a Vancouver drum and bass DJ, appears in "133 Years of Music in Six Solos"
Yesterday I dropped off a package to Fedex containing our – me, Angela, James and Alejandro: “Team Tippius” – entry to the 2010 International Documentary Challenge. 130 teams from 11 countries entered to write, produce, shoot and edit a 4-7 minute documentary based on a genre that we received in our inbox at 8am on the first day of the competition, last Thursday. Twelve finalists will be selected by a jury of documentary filmmakers and screened at Hot Docs, the largest documentary film festival in North America.
Karen Lee-Morlang, classical pianist
Naturally, in hindsight, there are some things that we would have done differently… from process, to creative, to research, type, lighting… pretty much everything. But in the end I think we ended up with a little gem. I’d be happy to share it with you, but unfortunately it needs to stay “secret” until Hot Docs.
Thanks to all of our artists: Scott Good, Karen-Lee Morlang, James Weekes, Neil Cruickshank, Pher, and Jay “Dabbler”. Also thanks to the artists who got back to us but we didn’t have time to include.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: All grown up! (to 56 minutes)
Screenshot from Surviving In The Cracks
Today I watched Surviving In The Cracks in its full 55 minutes and 50 seconds of glory on my roommate’s tiny little TV before dropping it in an ExpressPost envelope and sending it off to compete in the big leagues (NOT as a student film) in Toronto – Hot Docs – the largest documentary film festival in North America. Maybe (probably), like a proud parent, I may have shed a little tear as I watched it this last time, reminiscing at how my baby grew, finally ready to leave the nest after nine months of nurturing, long days shooting, sleepless nights editing, and several rejections pitching, this, my first (hopefully not my last) movie.
I wore a whole lot of hats in this project: writing, producing, directing, shooting, editing, and promoting it from the first day. But I certainly could not have done it without the help of many people, beginning with my brother, Dr. Jeff Masuda, who introduced me to the Surviving In The Cracks theatre project as a possible subject for a documentary. Then of course comes the Vancouver Youth Visions Coalition – Davina, Fraggle and Trevor, the openness of the cast, Amethyst and Cody especially but also Dave, Myke and Natasha, and the researchers Sean, Laura and Jenn. Lastly, and deserving of special recognition is Amanda, the director and driving force behind the theatre production. I would also like to mention Dr. Jim Frankish and Joyce Rock, who have supported and encouraged me along the way.
But what’s a movie without a soundtrack to bring it to life? Being somewhat clueless about music, I placed an enormous amount of trust in my composers and was not disappointed – I am extra thankful for the amazing contributions of Rachel Kidd, Connor Robinson and Tobacco Brown, and Tegan & Sara.
Finally, a special thank you to someone very important to me for her patience, support and encouragement, not to mention her frank and valuable input with regards to the graphics, typography, music – and life in general. Thank you Angela Karinn.
Tomorrow I will deliver this final cut to DOXA, another big league festival here in the west and then wait patiently so see if the film will be selected for either festival. I am also sending it in to Yorkton by the end of this month. Okay, reality check: what are the chances that my first film will be selected for any of these major festivals? I don’t know but I will let you know how it goes. I can dream can’t I?
Oh and finally finally – thanks Mom and Dad!
Whew! On to the next chapter for me.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: 15 minute film screening at World Community Film Festival at Langara College Jan 29-31.
World Community Film Festival January 29-31, 2010
The 15 minute version of Surviving In The Cracks will be screening at the World Community Film Festival on Saturday January 30 at 1:15pm in Theatre 3 at Langara College Main Campus in Vancouver. The film is screening in the student category.
There are several VERY cool documentaries playing in this festival including RiP: A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor, H2Oil by Shannon Walsh, and Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action by Velcrow Ripper. Visit the festival website for more information about the festival.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: looking for music composer, animator, graphic artist, publicist, distributor and screeners
As the days count down to some big film festival deadlines, I am editing, editing, editing away at the longer version of Surviving In The Cracks. While I have not landed any structured financial support to complete this project I have received encouraging words from the likes of the National Film Board, Paperny FIlms and Knowledge Network. So onwards I go.
To enhance the depths of this version of the film I am looking for animators, graphic artists, music composers, and I am again in touch with Tegan and Sara, who generously allowed me to use their song “Divided” in my trailer this summer. I will need a publicist and a distributor as well, if you know of any good ones. Lastly, I am looking for screeners to view rough cuts and provide feedback. If you feel you have anything to contribute in any of the roles mentioned, please get in touch with me soon.
I intend to submit this version of the film to DOXA in Vancouver, Western Canada’s largest documentary film festival, Hot Docs in Toronto, Canada’s largest doc film fest, and Yorkton, in Yorkton, SK – the longest running film festival of its kind in North America. In the new year, I will continue to search for and submit to other appropriate festivals.
I also have some updates on a few of the actors, for those of you who have seen the play or caught the 15 minute film at VSFF. I took Cody out for lunch on Sunday and bought him his first G-Money burger from Vera’s – a sure bet to satisfy even the hungriest person. Cody is doing well, playing hockey, staying out of trouble, and he even gets to see his little sister from time to time. I showed him the film (he hadn’t seen it yet) and he laughed his head off. I went with Davina to see Fraggle perform in David Diamond’s “After Homelessness” Forum Theatre Production – wow, Fraggle is an amazing actor – go Fraggle! Here is a link to an article about that play. I also spoke with Amethyst a week ago and she seems to be doing well too.
Back to editing…
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: Radio Interview on CJSF 90.1FM and CITR 101.9FM
Welcome to any listeners who just tuned into CJSF 90.1FM to listen to my radio interview with Nick Pannu on the Artsindy Crossroads show! Thanks for listening and thanks for coming to visit my site. Click here to listen to the CJSF interview (22:44).
NEWS FLASH! A condensed 8 minute cut of the interview will be airing Wednesday, November 11 at 5pm PST on UBC’S CITR 101.9FM’s “Arts Report” show. You can listen to the CITR version here (8:25) or on Nick’s MySpace page.
As far as the interview goes, everything seemed to be pretty accurate, including the exhaustion in my voice. I don’t have any major factual corrections to make: “Davine” is actually “Davina”, “Surviving The Cracks” should be “Surviving In The Cracks”, Dr. Masuda is not a coordinator of the Vancouver Youth Visions coalition, he is one of the supervising researchers of the project, the safe houses closed 5 years ago (March 2004) not 3 years ago… and I think I said “film” in one spot (maybe two) when I should have said “play” and vice versa. I did my best to give the facts regarding the safe house closures – it’s all stuff I learned about while shooting the film. If you think I made any major goofs then feel free to contact me, but all of my info came from the source – the people who lived it.
Amanda Wager (the director of the play) and I have been spearheading the effort to keep the project going on a couple of fronts. One, while we are still in contact with the cast and crew, the play is on hold at the moment – mainly because we are short the necessary funds to mount another production. We are hoping to revisit this again soon, after Amanda finishes her comps for her PhD in Drama in Education.
Here’s the trailer for you in case you haven’t seen it.
On the film front, I am happy to say that I am presently in post production, cutting a long version of the film to submit to festivals such as DOXA and Hot Docs. (Unfortunately I’m doing this on my own dime – my pitches this autumn raised interest but, to date, no funds). The deadlines for both are December 18, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. This new version of the film will be the story that I really want to tell. The version that screened at VSFF was restricted to 15 minutes, and in this time I could not explore the people or the process in any meaningful depth. In the time that I have put into the new cut I am both delighted and intimidated by the amount of footage I have to work with in exploring these depths. I will be looking for a few screeners to provide regular feedback on rough cuts of this new film. If you are interested in helping out in this manner, or to help raise funds, please write me to let me know who you are, your background, and how and why you want to be involved.
Lastly, on the new media front, well, unless you have good reason and convince me otherwise, that will have to take a back seat to the longer film for now.
Well that’s my short response to the radio interview today. Thanks again to Nick at CJSF, and to you, the listeners. Stay tuned for future updates on the film, and become a fan of Surviving In The Cracks on Facebook!
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: film screening at VSFF (and a radio interview!)
UPDATED: THE RADIO INTERVIEW ON CJSF 90.1FM ( Cable 90.3FM) or online at cjsf.ca WILL AIR NEXT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 3PM.
What a weekend! Surviving In the Cracks premiered Friday, October 23 at the Vancouver Short Film Festival to a full house. This was the first public screening of the film and it went splendidly! It was amazing to be part of this festival and to be included among such a solid lineup of films and it was a huge thrill to see it up on the big screen at one of the nicest theatres in Vancouver, Vancity Theatre!
The film didn’t win any awards (visit vsff.com for the winners), but it did draw the attention of some press: I just finished recording an interview with Nick Pannu at CJSF 90.1FM ( Cable 90.3FM) or online at cjsf.ca. The interview will be airing at 3pm Monday, November 9th on the Arts Indy program.
Surviving In The Cracks is an ongoing project… it started as a play, became a grad film project which spun off this version, and now has legs to become much more. On the live-theatre front, we are working on getting support for a re-mount of the play. On the documentary front, a longer version is in post-production now, and I plan to submit this to larger festivals before the end of the year. On a third front, we are seriously exploring the possibility of creating a new media component… Send me an email if you want to offer your support.
Stay in the loop: Become a fan of Surviving In The Cracks on Facebook!
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: screening at the Vancouver Short Film Festival Friday, October 23 at Vancity Theatre
I learned this week that the 15 minute version of Surviving In The Cracks was one of twenty-two films selected to screen at this year’s Vancouver Short Film Festival. The film represents Langara College and will be screening in the Student Shorts category with 11 other entries from UBC, SFU, VFS, Capilano University, Emily Carr University, BCIT, the International Language School of Canada, and the Art Institute of Vancouver. The Student Shorts start at 8pm on Friday, October 23 – tickets are $8, available at www.vsff.com or at the door. World’s Best Shorts and the Pro Shorts category screen on Saturday, October 24 followed by the awards ceremony. The festival will be held at Vancity Theatre located at 1181 Seymour Street in Vancouver, BC. There were a total of 139 submissions to the festival this year.
To read more about Surviving In The Cracks, please see my earlier post here or find us on Facebook.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: screening Sunday, September 27 at Langara College
The 10 minute version of the “Surviving In The Cracks” documentary film will be screening, along with other short documentary and dramatic films, at Langara College Main Campus on Sunday, September 27, starting at 3:00pm.
I will also be putting the film into a draw to be screened at the next meeting of the Celluloid Social Club, on Wednesday, September 23. UPDATE: Since “District 9″ guests were presenting tonight, the draw for the screening was pulled from the agenda.
SURVIVING IN THE CRACKS: Documentary Film
Surviving In The Cracks is an auteur creative documentary about a group of unlikely subjects who, from abusive backgrounds, homelessness, addiction, prostitution and poverty, struggle and succeed along with a youth support group and some university researchers to complete a remarkable theatre production based on their lives.
Creating this film has been a remarkable experience. It carries significant weight in my decision to depart the corporate world to pursue film, although when I made that decision I had no idea that the project even existed let alone was just itching to be filmed.
That realization came quickly though – not fully one week into the summer semester of the Digital Film Program at Langara College, I attended a rehearsal for the “Surviving In The Cracks” theatre project to investigate whether it was a viable focus for my grad project. After that first rehearsal, and for the many rehearsals and events that followed, I couldn’t tell whether it would be viable. But I kept on shooting.
What resulted has turned out to be far far more than I could have ever expected. Sure, it met the requirements for my grad film – but it CONSUMED me for the entire four months of the summer. Today, the pursuit of getting funding to complete a long version of the film continues to be a major motivation, and a little frustration, in my life. I strongly believe that this is an important film to complete, for its social and educational value, for academics and participatory researchers, aboriginal advocates, street-involved youth, and parents – and it is in this spirit that I am trying to complete it.
Today it exists in a 2.5 minute trailer (above), a 10 minute short and a 15 minute short. Within the 20 hours of footage, there is a strong broadcast hour length version just waiting to be cut.
Thanks to the kind support from the Vancouver Youth Visions Coalition, the UBC Center for Health Promotion Research, CBC Archives, Tegan & Sara, Tobacco Brown, and Connor Robinson, not to mention the instructors and fellow students at Langara.
RUN TO END POVERTY: Promotional Film
Earlier this year I applied with enthusiasm for a long-term overseas position with Engineers Without Borders. Despite having no experience as an international development worker, I am more socially, environmentally, and politically motivated than I once was, and the idea of having an experience such as this was very appealing. The possibility of applying my engineering background while exercising my passions for photography and film as media for international development advocacy was a dream. I managed to make it through two rounds of interviews before learning that I would not be chosen to go to Africa.
Though this process I got to know the EWB a little better. I have been (trying) to be part of the book club and I attend film night where we watch movies that are relevant to international development. It was through the EWB that I learned about the Run To End Poverty.
This event was started in 2007 by then-overseas volunteer, Christian Beaudrie, to raise awareness of poverty in Africa and to connect western development workers with locals in the region he was working in Ghana. Runs (5km or 1/2 marathon) would simultaneously take place in Ghana and in Canada. Those in Canada would piggyback on a larger event, such as the Scotiabank Half Marathon held in Vancouver or the Marathon Oasis de Montreal. The Canadian runners raise money that is then used to send future volunteers to Africa. The Vancouver chapter of Engineers Without Borders raised $14,000 in June, and the Montreal chapter raised even more funds in September.
Despite being overwhelmed with production of the “Surviving In The Cracks” documentary, I was happy to produce a promotional film for the Run to End Poverty, with two friends on a second camera: Alejandro Zuluago and Andres Salas. When the film is complete it will be used to encourage other organizations, not just Engineers Without Borders, to organize their own Runs To End Poverty in their cities.
This is an important project to me and, although it is not as directly beneficial as being an overseas worker myself, I hope that its effect will reach the people on the ground in Africa in one way or another.
Once the film has been completed I intend to post it here.
