FitLifeSF

That’s right, we are putting out an all-call for you crazy kids to submit videos of yourselves following your passions. What that means is up to you. (Personally, I can’t wait for 90 minute clips of Rob posing on the beach a la pre-Gubernatorial Arnold.) To get you started, we’ve asked video guru, Jason Makman, to give you a primer on making movies worth watching.

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Word around the campfire is that everybody and their mom(mine included) has decided to stop watching movies and start making them. We have seen the incarnation of reality TV and the number of documentaries and biopics skyrocket over the last few years. Well instead of complain about this gluttony of visual media, I will try and impart what little wisdom I have about film making in 10 pointers.

1. Use natural light. The best way to make something look pretty or at the very least watchable is to put some light on your subject. The sun is the most powerful light source that you can find, so use it when you can. Save nighttime for going out.

2. Don’t get too close. Most camera’s cannot focus if the subject is closer than three feet, so stand further back and use the zoom if necessary. I am more of a fan of including a bit of what is going on around your subject, so don’t go too crazy with close-ups.

3. I wanna watch a movie not read one. imovie, premier, final-cut, and other editors have made it really easy to add inter-titles or subtitles, but remember, the picture and sound are what make a film a film. If you want to busy up your picture with written details, don’t. Write a book instead. Exception if you are translating dialogue from another language.

4. Invest in a cheap pair of headphones. Most people, myself included, are guilty of worrying too much how the picture look and forgetting the sound. Nothing like white noise of an AC unit or a plane flying overhead to ruin great footage. Wear headphones while you are taping and try and eliminate “ambient noise”. If you are really feeling crazy invest a bit more into a boom or wireless mics. It can really tune of the professionalism quotient in a hurry.

5. Shoot a bunch of footage. Remember that DV tapes do not cost much and back in the day, film cost a few hundred dollars a minute just to process. Shoot a bunch of stuff and just get an external hard-drive to store it all. The larger the piece of clay you start out with the more fuck ups you can make.

6. If you saw it done once before, try it. If you have seen it done a hundred times before avoid it. Everybody likes cool looking shots, but try and have a reason, and don’t feel bad if your movie does not have one of those kung-fu flick super-fast zoom-ins to create tension, leave that shit to the Shaw brothers.

7. Buy a tripod. 90% of hand-held footage makes poeple sick when they watch it. Heck, even people who make skateboarding movies use tripods, and they are the ultimate slackers.

8. Don’t over edit. Most people call it “MTV” style. There is nothing wrong with having a few quick cuts, but at the same time remember how cool that Alfred Hitchcock shot the movie “Rope” to be one continuous shot. Check it out, pretty ambitious shit.

9. Voice overs are almost always a bad choice. Use with caution.

10. Be experimental. This medium has been around for over a hundred years. Just about everything has been done, but maybe there are still a few more envelopes to push. So, if you think of something which is immediately follow by, “No way, that could never work.” Try it for J. H. Christ sake. Remember if it don’t work you can also leave it out. Oh, and since I said only 10 pointers, let me add this one additional tip here. Keep it short, save the dierector’s cut indulgence for when people actually want to see more. Try and make your finished product as streamlined as possible, and try and leave your audience wanting more. Hell, Hollywood has been living off sequels the last few years for just this reason.

Good Luck and happy shooting, oh yeah, make sure you have plenty of batteries.

Tips by: Jason Makman

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To submit your videos for inclusion on FitLifeSF, put them on YouTube and send the URL to: info@FitLifeSF.com – Once you all get warm to the idea, we’ll put a contest together.