Filmmaker's Dream Blog

Check out this video to gain more inspiration to pursuing your filmmaking passion.



Event Horizon from James Miller on Vimeo.

The color, quality, and lighting in this entire video is absolutely gorgeous.  It was shot on a Sony NEX FS100. Let this become a great inspiration for lighting and high quality you could want to achieve.

I recently stumbled upon a website supporting Independent Filmmaking. It's an organization that is committed to protecting independent film and television production distribution in the United States. It is created as an organization under the IFTA ( Independent Film and Television Alliance) which is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and represents over 150 companies in 23 countries. The IFTA was founded in 1980 and generates over $4 billion dollars a year in revenue.  The site allows you to submit videos, learn more about the organization, watch other independent film submissions and more!

For more information visit www.fightforindpendents.org and support the independent film community!

Doritos is holding a SuperBowl Commercial contest, ' Crash the SuperBowl'.
The possible prize? 1 Million dollars! Create an eye-catching, unique, and fun 30 second spot and win $1,000,000.00 if they choose you!
All assets will be provided by Doritos ( logos, music, bumpers, and more)

Contest Details and Rules:

• Deadline: November 21, 2011 by 11:59 pm EST
• Prizes: 1st place- $1,000,000.00 and produce a future Doritos project with the famous, The Lonely Island. 2nd place- $ 600,000.00. 3rd place- $400,000.00
• You must be 18 years of age or older and be in the United States or the District of Columbia.
• There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest.
• Review the assets provided in the Toolkit on the Web Site.
• Get together your idea for a DORITOS® brand Super Bowl XLVI commercial. Make it action-packed. Make it funny. Make it something you’ve never seen before. It’s up to you. Just make it awesome.
• Your Submission should be in commercial form consistent with these Official Rules.
•  Judging Criteria ("Judging Criteria") is as follows:
• Originality and Creativity - 40%
• Adherence to Creative Assignment - 30%
• Overall Appeal - 30%

• Video file must be submitted – the Video file(s) must be exactly 30 seconds in length (all copyrighted material will be removed)
• The video file size should be kept at or under 100 MB for quicker upload/encoding time (Finalists may be asked to provide higher resolution files)
• Video files must be provided in one of the following file formats: .MPEG; .MOV; .AVI; or .WMV 
• For all video submissions shot in 16:9 aspect ratio, they should be center cut protected. Finalists may be asked to provide the original audio and video files used during production of the entry for broadcast purposes. This may include uncompressed QuickTime files, final audio mix and/or separate audio tracks for dialogue, music, and effects. These items are not mandatory to become a Finalist.
• Submission must be primarily in English. 
• Each Submission must not feature or refer to any food products other than DORITOS® brand Tortilla Chips; it must not feature or reference any NFL Marks or any other third party trademarks; (with the exclusion of DORITOS® brand assets provided on the Web Site); it must not feature or reference any NFL merchandise or NFL player(s); and it must not feature or reference any names or third party logos (other than the DORITOS® brand logo), including but not limited to third party names, logos or trademarks on street signs, panoramic views, vehicle license plates, or clothing such as T-shirts, hats, etc. 
• Do not show anything with distilled spirits (i.e. hard liquor), tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff), contraceptives, feminine hygiene products, fireworks, firearms and ammunitions, prescription drugs, illegal drugs and related drug paraphernalia, nutritional supplements, lotteries and gambling (including horse or dog racing and products or services related to gambling).
• Each Submission must not utilize live animals unless the Entrant has obtained the consent of the animal’s owner and an affidavit from the animal owner or wrangler that the animal was not harmed in the making of the commercial. Entrants are encouraged to contact the local Humane Society prior to filming the Submission to verify appropriate animal safeguards on set.
• Don't include any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Entrant). You may not include any music except for the pre-approved music provided on the Web Site. Approved music provided on the Web may not be altered. Use of any unauthorized music may result in disqualification of Submission, in Sponsor's sole discretion.
• Five (5) finalist Submissions (each a “Finalist”) will be selected by a judging process in which a qualified panel of judges (“Judges”) will evaluate each eligible Submission based on the Judging Criteria set forth above. In the event of a tie for the fifth Finalist spot, the tie will be broken based on the highest score in the first Judging Criteria, continuing thereafter to each Judging Criteria, in order, as needed to break the tie. The five (5) Finalist Submissions will be posted for the public (ages 13 or older) to vote on their favorite at http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com starting on January 4, 2012 at 12:00:00 pm (noon) CT and ending on January 29, 2012 at 11:59:59 pm CT

Go to : www.crashthesuperbowl.com  to enter now!

    We all love 3D movies and how magical they can make our movie going experience, but how would you like to create a 3D film? There has been a release of some awesome 3-D enabled cameras to give you a different effect. They can range from $155.00 to $25,000. How are they achieving this? By a new technology called Parallex which combines two lenses that captures two images in different positions simultaneously giving you a 3D effect. Here is a list of some new 3D HD cameras.

• Aiptek 3-D HD Camcorder features dual 5MP sensors to give clear and high quality pictures and videos.  One touch enables the 3D feature to give you the versatility of shooting in 2D or 3D. 

•  It works with nVidea 3D vision enabled computers, TVs,  and laptops.
• How much does it cost? The retail price is around $179.99, but you can purchase it for $151.95 from Amazon. Amazon Price
• Test Footage: Here is the test footage from the camera- Aiptek Test Footage
• Sony 3D Bloggie Camcorder captures 3D and 2D footage in HD quality and displays your images and videos on a 2.4 LCD screen. Connect it to a 3D HDTV3 and enjoy! It has an easy flip out USB arm and pre-installed software to allow you to place tags on your movies for easy sharing on Youtube. 
• How much does it cost? in nearby stores it runs about $248.00 and you can find it online for $179.99 here- Online Price
•        Test Footage: Check out the test footage of the Sony 3D here:Test Footage
•  FinePix REAL 3D W1 camera can shoot stills and videos with double 10 megapixels CCD and a 3x Optical Zoom. The buttons are blue and stay illuminated and the menu is even displayed in 3D. The LCD screen is 2.8 inches which makes it easy to see your images and videos on a larger screen. The images and videos can be viewed on any 3D digital image viewer.
• What makes it different? This camera can send images and videos wireless to any 3D digital viewer with IrSimple technology.
• How much does it cost? The retail price for the Fuji FinePix W1 camera is $899.99 and can be found online for $330.00 on Ebay
• There is also a new updated version called the Fuji FinePix W3 which can be checked out Here
• Test footage of the Fuji FinePix W1 can be found here: Test Footage
•  JVC Everio GS-TD1 camcorder shoots in full HD 1080p and 1080i. It uses twin HD GT lenses which shoots in High Definition and low dispersion for crisp, crystal clear, high contrast footage. It has a 5x Optical zoom and an optical stabilization system to give a greater depth to your images. JVC's Biphonic technology for dynamic 3D sound and automatic parallax adjustment to optimize the 3D-video comfort zone. 

• How much does this cost? The retail price for the JVC Everio GS-TD1 costs $1499.99 and can be found for $1089.00 here. JVC Everio 3D Online price 
• Here is the test footage for the JVC Everio 3D camcorder: JVC Everio 3D test footage

There are many more 3D cameras that provide awesome effects, but instead of reviewing all of them I've decided to briefly overview editing with 3D quality. It's a strong question to many filmmakers thinking of upgrading to making 3D films.  Here's a list of some awesome 3D editing software and applications:

• Cineform Neo3D, this application allows you to edit footage in your favorite editing software such as FCP, Avid, After Effects, Sony Vegas, and more. You will have to edit the footage twice when it comes to editing 3D videos. The price for this application costs around $3,000.00. While that is expensive, it makes creating 3D films a lot easier.

• Sony Vegas 10 and Sony Vegas 11 is a very popular editing software that just enabled a feature that allows you to edit 3D videos at a much cheaper price than Cineform at $600.00.
• Magix Movie Edit Pro MX Plus allows you to edit full stereo 3D videos and Multicam editing. This software supports Windows Vista, XP, and 7. The price? for a great cost of only $99.00

Editing your 3D footage is a complicated and can cause a headache, but imagine the awesome effects you could achieve! Features like Rotoscoping will require you to do double the work and you must be sure everything matches up. Enjoy your 3D filmmaking and wow your family, friends, and fans!