Let it be known!

If drinking late, watching Coen Bros. movies, I mean FILMS, and suddenly getting inspired to write two short films and editing a budding masterpiece in less then 2 hours is not the "norm"....then...well...HATE ME.

But, please, love my scripts.

Cool.

-L

What earthquake?

Things that happened yesterday (Tuesday):

-Earthquake
-Eric freaking out about the earthquake
-Lawrence not feeling the earthquake (he was driving)
-Filmed "Vacuum"
-Edited "Darkroom"

No footage of the earthquake
Only nightmares
Except for Lawrence
Who will sleep soundly

Missing in action

E just got his new baby, I mean camera.  It's pretty sweet and all, but I know this means that other than shooting I will probably not see my friend for the next three to six weeks, depending on how long it takes him to read the instruction manual.  And being that he bought it on eBay, I think he's lucky to have received the manual at all.

See you in a short sometime soon.

-L

7 steps to making a GOOD short

List of things to do in future shorts that have worked in the past... so we can freakin' remember to do them.

1. Write script at least a day in advance.
2. Re-write script at least twice
3. Rehearse at least 3 times
4. Record the sound separately
5. Take at least 30 min to think about the shots
6. Write out shot list
7. Get gf's wise input (my girl friend snuck this onto the list while using my computer...but it's probably a good idea)

Time to start again.

The Donut - Week 16

...it's still noon somewhere.. (Hawaii?)

The Donut - A Short Film

Written by Brian Hurley
(who may never write another thing for us after watching this)

Next week will be better. Apparently "better" takes time.

A Title Change

Brian Hurley's "Pie on the Floor" has now changed to "Donut on the Floor" due to budgetary constraints.

Other factors in the name-change decision include the relative messiness of dropping a piece of pie on my carpet vs. a maple bar, and the durability of pie in a fight.

Coming soon: Donut on the Floor

So it's come to this

Good to know that I can go online to get a schedule, tentative or otherwise, for the week ahead.  Frankly I'm just stoked to get a schedule.  Actually, I think this is a wonderful step forward, which is perfect since our aspirations seem to be growing bigger and more intricate by the minute.

Yeah.  I just said stoked.  What are you gonna do, huh?

I gotta go, gotta prepare.

Making a schedule and sticking to it

What, didn't I just post about a schedule?

That post should have been labeled "tentative schedule." Maybe I'll just change it. Maybe by the time you read this, I've already gone back and changed it. If so, forget what you just read, and read on about the schedule:

The Schedule for this week

Today
10am - Film Floor Pie with Lawrence

Tues
8pm (?) - Kenna and company film a scene from Darkroom

Wed-Thurs - Edit, write (new short, or edit old short; when you figure out which one, Eric, enter title here. Choose by Thurs. night.)

Friday at Noon - Post "Pie" or scene from "Darkroom." Whichever is "done."

Sunday, July 27th - 2pm - Film!

And...

That's all. For now.

Short Film Project Delayed, Actor Demands "Preparation"

LOS ANGELES, United States, July 20th - The Short-a-Week Project experienced delays today as principal talent Lawrence Long refused a request to film until "we have something in mind to shoot."

"I don't want to just wing it," he added, a reference to past works such as Post No Bills and Rock Star. Each of those shorts began with little or no script, and were essentially created on the fly.

Those "winged" shorts have had mixed results for The Short-a-Week Project. Post No Bills became a surprise hit, while Rock Star did not fare as well with general audiences, possibly leading to Long's reluctance to film without a plan.

The shoot was rescheduled for Monday at 10am, before which time a script and shot list will be sent to Long. All parties agree that such planning on future shorts can only improve the finished product.

I just bought a Canon GL1

Forget what I said about "no major purchases." Let's make some movies!

Week 15 - Doorknob

Inspired by the works of Shyamalan, Raimi, and early Peter Jackson comes a first effort at something beyond comedy or abstract French films.

Suspense, horror, and much, much more.

Okay, basically just suspense and horror.

Okay, mainly just suspense.

Crank up the volume and enjoy!


"Doorknob"

Foot in the Mouth - Director's Cut - With Outtakes!

New short coming...by noon? By noon!

Meanwhile, check out this re-cut of an oldie but goodie, Foot in the Mouth.

"Foot in the Mouth - Director's Cut - With Outtakes!"

Planning the next shorts

The future of the Short-a-Week Project lies in organization.

[Note: Darkroom is a recently completed screenplay.]

Friday 7-18 - 5pm
-My French Fry - 2 actors

Sun 7/20 - 11:30pm
-Horror in the Parking Garage (Better Than P2) - 2 actresses, 2 actors

Mon 7/21 - 9pm
-Scene from Darkroom - "The Camera Has Powers. Seriously." - 2 actresses

Friday 7/25 - 2pm
-Horror in the Parking Garage Redux - 1 actress, 1 actor

Sunday 7/27 - 2pm
-If Drugs Were Legal - A Commercial for The Budweiser of Cocaine
-3 actors

Friday 8/1 - 2pm
-Embarrassing Childhood Moments Acted out as an Adult - Short

Sunday 8/3 - 9am
-Scene from Darkroom on the beach

And...more.

A short will be up tomorrow! Stay tuned...

Posting on Craigslist

Posted an ad on craigslist for actors and writers. Got a lot of responses. Turns out there really ARE a lot of actors in LA.

If you emailed us your headshot, resume and/or script, THANK YOU. It's nice to see people getting out and trying to do some creative work. We shall get back to you as soon as Lawrence and I have a chance to look through them all. Plus, we might keep you on file for later shoots.

And Thank You Craigslist. Man, that site is great.

Holding off on major purchases until we learn our strokes

I've decided not to purchase the Panasonic DVX100B. Yet.

When I first learned to play tennis, I had a cheap, twenty-dollar racket. Yet, had I played with a two-hundred dollar racket, my play would not have been better. It wasn't until I learned the strokes (via private lessons - thanks mom and dad!) that a more expensive racket became useful and necessary.

I'm hoping the same philosophy will hold true in filmmaking. I will take to learning the basics in sound, lighting, and direction, and worry less about the image quality. After all, the image is so small on the screen, and we haven't had any complaints, and even a few compliments (thanks mom and dad!).

Also, I'm sticking iMovie for now. It lacks slow motion, but most other features seem adequate. Plus, Tarnation was cut on it. Woah.

But I could change my mind tomorrow. The DVX100B calls to me.

What's different in Week 14's Dude That's My Bike

When you watch Dude, That's My Bike, you may notice it's different from our other shorts. Besides my poor attempt at acting, here's some other things that are different.

1. Shot in widescreen. Which is why the screen is wide.
2. Recorded the sound separately. What you can't see is that we wrapped a digital recorder around a pipe in the garage, suspending the microphone like a boom above the actors. Oh yeah, complicated.
3. Sound effects. That's right. There's no dog, and I didn't drop any change.

Coming soon: more differences in future shorts!

Week 14 - Dude, That's My Bike

The Short-a-Week Project Presents: Dude, That's My Bike

Starring Lawrence Long

Written and Directed by Eric Myers

Shot on a Canon ZR50
Edited on iMovie

Enjoy!

"Dude, That's My Bike"

More things Learned after Making a bunch of Shorts

1. Sound quality is paramount.
-That's why Post No Bills plays so well: all sound done in post-production.

2. Black and White reduces concerns about lighting, and makes most things look good.
-I Used to Be Somebody would have not been pretty. Even with Chad in it.

3. iMovie does not have slow motion, and is hard to layer sound.
-Otherwise, I can't really complain.

4. Photos / screen shots add a lot, and are a good way to mix things up.
-Another lesson learned from I Used to Be Somebody.

5. Acting is hard.
-See my performance in Dude

...More to come!

Shorts by Quarters

The first thirteen shorts were mostly comedies. I think they were all comedies. Or they were supposed to be.

These next 13 will be different. We're thinking suspense, thriller, or horror.

And then the following 13, drama.

And the final 13? Who knows.

And who knows if we will follow these guidelines. Sounds good though, doesn't it? A little bit?

iMovie Demonstration at the Apple Store

Lawrence thought it might be a good idea for us to learn EVEN MORE about iMovie, the program we edit all our short films on. And so I met him on the Third Street Promenade today and we got the demonstration.

The guy giving the demonstration wasn't bad, but he had trouble finding some of the short-cut keys. At one point, after our leader had been searching for a minute, I leaned over to Lawrence and said, "The shortcut is Command-Shift."

"You should tell him."

"I think you're looking for Command-Shift!" I shouted to the presenter.

He looked a little rattled when I shouted, but the shortcut worked and the presentation could continue. I suppose it wasn't so nice to shout, but hey, we don't have all day - this is the Short-a-Week Project.

We now have learned how to edit each individual sound clip; as well as cutting pieces of audio in Garage Band and putting them in iMovie. Ah, the benefits of the in-store demonstration. Seriously.

Bike - A Short Film

Not sure if it will be called "Bike," but the short we filmed today certainly has a bike in it.

Vote on Our Best Short

Please vote for your favorite short on the right bar there. (if you found this post via Google, the poll is likely closed).

You don't have to register, login, or anything.

It's totally anonymous.

You don't even have to watch all the shorts.

Just click your favorite.

And please be honest.

For us.

:)

(:

That's us.

Thanks!

It's Tuesday and We've got Nothin'

We should probably start planning the short this week, since it will be posted on Friday.

How to prevent these last minute shoots in the future:

1. Don't go out of town over the weekend.
2. Write something in advance.
3. Or better yet, have a contest where people submit a bunch of shorts...
4. Schedule a time to meet and shoot at least a week in advance.
5. Eat right
6. Exercise
7. Use the force

Or something like that.

How to Make Short Films

If you landed here searching "how to make short films," you've come to the right place. Unfortunately, it's hard to answer that question in one posting (this whole blog can be seen as an explanation on how to (or how NOT to) make short films.) But, I'll give it a shot.

First, read Mike Figgis's Digital Filmmaking and/or Robert Rodriguez's Rebel Without a Crew. Both those books will make you say, "Hell, if I want to make a movie, I need to just do it!" That's the spirit. Keep that energy. You'll need it.

After you've got the motivation, write a short script. Use MS Word if you don't have screenwriting software. You might want to set your short in places you know you can film, don't have any stunts or blood or anything that might be complicated. Limitations spawn creativity. Seriously. (Proof: Write a short about life. Then write one about your favorite cup. Which was easier to write?)

Next, get the actors. Hopefully they'll be good, and hopefully you'll get along with them.

And finally, shoot the damn thing. I know what you're thinking, what about sound, lighting, camera angles, and everything else? Who do I get to cater?

This is your first short, right? Got a camera? Just start shooting. It ain't gonna be pretty the first few times, so just get them under your belt. You can be creative in the editing room.

Which reminds me: edit your short well. Do it yourself. Take your time. Put in music, sounds, etc. Use iMovie or Final Cut Pro (any version). It all happens in the editing room.

Hope that helps! We've made thirteen short films so far. Thirty-nine to go. This advice might all change by the time this project is over.

But until then...write, rehearse, shoot. And send us your youtube link. We like to watch them too.

Week 13 - Free Massages

It's the Fourth of July and we're 1/4th of the way there! (Goal: 1 year of shorts...that's 52. 52 divided by 4 is 13. Who knew?)

Here is number 13, "Free Massages."

Enjoy!

shortaweekproject.com vs. shortaweek.com

Please redirect all your links and browsers and bookmarks (or create some!):

Old Domain: www.shortaweekproject.com

New Domain: www.shortaweek.com

Shorter and sweeter.

iMovie Ain't so Bad

Now that I've discovered a few more features of iMovie, I have to say it's really not that bad. Highly recommend buying a new MacBook and using it for all your short-a-week projects.