Vivienne-Harr-BTS
 

“We just made our first movie…”

…to say those words feels absolutely crazy.

To be honest, we still feel like we don’t know what we’re doing half the time… but somehow it’s all managed to come together. And after a very long night of last-minute tweaks, we’re ready to show our trailer to the world.

This project has massively changed our lives as both filmmakers and everyday people. While we do feel excited, proud, and exhausted after finishing this film… we know that this is just the beginning of another journey. Making a film is one thing, but getting it out there and showing it to the world is another.

We’re scared, to say the least. But stepping outside of the ol’ comfort zone is pretty much a job requirement so… here we go.

We now present to you, our friends and fellow filmmakers, the official trailer for #standwithme — a stand against one of the world’s darkest evils.

Our hope with this trailer is not that you’ll come out to see this film because it looks like a good movie. Our hope is that 30 million human beings is something you can’t turn away from, and that this trailer will leave you wanting to know more about the issue and how we can all do our part to truly put an end to this suffering.

This has been a huge undertaking for a small production studio like ours — from funding this project almost entirely by ourselves, to putting in long hours and sacrificing much of our personal lives — it hasn’t been easy.

For this reason, you might be wondering…

What made us want to do this?

Well, in the beginning we didn’t even know what we were getting into. We heard a story about a 9-year-old girl named Vivienne Harr in California, who set up her lemonade stand with the goal of raising $100,000 and freeing 500 children. She asked customers to “pay whats in their heart,” and after 173 days straight of selling lemonade she met her goal, but decided to keep going. The spark that lit Vivienne’s fire was a gorgeous photo by Lisa Kristine, who takes a stand herself by traveling around the world photographing modern day slaves.

Continue Reading

BTS Stillmotion Interview Setup
 

 
When you’re filming an interview, the audio recording of the interviewee’s voice is the most important element of your production.

That’s right, the MOST important element.

It’s so common for filmmakers to spend hours on set design and lighting and only a few minutes on audio. Without sound, all you’re left with is a talking head that does not transmit any message to the viewer.

Having a standard process in how you set up your sound recording and a standard kit of tools you will use, gives you piece of mind that the most essential element of your interview production does not effect the interview’s conversation.

While our audio setup may change depending on the environment we are in, whenever we know that we will be conducting a single person interview, we always carry a standard kit of audio tools that ensure we can record the interviewee’s dialogue in a high quality way.

Keep reading on to learn about the setup we recommend for most interviews…

Continue Reading

StillmotionFolderStructure
 

 
There are countless reasons why having a standard system for how you organize your files is going to save your life.

Whether you are the editor, producer, or shooter on a project, you should always keep your assets neatly organized… because there’s nothing scarier than aimlessly searching for files while on a tight deadline.

Knowing where your files are is something that will save your editor tons of time and it’ll be a huge lifesaver for your archiving process. A standard folder structure also allows you to work in editing teams efficiently, and will drastically reduce the risk of technical errors — which are ultimately going to hurt your story.

While there are certainly more exciting topics in this world than “folder structure” — this is something that we’ve found saves us hours of time in post, and many headaches.

Having a working folder structure is invaluable!

And what’s more important: having a folder structure that works for you and your team. We’re sharing ours with you because we know how helpful an example is when figuring this stuff out — but we’re not saying you have to copy our exact structure. Find what works for best for you and stick to the plan!

Here we go…

Continue Reading

Longside Obama Clean

 
In the documentary and television world, we see interviews all the time.

While there is a huge variety of choices to be made when recording an interview, there is one choice you commonly see happening about 80% of the time…

Can you guess what it is?

It’s the long sided interview!

While the long sided interview is what you will see most frequently in documentaries, you will also see filmmakers (especially when first starting out) choose to do a short sided interview without really thinking about how it relates to the content and how it makes the viewer feel.

So… what exactly is the long sided interview, how do you set it up, and why is it often the best way to go?

Let’s talk about it…

Continue Reading

Grant2
 

 
We’ve all been there…

Your client says:

“I’ve got a great idea for the video. Can you shoot me tossing my bouquet? It will be great!”

“Be sure to get some shots of us cutting the cake and smearing frosting on our noses!”

Your heart wants to say yes, because these are nice people. But your storyteller’s mind wants to say, “Not so fast, remember I’m the filmmaker, you’re the client… and I know the best ways to tell a story through film.”

Harsh!

Seriously, don’t say that. But the point is that it’s what you would like to say…

So what can you actually say to stay on good terms with your client while sticking to your guns and doing what’s best for your film?

How do you harness the power of saying no?

Denying ain’t easy, but there are a few things you can do to make yourself a better nay-sayer.

  • Know what you need (and don’t need) to show.
  • Always have a reason (know the WHY).
  • Be confident in the WHY.

We’ll get into HOW to put those three pointers into action in a bit, but first we’re curious… why is it so hard for people to say no to each other at all?

Continue Reading