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EVO is all about evolving.

As a filmmaker, a team player, a gear head, a small business, and as a storyteller — the purpose of our 4-day workshop is to help people take their craft to the next level… and the level after that, and the one after that, and then some.

All in just 4 days.

Our most recent EVO was another awesome success, as we welcomed 15 dedicated filmmakers to Portland for what would be the most ass-kicking challenge they’ve encountered thus far.

But any workshop can say they’re kick-ass… what makes EVO so awesome?

This Facbeook post from one of our students does a good job of explaining :)

Screen Shot 2013-06-16 at 7.24.06 PMThere’s nothing we love more than seeing this kind of response to our workshop…

People come to EVO with the exact expectations that Malia mentions in her status update — to get to play with all of our cool stuff and hang out with other people who like making films.

All the fun with gear is definitely a part of it — but in the process of making a real film with four other filmmakers… gear becomes less exciting…

And story comes first. Every time.

Alright — so what during the experience to take Malia from being “giddy with gear lust” to a major story first proponent?

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Ok people, you asked for it and now it has arrived…

SMAPP Version 3.0!

Here at Stillmotion we use SMAPP (the Stillmotion App) on set all the time, so we’ve had plenty of opportunities to look at it and say… “how can we make this better?”

After taking a good hard look at SMAPP’s imperfections, our very own Ray Tsang spent the last few months training this app to be the best it can be. Ray dragged SMAPP out of bed every day at the crack of dawn, forced it to drink raw eggs and go running uphill in the snow as he screamed in its ear: “YOUR SHOT LIST TOOL CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT!”

Today we’re happy to report that SMAPP has completed its training, and is now sexier than ever with some major improvements.

For information on SMAPP, head over to the official SMAPP page.

Alright, now let’s get into what’s new…

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THE SUN.

Our world revolves around it, and so does an outside shoot.

There are several ways to work with the sun when shooting outside, but we find that simple modifiers often work best — they’re lightweight, quick to set up, and much easier to travel with than a light kit.

Now, depending on how bright the sun in shining on the day of your shoot, the modifier setup is going to change. On an overcast day you’ll have softer light to work with, but on a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky… you’ve got some work to do in order to soften that light.

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This is Grant Peelle.

Grant works his ass off. In the last two years, he’s gone from being a hobbyist filmmaker working in real estate, to a valued Creative Director here at Stillmotion. He also directed his own feature-length documentary, I’m Fine, Thanks — a film that he and four other awesome dudes made in just a short stretch of 6 weeks on the road.

All of Grant’s life-changing success in filmmaking is a result of the unstoppable hustle and freakish determination he’s put forth in the last two years.

Two years. Really? That’s it?

For some of us, the most life-changing thing that will happen over the course of two years is transitioning from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5. But in two years Grant went from being a real estate investor who hated his job — to a guy focusing his life and his camera lens on telling stories that matter.

How’d he do it?

Well… it’s a long story. But it’s a good one and it’s one that matters, so now is the time to go take a pee and grab a granola bar, because we’re about to tell you how…

Grant went from this:

to this:


 
Like we said, Grant worked his ass off.

If you’re also feeling like it’s “time to get tenacious,” keep reading — we’ll be going into detail about how exactly Grant’s ass was worked off, and how it became the new ass that he continues to work off every single day.

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Shooting handheld is a very effective storytelling technique when you want your footage to look raw, real, and less produced. It also offers speed and convenience in the clutch — so it’s good for any filmmaker to know some solid handheld techniques, should you every find yourself short on equipment (hint: you will).

How do you want it to feel?

Before your hand even holds the camera, you need to take a minute and think about why you’re shooting handheld. Yes, this seem rather obvious, but it’s important to make the distinction before you go into your shoot — because you’ll have some decisions to make!

Are you going handheld because you want it to feel gritty and less produced?

Or is it because you are all up in a tight space and need to ditch the extra equipment?

If you’re not careful and precise about your camera work, you can easily land yourself in Blair Witch Project territory, and everyone will want to vomit after watching your movie.

Whether you’re shooting handheld because you want it to look raw, or because it’s most convenient for you in the moment, you’re going to want to follow Patrick’s tips in this SMAPP tutorial…

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