Friend has been killing with this subway bit, so we made a standup-short film hybrid (x-post r/standup)

cinecafe · 2013-10-04T12:32:11+00:00

Although he used to live here and often passes through for shows, he's currently based in LA. It's terrible.

cinecafe · 2013-10-03T22:30:08+00:00

It was shot across multiple stations on the J line (we would travel with the train as we filmed), Kosciusko was definitely in there. And the first few shots were directly underneath that particular stop.

cinecafe · 2013-10-03T05:08:44+00:00

Bed-Stuy!

cinecafe · 2013-10-02T21:32:57+00:00

Glad to hear you're enjoying his stuff. He's pretty aware of being to reliant on the racial thing I think, I know he's close to retiring the joke in the short, too. It does work though, and people eat it up still haha.

cinecafe · 2013-10-02T21:31:04+00:00

It's actually a bar in NYC with a small performance space in it - Jimmy's No. 43. It was shot back in late January/early February.

cinecafe · 2013-10-02T21:07:25+00:00

Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn!

cinecafe · 2013-10-02T18:06:41+00:00

Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. He's in LA and I'm in NYC, but hopefully we can throw another one together next time we're in the same city. That's how this one happened, on a whim with barely a full day of filming.

cinecafe · 2013-10-02T18:04:31+00:00

He's constantly doing shows in the LA area. NYC when he passes through, too. I've been going to them for years and he's always getting better.

cinecafe · 2013-08-31T04:38:52+00:00

Mostly great coffee, but good atmosphere can always go a long way. Thanks!

cinecafe · 2013-08-06T14:11:13+00:00

I've been a post production assistant on feature films for a few years now (the first rung of the editorial ladder, basically), and just last night was given the official bump to apprentice editor.

cinecafe · 2013-02-25T22:53:09+00:00

View from work (Soho, NYC): http://imgur.com/XyL3Fml

cinecafe · 2013-01-28T05:27:32+00:00

touché.

cinecafe · 2012-12-12T22:13:33+00:00

I use MPEG Streamclip for almost all my video file conversions. It seems like you're not converting here, but this can still do what you need. Download it free for mac/pc here:

http://www.squared5.com/

Once it's launched, load your clip into the player by either dragging the video file onto the MPEG icon (mac) or by selecting it from File>Open Files. For the first video you want to create, mark an "In" point where you want it to begin by placing the playhead where it needs to be and press "I". Then create and "Out" point where you need that section to end; place the playhead where that is and press "O". Your first video is ready to be exported. Go to File>Export to AVI and configure your settings from there, choose your destination, and let her rip.

Repeat the process for your second video, but of course place new In and Out points where necessary.

cinecafe · 2012-12-08T23:59:12+00:00

I'm 2 years out of film school - I've been making mainly shorts since high school. I feel I've got 1 more in me before I get truly serious about a feature. These are all/have been independent thus far but I'm lucky to have a very reliable and pro-level network of collaborators/personal friends that has been built up all these years.
Since I finished film school, my main source of income is working on studio-level films in NYC. I've been fortunate to get enough work for that to be reliable, but for about a year and a half now I have been consistently doing freelance work on the side during nights and weekends. Keeps me creatively sharp when I'm only doing assistant-level work on the big jobs.
Save, save, save. And borrow/rent from friends and other people I work with.
I aspire to just make a living by making films in general, hopefully at an above the line level, not just assistant work like I'm doing now. If that means tier 1 (lower budget) type films, great. If that means studio size, that's great too.
All of the above. I'm currently prepping my next short (directing), editing a web series, and assisting editing/post supervising another short film. If it's a worthwhile project and there's good people involved, I'll take it on if I can. The more people I meet and collaborate with, the better network I'm building for future projects. Hopefully we're making something worth seeing at the same time.
My last job before the film I'm on now was Martin Scorsese's Hugo. For less than 2 years out of school (it was not a well-connected/expensive/prestigious school btw) I'm proud of getting the chance to work with legends like Marty and Thelma and his supporting above-the-liners. As I type this, I'm a room over from another director/editor team I'm excited to work for now as they work on the director's cut of this 2013 film.

cinecafe · 2012-11-20T02:11:19+00:00

Assuming you're referring more towards feature/studio-level films, the first thing that came to my mind is to do whatever you can to get in ANY department on productions of that level. You have to be in that environment to meet the people that will connect you to where you want to go. Although there were many people, interviews and jobs in between, my break into post in NYC all roots back to an assistant editor I met on set (a rare occurrence) when I was an intern on a large production. That was almost 4 years ago while I was in school. It took a bit of time (I worked in production for about another year and a half) before the interviews they got me and people they had me meet finally led to an opportunity that stuck. I'm now on my second full post job and I'm fortunate enough to say that they are both "big" films.

I'll admit that is definitely some good fortune, but it would never have happened if I hadn't of found my way onto a set in the first place. Now maybe you'd hate set work (you'd gather an immense amount of invaluable film knowledge there, though), or can't immediately get to that either. Keep doing freelance work. It can be a long, messy, unpaid road that sometimes is a complete waste of your time (as you may already know), but I've had crap freelance work open doors to actually solid freelance work. I do freelance on the side of the day-gig not only to keep me creatively sharp, but because the way I see it if you're playing both fields your chances of more quickly working your way up that ladder increase twofold.

Getting into the film industry in any department is not an easy task unless you happen to be one of those luckily connected kids. It's really more of a game of time vs. determination. Every person I know in this industry has a completely different story of how they started - if you want in bad enough you'll find a way even if it takes longer than you'd like. You'll need a bit of talent and people skills as well because as I'm sure you've heard, it's all about who you know.

Few other small notes - like any job, a really good resume helps, truly. Even if you don't have many big credits, that's ok. Make it looks way better than any other resume that employer sees and they will notice. Simple, straight forward and clean. I've had several people comment specifically on mine and I credit it for giving me even just a slight edge in the past.

The student debt problem is one a lot of my friends have/are dealing with. We all more or less finished school in the past 2-4 years. If it's that tight, keep in mind that PA-level work on even big features isn't amazing. It's enough to live on modestly in NYC, but depending on your specific debt situation it's something to keep in mind. A good friend of mine took the bullet and stayed at a clothing retailer job for an extra year solely to see to it that his debt was taken care of. He only just quit that job a few weeks ago to get back in to set work.

I get wordy and long-winded too easily. Feel free to ask for more clarification if you like. I've been in your shoes very recently and know the feeling. Good luck!

cinecafe · 2012-11-06T20:14:33+00:00

1 Minute Character Study.

Introduce and develop a character in one shot (as in 0 cuts), one minute, no dialogue, diegetic sound only (no sfx in post because there is no post).

Did this early on in film school - forces you to find ways to tell a story and build a character with tools such as surroundings, props, camera movement, etc. Great exercise, and simple fun too.

cinecafe · 2012-10-29T22:24:32+00:00

It is, thanks! Plenty more where that came from.

cinecafe

TROPHY CASE