NewsNewshttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009-12-24T18:54:13ZSquarespaceHappy Holidayshttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/12/24/happy-holidays.htmlSDM2009-12-24T18:48:35Z2009-12-24T18:48:35ZNewcastle: SDM Shop DogHappy Holidays from SDM! I'm working on a few things over here and hope to be busy during the new year. I think a redesign of the website is overdue so that might be my vacation project.

In the mean time, I hope everyone has a relaxing few days off and comes back ready for a great 2010!

]]>Still Herehttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/10/11/still-here.htmlSDM2009-10-11T23:51:54Z2009-10-11T23:51:54ZI realize that I haven't added a new post in a while. Here's a fast run down of what's been going on.

I was named Executive Director of Backhausdance. No, I'm not quitting my day job at SDM. I'm a fan, labor of love, etc.

Did a few shots on the upcoming film Tekken. Yes, it's based on the video game.

My loyal dog Newcastle started bleeding out of his butt. Not a little blood. More like the prom scene from Carrie. Scary and surreal. He's fine now after a weekend in doggie hospital. I guess it's something that can afflict dogs randomly. Don't take it lightly if it happens to your dog. Take 'em to the vet right away like I did. It will save their lives.

Bid a few movies, a TV show and a commercial. None of which are likely to happen.

Prepping for my 10th annual Halloween party. If you've been, you know of what I speak. If you think you should be invited, let me know why and I'll see what I can do. Ask anyone who's been, Best. Halloween. Party. Evar.

 

]]>Schwaghttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/7/20/schwag.htmlSDM2009-07-20T22:10:33Z2009-07-20T22:10:33ZI'm a big fan of Aaron James Draplin of Draplin Design Company. His work is cool, his attitude is cool, and his dog is cool (although I will take umbrage with the moniker "King of the Breeds." We all know that the stout and loyal Bulldog holds that position.) I have been reading his blog for the better part of a decade and have longed for the right job that would allow me to hire him. I'll say it again, I'm a fan.

Anyway, if you watched the Clutch video that I seem to have been blabbering a lot about lately you might have noticed these really cool, paper-bag colored note books with "Field Notes" on the cover that were scattered on the desk. You guessed it, these are the brain child of Mr. Draplin and I LOVE them. Something about writing stuff in notebooks has appealed to me since I was a kid. I've tried high tech solutions but always seem to come back to a piece of paper and a pen. I use them for on-set notes, to-do lists and anything that I need to keep track of. They fit the vibe of the video so I added them to the prop list of stuff scattered on the desk of my truth seeking heroine.

I’ll be totally honest, one of the reasons I used them was that I was really curious to see if someone from the Field Notes crew would see them and if so, how long would it take. Well just a few days after hitting MTV.com and airing on MTV2 there was a tweet. Super cool.

But the best part came in the mail today. Mr. Draplin sent me a very cool package full of awesome. The best part was that included with all of the other cool stickers and pencils a 3 pack of the rare and limited “Grass Stain Green” Field Notes. Besides the cool summer color the “Field Notes” logo is embossed. Killer.

So thank you Mr. Draplin, for a fantastic product, fantastic blog, fantastic work and an envelope full of free stuff. Made. My. Day.
 Exciting day at SDM
Pile of Awesome
Super Green

]]>MTV Air Date!http://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/7/9/mtv-air-date.htmlSDM2009-07-10T02:11:59Z2009-07-10T02:11:59ZOK. If you are interested in seeing this video that I've been writing about for the last month it will be debuting on MTV2 this weekend. Specifically Saturday, July 11th during Headbanger's Ball which airs at 2am. This is all very confusing as that is actually Sunday morning but that seems to be the way that MTV has decided to break up their programing "day."

So..to be clear. 2am, Sunday July 12. Headbangers Ball. Save yourself some headache and just tivo it. On my cable it's listed as "MTV2 Headbanger's Ball"

Once it's officially debuted I should get permission to put it up here too. But watch Headbanger's Ball...it's good for you.

]]>Statshttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/6/22/stats.htmlSDM2009-06-23T00:27:48Z2009-06-23T00:27:48Z50,000 Unstoppable WattsSo, I've been spending the day cleaning up, archiving and doing the closing books on the Clutch video and thought I'd lay down the final count for the video.

Total Run Time - 3:41:11
Edits - 221
Frames per edit average - 30.05 (right around 1 second per edit. MTV at it's finest)

91 VFX shots broken down as follows:
29 Monitor Burn shots for a grand total of 100 screens
36 (Major) De-Noise shots. Thank God for Neat Video and Furnace. Perhaps  I'll talk a little about those shots in the future and how this video was put together.
24 Beauty fixes. I'm hesitant to call these beauty fixes. More like "There wasn't enough low fill light" so I     had to soften some shadows. But I'm a perfectionist so while I was at it I fixed some other stuff...
2 Matte Paintings. Actually 1 painting used twice...I try to cheat every chance I get.
8 Programs used: Final Cut Pro, Color, Fusion, Neat Video, Furnace, Lightwave 3D, Compressor, Photoshop. Love everyone of 'em.
1 Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
4 Lenses: 50mm 1.4, 15mm Fisheye 2.8, 24mm 1.4, 100mm 2.8 Macro
1 Guy: Me.

I was thinking about this the other day. Other than my actors and the band, this is the first time since my very first project in film school that I have done everything, soup to nuts, on a project. Concept, shoot, edit, post, VFX...everything. Inevitably you need help and the talent of a bunch of other people as your projects get more and more ambitious. It's hard to say which way I would prefer to work. I like the challenge of having everything on my shoulders. And even though I do this for a living and have sat in front of these magical boxes called computers every single day for the last 12 years, I still get blown away by what you can do with them. For instance this is the first project that I sat down and got proficient in Color for. We just didn't have the budget for a final tape to tape color session so I had to roll up my sleeves and do it myself and I'm damn proud and thankful that I did. I think it turned out great and I won't hesitate to go that route in the future.

Finally, an interesting side note: that first film school project I mentioned earlier...Guess what band I used for the soundtrack? Yep...Clutch. Funny how life works.

]]>The Video is DONE!http://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/6/20/the-video-is-done.htmlSDM2009-06-21T04:31:36Z2009-06-21T04:31:36ZFinally. I can now say that the video is offically done. Look for it on MTV. I'll post some more details tomorrow, but for now I'm going to go have a beer with a pretty girl.

]]>VFX, Beauty Passes and Color Correctionhttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/6/17/vfx-beauty-passes-and-color-correction.htmlSDM2009-06-18T03:58:41Z2009-06-18T03:58:41ZAnthrax, Ham Radio, and Liquor

Nearing the home stretch on the Clutch video. As I type this I'm watching the (what hopes to be) final pass on the color correction. The edit is locked, the 29 VFX shots are done, a handful of beauty passes are complete (not because the actress wasn't already beautiful, my lighting was occasionally not flattering) and the final grade is just about complete.

After that I'm hoping to get time for one more bonus VFX shot and then it's off to have everything laid off to  HD masters tomorrow.

I'm still a little unsure of where it will be shown (MTV is likely) and I don't know when or if I'll be able to post it but the second I know I will pass on the word.

Almost done.

]]>Clutch Updatehttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/6/5/clutch-update.htmlSDM2009-06-05T21:42:41Z2009-06-05T21:42:41ZNeil from "50,000 Unstoppable WattsI thought I'd take a small break and give a little update on the video. Things are progressing nicely as I'm almost to a locked edit. The guys saw the first rough edit and pretty much approved everything which is always a relief. It's hard to rework something that you are happy with. Happily, I dont have much of that to do on this project.

If you didn't know, this is a follow up to the video I previously directed for the guys, Burning Beard.

Finally, here's a shout out to the people at sassafrascove.com who managed to stumble upon my babling. Hope you guys like the video when it's done.

]]>I Heart Canonhttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/6/2/i-heart-canon.htmlSDM2009-06-02T07:09:19Z2009-06-02T07:09:19ZJust installed the recently released firmware update for my camera (see previous post.) Works EXACTLY like it should and how it should have from the factory. Better late than never. It's sad but I probably appreciate it more because I've been having to shoot this crippled camera. It's like i got a new camera for free. I plan on using this camera a whole lot more now.

]]>Canon 5D Mark IIhttp://www.screamingdeathmonkey.com/screaming-death-monkey/2009/5/27/canon-5d-mark-ii.htmlSDM2009-05-27T02:02:05Z2009-05-27T02:02:05ZWell, it looks like Canon has finally listened to it's users (sort of) and has announced an update to the revolutionary camera the 5D Mark II. This filmmaker is among the many that finds the camera amazing but ultimately frusterating because, as shipped, there is ZERO manual control in video mode. There are a few work arounds but they are frusterating at best.

Of course, this comes about two weeks late for my latest project. Typical.

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