9mm

Colour Your World

Lately I have been looking at films in a different light. Literally. Colour is a very important element to telling your story in film. But now I see varying changes in colour tones from shot to shot in most films and it is the usually due to the mastery of a colourist- the person who deliberately manipulates the colour of every single shot in a particular film.
Now we have complete control of this color grading process in the post production stage of the filmmaking process. And hollywood seems to have taken full advantage of this. I have been training my eye for digital colour remastering of shots in all the television shows and films I watch and I hardly see a recently film shot for the silver screen or for tv that has not been colour graded. The reason? Colour quickly conveys the mood you want the audience to feel within a particular story line. Simple.

Some More Screen Shots Of the Beast Wants to Rise Music Video

Getting Down to Business

With the digital revolution we now are able to create films at cheaper costs. Before it was a dastardly expensive affair. Film reels where thousands of dollars and film cameras were thousands more to rent. The celluloid processing was a chemical process that you just had to pay for. Now a HD Camcorder could be bought for a few hundred dollars (that is US) and the film processing step has been knocked out all together.

The modern filmmaker instead uses film stock emulation and colour grading in the post production process to further advance and embellish the story he/she is trying to tell. We have now broken it down to a particular film colour palette, contrast level, film grain, saturation level, depth of field, frame rate and 24p emulation in post.
Most traditionalists argue that 24p is absolutely meaningless and can never replace film. In a sense they actually have a point. 24p at HD resolution cannot compete with film. The resolution that film outputs is significantly larger. However even this is quickly becoming a digital affair. The Red Series of digital cameras already have achieved film resolution pixel for pixel and are developing the Scarlet a cheaper version geared specifically for the pockets of independent filmmakers.


Can't afford a 24p cam? No problem. You can convert your footage to 24p in the post production process all it takes is a little know how in the software that you are using. The folks at Red Giant have broken this down to a science a to deliver a great set of colour grading and film emulation software, the magic bullet suite.

So what does it all boil down to? More creative options for you whatever your budget size maybe. What separates the best from the rest? Making the right creative decisions that optimise the capabilities of your budget, and pure skill and talent.

Business Planning Sucks

I've been trying to get my business plan down for the past two months. Everytime I do the budget it seem that the money is never enough and my wishlist of things I "need" to run my business is getting bigger and bigger. But recently, I have gone back to the drawing board with a realistic scope for SRS and hopefully a realistic solution for my targeted market. And then what? A f%^ing feasibility study and some market research and maybe a SWOT analysis and I still might not get the funding I need. But what is a dreamer supposed to do? Forge ahead I guess and do whatever I can to get this business off the ground.

Wait... You actually thought fadda flex was touching those turntables?

And that's the way the cookie crumbles. Turntables don't magically float in the air duh!

Simple Yet Effective

Nice clean designs always win. There is no clutter, no claustrophobic elements dangling for a sense of purpose or a bunch of messages that the artist seemed to have vomited out onto his canvass and/or intellectual space. Just a simple wonderful design and the message is clear. Photography and design MC Garcia.

Jah Angel

Jah Angel is a trinidadian reggae artist with natural swagger and can croon his way into the hearts of many of your lady-friends. He recently sang on the Reflections Time Riddim, Produced by Studio 12 and music video produced by SRS. See the rough cut of Jah Angel in the recording booth at Studio 12 below. Photography and design by MC Garcia.

The Beast Wants To Rise

Here is a snap shot of Soldier Ants' The Beast Want to Rise music video that I am currently working on. Soldier is a trinidadian reggae artist with a unique world view and political conscience-ness that is anti-political, if that makes sense but that is the best way I can describe him. Another cool rastafarian brethren. Peace

Studio 12

Studio 12 is the young vibrant recording studio responsible for the songs featured in the Reflections Time Music Video. Here David Millien representing one half of the dynamic duo that makes up the powerhouse of Studio 12, poses for a promotional shot i designed. Keep up the good work fellas.

Yow check it.

Graphical opening sequence I created while working at CNMG as a motion graphic artist.

Zion Starr is a reggae artiste from trinidad with a natural swagger. one of the best and upcoming stars, zion recently rode the Reflections Time Riddim produced and directed at SRS peace!

Business

some of my friends say they just love the blog but its still young and a I need to do a lot more work. I feel good, contributing helps to calm and focus my sometimes scattered brain. I'm on track but I need to do some more. and promote my brand. I own and operate a small one man shindig called silent rebellion studios- specialising in motion graphics, film/video post product and film/video production. Its been a tough road but i'm learning the ropes. Peace.

Tird World Coming at you str8!

Featuring fadda kern catch him on 96.1 wefm trinidad.
Photography Hammond Worrell, Design by MC Garcia.

Another Tird World International Promotional Shot- Fadda Flex

Big up to my rastafarian brethren.

Canon HV20/30/40- The Ultimate Budget Camcorder

I call this little bugger my little beast and indeed it is. Canon seemed to have caught the ultra low budget- bang for buck market with a series of camcorders that blow your mind away when you review your video on a TV monitor.
The HV40 is on bhphotovideo.com for $749 US
So what's the payoff? A sub $1000 cam that shoots 24p (that's the film like mode for peeps who don't understand the jargon) at HD quality.
You also get the advantage of being able to place these small cams in places bigger prosumer types just can't go as well as the ability to shoot "incognito" without drawing the attention a huge production can make in a public space.
Potential clients, however, will not be impressed with its size but they are always impressed by the results.
Independent filmmakers on a tight budget, film school students and documentary makers can benefit significantly with these cams.
However as consumer level types you sacrifice the professional handling that most above $3000 prosumer cams offer. The focus wheel is so tiny and the eyepiece is also small and unadjustable, this makes for some cumbersome operation.
The forums at hv20.com have countless users who have overcome these obstacles with various mods and add ons, the most notable are Depth of Field Adapters that work well with these cams for that shallow depth of field characteristic associated with film.
The high image quality makes up 10 times over for the consumer level handling that comes with this cam.


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Natural Healing

We never ventured too far from the studio to do this one. I placed Zion Starr and the model in corner and lit them up with a single light pointing upward for one take. In another I point the key light behind a fan and let the shadow of the blades cascade over them, they dance on the wall in my gallery- looking like they were at some party or the even a club and the rest of takes were green screen with composited backgrounds.

Fadda Kern Big Up

for those of you who saw this on facebook yes I designed it. Photography by Hammond Worrell design by Silent Rebellion Studios. Featuring Father Kern from Tird World International and DJ on 96.1 WEFM Trinidad.

Another Promotional Shot

Action Movie mock up.


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Tird World International. Photography Hammond Worrel and Maurice Christian Garcia.
Design Maurice Christian Garcia

my show reel

Nice

creativecow.net- sweet

So I just got an email saying SRS's video been added to the brand new creative cow's demo reel application. I love this. Without creative cow I don't think I'd have learnt what I do so fast or understand half of what i try to do every time I take on a creative project.

So its great to feel like I'm getting into a community of creative professionals that inspire me every step of the way. May be one day I'd be the one doling out After Effects video tutorials. But for now I'm still working on my super-wizard-master-guru-ness skills up to the level of those like Andrew Kramer, Aharon Rabinowitz, Maltaanon and Eran Stern.

I can't thank you all enough for all I've learnt and applied to my own work.

Promotion Photo

The man behind SRS me. Actually shot this at my home based studio
here is the shot before:

Back ground removal

New background added

Colour Correction/film treatment

And finally light flares, vignette and logo added. And we have a marketable image.

Behind the Scenes

This is the behind the scene clip for the reflection time video:

Check it yo

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Reflections Time Music Video

So Zion Starr and Jah Angel came to me excited about this project. It is going to be a rhythm smash up of three songs- an evolution of God and the cosmic energies that God spliced love into the procreation between man and woman.

Least to say the songs are all on the positive side (pun boy!). Well if some one was to ask how I came up with this concept, I really couldn't answer an exact methodology but what I can say is that I focused on the spiritual bluish glow that I always associated with spirituality.

The funny thing is not too recently i read a Green Lantern Comic and in it there were a group of blue lantern whose powers where gathered from the spiritual emotions of the universe.

And then there is that ball of energy. I used it throughout the whole video like a subliminal way to say that God is love and God is in Love when my Rastafarian brethren sang I Love this girl- God is there too.

Here is the video watch and enjoy.

Fighting The Power

So I have the skills. I have a very very small studio space. and I have 2 cameras.

Not quite the big multimillion dollar company yet I know. but I am fighting the power and so far I have about four music videos to show for my efforts. Here is a Show Case of the work i have done so far.



The next step? Well thinking of getting investments. I am investigating some social marketing apps and investment forums that may be useful if you are like me trying to rub two pennies out of thin air.