tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466484741497425892024-03-19T04:20:55.837-06:00House of Flying Squirrels: A Year of Martial Arts Movie-Making InsanityThe making of a kung fu flick with the wild and crazy folks of Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu & Chinese Wushu, Albuquerque, NM.Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-37344502936215831602013-01-31T09:05:00.000-07:002013-01-31T09:05:35.528-07:00It's a World Premiere - and You're Invited!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0UfQtOJ5_lo/UQqL9L5R6CI/AAAAAAAAAXg/Cl7cgr4I7BE/s1600/world+premier+clear+600.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0UfQtOJ5_lo/UQqL9L5R6CI/AAAAAAAAAXg/Cl7cgr4I7BE/s400/world+premier+clear+600.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Still from HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The World Premier of HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS is Saturday, February 9, 2013. Bring your family and friends for an afternoon of cheesy, chop-socky kung-fu comedy at Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu and Chinese Wushu.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You'll even get to meet the cast!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The premier is at 1:00pm. Doors open at 12:45. While there's tons of room at the school (the floor is padded) if you want a chair, you'll need to bring one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Admission is free. Oh, and in case you missed it last time, here's the trailer:</span></div>
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Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-45249978225761538842013-01-19T07:29:00.000-07:002013-01-19T07:29:03.046-07:00Bad Squirrels Give Twitter the Bird ~or~ Zip Says: "Behold! I shall Twitter As Does the Nightingale."<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The powers that be <i>(read here "students") </i>have spoken, and Bad Squirrel Productions now has a Twitter account. I have no clue how to use it, so certain people who will remain nameless <i>(read here "April Dawn Duncan") </i>will be tweeting on Bad Squirrel's behalf. Meanwhile, to celebrate, here's our new, spiffy movie trailer:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Definitely take the time to view it in HD. Zip has spoken.</span></div>
Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-15109270564284405132012-12-23T06:42:00.000-07:002012-12-23T06:42:58.457-07:00Trailer Trash ~or~ Time Flies When You're Having Squirrels<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What started out to be "a short flick of no more than 15 to 20 minutes" turned into a nearly feature-length film, and in the mad scramble to finish HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS in time for Chinese New Year, this blog had to fall by the wayside.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Out of my way, blog!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While the deadline indeed looms close (the movie premiers February 9), student filming is finished. Only scenes with squirrels and The Evil One remain to be videoed, then comes the final, herculean task of post-production. We'll make it. Just.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By then, I'm sure that sleep will be just a pleasant memory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the official movie trailer is done</span><br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/3yTfOgkr_k8/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yTfOgkr_k8&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yTfOgkr_k8&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and the city of Belen has requested a showing of HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS, which just goes to prove there is no accounting for taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time to return to the post-production salt mines. Oh well, it could be worse. I could be a donkey.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I'm not a donkey!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-49331105879978946402012-08-16T13:11:00.000-06:002012-08-16T13:11:24.419-06:00The Case of the See-Through Monk ~or~ I Had to Google "Clean Coffee from Keyboard" - Thanks a Lot, Natasha.<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m deep into post-production on HoFS Scene 8, “Fixed!”. When I’m not snorting coffee all over my keyboard (thanks, Natasha, for adding about an hour to our blooper reel, all by your sultry little evil-spy self), I’m desperately trying to figure out a way to save this footage from the wide, chroma-key blue side panels I unfortunately didn’t notice that Ed was sporting on his shirt.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Natasha McGinnis as Natasha Badenov and Ed McGinnis as Ding Bang, Abbot of the Jade Fender Temple</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So much for the preternatural observation skills of the martial artist… Derp-derp!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anywho, my philosophy is: when life hands you lemons, plunk down and Google the crap out of lemon recipes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I was searching, I found the <a href="http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/articles/chromablur_by_kolbo.htm" target="_blank">BEST explanation ever for how to chroma-key in Sony Vegas</a>. I rather doubt I’ll have time to go back and implement this on the video I’ve already ever-so-amateurishly blue screen edited, but I’m sure it will make a huge difference in the rest of the editing before me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">TOTALLY worth a see-through monk to find this!</span><br />
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Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-74950860493954319532012-08-13T11:56:00.000-06:002012-08-13T11:56:10.307-06:00Friday Film Making Finds: Movietools.info<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s1600/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s320/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During my first attempt at chroma-key, I came to the sudden realization that I would need backgrounds. <a href="http://movietools.info/">Movietools.info</a> has a special place in my heart as the source of the motion background for my very first attempt at green screen editing, a "screen test" by Squirrel Connery, who would end up playing Agent 00Squirrel in our school film.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I won't lie. I squeed when it actually worked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sorry this isn't getting posted until the following Monday (instead of the Friday it was originally written), but because Blogger doesn't allow me to just enter a link for a video, I had to wait until YouTube's search engine caught up and would allow me to select it. If anyone knows a workaround for that issue, I'd love to hear about it! Many thanks, and happy filming!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PS: Posts have been erratic lately due to a death in the family. I'm a chronic overachiever as it is, and two weeks of down time means I'm buried with stuff that <b><i>must</i></b> be done, as opposed to really fun stuff like this Blog that I simply enjoy. Hope to get back to more regular posting soon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-23908396825054392732012-07-16T14:02:00.000-06:002012-07-16T20:47:55.000-06:00Hilarity Ensues ~or~ Permission to Dazzle: Granted!<br />
It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I work nearly incessantly. I’m up at all hours, and nearly all of those engaged in one or another of my professions. Only husband, pets, or books (or, occasionally, sleep) can conjure sufficient draw anymore to pull me away from my labors. And while my jobs <i>are</i> work, in many ways, they aren’t. I do what I love. And even money hasn’t been enough to tarnish the luster of my fondness for the things I do to put a roof over my head. If there is another path to bliss, I’m unaware of it.<br />
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One of my most especial joys is my students. Martial Artistry attracts the most creative, intelligent, generous, open-minded and fun-loving people in New Mexico. <i>House of Flying Squirrels</i> has been the perfect venue for them to apply their many and varied talents. Every Movie Stunt Class, every filming session has been full of fun and engagement, with ideas springboarding off one another in a veritable Cirque de Soleil of invention.<br />
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The important thing is to encourage students to see everything as an opportunity: to explore an idea; to tell a story; to generate a smile.<br />
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Our kung fu school in Albuquerque has really great floors: two inch thick, carpet bonded EVA foam. We have 2x4s to hold it in place down the 65 foot length facing the door. Over time, some of the 2x4s have twisted, making the surface a toe-stubbing hazard. I’m not sure who first realized the photo op created by Mr. Baker’s adzing them even, but, hilarity ensued.<br />
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“We should have the squirrels chewing the boards!”<br />
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“It looks like James is kissing M!”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, 00Squirrel! Be<i style="font-weight: bold;">have</i>!"</td></tr>
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“Uh-oh! Wait until Princess Ai Chu finds out!”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"James! How <i>could </i>you?"</td></tr>
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See what I mean by springboard? The ideas came faster than we could shoot.<br />
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This is raw video. Once we finish editing it, adding sound effects, music, dialogue, it will no doubt make another hilarious outtake -- all thanks to one student's initial, "what if?".<br />
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Until next time, happy movie-making!</div>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-83298715367895725142012-07-13T21:27:00.000-06:002012-07-14T19:49:14.257-06:00Friday Film-Making Finds: Detonation Films<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 13, 2012</td></tr>
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school’s Movie Stunt Class has among its cast of wild and crazy characters: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">a
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZ52UNmVD1Cdmq9z4xNvCdCO2w3z-ZsaqEJcCiEw31LebqS16-fhR0oA0jcfCgx9VKAXpSwYd7UYCyUH0eKMiIpaT6XbEwWK0Xh78bftv2E8eeT8s2UlXFckGwsBe4OoZ82qNmmfNnPDP/s1600/jackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZ52UNmVD1Cdmq9z4xNvCdCO2w3z-ZsaqEJcCiEw31LebqS16-fhR0oA0jcfCgx9VKAXpSwYd7UYCyUH0eKMiIpaT6XbEwWK0Xh78bftv2E8eeT8s2UlXFckGwsBe4OoZ82qNmmfNnPDP/s400/jackson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson as Cyborg Samurai</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">a fairy-princess that launches cupcake grenades with her wand,</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vfBnrAnvSFs/UADDkfleBiI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/aZdgqyXbLyY/s1600/velvet+wand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vfBnrAnvSFs/UADDkfleBiI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/aZdgqyXbLyY/s400/velvet+wand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velvet the Cupcake Fairy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">and
Natasha Badenov, a spoof of Jay Ward’s cold war spy temptress, Natasha Fatale,
infamous for her bombs.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2RYCpyn1kk/UADiPXUSsqI/AAAAAAAAAGc/F87EfG8_VAI/s1600/natasha-ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2RYCpyn1kk/UADiPXUSsqI/AAAAAAAAAGc/F87EfG8_VAI/s400/natasha-ed.jpg" width="347" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natasha Badenov (Natasha McGinnis) confronts Ding Bang, Abbot of the Jade Fender Temple (Ed McGinnis)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">You know what this means. Explosions!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">What’s a novice girl movie-maker to do? Why, go to an expert!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Enter <a href="http://www.detonationfilms.com/missionstatement.htm" target="_blank">Detonation Films</a>. Effects stock footage? Got it. Everything from explosions, to contrails, to gouts of blood. Almost every special effect clip you may need on the path to movie destruction is here --many of them free, or almost. Need tips or tutorials on how to build your own green screen, composite in various video editing programs or make your very own explosion effects? Got that, too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Happy film-making! Oh, and, watch out for those cupcakes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-9903514507927869312012-07-04T16:27:00.000-06:002012-07-14T19:55:39.400-06:00Ain't Creation Grand ~ or ~ Mr. Toad's Wild Ride<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wWxNYBkadIQ/T_S43EdhrrI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/Ghdicegr2fo/s1600/natasha-ed-ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wWxNYBkadIQ/T_S43EdhrrI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/Ghdicegr2fo/s400/natasha-ed-ryan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natasha Badenov <i>(Natasha McGinnis), </i>Wen Lo Gai <i>(Ryan McGowan)</i> and Ding Bang, Abbot of the Jade Fender Temple <i>(Ed McGinnis)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first task for the students of the Martial Arts Movie Stunt Class was character creation - a subject near and dear to my purportedly blackened and shriveled heart. So many possibilities! So many opportunities for parodies and paradoxes, outlandish exaggerations and wild and crazy combinations!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2ugbo9PSB0/T_S40kypPcI/AAAAAAAAAEw/_Autl1MdAB0/s1600/diana-mia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2ugbo9PSB0/T_S40kypPcI/AAAAAAAAAEw/_Autl1MdAB0/s400/diana-mia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chen Wang <i>(Diana Ma) </i>mixes it up with the catty fashionista, Macy Nordstrom <i>(Mia Burdeau)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This much freedom absolutely paralyzed some of my adult students. Despite explanations and prompts of simple ideas that could become the kernel of a character (animal! profession! parody!), some in the class were completely stymied. For our next movie-making class, I plan to have a good supply of one word idea cards to stimulate the creative juices of those more reticent students.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VweCk7ZvCzA/T_S42YqogJI/AAAAAAAAAFI/3h_KJA4jE9g/s1600/kuan+jesse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VweCk7ZvCzA/T_S42YqogJI/AAAAAAAAAFI/3h_KJA4jE9g/s400/kuan+jesse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumpy Asian <i>(Kuan Ma)</i> is about to ruin Billy Joe Jimmy Bob Buckett's <i>(Jesse Stephens)</i> day.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unexpectedly, it was my youngest students that excelled at character creation. Still used to tapping their imagination without fear of ridicule, they created spectacularly detailed and original characters, which I then promptly hijacked and twisted, causing irreparable damage to their tender, young psyches.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tMALHGJquY/T_S5x_Iy_OI/AAAAAAAAAFs/hSC8Zns2g04/s1600/cyborg+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tMALHGJquY/T_S5x_Iy_OI/AAAAAAAAAFs/hSC8Zns2g04/s400/cyborg+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyborg Samurai was the elaborate creation of young Jackson.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just kidding. I think.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ACbn8S6fc8/T_S44qY_XtI/AAAAAAAAAFg/SP2YhZNeN3Q/s1600/sylvia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ACbn8S6fc8/T_S44qY_XtI/AAAAAAAAAFg/SP2YhZNeN3Q/s400/sylvia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The-Student-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named came up with this gloriously awesome character, Velvet the Cupcake Fairy. News Flash: Cupcakes are bad for your health. Very, <b><i>very</i></b> bad.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Long story short, the character concepts varied greatly. From some I got as little as, “she likes to clean”. Others catalogued everything about their character, from fighting style and tag lines through languages and powers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RkeTDlFCtCE/T_S41DmLU8I/AAAAAAAAAE4/lZRTNSWOxVE/s1600/dorothy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RkeTDlFCtCE/T_S41DmLU8I/AAAAAAAAAE4/lZRTNSWOxVE/s400/dorothy.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy Stender is absolutely priceless as the <i>(almost) </i>unstoppable Grumpy Tai-Tai.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But, while I gave the students full rein to create their own characters for the movie, in the end, I was the one who would have to write the script. So, after the initial character genesis, I hunched over the wheel of creative control with white-knuckled hands and careened down the road like Mr. Toad, while my students pointed out directions and enthusiastically honked the horn.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MD_mzDsWNlw/T_S436OhF6I/AAAAAAAAAFY/tzWle5YjwRY/s1600/neeto%252C+riloa%252C+billy%252C+ooo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="335" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MD_mzDsWNlw/T_S436OhF6I/AAAAAAAAAFY/tzWle5YjwRY/s400/neeto%252C+riloa%252C+billy%252C+ooo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billy Joe Jimmy Bob Buckett <i>(Jesse Stephens)</i>, Queen Rilo'a <i>(Ellie Wilson)</i>, Neato <i>(April Dawn Duncan)</i> and Ooo Long <i>(Lee Ann Haluska)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I did my best to keep their original concepts intact, but in a necessarily short movie with 20+ “stars”, back story often went by the wayside, and details had to be tweaked, refined and brightened. Still, no one has complained. And I must confess, compared to the delayed gratification of my normal venue, it is great fun to hear the students giggle over their lines, quote each other’s characters, and ruin our takes with spontaneous guffaws.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1vo692RehM0/T_S8-RuhXEI/AAAAAAAAAF4/_g3MJc2q5kc/s1600/kuan+ellie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1vo692RehM0/T_S8-RuhXEI/AAAAAAAAAF4/_g3MJc2q5kc/s400/kuan+ellie.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumpy Asian <i>(Kuan Ma) </i>demonstrates to Queen Rilo'a <i>(Ellie Wilson)</i> the hazards of ignoring the "Keep Off the Grass" sign.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stay tuned as I feature each of the characters from this movie, and talk a bit about the original student concept and how each character evolved.</span><br />
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<br /></div>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com3Martial Artistry, 2500 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA35.107584 -106.592868935.094594 -106.6126099 35.120574000000005 -106.5731279tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-25625082094697332902012-06-29T15:34:00.000-06:002012-06-29T15:34:54.490-06:00Friday Film Making Finds: Freesound.org<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s1600/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s320/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" width="258" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cool film-making find for June 29, 2012</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whether it's the smacks, cracks and thuds of a fight scene --</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-- or the high-pitched laughter of a heartily amused flying squirrel --</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ddv3FRjhR3U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-- you've just <i style="font-weight: bold;">gotta </i>have sound effects! While there are lots of places that offer royalty-free sound effects for just a few bucks a pop, the fact is that with $5 here and $8 there, those bucks can add up quickly into a great deal more than an amateur movie-maker can afford. Enter Freesound.org -- a great place to get creative commons, attribution and attribution non-commercial sounds. From <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/67466/" target="_blank">explosions</a> to <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/60009/" target="_blank">whooshes</a> to the wah-wah-wah-wah of the <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/Benboncan/sounds/73581/" target="_blank">sad trombone</a>, more auditory goodies than you can shake a stick at are all to be had either entirely for free, or for nothing more than the "cost" of an attribution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Happy filming!</span>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-27361311859976222942012-06-27T08:43:00.002-06:002012-06-29T14:22:18.374-06:00The Movie Stunt Class Concept ~or~ Girl, What the H--L Were You Thinking?<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have a long history of movie making at <a href="http://www.martialartistry.com/" target="_blank">Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu and Chinese Wushu</a>. From promotional videos of our exhibition and competition teams in action back in the 90’s -</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to James “Sparky” Esparza’s full length cheesy-chop-socky flicks in the 2000’s,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> we’ve been filming since the school opened its doors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, the idea of a structured class that incorporated the completion of an actual finished product film was new to us. As I searched on the internet for anything similar, it appeared that the concept was entirely unique: either the idea had never occurred to anyone else, or no one had been able to figure out how to make it work. Either those, or such a program was the best kept secret of <i>teh intra-webs</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I began to see why as I started work on the class concept. Oh, the actual bulk of the class was simple enough - how to sell a hit, camera angles for stunt work, the nuts and bolts of making a not-real fight look real yet stay safe - especially in the hands of mostly raw beginners. The true challenge -- the one it appeared no one else had ever attempted -- was how to take 20+ people, teach them how to develop a character, how to have that character be reflected in their fight choreography and -- biggest challenge of all -- take all 20+ of those characters, and on the spot write a viable script that made each and every single actor a star, not just a bit player.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ln4q0qarsL0/T-xmPqI9lVI/AAAAAAAAAEk/u3zUgpeOTy8/s1600/Movie+stunt+class+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ln4q0qarsL0/T-xmPqI9lVI/AAAAAAAAAEk/u3zUgpeOTy8/s320/Movie+stunt+class+time.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Promotional poster for the Movie Stunt Class.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would have to do all this, and not have it interfere with the stuff I get paid to do. This seemed pretty much impossible, so naturally, I couldn’t wait to attempt it. Martial Artistry’s Movie Stunt Class was born!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And absolutely no one was going to learn more from it than me…</span>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-42425623251968850602012-06-22T19:34:00.000-06:002012-06-29T15:37:55.839-06:00Friday Film-Making Finds: FreeStockMusic.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s1600/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMyGbQfhjo4/T-UXu-t17sI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5hbSHNeGCSk/s320/2012-6-12+Bushwhack+magnifying+glass.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A film without music is like a Wal-Mart shopper without clothes. It's just <i>wrong </i>and you never, ever want to watch it. Think about it. Even in the days before talkies, they made sure to have a musical score that went with each movie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, what's a law-abiding gal with no movie-making budget to do? Who will save our heroine from the nekkid Wal-Mart shopper music-less movie syndrome?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ta-Da! Enter <a href="http://freestockmusic.com/">FreeStockMusic.com</a>! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By the time I stumbled onto FreeStockMusic.com, my search for stuff I could use to jazz up our <i>House of Flying Squirrels</i> had left me jaded and cynical. “Yeah, right, free music”, I thought, “and now for the catch”. You see, I’d already discovered there was ALWAYS a catch. But, the terms of agreement were in plain English, and -- holy crow -- it really was FREE!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Okay,” I thought. “The music must be horrible. You get what you pay for, and I can’t pay anything.” I cringed and hit the play button on the first song.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And it was good. Really good. As was the next song, and the next, and the next! All the music was coherently categorized, the descriptions so accurate and succinctly detailed that I could find the right music first time, every time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can't say enough good things about the helpful folks <i>(big shout out to Evan Powell)</i> and the talented artists who contribute to this site. Thank you, FreeStockMusic.com!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">S3Y5UW4AZ8GT</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-68702147254513521672012-06-21T13:37:00.001-06:002012-06-22T17:46:37.509-06:00The Curse of the Haunted Table ~or~ A Lesson in the Importance of a Tripod<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Our very first shoot for House of Flying Squirrels was on June 2, 2012. With the exception of a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REndxUgZpH0&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">brief chroma-key experiment</a> with a flying squirrel puppet, I'd never done blue screen before. It seemed simple enough. In the last words of many a dead man, "What could possibly go wrong?"</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We shot scenes 1 and 3 with a handheld camera against a blue screen, which was actually comprised of two of the largest muslin blue screens I was able to purchase for less than an arm, a leg and a newborn (someone else's, I assure you. But, still...). The joining of these two screens resulted in an 18' by 15' expanse of seemingly demon-possessed material, which insisted on splitting into fissures roughly the width of the Grand Canyon or your standard-issue plumber's crack.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9_huFF-pzU/T-NqQGqARRI/AAAAAAAAADE/iXCI4QvK_Ec/s1600/HoFS+gapped+blue+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9_huFF-pzU/T-NqQGqARRI/AAAAAAAAADE/iXCI4QvK_Ec/s400/HoFS+gapped+blue+screen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only slightly more attractive than a plumber's crack.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You see, I didn't want to sew them together because it might "interfere with the chroma-key process".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bwahahahahahaha! It always makes me laugh when I'm an idiot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also figured that I'd hang the whole affair from a series of giant clips affixed to the wall above the mirror at our martial arts school. This resulted in deeply shadowed, attractive draping for the entire length and breadth of the blue screen -- ever so helpful during my chroma-key adventures in Sony Vegas.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BkEOO-r87Hg/T-NrWn2khjI/AAAAAAAAADM/GHukEMTRSGg/s1600/HoFS+clipped+blue+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BkEOO-r87Hg/T-NrWn2khjI/AAAAAAAAADM/GHukEMTRSGg/s400/HoFS+clipped+blue+screen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saggy as my old, decrepit booty. No wonder Ellie is sad-kitteh faced.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since my last post already dealt with the joy and happiness which results when the color teal meets scalloped blue, I'll move right along to</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>CHROMA-KEY: TRIPOD = IMPORTANT</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unless, of course, you're really seeking that oh-so-spooky haunted table effect.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx9AKU7iOBK1WKXlNAr5hFsczzzLVEc9bJtm73ZdE7ByWzbPBgJgZT_CFKDppQXNSi7rYDBM0o70tsQSF5s2g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many thanks to <a href="http://www.freesfx.co.uk/" target="_blank">freeSFX</a> for the nifty spooky music for this clip.</span>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com4Martial Artistry, 2500 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA35.107584 -106.592868935.094594 -106.6126099 35.120574000000005 -106.5731279tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-84493582127901180502012-06-19T10:00:00.001-06:002012-06-22T17:29:52.121-06:00My Love/Hate Relationship with Chroma-Key ~or~ Why the Grand Ninja Has Teal Colored Stone Inside Her Stronghold<br />
Let's get this straight. This girl just wants to have fun. Fun is not organizing 20+ people and moving them from location to location. So, I had this brilliant idea. Let's do EVERYTHING using chroma-key! Then I need never leave the comfort of my wushuguan to film, and I can have any background I desire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ychkuQ69lxE/T-CY1cG4m2I/AAAAAAAAACs/UUzQ9QDPiI8/s1600/HoFS+S2+blue+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ychkuQ69lxE/T-CY1cG4m2I/AAAAAAAAACs/UUzQ9QDPiI8/s400/HoFS+S2+blue+screen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the background, a blue screen, aka. the bane of my existence.</td></tr>
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Oh, if only I'd have known to kill myself then. Instead, I have spent the endless days of the editing process praying for sweet death.<br />
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Silly me. I thought that so long as my victims-- er, actors -- didn't wear anything close to the shade of blue used by the chroma-key drapes, I'd be golden.<br />
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Yeah, laugh it up. I'm glad you find my naivete amusing.<br />
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When the beautiful teal color of Cindy's Grand Ninja outfit (below) played havoc with my blue screen chroma-key function in Sony Vegas HD11, I thought I would get around it by investing in a green screen. Boo-yah! Take that, chroma-key! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81F-BCujXbA/T-CVtInz2PI/AAAAAAAAACg/Du08G0Aixxw/s1600/HoFS+S3+green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81F-BCujXbA/T-CVtInz2PI/AAAAAAAAACg/Du08G0Aixxw/s400/HoFS+S3+green.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hah! Take that, blue screen! I shall defeat you with my GREEN screen-BAM!</td></tr>
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All the green in the teal keyed out. Instant unwanted costume color change.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UTw4AfZMQg/T-CcxDJyzOI/AAAAAAAAAC4/JR-IgDtlcGQ/s1600/HoFS+S3+FML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UTw4AfZMQg/T-CcxDJyzOI/AAAAAAAAAC4/JR-IgDtlcGQ/s400/HoFS+S3+FML.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FML</td></tr>
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I ended up going with the original blue screen footage, with tons of creative and time-consuming editing to ameliorate both the horrendous ghosting (a result of poor hanging of the screens) and the wave-like rise and fall of the hand-held camera (another lesson learned: chroma-key + hand-held camera = bad).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pM2uJ0ARsBc/T-CUA5Ac49I/AAAAAAAAACY/Hb5vn8htwWo/s1600/HoFS+S3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pM2uJ0ARsBc/T-CUA5Ac49I/AAAAAAAAACY/Hb5vn8htwWo/s400/HoFS+S3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, Scene 3....</td></tr>
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So, yes. That is why the Grand Ninja has teal colored stone inside her stronghold. Also, why I have a migrane.</div>Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com3Martial Artistry, 2500 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA35.107584 -106.592868935.094594 -106.6126099 35.120574000000005 -106.5731279tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-846648474149742589.post-11906239479923192392012-06-18T10:00:00.001-06:002012-06-22T17:24:25.926-06:00One Fine Day...One fine day, I woke up and decided I wanted to make a martial arts movie. This is not as crazy as it seems. Not that I'm not crazy, mind you - ask any of my friends or family and they'll tell you I'm pretty much certifiable. But, in my copious spare time <i>(snicker, snort)</i> I run a martial arts school, so capturing all this insanity on film was a natural enough extension of my interests. Besides, sleep is for wimps.Kayne Sirocco LaTranshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14252142092094699005noreply@blogger.com2