Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

[ UPDATE: 12.26.2009 - 3:41 AM ]

Turns out that there are several types of 3D development over the years.

The type that most people are familiar with is “3D Stereoscopic” which is basically capturing with two sources and then having it projects in two different colors (red & blue -or- red & green) and the goofy glasses would cancel out the non-overlapped colors to give the artificial depth.

3D Stereoscopic can be duplicated in a low-budget project, it just takes proper planning – mounting of the camera with the right measures – and understanding of how to sync two different video files and audio files together in the same time line so editing is fully synced.

The end product will be like your classic 3D videos.

In today’s day and age of digital film making – instead of the diffusion of red and blue colors, its the diffusion of light known as “orthogonal polarizing”

During production you have a camera that has 2 lenses mounted in the front where it records the video data in two separate streams, much like how stereo audio is recorded in two separate streams.

The final cut is then projected via dual lens projector where each projector lens has “orthogonal polarizing filters” mounted on the front of it so than when you wear the 3D glasses – which also have orthogonal polarizing filters on them cancel out the non-overlapping image ads an artificial depth to the video.

More on this here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarized_3D_glasses

Question:
How does one jimmy rig two separate projectors with “orthogonal polarizing filters” to play back two separate video streams at the same exact time?

Is there a software out there that could output two video streams using a video card with two video outputs to a projector and the program sends two distinct streams onto a screen so viewers can watch the feature in 3D?

I’d love to hear your responses!

[ UPDATE END ]

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With the release of Avatar Ive been wondering, what does it take to produce a 3D film on a short budget and what knowledge is needed?

I found some links that might be a valuable resource: 3D Stereoscopic Production & Delivery

A couple more links that may prove to be educational:

• Shooting Avatar
• Panasonic new 3D HD video Camera
• 3D Film (wiki)

Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

Sometimes pretty big details are missed when you don’t pay attention. Normally I wouldn’t post videos that are politically oriented. I usually get my news about the world at the dinner table which is usually filtered by the people around me for all the nonsense that is printed in them mainstream media. A discussion usually ends with, “You should read up on the news more often.” to which i reply, “I have no need, especially when I have wonderful people like yourselves to sum it up for me in a nutshell.”

ManofFewWords forwarded me this video. Enjoy!

Some of you are wondering, “How did they do that?” — Its called Adobe After Effects. If you want to learn how to do something similar to that check out VideoCopilot.nets tutorial on the Advanced Car Hit for more info.

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

The producer of the autumn video (Paul Frederick) I posted yesterday had another video on this awesome slider tool called the IndiSlider. Watch the video below.

IndiSlider Insight from Paul Frederick on Vimeo.

See what sort of results this sort of tool can produce if you know what you’re doing:

Grow! from Paul Frederick on Vimeo.

The IndiSlider comes for about $500 at their website IndiSystem. I figured that is out of the budget for most people so I figured maybe there is a DIY system out there that can produce similar results with a bit of creativity.

I found this video on YouTube that shows you how you can turn your camera tripod into an effective tracking dolly using some PVC Pipes.

One of the related videos was this video of a ladder dolly system:

I followed the link on the video to their websites where they seemed to have a bunch of awesome equipment that can come in really handy on a shoot. The prices are very affordable if you’re doing an indy-film shoot on a tight budget.

• They have number to tracking and dolly systems to choose from…
• …as well as a good suction pad systems to choose from to mount the camera on your vehicle during the shoot to give you that creative angle for your film.

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I took this picture in Delaware at a rest stop on my trip down to Virgina this past weekend around sunset.

This past weekend I took the opportunity to save four years of my life through the experience of someone who had been through the think and thin of the trials and tribulations of delivering a movie to an audience. I’ll say that I’ve never gotten this much value in a seminar that covered material that isn’t taught in school and comes only from the experience of going through it oneself.

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

~Milton Berle

Earlier I invited all of you to be my classmate for a seminar taught by Jerome Courshon on the Secrets of Distribution. See some of my notes I posted several months back on his video Distribution 101.

My friend and I left New Jersey a few hours after the Friday prayer and drove down to our family friend’s home where we planned to stay for the weekend. The seminar was in Arlington, VA which was abou ten minutes from where we were staying.

This seminar was amazing in content. It got me really thinking about how I want to approach the business aspect of films from a professional stand point for the future (including Tufaan), what to really consider and plan out future documentaries and how to realy turn this profession in an on busteling career for the time to come.

The seminar was also a great oppurtunity for us to meet and network with some very nice and interesting people, who also take this profession with seriousness. Many of the attendies were from the Greater D.C. area, while there were some travelers from as far as Florida, Texas and New Jersey

It was great having dinner with Jerome, the organizers of the seminar and the other classmates. It was a great oppurtunity to futher discuss each of our own projects and share with each other the different experiences we’ve had and learn from each other.

I intend to share with you what I’ve learned over at MessageMastery.com in the near future for you all to benefit. The following is just a brief outline of what was covered:

• Reality of distribution. What the real deal is holding on to the right beliefs to get yourself through it.
• Reality of the Marketplace.
• 8 basic distribution models.
• Theatrical distribution. What the tried and tested ways of getting your film into the theater are, whether its through the studios, film festivals, producer reps, home video distribution, other forms of distribution, etc.
• Art work & Press Kits. Understanding the importance of and knowing what is needed to get your movie the attention it deserves from distributors.
• Conventions and Organizations. Knowing what conventions are important to attend and which organizations and authorities should be given proper attention such as VSDA, MPAA and others.
• Deals & Contracts. Giving proper attention and due dilligence to your movie when it comes to legal matters such as E&O (Errors and Ommissions), clauses in contracts, lawyers, contacts, etc.
• Questions & Answer. Having the oppurtunity to pick the brain of a professional had immense value on its own.

If I had to fly over to Los Angeles to take this seminar, I would have done it (I was about to, but I saw it was going to be in Virginia). Jerome Courshon does not teach this seminar often. He’ll teach it only one more time this year in November. Take this opportunity and grab the bull by the horns.

“If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don’t, you have achieved half your failure.”

~ David Ambrose

The seminar took place on Saturday. Sunday after we left Virgina we took a quick stop to College Park, MD where we hung out with Nouman Ali Khan of Bayyinah for several hours. This was an awesome brain picking and brainstorming session on subjects of Arabic, tafseer, future projects and film ideas, some of which I would love to produce with him, insha’Allah.

This is Nouman Ali Khan asking me if this picture will go on YouTube. As promised, it’s just for the blog post. If others decide to post it elsewhere, that’s out of my control

We drove back home and arrived around 10pm, after which we got down to the material and began reviewing and discussing what we learned. A lot of new ideas and thoughts came about from this session as well as questions which I’m going to post back to Jerome.

Overall this was an excellent learning experience that was well worth the travel, money and oppurtunity costs.

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I’m attending two different training seminars on the business of film distribution online and offline in the coming weeks. One is going to be in Maryland and the other will be in Los Angeles. Why am I going? To sharpen the saw of course! I invite you to come attend also!

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September 20th in Virginia Jerome Courshon is conducting a seminar titled, “The Secrets to Distribution: Get Your Movie Distributed Now!” I first heard about Jerome and his seminar via FreshDV when they featured him on an hour long interview titled, “Distribution 101.”

When I first the video I was ready to fly out to Los Angeles to attend his seminar but when I heard that he’s doing it in Virginia (4 hours drive from me) I thought that this is great! I booked my seat and just need to make some travel arrangements and I’m good to go.

If you’re someone who is serious about learning the business of how films are distributed in the market today and what you need to do to get yourself a distribution deal then I recommend that you come attend.

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I got an email from Stacey Parks of FilmSpecific.com from her weekly email list regarding a seminar taking place on October 11-12 by Alexander Vickers titled, “Make Your Money Back” on how to distribute your film online with proven internet marketing strategies. There’s more info on the link I provided. I personally haven’t attended any of his seminars nor am I enrolled in his online marketing for filmmakers course.

I registered earlier this week and I’m looking forward to meeting the people there.

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If you’re in the local area or want to attend the seminars regardless, I recommend that you register asap before seats fill up.

I’m looking forward to applying what I learn in the release of Tufaan. This should be exciting