Hello,

I'm cleaning up on my old unused blogs and focusing on three, at least for the time being. Please visit me on one of the following blogs:

• [X] with Marcos (General Catch-all)


• Tripping with Marcos (Travel Blog)


• Cigars with Marcos (Cigar Diary)

Video Lab After Action Report

What a great weekend! It was definitely a blast and it was good to meet people who are interested in the club. We didn't make our goal of creating a video in two days but we got a really good start. The working title of the piece is "Ink Fight", it's going to be episodic, and while we're still going to use painted cardboard cutouts, I think I'm going to avail myself of technology to animated it. AfterEffects. I'm a little rusty on it, but when I was at the American Film Institute I was in Trish Meyer's AE classes. Anyway, Ink Fight is going to be about fighting tattoos.

I have to admit, this starting a new group is harder than I thought. Many people have expressed an interest, but not as many will show up. Those of you that did show up to the video lab, (Yevgenia, Mitch, Steph, Perla, Yolanda, my dad(!)), thank you! It was really fun and we'll be continuing to work on Ink Fight. If we can finish it by July 24, we can submit it to Channel 101.

Publicity has been a real chore and while the people we have attracted are definitely the right sort of people, we need more of them to make this a viable ongoing enterprise. I need to do more organizational outreach to the various arts groups in the area.

So, with this in mind, the next meeting will not be until the July 31st (assuming Scott of La Casa Blue approves). The next video lab will be the following weekend, August 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Keep checking here for updates.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 10th, 7:00 PM and Weekend Video Lab (July 7th & 8th)!

There are two big things to report. Just got the confirmation from Scott at Casa Blue.

Next Meeting

Will be a repeat of the first meeting agenda-wise. I'm experimenting with which day of the week is best for people, so please give me your input on which day you prefer (assuming we can work it out with our hosts, La Casa Blue). There's one person who has a class at Art Center on Thursday nights, Keith Lubow, a very talented photographer who wants to explore video a little more.

Like last time, we'll be meeting on the back patio of Casa Blue.

Weekend Video Lab

Saturday and Sunday, July 7th and 8th, we are getting together to make a video from start to finish in 48 hours. Just for the hell of it. I'm calling this a class, because I know some of the people coming have no video experience at all (like my step mom Yolanda) and want to learn and have fun. We're going to start at 10 AM, on the back patio of Casa Blue. The first day will involve pre-production: coming up with a story, writing a script, making props and costumes. The second day will involve setting up and shooting the video, and then editing it.

This will not be a "structured" class. It involves a lot of learning by doing, and jumping right into a project. You do not have to attend the entire weekend or even the entire day. Just come for a few hours and help out if you'd like. The emphasis is on fun and doing.

Also, to narrow things down a little, the style of video we're going to go for is what Rob Scrab has dubbed "Drawless Animation" and can be seen in his Ringwald and Molly series. This will be a great opportunity for anyone that wants to try out voice acting! We need cardboard, glue guns, markers, paint, broken toys, butcher paper, etc. to construct our props and backgrounds. If you are coming, contact me to find out what we need.

Update

I've renamed this the Weekend Video Lab, instead of challenge, since that's a better description. Challenge implies a contest, which this is most certainly not (although we might submit the video to some contests and screenings).

Weekend Video Lab: Update II

Here's the breakdown of the schedule:

Friday (Optional):
• 7 PM
• 1 hour basics of video overview, including:
⁃ ATV tutorials
⁃ Ringwald & Molly and other vids

Please note that Friday is up in the air as I have not yet arranged with Scott at Casa Blue for this time. If necessary we will meet at my house or elsewhere, so be sure and Email Me if you plan to attend.

Saturday:
• 10 AM – Write Story/Script
• Noon – Plan props, characters, and sets
• 1 PM –Break for Lunch
• 2 PM – Build it!

Sunday:
• 10 AM – Storyboards
• 11 AM – Shoot
• 1 PM – Lunch
• 2 PM – Shoot
• 6 PM – Additional Voice Acting
• 8 PM – Edit


What we need: Cardboard, construction paper, glue, tape, string, rubber bands, paint, markers, fabric scraps, fishing line, action figures and small toys for parts, wire, wood scraps, aluminum foil, model kits, tools (scissors, knives, hot glue guns, paint brushes, clamps, etc.), clothes pins, misc. art supplies, and anything else I can't think of at the moment. If you can bring anything, email me and let me know what you can provide. Email Me – HPVideoClub@gmail.com

Our First Meeting: Report

We had our first meeting last night, and it went well, although it was lightly attended. Thursday evenings seem to be a problem for some, due to work or school conflicts. We are going to try a Tuesday meeting next. The next meeting, if approved by Casa Blue, will be on Tuesday, July 10th, at 7:00 PM in the back patio. I just wrote Scott at Casa Blue this morning, so I'll post confirmation here as soon as I get it.

If you can't wait until then, I will be holding a Video Crash Course on Saturday and Sunday, July 7th and 8th. There will be no charge for this "class". I put class in quotes because what I really want to do is just make a cheesy video in two days. This is open to people of any level of expertise: the focus is going to be on the doing and learning by doing. No lectures, very little structure, and lots of fun. More info to come; email us right away so we can discuss ideas.

At this moment there are not enough people interested in the free Basic Video class. When I have 5 - 10 people who are serious, I'll set a date and schedule. Get on the list if you are interested in this class. I'm hoping to have three sessions before the end of the summer. More if the demand is high enough. There has been a lot of interest from younger people, so I might hold a class for under 18 people. Again, write me and tell me if this would be you.

Also planned for this summer:

Green Screen Clinic: How to do low cost Green Screen with home video tools. This class will be for a fee to help pay for the materials, etc. No date set for this; keep checking back.

Blogs and Vlogs: how to create your own video blog. (Free)

Open Screening (Free)

Camera Stabilization: From Tripods to Steadicams

More, when we think of something and decide we want to do it.

If you want to do something, let us know. If there is a topic you'd like covered, please suggest it.

First Meeting This Thursday, 7:00 PM @ Casa Blue

Updated

Short notice. I've already been getting flyers out and will post the PDF online soon. I'll also update this post to include more information on the purpose of the meeting, etc. But the info is as follows:

First Meeting:
Thursday, June 28th
Time: 7:00 PM
La Casa Blue
5930 York Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(Cross Street: Aldama)

We'll be meeting in the Cafe proper this time, although if we have a big turn out, a conference room upstairs from the cafe has been made available to us. If anyone wants to volunteer to help set up the meeting, email hpvideoclub@gmail.com. Thanks.

Update:

This first meeting will cover several topics.

Intro and discussion of the club's purpose

Discussion of individual goals and abilities/expertise, networking

Membership drive

Club classes

I apologize for organizing this on such short notice. The next meeting will be on July 12th, due to the holiday. This will give me more time to do better publicity. If I can generate sufficient interest, I will do a crash course on beginning video during the 4th of July weekend. This will be an intensive hands on course. If you don't have plans for the 4th of July weekend, please come and be my guinea pig as I test my new course format.

Computer Problem (sort of) Solved

My main laptop has a fried fire wire port. Ugh! But it's back up, and with a new and bigger hard drive. The older laptop's keyboard seems to be fixed. My plan, until I can get better hardware, is to capture video with the old laptop on to an external drive, then plug the external drive into the newer laptop's USB port and move the files over.

I really wish I had a Mac Book or Mac Book Pro!

OK, these problems solved I can get back to work on the club and the classes. I'm going to contact Scott at Casa Blue/Highland Perk about setting a date for the first meeting. Keep checking back here! Email me so I can put you on the contact list.

Status Update for June 15th, 2007

I'm having some computer problems, so I've been unable to access email and post an update. As soon as it gets sorted out, I'll have a date for the first informational/organizational meeting (I'm shooting for Thursday Evening, June 28 unless I get a large enough group wanting a meeting sooner), a class schedule for the basic video class, etc.

Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab (of Acceptable TV, Channel 101, Monster House and the Sarah Silverman Program fame among other projects) have graciously given permission for me to use their tutorial materials for classes, so for those of you who can't wait, check them out at Channel101.com. I highly recommend looking at the Jack Black tutorial vids, since they're very general and can apply to many situations, not just short comedy videos. The other tutorials are very interesting as well. And while you are there, check out the comedy vids. The Channel 101 people have a very twisted sense of humor that is right up my alley.

I'm still looking for someone to design our logo and to design flyers. I'm envisioning something tagger influenced, but not too abstract. If anyone is interested, or if you know someone that might be, post a comment here with your email address. Bonus points for "troubled youth" looking for a creative outlet and public recognition.