Dumbworld: A Sacramento Based Blog on Entertainment, Media and Art » Filmmaker

Beam Me Up Scottie: Transporter Effect with Final Cut Pro and Motion 4

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:10:02 +0000

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

A Very Quiet National Dumbworld Day at Home with the Family

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:12:45 +0000

This year we decided that we would hide out at home and celebrate National Dumbworld Day quietly, instead of braving the the long lines at bars and craziness that such a day usually causes. However you celebrated it, we hope that you had a good time, were safe and remember the real reason why we celebrate.

Sacramento Filmmaker Deon Taylor Featured on Huffington Post

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:49:47 +0000

About 4 years ago, I attended a discussion panel on filmmaking at the Sacramento International Film Festival where Deon Taylor was a speaker. Something he said that day made him stand out as one of the smartest people in the room, and a name to remember. He said that if you are looking to get theatrical distribution as an independent filmmaker start out with a horror movie. They are relatively cheap to make, and unlike say comedies, which aren’t culturally universal (i.e. what is funny to an American isn’t necessarily funny to a Japanese or even a British person), Horror movies have a worldwide audience.

Fast forward to today and Taylor is the only Sacramento filmmaker that has scored theatrical distribution as an independent (correct me if I am wrong). Fresh off the success of landing theatrical distribution for his horror film Chain Letter (coming out in October), starring Nikki Reed of Twilight, Deon Taylor gets some love from Huffington Post. See the article for an insight into Taylor’s journey.

But as he shuttled between Los Angeles and his home in Sacramento, he kept his backpack full of movie materials and his spirit full of the foundation of his company, Deon Taylor Enterprises.

Read the rest here

Naked Filmmaking and Sacramento Filmmaker Meetup

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:31:27 +0000

I first met Mike Carroll about a year into my own attempt at becoming a filmmaker. He came out and did a story for KCRA 3 on a feature film that I was camera operator on. I never saw the story but I remember my mom calling and leaving a frantic message on my voicemail that she had seen me on the news. You have to love moms. Without my mom, I don’t think I would have any fans. But I digress.

After the feature wrapped, I came across Mike’s first “one man” film, Year. I was blown away. Here was an excellent film, shot on the same camera that I owned (a DVX-100B), on a very small budget, by one person. I emailed Mike, and he was very cool and down to earth. He was very forthcoming and helpful with advice. We stayed in touch, he sent me the script for his second feature, Nightbeats before he started shooting it, and he even had me out to shoot some behind the scenes for Nightbeats (part of the making of Nightbeats is here). Both Year and Nightbeats are available on Amazon.

Mike recently released a book on his “one man” filmmaking process called Naked Filmmaking: How To Make A Feature-Length Film – Without A Crew – For $10,000 Or Less. I haven’t got a chance to check the book out yet, but it is available on Amazon.com. See the video below for an interview with Mike about the book on KCRA Channel 3.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Also, Mike is leading a Sacramento Filmmaker- Cameraman Meetup on Sunday, June 27th on the west steps of the capitol, with the goal of people bringing their cameras or interest in cameras and sharing information. Go to his website nakedfilmmaking.com for more information.

The First Dumbworld Peace: Watch As I Dip (2006)- Our First Video

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:31:52 +0000

I found this in a box in the back of my closet. It is an underground classic. Me and Jay shot this in front of his mom’s house in North Highlands (Sacramento) with my Sony HandyCam. The elusive Blak Rik Rubin edited it. This video started it all. Funny stuff.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Sacramento Video Industry Professionals Meeting

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:16:29 +0000

The next Sacramento VIP (a Final Cut Pro User Group) meeting is Wednesday May 26th at Peppers.TV. The topics are Web Compression with Wil Wells, DVD Authoring, with Rich Beckermeyer, and Vendors Corner with Jim Tierney, from Digital Anarchy. Every person who attends will get a free cd download from royaltyfreemusiclibrary.com.

Free Webinars on Shooting Video on a DSLR

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:08:41 +0000

If you haven’t checked out a New Media Webinar you really should. Lots of up to date information from industry professionals, they give away free stuff, and best of all the webinars are free (as long as you catch them live).

On June 17th they are having a free webinar on using a DSLR like a pro (Also, check out their webinar on DSLR post-production workflow):

Peter Cote, host of “The DSLR Show“, will identify the limitations of DSLRs as a filmmaking tool and how to work around them to make your project look and feel like it was produced by Hollywood.

[vimeo

DSLR Show - Rolling Shutter - Episode 4 from Conscious Minds Productions on Vimeo.

nolink]

Sacramento Filmmaker's Horror Movie to Get National Theatrical Release

Nat King Turner — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:36:04 +0000

We slept on this because that is what we do best, but for an independent filmmaker out of Sacramento to get theatrical distribution is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Congratulations Deon! I can’t think of any others off the top of my head. If you know of any, let me know.

Sacramento filmmaker Deon Taylor is on the verge of a huge breakthrough: a national theatrical release for his horror film, “Chain Letter,” that was filmed here.

read the rest from the Sacramento Bee

MovieMaker Magazine Lifetime Subscription for $49

Nat King Turner — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 01:35:48 +0000

Here at Dumbworld, some would say we are lowdown cheapskates. We prefer frugal- so this deal sounds like the new black to us. Moviemaker magazine lifetime subscription for $49.

Meet David W. Valetin of ILM at the California Film Meeting (Sacramento)

Nat King Turner — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:48:27 +0000

David W. Valetin is a VFX coordinator and producer for the likes of Quentin Tarentino’s Grind-House, Hero with Jet-Li , Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and The Green Mile, and will talk about his experiences in the industry, April 2, 2010, 6:30-8:30 pm at the Studio Center (915 Fee Drive, Sacramento, CA)

David will also be leading a discussion at the Sacramento Film Festival, at the Digital Odyssey Conference April 24th, on new methods of promoting films.

See the California Film Foundation for more info.