Thursday, July 29, 2010

Guest Speaker - John Nee, Freelance Producer



John Nee, a former producer with Charter Media for over 9 years and current freelancer, will be speaking at MMI on Friday, July 30th.
He has worked with TPW Productions on several RED shoots (Ho-Chunk Casino commercials), Cyan Films (Documentary Shoot) and Unique Image Creations.

View John Nee's Vimeo Page


He will be showing off past commercials and corporate videos, as well as spinning yarns about life in corporate America.

Where: rm 106
When: Friday, July 30th
Time: 11:30a and 12:45p

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Stop Motion + Time Lapse = Guy Walks Across America

In the video, the camera follows actor Michael Johnson as he passes through different American landmarks like Washington, D.C., Chicago, Mt. Rushmore, and Las Vegas. The camera had to always remain the same distance from Mr. Johnson in order to give the video its seamless feel.

This is the route they took: Map

It pieces together still photos taken on an actual, 14-day cross country trip — no green screens involved." When all was said and done, it took over 2,700 images to complete.



and how it was created:

Monday, July 26, 2010

Color Correcting

How many VMG students apply color correction to their video assignments?

When I was introduced to the color correction tools we have available to us I was in awe! The video takes on a completely new dimension of depth and crispness that is unachievable from raw camera footage (unless painstakingly adjusted in-camera).

I strongly suggest VMG students get comfortable with the color correction tools we have available to us! Once you experience the difference color correction can make, this step will surely become part of your workflow!

Just a few tools available:

Final Cut - 3-way Color Correction Filter (from effects tab) Easy & Very Effective!

After Effects - Color Correction from effects menu

Color - A program which comes with the Final Cut Suite that is specifically for color correction!

The Color program is available in the video suites (111) and is an amazing tool that will bring you closer to professional looking video! I suggest you check it out!

Thanks,

Jim

Guest speakers you do not want to miss!

This Wednesday, July 28th at 4pm, we will be having not one but two guest speakers at the MCA-I Student Chapter meeting! This will be in Building B, in the Theatre.

(CHANGE IN SCHEDULED SPEAKERS)

Ben Wolkomir from Charter Media
He is a video editor/producer/director/writer that will speak about his experience as a student at MMI, starting a career in radio, producing short films, working in a corporate environment and much more.

Ben Wolkomir's Youtube page





Ehren Fleschner from Charter Media
He is a producer/director/editor/actor from Sheboygan, WI. He will talk about meeting with clients, writing scripts and seeing a production through fruition.

Friday, July 23, 2010

City of Scars - Best Batman Fan Film Ever

I found this film care of Film Threat's Chris Gore. It is the best Batman fan film I ever seen. And even better, it was produced for less than $3000. If they ever do another live action Batman television series this would be good inspiration.


CITY OF SCARS
Uploaded by Batinthesun. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

-Matt Pulkrabek, VMG

Madison Game Students Hit the Road

Madison Media Intitute's departmetn of Game Art and Animation recently agreed to supply interns to Roadview of Madison in partnership with Mandli Communications. Students will create 3D models to support Roadview's Lidar equipepped vehicles data collection service.

The Lidar system has been integrated in specially outfitted vehicles which can scan entire highways including structures such as bridges while traveling at highway speeds. The system returns hundreds of millions of points scanned by the Lidar equipment and generate complex point clouds of data. This data will then be analyzed and simplified before being turned over to the 3D team. This team with the help of the Madison Media Game Art and Animation intern's will convert this raw point cloud data into 3D models of the road surface, bridges and other structures needed as well as texture the 3D surfaces with photos taken during the scanning process.

This technology is also being used to scan entire cities and can be used for many different applications. Both the students at MMI and the 3D team at Roadview are excited about the potential of this synergy. The demand for this new technology is skyrocketing and is expected to show exceptional growth in the next 10 years.

Madison Media Institute: Established in 1969, specializes in media career training through hands-on work with cutting-edge equipment. Specific areas of curriculum include Digital Media Design & Production, Recording & Music Technology, Video & Motion Graphics, Media Systems Technology, Game Art & Animation and Entertainment & Media Business. Programs and facilities are continually upgraded to coincide with developments made in technology and communications.

Guest Speaker - Ben Hawkins, After Effects editor/iphone app creator



Friday, July 23rd, Ben Hawkins, a video editor/After Effects guru will be coming to MMI to speak about his experience at MMI, creating videos for Oompa Toys, directing short films, creating iphone apps from scratch, working in corporate america and much more.

Ben Hawkin's Editing Reel

2009 Demo Reel from Chewing Gum on Vimeo.



Time: 11:30a, 12:45p
Location: Building A, Room 106

Monday, July 19, 2010

Go See It!




Christopher Nolan is one of the Directors i have followed since Memento, seen every one of his films in the theater since and this is just an amazing film, trust me, GO SEE IT!!!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Production Assistant to TV show Executive Producer

We all know Morgan Spurlock from the Academy Award nominated film "Super Size Me." What you may not know about him is how he got his start. The following interview for Hulu's series titled "Life After Film School," Spurlock discusses his long journey from production assistant on Luc Besson's The Professional, to his incredibly daring TV show 30 Days, airing on FX.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Making of AT-AT video

A few weeks ago (June 28th) I posted a video of an animated AT-AT from the Empire Strikes Back. Here is the making of that inspirational movie.


Redesigning something that works

If you've ever worked on a video, logo, jingle, or design for a client, this video may hit a little too close to home. If you find yourself working on a project for someone, revisions just become a part of life. Sometimes, it just gets a little out of control. If you haven't, well then take notes on what 'not' to do.


BTW - This video was suggested by MMI's President Chris Hutchings. (great suggestion Chris!)

BBC Life (Making Of) Time Lapse Compositing


This is quite incredible. Volume is a little quiet, so make sure you crank it up.
Enjoy

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Guest Speaker - Whitney Abbott, Freelance Producer




Friday, July 9th, Whitney Abbott, a freelance producer will be coming to MMI to speak about starting out with NPR in Florida, working for local news stations, producing corporate videos and television shows, becoming Emmy nominated and much more.

Time: 11:30a, 12:45p
Location: Building A, Room 106

Gorillaz made a 15 minute short film, check it out!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Canon 5D MKII’s + 6 wks + 100 hrs footage = 4 minutes of pure awesome

A cool timelapse of the weeks of NASA preparation before a shuttle launch, culminating with the launch sequence.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

School of Innovation

This is what happens when you have your actors act in slow motion only to then speed it up, taking random frames out.


Guest Speaker - Trevor Wright from Discover Mediaworks



Friday, July 2nd, Trevor Wright, a videographer/producer will be coming to MMI to speak about life as a photographer for countless news stations, producing corporate videos, production work-flow at DMW, and much more.

Time: 11:30a, 12:45p
Location: Building A, Room 106

For more on Trevor, check out his Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/trevorawright