iPhone and Film Riot

I sat down to catch the latest on Film Riot, and todays episode is on shooting with the iPhone.  Their short turned out great.  They also gave a few tips to help with shooting, which they have used for a lot of their other episodes.

The biggest of which is using a rig to help with steadiness.  The rig they used is the Owle Bubo for iPhone 4.  It seems to be a very nice rig for the hand-held look, but at around $148 on Amazon I will pass on this.  Instead, I am going to try to get the SnapMount Tripod Mount for the iPhone.  This is much cheaper.  It won't help with hand-held steadiness.  I'm looking for a way to mount my iPhone on a tripod for a low price.

There was also a quick blurb on a camera app: FiLMiC Pro.  They recommend this over the regular camera recording app included on the iPhone.  From what they showed, it definitely has improvements over the built-in app.  Looks like I'll be picking up another iTunes card.

On to the episode:

I know that there are lots of posts and videos about shooting with an iPhone, along with just about anything else.  That's the novelty of the internet for you.  What I like is that these guys are covering it.  They show you great stuff and have fun doing it.  They have good info, good tips, good shorts, and plenty of humor.  If you like anything about making your own videos and film, please check out more of their episodes.  (I do recommend parental guidance as some things may not be appropriate for young viewers.)

That's a wrap!

The Golf War

If this can be implemented into real golf, I will start playing.

Zombies in the Spring...or anytime.

Just came across an interesting web series.  It's called "Bite Me - The Gamer's Zombie Apocalypse".  This is hosted by Machinima.com.  Machinima as defined by dictionary.com: 

1. the process of making real-time animated films by utilizing the 3-D graphics technology of computer games.

 In the case of "Bite Me", it's a live action series that references zombie video games.  So this might not be for everyone.  Season 1 Episode one starts here:  

 

This is not mine, I have nothing to do with making this or providing it on the web.  All rights belong to Machinma.com.

So if you like web series, zombies, and video games, then check this out.

If you like video games and movies/shorts, check out more on Machinima.com.

Colonel Mustard said it best while shaking the wrench "There is safety in numbers, my dear."

MinionBots: la deuxieme partie

The MinionBot army is slow going.  I completed the February model and have started the March model.  The Feb model is some sort of touchy-feely love bot, while the Mar model has guns.  Finally one that can shoot stuff.  I can send in the Feb bot as a decoy.

Yes, that's Boba Fett (registered Trade Mark and/or copyrighted by Lucasfilm Ltd).  He's overseeing the assembly process and is in charge of the programming.

Just had lunch from Sausagefest food truck. Got the Chicago Polish w/fries lunch special $5. Very good.

Update time...

...to misquote Obadiah Stane from Iron Man.  May can't get here quick enough.  For my wife's birthday of course.  Which the celebration will include going to see The Avengers (unless the release date changes).  Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk.  I'm sure the new actor will do a good Bruce Banner, but what will the Hulk smash?

In other movie info, what would Abraham Lincoln do if he came across Vampires?  He would eliminate them.  "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a new movie out this year.  The trailer looks good and I can't wait to see the movie.  Go Team Lincoln!

Speaking of movies, I just uploaded a new crawler video.  This one of my Losi Micro Rock Crawler.  Head over to here to check it out (yes I'm cross-plugging my blogs).  It is another iPhone video project, but this time I used a different app: Splice.  It's not bad.  It is a little easier to clip the video clips added into the time-line.  You can also actually add title clips in.  With iMovie, I actually created pictures for my titles and brought those in.  Splice seems to actually import the video clips into the project, where iMovie just makes a reference to the clips.  For me, Splice is the better app on this point as I tend to organize my videos, but iMovie will let you search for the missing clips.  Splice has some downsides for me.  There are a limited number of transitions, no themes, and you have to make in-app purchases for additional assets.  I'll be jumping between the 2 as I do further projects as they both are good for what you get.

Happy Superbowl XLVI Sunday! Go Vikings!