My Experiment with Vertical Cinematography

My trip from LA to the deserts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona then back to LA. In this video, I experiment with the composition in a​ vertical aspect ratio (9:16).

Get 20 ideas in 5 minutes

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How often do you get stuck because you think that you don’t have any more ideas? Most of the time, there are two general settings in which you can struggle to work on your creative piece.

1) You either sit in a crowded coffee shop where there are lots of noises, aromas, conversations.

2) You lock yourself in a fully isolated room at home, where everything is perfectly tuned for writing in peace.

In both scenarios, you will come to a point where you have no clue what to write next. This situation makes you anxious and frustrated, and it seems like it's better to give up or work on something else.

Hold on. There's a cool and fun practice that you can do to hack into the treasure room of your beautiful mind. Each time I use it, I get a bunch of brand-new ideas within the first minute. 

Here are a few simple tools you’ll need for the practice:

·      Pen/Pencil

·      Notepad

·      A timer (a smartphone will do)

·      2-3 Brand New Magazines

The essential part here is to get the newest magazines because it has to be something that you haven't heard, watched, or read before. It has to be new to you. All magazines have to be different and, ideally, the ones that you usually don’t read. The main reason for using magazines in the first place is that they have tons of images.

Find yourself a quiet room where no one will distract you, could be a library reading room or your home (if you live with a partner or a family, a library would probably be the safest bet), and get all your tools on the table. Now comes the fun part.

Tune your mind on one specific project that you need new ideas for. Let’s say, for me, that would be brainstorming ideas for a new outline for my TV pilot screenplay. That could be applied for discovering new ideas for any project: public speeches, business, books, movies, etc. 

Set your timer for 5 min and start turning the pages with an approximately 5-second interval. As you scan each page, focus on images only. Skip all the text. Keep your mind concentrated on the project, that you need new ideas for, and the moment you see an image in the magazine that gives you an original thought, write it down in the notepad. Avoid describing in detail, just the main point in a few words.

Allow your mind to float freely. The image content is not as much important as the thought process that it triggers in your head. The idea that comes to you from the image can be entirely different than the image itself!

If you didn’t find anything useful, then move to the next page. The key here is not to get stuck trying to force an idea out of your mind. Don’t spend more than 30 seconds on each page. If nothing comes to your account, keep turning the pages. Go through all the fresh magazines that you’ve got for yourself.

When you finish your process, look at your notepad and see how many ideas you got in 5 minutes if you weren't distracted by the surroundings, you can have 10-20 new ones shining at you. 

Now, you have something to work with. Grab a pen and be merciless, choose 3 best ideas, and expand them to a few sentences. Finally, pick your best idea and go conquer the world! BONUS TIP: If you don't want to buy magazines, go to your local library, and you'll have them for free. 

Use this technique each time you feel like you run out of ideas. You’ll immediately prove to yourself that you are way more creative than you thought. It will feel like Genie from the magic lamp fueled your brain with creativity.

I used this process to create my music videos.

Budget your short film

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Before you make your next short film, it is vital to budget all the essential elements that you will need to get your film screened at the festivals. It could cost you zero money, but you should keep in mind all the essential elements.

Director/Director of photography

• The heart and brain of your movie. One person could do both.

Production designer

• A personal stylist for your film.

Cast

• The face of your movie.

 Producer/AD

• A competent person who takes care of all the non-creative stuff is priceless.

Sound mixer/Boom operator

• Without a good sound, no reasonable festival will accept your film.

AC/Gaffer/Grip

• They will make sure that your lights and camera are doing their best job. An excellent crew is your secret time saver.

Equipment

• You need something to shoot with.

Food

• A secret weapon for smooth production.

Transportation/parking

• Make everyone’s life easier and take care of it in advance.

Location

• A place where you’ll put your camera.

Insurances/permissions/fees

• For a peace of mind.

Music/SFX

• A soul of your movie.

Editor/Color/VFX

• This creator will get your film to the finish line and make sure it is ready for submission.

Contingency

• Add 15 % of your budget for unpredictable.

And remember that we earn money to make movies and not the vice versa. Have fun on your shoot.

My filmmaking journey

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The earliest memory that connects me to filmmaking dates back to my elementary school years in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. My grandfather brought me to a film set for the first time. It was an unforgettable experience. Each time coming with him was like a magical trip to a different world. People called my grandfather the "king of extras." What I loved about my grandfather the most was the fact that he was a soldier during World War II while he was having lots of fun as an extra, like a kid.

Film sets have something special in them, something that is hard to describe. When I come there, it feels like home. During these set visits, I fell in love with cinema. I started to watch a movie after movie, followed by re-watching sessions. I was trying to figure out the way they were made. It inspired me to make my home videos using a miniDV camera that I got as a present. Friends and family liked them. I even won some prizes at the local film festivals. It was a hobby, but I enjoyed it very much. I didn't even think that making films can be a career.

I got into a finance university, which was a common path, especially in the city where I lived, but I felt that it wasn't something that I wanted to do. I took an academic vacation and went to study English in New York, USA. A whole new country, an entirely new world, appeared in front of me. While being there, I realized that making films can be a real job. I started to visit filmmaking schools all over New York. I checked all of the film programs, and, eventually, I found one school that offers a scholarship for MFA in filmmaking for international students. I set myself a goal to apply for the school.

I went back to Russia and switched to an accelerated study program at my finance university to get a bachelor degree as soon as possible. A year later, I am in NY again. But now, I am learning how to make films. I realized how exciting director's job really is, even though it's challenging. We were shooting films every weekend while studying the theory of directing, acting, screenwriting, cinematography, and editing. I found out that in the US, people usually watch foreign movies in the original language, whereas in Russia all international films are dubbed. I learned how films are made on a big scale and the importance of developing screenwriting skills if you want to be a director. 

While at film school, I was involved in various student film productions. I was taking every crew job possible. Also, I had experience working at the Universal Studios backlot, where I learned about a production process on big studio sets. The hands-on experience taught me a lot about the movie-making industry as a whole.

Some days, we were shooting more than 16 hours. Occasionally I slept in vans with film equipment. I wanted to save money on parking and guard the equipment at the same time. I learned how much time it takes to make a good shot and how to manage time on set well. The more prepared you are as the director, the more effective production becomes, plus you gain trust from the crew and cast.

My ultimate goal is to create worlds where the audience would be able to escape and experience all kinds of emotions, like during a long-term adventure. I want to prove that there is no limit to imagination.

Tips for your next film

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I've been making a variety of short films with different budgets and crews. When each project was over, I was writing a list of lessons learned. I've decided to combine the best of them as a guide for future productions. Use it with pleasure.

Get the best script possible first, so then you can get the most desirable cast and crew to help you with it. It's important because it makes the filmmaking process less painful for everyone. Choose an AD who understands your film to its bones and has the potential to become your longtime friend. Have the best people you can find but keep the crew small. Also, don't try to reduce your team to "Never-mind-I-do-it-myself-production." A professional sound person on set will make or break your film.

Put in the budget everything you know and add 15% for contingency. Stick to your budget. Have all the payments to your crew scheduled and agreed in advance. Make sure you have required signatures on the paper, if something changes, get it resigned by both parties as soon as possible.

Schedule well so that you can shoot in fewer days. Know what essential shots you need to capture by heart. It will help you to stay true to your vision in the moments of doubt. When you have a schedule, it's easier to adapt to unexpected circumstances. Synchronize everything you want to execute with your key crew members. Provide a good lunch, especially when everyone works for free.

When on set with your dream-team, exude enthusiasm every day. Work harder than anyone else. Make sure every single person of your crew performs a task he was assigned to do. Keep it that way. As you go along, allow people to express their opinion but make final decisions yourself. You are the creator.

Prepare different ways to convey your ideas to the actors. Know the essential on-set vocabulary. Shoot in a spacious place, so you have enough room for a camera and equipment to make the shots you need. Avoid shooting in distant locations, unless there is absolutely no other way.

Imagine that the whole planet will see your movie, but make the film for yourself. It has to entertain your most capricious inner critic. Have fun on your next shoot.