Flying my camera with a bicycle wheel... really.

Quite a while ago I posted about my DIY rig to "fly" my camera as well as stabilize while flying. A good friend of mine snapped some shots of me while doing the "flying" at the April Fools Fest at the Sculpture Resource Center in Tucson, AZ. I was "flying" my Canon T2i along with a Audio Technica shotgun mic covered with a nice "dead cat". Someone once asked me how difficult it was to get that "dead cat". I told them; "I don't really know. I never killed a cat."

So here are a few shots of yours truly shooting with my modified aluminum rim, or simply a bicycle wheel extremely modified for my purpose. But hey it works...

Photos by Ron McCoy - Ron McCoy Photography - Tucson, AZ

Some sample shots from this event while using my recycled bicycle wheel rig.

the 20th Annual Arizona International Film Festival is now playing, and here is just one review....

UPDATE: You can see this movie again as it is being screened for a second time on Sunday, April 10, 6:30pm at The Screening Room in Tucson, AZ - woohoo!

So this last Saturday I went to go have a look at a film that was made right here in Tucson, by a resident native of Tucson , Jon Proudstar, that featured several of my friends as everything from cast to crew. In simple words: It was a real delight! Now I could sit here and talk about the film itself, but that is not the point of this writing. I will not review the film, but more the idea that such a film can be made, by an independent and for less than 3K, as in 3 grand as in bucks! This should really be encouraging for many of you independent filmmakers out there.

The point is quite simple. I was more entertained by this indie than I have been by many multi-million dollar flicks. It's that simple!

It just goes to show that there are plenty of opportunities for anyone that is serious about creating a masterpiece. You just need to make use of the some of the resources available. The resources are not always about money, but even more so about people. This may sound a bit biased as I am now a board member of this organization, but IFASA (Independent Film Association of Southern Arizona) (clicking on the link will open a new window for you.) offers up just about anything and everything you could be looking for when it comes to productions. From people with various knowledge and expertise, to ideas and collaborators on your next project.

And if you work hard, stay tuned, be diligent, be persistent and most of all be creative, even you could end up have an entry in a film fest such as the 20th Annual Arizona International Film Festival. (clicking on the link will open a new window for you.) But don't take my word for it, take it from someone like Jon that has now done it:

Some cute new tools on YouTube with one that is pretty slick actually - a quick review

So today as I was uploading some new video for one of my clients I noticed a new promo link bar above the "uploaded videos" page on YouTube. It says; "New! Animate your own story or create a video slide-show. Try it now." (opens a new window)

Yes the link is live and should take you there. It comes up with three apps (clicking on any one of these will open a new window and also requires you to have a YouTube account):

Stupeflix Video Maker

Xtranormal Movie Maker

GoAnimate

I was particularly intrigued by the last one, GoAnimate. Not because it's another one of those "wizbang flasherized super duper gee look at this cool app thing", but rather because it might actually be a very useful tool for the some filmmakers. Particularly ones that can not draw. As in sketch. As in draw a figure of a person or persons for a specific purpose. Why would I even care if someone could draw or sketch or even conceive the like? Well. When one creates a movie, a short, a commercial or any other possible production that will end up on film, YouTube, the "big screen" or on television, it is advisable to create a STORY BOARD! This is where the sketch, drawing or stick figures come in. 

Of course, I can't draw. Even stick figures are challenging to me and basically look like that game, "Pick up Sticks" after I get done. But this app really gave me an idea. Why not use it to story board? So I tested it just for fun. Just to get a handle on how it works. Just to see what it could do. And it did. It did some pretty cool stuff, and all in a matter of minutes. It let me control the look, the characters, the script, and even finer control of what the character motion is supposed to be doing. More than good enough for a story board. But the cool thing is it let me create a video out of it all. Have a look at my silly experiment:  

Keep in mind - this was just an experiment. Don't throw stuff at me for doing this. That's not cool. So be cool and understand the reason for me even doing this little test. By the way, this snippet is from a new comedy series coming to your local TV soon. Okay - that's not true, but you gotta admit.. I had you for a moment.

Girl Walks Into a Bar - this is the future of the film world and it's exciting!

Today I checked out a tweet about a full length feature of a motion picture that was literally created not for the theater, not for Blue Ray and certainly not for rental houses. On the contrary, this film was by design created for the Internet. From what I read, one can watch it in chunks on YouTube as a playlist or as one continuous movie. I watched the whole thing and I must say, it is fantastic. It has a bit of a Pulp Fiction feel to it, but a bit lighter or friendlier in language. A very cool project for sure.Okay, simply put, I liked it. A fun story line, fantastic acting and great cinematography.

Now here is where things changed in regards to production, funding and sponsorship. First off, it cost around a mill to make, private investor(s)/producer(s) fronted that. Then sponsorship was sold to Lexus. Hence, they streamed it with 6 or so commercials throughout as one long motion picture:



And I highly recommend you watch it at full screen. So pop this out and enjoy!

But all that being said, is this the future? Is this a new way for the indie world to go and get their stuff out? I think so! Just sayin'.

Promoting your company in today's world of multimedia. Some thougths and ideas to think about.

One of the questions I am asked quite frequently is; "How do I promote my company today on the internet?" or "What is the latest craze for marketing my company on the net?"

Well, these questions have about half a gazillion answers. And no matter who you ask - no two answers are quite the same. One hears about everything from Social Network Marketing (perhaps the acronym for this is SNM?) to SEO or Search Engine Optimization and then there is SEM or Search Engine Marketing, and you need to do this all while eating M&M's. Okay, the last part just sounded funny, hence, why I wrote it.

DIY - Camera rig for "flying" shots and image stabilizer.

I like to build things. I like the DIY concept if at all possible. I have several reasons for this.
1. When I build stuff, I get exactly what I want and how I want it.
2. It usually, and I emphasize "usually" costs a lot less than purchasing a finished product.
3. It solves a problem that I needed to solve.
4. It can be fun to build stuff. Sometimes.

Now this is not say, go out and build everything. Somethings are just not worth building. But some things really are. This just so happens to be one of those things. I looked at the prospect of purchasing a "FigRig" (a trademarked name by the way, as well as a patented product.) But for me at the time, it just seemed too cost prohibitive. It is a great tool. It is diverse. It is functional. It is a very slick piece of equipment.

Copyright protection and you! - Finally a concise explanation and how to.

Over the last several years I have had so many artists, writers, cinematographers, web designers and people just in general ask me about copyright. I don't really know why they ask me specifically. Maybe I look like an attorney or something? Maybe I sound smart? Maybe I know a lot about such things? Or maybe I am just another one of those people on a list that people ask for advice from? I don't know.

I have fortunately had much access to attorneys over the years as many of them were and still are clients of mine. And no, I don't give them advice on the law. But I have been known to make all of their computers stay up and running, as well as some websites. But when all is said and done, they are not all copyright specialists. Actually very few are. The one thing I did learn from all these attorneys - never give legal advice if you are not an attorney!

Tucson 2011 stock footage for charitable causes.

It all started a week ago today when I first was called to go out and start filming in regards to the Tucson tragedy. This was the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords incident involving several victims as well as fatalities. A week later, our beloved Congresswoman seems to be do extremely well considering the circumstances.

It seems our town has a heart. People have set up vigils, they have rallied, they have marched and they all have one thing in common - peace. You see, Tucson was inadvertently put on the map through this incident. It has been the center of the news frenzy for a solid week now. I have heard throughout the week, particularly at the beginning that people literally stated; "It's embarrassing to say one is form Tucson anymore." - But things change.

Observing with a neutral eye can end up with a positive experience.

Here in Tucson we have experienced a recent tragedy involving our beloved Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. I suppose I could delve into the back stories and all the things surrounding this tragic event, but I won't. There is no need to as the media has already done quite a job on that. Sounds pretty negative towards the media doesn't it? That was my first impression when I was called to get some "pick up shots" for a network. So with camera in hand, I started venturing out on Sunday,

Shooting the Lunar Eclipse - December 20th-21st 2010

All right then. So I decided to stay up late, early or whatever depending on who's point of view, to capture this phenomenon that we know as the full lunar eclipse. Simply put, the "blue marble" (a.k.a. this big ball you are sitting on that we sometimes call "Earth") gets in front of the sunlight and blocks the full moon from being lit.

A movie now in pre-production.

So every once in a while, along comes a story. It may be fiction, it may be fact. But when it is a good story, it deserves some attention. So along with some people (producers), the writer and myself (cinematographer, editor and compositor) we set out to create a movie trailer in hopes of getting this funded and fully produced. All I can say is "stay tuned" at this point. One never knows where the project may end up. But here is a little "eye candy" and a teaser to start. Enjoy. (best viewed at full screen):