Introduction
1 Smith, Jacquelyn. “Experts and Viewers Agree: Apple’s ‘1984’ Is The Best Super Bowl Ad Of All Time,” Forbes, January 30, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/01/30/experts-and-viewers-agree-apples-1984-is-the-best-super-bowl-ad-of-all-time/
2 The department was formerly Electronic Media, then Electronic Media and Film, which focused more on broadcast work and training.
3 Due to their success, in July 2015 they moved their offices to Brooklyn, New York. They now go under the name of Voyager Studios, LLC: http://voyagercreative.co.
4 The community site has since moved their articles to and became the Film + Music site: https://www.filmandmusic.com/.
5 “Make a Dog’s Day,” Subaru Impreza commercial 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6d6C45g5NA
6 “Maddie,” Chevrolet commercial 2014: https://vimeo.com/87748529
7 LeGuin, Ursula K. The Wave in the Mind in Brainpickings.org, October 21, 2014. http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/10/21/ursula-le-guin-dogs-cats-dancers-beauty/
Chapter 1
1 There are several different ways to engage narration—I’m specifically critiquing the omniscient voice style.
2 What I sometimes refer to generically as the broadcast style.
3 Watch “The Ascent of Alex Honnold” at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-ascent-of-alex-honnold-27-12-2011/
4 Watch “Shattered” at https://vimeo.com/40379197
5 It’s really not a fair comparison, because 60 Minutes didn’t stage Alex shot-to-shot and if cameras got too close, it may have endangered him.
6 There’s really no point to compare the content of fact versus fiction or news versus staged, since they are what they are.
7 Yes, this is a stylistic choice, but if you’re trying to pull an audience into the world of the story, it becomes a mistake if you want to create stories with strong emotional impact.
8 To help simulate the rhythm of the edit, I’ve made the longer-duration shots larger than the short ones, which are smaller and indicate a short-duration cut. All stills from Stableford, 2012.
9 Adapted from “The Psychology of the Lens: Patrick Moreau creates filmic intimacy with DSLRs at Stillmotion” by Kurt Lancaster (from http://masteringfilm.com).
10 Dise, Justin. “Vincent Laforet and the Psychological Impact of Camera Movement.” http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/video/features/vincent-laforet-and-psychological-impact-camera-movement
11 I’ve gone through the course and it is a powerful tool, so I offer this description for those who want to invest in it. If you already have storytelling down, then don’t worry about it.
Chapter 2
1 Members of the Canadian company earned visa rights due to their unique contribution to the arts, Amina tells me (the Emmy Awards helped), allowing them to work in the United States.
2 Stillmotion has since moved a few blocks north in order to allow more room for the growth of Story & Heart.
3 Evnas, Jannell. “Vision and Mission—What’s the difference and why does it matter?” Psychology Today, April 24, 2010.
4 “Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action.” TEDxPuget Sound, September 2009. http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en#t-251603
5 See, for example, the Chevrolet commercial, “Maddie” (https://vimeo.com/87748529), produced by The Herd Films in Vancouver, Canada or Laforet Visual’s “Neighborhood” commercial for Famous Footware (http://vimeopro.com/laforet/laforetvisuals/video/17355509), to name just two.
Chapter 3
None.
Chapter 4
1 And this is a good example of where an omniscient voice narration works, because it’s not telling us what we see (which is what we often get), but it instead invokes a philosophical theme in an emotional way, in a poetic essay style.
Chapter 5
1 Laforet, Vincent. “How to succeed as a creative long term: know your C.O.D.B.” http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2013/08/01/how-to-succeed-as-a-creative-long-term-know-your-c-o-d-b/
Chapter 6
1 “The Art of Articulation: A Conversation with Alex Buono.” Film + Music, July 23, 2015. https://www.filmandmusic.com/articles/the-art-of-articulation/87
2 Llopis, Glenn. “6 Brand Strategies Most CMOs Fail To Execute,” Forbes, March 10, 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/10/6-brand-strategies-that-most-cmos-fail-to-execute/
Chapter 7
1 Kong, David. “Working with Less,” Philipbloom.net, July 31, 2013. http://philipbloom.net/blog/working-with-less-or-get-out-there-and-shoot-part-1/
2 See Apple ProRes White Paper June 2014 for 2K and 4K bit rate and storage capabilities: https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Apple_ProRes_White_Paper.pdf
3 Even though the H.264 files are decompressed in post to a 4:2:2 format, the original data is lost, so the image still falls apart when pushed in post.
4 Most 4K cameras that shoot 4K are compressed, so factor that into your decision. I would rather shoot 2K uncompressed raw than 4K compressed. Also, consider that you will need more computer power and hard drive space when shooting in 4K or 2K raw.
5 Zoom the lens all the way out, then reach into the back of the lens and pull out the hard plastic flange. This gives it the space needed to fit onto the Metabones adapter.
6 Blackmagic Design have released their cameras, such as the Cinema Camera, Pocket Cinema Camera, URSA Mini, to give you the option to record in a compressed form of 12-bit raw or 10-bit Apple ProRes codecs.
Chapter 8
1 Conforming a higher frame rate back to the 24fps of the timelines, will provide slow motion.
2 Moreau, Patrick. “The Making of a Scripted Short,” Stillmotion, November 17, 2014 (http://stillmotionblog.com/myutopia/)
Chapter 9
1 “Directing Actors with Lenore Dekoven,” FilmandMusic.com, September 21, 2014. https://www.filmandmusic.com/articles/directing-actors-with-lenore-dekoven/
Chapter 10
1 Alexandria Bombach took a video production course from the author when he taught at this college. She and several other Fort Lewis college film students have gone on to become successful filmmakers and video production house owners, which proves the point that you do not need to go to a big-name film school to be successful in the business.