We always like to call attention to dedicated creative people who are making big things with video, who can do more with less.  That’s why we were so excited to see the video work of The Movie President.  The Movie President is the brainchild of Kevin A. Millward, a film student at Northern Kentucky University.  Kevin’s movies are a great example of what indie video creators can accomplish, making great entertainment on a shoestring budget.

Like a lot of video creators, Kevin fell in love with the movies at a young age and started making movies when he was in sixth grade.  His earlier films starred family members, friends and neighbors, though he sometimes had difficulty keeping his non-professional cast interested.  He founded The Movie President after becoming friends with Chris Hart, another NKU student with the same passion for movie making.  Together, they’ve created a string of short horror flicks, quirky comedies and Star Wars tributes.  He’s now pursuing a film school education with the intention of starting a career in movies.

“Over the last year, I have learned a lot of crucial lessons while producing short videos,” says Kevin. ” The most important lesson, however, is one that would seem obvious, but applies to every single shoot that I do: Anything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.  I’ve experienced everything from actors bailing at the last minute and locations becoming suddenly unavailable to extreme weather changes and cameras breaking.  As cliche as this sounds, I’ve found the best mindset to have in this field is to hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Among Kevin’s most interesting videos are the “Tales of Terror,” a series of short horror projects.  We don’t see many young video creators tackling creepy subjects, so these immediately grabbed our interest — from the story of a man trapped on a psychotic game show in  “Deathtrap” to the campy cannibal feast that is “Hungry for those Good Things.”

“The biggest challenge in making short horror films for YouTube is the issue of keeping the content appropriate for most ages,” says Kevin.  “When it comes to horror, it is sometimes difficult to avoid violence, blood/gore, and disturbing dialogue.  For the most part, the videos I have made are suitable for most audiences, but occasionally I will have some negative feedback and controversy attributed to the content.  The line between entertainment and offending someone is often blurred in this genre, but I am a strong believer in taking risks.  If you don’t put yourself out there and try new things, you won’t get very far.”

But we also wanted to call special attention to Kevin’s short action comedy, “Finger Wars.”  You remember when you were a kid and you would pretend your finger was a gun? What if it really was?  This goofy romp takes that idea to its (illogical) extreme. With quick, tight cuts to increase the tension and a frenetic action-flick soundtrack, we were really impressed at how well this video managed to straddle the line between gritty action and absurdist comedy. But what really makes it are the special effects.  We’ve demonstrated some easy techniques for adding gunshots to your videos and you can see the results of similar special effects in this movie.   The comedy wouldn’t work in this case without some top notch special effects (and accompanying gun shot sound effects) to heighten the realism.  Luckily, they’ve got plenty. Check out the sequel to see even more finger wars – with bigger explosions!

Kevin and Chris are currently in pre-production for a spoof exploitation trailer called “Priests with an Attitude”.  Written by Chris Hart, it’s the story of two priests who take the law into their own hands as the last line of defense against the villains of a crumbling town. The pair are also at work shooting more Tales of Terror videos, a series of parody consumer reports, and possibly a prequel to “Modern Jedi: Episode II – A Dark Force.”  Learn more and watch some of their videos at The Movie President on YouTube.

You can see more of Kevin’s short films at The Movie President on YouTube. You can also find The Movie President on Twitter @MoviePresident and Facebook at www.facebook.com/themoviepresident.

Yes you’re half way into your shopping list, or not even started, but here are five ways to enjoy the inevitable movies that you’ve watched every vacation. Maybe it’s your tradition, I for one enjoy having a marathon of A Christmas Story. The point is, instead of tuning out the movie that you’ve seen time and time again, try doing some light studying to better your video production skills.

1. Identify a clear conflict and resolution.

When do characters have homeostasis? What is really at the bottom of the conflict of characters? Between the protagonist and the antagonist there is the tension that is supposed to keep the audience attentive. Among many are human vs. society, a great case can be made with It’s a Wonderful Life for George Bailey needing to change his behavior with society. A human vs. human conflict can be seen in A Christmas Story with Ralphie battling various adults for a prized gift. Perhaps a movie will have multiple types of conflict, give it a shot and determine what that conflict is, then don’t forget to look for whether it actually resolves. Chances are, Christmas movies are going to come to a conclusion, it generally helps the audience feel at peace.

2. Analyze the compositions from shot to shot.

Even if you’re watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, there are conscious decisions for each composition. A closeup on Snoopy can direct our attention to the always-cool beagle. Then a wide shot with the whole gang will give us an idea of where the characters are in relation to each other. These establishing shots are essential to differ the animated short from a comic strip where characters might appear to be in a bare room (see Garfield). Plus, notice if shots are from one character’s perspective, or do they vary?

3. Listen for which sounds are crucial for the story to move forward.

A snapping stick, a dropped fork, a roll of thunder, these are a few of the sounds that indicate to me that something revolutionary is about to come about. Let us go back to A Christmas Story where our family is sitting at the table eating dinner and the doorbell rings. Extreme tension fills the room when talking ceases and high strings take over the soundtrack. The events that follow are quite divisive. Another example of sound moving the story forward is heard during montages. Similar to music videos, montages are joined with a strong piece of music and generally fill in back story which will help characters progress.

4. Look to the backgrounds and notice details.

Almost enough said. This advice really comes from video’s background in still photography, a good background is essential for an appealing visual. Try to notice if other characters show up in the background, do they continue in character, or has the directer opted for limiting the depth of field to get the background out of focus. You don’t want people in the background to be so unnatural that they look out of place. If our characters are chasing each other on a busy street, maybe bystanders by would naturally stop to look.

5. During commercials, can you count to three seconds before the shot changes or moves?

So of course, the 90 minute movie you could’ve brought on DVD ends up lasting two hours. Here’s a little exercise that will make any commercial interesting. Commercials are generally thirty seconds on the dot, so their timing is of utmost importance. The basic principle is to catch your eyes and keep them there, the three seconds seems to be just right for keeping people engaged. And for kicks, try looking at each of these five points to apply to commercials.

Have some fun with these and don’t stress over them. So pop in a favorite because movies can sure beat a cheese log when it comes to entertaining.

Check out this blog we discovered on WebTV Wire. It’s a fabulous collection of different sites where you can find free public domain footage.

The blog,  “Free Online Stock Video Footage – 9 of the Best Domain Video Resources” was compiled by Michael Pick a few years ago, and is a good resource for anyone who needs to grab some old military footage, cartoons or commercials as well as NASA space pix and other footage that is open to Creative Commons non-commercial use. Read the rest of this entry »