BTS pics from our set building!

With the production for The Hollow Waltz underway. We needed certain locations that we could have ready access to. Here is a set I built over the last week. All scrap stuff I put together. 

This is what the Mayors office looked like. 

1 week later and with some creative love! 

This is a close up! 

See what you can do with some paint, some space, and a little elbow grease. 

EDIT TIP!

I know that Robert Rodriguez is a huge fan of techniques like this. Also, take the time and watch all of his 15 min film schools. He has a number of them on his DVD extras.

When dealing with line of action and more specifically the 180 degree rule. You can run into some trouble in your edits when you are doing guerrilla style shoots. Sometimes you'll grab a various amount of footage from all angle and have no way to properly abide by the 180 degree rule. One method is using neutral shots or cut aways.

For example:
While editing my new short The Hollow Waltz: Sidesteps, I ran into an issue where I had one take that was really good until a camera bump ruined it. I had a second shot that was the same case earlier in the take. I Took the two, chopped them up, and aligned. The problem is, it does not respect the 180 degree rule. What you can do is take shot number one, crop it and center on the fire making it a cutaway shot. Pull the audio and then use the cropped shot as your buffer between the two takes. Ultimately, it breaks up the edit enough giving yourself a chance

Here is what i am talking about. I will actually go back and reshoot this one shot, but for now this is a place marker. If you don't have the benefit of doing so, I suggest trying something like so.

Above is the initial shot. 

Here is the cropped frame that could be used as a cutaway

Then I cut to the the frame with my amazing actor facing me. 

The Hollow Waltz : What it took to get here! pt.1

Euphio have finally begun the production of The Hollow Waltz web series. This Friday will be day 1 of the official production.  I hope over the next few weeks I can share the process and the experiences I went through to get to this point. Perhaps, bestowing a few tips and tricks to help out any indie filmmakers or people starting out.  

Needless to say, this production has been filled with trials and tribulations. This is to be expected on many micro budget or guerrilla style productions. In return, I did not expect to feel like sisyphus. The size of this production was daunting, I knew that. Organizing personnel, not one of my strongest suits. I chose to carry on. 

The original idea for The Hollow Waltz came to me almost a year and a half ago. This would be my first big production separating myself from 1-2 man skits, art films/installations, and backyard productions. All the while, retaining the DIY guerrilla filmmaking process i've always known. It has been a long journey through the many errors a young filmmaker will inevitably make. 

However, I am glad I made every single one of them. They have taught me the resiliency that every filmmaker needs. The first step I took was to write a script. It should be obvious that this is the first step in any production, no matter how vaguely inferential. I set an idea for a heist film. A crime film that i'd love to see. 

From this point, I spent the next few weeks crafting ideas and watching every one of my favorite crime films. I started with the best. Coppola, Scorsese, Tarantino, the classic noir films, etc. I spent quite some time watching British crime TV shows/films studying the way they tell stories and the way their dialogue seems to push the story forward while simultaneously staying ambiguous.  The next few two weeks were filled with all nighters, solitude, and lots of caffeine. The gauntlet I endured yielded a first draft and a spark of inspiration that gave me the confidence to carry onward. 

That was step one. 

- Steve

Immerse yourself, consume, study and write. 

Crazy WEEK!!!

Hello Everyone,

It's a big week for Euphio! We are official! Recently have registered with the state of CT as an official business! 

Weekly update: 

- Editing for The Hollow Waltz: Sidesteps (a prequel short film) is nearing completion

- The first steps in our production studio have been taken! Check out below!

- Our first podcast: Metacopia: Episode #1 has started production. 

- We had a quick run on a documentary set this week

- Production on The Hollow Waltz web series has begun!!!

Stay tuned throughout the next few weeks for a few video tests and a NEW SHORT FILM! It will serve as a prequel short to The Hollow Waltz series. 

Euphio has had quite the summer. A lot of photo shoots, art shows, and film prep. Keep coming back for constant updates and portfolio revisions. 

Check out our new production studio! As you can see it is a big work in progress, but the wheels are turning.  

Thanks for reading!