While I was doing The 12 Daze of Christmas I wasn't paying attention to how much time I had to devote to getting things right. When I'm doing a film I usually put in a lot of work, but the payout is something that I'll have around forever.
I'm not going to make this a long story, in fact my point is fairly simple. Know what your getting into when making an attempt at a play or film.
When going into a film, just know what kind of timeframe your looking at. There will be some films that take a very long time to get made. Having someone around who is good at getting things done is huge when making a film. I pride myself as someone who gets things done, and I don't take that role lightly. You need to be able to tell someone, in a nice way, to hurry up. When tensions start flying everyone suffers.
I'm going to continue on this subject another time, but for now I hope this is helpful.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Music Video
It was cold out that night, and Patrick and I were pretty much alone in the bar. This made it and ideal time for us to film. We went thought the song four times from different angles, and I'm pretty happy about the results.
The frustrations with making this video were mininmal as compared to other things I've done, and I was fairly confident that I knew why the problems we were having were happening. First, the camera's SD card was almost full. That was my fault, I'd been filming other things on the same card and never got around to loading it on the computer. I was very fortunate that I purchased a 32g card, or I'd have been out of luck.
Second, I was having a hard time keeping the camera going. I believe the cold weather had made the camera not want to film for very long. My advice, keep your camera in a warm, dry place, even if you don't plan on filming that day. But keep it on you! If I'd left my camera at home this day, I'd have never had the opportunity to make something that I'm super proud of.
Last, but not least, the camera's battery was very low. Luckly, I had my charger, so I was able to plug it in and get some footage. So, if you've got your camera, keep your charger on you as well.
I edited with Final Cut Express. I'm no expert... I'm barley a novice, but I feel like I did a well enough job with the sync of lips and music. I used the track from his CD 'Coyote', so I wasn't worried about sound quality durring recording, but it would have been nice to have something that marked a specific time in the footage so I could sync them up faster.
I hope that you find this information helpful and I really hope you enjoy the video.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Last show and after party
Last night was the final show of 12 Daze of Christmas. We had a great time, but I wasn't prepared to be sad when the play finished. My cast mates and I shared a lot of hugs, well-wishing, kudos and a few of us were upset to the point of tears. So I wanted to let anyone with aspirations of doing a play, be it in a local production, or a school theater group to be aware that when everyone goes their separate ways your going to miss the camaraderie that evolves between cast mates.
The play was over and pictures had been taken of the characters in costume. A few days previous the director had asked where we'd like to have the after party. We'd all made such great friends that we were happy to all go run and grab some pizza together at a local pizza place, but unfortunately there were quite a few people in the cast that weren't old enough to drink so they set up a bonfire and a keg in the rural area near town.
So last night, after pizza, a few of us decided that we'd run out to the bonfire and give one last goodbye to some of the kids we'd worked with. I'm 28, and I feel pretty strange when I'm hanging out with 18 year olds who are drinking. Hell, I feel weird just hanging out with 18 year olds. So you can imagine my dismay when I arrive at the bonfire and there are twenty kids who are getting wasted.
The point that I want to drive home is that, as professional as they may be during the play or film, a lot of kids want to rebel, so be ready to deal with the little pains in the ass. Also, I'd like to remind anyone of age that you can get in a lot of trouble if the police get involved with underage drinking.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
The play was over and pictures had been taken of the characters in costume. A few days previous the director had asked where we'd like to have the after party. We'd all made such great friends that we were happy to all go run and grab some pizza together at a local pizza place, but unfortunately there were quite a few people in the cast that weren't old enough to drink so they set up a bonfire and a keg in the rural area near town.
So last night, after pizza, a few of us decided that we'd run out to the bonfire and give one last goodbye to some of the kids we'd worked with. I'm 28, and I feel pretty strange when I'm hanging out with 18 year olds who are drinking. Hell, I feel weird just hanging out with 18 year olds. So you can imagine my dismay when I arrive at the bonfire and there are twenty kids who are getting wasted.
The point that I want to drive home is that, as professional as they may be during the play or film, a lot of kids want to rebel, so be ready to deal with the little pains in the ass. Also, I'd like to remind anyone of age that you can get in a lot of trouble if the police get involved with underage drinking.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The good stuff
I'm gonna try to write a lot of helpful stuff for people who are interested in becoming an actor in the next few weeks, but tonight I've got a hankering to give a big thank you to my best friend Tim Sparks.
Tim's a super professional short film director/writer/editor who has graciously allowed me to hang out with him when he's making a film. Ya, I try to help him out, but I'm fairly confident that he'd be able to get thing done by himself.
If it wasn't for Tim I wouldn't have a chance with all this film stuff. I have no talent when it come to using a camera, or what to do with a boom mic, but Tim does. I know absolutely nothing about editing, lighting, or script format, but Tim does.
What I'm trying to get at, is you need to surround yourself with people who want to help you. Surround yourself with talented people, and work your ass off. When it comes time to build a set; get after it. When something happens to a person or prop, don't wine about it, get it fixed. If there's something you can do to help make the process move a little smoother, do it, but try not to be stepping on anyone's toes.
Tim and I started making films together and I've been fortunate enough to be able to ride on his coattails. We're great friends, and enjoy being around each other. The crew we've em-massed are all hardworking, talented individuals... and me. Just kidding. I pull my weight when it comes to getting things done, and I feel like my acting skills are pretty good.
I hope this has been helpful and that you'll leave a comment or something to get remembered by. Just remember to work hard, and people will want you to be around for their next film, and there's always a next film.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Check out Tim's work at Vimeo.com/sparksbros or http://www.sparksbros.com/
Tim's a super professional short film director/writer/editor who has graciously allowed me to hang out with him when he's making a film. Ya, I try to help him out, but I'm fairly confident that he'd be able to get thing done by himself.
If it wasn't for Tim I wouldn't have a chance with all this film stuff. I have no talent when it come to using a camera, or what to do with a boom mic, but Tim does. I know absolutely nothing about editing, lighting, or script format, but Tim does.
What I'm trying to get at, is you need to surround yourself with people who want to help you. Surround yourself with talented people, and work your ass off. When it comes time to build a set; get after it. When something happens to a person or prop, don't wine about it, get it fixed. If there's something you can do to help make the process move a little smoother, do it, but try not to be stepping on anyone's toes.
Tim and I started making films together and I've been fortunate enough to be able to ride on his coattails. We're great friends, and enjoy being around each other. The crew we've em-massed are all hardworking, talented individuals... and me. Just kidding. I pull my weight when it comes to getting things done, and I feel like my acting skills are pretty good.
I hope this has been helpful and that you'll leave a comment or something to get remembered by. Just remember to work hard, and people will want you to be around for their next film, and there's always a next film.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Check out Tim's work at Vimeo.com/sparksbros or http://www.sparksbros.com/
Friday, December 2, 2011
The 12 Daze of Christmas - Play
Tonight I performed in from of 200 people as Turtle, the lawyer, in The 12 Daze of Christmas. This is the biggest play in our schools recent history, with 70 people and 100 props. Our hard work for the past two months paid off in full as the audience laughed and sat in awe as we told our stories, and showed off our talents.
My character, Turtle, is a lawyer who's out to sue Santa for invasion of privacy. He is helped by his partner Dove. They try to entice Alice, the lead of the play, to sign the paper work to get the lawsuit started.
I enjoy being a pushy lawyer type character. I'm one of 3 villains though-out the play, but I'm the only one who's trying to screw over everyone. The other villains are just trying to pull one over on Alice.
The play is great, and I'm very happy to be doing it. Tomorrow we're wrapping things up with the final day of the play. I'm glad to be done with it, not because it's not fun, but because it took up so much of my time, and I got recruited by the Director, Karen Foglesong, to be the Props Manager, so I've been coming in early, and leaving late.
When I get a copy of the play, I'll upload it and let everyone see how well we did.
Have a great day!
Clint Stewart
My character, Turtle, is a lawyer who's out to sue Santa for invasion of privacy. He is helped by his partner Dove. They try to entice Alice, the lead of the play, to sign the paper work to get the lawsuit started.
I enjoy being a pushy lawyer type character. I'm one of 3 villains though-out the play, but I'm the only one who's trying to screw over everyone. The other villains are just trying to pull one over on Alice.
The play is great, and I'm very happy to be doing it. Tomorrow we're wrapping things up with the final day of the play. I'm glad to be done with it, not because it's not fun, but because it took up so much of my time, and I got recruited by the Director, Karen Foglesong, to be the Props Manager, so I've been coming in early, and leaving late.
When I get a copy of the play, I'll upload it and let everyone see how well we did.
Have a great day!
Clint Stewart
How things have been going
I want this blog to show the progression of an amateur filmmaker and actor. This is my first post as to being a film maker and actor. My names Clint Stewart, and my friends and I have been making short films for a year now (since Nov of '2010), and are getting more and more ambitious.
Our first film, My Own Prison
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2boYhM0jnY ),
had a complete crew of 7 people. That includes cast and crew of 4 actors, my best friend Tim Sparks as Director, and two people (Matt and Chrissy Sparks) helping with production and music. My Own Prison was a 24 hour film project for the Pueblo Pulp's 24 hour film competition. We won Best of Festival and were very well received by the attendees of the festival.
Our latest film, 16bit
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C05SnEx-fbs ),
had a crew of 50 people. Again, Tim Sparks Directed with my help as Assistant Director. This time we had a massive group of 25 extras for a rave scene. I was extremely proud of the five artists who did a fantastic job painting the extras and the main cast. We had Sound Crew/ Lighting Crew/ and on set photographers. Everything just happened to fall into place with a few phone calls and a lot of good friends. 16bit was also a 24 hour film project for the Pueblo Pulp's 24 hour film competition. We weren't eligible for any awards because we missed the deadline to turn the film in, but we were very well received by the people who attended the film, and are very proud of the product we produced.
I'm going to be trying to write as much as possible on becoming an Actor and Producer. I hope you'll keep checking out the blog as I continue posting.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
Our first film, My Own Prison
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2boYhM0jnY ),
had a complete crew of 7 people. That includes cast and crew of 4 actors, my best friend Tim Sparks as Director, and two people (Matt and Chrissy Sparks) helping with production and music. My Own Prison was a 24 hour film project for the Pueblo Pulp's 24 hour film competition. We won Best of Festival and were very well received by the attendees of the festival.
Our latest film, 16bit
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C05SnEx-fbs ),
had a crew of 50 people. Again, Tim Sparks Directed with my help as Assistant Director. This time we had a massive group of 25 extras for a rave scene. I was extremely proud of the five artists who did a fantastic job painting the extras and the main cast. We had Sound Crew/ Lighting Crew/ and on set photographers. Everything just happened to fall into place with a few phone calls and a lot of good friends. 16bit was also a 24 hour film project for the Pueblo Pulp's 24 hour film competition. We weren't eligible for any awards because we missed the deadline to turn the film in, but we were very well received by the people who attended the film, and are very proud of the product we produced.
I'm going to be trying to write as much as possible on becoming an Actor and Producer. I hope you'll keep checking out the blog as I continue posting.
Thanks and have a great day!
Clint Stewart
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