The 700 and Please Subscribe

I’m very excited to start using the JVC GY-700. It actually very fortunate that we have access to that particular model, as Band Greeks has be authorized to use the 700 as well; this is a great opportunity to use what I learn in class in the field!

Yesterday, I found an interesting trailer online for a documentary called Please Subscribe. The trailer features some well known Youtubers such as Grace Helbig (Daily Grace), Hannah Hart (MyHarto of My Drunk Kitchen) and Toby Turner (Tobuscus), and discusses the growth of Youtube, particularly, how the medium is changing from a simple pastime to a full-time career.

According to the film’s website, Please Subscribe also explores professional Youtuber’s backgrounds as well as issues such as how they attempt to stay relevant and “what they hope the future in this unstable, ever changing medium looks like.” 

The idea behind this film reminded me of our class discussion about McLuhan’s quote “the medium is the message.” Through the vignettes featuring famous Youtubers, the film offers to examine the medium, its relevance and its future. Since Youtube has such a presence in society and our everyday lives, this is a fascinating film that I definitely want to see.

More info on the film, as well as the trailer can be found here: http://pleasesubscribefilm.com/watch/

Saturday's Shoot

We had our first shoot for the project on Saturday! *applause* We only had a few hours in the afternoon in which to do it, but we were quite efficient. Right as we were about to leave PPECS, we realized that with all the actor-finagling that had been done, we were one actor short. Luckily, Dylan was able to bribe his roommate with taking out the trash, and the crisis was averted.

We ran into a few problems along the way. As it was the Commons on a Saturday afternoon, it was fairly crowded, so we sometimes had to deal with people walking through the shots. There were also a few people busking, and while it provided great entertainment (there was one guy playing Green Day on an accordion), we had to worry about whether the music would be picked up on the audio. We did our best by putting the boom mike as close as possible to the actors. Also, prayer. We also had some issues with the sun as it got to be later in the day. The sun was casting shadows from the tree on one of the actors faces, so to fix it we first put a jacket in the tree, and then when that wasn't working any more, another tall actor stood on a chair and held up the mike box to block the sun. It was actually really funny!

Even though I've been filming stuff for over a year now, it still amazes me every time how much time it takes to actually film a scene. You don't really think about having to move the camera or deal with one of the many, many little issues that come up. Overall, it was a really fun day of shooting. We are scheduled to shoot Monday and Tuesday night, and hopefully we will be able to get all of it done.

Also, on a side note, the camera that we use is the sexiest thing ever. The end.