Crookedlp has a new roommate named Vimeo. Take some time to navigate around the site and discover our new features. New blogs have been published in the News section with a social stream at the tail end of each blog ready to share with the world. Crookedlp has also added some of our award winning videos to the video library with each video streaming in High Definition. Most importantly, don’t forget to drop us a line, leave a comment on a blog and share the site with others. It’s your feedback that helps us achieve our goal – to make your vision our priority.
The last story structure software you’ll ever need and it’s on your iPhone! Based on the screenwriting bestseller, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. Available for iPhone’s and iPod Touch.
Look for Blake Snyder’s new book “Save the Cat! Strikes Back” November 25th. In “Strikes Back” Blake lists and addresses many writing techniques and problems such as…
The 7 warning signs you might have a great idea ─ or not
The sure-fire template for can’t-miss loglines
The difference between structure and formula
The Transformation Machine that allows you to track your hero’s growth step-by-step
The 5 questions to keep your story’s spine straight
The 5-Point Finale to finish any story
The Save the Cat!® Greenlight Checklist that gets to the heart of every development issue
The right way to hear notes, deal with problematic producers, and dive into the rewrite with the right attitude
Why and when an agent will appear
How to discover the potential for greatness in any story
How to avoid panic, doubt, and self-recrimination… and what it takes to succeed and dare to achieve your dreams
Last week Adam Rosenberg from MTV Movies Blog asked Paranormal Activity fans to send in questions to director Oren Peli for their interview. Crooked Lake Productions sent in three technical questions and Mr. Paranormal answered them.
For those of you who have yet to experience Paranormal Activity and it’s organic creepiness, here is the rundown. After it’s festival debut and partnership with Paramount, Paranormal Activity screened midnight showings in limited theaters while initiating a genius viral marketing campaign on the inter-web with the help of twitterland, facebook and bloody-disgusting.com. The movie had sold out screenings across America’s map which created a buzz larger than the second coming. 1,000,000 fans demanded a nationwide release at paranormalmovie.com and Paramount gave it to them. The eleven thousand dollar film has now made more than $65 million dollars, it is officially the most profitable movie of all time.
I personally have seen the film three times and plan to sneak a fourth viewing in before Halloween. But first, lets see our questions answered.
“Finally, Henry from Crooked Lake Productions had a trio of technical questions:
What kind of camera did you shoot on?
Oren: Sony FX1 high definition prosumer camera.
Was Micah primarily the camera operator?
Oren: Yes. In 99% of the cases it’s either Katie or Micah operating the camera. Mostly Micah.
Who was responsible for the sound design of the film?
Oren: The original version was me, but then once Paramount got involved we went through another round of sound cleanup and sweetening. But I knew i wanted to make it sound as authentic as possible so that you can believe that everything basically came from the camera microphone, so nothing sounds manufactured. So that’s why we have no soundtrack or anything else that’s been added later on by the mixer.”
You can read the interview in it’s entirety at MTV Movies Blog.
After losing his job, Percy Shilling turns his uneventful life into a fantasy world by following the story from an abnormal audio book. As his obsession with the story grows, the lines between fiction and reality dim and he believes killing is his appropriate path. Listeners was 2nd place in the STIFF Film Challenge.
Greensleeves, was Crooked Lake’s entry in “The Seattle 48 Hour Film Project” competition. The 48 Hour Film Project was a wild and sleepless weekend where our team, Lake House, made a movie—wrote, shot, cut and scored it—in just 48 hours. On Friday night, we received a character, Kristy Brown (Illustrator,) a prop, suit tie, a line of dialogue, “Wrong, guess again.” And a genre, Fantasy. all to include in our movie. 48 hours later, we completed Greensleeves.
The Judges Spoke!
Greensleeves won two awards.
Best Musical Score
“Greensleeves” by Lake House
Audience Award Winner:
“Greensleeves” by Lake House
I bought this tiny video camera called “Flip” the other day, it’s a very basic point and shoot camera. It doesn’t take professional quality footage, it has a low bit rate for its HD frame and there are no manual settings. It has the capacity to capture audio, however it is not the best quality. Its main purpose is designed for streaming media, it is a camera that shoots for the web and I love it!
This pocket-sized camcorder has changed my point of view. I work with professional videos on a daily basis. In my day job at www.crookedlp.com quality takes a predominant seat; we produce things designed to sell and entertain. So when I come home and rest my hat, the “Flip” offers a fun, creative world where all rules can and should be broken. Something I would never do in the field is encouraged when I put the “Flip” in my hand. The funny thing is I feel like “Flip” strengthens me as a video producer, it challenges me to try new things and see how far I can take it. This may sound weird, but I feel like with the “Flip” as my tool I get to explore and even expand my boundaries as an artist. Whatever new things I discover with the “Flip” I can stash in my memory banks and find fancy ways to incorporate them in my industry videos. Things such as interesting angles, images, innovative story ideas, intriguing locations and interviews with influential characters can all be recorded to my “Flip” diary from the convenience of my pocket.
I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial; needless to say I am quite addicted to its experimental methods… I think it may trump the iphone for Dilla’s favorite toy and I find the word “toy” fitting because I feel like a child would when he explores the cardboard campus of a refrigerator box; this device inspires me. I can compose a video diary entry of just about anything at any time. I can take it scouting with me, set up storyboards, and capture thoughts and moments. It is a brilliant pre-production tool that makes a filming set much more organized and comfortable for our multi-thousand dollar cameras to come in and do work. That is why I set up my new Youtube channel “hdillasflip” (http://www.youtube.com/Hdillasflip) outside of Crooked Lake’s channel (http://www.youtube.com/CrookedLakeProd). The “flip video” will be my companion for the next year or so as I plan to capture and upload daily routines and new experiences to my channel as a way of logging and documentation. Sometimes these sequences from my life will be edited; sometimes they will just be raw clips from something I deemed as intriguing or fun. I suspect that most logs will be under a minute and won’t exceed five minutes. I don’t plan to upload every day, but I will commit to a biweekly period and I promise that everything uploaded there will be from the “flip’s” perspective, so I can share my new found points of view with you.
I am excited to embark on this experiment and I hope you will walk with me and my flip.
We did it!
Kirk, the head honcho at 48 Hour Film Project said it best:
The Harvard Exit Theater
Thursday, July 9th
9pm, $10 https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx?TheatreID=243
The judges have spoken. Twelve filmmaking teams have been selected for awards in this year’s 48 Hour Film Project. (Including Crooked Lake Productions. – HDM)
This was the biggest year for the event in Seattle with an estimated 800 filmmakers participating in 52 teams. This Thursday night we will honor the best of this year’s competition at the Harvard Exit at 9:00 pm.
Please join us to celebrate the hard work, creativity, talent, sleep deprivation and borderline psychosis of these twelve team
Crooked Lake Productions would like to send a giant Thank You to everyone who came out to support us at the Emerald City screening last Friday. It is all of you that make the film reels continue to spin. Premiering tonight for the STIFF Film Challenge is our entry, Listeners. Please join us at 9:30 at Central Cinema to vote for our film. The more people, the more votes and the closer we get to being some of Seattle’s best. Plus, you can eat and drink at Central Cinema. Who doesn’t like to eat pizza and drink a beer while watching movies? Bring your friends and join us for the festivities; we hope to see you there.
Tech extraordinaire Nathanial Vaughn might offer free pony rides and samples of his well cured oatmeal after the show, possibly.
