"Gotta Be More" Music Video Shoot: Day 01

Last week we had our first day shooting the music video to our upcoming music video, "Gotta Be More" (performed by Stefany Mayz). It was a fantastic shoot!

We started bright and early around 8:00am that day. It was a small crew consisting of camera/DP, one actor, director, and one of our fabulous interns. First shot of the day was up by approximately 8:30am after setting up the camera and lights. We started with the kitchen scene, followed by the bathroom scene, and then ended with the bedroom scene. Then we had a company move to the office location where our director (William) made a cameo as the "angry boss" for the office scene.

We wrapped up our first shoot day well ahead of schedule, ending shortly after 1:00pm. The shots look fantastic so far. And while the song, "Gotta Be More", is still in it's final stages of recording, it's been getting great feedback after a first listen from local critics. We are very excited to be moving forward with this project!

The storyline for the video of "Gotta Be More" is about finding fulfillment in life. The lyrics to the song ask the questions of where and how to find such fulfillment, and the storyline of the music video give the answer.

Be sure to see what that answer is when the video is complete and released this spring!

Happy Filming!
-- Lees Productions LLC

How The Camera Has Shot the Big budget!

In the days of the big budget everything was shot on actual film stock. Also, the industries high-quality equipment was slow to become available. Back in the day, cameras were expensive, lighting costs were astronomical and you needed more lights to make the camera look good because they weren't amazing with low-light. These things combined made for a hefty budget.

Now cameras have become standardized. They have become easier to make and more readily available as well. And the quality they can shoot just keeps getting better and better! The fact that these cameras are so available, means that the average joe can either buy them, or rent them for very cheap. This creates a world that didn't recently exist, a world that explodes with content professionally-shot. This, in turn, floods the market and devalues the industry. And just like anything else, when something becomes standard, it becomes cheap. Now when a true professional tries to sell them-self for the prices they used to, they are laughed at and some one cheaper is hired.

With a market that was once eclectic and  shrouded in mystery now becoming mainstream, is the artistic side dying or thriving? Is it good to have everyone make a story? Or should we leave it to the professionals? What's your opinion?

It's been a while!

Hello all,

It's been a while since my last post but I hope everyone enjoyed the series of how to create a great film. 

I was thinking about what my next string of series should be about and my wife suggested a great one, "The age of big budgets is dead!"

In this series we will look at what are some reasons people can do the same quality for less, and how the economy has affected the way business is done and looked at! What are some way the industry has had to change to stay alive when there isn't any money to be had! And what does our future look like!

I look forward to discussing these things and more with you In the next string of posts.