Lockdown Doesn’t Have To Mean Shutdown For OVFM!

 

OVFM, like much of the rest of the world, has been forced into temporary shutdown as the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe. But just because we’ve had to suspend our public and group activities doesn’t mean members as individuals have to stop making films, or filmmaking related projects.

Seeing how the streets and shops are getting emptier as the lockdown takes hold of our communities, this is a subject for a short film, documentary or piece for the 2020 newsreel. Maybe you have personally been affected by the virus and are in isolation, so why not make a video diary of you experiences to share with everyone? We have our Vimeo channel to upload the clips to and a website to share them on.

It may be awhile before we met as a group again, so without deadlines to meet for projects and competition evenings, this gives us all some time to brush up or improve on our filming techniques or maybe even learn some new ones. Some of you may have read my Colour Grading articles, so why not give it a go yourself, and see if you can brighten up your footage using these tips?

There are plenty of new editing techniques being used these days, like speed ramping, split screen, zoom transitions, etc. so this would be a good opportunity for you to take a stroll through YouTube and look for tutorials and learn something new to give your films a fresh feel to them.

Or maybe you might want to try scriptwriting or storyboarding? How about perfecting your lighting or improving your sound recording? What about making your own sound effects or animations instead of relying on your editor’s presets? Or you could try green screen filming or stop motion/table top animation if you’ve never done it before? These are all subjects we’ve covered in previous club meetings so the basics should already be with you.

You think you may know your camera very well but do you? There are always hidden settings and features that are easily missed because you didn’t read the manual (then again who does?) so why not explore every nook and cranny of your camera and its capabilities, making the set up for your next film all the more easier, and that tricky shot you’ve wanted to try possible?

And if you are stuck for inspiration then look no further than the Members Only section and the Annual Competition films available for viewing. Furthermore if you consult the “Links” section to the left of this post, you can find a list of other club sites and amateur organisation like IAC, BIAFF, etc. whose films are also free to view, as are thousands of others on the Internet from filmmakers around the world .

Don’t stop there either – you could also:

 

o    Pick ten films from the archives that you would like to see

o    Make suggestions about what you would like included in next year’s program or what worked or didn’t work in previous programs

o    Meet up with a few others to do something productive together

o    Try your hand at writing/composing your own song

o    Share clips for others to edit into a little film

o    Watch more films new and old to get an idea of what they are doing and see if you can do it too

o   Write an article for the Viewfinder

o   Take the opportunity to index your footage or backup your films and send them to the archive

o   Write a sentence and challenge a friend in the club to include it in a film

o   If you have other suggestions please share them with everyone

 

The best thing is that even though we are physically separated, you can still ask other club members for help via e-mail or this website. If there is a specialist subject you wish to discuss or ask questions or advice about then drop me a line at leerelph@hotmail.com and I will start a new post to start the ball rolling for you.

So, in the words of the immortal kids TV show of the 70’s and 80’s Why Don’t You…? “Why don’t you switch off the television set, go outside and do something less boring instead?”

Over to you!