Making an iFilm

With apps increasingly flooding the App store of both iOS and Android, one would have to wonder whether you could technically make a film just by using a smartphone and or your tablet such as the iPad. The answer is yes. Considering the fact that the camera modules installed in the various smartphones and tablets since their conception, it is increasingly becoming common place to shoot videos alongside taking the holiday pics on your smartphone or tablet, virtually killing off the camcorder and the point and shoot cameras that were prevalent some 10 to 15 years ago.

Why am I such an expert on the subject, you ask? This blog is about my analysis and opinion on the subject and I answer the question, given the advice that a lot of beginner filmmakers get: “Use what you’ve got”, I would assume that since most of the civilized population now carries a smartphone that is capable of shooting moving pictures using one resolution or the other, any one who is anyone can shoot a video and upload it to a streaming site like YouTube.

Even though the smartphones and tablets people buy come standard with their own dedicated photo and video apps, they seriously lack the ability to allow the user to control certain variables like the ISO (how sensitive is the image sensor to incoming light), shutter speed (motion blur) and the codecs (the file format) of the video used to shoot the video. There are apps like Camera+ or Filmic Pro, that allow the user or filmmaker to have complete, if not partial control over the image, like a professional or semi professional cameras offer. We are also seeing third party manufacturers like Zeiss and Schneider Optics, two of the most popular German manufacturers of camera lenses make lenses specifically for smartphones like the iPhone and custom cases to accommodate those lenses.

Back in the old days, when smartphones were still emerging and in their infancy stages, processing power was seriously lacking for it to play complex games like Grand Theft Auto or other graphics intensive games. Processors and graphics have improved since and so have the codecs used to record the videos captured. The images that the cameras were able to capture were also inferior to what can be produced today compared to back then. This means that videos can be recorded in 4K and stored (provided you have the required space on your phone’s storage drive) for retrieval later and editing is now also possible without the use of an uber powerful computer and the expense that goes along with it.

So, the question is: With the limitations of the smartphone and or the tablet’s camera’s image sensor and the size of the sensor, are you able to make a professional quality film considering the fact that content is king? I say yes. This is because there are quite a few films that I have come across that were filmed using a camera from a smartphone or tablet, and the professional apps that allow you to control all or some of the variables of the image like ISO and shutter speed. However, you have to consider the fact that because you are using a camera sensor that can potentially fit on the tip of your pointing finger, you will need to supply it with more light than a professional or semi professional video camera sensor needs. On top of this, sound is also another important factor in making a watchable film. They say that sound is as important as your visuals you show the audience who are watching a film.

To sum it all up, if you are on a shoe string budget and want to make a film, then this is definitely an option for you rather than spending a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars on a professional camera that degrades over time. This method of filmmaking is an option if money is an object and you do not have the means to afford a dedicated professional or semi professional camera to make your film. Just make sure that the techniques that you picked up in film school or from wherever you learnt basic filmmaking from are applied in making your film.

Good luck with your current and any of your future film projects that you will be engaging in.

Respect: To fake or not to fake, that is the franktion

There are two kinds of respect that are given to an individual: The genuine kind of respect, and then there is the fake kind of respect. The genuine kind of respect comes naturally from an individual, provided, the individual receiving the respect, has earned it. The fake kind of respect, on the other hand, is the kind of respect that comes with extra luggage that weighs a gazillion pounds or maybe even more. The reason why it would weigh so much, is because it adds a lot of psychological weight to an individual's life, and that gazillion pound weight consists of a plethora of various different kinds of Crowley ass demons who play all sorts of neuro operation games on the individual's mind - primarily using fear as their currency of choice. Furthermore, the fake kind of respect is in actuality: fear, envy, resentment, and xenophobia - all bundled and packaged as respect and presented to the individual receiving it.


In fact, anyone who receives this type of disingenuous respect has not earned it, and has the propensity to demand it time and time again either through intimidation and bullying, or believes the individual is entitled to be respected while demanding it from others. When you start demanding respect from other people and not giving them the respect they have so rightfully earned, that says a lot about the individual doing the disrespecting. There is an old saying that goes something like this:

 "First deserve, then desire."

When individual forces another to give him or her the respect that has not yet earned, then that in itself qualifies as non-genuine respect, because it is not genuine and the person is faking it.

Below is an example of genuine people and fake people with the element of respect being mentioned (Click the link):

Genuine vs fake people with an element of respect thrown in

Also, if you respect people who are only 'credible' (which by the way can be tossed around in the air without caution or consequence of using the word all too willy-nilly), you are missing out on genuine people who you may consider 'not credible' or ' not reputable', who are genuinely and respectfully looking out for your cottage cheese butt.

If something works and it's not 'credible', then it needs to be 'credible'. Think about that the next time you tell someone or call them not 'credible', 'discredited' or not 'reputable'.

So in conclusion, genuine respect cannot be demanded, it is naturally given to someone who has earned it, whereas fake respect can be demanded and is a nightmare to maintain for the foreseeable future.

The Screenwriter's Wheel

Hollywood and the Film and TV industry is a competitive business. It is tough for a newbie screenwriter to step in and build a career in such a competitive and pen eat pen world environment. 

To add to the stress, there are critics, the good, the bad and the really ugly ones who the producers rely on to figure out whether or not your story makes sense and can be a viable business venture. These critics, also known as the readers, are subjective in most cases and will sometimes apply their own biases when you ask how to better improve your screenplay. However, the ugliest ones in the business, have a reputation for not allowing screenwriters to grow and prosper. Now, granted is the fact that no screenplay is perfect, but these henchmen and women go the distance and will find everything, and I mean everything wrong with your screenplay (and not for entertainment purposes). One sure way to identify a bad critic from a good one is: He or she will barrage the writer with questions that would later be answered by the story in the screenplay itself. They don't look at the story as a whole, but every line or dialogue they find wrong; they scrutinize on that part of screenplay and even after letting you continue, they repeat the process. For the most part, they aren't as knowledgeable as they're perceived to be and are impatient at the same time.

Another major element to add to the competitive nature of the business is this annoying fact: because producers have vested interest in making their investment in a film or any visual medium back with interest, they would most likely want what is trending at that point in time. For example, before the Twilight Saga of films came out, the amount of films and television shows and other content related to vampires and werewolves was low, but since the release of the Twilight Saga of films in gradual succession, the amount of films, television shows and paradies related to werewolves and vampires has exploded. This strategy undermines great filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen, who during their earlier filmmaking days, had unique and out of the box ideas. Nowadays, it's all up to the producers, the agents and the critics who determine whether or not your story is a money maker or a breaker.

In response to this challenge, writers have the propensity to take the easy way out thinking: "It's what everyone wants" or "I'll just follow the trend". There is a major problem with either of those self defeating statements:

1. "It's what everybody wants": The simple answer is no. If you're a writer who writes romantic novels and screenplays like writer Nicholas Sparks does, the entire population of a given country is not into the romance genre. You will find a percentage of the population who love Sci-fi, Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy and other genres on the list. It is not confined to one specific genre. Here, the 'one size fits all' approach doesn't fit the bill. These days, branching out into other genres is a huge benefit - even if you're the strongest at writing in one genre.
2. "I'll just follow the trend": Agree or disagree with me on this one, but when there is a trend, the competition is not so fiercely competitive because every writer who is interested in a trend is just trying to follow it and not trying to identify their own unique voice by starting their own trend. With a plethora or a pantheon of trends in the market competing for a viewer's eye, it should be difficult for a critic or viewer to criticize or choose sides. Now that is serious competition.

On the plus side, independent producing and filmmaking is on the gradual rise. Despite this natural, progressive step, there are very few investors or independent producers who are willing to fork out the cash needed to finance that high budget, blockbuster film you've just written and hoping to sell.There is also the advice from producing mentors or instructors from film school that tell screenwriters and filmmakers to find a producer that believes in them and or their story, which shouldn't be shunned like it is yesterday's trash.

At the end of the day, you the screenwriter, novelist or anyone who produces any form of literary piece of work, you need to challenge yourself and rise above the familiar jack in the box. For all the screenwriters, write all the fiction you want, but write it in such a way that it will be hard for the most ugliest, and the most nastiest of the critics to fault it. Do not give them a chance. You are the creator so create that new trend no one has ever heard of and everyone is excited about.

"Quantity is something you count, Quality is something you count on" - Patrick, a Boeing employee

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