Super Trailers 2013

There are a lot of superhero movies coming out this year and watching all of these trailers have gotten me excited. Most of you know I'm a superhero buff, so the movies coming out this year are immediately on my radar. Let's start with the one coming out soon.

IRON MAN 3


So far, I have liked the Iron Man series, but this one looks like they're pulling out all the stops. With a new director and new Iron suits, this third installment is not meant to disappoint. Plus, we'll be seeing the Mandarin and Pepper in an iron suit, which sounds like a good deal to me.

MAN OF STEEL


After the fail which was "Superman Returns," (which is along the lines of the first Hulk movie), this movie will replace and become the Superman movie we need and deserve. With an actual worthy opponent, General Zod, and a whole new cast, this movie looks amazing. Plus, Christopher Nolan is behind it so far, and we all saw what he did with Batman, so I'm excited to see possibly the greatest Superman movie ever made.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD


Though coming out later this year, Marvel keeps consistent with the second installment in the Thor series. I liked the first one, and this one looks good too. This is just a teaser trailer, so we'll have to see what new things are released for this movie.

So far, Marvel has been winning in the movie department, but Superman may take it for DC this year. Either way, I'm excited for all of these movies. Which one are you waiting for?

-Video Vix[o]n

Frame x Frame: Shooting on Location

Photos by Joshen Reborn

In my film making journey, I am constantly learning new things about the production phases, especially with pre-production. Pre-production is the most important phase because it involves planning everything about a project, from casting talent to story boarding the scenes for a script. The most challenging part of planning my short films, so far, have been finding locations to shoot the various scenes my story needs.

In my earlier productions, I would always shoot in places that I had access to (a friend's apartment, my house or outdoors) because it was easy. For the past couple of short films I've produced, I took the same approach in finding locations and shooting on the fly (some people call it guerilla filmmaking). For the latest short I'm working on, I experienced being my own location scout and asking permission to shoot in different locations, with no success. For example, for my short, I needed a bar for a scene I'm working on and I reached out to different bars, only to receive one response where the bar asked for a production insurance fee, which was way above my budget. I try to keep my production as no cost to low cost as possible, but I realize now that some money needs to be thrown into the production pot in order to make a project work.

The main scene for my short is an apartment setting, which I didn't know how I was going to secure it. I searched for locations online for a long time, until I finally found a place that was suitable for my needs. I had to pay for the space, which I made sure to get my money's worth while shooting. I achieved the looks for the scenes, even though it wasn't what I envisioned in my head, but I made it work. As I get to meet new people, I will keep in mind for my future shorts that locations are important to lock in early so the production phase doesn't take too long. All of these experiences are helping me become a better filmmaker, which I appreciate with each short I put under my belt.

-Video Vix[o]n

Finding Your "Gratitude"

This video comes from the visual genius which is Joe Nation. He used old footage from things he shot throughout the past year to express the "beautiful things in this life, big and small." I've always admired Joe for his video skills, but he does bring up a good point about being grateful for the things in life. Outside of being able to wake up everyday, I always have to remind myself of what I'm grateful for:

-When it comes to my video work, I'm grateful for the resources I have, what I'm capable of, what I've accomplished, especially with my short film series, #VideoDictionary. There was a time where I wasn't sure of my professional direction and I never felt confident in what I was good at.

-I'm grateful for Youtube being the platform I can use to share my work and show others what I can do. Without it, I wouldn't be able to show off who I am as a content creator, and now a Youtube partner.

-All of my subscribers, especially those who continue to support my videos and show support for my work.

-My family and friends who understand what I do when I am always out and about, shooting a video or producing content.

-My new (part-time) job, which I'm starting to feel comfortable with. Being out of a job for a while made me feel incompetent, but my co-workers have welcomed me well and now I feel capable of accomplishing anything on the job.  

We should all take more time to being grateful for what we have and what we've accomplished in our lives. We tend to focus on what we don't have and makes those things overshadow the good things. I'm being more positive these days and this video was a nice reminder of staying grateful. Are you grateful for what you have?

-Video Vix[o]n