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webadmin

Aug 09
Love0

Serendipitous Films is in the Air! -Playing in the skies with aerial photography and video production

By Uncategorized

Dallas / Fort Worth Aerial Photography & Aerial Video Production Services The 8 rotor helicopter can handle cameras up to 18 pounds, which makes it great for anything from a GoPro to DSLR’s to even a Red Epic. RC Helicopters and small high quality cameras have opened giant doors for getting shots that before only very expensive cranes could do. The advantage is that in the past, for aerials, you had to rent a real helicopter with an expensive gyro mount, that could cost well over $1000/hour and most of the time more expensive than that. And the manned helicopters usually can’t fly under 500 feet for safety considerations. The remote controlled helicopters are able to get those aerial shots in the sweet zone– 60 to 200 feet, where the dramatic sweeps make much more impact. In this YouTube video,…

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Jul 15
Love0

Dallas, Texas is Known for Corporate and Industrial Video Production

By Uncategorized

Hollywood has movies. New York has television. For many years, Dallas has been known for national commercial spots, but also rising is the corporate and industrial video market. Being centrally located in the middle of the country, Dallas has proven over the last few decades to be ideal for major corporations to plant their headquarters. And corporations need videos: marketing videos, instructional videos, educational videos, commercials, and web videos. To be sure, Dallas also has a film and television market, but one of the fastest-growing sectors has been the corporate and industrial video industry.   At Serendipitous Films, we have produced five feature films, and several TV shows, but our biggest growth has been in producing corporate and industrial videos. Our clients have come to enjoy our big production-value look, with affordable pricing.  If your business, corporation, or industry needs…

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Jul 08
Love0

A Frequently Asked Question about Producing Professional Music Videos

By Music Video Production, Video Production

One of the most common queries that we receive, are questions about producing music videos. And the question that is asked, is how much does it cost. There are many variables that go into accurately estimating the production costs of a music video. How many days of shooting are required? Is there choreography? Are there other actors, or dancers? Are there any special effects? Computer affects? Most of the music videos that we make, usually start at around $5000 and move up from there, depending on the variables. We have gone lower on occasion, but a standard video might be in the neighborhood of $15,000. Some people are genuinely surprised at the cost. They might have a relative or a buddy who owns a camera and some editing software. And they can get it done for $400 or $500. The…

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Jul 02
Love0

The Current State of Video Production in Dallas

By Video Production

There was a time, not too long ago, when the effects of the change were felt heavily on the video production industry. Many professionals were finding it hard to find work or clients. Lately, fortunately in Dallas and Fort Worth, that trend is reversing. Video has become a much more powerful force in today’s corporate business climate. In addition to the popular video tools of training, marketing and sales, the growth of web videos has dramatically impacted the industry. Companies that had never considered having professional videos produced for their companies or for their products, are now searching for professionals that can create a powerful tool for the web. Obviously, Google is the number one search engine for the Internet. But what people are finding, is that YouTube is number two. Corporations and businesses are discovering that the use of…

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Oct 23
Love0

“The Consequences” shoots in Amarillo

By Tips/Techniques

The shooting for the short film “The Consequences” has wrapped in Amarillo, Texas.  The film follows an older oil field man, Hank, played by Mark Nutter and his best friend Jerry, played by Jack Watkins. Daniel Millican wrote and produced, and Element X Creative’s Brad Herbert directed. The film will be released in early November

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Jun 04
Love1
Greenlight

Greenlight Your Own Film

By Seminars

I break the phases of filmmaking into six distinct areas: The Idea; Development; Pre-Production; Production; Post Production; and Distribution.  Most new filmmakers spend most of the research and education in the production phases.  But the biggest hurdles are in the two “D’s”– Development and Distribution. Development is where you raise the money and build the right team.  Distribution is where you make money to pay back the investors and enough for you to keep going.  These two areas are woefully lacking.  That’s why I started teaching the Greenlight seminar several years ago. Often people have a story they want made into a movie and they either write the screenplay or commission the writing of the screenplay.  Then it’s an upward climb to get the script sold to a production company.  Then it’s an uphill battle for the production company to…

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May 27
Love1
Shooting actor demos

Demo Reels for Actors

By Seminars

Next demo reel shoot is June 5, Tuesday, with afternoon and evening times available.  Go to the SFilms store to register. The actor demo reel has become extremely important for getting auditions and landing roles.  Often times, actors work for little or nothing to get the resume credit and to get a scene or something they can drop into their reel.  But time and time again, actors would talk with me about not being able to get the filmmaker to send them the scene to use.  The filmmaker just wouldn’t have time or resource. So at that point, I decided to help out the actors– what if we could do an original scene that looked as if ripped straight from an indie film and featured the actor the way they wanted to be featured?  Of course there’s some serious cost…

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Mar 21
Love1

What To Bring to Screenfighting Workshops

By Seminars

I’ll be sending an email out to all registered students… but thought I would post this first to let you know what to wear and bring to the screenfighting seminar this weekend.  (If you haven’t registered, click here to sign up). Weapons Classes (Saturday) First of all, do not bring any actual weapons to this workshop.  Our weapons master, Doug Williams will supply all equipment.  And especially don’t bring any live ammunition whatsoever.  If you have a concealed carry permit, please leave your weapon in your vehicle, locked. Next, you will need to wear pants and a shirt you can tuck in.  This includes both male and female students.  You will need a solid belt you can clip a holster to.  And wear shoes that you can move around in.  Think about the role you might audition for– is it…

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Mar 08
Love1
Theatrical Truth

Theatrical Truth

By Seminars

(This is for all my actor friends… one film director to actors.  I see a lot actor to actor, but very little from directors to actor.  BTW– we’ve got the screenfighting workshop coming up in a few weeks– click here to make sure you get your seat.) The Quest Constantin Stanislavski– often referred to as the father of modern acting, defined acting as the quest for theatrical truth.  I believe this is a great starting place for the craft you’re working in.  It all boils down to this– is your performance as close as possible to theatrical truth?  Personally, I believe that truth cannot be achieved in a theatrical performance (you’re performing, pretending– it’s not truth, but theatrical truth).  Does your performance ring true with the audience? Sure, many factors go into you achieving theatrical truth in a film role. …

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Mar 01
Love1
In the audition room

One Director’s Biggest Advice for Local Actors

By Seminars, Tips/Techniques

If I could say one thing to local actors to immediately help their performance in film and give them a much better chance for landing that role in auditions, I would say this: Big is Bad. My advice to feature film and television actors is to bring it down.  In some cases… way down.  Now this advice is not without controversy.  I’ve had one agent tell they think I’ve got it wrong… that it’s better to be too big than too small… that a director can bring a performance down to the right level more easily than bringing it up.  Not in this director’s experience. You see, in the audition room, using a 0-9 scale on “bigness”, I have many local actors coming in at 7, 8 or 9.  I’m looking for 1.5.  Now we have to go from an…

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