DelveBlog

Well, the 24 Hour Filmrace is over. Whew. I’ve never had...

Fri, 06 May 2011 12:04:00 -0400

Planning and writing started right at 7

The script a few hours later.

Look over there!

We built this prop for the video.

We used an ARRI 5 light kit.

We used a 5" Marshall monitor on the 1D.

Isaac using the Marshall Monitor.

Eli and his 7D. Powerful combo.

Boom from the bottom. Our audio mantra.

Quite a love triangle we have here.

Well, the 24 Hour Filmrace is over. Whew. I’ve never had my brain running at 200% for that long. It’s amazing how things like eating, sleeping, showering, peeing and all the rest really CAN be pushed to the back of your mind.

But you don’t want to hear about that. Here are some pictures of the goings-on. We’ll post the final product as soon as we can; we just need to wait until we premiere the film next week in Portland.

Delve Films is collaborating with several local areas of talent to compete in this year’s...

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:50:00 -0400

Delve Films is collaborating with several local areas of talent to compete in this year’s 24-Hour Filmrace filmmaking competition. The idea is that you have only 24 short hours to concept, write, shoot, edit and upload a short film. The Film Race organization sends you a theme and surprise prop at the beginning of the 24 hour period, and each team takes it from there.

The finished films will be screened in Portland, Seattle, and (hopefully) New York City. This will undoubtedly be a whirlwind of activity, but an extremely fun day nonetheless.

As of this moment, our team members include:

Nate Salciccioli
Isaac Testerman
Eli Odegaard
Jason Silveus
Matthew Smith
Ben Larson
Marshal Burgtof
Elizabeth Fischer
Lonnie Chapin
Rachelle Thomas
Rob Anderson

Shoot us an email if you want to be a part!

This short documentary was created to give a voice to the over...

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:26:17 -0400

This short documentary was created to give a voice to the over 1,000 nameless, homeless youth in Bend, Oregon. The stories in this videos are real, and the issues have never been more pertinent as winter approaches.

We worked with Icon City (a local organization striving to meet the needs of these youth) to find kids who were willing to talk about what it’s like to be homeless. This video is for their use to try and raise funds to provide blankets, showers, food, shelter and the basic necessities to survive.

As filmmakers, it was difficult to maintain our composure as these kids spilled their guts, laying out issues they face every day that we can only imagine. Their honesty and humility was completely disarming.

We had the opportunity to work with Brandon Hill (a photographer from Kansas City) while shooting the interviews. His expertise in lighting and composition really added to the presentation. And he’s a great guy to boot! Check out his photography here.

World Relief is a multinational relief and development...

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

World Relief is a multinational relief and development organization. They recently completed a rebranding with the excellent Brand Navigation, and we were hired to create this video as an introduction to the new brand.

It was a great opportunity to get into a studio environment, and create a commercial, branding heavy piece. This was also the first video we filmed with our Canon 1D Mk IV. What a great piece of equipment. We also used our Zeiss prime lenses. Such great glass.

Another first for this project was the creation of custom music to accompany the video. Enter Ben Larson, a 25 year old prodigy who wrote, scored, and produced the entire musical backdrop to our video. Impressive stuf, and we hope to work with him more.

Ann Mara (the woman in the video) has a wonderful presence, and it was a lot of fun to work with her. Matt Smith helped out with direction and writing.

Our client approached us with a general idea, and let us run...

Thu, 20 May 2010 17:33:00 -0400

Our client approached us with a general idea, and let us run with it. It’s refreshing to work with people who trust us as filmmakers, and want the end goal to be something unexpected and wonderful. A great place to start.

We live in a society obsessed with stuff; clothes, food, image, technology. It’s everywhere. The saturation is so complete that it’s almost uncomfortable for many of us to just sit and be quiet. How do you portray this issue in film?

After much brainstorming, we decided to focus on mass media’s influence on our personal image/wants/desires. This would enable us to tell the story of man’s worry of clothes, food, possessions, images through the lens of our current culture. A conceptual approach was the best way to add commentary to the text, and not drown it out with a story we wanted to tell.

A conceptual film is all about it’s tone. You have to establish an emotional landscape that draws people in. It becomes particularly challenging when you don’t have actors reading lines, so the music, color, and voiceover have to do the heavy lifting.

The entire project was shot at night, and completed in just two nights. Since we couldn’t find a suitable location, we simply built the set ourselves in Nate’s garage. This worked great, as we were able to make the set look exactly how we wanted, and could even move the walls for the dolly shots.

Delve Films just finished our first Book Film project with...

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:57:00 -0400

Delve Films just finished our first Book Film project with Faceout Studio. Their new Faceout Publishing platform is offering the creation of what are essentially trailers for books (called Book Films), advertising and promoting upcoming releases. Hopefully lots more of these coming in the future!

And...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:48:38 -0400

…we’re back! Well, almost. Give it a couple weeks and all of you lovely readers (Mom, Dad, and the other fella) will be getting more updates from us. This place has been quiet for too long.

Until then, we bid thee adieu. Sweet dreams, gentle readers.

AFI Top 100: Citizen Kane

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:25:00 -0400

How do you review a movie like Citizen Kane? In almost any list you check, it appears very near or at the top as the best movie ever made. The idea that there can be a #1 film seems a bit flawed, but it’s enough to pique one’s curiosity. We both went into this film expecting something akin to It’s a Wonderful Life on steroids.

And, in a way, it was. Citizen Kane is (to mightily truncate the plot) the story of a man’s life, and his search for a little peace in the world. Created by first time director Orson Welles in 1941, the film was revolutionary on many fronts. Although Citizen Kane received good reviews from critics, it was a box office flop (barely making back it’s budget, much less turning a profit). The film was virtually forgotten until it was released in Europe in 1946. There, it began its steady arc towards being remembered as a “Great Film”.

But enough background info. To avoid the risk of being completely out of our league with this review, we’ve chosen to keep the questions simple. Here we go:

Did you like Citizen Kane?
Most definitely. While some of the plot devices were a tad cryptic, the overall story is captivating. It’s hard to believe Orson Welles is only 26 in this picture…the sheer power of his acting makes it impossible to look away from many of the more dramatic moments. The overall look of the film was a real treat as well.

What stood out specifically?
First and foremost, the dialogue. While many older movies feel as if you’re watching an endlessly rehearsed play, Citizen Kane’s dialogue moves naturally, with people interrupting each other, obscuring lines, and giving the feel of improv. Here’s a great example.

As with all black and white movies, lighting the scenes is everything visually. The cinematographer on Citizen Kane took black and white to an art form. You watch just one scene, and you know every nuance of the lighting was carefully planned, like a painting.

Will I like Citizen Kane?
That depends. Do you have advance tickets to Transformers 2? Have you seen Twilight multiple times? If so, this film isn’t for you. However, if you’re even casually interested in filmmaking as art, you’ll eat this movie up. Plus, don’t you want to know what people mean when they say “Rosebud”?

Sum up this movie. Now.
Citizen Kane is a landmark film that isn’t easy to digest, but that everyone should try at least once. While we can’t say we enjoyed this film more than all other films, we can say we were captivated by it. It’s brilliant.

AFI's Top 100: Lawrence of Arabia

Tue, 26 May 2009 03:11:00 -0400

Night 1:
So Nate and I decided to start going through AFI’s (American Film Institute) top 100 movies of all time. The idea is to get a grasp on some of the classics and compare their direction styles, cinema-photography, acting—you catch my drift. We were both surprised to see how few we’ve actually seen. Our first: Lawrence of Arabia, coming in at a respectable #5. We’ve heard a lot of talk, but neither of us has seen it…this should be good.

Let me say before we go any further: this movie is LONG! Very LONG; the running time is 4 hours. So don’t jump into it unprepared (like we did).

We made it through 2 hours our first night. And we enjoyed it. I loved the long camera shots! One scene at the beginning of the movie went 4 minutes without cutting or changing angles…we would never get away with that today. Another thing I loved was the epic shots with the tent cities and all the horses and camels. There wasn’t CGI back then – all the elements had to be built and put in to place just as you saw it. Pretty cool. Time consuming!

But what is up with all the eyeliner? Peter O’Toole (and others in the cast) looked a bit like Captain Jack Sparrow’s albino lovechild (in Nate’s interpretation).
Like many old movies, it had an intermission about half way through, so we took the hint and decided to finish the movie another night.

Night 2: Both of us were excited to see the rest of the film, as the first half had impressed us (especially for it’s time). Sadly, the second half began to fall apart quickly. (I’m not just saying this to be different). They tried to change Lawrence’s entire personality in just a couple of scenes. He went from daring and adventuresome to whiny and egotistical, seemingly out of nowhere. The story got weird as well; there was a scene where he gets beaten and raped by a bunch of guys (you don’t see it—it’s very dubious and discrete—but it’s definitely implied) and then decides to give up his marauding ways and live a quiet life, only to change his mind a scene later with a vicious killing rampage where he “leaves no prisoners.” The second half for both Nate and I seemed rushed, (and it’s 2 hours long!!) confusing, and ultimately, disappointing. However, you should judge it for yourselves. It has often been called one of our (if not the) greatest films in history, so rent it and give us your opinion!

Wrap up: First half was epic and captivating. The second half was a disappointment and left us wondering why it was on AFI’s top 100 list. (# 5 for that matter). Either way, it was a good experience to sit down and watch. Next on our list: Citizen Kane.

Delved From the Archives

Tue, 26 May 2009 01:38:00 -0400

One of the most important bridges from script to film is the storyboarding process. We utitilized storyboarding to get our ideas for different shots and lighting on the Myst Audtion Project, but we both wish we could’ve done more. Any project we tackle in the future will definitely be storyboarded throughout the process.

Anyways, here’s a few storyboards from The Audtion Project. Thanks to Rick for his help.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Thu, 21 May 2009 01:04:00 -0400

6:45 am: Who Brought Muffins?

So Saturday was crazy. We got up at the crack of 6am, met at a predetermined location, and piled into our collective vehicles. There was a lot of optimism among the Delve Team members.

7:30 am: The Mountains Sure Are Perty!

We had planned everything to a tee. Our team knew where they were supposed to be, at what time there were supposed to be there, and when to move on. The race wasn’t to begin for 2 hours, so we had time to get interviews, traveling footage, and some timelapse stuff.

9:15 am: Go Time.

Radios…camera…ACTION. Eli was on top of the mountain, ready to shoot the start of the race. All the rest of us were waiting impatiently at the Nordic transition. 2009 was a record year for the PPP: over 3,000 athletes participated (more than double the previous year). Needless to say, there was a lot of adrenaline flying around.

Each athlete was assigned a group with a different start time, based on whether they were in a team, what age group they belonged to, and their skill level. Greg Salciccioli (the hero of our film) wasn’t set to begin until 10:20, so we had plenty of time to catch the other athletes doing their thing. This early footage was great; the crowd was into it, and the athletes were feeding off the crowd.

10:24 am: Derailment.

The first leg of the PPP is the Alpine stage. Racers start about 150 yards from their skis. When the whistle is blown, it’s a madman’s dash to see who can get to their skis first. We caught this part (beautifully) both with Eli’s camera, and with the headcam Greg was wearing. They were off!

Greg was one gate into the race when his contact lens floated off his eye, completely blurring his vision. He caught an edge (a fancy way to say he went out of control), and veered into the path of scores of weekend warriors. He went down, just as another skier slid his ski across Greg’s right hand, instantly severing the tendons and cutting to the bone. Blood was everywhere. Thanks to adrenaline, Greg made his way down the mountain, and down to the transition area.

We were waving him in when we saw the blood. It was bad. Really bad. None of us had ever seen a laceration that deep or severe before. And we knew that our plans had changed. Nate took his dad to the hospital, while the film crew regrouped. We needed a Plan B.

10:45 am: Providence. Redemption. You get it.

Thankfully, Greg’s close friend Dave was also participating in the race. Isaac and Tyler jumped on the snowmobile, raced down the Nordic trail, and found Dave. Without alarming him (hopefully) too much, we let him know what happened, and that he was our man. Amazingly, Dave got on board, things fell together, and the rest of the race went as smoothly as we could have hoped.

The footage we got was epic, in spite of our early setback. We look forward to putting the rest of the pieces into place, so you can enjoy the end result.

To check out more pictures, click here.

PPP Update

Tue, 19 May 2009 03:51:27 -0400

Well, the Pole, Pedal, Paddle is over…and we all learned a lesson: regardless of how much painstaking planning goes into a project, life will throw you a curveball. A huge curveball. But more on that later.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we were at PPP ‘09, we did film it, and it will be epic. We’re taking this next two week period to go through our footage, and decide what kind of story we’ll be telling. We’ll have more updates soon…

Oh, What Could Have Been…

Fri, 15 May 2009 01:54:00 -0400

You would never know it from watching our Myst Audition Video, but there was something very special to us that we had to leave out…the island castle of K’veer. Planning and building took up many precious hours, but in the end we just had to leave it out.

Imagine a dramatic fly-by of the D’ni lake, out over the orange water, and past the massive monolith of K’veer. Sounds good, right? It did to us too. The lake was going to be created by pumping water directly into the cave. We even bought a florescent dye that made the water glow orange when lit with a UV light source.

To create a miniature like K’veer, you need modeling foam: the kind Weta used in LOTR’s to create the Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul and Orthanc. The problem, however, is cost: $2,000 per 8’x4’x3’ block, and each block weighs 400-600 lbs! It took 6 guys to move just one block…and we’re all really really ripped. ;)

After a little research we found a company named General Plastics (near Seattle) that manafactured this stuff. Thinking myself industrious, I called them and explained that I was a young filmmaker in need of some help with a project. After a week or so a guy called back and said he had two blocks of foam that I could pick up (evidently they set some aside every year and donate them to schools etc.). I hitched on my trailer, jumped in my truck, and headed north (10 hrs round trip). When I got there I was shocked to see that the two blocks were full size 500 lb. monsters! They had just gifted me $4000 worth of foam (I still don’t know why but they ROCK!).

We found the drawing of K’veer in the Book of Atrus, and Nate took that concept and created a scaled blueprint, which was used to start carving the island out of foam. Our thought was to use your average wood axe, take a good squint, and chip away at the foam block. Surprisingly, this worked fairly well. Once we had created a rough shape, a sander created the details. After hours of scribbled math equations and clogged nostrils, we had our base model. Andy Carillo (a man of many talents) came over and started the delicate work of carving out the doors and windows. Then things started going wrong…

(1) The dye we used to create the glowing water turned out to work only in small doses. We tried making several hundred gallons glow, without success; it wasn’t bright enough. Then (imagine our surprise) the Forest Service decided they weren’t happy with us pumping a thousand gallons of dyed water into the cave.

(2) The water truck we were going to use to pump the water in cost $400 to rent for the day, and because it was winter here in Oregon it had to be a heated water truck (to keep the water from freezing).

(3) Our airbrush guy, who was going to take K’veer from a foam island/castle into a perfect rock fortress (with all the detail fit for a D’ni Lord), kept pushing his date further and further back.

It came to a head when we had the rest of the Audition video complete; all that stood in our way was the K’veer sequence. After assessing the monetary cost and delays to production we realized (much to our pain and anguish) that we were going to have to let our dreams of a D’ni lake and K’veer castle fly-by be laid to rest. However, we wanted to share the pictures and story with you because it deserves to be seen and heard. (Maybe it’s just our way of saying good-bye to the project.)

Tonight's Forecast: Massive Brainstorming, Light Hail

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:11:00 -0400

Get stoked, because tonight’s our initial planning session for the PPP ‘09 documentary. Getting all the shots we need is going to be a bear, as there are 5 specific events that take place sequentially, so planning will be key. As luck would have it, we’ll be the proud bearers of 3 press passes, which will allow us to sidestep the crowd, and stay directly with the athletes. This will ensure you see every hair-raising, bone-crunching, pride-crushing, gasp-enducing shot we can capture. Good stuff.

We’re also excited to bring Tyler Roemer on board (who’s lovely mug you can see above). Depending on how many cameras we can get ahold of (we’d like 3), Tyler will either be shooting motion or still photography. Can’t wait to see what ideas tonight’s brainstorming will bring. Watch out for hail.

Scouting for PPP...

Tue, 05 May 2009 17:06:00 -0400

Greg and I just spent the afternoon scouting locations for the Pole Peddle Paddle. I’ve never seen the route before so off we were to look over things. It was rainy and dreary; I’m not sure how much we will be able to actually get out and see. The past several days (actually for about the last two weeks) it has been miserably cold and ridiculously wet. Very unusual for this time of year. Anyway, as we headed up to the mountain the weather just got worse and worse—worse cause it’s spring… if I wasn’t ready for spring then it would be a perfect powder day! Snow was coming down and covering the tracks as soon as we made them, and it was that slushy sticky snow; the kind of stuff that seems to reach out and grab your tires with a million tiny fingers and takes you where ever it wants to. I think all the snow plows have been parked for the year—or the drivers are lazy—because the road has not seen a plow in a while, judging from how deep we were sinking.

Thankfully, Greg knows how to handle snow and we were having such a great time talking over PPP story ideas that we hardly noticed Father Winter making one last attempt to show us global warming is a hoax (he will have to try harder). However, we did start thinking about what it would be like to do this race in a week and a half with these same conditions – God forbid! I don’t see a road bike (with those wonderfully skinny tires) going 60 mph down the mountain in snow and ice. On second thought, it would make for some GREAT footage! At least the attempt would make great footage…So while Greg prays for sunny weather and great road conditions, I’m praying for a Three Stooges moment between Greg (Moe) Road Bike (Curly) and the Snow (Larry).

Anyway the scouting went great. It really helped to get an idea of where we needed to be to get the best footage and how many camera’s we need (at least three). The transition from alpine to skate skis will be great… lots of mayhem. The hardest footage to get will be the skate skiing, so will will do our best to get what we can where we can. Maybe we’ll get lucky and capture some good spills :). The biking section will be fantastic. I hope to have one camera following Greg the whole time in a car, and then the other two will leap frog ahead and capture him whizzing by at critical moments. The running will be pretty easy, as much of it is along the road, and what isn’t will have me following him with my mountain bike (I’ll have to sneak it past security). For the Paddle section we will have two people in a canoe following him in the Kayak and one person filming from the canoe.

It’s going to be fun stuff! If you have any ideas let me know!

New Website Live

Mon, 04 May 2009 21:39:00 -0400

It’s happened. We finally have a functioning website. Lucky you, because now you can check out all the latest projects, in-process ideas, and behind-the-scenes photos. We’d love any feedback you might have, so don’t hesitate.

Here’s the link: www.delvefilms.com