DEUCE OF SPADES hotrod movie - photos and updates

Faith, from reading all of your posts, I can relate what your going through to how most of us build a Rod.

We start out with a dream or idea of what we want to accomplish. We tear it down and examine the individual pieces and see what is usable and what is not.

We stay up all night going over each aspect of the build trying to determine where to start and in what order to progress. We make a list (mentally or otherwise) of what we want to accomplish each day, and we usually at best get half of it done.

We start by doing what we have the tools to do and look for help to do the things we can't.

As work progresses and we acquire more pieces and tools and gain more knowledge we start to see in our minds more of the finished project.

We sometimes compare our project with others, hear opinions of how we need to do this or that, but realize that 'hey this is mine and although I want others to look at it and say "thats cool" we still want it to be unique in many ways'.

As it starts nearing compleation it usually takes on a life of its own where it starts to actually look like something.

One of the hardest parts is finding a stopping point which many times is determined by budget. Its easy to over do this or that but in the end the finished ride has to have a balance to it. The look has to flow, it has to have a sound and heartbeat. Most of all we have to be proud of what we have accomplished which is to make the finished project much more that the sum of its parts.

We then show it off to the world hoping that at least a few see it the way we do , understand the look we were after, and appreciate what we have accomplished.

 

You know, even Aristotle noted: "There was never a genius without a tincture of madness."

I think they go together like chocolate & peanut butter...

~Jason

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the kind posts you guys, it means a lot to me. Encouragements keep me going, it's my Nitro hehe!

Lobucrod, that was a beautiful post man. It is so true and really hit a chord (or two). Yes in everyway all you said is just how this film has been evolving and how I feel about it. Well said, well said.

You know what's hardest is knowing what to change about the film, improve, edit, alter and what not to touch (ever). When I had to hack about TWO hours worth of scenes out, I had to ask myself that question every step of the way. How to make this film better and shorter without losing it's essence. how much to tell the audience, and how much information to withhold from them. Did I explain too much? Did I not explain enough? Will they get it? Will they be confused? does it makes sense? Is it realistic? is it historically correct?

No wonder I have over 25 versions of the script, each version being a new update on the previous, each bringing us one step closer to the final version, the one that will be balanced, have rythm, and power. This is not an action movie, but it is powerful in it's essence.
At this point, I feel it is about ready to go into fabrication mode . So I am about to take the plunge...

 

UPDATES AND PHOTOS

OK, woke up at 2AM (again) last night, probably because Kaya, my Australian Cattle Dog, decided to attack an invisible intruder and woke me up. Then Cody (my little pitbull-mixed-with-God-knows-what rescue) started snoring and he must have had some nightmare because he kept barking in his sleep... OK, forget it, better get up and get some work done.

I was able to process in my screen grab endeavours and figured out how to get larger thumbnails. So I am going to post them. Sorry I accidentally zapped the ones I posted yesterday, because the new files had the same name and overwrote the old ones on my server. Oh well.

OK so here we go, a bit larger, but small enough to fit in this forum window:

PHOTOS

This is where I hang out every Friday afternoon / night



I brought my gear, set up and starter doing depth of field tests: This is a rack focus test done on my hotrod, showing the Guide headlight in focus and Buick finned drums, blurred in the background:



I then shifted focus to the drums: Now the headlight is blurred and the drums are sharp.



Notice the soft texture of the image, very similar to film and not at all video like.

Earlier I experimented with in camera color tweaking and narrow Depth of field once again, and ended up with this trippy image:

This is not a car, it is a very close shot of a bench. Notice how only one small section is sharp, and everything else blurred. This is very hard to achieve with video in such a short 2 feet distance.



I then tested normal color response and found them to be very nice. This camera films in 4:2:2, which is better then the Sony and Cannon that use Mini Dv media, the later being only able to get a 4:2:0 color. meaning I have nore color information with my P2 camera.



I had some fun taking close ups of misc objects; This here is my ignition coil cover on my firewall. Notice the out of focus two carbs in the foreground, again great depth of field.



This next one is an awesome shot I did, which may be a keeper. It was a travelling shot starting on this hood ornaments and ending with a small section of the large BBB sign, up above




I then went and filmed a guy pinstriping:




Next I played with reflections on the cars: Here So CAL palm trees



More photos below:

 

PHOTOS (CONT.)

I then tried to capture the BBB sign, via the car's reflections




Same idea here, but combined with a radical manual zool ring which resulted in this motion blurr trippy shot: Notice the BBB sign on the hood and how everything else seems to be moving fast:




This is how things really looked like (not as exciting!)




One last Depth of Field test: This is my front grill insert. I was able to get some out of focus in the foreground within a foot or so of distance from background bars:




But time flies while you're having fun and next thing I know, it is Dusk




Moments later I haver lost all daylight (yikes!)



More photos below:

 

PHOTOS (PART III)

Now the real test was to begin. I set up my tripod low to the ground, sat down and waited for cars to roll in. I was almost on the middle of the way and hoped I would not get run over. It's just that BBB gets crowded and if you are further back, people will walk right in front of the camera while you are trying to get a shot. They never pay attention. So I thought: F@#! it. Two cops walked right by me but did not ask me to move hehehe... I was so low to the ground, maybe they did not see me HAHA!

By now I have ZERO light, expect for a few red neons lights and couple distant street lights, it is pretty darn dark. Which is cool cause I have several night scenes in my film... And wanted to see what to expect. I wondered if the image would become very degraded (noisy as in lots of small spots dancing everywhere, a common video low light side effect). I set up my iris all the way to OPEN and my shutter speed to a complety crazy number (1/24 slowest it would go without weird slow mo effect). That's all I could do to try to get some ambiant light to my camera and the rest was up to God... He must have loved me because this is what I ended up with:




Dark, but clean !!



This one in focus



very dark, still no noise worth mentioning - some motion blurr:



YIKES! He's heading right for me!




the cool cats roll in, in their primered trucks.



I like the light reflections on this one



Overall a slow night at BBB, proably because Halloween was just two nights ago...



As always, people circle in a holding pattern, waiting for a parking spot to open (don't hold your breath!)



This shot is a bit soft (out of focus) since I was on manual focus at the time and low shutter speed, but as the couple moved forward it became very crisp (but then idiots walked in front of it)




It's now cold and I am darn hungry. I pack my toys up and go inside BBB to refill . End of this eposide.

 

I htought something was up with those pics, and assumed that something had been overwritten.

For help knowing whay to cut out, what to infer, and what to imply, watch/read some SciFi. There's certain way that scifi writers take for granted that the reader will pick up on things that have happened, cool devices that are everyday things to the character etc, with only a smidgen of explanation... and get them to just accept them. You should check this out:
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/glossary.html

Besides, you can always include the whole script on the DVD as a bonus. Maybe you could go ahead and shoot the extra stuff and release it as 5-minute clips on the site every week to get people "pumped up" for the movie's debut, like they do with Battlestar Galactica every season.

Jeez... I'm a nerd...

~Jason

 

Once again those are some awesome shots. That camera shoots awesome pics.

 

F-Yes it does!

The lack of noise is awesome!

~Jason

 

QUICK UPDATES

CONGRATULATION to Kyle Clifford, a young hotrodder I found under a 50's car while filming at El Mirage. Kyle has just landed the supporting role in the Deuce Of Spades flashbacks. He will be playing ART DELANEY, Johnny's best bud. Those two were like brothers.

ALSO: Been packing for the last two days, getting my rig ready. Heading back out to El Mirage today after work. This week-end is the last SCTA meet for this year. I intend to do as much filming as I can, and replace all the shots I had previously captured with my old camera. Wish me luck.

Filming at El Mirage is always a challenge. You're fighting with a serious harsh light and glare problem (sun reflects on the light colored drylake bed). You're fighting with serious dust problem (it gets everywhere so you have to clean your lense every shot). You're fighting the wind (At times it will make the tripod shake, even a heavy tripod like the one I use)... There is noise (LOUD cars taking off) and crowds (more people walking in front of your shot).

Last but not least the cars race down the course which is "fenced off" on both sides, meaning you are VERY far away from the cars and they go by very FAST (try, like 285 mph)... So here you are, fighting the wind, the glare (can't see what you are filming), with your heavy tripod, trying to pan on a 285 mph car while being zoomed all the way. Oh and don't forget you can NOT have ANY shakes in that move, cause motion pictures are supposed to be perfect

Shoot me now and put me out of my misery!!

but you know what? I LOVE IT. So I'm going back for MORE.

See you all when I come back and if you guys really really behave, MAYBE (just maybe) I'll post some more screen grab of whatever I might come back with.

Till then, those who are about to get filthy dusty salute you.

PHOTOS

Bottom right: Hotrodder Kyle Clifford, (who turned out to be a HAMB member ) , will play ART DELANEY, Johnny Callaway's best bud.




Talking about El Mirage sacred dirt, here are two shots I may not yet have shared with you.

 

Love the Pictures... Beautiful

 

Man, kind of makes you wish you brought some underwater photography enclosures just to keep the dust out!

~Jason

 

Hey are you the girl that I met a while back at Bobs in burbank? You handed me a card and took pics of my 30 Ford Coupe. I think you were wearing a sailors hat and outfit.

Been reading a little here and there.
When is this project going to be completed?

Where in Saugus are you filming?
I live here. Go to bobs every so often but havent been for a while.
Good Luck

 

Also remember you were a hot mama!

 

My favorite thread! Thanks Jackie.

 

With the prospect of having the Woody being used in your film, I figured I 'd get rid of the Halibrand wheels and make the car look like it should. Even if you don't end up needing it, Thank you for motivating me to get off my butt and correct something that I should have done long ago. Cheers...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/linfesty/100_0090.jpg

 

Hey faith, that was fun yesterday. Hope some of the shots of my coupe can work for you.

 

Dude, they came out awesome! I started editing them already. I looked for you Sunday to do some pick up shots but did not see you. Let's plan on doing pick ups in May at next meet, will you be going? I am going to post some screen grabs of your car here today, check them out!

 

Awesome! yes will use the car for sure! I start filming flashbacks in March. Be prepared.

 

yes it was me . film will be done when.... Film is done . I am not proscratinating, let's put it this way, but film of that magnitude take a loong time to complete, one must just keep forging forward and keep their eyes on the goal. Whatever you do DON'T LOOK DOWN

HAHA!

I intend to film the Saugus scene in Agua Dulce, if the fire has not disfigured the mountains too badly. our aristrip burnt down last month. I have to go up there and see how bad it is ...

 

UPDATES

OK! Your favorite little trouble maker is back (in one piece) from the November 2007 SCTA time trial meet. I came home with lots of useable footage . My camera kicked ASS big time. I am very happy with it so far. It was my first time on location filming in harsh light but the camera performed. It was also my first time dealing with the P2 card, having to go back to the trailer to download it to my laptop to empty it and keep filming. I was worried I would run into glitches, but everything went so smoothly I can't believe I ever worried about it!

I filmed saturday day until 4PM and by 4:20PM I was sitting back in my trailer editing on the laptop. YES, you heard me right: EDITING . It was simple as that. Download , open up clips in Vegas 8.0 and start hacking away. Jim and I looked at footage taken of the coupe and edited it, playing around with various version... Cool stuff.

Sunday I was up again at 5AM and headed out to start line. but nothing was happening. The wind was too strong, no visibility, everyone was just sitting there and waiting... I took a few more shots here and there... But the race was cancelled so I just went back to the trailer and slept. I was BEAT to shit. The tripod/camera combo is HEAVY and logging it around all day saturday took a serious toll on me. The glare is also brutal and my eyes still ache today (retina fried). You cannot wear glasses and look through the viewfinder . As always both my LCD display and my Hi Def monitor were useless, could not see anything, too much sunlight.

Something funny happened saturday: The (now yellow) MOON coupe took off and I filmed it, low to the ground. Little did I know it was going to BLAST THE HELL out of me on it's way out of the gates. I filmed it before and it was "polite". But NOT THIS TIME. The shot came out GREAT. You see a second of the coupe's taking off and then a huge wave of sand covers the entire screen... As it slowly dissipate, you see the coupe, now far in the distance, going down the track...

And me? Oh I was BROWN from head to toes, but I kept filming anyway . It's not like I'm going to let a little dirt scare me away .

I love the start line. As always everyone was supernice to me, the starters fed me almonds , it's like I have become part of the team in some weird way, since I am always there, next to the starters, filming, every meet.

All in all a great week-end at El Mirage. I can't wait for the next meet in May!!! (Boy... May sounds SO FAR AWAY... Not sure I can last that long without a meet... I'm hooked.)

 

Hey Faith,...
You should see "pickles" Deuce ! ,...............

 

PHOTOS

I was a really good girl and at 6Am this morning I sat down and took some screen grabs of the footage for you guys. I will post a few photos each day this week. With comments... Enjoy!!

SPECIAL THANKS to the SHIFTERS for their kind participation in the film. I was delighted to bump into them on the lake and decided to make the best of it and scease the opportunity. So I filmed them on the lake so to possibly incorporate them in the previously filmed SCTA 1955 flashback scene. Here the 50's hotrodders are arriving at the lake, early in the morning, to see the meet / race. The shot has been blended with Black and white to reduce the amount of colors and make it look more vintage. An idea I wanted to toy with a bit.









yeah yeah I know... Should have a black plate.. oh well... Sue me!




MORE PHOTOS TOMORROW!!!

 

I thought that station looked familiar, it's walking distance from my house. Neat little station.

Good luck on the project.

 

UPDATES

How many hoops can a girl jump through? Seems the more I jump through the more line up in front of me. Started reading my camera manual. Now I know why you men never bother. Screw Valium!Wanna fall asleep fast? Open up a pro video camera manual. It only took 10 minutes for me to fall into deep sleep. It was only 7PM. Woke up at 1:30AM and decided to go back to editing. Never even had dinner. Tried to clean up unwanted clips but couldn't. Tried to find answers on my HVX forum but didn't. Downloaded two more applications from Internet to help with the problem (one of which came with a 140 PAGES manual - more sleeping ahead). The applications were ackward and a disappointment. Decided to go back to editing only to find that now none of my clips would open up ...

Now it's 4AM and I am grouchy. Nothing's working. More hoops. More jumping. More brainstorming. Rebooted. Didn't help. Uninstalled crappy applications... Didn't help. Finally had to reinstall my vegas plugin and then VICTORY. Back to work. Wait. It's 6AM, screw this I'm going back to sleep I have to go to work (yop, I'm a working stiff, just like you) at 9.

Another sleepless night in film land. But get this. I did figure out how to delete my unwanted clip right from Vegas! So, THERE. One less lose end to worry about.

PHOTOS

SCTA time trails, as always gorgeous cars and colors! Oh... And did I mention I LOOVE my new camera?






Taking off at start line:




A cool belly tanker...




this streamliner had a relly cool hood panel design. So I filmed it.






MORE PHOTOS TOMORROW!!

 

Cool...hopefully it's late March. Just got the official word that we (HistoricTransAm.com) got accepted to show our cars at the Amelia Island Concours, we will also be the support race for "12 Hours of Sebring" the following week...should be an absolute blast!

 

UPDATES

Ordered 5 lenses for my adapter set-up. Including a wide angle (will be great for dry lake shots) and a macro lense (with that one you can take shots of someone's iris dilating for exemple - cool stuff). Should be getting my adapter in about 10 days I hope and by then will have all the lenses and then I GO TO TOWN. We're getting there.

Took a break last night and went to MAMBO's in Burbank to check out their cruise night. It happens once a month, the second Tuesday of the month at 6PM. Corner of Victory and Western. Some of you guys should come check this out. It was a small meet but had a great vibe, great food and a DJ. I snatched a few more gorgeous period correct cars for the film .

Coming home I took the freeway. Somewhere between Studio City and Encino everything went BLACK. What??? Eclipse of the moon? Armagedon? Nops. It was just my bun that got loose because of the wind/speed and now my long dark hair was flying everywhere and entirely covering my face. And I was BLIND.

Rats. So here I am driving on the freeway with one hand on the wheel and one hand holding my hair best I could to keep it away from my eyes. Made it to Woodland Hills that way. No biggie, I always drive one handed anyways.

PHOTOS

A man with balls:



And one that has managed to keep his in one piece -




This car looks BAD... but my shot is too dark (yes I can fix that in post)






Spectators bring their own beauties, too:




Built for speed (got real good Depth of Field on that shot)



First in line at Start line.



MORE PHOTOS TOMORROW!!

 

Thanks for all the great pics and this very cool thread. Do ya have any more pics or info on this car?

Hank

 

I filmed it as it was being pushed forward, towards me. I can get more screen grabs but basically it will be same angle, just closer view. This was the rookie line, so I assume this is a new comer. I don't remember seeing this car before but that doesn't mean it has not run at El Mirage before. It is primer black and has a very different look than the rest. If I see it in May I will be sure to capture it in action. If I find out more about it I will post it here.

 

UPDATES

Take me back. I don't want cell phones, I-pods, gismos, gadgets, internet dating and Instant messages no more. I don't want traffic, don't want Starbucks, don't want SUVs, or laptops. And I am tired of rude people.

I want to go back to the fifties. Take me back there and LEAVE me there.

Last night I watched home vintage footage of a 1952 hotrod meet. Everybody was smiling. All the cars looked cool, all the guys looked good. The pace was slower, the people friendlier, everyone seemed to have FUN. They had less and enjoyed MORE. And suddenly I really wished I could have been there and lived that era ...

But wait you say: If you lived there you would not be able to make an indie movie because technology did not allow for individuals to make full feature films back then.

Yes, granted. But If I lived then, I would not need to make a movie about the fifties in the first place, now would I ? I would just LIVE it.

OK, now back to my computer keyboard, wireless connection and microwaved instant coffee .

PHOTOS

But let me dream for a moment I really WAS there.... And captured this cool coupe getting ready to make it's run... It is now 1955...

It's early morning and the coupe has just arrived at El Mirage.



It is following this older hotrod:



As it passes me I can hear it's flathead engine purr



Now it is at start line. Waiting for the signal to GO




It makes its run down the dry lake bed



103.22 mph !! Great time! He now taxies back slowly...





3PM, race is over, time to go home. Gives a ride to his buddy Joe (or Jim or Art or whatever the name was)...




Maybe they'll stop by Saugus on the way back check out a little action... Johnny Callaway will be there for sure... Burning rubber... Yeah.. They'll stop to see if he's gonna dust everyone for the 10th week in a row...




One of these days, (says Joe or Jim or Art or whatever his name is) someone is going show up and give Johnny a run for his money.... One of these days, maybe, yeah... But today is not that day.




Note: Above photos are really of Saugus.