Spaced Films is a GO!

Well, it's official.

www.spacedfilms.com is live.

I'm not sure what inspired me to buy the domain and put the site up now, but a lot of factors went into it. Most of all I just feel like the time is right. I've built a pretty decent body of work in the last year and I needed a proper place to showcase it. I also really like the way all my stuff sort of intersects there now. And I like the layout, too. Hopefully it's not too rough on the eyes.

It's also worth noting that along with my videos, you can follow my twitter updates, flickr photos, netflix queue, and even this very blog!

Please check it out and let me know what you think.

--Blake out.

"feels good...looks good..."

I'll be honest. I haven't done much with color correction over the years. I alway assumed the learning curve was just too high for me and it was one area of post-production I would just have to leave to the professionals. However, in my research on HD-capable DSLRs, I recently came across the blog of industry pro Stu Maschwitz, who was a founding member of The Orphanage, one of the best visual effects houses in the industry, and a pioneer of digital filmmaking as a tool for the masses. He did a tutorial for plug-in maker Magic Bullet for their color suite Colorista, a tool I already had in my bag of editing tricks. I figured it couldn't hurt to learn from such a well respected name, so I tried it on for size and came away with a much better knowledge of how much good color really adds to a film, or even a still photo.

And because demonstrations are awesome, I thought I'd do one for you all using my new film, BLOODHONEY, as the source material. Here's a raw shot from the film with no color correction at all.

Not bad, but it could use some more "pop". I had a "cooler" look in mind, and I knew that the blood wouldn't stay too red if I cooled down the whole shot, so I started by adding a power mask to the blood and bringing it up considerably. Then I made another power mask and added a vignette to the shot to center the viewer's eye a bit since the background is a tad bright.

That looks even better, but our blood is now comically red. If this were Dirty Harry that would be fine, but I'm aiming for a darker, more realistic look that will blend in with the final color shift.

There we go! Now the shot is nice and cool, and the blood pops out a lot, drawing the audience's eye right where it needs to be. How cool is that?! Alright, enough gushing. I've got a long way to go to get this whole film finished. Oh, and if you think that look is a bit over the top, you're right, but it fits the story of the film perfectly. Stay tuned for more updates on my adventures in filmmaking, and a whole slew of new videos coming soon.

Oh, and be sure to follow me on twitter if you don't already!

--Blake out.

"i was not myself last night..."

Things certainly have been moving pretty fast around here lately.

Firstly I've got two instructional video shoots coming up this weekend, but I'm really looking forward to shooting them and getting them uploaded. The demand for the videos keeps growing, and giving people this kind of training for free makes me feel really good. For more info on these check out the next post down.

I'm knee-deep in pre-production on two films right now; neither of which are mine. First I'm starring in The Best, a short comedy I co-wrote with my very good friend and roommate, Cholin Boyd. We went to scout a location yesterday, got some dinner, and came back to the crib to shoot some more test footage with DP (and BLOODHONEY's assistant director) Mike White. Mike is shooting the project on the awesome Canon 7D and I threw together some of the test footage for your viewing pleasure.

I'm also getting ready to DP a film on 16mm for my friend (and star of Hero For a Day) Andrew Galloway. I co-wrote the script and since I'm shooting it I've been trying to be more selective about color palette, film stock, shot composition, etc. It's going to be a lot of fun to shoot and having some 16mm footage on my cinematography reel sure won't hurt.

I did a little shooting with Big Kenny over the weekend and there are developments happening in that department too, but I can't get into the details yet. Soon though...

I can say that it's looking like I'm going to be leaving the country soon, and it's gotten me thinking about the amount of traveling I've been doing in the last year. I haven't really been on the road since the last Big & Rich tour, and I think it's high time I saw some more of the country, and then some of the countries across the pond. I've toyed with the idea of living in Europe for quite some time now and it's been on my mind again lately. Might be time to start laying the groundwork for that.

I've been watching tons of movies lately. I was going to do a post where I just listed them but I can't motivate myself to go through my netflix records. I just didn't get enough sleep for that. Maybe sometime soon though. I will say this. I know the Oscars are coming up and I'll go ahead and give you my thoughts on Best Picture noms.

What I think will win: Up In the Air

What I think should win: The Hurt Locker

What will cause me to start a riot if it wins: Avatar

Finally, I was cleaning some old junk off my hard drive and I came across this little gem from '06. Enjoy.

--Blake out.

BIGGEST NEWS YET!!!

I'll say this about 2010. The good news just seems to keep on coming. I'm very happy to report that I have sold my first film. You might remember when I made this video about a year ago...

At the time, my school was still looking for a new editing professor, and seeing some of my fellow students having so much trouble getting the hang of Final Cut Pro, I thought I would make a video that covered a few of the necessary functions for them and post it so they could get help any time. For some reason the video didn't see much play around the school, but online I got a lot of great feedback and requests to do more videos on FCP's ins and outs. I've honestly been wanting to since last summer, but my work with Big Kenny and the making of BLOODHONEY kept me pretty busy.

Well, the film faculty finally saw the video and offered to license the film for their archives, as well as some new entries in the series. Bob Gordon, the new editing professor (and editor of Toy Story and Return of the Living Dead!) will be adding them to his curriculum too, so all the new students will be seeing my goofy face for at least the next couple of years.

Needless to say I'm very very excited about this whole thing. I started my education at a state university and it was easy to feel small there. Watkins, however, is a close-knit community, and I love that, so naturally, I want to leave something behind that gives back to that community. Okay. I'm done geeking out. Stay tuned for updates and new videos. :D

--Blake out.

"i am...the pain in your neck..."

Hello everyone.

Looks like I got pretty wrapped up in finishing BLOODHONEY. Well I'm happy to report that the film premiered at the Regal Cinemas in Green Hills and was very well received. I was kind of surprised by what people had to say, and it's got me thinking lately. The thing I heard the most was that people were left with the feeling of wanting to see more, so I asked them to elaborate and they basically wanted to see more of the backstory behind the characters that's only really hinted at in the short. I gave it some thought and it seems like the kind of thing that I could logically flesh out in the script and maybe stretch the film out to feature-length. If I managed to do that I could theoretically shoot it this summer, but seeing as how I'm about to start pre-production on my senior thesis film, I might have to wait on BLOODHONEY the feature. As for posting the film, I found some audio issues that I wanted to correct, and I also want to test screen it with a scene put back in that I originally cut. Guess it's just my perfectionist nature. :D

After the screenings and an eye-opening faculty review, I headed back up to Missouri for the break and it was my best visit home in a long time. I made some awesome new friends and made some great memories. I also made a nice haul under the tree this year which never hurts!

I've never been one for new year's resolutions, but these days, living my life on such a schedule has sort of turned me on to some new ideas. 2009 was a year of great change for me, and I don't think I would even recognize the person I used to be. That's a liberating feeling, and I'm going to chase it this year and see what it brings me.

First off, the diet/workout routine has been awesome for me and I'm hanging with it. I have more energy now than I know what to do with, but I'm planning some new bike routes both in TN and MO for when things heat up again. That should help.

Most of you who've read the blog know that I spent the last year working for Big Kenny and that it's been a huge boon for my career and my experience level. Well, I met with BK last Friday and it looks like 2010 is going to be even bigger. I wish I could give out the details but I imagine things will be hammered out soon enough. That said, I thought it would be cool to put together a reel of all the shooting, cutting, directing, traveling, and fun-having I got to do last year, so look for that within the next week. I'm really stoked about it.

I started getting back into reading pretty heavily last summer and I've gone from having a book to read at all times to reading several books at once. Zach and I did a book trade and I gave him High Fidelity by Nick Hornby in exchange for Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, which I've been wanting to read for years. I also picked up Robert Rodriguez's Rebel Without a Crew and it's been beyond educational. I've never read a documentation of someone's initiation into the film industry. The candor is really intense and it motivates me big time. Which brings me to my next point.

Let's face it. I don't put up nearly enough videos. I've always admired really prolific filmmakers, and my vimeo page is so sparsely populated and I've got too much talent to not be filling it with content. To that end, look for way more videos from me this year. Anything from shorts to camera tests (Canon 7D, here I come!) to behind-the-scenes stuff to just little video blog things. Whatever I feel like!

2009 was also a big year for my dj activities. I played more shows than ever and to bigger audiences. This year I hope to top that by doubling my performances, and rumor has it I'll be playing at the Exit/In soon, and I'd be lying if I said the prospect of performing on the same stage as Steve Martin and the B-52's among countless others didn't bring chills to my spine. If I manage to get any live recordings of my mixes I'll be sure to post them here.

There's so much more to say but classes start tomorrow and I've gotta get prepared. I'll be back soon though!

--Blake out.

More Big News...

Yesterday marked the release of my boss Big Kenny's new solo album The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farmboy. It might not sound like a very big deal, but for me it's kind of cool because I've been here since January watching the songs take shape and traveling with Kenny on what I can only describe as a wild ride. When I first came to Nashville I had no idea I would be doing the things I've done. I mean, I try to stay down to earth when a project comes up, but there are times when I've had to just sit back and say "How did I get here?".

Like riding out onto the field of a major baseball team in a covered golf cart and waving at the fans in the stands, or waking up at two in the morning on a tour bus in Tampa, Florida to eat a frisco melt with a country star at steak'n'shake. Or shooting two music videos (one of which has aired on national cable television) in two days on a beautiful farm in Virginia and being treated like family by someone I once saw on tv and never thought I would even meet. And all this while I still have a year of film school to go. It seems crazy, but I know how lucky I am to be doing this. The experiences I've had here in the near year that I've been working for BK have been varied and surprising and challenging and beyond fun. And I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

That said, I want to bring a couple of things to your attention.

First, the album, which you can buy on iTunes (click the link at the bottom of this post), is really good. Those of you that know me well know that I like my country music old school. It pretty much died for me in the early 90's, but I think it's worth noting that Kenny's album is about much more than country music. I'll say this about the man. He can write hit songs. I don't know how he does it, and it's something I think music fans take for granted a lot, but every song on this album sounds like a hit to me. I've been hearing these songs for almost a year straight and they still get stuck in my head because they're that catchy and memorable. One song, "Go Your Own Way" really struck me on a personal level and I didn't expect that at first. I was going through a pretty rough time and I had a chance to talk about it with Kenny on the bus. He gave me some insight that over time helped change my point of view a lot, and I thank him for it. Another cool thing is that being here at the studio so much, I've been in on several recording sessions and watched the album get made. Having grown up loving music, seeing that process work from behind the scenes was a very special thing for me. I was also given the chance to hang out with some very cool people, including Bob Ezrin, the man who produced Deftones' Saturday Night Wrist and Pink Floyd's The Wall, one of my favorite albums of all time. And of course, having my name in the liner notes of a major record is pretty awesome.

Second, I've done two more videos since Long After I'm Gone that you can now view online. CMT is hosting BK's entire album in video form for your streaming pleasure. I did the videos for Long After I'm Gone, Go Your Own Way, and most recently Be Back Home. Needless to say I'm pretty proud of the work I've done, and it would mean a lot to me if you moseyed over there and checked it out.

Finally, I'm stoked to say that tonight I'll be gettined gussied up and shooting video on the red carpet at the CMA awards. I'll be documenting BK's arrival in a decked out party bus, and then heading over to Cadillac Ranch to shoot him performing The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farmboy in its entirety at the CMA afterparty. Again, I think it goes without saying that I'm pretty excited. And there will probably be moments where I have to once again ask myself, "How did I get here?". And I hope it doesn't sound like bragging when I say this, but I think I can safely say that it's my talent and my hard work that got me here, along with a pretty big dose of good luck, and that's something that I am truly thankful for.

Real quick I wanted to say a couple of things about BLOODHONEY. The first rough cut of the film is done and I'm pleased to tell you that it looks awesome. The visuals are almost exactly what I pictured in my head and the performances have been spot on so far. I can't wait for the screenings so that I can finally show all of you where my mind, heart and soul have been the last nine months. I'm going to try and put together a teaser trailer for Friday the 13th as well, so stay tuned for that.

I'm also pretty excited that my sister is coming down tonight for a visit. I haven't seen her in a while and we seem to get along a lot better now than we used to. I guess age does that to you. Anyway, looking forward to showing her some of the nice spots I've found around the city.

If you're in the Nashville area, come on down to the Ranch tonight and say "hi". It starts at 10pm and you can RSVP right here. I'm sure that once the show is over there will be much drinking rejoicing.

See you at the rock show.

--Blake out.

Buy Big Kenny's solo album at the link below!

"i'm not really fallin' asleep i'm fadin' to black..."