From DV to DVD, Part II: Learn from two independent producers as they discuss the challenges they faced bringing their projects to life. by Lee Purcell | April 2008
As discussed in the last edition of indieEdge, independent filmmakers, trainers, documentary producers, and others who communicate on DVD have a lot to think about when putting their content on disc. Most likely, the process will require planning and collaboration with an authoring service or replication facility.
This article relays the experiences of two independent producers who have gone down this road, creating commercially successful DVD titles. The first, Sharilyn Miller, creates instructional videos that teach people how to make jewelry. The second, John Gigante, overcame a wall of obstacles to complete a feature-length film, which was then made into a DVD. Their experiences are instructive and illuminating to anyone planning to create a DVD for education or entertainment.
Sharilyn Miller, Owner of Sharilyn Miller Designs What made you decide to create a DVD of your work?
I teach jewelry making and I had this idea for creating instructional DVDs that I could then use as a supplement to my live workshop. I knew how I wanted to film it. I had a very specific idea about what I wanted to produce. The problem came with how do I edit film? How do I create this end product? I tried to take lessons at the local college in Final Cut Pro and I also learned a little bit about iMovie. Nothing I did was working, though. And, I was getting kind of frustrated, so I started making calls to different studios to see if I could find someone to provide editing services for me, create menus—that kind of thing. It just seemed like it was impossible to find anyone at all, for any price.
Eventually, I talked to Disc Makers and asked, “Do you provide any of these types of services? Can you help me?” I was relieved and excited when they said yes.
Do you consider yourself primarily a teacher or do you also sell your jewelry?
I made the decision early on not to sell, just to teach live workshops. And, I have had four books published by outside publishers. I basically make my living that way. The DVDs were something that came out of that naturally.
Did you hire someone to videotape your lessons?
Before I made my instructional videos, I had never even picked up a video camera. I have certainly never been to film school.
Originally I thought, ‘I am going to have to hire a studio.’ But, then I thought, what I really need for my purposes is not some real pro who is going to get in there and do multiple camera angles and all kinds of other stuff. I need to present concise, methodical, straight-forward teaching. I know from many years experience in teaching workshops, the best seat in the house is if someone sits to my right and watches over my right shoulder.
On a recommendation, I bought a Canon GL-1 and professional-quality lavalier mic. But, the lighting situation was a big challenge. The first videotapes I made came out orange because the white balance was off.
So, how did you fix the lighting?
After some time online reading people’s reviews of different lighting systems, I came up with a system of three box lights on tripods. And, it is working out pretty well. I have gotten complements from many customers on my DVDs. They say there are among the very best they have ever purchased.
The over-the-shoulder camera angle sounds like a good way to engage the viewer.
There’s a problem I have seen with other people who have made instructional videos. For the ones that are home-made (like mine), they set the camera up across the table. They are usually not well lighted. The sound often goes in and out. You can’t really see what the teacher is doing, because half the time she is holding her little tiny jewelry piece close to herself.
I still consider myself very much an amateur in the sense that I have no training, but I am professional in the sense that I really care about the production values and every aspect of the DVDs. People are aware of the production values when viewing the lessons.
How did you handle the video editing?
The Authoring House at Disc Makers did it all for me; they actually had to walk me through the process of even submitting materials to them. On their recommendation, I bought an external LaCie drive, and for each chapter I had a separate QuickTime movie. Because I had taken a course on Final Cut Pro, I knew about creating trim handles—letting the camera roll for a little while before talking.
I labeled each file with a title and documented each QuickTime movie and where it should appear in the listing of chapters.
What was the next step?
I gave The Authoring House everything they needed to organize the DVD, but from there they had to do everything else. They edited the sound and improved the lighting. They had to create the menu and organize the chapters in the order that I wanted them to be. They had to create the graphics so that someone watching a DVD can click on an individual chapter to view it.
You mentioned that you are starting your fourth DVD. Have you changed anything in the way you approach it?
I am sticking with the same formula as my first DVD, because it has had such an overwhelmingly positive response. I smile a bit at emails that I get from people, some of whom are professional camera people or Hollywood professionals, and they have purchased my DVDs because they make jewelry. I have gotten compliments from professionals saying, ‘Your instructional DVD is far superior to many DVDs that I have received.’
How do you market and distribute your work?
When I first started, I just thought I would market and sell the ordinary way ¬– through my Web site and through retail outlets. The real breakthrough came for me when I discovered FilmBaby. I send them my DVDs and they take it from there. They are taking all of the headache out of packing and shipping – tasks that were taking time away from my creativity. It has worked out really well.
John Gigante, Actor and Director of Cugini Do you have a day job or are you fully involved now in the filmmaking business?
I have had a day job for about the past year. I have my LPN license. I am a nurse, which serves me well. Because, when acting gigs come I am able to go and do that. I have been working on my film a good five years now.
Can you tell me a little bit about the history of the film? Did you shoot in Digital Video?
We did shoot in HD. At the time, we were pretty much pilgrims with it, because no one was using the technology yet in the big shows. When we were first researching, a place in Manhattan called DuArt would show you the HD-to-film transfer every Friday afternoon. Then we saw the Sidney Lumet work and it was like, wow, this really looks good. The cost was in our ballpark, because film is so expensive. That really cinched it for me. I had a DP who was well versed in filmmaking, so he knew how to light it.
Do you want to talk a bit about the inspiration for the movie?
I have been an actor for many years and I have tried every way under the sun to break through. I saw the movie Swingers, and it really inspired me. Here are a group of guys who made a very small film that is a beautiful, fun movie.
I thought, ‘OK, I know I can make a film. I know a lot about the process and I went to filmmaking school. But, what would I write about? Well, I know about my family and love and friendship and I can write about that.’ And romantic comedy movies are a bit more forgiving, I think, when you are making a first movie.
I started working as Ben Stiller’s stand-in and we did ten films back to back. Working on the film sets was like God sent me to free film school, which was fantastic.
That sounds like a great way to get into the technical aspects of making a film.
It really was. Because you are with the camera department and you are with the lighting people. In film, that is what it is about.”
How did you got started on the process of making the DVD?
Because the technology was new to me – drop-down frame rates and things that I really don’t even understand – there were a lot of problems. I had to go back to my editing house for modifications to the format and frame rate. Our representative at Disc Makers was wonderful throughout the process and she put her guys and the guys at my editing studio on the phone together.
When I did the audio commentary, that didn’t sync up properly, so there were more technical fixes there.
What tips would you offer to someone making a DVD from their film?
Primarily, know what you want. Have a checklist of all the things that the authoring service needs on their end. Which, I was happy to say that I did. Because the technology was so new, we had a lot of technical aspects to deal with But, definitely, be prepared.
Were there times when you thought that maybe the movie and DVD were never going to happen?
Oh, absolutely. Honestly, every step of the way there has been a stumbling block. I don’t even know how I hung in there. There were these separate moments that kept me motivated. One being when Burt Young came aboard. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m sitting with this guy who is… he is Paulie! From one of my favorite movies’.
Now that I have the DVDs, we have given them to the investors. And, of course, I have given them to people who I hope they will leave some kind of impression on and maybe work with them on future projects. We are currently updating the Web site, so that users can buy the DVD directly from the FilmBaby site.
