Archives: Virtual Crew

A Long Overdue Update

Virtual Crew,

My name is Kyler Boudreau. I’m a filmmaker you used to follow.

Figured an introduction was needed since it’s been 8 MONTHS since you’ve heard from me.

Was it really before Christmas? Yep, mentioned Polar Express.

I’m sorry.

Let’s avoid the laundry list of excuses.

Just know this: My commitment to finishing the film is unwavering.

What’s the latest?

Did I meet Chris Nolan? No. But it relates to his method of filmmaking.

There’s this incredible color grading product called Dehancer. It costs $500 for a license, and it’s something I just haven’t spent money on.

The company behind Dehancer reached out to me after seeing the Write & Direct YouTube channel (that’s here btw: https://www.youtube.com/@writedirect). They said I could have a lifetime license for free if I’d check out their product and do an honest review.

After screaming “HECK YEAH!” in editorial I sent them a muted, professional reply agreeing to the offer.

Okay, why do you need to know this? What is Dehancer???

Dehancer brings the aesthetics of film to digital footage.

FILM GEEK TIME:

Very few filmmakers shoot on film anymore. Chris Nolan is someone who continues to shoot all his movies on actual film. 24 frames burned for every second of screen time!

HOWEVER…even though filmmakers aren’t shooting on film, many attempt to emulate the look of film with their digital footage. This is no easy task.

With film you have various film stocks that react differently to light. You have the development process where a technician can use various chemical concoctions to yield wildly different results from the same color negative. You have the optical printing process where other things can be tweaked to affect the final image. Then there’s bloom, halation and more.

It’s a science. A science that Dehancer has decided to master. They have their own lab. They’ve sampled insane amounts of film stocks. Developed their own mathematical models and done cognitive research into how the human brain perceives colors.

With Dehancer I can literally choose the same Kodak Vision 3 color negative that Chris Nolan shoots on, and apply that look to my footage.

BRAIN EXPLODE.

FILM GEEK TIME END.

If you skipped all of that, I don’t blame you.

Here’s the summary: Dehancer proved to be so MIND BLOWING I have gone back to Scene 1 of RECKONING to revisit the entire grade.

This still of Rose Lawson is how the footage looks as shot:

Here’s the footage with Dehancer applied using their Kodak Vision 3 50D color negative emulation:

See the difference? The second image looks more like a movie should.

So be excited! RECKONING is gonna look really nice.

I’m 1/3 of the way through the grading process. Then I need to finish sound design.

And then it’s off to the composer!

Also, a bit of exciting news. Are you ready? I’m 40 pages in on a feature length screenplay that we are hoping to shoot here in the mountains of North Carolina!

It’s a thriller based on Cherokee folklore specific to the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

History Note: The horrible “Trail of Tears” happened when the Cherokee were forced from their native homelands to a reservation in Oklahoma.

However, some Cherokee fled to the mountains and avoided this travesty. Their descendants now occupy the Qualla Boundary here in Western NC, just an hour away from us!

The Eastern Band of Cherokee have a unique legend that our film will be about. Well, it’ll be about a lot more than that, but we’ll get into this later as I’m hoping each of you will remain virtual crew as we embark on a full length feature film!

That’s the latest—Thank you for hanging with me.

Kyler Boudreau

Color Grading Begins

Virtual Crew,

Remember as a child when it felt like centuries would pass before you’d finally wake up on Christmas morning to eat sweets and open presents?

That precise feeling now applies to me and this movie.

I’ll shout, “I see the light at the end of the tunnel!”

Only to realize the light isn’t the actual end of the tunnel, but a train heading my way that’s gonna knock me off the tracks and burn a few weeks of progress.

Speaking of trains, if you’ve never watched POLAR EXPRESS drop everything and watch it right now. If you’re at work, just quit. It’s worth losing your job over. The film is an unexpected gift in a sea of Hallmark pirates trying to steal your time during Christmas.

Back to RECKONING:

You’re my virtual crew. I’ve left you high and dry for 7 months.

Unacceptable. I’m sorry.

I do have good news:

Color Grading is COMPLETE!

Film Geek Moment: Color “grading” is a left over term from the film lab days. It means to color correct the film. Every movie from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN to THE MATRIX goes through extensive color grading. You’d be blown away at how things change.

EXAMPLE: Check this shot from RECKONING:

My actor, Lyle Matthis, is underexposed.

But if I brighten him, the background would be overexposed and blown out.

Fortunately, modern grading software has tools that save astronomical amounts of time. Below you can see Lyle highlighted with what’s called the MAGIC MASK tool:

Magic Mask tracks the subject frame by frame. You can then independently increase the brightness, adjust contrast, sharpness and more without effecting the background.

The final shot will look something like this:

Cool right?

Color grading is a shot-by-shot process of making the film look right.

Okay, enough with the grading already.

You’re probably wondering: If grading is done, what’s next?

Sound design.

If you think color grading sounds tedious, you should try dialogue editing.

That’s a screen shot from FAIRLIGHT which is the sound design tool I use. Dialogue editing is about voice isolation, EQ, fades and everything else that protects the story from audible distractions.

I’m about half way through my first pass of dialogue editing.

So that’s a wrap on this update.

Don’t forget to watch Polar Express.

Have an incredible CHRISTMAS. Sandi, Journey and I are loving watching baby Reverie steal presents and ornaments from the tree. She’s 15 months old! Very big, but still a baby.

Speaking of babies, I can’t sign off without saying this:

Sometimes religion and culture creates a convoluted image of who Jesus was and is. The Bible says Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world. He legit came to save us from the control of evil.

I love what Bono (U2) said: He talked about how the truth of Jesus is so different than every other religious view of God and eternity. In every other religion, you have to work to gain God’s love and favor. To secure eternity.

But Jesus did it all for us.

And as Charlie Brown would say: That’s what Christmas is really about.

Merry Christmas!

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. I will update you soon in the New Year to schedule a virtual crew private viewing of the movie! CAN’T WAIT.

MOS in Post Production

M.O.S. It stands for “Mit Out Sound.”

Is that part of a James Cameron Terminator machine?

Or maybe some new AI I’m using to cut RECKONING instead of maintaining any creative involvement?

Virtual Crew, it’s neither. But I do like the Terminator option!

MOS means a take without sound — It happens all the time in movies.

(A “take” is the start and stop of camera recording when filming a scene)

So why MOS?

Maybe there’s no dialogue. Or the shot is too “wide” to get a mic in. Or the background ambience makes sound impossible. You know — traffic, frogs, screaming people.

MOS shots are identified in editorial when the 2nd AC holds the slate closed instead of “clapping” it — As my lovely wife demonstrates below.

So whaddaya do with MOS takes? This isn’t Charlie Chaplin!

“Foley sound.”

If you watch the credits of ANY Hollywood movie, you’ll notice foley artists mentioned.

They’re the blessed souls who recreate the sounds needed to match what the camera captured. And for a film like Pixar’s CARS, pretty much the entire film is foley.

When foley sounds are recorded, they’re delivered to the sound designers who meticulously place them.

You know…Foot steps. Coffee mug set down. Door knob turn. Face slap…

Oh wait, that was the Oscars.

I have an example of foley sound in RECKONING for you to check out below.

But first:

Imagine you’re the sound designer.

You watch Rose run up to a house and knock on the door — Just 9 seconds.

Upon observation you realize there is:

Running in the grass

Footsteps on stone steps

Footsteps on a wooden porch

Door knock

Background ambience

All of that for 9 seconds??? When’s lunch?

Watch it here

Yep, none of those sounds happened day of shooting.

All of them were recorded later (at different locations) and the ambience was pulled from a sound library.

CRAZY.

A unique sound design item in addition to foley from last week:

Had to record ALL of Ghost’s lines.

Wait, what happened?

Wearing the mask during production meant there wasn’t a good way to get clean dialogue. So I had to take the mask out later and record all of his lines again.

Or become BANE from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

Virtual Crew…That’s the latest.

Sound design isn’t glamorous. But it’s part of filmmaking.

And I love it!

Thanks for hanging with me.

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Already have ideas for the next short film cooking. But even cooler? A feature film I want to shoot here in the mountains. As always, you’ll be the first to hear the details. Now I’ve gotta get back to work.

And don’t forget to send any aspiring filmmakers you meet to Write & Direct!

We have a ROUGH CUT!

Virtual Crew,

It happened…we have a rough cut of the movie!!!

I’m so excited.

Nobody knows but my wife and Terri Crain Goodman (who played Addie Crain).

You receive big news first.

Right now we’re clocking in at 36 minutes. Rough cuts are always long.

Here’s the timeline:

Every movie from RECKONING to MAVERICK can be viewed in a single timeline.

It’s a beautiful thing.

See the first part with orange, purple and pink blocks? That’s where sound FX have been laid in like foley and sound library sounds.

And notice where it stops? Yeah…sound design is next.

Foot steps are the worst.

Laying down foley for each step an actor takes is the thing about filmmaking that makes me want to quit and be a sous-chef.

Oh…and guess what?

Even though we’re neck deep in post production, I just had to do a reshoot.

Been dreading it a bit.

Maybe even intimidated?

It’s the final scene between Ghost and Rose…what I have just isn’t right. It’s not delivering what the story demands.

And that is a filmmaking sin.

It was early this week. Clouds rolled in to create perfect shooting conditions.

Had this feeling it was time.

Gathered everything — But Ghost’s vest was MIA.

Can’t shoot without the vest.

After looking everywhere I turned to God. “You’re gonna have to help me find that vest if you want me to shoot.”

Got this strong impression to go back to the garage.

And there it was, behind the freezer.

Whoa.

I’m cautious about attributing things to God. Who am I to say?

But that felt special.

Went out, got a bunch of awesome footage, and then it started to sprinkle.

Hopped under a pine tree.

Since the shooting felt Providentially inspired, I asked God “Am I done?” As soon as the words left my mouth it began to pour.

Yep, we’re wrapped!

Threw the trench coat over the tripod, grabbed the gear bag and went for home.

It was such a cool experience — This unplanned window of ideal shooting.

And I thanked God for that.

Check out the look you can get with the natural diffusion from clouds:

Everything just looks nice.

You’ll see this in movies that aren’t intended to be at high noon in the old west.

Okay…this is getting long. As always, thanks for reading!

I wish you could be with me in editorial. Sometimes you’re nervous, hoping you have the footage to make a scene work. Sometimes you’re outright laughing at behind the scenes personalities.

Here’s a still I found of me directing Lyle on how to hold his gun in a certain moment.

Lyle has never acted in a movie before RECKONING.

He was phenomenal. Can’t wait for you to see him in action!

That’s the latest.

The schedule: Picture tightening, sound design, color grading and music.

Then a virtual crew test screening — Can’t wait for you to help me shape the final cut of the film!

I appreciate you.

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. My mom fell off a ladder and broke her hip. BAM! Clean break. Three pins. Out of commission for at least a month. If you’d pray the fast forward button could be pushed on healing, that would be awesome! Her name is Joy. Personally I think she should use the time to watch movies non-stop.

Course Sample Scene

Virtual Crew,

Can it be February? For real??

Some of you have been on this journey with me for over a year.

DANG! Thank you so much.

As many of you know, Write & Direct officially launched!

This means I’m able to move forward with post production on RECKONING.

SOMEBODY PINCH ME.

So…post production. What happens now?

Picture editing, sound design, music, color grading, final mix and more.

On a studio film, a team of people fill these roles and it takes months to complete the movie. On RECKONING, you guessed it. It’s all on me.

Goodness.

The good news?

We have a composer! Dane Walker. He’s virtual crew and physical crew.

Can’t wait to see what Dane comes up with. He’s good!!!

Below is a pic from post production back in 2006 in Hollywood, CA. I worked on two films directed by Bob Odenkirk.

Bob is a super cool guy btw. Humble. Kind. Talented. The real deal.

Tracey Wadmore-Smith, Kyler Boudreau & Bob Odenkirk | Hollywood 2006

On one of Bob’s movies, something happened that I’ll never forget.

What was it?

I had the chance to speak with Bob’s DP (Director of Photography). Told him I was an editor, but eventually wanted to direct.

Know what he said?

Check it out: He said every director should go through editorial first so they know what shots they want on set.

WHOA! This guy just affirmed my entire career path in one statement.

But why would he say this?

Because until you actually piece a movie together shot by shot as an editor, it can be difficult to envision the shots you want for YOUR movie.

Camera angles, distance, framing, movement…it’s challenging.

Monumental impacts on story.

In Write & Direct my aspiring filmmakers learn to cut footage together before building their shot list or directing anything.

But I had a problem…what footage to use for the school?

Boring stock library stuff?

Lame.

Decided to come up with an alternative.

Cranked out a two-page script called THE GOLD.

Solo Slater, Actor and Director on THE GOLD

Drove out to a shooting location for RECKONING and went to work.

Just me, a script and gear. The scene is below if you’d like to watch.

Two disclaimers:

Number 1: This is NOT a story. It’s a scene. I’m not typically a fan of this type of movie making, but just needed course material.

Number 2: My wife says it’s corny. And she’s right. If I put this on my writing resume, studios would chunk me to the curb faster than raptors eat people.

Nerd Out Time: Check the timeline below for this TINY 2-minute shoot…The blue layer contains picture edits. Green is dialogue, orange is sound FX, teal represents stereo sound FX, pink is music and purple is ambient sound.

The timeline for THE GOLD in Davinci Resolve.

At just over 2 minutes long THE GOLD contains 41 picture edits, 67 foley sound additions, 1 ambient and 1 music track.

Now imagine a fast-paced BOURNE movie clicking in at two hours!

Whoa!!!

So without further adieu, here’s the link to THE GOLD:

https://vimeo.com/796513984

And remember…corny. You’ve been warned!

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Wanna see the magic of sound design? Listen to the clinking of the gold bars. In real life, they’re just plastic.

P.S.S. If you know of anyone who wants to make movies, please tell them about Write & Direct! In fact, this link is PERFECT to send out: https://writedirect.co/film-school/

P.S.S. We’re at my Mamaw’s right now. She’s 95 and not doing great. Please pray for peace and serentity. Madge Crain. She’s an amazing woman. As is my mom who moved here around 8 years ago to take care of her.

Banjo Strings & Post Production

Virtual Crew,

Happy belated New Year & Merry Christmas!

Our tree is still up, so this doesn’t feel too late, right?

Okay, it feels REALLY late.

I hope your holiday was more fun than stress!

Fun and stress are like a dysfunctional couple. They waltz into our lives hand in hand way too often. Someone needs to tell them to break up.

Anyway…due to events, holiday and illness, RECKONING experienced neglect.

The good news? We are now in POST PRODUCTION.

BOOYAH!!!

What does this mean? It means the film is being pieced together.

Shot by shot. Scene by scene. Act by Act.

Picture editing, sound FX, foley, music, color grading, VFX and…more shooting.

Wait, more shooting???

Yes. There are still a few things I didn’t get.

Like my character Jasper Bennett who tells Rose where to find the letter in town. I just shot his takes yesterday:

Elias McKim plays Jasper Bennett, a banjo playing resident of Little Cataloochee.

Reshoots are also on the to-do list, which is pretty common.

When I was an editorial PA after film school on LET’S GO TO PRISON (directed by Bob Odenkirk) they redid the entire ending of the movie during post production.

Martin Scorcese shot new scenes while editing THE DEPARTED because it was only in post that he realized he wanted more in the story.

If the big guys can do it, we can do it!

So that’s the latest.

I’m back in the saddle, riding the proverbial horse as far as it’ll go each day.

And of course you’ll get to see cut scenes before anyone else!

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Our film school launches end of this month! If you know anyone interested in directing movies, this could save them 5-10 years in their pursuit of the craft. If they join before January 31st they can save 75% off tuition. Use code prelaunch2023 at https://writedirect.co.

P.S.S. Our new precious daughter Reverie is doing incredible. We need to get her in a movie soon!

The Write & Direct December Catalyst

It’s Friday.

Friday’s are good.

This one just got better.

I’m sending this your way because you expressed interest in the Write & Direct training.

“And I dig that about you!” – Jerry Maguire

Let’s keep this brief: The school officially launches in January of 2023.

However, most of the training will be live before then. And I’m dying to get people plugged in.

So from now until the end of December use code UNSTOPPABLE to take the normal tuition price of $1997 down to just $97.

That’s right. Ninety-seven bucks.

WHOA!

I’m not broadcasting this deal.

It’s going out to those of you who expressed interest.

Those of you who want to write and direct your own movies. Who have that unique, unquenchable desire to become story tellers for the big screen.

I understand your passion. It’s why I’m an active filmmaker.

Help me help you reach your dreams faster than I did.

Faster than so many other aspiring filmmakers who trusted the legacy film school model.

If you want to direct movies, Write & Direct will get you there.

I hope to see you on the other side!

If you have questions, shoot me an email.

And hey…have an incredible Christmas season to wrap 2022!

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. My latest film RECKONING is in post. It’ll be released February of 2023. Get behind the scenes info at: https://theatereleven.com/reckoning/​

Thank You Virtual Crew

It’s Thanksgiving week.

Wait…what? THANKSGIVING?!?!?

Pretty soon it’ll be Christmas. Then New Years.

Then my 92nd birthday and this movie still won’t be done!

Deep breaths.

If you’re familiar with the life of Jesus, you’ll remember the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus told Martha in so many words “Hey, you need to take a break. Chill out.”

I’m the Martha of Marthas.

Take a break? For real?

Don’t worry…we’re still getting into film nerd stuff like normal in this email.

It’s not just about Thanksgiving and breaks.

But let me first say this:

We are all slammed. We have families. Jobs. Dreams.

Yet each of you take the time to read my verbose emails.

Some of you even respond or share the film with others.

WOW!

Seriously…this means so much!

Thanksgiving cannot pass without a massive THANK YOU to each of you for being virtual crew. For your part in RECKONING.

My promise to you?

It’s just the beginning of movie making awesomeness!

Okay cool. Enough sappy stuff.

What’s the topic today? Story Boards.

Then and now.

In Gladiator Maximus states: “What we do in life, echoes into eternity.”

This summarizes pre-production for all movies on the planet.

What’s done in pre-production echoes into every part of a completed film.

A crucial part of pre-production is a shot list. Also supplemented by story boards and alternatively what I personally call “story maps.”

Yep, you heard that right. Story Maps. My very own coined term.

Buttons popping.

We’ve talked about some of this, so I’ll keep it brief:

Shot List: Shows every camera setup for every scene in a movie. Yes, you heard that right. A director has to “cut” their movie together ahead of time in their head.

Here’s a page from my shot list for RECKONING:

Story Boards: Drawings ranging from basic to elaborate that show camera setups from the shot list.

We’ve all heard a picture is better than a thousand words? This is what story boards are all about.

A director can show an image of their vision to a director of photography (DP) or other department heads and everyone is instantly on the same page (as much as possible).

And this is where our fun begins today!

Well…Hopefully it’s fun.

If not, send complaints to: [email protected]

Hahahaha. My wife is gonna kill me.

Following are a few story boards from RECKONING, combined with screen grabs from what we actually shot in production!

Note on the above: I haven’t told anyone this yet, but if you look closely you’ll see I forgot boots this day of shooting. And there was no way I was packing up and driving an hour back to get them.

It was black socks for GHOST that day! And it was FREEZING. Someone call SAG.

Cool, right?

I have other story boards that are completely NOT what was shot. But hey…there are no story board police.

All of the above shots are from the beginning of RECKONING. Why?

Because I STOPPED with the story board insanity.

As fun as it is to see drawing to screen, it’s a complete waste of time for me. There are no department heads on my movies! We’re shooting Rebel Without A Crew style, so drawings were not the best use of time.

What did become insanely valuable? STORY MAPS.

These are my own combination of a shot list and visual story board.

Here’s an example:

The A, B and C cameras above don’t mean separate cameras (like it would typically mean) but rather various setups that are needed for the scene.

Story maps saved my bacon with complicated scenes involving multiple actors and a lot of movement.

And hey, wanna see something really cute?

Rose Lawson has a desk in my office. She recently decided to start putting her own story boards on the wall like Daddy…

If that isn’t precious, not sure what else qualifies.

We have a future filmmaker. If I never win an Oscar, she will.

Anyway, have an incredible Thanksgiving!

If you have the Martha disease like me, force yourself to take some moments and tell your family you love them.

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Did you see the new teaser for Write & Direct? If you know anyone who’s interested in filmmaking, this is for them:

https://vimeo.com/user179792361/writedirect​

A Cutie Pie & Spielberg style reshoot

Virtual Crew,

When I was in film school, my directing teacher showed us his feature film.

It took him SEVEN YEARS to get it done. I’m sure 100% of us overly-confident students thought he was crazy to take that long.

Now I eat crow.

What does eat crow mean anyway? It doesn’t matter.

The Write & Direct film school has been wildly responsible for RECKONING delays.

But something else has played in. What?

A little precious named Reverie Bleu Boudreau.

The below pic was from this AM. I was holding her in editorial while watching footage (don’t worry, nothing scary).

Reverie is now six weeks old. We adopted her in Pennsylvania. My wife was there for her birth! It’s a beautiful story. Details worked out in ways that only God can work them out.

“All good things come from above.”

Sometimes we try and associate bad with God. But that’s not how the science behind it all works. “Jesus wept” is the shortest sentence in the Bible and it packs the most meaning.

A conversation for another time.

Our birth mom was pressured towards abortion, but she said NO. We’re so grateful. However, it’s a sacrifice for a mother to choose adoption. It’s hard to understand until you really go through it.

Now that cutie pie is home and growing pudgier each day, I’ve jumped back in the saddle.

Back in the saddle? Eat crow? Even my vernacular is now 19th century.

This was yesterday…

There’s an unavoidable issue all filmmakers face:

Sometimes after the work required for production, you land in editorial only to think, “The movie would be so much better IF.”

Many of your favorite films had this happen. Take JAWS.

Did you know Spielberg re-shot a scene in Jaws on his dime?

He didn’t like the original footage, but the studio said no to a reshoot.

So Spielberg paid for it.

You see…a film owns part of a filmmaker’s soul.

We’ll do crazy things to get it right.

Yesterday I went out to get an “if.”

SPOILER ALERT.

There’s a moment when Ghost shoots a good guy. It’s terrifying. It’s the one person Rose was counting on to do her job for her.

Did you catch that? Do her job for her.

Rose’s flaw in RECKONING is this: Even though she saw God work once, when evil regroups and comes back at her, she doesn’t want to do it again.

And we get that, right?

There’s nothing worse in life than to think we beat something, only to have it hit us again. Sometimes even harder.

But Goliath was only the first Philistine David dealt with. They kept coming back. If you recall, another giant almost killed King David decades later.

So back to RECKONING:

Rose sees the shot happen and bolts. In the original script we follow Rose as she flees to town.

But I found myself really wanting to see Ghost. What did he do next?

You know? I wanna see him to step onto the porch and look down at the victim. It’s a sinister moment that makes a thriller a thriller.

So fine, we went back to the cabin and got the shot.

But there was a problem. I also wanted the audience to see the victim.

But my actor is now back in Texas.

Freaking directors…always wanting the impossible.

We had to get creative on set and use logs to build him.

I think it worked.

Moral of the story? Don’t quit, and use available logs to fix everything.

No, the moral of this story is that I’m so sorry you’ve waited this long for a movie that doesn’t even star Tom Cruise.

But thank you for sticking this out with me! I cannot wait to start cutting scenes together and giving you sneak peeks.

Until then…

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Don’t forget that my online film school launches in a couple months. You can get people in FOR FREE. Just email me for the code. They will be forced to invite you to Oscar parties when they’re famous.

​https://writedirect.co/enroll/​

How to Go Insane: A Hot Garage & Crickets…

Virtual Crew,

It cannot be mid-August!

I really have been working hard. Promise.

If you were investors in RECKONING, you’d be lighting up my phone:

“What’s the hold up?”

“We need to release this movie!”

“You will NEVER work in this town again!!!”

Fortunately, crew members such as yourselves are much more understanding. Thank you for that.

But seriously, what is the hold up?

The film school.

Write & Direct continues to crack the whip above me like a merciless farmer over a gasping mule in the summer heat.

And this week? Change in plans. Needed to cover my Mamaw in TN.

She’s 94!

Beautiful lady. Grandad passed a couple years ago. A great man.

My Grandad was a master mechanic for the fire department. There’s a garage here that can hold two firetrucks end to end.

Decided to shoot some of the Production course for the school while here.

One the topics we cover in production is how to light a set.

It’s not just about looking cool. It’s about serving story.

Three kids at a campfire telling ghost stories are gonna be lit wildly different than a couple at that same campfire who are falling in love.

The angle, diffusion, intensity, height…it all plays in.

All to serve story. And story is about entertaining the audience.

Anything else doesn’t work. Ever.

Back to lighting:

This is what a garage looks like on camera without any lighting attention:

Yeah…No Oscars happening for that image.

But a simple 4-point lighting setup, and you get this:

Now we’re talking.

It didn’t turn me into Tom Cruise, but it’s film school not miracle school.

Lighting is just one of the many things covered in Write & Direct.

Don’t forget to tell any wanna-be filmmakers you can get them in for FREE!

Crazy valuable.

And yes, I will finish RECKONING.

The all-wise King Solomon said this: “First plant your fields and then build your house.”

Write & Direct is my field. RECKONING is my house.

Oh…and by the way: If you ever want to go crazy, shoot training videos in a hot garage with crickets and distant trains.

Crickets are SO DANG LOUD. Ruined some recordings.

I resorted to lighting dark corners, using my brother’s blower to shoot air into dark places and STOMPING on any of the monsters I could find.

Wrapped shooting at 4AM and crashed in my Mamaw’s basement.

Woke up a bit later to…you guessed it, a cricket.

The men in white coats almost had to come.

Stay sane. Talk soon!

Kyler Boudreau

P.S. Here’s the link to send people to: https://writedirect.co/enroll/​

The discount code to get them in free is GREENLIGHT.

BOOYAH!

P.S.S. Here’s a wider shot of the set with the lights numbered. Remember, we always have to geek out!