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What This Is

What should we know about it and why is it awesome?

Link to Video File

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SHOW + TELL : AUG 2023

ALLY’s Inspiration

PATRICK’S INSPIRATON

PARKER’S INSPIRATION

ASA’S INSPIRATION

Like the motion graphics over the video.

Vintage filming. The pixilation of it feels like old footage.

Let’s write a story.

The year is 3019. Aliens have landed on a crop circle in Cade, Louisiana…

As their spaceship lands they uncover a time capsule that was buried in the dirt. The capsule is laser engraved (an old world technique and entitled Exlabs. Inside the aliens find a treasure trove of digital media that gives them an idea of life on earth hidden in history.

This semester we’re going to write a screenplay like no other. You all with direct and produce your own short film that will have a link to each other’s short films to create an entire movie. How does this work? We’re going to give you the keys to Camelot. And that’s where this story begins. Each of you will take the overall plot and progress it towards a climax and conclusion. The screenplay will live here and evolve as you write it. Get creative, have fun, sky is the limit. Think about your shots and your scenes and your dialogue. Here we go…

King Tut’s Tomb

by

ESA ExLabs

Ext: Students walking towards Camelot in the early morning through campus and then through the forest. It’s a sunny day and the trees are blowing about. We see glimpses of the cane field. It has a bit of a “stand by me feel” as the students chit chat.

Young Man

I don’t think we’re supposed to really be back there.

Young Woman

Yeah well when you name something after a famous castle it’s hard to not go there. I mean whatever, we’re just exploring. Cross country runs through here all the time. They just aren’t allowed to sit. So let’s just go sit in some poison ivy. I mean, let’s just go explore those old tunnels, they’ve always fasciated me.

Young Man

Ok, let me grab a shovel.

Ext: We see the man grab a shovel and the group of kids head out to Camelot. Along the way they wave hello to Dr Baker who’s walking through campus.

Teacher

What are you guys up to?

Student

Oh, you know, just looking for buried treasures amongst a forbidden castle.

Dr Baker

Well let me know if you find any bones. I’ve got your back with an expertise in paleontology.

Miles

Yeah we might find some human remains but if we find dinosaurs we’ll let you know.

Ext: The students wave at Doctor Baker and then head into the woods and into Camelot, looking through the stonework.

Izzy

This place is lame, it’s not a castle.

Will

These are the ruins of a great castle made to produce the best sugar cane in all the land! It’s Camelot. Teenagers used to sneak back here to make out to. It’s romantic.

Ana

Camelot was a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, after the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world.

Ext: Meanwhile Miles has begun digging frantically inside the tunnel with the others.

Miles

Yeah yeah yeah…Whatever, I found this box. Hopefully it’s not a boudin in a box. That would be old and probably not edible.

Ext: Cut to see the students open the box on which “Property of King Tut” is written on the front. Inside the old box we see a single piece of paper and a pencil, along with a copy of The Odyssey. There is also an upside down plane stamp, a map to supposed hidden treasure in a place called Wolf Creek and some toothpicks and a jar of icy hot. The students open the paper and one of them reads it out loud.

Young woman

…Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great. Some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. - Shakespeare

End Scene

How does a strategy become great content?

Every great idea is based on a solid strategy. And that strategy should be a very simple one. Something like a headline. A single sentence that someone can take in quickly. The strategy doesn’t have to be super creative per say but it should be very compelling. Once you have a solid strategy you can create whatever you want in brilliant ways, as long as it always answers the strategy or client brief. And then the clients can’t say no. Just make sure they sign the dotted line before hand. Let’s come up with some great strategies and make some amazing content around them.

For example, the strategy for this video may have been “One of the stupidest ways to die would be not looking for a train before you cross the tracks.”

A bad example of that same strategy would be “Each year 50,000 people die crossing trains tracks in the USA, it’s time to stop and look before you cross.”

Inspiration for doing great work. So what makes this work great? Let’s discuss.

Be yourself. Your true self.

Documenting the expected, unexpected.

There are certain events in our lives that are planned out far in advance. It might be a final exam, a state championship cross country meet, a Shakespearean play or a simple picnic at picnic club. What makes each of these planned events unique is that we have an idea of what will happen but the story has yet to be written. Will the boys win state? Who’s freshmen boat will hold up to the test? Will choir class break out in unexpected song? We are all waiting to find out which is why people come out to watch. And when it comes to watching there are plenty of cameras to document the game or the play or the singing. But that’s boring. Anyone can do that. In each of these events there are deeper storylines. Behind the scenes storylines. Personal narratives. Locker room speeches. Sudden moments of excitement that can only be shown up close and personal. In this assignment we would like each ExLaber to cover an event and find a storyline that they think may lead to something great. It doesn’t always, but if you begin with a great idea of where the gold may lie, you have a better chance of finding film treasure.

Here are a few events that are planned for the next few weeks:

Freshman Boat Launch - Nov 2

Drama Fall Performance - Nov-6-7

LS Hunger Banquet

State Volleyball - Nov 6

State XC - Nov 12

Basketball Season Begins

Soccer Season Begins

Choir Class Sings

Let’s each pick one event and find a storyline within it that excites us. This is NOT about simply picking up a camera and filming an event. That would bore all of us to death worse than watching paint dry. Let’s make some great work that is unique and powerful and pushes the boundaries. Here are a couple of examples of work that I believe lives in that world. Have a look.

Writing for humorous dialogue

It’s hard to be funny. Actually it’s not that hard. It’s just hard to be funny when you try to be funny. Or serious when you’re not really serious. The best dialogue usually involves people speaking to one another as they normally would. It’s not scripted or forced. It’s improvisation around a human truth that may have been practiced a few times over. Today we’re going to have some fun and do some improv. Each of you get to choose a partner and a situation that is pre determined. Then you’ll have two minutes to act it out in front of the green screen. From this exercise we’re going to create a bit of a sitcom that involves Exlabers and our teachers. You’ll write the general idea for the script and then act it out with a teacher and have your partner film it. Then we’ll string them all together to create a pilot episode. The trick is that the teacher may or may not know the plot.

Here’s some inspiration:

(Note that almost all of the best comedic filming is done using a handheld style that makes the viewer feel as if they are present in the situation.)

Uploaded by pinkskies21 on 2013-10-06.

A simple tutorial in Premiere

Cafe Rabano

ExLabs has some awesome equipment at your disposal. So use it! This was shot on the Sony A7SII, not on iPhone. Slo motion creates drama and it's fun to give a nod to the Starbucks logo at the end. What's your story?

NO VO

Sometimes simple is beautiful. This film uses drones, time lapse and Osmo video to create a feeling around some of the most famous buildings and schools that Ten Arquitectos has built over the past thirty years. Having no voiceover, it's meant to evoke the emotion of spaces that people and students occupy. What if you did something similar that showed how the life in around school is unique, without the need to speak?

Social media amplifying your voice.

Facebook Ads Manager:https://www.facebook.com/business

Screen Shot 2017-12-06 at 1.32.14 PM.png

the treatment

The directors treatment paints a picture of his or her vision. It is a powerful tool to sell a creative idea. To put images and thoughts about a final masterpiece into the heads of potential investors and fans. The treatment is our underpainting. It is where we explore our idea and decide which tools we use, what kinds of brushes (in this case cameras), what kind of colors and paints and all the other thoughts that we have that will make our idea unique so that it stands out amongst the crowd and noise of the universe. Below are two very well thought out treatments that eventually became reality in moving images. Now it's time to create your own. Use these as a guideline for showing the world what it is that you want to accomplish with your film. Then we'll make that happen.

Lets make good dialogue.

A good conversation might be the most efficient way to tell a story. This week, we're looking at the best flirting, bickering, threatening and subtext-filled bantering. These are our picks for the best dialogue of all time.

TURN IT OFF KIP! © FOX 2004

One time I wrestled a giraffe to the ground with my bear hands

Blades of Glory movie clips: http://j.mp/15vX0mp BUY THE MOVIE: http://amzn.to/vP5RC0 Don't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr CLIP DESCRIPTION: Chazz (Will Ferrell) cheats on his diet and has some thoughts on the music for their routine. FILM DESCRIPTION: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, and Will Arnett headline this high-concept comedy concerning two male figure-skating rivals aching to compete despite having been banned from the sport.

While searching for R2-D2 in the Jundland Wastes, Luke Skywalker is ambushed by Tusken Raiders. But before they have a chance to take his shit, a wise old savior comes to his rescue. A few things I fixed with this upload. No CG rocks for R2 to hide behind and no retarded kidney stone yelp from Obi-Wan.

2 Actors

WELCOME TO YEAR 2.

Hey there ExLab team. This year we're going to tackle some big, awesome, fun and amazing projects and work. Each of you will work through the semester to develop your experiential ideas into greatness. We've developed some creative briefs which each of you has chosen by now. If you forget what those are, you can find them here.

DEVELOPING CREATIVE STRATEGIES

So you've picked out something that excites you from the creative briefs above. Now it's time to come up with our big ideas for making each happen., But before we go out and start filming we need a roadmap to making sure our idea is great. And that other people will think it's super cool well. That's where our creative strategy process comes in.

The creative strategy process is based around three key points or ideas.

1. The tension -

The tension is what makes our story or idea compelling. It twists a cultural norm or expectation on its head and makes us look at a subject in a new way that's based in a human truth. The best tensions are sometimes a little uncomfortable or thought provoking. Let's look at an example, from the "Virtually Experienced" brief above. One tension might be... "Why would I want to go to a school that's in the middle of nowhere?"

2. The question -

The question allows us to think about how to release the tension. It poses a thought that defies traditional expectations or cultural norms. For example in this case it might be..."What if the whole world learned to take the path less traveled." The question should be worthy of a conversation over dinner.

3. The news headline -

The news headline is meant to answer the question in a way that would make the front page of the NYTimes or Daily Advertiser. In this case that might be... ESA film students create an actual path less traveled through Cade, and invite viewers around the country to walk in the path using virtual reality."

Once we've got these three steps figured out, it's time to pick one of our creative strategies and begin working on our scripts.

bringing people places

Virtual reality in its best form brings people to places they might otherwise not have the chance to, or actually be looking to. One of our clients wanted to help travelers around the world explore their destinations before arrival, while also learning about travel health. So we sent one of our creatives to East Asia to report back in virtual reality, offering people in the United States the chance to visit, before they visit. This is an example of how the strategy and technology can be married to create a big idea.

THE SONY A7SII

This is an incredible camera capable of beautiful images. Use it, you have the tools. Now come up with a great idea. And crank it out.

Do it. Go all the Way.

However you choose to spend your future, "Go all the way." The same goes for filmmaking.

Student Submission - Beautiful emotive images mixed with some amazing sound.

AMGEN CONTEST AND BAND IN THE SAND

So the end of the year is quickly approaching and it's time to get our communication projects finished. And to help motivate that, we're going to have a contest.

Right now DRKHRSE is working on two really awesome projects here in California. One involves making a commercial that will air nationally on NBC during the Amgen Tour of California bike race. The commercial will show all the best that the central coast has to offer, from surfing to kayaking to paragliding to fishing etc etc. It's going to be really epic. The other project is called Band in The Sand. What if we buried an entire marching band in the sand up to their heads and then had them play an awesome song? How would that look? How would it sound? Would you like to be a part of it? If the answer is yes then it's time to get cracking, as we used to say in New Zealand. We will be offering one of you the chance to come to California to work in the DRKHRSE studio and to make something amazing. This is a contest. The criteria are as follows: You must complete your content series or your individual content piece to be judged by a panel from ESA, by April 3rd. The winner will be flown out to CA to enjoy all that Morro Bay and our studio has to offer. And then you'll get to say you're famous, or at least mom will brag about you.

EARNED MEDIA AND DOING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

One of the best media investments is earned media. Most often the best earned media involves breaking the rules and pushing the boundaries just for the heck of it. In paid media there are often many restrictions. This includes rules on media placement. For example, a television commercial may be governed by rules like it needing to be thirty seconds. Or high costs for media placement of your communications. There are also rules about what content you can show and what words and subjects are allowed or not allowed. With earned media, the shackles are taken off. You're free to create. And that's when the magic happens. That's when you do the work that you love and the work that gets noticed by people who love the same kind of stuff. And then those people come calling for you to do paid media for them. And you earn money doing it. Here is an example of a piece of earned media that DRKHRSE created which led to it being picked up by Netflix and outlets all around the world.

The OG Hamburgler and brand hijacking

This is an example of earned media that led to some amazing press and business for DRKHRSE. It was an idea for a real client that was never purchased. So, we just went and made it ourselves. It garnered millions of views and the attention of media outlets around the world. A brand hijack is when you take the liberty to speak for a brand that you may not officially work for. The best brand hijacks create an affinity for the brand vs a negative connotation. This way you get all the love and none of the lawsuits. If you have an idea that you love. Don't let anyone tell you it's not right. Go make it happen.

Here's what Perez Hilton had to say.

Piggy backed Earned Media, and Drones

Drones are all the rage right now. They offer great opportunities to see things from new perspectives quite literally. Drones are a great opportunity to gain media attention when used correctly. In this instance we used a drone to show off a building under construction that was designed by one of the most famous architects in the world. This architect is friends with Elon Musk, he has been featured around the world in publications and on TV shows. We shot this footage in hopes of piggy backing on his celebrity, in order to get ourselves a bit more famous. And it worked. We shot it in the morning, edited it in the afternoon and sent it to his firm in the evening. The firm then asked if they could use it for free in their own PR. In order to gain maximum exposure, we said yes. That free exposure gained our footage massive traction in the media. It was featured around the world and eventually led to the footage being licensed by Netflix and CBS 60 Minutes. It also gained major attention for our brand. So, this is a very cool way to attach yourself to people and brands that are already famous, and to eventually get paid for it.

Earned media from the media

Sometimes the best opportunities can be found in the news. This is an example of a news story that a band used to gain recognition for their own brand. Many of the best documentaries begin off the back of a news story. Keep your eye out for a story that grabs your attention and then explore whether or not you could take the story further in creative ways.

Paid earned media

Paid earned media is a thing. Because we Exers just made it up. Paid earned media is the synapse between doing something for nothing and having the funding to create a storm of social and PR activity, without actually buying media. An example can be found below. This is Barry Bonds historical home run record history breaking ball. When the ball was caught by a fan, it was eventually put up for auction. Fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball and turned the purchase into a huge PR event. The ball cost him 750K but the earned media was worth tens of millions of dollars for his brand. He set up a website where people could vote for what was to become of the ball. And in doing that he helped gain a huge affinity for his brand. The act was in line with his strategy of being seen as a renegade and continued to make his line of clothing seem that much cooler my association with the project. Click on the image below to see an article about the ball.

Barry-Bonds-756-HR-Ball-With-Marc-Ecko-Asterisk-On-It.jpg

Frame your moving pictures

It's super important to think about each moving image you take as if it were a still image. How would it look on your wall? Frame your subjects as if they were still images and then hit record.s See what happens...

A good edit/Break the rules

I love this film's first four minutes. The edit and music and type treatments are super tasty. It gives a very fresh perspective on the traditional surf film, by using very simple yet thoughtful transitions. The footage is very raw and it feels real. It's not over produced, yet there has been a ton of thought put into things like the choice of music and the juxtaposition of the moving images and vibe of what we hear. For example, at the 9:30 minute mark, the SFX are from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That is a large departure from what we would traditionally find in a surf film, but it makes perfect sense. This film's opening and closing are great examples of how to break the rules of a traditional edit in a tasteful way. And the more you can do that, the more you will find success.

A good script

When you're thinking about long form films, it's good to think about dialogue and the story and how to write down your idea so that people will be able to understand the complete picture before you shoot. Ferris Bueller's Day off is an amazing film. Not just because it's about taking "time off" from school but because it captures the humanity of what it means to be in highschool. It was written and directed by John Hughes who was incredibly talented at capturing real humanity with a twist. Check him out. Good Will Hunting is obviously great because of Robin Williams. But who wrote it? Who wrote the words for Robin? Matt Damon. Which goes to show that your actors can also be your partners in writing. So use the people you trust and bring them into your scripts in more ways than one. Embrace their creativity. The last script below is from the director Terrance Malick. He has only made six films in his entire life. And he is regarded as one of the best directors on the planet. So, sometimes quality can trump quantity.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Good Will Hunting

The Tree of Life

The calvary isn't coming

If you love film and want to continue to make great work, listen to Mark. Learn from what he is saying. You are the calvary. The ability to make great work is within you. But it does take the work. And the risk of falling on your face. But that's ok. If you're not taking the risks to make great work, it will always be less than. Find an hour in your day to watch this.

A memento to doing the simple and great idea

I think the backwards approach of this movie intro is strange and clever very different. It takes you a few minutes to realize what the video is showing, but the way that the reverse video introduces the plot is very subtle and clever. It's an odd artistic choice but I like it.

Cutting it down

We are storytellers. And sometimes your story might be as long as war and peace. But these days most people don't have the time or patience to watch something so long. This clip is an amazing example of how you can tell a huge story in a small amount of time. Even though this is only the opening and closing of Quentin Tarantino's movie True Romance it says so much about the story. It makes you want to read and watch more as well. Let's create short moving stories that make us want to learn more about the ESA Experience and life itself. Note that the voiceover is so crafted. Each word is precisely placed and connected. There's no fluff. It's super poetic while not being a confusing poem. Watch this once. And then watch it again with you eyes closed. And then watch it a third time only listening to the music and how it interacts with the picture. Then go watch the movie. All good stuff.

A single take. (Assignment for week of Feb 6)

Sometimes the most epic and amazing videos involve a single take. Everything flows. There are no cuts, just action. Everything works in unison, and it is evident that everyone on the set knew what they needed to or else the entire scene would have needed to be reshot. The videos below exemplify these sort of moving pictures. This week we'll have you create one of your own around a single subject. The subject should involve one of the aspects of the ESA course experience. It could be science, art, mathematics, english, the outing club, or free periods. Up to you. Just make it great. The Osmo is a great camera for shooting single take videos. It will arrive to you in the am. You have today to concept, script and storyboard.

This intro for Raging Bull

gives a great example of how to frame up titles with regards to moving footage. Each piece of type is ideally set within the frame and the action in the frame is aligned with the type as well. The slow motion gives an awesome sense of a moment in time and the black and white mixed with red gives great contrast. Be inventive and thoughtful with each element of your films and they will pop like this.

Below are some examples of amazing visuals throughout cinema history.

Whenever you're thinking about storyboards, think about how you will compose each shot and how you will convey the emotion within it. That emotion can be an expression on someone's face, the angle at which you shoot the subject, the lighting or the coloring of the film. Usually it's a combination of all of these things that makes for a great shot. When you watch the following film, notice how each of these shots is at most about 2 seconds long. Yet, in almost every shot, a very clearly defined emotion and idea is portrayed. That's what makes for amazing film. What would your two second ESA Experience be? Think about it. Then you're going to make it.

Below are some examples of really cool Cinemagraphs:

The key with making great Cinemagraphs is to ride the line between creating a beautiful photo and video. Often times a single element of movement is best. Coloring your image to have a specific feel is almost really important.

Assignment for the week of Jan 30 - Anigifs and Cinemagraphs

Hi EXrs, this week we're going to create anigifs around the ESA Experience. I've loaded three tutorials into the EX Labs site here. Your assignment this week is to create a unique anigif campaign that expresses the ESA Experience in your own ways. There are different ways to create anigifs. You can use video, still images and even create a mix of the two by creating a Cinemagraph. Basically your task is to create a campaign of three anigifs that express the ESA Experience, by this Friday. When we think of a campaign it means that our anigifs will all have a similar sub theme or strategy behind the overarching idea of the ESA Experience. So for example, maybe your sub theme would e experiencing nature, or science or sports or studying. The anigifs should feel as though they live in the same world as each other. And they should be rad. Remember that your anigifs will loop so it's important to think of them as a constant visual flow, when coming up with your concepts. For example, a locker opening and closing might be cool, or water constantly running through a fountain. Keep em fun and simple.

Brett LandryJanuary 30, 2017

Double Exposure

Brett LandryJanuary 23, 2017

Each shot as a photo.

I love this content because of the photographic elements; in that each shot could stand alone as itself as a photo.

Welcome to the EX Labs Vlog. Here you'll find weekly updates on class along with inspiration in the form of video content. You are allowed to comment on posts and to ask questions etc. It's basically a message board for us all to communicate and make and exchange great ideas and work.

Brett LandryJanuary 13, 2017