Season One – 2 Reel Guys

Episode 20: Working with Crew

Filmmaking is a collaborative craft. Yes, you can do everything yourself, but the best movies involve a team of creative people. Actors, producers, directors…. and crew. But what’s the best way to work with your crew?

In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss why harnessing the creative ideas of your crew is so important, how to speak to them and how to balance between providing direction and micro-managing. Along the way, they’ll share their experiences of working with crews on large projects.

Episode 19: Sound Design

Sound design is more than just sound effects. It is the entire aural environment of your movie. Sometimes, sound design can be simple — just one person talking. However, most of the time, it is layers of sound all carefully mixed together to provide a greater sense of reality to your images.

In this episode of 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan discuss what sound design is and, using the same scene, provide four different examples of how the “feel” of a scene is influenced as the environment of sounds it contains changes. Then, they discuss some techniques you can use to improve your own sound design.

Episode 18: Documentaries and Reality

Unlike feature films, most documentaries (or reality shows) are unscripted. In many cases, they start shooting with only an outline and the script is developed as the material is shot and edited.

However, just because a documentary is unscripted does not mean it is disorganized, or that it can ignore the basic tenets of storytelling. In fact, just the opposite. As hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan explain, story-telling is just as important as scripted projects. And in this episode, they give you some tips you can use to improve your own unscripted projects.

Episode 17: Telling Stories with Music

Music, in whatever project you are creating, suggests the emotional response your audience should be having at that moment. But how do you use music, and how does your story impact the type and placement of the music you use?

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan examine the impact music has on a project, using several specific examples of the difference in emotional content and meaning that occur when you use the same music, but put it in a different place.

Episode 16: Editing Secrets

Editing is story-telling. While we can all agree with that, that sentence isn’t particularly helpful. What editing is actually doing is telling your story by juxtaposing different shots so that your audience sees, hears, and feels what you want them to feel.

This sounds so easy… but the choices are virtually endless.

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan examine how the process of editing can enhance your story. Along the way, Norman deconstructs a scene and shows how changing the placement of shots, the addition of close-ups, and altering the timing can completely change the emotional focus of a scene.

Episode 15: Solving Production Problems

Shooting your film is a time of constant problem-solving. But how do you decide how to solve a particular production problem? Back in Episode 4 we discussed how to adjust resources based on People – Facilities – Time – and Money. Is that the best criteria to use?

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Larry Jordan and Norman Hollyn look at how problems can be solved by looking at them from the perspective of the story you are telling. Plus, they supplement this with a few stories of their own.

Episode 14: Dancers

In Episode 6 we acknowledged that many filmmakers are afraid to work with actors. And we learned that this is often because they don’t know how to talk with them. The same is even more true when you’re working with dancers. Yet a good set of dancers, working with a good choreographer, can have just as much impact on your story as actors.

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Larry Jordan and Norman Hollyn look at how different stories can demand different discussions with your dancers — and help you to see that working with dancers is no different than working with any other collaborator. It all tracks back to your story.

Episode 13: Camera Angles

There’s an expression that there is only one correct camera position for a shot. We don’t actually believe that, but what IS true is that an understanding of what different camera angles, positions, and the blocking of the actors within the frame, can help bring your story to a deeper level.

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Larry Jordan and Norman Hollyn look at the implications on your story of your choices of where to place your camera when you shoot.

Episode 12: Color

Color may not tell your story, but it certainly reinforces it. Color tells the audience what to expect in a scene before the first word of dialog is even spoken. And, as you might expect, different colors have different meanings.

In this episode of the 2 Reel Guys, hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan look at the impact of color in a scene.

Episode 11: Costume Design

The first time a director really gets to see a character is when they first walk on the set. What that character looks like is, more often than not, the responsibility of the costume designer. How does a costume designer decide what an actor should look like? In this episode, we find out.

Hope Hanafin, vice president of the Costume Designers Guild, joins hosts Norman Hollyn and Larry Jordan for this episode of the 2 Reel Guys. In it, we discuss the process of costuming; and what caught our attention is that it doesn’t really start with clothes!