The SNL Title Sequence

Over thanksgiving break I had the glorious opportunity of joining some friends to a rehearsal screening of SNL (after sleeping overnight on the streets of New York waiting for tickets).

There's plenty I could say about the impressive studio performance, or how they managed to cram 5 separate stages in to a room just over half the size of a football field, but what I'm sharing today involves the one part of Saturday Night Live that is in fact not live – the title sequence.

My interest was sparked when I found a blog post by the creator of the title sequence, Alex Buono, just days after attending the rehearsal. Entitled "HOW WE DID IT – SNL TITLE SEQUENCE".

The full article has really useful information, including his stylistic techniques which were mostly (and most impressively) done in camera.

A few key points stuck out to me however:

1. Custom bokeh

Ah yes, that soft Japanese word we use to define the out of focus area of a photographic image. And to my latest discovery, how the out of focus light shines in to the camera can be manipulated into anything you want!

Bokeh is actually a reflection of the shape of the iris of the lens itself, which is usually why we see it as circular. In in its simplest terms, if you create a filter that's smaller than the diameter of the iris, the out-of-focus bokeh will magically take the shape of the filter in place of the iris. For Buono, the result came out something like this:

To have an effect like this coming strait into camera is just eff-ing cool.

2. A cool toy called "pixelstick"

Last year a company called Bitbanger Labs started a rather successful Kickstarter for their new product, "pixelstick". The page has so far brought in 571% of the initial goal...

...and for good reason, the capabilities of this device are incredible:



By slowly walking across screen several times, he accomplished this stop-motion clip that would be near impossible to accomplish with such accuracy just a few years ago.

In action:

Buono goes into great detail about how he accomplished the SNL title sequence, covering a range of equipment, lenses, and devices that gave the sequence its unique tone. I highly recommend it for any experimental or technical-oriented filmmaker.

Also, as this my last blog post for the class, I say adieu. It's not over yet, but this has already been an incredible experience. 

How To Make The Perfect Sundance Film

That's right, by the time you finish reading this article you will be ready to dominate the Sundance scene.

Okay, not exactly. But Ted Hope (CEO of Fandor and author of Hope for Film) has shared his advice on how he got his films into Sundance.... all twenty-three of them. Not only that, but his films have won the Grand Jury prizes three times. That's the big kahuna of prizes at Sundance.

He even understands our modern short attention span and broke down his advice into 10 easy to follow steps. For extra measure, I've added pictures to extend your attention.

1. The protagonist

Center the story around an everyday person, someone the audience can identify with (not a wealthy or an evil type).

2. The plot

The protagonist needs to go through a serious arc, suffer hardship, and then come to some understanding that the audience didn’t expect.

3. Be bold

Show risk-taking in the filmmaking. Make it feel like it may all fall apart, but then save it at the last moment: People should say, “It’s bold.”

4. Be disciplined

If you can’t be bold, be disciplined. If it doesn’t fit the form, cut it out.

5. Own your aesthetic

Embrace, even flaunt, your aesthetic and the limits of your aesthetic. Don’t be ashamed of your limitations. Own your choices.

6. Engage bigger issues

The story has to be bigger than the movie itself and should deal with issues of either class conflict, gender conflict, sexual conflict, or other political issues. How do you comment on the world at large while still examining the minute and particular?

7. Cast

You need to cast a few stars or soon-to-be stars, so it should be an ensemble piece that covers generational conflict. You have the old-name actor you’re bringing back and the up-and-comer whom no one had seen yet, along with actors who can move from TV into feature films.

8. Shock value

It needs some moment of audacity, the kind of thing that people will talk about and that might even shock the uninitiated.

9. The right mix

Have a sense of humor about great tragedy— or find the tragedy in the hilarious. Embrace the cocktail; make it at least feel fresh.

10. Leave them wanting more

Shorter is better; 90 minutes is the new 120 (today, 80 is the new 90). No one ever says, "I wish it had been longer" when they leave the theater.

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The following was an excerpt from Hope's new book, "Hope For Film: From the Frontline of the Independent Cinema Revolutions", also featured in a blog post on nofilmschool.com. I found this post particularly interesting and insightful, and hopefully you find it helpful too as you write your new Sundance film :)

How to create an "empty" time lapse

First, watch this video.

The Day Wonderland Stood Still... from Bruce W. Berry Jr on Vimeo.

Now I don't know about you, but when I first saw that video my mind was blown. How could someone create a time lapse video in such a busy city without having any signs of life in it. I racked my brain for the little knowledge of time lapses it has, but came up empty. After heavy thinking I decided it was time to turn to the google. I stumbled upon a blog post that helped me understand the time lapse video a lot better, and also gave me inspiration to go out and shoot my own. I'll summarize it below, but if you want to find out more you can do so here.

First, go out and shoot a normal time lapse. Most of the effect is done in post. When shooting the lapse just try to shoot it during a low traffic time.

Then, when editing, you should have enough shots that every part of the traffic area (sidewalks, roads, walkways ect.) should be empty in at least one shot. Layer the photos over each other so that there is never any signs of human life.

Finally just put those layers over the time lapse video and it should work.

For more information follow this link, they do a much better job explaining than I do.

http://rossching.com/running-on-empty

And here is one last time lapse video.

Running on Empty from Ross Ching on Vimeo.