March 17, 2015
Filmmaker Live developer Accelerated Pictures has been accepted into the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator Spring 2015 cohort in Seattle. We’re excited to have been selected from over 500 entries into this mentor-driven program that recognizes the evolutionary potential of Filmmaker Live and how it will impact film.
“The Microsoft Ventures Accelerator with its mentors and connections will slingshot our next release of Filmmaker Live.”
- Don Alvarez, President Accelerated Pictures
Being in the accelerator lets us continue to drive change in how Filmmakers plan their projects, make better decisions, reduce time on set, and share their vision.
We know communicating your vision is hard, and most filmmakers find their clients and backers have a hard time understanding the creative vision of a story. Being able to plan your project quickly and easily where you discover shots and build films with your team before production makes it easier to share your vision.
Being in the accelerator will let us fine tune our non-linear planning abilities for filmmakers to make changes to their edited footage without having to re-do their work.
The Microsoft Ventures Accelerator is another great opportunity to extend Filmmaker Live. Last year, we presented at 2014 Directors Guild of America Digital Days, highlighting important new technologies that will impact film and at 2014 SWSX Interactive Festival for Entertainment and Content.
January 29, 2015
A lot of people like to think of Visual Planning as a continuum, storyboards on one end, Previz on the other. We need an evolution in thinking about Visual Planning. Visual Planning for better communications, better team alignment, and better decisions about projects. Look deeper and think more broadly about how Visual Planning can give you the improved production efficiency you need.
Storyboards are approachable and easy to learn. They are fast and easy – if you know how to draw. Previz is precise, at a high cost, long lead times, and limited flexibility. We think there is a need for something better.
Visual Planning tools should carry you from development to pre-production right up to the day of the shoot.
As you get ready to go into production, lots of things happen. The odds are your plan won't go as planned. When you need to make changes to storyboards, you generally end up drawing new ones. When you need to make changes to your previz, you generally can’t. Planning and versatility need to be in the same sentence. Script changes happen constantly.
More Versatile than Storyboards – Non Linear Planning
Good Visual Planning needs to be interactive. Add a character to a scene or remove him, when the idea strikes, change your camera angles or add a camera on the fly, all without starting over. If the sponsor wants better coverage or their product, show them the result immediately without scrapping your work. We call this non-linear planning, just like the non-linear editing you’re already accustomed to.
Visual Planning solutions should also be share-able and collaborative, so you can stay aligned with your team and clients before, during, and after the pre-production meetings, whether you are working across the table or across the country. They have to be fast and easy and artistically expressive (they should even be fun as well).
We think it’s time to start thinking differently about Visual Planning, and we built Filmmaker Live to help get you there.
January 24, 2015
Visual Planning isn’t new. The challenge in film has always been how to share your vision quickly and effectively with everyone involved in funding and producing the project.
Storyboards are easy to create but depend heavily on each viewer’s interpretation to fill in the details, particularly when the camera is in motion or their maker has limited drawing skills. Previz precisely shows what part of your film will look like, at great cost and lead times and generally through the eyes of a contractor who won’t actually be shooting the final film.
People used to say Visual Planning ranged from storyboarding on one end to Previz on the other, but that misses most of what matters and happens in Visual Planning. Visual Planning isn’t about creating storyboards or previz reels, it’s about increasing your production efficiency and effectiveness so that everyone understands your vision. What’s important isn't the format, it's the flexibility, versatility, understandability, cost, speed, and accuracy.
We need an evolution in thinking about Visual Planning. Visual Planning for better communications, better team alignment, and better decisions about projects.
And we would like to challenge you to start thinking differently about how you plan and the results you get and would like to get.
