So, as you might/should know, the first video shooting for Project F went down on December 1st (+ some test videos on November 30).
Well, there were quite a lot of obstacles to handle….
I was very excited and anxious at the same time about it in the days before, and I slept 2-4 hours each night prior to the shooting…..
Planning such a shooting and doing it…. was all completely new to me.
And as a bonus, I’m pretty much a nerd/couch potato, so this was all quite far away from my usual comfort zone.
The location was really good, …..BUT….had quite some problems to offer as well.
The lighting was way too dark outside the pool, which is a problem especially now in December.
The ceiling was pretty high and the most important lamp out of 5 wasn’t working. The other ones were pretty weak.
In the pool, there were two big lights on one side so we tried not to shoot in the direction of these lights.
The counter-current system wasn’t working, I wanted to use that as well.
The pool was pretty big for a private indoor pool (4×8 meters) but rather shallow (1.45 meters).
And the biggest problem was the fact that the pool had no tiles like a usual one but a special sort of thick foil on the concrete.
That was very nice to walk on….but as I soon realized….after swimming around with my fins…. fins would easily damage that foil with dents and small rips.
That simply meant that we couldn’t use fins and also that we had to be extra careful not to further damage that foil.
Also, there wasn’t much time to shoot, at least not as I would have liked to have.
The location was only available during the week, so not every participant had a lot of time.
3 of the 4 frogwomen arrived by train (2 at the same time) and I had to pick them up which took time as I had to drive over to the train station 3 times and back.
But more importantly, the weather was very bad which affected the trains directly in this case.
One frogwoman was scheduled for 5 hours of shooting but due to massive delays, incl. a tree on the tracks ….which damaged the train(!)…. she was only there for 2 hours.
And that wasn’t the only delay of the day with the German rail….
I planned some scenarios for the day, but with the shortened time we had to improvise quite a lot.
Also, directing and filming were completely new territories for me.
We certainly didn’t film as many videos as I hoped we would be, but well…..it was my first shooting ever….so it was basically a test run.
But with all these circumstances included….I’m still very happy with how it went!
It was a great experience for sure and we did manage to film some good scenes.
The 4 frogwomen really did a good job, I am very happy about that!
2 of them had no scuba experience at all and one only very little from a scuba experience lesson.
The other one has scuba and freediving experience and that really shows in the one big action scene we filmed as she was mastering it like a stunt double.
I was very happy that these two were willing to make that scene, not everyone would have done that!
And I am very glad that all 4 frogwomen and the camera guy/divemaster were happy with the shooting and they all would return for another one.
Next week I will work with a new editing program to cut and post-processing the video footage.
I want to upload the first video next Sunday if everything goes as planned, and then one more each week….or perhaps two.
They will be available for sale here on the site. Will need to see if I will have some sort of download shop system for that later on, but not for the start.
I hope that the videos will get bought in a way to re-finance at least parts of the costs ….as acquiring all that gear was verrrrry expensive for me.
I spend a lot on especially these wetsuits, the scuba tanks, all the masks, regulators, fins etc.
And this location was quite expensive as well….
All that killed quite the biggest part of my savings.
I learned quite a lot and have written down quite some notes on how to improve the whole process on the next shooting.
Next time I wanna shoot much more according to script with less improvising.
Also, I will work on my camera skills in the meantime to get the best setup for the next shooting.
In the meantime, just a little teaser….. :
(the picture is a massively cropped screenshot of the unedited video footage)
Yeah, that is actually the intake hose…in my videos, no outtake hoses will get cut 😉
#no cheating
In the VIP-area you can see the whole (uncropped/still unedited) picture/screenshot 😉
–
First of all, thank you very much for your efforts.
I cant wait to see the outcome.
Best regards!
Thanks for your support! 🙂
Wow! Sounds like an amazing adventure in itself, I’m glad the ladies had fun, it sounds like they really came through for you. The rest of your crew were champs as well. I am so glad you made happen, why others only dream about.
I can’t wait to see the clips, and the many videos to come.
Yeah, it was quite a rollercoaster ride, at 2PM on Wednesday I was quite frustrated (location problems, train delays and only one video shoot until then) but very late that day I sat at the table eating a late dinner and was smiling big time….
It sounds like you had a few challenges to overcome but given that this is the first ever time you have attempted a project like this, I think you did an outstanding job given the circumstances. Use it as positive experience and know that what you learned here will only make your productions even more successful in future. I’m really glad your frogwomen seemed to enjoy the experience and perform well. It sounds like you just need a more suitable swimming pool in future with more water depth and better lighting. Great job overall!
I can’t wait to see you finished videos once edited. Where will you upload the videos to? An external site or in your VIP section?
Thanks!
I will upload selected videos to the VIP site early, but still thinking about the process.
And some small behind-the-scenes footage perhaps.
But usually, the videos will be presented here on a special page. For starters, I might send download links manually to each order.
Sooner or later I will need some sort of download shop system, I will look into it.
That sounds good. To start, it would be great to have them in the VIP with any good behind the scenes accompanying videos for your regular fans/members. Maybe in the future once you have a small library of content, a dedicated download shop would be the way forward.
Well, if I would upload all of them into the VIP club at the beginning….the prices for it had to go up quite a lot.
But I will have videos for free for long-term VIP-club supporters…. 😉
Yes, understandably the VIP price would have to go up for something suitable reasonable to help cover your costs. I was just thinking as the most logical location to start with unless you do manual orders with paypal payments just for individual videos etc. I guess it will all work itself out.
I can’t wait to see the finished work! I hope maybe you will tempt us with some teaser screenshots of these lovely scuba ladies whilst the editing work goes on! 😉 I will certainly be supporting you with a few euros to see your finished videos!
I will figure something out!
I guess selling them individually would be the fairest option.
But I will pack an extra video in the VIP club here and there and bonus video snippets, pictures, and something like that.
Thanks for your support! 🙂
Congratulations on your first shoot!
I am happy because you have managed to carry out your project. It’s good when someone has ideas and works to make them come true.
As you say, this first experience has to work to learn and improve.
As I told you before, my favorite frogwoman is with a vintage beavertail wetsuit, and they will be the videos that interest me the most. But anyway surf wetsuits can look great and like me just the same.
Congratulations!
Thanks for the kind words!
Well, Frogwoman Alice is actually wearing an Elios vintage style beavertail wetsuit (smooth skin) in her appearances 😉
Perfect! 🙂
Well, don’t expect too much due to the lighting, but the first video I wanna upload next Sunday will feature her with the Technisub mask underwater.
I am sure that you have done the best you can. Lighting is very important. You can improve all that in the next videos.
Yeah, I can and I will. Such practical experiences surely help the most…
Looks awesome! It would be cool if you could someday recreate the Citadel Below scene with all the ladies!
Certainly a great comic, but recreating that would be quite problematic with that content….
It would be an even better comic if they would finish it.
You can get fake rubber knives on amazon or ebay. along with sheath. Great for underwater battles. My ex and I used to do this while diving on occasion for kicks. Sadly, no video. My new GF will hopefully be certified by next summer. Cross your fingers, I have some really nice gear for the both of us.
That sounds like fun! 🙂
Actually, I did look for fake knives on eBay, especially ones with a blade that would disappear on impact.
But they looked mostly very fake and I decided against it. Will take another look before a second shooting.
One video of the first shooting will actually feature the use of a real knife though as I already teased 😉