My Mastery Journey…
I’m a Visual Storyteller … HERE’S MY VIDEO!
Overarching Career Goal
To build a business that is a mid-sized production company with a small film backlot, sound stages, and supporting infrastructure, where at least one of the stages is equipped with a Virtual Production setup, making it possible to film traditionally on the regular film sound stages and to film ICVFX (In-Camera Visual Effects) on the stage that houses a Virtual Production setup.
I plan to spend the rest of my life building this production company that produces everything from swag to books, graphic novels, shows, and feature films. My desire is to build an organization that can be left as my legacy to any of my six children and grandchildren who are interested in being part of this organization. My hope is that, eventually, one or more of them will show interest in continuing it after I am no longer able to run the business.
Goal after Graduation
Six months after graduation, I will release a teaser trailer promoting a short film and a companion graphic novel. The creative content will be made primarily on the Unreal Engine.
18 Steps to My Goal
1. Complete Unreal Engine for Filmmakers training course
2. Finish mapping out the first complete story (rough)
3. Write the Teaser Trailer script
4. Create Storyboards for the Teaser Trailer
5. Create an Animatic for Teaser Trailer with placeholder audio
6. Create a detailed shot list for the Teaser Trailer
7. Create Mood Boards for each location and for each Major Character and Prop
8. Create each location in the Unreal Engine
9. Light and block each location with camera setups for each shot with stand-in Character models.
10. Build Character(s) using Unreal Engine’s Meta-Human
11. Build Animation Maps inside UE and block out all animations.
12. Render all of the scenes with separate passes for masking and Compositing
13. Create final composites and edit
14. HIRE a Colorist to do the Color grading (because I’m Colorblind)
15. Finalize, edit, and add all audio (e.g., Soundtrack, Foley, Dialogue, etc.)
16. Final Edit Master and Final Render
17. Export and upload to streaming sites,
18. Promote, Promote, Promote!
Connect with My P.L.N.
Submit a Teaser Trailer to the Epic Mega Grants, where Epic Games awards grants to the most promising productions each year with the intent of funding the production of my short film and graphic novel based on my Teaser Trailer.
Create a GoFundMe campaign to generate money to fund the Full Project.
Full Sail Library Resource:
In the August 2024 release of American Cinematographer magazine, the article “Incorporating ICVFX” (Marcks, 2024), the author breaks down the benefits of ICVFX and how they help filmmakers accomplish shots and sequences more effectively than shooting on location or on a greenscreen stage. The cinematographer on the Amazon series “Fallout,” stated the following, “Shooting film on an ICVFX stage had its advantages – notably, the way it softens the details, which helped it meld virtual and practical elements.”
Citations:
Marcks, I. (2024, August). Fallout Envisions Life After Annihilation. American Cinematographer, 105(8), 50-51.
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