Greenscreen

Over the years, we’ve become big fans of greenscreen backgrounds. They provide us with a great tool to make our stories more creative, entertaining, and cinematic.

Briefly, greenscreen refers to filming (or photographing) a subject in front of a green background. In editing, we take out the green background and replace it with another background (e.g. a picture of New York or footage from a sporting event). Our greenscreen work varies from simple sheet backgrounds for interviews to complex greenscreen soundstages for action sequences. Check out some pictures from our shoots and some completed greenscreen scenes

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Make-up

At JMK Life Films, we know that the execution of the concept is crucial to making a great video. That is, a really good idea and a really good script don’t automatically translate into a really good film. Special effects make-up is one of those areas that can make or break a concept. While producing a Wizard of Oz spoof for a Los Angeles family, we felt that good make-up was essential to the success of the video. In these photos, one of our favorite make-up artists, Lina Hang (linahang.com) performs her magic. Clients love the process, too. At what other time in your life would you and your family members do something like this?! Making a JMK Life Film is a unique experience. And we want the filmmaking journey to be just as fun and memorable as the final product.

(On a side note, the wicked witch was supposed to have a green face, as in the movie. But that day, someone astutely noticed that shooting a witch with a green face in front of a green screen would be a big mistake: her face would disappear in editing. )

Comedy

“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” – Mel Brooks

 

Yes. I agree. There’s a lot that goes into making a joke work in a film. Not only do you need to start with a funny idea, but then you need to write it well, act it well, shoot it well, edit it well, then pray that no one’s cell phone goes off during the screening. So when an audience laughs, it’s a great accomplishment!

During my adolescent years, there were a handful of comedies that I watched over and over again: Airplane, Under the Rainbow, The Naked Gun, The Three Amigos, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. That’s just a sampling. Through osmosis, I definitely received an education in comedy. And through reading and film school and discussions and more movie-watching and trial and error (lots of trials and lots of errors), I started to understand what I can do to increase my chances for a laugh. It’s a subtle thing, and the slightest change in timing or expression or music can make or break the joke. But the challenge of comedy is one of my favorite parts of telling a story, and at JMK Life Films, we want to bring out those comedic moments in your film.