Video Production
About Me
I knew I needed to go into communications after some divine intervention; though, I learned a lot of great things in the business department at BYU-Idaho. I’ve always loved filming things and creating funny videos in high school, so I decided to pursue that career path. I’m currently job searching and hoping to land a stable job creating videos for a company through advertising, internal media, and other promotional content. I love to spend time with my wife, family, and friends. I’m an avid gamer, outdoorsman, gym rat, and love to play airsoft on the weekends.
The Short Film
Project Summary
This suspenseful action-thriller is based off the internet fanfiction universe of “SCP”, which stands for Secure, Contain, Protect. This is the slogan for the secret government agency, The Foundation, which is burdened with tracking down, observing, and containment of anomalies ranging from ethereal creatures to dangerous animate objects and more.
I wanted to really show off my creative abilities with this, and prove that I have what it takes to make it in the film industry. I was the writer, producer, director, camera man, cinematographer, gaffer, and editor. I had my good friend hold the boom for me (I can do a lot, but not everything!) I had a blast working with tons of people to pull this off with virtually no budget.
On to the production side of things… I filmed the whole thing on the Blackmagic Ursa G2 using a Sigma 24-70mm zoom lens. Since the film is quite literally a run and gun film, I too was running around with the camera. There are a lot of shaky shots as a result. I occasionally used the easyrig to help me hold the thing (it weighs around 25 pounds) and a tripod for some of the shots. I used Aperture 300d’s with lanterns for some of the shots, and reflectors for others. I edited the entire thing in Davinci Resolve, and used it’s special FX engine, Fusion, to render the bullet casings and the rain FX. I really like the color correcting capabilities of Davinci as well. The software is second to none… and it’s free.
I coordinated with my good friends at Advantage Airsoft in Menan to lend me all the gear and replica guns you see in the film. And the costume and main location are courtesy of the Haunted River, also in Menan.
Senior Showcase
My booth was simple. A larger poster, a QR code that linked to the YouTube video, and a prop to catch a few glares. Our booth ended up being segregated from the rest of the showcase, but It had the advantage of being less noisy so people could enjoy the films with less distractions. We had a curtained-off area that Chase, Jean, and I shared. We hooked up my laptop and speakers to the TV and I manually alternated our films for each audience. Most of the time we had a full house! The area could only seat 12, so there were lines forming here and there.
A full house!
BTS Photos
Here’s a collage of BTS images taken and edited by my sister, Ariana Roylance.
Q&A
What was my favorite part of the whole process?
After putting in around 100 hours of work, the best part is the smile on peoples faces after they watched. I love hearing all the positive feedback.
What was my least favorite part?
Definitely hauling the equipment around. I probably had the biggest checkout orders this semester. I would frequently make 3 or 4 trips to my car to load and unload everything 4+ times per day.
What would I do differently next time?
I’d like to have a bigger crew to help me on set. It was myself and my friend Christian Nelson that helped me with almost everything. I would use some of my actors to help me when I could, but for the most part it was just the two of us.
How long did shooting take?
I shot 95 percent of the film in two Saturdays. We began around 4 and filmed until 10 the first night, and 1 am the second night. I later took a third day to shoot the police interview, featuring a real sheriff’s deputy, Joseph Sevy. I shot that last because getting permission from his supervisor took awhile. Editing took the longest. After about 6 rough cuts and two “final” versions, editing was around 60 of those 100 hours. About 4 was re-recording audio in the schools Communications Building podcast room. The rest was physically filming and planning.
Where’d all that gear come from?
95 percent of it came from Advantage Airsoft in Menan. It’s a local airsoft store that sells tactical gear and airsoft replicas. I’m an avid airsofter and there’s an awesome group out here in east Idaho that will get together most Saturdays for bb-wars. Joseph Sevy started that business and it’s really helped the sport grow out here. He’s a really cool guy with lots of cop stories to tell. The costume came from The Haunted River. Joseph is good friends with the owner and he gave us permission to use his property and costume.
What’s next?
I don’t know yet. Isn’t that exciting? Ideally, I’d like to have a stable job with a nice salary and minimal travel. That means working for a company as a part of their marketing team. I would be doing things like creating commercials, designing marketing campaigns, doing social media content, internal video productions, and other stuff like that. Let me know if you have an opportunity for me! b1roylance@gmail.com