Film
I have been heavily involved in film since 2022. I've posted most of it to YouTube. Most of that growth has come organically from making KTL Films. I have done other work, mainly in documentaries.
Just for Fun
This is one we shot because I had a new gimbal and wanted to try it out. Troy operated the gimbal since I ended up being an actor.
| Credits | starring Alexander Vaughn Miller and Jeff Rick, cinematographer Troy Martin, editor Jeff Rick |
|---|
Instructional Videos
I've learned much of my filmmaking by collaborating with others and watching YouTube how-tos. Occasionally, I pass some of it on.
I made this first one for a friend who was struggling with low-light footage. In general, I recommend quality lighting (even in dark scenarios). In reality, you will have to deal with bad footage. I was the DP for a film where nobody brought lights, so we ended up using the 40W lights that I brought to replace lamp bulbs. It was really bad. Make sure lighting is arranged beforehand.
| Description | I was given some problematic footage. Here I show my steps to getting the most out of it. |
|---|
I have a good amount of experience isolating and recombining images. I had to do it for one KTL week, then made a film about the technique the week after. Someone called it me flexing. I was a bit thrown by that. I just wanted to create a how-to. The process I used was well within what I could already do. That may have been the first time I felt like I had real editing skills.
| KTL22P | exactly 2 props, at least 1 shot must be a P.O.V. / point of view |
|---|---|
| Description | documents events that happened the previous week when filming for Ashley Davidson |
| Credits | footage with Ashley Davidson and Charles George, camera work by Dina Forehand, song "Drivers License" by Olivia Rodrigo |
Esperanto Films
Alex Miller started the American Good Film Festival to bring filmmaking to the Esperanto community. He loves both, and there is prize money. A fair number of Atlanta filmmakers enter, most of us with no Esperanto at all. I'm one of those. Making a film in a language you do not speak is a unique challenge.
My first submission was with Sharon Powell, featuring her children. We kept the lines to a minimum to lessen the challenge. I printed a one-off Esperanto school shirt and added the school's name to the building in the edit.
| Description | A sumbission to La Usona Bona Film-Festivalo 2023. The American Good Film Festival is an Esperanto-based film festival. |
|---|---|
| Credits | film by Jeff Rick and Sharon Powell, starring Wyatt and Wini Powell |
That one did not get so much as an honorable mention, so for the next I wanted real Esperanto dialog. I had shot "The Message" as a one-minute KTL film; the first edit ran well over 60s and had to be cut to the bone. This seemed like the moment to bring it back and let the material breathe. What I wanted was an Esperanto film with acting worth watching. Jessica Doehling, one of the best actors I know, agreed to reprise her part. The film was good. The Esperanto was dubious. It still placed 5th.
The lesson was that my inclination toward a minimal crew has a limit. It was just Jessica and me. I ran camera and directed. She acted. Alex gave us a translation and pronunciation guide, but holding to it while doing everything else was hard. Someone whose only job was listening would have been worth a great deal.
| Description | A submission to La Usona Bona Film-Festivalo 2024. The American Good Film Festival is an Esperanto-based film festival. This submission received 5th place. |
|---|---|
| Credits | film by Jeff Rick, starring Jessica Doehling, translated into Esperanto by Alexander Miller, music by Kevin MacLeod |
After the premiere, Noah Rodden told me he was impressed by how much my color grading has improved. He's right, but the remark threw me for a second: I had been improving gradually enough not to notice. Noah is the best editor I know, so that is one of the best compliments I have received.