The following is a very detailed and interesting e-mail I received from Paul and my response to that message. I believe it contains some excellent advice and some inspirational words on filmmaking that I wanted to share with all my website visitors. Enjoy! "I've just finished watching your film. I downloaded it from your website in BitTorrent format as I find it to be a very efficient and effective method for getting files. I have some background in still photography, broadcasting and music and would like to offer some comments on your film. First off I want to congratulate you on producing a film of this size. It takes a lot of work and I think you're doing a good job of promoting it. The background music was very fitting and well mixed. You're use of zoom and/or special lenses in some scenes was effective as well. Possibly in some scenes you could benefit from a "fluid head" tripod to reduce vibration. These are available at most photography stores and are available for a modest price. These special heads greatly reduce shaking while panning the camera around. For some of the scenes when the camera is moving, perhaps consider making a really basic rolling frame, such as a couple of pieces of wood sitting on a skateboard (of the top of my head) rolling with the camera on top of it. Alternately, you could try panning the camera as the subject is moving. Reducing camera shake will go a long way to providing better film quality.

One method you could incorporate into your next feature is mixed dialog. Most of your dialog was recorded directly into the video camera on scene. This sound includes ambien reverb from the room and comes of as a bit "amateurish". (Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm only trying to provide constructive criticizim.) There are two ways you could improve on this. One is to find a camera that has a unidirectional or telescoping microphone. If you're not familiar, these have a longer more cigar shape to them and are better at picking up the sounds that are more or less directly in front of them and at a little bit greater distance. Sometimes these microphones are available as a seperate purchase "add-on" to existing cameras. The other method is to use a seperate audio recorder and a mic and boom setup. Most people don't have this in their studios, but you may be able to rent from a film equipment store. Alternately if your campus has a film program you may be able to borrow/rent equipment from them. Give this new setup a few test runs and see what it is capable of and try out different ways of using it. Once your familiar with it a bit more, go ahead and be creative. I once saw a feature on TV that detailed how sound effects have been incorporated into films ever since sound was added to motion pictures. If you could find a similar film or book I think you'd find it facinating. Sound effects, even if mild ones (eg, a door knock or phone ring) can add greatly to the events in your film, and it's amazing where you can find sources: CD's (many can be loaned from public libraries), online and even common house hold items, especially in places you wouldn't expect to find what you're looking for. A great example of this is when George Lucas told his audio effects team to find an effect for the X-Wings and Tie Fighters when they were shooting their guns. Well, what this effect essentially is, is a medium sized wrench tapping on a long guide wire that was holding up a transmition tower. They took the samples back to the audio lab and (if I remember correctly) they sped up the sample a little bit, and there is your laser sound. When Jean-Claude Van Dam was kicking someone in the movie "Street Fighter" the "contact" sound was a broom handle hitting a bunch of celery stalks. Don't be afraid to be creative. The lighing in most of your scenes was well done. There were a few that could have benefited from a little bit extra illumination. Even if the effect you intended is darkness, you could still add indirect lighting or coloured lighting to give the camera a bit more to work with and still maintain effect. Dark scenes, especially with digital video cameras are difficult to film. The darker the scene becomes the more grainy the digital video becomes. This is less apparent with more expensive cameras but the problem really can not be eliminated. Try experimenting with different lighting and lighting techniques. Experiment with well lit still scenes and with darker, dimer still scenes. Then try adding people and motion. I was recently able to see screenwriter and director Paul Haggis here in my hometown (and his) of London, Ontario (Canada). He had many helpful comments for students that want to get into film production. - Paul Haggis on IMDb From a recent publication in the local newspaper The London Free Press: "Don't ever let anybody tell you you can't do something," the balding, bearded Haggis urged his young admirers. "If you have a passion, follow it no matter what." (Publication Source Link) You have some good talent for film and the dedication to do the promotion. With just a little bit more work you could make some real quality productions and even win some awards. Keep up the good work. -- Paul E Mak, EIT My reply to the previous e-mail was: Hi, Thank for you very much for writing and for the quality of your feedback. With your permission I would like to post your comments on my site. A fluid head tri-pod is on my list of equipment to buy and I've been going over some plans to build a skateboard wheel dolly. I'm really excited about being able to use some new equipment to improve the production quality of my future works. I really enjoyed reading your example of how they created / found the sound for the x-wing and tie fighters. I just watched the extended version of the TV series "Lost" and they gave an example of how the "beeping sound in the hatch" is actually a sound from a local convenience store price scanner. I haven't gotten very much into sound recording and mixing as of yet. This isn't on my website, but originally one of my college friends was going to mix the soundtrack and music for me (with some dubbing and stuff to spruce up the sound). He had a studio type setup in his apartment and we worked on recording some stuff, but not only did he not finish, but he quit the project and never gave me any of the stuff we had been working on, a month before I had planned on having the movie completed. I was absolutely determined to complete the movie on time, so I ended up having to learn about sound editing, find music / artists for the soundtrack, and put the entire thing together myself. I actually finished the final mix just hours before it was released to the world and all with one day to spare. I'm very happy I was able to complete it and that so many people have been able to watch and enjoy the film. I definitely need to learn more about sound production though. Ideally for my next production I'll be using a pro-sumer camera with a zoom mic built on the camera in combination with a separate recorder for ambient sounds, and maybe I'll be able to add some mixed dialogue and sounds that didn't originate in the shot. I actually was able to save some money and buy one, but unfortunately, after moving to Los Angeles and not being able to find work for a few months, I desperately needed money and had to sell it before I was ever able to shoot anything interesting (that was a sad day, I considered selling all my other possessions instead, but that wasn't feasible). I'm now doing ok financially on freelance web design work, but I have no equipment and very little extra money, so I'm working on figuring out some kind of solution. I bought a few books on filmmaking, including a film school text book on directing. That's AWESOME that you were able to see Paul Haggis. My favorite work by him is 'Crash', which is one of my top ten favorite films of all time. Watching that movie inspires me to make movies. I found some very interesting things about him in the article about his visit, like he dropped out of college and moved to LA to pursue his dream of filmmaking. This quote from your e-mail is very inspiring. I think I'm going to put it on the front page of my filmmaking site, thank you very much for sending it to me. "Don't ever let anybody tell you you can't do something," the balding, bearded Haggis urged his young admirers. "If you have a passion, follow it no matter what." (Publication Source Link) I've already written another full length feature, in a different genre: horror. It's by far the best thing I've written in my life, and I believe it will make a successful movie, far superior to 'Boy Who Never Slept'. Unfortunately, the script can't be made adequately with a null budget, so I'm currently in the middle of a major decision: where to go from here. I'm leaning towards submitting that script as a spec script to the conventional places that include literary agents, production companies with budgets and contests. And while all that is in progress, I have an exciting short, I've written and storyboarded. A short will make it a lot easier for me to work on perfecting a lot of the technical shortcomings in my previous work. After that, I'm going to write/direct/produce another feature. I've already starting writing another full length script in the drama/comedy department and I'm taking the budget into account at every step on this one. Thanks again for your kind words. I expect it to take A TON of hard work to be successful, but I'm 100% dedicated and willing to do whatever it takes. I myself ignored my passion for most of my life (I joined the army, went to College, but changed my major 5 times, ended up studying math and computer science, but not finishing). All the while, inside I've always known what my passion was, I just was afraid to follow it, but not anymore. I've been receiving advice, and words of encouragement from people all over the world. Every e-mail like yours strengthens my resolve. Thanks for watching and for writing. More films are in the works, Solomon