Special thanks should be given to The Art Institute of Atlanta, specifically my department chair Rob Albertson and portfolio teacher Fran Burst, without whom this entire project simply would not have happened. Rob granted me access to AIA’s audio/video equipment even after my graduation in June of 2007, something never before (or since) done for a student, so that this project could become a reality.

          “Reverie Blvd.” was shot completely digital using the Sony DSR-250 and the Canon XL-1 cameras. I’m particularly found of the various Sony DSR models, but used the Canon for a few scenes when I needed something a bit more lightweight.These cameras record digitally on mindDV tapes which captured onto (in our case) Mac computers in post production. The hope is to obviously use HD for up-coming projects.

          The dolly and track that we used quite extensively was actually designed and built by Kevin Wilson for his own projects and he was gracious enough to let us use it. Necessity is the mother of invention and I believe that small budgets force the filmmaker to become more creative and resourceful. In the case of the dolly, I wasn’t creative, but I was resourceful and used the creativity of another. :P

          Various microphone setups were used (obviously based on the need), but the majority of our audio was collected using a standard Shure shotgun mic mounted on a boom pole or stand. We learned a lot about different methods of obtaining clean audio in places such as downtown Marietta, where it would have been very easy for the sounds of the city to drown out the actors. Some of the dialog was recorded later in more controlled environments and the rest was cleaned up in post-production.

          Ours was a pretty bare bones setup. We shot with only one camera (not counting the behind-the-scenes camera) and a majority of the shots had been previously storyboarded (which I will also cover), which also helped to simplify the use and setup of the equipment.