short film
road kill
I made this in 2006. I’ve been kicking the idea around since film school. Not really knowing how I was going to do it. Well now that I do computer graphics and I have friends that do computer graphics too. They all pitched in to help me out. It’s only 4 minutes. What else do you have to do?
Shot on MiniDV and edited with Adobe Premiere. Effects were created with 3D Studio Max and Adobe After Effects. The film made it into a few film festivals. I was lucky enough to have it shown at The Big Muddy Film Festival at Southern Illinois University. My Alma mater!
Credits
Writer/Director/ Editor
Sean McMenemy
Director of Photography
Sean McMenemy
Producer/Assistant Director
Kathee Szak
John F. Kelly
Producer/Assistant Cameraman
Shane Duncan
CG Effects
Sean McMenemy and Shane Duncan
Shane Duncan
Sound Designer
Matt Kern
Music by
Freeway Willie Ross
John F. Kelly and Dave Casso
Production Assistant
Stephan Duncan
Shot on location in Michigan and Illinois
mini docs
hello lombard
I created a short doc series called Hello Lombard. I started mainly because I wanted to try out a documentary style of filmmaking. As you’ve seen with my site most of the content I create is visual effects or computer animations. I’ve done a few projects like this for marketing videos but I wanted to see I could tell a story and make something a little different than a regular commercial.
I loved living in Lombard, IL and I really wanted to see something nice happen in our downtown. I was really surprised when the Village President commented on my blog at the time, and it really made my day when I finally met him.
All the video were shot on miniDV and edited with Adobe Premiere, with some color correction in After Effects. Each video was shot in two stages. I’d go in do the main interview, then I’d go back for the b-roll, after I cut the interview down into a nice little narrative. That way I’d have a better idea of what kind of shots I might need to pick up. Now I’d do that in the same visit.
The thing I learned about this project is I can make a story out nothing. I had no idea what I was going to get. I just went in with 5 questions as we talked it turned into 20. But I got to find out a little more about the business and the people who run them.
Podcasts
Midwest Media Now!
I produced an audio podcast with over 30 episodes about content creation in the Midwest. It was was a great opportunity to talk with other filmmakers and learn about their process.
This podcast actually launched a group we called “Let’s Create” We had montly meeting of Podcasters, Artists, Filmmakers, Bands, Actors and Writers for the Chicagoland area.
All these prodcasts were produced with a varity of gear. I used an Zoom H2 for just talking recording out in the field. Using the built in mics for simple recording.
When I had more guest I would use my Azden 3 channel mic mixer or my Samson 6 channel mixer.
I even set up live broadcasts in the middle of Starbucks. It was fun people would come up and ask questions while we were on air. Loved that!
student films
A Remembrance
This turned out to be one of my favorite films I did in college. It was shot on Super8. No only am I in it but I’m also the camera man too. The animation part where I’m holding the heart was stop motion. My camera had an intervalometer on it with a remote jack. I found a footswitch for pausing audio tape recorder. I put a headphone extenstion to extend the reach. I was taping with my foot while changing out the hearts.
That was the last film my Wife appeared in. She’s an Accountant and CPA and was very bored by the film making process. How can anyone be bored making films?
My wife’s Grandparents also appeared in my little movie and her Grand Father made the music for me. They were real sports.
I still have that Super8 Camera. Someday I’ll shoot something with it again.
Perpetuation
This was my first 16mm film. Up until then I had shot Super8 and VHS video. I bought a Bolex for this project and future film projects while at school. I loved that camera but I’m glad the digital era is here.