Commentary

The Emmy Nominated web series Guidestones have begun documenting their experiences through the journey of creating Guidestones Season 2. This episode of the Guidestones Production Diary Jay Ferguson discusses his approach to directing, the tools that are available to filmmakers, and how sometimes it’s better to use these tools sparingly in order to give actors room to shine. “With directing you have lots of tools at your disposal to tell a story: you have cinematography , script, acting, you have music, score, sound effects, you have all of these tools and its quite a rich palet. One of the biggest mistakes that I think happens a lot is that directors over use all of this stuff. ” -Jay Ferguson

The Emmy Nominated web series Guidestones have begun documenting their experiences through the journey of creating Guidestones Season 2. In this episode of the Guidestones Production Diary, Guidestones creator Jay Ferguson dives into the often misunderstood art of lighting in cinema. Many of Guidestones’s acclaims to date have circled around the production value of the series, and what many people don’t quite understand is that lighting is one of the most crucial factors in aesthetic performance of any film or video. Jay talks about the many tricks he used throughout season 1 and how sometimes the magic hour saves the day. “I always say its about the eye. Not the camera but the eye thats in the camera. So the first thing you need to do is think about what you’re framing and what you’re shooting and how you’re using all the tools that any camera has to offer.” -Jay Ferguson

The Emmy Nominated web series Guidestones have begun documenting their experiences through the journey of creating Guidestones Season 2. Jay Ferguson speaks with the very talented cinematographer Rob Barnett about the shooting process and how to creatively handle some of Jay’s larger than life expectations. Jay and Rob explore the trials each have endured in the business as cinematographers, and relive some of their more challenging experiences while shooting Guidestones Season 1. Jay discusses some of the qualities behind Rob’s cinematic style that he appreciates and touches upon the trust existing between the two and how important that bond is when shooting with such high stakes.

Guidestones web series creator Jay Ferguson and the Guidstones team have begun documenting their experiences while creating Guidestones Season 2. Jay Ferguson speaks with Jeff Kassel about the writing process and his inevitable self criticism on projects like Guidestones. Jay and Jeff explore the personal dilemma’s writers and content creators face when seeking outsiders advice on the creative works put forth. The guys walk through the process, when its ok to tear apart someones work, when its productive to deconstruct concepts, and when it is counterproductive to criticize. “It use to be hard for me.. to spend all of this time to build something and then for  people to criticize it and its probably legitimate… the whole time people are critiquing your work you are justifying that what they are saying is not right… and now i find that i can sit pretty straight faced through some pretty nasty commentary on my stuff, searching for the kernel there thats going to help me make it better.” [...]

Guidestones web series creator Jay Ferguson and the Guidstones team have begun documenting their experiences while creating Guidestones Season 2. In the second instalment of the Guidestones Production Diary Jay speaks with longtime friend and filmmaker Jeff Kassel about one major difficulty when trying to develop a project. With a little bit of humor the two dive into the philosophies surrounding the often empty abyss of outgoing email and industry calls. Take a look and let the team know about your craziest industry phone experiences!

Guidestones web series creator Jay Ferguson and the Guidstones team have begun documenting their experiences while creating Guidestones Season 2. Jay begins his diary by reflecting on the writing process and what that means when approaching an interactive web series. Due to its transmedia format, the journey through Season 1 has been unlike anything the award-winning filmmaker has experienced to date and now with Season 2 underway, Jay reflects on the pressures to up the ante. The Guidestones Production Diary will follow Jay and the Guidestones team as they embark on Season 2. Many of the diaries will focus on the different roles each collaborator is responsible for and what that means technically when contributing to the series. The Guidestones Production Diary will also provide insights into the personal challenges and sacrifices that occur when bringing a web series to market. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Guidestones Production Diaries.

We were fortunate to sit down with Jay Ferguson, director and co-writer of the new interactive, transmedia web series Guidestones. He offers insight into working on such a large scale with a relatively low budget and what he feels web series brings to the table as medium. Jay is an award-winning filmmaker who has contributed as a writer, director, producer and cinematographer to over 15 feature films. His work with institutions such as The National Film Board of Canada has garnered him several awards, including the top cinematography award at the Atlantic Film Festival (Animals, 2005) and from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (Inside Time, 2008). He was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2005. Guidestones launches in early February! What is it about web series that made you interested in pursuing this platform? When I first had the idea to create content for the web, I understood the episodes [...]

We were fortunate to be able to discuss the making of the documentary web series, The Zeroes, with its director, Ivan Weiss. A North Carolina-based journalist and filmmaker, Weiss received his M.A. from the London Film School and spent a year on a journalism Fulbright in Moscow writing about extant remnants of Soviet culture. He has worked at several independent film and documentary production companies in London and New York, and as a journalist covering the Russian oil industry. Among his current projects is a series on contemporary artists. The Zeroes was made with Film@11, an independent media company based in Brooklyn, NY that offers video news on digital platforms. The Zeroes is presented as being based on Randall Lane’s book. How did you approach the creation of an episodic series that was essentially adapting the book, but nonetheless is an entirely different medium? Before we’d even read Randall’s book, [...]