Meet Joren Winge, a director based in California, United States and a member of the StudentFilmmakers Filmmakers Network. See Joren’s Network profile to connect.
Director, Writer, Musician Location: California, United States networking.studentfilmmakers.com/profile/mpc2001
Work: “Originally in film school I made experimental music videos with a lot of turntablism mixed in. I was heavy into the turntablist scene and have released break records [for turntablists] including Hee Haw Breaks 2, and Pin Up Breaks. I took a break for awhile and then started working for Skates on Haight, Inc. where I met Greg Schneider who is my DP and Cinematographer. We were hired to make a bunch of promotional films for www.startfitness.com. From there we made other promotional videos for profit and fun, but we started making them way too cinematic and flashy. Our best work was for Skateshoe USA and Akagi Golf USA. Most of our work so far has been commercial, but we have an official studio space now, and we are working on making our first narrative feature.”
Inspiration: “In the actors we work with, bringing their personality out on the screen. Also when we create a really successful beat and it works, and it’s really funny or creepy.”
Challenge Experienced on the Set:
“Getting up really early to shoot all day. I remember clinging to my coffee. Coordinating people. We shot a video for this product called Skorpion Skates, and we had like five skaters and like five locations and two days to shoot. They all wanted to go to different places, and they weren’t professional so they kept getting impatient between scenes. Also, I had to work with a skater who was really difficult. She seemed really happy on camera but in between takes she [was being difficult] about everything, and I had to do everything in my power to keep her happy.”
Solution for the Challenge: “We had to tell the skaters, ‘Look you’re just a skater, you can be replaced,’ basically, people management. We had to learn to be tough…”
Favorite Tools: “A poor man’s steady cam, a skateboard for dolly shots, HDD 3CCD, Sony HDR-SR1. We’ve also started using Flip HD cameras as b-roll cameras and for continuity or for POV shots.”
Favorite Technique: “A lot of quick action cutting and cutting on music, really low shots, a lot of camera movement, since we mostly shoot in DV we like to do anything to change up the feel, like switch to B&W for one shot or use distortion. We like switching the speed to create a feel, really slow, or sped up. You can see a lot of that in our Akagi video. We want to be funny and entertaining while making the viewer feel like they are part of the scene. We also really like to use music to tell the story; though that may be partly a crutch.”
Related filmmaking guides
Keep learning filmmaking
Want more lessons like this? Join StudentFilmmakers free for live webinars with working pros, and stream on-demand filmmaking classes in cinematography, directing, screenwriting, sound and post.
