ABOUT

I’m Robin Schmidt, also known in music video circles as El Skid. I’m a freelance director, editor and latterly cameraman, as well as doing all sorts of other bits and pieces like graphics and voiceovers. I am not a director of photography. And never will be. I’ve been working in music video, corporate and extreme sports up till now but my big love is drama, which is easily the toughest directing game to gain any kind of foothold on. I set up the production company Chrome Productions in 2002 which served as a brilliant apprenticeship for learning key skills, but I’ve now left to pursue drama, not necessarily in the conventional way, but in a way that reflects the changing landscape of filmmaking today, and the one that does away with all the bullshit that seems to float around this business. Earlier this year I won the Bahamas 14 Islands Film Challenge and earned the right to work with Canon as a pro envoy for video and convergence (a fancy term for shooting on DSLRs). I was also named one of Moviescope Magazine’s ‘One to Watch’ which must mean I’m doing something right!

Self-portrait

Some of the most enjoyable and most successful work I’ve ever done was when it was just me with a camera and someone to film. Don’t get me wrong I love having a big crew, big cameras, lights, and all that but it frustrates me hugely that filmmaking can be such a faff sometimes. I’m a director and want to be directing as much and as often as possible. Production is expensive but you can cut down on the cost of it by doing a lot of it yourself, particularly in post. It does feel like we’re going through a really exciting but terrifying phase in film and video history and I suspect we’ll see some fairly radical changes to this industry in the very near future. One of those exciting developments has been the introduction of hi-def video to stills cameras. As a video guy I’m used to working with Pd-150s, Z1s and lately the EX1/3 which have been great tools for creating work cheaply but still do a decent job. You always knew though that you’d have to work a ton of magic in post to get that footage looking respectable. I’ve shot with RED a lot this year and it’s been incredible to see what amazing images you could get with such a cheap camera. Now I’ve seen what the Canon 7D and I’m even more excited than ever before. As a director, here is a camera that I can buy, for relatively little money and create beautiful images on myself, here’s a camera that’s going to give me the freedom to direct much more often, learn so much more and as a result become a much better director, and a lot faster. Lots of people are starting to use this camera and the 5D for shooting video, but they all seem to be photographers, or dop’s. I’m a director and feel like I’m approaching the job in a slightly different way. I want to make stuff, all the time, make really cool short films, dance pieces, virals, but shot with that beautiful quality of image that the stills cameras can give you.

So I’ve bought one, specifically to shoot not stills, but drama. This blog will document how I get on with it and chronicle what I hope will be some major steps forward in my career as a drama director.

UPDATED: Everything I held to be true about the film industry is dissolving before my very eyes and the opportunities afforded by social media, plummeting budgets and the power of youtube have persuaded me to abandon the traditional ‘short film – festival circuit – 2nd short film – festival circuit – first feature – penniless – second feature film – even more penniless – chance of a career’ model in favour of something shorter, more powerful, more self-sufficient and genuinely independent. Before long moving image will sit in the same category as music – free to everyone and we need to learn how to create better non piratable experiences that hook audiences early and earn money for us. The goal is always to continue working, continuity, continuity, continuity – this is where I’m spending all my energies right now, selfishly making it all about me, and why not?

ElSkid Showreel