Short Films for Builders and Remodelers

A tiny collection of short films about remodeling and construction with some side trips along the way.
April 10, 2020
2 min read
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  1. Awesome Wall: Because Sometimes We Screw Up is a single episode of a series that Michael and I did remotely. Michael shot photos and drone footage of a project OA Design + Build + Architecture completed. We recorded a voiceover on a Zoom call before Zoom calling was cool. I think this episode is particularly cool.
  2. The Tale of a Tropical Terrazzo Driveway as Built in Ecuador is another example of remote production, though this one is much more of a documentary-style short film about how to make a driveway than it is an instructional video about how to make a driveway. This was produced in partnership with Fernando Pages Ruiz, who shot all the clips and photos, wrote the script, and narrated.
  3. The Gruesome Tale of FrankenDoor is yet another example of remote filmmaking, this time with Matt Jackson. Matt documented the process in detail with photos and SketchUp drawings, and we recorded the voiceover on a recorded conference call website before Zoom was really a thing.
  4. Residing an Old Fishing Cabin with Boards and Battens is the same process with Chris Whalen about residing in an old fishing cabin? This one is a little more how-to-focused, but it is also kind of a fun story.
  5. Timberframing in England is someone else's video, but I like it.
  6. A Wet Wall Demolition Project is an example of ptc@home before ptc@home was a thing.
  7. Time-Lapse: Pour and Finish an Indoor Slab is basically a music video of construction work. I removed all of the voiceover and text graphics. It is one of the first video shoots I went on for ProTradeCraft.

The last two are 1940's vocational films, which, I think, people like to watch every once in a while. Happy binge-watching!

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Belt, suspenders, rainscreen, and redundancy make this wall awesome.
Sept. 18, 2020
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Some original bones and mashed-up meat make a door whose secret is safe.
Oct. 31, 2024
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This old school training film shows some familiar and unfamiliar construction methods once used down under.
June 3, 2017
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A hidden funnel between inside and out dumps water into the wall
Aug. 19, 2016
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A film on the many aspects of woodworking that go into building things with wood—including a pre-robot look at technology displacing workers
Jan. 28, 2017
Timeless by Carpenter Oak buildings
A short film illustrating the path from forest to finished frame
May 14, 2016
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How to pour and finish a slab in 2.5 minutes.
June 5, 2015
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One of those 'If I help, will it save me money?' jobs. But not in a bad way.
April 12, 2016
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An #oldschool approach to decorative concrete surfaces
Nov. 18, 2017

About the Author

Dan Morrison

Dan Morrison is a founding editor of ProTradeCraft.com, where he is also the editor-in-chief. Fun fact: Dan is also a founding editor of Green Building Advisor and executive editor of Fine Homebuilding.

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