1. Write shorter scripts
2. If you're a control freak and you know this about yourself don't let someone else edit your movie
3. If you really want a certain shot, make your DP get it even if they don't want to
4. If your DP really wants a certain shot let your DP get it even if you don't want to (they are probably right)
5. Don't tell your DP he is right about anything until the movie is wrapped
6. If you're going to act and direct find an assistant director who can keep track of time and what hand you had the flowers in
7. If you're going to edit your own movie let someone who is better at it edit it with you
8. The semester you plan to take thesis make sure all your other classes have very understanding professors
9. I am very tired
10. If the acting is the same in both takes use the one where the person's hair looks better
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Thursday, December 3, 2015
The Berrics Push Editing Contest
There is a contest that was put on by a skate company called The Berrics. The contest, called the Push Edit, asked those participating to download some footage of skateboarding and re-edit the footage into a video. There were no directions besides this. Participants were allowed as much creative freedom that they wanted.
I've been working with action sports filmmaking since I was in the 8th grade. I've done both snowboarding and BMX bikes, but never skateboarding. However these different types of action sports for the most part had a pretty straight forward recipe. This involved weaving lifestyle shots with scenes of tricks being performed. The focus of the film was on the tricks, as these represent the most interesting thing in an edit. Here's an example of one of my short edits that I made two years ago:
Reverse Apathy from Wendell Frink on Vimeo.
To me, this is the way to go with action sports videos. It gives a nice combination of lifestyle and trick shots, with a majority of the clips being of tricks. With the Push Edit contest, many contestants entered in their films but emphasized lifestyle shots in slow motion, heavily edited trick shots, or had more lifestyle shots than trick shots. This really took away from the part that mattered: the skaters performing their tricks. Here are several examples:
The Berrics Push Edit Submission from Andrej Bucalo on Vimeo.
Now I'm not knocking these individual's ability to edit, just commenting on the fact that these videos are emphasizing the wrong parts of the video which make it difficult to follow and less like a skate film.
I've been working with action sports filmmaking since I was in the 8th grade. I've done both snowboarding and BMX bikes, but never skateboarding. However these different types of action sports for the most part had a pretty straight forward recipe. This involved weaving lifestyle shots with scenes of tricks being performed. The focus of the film was on the tricks, as these represent the most interesting thing in an edit. Here's an example of one of my short edits that I made two years ago:
Reverse Apathy from Wendell Frink on Vimeo.
To me, this is the way to go with action sports videos. It gives a nice combination of lifestyle and trick shots, with a majority of the clips being of tricks. With the Push Edit contest, many contestants entered in their films but emphasized lifestyle shots in slow motion, heavily edited trick shots, or had more lifestyle shots than trick shots. This really took away from the part that mattered: the skaters performing their tricks. Here are several examples:
The Berrics Push Edit Submission from Andrej Bucalo on Vimeo.
Now I'm not knocking these individual's ability to edit, just commenting on the fact that these videos are emphasizing the wrong parts of the video which make it difficult to follow and less like a skate film.
The Beauty of Sisters and Trying Something New
On December 18th, the movie Sisters, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, hits theaters, the same day Star Wars is released. It's a pretty bold move to try to follow Show Off- er I mean Star Wars but this movie has already shown itself to be one that's not afraid to try something new.
According to the Sisters' website the movie is about "two disconnected sisters summoned home to clean out their childhood bedroom before their parents sell the family house. Looking to recapture their glory days, they throw one final high-school-style party for their classmates, which turns into the cathartic rager that a bunch of ground-down adults really need." However this time around it's not Poehler who's playing the instigator of these bad acts. While usually the one to play the good to do responsible adult, Fey now takes on the role of Maura, the wild child of the two sisters who has never really grown up; Poehler plays her foil, Kate, a responsible recent divorcee who needs to learn to spice up her life. It's a new territory for both actresses, most noticeably Fey who from 30 Rock to Admission to Baby Mama has more or less played the same fuddy duddy adult nerd. Watching her in this role might at first be uncomfortable for audiences but important for Fey's development as an actress. Interestingly enough it's her co-star, Poehler, who has been quoted as saying "great people try things before they are ready" advice I took to heart when deciding to take on the huge project that was and is Show Off.
I think this project will introduce both Fey and Poehler as new types of characters to audiences in America and probably for the better. Women, specifically in comedy, are often pigeonholed into roles audience's have decided they feel comfortable digesting. But awesome ladies like Fey and Poehler are changing that standard and making it a little easier for the rest of us to follow suit!
According to the Sisters' website the movie is about "two disconnected sisters summoned home to clean out their childhood bedroom before their parents sell the family house. Looking to recapture their glory days, they throw one final high-school-style party for their classmates, which turns into the cathartic rager that a bunch of ground-down adults really need." However this time around it's not Poehler who's playing the instigator of these bad acts. While usually the one to play the good to do responsible adult, Fey now takes on the role of Maura, the wild child of the two sisters who has never really grown up; Poehler plays her foil, Kate, a responsible recent divorcee who needs to learn to spice up her life. It's a new territory for both actresses, most noticeably Fey who from 30 Rock to Admission to Baby Mama has more or less played the same fuddy duddy adult nerd. Watching her in this role might at first be uncomfortable for audiences but important for Fey's development as an actress. Interestingly enough it's her co-star, Poehler, who has been quoted as saying "great people try things before they are ready" advice I took to heart when deciding to take on the huge project that was and is Show Off.
I think this project will introduce both Fey and Poehler as new types of characters to audiences in America and probably for the better. Women, specifically in comedy, are often pigeonholed into roles audience's have decided they feel comfortable digesting. But awesome ladies like Fey and Poehler are changing that standard and making it a little easier for the rest of us to follow suit!
The Art of the Single Take
When Birdman was released last year, the art of the "single take film" was brought back into the spotlight. Alfred Hitchcock was (of course) the pioneer for this technique, with his 1948 release of his film Rope. Birdman was also shot in a similar manner, but took advantage of digital masking techniques in addition to using natural transitions. There is an absolutely incredible video describing every cut here:
When I heard about Victoria, a German film that also was done with one take, I knew I had to see it. First going into Birdman, I had little idea what to look for as I'd never seen anything of the like. Going into Victoria, however, I was prepared with my newfound eye for match cutting and transitions. I loved the film, and I walked out not only satisfied with an amazing story, but also knowing that I had identified several of the cuts that they had used.
When I was researching it afterward, however, I found out that they used NO CUTS. That's right, one hundred percent done in one take. It only took them 3 attempts to make an entire movie using mostly natural lighting and their few locations. Knowing now it now makes sense why the story seemed to drag at points - there was no way that improved dialogue would have the pacing expected of a feature script.
Absolutely amazing job, I highly recommend you see this film when it is released.
When I was researching it afterward, however, I found out that they used NO CUTS. That's right, one hundred percent done in one take. It only took them 3 attempts to make an entire movie using mostly natural lighting and their few locations. Knowing now it now makes sense why the story seemed to drag at points - there was no way that improved dialogue would have the pacing expected of a feature script.
Absolutely amazing job, I highly recommend you see this film when it is released.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Scream Queens is a Hoot
Scream Queens might just be the surprise of the television season. Well, maybe not surprise, if you read reviews of the pilot season beforehand. I claim it is a surprise because it is so much more than the trailers suggest and definitely better than the way it was advertised. Set in a college sorority, these rich, stuck up girls are a story that's already been told. Emma Roberts' character Chanel Overlin, the queen bee, is the cruelest of them all yet she still maintains a ring of minions around her. Nothing new there. Even a killer who is on the loose on campus isn't what makes this show different. What really stands out about this show is the humor and the way it doesn't take itself too seriously. Everything is over dramatized and has a highly satirical, cartoonish tone. Creator of the Scream Queens, Ryan Murphy, explains the differences between this show and his other thriller American Horror Story. AHS tells a more serious story which is darker and sexualized. Scream Queens remains lighter and frequently laughable.
Not to mention Scream Queens is the voice of our modern college generation. Even though the dialogue may seem over the top at times, I can guarantee whatever you've heard on this show, you've probably heard a friend say. When they are not running from the killer, they talk about the same things you would find most college aged kids talk about. They do not try and dumb these characters down, but instead they reflect an inflated version of young adults today. In the pilot episode, superstar Ariana Grande guest plays a sorority girl who is murdered in her bedroom. Grande is not only texting the murderer as she stands in front of him, but then proceeds to live-tweet her death as it's happening. The laughable moments like that reflect who we are as a society and we can only choose to laugh at ourselves.Overall, my goal is to spread the word on this comedy thriller and to urge at least the college aged demographic to check it out. With a star studded cast, it's impossible not to love. The actors and actresses we watched make a fool of themselves on Nick and Disney many years ago are now real actors who put on a great show. And if you weren't a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis beforehand, you will be.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
"Room" and Directing Child Actors
If you haven't seen Room, you should stop reading this blog post, turn off your computer, drive down to Cinemapolis, and see Room. Here, I found the showtimes for you. Oh look, it's playing at 9 tonight, why not head down, grab a big bucket of popcorn, and cry your damn eyes out for two hours?
If you've never even heard of Room, here's what you need to know: it's about Ma (Brie Larson) and her five-year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who have been held captive my a man only referred to as "Old Nick" for the past seven years. All that they have, their entire life, is now currently contained in the confines of one single room. A fridge, a stove, a bed, a wardrobe, a TV. The film is nothing to write home about, technically speaking, but it presents a scarily convincing, character driven story that focuses on the relationship between a mother and a son and how your environment can shape your entire world view. Plus the acting is phenomenal.
Let's talk about that acting for a second - specifically, Jacob Tremblay, who was only 8 years old when the movie was filmed and for all intents and purposes deserves to be nominated for best lead actor in every single awards show there is. He was that good. Sometimes, it can be hard for child actors to play a convincing enough version of a normal child, and we tend to let this slide. It almost feels like a given, at least among viewers, that kids can't really act. I've personally run into this problem a few times; the first was when we shot that godawful "Kitchen Council" last year, and again when we needed to bring in not one, but two child actors for "Syndicated." Unless you're really good with kids and know exactly what to tell them to get a point across, they can be a nightmare to work with.
Which is why it's impressive that Tremblay - again, only eight years old - was able to perfectly capture the essence of a kid who's spent his whole life in one single 14''X14'' room. He goes toe to toe with Brie Larson (who, don't even get me started, is phenomenal in everything she does) and steals every single scene that he's in. Which is almost all of them. This nuanced, beautiful performance, all coming from someone whose response to the question "what made it (the wig that Tremblay had to wear for most of the film) so bad?" is "I didn't like it. I looked like a girl."
A good portion of getting great performances from children, however, comes with the directing. There were a few really interesting tidbits that I took away from this interview with Lenny Abrahamson, the director, many of which seem like they could be useful if I ever have to work with kids again. For starters, they didn't introduce Tremblay and Larson until right before the shoot (they casted Tremblay at the last minute, since kids change so rapidly), and even then, they started things naturally: the two would play legos and hang out in the actual Room set for long chunks of time before they would film. It was in large part thanks to this relationship that the two were able to have such great chemistry in the film.
If you've never even heard of Room, here's what you need to know: it's about Ma (Brie Larson) and her five-year old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who have been held captive my a man only referred to as "Old Nick" for the past seven years. All that they have, their entire life, is now currently contained in the confines of one single room. A fridge, a stove, a bed, a wardrobe, a TV. The film is nothing to write home about, technically speaking, but it presents a scarily convincing, character driven story that focuses on the relationship between a mother and a son and how your environment can shape your entire world view. Plus the acting is phenomenal.
Let's talk about that acting for a second - specifically, Jacob Tremblay, who was only 8 years old when the movie was filmed and for all intents and purposes deserves to be nominated for best lead actor in every single awards show there is. He was that good. Sometimes, it can be hard for child actors to play a convincing enough version of a normal child, and we tend to let this slide. It almost feels like a given, at least among viewers, that kids can't really act. I've personally run into this problem a few times; the first was when we shot that godawful "Kitchen Council" last year, and again when we needed to bring in not one, but two child actors for "Syndicated." Unless you're really good with kids and know exactly what to tell them to get a point across, they can be a nightmare to work with.Which is why it's impressive that Tremblay - again, only eight years old - was able to perfectly capture the essence of a kid who's spent his whole life in one single 14''X14'' room. He goes toe to toe with Brie Larson (who, don't even get me started, is phenomenal in everything she does) and steals every single scene that he's in. Which is almost all of them. This nuanced, beautiful performance, all coming from someone whose response to the question "what made it (the wig that Tremblay had to wear for most of the film) so bad?" is "I didn't like it. I looked like a girl."
A good portion of getting great performances from children, however, comes with the directing. There were a few really interesting tidbits that I took away from this interview with Lenny Abrahamson, the director, many of which seem like they could be useful if I ever have to work with kids again. For starters, they didn't introduce Tremblay and Larson until right before the shoot (they casted Tremblay at the last minute, since kids change so rapidly), and even then, they started things naturally: the two would play legos and hang out in the actual Room set for long chunks of time before they would film. It was in large part thanks to this relationship that the two were able to have such great chemistry in the film.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Thoughts on Bones
So my girlfriend has been wanting me to watch Bones for a long time, probably about a year. So I started watching the show about a month ago. I'm currently towards the end of Season 2 and having watch this much so far I've got a few thoughts on the show that I've observed.
The first is that Jack Hodgins is the man. If you haven't watched the show then I recommend it solely because of him. Hodgins offers a bit of comic relief for the show, which in dealing with grizzly murders can get a little serious at times. With his sarcastic demeanor, Hodgins lightens the mood in the lab. He counters this sarcasticness with his obsession of bugs and soil, which he specializes in to help solve crimes.
The second is that you just absolutely want Booth and Brennan to get together. (SPOILER) I know they do get together in the series, but already in the first two seasons I keep asking myself why they aren't a couple yet. It drives me nuts seeing them with other people when you just know that the two are perfect for each other. Oh, and theres also the fact that Booth went to Ithaca, so maybe thats why I love Booth so much.
The last thing, and I can't find a picture of it currently, is that every episode ends with a bloom effect that transitions between two shots. Just something I've noticed.
The last thing, and I can't find a picture of it currently, is that every episode ends with a bloom effect that transitions between two shots. Just something I've noticed.
How to not get the Rights to a Doors Song in 3 Easy Steps
Have you ever been fiddling around with a trailer for your thesis film and thought, "eh, what the hell, let me throw "Break on Through" in here until I get an original piece of music from our composer, just for shits and gigs."? Have you then thought, after hearing how weirdly well the song works with your compilation of clips, "Well damn, that sounds pretty good! It's probably completely impossible to get the rights to this song, but what if I tried anyways?" If, for some overly coincidental reason, you've had those exact thoughts, this short, fairly unhelpful blog post is for you.
1. Find a Loophole.
The first step in not getting the rights to a Doors song is to find a semi-shady legal loophole, cause god knows you're not going to get it any other way. The best way to go about doing this is to find the contact information for whoever owns the rights to the song you'd like to use. Turns out, ASCAP has the rights, but you should be able to find an email address to contact a third party at. Using this email address, explain how you'd like to use "Break on Through" for free - since you won't be making anything that even resembles a profit off of this project - and that the only use of the song won't be in the actual film, just in the promotional trailer. Be polite, but then also include this crucial statement: "If we don't hear back from you within a few days, we'll assume that the answer is yes, and will include the song in our trailer." Gotta love those loopholes.
2. Fill out an official request.
After a bit of time has passed, you should get an automated response from the owners of the song, asking you to please click on an additional link to fill out a request to use the song. "Ok," you'll think. "Now we're getting somewhere. Maybe I can use this after all." Don't worry, that's just the false hope. You will not get the rights to this Doors song.
But you keep trying! You fill out the whole form, explaining again how it's a non-profit student production. You offer to show them the content of the trailer and explain what the overall film is about. Butter them up a bit, and say that you think the song really exemplifies the tone you're going for in the trailer, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. Then submit the form, and keep your fingers crossed!
3. Get rejected.
Pretty self-explanatory, really. You will get an official looking email from Kim Stockemer, the Director of Copyright and Licensing for Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. that basically turns out to be a cease and desist letter. She'll include some copy and pasted line about how they carefully deliberated and seriously considered the proposal, but unfortunately won't be giving you the rights to use the song.
And that's it! That's how you (pretty predictably) can find yourself getting absolutely no rights to using a Doors song in a movie trailer. Hope that saves a very niche portion of you a couple minutes of your time.
1. Find a Loophole.
The first step in not getting the rights to a Doors song is to find a semi-shady legal loophole, cause god knows you're not going to get it any other way. The best way to go about doing this is to find the contact information for whoever owns the rights to the song you'd like to use. Turns out, ASCAP has the rights, but you should be able to find an email address to contact a third party at. Using this email address, explain how you'd like to use "Break on Through" for free - since you won't be making anything that even resembles a profit off of this project - and that the only use of the song won't be in the actual film, just in the promotional trailer. Be polite, but then also include this crucial statement: "If we don't hear back from you within a few days, we'll assume that the answer is yes, and will include the song in our trailer." Gotta love those loopholes.
2. Fill out an official request.
After a bit of time has passed, you should get an automated response from the owners of the song, asking you to please click on an additional link to fill out a request to use the song. "Ok," you'll think. "Now we're getting somewhere. Maybe I can use this after all." Don't worry, that's just the false hope. You will not get the rights to this Doors song.
But you keep trying! You fill out the whole form, explaining again how it's a non-profit student production. You offer to show them the content of the trailer and explain what the overall film is about. Butter them up a bit, and say that you think the song really exemplifies the tone you're going for in the trailer, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. Then submit the form, and keep your fingers crossed!
3. Get rejected.
Pretty self-explanatory, really. You will get an official looking email from Kim Stockemer, the Director of Copyright and Licensing for Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. that basically turns out to be a cease and desist letter. She'll include some copy and pasted line about how they carefully deliberated and seriously considered the proposal, but unfortunately won't be giving you the rights to use the song.
And that's it! That's how you (pretty predictably) can find yourself getting absolutely no rights to using a Doors song in a movie trailer. Hope that saves a very niche portion of you a couple minutes of your time.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Close calls in downhill skateboarding and how they're portrayed/shared in the community
Downhill skateboarding is inherently dangerous, regardless of how you look at it. There are so many variables (cars, telephone poles, animals, other skaters, guardrails, rocks, road conditions etc) that skaters are doomed to fail eventually, and some of these fails happen to get caught on video.
This is a video that did go viral (3 Million + views), and features no unsafe riding. As a downhill skateboarder, watching videos where people mess up is fun, and I know not to judge all downhill skateboarding like this. However, I think it severely harms the sport when people do share those videos, which only hurts the downhills public image.
 |
| While Ed remains completely safe and in control, there's a guard rail on one side of the road, a truck in the oncoming lane, and rocks to avoid in his own lane.
Everyone loves to watch videos of people failing, falling, getting hurt, you get the point. When it comes to downhill skateboarding its no different. However, downhill skateboarding is currently in limbo with legality and the public eye. Many people do not understand how "in control" we are while skateboarding, and how easy it is for us to stop quickly and in our lane. However, most of this knowledge stays within the downhill community, as does most of the standard videos. However, occasionally a video with someone hitting a car, guardrail, or extremely close call will go viral.
The above video went semi-viral, and I chose not to share a video of someone getting hit by a car on purpose. When videos like this come out, its often the first and only video someone has seen of downhill skateboarding. They then get the impression that all downhill skateboarders have encounters like this very often and these things are unavoidable.
|
This is a video that did go viral (3 Million + views), and features no unsafe riding. As a downhill skateboarder, watching videos where people mess up is fun, and I know not to judge all downhill skateboarding like this. However, I think it severely harms the sport when people do share those videos, which only hurts the downhills public image.
Friday, November 13, 2015
The Music Videos of Kendrick Lamar
I'm going to make a (possibly) bold statement and say that the music videos that Kendrick Lamar has released to go along with his newest album are some of the greatest music videos ever made. Period. Not just some of the best rap videos, because that would be unnecessarily lumping them into a subcategory of music. The best ever, throughout all genres, all years, everything.
The videos in question - for the songs "i," "King Kunta," "Alright," "For Free?" and "These Walls" - have very little in common with each other, with the exception of an incredibly passionate Kendrick and the same themes that tie his (beautiful, sprawling, important) album "To Pimp a Butterfly" together. Unfortunately, all of the videos are on Vevo, so instead of posting those nice little Youtube boxes for this blog post, I'll just use some screenshots and throw the links down at the bottom of the page.
To Pimp a Butterfly is a dense album, and I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what it was about. Some of it's about being sick of fame to the point where you're alone, screaming, in a hotel room. Some of it - as Billboard points out - is about self-actualization, appreciation, and what it takes to stay sane. A lot of it is about blackness, and social injustices, and race. But through it all, there's this bit of positivity that seeps through the cracks, this sometimes overwhelming sense that that, yeah, okay, maybe everything is going to be alright after all.
His videos, more so than any other music videos I've ever seen, are an extension of his album. They're more than just Kendrick mouthing the words to a rap, trying to make a couple extra bucks and maybe nab a VMA. A few of them have verses that never made it onto the album. And they're all incredibly beautiful.
His newest video for "These Walls" is an 8-minute long extravaganza that includes (what at least appears to be) a 2 minute tracking shot through a house full of people. Guys fight, someone falls down the stairs, and Kendrick gets twerked through a wall. But then all of a sudden, something changes, and Kendrick does something that you'll find seems to be another theme throughout his album/videos; he plays with our expectations. The camera is put in the backseat of a car with three guys talking about what could only be interpreted to be a breaking and entering. 30 seconds later, however, and we find out that they've been talking about a talent show, where they proceed to dance to a song - that isn't Kendrick's, by the way - for a good portion of the video.
Kendrick's crowning achievement, though, is his video for "Alright." Shot in black and white and featuring a floating, otherworldly Lamar throughout, the video opens with the poem that Kendrick refers to throughout the length of his album over some various B-roll shots: a skyline, smashing glass, police brutality. It transitions into a rap that, again, isn't even part of the actual song, featuring Kendrick and the rest of Black Hippy in a car carried on the shoulders of police officers, like they're carrying a throne. Kendrick throws money from cars, raps from on top of a lamppost, and dances with his friends, ending with one of the more powerful visuals I've seen in a long, long time; Kendrick, still on top of the lamppost, getting "shot down" by a white officer. Blood spurts out from his coat as he falls, re-reciting the poem from the beginning. And when he hits the ground? He smiles.
Maybe they're not the most beautifully shot, or maybe some people won't be able to get past the general goofiness or rap video tropes that Kendrick tends to play around with, but I think in light of current events, they're incredibly important. I honestly think that this is an example of art in it's purest form; imitating life, but also trying to transform it. Anyways, they've got some great messages, and you should check them out.
- Alright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8 - King Kunta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aShfolR6w8 - i
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZTYgq4EoRo - For Free?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drV0QatqbRU - These Walls
The videos in question - for the songs "i," "King Kunta," "Alright," "For Free?" and "These Walls" - have very little in common with each other, with the exception of an incredibly passionate Kendrick and the same themes that tie his (beautiful, sprawling, important) album "To Pimp a Butterfly" together. Unfortunately, all of the videos are on Vevo, so instead of posting those nice little Youtube boxes for this blog post, I'll just use some screenshots and throw the links down at the bottom of the page.To Pimp a Butterfly is a dense album, and I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what it was about. Some of it's about being sick of fame to the point where you're alone, screaming, in a hotel room. Some of it - as Billboard points out - is about self-actualization, appreciation, and what it takes to stay sane. A lot of it is about blackness, and social injustices, and race. But through it all, there's this bit of positivity that seeps through the cracks, this sometimes overwhelming sense that that, yeah, okay, maybe everything is going to be alright after all.
His videos, more so than any other music videos I've ever seen, are an extension of his album. They're more than just Kendrick mouthing the words to a rap, trying to make a couple extra bucks and maybe nab a VMA. A few of them have verses that never made it onto the album. And they're all incredibly beautiful.
His newest video for "These Walls" is an 8-minute long extravaganza that includes (what at least appears to be) a 2 minute tracking shot through a house full of people. Guys fight, someone falls down the stairs, and Kendrick gets twerked through a wall. But then all of a sudden, something changes, and Kendrick does something that you'll find seems to be another theme throughout his album/videos; he plays with our expectations. The camera is put in the backseat of a car with three guys talking about what could only be interpreted to be a breaking and entering. 30 seconds later, however, and we find out that they've been talking about a talent show, where they proceed to dance to a song - that isn't Kendrick's, by the way - for a good portion of the video.
Kendrick's crowning achievement, though, is his video for "Alright." Shot in black and white and featuring a floating, otherworldly Lamar throughout, the video opens with the poem that Kendrick refers to throughout the length of his album over some various B-roll shots: a skyline, smashing glass, police brutality. It transitions into a rap that, again, isn't even part of the actual song, featuring Kendrick and the rest of Black Hippy in a car carried on the shoulders of police officers, like they're carrying a throne. Kendrick throws money from cars, raps from on top of a lamppost, and dances with his friends, ending with one of the more powerful visuals I've seen in a long, long time; Kendrick, still on top of the lamppost, getting "shot down" by a white officer. Blood spurts out from his coat as he falls, re-reciting the poem from the beginning. And when he hits the ground? He smiles.Maybe they're not the most beautifully shot, or maybe some people won't be able to get past the general goofiness or rap video tropes that Kendrick tends to play around with, but I think in light of current events, they're incredibly important. I honestly think that this is an example of art in it's purest form; imitating life, but also trying to transform it. Anyways, they've got some great messages, and you should check them out.
- Alright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8 - King Kunta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aShfolR6w8 - i
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZTYgq4EoRo - For Free?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drV0QatqbRU - These Walls
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Red Bull's Latest Video & Forced Perspective
Red Bull just released a new BMX video, and it plays heavily with forced perspective to add an interesting element for all viewers, BMX fans or not.
Wikipedia defines forced perspective as: A technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking, and architecture.
Here's a picture for example:
and here's a video Arturo showed me a few years ago really highlighting forced perspective.
So after seeing some other examples of forced perspective, here's the BMX video:
Wikipedia defines forced perspective as: A technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking, and architecture.
Here's a picture for example:
and here's a video Arturo showed me a few years ago really highlighting forced perspective.
So after seeing some other examples of forced perspective, here's the BMX video:
Editing Comedy
This week my production hit a small roadblock that led to a great conclusion. After meeting with my editor the unfortunate truth was revealed, she didn't know how to edit comedy. It's something you don't always think about when picking an editor, the genre they're used to working in that is. However it soon became apparent when I saw a rough cut of some of the film. Jokes that the characters were saying were being cut off. Worse than that sometimes when the joke was being said the camera was put on the non-speakers face for a reaction. Jokes weren't landing because they weren't being given space to breath. It was a mess. Luckily my assistant director and I figured out a solution that will allows us to keep back on track but for me it was a learning experience I won't soon forget. Throughout writing, directing and producing the piece my mind was always focused on making sure that above all the comedy always came out on top. I tried to control the entire process but when it came time to edit I assumed it was best left in someone's hands who had more experience than I. It was a careless mistake and one I'm lucky to have been able to remedy but it's been an eye opening experience that has allowed me a more in depth look into making comedy.
Atmos Updates (or lack thereof)
As many of you may know, I sent my Ninja 2 in for repair a few weeks ago due to a faulty HDMI input that was no fault of any mistreatment on my behalf. When I sent it in (on a Wednesday) they confirmed that they had received it and promised me to have it returned within one to four business days. Theoretically, this means it should have been back to me over a week and a half ago.
Yesterday I sent an email their way, questioning what had happened with the unit since I hadn't received any updates on it yet. Today I received back a plethora of emails apologizing and confirming that my unit was officially moving along the repair process. It was put "on the bench" as they call it at around 7pm today, and had been shipped out with a new outer casing within 45 minutes. The kicker was the note they attached with the shipping confirmation - letting me know that there was "extensive damage to the outer case of the unit, but it has been repaired anyway and shipped out."
If this unit actually makes it back to me in the promised two days I will be absolutely amazed, 0/10 for customer service Atmos - zero out of ten.
Why Props Matter.
A new, Doc/Spoken Word piece, focusing on the importance of props in cinema, will engage you fully. Using footage from classic cinema, edited together to a brilliant compilation of music, this project has made an incredible experimental film. In 10 minutes you learn an immense amount about story telling and symbolism. Please watch at least two minutes of it, I promise it will be worth your time.
Why Props Matter from Rishi Kaneria on Vimeo.
This beautifully scripted piece touched upon objects are universal to all. They can hold so much meaning and can be used to move the story along. A level of authenticity is needed in any film, in order to make audiences believe the story. Props hold so much value and can even be the sole desiring factor of the movie. Its filmmakers job to make it seem as nothing is out of the ordinary, if the audience isn't questioning anything, you've done your job!
Why Props Matter from Rishi Kaneria on Vimeo.
This beautifully scripted piece touched upon objects are universal to all. They can hold so much meaning and can be used to move the story along. A level of authenticity is needed in any film, in order to make audiences believe the story. Props hold so much value and can even be the sole desiring factor of the movie. Its filmmakers job to make it seem as nothing is out of the ordinary, if the audience isn't questioning anything, you've done your job!
Assistant Editors
Assistant editors are the unsung heroes of the post-production world. While the editor puts together the film and gets a lot of the credit for the film's final creation, their job would be a lot more difficult without the work of an assistant editor. Assistant editors are integral to the post-production process.
To be an assistant editor one must know a great deal about the editing system that is being used. Most post-production houses use Avid as their editing system. The AE must know the ins and outs of the editing program and know technical knowledge as well in order to maintain the system. Most day to day duties involve ingesting film, labeling footage, looking through selects, creating rushes, and other behind the scenes steps that help to make the editor's job run more smoothly. Organization is key when it comes to this job. You must figure out a system to stay organized and stick to it, or the project will be absolutely confusing. The job is less than glamorous, often because this is considered grunt work, compared to being the editor and cutting together the film. However, it is an integral part of the editing process. As assistant editors progress the opportunity for editing gigs becomes more and more likely to occur.
One day I want to work as an editor. After I graduate I plan on finding a job working as an assistant editor and getting my foot in the door. Only time and patience will land me where I want.
To be an assistant editor one must know a great deal about the editing system that is being used. Most post-production houses use Avid as their editing system. The AE must know the ins and outs of the editing program and know technical knowledge as well in order to maintain the system. Most day to day duties involve ingesting film, labeling footage, looking through selects, creating rushes, and other behind the scenes steps that help to make the editor's job run more smoothly. Organization is key when it comes to this job. You must figure out a system to stay organized and stick to it, or the project will be absolutely confusing. The job is less than glamorous, often because this is considered grunt work, compared to being the editor and cutting together the film. However, it is an integral part of the editing process. As assistant editors progress the opportunity for editing gigs becomes more and more likely to occur.
One day I want to work as an editor. After I graduate I plan on finding a job working as an assistant editor and getting my foot in the door. Only time and patience will land me where I want.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
The Star Wars Countdown
With the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere just about a month away and the release of the new trailer, it's clear it is all anyone can talk about. Continuing a franchise such as this can be a risky venture, with diehard fans analyzing every frame, worried their beloved series is going to be ruined with the addition of another film. In fact, many fans still have PTSD from the prequel franchise. So can you blame them for being worried? As a Star Wars nerd myself, I am not worried and feel confident in the direction JJ Abrams is taking the film. He recently announced that the 7th installment is a self-contained story, and is not about just trying to get more toys for the large corporations to sell. Most importantly, Abrams says the movie is "not about trying to appease anyone". That statement makes me the happiest, because in my opinion that's when movies fail. Of course it's probably the largest audience you have to cater to, but you can't cater to everyone. When movies try to please the audience too much than it becomes a mish-mosh of stories with little direction and depth. It's the directors who believe in their story and the process that have success because they stick to their own creative ideas.
Abrams also explains that because it is a self-contained story, you do not necessarily have had to see the previous Star Wars movies. It has a beginning, middle and end, but at the same time hints there is a rich past and potential for more stories to follow. These are new characters in new situations, so you do not have to be a diehard fan to enjoy the story. So in case you haven't seen the new trailer yet, here you go...and don't forget to get your customs ready for December 18th.
Abrams also explains that because it is a self-contained story, you do not necessarily have had to see the previous Star Wars movies. It has a beginning, middle and end, but at the same time hints there is a rich past and potential for more stories to follow. These are new characters in new situations, so you do not have to be a diehard fan to enjoy the story. So in case you haven't seen the new trailer yet, here you go...and don't forget to get your customs ready for December 18th.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
SNL Breaks My Heart
This weekend Donald Trump will be hosting Saturday Night Live. A 40 year old institution Americans turn to for its take on the issues, SNL is known for its impact on elections. But in this case instead of going after the political agenda they're inviting one of the candidates to do it themselves. The reason they're doing this is hardly a questionable matter, ratings baby. People are going to watch Donald Trump on SNL. A trick that might be expected from any other show but from SNL? An institution that prides itself on its content and voice above cheap tricks, well so a seasoned comedy fan like myself would like to believe. But what's more upsetting is the lack of outrage surrounding his appearance. Donald Trump is known for his famous remarks, where he called illegal Mexican immigrants "rapists". Imagine instead of Mexican immigrants it was replaced with Jews or black people? Would NBC so quick to allow him onto one of their shows? Of course not. Because advertisers would be fleeing left and right. However because Trump's remarks were towards a group of people our country deems fitting to criticize without limit, there he will be on Saturday night, being as welcomed into our homes as Alec Baldwin or Steve Martin.
That's not to say there aren't some people taking a stand against his appearance. According to a report on the Huffington Post "Several dozen activists gathered Wednesday in front of NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center demanding the network rescind an invitation to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to host “Saturday Night Live" on Nov. 7 and vowing to pressure the network's advertisers to join their cause." The activists have gained over 500,000 signatures on their petition to get him off the network but to no avail. SNL has never been one to bow to pressure and with the network and the anticipated ratings on their side they're not likely to start now. As SNL fan myself, I just hope they have a few tricks up their sleeves, and knowing SNL they're likely to as well.
That's not to say there aren't some people taking a stand against his appearance. According to a report on the Huffington Post "Several dozen activists gathered Wednesday in front of NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center demanding the network rescind an invitation to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to host “Saturday Night Live" on Nov. 7 and vowing to pressure the network's advertisers to join their cause." The activists have gained over 500,000 signatures on their petition to get him off the network but to no avail. SNL has never been one to bow to pressure and with the network and the anticipated ratings on their side they're not likely to start now. As SNL fan myself, I just hope they have a few tricks up their sleeves, and knowing SNL they're likely to as well.
Spec Work
We will all be entering the workforce soon, if we have not already done so. For a lot of us this will mean freelancing. An inevitable part of freelancing is doing spec work. Google gives me the definition of spec work as "any job for which the client expects to see examples or a finished piece of design before agreeing to pay a fee or compensation."
Basically you make the video for the client, show them a preview, then they can decide if they want to use you for the full product. Which, personally I think is bullshit, and a lot of people are beginning to agree. To make the preview you are required to do preprod, prod, and postprod, to a high standard. Work you are typically paid for, and work that will cost you money to create. Which you may not be reimbursed for.
This is a pretty standard practice within the film industry. However, when applied to other industries this sounds completely ridiculous. Here's a video that shows just how ridiculous this sounds.
I'm curious to see what other people's thoughts on this are.
Basically you make the video for the client, show them a preview, then they can decide if they want to use you for the full product. Which, personally I think is bullshit, and a lot of people are beginning to agree. To make the preview you are required to do preprod, prod, and postprod, to a high standard. Work you are typically paid for, and work that will cost you money to create. Which you may not be reimbursed for.
This is a pretty standard practice within the film industry. However, when applied to other industries this sounds completely ridiculous. Here's a video that shows just how ridiculous this sounds.
I'm curious to see what other people's thoughts on this are.
A New Way to Rent Gear!
As a student filmmaker, you typically only have so much gear at your disposal. Yeah, you probably have your DSLR, a few lenses, and a DIY soft box, but sometimes this isn't enough for your creative needs. As Ithaca College students, we are very lucky to have PPECS, but soon after we graduate we will just be poor college graduates who won't be able to afford the prices of large rental houses without a proper budget. HAVE NO FEAR! There is a new online rental house that may just be your saving grace.
http://kitsplit.com/
KitSplit is a new rental company based out of New York City that functions very similar to Air BnB. Just like Air BnB, the site focuses around a specific area and the resources, in this case camera gear, available. On the site you can create a profile and list the gear that you own and are willing to rent. Other users can look at your gear posted and have the option to rent it from you. This is perfect for students to make a bit of cash on the side. Not only can you make the money back on your gear but this allows you to save up for future gear.
The delivery option is quite unique. You can either arrange a pick-up through KitSplit or directly from the owner of the gear. This option opens numerous opportunities for networking. Each time you would use this service you have potential to make new business connections, you could even get work because of the rental you were picking up for another gig.
This rental service is revolutionary. While it is only in New York currently, they plan to expand to the west coast as well, which is where I think it will do very well. However, the niche market they truly need to target is smaller cities throughout the country. Mainly cities with colleges and universities that have strong communication programs. My thinking is that if this company expanded to Central New York, this would be used as a rental service for colleges like Ithaca, Syracuse, and many more, when the rentals at their school could not provide what they needed.
Overall, I'm looking forward to watching this business grow and expand, hopefully in a direction that benefits, students and filmmakers a like.
http://kitsplit.com/
KitSplit is a new rental company based out of New York City that functions very similar to Air BnB. Just like Air BnB, the site focuses around a specific area and the resources, in this case camera gear, available. On the site you can create a profile and list the gear that you own and are willing to rent. Other users can look at your gear posted and have the option to rent it from you. This is perfect for students to make a bit of cash on the side. Not only can you make the money back on your gear but this allows you to save up for future gear.
The delivery option is quite unique. You can either arrange a pick-up through KitSplit or directly from the owner of the gear. This option opens numerous opportunities for networking. Each time you would use this service you have potential to make new business connections, you could even get work because of the rental you were picking up for another gig.
This rental service is revolutionary. While it is only in New York currently, they plan to expand to the west coast as well, which is where I think it will do very well. However, the niche market they truly need to target is smaller cities throughout the country. Mainly cities with colleges and universities that have strong communication programs. My thinking is that if this company expanded to Central New York, this would be used as a rental service for colleges like Ithaca, Syracuse, and many more, when the rentals at their school could not provide what they needed.
Overall, I'm looking forward to watching this business grow and expand, hopefully in a direction that benefits, students and filmmakers a like.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Size 0
Finally an update about Size 0!! Now that I'm in the exciting process of editing, I can share some of my highs and lows of the documentary life. First, I've learned that no matter what vision you have at the beginning, it will not be the same as the final result. This is because all of my footage is based upon how non-actors act in front of a camera. This can yield some really unique moments that are so real and touching which could never be planned. This also means your final product is based on whatever your subjects say, and if they are awkward in front of the camera, then so be it. You take what you are given.
That being said, I've sorted through hours of footage and still came up short. My thesis talks about the importance of diet and exercise for weightloss or to simply maintain a healthy lifestyle. By editing a rough cut, I've discovered my lack of footage that represents the diet side of everything. I've got plenty of great work out footage, but little to balance out the importance of nutrition. Lucky for me, I still have time to fix that. This weekend the soccer team will be traveling to New Jersey for playoffs. This will give me plenty of opportunities to film the team eating and get great examples of what types of food they eat and how much. Once that is done, my thesis will look a lot better and will have a bigger impact.
Although things didn't end up like the vision I started with, I'm proud of the message I am trying to get across to people and I can't wait for the final result.
Oh, and here's a sneak peak....
That being said, I've sorted through hours of footage and still came up short. My thesis talks about the importance of diet and exercise for weightloss or to simply maintain a healthy lifestyle. By editing a rough cut, I've discovered my lack of footage that represents the diet side of everything. I've got plenty of great work out footage, but little to balance out the importance of nutrition. Lucky for me, I still have time to fix that. This weekend the soccer team will be traveling to New Jersey for playoffs. This will give me plenty of opportunities to film the team eating and get great examples of what types of food they eat and how much. Once that is done, my thesis will look a lot better and will have a bigger impact.
Although things didn't end up like the vision I started with, I'm proud of the message I am trying to get across to people and I can't wait for the final result.
Oh, and here's a sneak peak....
Steve Jobs and Story Structure
Steve Jobs - the new Aaron Sorkin-scripted movie, not the person - is incredibly unique. Certainly not in its subject matter, since Jobs has been featured in like, four dramas/documentaries in the same amount of years, but in the way it's structured. Because of this (and the acting, and directing, and everything else that makes this movie great) I would venture to say that this movie, this iteration of possibly the most well know technological innovator of our time, should be considered the definitive screen version of Jobs and his life story. Everyone else wanting to make a Jobs movie, just stop. It's not worth it. You can't win this one. I don't care if it's not the most accurate, or if "Apple Experts" hate it, or even what your most basic opinion of the real Steve Jobs is. This is the one.Even if you push aside most of the things that you'd normally focus on when seeing a movie, things like actors, direction, and cinematography, and focus solely on Sorkin's story structure, you've got something that is far more original than most films being made today. For a studio-backed biopic to break away from a more traditional "follow our main character throughout their entire life" story is huge. If you haven't seen it (and judging by the way it's doing at the box office, you probably haven't) Steve Jobs is broken down into three main scenes, with each one taking place before a major product launch. With the exception of a few brief, well placed flashback scenes, all exposition, all character introductions, everything is done in real time, within the boundaries of these three product launches. Is it what happened in real life? No, probably not. But Sorkin uses this structure to tell a damn good story.
There will always be movies that try to radically change the structure of a typical story, films like Memento, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. These can be fun, a nice break from the monotony of characters going from point A to point B over the course of a film, and some of them (these two may be some of the most notable) use non-linear storytelling to a stronger effect than just trying to confuse the audience. Other than these handfuls of non-linear scripts, movies tend to stick to the same basic structure. Sorkin broke this with Steve Jobs. It wasn't the most radical idea in the world, and you still see the development of Michael Fassbender's Jobs over the course of the film, but even Sorkin expressed his surprise at being allowed by the studio to follow through on such a different premise. In a way, it really mirrors its subject matter. A big part of the movie is how Jobs focused on adding a human component to a scary new machine (one of the major crises in the first act is how they can't get the Macintosh to say "hello) and that's more or less what Sorkin did with the script. Instead of of looking at the big picture, at Jobs' entire life, he narrows it down to five or six particular conflicts, and shows how they develop from '84-'88, and then again from '88-98.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Relitivity Post Complaints
We have officially begun post production on Relativity, and I can say that I'm so excited to get back into this project. Although I've taken a few weeks off to work on other projects it's time to get back into this one.
And of course something is going wrong.
I've made several films at Ithaca College, and I haven't had one go to post without hitting one glitch or another. This time it's sound (again, for that matter) which is... Terrible. Our recordist recorded everything below -30db, and even boosting it isn't going to save this sound. I've begun syncing and working with the sound during this edit, and there is nothing worse than cutting with poor sound. I just thank my lucky stars that I have a solid post sound artist, because this project is going to be a lot of work.
I suppose it wouldn't be a film without some sort of issue.
Tips from Cinematographers for Cinematographers
The Black and Blue, a popular website for camera assistants, released an article called "88 cinematographers share the best professional advice they've ever received." I read the article some time ago when I was first getting into student filmmaking. Recently I read over the article again and found some really useful ones. I've compiled a list of a few of my favorites below.
‘Keep it simple.’ It’s always exciting to try a new piece of gear, but sometimes two grips pulling a camera on a blanket is still the best solution.
This piece of advice is especially relevant with student filmmaking. We often have not enough equipment, not enough money, and not enough crew. Keeping it simple and keeping it smart helps to avoid a lot of those problems.
Don’t let yourself become too obsessed with technology. Find a balance with your creativity.
I always hear people talking about new technology and what new camera they're shooting their film on. Or how after looking into some student budgets you realize that close to a third of their budget is spent on camera department but they're still getting free sheet pizza for all their meals. If you have a sound process and story the film will look good no matter what camera you shoot with.
From my grandfather, Carmine Coppola: What you do with your non-working time is more important than what you do with your working time.
Constantly on set I see people sitting down or goofing off when they have nothing to do in the current moment. Then later everyone is waiting around for them to do their job that they could have been prepping for earlier. Think ahead, and if you're doing your job on set there should never be down time.
When Levie asked me to work with him at Corman’s, the pay was $50 a day. Levie said, ‘They’re not paying for experience. Take the job and you’ll meet people.’
This I feel is incredibly important for those of us about to graduate. Out of school we will all be working for shit pay, or for free. But that is where we need to start and on those jobs we'll work hard, gain experience and meet the people who can get us on better sets. Always remember, you're getting paid in more than just money.
There are a lot more good pieces of advice in that list that we should all take to heart. You can read them here. The best piece of advice I've ever gotten on set:
If you wear pants to set, bring shorts. If you wear shorts to set, bring pants.
Grant Harrison
A Movie Inside a Movie
James Franco and Seth Rogen come together yet again on another film project and I can practically hear the cheering. This time, Franco will be directing The Disaster Artist, which will tell the story of the making of The Room (2003), considered to be one the worst drama films of all time. Franco will not only direct the movie, but will also star as Tommy Wiseau, the director of The Room. After The Room was pulled from many theaters due to lack of audiences, Wiseau began to get requests for the film to be shown. Celebrities like Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd began to show up to watch the film and soon it became ritual for movie goers. This cult classic tells the story of a love triangle between a man, his fiancé and his best friend. Tom Bissel and an actor from the The Room, Greg Sestero, wrote a book together about the making of The Room and named it The Disaster Artist. The book explains life on set with a director who had no filmmaking experience when he decided to write, direct and produce this famously bad movie.
We can expect to see some other big names in The Disaster Artist. Dave Franco is already set to play Greg Sestero. Rogen will undoubtedly have a part in the movie, and will possibly feature Evan Goldberg and Vince Jolivette as well. Franco and Rogen have had a fairly successful past collaborating together, with projects including The Interview, This Is The End, Pineapple Express, and Freaks and Geeks. With such an interesting premise for their new movie, I look forward to this project which will start production in December.
Music in Short Films
Growing up I had numerous influences of music in my life. From playing the saxophone from 4th-12th grade, to listening to my classically trained sister sing in concert. Music has always been prevalent and I have found that melodies are what drives my mind. For the life me I couldn't remember lyrics without studying a printed piece of sheet music. But the way music progressed was something I could always follow and even predict.
I've always wanted a good musical accompaniment with any video work I've done. For the video below I had found a song I enjoyed the melody to and from there all I needed was something to put on screen. With a little help from a friend, I was able to make one of my favorite pieces of work.
Air from Skyler Bocciolatt on Vimeo.
Using both the hits of the choreography and the music I had a blast editing and the possibilties of which direction I took the short were endless. While this was just a small project I shot on a whim. I applied the same idea of music being a character in the film with my Junior level film "Before Your Eyes."
"Before Your Eyes" follows a young man who is given the opportunity to look back on his life. Drawing upon the strong bond that can exist between father and son, this story looks at the actions we make when pushed to our greatest limits. Throughout the film there are only two scenes with written dialogue. Music was able to fill this space and help evoke any emotion from the film that typically would be exposed through dialogue.
Last night I also began to watch "Walt Disney's Animations Studios Short Films Collection." Each short animation was introduced with interviews of the creators of the short. They talked about how music inspired them and that for a specific short "Lorenzo" they searched hundreds of tango scenes just to find a song to use, and in the end it was the first one they had listened to. The trailer can be scene below and all of the shorts are available on Netflix.
It was so interesting to me that the creators were able to make a story out of music they found. Even if there aren't lyrics the melody and progression of any song is a story. For me, I want to continue to find these stories and provide a moving image for as many as I can. The ways music and film complement each other is like no other thing in this world. These mediums are what people turn to to escape there problems and worries; they are necessary for society to function and I want to create them for the rest of my life.
I've always wanted a good musical accompaniment with any video work I've done. For the video below I had found a song I enjoyed the melody to and from there all I needed was something to put on screen. With a little help from a friend, I was able to make one of my favorite pieces of work.
Air from Skyler Bocciolatt on Vimeo.
Using both the hits of the choreography and the music I had a blast editing and the possibilties of which direction I took the short were endless. While this was just a small project I shot on a whim. I applied the same idea of music being a character in the film with my Junior level film "Before Your Eyes."
"Before Your Eyes" follows a young man who is given the opportunity to look back on his life. Drawing upon the strong bond that can exist between father and son, this story looks at the actions we make when pushed to our greatest limits. Throughout the film there are only two scenes with written dialogue. Music was able to fill this space and help evoke any emotion from the film that typically would be exposed through dialogue.
Last night I also began to watch "Walt Disney's Animations Studios Short Films Collection." Each short animation was introduced with interviews of the creators of the short. They talked about how music inspired them and that for a specific short "Lorenzo" they searched hundreds of tango scenes just to find a song to use, and in the end it was the first one they had listened to. The trailer can be scene below and all of the shorts are available on Netflix.
3 Things The Shining can Teach you about Making a Horror Film
I've never particularly enjoyed watching horror films, but recently, I've been really interested in figuring out some of the different techniques involved in making something scary. I know that quite a few directors get their big breaks helming scary movies (mostly because of the generally low budgets and good audience turnout) but I thought it would be cool to go back and revisit some of the classic staples of the genre. Tis the season, right?
So I started with Kubrick's The Shining. Not only had I never seen it before, but this was my first time watching any movie by Stanley Kubrick. Putting aside all of the myths and reputation that surrounds the guy (I mean, 127 takes for one scene? Come on man.) I gotta say that I was really impressed. I haven't been that drawn in and held by a 2.5 hour film - or any film, for that matter - in a pretty long time. I've read the book, and even though it differs significantly/Stephen King hated the adaptation/Nicholson is just a littleeeee too over the top, it really worked as a standalone product. It was also the kind of horror movie that I can get behind; creepy, but never made me feel like I was going to piss my pants.
Kubrick pulls out pretty much every horror movie trick in the book, but uses them all in ways that never feel trite or cliched. I'll go over just a couple of them, and try my best to explain why they're so effective.
1. The Jump Scare
Ah, the old go-to, and the real reason why I hate a vast majority of horror movies. Kubrick uses these sparingly in Shining, but when he does, he uses them to great effect. Typically, the jump scare will be the payoff after a bit of increasingly brutal tension-building, partnered with a loud, punctuated sound effect. It works, but 80% of the time it just comes off as a cheap, annoying scare. The only time Kubrick uses these are when you least expect it. There's no build up, for example, the first time that he cuts to the blood pouring out of the elevator doors - that entire montage comes out of nowhere and is terrifying. Same goes for when Jack kills Halloran towards the end of the movie. It's entirely unexpected, and all the better for it.
2. The Reveal
A little less extreme than a jump scare, and usually a bit more predictable, the big reveal scares can still have a strong effect. Kubrick toys with this a few times, but most notably in the "redrum" mirror reversal. Mirrors have a big role in the movie throughout, but the one in the Torrence family bedroom - having been teased for the first two or so hours - has the biggest one of all. All of the shots of Danny pedaling around the hotel corridors also use more or less the same tactic: the smooth steadicam shots lull you into a sense of security, but keep you wondering just what exactly will be around the next corner. Which brings me to the last thing...
3. Sometimes the scariest thing is never shown on screen
Pretty self-explanatory, I think. More often than not, your imagination is capable of scaring you way worse than any image actually could. This is what makes scenes like when Danny first shows up with a bruised neck so powerful. We know that he goes into room 237 and we know that HE SHOULDN'T FUCKING GO INTO ROOM 237, but for the moment, the lack of any visible antagonist is worse than anything they could have shown in the room at the time. We know it's not Jack or Wendy, so...we imagine the worst. The same thing goes for any horror movie. I've never seen It Follows or Rosemary's Baby, but apparently in both, the lack of something makes it all the more scary. Sometimes, the best way to create this sense of dread is by showing your entire environment in a wide shot, and let the audience's imagination work overtime, trying to predict where and when something will pop out. The indefinite waiting is usually worse than than the actual monster.
Also, last but not least, those whip zooms? Seriously digging it.
Kubrick pulls out pretty much every horror movie trick in the book, but uses them all in ways that never feel trite or cliched. I'll go over just a couple of them, and try my best to explain why they're so effective.
1. The Jump Scare
2. The Reveal
3. Sometimes the scariest thing is never shown on screen
Pretty self-explanatory, I think. More often than not, your imagination is capable of scaring you way worse than any image actually could. This is what makes scenes like when Danny first shows up with a bruised neck so powerful. We know that he goes into room 237 and we know that HE SHOULDN'T FUCKING GO INTO ROOM 237, but for the moment, the lack of any visible antagonist is worse than anything they could have shown in the room at the time. We know it's not Jack or Wendy, so...we imagine the worst. The same thing goes for any horror movie. I've never seen It Follows or Rosemary's Baby, but apparently in both, the lack of something makes it all the more scary. Sometimes, the best way to create this sense of dread is by showing your entire environment in a wide shot, and let the audience's imagination work overtime, trying to predict where and when something will pop out. The indefinite waiting is usually worse than than the actual monster.
Also, last but not least, those whip zooms? Seriously digging it.
No Comedy, No Confidence
This week Ithaca College president, Tom Rochon, called an all campus meeting to discuss the racial climate on campus. On his part it failed spectacularly, on the part of the students involved in POC at IC it was a energizing success. A few days before this meeting the comedy clubs on campus released a statement that read:
"Comedy is at its best when it is honest, contains complex ideas, and expresses diverse experiences. This cannot happen on a campus where the college administration does not support people of color and invalidates their experiences. The comedy community at Ithaca College representing IC Comedy Club, IC Stand Up, The Acahti Players, and IC Sketch would like to formally voice our support for POC at IC and express a vote of no confidence in President Tom Rochon and the Board of Trustees."
As president of IC Sketch I partly released and stand by this statement. Good comedy cannot exist in spaces where authority dictates which experiences get brought to light and in which light they are brought. This lack of confidence is mirrored in the greater entertainment community, although the problem of authority tends to be more insular. The reason we end up with racially insensitive (to say the least) comedies such as "Get Hard" and Adam Sandler's latest movie "Ridiculous Six" isn't because of an outsider force, it's because Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell are the authorities on how experiences are dictated. Adam Sandler has decided they would be dictated with jokes, that caused Native American actors to walk off set, such as these:
1) Sandler’s character, Tommy, aka Three Knives, a white man raised by Native Americans since childhood is married to a woman named Smoking Fox. A recurring joke refers to her "sweet zum-zum."
2) A female character named Beaver’s Breath, is propositioned by a male character, asking, "Hey Beaver’s Breath." To which she responds, "How did you know my name?"
3) A "sexy" female character named No Bra (originally named Sits-on-Face in the 2012 script), is depicted crudely squatting to urinate behind a teepee while stereotypically lighting up a peace pipe.
4) Will Patch (Will Forte) propositions Sits-on-Face by asking her, "How about after this, we go someplace and I put my peepee in your teepee?"
5) Cicero (Danny Trejo) interacts with Sits-on-Face by calling her "Strawberry Tits," to which she indignantly corrects him, saying "I am Sits-on-Face." Cicero responds, "Well, then I’m Stiff-in-Pants!"
6) There are numerous instances of crudely-punned pseudo Native American names like Five Hairy Moles, One Eyebrow, and Four Pickles.
Adam Sandler has declared himself the authority on how to portray the Native American identity leading Native American actors to unsurprisingly cast a vote of no confidence in Sandler and the industry he represents. We must recognize that this problem exists outside of IC and that the comedy battleground does not get more leveled upon graduation. We need to continue to evaluate our confidence in the institutions we have previously lauded, especially if those institutions starred in Jack and Jill.
"Comedy is at its best when it is honest, contains complex ideas, and expresses diverse experiences. This cannot happen on a campus where the college administration does not support people of color and invalidates their experiences. The comedy community at Ithaca College representing IC Comedy Club, IC Stand Up, The Acahti Players, and IC Sketch would like to formally voice our support for POC at IC and express a vote of no confidence in President Tom Rochon and the Board of Trustees."
As president of IC Sketch I partly released and stand by this statement. Good comedy cannot exist in spaces where authority dictates which experiences get brought to light and in which light they are brought. This lack of confidence is mirrored in the greater entertainment community, although the problem of authority tends to be more insular. The reason we end up with racially insensitive (to say the least) comedies such as "Get Hard" and Adam Sandler's latest movie "Ridiculous Six" isn't because of an outsider force, it's because Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell are the authorities on how experiences are dictated. Adam Sandler has decided they would be dictated with jokes, that caused Native American actors to walk off set, such as these:
1) Sandler’s character, Tommy, aka Three Knives, a white man raised by Native Americans since childhood is married to a woman named Smoking Fox. A recurring joke refers to her "sweet zum-zum."
2) A female character named Beaver’s Breath, is propositioned by a male character, asking, "Hey Beaver’s Breath." To which she responds, "How did you know my name?"
3) A "sexy" female character named No Bra (originally named Sits-on-Face in the 2012 script), is depicted crudely squatting to urinate behind a teepee while stereotypically lighting up a peace pipe.
4) Will Patch (Will Forte) propositions Sits-on-Face by asking her, "How about after this, we go someplace and I put my peepee in your teepee?"
5) Cicero (Danny Trejo) interacts with Sits-on-Face by calling her "Strawberry Tits," to which she indignantly corrects him, saying "I am Sits-on-Face." Cicero responds, "Well, then I’m Stiff-in-Pants!"
6) There are numerous instances of crudely-punned pseudo Native American names like Five Hairy Moles, One Eyebrow, and Four Pickles.
Adam Sandler has declared himself the authority on how to portray the Native American identity leading Native American actors to unsurprisingly cast a vote of no confidence in Sandler and the industry he represents. We must recognize that this problem exists outside of IC and that the comedy battleground does not get more leveled upon graduation. We need to continue to evaluate our confidence in the institutions we have previously lauded, especially if those institutions starred in Jack and Jill.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Organization
Organization is easily one of the best ways to quickly get anything done in the film world. In most cases it can be almost impossible to get things done in a timely manner if you don't have organization. It's one of the major reasons there are so many different positions on a film set. There is too much to be done by one person. When everybody is organized and does their job well is when a film comes out its best.
Every area of a film needs to be organized. I've taken part in many different positions on a film set. To be honest when it comes to my daily life I tend to be very disorganized. Yet, when it comes to anything film related i become a complete neat freak. All of my camera gear is organized in a very specific way. In certain cases it has been extremely beneficial. In the world we live in inspiration can come from anywhere and the ability to quickly take out your camera and be ready to shoot is imperative.
Just the other day I was in my kitchen making dinner when I saw a hot air balloon flying just over the lake. I knew I had to get a picture of it. So in a boot I ran upstairs assembled my camera and ran outside and snapped some photos. I was able to do this all before my dinner started burning. Without my camera being organized in its bag there is no way I would have been able to get the shot in such a timely manner. I could have missed or worse, ruined my dinner.
Organization is most important to me when it comes to post production. You can have so many hundreds of files for a small project that if you lose the ability to stay organized then the project as a whole can suffer. Every project that I do has the same organizational process. The only thing that differs is the project itself. The folders stay the same. So if you want to succeed in the film industry start by cleaning up your act.
Every area of a film needs to be organized. I've taken part in many different positions on a film set. To be honest when it comes to my daily life I tend to be very disorganized. Yet, when it comes to anything film related i become a complete neat freak. All of my camera gear is organized in a very specific way. In certain cases it has been extremely beneficial. In the world we live in inspiration can come from anywhere and the ability to quickly take out your camera and be ready to shoot is imperative.
My AC station on the film Before Your Eyes
The Picture I took while making dinner
my camera bag
The five folders that make up every film I edit
Friday, October 23, 2015
Big Brother Steps in to Help Little Sister
"In May, the ACLU asked state and federal governments to investigate the hiring practices that leave women with only a minuscule fraction of directing jobs. Now the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is taking them up on it: According to Deadline, the EEOC will start interviewing female directors next week about the discrimination they've faced." a direct quote from the article on Vulture.com entitled"The Federal Government Is Getting Involved in Hollywood’s Female-Director Problem". Our industry has gotten so terrible at hiring female directors that they are being investigated by the federal government. The article goes on to articulate how women and minorities have before been cautious filing a class action lawsuit because they, most likely rightly, believe they would be "blacklisted". This news comes alongside of more reports popping up about actresses' salaries being lower compared to their male costars. News that women are calling "water is wet".
Some prominent male voices have spoken up in this conversation as well, Bradley Cooper has vowed to share his salary information with his female co-stars in preproduction negotiations so as to make sure they are getting equal pay. However, Avengers star and kind of asshole (who plays Hawkeye so like bring it down a peg) Jeremy Renner has said that it's not his job to negotiate his salary and that he has people to do it for him (hopefully not for long).
As a female director and writer, finding out that "In the top 100 films of 2014, women made up only 11 percent of writers and 19 percent of producers, while female DPs make up only 4 percent" is certainly discouraging but hardly surprising. But, looking at our class and seeing how many of the projects were written and directed by women, I can't help but say I'm also a little hopeful.
Some prominent male voices have spoken up in this conversation as well, Bradley Cooper has vowed to share his salary information with his female co-stars in preproduction negotiations so as to make sure they are getting equal pay. However, Avengers star and kind of asshole (who plays Hawkeye so like bring it down a peg) Jeremy Renner has said that it's not his job to negotiate his salary and that he has people to do it for him (hopefully not for long).
As a female director and writer, finding out that "In the top 100 films of 2014, women made up only 11 percent of writers and 19 percent of producers, while female DPs make up only 4 percent" is certainly discouraging but hardly surprising. But, looking at our class and seeing how many of the projects were written and directed by women, I can't help but say I'm also a little hopeful.
Ninja 2 may be cheap, but what's the real cost?
Recently Atmos dropped the price of both their Ninja Star and Ninja 2 models and made them super affordable for entry level film makers such as us. But what is the real cost of this price drop?
My Ninja 2 broke within three weeks of me getting it. Perfectly kept, in its protective case, without abusing it on set at all. Then spontaneously it stops accepting HDMI input. I talked with our resident camera tech expert Phil Wacker, and although he graced me with some helpful advice it wasn't what I was hoping for.
Turns out (since PPECs owns several of them) that he'd actually opened one up in an effort to fix it, but found that the motherboard inside was so tiny and intricate that there is no way to fix it by hand. The mere fact, however, that the technology can be processed by one little motherboard is impressive within itself, but I digress. The point being that its made so cheaply that they can malfunction super easily. That combined with the fragility of the HDMI interface in general and the fact that it has no locking/holding mechanism definitely added to the problem. There is an addition that allows 3G SDI input, but at the same price as the unit itself.
Long story short, because of the cheap manufacturing tactics of Atmos I am unable to use my Ninja any further. It was too good to be true I guess.
My Ninja 2 broke within three weeks of me getting it. Perfectly kept, in its protective case, without abusing it on set at all. Then spontaneously it stops accepting HDMI input. I talked with our resident camera tech expert Phil Wacker, and although he graced me with some helpful advice it wasn't what I was hoping for.
Turns out (since PPECs owns several of them) that he'd actually opened one up in an effort to fix it, but found that the motherboard inside was so tiny and intricate that there is no way to fix it by hand. The mere fact, however, that the technology can be processed by one little motherboard is impressive within itself, but I digress. The point being that its made so cheaply that they can malfunction super easily. That combined with the fragility of the HDMI interface in general and the fact that it has no locking/holding mechanism definitely added to the problem. There is an addition that allows 3G SDI input, but at the same price as the unit itself.
Long story short, because of the cheap manufacturing tactics of Atmos I am unable to use my Ninja any further. It was too good to be true I guess.
Sicario
I'm having a pretty difficult time making sense of Sicario. Coming fresh off the heels of my first Villeneuve film viewing (the weird, overly metaphorical yet somehow beautiful "Enemy") I had pretty high expectations going into the movie. It's got Roger Deakins behind the camera and Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro in front of it, and I heard that the tension alone would make the 2 hour running time fly by.
Well. Here we are. Two hours later, and I'm not exactly sure what to think. All of those mentioned above did their job exceedingly well: Deakins killed it as always, and the performances of the three lead characters - specifically Blunt's - were riveting. The film definitely went by quickly, and it was tense throughout, and yet I can't help feeling that something is missing. Which is weird, because everywhere I look, all I can see are glowing reviews and praise being thrown at Villeneuve and Co. for making what some people are calling the best movie of the year (for example, check out Rolling Stone's review here and the AV Club's right here) So... am I wrong here? Am I missing something?
To make a long answer short; yes. Probably. The more I read about the film, the more I feel like it deserves an immediate second viewing. Specific complaints of mine, like the sense that I was never quite sure what was going on throughout the movie, were more or less put to rest when I realized that Blunt's character is supposed to be in the same shoes as the audience, with the lack of info supposedly pulling us along throughout. I'll buy that, I guess, and watching it again could take away that distraction of trying to figure out what the hell is going on and the constant worry that I'm missing something.
The more I think about it, the more that I realize that I just didn't particularly care about any of the characters (spoilers coming if you haven't seen Sicario). Sure, the scene where Blunt's character almost gets choked to death by the undercover hitman was suspenseful, but I never particularly cared if anything bad happened to her. Same goes for Brolin's and Del Toro's characters. They all did a fantastic job with the acting, don't get me wrong, but the movie more or less failed to connect with me on a personal level of any kind. In retrospect, I understand that the point was, as the AV Club puts it, to "squeeze the protagonist out of her own story." It was dark and futile, and every time you wanted to see Emily Blunt kick some male ass, she didn't. This wasn't a movie about the good guys winning, or even about the bad guys winning. Nobody won. Even the characters who managed to achieve their goals didn't win. I don't mind bleak movies, or even movies that subvert audience expectations, but with something this bleak, I at least like to be left with some sort of tidbit to ruminate on as I leave the theatre. In reality, I was kind of just frustrated.
Again, I feel like I'm just shitting on this movie, but it really did have some incredibly well executed scenes. The beginning had me 120% hooked, and might be one of the better intro scenes to any movie that I've seen in a long time. Roger Deakins filmed the whole thing beautifully, with what seemed to be a tendency to center his shots more so than I've seen him do in the past. All of the night vision/infrared scenes were really well done, and it's safe to say that the whole film was more or less a visual pleasure.
So. I don't know. I want with all my heart to say that this was a great movie, but right now I can't muster up the strength to call it anything more than decent. I'm not mad that I paid to see it, but at the same time, I wish I had enjoyed it just a teensy bit more. Denis Villeneuve has a history of making morally ambiguous films, and Sicario fails to break that trend. Maybe I'll feel different on a second viewing, but I don't exactly have high hopes.
Well. Here we are. Two hours later, and I'm not exactly sure what to think. All of those mentioned above did their job exceedingly well: Deakins killed it as always, and the performances of the three lead characters - specifically Blunt's - were riveting. The film definitely went by quickly, and it was tense throughout, and yet I can't help feeling that something is missing. Which is weird, because everywhere I look, all I can see are glowing reviews and praise being thrown at Villeneuve and Co. for making what some people are calling the best movie of the year (for example, check out Rolling Stone's review here and the AV Club's right here) So... am I wrong here? Am I missing something?To make a long answer short; yes. Probably. The more I read about the film, the more I feel like it deserves an immediate second viewing. Specific complaints of mine, like the sense that I was never quite sure what was going on throughout the movie, were more or less put to rest when I realized that Blunt's character is supposed to be in the same shoes as the audience, with the lack of info supposedly pulling us along throughout. I'll buy that, I guess, and watching it again could take away that distraction of trying to figure out what the hell is going on and the constant worry that I'm missing something.
The more I think about it, the more that I realize that I just didn't particularly care about any of the characters (spoilers coming if you haven't seen Sicario). Sure, the scene where Blunt's character almost gets choked to death by the undercover hitman was suspenseful, but I never particularly cared if anything bad happened to her. Same goes for Brolin's and Del Toro's characters. They all did a fantastic job with the acting, don't get me wrong, but the movie more or less failed to connect with me on a personal level of any kind. In retrospect, I understand that the point was, as the AV Club puts it, to "squeeze the protagonist out of her own story." It was dark and futile, and every time you wanted to see Emily Blunt kick some male ass, she didn't. This wasn't a movie about the good guys winning, or even about the bad guys winning. Nobody won. Even the characters who managed to achieve their goals didn't win. I don't mind bleak movies, or even movies that subvert audience expectations, but with something this bleak, I at least like to be left with some sort of tidbit to ruminate on as I leave the theatre. In reality, I was kind of just frustrated.
Again, I feel like I'm just shitting on this movie, but it really did have some incredibly well executed scenes. The beginning had me 120% hooked, and might be one of the better intro scenes to any movie that I've seen in a long time. Roger Deakins filmed the whole thing beautifully, with what seemed to be a tendency to center his shots more so than I've seen him do in the past. All of the night vision/infrared scenes were really well done, and it's safe to say that the whole film was more or less a visual pleasure.
So. I don't know. I want with all my heart to say that this was a great movie, but right now I can't muster up the strength to call it anything more than decent. I'm not mad that I paid to see it, but at the same time, I wish I had enjoyed it just a teensy bit more. Denis Villeneuve has a history of making morally ambiguous films, and Sicario fails to break that trend. Maybe I'll feel different on a second viewing, but I don't exactly have high hopes.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
What would you do to get the shot?
When it comes down to it, it's not about what camera is used to obtain a shot but what the actual shot is of. Many filmmakers go the distance by sending their cameras into the air, under water, or even attaching it to their pet. But this filmmaker has to take the cake. Having stumbled upon a rattlesnake pit, they attached their GoPro to a stick and dove in to receive some amazing footage.
It felt like a horror film as they began to attack the camera, but nonetheless the technology that we have at our fingertips these days is what enables this sort of filming making. A camera attached to a stick is all it took to enter this rattler nest and that hockey stick is what also enable the filmmaker to get it out after it fell off its mount.
It's because of the accessibility of this sort of technology that results with these immersive videos. It makes you not only wonder if the camera operator is crazy but also how you can take a simple set up and capture something brilliant. You won't be finding me near a snake pit like this anytime soon but I definitely will take the concept of this video and apply it to my work. Live the moment and think outside the box because this may just be the reason you walk away from a day of filming with a viral video.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Saturday Night Live: Comedy Daycare
I like to think of Saturday Night Live as a daycare for comedians with Lorne Michaels as the overruling nanny for all the little kids who don't know any better. After 40 years on air, it's a proven staple on our television line up. It's popularity has only risen in recent years because of Internet video sharing, and sites like YouTube, in which 4-6 minute videos are all anyone's attention can handle. Not only that, but we've seen the success of past SNL comedians and the all the brilliant work they've done after leaving the show. With people like Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy and countless more, the potential for success after leaving the show is very high. So like I said, it's a daycare. Young, talented comedians come in and play around with their funny and creative ideas. They grow and step into their comedic talent, mastering impressions and nailing their punchline timing. It's very obvious which cast members are brand new and which are the veterans. All the while, Lorne Michaels watches over with an insightful eye and approves or disapproves of whatever skit is being pitched. He turns these no name youngsters into show runners and head writers. It's a given that some skits will work and others will completely miss the mark, but that's part of the growing process for all these comedians.
After leaving daycare, many of these talented jokesters have gone on to write and/or star in our favorite television shows. Most recently, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have finished their long running shows, 30 Rock and Parks and Rec. In addition, many of SNL's recent departures are now putting their footprint on the industry. Fred Armisen, who was on SNL for 13 years, is now in his 6th season of Portlandia, which he created. Last Man on Earth, Fox's new hit comedy, stars Will Forte who spent 10 years at SNL. Andy Samberg, digital short genius and 8 year cast member, is now the star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and recently hosted the Emmys. Kristen Wiig gifted the world with Bridesmaids, and Seth Meyers is the host of Late Night. These recent SNL grads are only at the beginning of their post-SNL career and have a lot of room to grow. All in all, we should thank Lorne Michaels for creating such a program to help these comedians grow. Who knows if Tina Fey would have ever written Mean Girls or if Will Ferrell would have starred in dozens of hilarious comedies. Maybe? Probably not. So for all those new cast members who are awkward and mess up their lines, you may have your own show in 5-10 years. Hell, you may even host The Tonight Show.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)