Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Shine a Light.


The joke that Martin Scorsese seizes on throughout his megawattage Rolling Stones concert movie, Shine a Light, is that the band's members have been asked 'How much longer can you stay together/productive/alive?' every year since Mick Jagger was a soft-faced boy who looked barely out of grammar school," writes David Edelstein in New York. "In the old days, Jagger seemed to be taunting us - or, more likely, his stuffy British headmasters and their blue-haired wives - by parading around the stage as everything most fearsome, the cock of the walk as a huffy black androgyne. Now he taunts us with his stamina.

Dear Film Noir Fans,

Our latest update must begin on a sad note, as we observe the passing of two men important to the legacy of film noir.

The first is Richard Widmark, who died last month after 93 years of wonderful accomplishments.
Widmark was one of those actors whose emergence heralded something entirely new in the movies, something emblematic of noir but distilled into one performer--the guilty thrill of finding "badness" both sexy and sinister. Widmark allowed audiences to delight in his villainy, and American movies grew up a bit when he showed that a character could be simultaneously attractive and repulsive. That dichotomy was, and remains, an essential aspect of noir's allure.

Secondly, Much harder to take was news of the death of our friend Arthur Lyons, one of the great modern writers of crime fiction, who for the past seven years was the producer of the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. Art came from a Hollywood family (his father was a well-known restaurateur) and he knew and loved show business, exemplified by the incredible amount of time and energy he devoted to bringing old-school stars to his annual summer festival.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Simon Pegg confirms potential 'Star Trek' sequels

In news that will turn every Trekker a nice shade of cerulean blue, Simon Pegg confirmed in an interview with MTV Movies Blog that he's signed on for three Star Trek movies.

In fact, the concept of signing on for multiple movies caused him some trepidation at first.
"I thought about it for a bit because you have to commit to a series of films and that puts you in a situation where the studio has some control over what you do. I called up J.J. and I said, 'the idea is amazing but I'm worried.' And he said, ‘what's the worst that can happen? We hang out every three years and make a fun film?'"
According to MTV Movies Blog, Pegg signed on for three movies. Of course, any potential sequels would be dependent on their predecessors being a box office hit. Of course, with the streak that director J.J. Abrams is on, I don't think that will be a problem.

What is the biggest money-making foreign language film of all time?

Director Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ is the biggest non-English language film at the box office. The movie, spoken entirely in Aramaic, made over $370 million at the box office domestically. The Chinese action movie Crouchgin Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) is number two on the list with $128 million.
Another great foreign language film, The Kite Runner, hits DVD this week. The movie, directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, this year's James Bond movie), is based on the best-selling novel of the same name.

5 Important Video Codecs You Must Know

video codec is a device or software that enables video compression and/or decompression for digital video. Digital video codecs are found in DVD (MPEG-2), VCD (MPEG-1), in emerging satellite and terrestrial broadcast systems, and on the Internet.

Below are 5 Must Know Video Codecs and their features

H.263 – use for video conferencing

This codec is a good choice for the business community. It’s ideal for a video conference where you do not need high-quality pictures and where audio is going to take priority. It is best with low movement films, so a more or less stationary talking head is going to be just perfect. The data rate for thiswould be small, but much quality is lost. Perhaps the only use of this codec is if you wanted to send aquick version of a film for viewing by a co-worker; you may not worry too much about the way it looksas you just want quick feedback.

Cinepak – use for CD-ROMs

This is a good, well-established system which works best with small image sizes. This codec is outperformed by many others, even though its small picture size, at 120x90 pixels, is now getting bigger as computers improve. It is better used on low-end machines but is not usually the first option for web film, being more suited to CD-ROMs. A big advantage with this codec is that it allows the sender to customize settings throughout a film, so you can apply heavier compression to places where there is notmuch movement but lighter compression to where you need more detail on screen, perhaps during anaction sequence. This process avoids ‘data spikes’, where sudden increases in data cause a movie to stopplaying on the user’s PC because too much data is needed.

3. RealG2 – good for web work, not for other uses

This codec is widely used on the web. It uses ‘temporal scaleability’, which means that the result forthe user is smoother than others even on a wide range of computers or devices. This means movies encoded with it play at a high frame rate for fast processors and low for slow ones. This codec is hard to beat in terms of the number of users who may have access to it on the web and the ease with which the rest can download it (for free).

4. Sorenson – good all-rounder

This is a really good, high-quality codec and looks better than most at a screen size of 320x240. It’sa good solution for movies that are going to be viewed over broadband connections, but some editions (notably the Developer Edition) cater for the other users by enabling scaleable streaming. One aspect which puts many people off using this codec is the length of time it takes to encode a movie in this way,but it remains the method of choice for most short movies, for the web and CD.

5. Intel Indeo 4 and 5 – good, but mainly for high power

With this method of compression you get a good result with high picture quality, but it is only viablefor high-powered PCs or Macs. Version 5 allows for progressive downloads. Intel’s codec is generally better than Cinepak, but cannot match the picture quality of the Sorenson.

Continuity in non-narrative films

Non-narrative movies demand a very different approach to narrative. They require that you embed continuity as a part of the whole structure of the film, not as an afterthought during filming.

Non-narrative movies such as music videos, abstract movies and multimedia projections used in live concerts are particularly susceptible to looking fragmented. At their most out of control, they look like you are channel surfing, looking at a number of clips of movies by different people. Of the following ideas, the more effective ones are those that are part of the planning and shooting stages rather than those placed over the film in post-production.


Methods of ensuring continuity in non-narrative film

Single filter effect (edit software filters, not camera filters)If your editing software has special effects that you can use to alter the look of clips – for instance, to make them change colour, stretch or change contrast and tone – you could apply one of these to the whole film, or at regular points. Restrict yourself to one filter only.

Tracking
A tracking shot – where the camera moves while it shoots, tracking the action – can make a good way of connecting shots. Decide on a constant speed of tracking and stick with it throughout the film. To enhance the effect, keep to one direction in the screen – for example, left to right. For example, you could show a slow, left-to-right movement of the camera along a beach, cutting then to a similar constant shot along a busy street


360-degree movement
This device is particularly effective in linking shots. Decide on the height of the camera and the speed of the camera as it moves, then shoot everything while moving 360 degrees around the subject, at every location, throughout the film.

Common space

This involves including an object or space in the background that is present in each shot, and could be as simple as a fireside with picture frame. This is commonly used in scenes with dialogue where it is useful to be able to locate two actors within the same space by showing some common space or object in each actor’s frame. In a non-narrative film you could choose a single prop that is present throughout.


Transitions

At the editing stage, you will need to decide how you cut between scenes. The most common – the straight cut and the cross dissolve – could be developed by trying something a little more noticeable. An example could be to fade fast to white as the picture cuts, suggesting flash photography.

The length of the shot

A style of editing that uses short cuts, with a high turnover of clips, will encourage the viewer to see these clips as linked in some way, even if the subject matter is not. Therefore, we tend to see a montage sequence consisting of a lot of quick images because the diversity of images needs to be balanced by speed of perception. But what is a ‘long cut’ or a ‘short cut’? In this case you could think of a quick cut as half a second or less and a slow cut as anything from three to five seconds, but your subject matter will dictate how fast your cuts will be.

Motif

In non-narrative films, a motif can be used with some thought to what kinds of objects or colours add to the overall theme of the movie. For example, in an interpretation of the word ‘anger’, we could justifiably use the colour red as a motif in the film. To stand as a motif you would have to see the object or colour recur often enough to be noticed. Alternatively, you could use images of a clenched fist or a brick hurtling towards a window, letting us see more and more of it as the film proceeds.

Linked imagery

For this idea we could take a look at Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). After a lengthy start where we see ancient pre-human apes, Kubrick needed a way of jumping tens of thousands of years into the future without disrupting the flow of the movie. If ever there was a time to use a continuity device, this was it. His response was to have the camera follow a bone thrown high into the air, and immediately cut to a similar-shaped, bone-like spacecraft, occupying the same space in the frame. This is a daring way of connecting two shots that could not be more dissimilar, visually. While shooting, you could look for parts of the scene that visually resemble a part of another, with the aim of linking the two later.

Sound

This is a last resort method of connecting shots and is not the most effective way. A single piece of music is dubbed over the whole film as with a music video. If you want to use sound in this way, try to use a particularly noticeable home-made soundtrack of sounds, rather than music, and one where you have altered the sounds or looped them, producing a repetitive, rhythmic effect.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

JUST ANNOUNCED ON DVD

Batman: Gotham Knight (Collector's Edition)
Cloverfield
Darfur Now (Widescreen)
Dirty Harry (Special Edition)
ER: The Complete Ninth Season
Flawless (Widescreen)
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Fourth Season
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Third Season
The Signal (Widescreen)
Square Pegs: The Complete Series
Untraceable (Widescreen)
War, Inc.
Weeds: Season Three (Widescreen)

AT THE BOX OFFICE


Horton Hears a Who!
10,000 B.C.
Never Back Down
College Road Trip
Vantage Point
The Bank Job
Doomsday
Semi-Pro
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Spiderwick Chronicles

In what year is the 1981 film 'Escape from New York' set?

New York has been the setting for many futuristic/dystopian and disaster movies. The reduction of the Statue of Liberty to rumble -- as in director John Carpenter's 1981 film Escape from New York -- is a powerful visual. Kurt Russell starred as Snake Plissken in the movie whose events happen in the year 1997. In the movie, the entire Manhattan island has been transformed into a maximum security prison. The ex-soldier Snake is charged with retrieving the President after Air Force One crash lands in the havoc.

In I Am Legend, Will Smith stars as Army scientist Robert Neville. He is the last surviving human in 2012 New York City. A terrible virus has killed most of the planet's population. Neville remains, immune to the deadly virus. The film is based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. The book was first adapted into the films The Last Man on Earth (1964) and The Omega Man (1971).

Friday, March 21, 2008

Southland Tales


"What an awesome disaster of a movie," writes Waggish of Southland Tales. "Panned at Cannes, left for dead by Sony, eventually raking in $300K on an $18 million budget and forcing a promise from Richard Kelly that he will be more commercial in the future, I now say that it's the major American movie of 2007 that I enjoyed the most, far more than limp critic-fodder There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men."


"I know, for myself, that whereas No Country for Old Men stunned me in its first weekend, by the time it won Best Picture I had come to feel what a bleak trick it is," writes David Thomson in the LA Weekly. "But I find myself still close to tears with Bonnie and Clyde, even though I know it shot for shot, and I'm not sure now whether I am moved by Warren and Faye, by the idea of cinema, or by the bloodshot summer of 1967. I cannot forget that when the picture opened (for me) in London that August, I saw it day after day, leaving the job I dreaded and telling myself that my life had to change, even if I ended up shot to pieces with those two shampooed darlings."

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Online Video Using iWeb and Final Cut Pro

If you have a .Mac account you can put a video from Final Cut Pro online with iWeb in a few steps. This is a great way to allow a client to preview a video without much effort. Making the site secure for only the client to be able to view the page is as simple as setting a login and password in iWeb before publishing.

To prepare a video for iWeb with Final Cut Pro, use the Quicktime Conversion Export option in Final Cut Pro. Selecting the iPhone Format option will compress the video to a 480x360 mpeg4 movie. The other preset mpeg4 format option in the Quicktime conversion is the iPod seting, which will output a 640x480 mpeg4 movie. Both of these options will produce an iWeb compatible video.

Starting a New Site with a blank page and dragging the MPEG4 video on the page is essentially all you need to do. It is very typical that you will get a warning saying that the file is too large, but I have yet to not be able to upload a video. There are a few minor options like adding the password protection that you can do, but for the most part all you have to do is publish the site to your .Mac account. If you intend on leaving the page up for a while you can set a domain to point to the .Mac link.

A Brief Introduction to Satyajit Ray

"The quiet but deep observation, understanding and love of the human race, which are characteristic of all his films, have impressed me greatly. ...I feel that he is a "giant" of the movie industry."
- Akira Kurosawa

Satyajit Ray, an Indian filmmaker and among the dozen or so great masters of world cinema, is known for his humanistic approach to cinema. He made his films in Bengali, a language spoken in the eastern state of India - West Bengal. And yet, his films are of universal interest. They are about things that make up the human race - relationships, emotions, struggle, conflicts, joys and sorrows.

The Master StorytellerSatyajit Ray, the master storyteller, has left a cinematic heritage that belongs as much to India as to the world. His films demonstrate a remarkable humanism, elaborate observation and subtle handling of characters and situations. The cinema of Satyajit Ray is a rare blend of intellect and emotions. He is controlled, precise, meticulous, and yet, evokes deep emotional response from the audience. His films depict a fine sensitivity without using melodrama or dramatic excesses. He evolved a cinematic style that is almost invisible. He strongly believed - "The best technique is the one that's not noticeable".

Though initially inspired by the neo-realist tradition, his cinema belongs not to a specific category or style but a timeless meta-genre of a style of story telling that touches the audience in some way. His films belong to a meta-genre that includes the works of Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Chaplin, David Lean, Federico Fellini, Fritz Lang, John Ford, Ingmar Bergman, Jean Renoir, Luis Bunuel, Yasujiro Ozu, Ritwik Ghatak and Robert Bresson. All very different in style and content, and yet creators of cinema that is timeless and universal.

Impressive OeuvreSatyajit Ray's films are both cinematic and literary at the same time; using a simple narrative, usually in a classical format, but greatly detailed and operating at many levels of interpretation.

His first film, Pather Panchali (Song of the little road, 1955) established his reputation as a major film director, winning numerous awards including Best Human Document, Cannes, 1956 and Best Film, Vancouver, 1958. It is the first film of a trilogy - The Apu Trilogy - a three-part tale of a boy's life from birth through manhood. The other two films of this trilogy are Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959).

His later films include Jalsaghar (The Music Room, 1958), Devi (The Goddess, 1960), Teen Kanya (Two Daughters, 1961), Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Nayak (The Hero, 1966), Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973), Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Ghare Baire (The Home and the World, 1984), Ganashatru (An Enemy Of The People, 1989) and Shakha Prashakha (Branches Of The Tree, 1991). Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) was his last film.

True AuteurRay directly controlled many aspects of filmmaking. He wrote all the screenplays of his films, many of which were based on his own stories.
He designed the sets and costumes, operated the camera since Charulata (1964), he composed the music for all his films since 1962 and designed the publicity posters for his new releases.

In addition to filmmaking, Ray was a composer, a writer and a graphic designer. He even designed a new typeface. In 1961, he revived and continued to publish the Bengali children's magazine "Sandesh", which was founded by his grandfather Upendrakishore Ray .

A Brief Introduction to Satyajit Ray
"The quiet but deep observation, understanding and love of the human race, which are characteristic of all his films, have impressed me greatly. ...I feel that he is a "giant" of the movie industry."
- Akira KurosawaSatyajit Ray, an Indian filmmaker and among the dozen or so great masters of world cinema, is known for his humanistic approach to cinema. He made his films in Bengali, a language spoken in the eastern state of India - West Bengal. And yet, his films are of universal interest. They are about things that make up the human race - relationships, emotions, struggle, conflicts, joys and sorrows.
The Master StorytellerSatyajit Ray, the master storyteller, has left a cinematic heritage that belongs as much to India as to the world. His films demonstrate a remarkable humanism, elaborate observation and subtle handling of characters and situations. The cinema of Satyajit Ray is a rare blend of intellect and emotions. He is controlled, precise, meticulous, and yet, evokes deep emotional response from the audience. His films depict a fine sensitivity without using melodrama or dramatic excesses. He evolved a cinematic style that is almost invisible. He strongly believed - "The best technique is the one that's not noticeable". Though initially inspired by the neo-realist tradition, his cinema belongs not to a specific category or style but a timeless meta-genre of a style of story telling that touches the audience in some way. His films belong to a meta-genre that includes the works of Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Chaplin, David Lean, Federico Fellini, Fritz Lang, John Ford, Ingmar Bergman, Jean Renoir, Luis Bunuel, Yasujiro Ozu, Ritwik Ghatak and Robert Bresson. All very different in style and content, and yet creators of cinema that is timeless and universal.
Impressive OeuvreSatyajit Ray's films are both cinematic and literary at the same time; using a simple narrative, usually in a classical format, but greatly detailed and operating at many levels of interpretation. His first film, Pather Panchali (Song of the little road, 1955) established his reputation as a major film director, winning numerous awards including Best Human Document, Cannes, 1956 and Best Film, Vancouver, 1958. It is the first film of a trilogy - The Apu Trilogy - a three-part tale of a boy's life from birth through manhood. The other two films of this trilogy are Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959). His later films include Jalsaghar (The Music Room, 1958), Devi (The Goddess, 1960), Teen Kanya (Two Daughters, 1961), Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Nayak (The Hero, 1966), Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973), Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Ghare Baire (The Home and the World, 1984), Ganashatru (An Enemy Of The People, 1989) and Shakha Prashakha (Branches Of The Tree, 1991). Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) was his last film.
True AuteurRay directly controlled many aspects of filmmaking. He wrote all the screenplays of his films, many of which were based on his own stories. He designed the sets and costumes, operated the camera since Charulata (1964), he composed the music for all his films since 1962 and designed the publicity posters for his new releases. In addition to filmmaking, Ray was a composer, a writer and a graphic designer. He even designed a new typeface. In 1961, he revived and continued to publish the Bengali children's magazine "Sandesh", which was founded by his grandfather Upendrakishore Ray .
AwardsIn 1978, the organizing committee of the Berlin Film Festival ranked him as one of the three all-time best directors. In 1992, Satyajit Ray received the honorary Academy Award ©A.M.P.A.S. ® - Lifetime Achievement - "In recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and for his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world." Other honors include "Lègion d'Honneur", France and "Bharatratna" (Jewel of India).

Friday, March 14, 2008

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


3/14 -- Billy Crystal (61)
3/15 -- Eva Longoria (33)
3/16 -- Victor Garber (How old? Find out)
3/17 -- Gary Sinise (53)
3/18 -- Dane Cook (36)
3/19 -- Bruce Willis (53)
3/20 -- Spike Lee (51)

Trailer for 'Incredible Hulk' debuts; Plus we've got new photos


The first trailer for The Incredible Hulk premiered last night on various Viacom TV networks (like MTV). The video for Universal's movie mulligan is now online at incrediblehulk.com -- including in HD.


This is the first clear glimpse we've gotten of the reworked CGI Hulk. And, you know what? It looks a lot like the last one. (How much different can you make "big, green, and menacing"?)


What does feel different from Ang Lee's 2003 version is the action in this version. The inclusion of the villain The Abomination (that other creature in the trailer) makes a big difference. Having the Hulk battle a General just isn't enough for the big screen.


For comparison, take a look at the trailer for the 2003 film:

The new movie is led by French director Louis Leterrier from The Transporter and Transporter 2. The script was written by Zak Penn (X2, Elektra, Fantastic Four, and X-Men: The Last Stand) and tweaked by star Edward Norton.


The movie arrives in theaters exactly three months from today on June 13. Below are some pics provided by Universal Pictures.

Which movie was advertised as the first movie filmed on two continents?

Given the blatant and obvious Irish theme of this email, you had to suspect that Ireland was involved somehow, no? A Lad from Old Ireland (1910) was filmed in County Kerry, Ireland and New York, making it the first movie ever filmed on two separate continents.

The highest grossing Irish movie in the United States was 1991's The Commitments. Its box office take of $14.9 million was slightly higher than that of other Irish films such as Angela's Ashes and Michael Collins.

The highest box office gross taken in on St. Patrick's Day belongs to Ice Age. It took in $13.6 million on March 17, 2002 on its third day of release.

Friday, March 7, 2008

JUST ANNOUNCED ON DVD


Individual 'Indiana Jones' movies hit DVD for the first time on May 13th


Just in time to capitalize on the May 22nd release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Paramount and LucasFilm are releasing the first three Indiana Jones movies on DVD individually for the first time on May 13th.


Previously, the films were only available on DVD as a complete collection. In May, the films will be available as both singles and as a collectible set.


All three films have new bonus features:


Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
Indiana Jones: An Appreciation - The cast and crew of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull pay tribute to the original trilogy.
The Melting Face - A recreation of the amazing physical effect of the villain's melting face in Raiders of the Lost Ark, including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas commenting on the evolution of visual effects and CGI.
Storyboard Sequence - The Well of Souls
Galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, Marketing
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Game Demo and Trailer


Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
Creepy Crawlies - Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Frank Marshall reminisce about snakes, bugs and rats
Locations - Travel across the world to discover where the films take place and where they were shot.
Storyboard Sequence - The Mine Cart Chase
Galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, Marketing
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Game Demo and Trailer


Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
The Women: The American Film Institute Tribute - The three Indiana Jones women (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody) reunite for a discussion.
Friends and Enemies - Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Indiana Jones writers discuss how they created the most iconic characters in film history, including a look at new faces in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Storyboard Sequence - The Opening Sequence
Galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, Marketing

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Performing an Audio Pan in FCP


You can make your audio more dynamic in Final Cut Pro by panning sound effects from the left speaker to the right from within the Viewer Window.


A sound effect, such as a passing car panning from the left speaker to the right, can add another dimension to your project and lessen the flatness of canned sound effects.


Before you try this, keep in mind that you only need a mono clip to perform this effect, so if you have a stereo pair, unlink the two and delete one of the tracks.


1 Double click on the audio clip to load it into the viewer.2 Click on the channel tab in the Viewer Window.3 Option click on the purple audio spread overlay in order to get the pen tool to create keyframes and drag the points of the line so that it looks like the diagram below. When you begin to move the purple overly you will see a pink line underneath it. It helps if you think of it in this way: think of anything above the pink line as being the right channel and anything below as being the left channel.


Now the audio in this clip will pass from the left speak through the right when played.

Film


Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.


Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication; some movies have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.


Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.


The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) had historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.

Monday, March 3, 2008

READING BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN


Putting together a syllabus for a course at Dartmouth - Queers, Queens, and Questionable Women: How Hollywood Shaped Post-War GLBT Politics and Vice Versa - Michael Bronski was amazed "at not only how brief, and fast moving, the history of specifically queer criticism has been, but also how protean it has been." His brief history begins with "the brilliant, and now largely forgotten by younger queer writers and academics, Parker Tyler," and takes Richard Dyer, B Ruby Rich and Vito Russo into consideration on his way to the present: "Academic queer film studies now finds itself in the sometimes awkward position of responding both to a need to continue to professionalize its work as well as to wrestle with the changing state of the market, which is now utterly different than it was a decade ago, never mind three decades. This cultural shift is, to varying degrees, apparent in the three volumes of recent queer film writing under review." And they are: The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers, The Cinema of Todd Haynes: All That Heaven Allows and Reading Brokeback Mountain: Essays on the Story and the Film.

What movie grossed the most on Leap Day (February 29th)?

February isn't really known as a box office friendly month as most blockbusters either came out during the previous holiday season or are being held until the Summer. However, if you were to rank the highest grossing day from each month, February would come in 6th, behind only May, July, June, November and December.
The main reason for this uncanny success is due to one movie, The Passion of The Christ, which occupies four of the top five highest February days of all-time. The Passion of The Christ came out in 2004, also a leap year, and its Sunday take of opening weekend was $27.9 million, good enough for the second best single day in February ever. It so happened that is was also Leap Day.
Today, Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro opens and should do great business this weekend, but I would be shocked if it came close to challenging The Passion of The Christ's record.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Interview. Tony Gilroy.


Tony Gilroy had been writing screenplays and watching directors turn them into movies for about a decade when he wrote Michael Clayton. For six years, the project simply would not get up off the ground. Then along came Jason Bourne. With the help of, among others, George Clooney, Sydney Pollack and Steven Soderbergh, he was finally able to get Michael Clayton made - and direct it himself.


The film was well-received when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival and lauded in Toronto. But when it hit theaters... well, you may have missed it. Now's your chance. It's out on DVD this week, just in time for the Oscars. It's been nominated for seven of those, including Best Picture. And Gilroy's been nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Michael GuillÃ


Friday, January 18, 2008

What is the most expensive film ever helmed by a first-time director?

Movie studios usually like to have a seasoned veteran in the director's chair when they pony up the big bucks for their tent-pole picture, but that wasn't the case when Paramount decided to put a first-time helmer in charge of the third installment of their Mission: Impossible franchise.

But to be fair, when J.J. Abrams took the reins of Mission: Impossible 3, he was already a household name thanks to his very successful TV series Lost, Alias and Felicity. According to Hollywood legend, Mission actor Tom Cruise sought out and befriended Abrams after watching a few early episodes of Alias.

He convinced his new friend and the studio heads at Paramount that he was the right man for the job and the rest, as they say, is history.

J.J. is back this weekend as the producer of the soon-to-be cult hit Cloverfield that is riding a wave of Internet marketing brilliance to the box office. This Christmas, Paramount hopes that Abrams can work his magic again when he revives their Star Trek franchise with a whole new take on the beloved series.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Adobe Premiere Elements



Overview


I think the programmers at Adobe simply placed a nice user interface on top of Adobe Premiere Pro to create Premiere Elements. There's a taskbar that guides you through the workflow, from capture to exporting. To help beginners, Adobe added a number of customizable presets for common operations, such as PiP effects and still-image pans and zooms.


Capturing Your Video


Using Adobe Premiere Elements to capture video is a fairly straight forward process. Elements will capture via Firewire, using either a camcorder or analogue capture via a analog-to-digital conversion device.

Once you've captured the raw video, there are a few things you can choose to do. A nice tool is to use Scene Detect, which automatically detects various scenes in the entire footage and exports it to the timeline. If you've used Pinnacle Studio Plus, you'll realize that Premiere Elements does not allows you to control brightness, contrast, hue, saturation and audio levels before or during capture.


Editing Your Video


Editing your video with Premiere Elements is pretty simple if you stick to the presets, operation remains fairly simple. However, if you venture beyond into the Effects Control palette, you'll immediately see the intimidating screens found in Premiere Pro - which may scare off novices. This is not a bad thing though - some Premiere Pro's most powerful functions like the titling tool and chroma key capabilities are at your disposal.


The timeline in Elements opens with 4 tracks showing: 2 video and 2 audio. Audio or video tracks may be added, and the link between captured audio and video can be broken so that clips can move independently. You can place transitions between 2 adjacent clips on the time line - and there is a wide variety to choose from.


Integration with Photoshop Elements


If you edit photos with Adobe Photoshop Elements, you'll be pleased to know that Photoshop Elements can be used to edit any image on the Premiere Elements timeline. Once edited, the image on the timeline is updated automatically. This tight integration with an image editor is not found in competing products like Ulead VideoStudio and Pinnacle Studio Plus.


Audio Capabilities


A note about audio capabilities to highlight here. In Elements, like in most other video editing programs, you need to record voice overs separately and then import it to the project. This is where Pinnacle Studio outshines over virtually every other editing program - you can record direct to the timeline.


DVD Authoring


Burning the edited video onto a DVD is always a problem for many consumers who are just starting out in digital video production. Fortunately, in Adobe Premiere Elements, the process is extremely simple.


The program provides 33 DVD menu templates, most of which are stunning. The program will automatically generate DVD menu markers, or you can set them manually in the timeline quite easily. However, there are restrictions - you can customize only text, neither can you modify the backgrounds that come from the templates.


Shortcomings


Although it has many great features, Adobe Premiere Elements is not without its quirks. In my test run, I found that Premiere Elements was very finicky with my MSI DVD burner during the DVD burn process. I had to render the files to a folder and then use a separate DVD burning application (Nero Burning ROM) to burn my video.


Conclusion


On the whole, Adobe Premiere Elements is a nice consumer video editing program that will please many. By incorporating high-quality effects and precise controls, along with a chroma key tool and picture-in-picture options, Premiere Elements is will allow you to make amazingly good movies. Definitely worth a look for the budding videographer.



Saturday, January 12, 2008

What ultimately decided the format war between Betamax and VHS?

Some claim that it was the relatively short recording time of the Betamax as compared to that of the VHS. Others argue that it was Sony's short-sightedness not to bring in other manufacturers to help make Betamax machines.

Some other theories range from the "cutting-edge" deployment of pause buttons and timer features on the VHS machines/remote controls to the vastly superior marketing techniques employed by the backers of VHS.

there are even some that still maintain that it was the availability of pornography on VHS that tipped the scales in its favor. And then, there are those that claim it was a vast government conspiracy.

All of these reasons probably played a part towards the ultimate demise of Betamax, but the real reason that VHS emerged as the clear winner in the format war was because of you, the consumer. Ultimately, for whatever reason, people chose VHS over Betamax.

Thirty years later not much has changed. You still have the power to decide the outcome of the high def DVD format war.

Friday, January 11, 2008

15 Deserving movies that will be overlooked at this year's Oscars


Across the Universe What are the chances this delightful musical gets nominated for Best Picture? Slim to none, unfortunately. Especially in a year with lots of great dramas at year's end. It might sneak a lesser nom.


Amazing Grace This powerful film really deserves nods for Best Picture and Best Director but it'll probably get shut out. What a shame.



The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Andrew Dominik deserves recognition as director of this film as does Casey Affleck for his role. Affleck might get a sort-of cumulative nomination for his work here and Gone Baby Gone.


Away From Her Julie Christie could very well get a Best Actress nod for her performance as an Alzheimer's victim. But why not Best Director or Best Screenplay for first-time filmmaker Sarah Polley?


Breach This movie has gotten some well-deserved attention on DVD but that probably won't be enough to give it a nomination -- either for its screenplay or for another excellent job by Chris Cooper.


Eastern Promises Viggo Mortensen and director David Cronenberg deliver another critical hit after 2005's A History of Violence. Neither were nominated for that film and they most assuredly deserve it here again.


In the Valley of Elah For some reason political films have been box office poison this year. Regardless, this is a fine film that deserves more attention from the Academy than the Tommy Lee Jones and writer-director Paul Haggis nominations it'll probably receive.


The Lookout No one seems to be talking about this movie in the Oscar race this year. It should be up for screenplay and possibly even for the underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt.


A Mighty Heart Because of her celebrity status, Angelina Jolie might get a Best Actress nomination for her performance as Daniel Pearl's wife. She definitely should get one for this forgotten film.


The Namesake Another early release that won't get a fair shot at Oscar glory. It really begs attention in Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay cats. Maybe even more so an acting nod for Irrfan Khan. Number of Oscar nominations it'll get: zero


Once The people who see this romantic musical can't help campaigning for it. It'll assuredly get attention in the Best Song category but it needs to be up for Best Picture as well.


Rescue Dawn Christian Bale and writer-director Werner Herzog really should demand attention for this unrecognized achievement. I'm guessing they won't get anything at this year's awards.


Waitress Late director Adrienne Shelly will probably get a token nom in the screenplay category but the movie should be up there for Best Picture as well.


The Wind That Shakes the Barley This movie is perhaps the biggest of these dark horse picks. Director Ken Loach and lead actor Cillian Murphy would be the best choices for recognition in this Irish war story.


Year of the Dog C'mon, Academy! Give Mike White some recognition for his brilliant writing. Molly Shannon is a great long shot in the actress category as well.


Zodiac The last film in our list alphabetically and perhaps the worst victim of poor timing. Director David Fincher really needs a nomination for magnificently recreating San Francisco in the '60s and '70s. A Best Picture nod would be worthy as well.


One last, bonus consideration: Ratatouille is a gimme in the Animated Film category but why not Best Picture as well? Critics as well as the general public loved it. It's a great achievement in filmmaking and doesn't deserve to be pigeon-holed in just the cartoon list.


Thursday, January 10, 2008

There Will Be Blood


Someone we know said Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was going to be the best movie of the year, and f-making-ilm scoffed. But turns out we kind of have to eat our words, because PTA has made an incredibly tense and powerful film filled with gorgeous cinematography and spectacular performances, particularly the one by Mr. Method Daniel Day-Lewis. We also absolutely loved Johnny Greenwood's score, it creates the most intensely palpable tone of dread. The title tells you oh yeah, there will be blood, but Greenwood's score has you on the edge of your seat waiting for it. The only thing that made CC put it on our top 10 list in the number two spot was the lack of female characters. Weren't there any ladies of interest in independent oilman Daniel Plainview's life? This bleak story could've used an infusion of estrogen, in our opinion. But regardless of the gender imbalance, get thee to a theater to see this movie. It's going to be considered a classic and start sweeping the awards season.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Do I Really Need a Script Coach?

Experienced, working screenwriters get professional feedback all the time from their agents, managers, other writers and producers before they go to market with a new script.

What about unproduced screenwriters? Typically, unsold writers only get one chance to impress an individual agent or film executive. To make sure these opportunities are not wasted, some screenwriters use an experienced script coach to help them polish their script for the marketplace.

Script coaches take workshop techniques to the next level - the marketplace. Services vary among the different companies, but most include extensive script notes, phone conferences, and personal industry referrals. Script coaches can be expensicem but if your coach has legitimate industry credentials, they can become the professional referral all screenwriters need.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Why Polarizing Filters are important to Filmmaking


The polarizing filter has great possibilities. Its main feature is its ability to eliminate reflections from non-metallic surfaces, which makes it almost indispensable for filming water, glass (including mirrors), enamels, jewels, plastics, etc. The filter factor is about one stop. In digital camcorders with through the lens light meters, there is no need to make any correction.By turning the filter in front of one eye, you will be able to decide the angle at which it has its best effect, and place the filter on the lens at this angle. Best results will be obtained with lateral or frontal-lateral lighting.




  • Other advantages of polarizing filters
    They make blue sky look darker.
    They make white clouds stand out against it.
    They reduce the effect of distance haze.
    They reproduce green tones exactly as in nature.
    They reduce the effect of ultra-violet which occurs at high altitudes and which causes considerable blueness in the film.
    They create moonlight effects in films taken during the day with sunlight at 90 degree to the camera if you close the diaphragm by half, or perhaps full stop.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

How to pitch your script?

Always ask production companies or producers IF they will be prepared to accept a submission from you. Failure to respect this will more than likely ensure that your submission/screenplay will end up in the recycling bin. There are two consequences of this. 1)The company may be reticent to accept anything from you and you may be added to the spam list. 2) You could be waiting forever for the postman to show up with an acceptance letter from that company


Most of the big production companies will not accept unsolicited material. It can come back to legally haunt them if their future project has similarities to one they accepted from you years ago


Agents can be very advantageous. They take a small percentage of any earnings they can get for you - so they have a vested interest in getting the best deal possible. They know the ropes and have connections. Many companies screen out cold-calls unless an agency is mentioned. Because everyone knows SOMEBODY in Hollywood, production companies rarely avoid agents who have grass roots connections. After all every "overnight success" started somewhere - and most had agents. It is not good policy to mention that you are talking to other agents while angling for someone to represent you


Develop your logline. In a single sentence you must be able to capture a busy executive's attention. They are not looking for the next Dostoyevsy. They are looking for High Concept. The writing can always be improved or doctored. If the concept does not have them reaching for your wallet, then you need to rethink your approach. A high concept pitch was " Die Hard on a bus". On the strength of this logline, the movie Speed was made. The most successful pitch was of "Snakes on a Plane". What else do you need to know about Snakes on a Plane? The title tells you all you need to know. Merely on the strength of the title 99% of people know whether they want to see this movie.


After completing your screenplay, put it in the cupboard/drawer for at least one week. Refrain from sending it out the moment you have completed it. After a period of time you are able to see the OBVIOUS mistakes and can correct them. Human nature is that we want agents to see our work the moment we have had them printed. This would be a mistake - an expensive mistake. There are always minor adjustments that need doing and - as they say - you only get one shot at making a first impression. You have probably taken months to write your screenplay. so look on the delay as an investment in your future success.


Friday, January 4, 2008

2008 Satyajit Ray Foundation Short Film Competition

This Competition is open to all film-makers, of any age, either resident or studying in the UK.


The closing date, after which no entries can be considered, is 29 February 2008.

Film Content: The film, of not more than 30 minutes running time, should express and inform aspects of the experiences of South Asians (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) either within their own countries or the Diaspora. All submissions must have been completed within two years prior to the closing date. Previous entries cannot be considered.

Format: Whilst the films can be shot on any standard format (film, digital or video), entries for consideration should be submitted in VHS or DVD formats. These entries should be forwarded to: Julian Pye, British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, email: julian.pye@britishcouncil.org for consideration by the jury.

Award: The Satyajit Ray Foundation is pleased to announce that it will be presenting a cash prize for Best Film of £1,500.

Presentation of Award: Extracts from a representative selection of entries will be screened at the Award Ceremony to be held in the David Lean Room of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Piccadilly, London, W1., on the afternoon of Sunday 27 April 2008, after which the winner will be announced and the winning film shown in it's entirety. Selected entrants plus one guest will be invited. The celebrated film director Mike Leigh is Patron of this short film award.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

filmmaker's quote

My name is "Gustavo Serrate"

My experience in filmmaking:(sorry for the bad english, it may need corrections)I think I start to get the taste of movies when I saw Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott. In the time I cannot understand the movie because I was only a child, but that was the beggining of my interest in the manipulation of the time, space and human emotions. There is a scene where the replicant smashes the head of his creator, this scene is not just violent, it has something hide between the lines, it has emotion and sickness, it talks about the desire of the replicants to live forever, they´re perfect but their lives is so short, that´s why their vandals, theys errants and rebels. So, with the time I was gaining the perception that the art of cinema can bring concepts that is almost unexplainbles in otherways, even in literature and theather.

Years later my father bought a camera, and I started to make short and crazy films with my brothers and friends. When I became older I started to gain experience, and my films became better, but I wasn´t toughing in take this as a serious profession, it was just for fun, but I was in university, and very unhappy, living in my city Brasília, Brasil. So I moved to São Paulo to study cinema in AIC (International Cinema Academy) and there we made various films, we have to pratice, making something like 3 short films each six months. Two years later I had finished my studies, and so I write my first long film, 80 minutes, and I waiting, because in future I want to film it. In this moment I am in the process of production of my first serious short filme, "HOMICIDA É!", a autoral short. I hope it open the doors for me to keep going in the world of cinema.

I don´t want to stay away from cinema anymore, it´s not just about film making, but about watching life with better eyes.



"People like me, make´s no sense. People who make no sense are always searching for sense in things, and if something definitly does not make sense, people who does not make sense, like me, will need to explain of how senseless this thing can be"