You can’t get more romantic than riding on motorcycle at night. There is just something intimate about racing down the road in an insanely dangerous machine that is “conditionally stable” at best. Here are the top 5 reasons riding two up is sexy.
5. Riding is just sexy in general
4. It looks bad ASS (especially from behind) to everyone else on the road
3. Riding two up is more technically challenging especially at night
2. She has to hold onto you closely
1. She trusts you enough to put her life in your hands
There are two obvious places to film in LA that would be way off the charts romantically. An obvious choice is the much overused (for car commercials) third street tunnel.
And the second is Vincent Thomas Bridge.
Below are two are my favorite motorcycle scenes from Fallen Angel and Love Jones (first 10 seconds).
My project ‘Legalize Me’ is a finalist in BVEW’s National Film Pitch Competition so our chances are 1 of 4 (there was a tie so accepted an additional entry). Mike and I are polishing the script and budget for submittal by April. I’m excited about the momentum a win could do for this project. They announce the winner in May so I’m going to try and forget about it till then. Fingers and toes crossed. Stay tuned and please vote.
Sony pictures that’s who. I haven’t been to the prop house in forever. The current project I’m working on doesn’t have a production designer yet (and may not have one at all) so I got my hands dirty over at Sony today.
The prop house has everything you need and a universe of things you don’t need. I don’t need chairs so I keep moving.
I put a prop shotgun on hold for a pawn shop scene that’s mad funny. Gotta go back for more! Stay tuned!
An integral part of pitching new projects these days is the pre-film trailer. Making a trailer for a movie or show that has not been shot yet is an interesting challenge because trailers are mini stories in and of themselves and choosing what to shoot is paramount. For me this is challenging because as a director I get caught up on telling the story of the film as opposed to telling the story of the trailer which are two different things. Fortunately the producers from one of the projects I’m working on hooked me up with Jason Richter yesterday and his experience as a trailer editor for numerous feature films helped demystify how trailers are made.
Like the films they are designed to sell trailers have beginnings, middles and ends but not in the same fashion as the film. They don’t have a traditional 3 act structure but more like a 2.5 act structure as you shouldn’t give away a resolution (gotta leave the audience with some anticipation). The acts are set up in the same way (but obviously much faster) and most often do not consists of the same story elements. i.e Your inciting incident of the trailer may be different than what it is in the film etc. Like a film it should depict the hero’s journey in a concise way that makes people want to see the film, but the challenge is selecting which scenes to shoot? Do you create scenes that are not even in the film? Or do you pick the gold scenes from the script assuming there is one? What do you do if there is no script? Well if your film is character driven and I hope to god it is then picking the scenes should be quite simple. The following is a brief excerpt from my notes. Thanks again Jason.
Directing the trailer
1) Pick three tensions that pertain to the protagonist to show
2) Set up the major tension in the first trailer act
3) Introduce the other tensions in the second act (most often one of them is a love interest)
4) In act 2.5 show how he copes with all of the tensions (NOT A RESOLUTION) It shows how he tries to deal with the tensions we introduced.
5) End with a button: Comedic moment (or scary depending on film) that occurs after title card
6) Have a short log line for the trailer that you can eventually use as VO or title cards
7) Shoot more than you need for every scene and have actors improve around the lines
Just look at the above trailer for Super 8. One glance at it and you can immediately tell it’s a Spielberg film (he produced it). Now, I love Spielberg for nostalgia’s sake but the fact that J.J Abrams directed it turns my nostalgia into pure excitement. The fact I can tell it’s a Spielberg film without having to see his name (especially when he didn’t direct it) proves Autuerism still exists in Hollywood. Stay tuned.
A while back I blogged about HDSLR filmmaking being for real and that blog post was primarily about the fact that real cinematography lenses were being made for the camera. BUT now after having shot a couple of projects on a 7D and prepping a few others, everyone in community knows it’s here to stay, at least until the XL3HD comes out. Here are the top 5 reasons HDSLRs are game changing.
1) Price: But not for the reasons you think. Lots of people think that just because the camera is cheap that you can make a movie for cheap but these people have obviously never made a movie. The reason price is such a game changer is because it allows people better tools to develop their craft with. When you’re developing your craft you are often shooting with no crew and having a HDSLR in your arsenal unlocks so much more creative potential.
2) Size: Matters! The form factor of the camera lends itself to applications that were virtually impossible with a traditional film or video camera. Being able to throw the camera around and squeeze it into tight spaces opens up more creativity.
3) Dynamic Range: Dynamic range is off the charts. Especially with the 5D.. It hasn’t caught up to film yet but the gap is closing.
4) Professional Adoption: This is huge. Professionals have validated the tools and have also provided tutorials and lectures on its strengths and weaknesses including the jello effect.
5) Location fees. Hmmm The line is blurring if you’re shooting MOS and don’t require a crazy rig. I’ll let you make the conclusion. lol
I have a love/hate relationship with 3D. As an artist, 3D’s potential is exciting because it gives filmmakers additional faculty in which to shape story and emotion. Filmmakers (especially indie’s) should embrace this technology and move it forward from the mainstream trickery it has always been. This will happen naturally once the tools (both on the distribution and production sides) become less cumbersome and cost prohibitive. There also are a few monumental technology breakthroughs that we’ll need to solve the inherent problems with 3D. We can solve the technological problems but not if the artists and scientists are not pushing the envelope. Filmmakers and scientist please stand up!
As a consumer I hate 3D. What’s up with the glasses, headaches, higher ticket costs and software emulated 3D that looks like crap? I want my money back.
Gotta love the ingenuity but here’s how not to solve the technology problems.
Red Camera 3D rig. Handhold that? Yeah right.
The above video tracks where viewers eyes go while watching a clip from “There Will be Blood”. The circle reps where the viewer is looking and the size of the circle is time. This will come as no surprise to those in the community (filmmakers, artists etc.) but what is interesting are the lone eyeballs that DON’T follow where we expect them to. What’s up with this? Are they daydreaming? Uninterested? Are they seeing the virgin Mary in the shadows where no one else can? It’s baffling to me.
Eyeball Track (in this order)
1) Movement
2) Light
3) Convergence (Line or Space)
4) Faces
I’m almost certain celebrated filmmaker Wong Kar Wei has never been associated with Hip Hop, but that changes today. Yes I said it, Wong Kar Wei is Hip Hop and here are the top three reasons why.
1) Wong Kar Wei is gangsta: He doesn’t shoot from a script yet his films are full of compelling drama. That takes guts, ego and bravado. All traits of Hip Hop and of auteurism.
2) Wong Kar Wei is classic: He is the second wave of the French New Wave cinema movement. His films will have a place in the world film canon. Classic is Hip Hop.
3) Wong Kar Wei is political: But not in an overt way. His films often deal with Hong Kong’s Chinese identity since they were only very recently given back to China. Hip Hop is always political.
Not familiar with Wei’s work? Be sure to check out “In the Mood for Love”, “Chungking Express” and “Fallen Angels”.
