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After the Game is Before the Game

8/10/2014

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Picture this is how you start your school day:  You wake up, you get dressed, you have breakfast.  You're packing your bag when the bus comes.  You go to grab your shoes but they are not were you left them.  You search everywhere and still can't find them.  Your dad moved them the day before when he was vacuuming the carpet.  You yell at him that you missed the bus.  He drives you to school.  The end.

But what if the bus crashed on the way to school?  You'd love your dad then right?  If he didn't move your shoes, then you'd be a goner.  But maybe...maybe he's only vacuuming because your brother or sister tracked dirt through the house.  And maybe they only got dirt on their shoes because they were stuck outside when you forgot your key to the front door.  And maybe you forgot your key to the front door because you left it in your science notebook.  And maybe you didn't take home your science notebook because your teacher moved the test back until next week, and you didn't need to study.  And maybe they moved the test back because...

This could go on and on and on...

Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?  The butterfly effect relates to chaos theory, and is the dependency on a set of conditions where a small change to those conditions will disrupt the very being of their existence.  This is a very common trope in science-fiction films involving time travel.  If you go back to the past, anything you change could alter the future.  We've heard that before I'm sure.  This film tells a simple story which takes this concept to the extreme, all while keeping you on the edge of your seat.

I said things were going to get a little weird for my next selection, and this will be a nice change of pace from previous films.  Remember, the idea is to get exposure to things that you normally wouldn't watch, and to learn as much as you can from those films.  A common trend among filmmakers is that they spent a lot of their time as children and students watching as many movies as possible.  I bet this one makes their list.
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Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt)
Director: Tom Tykwer
Written by: Tom Tykwer
Staring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
Released: August 20th 1998 (Germany)
                   June 18th 1998 (USA)
Rated: R

So I'm going to state the obvious right away and I just want you to remember what I said earlier in this review.  If not, take a moment to re-read.  Ready?  Good.  This is a foreign film and as such should be watched in the way it was made.  Fo you, that means subtitles. 

 I really hope that is not a barrier.  It shouldn't be.  Foreign films (while a small market in the US) should be required viewing for all of you.  You'll get some really great ideas from films outside of our country.  This one included.  That being said, lets press on.

The story is simple.  Lola, receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni who botched the delivery of 100,000 dollars, and his boss is most likely going to kill him unless he can find away to get the money to him.  Lola says she will help, only Manni is supposed to meet his boss in 20 minutes.  He thinks his only option is to rob the local supermarket.  Lola will think of something.  She hangs up and heads out the door.  Simple premise no?   It's the execution that is fantastic, and there are three key elements that make this highly entertaining viewing.
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The first you'll notice is that as soon as Lola leaves her apartment, the scene becomes animated.  Just for a minute or so as she runs down the stairs, and leaves her building.  Odd choice but it works.  It disrupts your notion of normalcy, and prepares you for anything.  In fact there is a nice mix of media here.  One scene is animated.  The scenes with Lola and Manni are shot on film.  And scenes with anybody other than Lola and Manni were shot on tape.  So each scene has it's own feel based on the method in which it was shot.  Here, the director was trying to isolate Lola and Manni in their own universe, where outsiders had their own artificial universe.  A very forward way of thinking back then, as the industry has shifted and rarely (minus a few exceptions) uses film anymore.
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So little things change.  Big things change.  But nothing appears insignificant.  Everything is interwoven and connected even when it's not.  It keeps you engaged.  Is this trivial person going to matter?  Why am I paying attention to them?  What changed between Run 1 and Run 2?  Or from Run 2 to Run 3?  The films hooks you, makes you pay attention, and yet never feels like it's forcing you to do so.  
The second thing you'll discover, is that the 20 minutes Lola and Manni have, happen in real time.  Meaning 20 minutes is 20 minutes.  This isn't hollywood making the last :10 seconds on the clock before the ship explodes, last 4 minutes.  This is real time baby.  Things go down, and it's intense.

The third element, and this is going to be hard to describe but watch the film and you'll understand...is that we have what I'll refer to as a "run".  So that 20 minutes, is Run 1.  Once it's over, we go back to the very beginning and go again.  There are a total of three "runs" in this film, and it's now we begin to play with the butterfly effect.  Lola still needs to complete an objective.  The events around her change each time we see her go through them.  To stress this even more, people she bumps into on the street (who have no direct connection [or do they!] to the plot), can have their entire future changed in an instant.  Bump into a lady, and she could go from stealing babies, to winning the lottery.  It sounds crazy, but Director Tom Tykwer makes it work. 

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I could go on and on.  Color is everywhere.  Red being the dominant one as there is red in almost every shot, and excluding her hair even, almost ALL the shots with Lola in them.  Yellow follows Manni, in the phone both, the store he wants to rob, even his hair has a yellowish blondish streak in it.  Then the music.  The music is literally the pulse.  A steady beat of techno, and drum and bass that play constantly, and keep the film moving.  It's only jarring when it stops, and it only does so for brief intimate moments.  

This film may be a bit harder to find, so I'll happily lend out my copy if anybody is interested.  That being said, if you want a real tense suspense film.  This is it.  The story is simple but the execution is unique and well done.  It's a film that doesn't lay it all out right in the beginning.  You need to watch to understand.  It's a smarter ride, and one that you won't regret if you buy a ticket.
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Blood, Sweat, and Ice Cream

8/3/2014

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I have been eyeing three films for my next review.  Well four technically, and while I have several on the docket these three are part of a trilogy.  The fourth, well it's not, but it comes from the same director and is a fantastic film in it's own right.  

Trilogies are tough.  I mean, its a hard business to take part in.  It seems that nowadays trilogies are being planned way out in advance.  This seems to have changed a bit since things were done in the early 80's and 90's.  If a film was popular, studios would try and find a way to create a story for a second installment, with varying levels of success.  Films like "Weekend at Bernie's" certainly did not need a sequel, but there was money to made.  The sequel to "Mannequin"  was so bad they stopped moving forward on a third one.  Or you'd have the odd case of an unexpected hit like "Back to the Future" where it took off in popularity after the original, that they negotiated a way to shoot the sequel and third installment at the same time.  Nobody cared about "The Hangover 3", yet "Iron Man 3" saved the franchise after an abysmal second putting.  Like I said, trilogies are tough.

So now, movie studios want to ensure a films success down the line before they start the first one.  "Harry Potter" was a sure fire hit after book sales exploded, and with 7 books to make movies from they cashed in!  The Hunger games could have been a gamble and after a shaky start (that was overlooked mainly because of the books popularity) the sequel righted the ship, and we have two more films to look forward to.  "Divergent" and the upcoming movie "The Maze Runner" are trying to cash in on similar success and have had luke-warm reactions.
My personal favorite, is the "it's been a long time since the second film in a series, here is a third one wayyyy tooooo laaaaate" scenario.  Do we really need a THIRD "Night at the Museum" movie FIVE years after the forced sequel? 

The answer to that by the way, was no. We don't.  The answer is no.

So this trilogy I was speaking of, isn't a trilogy in the traditional sense.  Same actors.  Same director.  Same brand of Ice Cream.  Different movies.

I of course am referring to what is referred to as "The Cornetto" Trilogy.   Films that are totally different, yet very similar in style.  Each is a take on a very specific genre of film.  Not a mock mind you, but a very loved acknowledgement.  For my next review, I'll start where all stories start.  At the "Beginning".

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Shaun of the Dead
Director: Edgar Wright
Written by: Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Staring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Bill Nighy
Released: September 24th, 2004
Rated: R

Genre bending isn't a term that's used lightly in Hollywood.  If it bends a genre it means one of two things.  It's going to be hard to market/advertise a movie if they can't clearly describe it in one word.  Action, drama, romance, horror, musical, period-peice, comedy, etc.  Or two, if it's not clearly defined as a specific genre the odds of it being a successful film are low (John Carter, Cowboys and Aliens being two quick examples.  There are others).  Obviously there have been bent genre's like romantic comedy, that have become a genre of it's own.  You might even argue movies like "The Avengers" is kind of an Action-comedy.  Shaun of the Dead tries to infuse its comedy with an unlikely pairing: Zombies.
Yes the Zombie-Comedy has not taken off as a genre of it's own.  And while you'd be hard pressed to argue that zombies haven't risen in popularity lately as a genre of their own, Shaun of the Dead added comedy to the mix almost 10 years ago.  And not expected comedy, smart comedy.

The movie is a homage to zombie films of the past, with small nods to Night of the Living Dead and so on, but that's not what I want to focus on.  I'll just say one last thing and then be on with it.  These filmmakers did their homework, respected the heck out of the guys who's films they are paying tribute to, and they are subtle in doing so.  That being said lets jog on shall we?

Director Edgar Wright is a man who is not afraid to move the camera.  At all.  Frequently.  Quickly.  He uses a technique called "smash-zooms" and "swish-pans".  A smash zoom is a very fast zoom (traditionally zooming in) on a subject to accentuate action, motion and intensity.  A swish pan, is a very fast pan to allow for either a cut (How I Met Your Mother uses swish pans all the time to go to flashbacks) or used comedically timing an action or line of dialogue.  Both are accentuated with an intensifying sound FX.  Here is a 24 second clip of a smash-zoom montage from Shaun of the Dead:
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See what I mean?  This style is used frequently and keeps the film moving at such a brisk pace, that it feels like it's over before it even started.  The intent in this example, is to make the mundane tasks we do daily, like brushing our teeth, getting dressed, making breakfast, look and sound more interesting.  The style is very action oriented even though the actions aren't that dramatic.  He makes them seem more intense than they really are.  And as filmmakers, aren't we supposed to try and entertain in every frame we shoot?  

He also uses a technique called object wipes.  Object wipes combine two shots in what feels like one, by dollying  the camera from a subject until the shot is obstructed by a physical object, then making a cut in post production at a frame in the second shot that is similarly obstructed.  As long as the dolly is in the same direction, and the object you are using as an obstruction are the same, (or similar) then you will be fine.  I will try to cover this in TV2 classes this year.  

There are also a lot of recurring images and set pieces in the film.  Shaun's walk to the store pre zombie break out and post zombie break out are shot exactly the same, except for the obvious difference being the zombies.  The second one makes for one heck of a long take too!  
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One of the best uses of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now".
Hilarious.

Oh and if that wasn't enough. After watching now (for the hundredth time) I just realized that Chris Martin (lead singer of Coldplay), has a cameo as a zombie.  Go ahead and try and find him.

Stylistically Edgar Wright is a huge inspiration of mine.  His style, the way he works his characters, unafraid to use the close-up, PACING.  It's all very mush his own, and a style I would consider an honor to emulate.  So please, watch this very well done homage to zombie films, a fantastic comedy, and well made film soon. Then we can discuss at either The Winchester, or The Place That Does All The Fish.
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Subtly goes a long way with Edgar Wright, and there are a lot of nods in the first half of the film that point to things that happen in the second half of the film.  Things so small that you would totally overlook had you not known the first time around.  I won't spoil it exactly, but right around the first plot point, one of the main characters actually describes (through clever metaphorical dialogue) the events that are going to happen throughout the rest of the movie!  It sounds absurd, but this becomes one of those films, where you pick up little things each and every time you watch it.  The nice thing is that it's so good, it bears multiple viewings on it's own merit.  But go ahead, and watch the film, and then lookup how that scene spells out the rest of the movie.  It'll make you go "no way...that's awesome."  

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Ready for subtle?  This still from Shaun of the Dead which is only seen for maybe 2 seconds, shows Fulci's Restaurant.  Fulci's Resteraunt is named after Italian Director Lucio Fulci.  Known as "The Godfather of Gore" he was recognized for the 1979 cult-classic "Zombie", and for having excess amounts of graphic violence in his films.
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I Love You, But You Don't Know What You're Talking About

7/20/2014

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If I asked you who your favorite musician was, what would your answer be?  Would you pick a solo artist, or a band? Which genre would you pool from?  Are you picking your go-to answer or flavor of the week?  Can you have more than one?  Doesn't favorite by definition mean its a personal best amongst a crowd of others?  So then by that logic the phrase "one of my favorites" can only really exist in a sea of different categories, and yet we have so many favorites don't we?

I think it's because we as humans don't want to alienate the things that affect us on a personal level.  Why have a favorite band, when you can say they are one of your favorite bands.  Who do we offend when we say we like one artist over the other?  The artist?  Doubtful.  I think intrinsically we don't want to say one of our favorites is better than any other than our favorites.  They all made the list, that should be special enough right?  With that in mind, I present to you one of my favorite directors of all time.

Have you ever heard the first 2-3 seconds of a song and instantly recognize it, title, artist, album and all?  Then what?  You make a quick judgement if you want to hear the rest, or skip to the next song.  There is something so unique about each artist that makes them instantly identifiable.  Film is a little more difficult in that regard.  Only a small handful of directors have achieved a style so unique that they are instantly identifiable within a few moments of screen time, and Director Wes Anderson is on the top of that list.  What he does with framing is in my eyes so simple and masterful at the same time, but more on that later.  First, the selection.
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Moonrise Kingdom
Director: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson and Roman  Coppola 
Staring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward Bruce Willis, Billy Murray, Francis McDormand, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, 
Released: June 29th 2012
Rated: PG-13

Moonrise Kingdom takes place in the fictional New England island New Panzance.  A rustic yet scenic take on an isolated 1960's lifestyle.  The main character Sam, meets a girl, writes to her and they make plans to run away together.  In a nut shell, it's a boy meets girl love story, but as with many of Wes Anderson's work, there is so much more going on.  Sam is a recluse, and the girl of his affection, Suzy, has anger issues.  Together they are in complete harmony.  Suzy's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) have issues.  A lone police officer (Bruce Willis) is not only looking for the missing children, but also personal voids in his life.  The former Scout Master of Sam, Ward (Edward Norton) is also using the hunt for the lovebirds as a way to prove to himself he is a capable scout master.  All the while, young love prevails.

"I know it's bad.  I think I just take them to have a secret to keep"
                                       -Suzy

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Anderson's style and storytelling is evident from the first shot on.  He opens with a long dolly that moves through Suzy's house establishing the setting, timeframe and some of the characters.  The camera dollies left to right, holds on a subject, dollies further right to hold on another subject.  Then pans quickly 90 degrees to the right to introduce another character.  Then another quick 90 degrees to the right again to show another character.  We move through the house so methodically seeing glimpses of characters we are going to meet.  He plays with space in an interesting way so much so that there are times when we move through the house there isn't necessarily anything significant going on.  He is so deliberate with his framing and camera movement, it's almost too perfect. In a spellbinding sort of way.

For me, that opening shot resembles that of a story book.  And for each dolly movement, and pan, its like you are turning the page of a story.  And for the first two minutes of a film, you want people to turn the pages.  Anderson does it with such visual styling it's almost difficult to not become intrigued.  

He also uses two techniques that I teach against in-class.  Not that they are wrong, but as I always say, "you must learn the rules before you can break them."

For starters, he frequently uses what is referred to as One-Point Perspective.  One-point perspective is a way of looking at the image where it creates only one vanishing point on the horizon line.  In other words, he shoots his subjects head on.  They, or it, almost always face the camera.  Case in point: 

See my point.  

The second thing you will realize, is how symmetrical these images are framed.  It's not that Anderson is against the rule of thirds.  Far from it.  In fact thats what makes these images so appealing.  They almost always follow them.  He just puts the subjects front and center.  Back to that opening scene acting much like a story book, the front and center framing of the subject creates frames within the frames.  The pages of the book if you will.  The visual representation of the corners of the page.  

Wes Anderson, in my eyes has not made a bad film.  They are unique, stylistic, and have fantastic characters.  There hasn't been one Anderson film where it didn't feel at some point that I was watching magic unfold in front of me.  That is a compliment to his work and It couldn't be more deserving.  He is an artist through and through.  

However, that isn't to say he is polarizing.  A lot of people have a "love him or hate him" relationship with his work.  I hope you fall on the love side.  The reason why I chose this film (his 7th of his 8 feature films) is that I felt it was the most accessible.  Not in that it would be easy to obtain, but from a story standpoint. Who can argue love, even when it's between two young children?

I encourage you all to check out this film.  The work of a true master of his craft.  If you enjoy it, let me know, and I'll point you in the direction of another amazing work from Director Wes Anderson

"We're in love.  We just want to be together.  What's wrong with that?"
                                           -Suzy


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Director Wes Anderson with first time actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.

"Does it concern you that your daughter's just run away from home?"


"That's a loaded question."
                                  -Laura and Walt

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Good Luck Exploring the Infinite Abyss

6/29/2014

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One of the things I would like to do over the summer is highlight films that can help you become better filmmakers and storytellers.  Periodically, I will be sitting down to watch some films and take some notes and share some thoughts with you.  I will try my best to do so spoiler free (you know how I feel about spoilers) but I encourage you all to try and track down and watch as many of these films as you can.  Hopefully you will find them inspiring from a production/storytelling standpoint, but if not, at the very least maybe they will expand your horizons on what is possible in film.  Plus as aspiring filmmakers there is never a thing as watching too many movies.  Keep in mind that one, these will not be in depth reviews of the films; I would obviously try not to talk about a poor film.  The goal is to showcase a film that has learning potential, or encourages motivation to study existing work in an effort to motivate you to think differently about your own work.  Secondly, I may be discussing films that are rated R or feature mature content.  Naturally, I don't condone a majority of the content deemed worthy of a "R" rating.  Since many of you have discussed with me in some level the recent film "The Wolf of Wall Street," I'm using that as my barometer.  Now, onward!

For my first entry, I have chosen the film Garden State.
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Garden State:  Written and Directed by Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm
Released: August 20th, 2004
Rated: R

First, let me tell you why I've selected it. 

I was driving today, and heard a song on the radio that typically does not get radio play.  I knew I recognized it but it took a few seconds to realize where.  It was from the movie Garden State.  Instantly I was reminded how much I enjoyed that film.  Then, as that instant passed, I remembered a lot of film students (in college) talk about how overrated it was, and how it was this dressed up pretentious film.  So I decided to re-watch it.  Interesting fact, they were wrong.
Garden State follows the life of Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) who travels home for the first time in nine years, to attend his mothers funeral.  He has been living in L.A. working as a struggling actor, while taking copious amounts of prescription medication to try and level himself out.  Once home he reunites with "townie" friends, and meets a young girl Sam (Portman) who join him on his quest for self realization and fulfillment.

With in the first few minutes of the film we can see  a simplistic yet very effective shooting style.  There is an overwhelming sense of symmetry in his shots, frequently breaking the rule of thirds.   The reasoning behind this is to accentuate a sense of isolation and loneliness.  The settings typically re-enforce this, but they will get more complex as the story continues.

The main reason behind my selection of this film is because of its use of effective framing and limited camera movement.  We are so convinced that we need dramatic sweeping shots, or intricate camera work in order to effectively convey a mood or feeling, we forget that that's why we have actors.  Framing and camera motion should help accent emotion.  Not be the driving force behind it.
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A lot of the shots in this movie are what are referred to as "compositional framing."  Compositional framing is a basic framing technique that brings focus to your subject while still having depth to your image.  Basically, this film has shots that we start to learn in TV Production 1.  In fact, with the exception of a few crane shots, steady-cam shots, and only ONE effect shot, this film could very well have been shot by TV1 veterans.  For this reason alone I encourage you all to watch it.  It also effectively uses music as a transitional piece between scenes.
And that's not a knock to writer, director, and lead actor Zach Braff.  You can tell very much that this was the film he set out to make.  The shooting style is simplistic, but its the story that makes you stay.

Braff does a fantastic job at creating characters that slowly unravel truths as the film goes on.  Whether it's little ones about Sam's helmet, or bigger ones that I won't spoil here, you're engaged from scene one.  
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"You gotta hear this one song.  It'll change your life I swear."


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" Are you alright?  Yeah you are, you're alive!"


And talk about a quotable film.  There are so many gems of dialogue that jump off the screen, both heartfelt and inspiring that when you hear one, you feel it in your gut.

And that's what this story dishes out in spades.  Heart.  Honest and true.  It takes some pretty heavy concepts such as death, and the meaning of life, how we measure success and happiness, and handles them with respect.  It has its moments of light-heartedness too, but just when things start to teeter towards silly, we are usually given another emotional blow.  What I mean to say, is that the tone here is very evenly balanced and the pacing is almost perfect (the last 10 minutes seem a bit rushed).  Genuine performances help here, with Braff as Andrew portraying both emotionally hollow and charmingly witty, but it's Portman who steals the show as Sam.  A quirky but instantly lovable companion who acts as a therapist of sorts.  She is flawed and not afraid to show it.

"That's life.  If nothing else, it's life.  It's real, and sometimes it [expletive] hurts, but it's sort of all we have."


I really hope you all do try and see this film.  It hits your heart in all the right places, and is a great example of what can be done with simple, yet well thought out framing techniques.  It's also a great example of an "indie" film, that really gave me a "I can write and shoot a movie like that" attitude.  It made me want to make films just like it, and I hope it does for you too. 
If you do watch, or have seen it in the past, get a discussion going in the comments.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or answer your questions on story elements or shooting techniques.  Side note, this movie has one of the best soundtracks to come along.  Coldplay, The Shins, Nick Drake, Iron & Wine and more, every song here fits the tone of the films so well.  Give it a listen.  
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    It's Mr. Leonard.  Teacher, Videomaker, Professional Goofball

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