35mm Editing Room: USC

The Editing Room is a sacred place, where image
elements combine in secret ways, to create a film
that is more than the sum of its pictures.
I love Editing Rooms. Here's the one at USC.

Happy Birthday Eva Longoria!

Date: 15 March 2006 (3 days after mine.)
People ask lately if I'm related to Eva Longoria.
According to Esme, her devoted sister who wrote me,
and has researched such things, the answer is "yes."
I had a small role on "The Young And The Restless" a
decade before Eva was on it, (so I doubt nepotism was
involved, in either direction), and I'm glad the public
loves her. She's very talented, I think she's great.
Happy Birthday Eva, and "Hi" to Esme!
(Write her yourself, or tell ABC you like her.)

Linux Video Info

If you've got a Linux box,
among your many godlike powers,
you can do video.

Here's some info you need.

HD: Define your terms 2

More about those dots...

In addition to SD (Standard Definition) video, with its
525 lines (reduced by housekeeping to 480 lines of 640 dots),
there are several other video systems as well.

PAL and SECAM (768 x 576) are still with us, they are
Standard Definition in their respective countries.

If you must do video, it should be High Definition, I say.

There are several HD formats, 1280 lines of 720 dots,
and 1080 lines of 1440 dots (4:3 HD), but "real"
HD is 1080 lines of 1920 dots (16:9 HD).

No small HD camcorder currently records "real" HD.
What? Never mind.

We will delve into this, as we discover
HD, HiDef, High Definition Video.

Happy Birthday To Sam!

Many thanks for the many nice email
birthday wishes. It feels good to
take a day off, and you are great.

Hollywood Game: Best Now Broke...

Hard to explain to non-Hollywood friends how a
celebrity with his own tv series now, will be
forgotten by the public in only two years.

Or how certain people keep making movies, even
though the ones they make don't ever make any
money.

Or those talented Hollywood friends who have
done great work and won prestigious awards,
and are still not financially solvent.

Not commenting on the Oscars this year, but
here's a story you just have to read,
about a certain "Big Winner."

If you have questions about the sanity
of all this, join the club.

HD: Define your terms 1

Wouldja know it, my screen is covered with dots.

In film, the dots are very, very small,
and they change from frame to frame.
The picture is put on the screen all at once.

In video, the dots are big, and
always appear in the same place.

The picture is drawn, one pixel after
another, making one line after another.

In HD video, same thing, just more dots.

Film Books: Bergman by Steene

I typoed "Reverence Guide," and realize that's exactly what I mean.

This is a wonderful book about a revered cinema artist, and it's written by a favorite Cinema Professor of mine from college.

I remember absolutely loving her classes, and it didn't hurt that her teaching assistant was intelligent, articulate, knowledgeable, and a knockout.

Good show Ingmar, Good book Birgitta! Keep up the good work.

Why Digital: That Panasonic...

It's not 35mm yet, but for an affordable
digital camera, it's in a class by itself.

Even looks like it's fun.

Panasonic HVX-200

In Praise Of Sam Fuller

There Was A Man Dept. - In Praise of Sam Fuller








This was a guy who knew how to tell a story. Sam Fuller would grip you by the throat, from the first word of the first line of the first page. His movies were wonderful.

Do his movies make sense? Sometimes they don't while you're watching, but later they do. For the most part, that isn't an issue, his movies MOVE!

One of the weirdest westerns ever made is also one of my favorites.

Barry Sullivan and Barbara Stanwyck in "Forty Guns."
WOW!

If you don't know, that is an almost unbelievably dangerous scene. Galloping horses, right around rearing horses, so much could go wrong.

Barbara Stanwyck did her own stunts, by the way. So often, that she was made an honorary Stuntwoman.

Mark Hamill does the best imitation of Sam Fuller I've ever seen, I could watch him do it all day.

Mark was great in Fuller's "The Big Red One," which I'll describe better another time.

That classic also starred the great Lee Marvin, and
Robert Carradine, another favorite of mine.

Sam Fuller, I know somewhere, you're still writing. 

Forty Guns
The Big Red One
Samuel Fuller Film Collection
All great Sam Fuller pictures

Format: Super 35mm

What's so old, it's new?

The full silent aperture of
Tom Edison's 35mm film.

Scope or tv come off
the same frame.

Super 35mm.

Sound: Stinky Tracks

Indy films can be edgy, clever,
outrageous, pushy, entertaining.

For the most part, though,
their sound stinks.

(That's a technical term.
I don't expect the Layman to
understand it.)

Indy film tracks set them apart,
in the manner of a bum's
filthy clothes.

Fix your stinky sound.

Oscars: Not This Year

There is no Sam Longoria Oscar Report
this year. I am not attending, nor
even watching the broadcast.

My best wishes go out to Nick Park,
who I hope wins his category, (Go, Gromit!)
and the other worthy nominees.

35mm Editing Room: Zoetrope

Editing is where a film comes together.
It's the most creative part of filmmaking.
The Editing Room is what makes all the other
parts work. Here's Zoetrope's.

Gear: Tobin Cinema SystemsMilliframe Controller

From the fertile mind of the great
Clive Tobin, the Milliframe Controller.
Make your camera do what you want it to!

Why Film: DV to 35mm?

Yes, you can get a small, light, quiet video
camera, with sync sound. Can you show your video
in a theatre without anybody asking what video
camera you used? No. Reasons.

Labs: DuArt

They've got great BW, great color,
all the processes you could want,
best quality, and they're
Woody Allen's lab. Du Art

Windows Animation

Lash up your scanner to your
Windows box, and load this
great pencil test software,
to do cel animation.

Gnu 3D Animation Software

This goes in your 3D box, almost
whatever flavor. Truly cross-platform,
and you can roll your own 3D.

35mm Film Cold and Cheap

Raw stock from the Great White North,
fresh and cold. How much art can you
make in only 200 feet? 2.222 minutes.

In Praise Of Don Knotts

There Was A Man Dept.



Very sad to hear of the passing of tv/movie great Don Knotts, at 81. He was a very talented and nice man.

I and my pal John Halvorson wrote a funny scene for Don to do in my western Surreal West, and it would have been just perfect. I'm sorry now we can't.

My condolences to his surviving family, and my friend Dana Snow, who sometimes housesat for Don. And to, I guess, the world. It's just not the same now.

Don Knotts, wherever you are, you are great.

Festival: Bogen Film and Video Shorts

Watch and review new videos from all over.
Bogen Imaging Film and Video Shorts Festival.

Old Man iRiver

iRiver makes solid state MP3 players,
like an Apple iPod, but record sound
without adapters and peripherals.

(I told Apple I wanted to do recording,
but did they listen to me? No.)

The iRiver iFP 7xx and 8xx models take external
mics in their "Line In" jack. Don't use the
T10 and T30 series, they only use a built-in
mic, only good enough for voice notes.

Favorites: Play Misty For Me

Clint Eastwood is a man of surprises. He was done with tv, did spaghetti westerns in Spain with Sergio Leone. Became a superstar.

When he wanted to Direct, he made a thriller. A disk jockey is stalked by his deranged fan/lover. What?

Pictures and music and Clint's cool style made this surprising movie a hit. "Play Misty For Me."

Gear: German Engineered Movie-Tech

German big film gear....mmm.

Rise and Fall of the Old Republic

"Faskinatin'" as Popeye would say,
"Uk uk uk uk uk!"

Ever wonder why the movie biz is why
it is? What "Star Wars" was really
getting at?

Those who do not pass History
must repeat it in Summer School.

Just follow along, as we study
the old Republic.

Locations: "Stagecoach"

"Stagecoach""Stagecoach" was one
influential black and white western.
Here's where it was made.

Sanyo Very Much, But No

It's small, it's light, it's
(barely) HD, it's available.

Meet the Sanyo 720p camera
that I just know cheaper
filmmakers will love.

Not me thanks, but here it is.

Interview The Guy Who Knows

Great interview with George Lucas,
on where the movie business is going.

George has a very good prediction
track record. He's the guy who's
changed movies most in my lifetime.

The only other person in his league
for filmbiz change is Walt Disney.

Here's what George says.

Valentines Day: Datebuster Movies

Valentine's Day: Datebuster Movies


Happy Valentine's Day! Promise her anything, give her Arpege®. Candy, flowers, a nice card, but there are some movies you must never, ever watch together! Any day, but especially today.

Here's a list of Datebuster movies you must avoid at all costs, if you are to survive as a couple.

Odd they omitted the greatest Datebuster movie of all time, Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita."



datebuster
valentine's daydatebuster movies
happy valentine's day
valentine's day datebuster movies

Locations: "Body Snatchers"

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was a fantasy
about one's neighborhood gone awry, people you
trust being replaced by amoral, inhuman pods who
only want to take over, and suck the world dry.
Yep, a fantasy.

Here's where it was made.

Blair Witch Revisited

How did it work? Why did it work?
Don't know, don't care.

Jim Crispi describes it.
Like it or not, it worked.

Free Video Editing/Compositing

I can't begin to tell you how many times
I've viewed the "Thugs At Bay" site, and enjoyed
their silly music video "A Canadian In Berlin."

Its goofiness and the green, green trees are home
in the summertime to me. T@B seem happy musical
folks, offering their music, recipes, and
free funny-name cross-platform
video editing/compositing software, (now v4),
so you can make your own surreal mini-classic.

Far out, and thank you, Thugs!

Get it!

Seoul Proprietorship

ANTI-HOLLYWOOD KOREAN PROTEST

Over 1500 South Korean movie Producers, Actors and Directors
protested Hollywood films, near the U.S. embassy in Seoul today,
opposing trade negotiations with the U.S. to ease South Korea's
restrictions on the number of Hollywood films that can be shown
there. Officials are willing to increase the number of Hollywood
movies showing in Korea, because Korean films are so successful,
both artistically and commercially. Of top ten hits in South Korea
in 2005, seven were Korean, and no U.S. film was in top five.

Eva Longoria Birthday Countdown 2006!

Date: 15 March 2006 (3 days after mine.)
This is the first year I've not had to spell my
last name for people! Thank you, Eva Longoria.

People ask if I'm related to Eva.
According to Esme, her devoted sister who wrote me,
and has researched such things, the answer is "yes."

I had a small role on "The Young And The Restless" a
decade before Eva was on it, (so I doubt nepotism was
involved, in either direction), and I'm glad the public
loves her. She's very talented, I think she's great.

Happy Birthday Eva, and "Hi" to Esme!
(Write her yourself, or tell ABC you like her.)

Mr. Super 16mm

Somebody asked to whom they should turn,
for a wise Super 16mm maven. The guy I
recommend knows all about the format, and
his bright idea for lightening camera ground
glasses was nominated for a tech Oscar.
Meet Bernie O'Doherty.

WGA Awards - A Celebrity Show

Writers Awarded, Yet Loathed by Angela Taylor

I was very excited to be invited to attend the Writers Guild Awards as a member of the media. I thought I’d mingle with the minds behind "The Simpsons" and "Arrested Development" and "A History of Violence." However, this is an awards show and that means, for the most part, celebrities in designer clothes.

There were appearances by Paul Haggis and Stephen Cannell on the red carpet, but they hardly received the attention that Amy Smart, Geena Davis and Steve Carrell got. (Okay, Steve Carrell was a nominee for "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," but I don’t think that increased his cachet with the paparazzi.)

In fact, many nominees skipped the red carpet gauntlet, and just went in the front door like normal, un-famous people. Were this the Golden Globes, or the People’s Choice, or Academy Awards, that wouldn’t surprise me, but this is the Writers Guild Awards.

Writers — despite movie audiences' continuing assertion that it is stories, not actors, that drive them to theaters — have long been treated, by producers and studios, as the ugly, red-headed stepchildren of Hollywood. They are kept away from the public eye. Somebody must write those movies and tv shows, but who?

Five seconds after a script gets a greenlight, everybody pretends it sprang full-formed from the head of Zeus — or the Head of Development.

It seems this loathing bleeds over, into the Writers Guild Awards itself. This night — one night out of dozens during the self-aggrandizing congratulo-rama that is awards season — is supposed to be about writers. Isn't it?

It’s nice that Geena Davis and Seth Green and Jenna Elfman show their support and appreciation of the people who provide them work, and who give them something to say, but should the show really be about them?

Shouldn’t this be the one night when some otherwise-anonymous balding writer guy, who doesn’t know who designed his tuxedo, gets to walk the red carpet? Don’t writers deserve to be the stars of their own show?

While the WGA muses about televising the awards in the next year or so, it was not broadcast this year. So, why try to please mainstream America celebrity-worshippers, if nobody's going to see them anyway? Why not let writers like Charlie Kaufman, William Goldman and Nora Ephron present awards?

Is someone afraid they won’t be able to read cue cards?

WGA Awards - Redefine Reality

President Calls For Redefinition of Reality by Angela Taylor

Newly-elected WGA West president Patric M. Verrone opened the February 4 Writers Guild awards with a call to include reality television writers in the Guild’s bargaining. “Technology is nothing without content,” he said.

For months WGA leadership has been attempting to organize the “story editors,” “story producers” and “plot directors” who create reality television. It is these storytellers who have made possible the bottomless pot of gold that networks have found in reality programming, yet they are made to work in conditions that violate not only Hollywood standards, but California labor laws.

Verrone’s call was accompanied by video interviews with these “non-writers” recounting 22-hour workdays, working in conditions without running water or food, even when they were provided meal breaks, and astonishingly low compensation, given the fat cash cow that is reality television.

Missing from Verrone’s remarks, but very much on everyone’s mind, is the WGA’s contention that writers should share in the haul when they twist their work to make room for product placement. Look for that issue to be a bullet point when WGA contracts come up for re-negotiation in 2007.

Here's who won.

Free Audio Editing Software

What? Free, cross-platform audio editing?
Where on earth could you find such a thing?
Here.

Free Director Software

You're the Director. Pre-production
is a most important use of your time.

Can you afford to have an Assistant 24/7?
You need this software.

SD HD Video Big Guns

You want to edit HD, or SD video, and you don't want
it should cost a lot, but you need it to
be really good.

Hokay!

Linux.
Cinelerra.

Oscar Nominations

Oscar nominations are usually so commercial, but this
year so...political. Feels like the '70s again. Bleah.

No gold for entertaining films that people bought tickets
to see, even though those pay for everything else.
Here's an interesting take on it.

Super 16mm Bolex On eBay

It had to happen, and on eBay, too!
Easy way to generate Super 16mm with your Bolex,
so all your 35mm and HD dreams come true.

Sundance: You Go Bobcat!

They're mind-numbing, the interviews that spew
from Sundance. From the greasy depths of fake
humility, to the nosebleed heights of each
newly-vaulted ego, these interviews are not to
be read so much as shoveled, and waded through.

Here and there, somebody gets over himself long
enough to be a welcome breeze.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bobcat Goldthwaite

Sundance: Hollywood Wildness

This isn't the Hollywood excess I remember.
In fact, it's almost sweet, like a high school party.

Sundance: $2M Right At Your Door

Lionsgate has acquired Chris Gorak's
"Right At Your Door," a LA nightmare
scenario, for $2Million. The story is simple,
tight storytelling about a dirty bomb in
Los Angeles. First time director Gorak
swung hard, batted one out of the park.
Take a look.

Sundance: Based on a True Story

45,000 stories in the naked Park City,
some of them ring especially true. A few,
based on true stories past.

Sundance: Sony's Tapeless HD System

Sony Unveiled its Tapeless HD Production
System At Sundance.

Sony's XDCAM Professional Disc system - a line of
High-Definition optical camcorders and decks - will
be available soon. Zoom!

Sundance: Glimpses

Hollywood is a Utah ski town,
once a year.

Sundance: New Deal

It's cold and snowy, and late in the game.
Most stars (DannyDeVitoKevinSpaceyVincent
D'OnofrioKathleenTurnerEthanHawke) are gone,
but stuff's still happening. Al Gore's in town,
in a film about how he invented global warming.

A bigger deal than last year's bigger deal
went down yesterday.

Sundance: What Would Haskell Say?

Showing his film "Who Needs Sleep?"
at Sundance, the great though self-described
irascible Haskell Wexler has some choice
words about video and responsibility.

Sundance: Premieres

Eleven days, 120 movies, 50 handicams in the hands
of as many Beastie Boys' concert fans. Premiere of
a movie called "Kinky Boots," which is reason enough.

Cassavetes is still indy sorta, with "Alpha Dog,"
"A Little Trip To Heaven" is Iceland insurance,
Art can be murder, in "Art School Confidential."

If you're "Cargo," this backpacker's in trouble. "Darwin Awards"
sounds like a great idea, but what doesn't? "Don't Come Knocking"
is Wim Wenders and Sam Shephard, but who knows?

"Friends With Money" is a film made by a woman who clearly
has some. (Opening was packed last night.) "Little Miss Sunshine"
is freaky family road picture. "Lucky Number Slevin"
wrong man in the mob.

"Neil Young Heart Of Gold" a concert for the young,
"The Illusionist" is light of hand, "The Night Listener"
warns careful who you call on the radio, especially if
you're Robin Williams.

"Science of Sleep" is an awakening, "Secret Life of Words"
the pain in Spain is with us once again, "Thank You For Smoking"
Big Tobacco has a little son, "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" how
movie ratings are changing America. (This film is not yet rated.)

Is it toooooo much? We'll see.

Advantages? Super 16mm?

I'm a 35mm guy, I'm mister 35mm, but if I didn't
need to play my movies in movie theatres, I'd be
shooting Super 16mm. I told you about S16's truth.
It even has...advantages.

Smaller, lighter, quicker, there I said it.
Here, read.

Pravda of Super 16

Somebody just repeated hearing Super 16mm is useless.
Not so.

Theory is, when you've made a S16 movie, you're as far
away from a 35mm print as the moon. There are no S16
projectors, and yada yada. I've heard this theory
too much. Wanna know the truth? Kino-pravda?

I love 35mm, and it's definitely better, but if you have a
low shooting ratio, S16 is pretty darn cheap to
shoot and develop and print.

Can't screen it? Don't make me laugh. What film print?
It's on my Final Cut Pro, and then my DVD. Anybody can screen it.

Oh, you need to screen it on film? $150 buys an eBay 16mm projector.
$10 buys a square file. $20 buys a selsyn motor. You file out the
gate, bolt in the motor, and have yourself an interlock screening,
just like old times.

Or put in an encoder wheel, and lock it to your multitrack/midi setup.
All you lose is that old AM-radio optical soundtrack, and gain another
55% (35mm blowup) or 64% (HD telecine) image improvement.

No S16 projectors? Please.

If you get a theatrical distributor, somebody's gonna need
to buy a blowup, but it won't be you.

Until that unlikely event happens, your original's on film,
in the right shape for a 35mm blowup, and (more importantly)
in the shape of an HDTV frame. (1.78:1)

You remember HD. It's the next big thing. The FCC makes it
mandatory in one year. You have just enough time to get a
movie done in S16, if you start writing now. Go!

If somebody tells you S16 doesn't work,
ignore propaganda, and search for pravda.

The Advantages of Super 8 Film

There are no advantages of Super 8mm film.

Sorry, just kidding. Read this.

Eejits Inherit The Earth

It says "filmmaking" when it means "video,"
it's happy just getting a movie onto the web
(who can't get their movie on the web?),
and overall, it's kinda dorky, but it is
geared toward the compleat eejit, and
that's just great.
Eejit's guide to Film-Making

If you're eejit enough!

Sound's Good

Do your films have sound?
Good sound?
Why not?

You need the crash course.

Playing With Dollies

Need a dolly? Not a big one?
All right!

Seattle Victory Sony Vialta

My fave Seattle place for HD.

Mitchell Digital Magazine

Joe Dunton Cameras' digital HD magazine,
on a Super-16mm camera may be the
easiest way to capture HD.

The First Indy Filmmakers

Yeah, I know, John Cassavetes and Jordan Belson
and Stan Brakhage and yada yada yada.

I mean before all that, wayy back.
I mean really first, and really independent.

First Stop-Motion Feature?

First Stop-Motion Feature?

The usual yammer how a movie is the "first" at something.
But the "First Stop-Motion Animation Feature?" C'mon guys.

I'd think the Editors Guild would know better,
and it's in their professional magazine!

Okay, it's first to use still-cameras to shoot a feature's worth
of digital frames, and it's the first digital stop-motion feature
edited with Final Cut Pro. On a Thursday.
Okay...so what?

This Article says it's the "First Stop-Motion Animation Feature,"
right over the title.

A shockingly ignorant assertion, when you know how long stop-motion's been around. "Humpty Dumpty Circus" was made in 1898, "Modelling Extraordinary" brought clay to life in 1912, George Pal and Jiri Trnka worked throughout the twentieth century, Willis O'Brien's "The Lost World" was stop-motion in 1925, and his "King Kong" was mostly stop-motion in 1933.

The great Ray Harryhausen did lots of movies with lots of stop-motion, Cosgrove/Hall's 1983 "The Wind in the Willows," Tadahito Mochinaga was in Japan animating those Rankin/Bass stop-motion Christmas specials.

There was that Pogo Possum feature from 1980 (third screen role for Pogo), Art Clokey's "Gumby and Pokey" and "Davey and Goliath," (ran for 17 years!), Nick Park's brilliant "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run" were feature-length, as was the Claymation (TM) Mark Twain 35mm feature I worked on for a year, in the early '80s.

Tim Burton did another stop-motion feature,
"The Nightmare Before Christmas,"
before this one, for cryin' out loud!

Maybe it's Tim's "First Stop-Motion Feature"
...since Tim's last stop-motion feature.

Interesting article, though.

Find a Finder

When you're deciding what lens you want,
and where to put it, you need a Director's
Viewfinder. Here's its history, and how to
find your finder

Shape of The Movies

He's got the image flopped, and his spelling is
atrocious, and he doesn't know 70mm is only sideways
for Imax, and it has magnetic sound, but I enjoyed this
article about aspect ratio. I know I'm obsessed with
it this year, but it's kind of important, if you're going
to break through the boundaries, to know what they are.
Movie shapes.

Film and HD Mitchell

Mitchell, the greatest of all studio
cameras, has an HD option.

In Praise Of Lee Marvin

There Was A Man Dept.



Working on my book today, with "The Dirty Dozen" playing over and over in the background. Man, Lee Marvin was just as tough as a walnut shell. Go Lee!

I remember him from "M Squad," as Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, the prototype for Leslie Nielsen's character in the Zucker Brothers' brilliant cop parody "Police Squad." Cool both ways.

I think "M Squad" was the best cop show, and "Police Squad" was one of the two funniest tv shows, ever. (Other is John Cleese's "Fawlty Towers.") "Police Squad" had only 6 episodes, first three were intensely funny, second three were just tv.

Of course, there was Lee's Oscar for "Cat Ballou," and
he was more than a match for Marlon Brando in Stanley
Kramer's motorcycle epic, "Wild One." "Johnny, I love ya!"

Lee Marvin was named for General Robert E. Lee, his cousin,
which makes him and me related. He died in Arizona in 1987,
and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. As relatives go,
and I wish most would, I'm proud of him.

Just check out his story.

Movie Biz is Popping

You'd never know it to talk with Hollywood
Producers, but the movie theatre biz
is not really about showing movies.

Movie theatre owners (I am one) know a dark
secret. The movie theatre biz is threefold:

1) Fast food (Popcorn markup exceeds that of heroin.)
2) Ads (You've got 'em. They can't leave. Show 'em ads.)
3) Charging to see movies, but only if they're "eating pictures."

IF THEATRES SURVIVE, expect to see...

DVD sales
Subscription tickets
Higher prices for quality movies

Cinerama!

It's beautiful! It's beautiful!

A camera so powerful, its format dictates
exactly how action is to be staged.

Strong men wrestle the camera into position.
Famous Directors weep in frustration!

Even its sound recording wins an Oscar!

"Wide Christmas" (in VistaVision)

"Wide Christmas," by Sam Longoria
(with apologies to Irving Berlin)

I'm dreaming of a "Wide Christmas,"
In every Christmas song I sing.
Where each 8-perf image,
Will never dimage,
The mellow fellow,
Known as Bing.

I'm dreaming of a "Wide Christmas,"
With 1.5 to 1 screen shape.
From the "Seasons Greetings," to
Romantic meetings,
A high-rez 8-perf movie
Makes you gape.

I'm dreaming of
"Motion-Picture High-fidelity,"
Just like the films I used to screen.
From effects in "Star Wars,"
To "The Searchers" far wars,
I love each detail I have seen.

I'm dreaming of a VistaVision Christmas,
A Mitchell camera on its side.
With spherical lenses,
and Mercedes-Benzes,
as payoff, for this Christmas ride.

I'm dreaming of a Paramount
"Wide Christmas,"
With every 8-perf frame I shoot.
May your camera pull film on its side,
And may all your Christmases be wide.

Your Tv Is Obsolete - Part 2

Not only does your tv become obsolete this year,
you have a slim chance for a coupon for a box, so they
can sell your tv airspace, for cell phones and wi-fi.

Check it out, I'm not making this up.

Pringle-matography

For my film, "Mysteries Of The Lawn,"
I'm doing macrophotography, grafting lens
extension tubes and/or bellows onto my
trusty 35mm movie camera.

To show how delightfully low-tech film things can be,
a fellow camera hotrodder has hacked together
a macro lens extension from a Pringles can.

His is very like my "Samovar Balowire" macro
extension, made years ago from rolled cardboard,
with baling wire and duct tape holding it (and
the 100mm Super Baltar lens) together.

Although it violates the first rule of engineering,
"Never build anything you can buy off the shelf,"
the Pringle Macro is clever. I'm sure it always works,
even when - ahem - the chips are down.

Note: I get nothing promoting his cleverness,
and I don't make a dime from my likeness on
the Pringles can.

Homebrew Camera Stabilizers

You'd think filmmakers want Steadicam-quality
footage, at a homebuilt price, or something.

Steady That Cam!

Here's a cool clip, of an operator
running the small Steadicam rig,
with a video camera.

Farewell John

In 1980, I stopped work on my 35mm indy feature, to
gather at the Seattle Center fountain with thousands of
others, singing John Lennon songs, and crying. With rain,
the humans and the fountain, I have no idea how many
gallons of water we released that cold December day.
John, you were great. Here's the best tribute.

Farewell Richard

In 1979 I ran his "Live in Concert" movie at my
theatre, the Enumclaw Cinema, and horrified my home town.
I worked at the effects house he used for his life-story
movie, "JoJo Dancer," and the stories I can't tell you!
Richard Pryor, you were great.

Emperor Has No Clothes - Film At 11

You probably have heard of Moore's Law. Moore's Law is
different from Sturgeon's Law, which asserts "90% of
everything is crud," and Cole's Law, which is
thinly-sliced pieces of cabbage.

Moore's Law (since 1965) says computing power will double,
every eighteen months or so. I've seen Moore's Law at work
in computer chips, in processors and memory. It's generally
accepted for digital devices to just keep doubling in power.

It's generally been accepted that "digital devices" includes
image sensors. Well, it doesn't. Image sensors are
analog. Moore's Law doesn't apply to them.

In fact, without some new technological breakthrough,
image sensors are as good as they're gonna get.

HVX-200 Short Beta = Bugs?

Panasonic's new affordable HD camera, with the pedigree of the
higher-priced Panasonics, and the sturdy little DVX-100 and
DVX-100A, will be out soon. Is it too soon?

Yes, this is the first camera under $100,000 to shoot HD 1080/24p,
but wasn't it hustled along to production in record time? Who
wants to be the "second beta," or volunteer for "user engineering?"
There may very well be a HVX-200A some months from now.
Join the discussion.

Upside Of The Zoom

Sure, it doesn't look like a dolly shot,
because the perspective's all wrong.

It's no substitute for a box of prime lenses,
or is it?

Movie Scouting

Scouting is good for you.
Earn the badge, and you'll be
a cinematographer in no time.

Superman's Back!

They're all done shooting "Superman Returns,"
check out Bryan Singer's video blog, with clips
from production. Very enjoyable, quite revealing.

My favorite parts are:

Bryan pinch-hitting for a day or so, for a clearly
exhausted Peter Jackson, shooting his "Kong."

Elliot the Editor pointing out that it actually
would have been faster to shoot on film. Digital
takes a day longer for each batch. Whoops!

Elliot has the stones to mention this even though
it's not the "politically correct" bulletin for a
big digital production.

(On a movie set, speaking your mind is not safe.
If you voice bad news, it's somehow your fault.)

The stunt guy pointing out that the enormous gimbaled
set is all run by one wire. "If that wire goes..." and
they cut away from him. Yes, if that one wire goes.
The amazing thing is that more accidents don't happen
in the movie business.

Multiple takes of young Clark pitching a baseball,
with a gas cannon actually firing the ball past him.
Take after take, until they get the one Bryan wants.
Bryan wants to show it to the writers, but...no video.

Bryan's disbelieving expression, as he says
"I have no video." Priceless.

Pyongyang New Hollywood?

Totalitarian dictator Kim Jong-il, a longtime North Korean film buff,
has ordered his nation's tiny film industry to make good films,
to compete with Hollywood.

Well, that's how you do it. You just order people to be creative,
herd them in to fenced compounds, and club them into submission.
It's actually like Hollywood, come to think of it.

And Kim is just another screamer studio head.

The difference is, North Korea is a nuclear power,
and Hollywood isn't.

We say megabucks, they say megatons.
We want a piece of the gross, they want a piece of Japan.
When our movies bomb, nobody actually dies.

Kim Chee, sweetheart, you're a natural for a remake of
The Great Dictator, but I hear there's a height requirement.

Ciao, babe! Have a wonderful life!

Degrade Your Image

Yet another article about kludging together parts
to make your digital video look somewhat reminiscent
of 35mm film cinematography.

The cannibalized device is a perfectly good 35mm
SLR camera, hacked together with a mini-DV camera,
to give an upside-down, backwards, grainy, dithered
image. No offense.

After you flop that image, (and if you squint),
it looks something like a film camera.

Ooh, look! You have shallow depth of field!
Amazing. You can pull focus! Revolutionary.

Now, all you've got to do is somehow make the
image not burn out to white when it's a few stops
overexposed. Film handles those things, digital
doesn't.

Obviously, if you factor in the cost of the camera
you've Frankensteined together, there is no real savings
in money or time. Especially as the image is poor quality.

Cheaper, faster, better? Just shoot film.

Formats By The Numbers

To know the movie format dimensions,
here's a quick reference.

The Anti-Panavision Story

Here's the rest of the story,
told by some guys who are mad
at Panavision.*

*...or couldn't you tell?

The Panavision Story

Most of what you always wanted to know
about Panavision.*

*...but were afraid to ask.

Big Sharp Good Film Formats

Even 65mm is goofing around,
if you want really sharp landscapes.
For that you need film. Big film.

Panasonic Digital Projector $200

Panasonic will pay you $200, just to buy
their digital projector. I'm not kidding.

Whither Kinetta?

Haven't heard anything about Jeff Kreines
and his brilliant Kinetta camera in a while.

Here are some pictures to drool over. Let me
know if you've heard anything, anybody.

Go Kinetta!

Don't Pay Rate Card!

Filmmaking - Don't Pay Rate Card! by Angela Taylor

March Of The Penguins: The Real Story

Post-Thanksgiving holiday. I go to the mall,
and can pick one movie.

This year, a good pick. "March of The Penguins."
Loved everything about it, and so did millions
of others.

I am overwhelmed. It is beautiful and lyrical.
The images will be with me forever.

Even my left-brain is overwhelmed. There is no
easy way to have shot it. At the minumum, the
crew must have lived in Anarctica for a year.

Today, I have to know how they shot this film.
I spend the day, reading and learning.

Here's what I found.

Ten Books That Shook The World

I'm so thankful, on this Thanksgiving Day (it's an
American thing), for the chance to just sit and read.

Especially enjoy somebody else's film book list,
to get a different viewpoint. Love it!

Russki Camera 35mm at 240fps

You want fast?
You want fast and sharp?
You want fast and sharp and good?
Gladiolus.

What Is A Pro? by Sam Longoria Producer-Director

Filmmaking - What Is A Pro?

 by: Sam Longoria

The word “Professional” is often bandied about by indy filmmakers, and I’ve heard and read many things I just wouldn’t expect a “Pro” to say, though the person writing or saying them claims to be one. Time for a definition of terms.

Question: What qualifies a person to be a Pro?

Answer: Paycheck.

That's the short answer, but anything longer is just embellishment. It's one thing to make movies. It's a whole different animal to get somebody to cut you a good check, for the work you've done.

Paycheck is more important than anything to a Professional, because you have to eat and pay bills, or you can't function, much less create pleasing Art.

Question: How does a person become a Pro?

Answer: By adopting a Pro attitude. The Pro attitude is “I work in the movie business. I do good work, and I must be paid for it.” This is regardless of the budget of his current Project, whether it is high or low.

Some don’t become a Pro until many paychecks, but you can have a Pro attitude right now, even if you’ve never been paid for doing your art. If you adopt the Pro attitude now, you multiply your effectiveness many times, and shorten the time until those paychecks come in.

A person with a Pro attitude has aligned his brain cells and unconscious mind, so every action and thought is geared toward one outcome - to be paid for his work, what his work is worth. This has many benefits, chiefly the quality of his work improves.

You can take years to get a Pro attitude, or you can do it right away. I recommend you read a book with a funny name by Stuart Lichtman, an expert on the human brain from MIT. 

Another great book on developing a Pro attitude is Napoleon Hill's classic "Think And Grow Rich," free in your library, or get it here online.

They are both good books. Stuart’s is like a series of games, so it’s almost effortless, and it will improve every aspect of your life. Napoleon's classic book takes a while, and you have to muscle it through by will power, but it’s great.

Once you've adjusted your attitude, your unconscious mind will steer your every action and memory, every skill you have, and those you need to learn, toward delivering what you need to do your job, and be paid your paycheck.

Once you do, your natural love of your Art has a chance of being fulfilled. Until you do, you're just floundering.

You may disagree with my brutal bottom-line assessment of what a Pro is. You may feel a Pro isn't defined by a paycheck. To you a Pro might be merely a person with a lot of experience in a certain area, or a person with a natural talent.

Well, “Professional” is defined,

"Pro*fes"sion*al, n. A person who prosecutes anything professionally, or for a livelihood, and not in the character of an amateur; a professional worker."

-- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Unless he has a paycheck, his "lot of experience" just makes him a hobbyist. By definition, a hobbyist is not a Professional anything. There is nothing wrong with being a hobbyist, or an “amateur,” (which means you do something “for the love of it”), but generally, amateur quality is not up to a Pro standard.

It’s common to say, "You have so much talent, you're a real Pro," but even natural talent, practiced and refined, won’t be Pro until one’s work quality is good enough to motivate another to pay him for it.

While skill and/or talent certainly are important, the defining quality of a Professional is payment.

Think “paycheck.” May you earn many big ones.

About The Author Sam Longoria is a Hollywood producer, working in film since 1970, in a variety of jobs. His work graces several Oscar-nominated films, and even Oscar winners. Sam teaches Independent Producing and Consults at http://samlongoria.com © 2005 Sam Longoria, All Rights Reserved. You may forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish. Hollywood Seminars, Box 2449, Hollywood CA 90078 USA This article is available for reprint in your ezine, website or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and this RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.

World Spins Faster

I'm reminded of Gandhi's comment, "There is more
to life than increasing its speed."

Not in Hollywood. A year ago, you had six months
to prove your movie. This year, because of the
ever-quicker tick, you only get four.

Next year, it's a matter of hours.

Move!

AFM: Start to Finnish

Renny Harlin tells the tale how the
American Film Market started his career
in a big way, although I suspect it was
really his big brass pair of dependents.

More AFM Than Ever Before

More exhibitors, buyers and attendance, according to the
American Film Market itself. An all-time high of more than
8000 attendees, up 13% from last year. 1,583 buyers, from
62 countries.

If you can't sell your movie here, perhaps it cannot be sold,
except possibly door-to-door, and cut-up as banjo picks.

More sellers here than ever before, too. 419 companies from
33 countries sent 3,822 attendees, 6% more than last year.

1,526 Industry attendees, up 34% from last year.

534 films in 35 languages, including 382 market premieres.
Last year had only 459 films.

I'm writing this atop the Arclight Cinemas, which is the
Hollywood Cinerama Dome, at the party for
the 2005 AFI FEST.

I wanted to attend the fest, but I'm tired,
and there is no fest for the weary.

What's it like here? Imagine a huge white Quonset tent,
filled with hundreds of film enthusiasts. The AFI
and South By Southwest and Audi are serving them
booze and chocolate chip cookies. There's bottled
water too, and cherry tomatoes on sticks.
Oh, it's wild.

Next tent over has a documentary about a well-known
bad word. People talk about the bad word, and it also
serves as the film's title, and I suppose, a review.

Various porn stars, who use and do that word, sneak into
this tent for the food, to their enormous disappointment.

Glad I'm not hungry, and there's a fast internet connection.

Your TV Has One Year To Live

Analog tv sets have only one year to live.
According to Federal Law, mandated by the FCC,
US broadcasters must stop broadcasting analog
television signals by 31 December 2006.

One year away!

If you still have an analog tv set,
you should read this.

From L.A. to LA

So we spent an evening at the La Merigo Hotel, next to
the Loews AFM bash Thursday, at a moving presentation
made by Louisiana dignitaries, learning what incentives
are available if we shoot in Louisiana. Then we had
great cajun food. Sign me up! I'm going!

You want to really help victims of Katrina?
Shoot your movie in LA!

It's That Time - If You Make Movies

It's time again, a week of movies, movies, movies,
at the American Film Market, in the Loews hotel in
Santa Monica. Screenings and bidding, oh it's wild!
Caveat Emptor, Caveat Vendor, and Cave Canem!

Media According To Tosh

Tosh says, "...video is looking more and more like film
every day, and soon you will only remember film as a
fond memory."

Pithy pronouncement for a fictional guy, the face of
Panasonic's new HVX200. Actually well-worth the read,
especially if you want to see what a corporate pr firm
thinks blogs (and the guys who write them) look like.