If you haven’t heard by now, “Granted” has a Facebook page that’s been regularly updated with some pretty neat stuff: Behind The Scenes photos & videos, Production Stills, and a whole bunch of other movie-related stuff.
A year ago, my good pal Tony convinced me to do a 365 Photo Project. Honestly, it didn’t take much convincing but i was still a little nervous about seeing it through. Then again, mine was pretty casual. Very iPhone-based, not a lot of set-up, though-out, premeditated shots. Which is partly what i liked about it - everyday slice-of-life stuff.
I managed to successfully take 365 pictures on 364 days. That’s right. I missed a day. One stupid day. #306 will haunt me forever. I had just gotten back from Buffalo after two months of shooting a movie. I was tired and disoriented and when November 3rd hit, it occurred to me that it was Wednesday. Not Tuesday like i had blissfully thought all day. So just as soon as i realized my mistake, i made a self-effacing “oops” picture and later proceeded to take that day’s photo as well (both of which are pictured below).
Quickly, let me share some parameters. I did try to shy away from food shots. I thought they’d be too easy and always kind of found food shots to be unappetizing unless lit by a professional. I did break this rule for special occasions like grandma’s clever 4th of july cake, halloween candy (to represent Halloween), or a cookie i decorated to look like a hamburger - ya know, food shots that had a slightly different meaning than “this leg of lamb looks delicious!” I also shied away from doing too many portraits. There are a few in there, sure, but again a shot of any ol’ person for any ol’ photo seemed too easy.
In reviewing my year (in pictures), i’ve found my photos can typically be lumped into three different categories; significant memories, filters, or “oh shit!” pictures.
The first is typically my favorite. They may not be well composed, might be blurry, they might even be far too obscure for anyone else to enjoy. But they were fond memories that would either make me smile to myself or be the start of a long conversation with anyone who asked about said photo. Most of my pictures - even many of the lamer-looking ones - are in this category.
The one that started it all
Many of my “memories” pics have filters on them, it’s true. But there’s definitely a whole category unto itself for filters. By which i don’t just mean cropping and adjusting brightness or saturation. These are pictures that are taken more so to experiment with apps and techniques (the “memory” pic above is even taken with Hipstamatic). They may not mean as much as personal memories, but i’d argue just as important. Much like the point of doing a 365 to begin with, these pictures helped me practice and figure out new and different ways to portray an image/thought/feeling. Not surprisingly, most of my favorite shots are memories that have been filtered in some way.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) taken in Tipton, Indiana
Then there’s the “oh shit!” pics. The shots where i realize that it’s 11:59pm and i haven’t snapped anything all day. These aren’t winners, folks. And in fact, there’s more of them than i would’ve liked. It doesn’t sound too difficult to take just one picture a day, even if it is for 365 days straight, and yet time tends to get away from you somehow i guess. I tried my best to cover these pictures up by filtering them somehow to at least make them more visually appealing than they were in real life.
“Oh shit! Gnome is gonna be pissed if i don’t do a 365 today!”
There are the occasional random pictures which were taken when i happened upon something and thought “oh, neat” ::snap:: but perhaps aren’t really significant memories, filter experiments, or “oh shit!” pics. But in a way, they’re ALL memories, really. Which is another reason i really enjoyed doing this project. Not only did it force me to get creative and document what ended up being an incredibly busy and very exciting year, but it also allowed me to remember that which i may have forgotten.
That said, i may not do a 365 project in 2012. Probably because i’ve taken pictures of everything i own and those were always my fall-backs for “oh shit!” pics. I’ll still take pictures, sure, just maybe not one per day, everyday.
Doing the 365 did make me realize a few things, though. It made me realize i should practice more. It was humbling when i looked back at an image i chose to sum up an entire day and thought to myself “if i didn’t know any better, i’d think that day was the worst ever.”
It made me realize the importance - as well as fallacy - of iPhone filters. As i said, some of my favorites as well as some of my worst pics were filtered to make ‘em look more interesting. Both instances are fine in my book, if not occasionally heavy-handed. But really, i found myself dependent on wanting the picture to look its “coolest” (read: filtered). Check out #359 below. No filters aside from standard saturation and brightness correction (traditional photography post work). And it means a lot more to me that way and it’s an easier read. I think there’s a tendency to go overboard with filters. There are a few photos in my set that i wish i hadn’t “ruined” by overdoing it with obvious and unnecessary filters. A year ago, were you to ask me about overusing filters i would’ve said “no duh, it’d be ridiculous to overuse them.” But still, i did it. And having this collection to compare itself against, i think it’s just easier to prove. So hopefully, moving forward, i’ll be a bit more conscious of the difference between setting a specific tone and just being obligatory.
Also, as simple as it may sound, my 365 project made me realize, or maybe “reaffirm” is a better word, that pictures are exactly what they were intended for: capturing those little moments in life. Not so you could look at it and say “cool shot bro!” but instead, to remember the feeling at that moment, and secondarily, to share it with others. And sometimes that’s easy to forget being swept up in lenses, focal lengths, swanky photo apps, and the sheer accessibility of cameras these days. The “cool” factor tends to take center stage. But photography, with subjects from pointless to elegant, is meant to evoke a feeling. And after a year’s worth of photographs, i’ll definitely have countless memories and emotions to look back on.
My parents divorced when i was very young, i was a year old in fact, so i grew up in two very different houses. My mother did everything she could to survive, even some things that she doesn’t speak about because she is so ashamed. My father on the other hand was a different story….
My father was a horrible, horrible parent. He had no idea what to do with his own life, much less a child. I know he regrets almost every decision he made concerning me, many of them falling way on the other side of immoral. Because of his inability to understand what it takes to raise a child I ended up having a surrogate father, Cinema.
A typical weekend with my father was filled non-stop with movies. Saturdays was two shows at the theatre and the Saturday night premiere on HBO, Sundays where no different with me dropped in front of the television to watch every pay station imaginable until we went to the show at 2pm. I would return home to my mother and stepfather detailing all the exploits that i saw and having a deluded sense of reality. It usually took an hour for them to calm me down, trying to return me to what life is really supposed to be. It never worked though, i went to bed every sunday dreaming of all the beautiful, scary, images i saw that weekend.
No movie was off limits, and this made my mom crazy. I saw Full Metal Jacket Platoon, Wall Street, The Godfather 3, The Howling, every new movie that opened that weekend we saw, sometimes twice, as was the case with Roman Polanski’s Pirates. My father never shielded my eyes, never once told me to look away or go get candy during a particular bad scene. Everything was right there for me to witness in all of the huge spectacular glory the filmmakers intended. I was enthralled by what i saw, i felt every gunshot, loved every kiss, and was moved every time the hero saved the day at the last moment. I had none of the trappings that daily life burdened you with; stress, anxiety, fear. I didn’t have to face them because I mentally and emotionally hid myself in a fortress of celluloid, where I still hide to this day. This is how life was in my eyes! It was an amazing time for me, but also one that did an ungodly amount of damage.
Everything i learned from life came from the movies, i learned how to shoot a gun because of them, how to drive a car, how to have sex, how to lie, how to steal, how to tell a joke, and worst of all, i learned what love was.
I didn’t have the normal heroes to look up to, but rather characters that were on display in front of me for two hours, and then continued to live in my head for a long time after. To this day, my head is filled with delusions of grandeur because of these characters. My idea of love is so fucked up because of what i thought it was supposed to be i fail so miserably at it. The guy always gets the girl in the end, wether there are mountains, monsters, or even yourself standing in the way of who you truly loved. The happy endings always managed to find a way, and unfortunately i have always kept that belief in my soul. But we all know thats not true, and i am so screwed up that i cant ever see that, as evidenced by one of the biggest gut punching lines in the movie;
“My life has taught me one lesson Hugo, and not the one i thought it would…. happy endings only happen in the movies.”
Like the theme of Hugo, I am an extremely broken person, something that until now, only Evan and one other person truly knew (but I’m sure many more thought it). I’m afraid that everything I have every believed will always make me broken, waiting for someone/something to help me build what makes me whole again. It is because of Cinema that I am empty, hoping eternally for something that can only be created on the screen, and not in real life.
The effect that cinema has in my heart was never something i could articulate with any sort of justice to the actual passion. Watching Hugo felt like every bit of me that makes me who i am was on full display, the awesome parts, the really horrible parts, all up there for the world to see.
I guess i shouldn’t be so surprised that it took a movie to make me examine who i truly am, after all it raised me to be the person i am today. ——Tony
I asked Tony what he thought about the following quote:
“Films are subjective- what you like, what you don’t like. But the thing for me that is absolutely unifying is the idea that every time I go to the cinema and pay my money and sit down and watch a film go up on-screen, I want to feel that the people who made that film think it’s the best movie in the world, that they poured everything into it and they really love it. Whether or not I agree with what they’ve done, I want that effort there- I want that sincerity. And when you don’t feel it, that’s the only time I feel like I’m wasting my time at the movies.”
- Christopher Nolan
And here’s what Tony had to say:
That’s interesting and to me re-enforces that going to see a movie is still an “event”. I wonder how he would feel if he was watching the same movie at home. Does the magic fade just a little?
Going to see a movie has for me, always been a romantic celebration. Even watching the most mundane film has a feel of foreplay to it. From choosing the aisle, to settling in to your seat, to that small breathless anticipation that comes over you when the lights go down. It is a beautiful ritual, and one that always feels natural. Ya know?
I know I should be working right now - either on our very own “Granted” flick or on work that pays the bills - but I couldn’t help it. I was stopped in my tracks a few minutes ago when i got a very heartfelt email from an actor/friend who i only really knew for a short period of time. I literally met him on the streets of Winston-Salem as i was doing a timelapse short. He was in a parkour team (athletic street ninjas, essentially) and wanted to shoot some stuff. Before you know it, Action Fest was looking for 30-second bumpers between their films. It was a contest to see who could make the best one. We knocked one out, sent it in, and lo and behold won Grand Prize.
Am i bragging? No (well, yeah, a little, but that’s ancillary to the big picture). Point is, my buddy (let’s call him Street Ninja Ray) went to the award ceremony, picked up our Grand Prize and chatted it up with a stunt coordinator. The same stunt coordinator was so impressed with Street Ninja Ray’s abilities, he sent out SNR’s demo (and our winning film) which landed Mr. Ninja Ray a full-time gig doing exactly what he loves. Acting, going to the gym, and ninja-ing. Dude gets paid (with benefits) for going to the gym! AND ninja-ing!
Anyways, the win was excellent, yes. And Street Ninja Ray carried himself all the way to scoring his current job, yes. I’m certainly not claiming i’m single-handedly responsible for landing him that gig, what i’m saying is that this is part of why i love collaborating. the human element. the serendipity. what i thought was just a goofy little 30-second piece totally changed the course of this dude’s life.
If my co-worker and her kid weren’t available that day to be in the film, it wouldn’t have happened. If Street Ninja Ray hadn’t rehearsed the fight choreography enough, or gotten his friends involved, it wouldn’t have happened. Hell, if Ma’s Meatloaf’s very own Tony Vescio hadn’t mentioned the 30-seconds of action contest to me, it wouldn’t have happened.
Just gotta go out and do stuff. as goofy, far-fetched, stupid, pointless or difficult as it may seem, you’ll learn something from it. plus, you’ll meet new people.
Collaborating. Fully endorse it. Surround yourself with good, talented people and awesome things happen.
First off. Congratulations to all of the teams of the 48 hour film project in Buffalo this year. I really feel that there were some spectacular pieces made, and everyone that participated in previous years really tried to raise the bar. And they did. Here’s to you all.
Here’s a list of all of the filmed in the order screened. My sincere apologies for any misspellings or emissions of words.
Babysitters Rehab
Idle entertainment. Dead end.
Hate this team. Fury of the iron fairy fists.
Legit coconut. Operation repopulation.
Ollagnod. The au pair.
Fat Lady Sings. Dank Happening of Bobby West
Denny kremvlas The Suspicious
Point and shoot. One small step.
Permanent inkers. The caretaker.
Ma’s meatloaf. Intent.
Each film had some definite treasures to them. Like I said before, the ante was upped, and people knew it. Here are the following awards dished out (very quickly) after the screenings.
Audience favorite group A.
Intent.
Audience favorite group B
One small step
Best prop
Au pair
Best use of character
The dank happenings of Bobbi west
Best editing
The caretaker
Best cinematography
One small step
Best writing
Babysitters rehab
Best acting
The caretaker
Best film
Intent.
I wish that there have been a couple more awards issued out. Best direction, best score, best FX, and a few others would have really showcased some more of the talent portrayed in this contest. But overall, I thought the awards were appropriately given out, and again congratulate everyone involved.
So, this is exciting! Intent will go on to screen at this year’s Filmapalooza film fest in New Mexico as part of the Taos shortz film festival in March. Then, we get to make another short film to compete directly with the winners of other cities. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you in the loop.
If you missed it, here’s our award winning film one more time.
The 2011 48 Hour Film Project; or Why Five Hour Energy Is A Terrible Thing To Take When You’re Exhausted.
Ma’s Meatloaf was at it again. And I typically do a project-in-review (read: self indulgent pat on the back) while the weekend is still fresh in my mind. So without further ado, the details, the video and the write-up: Returning for the 2011 48 Hour Film Project, we selected Detective/Cop film out of a hat. The required elements this year were:
• Bob or Bobbi West, Babysitter
• Flip flops
• “I have a funny feeling about this.”
It all began with a simple text from Tony to me (Evan). “I have a weird feeling about this year.” A sentiment later echoed by the required line of dialogue we would need to include in our film. Whether or not we subconsciously tried to fulfill that prophecy, it did turn out to be a weird year.
We arrived at the kickoff around 6:15 to the awkward stares and whispers of the other teams (note to self: next year, when the note says “kickoff from 6-7” it means “don’t just show up between 6-7, arrive exactly at 6. Or be looked at like idiots.” Alright. Note taken). So… oops there.
We pulled Detective/Cop as a genre and did the usual waffling about whether or not to pull a wild card in its place. But, like last year with Thriller, we all kind of moved forward with it considering we didn’t really want to waste time.
We started walking back to our HQ after the kickoff, throwing around some ideas. One of which was to do a short in one take. One full 4-7 minute shot. Soon thereafter, Tony came up with the concept of doing a one shot flick, but in reverse and then hitting a certain point and moving forward through time - only with completely different actions and results. A technical nightmare, to be sure, but I was eager to shoot something like that.
So, three things of note start to come into play here as we begin the writing process. 1.) I can’t speak for the rest of the team, but I had been extremely tired leading up to this weekend. Work had me going for a few consecutive weeks/weekends/late nights and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Not good for the DP or Editor. 2.) Tony is sick. Flu, cold, whatever - dude’s got a fever and can’t stop coughing. and 3.) we’re not exactly our typical group. Our good bud Dave Dutchess wasn’t with us. He moved to Pittsburgh but couldn’t come up because he was already busy Assistant Directing another film (and would later find out he worked on Dark Knight Rises on Saturday, too - so jealous). But this dude’s energy was great. Dave would typically take some Behind the Scenes photos, make us feel important, and pitch in some advice on shooting here and there. Good stuff. Super bummed to lose him this year. We also had an addition of one Mister Matt Chavez. A dude who played a bit part in last year’s flick, Fixations. He dug the shooting process then and wanted to come be a fly on the wall for this year’s writing session. More on that later.
Okay, more on that now. Right off the bat, the concept was throwing everyone for a loop. It simply made things difficult to communicate about ideas “okay, so that part is in reverse?” “wait so does he do this first? like, in real life? or do we see it first because he does it last and it’s in reverse so it just plays first?” The whole night was like that. In the meantime, I’m trying to open up and balance my steadicam, tony’s sneezing and coughing his ass off, Jake & Lindsay are making some pizzas for everyone (which were delicious, by the way, thanks for asking), and Matt is… well… is not being “a fly on the wall” as anticipated. Gotta admire his passion and drive, but he was all over us to get things down on paper and was making charts (which, as a Back To The Future fan, made me kinda excited there for a minute). Of course, the charts made no sense since we had no plot yet. But that was cool. Dude was attempting to right us onto a common course. And it’s not like he had bad ideas either, he made some very good points. Matt just got caught up in a different process than Ma’s Meatloaf is used to.
Our good buddy Bryan Patrick Stoyle popped over for a bit too. Dropped off some gun props for us. Knew we’d need ‘em for detective/cop, after all. And not his fault in the slightest, but it was just another minor distraction in a long list of growing distractions.
Cut To: 11 o’clock (I think). We had nothing written. There was nothing. We’re notorious for late-night re-writes (see: The Applicants. Cross reference with: 3am) but to have nothing agreed upon or solid by 11 was just ridiculous. We went from idea to idea. How to utilize a babysitter. How to get the most impact from the concept. How to NOT make it boring. It was tough. Eventually, we took some ideas from every body, buckled down, narrowed the writing team so we could focus a little better… and made craig write something…
At least we were making good headway with the action though.
Cut to: Craig writes a draft of the script. Quite impactful and solid emotion. Our goal was to make the story more about a personal decision. A turning point where our character decides to take the moral high ground just as the shot shifts back into forward motion. But we also wanted a bit of a maniacal upfront to give the impression that the cop was actually the killer… until we realize at the turn that it wasn’t the case at all.
And he nailed it.
Goodnight.
Rested up and shooting it Saturday morning, we ran through the actions a number of times with our actors. Doing the bits and pieces separately and eventually running through the whole thing. Midway through, though, we swapped our lead actor. Our original lead was now our bad guy, our bad guy now our cop. It was for a number of reasons, but the most important of which was that it was just far creepier to have our “bad guy” be a bit more on the older side. Which, now, just seems natural. And seems weird that we’d ever considered it the other way.
Once our new cop was trained in the choreography, we did a couple run throughs and finally got to a point where we were ready to shoot the first shot (the one that plays in reverse). Our first take… I was shocked. It went perfectly. I couldn’t believe it. So many moving pieces and parts, and everyone hit their marks and I didn’t trip over anything or drop the camera - it was totally usable. But, as always, you do a second take “just in case.” Again - great. Flawless [well, relatively. you know how it is]. But I ended up using that second take.
Another quick aside for the techies and nerds: I knew that going from outdoors to indoors would be a challenge. Far too bright outside, so you set exposure to that and it becomes absolutely pitch black inside. Vice versa for indoors - everything’s blown out when you move outside. So we had to find a good enough middle ground and set the camera to that. Of course, to make matters worse, since we were moving throughout the whole house in one long shot, there wasn’t anywhere to hide lights. Although craig did an excellent job with what he had to work with.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the cast, especially. We had a group of kids (our cop, Darryl’s, kids) who were the easiest, most patient, willing, well-tempered, excited kids to work with. I always heard “don’t shoot with kids or animals.” Man… these kids could teach the guy who said that a thing or two. Then we had Darryl and Gary who accepted role shifts like champs. And this wasn’t an easy thing to wrap your head around no matter what role you played, much less switching in the middle of it. Then Marie and Bernys were our “family members” and they were as professional as ever. Always willing to pitch in and help out in any other way. Fly over the back of a couch? Strangled with a towel? They welcome these things and even insist to make them more difficult (“you can pull the towel tighter around my neck. it’s a little loose now” …yikes… that’s both frightening and awesome when your actress wants a strangling to look real… especially when you’re shooting in your parent’s house).
We eat, we shoot the second shot (the forward-moving one). Again, a couple takes and it’s over. Again, the cast with the crew offer to help clean and break stuff down - amazing bunch of talented people. Would work with any one of them again in a heartbeat.
The editing begins. I gotta stitch the two shots together to make it look like one continuous shot. And I’m no after effects wizard. So trials are followed by errors. Errors are followed by more trials and eventually, I get something I like.
Hours later, the motion tracking for the muzzle flares and blood.
For the opening blood shot, I eventually gave up and did it manually. There was just no contrast for the software to track very well. The problem with shooting essentially in the dark is that everything’s some form of gray. And gotta be honest, that was brutal. It’s getting SUPER late and I’m on one effect… the FIRST effect… still…? I remember at one point looking around Jake’s apartment, he’s asleep, Lindsay’s asleep, everybody else is gone and I’m just thinking “I’m kind of glad no one is around to see me panicking.”
It was sometime later when Link, Jake and Lindsay’s cat, decide it’s a good time to go to the bathroom. Which is normally fine, I’m alright with felines answering the call of nature. But not when it’s right above me on the elevated, bunk-bed style mattress where Lindsay is sleeping.
Jake and Lindsay were not pleased. Nor should they have been. Cat pooped right in Lindsay’s face. But oh man… that’s some funny stuff right there, no? Well… I mean, for those of us who didn’t have to repeatedly wash the sheets and the chair cushion that was also peed on (again, by the cat, it wasn’t THAT weird a year). But it was actually kind of a welcome distraction. Needed something to both take my mind off of things and to wake me up. I was hitting a wall with every second-hand tick.
10 o’clock Sunday morning rolls around, a couple loads of laundry later, and everyone was patiently awaiting the “full” rough cut. They know it looks neat having seen the raw footage the night before. They know the script works having read it earlier… but… uh… somehow, the two together just didn’t seem to work at all.
It was very strange.
Regardless, I gotta finish the color (or B&W) correction. A stroke of genius by Tony (I think…?) to hide the fact that everything is so dark. Plus, it just kinda works - a detective/cop thing in black and white. And the guys go ahead and rewrite the script a bit. And man… it’s still just not working. Tony wants to start over. Jake and Craig want it to work. More back and forth and more sound design at my station. Luckily, we got a nice music track around now too. Lindsay’s dad, Mike, gave us a nice little drone piece. After having tried a couple different things, he just scaled it way back and gave a perfect sound bed. So not ALL is going bad at the moment.
Some arguing takes place and I pop in and out, but to be honest, I have very little idea what’s going on. I’m getting very nervous about making this movie on time. My apologies to the “adoring fans” but I can’t tell you much about what’s going on at this point (other than people yelling - it was pretty intense).
Eventually I kind of wrap up my stuff and join the fray. Sometimes, I think that helps. Someone from the outside stepping in with fresh eyes (or ears as the case may be). No one was happy and there wasn’t any movement, so I just kinda said “let’s start over.” Tony said it a couple hours previous, but they tried working through it, but man… jerk was right. We needed a fresh start.
So now, instead of trying to deceive the audience into thinking the cop was a killer until the turn, let’s try to make it ALL about the cop. Keep it an internal emotion struggle for our cop character. It’s quite literally a completely different direction. And yes, Craig, I know. You were pissed. I was kinda pissed for you, even though I suggested starting over, too. But your script just got thrown out. A script that everyone really liked. A script that you wrote late friday night that had as many powerful quotes in it as it did incredibly bizarre and hilarious stage direction.
…but still… it wasn’t working against picture.
So we set a new record for ourselves. The Rewrite Record went from 3am Saturday morning to 3pm Sunday afternoon.
That left so little time to finish this. At this point, I am deathly afraid we won’t finish on time. But the words start flowing, the concept starts coming together and I can’t stop pacing. Of course, the five hour energy doesn’t help in that department.
Side note: ya know those commercials that say five hour energy works? and that it kind of wakes you up like coffee? Holy crap. Part of that is true. Stuff gives you energy for five hours - easy. FILLED with energy. My legs are playing a double bass drum as I place some foley in the timeline. My right hand is laying in sound effects and my left hand can’t stop fidgeting with a very bizarre looking spiderman toy on Jake’s desk. When we started rewriting, I couldn’t sit down. I had to keep pacing or twirling or playing the bongos on my chest. Oh, but the other part? That isn’t true? It doesn’t wake you up for shit. I was exhausted. I’d been up for almost 30 hours straight having had so little sleep the entire week prior. I’m on the verge of passing out. And the only thing keeping me awake is the fact that I simply can’t sit still. It was amazing. I had never felt so anxious but so completely empty-headed my whole life. Bizarre, bizarre, feeling. So… keep that in mind for next year.
Eventually Tony, Jake, and myself finish the up the new script having kept our actor and his kids waiting for almost two hours. Record. Drop it in. Review.
…Dig it. Doesn’t distract. Keeps the attention on the visuals. but provides a good story, too. But now I’ve found a bunch of stuff to fix again, too. Blurgh.
There is a constant gaze upon the clock. At any given point, SOMEONE was glancing at the big ol’ clock looming over us in the center of the apartment.
Okay, export, burn, shut down, drop off.
Wait… What? We’re an hour early!?
So… now I’m filled with pride. We made a movie that was unique and extremely different from what we’ve ever done before. We did something technically difficult and did it well. We rewrote our script Sunday afternoon. And we got everything in early. I couldn’t be happier with the team of people I worked with on this. I feel like no other team could’ve pulled that off. Regardless of my own personal opinions on the film itself, all of those things make me the happiest guy in the world. Of course, a bunch of teammates and other friends kept saying “You won’t win Best Editing if it’s one shot, ya know. You alright with that?” What!? Of COURSE I’m alright with that. At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I’ve won Best Editing before, and in more than one city. I have nothing to prove with that. Not in the 48 anymore, anyway. I wanted to make something unique. Something no team in this town has done before. Something that would challenge us. There’s no point in doing something as masochistic and challenging as a 48 Hour Film Project if you’re just going to take the easy way out. Sure, we could’ve made a comedy. Might’ve been a heavy contender for Best Film. Who knows? I don’t care. Even knowing that going in and out of a house would destroy the footage I shot, I just wanted to make something that would involve a lot of new ideas and different thinking from us. And I’m EXTREMELY happy and proud that everyone else in the team felt the same regardless of the final outcome.
I think we even pulled off a decent story out of it considering we started with concept first.
It’s nice to win awards. It’s nicer to make a good flick that people like. But really? You want to know what I care about now? Getting some damn sleep. And I can finally rest easy after all this time knowing that our team is not only happy with our flick, but they’re all just so freakin’ talented. Congrats to all of you guys. You warm my heart like nice big slab of Jake’s Ma’s meatloaf.
It is no secret around these parts that I am lusting after the ability to make an action movie. I love’em to death. Take almost every good movie memory I had as a child and it was probably from an action movie.
Today’s post isnt about a scene but a trailer, possibly the greatest trailer ever made. I can honestly say I wore out a VHS tape watching this trailer over and over again.
Everything just clicks, the action, the music, and tell me that is not the greatest way in the history of cinema to introduce a character?!?!?!
Our sister 48 Hour Film team, Slartibartfilms, from Winston-Salem, NC made a horror for this year’s entry in Greensboro. Check it out! Required Elements: Don or Donna Hastert, Plumber. Crayons. “Where did you go?”
Movie Review: “Midnight In Paris” by Craig Gusmann
I have a confession to make: I’m on of those pretentious douchebags that feels like he was born in the wrong era. I’m sorry. With that being said, there was no way I wasn’t going to like Woody Allen’s latest, Midnight in Paris. It’s a film after my own heart.
Owen Wilson plays Gil Penders, a struggling writer (check) who wishes that he could go back in time to the 1920’s (check) to become an expatriot (check) and hang out with the now-famous artists of the jazz age (check). One night, on a midnight walk through Paris as his fiance, played by Rachel McAdams in probably her bitchiest role ever, dances with a smug know-it-all (Michael Sheen) somewhere in the city, a classic car comes up to Gil and beckons him for a joyride. He obliges, and finds he’s been transported to 1920’s Paris, first meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda, then Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and his girlfriend Adriana (Marion Cotillard), whom Gil eventually falls for. Naturally, hijinks ensue.
There isn’t much to say about the film outside of the fact that it’s hella entertaining. Beneath that, however, there isn’t much there. The message is clear and simple (everyone idealizes the past, no one appreciates the present), the story is breezy and the characters likeable. Because it’s a Woody Allen film there are moments of outright pretentiousness, especially when Michael Sheen’s character Paul is onscreen - even though with his character that’s kind of the point. The worst bit of it is when Owen Wilson’s Gil is having a discussion with Inez’s father, played by Kurt Fuller, about tea party republicans. This bit is revisited twice in the film, and is groan-worthy each time, especially since nothing new is added to the discussion. Yes Woody, tea party republicans are crazy. That’s not a joke anymore, or even an observation. It’s one of those bit where someone is trying to say something timely and controversial without actually knowing what’s currently timely and controversial.
As much fun as it was to see my literary heroes personified onscreen as well, I couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated by it. As someone who’s read most of both Hemingway and Fitzgerald’s works, they both seemed kind of flat. This is in no way the fault of the actors, who all did a wonderful job in the film, but is a fault of the writing. Perhaps this was the point of the time-travel aspects, but none of the artists portrayed in these vignettes were characterized outside of what we’ve already come to know as their caricatures. Zelda Fitzgerald is crazy, Hemingway is a man’s man, F. Scott is an unassuming genius, Gertrude Stein is a mother-hen type, and so on and so forth. The only character we get to know from that time period is Adriana, which is fine, but she’s also probably the least interesting of everyone we meet.
All in all Woody Allen has crafted a fantasy that’s fun to watch for the hour and a half it’s on, but is fairly forgettable after that. When it comes time to rank his oeuvre this will be somewhere in the middle.
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