Michael Wisniewski

That's funny about being a stickler. There's a section of the doc where they go over how he used to work out scenes by himself beforehand and then he'd arrive early the next morning to put props exactly where he wanted them, in order for the actor to "discover" what he, as the director, really wanted them to do. I thought it was funny, when he completely re-arranged his office furniture, for a documentary interview, so that the documentary crew was forced to put the camera only in the positions he had chosen.

During the Tribeca Film Festival, I had the good fortune to get dragged into a "work in progress" documentary on the legendary film teacher Alexander Mackendrick. The filmmaker was Paul Cronin. I just wanted to say, I am completely in awe. Mackendrick not only gets it, but he gets you to "get it" too. Just amazing. The portion of the documentary I watched was 80% of his successful students relating what they learned from this man at Cal Arts and the other 20% was Mackendrick himself. After the first 15 seconds, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, this is the stuff you're always looking for and can glean here and there through books and experience, but it's presented in a coherent well thought out way, from the mind of a master teacher. I'm absolutely jealous of anyone who was able to take his classes or be mentored by him. And I know this sounds like hyperbole, but in this case it really is a film school for the $10 I paid to get in. Here's the catch, the documentary probably won't be finished for a few years. :huh: Paul Cronin's accompanying book on Mackendrick will be out later this year. Unfortunately, as Mackendrick pointed out, the minute you start writing about film, you're already in the wrong medium. :blink:

Good point. How about, is it less expensive to buy film in 3rd world countries?

Is film cheaper overseas? I might go back to the Philippines for a few months, and I thought I'd shoot a short on 16mm for the experience, instead of DV.

I like shooting in 1/30 because it resembles film in some ways. Mainly because of the motion signature and the more saturated colors. If you're shooting in bright daylight, make sure to bring an ND filter and/or a polarizer or you'll get blow outs all over the place. A good handheld reflector and diffuser is always good to have handy.

Maybe it's blowing hot air over the heads.