tom quinn

I'm just jumping in, long after this thread, because I finally saw The Double Life of Veronique last night and was so struck by the bold color choices.  They reminded me of a vibrant version of Tarkovsky's Polaroids, which also have have a green/cyan/yellow sunlight --  I've rarely seen that color palette as beautifully rendered in moving images.  https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/2939/andrei-tarkovskys-polaroids

 

Who am I to criticise Janusz? Well, it's not like I'm going to be employed by either him or Spielberg, so I might as well say what's on my mind, a mere jobbing commercial DP as I am; Janusz Kaminski has over the years turned into a great over-lighter. There. He's a subtle as a clog on a stone floor. There are harsh rims and an artificial look to all of this when a dollop of naturalism would have probably worked better. Now, obviously this is all by design so there's an idea behind it and the idea is to firmly put it in the old school Hollywood vein. Partly. I also think Janusz has become bored with naturalism and has decided to shake things up a bit and adopt this new high key approach come hell or high water. I bet their next collaboration will look exactly the same as this one and Indiana Jones, so I don't think he's tailoring the cinematography to the story that much. And somehow it just doesn't work. He's just a little bit too heavy-handed with his mimicry of that old school style and it all feels like caricature. For me it was mainly the completely unrealistic rims and saccharine fills that drove me nuts. Raw HMI rims from the opposite side of the key or natural light just looks artificial. Color balance of the fill was almost always a bit too cold compared to the ambience - adding to the artificial raw HMI feel. Sometimes there are short moments of brilliance and I do have to say I admire his chutzpah at times, but most of it is much to over-wraught. The ending has a Gone With The Wind feel to it and I kind of found that quite interesting, but in the context of all the other crazy artificialness, it lost a bit of its power. I should in all fairness add that some of the battle stuff and some of the shots of the horses there, are very, very good, so credit where credit is due.

I was happy to read this because I have felt crazy and immodest criticizing, but had to turn War Horse off for this reason (something I never do). The over-apparent sources outdoors was distracting me to the point that I was not watching the film and I felt that each time an actor moved in the "wrong" way, the edges of that light were revealed. Of course, my brother and I have similar tastes minus the filmmaking background and he very much enjoyed the film in a theater so I may be focusing more than necessary.

I love many of their collaborations, but would love to see Spielberg try someone new. There is a moment in the new Lincoln trailer where he says "Now, now, now" and the shadow of his hand moves over his face. It feels like a "movie" shadow, not any type of practical source and reads more as self-conscious parody than homage. Of course there are many gorgeous shots, but also a stiffness as if this style would work better for stills than in moving cinema. It certainly seems intentional, but seems to be pushing to reveal the filmmaking process to a degree that does not make sense.

Spielberg often goes big and Williams often goes big. When the cinematography also goes this big, the combination feels too much and the film feels overwrought (to my tastes).

I say all of this with a great deal of modesty and am embarrassed to make the comment, but I've been confused by the decision.

Dive is a very nice place, and Tom, I'm wondering if that was the Ritz theater... if just walked that same Shooters---Ritz---Bluray Waltz.

That's awesome -it was at the Ritz! Congrats on your screening - I hope it went well!

Hi Kyle,

I had shot a feature called The New Year Parade on the DVX and we did a limited theatrical release last fall. Before our 2 week run in Philly, I had the film upconverted at The Dive, which is a great local post house (they did the digital effects on The Road). I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much and was really blown away. Due to some technical issues at the theater, we had to transfer to Blu Ray at the last minute, but it really looked fantastic (of course, this is relative - we shot the film for $7,000 and it's clear we did not film on 35mm). So, if you're really in a pinch, it is possible.

Take care,

Tom

www.thenewyearparade.com

Hey all,

My film, The New Year Parade, was fortunate enough to participate in the IFP Narrative Rough Cut Lab in 2007. It was a game changer for us - providing feedback on the cut music, helping us devise a fest strategy, setting us up to meet fest programmers and sales agents, and even sitting 10 of us down with John Sayles and Maggie Renzi for a few hours! The whole experience was incredible! It opened the doors to our screening at Slamdance & SXSW and our little $7,000 film is now nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. So, I feel very grateful to IFP and wanted to spread the word.

Anyway, the labs are open for submissions and I thought it worth passing the info on for other first and second time doc and narrative filmmakers who currently are in the rough cut stage. If you have questions, drop a line: dulouz@gmail.com

IFP'S 2010 INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER LABS OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

Documentary Lab – April 12–16, 2010; Application deadline FEBRUARY 12

Narrative Lab – June 7–11, 2010; Application deadline MARCH 26

IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs is the only program in the U.S. supporting first-time feature directors at the crucial rough cut/post production stage. The Labs play a pivotal role in helping emerging filmmakers to realize the full potential of their stories – and their careers. Through five days of workshops, mentorship, networking opportunities and creative guidance on their project, Lab filmmakers are able to gain editorial feedback, assess strategic partnerships & marketing opportunities, and evaluate their options for maximizing the reach of their film via festivals, traditional theatrical roll-outs or through innovative, DIY distribution methods.

Drawing from a national candidate pool, 20 projects (10 documentaries and 10 narratives) are selected for this year-long Lab fellowship which, includes the five-day Lab in New York City, one-on-one mentorship with industry innovators and icons, and during IFP’s Independent Film Week in September - pre-scheduled meetings with potential buyers, sales agents and festival programmers and inclusion in a Lab “Sneak Preview” Showcase presentation.

Criteria, additional information, and online applications available at http://Labs.ifp.org

Criteria, additional information, and online applications available at http://Labs.ifp.org

hey guys,

i thought it may be worth dropping this info: IFP is currently taking submissions for their 2008 Narrative Rough Cut Lab. I did the lab last year for my film, The New Year Parade, which won the jury prize at Slamdance and will soon play SXSW. It was an incredible experience and changed the course of our film.

Basically, they take 10 films in the rough cut stage, bring you to NYC, pair you up with producers, sales agents, editors, composers, festival programmers, etc, to get the most out of your raw material and to take your project to the next level. I received feedback and counseling from folks I would never get access to otherwise.

I don't work for IFP or anything like that, it was just a great experience so figured I'd pass it on as another filmmaker had done to me last year.

you can get info at www.ifp.org/labs. The lab filmmakers from last year have also been keeping a blog at: lab.workbookproject.com.

later,

tom

www.thenewyearparade.com

hey adrian,

I'm actually at Temple myself in the MFA program. I'll keep my eye out for you.

later,

tom

Hey Adrian,

Thanks! It's funny you mention that because some of the guys who acted in the film are now in PA : )

Congrats Tom. Looks really good! Pity it wasn't the Polish American string band though ;)

Hi Sam, Thanks! We've been talking to the County about a Fall screening, so I'll keep you posted. I hope you're well.

Tom

thanks Walter! we need to have a premiere party in philly with cheesesteaks for everyone!

Looks great Tom. Nice to see folks interested in story telling rather than pixel counting and all the other waste of time over tools.

 

But your story did make me crave a Jims and Pats steak. First Pats, then walk across the street to Jims.

hey guys,

here's a trailer for my film The New Year Parade, which will be at SXSW and was just at Slamdance. We shot on the DVX-100 and I'm fairly happy with how things turned out. If you're in Austin next month, come on out!

www.thenewyearparade.com

Take care,

Tom

Hey guys,

I don't know if any of you will be at SXSW, but my film The New Year Parade will be screening. We were just fortunate enough to win the grand jury prize for best narrative at Slamdance and are really excited! Most of the film was shot with a 2 person crew with minimal lighting.

Here's a new trailer if you're interested: www.thenewyearparade.com.

Take care,

Tom

some abandonded strip mines in pa are all ash colored grit for as far as you can see.

Hey Kevin,

If I remember correctly, we put a 2 ft paper lantern with a 200 w bulb above them and made a skirt out of black wrap to keep it off the walls.

3/4 above/behind him was a 4 x 4 tungsten balanced kino (with lots of black wrap to shape it). above/behind her (tight corner) was a 300w arri heavily diffused and scrimmed. I can't remember what was in the practicals - I think they were 40w bulbs.

Good luck with your project! Throw up some stills when you're done!

tom

it's an interesting question, because even Visions of Light, which is a great piece of work and is really interesting, definately feels very much of its time period (which is only about 15 years ago). Even though each interview compliments the style of the particular cinematographer interviewed, it still feels 'early 90's'. It'd be great to take that doc, break down what stylistic elements have changed and then double those. It'd be even more fun to take a few interviews from 1978, Visions of Light from 93, and then some from now and plot a timeline that you can project further.

sounds like a neat project. have fun!

Hi Brian,

Thanks. It felt a little self-indulgent, but I was pretty jazzed. And when I tell most non-film folks they don't understand why I am excited since I didn't direct them. Haha!

later,

tom

Hey George - great job! I'm sure that was a ton of work and you pulled it of well. Congrats!

I know for me, that Quicktime movies created on a pc need gamma correction to show up correctly on a mac. I don't know if that could be the issue.

Good luck as you move forward.

tom

After shooting video for years I told myself I wouldn't get hooked on film when going back to school.

too late.

I feel like there is probably more to learn in terms of exposure than there is hardware-wise on most starter 16mm cameras if your background is in video. On the flip side, I've also found super16 negative to be SO much more forgiving than video. You'd be amazed at what you can correct in film. I ran off some footage on a sunny day with the aperature wide (1.4, 500t) open while setting focus and at the post house the processed film was a white screen. They actually pulled the full image back in except for parts of the sky - trees, grass, a creek. Of couse it was pretty grainy because it had been so overexposed, but just the fact that the film holds such detail is pretty amazing having come from video!!!

I know the community college in my area has film classes that are very inexpensive (when i took them it was 300 bucks for the semster and that included 3 rolls of reversal and processing!) if you want to get your hands on gear and a bit of instruction.

I'd second (or third?) Elephant as well as Gerry and Last Days. I think Gerry is a beautiful and highly overrated film. The narrative, although minimalist, is quite strong and actually has an arc. It's probably my favorite of that trilogy. Harris Savides is pretty amazing.

I'd agree that Elephant is a narrative and would also argue that it has a three act structure, but that the time looping fractures it. As you near the end of the second act it breaks and takes you to a new second act (which creates tension, and sometimes, frustration). Many of Van Sant's choices in the film (and even more so in Last Days) have an intentional distancing effect, but are also often quite powerful. I know he's also spoken of his influences "pre-Giffith" and it's interesting to compare the use of time and long takes in Last Days and Elephant with Porter's 1903 Life of an American Firefighter.

I'd also agree that they are not for everyone and may not always 'work' for every viewer, but the risk involved in Van Sant's recent films is also what's really exciting and interesting to me.

I'm working on a thesis paper based on Van Sant's claim that Last Days was actually about the Industrial Revolution. It's a very dense film and a real study in art direction, cinematography, and minimalist storytelling.

Hey Guys,

I know it's a little silly to post this, but I was pretty excited and wanted to let you know: 2 films I shot at Temple this year won the first and third prize in the Kodak Eastman Scholars competition. Both directors, Scott Calvert and Ben Kalina, were really amazing and a lot of people on this board helped guide me while we were in pre-production.

Here are some stills (many of which are a bit dark on a pc from Final Cut Pro!). Enjoy and Thanks for all the help. I have a lot to learn and this site is a great resource!

Tom

From "Derailed" the Gold Prize winner (super 16, 500T):

more here: http://www.stationhousefilms.net/trains/RTB_Stills.html

From "Diorama" the Bronze Prize winner (DVX-100)

more here: www.dioramamovie.com

enjoy!!

Hey Guys!

I will post something in the general thread, but just wanted to let you know the film we discussed in this thread, "Derailed" won the Kodak Eastman Scholars Gold prize - 5k in cash and 5k in film stock! I'm very excited for the director and am really happy to have been involved. In addition, a second film I shot, "Diorama," won the bronze prize! Again, a really great director and I feel fortunate (and pretty darn excited) to have been involved in both. You can see some (rather dark due to final cut pro gamma) stills from that film here: dioramamovie.com

I just wanted to say thanks for all of your help as I prepped the project. This is a really great site for those of us starting out!!

Take care!

tom

Hey Guys!

I will post something in the general thread, but just wanted to let you know the film we discussed in this thread, "Derailed" won the Kodak Eastman Scholars Gold prize - 5k in cash and 5k in film stock! I'm very excited for the director and am really happy to have been involved. In addition, a second film I shot, "Diorama," won the bronze prize! Again, a really great director and I feel fortunate (and pretty darn excited) to have been involved in both. You can see some (rather dark due to final cut pro gamma) stills from that film here: dioramamovie.com

I just wanted to say thanks for all of your help as I prepped the project. This is a really great site for those of us starting out!!

Also, Jason, the coloring of the windows was done in post at Shooters in Philadelphia. The director wanted an exact match to a sunset earlier in the film and since we only had one HMI to shoot from the street, we didn't want to lose light by gelling it on set.

take care,

Tom

hey guys -

thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

I agree about the whites. I tend to underexpose just a bit on the dvx because I'm always fighting them, and wish I could bring them up cleanly in post to punch up the contrast, but get too much noise.

thanks!

tom

www.stationhousefilms.net

Hi All,

Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm pretty excited about the film and am leaving the 24th to screen it at a student film festival in Germany, which should be a blast.

Jaan, thanks for the feedback! I'm not familiar with the grading process. Should I be bringing up my blacks a bit? I should also mention that since i grabbed these on a Mac for some folks they will come out a tad dark on PC's.

Take care, everyone.

Tom

oops, i had mentioned the pc gamma issue already. sorry!

I'd agree. I have a hell of a time pulling focus myself when shooting on 16. It's difficulty to keep the composition solid and to check focus (plus I have a hard time seeing that sharply when the light is cut in half through the viewfinder).

just 2 cents.