Jon Lester

It hasn't been so long since the Documentary Channel folded, and they always wanted submissions on DigiBeta. I would guess some outlets still use it today, at least on the academic and local levels.

 

I quit going to movies regularly around the mid 90s. People were rude, prices were high, and the movies were utter crap.. The tent-pole trend was really taking root back then (it actually had been rediscovered with Lucas's Star Wars and Spielberg's shark movie, but hadn't really caught steam to become the mainstream business model until the 90s).

 

Every time I went to the theatre films didn't deliver on the trailer. I kept having to tell people to shut up. And yes, prices were too damn high.

 

Nowadays movies aren't just bad, but they're really bad. I haven't seen Pacific Rim or that new shark movie, but like I said in a previous post, I have a hard time imagining a husband a wife years from now sitting down with their kids in front of their super-definition ultra-mega-wide-TV, and popping in "Pacific Rim" for a family moment.

 

The scripts are bad, the dialogue is bad, the plots are 5th grade level (giant robots....please), the CGI is bad, the only thing decent is the acting and directing, and I'd be embarassed as an actor to be in Thor 2 or the next Avengers film. If the money was right, sure, but as a quality project? I dunno.

 

And, on top of that, as a regular movie going Joe, I'm expected to pay $13 just for myself? To sit in a loud obnoxious theatre that reeks with people using cell phones, with audio systems turned up too loud, and people talking?

 

It's a wonder the industry hasn't collapsed already.

I still haven't seen any of the current generation of 3D movies. Yesterday, "Star Trek Into Darkness" started in second run at our local discount theater, at the mall, so I went to see that for $2.50 (plus the cost of driving out there), and it was a 2D real film print,too, because this theater has no plans to go digital (and probably can't spend $300k to install 6 digital systems with its current business model, anyway). I was lucky enough to see it with a small and mature audience, too. The last movie I saw was the very last regular showing of "The Purge" in my area, during the "bargain" matinee hour, and because I was the only one in there, I got a virtual private screening for $5.50.

The things you've itemized pretty much sum up why I don't see evening shows of movies when they're first released, plus I really don't like crowds. I also abstain from soda and candy these days, and I can get free popcorn at my favorite bar after the movie, so I just take a drink from the water fountain before the show. It might not be doing the most I can to support the venue, but that's the set of choices they offer me.

Done. I was there a couple months ago, when the spire was being placed, so it's good to see how it looks on film.

I finally got around to watching "The Hunger Games" last week, and when I went to read the Wikipedia entry for the film, I saw that the production schedule was so tight, that they elected to shoot on real film, as a time-saving measure, because they knew digital would likely take more time in post.

I'm actually kind of doing both at the same time now, with two concurrent projects. One is a Super 8-originated 20-minute accompanying film for a set of 8 songs, and the other is a longer thing that will be made with HD webcams and HDV camcorders. The short will cost $2k for film stock, processing and HD scanning (if I'm lucky enough to stay within a 3:1 ratio for useful footage out of 60 minutes of film stock), and the digital thing will cost literally next to nothing. Neither will be made with full crews of paid professionals, mind you, and we're not talking major studio releases, by any stretch, just two things I want to do as an artist/hack.

I sure hope real film stays with us for some years to come, because there's much more I want to do with it before I get much older. At the same time, different projects might call for different approaches. For example, I'm looking forward to seeing "Computer Chess," which was mostly shot in black and white with 1970's video cameras.

I thought I was the only person here who doesn't go to the movies all the time. I've been trying to make myself get back into it lately, but as has been said, there aren't always many out that really interest me.

Last film I saw was "The Purge," about 3 weeks ago, at the very last regular showing in my area, and I got a virtual private screening for $5.50. I actually liked that film more than most. I was also interested to see it because it's a Blumhouse economy production, as opposed to yet another nine-figure behemoth.

Have you looked at FilmAnnex? That's a site that helps each filmmaker earn some measure of revenue from advertising, and you can watch for free. They don't really have a specific category for shorts, though.

I should ask in another thread if others here have tried FA much. All I can tell you about my own experience is that they've been taking a long time to "review" my latest upload.

I like it. Looks like something that might have been on TV in the 1970's, and the song is good, too.

There's a guy on Vimeo who used a miniDV camcorder to sync with his Super 16 films, and I've thought of trying that myself soon. Camcorders aren't all made the same, of course, but the JVC model I have, which I got 5 years ago for about $150, has an automatic level control function and actually delivers good results when taping live concerts. It's 12-bit sound, about on par with FM radio and open-reel tapes, but you might feel it's good enough for dialog. If you go this route, you might want to make sure whichever model you get offers analog A/V output and the ability to send A/V without actually taping, or you might decide it's useful to just use the tapes and have a video reference to go with your film.

I can understand if you'd rather have something new, and if it were me, I'd lean towards something like a Xoom, but I thought you might like to save some money for film stock.