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Joe Taylor

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Everything posted by Joe Taylor

  1. The rowing segment in England is a remarkable set piece that stopped the show-- in a good way. When I first saw it on the big screen, I though for sure that some of the shots, particularly the first, were achieved with miniatures. Because of the selective focus achieved in post, some of the shots look very much like the highly detailed dioramas seen on the covers of miniature railroading magazines. Here is a link to that sequence posted on a52 visual effects website http://bit.ly/bNb0Xe
  2. I've recently come into possession of a typed manuscript that has volumes of technical info about the production of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." This volume certainly was not published but found unbound in a box from an estate sale. I've had this for about 10 years and have only just recently realized what it was but I'm wondering if it is anything significant. An example of what this find: "Sketch Book" with Take info: 5 Takes 1) nga 2) inc nga 28 3) com Print L:00 (reload) and so on. Then there's a description of the shot: 7/22/76 - dam 65mm matte with 40mm lens of Doug T. Hi shot from up on rocks, shooting down past Neary in f.g in field below. Neary starts down rocks as on Matte black backing we see Cuboids moving around. There's literally hundreds of pages like this, with handwritten notes. Then in another box with several revised shooting scripts, also with handwritten notes. One from 5/14/76 another from 5/10/76. I'm not the most knowledgeable person on the production of Close Encounters, so I'm wondering if anybody knows if this info has ever been published?
  3. http://vimeo.com/13741058 The "Lonely Moan" is a compilation of landscape footage for a documentary film about the John Glanton led band of scalp hunters who terrorized the Old Mexico Border in 1849-1850. Based on 'My Confession' by Samuel Chamberlain and inspired by the world of 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy. Much of the recent Death Valley and Grand Canyon footage, was photographed with a set of vintage (1930's era) Cooke Panchros that were PL converted for my brother-in-laws Aaton 35. The "Lonely Moan" is being filmed in 4K resolution with the RED ONE Digital Cinematography Camera and will pick up with the RED EPIC when released. http://vimeo.com/13741058
  4. http://vimeo.com/13741058 The "Lonely Moan" is a compilation of landscape footage for a documentary film about the John Glanton led band of scalp hunters who terrorized the Old Mexico Border in 1849-1850. Based on 'My Confession' by Samuel Chamberlain and inspired by the world of 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy. Much of the recent Death Valley and Grand Canyon footage, was photographed with a set of vintage (1930's era) Cooke Panchros that were PL converted for my brother-in-laws Aaton 35. The "Lonely Moan" is being filmed in 4K resolution with the RED ONE Digital Cinematography Camera and will pick up with the RED EPIC when released. http://vimeo.com/13741058
  5. Wow! Thanks, James, for posting these links!
  6. Hello Thank everybody! Most of the shots are slightly undercranked, 5-12 fps. There are several shots are are true time-lapse shots 1-3 fps.
  7. Hello Stuart, Vimeo is the only site I have this posted on. If it's HD that's giving you computer fits, you might have luck turning the "HD" setting off.
  8. The Death Valley shots in this film were captured with a newly PL mounted set of 1920's and 1930's era Cooke Speed Panchros that my brother in law recently had PL modified for his Aaton. They certainly have a life of their own. Film is scored by The Besnard Lakes, "The Lonely Moan" from their latest album, "The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night," is composed of 2nd unit demo-footage filmed for a work-in-progress documentary project about the John Glanton led band of scalp-hunters who menaced the Mexican border in 1860. Based on Blood Meridian and My Confession: The Recollections of a Rogue.
  9. Ah, the Debrie. I've had a wooden Debrie since 2002 and have shot nearly 2,000 feet through. Here's a pic on-location from a film I made about ghost towns!
  10. I've been doing Google searches and there are plenty of options out there, I'm just wondering if those who have had experiences making a dolly have any opinions on what they feel is the best plan/blueprint.
  11. I am looking for plans/blue prints for constructing a home made dolly system. What I need is something that is extremely light-weight and portable but sturdy enough to support a Red camera. I don't plan to do anything but simple tracking shots on rails made of pvc pipes. Can anybody suggest what might be the best system for a do-it-yourselfer? Thanks
  12. What's ironic about the real "cinematography" in Avatar is that the environs where purposefully photographed to look drab, ugly, and lifeless. The cinematography was successful in these scenes, but there was certainly nothing special about. What Avatar was awarded for happened in a bank of computers. I, for one, still appreciate artists and cinematographers who know how to get their hands dirty.
  13. Sure, it was an awesome thing to behold, and everybody in the world has seen-- but that's not cinematography, and the Academy should really know the difference. Did they no see "The White Ribbon?" Scratch that, what a stupid question.
  14. Plenty of production is being done in 16mm. One feature up for best picture and cinematography was super 16. That alone should make you confident in 16mm's viability. As for whether or not you should but the SR1, I guess it first depends on the condition of the gear and how much is being asked (I didn't see that mentioned in your post.) If you can, I'd have it checked out by a professional camera tech if you can. The price for an hour of his time might save you a bundle right from the start. IF you do buy it, you always have the option later to have it converted to Super 16. However, from my days at Otto Nemenz, I recall that the older Zeiss 10-100's didn't cover the S16 gate. You can that lens converted or you might be better off buying a true S16 lens. Good luck.
  15. There are several programs and plugins for b&w conversion for Photoshop but does anybody know of ANY such programs for video editing platforms? If not, why isn't anybody who knows how to do this not getting rich putting such a program out there? One would think it would sell like gang busters!
  16. And all of mine are period films, imagine that. The Proposition Thin Red Line The Assassination of Jesse James (A golden year) The Illusionist (How many saw thought?!) The New World No Country for Old Men (A golden year) Oh, Brother where Art Though (I'm really partial to the almost color infrared look) Girl with a Pearl Earring There Will be Blood (A golden year) Zodiac (A golden year)
  17. I'm really glad that I am not the only one to notice the IMAX deception. I came across this site that offers numerous links to others media outlets that have reported the IMAX quandary. Numerous articles quote the CEO of IMAX as not seeing any problems with pulling such large-scale and long-term duplicity. Such hubris. You'd think these CEO clowns might have learned a thing or two over the past year-and-half. I understand that it is not as simple as packing it all up and turing it back into a multiplex, but you could at least have some modesty and call it something other than IMAX. That once dignified enterprise has been corrupted and debased by simple greed.
  18. Yesterday I paid $17.00 for a ticket to see AVATAR 3-D in IMAX. The moment I entered the theatre I instantly realized that I was not looking at a true IMAX screen and recognized the rest of the theatre as just another multiplex. When I looked up in the projection booth I saw two digital-projectors that said IMAX but I knew I was not going to see a 15-perf 70mm feature. My heart sort of sank but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Just before the trailers rolled the Voice of God that they've always started IMAX films (and used to get my blood pumping because I KNEW THEN I and my fellow audience were about to experience something spectacular) this voice told how we were about to see the "biggest movie playing on the biggest screen in THAT theatre-- 50' by 30'!!!" But I knew that this voice telling us a big fat lie. It looked like the took out the first row of seat and stretched the screen down to the floor give it another 4 or 5'. I knew that I and everybody else around me just got ripped off. This afternoon I went and saw "The White Ribbon" at another theatre that advertises as having an IMAX theatre. After the film I walked in this "IMAX" theatre and saw the same thing-- basically another multiplex that removed the front row and slapped some IMAX stickers around. So I don't get it. How are digital IMAX 3D projectors any different than a good high-quality theatre using a digital 3D? I did not see any difference in quality. None. Unless I know for a fact that an IMAX theatre is projecting on true film in 10 or 15 perf 70mm I WILL NEVER be suckered into another show that is advertised as IMAX. How can they sell themselves out like this.
  19. I think I also loved this movie because I kind of fell head-over-heels for the heroine-- kind of weird.
  20. Wow. I was one of those who dissed and wrote this one off because I was underwhelmed by the trailer. I almost feel ashamed. Only one quibble, even when admiring the visuals with those horrible 3D glasses, when I removed them to see the screen, the colors absolutely Came Alive! This is a great movie.
  21. Oh, like that whinny farm boy pissing-on to his uncle about power converters. Now I get it.
  22. Would it be giving anything away if someone could explain how or why the aliens speak perfect English? I've seen the trailer.
  23. Hey Brian, I met you several times when I gave a few presentations at SIU and Lilly and everybody vouches that you are a talented guy. But sir, you have GOT to have thick skin for this business. Getting fired goes with the territory... EVERYBODY gets fired and for any and all reasons. I've been kicked in the balls so much and so many times that it actually is funny... now. I really felt your pain the first couple of times, but after a short while you realize that it is just the nature of the beast. You can't take it personal. As far as buying and owning, as long as you have a way to make your money back, then go for it. When I was still in school at SIU (great place, by the way) I bought a 35mm Arriflex only because I knew it would pay for itself and only because I had something lined up one summer where a rental wasn't practical. I was lucky enough to find and sort of create my own little niche market that still pays some bills but not nearly enough. You're going to have to expect to start out at the bottom and even work for free in you hope to work on jobs that offer something with a semblance of creative energy. (Most of those corporate and companies that have real offices usually only put out safe and boring schlock with nothing to feel proud about, but you might have to put in some time there-- can't be choosy these days.) I've found that the pain that comes with rejection and failure is indeed intense at first, but those feeling always regenerate into something more inspiring and positive. First things first, though, is that if you really want to work in the film industry, and you KNOW you do, you're going to have to 'nut up' and develop some hide. Remember, if can't find that half the fun is the getting there, then maybe it isn't for you.
  24. There were also a couple of big budget volcano movies that came out two months apart in 1997, "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak."
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