Well, I assume the topic refers to the notion of what my plans would be if I were to be in charge of designing another 6x1 class in addition to the current one. A sequel of sorts. In response to that, I would say, keep things going the way they are. The format works well for the span of a semester, and the workload is not overbearing. Six films throughout the timeframe of a semester is just right. It may seem like a lot at the start of the class when you're first introduced to the due dates as they come one after the other, but if the student does not put it off until the last minute, then there is more enough time allotted for each film. I guess the only amendment or request would in regards to the 48-Hour Film Race. If it could be done over the weekend, instead of during the week, it would be a bit easier, especially if you need to find any crew for the project. Maybe start it on a Friday to Sunday, or even Thursday at the end of class until Saturday. I still found enough time to do my film, so it's just a thought, not a complaint. I also think that the continuation of the blogs is an important part of getting credit for the course, especially since there's not a lot of reading and no real papers required.
I guess the best way to add an additional course to the already existing one would be to keep the exact same format, but with new techniques. I'm sure that Andre knows a lot more than what he was able to teach us in the span of just one semester. Maybe even combine two or more techniques together for some of the projects. Also, there could always be the addition of more themes for the projects in the same manner that our first one was elements, or the baby food jars for the race. Me, being a person who usually likes to include an agenda of some sort in my films (be it quite subtle or extremely obvious), I would not mind seeing themes like politics or taking a topic from the news and running with it.
Obviously, I don't know how to successfully plan a college course, so the above is merely a compilation of some suggestions. I can say that were there to be an additional course of 6x1 focusing on experimental film and taught by Andre, I would definitely sign up for it (and I'm not just saying that in hopes of a good grade). Honestly, I enjoyed the course thoroughly, and I learned more in this class about making films than I have in any other class in my two and a half year college career. I have already incorporated some of the techniques and know-how into my other projects, as well as my own personal filmmaking. I have also changed my mind about experimental filmmaking as a whole. I, like many of the students from what I have overheard, was a bit closed off to the idea of experimental filmmaking, but I allowed myself to be open to the course, and my opinion changed quickly. Now, I must admit that I enjoy both watching them, as well as making them, and I definitely intend to continue exploring the experimental world of making movies. To wrap up, I thoroughly enjoyed this class, and while I am a perfectionist and never truly feel done with anything I do, I can honestly say that I am pretty much proud of my films and the work I've done in the course.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Cucalorus as an Event
This was my first year experiencing the Wilmington film festival, Cucalorus. Last year, I was able to acquire a pass for access to all the screenings and events, but was unfortunately swamped with school work at the time and therefore, unable to attend. This year, I made sure I had time to at least go to one event. I tried to acquire a pass again this year, but was unsuccessful due to the decreased amount supplied to students, not to mention my forgetfulness in waiting until the last hour of the last day to make an attempt.
Anyway, the film I saw was The House of the Devil, which played at Lumina. I had a music recital that I had to attend for another class on both Thursday and Saturday night, as well as an appointment for my car to be inspected on Friday morning and a group meeting on Sunday, so its placement on Friday night was perfect for me. It also doesn't hurt that I am obviously an avid horror fan, and have read a few articles on the film prior to even knowing that it was playing at Cucalorus.
The theater was quite packed, though there were a good amount of seats remaining in the lower floor section. Before the film started, a guy came on with a guitar, though instead of playing it, he just smacked it and sung a song. When he finally did get around to plucking the strings, one broke. This may have been a sign. This being my first year, I don't really know who the performer was, though I heard some people behind me comment things like "Oh, this guy?" and "He's at every one of 'em." I'm not sure what that meant, but I assumed from it that he was obviously associated with the festival in some way, shape, or form.
Next, the director, Ti West, came up to talk for a few sentences about the film, and then the lights dimmed. Prior to The House of the Devil, we were treated to a short film about a dead cadaver and cremation. It was kind of neat, but it would have been nice to know that we were seeing it beforehand. As it began, I thought, "Man, this is kind of a weird start, considering I know what the film is about and everything." It wasn't until after it ended that I realized that it was just a short to accompany the feature, and I'll have to look up the name of it later. After all that, we finally got to see the flick.
Overall, it was a pretty good horror movie, though it was still a near miss. I overheard some kids talking about how it was the greatest horror movie that they had ever seen, and to that I must assume that it was also their first. As I said, it was not, overall, a bad film. It had a nice look to it, and I remember reading that he shot it on 16mm. It also had a nice build up in the story, and I was with it right up until what followed a blunt, gruesome, and very satisfying death scene. From there, the movie just kind of petered out and West overflowed the screen with fake scares (telephone ring meant to make the audience jump) and shots of the main actress simply walking around the house. It was not until the last five minutes did we actually get some satisfactory movement within the story. Unfortunately, it was capped off with a "devil baby inside you," reveal that was all too predictable, and all too cliche if you have seen any horror movie made in the 70's about religion.
Prior to seeing the flick, I read a review in Entertainment Weekly which gave it a B+ and said that it paid homage to the horror movies of the 80's without ever winking at the audience. They are correct about the homage, but the entire film from and including the opening titles to the closing credits was a wink to the audience about what the filmmaker was up to. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I find it weird in that it was winking to those of us who have seen those films, but presented a conclusion that was just as unoriginal as those films, if not more so now that it's coming twenty years later. Oh well. Overall, as I said, it was a near miss, and I am still glad that I went out to Cucalorus and saw it.
As for the festival, I wish I had more to judge on, and would definitely like to partake in the seminars next year. As for one thing, I was pleasantly pleased with the type of people that turned out to the film I saw. There were the typical students who were stuck on campus without a car on a Friday night, but there also appeared to be some real horror fans, and many people who were obviously not students, but still hip to Cucalorus, nonetheless. It's promising to know that the festival is reaching such diversity in awareness, and I will most certainly make more time for the festival when it comes next year.
Anyway, the film I saw was The House of the Devil, which played at Lumina. I had a music recital that I had to attend for another class on both Thursday and Saturday night, as well as an appointment for my car to be inspected on Friday morning and a group meeting on Sunday, so its placement on Friday night was perfect for me. It also doesn't hurt that I am obviously an avid horror fan, and have read a few articles on the film prior to even knowing that it was playing at Cucalorus.
The theater was quite packed, though there were a good amount of seats remaining in the lower floor section. Before the film started, a guy came on with a guitar, though instead of playing it, he just smacked it and sung a song. When he finally did get around to plucking the strings, one broke. This may have been a sign. This being my first year, I don't really know who the performer was, though I heard some people behind me comment things like "Oh, this guy?" and "He's at every one of 'em." I'm not sure what that meant, but I assumed from it that he was obviously associated with the festival in some way, shape, or form.
Next, the director, Ti West, came up to talk for a few sentences about the film, and then the lights dimmed. Prior to The House of the Devil, we were treated to a short film about a dead cadaver and cremation. It was kind of neat, but it would have been nice to know that we were seeing it beforehand. As it began, I thought, "Man, this is kind of a weird start, considering I know what the film is about and everything." It wasn't until after it ended that I realized that it was just a short to accompany the feature, and I'll have to look up the name of it later. After all that, we finally got to see the flick.
Overall, it was a pretty good horror movie, though it was still a near miss. I overheard some kids talking about how it was the greatest horror movie that they had ever seen, and to that I must assume that it was also their first. As I said, it was not, overall, a bad film. It had a nice look to it, and I remember reading that he shot it on 16mm. It also had a nice build up in the story, and I was with it right up until what followed a blunt, gruesome, and very satisfying death scene. From there, the movie just kind of petered out and West overflowed the screen with fake scares (telephone ring meant to make the audience jump) and shots of the main actress simply walking around the house. It was not until the last five minutes did we actually get some satisfactory movement within the story. Unfortunately, it was capped off with a "devil baby inside you," reveal that was all too predictable, and all too cliche if you have seen any horror movie made in the 70's about religion.
Prior to seeing the flick, I read a review in Entertainment Weekly which gave it a B+ and said that it paid homage to the horror movies of the 80's without ever winking at the audience. They are correct about the homage, but the entire film from and including the opening titles to the closing credits was a wink to the audience about what the filmmaker was up to. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I find it weird in that it was winking to those of us who have seen those films, but presented a conclusion that was just as unoriginal as those films, if not more so now that it's coming twenty years later. Oh well. Overall, as I said, it was a near miss, and I am still glad that I went out to Cucalorus and saw it.
As for the festival, I wish I had more to judge on, and would definitely like to partake in the seminars next year. As for one thing, I was pleasantly pleased with the type of people that turned out to the film I saw. There were the typical students who were stuck on campus without a car on a Friday night, but there also appeared to be some real horror fans, and many people who were obviously not students, but still hip to Cucalorus, nonetheless. It's promising to know that the festival is reaching such diversity in awareness, and I will most certainly make more time for the festival when it comes next year.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
My Rough Theatre
My rough theatre was a theatre I used to frequent when I was a young lad around the age of 16 or so, which was very long ago indeed. The theatre was called Northpoint Movie Theater, I think. Honestly, I believe that was the name of it. I do not recall it having any more official name associating it with a big string of movie theater chains. This is also probably why it ended up failing. Nonetheless, Northpoint Movie Theater was in an area called, surprise surprise, Northpoint, which was not far from a town called Dundalk outside of Baltimore City in Baltimore County (Dundalk is to Baltimore as what New Jersey is to America, though that's another story for another time, and I really have nothing against Jersey). The theater was a second run theater which means that it played movies after the really nice swanky joints were done with it, and after the print had been disheveled and dilapidated containing hundreds of bad splices from each projectionist who came before. Wilmington does not have any second run theaters around here. When they were mentioned last week in one of Professor Berliner's lectures, most everyone had a glaze in their eyes as to what he was speaking of. It's also worth noting that he said that they were all gone and that video replaced the second run theater, but some are still thriving in my home town.
Anyway, the theater had been around as long as I could remember, but the only two movies I am sure that I have seen there as a child are Major League and Ghostbusters 2. Both of these were with a friend and his father from across the street though looking back, he was obviously not the greatest parental figure as we would have both been about 8 when the R-rated Major League came out. Still, one day, and I don't remember it exactly, my buddy Derek and I were looking for something to do. Movies were an obvious option and for some reason we ventured over to Northpoint Movies to catch a flick that I can not even recall the name of anymore.
That was where it all started, and it did not stop until they eventually closed their doors permanently. The experience there was great. Surprisingly, it was not a dirty theater, though that was probably due to the fact that no one else frequented it, so there was no need for the meticulous cleaning of it. I know that my buddy and I were the only two in the screening for almost every flick that we saw there. I actually prefer to be alone or with people I can trust to never talk at all. I take my film viewing very serious, and despite loving going to the movies, I completely despise seeing a movie with any sizeable amount of people.
Anyway, the cinema itself was just kind of old. It was probably outdated by about ten or fifteen years by the time I made it my own, and one thing I do remember was that certain screens had a few blotches on them from what I can only assume was an unruly customer who threw their tasty beverage at it in disgust over a film he saw who knows how long ago. The price of the theater when I started going was either $1.50 or $1.75, and this was in the late 90's. It may have reached the steep amount of two bucks before it closed up. Nevertheless, it was a theater that my friend and I could call our own for a while, and some of the flicks I saw there were The Newton Boys, The Replacement Killers, and Firestorm starring former football player Howie Long as a skydiving fireman (yes, this film exists, and it was a wide release from 20th Century Fox). But now it's all gone. Torn down in the name of consumerism. A Wal-Mart now resides there, but somewhere underneath that corporate icon of a store must still lie a fragment or two of the old Northpoint Theater. Maybe a speck of foam from one of the ratty cushions or even a piece of hardened gum from beneath one of the seats. Yeah. No doubt about it, a part of it is still there.
Anyway, the theater had been around as long as I could remember, but the only two movies I am sure that I have seen there as a child are Major League and Ghostbusters 2. Both of these were with a friend and his father from across the street though looking back, he was obviously not the greatest parental figure as we would have both been about 8 when the R-rated Major League came out. Still, one day, and I don't remember it exactly, my buddy Derek and I were looking for something to do. Movies were an obvious option and for some reason we ventured over to Northpoint Movies to catch a flick that I can not even recall the name of anymore.
That was where it all started, and it did not stop until they eventually closed their doors permanently. The experience there was great. Surprisingly, it was not a dirty theater, though that was probably due to the fact that no one else frequented it, so there was no need for the meticulous cleaning of it. I know that my buddy and I were the only two in the screening for almost every flick that we saw there. I actually prefer to be alone or with people I can trust to never talk at all. I take my film viewing very serious, and despite loving going to the movies, I completely despise seeing a movie with any sizeable amount of people.
Anyway, the cinema itself was just kind of old. It was probably outdated by about ten or fifteen years by the time I made it my own, and one thing I do remember was that certain screens had a few blotches on them from what I can only assume was an unruly customer who threw their tasty beverage at it in disgust over a film he saw who knows how long ago. The price of the theater when I started going was either $1.50 or $1.75, and this was in the late 90's. It may have reached the steep amount of two bucks before it closed up. Nevertheless, it was a theater that my friend and I could call our own for a while, and some of the flicks I saw there were The Newton Boys, The Replacement Killers, and Firestorm starring former football player Howie Long as a skydiving fireman (yes, this film exists, and it was a wide release from 20th Century Fox). But now it's all gone. Torn down in the name of consumerism. A Wal-Mart now resides there, but somewhere underneath that corporate icon of a store must still lie a fragment or two of the old Northpoint Theater. Maybe a speck of foam from one of the ratty cushions or even a piece of hardened gum from beneath one of the seats. Yeah. No doubt about it, a part of it is still there.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Mystery Workshop
The mystery workshop was focused on 3-D filming and the process of achieving the effect. Unfortunately, I was absent from class that day due to illness; a rarity for me as I take my attendance quite seriously. Anyway, I did get to see a few of the finished films, and I was quite impressed by what I saw. I especially liked the film that had the girl facing the camera with her hair over her face and only after the action stopped, did I realize that she was not facing away from the camera, but right towards it. I am not sure if that was a desired effect of the makers all along, or a happy accident, but it was effective and cool nonetheless. I am sorry that I missed the experience.
Since I did miss the workshop, and I am not one to chince out on my workload, I guess I will talk about the topic that the workshop covered: 3-D. I find 3-D to be a very interesting tool in the filmmakers bag. When used correctly, it can be quite enjoyable and actually engage the audience more in the overall experience of viewing a film. When used incorrectly, you get thing like Jaws 3-D; a film where every single shot revolved around how the image on camera would or could pop out at the audience. In that respect, it's quite distracting and somewhat annoying and the list does not stop with that film as there are a plethora of films that fall under that category. And there are many acclaimed filmmakers who seem to believe that 3-D is the future of all films to come. George Lucas has said that he thinks that eventually all theaters will become fitted to show 3-D, and that this will ultimately lead to all films being made in 3 dimensions. Of course, I could easily debunk him by saying: aside from the first Star Wars flick, how does he know because what has he done? Then again, what he has done is made more money than all of Wilmington combined will ever make, so he definitely knows that end of the business. His buddy Steven Spielberg seems to have the same feelings regarding the new version of 3-D; not the ole red and blue glasses of my day. And now, a lot more films are coming out in 3-D. Not only is there all of the animated films that come out in 3-D, but even James Cameron is bringing his long in gestation Avatar out in the format. Granted, the flick looks like mostly rubbish, but then again, when has Cameron made a bad flick, and the answer is: never. I guess we'll just wait and see how that one turns out, and if, in fact, these mavericks of celluloid are correct in their predictions.
When it comes to 3-D, my biggest problem with it is the glasses themselves. I don't want to have to sit through a 3 hours long flick with cardboard glasses resting upon my nose; though I know the new glasses are usually made of plastic. Nevertheless, I just don't want to wear them. Honestly, I do not see why they could not find a way to put the material that the glasses are made of over the actual screen instead of on my face. It seems plausible enough to me. It could even be used as another screen to unfurl in front of the standard one and can, therefore, be put away when not needed. Still, I'm not an expert in the technology by any means, so I won't presume to act like I know what I'm talking about... too much. At any rate, it looks like the technology of 3-D is here to stay for the time being, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it all shapes up, and what it will mean for the filmmaking world.
Since I did miss the workshop, and I am not one to chince out on my workload, I guess I will talk about the topic that the workshop covered: 3-D. I find 3-D to be a very interesting tool in the filmmakers bag. When used correctly, it can be quite enjoyable and actually engage the audience more in the overall experience of viewing a film. When used incorrectly, you get thing like Jaws 3-D; a film where every single shot revolved around how the image on camera would or could pop out at the audience. In that respect, it's quite distracting and somewhat annoying and the list does not stop with that film as there are a plethora of films that fall under that category. And there are many acclaimed filmmakers who seem to believe that 3-D is the future of all films to come. George Lucas has said that he thinks that eventually all theaters will become fitted to show 3-D, and that this will ultimately lead to all films being made in 3 dimensions. Of course, I could easily debunk him by saying: aside from the first Star Wars flick, how does he know because what has he done? Then again, what he has done is made more money than all of Wilmington combined will ever make, so he definitely knows that end of the business. His buddy Steven Spielberg seems to have the same feelings regarding the new version of 3-D; not the ole red and blue glasses of my day. And now, a lot more films are coming out in 3-D. Not only is there all of the animated films that come out in 3-D, but even James Cameron is bringing his long in gestation Avatar out in the format. Granted, the flick looks like mostly rubbish, but then again, when has Cameron made a bad flick, and the answer is: never. I guess we'll just wait and see how that one turns out, and if, in fact, these mavericks of celluloid are correct in their predictions.
When it comes to 3-D, my biggest problem with it is the glasses themselves. I don't want to have to sit through a 3 hours long flick with cardboard glasses resting upon my nose; though I know the new glasses are usually made of plastic. Nevertheless, I just don't want to wear them. Honestly, I do not see why they could not find a way to put the material that the glasses are made of over the actual screen instead of on my face. It seems plausible enough to me. It could even be used as another screen to unfurl in front of the standard one and can, therefore, be put away when not needed. Still, I'm not an expert in the technology by any means, so I won't presume to act like I know what I'm talking about... too much. At any rate, it looks like the technology of 3-D is here to stay for the time being, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it all shapes up, and what it will mean for the filmmaking world.
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