The Room 2008

I am shooting a short film tonight called "The Room." This idea of having a single room where everything takes place intrigues me. I have done another film in this same fashion. You have room. Don't know any of the back story for either character. You discover things about both characters through this one interaction. At the end of the scene something is twisted and the audience is left with a question.

The first time I shot a film like this was back in highschool The film was not done very well. However, it was one of the first films I directed that wasn't on my parents Hi8 camcorder. Again this first film was called "The Room," but this one had a completely different storyline then the one I am about to shoot.

This version of "The Room" is a project for my german 101 class. We have to shoot a short where you speak german, and that was they only guideline. The story follows one person interigating another about money. The only issue is one person speaks english and the other speaks german. I plan to shoot in a more serious style yet break the stereotype and make it a comedy. It should be a fun film. I will put my highschool film "The Room" up on youtube to show where this film started.

Quantum of Solace - Interview

The November issue of American Cinematographer had a pretty good article about shooting Quantum of Solace. If you are a cinematographer or have any interest in the production side of this film take a look at the link bellow.

http://www.theasc.com/magazine_dynamic/November2008/QuantumofSolace/page1.php




An inventive car rig helped the filmmakers shoot a high-speed chase. British key grip Kenny Atherfold constructed the truss rig from very light material to help the second unit capture tight shots of Bond in his Aston Martin.

The crew prepares to capture another portion of the sequence where Bond jumps from a tiled roof onto a moving city bus.

Quantum of Solace - Review

Synopsis: Picking up an hour after the events of 2006's Casino Royale, this James Bond adventure finds 007 (Dainel Craig) tracking a traitor who's infiltrated Britain's MI6. The trail leads to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), the charismatic head of a world environmental agency. Behind this seemingly legitimate facade, Greene runs Quantum, a powerful terrorist organization whose plot to overthrow a Bolivian dictator masks an even more sinister plan.

I personally liked this movie. I have heard from many of my friends that it sucked or that it's not like a real James Bond movie. Well, it is different, however I think this difference isn't necessarily a bad one. Dainel Craig plays the badass Bond who takes lives before asking questions. From a story perspective he is the kind of character who has his own agenda and doesn't let others tell him how to do his job. That's fine, I enjoy watching him kick some ass. My biggest issue is with the editing. This film has some really cool fight scenes. More action then previous Bond movies I would say. However the film is edited in a way where you can't tell who is who and what is going on. This is the same kind of thing that happened in the second Bourne movie. There is a scene where Bond is fighting someone at a black tie party. This issue is they are both in almost identical suits and the editing is so all over the place that you never really know which one is bond until they cut to a close up at the end of the sequence. I think this was a fault on the director as well because they could have elimated this issue by having Bond or the other guy have his suit jacket ripped when they fell through the celine. I don't think their clothes would be in perfect condition when falling through glass windows onto scaffolding and swinging around by ropes. That was one of many scenes which could have been directed and edited better.

The biggest complaint I have heard is how the film poses a whole bunch of questions but never fully answers them. I didn't have an issue with this because it keeps me on the edge of my seat and now I can't wait for the next one. These newer Bond films are being shot in sequence of a larger storyline. Each movie is one section of that story where we have the main bad guy however he is working for an even larger operation. This was seen in the earlier films with Sean Connery however it was done in a different way. I'm not sure what side of the fence your on but I can't wait to see Daniel Craig as bond again.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/

"Depeche Bowie" finished!!!!!

I finished shooting and editing The Temper Twins new music video. "Depeche Bowie" should be released soon. Once it's up I will make sure to post a link to the video!

Make Way for Monroe - Videos being edited

A couple months ago I shot a party for Monroe King. It was a black tie event with bar, music, lots of people, and of course an opium den... (?) The videos are in the process of being edited. Here is a short peak of the footage. It is from the pre-party adventures. Take a look, I shot on the fly and had no idea what to expect.

The Conversation

My professor, Bruno Louchourn, gave a presentation before a screening of The Conversation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation)

This movie is by far one of my favorites. It's very different, in that, the film is a study into the psyche of a man who is slowly getting more and more involved in his work. His job is a surveillance technician and his newest assignment is to record a conversation between two individuals. As he finishes the recording he realizes that he no longer is creating the best sound rather he is listening to the actual conversation and decides he needs to intervene.

If you have not seen this film I highly recomend it. Make sure you set aside a chunk of time where you can sit down and just watch with nothing else on your mind. It moves a little slow if your expecting an action thriller. It's a film based on story, one of the things that many films have lost in today's world.

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One of the key elements to this film is the sound design. Walter Murch created a masterpiece in the world of sound design. Before this film was made there was no category of "Sound Designer" in film. He revolutionized the way we see movies by creating a aural world which before The Conversation had not been seen in a film. Most sound designs were flat and pulled you from the ability to suspend reality. This piece however, pulls the viewer into the film and makes you believe what Gene Hackman is believeing. You make every move he makes and take action every time he takes action. It's strange, you get so wrapped up into this film that the ending is such a shock.

This film is a must see!

"The Money Shot" Porn Mockumentary - Production starting

October and November are busy months for me. I have been working on so many films that I pretty much can't fit any more into my schedule with school and swimming being in full swing.

Today I was hired on as Cinematographer for a new film called "The Money Shot" directed by Cindy Tang. It's a mockumentary about a film student who is trying to finance his feature by making a porno. The script is really good and we have a great cast working on this film. Shooting should begin the first or second week of November.

So as of now I have a few films that are slated for this next month.
"The Money Shot" - 3 days of shooting
"The Good Stuff" - One more day of shooting
"Ragnarok" - Finish Voiceovers and ADR
"The Moral Life" - 1 day of rehearsal, 2 days of shooting

There are a few other films that I would like to be working on however with my schedule I am not able to help out on those films.

"The Good Stuff" - 90% shot

It was two decent days of filming. We shot almost the entire film. The only scenes we have left are the final and a few inserts when the main character is job hunting. Overall the shoot went well. We had a great cast and we moved fast because we were able to get a good deal of the shots in one take. Keep checking back for a trailer.

The Good Stuff - Production Started

I am currently working on another project called "The Good Stuff." It's a comedy about a man who gets fired from his job of stuffing envelopes. He goes on a quest to figure out a new career rout however his only interest is in stuffing things. I am working as Director of Photography on this project. We are shooting today and tomorrow with one more day next week. If everything goes right I think this will be a very funny piece.

My project "The Moral Life" will be going into production soon. The script is almost finished and I have almost entirely casted the film.