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Showing posts with the label behind the scenes

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Boyhood, Snowpiercer and The Grand Budapest Hotel

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Snowpiercer, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Boyhood are on top of many critics' lists of best films for 2014 .  So I was curious to see what I could learn about how they made them.  I chose these three because they represented the best in their genre so far this year. The Action Film - Snowpiercer Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 1) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 2) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Highlights from the Twitch interview with director, Bong Joon-ho Twitch - Behind the camera you pulled together so many different talents. You brought in a lot of different people you hadn't worked with before...are you just making it difficult for yourself on purpose?  Bong Joon-ho - Fortunately I had quite a long pre-production period, enough time to discuss and prepare. My cinematographer was the same

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Lone Survivor

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Lone Survivor | Peter Berg | 2013 | USA | Format: RED Code Raw (negative) 35mm (printed) | 121 min   US poster for Lone Survivor The action drama based on true events and the biography by Marcus Luttrell is gearing up to be a sleeper hit of critical acclaim and box-office strength.  Director Peter Berg secured the financing to make the film by agreeing to direct the big flop, Battleship . It was such a passion project of his that he went low-budget on the shoot, directing it for the DGA minimum, shooting with the RED camera in New Mexico (great production incentives there btw) and convincing his cast to lower their salaries too.  Despite the criticisms of jingoism and being crude propaganda or snuff porn akin to The Passion of the Christ , the movie is generally described by critics as expertly made and engaging. If Lone Survivor makes the $34 million it is projected to make during opening weekend plus gets nominated for and wins some Oscars then the Battleship flop will h

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: The Making of A Clockwork Orange

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A Clockwork Orange |  Stanley Kubrick  | 1971 | UK, USA | Format: 35mm | 136 min   A great insight into Stanley Kubrick's work process via the making of A Clockwork Orange. Hat tip to mentorless and bonusfilm for the video. Orange Mécanique (Stanley Kubrick) - Making Of by Bonus-de-Film

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: VFX Breakdowns for World War Z

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World War Z | Marc Forster | 2013 | USA, Malta | Format: 35mm | 116 min     Within the overall filmmaking strategy that takes a project from development to distribution, producers need mini-strategies (like Matryoshka dolls ) to complete certain complex parts of the film.  One of those mini-strategies involves how best to create effective and convincing special visual effects (VFX).  Digital Arts Staff and Wired had behind-the-scenes access to the making of World War Z which gives us an idea of how the producers and director planned and prioritized their effects (granted their budget was ridiculous but still, resourceful and inventive filmmakers can still take notes and learn how to make amazing VFX even if they don't have the money... like this guy ). For the honors, MPC was tapped to provide the VFX using their in-house crowd simulation software, ALICE.    Led by MPC's VFX supervisor Jessica Norman, the house completed more than 450 shots for World War Z.

PRODUCTION TIPS: 10 Ways Directors MUST Think like a Line Producer

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  The no-to-low budget director is a man of many hats and throughout the production, the director will, at different times and simultaneously, wear the writer's cap, the executive producer's top hat, the director's beret, the line producer's helmet, the editor's hood... hell maybe even the caterer's toque. This is simply a reflection of how a no-to-low budget forces one to do more with less and so the director becomes a hybrid doing many of the most important jobs on the set by himself.  In an otherwise standard or big budget production, the director would pass the head gear to someone else who can devote all their attention to that specific job at hand.  One of the most important jobs that a director MUST perform with a no-to-low budget production is the job of the line producer.  In fact, even when he can delegate to someone else, the director would still benefit from wearing the line producer's helmet. It's easy to imagine the line producer wear

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Behind the scenes on 3 dope music videos

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Some people don't like to know how a magician pulls off his tricks on stage to avoid spoiling their suspension of disbelief.  I'm not one of those people; I want to know and I appreciate any opportunity to see how it's done.  Besides, the technical trick itself is just one of the many elements to enjoy in a good show, there's also the banter, the misdirection, sleight of hand, etc. So knowing how it's done doesn't detract from the overall experience for me. Creating illusions as well, the filmmaker is also like a magician and for those of us making a living making films and videos we have to constantly pierce the veil on how things are done.  With this knowledge, we learn how great videos are made and then use that knowledge to replicate or, even better, improve upon what's been done.  Then if we're good enough, the next filmmaker will take what we've done and build upon that. And so on, until cinema is no more. Being a big fan of music video