End of the Year.

Criticstop10.net is at it again with this years collection of top 10 movie lists. I'd like to watch some more movies first before I sit down and write one myself.

As to what else is going on...

I've recieved both the K3 and Beaulieu 4008 now. The cameras are both cosmetically clean and pretty to look at, but I haven't gotten the chance to run test film yet. The Beaulieu still needs a battery/power solution to run (at least that's what I hope is going on). While the K3 powers up and ran through a dummy roll fine.

I've counted up all the leftover film in the fridge that I've accumulated from people/projects/hoarding: 10 rolls of super 8, 2 400ft cans and 13 daylight spools of 16mm. Looking at all that shelf space really makes me want to go shoot something...

Location Scouting.

So in the midst of traffic Friday, I think I came up with something that might work to shoot. I'm still working out the details, story & script, but at least I have something on paper... The project isn't a sci-fi (not yet), nor found footage stuff, but something else. I guess I'll come back to those projects later.

Earlier today, I drove out on the 8-East past Julian and did some initial location scouting. I found a place that is quite breathtaking (at least walking there was)... It was freezing at around 38 degrees, but well worth it. More photos later, the pic above is from my cell phone. I'm hoping it snows come January, I'd like the first scene to be up here with snow.

Workprinting

Holy cow this weekend is going to be insane... going to shoot something THURS/FRIDAY in LA, then DP in San Diego SAT/SUN (a 24 hour shoot) right after. I wasn't really worrying about it before, but last minute changes with the crew has really gotten me paranoid for the weekend.

Anyway, here's a link to the Workprinter XP, a beautiful device that telecine's super 8 onto the computer. The workprinter scans frame by frame, so no issues with vignetting nor flickering due to different fps's. The problem is that it's about $1500. Ouch!

I'm debating whether or not it's worth it to spend the money or to just goto a transfer house. I was thinking that if I buy it, I could transfer other people's footage to help recoup the investment... but that just seems like a lot of work, and no one ever shoots super8 anymore.

Sigh, here's to budgeting and more loans.

Metropolis

Short post today as I have a TON of stuff that I have to do in the morning.

The BBC reports that an original METROPOLIS poster (one of only four) has sold for a record of $690,000. Yikes!

METROPOLIS (Fritz Lang, 1927) to this day still is a visual tour de force. German Expressionism mixed together with an Art Deco/Futurist spirit during the height of silent filmmaking. A few resonating images that come to mind are; the children rushing to save themselves, the workers at the factory, and of course, the amazing shots of the city.

Tarkovsky Polaroids

For the most part I will try to write something daily that I'm either researching or feel that is going to influence this upcoming project.

For today, here's a link to the Guardian Unlimited post of a few Tarkovsky polaroids from, Instant Light : Tarkovsky Polaroids, a book which is finally being published stateside June 5th, 2006.

After doing some real traveling outside of suburban California, the images of Tarkovsky's films and those of Hou Hsiao Hsien's have been somewhat surreal. Their films (Tark: STALKER, THE MIRROR; HHH: THE BOYS FROM FENGKUEI) really capture a visceral element that many films never come close to. From my own experiences traveling in Taiwan, I feel that HHH really translated "life" in his homeland onto the moving screen. Not that I've ever been to Russia, but I imagine that Tarkovsky has the same ability to do the same.

To go back to the link I posted, I think the polaroids have a quality that captures earthtones similar to how Tarkovsky's films were shot. The browns, the greens, the subtle shades of blue & yellow, the "washed-out-but-still-saturated" quality on those photos all evoke a state of nostalgia instilled in a single frame. It always got to me that even if you had just shot a polaroid, the resulting picture would always have a faded look making it already appear aged ten years.

How does this all relate to the upcoming project?

Well, in Japan I bought about 5 rolls of Super8 Ektachrome film. The film stock reacts to color in a way that reminds me of how polaroids look. Here are some stills from a Super8 feature, SLEEP ALWAYS. The stock has a washed out and faded look to it (not that you can't do that now in Post, but getting things in camera has always been my thing) that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. The rolls were dirt cheap (900 yen) and were out of production here in the States, I figured why not buy a few... Looking back, I should've bought something like 50 rolls, oh well.

An Introduction...

I've been bouncing around ideas for another project recently and decided that I should start writing things down, otherwise I'll just keep forgetting things. This blog has been up for a while now; it was originally intended to be used for my live365 station, I just never got around to it. Hopefully, using this space as more of a sketchbook might prove to be more productive.

As of right now, I'm waiting for a Beaulieu 4008 camera that I purchased from someone on the filmshooting.com forums. The Beaulieu has most of the features a 16mm camera has and has a c-mount to switch lenses. This camera will probably serve as a MOS/A-Cam with the Nizo becoming the sync-sound A/B-Cam, and the Quartz becoming a Crash/C-Cam.

For ideas on a project, I'm leaning towards something that works well with the super8 medium. I'm digging the gritty texture you get from the film, so maybe something Sci-Fi, or something Noir/Pulp'ish... we'll see.

As with most of my other projects, I like placing rules/limitations early and try to work within them. It's easy for me to get lost with too many options.

Here's a short manifesto of sorts:
1. Shoot in Super 8mm.
2. Use only Black & White film stock (?).

This list might grow as I begin to work on a script.

Placing the project in the realm of Super 8 has it's limits within the format itself.
1. Lack of a steady film gate/film cartridges causes the film to weave, or "breath" around.
2. Sync sound becomes an issue with long takes, as the cameras I have aren't crystal sync'ed.
3. The resolution of Super 8 film makes wider shots seem softer, pushing frame compositions towards body wides, two shots, close-ups, etc. I think this quality is very similar to 3CCD minidv, but I could be wrong.
4. Cartridges are only 15m/50 feet long, which is about 2:30 mins in duration.

I can think of many more, but these were the major ones. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that, I'll have to work within the medium and not force it to be 16mm or video. Super 8 doesn't have the reliability as 16mm, nor do you get a way to preview what you're shooting like video.

The production for this project is mainly a reaction to A FAMILY SUPPER, and various minidv projects I've worked on since then. I've picked up a lot (or at least I hope I did) from those projects, and want to work on something entirely different. Getting a chance to work with film has gotten me giddy. Can't wait 'til things start rolling.

To be cont'd.