Epidemic Film Festival 2012
0Last Friday was our school’s annual Epidemic Film Festival. Last year, “Kenya Boys” was up for Best Documentary. This year, “Flapjack” was up for Best Picture/Director – Comedy, “Luminous” was up for Best Sound Design, and “Dinner for Four” was up for Special Achievement in Editing. It’s a testament to how much work I’ve put in and how much I’ve grown over this past year. The icing on the cake was that I actually got to accept the award for Editing, and Matt went up there to take Best Sound for “Luminous.”
It was a really special night and I got to spend it with a lot of special people. More importantly than winning or losing an award, or seeing the films on the big screen, I got a sense of being a part of the filmmaking community. The Academy flew in a lot of industry professionals, and they all had such wonderful insight and advice to share. The highlight was meeting Edgar Burcksen, who is a member of A.C.E. The day before the festival I got a chance to sit in with him for 30 minutes, where I shared “Dinner for Four,” and he shared his thoughts, as well as advice on how I can proceed after graduation. Just as inspiring was Ron Bass, who wrote the screenplay for “Rain Man,” who I didn’t get a chance to talk to for very long, but delivered a powerful speech before we screened our films.
I bring up the “filmmaking community” because for once at this school I really did feel like part of a community. I spent my first year and a half at school sort of isolated, picking a select group of people to talk to or hang out with. I didn’t really expand out much. But at the festival, I got this great feeling meeting and talking with the other nominees, celebrating and supporting each other’s work. The semester is winding down, and I only have one more day of classes left. It’s kind of a bummer that it was during my last semester when I was just starting to develop meaningful friendships and connections with my colleagues.
At the same time, it’s been a hell of a ride. I’m glad to be done with school and get started on my career. I’m taking the plunge this summer, relocating my life to Los Angeles and winging it from there. Stay tuned!
New stuff!
0Just wanted to throw out some quick updates. I’ve updated my reel, a bit overdue.. there are a lot of new projects in there. Hope you enjoy!
It’s been a busy, crazy week, getting my thesis film completed. The school needs all of my materials next week. The end is in sight!!
I’ll Have an MFA in 2 Months
1Hello world, I realize I haven’t made any updates since January. Life has been fairly busy, juggling school, an internship, and thesis projects. In just two months, if all goes according to plan, I will have a Master’s Degree in Motion Pictures and Television from the Academy of Art. But before I can get there, there’s the matter of doing well in all my classes and completing my 4 thesis projects.
I haven’t talked much about the projects I’ve been working on lately, and just looking at my reel, which was just created last September, I realize just how busy I’ve been editing. In October I was approached to re-edit a comedy called “Flapjack.” We locked picture in November, and then it was off to post-production sound. Now we’re in the process of film festival submissions, and other goodies. Currently I’m working on a short trailer, which I’ll be sure to post as soon as it’s done. It was a fun film to work on, and a nice relief from all the dramas I’m accustomed to. I also developed a great rapport with director, Val Blakely.
In November I worked on two productions as a boom operator/sound recordist: “Luminous” and “Inspiration,” both which I ended up editing as well. We put the finishing touches on both shorts not too long ago. They both have facebook pages, (Luminous), (Inspiration) feel free to “Like” them and support us! They’re being shipped off to various film festivals as well, a process I’m not as involved in, so I can’t exactly tell you which ones they’re going to. “Inspiration” in particular has been getting great feedback, and I look forward to the results of our festival submission efforts. I always enjoy meeting and working with new collaborators, which made both projects a pleasure to work on, as I met new and old faces alike.
My last thesis film, entitled “The Final Shutter,” just wrapped production about two weekends ago. Once again I double-dutied as boom operator and have just recently begun the editing process. As far as productions go, I’d say this is probably the biggest project I’ve taken on as a student here. There were more locations, bigger cast, and a bigger, more experienced crew than I’m used to. Not to mention, big camera and data files involved, as it was shot with a RED Epic, in its full 5K resolution (here is a size comparison to other standard video sizes, via movingpicture.com). The footage turned out great, and I have no doubt that once it’s complete, will be an excellent addition to my growing reel.
I have until about late-April to have everything ready, in which I’ll be presenting my thesis to a committee, who will then determine if I’m worthy of receiving my degree. Around that time I may also be creating a new demo reel, which will include footage from all these projects, so stay tuned!
Oh! And also worth mentioning, “The Prometheus Sequence,” (more info in this section) which was sort of in limbo for awhile, has been finally getting the love it deserves from me and director Nathan Carter. It was a short film we left alone since May 2011, and have since revisited and revamped. Re-titled “Gnosis,” it has been re-cut more the way we envisioned it, and has been sent off to an incredible sound designer who will take it to the next level. We are hoping to finish it in the coming month or two.
2011: Andrew’s Top 5 Films
0January 18, 2012
I was trying to stall this list as long as possible, in order to squeeze any more films that I haven’t seen yet. But I caved, and I’ve been itching to update this site.
And here… we… go!
Notable omissions: The Artist, Shame, The Help, Attack the Block, Melancholia, Tree of Life, Moneyball
(Holy moley, I missed quite a few films this year that are on a lot of the top 10 lists that I’ve seen so far).
Honorable mention: The first hour of Drive. You can read more about my opinion of Drive here, but basically, I think the film is very strong and compelling at first, but resorts to senseless ultra-violence and unnecessary gore that ruins an otherwise outstanding film.
Honorable-r mention: Hanna. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Saiorese Ronan. She is fun to watch.
5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
This position on the list was the hardest for me to decide on, but ultimately, it was hard for me to ignore this film. I put this on the list almost solely for Rooney Mara’s bold performance. I hadn’t seen the Swedish film or read the book, so I can’t compare Fincher’s take with those. Overall I found the structure of the film a little odd, notably the epilogue which seemed more like an after-thought rather than a satisfying ending. It also weakened the climax of the film, because instead of everything being over, we randomly get this 20-30 minute sequence. Other than that though, this film had a really captivating protagonist, unlike anything I saw this year. The amount of tension and physical uneasiness is also uncontested amongst 2011 films.
4. The Descendants
I liked this film a lot. I never did a full review of it, only because I just recently saw it. It’s a great family drama, something I didn’t see a lot of this year. George Clooney had an excellent performance, which was strengthened by the talented cast he was surrounded with. Unlike the other films on this list, I probably wouldn’t watch it multiple times, although if someone wanted to watch it again, I could see myself joining in.
3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
This may seem a little surprising, but in a year full of action-packed blockbusters and superhero movies, this one blew them all away. It had an interesting (interesting-enough, I guess) story, and the action scenes were fantastic, especially in IMAX. The film as a whole felt new and fresh, which is uncommon for a 4th installment of a series. Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner were excellent additions to the team, and Tom Cruise showed he still has something left in him. The Dubai sequence is probably my favorite sequence of the year.
2. Super 8
Regardless of what critics and people thought, I was extremely entertained by this film. The kids were very well cast and charming, and kept me engaged throughout. The main critique on this film had to do with it being too much a rip-off/homage to old Spielberg films. I guess for me, who isn’t as familiar with old Spielberg greats like E.T. and Encounters of the Third Kind, I was not affected by this. The short film at the end-credits sums up very well my feeling and adoration for Super 8.
1. 50/50
This film had the unfortunate stigma of being “that cancer-comedy.” I blame the marketing team for that one. This is an exceptional film with great casting and performances all around, and a really touching, emotional story at the heart. This film had me nearly in tears by the end of it. 50/50 was definitely more like 80/20 regarding the balance between drama/comedy.
Are there any notable snubs? Let me know in the comments section!
Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (2011)
0December 18, 2011
by andrew
in Movie Reviews
This was quite a thrill-ride, and is everything I wished for in this summer’s blockbusters, but didn’t get. The action sequences are really well paced and keep you guessing what’s coming next. The film is 130 minutes, but you won’t feel like that much time has passed by the time you walk out of the theater. The story is relatively simple, and isn’t as twisty and disjointed as MI:3. It’s almost too simple really, and the fact that I can’t even remember the villain’s name is not good. You don’t really need your brain to think, all you need to do is process the running, chasing, the explosions, and gun shooting. So, in some ways, maybe this isn’t the greatest film of the year, but it does what it aims to do, to entertain you.
The one thing I’d like to praise about this movie is it feels fresh. It doesn’t feel like I’ve seen these action sequences before. Whereas with the Transformers series, I can’t tell one scene of fighting robots from the next. That, and the plot is always moving forward. There’s always the next objective or obstacle to overcome.
It was a little strange to see Jeremy Renner in the mix at first, but after awhile, he fits in nicely. Simon Pegg provides excellent comic-relief. And Tom Cruise is almost 50? Whaaat?
Verdict: It’s no secret that I love the IMAX format. My decision to see it in IMAX was also based on it having the prologue of The Dark Knight Rises attached in the beginning. This film is definitely best seen in the theater though, and if you want to splurge and see it in IMAX, it’ll be worth it for the Dubai skyscraper sequence.
9 out of 10
Hugo (2011)
0December 18, 2011
by andrew
in Movie Reviews
This is the first 3D film that I’d say, I’d never want to see again without 3D. Visually, Hugo is gorgeous. The cinematography and production design are top-notch. There was just something about the way shots were composed; objects and people felt like they really had depth to them. Aside from the visuals however, I was honestly a little disappointed by this film, and unfortunately may be due to the amount of hype behind it. If I hadn’t heard all the critics raving about it, I might not have been let-down. But I was, I didn’t think the story or characters were quite compelling enough. It got interesting around the 2nd half of the film, but without a good 1st half, I didn’t care about the hero at that point. I just didn’t find Hugo’s character or journey particularly interesting or developed. I think the actor has some potential, but he is very stoic and stiff, so I can see him playing child characters that are meant to be dark and emotionless. But for the purpose of this film and the story, I feel Hugo needed to be more charming and lovable.
There are some good performances from the supporting cast, namely Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley. The only noteworthy comment I can make about Chloe Moretz is that, wow, she grew up fast! I believe she is a great actress with a bright future, but she didn’t quite steal the show in this one, as she did in Kick-Ass.
Verdict: This is one of those films that is meant to be seen in theaters. If you can, I recommend the 3D. It’s the best 3D I’ve seen for a live-action flick. But don’t bring your kids, it may be marketed as a kids film, but I could imagine kids fidgeting and being bored in the theater.
7.5 out of 10
The Cutting Room #3: Your First Cut Always Sucks – Part 2
0December 18, 2011
by andrew
in The Cutting Room
Part 1 of this feature can be found here.
So here is how that other project turned out. What’s interesting is that the teacher initially said, “it needs to be about 20% longer.” Sure enough, I’ve added about 25 second of meat to it. The humor works better and the class was laughing and enjoying it a lot more than the 1st 2 cuts. Even though this was the third time the class was seeing it, and they knew what jokes to expect, they were laughing out loud. That definitely speaks volumes about how much better it’s gotten.
I guess the thing to take away from all this is, it’s of course still important to put your best foot forward. Before you ever present something, regardless of the “it’s only a first cut” mindset, make it the best that you think it can be. It won’t ever be the best it can be initially, that’s why it’s important to show people and gain new perspective on it.
The Cutting Room #2: Your First Cut Always Sucks – Part I
0November 11, 2011
by andrew
in The Cutting Room
Well, probably.
I turned in an assignment for class today, for the teacher and class to critique. First the teacher asked the class what they thought, and they mostly said it was pretty good. I was feeling pretty satisfied at this point, until the teacher went on to explain overall what was wrong with it, then went into specific cuts and how they could be improved. I guess this did surprise me at first, because we’re in the middle of the semester, and I felt like I had gotten a pretty good sense of what he expects from us. His reaction to my cut is similar to the very first critique I got in the class, and now I realize why (if you haven’t guessed by now, it’s related to the title of this post).
I think every editor needs to get used to the fact that no matter how great an editor you are, or think you are, your first cut will always have problems, and you should be glad it does. I probably spent at least 10 hours on this, probably closer to 15 hours, for a 2-minute scene. I combed through and analyzed every cut, and watched it repeatedly for two nights before it was due. And that’s probably the reason I didn’t see what my teacher was seeing. It’s easy to get attached to a project when you’ve looked at it so many times for so many straight hours. I remember finally exporting it from Avid feeling like, “Yeah, the class is totally going to enjoy this. I’m probably not going to have to change much on the next cut.” I even imagined a what-if scenario where the teacher loved it so much that I could move on to the next project (a possible side effect when editing until 2AM).
It’s so important to get a fresh set of eyes. I made the mistake of not taking time to step away from the project and come back to it later. The good news is I learned from that mistake, and got something really good out of it. Now I’m motivated to work on this piece some more, and am no longer complacent and satisfied with my work. Becoming satisfied with your work is a dangerous pitfall, and is the fasttrack to becoming a hack filmmaker. It’s tough sometimes, but so important to never be completely satisfied with your work, always looking for how to improve.
This is Part I. In a month’s time, maybe less, Part II will feature the final cut of this project. When the final cut is ready, we’ll be seeing a much stronger version if it, and I can’t wait to be able to compare the two side-by-side.
What’s nice about this scene is it’s only 2 minutes long. So please watch it and post your thoughts!
Rough House
0I’m very excited to have been granted the opportunity recently to intern for Rough House. They are a post-production house in San Francisco and have been around for over 20 years. I was contacted by my department director and told to follow up immediately, and I’m glad I did. I was worried about the balance between interning, schoolwork, and outside projects (and in a sense, still am), but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’ve worked there for a week now, and am enjoying my time learning about the professional post-production environment, which is a huge shift from what I do on my home computer.
There’s also been a few other things in the pipeline. Two shorts being shot next month, which I’ll be doing sound for (and possibly editing as well). What I’m still in the process of is “Flapjack,” which is a thesis film that needed a re-cut. It’s getting pretty close and I hope to post something about it shortly.
The Cutting Room #1: Which NLE?
0October 4, 2011
by andrew
in The Cutting Room
I could probably spend days talking about this subject. I used to feel very strongly about which editing system was “the best,” but more recently I’ve come to the conclusion that each editing system has its own benefits. Some more than others, but it depends on how you use them. I’m very much a PC-guy, so my choices starting out didn’t include Final Cut Pro, which is what most people would choose to start out with. So I started with Adobe Premiere Pro 2 back when I was in high school, and have pretty much grown with it til CS5 (I’d rather wait for CS6 than get 5.5).
Last year I started learning Avid, taking advantage of the full suites our school has. There was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but greatly overexaggerated. I’m not sure where I heard it from, but for the longest time I had the impression that Avid was very difficult to learn. I think it has to do with the newest version of Media Composer, which has tools that are similar to those found in FCP/PPro. That might have made my transition easier than what other editors had to experience. As with anything new that you’re learning, just take some time and be open to it. The easy way out is to just give up and go back to whatever you felt comfortable with before.
What I like most about Avid is the organizational system and the Trim tool. The way bins work makes it a lot easier to organize all my footage and sequences. The trim tool is very handy for fine-tuning cuts down to single frames. It’s very easy to make adjustments with the trim tool, and preview them before committing to a decision. Premiere still has the superior Titling tools. The biggest dealbreaker for me is also the integration between other Adobe products, namely Photoshop and After Effects. With Dynamic Link it’s incredibly easy to be editing something, send it out to After Effects to do a motion stabilizer or something, and bring it back into Premiere without rendering. Speaking of not rendering, with a CUDA-enabled NVidia card, I can edit and add video effects in real-time. Jeez, I’m starting to sound like an advertisement for Adobe. But that’s how much I love their software, and I’m hoping any editors who see this might want to give it a shot.
Where does that leave Final Cut? Well personally, I’ve never been a huge fan. I’ve had to use it for a few projects, so I definitely know what I’m doing with it. But compared to what I’m used to, either on Premiere or Avid, there’s almost no reason for me to use it. There isn’t anything Final Cut offers that I can’t already do better with the others. So far the only benefit has been, that I can share Final Cut projects with others who also use Final Cut. Of course, were they Premiere or Avid users, I could say the same thing. Now that Final Cut X is out, I’m glad more editors are becoming open to alternatives to FCP. Although I think it’s a little sad that no one would even consider Premiere to be an alternative until a vast overhaul like FCX came around. They’ve been missing out all these years! It’s a little too early to tell though, I still suspect Apple’s got something up their sleeve. Who knows what will happen after a few updates, maybe I was all wrong and FCX will be the editing software I swear by.
But for now, Adobe’s got my number. You can’t go wrong: it’s fast, powerful, dual-platform, and quite affordable. If you’re a student, Adobe always offers discounts. If you’re not, I believe they’re still having a “don’t buy FCX, buy Adobe” sale.