The New World, 2005

A single still image can tell an entire narrative for the thousands that follow.

It’s officially been a month at AFI, and so much has been covered already. This week we will finally call action on our Bootcamp shoots and I think it’s safe to say that all fellows are ready to crush it. So what have we done in the meantime? Lots of administrative orientations, course introductions, and bonding within our disciplines. It’s amazing how close I feel with my fellow cinematographers already. So many different walks of life, yet with a very similar point of interest. One big happy family!

And now back to the post:

One particular exercise that I really enjoy is titled, “Story Within a Frame”. It is what it is: We have a cutline, drawn from a fishbowl, telling an event or emotion in first person. From there we must design and shoot a still that tells as much of that story as possible. We have 3 sessions in the exercise. The first is pairing with our directors, the second with the production designers, and finally one with the screenwriters. So far we have completed the first two. It’s a teamwork exercise. Getting to know one another in the creative zone is the best way to form successful communication and collaborative vision in our cycle films down the road. And it has been great. For me the first round proved to be the most challenging. I won’t go into detail, but my director and I didn’t dig deep enough into our story, and the audience was left questioning it’s point. For the second session I went too literal, and the floodgates opened with great constructive criticism from the group. I’m quite confident that I’ve learned the over/under of the assignment (I’m somewhat rusty with school assignments like this…it’s been a few!) and I know that the third session coming up will be better. I’ll find a nice middle-ground to engage meaning behind my frame.

So…This assignment has inspired me to dig up a few still frames from some great films that do justice to fulfilling a story within a frame. It’s really amazing how much meaning can be packed in to de-mystify (or mystify) these images in context to the films they are taken from. Yet at the same time, they can tell so much on their own, apart from the film. Think about the things you see in the frame. What are they doing? Where are they going? What emotions do we get from it? Is it familiar? What ideologies can we automatically identify? Time to define these moments.

Children of Men, 2006

The Thin Red Line, 1998

Never Let Me Go, 2010

Schindler's List, 1993

La Haine, 1995

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, 2007

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008

The Road to Perdition, 2002

2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968

Black Narcissus, 1947

Badlands, 1973

There Will Be Blood, 2007

Solaris, 2002

The Godfather, 1972

The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford, 2007

I haven’t had as much Vimeo time as I should lately, but after a few moments of catching up, I stumbled upon MGdM | Marc Gómez del Moral‘s “Bombay” video for El Guincho, and It’s quite impressive. No, not the massive amount of tatas in it, but the homage it pays (whether they knew to or not) to surrealist filmmakers like Luis Buñuel, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Jean-Luc Godard circa 1960′s-70′s. The video exploits a theme of high-class people experimenting with lower-class sexuality and strange fantasies involving repressed violence. It’s so odd that it just becomes a chaotic mess of socio-political angst among youth in a revolutionary environment. Or at least that’s how I used to write about it in film school.  Either way, it presents a different type of disturbance for the mind to play with. The 16mm and washed color grading is also very fun  and I love it when old things find their way into new avenues.

Watch this video, then take a look at some of the classics from the aforementioned gentlemen:

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie – Luis Buñuel, 1972

The Holy Mountain – Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973

Week End – Jean-Luc Godard, 1967

I had a nice vacation in Cape Cod, MA a few weeks ago (photos soon).

I also shot a short film out there as supplemental material for my application to AFI’s Cinematography Fellowship. That’s right, it’s time to head back to the books and become a Master.

The film is titled, “A Summer Home”. Faye stars in it along with her sister, Ceara, and her mother, Jo-Ann. I, of course was cinematographer, and Faye’s brother, Liam wrote and directed with Jo-Ann. Editor, Aaron Reiter and I will be entering the cutting room in a very short while to finish it up. We’re really excited about this, and we hope you are too!

I won’t really give anything away, as this trailer is certainly a tease, but think about the word recognition and how such a theme can mean so many different things for a family (and quite the family this is).

Oh yes, and the music is “How Low” by José González.

Starring Carla Gugino and directed by Greg Williams, Tell-Tale is a erotic film noir thriller short.

First several shots in this film were made on the Epic Camera (prototype) back in January 2010.

I haven’t gotten much exposure with the new Red Camera builds, but this is prime example of how the Epic will be a winner with that heavenly low-light sharpness. Aside from the technical end, Carla Gugino and Adam Arkin are really great in this little piece, and I must say that Greg Williams can shift seamlessly in between the super-cinematic and minimalism…just the way I aspire to capture such goodness.

Enjoy “Tell-Tale”.

Nuit Blanche explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper real fantasy.

Directed by: Arev Manoukian

The making of the award winning “Nuit Blanche”

Directed by: Arev Manoukian Produced by: Stephanie Swedlove & Arev Manoukian VFX by: Marc-Andre Gray Music by: Samuel Bisson Starring: Michael Coughlan & Megan Lindley Cinematographer: Arev ManoukianCasting: Jeff Marshall Assistant Director: Andrew Cividino Production Designer: Arev Manoukian & Marc-Andre Gray Art Director / Costumes – Dan Levy Camera Operator: Jay Pavao Camera Assistant: Max Armstrong Gaffer: Alan Poon Editor: Arev Manoukian Compositor / Animator: Marc-Andre Gray Effects Supervisors: Marc-Andre Gray & Arev Manoukian Additional Compositing: Arev Manoukian Matte Painter: Pat Lau Colourist: Andre Chlebak

http://www.spyfilms.com

So, naturally, I was more excited by this preview than the end result of seeing Inglourious Basterds right after.

Summer 2010, you’re getting naughty.

Paris je’taime is my favorite film

So you can imagine how excited I am to see this.

Distant and Climates director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s new film Three Monkeys held the award for best film and best director at Cannes last year.
This Sunday only, The Auteurs are showing it for free before it’s nationwide release in theatres.
Just sign up and watch!

http://www.theauteurs.com/films/1293

http://www.theauteurs.com/sections/24

Posted in cinema, Good Stuff Tagged: cannes, cinema, climates, distant, film, nuri bilge ceylan, the auteurs, three monkeys, turkish cinema ]]> http://peaceinvisible.com/2009/04/24/three-monkeys-on-the-auteurs/feed/ 1 peaceinvisible threemonkeys the-auteurs-logo_240w http://peaceinvisible.com/2009/04/14/moon/ http://peaceinvisible.com/2009/04/14/moon/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:18:38 +0000 peaceinvisible http://peaceinvisible.com/?p=616 ]]> I’ve heard many ups and downs about this film, but I have a very soft spot in my viewing cannon for sci-fi drama/thriller’s. Sam Rockwell is also a great actor, so I’m in…

Here’s the trailer for Moon

Thanks

www.theauteurs.com

I just joined this semi-new beta network designed for cinephiles to meet, greet, and be not so discreet on what they love and hate in film. If you like movies, wanna learn more about the theoretical side, or say you’re in search for some true rare gems in film history – you need to go here. You have to join to check it out, but kinda like vimeo…it’s really quick and easy.

My  username on it is Justin Kane.

Come be my friend.

Thanks to Amber for bringing me a new best friend.

Oh yeah, she works there, too.

Lucky Ducky

www.theauteurs.com

Posted in art, cinema, Cinema Waves, Good Stuff Tagged: auteur, cinema, film, social network, theauteurs, website ]]> http://peaceinvisible.com/2009/01/12/the-auteurs/feed/ 0 peaceinvisible