Jon's Top Ten Films of 2011

I hate to say this, but I didn't want to make a top ten list earlier this year.  I don't know why I feel so compelled to do so now, but I do.  I also have to admit that I might not have seen some of the best films of the last year still, so my list might seem thin or inadequate to some- I doubt it but we'll see.  I am aware of a few films I suppose that would be acceptable on my list, except like I said, I've never seen them yet.  This list at the bottom will be called "Movies I Should've Seen Already From 2011."  So, here they are!

Jon's Top Ten Films of 2011

1. Drive - Dir. Nicholas Winding Refn
An uber-classy film of the highest order.  I detect inspirations from the best years of Hollywood's glory with a leading man and a soundtrack to remind us what good filmmaking is.  A slight raw indie sensibility is present as well.  Refn is almost the new Tarantino in this offering.

2. Hanna - Dir. Joe Wright
An artful action flick with a fairy tale meaning and wonderful performances at its core.  Another super soundtrack to keep us all riveted and cheering for Hanna all the way.  Really masterful filmmaking where you care greatly about the protagonist and you're involved throughout the film.


3. Melancholia - Dir. Lars von Trier
A more accessible offering from von Trier than we are used to out in the audience.  That being said, it still isn't accessible to most people and it is still rife with his themes of nihilism, fatalism and depression.  However, it is still masterful filmmaking (especially the introductory 8 minute sequence) and it proves to be Kirsten Dunst's best performance in my opinion.


4. Martha Marcy May Marlene - Dir. Shawn Durkin
A strange paranoia-inducing romp through one young lady's scarred psyche as she tries to put her cult-following days behind her.  Maybe I shouldn't call it a romp actually.

5. Submarine - Dir. Richard Ayoade
A fun Wes Anderson-ish account of an english boy's attempts to win over his heart-throb girlfriend and his own mother- to accept his (and his father's) strange depressive or should i say, 'submersive' ways. It's a quirky delight.


6. Fright Night - Dir. Craig Gillespie
A much-better remake of the 80's vampire tale starring Colin Farrell in one of his best performances as the menacing vampire 'Jerry'.


7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Dir. Brad Bird
The best action flick of the year and incredible visuals and situations that are difficult to believe. Some fun ensemble acting in there as well.


8. Hugo - Dir. Martin Scorsese
A gorgeous, heart-felt film about a poor orphaned child who is working to find his purpose in the world and in the process finds an 'orphaned' early 20th century era Director (Milliez) who created some of most incredible early works of film.

9. Certified Copy - Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A "Before Sunset"-style film that follows an author and a French woman (who is an enthusiast of his work) as they travel around and take in the Italian art throughout Tuscany. But the film is not a travelogue. Rather the story takes a turn and succeeds at involving the audience deeply in the nature of original art by also examining love and relationships and their connections with our affection for art.

10. The Descendants - Dir. Alexander Payne
A classy, fun and heart-felt tribute to the idea that our legacy on earth and in our family has meaning and value. Some great performances bloom here with George Clooney leading some young actors to some cathartic realizations. The tone of this film stays with you.

Runners up to the Top Ten:
13 Assassins
Hobo with a Shotgun
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Attack the Block
X-Men: First Class
Trollhunter
Captain America: The 1st Avenger
The Adventures of Tintin
Source Code
The Trip
Waiting for Superman
Cool It


Also, there are a bunch of films I still haven't seen from 2011. This may be why they never showed up in my top ten.  Here is a list, but if any of you feel like I should watch them right away andn change my top ten list or I should run screaming away from these films just let me know. Here are the films...

Movies I Should've Seen Already From 2011:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Tree of Life
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Future
The Muppets
Win Win
Young Adult
Bridesmaids
Rango
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
50/50
General Orders No. 9
Contagion
The Help
Bellflower
Another Earth
The Skin I Live In
Jane Eyre
Winnie the Pooh
Warrior
Being Elmo
Anonymous
Rampart
Immortals
Tyrranosaur
Horrible Bosses
Machine Gun Preacher
Stake Land
Paranormal Activity 3
Margin Call
Everything Must Go
J. Edgar
Hesher
Moneyball
Beginners
Fast Five
The Hangover Part II
The Big Year
Puncture
The Rum Diary
Thor
Green Lantern
The Green Hornet
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The Thing (2011)
Project Nim
Apollo 18
Dirty Girl
Sucker Punch
The Mechanic
Kung Fu Panda 2
Crazy Stupid Love
Soul Surfer
Courageous
Dolphin Tale
Conviction
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

I might have gone overboard here, but honestly, its like my eyes are bigger than my stomach, except my love of movies is bigger than my bank account.  So, let me know if any of these movies are worth the expense or if I should have mentioned a different film from 2011!  All and all it was a pretty good year for films... somewhat trans-formative I think- but 2012 should be fantastic!

Happy Holidays to our Family, Cast & Crew!

Rebecca and I during our last Color Correcting session for "Death Do Us Part."  Everything has been coming along smoothly.  And a great big hug and a thank you to Eddie Sturgeon who is doing our Sound Design for us!  He has been a real trooper!  Thanks Eddie and Merry Christmas! 

Finished with VFX- next up... Sound!

After achieving picture lock we have finally finished our visual effects and prepared the product for sound.  Honestly, I can see now that we had too many visual effects for my first film.  I think it is a good idea to focus on certain goals for each short that you accomplish as a beginning filmmaker and this one had a bit much- not too much for me to chew, necessarily.  That's not what I mean.  I like a challenge.  But, it was more than I had planned for this film.  Especially since my wife would be given (proportionately) too large a bite to chew for an extremely part time job.  She works full time at the Home Shopping Network, so this amount of effects can make even a relatively short film become a huge ordeal to tackle- but she did eagerly.

The film is now ready for Sound Mixing and for any musical accompaniment while we complete the coloring (which is already mostly done).  A few songs may need to be composed but we will see what we can come up with given the right kind of help.

I just have to admit I am very pleased with the pictures here and what we have made from our short production time.  Everybody who really worked hard, Wheat, Joy, Marcus, Pat, John, Mici, Tom, Trevor... we really did something great here.  Pretty soon we will all see what our hard work accomplished.  I will be sure to let you guys know when there is something I can show you!  Until then, know that I am very happy with what we have... and I have seen a lot of local shorts and features.  We have a good chance to make a dent- in fact I am SURE we will.

I'll be keeping you all in the loop!  :)

Skirting the edges of production design

I'm changing my filmmaking strategy this year (you might say).  I am going to be skirting the edge of production design for the sake of ensuring good design on my future sci-fi films.  That might seem like a big change but it's not really big for me- I am doing this to ensure I'm directing a good film.  Getting into production design for me means learning designing and fabricating sets and props. I don't expect to be filling a production designers shoes entirely but I do expect that expanding my skill set will expand my opportunities and excellence on set.

The general look of a film is something I've always been concerned with but I specifically had hands on experience while being on set filming "Experiment 7" in 2009.  While working with the Production Designer, Brittany Stevenson, I became involved in depth, as the Script Supervisor/Producer, with helping the look come along by coordinating how the sets and props interact with the characters and maintained their look. Of course with what I was doing, the continuity was king, but as it comes to craft, the desire to do production design myself definitely came into play.

For the first sci-film I am working on and for the first feature film I am working on I need to ensure good pleasant aesthetic and functional design so that the audience fully believes the story.  I will be attending welding school for the next year so I can get to creating some genuinely functional steel and aluminum props and possibly I can get some animatronics or robotics involved as well.  If nothing else I can at least help pay for my first few shorts with welding work (which pays more than what I can drum up right now).  So wish me luck on running some good beads on all the types of welders and weldments I need to utilize to complete my tests and get my certifications.

Canon and Red lining up for the best seats in Hollywood on Nov 3rd

Its funny since my post on RED vs. Canon I thought maybe RED would get the hint and stop trying to compete with Canon so directly. This is because I like BOTH companies, I like their products, and I wish they wouldn't fight. More than this their cameras aren't the same at all so they shouldn't be treated as competition for each other. In my belief RED should take the 'high road' and act like a pro camera company instead of a consumer or prosumer camera company. But what is happening now is that Red and Canon are both poising themselves for the release of their next products though (in Canon's case) some sort of Hollywood filmmaker (or indy filmmaker?) promotional event on Nov 3rd along with (in RED's case) a simultaneous announcement for their new product(s)... on the same day as Canon's event.

Like I said, I still believe RED is making a mistake by not staying with the pro market and competing with companies like Alexa and Sony- and if they 'happen' to release a pro camera (like Scarlet) that cuts into Canon/Nikon/Pentax's market share then so be it. But, this battling between these companies is just irresponsible and unnecessary because RED is a very different kind of company which has had its own unique challenges. Canon was birthed from a very different time and place in history and as a consequence many of Canon's customers aren't even going to understand RED's philosophy of business... which is a somewhat new way of doing things. This being said, the product can appear to be very similar to an un-savvy buyer. It takes a true understanding of the finished product as a photographer or filmmaker to truly see the difference.

To many who may ask, the answer is "Yes, you can shoot a professional film with a RED camera" and many in Hollywood do just that. And, "Yes, you can shoot a professional product with a Canon DSLR and many have done that"... especially as an experiment or as a film student's first project. But, how these features happened to enter the Canon DSLR cameras was by a happy accident... so I would NOT consider these DSLR's professional film or movie cameras since they were not made for that purpose. If Canon announces a camera that is made for the purpose of shooting films that would be different... and RED is free game to be challenged. RED needs to understand that the game has changed but they can't lose their poker face- they must hold their cards tight and protect not just their customers but also protect what their customers perception of them is... as a pro camera company. In other words Canon has room to try and grow upwards into a pro line of cameras but these DSLR's are not them- they are pro SLR's with some high rez video capability. Red has created a niche market for less expensive pro cameras... but they should steer clear of making their product look like a fancy DSLR with video capability as an afterthought. They need to be RED... their own beast that cannot be compared to Canon. A pro camera that makes no apologies for their super high rez, Hollywood-approved professional camera... the next panavision. Panavision would never get bristled feathers about what Canon does- they are unique cameras that create different products.

To sum it up, if you are a producer who doesn't know the difference, you need to talk to some DP's who've done both and ask them the difference... don't make the decision on your film just because you can save a few thousand on using a few DSLR's instead of using a RED. Also, if you are RED or Canon, if you don't have the confidence in your product to just let it be what it is and to focus on those best qualities, you might get taken off of your game and start thinking this is just a battle of words or advertising dollars, it is not. It is a matter of the camera to suit the product and to suit the budget. I think Canons are perfect for the beginning filmmaker who wants to shoot short subject, shoot with no crew/a small crew or is doing film school work. It's not the best on action films though and the batteries can overheat, but the Red has had overheating issues as well. In contrast, I think Red is great for feature film shooting. It makes it possible for producers who are considering their thin budget and also not keen on compromising on their quality. So they represent for me, different stages in a filmmakers life and different tools for different projects. No more, no less. Who knows what will happen on Nov 3rd, but at the end of the day the one who will have the best seat in Hollywood won't get it because of their loud mouth, they will get it because they made a great product that delivers on what it preaches.

The Amp HDR camera being developed!

Contrast Digital announced recently that they are developing the Amp Gen II camera as a high tech HDRI film camera at 24 or 30 fps.  If you know anything about HDRI you should find this interesting...

A Versatile HDR Video Production System from Mike Tocci on Vimeo.

So, obviously, I would really love to shoot with this camera or with one like it.  Supposedly, the RED EPIC is going to have a comparable HDR capability...  I have been for some time, after all, working on a concept for a feature film utilizing HDR video as a stylistic approach during the entire film.  It is a post-american steampunk/sci-fi biker gang film and it should be just a complete enjoyment to film!  Yayy!  I can't wait!

Zacudo embarks on the Great Camera Shootout

Go here for the Shootout:
http://www.zacuto.com/the-great-camera-shootout-2011/episode-one

Zacudo, who makes pro support gear and rigs for cameras and filmmaking, has been a long-time producer of web shorts about filmmaking, dslr cameras and film on the web- and now they have embarked on their second series of tests for cameras (the first Great Camera Shootout was for DSLR's vs. Film and actually won an Emmy award).  This one is supposedly even more professional, exhaustive, and high brow- with an LA production and screens all over the world with some of the world's finest cinematographers watching the tests & weighing in on the best of the best pro digital cameras.

The cameras chosen to compete this time were consistent with their more professional approach-- the best digital cameras in the world used on MOST films being produced today- including the DSLR's and including Kodak film as well.  They tested the Arri Alexa, Red One MX, Sony F35, Sony F3, Phantom Flex, Kodak 5213, Kodak 5219, Panasonic AG-AF100, Weisscam HS-2, Canon 1D MkIV, Canon 5D MkII, Canon 7D and the Nikon D7000.  My camera the Canon 60D should be rated similarly to the Canon 7D as it comes to image quality.  This is part one of a three part series which will be gradually released in the next few months as they are being edited.

I have to say I think this is the biggest public test of this kind in the world- I just hope they did all the cameras justice and no one gets their little panties in a wad over some of the results... people can get VERY attached to their cameras of choice and I for one am surprised in a few of the results.  The Alexa did as well as I thought it would.  Film didn't do so hot in the low light but handled any available light very well.  The Sony's surprised with their high's and lows.  The Flex seemed to do badly all around, just as the Panasonic seemed to do- definitely NOT as good as the others... even compared to the DSLR's.  The DSLR's surprised as well with fairly good latitude for the price.  But, I think the Red did very well- though on par with the Alexa and with the Sony's in my view.  I suppose the biggest surprise is the fact that I feel my investment in a DSLR was still very smart AND that the next cameras for me is either the Red Epic (which is supposed to be even better than the One) or one of the Sonys.  I was very surprised in the quality of the Sonys latitude vs. some of the other cameras.  I still can't wait to see more of the Epic & I hope to use it on a film once it comes out.  It is a sad thing that they couldn't acquire one for the test.

Regardless, we should all remember the line in the end of the video from a great cinematographer, Don McAlpine, "...compared to getting a good script, a good director and a good cast... man... it's a fraction of a percent with where you're going with the result..." meaning the result of these cameras (compared to one another) is a fraction of what is really important in making a good film (compared with the importance if having a good script, director & cast).  So, true.

Looking for a composer

Hello everyone!  I have long wanted some good friendships with musicians to help make films with.  So, I have decided I might as well put out the call to find a composer to either help score a soundtrack for individual scenes or to provide their tracts for use in my upcoming film(s).  Right now, I am working on a short film that is called "Death Do Us Part" and we are now in post-production.  But, this may end up being a long term collaboration or friendship between us- if I like your style!  Often, filmmakers will work with composers and musicians on an ongoing basis because of having a common style in collaboration. You dont have to be 'good'- I just need to like it!  That being said, I cannot guarantee friendship- it sounds kind of funny to put it that way- but this internet collaboration thing can be turbulent, strange and unnerving and yet... it can also be strangely rewarding I have found... if the right chord is struck.

If you find yourself 'interested' in this idea, please respond by leaving me a comment and offering me a link to your content somewhere on the web... or by telling me a little bit about yourself.  I would deeply appreciate any help you would give me to make my films sparkle and come to life- especially if your work is even moderately good!  Remember, if you are good, you probably won't think you are that good- but it really only matters if you work hard and live up to your own personal bar of excellence... if you are doing that pleeeeaaaase contact me!  If you know someone who would fit this description- please contact me or connect us!  Thanks so much people!!  =)

Loving the new RED EPIC tests at 300 fps

I have been looking forward to some good fps tests with the new Epic camera.  So Phillip Bloom just released this test yesterday.  http://philipbloom.net/2011/06/25/epic300fps/


Drip: RED EPIC 300 FPS test shoot from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.



This is especially relevant since Cameron & Lucas were speaking earlier this year at CinemaCon about fps being the next big thing after 3D- or so they say.  Also, I'm loving the rumored HDR capabilities it is supposed to have and the selective focus in post.  I can't wait to shoot with it at some point.

Picture Lock on "Death Do Us Part"!!!

It looks like we have achieved this landmark of post-production phase!!  Picture-Lock!!  It is about 10 minutes with title sequence and credit crawl!  Not too bad!!  We still need the audio and most VFX to be laid in and rendered out...  But, picture lock (which is the completion of the editing/cutting decisions- to the point that you can say it is pretty much chiseled in stone) makes it possible to complete these other goals with better accuracy.  I cannot say when the VFX and sound will be done but- I will make sure to keep you all informed and up to date on our progress!