Human Error

Working in a group, as big or small it is always difficult because there is always the factor of, some people can not accept that they are wrong. Not only that it's the stress when one partner has a busy schedule and so will the other which makes work almost impossible outside of class. I feel that interacting with others in our group is difficult because of the basic human factors of error; everyone wants to be right.
Pre-production phases are the key point in producing the film because again as in the last post i made it determines whether the film will be made easily or not. When you add group projects where everyone is still learning everyone still feels that they are right. It is hard to work with people who feel they know everything when they clearly do not. And when you are given a job these said people do not respect that and continuously bother you by telling you that "you're doing it wrong" or "that won't work/doesn't look good". And when the film is shown the critics are relentless because of the mistake made to look like it was your own because of the name placed on you by your job. Unfortunately we do not have much integrity here because some will offer others up as a sacrifice immeddiately so their reputations will not be shammed for making bad call after bad call. This upsets me greatly because this has been happening to me that when I am doing my job I am whined and complained towards yet I still recieve the criticism. For instance if I edit  as an editor  or set up a shot as cinematographer, someone else feels they have to change it towards what THEY would like not what looks good for everyone.

Pre-Production

Everyone knows the glamorous look of the movie business, the action heroes, the dangerous villains, the damsel, the classics of film. But what most people don't realize is the work that goes into making all of this possible through pre-production.
Pre-production is the preliminary process that makes every film possible by organizing and coordinating efforts into certain areas to ensure that the film is produced and filmed without or with little falter. It can consist of constructing a shot list, a story board, a shooting schedule, and or even now a beat sheet. It also means obtaining of course the much needed actors/actresses, props, finding locations to shoot that will fit the film, and permission for shooting in some cases.
My experiences with pre-production have been well rough, because it is stressful trying to fit pre-, production, and post- production into a tight schedule and pre-production tends to take the longest then it's post production, then it's the actual filming. If the pre-pro work is done correctly the filming is no problem at all it's easier and organized, and the post-pro is easier because everything is where it belongs and easier to handle.
Pre-production is a pain in the arse, but it's probably the most important part of making a film; without it , the film is disorganized and harder to shoot.

Clint Eastwood on Ellen

Clint Eastwood is one of the most famous and well known actors of all time, known for being a tough, hardened type character in most of his films, Eastwood recently made news on showing on  Ellen. He already made it known that he doesn't think very highly of President Obama, as shown during his speech to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention (RNC), but the famous movie star does agree with him on one topic. Making a guest appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show Ellen on Tuesday, Eastwood gave his stand point on gay marriage. "It's part of the libertarian idea of leave everybody alone," Eastwood told Ellen DeGeneres.Eastwood is far more concerned with the state of the economy and the national debt, which is what he railed against to an invisible Obama during his speech. But one thing he doesn't seem to care about is how people percieve that widely ridiculed speech. "The Democrats who were watching thought I was going senile," said Eastwood. "And the Republicans knew I was." Another topic Eastwood really doesn't seem to have a strong opinion about is the reality television show vein g done about his family, "Mrs. Eastwood and Company." Clint Eastwood had been a little vague when DeGeneres asked about the show, which shows the life of the 82-year-old actor and his much younger wife and their children.

This really does effect the film industry by introducing politics and personal beliefs into the media world as not shown before. Usually not many actors give out their personal beliefs on government, their political views, their morale views, etc. but it's clear that Eastwood is a man who does not care about the "what ifs". He shows that in his own character he understands what's going on and is willing to show his opinion about it.

Star Wars 3-D Reissue

Many of us remember growing up and we all had favorite movies, some of us animation classics like The Lion King, and others like I remember Sci-Fi films, such as many peoples' favorite Star Wars saga. Lucasfilms recently reissued the "Phantom Menace" in 3D which gave a healthy gross of around $43.5 million. Lucasfilms recently released that they will be releasing into theaters "Star Wars: Attack of The Clones" and "Revenge of The Sith" in 2013, in 3 week encraments. By doing this Lucasfilms hopes to create a fan filled atmosphere in that time and will double as a successfull marketing strategy. It is believed that even after that the remaining three movies will be reissued in a six week time period.

Growing up Star Wars was my all time favorite movie saga, I saw every Star Wars movie as one package and thats why I loved the story so much. This article just excited me because it will bring back old favorites in a new way to view them. I loved each movie and I assume that many others do as well, this may be a great event for all Star Wars fans such as myself who grew up with those movies.

This event may impact me as a filmmaker because of the fact that it can revive old favorites into a newer generation who may fall in love with the old saga. This strategy could be used by other filmmakers to revive old favorites. Recently announced was the release of the remake of the old war classic "Red Dawn" which may give clue to maybe many other filmakers deciding in doing remakes and re-releasing old classics into new blood.

Will many more filmmakers, directors, producers, etc. decide in remaking old classics? I certainly hope so, I honestly haven't been this excited for movies released in such a short length of time in so long. I want to know how many more classics will enter the movie screen in the future.

Full Article at LA Times

"Lawless" Behavior

Violent Films, Are They Inspiring Violent Behavior?
There have always been people as far i can remember, mostly parents and or guardians, who worry that allowing their child to view the new blockbuster film to hit theaters might and will influence their child to to reenact the violent or rude things they see in the film. But exactly how accurate are these assumptions? But it's not just children, as believed in the recent Aurora, CO theater shooting. Most people  are not the same and I hope most wouldn't try to imitate anything violent, immature, or dangerous  just because they saw it in a movie.
Nick Cave, a screenwriter and musician, who also had wrote the upcoming film "Lawless"; Cave believes that there is indeed a connection between violent movies and violent acts. In an interview taken of Nick Cave by 24 Frames, Cave stated "If beautiful movies can influence you to go out and hug your children, then we have to be honest and say that other movies can inspire you to do bad things," he said. "To say they can't is to deny all movies their power." Because of the films numerous shootings scenes and murders, Cave believes although he took part in this film it may have a bad influence on viewers.
This might very directly affect myself as a filmaker, because it could place a bad image on a whole genre. Action films are known for fast paced and sometimes brutal fight scenes and action that are usually memorble and impressionable. It could affect maybe in the future what movies are to be made if laws maybe passed against bloody films. It could take out a whole part of story telling even if it does have some gruesome scenes they are still very good stories.
I really want to know how this might affect the action film genre if people begin believing that violent films are responsible for violent actions such as the movie theater shooting. Will it end up changing the film industry itself? I believe it will but in what way? 

Unfinished Business for Tony Scott

Tony Scott, a well celebrated and well remembered for his famous action films recently passed this past week on August 19, 2012. Some of Scott's most memorable films include Top Gun, The Taking of Pelham 123, Crimson Tide, and his recently released film Prometheus. Scott was well known for his action films having tough alpha-male type heroes, intense action and suspense scenes and his great skills with the actual filming of scenes which made it even more intense of a ride to watch one of Scott's films.
The LA Times brought forth some rather saddening news beyond the famous director's death, his legacy of films could have expanded if it wasn't for his unfortunate passing. Some action movie fans know that one of Scott's greatest remembered films would be Top Gun, after his death it was brought forth that Scott was working on the sequel to this film placed in a modern world of ariel combat and drones. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions released they had hoped to begin shooting next year and release it into theaters by 2014. Other films Scott had planned on completing are some called "Narco Sub", a film about underwater drug transportation from latin america, and "Lucky Strike" about a DEA agent forced to run missions with a drug dealer. Scott left behind him a legacy of work with he and his brothers, and numerous other figures in the film industry from Steven Speilberg to Stanley Kubrick. Many in the film industry from actors whom he had worked with and directors he created films with were all shocked to have found out about his untimely death.
Tony Scott was one of my most favorite film directors, and his death pulled on me greatly. Scott filmed some of my favorite films I've viewed and that's what originally caught my attention towards this. But the fact that he left behind so much unfinished work began to bother me greatly, especially since he could have had a lot of success with one of his planned films Top Gun. There aren't many directors who can produce a great piece like he had done for decades.
With the recent movie trailer release of Red Dawn(2012), I was hoping Top Gun could have gone along side it to breath new life into the film industry bringing back old favorites for new tastes. As a consumer it dissapoints me that a possibly great remake of a classic will probably never be made. However Tony Scott's legacy is a great inspiration for me as a future filmmaker, his amazing action films set the standard for thrilling and suspenseful action genre films.
Since I've found of this remake of Top Gun, I've been curious about knowing whether paramount will continue his work or will it cease along with the deceased. It seems to me like older directors and producers might want to make remakes of old favorites. Who will follow in his steps and fill the movie screen with films as intense and great as Tony Scott's famous and celebrated films.

Fox Internship Lawsuits

Many young bright youth join internship programs to get an insight and feel around the career course of their pleasure, it's meant to be an educational experience and an enjoyable experience. But has Fox Searchlight taken it wrongly? Lawsuits were filed against this media giant because of interns who had worked under Fox in several of their productions, and were put to work more than they should have. There was proper I-9 type paperwork signed, yet these interns weren't paid as they should have been, especially with the workload had been placed on them. Several of the interns' lawyers want to expand the lawsuit to include the whole of Fox as well.

Being an intern is only for the experience and as a learning experience what it's like in the business they wish to pursue. Many interns are given lame, sometimes boring, sometimes fun, and sometimes stressful work. It doesn't mean that they should be treated as less than what they do just because they're in an internship. That really caught my attention at the fact that this media giant had taken advantage of their interns and just treated them horribly.
In the future, of many and I'm sure of many, they will seek internship as a way to learn the ropes. And I'm sure no one would enjoy being treated as bad as they were. Because if people are willing to put in a lot of time and effort and even take up employee jobs then they should at least be paid for their work done!
This article began rising questions in my mind about the film industry greatly. Are all other companies the same or is this just a problem in one company that needs fixing? What really bugs me is wondering how long this has been going on and if it has been going on for a while then why now? Why is it only now receiving attention?

If you'd like to read a little more on this article:
Internship Lawsuit Against Fox