- Mr. Deeds Goes To Town
- The Maltese Falcon
- Love Story
- Away From Her
- Das Boot
- American Graffiti
- Roman Holiday
- The Great Dictator
Answer will come in the next posting…
Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb
Feb12016
Jan152016
What I Learned About Filmmaking from… RC Flying
Amazing the places you can learn concepts useful for filmmaking. Here’s a look from the perspective of RC Flying…
1. There Are A LOT of Crashes
The first take-off is exhilerating, but, boy, are there a lot of crashes before being able to deftly fly the mini aircrafts. From each of those crashes, you build on your knowledge to fly better and better next time. Not that there won’t be any crashes in the future, but (1) you’ll be more prepared for them physically and mentally, and (2) you’ll recover from some of even before hitting the ground. Echoes of a freelance career, doesn’t it?
2. Gotta Have Spares
To weather those training crashes, you can’t be flying just 1 plane and have no spares. To increase airtime, you have to have multiple planes and, most certainly, spares. It’s your B-plan. For an industry career, your network is your multiple planes, and your side jobs I see as your spares.
3. Put Your Imagination In The Pilot’s Seat
You’re flying an RC plane “from away.” Basically, it’s the third person POV. Your actual perspective on the plane is changing constantly and you need to put your mind into the pilot’s seat to instinctively know which way to manipulate the controls to bank in the direction you want to go. Get it right, and the plane flies seemingly effortlessly. On a film production, you need to put your imagination into the story – in effect, “fly the scene” – to see and create the necessary details to make the story and characters come alive.
How about you? Where do you find parallels between life and the film industry?
Cheers and a high-flying shoot to you,
Deb
Jan52016
Christmas Bills vs Production Bills
Bills, bills! Who likes bills? Hang on… I know!
The Production Coordinator during wrap week!
Yup!
Wrap week is the only time I’ve found myself near-pleading with suppliers to hurry up and send me the invoice so we can pay it before the production office closes at the end of the week.
Strange business life, being in production…
Cheers & happy bill-paying to you,
Deb
Dec202015
Ciné Surfer: Happy Public Domain Birthday To You
The song that was – suprising to many – NOT in the public domain is now in the public domain?!? Wow.
Here’s a great article from The Daily Signal that talks about the change of status:
Remember, though, that the rights we’re talking about here are the publishing rights (the right to use the sheet music). Though you may now be allowed to sing the song on screen for free, if you use a particular recording of it, then recording rights will still kick in.
Of course, this news means that the chapter in my book Film Production Management 101 on Legal clearances is now out of date on one count. Sigh… But that goes to show you that you always need legal advice from a proper legal source for all the latest and greatest news on rights and clearances.
In the meantime, have a happy public domain birthday!
Cheers
Deb
Nov262015
Inspiration at the Movies: Ocean’s Eleven
“…and uh, I owe you from the thing with the guy in the place and I’ll never forget it.”
– Reuben (Ocean’s Eleven, 2001)
What a brilliant line!
Writing-wise, in but a few words, we immediately get Reuben’s style of character. We know he has a history with Danny and Rusty, and he believes in giving and remembering favours… even if he hasn’t seen them in a while. And since we, the audience, don’t really care what that history is, we don’t have to hear the detail!
It’s also a great line to remember in our own lives. We as people are interconnected through favours given and collected… even if we don’t keep in touch as much as we’d like. Makes you think about your own network. Who are you connected to because of “the thing with the guy in the place?”
Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb
Nov122015
In the Movie, Not the Book: Hermione’s Obliviate
So frequently we say and hear “I liked the movie, but the book better.” Here’s a case where I think the movie was different to the book – neither better than the other… just different. And it really works.
Book and movie spoiler alert!
In the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows…
Hermione reveals to Harry that she has obliviated her parents (from ever knowing her) at a strategic story moment. A moment where it rings home to Harry that she is indeed an equal partner in the team against Voldemort. It’s a powerful moment because we learn this fact at the same time as Harry, and understand – with the same shock that Harry feels – how much Hermione has chosen to lose to pursue their goal of pursuing Voldemort. She, too, has experienced great loss of family.
But in the movie…
We don’t have this reveal. We are not as tightly aligned to Harry’s point of view as we are in the book. The movie is more of an ensemble of characters and the POV therefore a bit looser, (1) allowing us in on scenes and secrets that Harry may never learn, and (2) letting us identify with – and journey through the story with – other characters who may be closer to our own personality, and (3) permitting the film to “show, don’t tell” scenes that are in the book.
So back to the movie itself…
At the start of the film, we see Hermione’s preparation for the weighty task ahead (pursuing Voldemort with Harry and Ron). She obliviates her parents before our eyes and we can see and feel her pain as she does so. Now a highly-skilled witch, we see her image melt away from picture frame after picture frame and we know the spell is working. Her parents are losing any memory of her, past and present. It’s powerful and painful to watch, and we know there is no other way. So now, along with Hermione, we share her secret from Harry – for does he really need to be told of this moment to know in his heart that Hermione is a solid and reliable part of the team? She’ll prove it in many ways anyway.
So there you have it. A beautiful example of two portrayals of the same scene, told differently in book and movie, yet both just as powerful… just different.
Cheers and a good shoot… or book to you,
Deb