Got something in the works!

Keyblades should come with safety warnings.

Cool VFX from the web

I'm constantly on the lookout for inspirational videos on youtube, Vimeo and more. Anything to keep my motivation up, and give me new ideas. There are so many great film makers out there that use wildly different styles that there's really no reason not to be inspired. Here are a few that caught my eye this week:

This is why Falcon Punch is Not A Toy

This piece was done by Wren Weichman, a visual effects artist who hails from Portland, but recently moved to Los Angeles. He has a very cool style, adds humor to his pieces, and is extremely knowleageable. He actually has a series of visual effects tutorials on Ae.Tutsplus.com focusing on superpower VFX. Make sure you watch the Making of/BTS of Falcon Punch. Even if you're not interested in the technical side of things, the laughs you get from Wren and his friends, Matt and Spencer are worth it. 

GakAttack

How did I miss this guy? Gak is a youtuber with a huge following. He combines visual effects with martial arts like I've never seen before. He doesn't skimp on the quality either, as his VFX skill is totally matched by his martial arts skill. I don't know much about him, but I'm going to be paying a closer look at his work. He has a style that I definitely want to learn from. Hopefully, I can find some BTS stuff that he's done. Pro Tip: Make sure to check out his Epic Anime Time video. Apparently it was barely planned, shot at a convention with random cosplayers, and vfx added afterwards. Not bad at all!

Leave Me

Leave Me (now on Hulu at hulu.com/leave-me) from Ryan Dunlap // Daros Films on Vimeo.

This one is actually not so new, but still has a great place in my list of favorite short films. As you can tell from the video, there aren't many visual effects in this piece besides color correction. All the effects are in the editing. What inspired me in this short, which comes in at only 5:13, is the range of emotions that the viewer is taken through. From the extreme sadness of losing a loved one to a bit of humor, to desperation, hope, delight, and then finally acceptance. What got me is that this is all story, no gimmick, and it perfectly shows how great a piece can be if the concept is solid.

What are your thoughts on the videos?

Chronicle does it right

The first time I saw the trailer for Chronicle, it was when I went to see Captain America. At first, I really didn't know what to make of it, but it certainly caught my attention.

The minimalist poster made me really wonder about this movieThe trailer reminded me of Cloverfield for more than one reason. First, and most obviously was the 'found footage' style in which the trailer, (and the movie) was shot. Secondly, was the fact that aside from the Facebook URL, they never mentioned the name of the movie in the trailer. No flashy title sequence, no mention of it in dialogue. That alone made me curious. Cloverfield did the same at the end of their trailer, only showing the release date, 1.18.08 at the end of the trailer (which, humorously, many thought was in fact the title of the movie).

Chronicle amazed me on numerous levels. Not really knowing what to expect (except for some sweet sweet powers, and very cool, minimalist poster art), I went into the movie hoping to be engaged. Chronicle didn't disappoint.

From here on out, there may be spoilers-

The Story

Chronicle takes a genre that has become very popular in the past few years and makes it new. Super heroes have only looked cooler as visual effects technology has gotten more advanced, and the audience has been eating it up. Chronicle follows three high school students, Andrew, Matt and Steve as they gain super powers, build a friendship, and become stronger. As nothing goes completely as planned, we also see how the tragic life of one of the characters, mixed with his near godlike abilities, results in disaster. To really understand how this all happens, you have to understand the characters, which writer Max Landis and director, John Trank help us do very well.

The principle cast: Matt, Steve and AndrewWhat sets Chronicle apart is that none of the three main characters are actually 'heroes' at all. What the movie does best is describe how real high school students would react if they somehow developed super powers. They mess with people, play pranks, and Andrew raises his social status from the kid that was picked on to being cheered on at a party. There was no greater good that they fought against. No evil mastermind bent on world domination that they had to thwart. They did what any other high school students (and many adults) would do. They used their powers for personal gain.

It was at this point in the film that we really got the first glimpse of who these characters were under the hood. From the fun-loving, popular Steve, to the philosopher-quoting Matt who wants to do more in life, but falls short, to the physically and emotionally abused Andrew. With the inability to defend himself at school or from his father, coupled with his inability to do anything to save his dying mother, Andrew uses the newfound powers to overcompensate for his overall weakness and lack of control of his life or the world around him. By virtue of the variety of these character's walks of life, Landis and Trank give us a cast that we can easily empathize with.

The disturbed AndrewAs the character's powers increase, and their aspirations grow, Andrew's home life deteriorates as his mother slips closer and closer to death. Placing the blame on Andrew, his father becomes more and more abusive until in a fit of rage, Andrew snaps, starting the downfall of the trio. Tensions and tempers rise, until the death of one of the characters splits the relationship of the remaining two, leading to a super powered face-off in the final act.

The story has been done before. "With great power comes great responsibility," is often quoted when referring to superhero movies. Chronicle takes what we already know, and removes the gleam of Iron man's armor, the wit in Spider-Man, the magnificence of Thor, and the camaraderie of X-Men. So what sets it apart? Realism. Characters act how real kids act. They speak the way high school students speak. Andrew's motivations of achieving social acceptance, and caring for his mother are easily believable. When the film reaches its dramatic third act, we understand how his megalomaniacal attitude and eventual decline comes to pass. The only thing that I wish was different was more time to see the decline in action. Due to the nature of how it was filmed, Chronicle only allows us to see what the Andrew though worthy of getting on tape. Which of course leads us to...

How It Was Filmed

Andrew plays cameraman for both the audience, and the movie that is his life.As I mentioned before, Chronicle is a 'found footage' genre, much like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. It makes more sense though, in this movie. The movie opens with Andrew filming his abusive, drunk father attempting to get into his room. "I'm filming everything from here on out," he says. We see the world through Andrew's eyes. On a number of occasions, characters make mention of it, saying that it's creepy that Andrew is filming them for no apparent reason. One thing that Andrew does say in his defense is a response to Steve, who says that it's like a barrier between him and everyone else. "Maybe I want a barrier," Andrew replies. The camera is Andrew's protective shield. In a way, it's a disassociation method. He's the star of his own movie, but he sees it as someone on the outside looking in. As Chronicle progresses, Andrew uses his telekinesis to have the camera levitate around him, the perfect way for the director to achieve different shot types while still holding on to the found footage genre. We even get to see different points of view through security cameras, mobile phones, and other film people filming the events happening around them. This calls back to the title of the movie, Chronicle, being a chronicle of the events that these young men lived. 

The Effects

Before Chronicle came on, the trailer for Battleship played (for my thoughts on that, read my previous blog here). One thing I noticed was the overuse of CG. Of course, I haven't seen the movie, but from what I can tell, it will suffer from what Transformers had: an overuse of visual effects. Without them, I can't imagine that the movie would be anywhere near as enjoyable, which says a lot about the movie overall. This was another thing that set Chronicle apart. For the first two acts, the majority of the effects were practical, or at the most, subtle. We didn't see any glow bits, power rays or things of that sort. What we did see, however, we're the effects of those powers. We didn't see the energy that made objects move, but we saw the result of it. We saw the result of people being knocked around, not the actual force that did the act. This allowed us to focus more of the people, rather than the glamour. As someone who loves visual effects, but hates seeing them over used and replacing good storytelling, this was a breath of fresh air.

Chronicle could have been better. My girlfriend said that she wished that she saw Andrew become more evil throughout the movie. I wish I had seen more of their discovery of their abilities and how it affected their daily lives. But of what I did see, Chronicle did a fantastic job of revitalizing more than one genre at the same time. Landis even leaves enough room for a sequel, which I certainly hope we see. For a mid-winter release, I'd say it was a success. And, with an estimated budget of $12 million, and already toping $40 million in less than two weeks, I'd say that the box office agrees.

Underworld: Stagnation

Maybe I'm getting old...

Or maybe my standards for what defines a movie as "good" have changed over the years. Whatever the case, I can't for the life of me understand why Underworld: Awakening (3D) was rated as favorably as it was. When the Underworld series started in 2003, it had something very cool in it's hands. A secret war lasting for centuries between Vampires and Werewolves spills into the human world. Personally, I ate it up. It took a fresh look at subject matter that had been done to death before. There was a society, a caste system, new mythology and structure to devour. The characters were interesting, just human enough to be flawed, but monster enough to make things exciting. Throw in the new Vampire/Werewolf hybrid that looked like the lead singer from Creed, and they were good to go! They had me, hook line and sinker. 
Three movies later, I couldn't care less. 

One is a 'rock' singer. One is a werewolf/vampire hybrid. Can you guess which is which?Underworld: Evolution expanded on the already great Underworld, taking the mythos even deeper after the interesting cliffhanger (that if I remember correctly, didn't really amount to anything). We got to go further into the history of the war, and some major events happen to the characters. The film took what was great about the one prior, and made it better. Unfortunatley, I was still unable to tell the difference between Scott Speedman and Scott Stapp.

The third Underworld movie, Rise of the Lycans proved to me that writer Danny McBride was commited to this story. He further established the story by doing his version of a period piece, moving the setting back into the dark ages to show how the current feud between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves) came to be. An interesting note was that the protagonist of the first to movies, Kate Beckinsale's Selene, wasn't present at all. This said to me that the writer wanted to take the time to add another dimension, and validity to the story we had already seen. This installment also proved that it wasn't necessary to wrap the series in the same clothes it had on in the past two movies to be successful. After The Matrix, a number of gun-toting, leather-clad action movies came out that I felt lacked substance. Rise of the Lycans totally changed the game by taking us out of the comfort zone, adding new perspectives on older characters, and made the world that we were introduced to ever so much more vast. Underworld: Awakening took all that was done to grow that world, and marginalized it.

This was the color palette for the entire movie.When I first saw the trailer for Underworld: Awakening, I was hopeful. The series had been going well so far, and this one was going to open up the war to humans some more. Unfortunately, I found that Awakening took a turn for the worse. Instead of utilizing the deep mythos of the past, and the hierarchical structure that the Vampires had before, it focused on more leather and more shooting, but without any real purpose. In a barely-there introduction that took about 40 seconds to bring new viewers up to speed, one of the main characters is seen for possibly half a minute, and never heard from again. Cut to twelve years later, and our heroine wakes up to a world that she's a stranger to. 

I don't care who these people are.Selene finding her footing in this new world was boring. Humans know about Vampires and Werewolves, and even "have routine checks at points inside the city", yet Selene puts on a coat, and is instantly incognito. No one questions who she is, no checkpoints are seen. She even has a short conversation with a guard, who is none the wiser of her fangy ways. Throughout the story, she meets other vampires who announce their presences pretty much exactly like that. "Hey, it's ok. I'm like you. Check out my flashy blue Vampire eyes". Selene, convinced by Mr Glowey Eyes then go back to his coven only to meet his father, who in a lovely cliche is also the leader of that particular group of Vampires. He of course plays the card, "why did you bring them here, you've doomed us all!" Of course, action ensues as he's proven right. 

I don't care who this is either.If you couldn't already tell, Awakening left me with the impression that rather than raise the bar like they did with the previous three movies, they tried their damndest to hold onto the status quo. They introduce Subject Two. A young girl Vampire/Werewolf hybrid that we're told is Selene's daughter, although there is absolutely no reason to believe so. For some reason, she's important to the plot, but I found myself forgetting about her, waiting for something more intriguing to come along. There's a human detective who plays a minor role who is equally forgettable, no matter how badly the writer tries to shoehorn him into a position of importance. 

Without spoiling any more, I'll say this: At the end, nothing has changed. Nothing was resolved, no greater goal was achieved. There are still Vampires, Werewolves and humans. Selene still goes around shooting stuff, but now she has a little hybrid with her. Nothing was surprising, as the movie followed a very cookie-cutter formula. I was so disappointed with the fact that after such build-up and fleshing out of this world, the writer did so little to use it. I almost wish that this movie was condensed into a few webisodes, and the feature was something more substantial.  

Waste Not | End of Tape #1.

The Canon HV20 - Stock I use a Canon HV20 to film. It's an inexpensive, tape based camcorder (and for the price, I recommend it to anyone exploring film). But the key is that the camera is tape based, which has benefits and concerns. First off, HDV tapes usually hold a little bit more than an hour of footage, and they're not cheap at just under $15 each. As none of my shoots have ever lasted more than an hour (on one tape), there was always bound to be some extra room at the end of the tape. Not wanting to waste the (costly) resource, I made a decision. Whenever I have less than 10 minutes of tape left after a shoot, I'd tape whatever I could and try to cut it together. This serves a couple of purposes. 

1. I'd be able to look at life in a very isolated manner, trying to take any individual scene and make sense of how best to film it.

2. I'd be able to have more practice in how to use my camera.

I recently purchased an HVFF Follow Focus wheel, which allows me to rack focus on the HV20 much more efficiently than before. Wanting to get as much practice with it as possible, I took it our for a spin, and recorded the following. (Music added because I silent is boring in this case.)

I think that a lot of very cool things can come from using the HVFF system. The one drawback is that I need to keep the camera incredibly steady, as any shakiness leads to more issues. The HV20's stock depth of field is pretty short (unless I use an external lens), so I needed to zoom in significantly in order for the DOF to appear correctly. I figure though, that by using a proper shoulder mount would help this in the long run.