Filmmaking To Make A Difference

When is the last time you watched an "important" film?


Keith, a friend of mine, worked on this documentary short, "Hakani". It spells out, (with disturbing clarity) what still takes place within many of Brazil's indigenous tribes: infanticide.

Hakani is about one of the few fortunate ones. She is a survivor.

In short, hundreds of children each year are buried alive by their families if they are mentally or physically challenged, or even presumed "soulless" or "cursed" by tribe elders or witch-doctors. Unfortunately, only a few of the families rebel against these death sentences.

Amazingly, the Brazilian government remains split over the necessity to include these people among the nation's constitutional bylaws that protect humans from heinous acts like this.

Getting the word out to the rest of the world is what this film is about, and it is certainly part of what will sway the world to pressure human-rights protection in this matter.

Please watch this doc directed by David Cunningham. It is not easy to sit through, but it is "important" enough to warrant your time.

Visit Hakani.org.

Guillermo del Toro to direct 'Hobbit'

The man behind 'Pan's Labyrinth' has just signed with New Line to direct the 'Hobbit'. It's been a long time coming for this project to finally have a captain. As I stated earlier, it's too bad Peter Jackson is committed elsewhere and cannot direct, but at least he's producing, it's being done in New Zealand, and del Toro kinda looks Hobbit-ish like Jackson.

Here is the full Variety article published Friday.

Peter Jackson Officially Attached to the Hobbit!

Anyone who is a "Lord of the Rings" fan has been wishing for this: That Peter Jackson would make up with New line Cinema, and both realize that there is another mountain of money just waiting to pour into their pockets, if they made a film based on LOTR's prequel novel, "The Hobbit".

It's based on hobbit Bilbo Baggins' adventures and the finding of the "one ring". The ring plays a key role, but the true story is about the transformation of Bilbo from comfortable hobbit to gutsy pseudo-outlaw.

Here are some excerpts from the press release:
* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”

Click on this map for a larger view:
You can read about it in full at "The Hobbit Blog".

Hitchcock's Filmmaking Notes

I ran across this site on Kottke.org that discusses Alfred Hitchcock's filmmaking techniques. This is a very interesting read.

Hitchcock was an innovator, but he was also a storytelling purist. He was careful not to abandon the cornerstones of good storytelling in order to show us a new camera trick, etc. His motto: keep the story simple.

iPhone Shuffle

A filmmaker friend of mine, Jason Connell (who also did "Strictly Background") made this short film spoof. Have fun!

High Profile Parking

The building I work at on a regular basis on the WB main lot has had a few powerful visitors recently. For some reason, my parking space is non-existent when they're there. Hmmmm...

"Strictly Background" Premieres

Strictly Background, Jason Connell's great feature documentary that I worked on in the fall is finally premiering at three film festivals this and next month.

Strictly Background is a heartfelt feature length documentary that explores the charm and determination behind some of Hollywood's hardest working actors, professional "extras." Following ten background actors, the film examines life on and off set as they attempt to make a living as a face in a crowd. Strictly Background is the true story of the struggle to stand out.

Go to the site and click on "screenings" to see the three festivals currently slated, and check out the trailer too. (You can also go to the "filmmakers" page for interesting bios of the crew - you might recognize the sound dude.) If you're in the LA area, be sure to make it to one of these festivals.

This is a link to a previous post concerning backgrounds in the movies, relating to both sound fx and people.

Strictly Background on IMDb.

Larry Blake's Film Sound Glossary

If you've ever been stumped by the terminology of those geeky sound dudes, here's your chance to get even. Filmsound guru Larry Blake has compiled this "handy-dandy" film sound glossary to catch you up with them, and you may even find a few terms they don't know.

It's called What's a Binky?.

Study hard!

Tales From the WB Lot

Working on the Warner Bros. Lot is fun, for no other reason than it's cool to be around soundstages and sets. My normal WB audio suite is across the Valley in the WB Animation building. About once a week, sometimes more, my duties take me to the Lot, but it's infrequent enough that I still think it's a treat when I drive on.

Every once in a while, you see someone famous walking between stages, etc, but for me it happens so rarely, I'm never able to prepare to be looking as cool as possible.

Today I had a session set up to layback audio for a handful of Looney Tunes shorts to new D5 masters. This is the last step I take in restoring the soundtracks for the DVD volumes. Once they're on the D5, the DVD authors take it from there.

I got a call from scheduling just before the session, asking if it's okay with me that they reschedule because a director had an emergency fix to make to a reel in his movie, and they would need the same room and operator I use. I jokingly said

"yeah, it's okay, but no one below the level of Steven Soderbergh."

The woman in scheduling said she didn't know who it was going to be. (I picked his name out of the air because I had recently seen his name on one of the same parking-place signs they put my name on when I come.)

Later on, Rick, who works on the picture side of the Looney Tunes restorations told me that it was Al Pacino that took my slot.

Pacino?

Okay, he qualifies.

So, does this mean that on Monday when I sit in the same chair I have always sat in, will now have the essence of Mr. Corleone? I'm feeling tougher already.

I wonder if he took my parking space too...

Amateur

I saw this on a couple other blogs I read, and man this guy is awesome! He claims to not be able to play, but he is a composer just the same. Check out these editing chops!



Now that's a nice mixture of my two passions: drums and editing.

Go Speed Racer, GO!

I know this news is ‘sooo 10 days ago’, but I learned today that Larry and Andy Wachowski (writers and directors of “The Matrix” trilogy) are writing and will direct a live-action version of "Speed Racer".

Here’s an excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter article:

After years of idling, the big-screen, live-action version of "Speed Racer" is ready to zoom, this time with Larry and Andy Wachowski behind the wheel.

The Wachowski brothers are writing and will direct the movie, which will be produced by Joel Silver. "They are approaching these racing scenes in a way you've never seen before," said Silver. Silver also said that "Speed" would be family-friendly.

The plan is for the Wachowski’s to shoot in summer 2007 for a summer 2008 release.

I have been waiting for years for someone to get it together and make this film. “Speed Racer” was one of my favorite shows as a kid, so my level of anticipation is very high, and knowing what the Wachowski brothers are capable of, I also have a high-level expectation for quality .

I'm really looking forward to seeing who is becomes attached to play Speed and Racer X (Speed's estranged brother - don't tell anyone). More good news is that John Gaeta, responsible for the ground-breaking special FX in "The Matrix", is on-board as well.

It’ll feel like a long wait for this to come out, but I remember first hearing about the "Lord of the Rings" movies going into production. That felt like an eternity too, but now those films are already sitting on my shelf.

I guess I’ll have to figure out something to pass the time. Maybe I could modify my car to have a "Mach 5" steering wheel. My favorite button is "A". That's the one that deploys the 'jacks' that Sparky uses to work on the car, but Speed uses it to jump over just about anything in his path. "C" is a good one too. That one deploys the forward rotary-saws for heavily wooded terrain. I would use it to get through LA traffic faster.


Or, maybe I could modify my whole car into a working "Mach 5" replica. Honestly, who DOESN"T want one of these.



Summer 2008? I should be ready by then.

Go here for in-depth information and history of “Speed Racer”.

The Films of Mitchell Rose

Here is a website full of hilarious short films. I met this man at a Final Cut users group meeting last night. Go to Mitchell's site and see his stuff.

Make sure you see at the very least, "Case Studies from the Groat Center for Sleep Disorders" and "Learn To Speak Body: Tape 5". Though all of his stuff is great.

Have fun!

Western Mania, and Some Other Things to Talk About

What I'm watching right now:



I've always liked westerns, but I'm becoming a western junkie. I've been lapping up all the John Ford/John Wayne classics lately. Chana bought the collection for me for Father's Day. I had picked up "The Magnificent Seven", a John Sturges film, a few months ago, and that kicked off my renewed craze.

Watching these Ford films is teaching me that there has still been no equal to Wayne. (Clint Eastwood and Sam Elliott are great runners-up, but still no Duke)


Steve McQueen is one of the stars of "The Magnificent Seven", and I thought I'd check out some of his other acclaimed work. "Bullitt" has become a favorite. It is the film with the famous car chase through San Francisco.

Chana and I watched the car chase again last night, and I marveled how the scene was riveting through and through, and not ONE special effect was used. Just juicy car footage and gutsy editing.

Another fun part of "Bullitt" is that the style is very reminiscent of Soderbergh's "Ocean's 11". (haven't seen "12") The music, the graphic opening title stylings and a few other factors of "Bullitt" reminded me so much of "Ocean's 11". It made me wonder if Soderbergh studied "Bullitt" and other films of that era to capture the feel of them for his film.


What I'm doing right now:

Final Cut Studio


plus

My new Mac Book Pro 17" (more on this beauty later)



Time off from Warner Bros means I'm trying to use my time wisely and hone some picture editing skills. It's been a treat to actually have some time to invest in cutting picture. I'm actually doing a few projects right now (for pay even!). I've always wanted to cut picture on a regular basis. Well, at the moment I'm definitely getting my chance to focus on it totally.

Plastic Man

I just finished doing sound design on a pilot for WB Animation called Plastic Man. The original Plastic Man was created by Jack Cole, and is owned by DC Comics.

This version of Plastic Man has been in development at WB for a few years, and the word is that it's most likely about to see daylight. (keeping our fingers crossed for a real commitment from the network)

The 10 minute segment was directed, produced and co-written by Andy Suriano. He's got serious artistic chops, plus the perfect wit for modern cartoons. I worked with him on another "pitch" a few years back, and this time was another great experience. We seem to think alike when it comes to sound effects.

Andy has been an artist and designer for such shows as Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Powerpuff Girls and The Fairly Oddparents. The whole team for this short was really good and there seemed to be good chemistry.





Tom Kenny, the man who voices Spongebob Squarepants, is also a producer and co-writer on this project. He also lends the voice for our hero, Plastic Man. I've met Tom before, but never had the chance to work with him this closely. He's a lot of fun (big stretch, huh) to work with, and he's got a great sensibility for sound.

We mixed it last Friday, and I'm pretty sure that I set a new personal record for the amount of SFX contained in 10 minutes. This thing is thick! The SFX were wall to wall; the music was wall to wall. Luckily, the dialogue still cuts through!

A highlight for the family: At the end of the mix, Tom agreed to leave a message as Spongebob on my home phone recorder for the kids. They flipped out hearing Spongebob say each of their names, and he told them to have a "Sponge-o-riffic Square-tastic Memorial Day!"

Hoodwinked DVD Comes Out May 2nd

On Tuesday, May 2nd, one of the most clever animated films ever made will come out in the stores.

I might be a bit biased, because this is a movie I'm so proud to say I worked on from the beginning to the end of the process, and it was a GREAT journey. It's also the largest production I've been a part of, and my first feature. There will be a commentary by the directors: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech, plus outtakes, and many extras. (please get the widescreen version so you can see the whole thing!)

I started out editing the whole soundtrack in the beginning, but when the production of Hoodwinked grew (as did the budget), Blue Yonder Films decided to take the movie to Skywalker Sound in Marin County for the complete sound package.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to stay with the picture, so I moved up north for about four months to continue as one of the sound designers as well as to wear a few other hats. I also cut the dialogue (twice, but that's a long story of many new voices joining the picture last minute), and I cut the Foley (you can learn about what 'The Art of Foley' is in another blog entry I made the other day).

One other thing that happened was that I made a great friend in Tom Myers from Skywalker Sound. He is a fantastic sound designer and re-recording mixer with many huge movies under his belt, including Star Wars Ep III, Monsters Inc, Toy Story I & II, and many more. Needless to say, I learned a lot from him as well as from some of the other great guys around the ranch.

I'll not soon forget the experience I had at Skywalker Ranch, and I hope to be back some day soon. My family LOVED visiting when they could. McKenna (our 8 yr old) actually learned to ride a 2-wheeler there a couple of years ago!

RSTC

Reserve Spy Training Corps

On my off-hours (ha-ha), I've been working on this "indie" film by a friend in OK City named Jon Baker. He's been putting this together for a couple of years now, and considering he has made it for almost ZERO dollars, it's quite an achievement. We should wrap up sound post production in June. It will go direct to DVD shortly after. Be on the lookout for it.
Go check out the trailer on his site, you'll like it. It's a fun kid-spy-movie-with-a-message.

Click here:
RSTC-Movie