Hand-held Beauty

I've been thinking about making a movie for the past couple weeks and last night I finally got the chance thanks to some big help from some friends and my brother. They had to think I was crazy, but they helped out a lot.

Lately, I have become obsessed with hand-held camera movement. I just love the chaos from using a hand-held. It is amazing how camera movement can make the situation that much more intense.

The hand-held camera does not have to increase intensity as it can be used to showcase the lifestyle of a another culture of a different culture. I write this about my new found love: Mexican filmmaking. Directors like Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro.

These guys can create amazing worlds through the use of the hand-held camera. It really is beautiful how they can create these lifestyles. I cite Cuaron's "Children of Men" (such a great movie) and "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (despite the subject material, Cuaron's Mexico is delicious), del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" and Inarritu's "Amores Perros."

These guys really know how to make movies. I had been wanting to test out my own use of the hand-held camera, so I came up with a quick, lame plot just to test out different methods. I also love nighttime in an empty downtown, so I decided to shoot the movie in an empty downtown at night.

The car shots in the movie are great, but I got into some trouble when I sent my characters down an alley. I knew I would have some trouble with the lighting, but my goodness, I didn't expect the lighting to be that bad.

I was shooting with a crap, Wal-mart camera that refuses to pick up night time shots. So my run down the alley is really dark. I was kinda disappointed in this, but we'll see how it turns out when we edit it.

We also have a major sound problem that I can't seem to figure out at the moment. Luckily, there isn't much sound to be used in the movie other than screams and hits.

My hand-held work is decent, but I think at times I was too aggressive. My problem was I shook the camera and ran with it, so I had double the shake. If I had just let it flow naturally and tried to maintain a steady balance while I ran, it would have been better and not as drastic.

There is definitely an art to this form of cinematography and I commend anyone who has mastered it. Each movement is planned to a T and they really know what they are doing. Their presentation is so beautiful, whereas mine is sub par.

I need a lot of practice.

The Truman Show

I popped in "The Truman Show" the other evening as it's one of my all time favorites and I was definitely not disappointed.

There is so much about this movie that I absolutely love. It really is one of the better movies of the past 10 years. This is really Jim Carrey's breakthrough role to another level previously unseen.

The movie focuses on the life of Truman Burbank (Carrey) and his day to day rituals. All of America tunes in to watch Truman live his life, but the jokes on him for he has no idea he is in a false world.

The producers of "The Truman Show" built the largest set ever constructed for TV to house the world of Sea Haven and Truman Burbank. Truman lives his entire life in this falsified existence with no hint of contact from the outside world.

Eventually, Truman sees several signs that something is not quite right in his world. When he cannot escape the town, he knows he must find a way to discover the truth. He winds up facing his fears and attacking the high seas to find his answers.

This movie presents a true tragedy of a man that is lied to his entire life. He finds the means for escape to find the true reality that we live in.

It poses many questions about how we live our reality. "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." This is so true. It makes you wonder if we live in the real reality or one fabricated for other's viewing pleasure. How do we know what is real? Who do we look to for guidance? Great questions from a great movie.

This is truly my favorite subject material and a fantastic presentation in this medium. Carrey is so great in the end and makes it work so well. Find it, love it, live it...

Diving in Head First

Ok, so after much deliberation (and mainly procrastination) I have decided to try out this blog thing to "get the creative juices flowing" as they say. Regardless of whether or not anyone reads this, I feel it will be a good exercise for transcribing my thoughts into the world outside. Hopefully, this endeavor will increase my writing skills as well.

So, I thought to get my first post started, I would talk about that which I love most, and that is definitely movies.

I won a 52" plasma HDTV last week and I have been watching movies ever since. Lately, we popped in blockbuster action flicks such as Live Free or Die Hard, Mission Impossible 3, I, Robot, and Armageddon. And let me tell you, the picture is scrumptuous. I love it. The sucky thing, however, is that regular cable is weak unless you get a HD box. So, I might have to get a new deal with the cable man.

Anyway, I just finished Mystic River, the captivating story brought to the big screen by none other than Clint Eastwood. The 2003 movie is an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's 2001 novel of the same name. After seeing the movie, I feel I should read the book. The movie is about three childhood friends that are brought back together in the wake of a tragedy. The characters had grown apart at a young age because one of the boys was sexually abducted by some local freak in the Boston area.

They grow apart and we fast forward to the characters as grown men with families and careers. Jimmy Markum's (Sean Penn) world is rocked when his daughter is brutally murdered on the way home one night. Jimmy's childhood buddy, Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), is now a homicide detective and is called to the crime scene to investigate the murder. Accompanied by his partner, Sgt. Whitey Powers (Lawrence Fishburne), Sean's investigation leads right into the lap of his abducted childhood friend, Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins).

Dave quickly turns into the prime suspect through mysterious evidence that clearly links him to the crime. Sean must quickly find the murderer before ex-convict Jimmy takes matters into his own hands.

When it boils down, each character must solve his own problems and wash their sins clean in the Mystic River. The theme of the movie is responsibility and overcoming life's curveballs. Sean learns that it is his move to apologize to win his wife back. Jimmy must learn to let go and understand that he must take care of his other two daughters and wife. Dave has to come to grips with his childhood encounter and somehow put it behind him.

Clint Eastwood is a terrific storyteller and his acclaimed direction starts with Mystic River. It is truly amazing how well Eastwood tells stories. He has become one of the most dependable directors in Hollywood today with his ability to consistently tell exquisite stories and it doesn't hurt that he nabs one of the best casts in modern cinema that includes Penn, Robbins, Bacon, Fishburne, Laura Linney, and Marcia Gay Harden

Time-tested Tim Robbins and Sean Penn both grab Oscars for this movie and they are well-deserving indeed. Tim Robbins is spectacular as the troubled and warped father and husband. Sean Penn is good, but not great. I was surprised he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He was going up a pretty lame set of nominees in 2003, so that ensured him the victory.

Again, this movie is so terrific because Eastwood is a sheer genious. In addition to direction, Eastwood lends his hand as the music superviser and performer. The shots in this movie are beautiful and the music takes it to another level. Daytime Boston looks gorgeous. Love Eastwood and watch this movie.

Eastwood may kill you...Punk!