A short film I (don't) like

I decided to look through shorts that played at Sidewalkfest in order to find something to write my short-film-related blog post about. Even though we are supposed to write about a film we enjoyed, I just watched one that incensed me to the point of wanting to complain about it to the world. The short is titled "Old Bryce." The subject matter piqued my curiousity because of my involvement with it in my own life. I have visited this old, abandoned mental institution (and been run off by the cops) near the Tuscaloosa airport and have many friends who've done the same. While I was growing up, Old Bryce's proximity to the locations of my everyday life and its legendary status perpetuated by older students turned it into a metaphor for the spirits lurking just outside my perceptions.

This video, however, is self-important, terribly shot garbage. A local band, the Dexateens, who proudly proclaim the video as "The Dexateens present 'Old Bryce'," shamelessly inject themselves into the story of Old Bryce and wind up creating a film that is a childish showcase of their own "coolness" instead of a compelling story of old Bryce. Spoken by the lead singer of the band in a voice that overemphasizes his Southern accent (made obvious by dialogue in other parts of the video), the narration is by far the most interesting part of the video. It is decently written and educational. However, the tidbits expressed in the narration are just about the only things worth watching this video for. The cinematography is absolute crap. The cameraguy constantly uses high gain (which alone would be forgivable due to the late night break by the band that the film revolves around) and shakes the camera erratically. He also doesn't seem to give a damn about framing. There are probably two decent shots in the entire video. The shoddy camerawork does add a mischevious or desperate feeling, but there is no payoff. The band sets up some equipment in the dilapidated, graffiti-covered building and plays some folk songs. After an extended period of a medium shot of the lead singer performing, the cops show up, an event made much less interesting by the nonchalant attitude of the bandmembers, who clearly are expecting the intrusion. After asking for a confrontation with the police, we viewers (barely, because of almost no attention paid to the camera's position) get to see the bandmembers smoke cigarettes and act like tough little punks while they sing to the police officer, who is amused by their behavior. All of this takes place under the guise of a spirit-finding expedition. Their theory is that playing old spirituals will reawaken the spirits of the patients of Old Bryce, who were predominantly African-American. What open-minded young white kids the Dexateens are. Whoop-tee-doo.

After this encounter, a couple of them return to explore the spirits more. We get to watch more not-so-impromptu musical performances, and then the video mimics a ghost hunting TV show by having the narrator explain strange voices and then playing the video they occur in repeatedly. All these voices could easily be someone off camera (or even on camera, because you can see almost nothing). Another strange occurrence is a whistle, which could be from anywhere outside as far as we viewers know (and the Dexateens have in no way established credibility that allows us to believe their claim). In the end, this video serves as a self-designed display of the Dexateens badass opinion of themselves disguised by a false expression of intellectual curiousity and awkward sympathy for Bryce's patients.

If high school had made this video, it would be much more impressive.

I apologize for sounding like such a pretentious jerk. I admit that if I were to attempt a similar video it would not be much better (except for the cinematography, which could use a lot of help). However, this video deserves harsh criticism, because it played at Sidewalkfest. I have no idea how that is possible. There were so many excellent short films at Sidewalkfest; there must have been many more that got turned down. I do not think that "The Dexateens present 'Old Bryce'" deserves to be in a film festival of Sidewalkfest's status. Dexateens, you got lucky (or personally know a Sidewalkfest screener).

The end of the blurb for this video on youtube says, "Things did not go according to plan."
What a crock of shit.

For everyone's pleasure:

DP Reels

Well, I've been looking through some DP reels. I find it very unfortunate that most of the aspects of a good DP reel relate to editing instead of cinematography. The best DP reels I've seen do not necessarily have the best shots. I wish this were not the case; I would like the format to be more streamlined so that a DP's shots are themselves what is being showcased. I would like to see a short title card or something similar before each shot that explains some technical details (camera used, filters, recording medium, lighting setup, and, especially, the intended effect), followed by a complete take or at least enough of it to get the gist. Instead, DP reels are all about scoring, pacing, and visual continuity from shot to shot. These are not traits of a DP that get him/her hired. In fact, I can't imagine that most DPs do their own DP reels, at least not alone. Why would you when you could hire an editor?

I don't want to sound pessimistic or like a jerk, but I really think that the DP reel, at least in the state in which I have been experiencing it, is a weak aspect of filmmaking. Making my own reel has been mostly a lesson in editing. The only cinematographic education involved has been selecting "good shots."

That being said, here are some reels I like:


DP Reel Dan Hertzog - For more of the funniest videos, click here

A moooooving shot

Here is a breakdown of a moving camera shot in Watchmen. It is certainly not the most innovative or intricate shot in the movie, but it's cool nonetheless.

The scene begins with an approach by the bad guy, the short dude named Big Figure, and his cronies. The camera moves backward as they walk forward, all the while conversing with Rorschach, whose dialogue all takes place off camera.



The bad guys then stop to converse with Rorschach from a distance, and the camera stops as well, lingering on a medium shot of Big Figure.



The camera then moves slowly backward as the bad guys walk closer to Rorschach.



Finally, the bad guys stop as they reach the bars of Rorschach's cell.



The camera, however, continues to move backward, eventually revealing Rorschach in his cell.



The camera emphasizes Rorschach's unshakable fearlessness by forcing the viewer to be much more focused on the approaching bad guys than he, not even making eye contact, turns out to be.

Meany Greeny

Green screen! What a canvas.

A successful chroma key shot is all about lighting. It is so very difficult to get a cloth evenly lit, but not doing so will result in artifacts and unevenly faded images later in the post production process. This dude explains it all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6brdwY-dvU

Maybe he is a little dorky and not the best editor, but it's a good tutorial.

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of green screen. Using it really well (a la Star Wars) requires tremendously expensive equipment and an enormous number of man hours. I prefer the look of old movies that have false backgrounds, actually. You know? The films where they record the characters in front of another projected image. It is cheesy, but when is green screen not?

What most green screen movies suffer from is a difference in the lighting of the subject and the lighting of the shot used to replace the green screen. I hate the look of that.

Working with a DP

Well, it is a little late to be writing about what it was like having a DP for Portrait of a Place, but, in the spirit of making up blog posts, I must!

Working with Mclean was a pleasant experience, I'd say. Having a DP made it easier to focus on what to get shots of instead of worrying about how to use the camera. Still, I wound up using the camera myself a good bit, especially when there was something I wanted a shot of that I was worried would not be available for long. An example is the owl we saw and got a zoom reveal of. I am guessing that that happens with many director/DP teams. Even when he wasn't using the camera, Mclean was a valuable source. For example, with the shot I just mentioned, it was Mclean that suggested I do the slow zoom that turned out to be the money shot, until I bumped into the camera of course.

Having a DP is cool. It lets a director be more imaginative. At the very least, it creates a resource for advice and ideas. Two heads are better than one.