I bought The Departed on DVD today :D I'd been meaning to go to JB Hifi for ages, I've had $70 worth of vouchers sitting around since my birthday (read: SEPTEMBER last year), so figured this little venture was long overdue.
But perhaps even more exciting than adding another of my favourite titles to the swag was the bonus CD to come with it - Scorsese on Scorsese. The man on the man! I'm so excited I'm practically wetting myself. This is definitely being fast-tracked to the top of the must-see pile before the group gets on location and starts to film.
The man is more than an inspiration. He is a divine entity unto himself.
Showing posts with label cinema love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cinema love. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
contextualising my appreciation...
Just a random thought I had...
I remember being asked in Week 1, what my favourite film was. I answered, in earnest, The Prestige.
It's hard for me because a favourite film, to me, just classes as the one that has most recently inspired or evoked some kind of affirmation in you that the path your headed down is absolutely the right one.
Basically, when I watch a film, what I'm really looking for (above all else) is a sense of conviction. I need that to be sure of what I'm doing.
While it does have many complex layers, what really made the film for me was structuring of time and cause and effect. Without these two things, a film cannot truly succeed as a film... it becomes linear, boring, obtuse.
The world needs more directors like Christopher Nolan.
And for now I need sleep...
I remember being asked in Week 1, what my favourite film was. I answered, in earnest, The Prestige.
It's hard for me because a favourite film, to me, just classes as the one that has most recently inspired or evoked some kind of affirmation in you that the path your headed down is absolutely the right one.
Basically, when I watch a film, what I'm really looking for (above all else) is a sense of conviction. I need that to be sure of what I'm doing.
While it does have many complex layers, what really made the film for me was structuring of time and cause and effect. Without these two things, a film cannot truly succeed as a film... it becomes linear, boring, obtuse.
The world needs more directors like Christopher Nolan.
And for now I need sleep...
Thursday, April 5, 2007
'...it gets to a point where it's very ego-centered'
That's a direct quote from Scorsese in the first of this week's readings.
He's talking in relation to longer takes, and how some of the directing greats utilised them to their advantage. I guess he's right - this sort of profession has a certain kind of ego-magnestism to it - especially when so very many of us are at the mercy of our idols. I'm thinking, though, that in order to be honest in the way you make films, you need to be able to trust your own instincts. You have to be open to compromising some of your initial preconceptions.
'Even if there was a certain look on his face, I'd rather cut into that shot for (it)'.
So much of what happens on set is not pre-meditated, and some of it's not necessarily bad. For example, when an actor improvises a certain phrase or line, or gives a word a different inflection... it can change the emotional tone of an entire scene, and thus affect the framing, filming and overall mood. I like to think that while you can never really plan enough, and that all forms of pre-production are 100% necessary, you're not 100% required to stick to your shot lists on the day of the shoot. You can't really afford to set things in stone when so much of what you do is causal.. and we know how unpredictable (and at times, unreliable) people can be.
Scorsese also suggests that creativity and creative interest goes beyond the realm of 'talent' and becomes more a matter of instinct:
'Where I set the camera is just something I feel'.
And we feel it, too.
He's talking in relation to longer takes, and how some of the directing greats utilised them to their advantage. I guess he's right - this sort of profession has a certain kind of ego-magnestism to it - especially when so very many of us are at the mercy of our idols. I'm thinking, though, that in order to be honest in the way you make films, you need to be able to trust your own instincts. You have to be open to compromising some of your initial preconceptions.
'Even if there was a certain look on his face, I'd rather cut into that shot for (it)'.
So much of what happens on set is not pre-meditated, and some of it's not necessarily bad. For example, when an actor improvises a certain phrase or line, or gives a word a different inflection... it can change the emotional tone of an entire scene, and thus affect the framing, filming and overall mood. I like to think that while you can never really plan enough, and that all forms of pre-production are 100% necessary, you're not 100% required to stick to your shot lists on the day of the shoot. You can't really afford to set things in stone when so much of what you do is causal.. and we know how unpredictable (and at times, unreliable) people can be.
Scorsese also suggests that creativity and creative interest goes beyond the realm of 'talent' and becomes more a matter of instinct:
'Where I set the camera is just something I feel'.
And we feel it, too.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
coming out, not copping out
I imagine the feeling I get when admitting out loud that I want to work in film is somewhat similar to coming out of the closet.
I hear that it's not uncommon for gay people to tell friends and family that they're 'bi' first, to ease them into the idea. Which is kind of what I've done in the past, except 'media rep' has always masked my true desire to become a filmmaker.
Well, I'm over it. I'm in my third year of my degree now and I've basically thrown caution to the wind, finally allowing the eternal filmgeek within me to surface without feeling an inexplicable need to silence it.
I guess it's more of an insecurity issue than anything else. The moment you define your destiny - everything changes... And the sheer, fickle competitiveness of the industry, especially within Australia, is enough to shoot down anyone's meagre hopes of big screen success. However, it has been pointed out to me that that alone is not a sufficient reason to abandon my life dreams altogether, and 'copping out' at this point would be perfectly inexcusable on those grounds.
So. 'Ere I am. Enrolled in TV1 and utterly, utterly in love with the content and everything to do with it. This blog is going to be pretty discursive - and, at times I expect, self-deprecating. I really want to make the most out of this course though. I mean, it's pretty much gonna suck if I fail...!
I hear that it's not uncommon for gay people to tell friends and family that they're 'bi' first, to ease them into the idea. Which is kind of what I've done in the past, except 'media rep' has always masked my true desire to become a filmmaker.
Well, I'm over it. I'm in my third year of my degree now and I've basically thrown caution to the wind, finally allowing the eternal filmgeek within me to surface without feeling an inexplicable need to silence it.
I guess it's more of an insecurity issue than anything else. The moment you define your destiny - everything changes... And the sheer, fickle competitiveness of the industry, especially within Australia, is enough to shoot down anyone's meagre hopes of big screen success. However, it has been pointed out to me that that alone is not a sufficient reason to abandon my life dreams altogether, and 'copping out' at this point would be perfectly inexcusable on those grounds.
So. 'Ere I am. Enrolled in TV1 and utterly, utterly in love with the content and everything to do with it. This blog is going to be pretty discursive - and, at times I expect, self-deprecating. I really want to make the most out of this course though. I mean, it's pretty much gonna suck if I fail...!
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