RobMakesMovies.com

I just saw this in an update by one of the news sites I frequent, and thought I’d pass it along.

I’m also adding in the trailer that was released at Comic Con. It’s AWESOME! Check it out in HD at Trailer Addict.

- Robert

Since really getting into understanding film through my Cinematography class(we’re shooting a MOS short on 35mm on Saturday), I’ve been growing more and more interested in shooting parts or the entirety of some small projects on 16mm film. Last week we were given the option of taking out a 16mm wind-up camera and a 100′ roll or two of 50D (ISO Film Speed 50 Film balanced to 5500 Kelvin, or Daylight). I didn’t because I wasn’t going to be able to shoot in a group over the weekend(Nicole and I went to Jupiter, FL, to see a friend of hers). Nevertheless, I’ve still become more and more intrigued by the use of film. Something about it just makes all of us feel more legit as filmmakers. Strange, I know, but it does.

So I’ve been out doing research about products and techniques for shooting with a 16mm wind-up camera. A lot of research. After doing this for a while, I’ve settled on a few items:

Krasnogorsk 3 Super 16mm Film Camera w/ M42 Lens Mount – ~$350

Carl Zeiss Jena Primes (M42 Mount):
Zeiss Distagon T/2,8 25mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$825

Zeiss Distagon T/2 35mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$825

Zeiss Planar T/1,4 50mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$550

Pentax Super-Takumar Primes (M42 Mount):
Pentax Super-Takumar f/3,5 24mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$100
Pentax Super-Takumar f/2,0 35mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$100
Pentax Super-Takumar f/1,4 50mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$70
Pentax Super-Takumar f/1,9 85mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$150
Pentax Super-Takumar f/2,5 135mm Manual Focus Lens – ~$80

Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III Analog Incident and Reflected Light Meter – ~$180

Here’s a music video shot with the Krasnogorsk 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-jrm0wvtk0

With these tools and ~10,000 feet of Kodak Vision2 film, I could shoot a feature film. Fear not, I’ll be adding more to this list as I find reasonable additions.

- Robert

Anyone that’s been around me over the past weeks could probably tell you how psyched I am to see Transformers: ROTF in IMAX opening night. I’ve been annoyingly persistent about having my friends buy tickets to got with me, regardless of the fact they’re $17 a pop. I don’t care, it’s going to be fuckin’ SICK!

Anyway, here is the newly released music video for Linkin Park’s “New Divide.” This single is the theme, so to say, of Transformers 2, like “What I’ve Done” was for the first one. Well folks, here’s the video:

I kinda like it, but at the same time, I hate the paint blurring. I want to see the sweet effects, not a series of smudges. The infared I’m okay with for certain parts, but there were far too many uses of it in this video.

What I did, for my own benefit because it flew by so quickly, was to screen-capture the TF2 clips that I found in the music video. I’ve uploaded them below. Sorry for the low res, they came from the MySpace video player. Still capable of seeing what they are though. Enjoy:

So who else is ready for this movie to come out?

- Robert

I’ve been following Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell film as it has gone through the process of finding a studio to fund, getting the production rolling, and getting a distributor. All throughout the process, Tucker would update his blog with words of encouragement to his fans, “This movie is so fucking awesome, I am convinced it’s going to be a hit…” and so on and so forth. Recently he announced the film had picked up a Distributor… Yay. He never really got into who it was, or anything else. As I was perusing Box Office Mojo today, I found out.

Freestyle Releasing, known most recently for spreading more Uwe Boll trash, such as In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, has picked up the distribution rights. Now, the reason this is a bad, is because of the initial release that is currently listed. According to Box Office Mojo, the September 25, 2009, release of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell is set at 450 theaters. Source. What makes this BAD is the fact that Freestyle’s history of films making a decent theatrical gross, especially with films budgeted at $10,000,000(Like Beer In Hell was), isn’t good unless there is a release of 1,600 or more theaters. The films that Freestyle Releasing has that had ~450 theaters on it’s initial release made no more than $4,078,607. That number is Freestyle’s August 2008 release Bottle Shock.

Now does my concern seem validated? Now I don’t have the background details, so Tucker’s blog post stating,

We still haven’t decided precisely how many screens we will open on or in what cities. This has become a very interesting discussion: Do we open relatively small the first weekend and open on 500 screens in the key 50 markets only, which will get massive per screen averages and build buzz for an expansion (like Slumdog Millionaire), or do we immediately open wide with 2000 screens in every market (like most studio movies)?

may be the truth, or might not. He has no reason to lie, unless he knows it would sound bad that the movie based on his bestselling book is in the shitter. He does have a massive tour designed to hit up damn near every major college in the U.S., which is definitely a great way to generate additional buzz, but it still seems strange that the Producers would keep the 450 theater release as an option, if this was “going to be a hit either way…”

Something doesn’t smell right about this. Far too many good things to set this film in motion, only to be halted here. It seems to me like someone either got greedy with their contracts, or made a dumb decision.

I guess we’ll all have to see how this pans out.

-Robert

I have many friends that like different types of films, but the one season where our tastes merge is generally during the summer blockbuster season. This year, even that is different. The summer blockbusters are:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Released May 1st
Star Trek – Released May 8th
Terminator Salvation – To Be Released on May 21st
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – To Be Released on June 24th
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – To Be Released on July 15th
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra – To Be Released on August 7th

Among all of those tentpoles, my greatest desire is to see Transformers in IMAX, on opening night. Most of my friends are more excited to see Terminator, but I have my doubts about it after seeing a very slow cut action sequence. The feeling just seemed very off for an action film, much less a Terminator film. THR already issued a review blasting the film. Other reviews have stated that the action carries the film because the drama is very lacking.

Honestly, if McG fucked up this film. Fans will want to tear him apart worse than Star Wars geeks hate George Lucas for Jar Jar.

- Robert

P.S. Here’s a TV Spot that should show you why I’m so psyched to see Transformers:

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen “It’s On..” from Bay Films/Michael Bay Dot Com on Vimeo.

I was just pointed in the direction of some new renders that popped out of RED a few days ago. These pics show either models or working prototypes(I don’t know because no test footage has been released as of today). All I know is that I’d like the EPIC S35 Pro Cinema camera they release during the summer/fall of this year(supposedly).

Today, well yesterday to be ‘technically’ correct, I had the experience of a lifetime. I shot Super 16mm Film on an Aaton Xtera film camera. Though I plan to do this for years to come, it was so amazing to actually be the one selecting the shot, focusing, and rolling the film through the gate to be exposed at 24 frames per second. Basically, I had my filmmaking cherry popped, and it was an orgasmic experience.

At this point I’d happily switch between shooting film and HD video. I had a feeling this would happen once I shot on it, and it definitely did. As so many people say, “It’s just more organic to shoot on film.” I whole-heartedly agree. If I had the money to do it, I’d buy a 16mm camera tomorrow. The advances in the scanning process have allowed Super 16mm to be transferred over and projected in 35mm projectors with near lossless quality.

From here I definitely want to try and shoot a short on Super 16mm. The biggest “issue” is the one that is the primary reason for going digital: cost. Shooting on film is expensive. Money goes into lab fees for processing and digital transfer for editing, not to mention the cost of actually buying the film. Renting isn’t as much of a cost(especially with student rates available most places), but insurance to get the rental and permit fees can be pricey depending on the subject matter and location.

Filmmaking is a business-based form of art. I’m not blind to that fact at all. I just prefer handling the art side first. I don’t like the idea of being a “suit” except for the creative-control part of being a Producer. I’d happily create debt to be a filmmaker. Hell, that’s what I’m doing going to school(student loans). I haven’t decided if I want to stay another year for a Masters Degree in Entertainment Business, but it has been floating about my brain for the past month or so. I don’t know… we’ll have to see.

- Robert

I came across this sweet website today called Uncrate.com that is loaded up with information on awesome gear, cars, stylish apparel, personal use items, and stuff for the crib. I’ve found a few things that make me drool, and therefore, I want. These will be on my wishlist for a while:

#1. Aston Martin One-77

#2. Knight XV

#3. Leatherman Freestyle

#4. Brunton Helios Stormproof Lighter

#5. Gerber Kick-Axe

74%

The only things that held me up were the fact that I currently, and will most always, live in a fairly large city and I’m willing to try and save someone’s life before leaving them for the undead to feed on.

- Robert

Nuts of the film will probably guess that I’m referring to The Dark Knight, and thus infer specifically, Heath Ledger. I added The Dark Knight to my Netflix Queue because I wanted to rewatch his scenes as research for a fan-film I am trying to write. In doing just that, I discovered a few things:

1. Heath’s portrayal of Joker can be mimicked, but never repeated.
2. Most of the lines sound like they were improv, rather than scripted. (That’s when you know it’s really good acting)
3. The only character that has ever sent as many chills down my spine was Hannibal Lector.

Heath Ledger is our generation’s James Dean. There is no doubt about it. A person with such raw talent, gone, far before his due time. The question that weighs on my mind the most is whether or not he should get a posthumous Oscar. I haven’t seen any other performances that are on par with what Heath did, but I also haven’t frequented the more “arty” films that the Academy usually goes gaga over. The fact that Heath died nearly a year ago is entirely immaterial. I can guarantee anyone that no one, absolutely no one can recreate the dark depths of such a vile criminal the way the Heath Ledger did. The Oscars aren’t about popularity or what genre the acting was a part of, it’s about celebrating the performance and talent of one individual. I think Heath definitely earned his golden statue.

I’m going to finish this off with Christopher Nolan’s tribute of Heath. He wrote this very shortly after his death, and I think it speaks loudly about the kind of actor that Heath Ledger was:

One night, as I’m standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for “The Dark Knight,” a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I’d fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you’d asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn’t know. That’s real charisma—as invisible and natural as gravity. That’s what Heath had.

Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren’t many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them.

One time he and another actor were shooting a complex scene. We had two days to shoot it, and at the end of the first day, they’d really found something and Heath was worried that he might not have it if we stopped. He wanted to carry on and finish. It’s tough to ask the crew to work late when we all know there’s plenty of time to finish the next day. But everyone seemed to understand that Heath had something special and that we had to capture it before it disappeared. Months later, I learned that as Heath left the set that night, he quietly thanked each crew member for working late. Quietly. Not trying to make a point, just grateful for the chance to create that they’d given him.

Those nights on the streets of Chicago were filled with stunts. These can be boring times for an actor, but Heath was fascinated, eagerly accepting our invitation to ride in the camera car as we chased vehicles through movie traffic—not just for the thrill ride, but to be a part of it. Of everything. He’d brought his laptop along in the car, and we had a high-speed screening of two of his works-in-progress: short films he’d made that were exciting and haunting. Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I’ve never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents. That night I made him an offer—knowing he wouldn’t take me up on it—that he should feel free to come by the set when he had a night off so he could see what we were up to.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we’d have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we’d done with all that he’d given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

Back on LaSalle Street, I turn to my assistant director and I tell him to clear the skateboarding kid out of my line of sight when I realize—it’s Heath, woolly hat pulled low over his eyes, here on his night off to take me up on my offer. I can’t help but smile.

– Christopher Nolan – Director, The Dark Knight –