Different Strokes - Fred and Marley

Today Fred Rubin who wrote and produced such iconic TV shows as "Night Court", "Different Strokes", "Archie Bunker's Place", "Mama's Family," "Step by Step" and "Family Matters" visited DeAnza and lectured us about writing the sitcom spec script and writing jokes. He was really really good and shared with us the methodology he has been using to generate new ideas.

We where also joined by Fred's wife Marley who produced for the Emmy winning show "Home Improvement" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" for a podcase which is available on iTunes U (tune to Hollywood North).

They both discussed on breaking into the business, how TV show gets made from writer's room to studio floor, and the future of television, etc

On the whole it was a great night - good choice Barack (Goldman) on bringing Fred and Marley.

Beaten -a short

Checkout this short: http://vimeo.com/5350719

Awesome iPhone applications

Again I am amazed by what WebDesigner Dept has published.
Check out:
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/04/40-awesome-iphone-application-websites/
I really love the ones they have picked - hope you do too.

Painting with Light

Have you ever wondered why certain movies carry that ominous, eerie feeling right off the bat? Why was Children of Men so dull and depressing? What about Matrix? Confessions of a Dangerous Mind? It is the lighting. I had not paid close attention on the deliberate lighting decisions and the kind of mood that it can set until now. Will update as I learn more on this.

In the meanwhile if you are interested read these books:

• Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell
• Painting With Light by John Alton
• Motion Picture and Video Lighting by Blain Brown
• Set Lighting Technician’s Handbook by Harry Box

There is bunch of more recommended books at Bill Zarchy's Web site.

A Few Good Movies

One of my friend asked if there are any movies that I would recommend him to watch, and hence this post...

• Paycheck (2003)
• Gloria (1980) - You can find John Cassavetes' stamps everywhere. Almost all scenes are filled with some kind of uneasiness or conflict - whether acute or mild. These kept me glued to the couch.
• John Carter (2012)
• The Fountainhead
• Aeon Flux (2005)
• King Kong - Peter Jackson's wonderful creation.
• Shooter - Good pace all through.
• The Birthday Girl - The script and screen play closely matched the footprint of a good Hollywood style movie.
• Grosse Pointe Blank - The screen play exactly matched the definition of a good screen play (as taught at my film school).
• Short Circuit - Somehow the director (John Badham) had succeeded in creating in us an emotional attachment with "Number 5".
• Stakeout (1987) another one by John Badham; very well done. 
• The Holcroft Covenant - Typical Ludum - came through quite okay.
• The Bourne Series - The pace, action, editing and of course the story.
• Matrix (all of them) - Wonderful concept; as a computer engineer I totally admire it and relate to an OS. Cool editing, FX, action.
• Star Wars (the original one) - Some how it transported me to a magical era.
• I, Robot
• Clear and Present Danger
• The Fugitive
• Indiana Johnes - series
• Unforgiven
• For a few dollars more
• A Fistfull of Dollars
• Pale Rider
• Dirty Harry - You must have guessed - yeah I like Clint Eastwood :)
• Gentlemen's agreement
• To Kill a Mocking Bird
• The Good, the bad and the ugly
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) - My all time favourite novel - kudos to Alexandre Dumas. I guess, probably that's why I like this. Or probably the ending.
• Cool Runnings - Hilarious. Nice screen play (again following the blue print of a perfect Hollywood movie).
• 6th Sense - I simply loved it. Very nice screen play or was it the way it was presented...?
• Where Eagles Dare
• Guns of Navarone
• Runaway Jury - Very nice; what a controversial subject for a movie - and what an ending.
• Flash of Genius - Very nice screenplay for a movie - and again a good ending.
• Ivanhoe (1952) - Neatly done. I liked the way Walter Scott had crafted Bois-Guilbert and how it came out on the screen. You know he is the bad one, but can feel bad for him on his love for Rebbecca!
• High Heels and Low Lifes - the script adheres to the formula. Good.
• Casino Royale (2006) - Good editing.
• King Solomon's Mines (2004)
• Hostage (2005) - Good script. Like the "love triangle" there is a"need/want triangle" in the story - wasn't expecting that.
• Terminator Salvation (2009) - How do they get this look? There was this another movie that spoted similar dark look - Death Race (2008) - though didnt like Death Race the looks was good.
• The Russia House (1990) - Very nice camera work.
• Push (2009) - Taught; kept me watching till the end.
• U.S. Marshals (1998) - Fast paced and good!
• Metro (1997) - Prety good; nice script and good direction. Wonder why it didnt make money at the box office..!
• The Driver (1978) - I liked the direction and editing.
• Eragon - I liked the screen play a lot - it was very familiar to Star Wars - the original one. I was further astonished to learn that the author of the story Christopher Paolini was born in 1983!
• Walking Tall (2004)
• Dejavu - Nice script/story
• The Scropion King
• Robocop - liked the script
• Home Alone2 - made me laugh like hell
• The Musketeer (2001) - quite a good screenplay
• The Karate Kid (2010)
• Jack Reacher (2012) - need the bad guy's motive to be a bit more compelling. 
• Happy accidents
• Trams-Siberian 
• Oblivion (2013)
• Kick Ass (2010) - How did I miss this?
• Allied (2016) - Very nice. The performance of the heroine was too good.
• Two days in the valley - too many loose ends. But stil it was watchable. 
• Probably not in the above set; but still some elements were good:

• Klute (Not a strong story - but very good direction)
• Blind Horizon (2003) - Nice direction and editing.
• Hidalgo - Could feel myself rooting for Hidalgo! I wonder how they succeeded in making that horse limp on its right-front..? It was a pleasant surprise to find that Robert Dalva was the editor. He had come to my film school and spoken about Black Stallion(s), Jurassic Park III etc.
• The Da Vinci Code - Why here? I really really liked it all through - but probably something - I dont know what... didnt quite make it.
• Nadine - Reasonably good script. Probably the stakes should have been a bit higher.
• Munich - Why here? Somehow... something... probably the script didn't quite make it.
• Million Dollar Baby - Don't curse! I put it here because it is so sad. But for this, the movie is too good.
• Live Free or Die Hard - Quite good overall - I need a bit more of a twist in the script. Another reason why this movie is here...is... ta..td... Go De Anza (Len Wiseman graduated from here)!!
• Keeping Mum
• The Illusionist - I liked it a lot. I feel like putting this in the top buckett; but it is here only because I would like to have the character of Crown Prince Leopold a bit more strong, more evil so as to justify being tricked.
• Elektra (2002) - Good camera work and special effects.
• CQ - I really thought that is was a movie released in 1969.
• The Client (1994) - The was almost perfect - I would want some more conflict as to the ending; right from the start I was sure that the kid is gona make it throughout.
• The Italian Job (2003) - Neat. Good start. Few blotches of less than perfect direction - for example Donald Sutherland merely says that he loves Mark Wahlberg but it is not shown in actions. This is one of the gotcha's my Screen writing proff used to talk about so often!
• Romancing the Stone - To me this movie had a great script but was directed to be on the mild side - the director's choice on the look and feel and over-all impression dampened the movie's overall impact.
• The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) - Quite taut.
• Sahara (2005) - Very nice movie; I would have put in the top bucked but for the climax. Somehow if felt a bit dragging at climax - seemed like the script writer struggled to tie all loose ends and also to bring to an end with a bang. The stunts were too good.
• Undercover Blues (1993) - very nice.
• Shoot'em Up - Stylistic; I liked the characterization.
• Phantom (1998) - Just took me back to my childhood days! Liked it a lot - nice 1930's feel.
• Devil's Own - Good conflict.
• A History of Violence (2005) - Neat story line. 
• Tooth Fairy (2010) - I could see the script adhere to all the beats. If you are an aspiring screenwriter then learn from this.
• The Island
• Green Lantern
• Contraband (2011) - good twists; but hero gets a lot especially the adventure in Panama and the painting
• Trouble with the curve (2012) 
• The Adjustment Bureau (2011) - Philip Dick is cool! The visualizations are nice but somehow I felt that the ending lacked some punch.
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - probably one of the earliest movies about after life and fighting your way back (which has been done so many times in Tamil). Loved the logic Michael Powell had nicely intertwined.
• The Longest Yard (1974) - Very nice! Was not expecting this to be so good.
• Jericho (2000) - Liked the twist/mystery. But movie was a bit dragging in the middle however this gave it a feel of late 60's movie.
• The Tourist
• Stand Off (2011) - the comedy was good
• Masterminds (2016) - watchable
• Carlito's Way (1993) - why has this not been made into a Tamil movie yet? Very nicely made. Characters and motives are well formed.

Movies that I want to see

• Experiment in Terror - I saw few clippings when some elements were taught at school. Seemed to have been crafted by a good director (Blake Edwards).
• Primer (2004)
• Stalker by Tarkovsky 
• Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972)
• Prisoners

Elements of a Good Movie

How to shoot a movie so it engages the audience?
There a re a few tricks, apart from having a good theme, script and actors, you need to know which scenes to shoot how. As a director when you read the script you will be able to identify scenes that need to be shot in a particular way to engage the audience.

Any movie will have the following three kinds of shots:

• Voyeuristic: In these kinds the director will try to convey the grandeur by use of elaborate sets and also will try to convey the experience of the character - say in The Last Emperor, the opening sequence where the little boy is made to sit on the throne, who jumps up and flaps his arms when he sees a cloth flapping in the wind (and who then walks through soldiers).
• Vicarious: The second kind is to make the audience feel the character's emotional turmoil. This involves using POVs heavily. Care is taken to show that character thinks, weighs options and makes decision.
• Visceral: The third kind is to put the audience right in the middle of the action. If this happens to be an action sequence as in Saving Private Ryan, then the geography of the location is established and number of characters participating with their position is established, then the audience is put right in the middle of the action by taking care to even direct the sand and gravel! This does not involve POVs but action punctuated by suspense and suspense punctuated by action.

On the whole, any movie theme should be packaged like a chase so the audience is left engaged.

Movie is a Character's (protagonist) journey (plot) towards a Goal which the character desperately wants against all odds (antagonist).

Make sure to have a singular protagonist, antagonist and a singular goal to make the movie effective.

Editing Exercise

Recently I edited a bunch of sample video footage from the Highlander serial. You can see the final result at YouTube 

The emphasis was on editing action sequence and building tension. One thing I should have done is to introduce camera shake which would have made the final output much much better. Probably next time! May be I should have shortened the quickening at the end and also should have shortened the post-quickening scene.