7.31.2012

La Jetee - Chris Marker



Jeremy Smith at AintItCool:


Chris Marker has passed away at the age of ninety-one. He was a phenomenally versatile artist - poet, novelist, critic, photographer - but it was his pioneering of the film essay that made him a legend. And while several of his features are championed as masterpieces of the form (if not utterly transformative, as in the case of the dizzyingly brilliant SANS SOLEIL), it is his 1962 short film, "La Jetee", for which he will be best remembered.

And it's not because it's the inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 12 MONKEYS. It's because "La Jetee" is the greatest short film ever made. If you've never seen it, by all means do that now. And if you've seen it before, it's like re-reading James Joyce's "The Dead": perfection never gets old.

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7.29.2012

Neil DeGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming

#PennyForNASA

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Neil DeGrasse Tyson - What We Are

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7.16.2012

Books in 2012

Time To Murder And Create
Making Movies
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
In The Midst of Death
A Purple Place for Dying
Savages
The Dawn Patrol
So You Want To Be A Producer 
The Outfit
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Moviemakers' Master Class
The Great Gatsby




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7.13.2012

The Champions League

Like an awesome surf film for DJ's.


The Champions League from Jonathan Isaac Jackson on Vimeo.

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The Price of Flowers

Great short film from Ashley Charbonnet.


The Price of Flowers from indiefilmnola on Vimeo.

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7.12.2012

Modern Romance by Foster/Bear

7.11.2012

Hotcakes

NOLA shot short film Hotcakes:


HOTCAKES from Jo Custer on Vimeo.

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Random thoughts on working on indie and short films

- Film crew: working on indies and shorts is important. It allows for more responsibility and sets up a real film community.

- Indies and shorts may not pay as much as a studio show, but they will lead to you having the experience to make more money on studio shows.

- Indie and short films allow us, film crew, to really be a part of a show rather than a small cog in a very large production. These shows allow us to really help get a film made which should be why we got into this business.

- I still keep in contact with producers from the first show I worked on in New Orleans, a very low budget indie called Labou. And that is one of the great things about indie and short films: you get to know everyone and have real relationships.

- We need a real film community in New Orleans. A film community made up of creators and crew. Studio shows can always pack up and go somewhere else. But if we have a real film community, then we have a core dedicated to making shows and creating shows that will be here creating work and shows after the studios have left. Indie and short films allow this community to be created.

- It is important for Louisiana to be a destination for indie films just as much as it is for studio shows. Having crews willing to work on indie films makes us this destination.

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7.10.2012

Books in 2012

Time To Murder And Create
Making Movies
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
In The Midst of Death
A Purple Place for Dying
Savages
The Dawn Patrol
So You Want To Be A Producer 
The Outfit
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Moviemakers' Master Class



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Graphic Panels Podcast: The Hunter

Graphic Panels Podcast I cohost on The Hunter.

Enjoy. We get nerdy and discuss Jim Brown, trannies, and Warren Ellis as usual gets a brief mention.


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7.07.2012

Random Thoughts on Filmmaking in NOLA

- We need to not just make films and TV shows in New Orleans; we need to create them here as well.

- We need to not just be a destination for film and TV productions. We need to be a starting point.

- Until we become the content creators we will be at the mercy of L.A. and New York, and we will have to fight other states for productions.

- The short films being made in New Orleans today are leading to the feature filmmakers of New Orleans in the future.

- I believe short films will lead to indie features and then bigger productions for local filmmakers.

- It is important to support short films and indie features being shot in New Orleans. This is an investment in the future of film and TV production in New Orleans.

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The Second #TeamNOLAFilm Podcast

Hotcakes Trailer

7.03.2012

Heathen

“Hey yall! How was Mass?

“Mass was good Uncle Ernie.”

“Yeah, Mass was good. You should try it.”

“I leave that to you. I hope prayers were offered for my soul?”

“Prayers are always offered for everyone’s soul.”

“Always good to know.”

“Daddy, why can’t I stay home on Sundays and watch TV like Uncle Ernie?”

“Because you are not a heathen.”

“Ha!”

“What’s a heathen?”

“Someone who enjoys pleasure rather than going to Church.”

“Is that the same as a pagan?”

“No a pagan doesn’t believe what we believe.”

“Yes. I am not a pagan buddy. I was an altar boy. Even your dad can’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because he was a latecomer to the faith.”

“I converted.”

“And the converted are always the most fervent.”

“You are still a heathen.”

“Not even sure how you got up this morning, and got ready for Mass.”

“It was painful. But that is being a good Catholic.”

“So a heathen sleeps in late?”

“Only a Sunday buddy.”

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No Story

“You fucked up again.”

“Yeah .. I am good at that.”

“That you are. Anything to say?”

“Not really. You know it all.”

“No pleading? No story?”

“Nah. What’s the fucking point? I did it. I fucked up.”

“Most people would tell some livid story. Some would cry. They would say something to save their asses.”

“Sorry. Not me. Unless you just want to be entertained. If so, I can recommend some good books and films.”

“Ha! I like that. ‘It is what it is.’”

“Yep. No dispute. No point in putting a spin on it.”

“You know I gotta do it it anyway.”

“Yeah. Just make sure I can work. No money coming in is no good for anyone.”

“I heard that. Ribs?”

“Yeah. Head some too is ok.”

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Film Books and Documentaries

This is a list of the books and documentaries in my collection I consider must reads or most informative reads. This is in no way a comprehensive list of essential film books. This is just the essential books form my collection that I have read.


Directors
Making Movies by Sydney Lumet
- This book should be the first book handed to film students. Probably the best starting book on how to make films.
On Directing by David Mamet
Moviemakers' Master Class by Laurent Tirard
- One of my favorite filmmaking books.
My First Movie edited by Stephen Lowenstein
The Mind of the Modern Moviemaker by Josh Horowitz
Breaking In by Nicholas Jarecki
Conversations With Wilder By Cameron Crowe
Hitchcock/Truffaut Interviews

New Hollywood
- This series will give you a great look into Hollywood from the late 60's to the early 80's.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls Doc
A Decade Under the Influence Doc

Screenwriting
Adventures in the Screen Trade By William Goldman

Editing
In the Blink of An Eye by Walter Murch
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaajte
Behind the Scene by Charles Koppelman
- All three of these involve Walter Murch who is the film editor. You will get a great sense of editing theory and practice from these three books. This could easily be a whole college course between these books and the movies they cover.
When the Shooting Stops, The Cutting Begins by Ralph Rosenblum
On Film Editing by Edward Dmytryk

Individual Films
Making of 2001

Producers
So You Want To Be A Producer by Lawrence Turman
Hello, He Lied by Lynda Obst
The Big Picture by Tom Reilly
- Written by Woddy Allen's 1st AD who also became a producer on some of his films Some of the info is very out of date, but still, some good practical advice for directors and producers.

Misc
Agee on Film by James Agee

I have a stack of other film books I still need to read. And I have yet to touch on cinematography even though i have a few books on that subject lying next to me on the floor.

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7.01.2012

Graphic Panels Podcast: Cartoons

Podcast I did for BSIComics' Graphic Panels on Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Funny how for someone who so doesn't like the sound of his own voice, I seem to be doing a lot of recording of it recently.

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Books in 2012

Time To Murder And Create
Making Movies
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
In The Midst of Death
A Purple Place for Dying
Savages
The Dawn Patrol
So You Want To Be A Producer 
The Outfit
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls




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