Withoutabox SD online screener needs an upgrade to HD
I just uploaded my latest short film Dead man’s hand to Withoutabox’s online screener which technically is on IMDB’s website. I was appalled by the extremely low quality the HD movie looked like on the screener. This film was shot on Red, color corrected with Davinci and the screener made it look like I took an old camcorder and just decided one day to make a movie. Instead of the months of pre-production and thousands of dollars that went into creating it. After doing my reasearch I found out that the online screener is still in SD format. What?! It’s 2012 and HD has been going strong for several years now and isn’t showing any signs of slowing. Yes people still film in SD but there are so many more that film in HD so it’s high time they upgrade their system to accept HD quality movies. I want the festivals to see how beautiful the film is in the highest quality it can be. So I posted on Withoutabox’s Facebook page and said something about it. Maybe they haven’t upgraded because there hasn’t been enough stink about it. So I ask all filmmakers and film festival folks to go to Withoutabox’s FB page and demand their online screener be upgraded to accept HD! And with that said I’m going to go break a few Standard Def. DVDs.
Snow White and Huntsman review
After watching Snow White and The Huntsman I was left feeling ‘alright’. From the trailer, I went in expecting this great movie, but it turned out to just be ‘alright’. Charlize Theron was wonderful as usual and the overall cinematography was beautiful. I’m well aware that this is a fantasy movie, but some of the fantasy elements seemed to come out of nowhere pulling you out of the story for a moment. The scene with the intro to the white horse and the scene with the two birds in the ‘fairy land’ will have you laughing to yourself when I don’t believe that was the intention of the screenwriter or director. These two scenes just come out of left field so much that you can’t help but to say yourself “what then hell?” Which brings about an uncomfortable chuckle to mask your confusion. Kudos goes to the folks that cut the trailer. They did an excellent job making the movie look 100 times more exciting than it truly is. I’m not a fan of Kristen Stewart, but the director really brought out more in here for this role than I’ve seen of her in any other role she starred in so kudos to him as well. I left feeling that the only saving grace of the movie was Charlize Theron and ‘Thor’. My rating on Snow White and the Huntsman for the story is a B-. For cinematography and artistic vision an A. For direction a B. My overall rating for the entire film is a B-. If you just want to get out of the house and be slightly entertained then go see it, but I’d say wait for it to hit redbox and save your money. Go see Avengers for the 2nd time or hold onto your money for Prometheus which is sure to be incredible, Ridley Scott, enough said. *drops microphone*
Cinematography For Videogames” First Ever To Be Taught in a Film School
The New Class To Be Presented at CineGear Expo 2012 by The Global Cinematography Institute
Cinematography in Video Games and Virtual Cinematography will be shown as part of the presentation by the Global Cinematography Institute (www.globalcinematography.com) founded recently by Directors of Photography Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC and Yuri Neyman, ASC. It is the advanced program which combines classical and virtual cinematography in the new discipline called “Expanded Cinematography” which includes Advanced Lighting for Feature Films, Cinematography for Music Videos, Funda mentals of Lighting and Composition, Digital Lighting, Previsualization, Digital Cinematography, Virtual Cinematography, On The Set Image Management, Postproduction Technology, The History of Cinematography & Photography, and more. The presentation will take place during CineGear Expo ’12 on Saturday, June 2nd from 4 to 5pm in the Sherry Lansing Theater at Paramount Studios: http://www.cinegearexpo.com/category/seminars/premiere-seminars
Films to See Before You Die: #25 The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri, Peter Postlethwaite
Synopsis: Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover 27 bodies and $91 million worth of drug money. The only survivors are a severely burned and very scared Hungarian terrorist and Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), a crippled con-man. Kint is questioned by US customs agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), who forces him to tell the whole story from square one. Kint begins with him being put in a pine up with four other common criminals McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), Hockney (Kevin Pollak), and Keaton (Gabriel Byrne) over a truck full of weapons that was hijacked. None of them are guilty but the cops try to pin it on them anyways so they decide to take revenge by attacking an illegal taxi…
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Official: The Great Gatsby 2012 Trailer – Baz Lurhmann – Keeping the Magic Alive
And He does it again. Can Baz get nothing wrong?
Audiences have been eagerly anticipating the official release of the Great Gatsby trailer and here it is. Adorned in splendid glits and breathtaking glamour, this trailer promises to deliver what we have only come to expect from a Lurhmann/Dicaprio duo, pure excellence and flawless cinema.
Baz’s sheer brilliance combined with Leo’s onscreen dynamism framed by this all time classic can only mean one thing; this is going to be one for the record books.
With the added advantage of being set in the roaring 1920’s, Great Gatsby is without doubt set to exhibit dazzling costumes, flamboyant set designs and quality drama.
Adapting the classic novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the directors, writers and filmakers have taken on the enormous challenge not only to recreate an already pre-existing marvel but to do it with flare. With an innovative soundtrack with slight similiarities to the TRON: legacy sound, we…
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Spring Television Award Ceremony and Wrap Up
From Banana Feed http://bananafeed.wordpress.com/
May 22, 2012 by Patrick Figueroa
Spring Television for the most part is coming to a close. Most of the shows have hit their finales, save for a couple of the heavy dramas. We’ve recently been bombarded with news about shows coming back, being cancelled, and some new ones. I personally haven’t sampled many of the new clips that preview the fall shows, but I’m sure some are bound to be promising. I’ve divided this awards ceremony by two pages: one for comedies and the other for dramas. There’s a lot of bias here and there and my opinion is erratic, but I like to think there is some truth to my choices. And I may or may not of come up with custom titles simply so I could put all of the shows I watched [and didn’t watch] this wonderful spring season.
Funniest Comedy – Happy Endings (ABC)
With wicked fast jokes, hilariously fleshed out characters, and delightful shenanigans, the Friends-esque tv show has definitely come into it’s own. If you’re into pop culture jokes said done in perfect execution by hilarious people, then this is the show for you. The characters here are absolutely hysterical. In particular, Brad and Jane just might be the freshest and most likable couple around. Otherwise, the other characters hold their own for the most part with Penny Hartz leading the remaining 4. Overall I love that this show was given another chance, as it was almost cancelled once with Damon Wayans Jr. signing up for Coach in New Girl [can we get a cameo please!!].
Most Heart – Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Parks and Recreation is almost the perfect show. I wonderfully combines heart and comedy with its quirky characters and engaging plot lines. This season was no different. The Ben Wyatt/Leslie Knope affair was settled, her rocky campaign slowly picked up pace, and the inclusion of the irreplaceable Paul Rudd as her primary opponent was absolutely genius. With touching motivational speeches and actual character dilemmas, we found out this season that Leslie Knope might be one of the most genuine and lovable characters on TV today. Also, season 3 might have been the year of the Swanson, but I’m pretty sure season 4 belongs to Andy Dwyer.
Best Animated – Archer (FX)
I had only discovered the magic of Archer earlier this year. There’s not a lot of room in this category: possibly Family Guy or South Park. Family Guy uses it’s meta to be funny and while South Park is amazing cultural commentary, Archer pulls off comedy with it’s Arrested Development-esque sense of humor. After catching up 2 seasons, I prepped myself for season 3. It truly is one of the best comedies out there and I even wrote an article about it here outlining why it’s so great.
Pleasant Surprise – New Girl (Fox)
Zooey Deschanel is indeed adorable. But to base an entire show around a couple of guys trying to make all that go away could get stale after a while. And that’s kinda what happened. At first, it felt like all Nick did was whine and Winston had no real place in the show. And surely Cece was just a pretty face. Schmidt was the only salvageable supporting character. But soon enough, the writers seemingly got it together and wrote the supporting characters to have their own likable quirks. And with cameos like Justin Long and Liz Caplan, it’s been a pretty good show since then.
The Unfortunately Killed – Community (NBC)
Read the title again: The Unfortunately Killed. With the recent blow up of NBC making the decision to kill off the show’s father and creator Dan Harmon and then placing it on the day TV shows go to die [Firefly, Fringe, Chuck, Ugly Betty, the list goes on and on], they’ve effectively killed the little life Community had. Dan Harmon is largely responsible for why we love Community so much and a new showrunner will likely try to bring Community to the mainstream, but the thing is, Community really isn’t for the mainstream and that target demographic doesn’t even watch TV on Fridays. Now I wish I’m proven wrong, and I’ll be there to continue giving it free advertising and Hulu views, but it’s hard to deny the facts. Season 3 was a great run with it’s jokes and continuous affinity for pop culture jokes, and the season finale was a great way to end the series. In all honesty, if season 4 goes as horribly as I kinda wish the series ended with the heartfelt and wholly wrap up then the downhill crash I suspect it to be.
The Unfortunately Alive – The Office (NBC)
Ugh, I actually tripped on a couple of episodes of the Office this year and it has seriously lost its way. It seems the writers heavily wanted Andy to be the new Michael Scott, so they basically took the delivery Steve Carrell mastered for 7 years and forced it on the semi-impressive Ed Helms. If they are gonna continue milking this cow, they need to axe Andy among some many things. Warming Glow actually came up with this amazing list of ways to revitalize the show. It even predicted some of the events of the finale. Now all we need is to axe Andy, bring back Jane and Timothy Olyphant, and we’ll be all set.
Considermeter Running High – Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23 (ABC)
I’ve only seen 2 or 3 episodes of this show, and while it didn’t completely blow my socks off, I am in absolute love with Krysten Ritter. Raven black hair and a defined sense of fashion. I never stood a chance.
Why Aren’t I Watching This? [Comedy] – Modern Family
Throw the eggs at me now. This is the only show I’d deem worth considering. I hope there aren’t any die hard CBS fans reading this, because I can’t stand Big Bang Theory, 2 and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, or 2 Broke Girls. It’s something about laugh tracks. This show, however, I’ve heard is genuinely funny and of course there is always the beautiful Sofia Vergara factor….I’ll keep you guys updated.
Dramas, the Best Show of 2012 So Far, and a Summer Preview on the Next Page
Al Pacino Screen Test for The Godfather.
Interesting how Al Pacino was almost not part of the Godfather film.
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