Hello Everybody and a pleasant (insert time of day) where ever you may be...

     Hello Everybody and a pleasant (insert time of day) where ever you may be, this is another post on Filmmaking Adventures with your host......Oh what the heck, I've been working on a 3-camera set up show with some friends and I was in the broadcasting mood and I thought I'd share that with you all. By the way, the insert at the beginning is the line that Dodger legend, Hall of Fame Broadcaster Vin Scully says at the start of each dodger broadcast. He is such a vocal inspiration to me, what a wonderful job he does.

     Anyways, my group and I will be setting up the light for shooting my final project in high school next week, I'll make sure to keep you guys posted on that, and shortly after we will roll the first seconds of tape, hope all goes well since its the first broadcast project that I do. I know it will be fun because in the past week my teacher has been helping us through understanding the whole system and hot to talk like a broadcaster like the ones on the sets of news like Studio 11 LA or Noticiero Univision just to name a few. Although its not hard, for some its complicated. It may seem easy to me because its in my blood, my moms side of the family they are all in the industry both TV and Film. Anyways before I go off on a tangent, please forgive me for not posting this on time, my internet was acting up lately but nothing a rock to the router can fix. Well thats a wrap folks and catch me again here next week and here I leave you with a piece form the Close Encounters of the Third Kind score titled "The Visitors / "Bye" / End Titles: The Special Edition" its an emotional piece too!

Preparing to Shoot!

     Well, its been a few days since I was assigned a job to a group and now, I have been working on a shot list which has really bugged the hell out of me due to the length of the script, but I've managed to handle it. Not we are getting ready to start shooting and tomorrow Wednesday we will roll film for the first time this production.

     I am very excited to be able to shoot especially because I will be using a DSLR for the first time ever. The model of the camera is the Canon EOS Rebel T3i or 600D if you are in Europe. I'm mostly a Nikon (Ni-Kon, not Nai-kon there's no "A" in Nikon) guy but I want to see what this camera can deliver. I have been experimenting with the camera on my leisure time during lunch time and it has been a different experience as opposed to shooting on a point and shoot. I can now do what I love the most is manual focus. Theres one thing I look for in a camera and that is Manual focus. This camera is also loaded with different set of features like Tilt-Shift or Miniature faking effect which is a really neat and creative feature. Anywho, I'm really happy that I get to shoot on a DSLR, even if it's not a Nikon, its still an amazing camera. I also love the vari-angle screen or what I like to call the "Tilty-Flippy Screen" Ill be putting up some sample pictures pretty soon too so stay tuned!

The Canon EOS Rebel T3i or 600D

Pitching Stories / Experimenting with GarageBand

     So today, Monday April 2nd, the class pitched their stories to the rest of the class. Some of the stories, I have to admit were pretty good but the one I really want to get the opportunity to shoot is Jeanette's. The reason why I want to do it is because when her group played out the scene, I actually visualized what was going on, I also got a hint of the music that might be playing during the scene. The reason I said might was because this picture isn't in production yet, YET! I feel that with the right crew and the right cast, this picture might become something and it might have a good future, in the mean time, lets hope that this film gets the go ahead. It would be a great pleasure to shoot this picture and even make the music for it.

     I Lately have been experimenting with GarageBand. Still no celeste or Theremin, and the cathedral organ sample is really an O.K sample but any who I hope I find the making of music on Garageband really simple really quick because I want to score a few tracks for a movie by the time graduation comes around. I have made a track using a synth variation with the main track being composed of an electric piano with slight modulation which gives it an echo-y sound to it. It also makes the instrument sound like it bounces from left speaker to right which is pretty cool. The Electronic piano is a really cool instrument as well as the Piano on Stage. Maybe ill do  2 tracks sporting both instruments on Solo with no other instruments to back the main ones up.

Script Writing (Act 1)

           "Business as Usual: A Lowrider Noir Picture" 


     So today, I have begun writing a script with partner Ramiro. The story so far is going well, but theres one problem. Although the problem isn't a bad one, its that when ever me and Ramiro work together, we come up with brilliant ideas, but when im doing it alone I get stuck in what is know as Writers Block which simply put means you cant thing of any ideas that help in the progress of the film. 

     Thinking hard about what I love most and trying to associate it with the story, I decides to make it a lowrider themed picture with the concepts still revolving around noir. Its something different as opposed to the traditional noir. 
The reason why I chose to write a script this way is because of my mexican american roots and my fascination with oldies, Lowriders, and the southern chicano lifestyle found here in Califas. 

                          Some Lowrider Bombs 
           (A lowrider car or truck from the 1930s - mid-1950s) 

"Its Academy Award Season..."

     As the  day in which every Motion Picture enthusiast across the world sits and watches quality television programing comes near, let us look back to the simple times as they were called and look back to other academy awards. If I recall correctly, the first AMPAS Oscar© ceremony occurred on Thursday May 16, 1929. This was a private banquet which took place in the Blossom Room in the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood. The Banquet hosted a total of 270 people with the ceremony only lasting 15 minutes. The show was hosted by the then AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks. Surprisingly enough, it is the only Academy Awards Ceremony which was not broadcasted through Radio or Television. The Best Picture Award went to Lucien Hubbard for Paramount Pictures - Wings. 

     Moving a bit more ahead in the timeline, we celebrate the 25th Academy Awards hosted at the RKO Pantages Theater in Hollywood California taking place on March 19, 1953 and was was hosted by Bob Hope. What makes this ceremony special is the Best Picture winner that year, "The Greatest Show on Earth" Directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille for Paramount Pictures took home the oscar. Thats not all, The American magazine "Premier" placed that movie on its list of 10 worst Oscar Winners. Thats not all, The british Film Magazine "Empire" rated it #3 on their list of the 10 worst oscar winners and it has the lowest spot on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 81 films to win Best Picture. On a more positive note, "The Bad and the Beautiful" won 5 Awards that night making it the most wins ever for a film not nominated for best picture. It is also only the 2nd film to  have the most wins in 1 night not nominated for best picture, this excluding the years where there were ties for the most wins of course. 

    Now we move on 10 years into the future to the 35th Academy Awards Hosted By Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on April 8, 1963. That year, " of Arabia" took home the Oscar for best picture. Host Frank Sinatra almost missed the ceremony that night because he had forgotten his parking sticker and was turned away from the arrivals area by the security guards. So what he did was park his car elsewhere and run to the ceremony barely making it on time. Mutiny on the Bounty was the first and only as of 2012 remake to a previous Best picture winner to be nominated for best picture. That night "Lawrence of Arabia" received 10 nominations  and 7 wins. "To Kill a Mockingbird" received 8 nominations and only won 3. 

   Stepping into the portal of time and landing just last year, we find ourselves at the 84th academy awards. This ceremony occurred a the then-Kodak now Dolby theater at the Hollywood and Highland center in Hollywood California hosted by Bill Crystal. That year, "The Artist" won for Best Picture over Hugo and numerous other pictures. What makes it special is the fact that it was the first silent picture to win Best Picture since 1927's "Wings." "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" received much controversy being called the worst Best Picture Nomination ever even called the worst picture of 2011. That year, the annual "In Memoriam" tribute, was presented by host Bill Crystal. Singer Ezperanza Spalding performed Louie Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" along side the Southern California Children's Chorus during the tribute. (Video of the Memoriam is posted at the close of this post) Steve Jobs was mentioned in the memoriam as he was the co-founder of Pixar. That night, "The Artist" received 10 nominations with 5 wins, Hugo received 11 nominations with 5 wins. 

     Well, this concludes our travel from the first Academy Awards to the latest ceremony in our time. Without these great filmmakers, future filmmakers don't have someone to inspire them. I know that the Director I am inspired by has never won an Academy Award but to have an inspiration in filmmaking, that has no award, not saying that I will replace Tim Burton in the future, if that was the case, someone might have replaced Alfred Hitchcock a few times since his passing, I just want to have a basis from which to create my movies, from which to get ideas from. Also Composer Danny Elfman, he has never won an Academy Award but his music inspires my ideas far beyond any other composers music. Theres always a song that goes along with any sequence. From Pee-Wee's Big Adventure to his latest Frankenweenie (Oscar Nominated for Best Animated Feature) With these words said by Tim Burton himself I sign off for the week. Have a wonderful weekend folks and stay safe during the Awards Ceremony on Sunday.  

"It's good as an artist to always remember to see things in a new, weird way."

-Tim Burton

VIDEO:84th Academy Awards "In Memoriam"

               If you have been keeping up to ate on the Academy Awards, they you probably know the list of nominees for Best Picture. In case you don't know the list, well, here it is: The Nominees for Best Picture for the 2013 Academy Awards are posted in the link below titled "Academy Award Nominations (All Categories)" and for this weeks post, I will be discussing what I movie I think well deserves the award and I have to say, It's the hardest decision as all the movies are really good. The movie i think will win is Lincoln.

             Why do I think Lincoln is going to win? Well not because I favor Spielberg over any other director (not meant in a bad way, he's a Fantastic Director) but because the film overall has this sort of vibe to it that really somehow appeals to my pallet. There is something about it that really gives me the feeling that I am watching something with great quality and attention to detail or maybe the fantastic Acting by Day-Lewis or the Outstanding Production team of Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. Maybe its all but for today it the amazing production team and how the successfully worked together to make such a fantastic film and do what producers do best. I feel like working as a pair, they both got double the work done for half the time leaving Spielberg to direct the film as much as he could and to the best of his ability.



Academy Award Nominations (All Categories) 

 Lincoln Trailer HD

Academy Award Nominee Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln" 

    

      This years Academy Award nominees for Best Actor - in a Leading Role are as follows; Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook, Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master", Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln", Denzel Washington for "Flight", and Hugh Jackman for "Les Misérables (Mizz-erab). All these pictures are great, thats why they are there, but there is one particular picture which really intrigues me and calls my attention more than anything. If you read the title, then you already know that the picture is Lincoln. The movie is directed by Steven Spielberg (nominated) and stars Daniel Day-Lewis as former President Abraham Lincoln. This movie is not to be confused with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as it is on a more fictitious storyline as opposed to the realistic more historically accurate storyline Lincoln follows. 

     I Have to admit, Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in this picture is absolutely amazing. Aside from looking strikingly similar to Lincoln in this picture, the role is played as though Lincoln was standing there in the flesh and blood. The story really ads to the role he plays because of the dialogue, the storyline it follows and the goal. you can have an "A" list actor playing an important role, if the story is poor, you won't end up anywhere. The emotion Day-Lewis put into the role created the outcome of an Oscar Nomination. I absolutely love how throughout the storyline, Day-Lewis fights for the rights of the people whom are not wanted. This reminds me of our current times with President Obama fighting for the rights to illegal immigrants and half of America going against him much like Lincoln did for the slave population, which in the storyline were with him in adding a new amendment aimed at freeing the slaves, he had congress on his a** the entire time opposing him at all costs while he tried at his hardest to pass the amendment. Overall, Daniel Day-Lewis gave an amazing performance and executed the role of Lincoln far better than anyone ever has and probably better than anyone ever will. In my opinion, Day-Lewis deserves the Oscar he is nominated for.            

* Sorry I wasn't able to post the past weeks, I was having trouble accessing the Blog. I didn't make a new one because I wasn't going to raise the white flag that easily, but here I am back with more Academy Award Film Opinions from now until Sunday February 24th.