A Birthday to Die For

Mis-en-Scene

 

KEY GRIP - Ray Garcia (Titanic, Identity, Moneyball, Dark Knight Rises)
 In this scene the main method of shooting was handheld.  This was done to bring the audience into the scene instead of just seeing it.  There are also other types of shots in this scene.  When the train is first seen pulling into the station the camera has been put on a tripod.  This is for establishing that the train is arriving.  Next is a dolly shot on the station dock.  It allows the audience to get acquainted this the setting.  Finally what looks to be a jib shoot coming down slightly as the characters are running up the side of the train.

GAFFER - Curtis A. Andrews Jr. (American History X, The Prestige, Eagle Eye)
 This scene uses sunlight.  With out seeing a behind the scenes of it I cannot be sure what kinds of things they used for shadow and such.  The meat and potatoes pf this scene takes place in the shadow of the train cars.  It seem to me that the shadow is to big to be from just the train cars though, so they might have used a big scrim or cut.  However by shooting in the shadow the scene is much softer then if the actors were to be standing in the direct sunlight. 

My composed frame

RULE OF THIRDS - The rule of thirds can be seen at the left side where the first fence post is sitting in the frame.  On the right side we also see the the rule where the fence stops and the empty space starts.

DIAGONAL RULE - This rule is best shown with way the fence tapers off.  You can also see many diagonals all through out the branches.  These lines are much more subtle do to the color.  The fence posts are much darker than anything else in the frame, making this diagonal the focal point.  And again the beginning of the line starts on a third.

VECTORS - Is this image both graphic and index vectors are at work.  The weaker of the two being the index.  The tops of the fence post are arrow shaped and, to a degree, lead your eyes upward.  However, the graphic vector is much stronger and pulls your eyes back into the picture.  The diagonal of the fence start the motion then passes it off to the road and pulls you to back to the mountain in the distance.

The Movie Cooler EP.1 by Benjamin Nathan Zufelt

Making Movies

We were bored today so we went out with the iPod and embarked on an adventure.  It was fun but difficult to direct children.  Hats off to all the people doing kids movies and television shows.

Good vs Evil...okay just bad.

1997 Bane

 Have you ever saw something and thought to yourself, "Holy cow that looks awful."  That exactly what I thought when I first saw Joel Schmacher's Bane from 1997's Batman and Robin.  The costume design is cartoonish to say the least.  The over sized muscles plastered with dark bulging veins make him unbalanced and much to busy.  The symmetrical look and busyness of this design makes it hard to focus on a single part of the design.  The blacked out eyes of the mask make the actor seem nonhuman, hindering the closure of the design. With the colors all being dark tones the details in the design become nonexistent.  This design just seems to lack contrast and harmony at the most basic level.

2012 Bane

On the other hand we have Christopher Nolan's Bane from the 2012 The Dark Knight Rises. Looking at this design you see a more balanced, more harmonious design.  The colors of the design bring a wonderful contrast by using neutral tones.  The balance is broken up just enough with the brace on the right hand, but in away this seems to bring more balance to the design.  Unlike the other, this design draws your eyes to the face.  The decision to show the actors eyes brings a more human quality to the design, giving it more closure.  As a whole this design is better executed.  It is simple, balanced, and has a better harmony and contrast.  At the end of the day Nolan delivered a much better execution to the character.

Contrast, Balance, and Harmony

When I first saw this picture I immediately looked to the little girl.  Now I can say it's because of the contrast between her white dress and the black of the other people's clothes and the bellowing smoke.  Even her black hair against the white of the sky is showing contrast, but that is not why I was.

http://tmcnewpeople.wordpress.com/category/anti-war/

I could say it is because of the lines or the golden mean that I was drawn to her face.  All of which help to balance out this picture.  Once again though that is not what grabbed my attention.  As for harmony, I feel that there is a lack of it.  The picture seems to capture a moment of chaos.

What it was that drew me to the girl's face is the fact that I am a father.  My daughter is a little older than this girl, but not much.  The filling I get when my daughter is scared is heart wrenching.  When I saw this picture I felt that feeling.  This little girl is scared.  She lives in a war zone.  The sounds of explosions and gun fire scare most adults.  No child should have to grow up under those conditions, but some have no choice.  Anytime people see a child crying they feel something in their heart and the photographer knows that.  This picture is powerful because of it's balance, contrast, and lack of harmony, but the message that it conveys is even more powerful.

This could be your final chance...

This SATURDAY (5/8) @ 4pm DSC documentary classes THE APPROACH is showing @ The
 Eccles Fine Arts Center as part of DocUtah.  Please cpme out and support local film makers. 

Visceral Response

This is one of the most effective movie posters I've seen.  When I first saw it hanging on the wall at the movie theater I was awestruck by it.  Using the Gestalt principals I believe I know why.

 The picture for the most part is dark, but when I first look at it my eyes are drawn towards Captain America's face, then the star on his chest, the title of the movie, and finally the red of the shield.  This is an example of the Law of Continuity.  The eye follows the smoothest path available.  It does this because of the brighter colors used in these areas of the image.

The Law of Closure is the biggest principal at work here.  First we see it in the shield.  Almost half of the shield is cut off of the poster, yet we know that it is disk shaped shield.  Also the star on it is cut off, but we recognize the shape immediately.  Moving up to Captains head you see that the the top of his head is loped off, but again we fill in the missing information.

The finale thing I want to point out is the contrast in colors between the background and Captain America as a whole as well as the shield.  The difference in color makes Captain really stand out, also making the most iconic element, the shield, stand out even more.

I love this poster and was actually lucky enough to have the very one that I first saw.  It now waits for the day that I have an office to frame and hang it in.

An Awful Movie.

Monday night I had one of the most awful experiences in my life.  Because I work at a movie theater I am privileged to see movies in advance.  However, this week I chose to watch The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure.  Now some of you might be saying, "Why the heck would you do that?" Well, in recent weeks I have watched movies like Diaries of a Wimpy Kid and Step Up: Revolution, and they were great.  Okay, the movies aren't great, but the atmosphere I watch them in is.  A group of co-workers yelling out funny comments through out the whole movie. But this movie was so bad even that was lost.  To boot it had some great actors casted in horrible roles.  The most notable one is Christopher Lloyd.  I fell that he needs to get in the DeLorean travel back in time and stop himself from doing this movie.

Location, location, location.

This weekend marked the next big step in my Capstone project.

I went to our family cabin up in the woods to take location pictures of the two cabins and forest around them for my movie this weekend.  It was a lot of fun up there with my brother and uncle.  The best part was being in that environment really got my creative juices flowing.  I must have spent hours just wondering around our tiny cabin placing imaginary props and playing out the movements of actors.
When we got up into the woods the scenery was exactly what I needed for the scene I had written.  The big opening inside the trees with a small ravine to one side, inside the ravine an overhang where roots have created a shelf of dirt deep enough for someone to sit in, it is perfect.  So now that I have talk some much about how great these locations are, I guess I’ll tell you a little about the movie.

“A group of college students intrigued by an Internet video of a Skin-walker attack find themselves stranded in the mountains with a crazy old hermit.  After an unexpected turn of events the five must fight their way out of the hermits cabin and past the Skin-walker.  But, when facing the supernatural with little understanding of it will the determination to survive be enough?”

I’m so excited for this movie to become a reality.  I hope that anyone out there is excited as well.  I can’t wait to get my cast and crew up there for some great times.  Thanks everyone for your support and interest.

My first movie trailer.

I think that I may have a knack for music video editing.  Hopefully it crosses over to narratives.