artistic influences?

For those that like Jeunet (City of Lost Children, Delicatessan)
don't miss A Very Long Engagement
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/
especailly if you want to see this exciting and creative director step away from the formula
he used on City and Deli.
It's not for everyone but I loved it.
Very slow subtle build up.

But my two fave french films as I mentioned back on post 17 would have to be
La Haine (The Hate)
and
37°2 le matin (Betty Blue)
 
i forgot to mention terry gilliam, too.

Tom Marshall said:
You should ask in the acting forum as well.
Click to expand...

what do you mean?

i don't know a whole lot about approaches to acting. i know there's 'regular' acting, method acting, and the approach suggested by Bertolt Brecht (of reenacting rather than 'being' the character).
 
Mark Harris said:
Ha ha, I was going to say, what would really be refreshing would be a f---ing moratorium on vampires for about 10 yrs.
Click to expand...

I second the motion, and add serial killers, snappy talking hit men, odd couple cop partnerships, opposites attract rom-coms, persecuted super human spies on the run to redeem themselves, sports underdogs that overcome, movies made from board games or video games or amusement park rides or toys or bad TV shows, comic books, and last, but most important, Remakes.
 
David G. Smith said:
I second the motion, and add serial killers, snappy talking hit men, odd couple cop partnerships, opposites attract rom-coms, persecuted super human spies on the run to redeem themselves, sports underdogs that overcome, movies made from board games or video games or amusement park rides or toys or bad TV shows, comic books, and last, but most important, Remakes.
Click to expand...

but how will they get distribution deals?!

j/k







but, seriously.
 
Fahad said:
but how will they get distribution deals?!

j/k







but, seriously.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. The question really is how do WE get distribution deals, by not doing all of that?

I have been excited about the possibility of a new aesthetic, and a new way of telling stories ever since the advent of digital video 16 years ago (Yeah I was there for that). The problem is that I was cinema oriented, and I missed it. The "Revolution" that digital video brought us is not in a new cinema, but it brought us YouTube and reality TV. Maybe Snookie is the pinnacle of the democratization of digital video. Whether we like it or not. I am being a little harsh about that because digital video has ushered in a new era of documentary film, but I think that most of the energy is being spent telling the stories of assholes on the Jersey Shore or all the other useless reality shows. My hope now is that with the image quality of the video DSLRs, and possible future cameras, that we are on the brink of a new, democratized CINEMA revolution. Let's hope.
 
David G. Smith said:
My hope now is that ... we are on the brink of a new, democratized CINEMA revolution. Let's hope.
Click to expand...

i hope so too, David.

i think it'll come when someone (hopefully a fellow dvxuser'er) makes THE movie that'll give the 'revolution' its required momentum.
 
Fahad said:
i hope so too, David.

i think it'll come when someone (hopefully a fellow dvxuser'er) makes THE movie that'll give the 'revolution' its required momentum.
Click to expand...

I'm skeptical of any revolution happening. Did computer word processing cause a revolution in literature? Did digital sound tools cause a revolution in the music industry? In both cases, the industries are more corporatized than ever, and the output more homogenized than ever. Media corporations are too big, their influence too vast, and they aren't going to surrender that turf easily.
 
Batutta said:
I'm skeptical of any revolution happening. Did computer word processing cause a revolution in literature? Did digital sound tools cause a revolution in the music industry? In both cases, the industries are more corporatized than ever, and the output more homogenized than ever. Media corporations are too big, their influence too vast, and they aren't going to surrender that turf easily.
Click to expand...

i like to call it suffocation of the little guy. and you're right-it's impossible to compete with the distribution channels and marketing budgets of the mega-corporations.

but, as with all things, it can't last forever. someone will find a way that'll shake up the establishment. then become the establishment, then someone else will come along.

you know, cycle of life and all that.

i don't know, i'm hoping that someone can figure out how to make the internet a sustainable outlet for film. it might not ever happen, but i hope it does.
 
Fahad said:
but, as with all things, it can't last forever. someone will find a way that'll shake up the establishment. then become the establishment, then someone else will come along.

you know, cycle of life and all that.
Click to expand...

I just don't see that happening. Not anytime soon, if ever. I'm just being realistic. Anyone who achieves success is quickly co-opted by the system. Who's going to turn down their dollars? The best case scenario for an independent is that they make the next Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity, both of which still needed the marketing and distribution arm of a corporation to get their profits. Anyone hear from the Blair Witch guys lately?...And Oren Peli is making a movie for Paramount, not exactly starting a revolution.
 
good points, Batutta.

maybe there should be a literary rejuvenation instead (makes for better stories)
 
Check out some of the top WestFest entries. For what was displayed in the time limit they had, I was into a few of them. I don't see that translating into a feature though but who's to say? I mean, a good scene or two is one thing, which a lot of these fest guys are shooting for. And honestly, I don't like.

But Brandon, Mark J and Jack and others have made their way based on this kind of thing so who's to say what's right or wrong? It seems to be working for these guys.

//Edit: In anticipation of the negative emails I'll be getting, I just mean watching an entire short take place in one or 2 rooms.
Basically, a scene or two, that might have been from a movie. I know that the winners of the dvxfests tend to have these qualities.
I don't like it. To me, a short story tells a story. I just keep seeing a lot of cop outs and those are the ones that win.

Hard to explain I guess. Maybe it's just me.
Let me give an example. To me, this is a good 6 minutes of entertainment.

Hey, just sayin'.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later.
I AGREE
 
Last edited:
Fahad said:
i forgot to mention terry gilliam, too.



what do you mean?

i don't know a whole lot about approaches to acting. i know there's 'regular' acting, method acting, and the approach suggested by Bertolt Brecht (of reenacting rather than 'being' the character).
Click to expand...

Well, those are techniques, really. Acting is very much an artform and a LOT like music.

Actually, acting and music have a LOT in common.

Words (the script) are akin to notes (the score). The words you see on paper is the same thing as seeing notes on a page. That's why when someone says, "Well, the actors are just saying the words on the page," it's the same thing as saying "Well, the violinist is just playing the notes on the page." They're really not. It's so much more than that.
 
Batutta said:
I'm skeptical of any revolution happening. Did computer word processing cause a revolution in literature? Did digital sound tools cause a revolution in the music industry? In both cases, the industries are more corporatized than ever, and the output more homogenized than ever. Media corporations are too big, their influence too vast, and they aren't going to surrender that turf easily.
Click to expand...

Well, actually, I do think that word procesing, and the internet, and digital sound tools did lead to a revolution, absolutely. Now did word processing lead to a revolution in literature, AS WE KNEW IT? No, I don't think so, but look at the number of blogs and other personal expression, with the written word that has grown up in the digital age. As for digital audio, sh*t to deny that this has not been a revolution is a tantamount to denying the holocaust. Digital audio is THE REVOLUTION that I think that independent filmmakers should look to, as at least, as a starting point for the model of new filmmaking paradigm.

That being said, you are correct in the fact that with the shift downward in the cost of digital filmmaking cost, we have also seen massive consolidation in media ownership and control. THAT IS THE NUT TO CRACK. With the proliferation of media producers, this is becoming more and more of tough nut to crack. I am still an optimist about this, and with enough creativity, enough sweat equity and a little luck, I think that a hard working low budget filmmaker can at least get an audience. Whether that will lead to multiple picture deals with the major studios and ski weekends in Aspen with Jack Nicholson is another story. Maybe, in a thread about artistic influences, a quote from Dickens is appropriate..... "It was the best of times, It was the worst of times". After almost 20 years of banging my head against this thing, bottom feeding, taking gigs for no money, spending my income for gear I can't afford, hoping and dreaming, I personally want to think that these are the "Best of times". .... Yeah, It is!!!

Holy Cow, I think that we may be all missing it. Maybe we are all looking for the next revolution at the local cineplex, or on HBO, or AMC, or other mainstream media outlets, but f**k that... I think that the real cinema revolution is right here, right before our eyes. I think that the real cinema revolution is DVXUSER! ... Yeah, I stand behind that. Look at it. Anyone here that was doing this sh*t before DVXUSER was born? If yes, did you ever think that you would ever have a place like DVXUSER to call on? I for one am amazed at the information that passes through this site on a daily basis. Sh*t, just coming on once a day, and checking "New Posts" will keep you up to date to most of what's going on in the digital video world. Tell me where you are going to find out more, pro and con, about the GH13 hack? Better than that, tell me where you can go, after f**king up a GH13 hack, and ask for help, and not be flamed? Tell me where you can enroll into a first semester film class in a local community college, and not know the difference between a Tota light and a Jib arm, come and ask questions, and be treated with absolute dignity (for the most part). NO WHERE ELSE BUT DVXUSER.

If we are looking for the new cinema revolution, I think we have found it. It is here. It is DVXUSER. It is US. Is it a new artistic movement.... NO. It is a community of filmmakers, dedicated to the free exchange of information, and, I'll give it it's due, free exchange of opinions. Damn, it is right before our eyes!


WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION!!! WELCOME TO DVXUSER!
 
Maybe we could talk the Dvxuser staff into giving awards for the biggest drunk post of the night. Not saying you'd be a contender Dave, I've made some dandy's myself tonight.
But that was quite a read man. Even if I had to close one eye to get through it all.

I have to think though that we should get some kind of a nightly award for this stuff.

Annnnnnd, the drunk post of the night goes to..........

//Or did I just get the award for this post? Meh, I'll take it. -Cheers.
 
David G. Smith said:
. As for digital audio, sh*t to deny that this has not been a revolution is a tantamount to denying the holocaust. Digital audio is THE REVOLUTION that I think that independent filmmakers should look to, as at least, as a starting point for the model of new filmmaking paradigm.
Click to expand...

It was a technical revolution but that didn't lead to an artistic revolution. Music is no better now than it was in the days before artists had any of that stuff. I think it can be argued that it's worse, because all it did was allow people of mediocre talent to produce work that was more polished and flood the market with cheap garbage. Musicians used to succeed primarily on their musicianship. Now they succeed because of their engineers and their image...If there is a revolution it will be on the micro level. People making small films, for small distribution, making small profits and just squeaking by. It will in no way compete with the studios. There was a fascinating talk on TED about how massive populations and interlocking societies can produce things no individual could. No single person can gather all the materials and knowledge needed to create an ipod for instance. One group can make the metals, the other manufactures the chips, another does the programming, another the screen, and they all combine. The creation and marketing of a major motion picture also requires multiple industries working in concert in order to succeed. Only a giant media corporation has the ability and resources to pull together all those disparate elements, often because they own them all. And even with all that, they don't always achieve success. Digital tools allow one person to make a feature film now with a lot of effort, but expecting anything to challenge the dominance of a mainstream studio film without the support of all those separate arms of the media working to promote your film is not realistic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top