30p DV?!

I shot a short video clip for my bro using my Canon Elura 20 with 30p-yes that's right, setting and FCP nor Avid Express Pro can't reconigze the video stream! Argh! Since he's doing animation project, I thought 30p-it's progressive frames!, would serve him better but it can't work when I can't import the damn video to computer! Argggh!

I've been prowling the net to find a solution, but no avail. Any post wizard out there lead me to a solution? I don't understand why there's 30p DV option if the programs can't capture this. Otherwise, I would have to shoot this whole thing again tomorrow. Sigh.

Captain's Log, Stardate 03/29/2006

Light
Originally uploaded by beatmania.

Nothing to report except I've helped out my bro with spots for MTV2 which should finish up next week and earned rent for this month. I'm still waiting for two checks was due last month that should support me for next two months, hopefully. (Not doing too well on my stock investment front, sigh.) Except for doing my own things, writing scripts and prepping my reels, I'm now anxious to back in the game, and make some money. :-)

Reading a lot of books because I bought a lot of books lately, obviously, and I had a pile of books that were collecting dust. I love surfing the web to discover something new and different, which keeps my creative juice flowing, but I'm more inclined to enjoy well-written pieces that are knowledgeable and insightful. (The Tipping Point is great, great book.) It also helps that I can tear myself away from the desk and sit differently with a cup of tea. Surfing the web is like on a speed-date, but reading a book is having a relationship. Yeah, yeah.

Spring is coming as the weather is warm enough to skip my trusty leather jacket. The season also means that it's pregnant with exciting possibilities. I'm waiting and preparing myself to be swept away in that wave of possibilities.

Cinema Forever

I accidently came across Director Woosuk Shin's blog about his passion and struggles to make his movie, Expat, about Foreign English teachers in Busan, Korea. It's a good chronology about how an indie director endeavors to get his movie made even though the entries are sporadic.

I'm especially interested how he handles American filmmaking process with Korean filmmaking process. I already know few differences, but it will be interesting how he tackles the gap and bridge two different worlds, as he directs the film. It won't be easy.

Master Yoda said, "Do, or do not. There's no try." Force is strong within me. Yes, yes.

The Battle of Shaker Heights

I guess it's impossible to judge this film objectively after watching the 6+ hours of drama behind-the-scenes, not like one of those everyone's so-fuckin-awesome, press junket things you see on studio DVDs. As I said in my previous post, the producers chose wrong directors for the script and the movie is the proof.

The movie paced pretty well, and Shia LaBeouf literally saves the picture with his charms. However, like the production team said in so many meetings with so many notes, there's a few reasons to care for Kelly's rebellious behaviors that offer a little drama arc. And I didn't understand why people found the jokes in the movie to be that funny. They offered light moments in the heavily dramatic screenplay, but they weren't that funny material to begin with. The producers chose the drama script yet because they chose directors with inclination for (macabre) humor, so the film came out to be far light-hearted than it should be. The film lost its gravity of the situation and the characters that the audience didn't really care for it despite good acting & characters.

So we got a movie that's not really humorous yet there seems to be a glimmer of dramatic depth hidden between scenes. I guess this is the example of how a movie comes out after the 'committee' of people that has different ideas about the material, mixed with studio marketing people.

Hollywood's Tokyo Godfathers

Slate: How Japan enabled the re-invention of Hollywood. "When PlayStation 3 arrives this November, with its Blu-Ray technology and super-realistic games, it will further blur the line between movies and games. The hand of Tokyo may not always be visible in the dazzling glitter of Hollywood, but it has enabled the industry to re-invent itself." It simply means that the means of distribution has left the studios' hands for the better and for the worse. I wonder how Apple's plans to distribute videos and movies on iTune studio will play into this picture.

Project Greenlight 2

I picked up the Project Greenlight 2 DVD set for cheap. I've finally caught up to the series after 3 years since it aired on the TV and it was enjoyable as my friends kept telling me. I was reeled in right after the 3rd episode and ended up watching it all night long till the end of the series, and saving the movie for the other night so that I can distance myself from its filmmaking journey.

I think the series well encapsulated the passion and the trials of making a feature, the first big studio feature/project, for novice filmmakers. Of course, the directors boast that they've been making films for 10 years in Maine, but they got crash lessons of making a feature within the system, the Hollywood ways, etc. It's often said that making a movie is more dramatic and entertaining than the movie material itself, and this series shows you why. I think every aspiring feature director and writer should watch the series and learn the lessons not to repeat the same mistakes these directors & the writer went through. This DVD set should be required viewing for all filmmaking classes! (Are YOU ready to make a film with that much heartbreak and turmoil?! Can YOU handle the TRUTH?!)

For all intended purposes, I do believe the producers hired wrong directors for the script they have chosen to shoot. Although their choice ultimately made more engrossing reality show series, it ultimately hurt the final goal of making a commercially-viable yet creatively-independent studio movie under 1 million dollar budget. Sure, the low-budget and short production schedule did hurt the quality of the movie, but against the odds, the directors and the writer didn't have the chance and the time to learn and work with the system given short time frame. Undoubtedly, the pair of the directors and the writer learned and experienced valuable lessons that would lead them to more creative and productive filmmaking endeavors in future. However, they did fall short of the delivering the movie that would be commercially self-sufficient to earn back the invested money, if not time. (I had to wonder if the producers and key personnel salary were factored into the 1 million dollar budget of the movie or the show budget.)

I guess that's the main reason the series are canceled (?) after the producers went onto produce more commercially viable horror film on 3rd season. Considering I have yet to hear about the movie they've produced in 3rd season, Miramax doesn't want to back another money-losing feature from this series, and all hope are abandoned. It's pity, really, because Ben and Matt did create something really wonderful, yet for all their best intentions, the series also humbled them into proving that in this business, you can't never know what you'll get at the end of the day.

I'm also humbled into thinking that I could easily succeed against this incredible odds. I'm reminded that only persistence and perseverance go together overcoming this incredible odds with my whatever talent I posses. Good luck and good night.

Ego Fly

Damn Interesting: Unskilled and Unaware of It. "As is the case with many human flaws, perhaps the best remedy is to never stop learning, to seek out and absorb constructive criticism, and to always be prepared to admit that you may be wrong about something." That's why Confucius said you have to have the humility to learn from anybody.

Save Your Day

General Grevious
Originally uploaded by beatmania.

I've been reading a lot of personal finance books lately because I want to make enough money to finance my own projects. Yes, that includes multi-million dollar feature films and video games.

I confess: Yes, my dream job is to become a game designer over a film director.

The consistent theme of those personal finance & wealth books are the same: save money and curve your spending as much as possible. And let the time work for you as the money gains traction by compounding interest.

I thought that over and began to apply for my own professional endeavors. For an example, if I write a page, ONE PAGE, per day, I could write 365 pages a year, which means THREE FEATURE SCRIPTS. One page! Wow. It's simple yet so profound.

I was out today and bought two screenplay magazines that chronicle Nicholl Fellowship Competition winners' careers after their win. It was interesting reading, but their experience and the lessons are consistent with other screenplay books: write, write, and write.

Have you written a page today? I did and proud of it.

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta Poster
Originally uploaded by beatmania.

Good, political drama. Although the message may seem over-bearing with heavy-handed dialogues, but the actors keep it real and immediately personal. Kudos to Natalie and Stephen Rea. Without their grounded acting, the movie would've seen as a ridiculous anarchist dream.

The political message within the movie is clear, and relevant as it was originally written in 80's as it is in now. The movie came out in fortunate time where Bush's rating is scrapping bottom, people are getting tired of his terrorist rhetoric and beginning to question his over-reaching authority that imprisons the innocent, spies Americans, and enriching his cronies. It was a sign of time that the audience I saw with applauded sporadically whenever V's dialogue hit the hot issues & buttons, even though his actions were certainly extreme.

James McTeigue, who've been working with Wachowski brothers as 1st AD, does admirable job of keeping the pace fluid, actions clean, and delivery of dialogues clear & economic. His direction is not overly ambitious, so that the movie is a piece of efficient storytelling.

I think this may well be the first movie that does justice to a Alan Moore's work. Maybe not. I would have to confirm that by checking out the original comic book.

This is the future

I don't normally watch baseball, my favorite sports are basketball & soccer, but this World Baseball Classics got me going hot hot! Korea is beating pants off everybody, emerging as the most likely winner against all odds. US? Let's say I'm very disappointed and embrassed.

Funny thing about this is that I'm watching the games on the Internet, more specifically Yahoo! Korea. The game is in LA, feeds off to a Korean TV station which broadcasts in Korea. Next, Yahoo! Korea gets the real time feed from the TV station and broadcasts all over the Internet, to my home, on the east coast, because I would have to get premium ESPN package to see the games. Normally, TV is ideal medium for live news, sports, & shows, but now that I've watched the games, I'm not so sure anymore. Unofficially, more than 1.5 million people tuned in(!) to Yahoo! broadcast. People in Korea has more options, catch it on traditional TV, but for some other people, they can watching it on a DMB-enabled phone as in this photo.

The future is here, on the small screens. And on the big screens. The web pioneered how the information can be displayed without specific constraints. Now, the other media will have to learn how to deal with every changing, and increasing choices of screen sizes. The choice is, as always, yours.

Chinese Kung Fu is Strong!

What do you get when you mix Chinese Kung Fu with Finnish mythology? Why, Jade Warrior of course! The trailer looks good. The actress looks cute. But will it play?

Night Watch

This Russian fantasy movie was highly recommended around the Net, so I had to check it out. I love to find out what kind of story and visual elements are explored outside the Hollywood and in various parts of the world. And sometimes, I hit a jackpot but most of times, it yields so-so results.

It may have been bad subtitle, but I have no idea what story this movie is trying to tell. I can't tell who's who and what's what in this 'complex' tale that is based on best-selling Russain novels. This movie may have been the text case of overly ambitious director's goal to cram in too many things in the movie. KISS and tell, IMO.

The visuals are good here and there, but I feel narrative is clunky, and some 'cutting-edge' edits work but most of time, no. The movie jumps around places and people so much that without recogniable faces (ie stars) that ground the story, I have trouble understanding what's going on even if the fate of the world is hanging in balance by these people. Considering the director has mostly worked with commercials, you can come to an explanation for my points. Maybe I'll check out the original novels instead, but then again, I don't think so considering my backlog of books. Oh well, at least I know the great Russian cinema is vibrantly alive with this movie.

How Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV

Part 1: Hyperdistribution. "Now we have a paradox: the invention of an incredibly powerful mechanism for the global distribution of television programming brings with it a fundamental challenge to the business model which pays for the creation of the programs themselves. This is not at all BitTorrent's fault: the technology could have come along a decade ago, and if it had, we'd have stumbled across this paradox in the 1990s. This is a failure of the value chain to adapt to a changing technological landscape — a technological desynchronization between producer and audience. Once again, there's no need to find fault: things have changed so much, and so quickly, I doubt that anyone could have kept up. But the future is now here, and everyone in the creative value chain from producer to audience must adapt to it.

This trend is only going to accelerate with the uptake of broadband throughout the world, progressively hollowing-out the commercial broadcasters until they have returned to their roots: television as a live medium. The only types of programming unsuitable for hyperdistribution are those which are broadcast live: news, event and interactive programming, and sport. Since these are all widely popular, it's not as though the commercial broadcasters will collapse."

Underworld vs. Ultraviolet

You can't go wrong with the sexy, vampire-goth women who kick asses and take no prisoner. Fortunately and unfortunately, first two movies I saw this year are Underworld and Ultraviolet. So, I made this little list in case you are interested in these two. Why? Because I'm displaying my affinity for this particular genre that has gone stale and under-appreciated.

• Actress: Although Milla Jovovich is the resident queen of sci-fi, kick-ass super woman, Kate Beckinsale in Underworld has more star power and she is prettier, in my opinion. Underworld 1 : Ultraviolet 0
• Fashion: Milla Jovovich wins hansomly with constant changes of her hair color and her body-hugging leather suit. And her accessories are way, way out there, too. Underworld 1 : Ultraviolet 1
• Story: Ultraviolet has too many elements that are underdeveloped. Underworld has few elements that are sorry excuses for Kate to do nothing but pull trigger. So, Underworld 1 : Ultraviolet 2
• Editing: Ultraviolet has no sense of pacing, no sense of story or character development, and no sense of cinematic space. So Underworld edges out a little. Underworld 2 : Ultraviolet 2
• Fight Choreography: Ultraviolet imports fight choreogrphy straight from Hong Kong. enough said. Underworld 2 : Ultraviolet 3
• Production Value: Underworld got the edge with Hollywood talent. Ultraviolet... I know CG people who can do better CG than what was on that film. Underworld 3 : Ultraviolet 3
• Villans: Ultraviolet had a better villan, compare to Underworld. A little. Underworld 3 : Ultraviolet 4

So, I liked Ultraviolet a little better than Underworld. The director made the cult favorite Equilibrium for god sake! And the trailer looked awesome. It could've been another the Matrix copy-cat that was actually good. I could see what the director wanted to do, but couldn't because everything looked and felt like someone's 1st draft and rough cuts, etc. Basically, the director loved anime, Hong Kong flicks, American super heroes and stuff, but get a grip, and grab someone who's not a nerd or an otaku! I'm glad I didn't take anyone else to go see it with me. I would've been crucified on the spot for wasting their money and time. Damn, damn.

Underworld? I don't know if Kate is on this 'franchise' because of money or because of her love for her husband. I hope it's the first...

With many exciting action films lined up for this summer, I really hope Hollywood can deliver whiz-bangs that I crave on the big, big screen. My hard-earned $10.75 demands it!

Belated 2006 Oscar Post

I was excited about this year's Oscar for two reasons: Jon Stewart & Ang Lee. I wanted to see Jon jabbing the stars and the old boys club with his sharp wit. I also wanted Ang Lee to win and he did, finally. His first Oscar nomination with "Sense & Sensiblity" was too early for him even though I knew he was going to be one of the greatest directors of our age. After few more stellar films, he won to prove himself and his talent that was true to the hearts.

The best picture, although I saw NONE of the films nominated for the best picture, I felt the Academy was choosing over the race film over the gay film. Although the buzz on the Brokeback Mountain was overwhelmingly favorable to win, but the Academy did the 'practical' thing. I knew it was too early for a gay film to win the best picture despite the progress made in recent years.

And I'm disappointed that there's no surprise or spontaneous, organic celebration in this year's Oscar. Kudos to George Clooney's admirable acceptance speech, though. That was one of those speeches that Hollywood & Academy tradition are proud to be a part of.

"Cracking Cheese, Gromit!"

p.s I would like to thank the uploaders who saved my valuable time by allowing me to skip commericals and fast-forward boring parts without assistance of TiVo. Thank you, progress.

YouTube

Video Napster?. The message is clear. Simple, easy-to-share, multimedia (is this word still relevant?) applications win the net as well as the hearts of users. This is just the beginning of things to come, if YouTube manages to grow pass its very early root.

But the big question is, what is its business model to generate income/revenue? Google was fortunate enough to discover/develop its ad model. But not all content can thrive, if not survive, on ad model only. That is the biggest challenge in online content market today, and Steve Jobs & Apple might solve it first with their inevitable Video iPod and downloadable feature length movies on iTune.

You are hired!

SimplyHired.com It already rivals as mandy.com for the job listings as far as I'm concerned. (I need to diversify my work and grow my client base.)

Fire Sale on Firefly

at Amazon for less than $20. I was gonna rent it on Netflix, but why bother for at this low price? Browncoats unite!

Monster Inc.

Monster Inc.
Originally uploaded by beatmania.

I think all creative endeavor is quixotic. You are always fighting uphill battle against your resource, time, talent, money, other people, etc. The sheer odd against you can be overwhelming if you are not blinded or passionate about your creative work.

No one can tell you what's good or not, in my opinion. In the age where we are awashed with new content every moment, people will judge by with their money or attention, but I beieve the true merit of creative endeavor is how people responds and resonates.

So while I toil in my room to create something, I'm also reaching out to people to get a respond when I'm done with it.

Sure I would love to get rich and famous, but I want nothing more than sway a fair maiden's heart with my work.

p.s. This post was about started something entirely different, but my muse led me to somewhere else. Take a chance, young man!