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Sorry I have not posted anything here for the last 3 months. I have been working on several projects lately, but have not committed myself to the final crazed thrust of energy that is necessary to complete any movie. Here is a list of upcoming movies you should expect in the next 1-3 months:
– A silent spy movie set in Israel. When I went on a 2-week vacation to Israel at the end of September this year, I was able to devote 2.5 days to shooting a movie. The cast is made up my wife Lenah and my friends, who are in medical school in Israel, Andrew and Julia. We were able to shoot a lot of scenes in some very beautiful locations, which only Israel can offer. There were scenes with the Mediterranean Sea, the Bahai Gardens of Haifa, castles in Bet Lehem, and a little falafel stand in the cat-filled city of Ber Sheva. This movie has some potential to be quite entertaining. The only problem is one of my DV tapes has seemed to malfunction and I cannot capture the footage to my computer. I can see that it is there when I fast forward or rewind the footage, but when I hit play it refuses to do so. Any video techies out there have any suggestions?
– Bridgetower. A story about a black violinist named George Bridgetower, who impressed Beethoven so much with his playing that Beethoven wrote a sonata specifically for Bridgetower. However, the two had a falling out, whose reasons were never quite confirmed. Naturally, this movie will provide a new interpretation of the feud. However, the movie will also explore Bridgetower’s childhood and life up until his notorious relationship with Beethoven.
We will be shooting the first scenes of Bridgetower on December 22, 2010 (Wednesday) and we will need extras. The shoot will take place in a chapel and capture Bridgetower and Beethoven performing their sonata together. More information to come.
Location of scene where Bridgetower and Beethoven will perform their sonata. We need extras to play the concert audience members so stay tuned if you want to be a part of the movie and at the same time watch a great concert.
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The Zaza Slider is a great tool that you can use to add steady sliding, dolly shots to any movie or video. Used intelligently and correctly, it adds some dynamism to shots which otherwise could be static and stale.
Here is some test footage that I took using my Zaza Slider, which I built using the instructions shared at www.zazaslider.com. When I say built, all I really did was tap some holes through an aluminum block and rail. This merely required ordering two parts (the block and rail) from igus, a company that manufactures machine parts, and buying a few items from Home Depot. Then I tapped away, which I must say does require some muscle and torque to produce enough threads in the aluminum parts for the required bolts to screw in to. But in the end I tapped successfully, enough to make Savion Glover proud.
However, I believe now you can buy all the parts of the slider pre-tapped by igus for an extra cost of $15 or so. If you don’t have a tap handle, taps, or necessary drill bits, this will actually save you money as all the aforementioned items might cost you $30-45 total at your local hardware store.
I am happy with my finished Zaza Slider and I use it usually in conjunction with my Velbon 7000 tripod and sometimes with a rotatable ball head for diagonal or odd angled slider shots. The only drawback of the slider is it is 39 inches long and will not fit in an ordinary suitcase or duffle bag, which makes it hard to travel with if you’re flying. I had to learn this the hard way as I was preparing to fly to New Orleans to cover First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to a local elementary school and appearance at a Play 60 event before the New Orleans Saints played the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, I roll big time. Actually, I spent most of my time at these events being herded around with the rest of the press pool, while being subjected to the icey stares of Secret Service agents. I really felt like cattle the way they roped us off and told us where to go and video. I wanted to scream, “I am the director of Log Warriors, treat me with some more respect.” Anyways, that should be a future story. The point is I was not able to take my Zaza Slider with me to New Orleans because I could not find a 39 inch or larger suitcase or dufflebag that could accommodate its odd length. The night before my trip I was at Walmart at 12:00 am with a measuring tape trying to see if I could fit my Zaza Slider into anything. That is how much I love my slider shots!
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When I first started to get interested in making movies, I often heard from “people in the know” that usually when writing a script, one page equals one minute of movie time. It didn’t take me long to realize that this was a false dictum, at least in my case. Personally, when I write a script, I try to leave room for improvisation and I like to include montages, long establishing shots, serene moments, tense moments, and contemplative moments that may take minutes on screen even though they appear as only one descriptive sentence on a page.
I recently watched Down by Law, a wonderful movie directed by legendary independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, and had a chance to browse the director’s commentary. One of the commentary segments touched upon the movie’s short script. Jarmusch said he had a hard time procuring funding for the movie because many producers felt that the script was too short and would not be able to produce a feature length movie and therefore, would not be as profitable. However, the movie actually turned out to be 107 minutes long with a script of under 50 pages. Jarmusch concluded his story with an example that went something like this:
You could have a line in a script that says, “Then the American Revolution starts and the killings begin.” However, that line might take up 10 minutes of your movie.
For my movie, Log Warriors, I wrote a script that was 6 pages long. I was hoping to produce a movie that was under 20 minutes in order to enter it into the BET Lens on Talent movie contest. However, to my genuine horror and delight, the movie turned out to be 42 minutes long.
Here is the script for Log Warriors, which was originally going to be called Best Friends Reunited. Take a look at the script and you can see how a 6 page script can produce a feature length movie. The lesson to take away is that you have to come up with your own “written page to movie minutes” conversion system to fit your writing and directing style. For me, it’s probably 1 script page = 4 minutes of movie time.
Also, if you want to make independent movies, you should watch Down by Law and listen to Jim Jarmusch’s commentary. However, I wouldn’t recommend watching Jarmusch’s other highly acclaimed movie, Ghost Dog – The Way of the Samurai.
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The new Log Warrior Workout fitness program was created by the original Log Warrior, Jimmy Loggins. With the Log Warrior Workout, Loggins has created a revolutionary fitness program that will transform your mind, body, and core all while using the natural power of the log. In this exciting new infomercial, you will learn about three new trailblazing fitness programs: the Log Warrior Workout, Introduction to Loga, and the Log-Jitsu Self Defense Program. The three videos come standard in your Log Warrior Workout DVD package. Rediscover your spirit core. It’s the Log!
run time: 6 minutes, 18 seconds
To order the Log Warrior Workout DVD Package, call 1-800-LOG-WARRIOR
Also, please watch the award-winning documentary about Jimmy Loggins, the founder of the Log Warrior Workout here.
Log Warriors Documentary directed by Jimmy Nguyen
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