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JunKitatani
Reviews
The Piece of Apple Pie (2010)
How to Make a Movie: for the General Public
"To me the great hope is... people that normally wouldn't be making movies will make them and suddenly some little girl in Ohio will be the new Mozart and will make a beautiful film using her father's camera-corder and the "Professionalism" of movie making will be destroyed forever and it will finally become an art form." -Francis Ford Coppola.
Ted Hope (truly free film) asked:
I think it would be a good post to list the "qualities" that make a film mediocre. Any suggestions?
I replied:
I agree. I'd stick to the bare-bones basics for the sake of simplicity. The very topic opens a can of worms. So much is out there already. Cut through the mucky confusion.
I'm thinking address the filmmakers still open to suggestion. Newbies and non jaded types. Not for the professional, critics, film buffs and experts. That'd be digging a deep hole.
I'd circumvent any discussion on cinematography, art direction, film stock, equipment, sound, music and effects. Just focus on story-telling, directorial jobs/work, performance (drawing out the best from actors) and editing.
The "Anyone can Make a Movie" method. Accessible to all from the regular Joe at home to people serious about filmmaking everywhere. A non elite audience. A non money/funding dependent explanation.
My suggestion is a hands on approach for people to see/do the work themselves. It's a fast and cheap professional level project. For anyone with a consumer grade camera, anywhere.
My focus on the foundation of filmmaking I equate to baking a cake. The rest is icing. I figure all the icing in the world can't make a cake taste better.
Get the basics down solid and the possibilities are endless. A weak grasp assures mediocrity.
I have a completed project that illustrates this idea. It's clear and simple. It works well and costs nothing.
The project is "Jun Kitatani - The Piece of Apple Pie" on Youtube.
The methodology is by Nicholas T. Proferes. He's Professor at Columbia University and teaches Directing at the Film School. He's worked with Elia Kazan, so it's old school and traditional. His book condenses all the director's jobs with a short screenplay used as a microcosm for a film.
"Film Directing Fundamentals" by Nicholas Proferes Leaf through the contents to see what's there on Amazon.
The style is basic, raw and unvarnished Dogme 95. Check it out on Wikipedia.
This book is popular so lots of people have used it, and the story/screenplay in it, to make their shorts. There is a list of links in the Youtube description box also.
Watch all the different versions. The main project video adheres to conventional standards that make up the foundation of filmmaking (precisely from the text by N. Proferes). At the same time it adheres to the Dogme 95 rules that focus on story, directing, editing and nothing else.
The films linked in the description box stray from convention, but have lots of leeway in production value.
N.B. All the versions are the same story from the same source ("Film Directing Fundamentals" by Nicholas Proferes) that delineates the methodology in a clear and concise manner.
I love it because it's so fast and cheap. Filmmakers can churn out pieces for practice like a painter with a sketch pad. Painters need to know how to draw before they paint. I equate this to learning how to draw for the filmmaker, so they can "paint" a feature length film.
I got over 30 camera set-ups with multiple takes in one 3 hour and a second 4 hour night for night shoot.
For me, the beauty of this is that anyone can do this. It's clear, simple, works well and costs nothing.
Adherence to an exacting recipe-like convention of standards in Directing for filmmaking may feel like a straight jacket, but there's a reason for it. It works, and it's the part of the basic grammar of telling a story on film, in a movie, in visual story telling.
To stray from fundamentals, even with added production value, assures mediocrity, because the craft of telling a story visually gets lost and garbled.
With Dogme 95, all you need is a hand-held consumer grade digital camera and editing software.
Only an elite few have the $$$, resources, funding and time to do a full scale production. If you're serious about filmmaking, movies, videos, chances are you're not part of the elite few with the connections and $$$.
So how do you make a professional level film? How do you avoid making a mediocre film without practice, training and flushing $$$ down the toilet?
How do you make a movie at home? How do you avoid mediocrity at home? For home movies, fan films, original shorts for friends and family. Videos made for fun, entertainment, viral fame, websites, etc.
Anyone can make a movie. Filmmaking is for everyone. Mediocrity is not an inevitable fate. It's just an unfortunate accident. Outstanding filmmaking is available to all.
Material for study, research and development in story telling (dramaturgy) for screen writing, directing and editing are readily available everywhere (all book stores and libraries). We have affordable user friendly technology at our disposal. Software is available that have capabilities that rival multi-million dollar editing suites.
If this Dogme 95 version of "The piece of Apple Pie" is shot with lights, sound, music and effects it will be very glossy looking. Now imagine it with a hip, snappy original story you wrote. Together with the confidence that knowledge and experience give you, add the $$$ and you're on the road to Cannes, Sundance or the Academy awards. Or have the best viral movies on the Internet. Whatever you want. No doubts and no fears. The possibilities are limitless.
Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
A Beautifully Executed Story of Being Misunderstood.
This film has a minimalist story structure, and is open-ended by design. The mood of the film is also minimalist with a post-modernist feel. The story arcs around inner conflict of the one lead and the outer conflict of the other.
They are both outsiders and misunderstood. Repressed and ostracized by ignorant and fearful people, their story is one of true horror. One is singled-out like Piggy in William Golding's The Lord of the Flies. The other is chased-down by angry towns-folk like Mary Shelley's monster in James Whale's 1931 telling of Frankenstein. The parallels are chilling.
The two leads communicate in Morse code at times, and there is the enigmatic plea of the creature to the human "Try to be me for a while." There is a secret code embedded in this film. Just like in Frankenstein when we see how the fleeing monster and the ostracized blind-man share in their plight: They meet, and there is a rare love between a man and a non-woman, a kind of true-love in it's asexuality. The creature Eli who says "Would you like me even if I'm not a girl?" has scars that look like certain male genitalia were removed (no sign of female genitalia anywhere, and the scar is too low for a hysterectomy). The subtext is there for us to see.
This film is a stark echo of a similar message sent out by Whale in 1931. Expertly wrapped in the genre that best shows the horror of the experience that is embodied in the message. The true horror is that it is just as pertinent 78 years later: The experience is lived and real today. Like the creature in the film, an untold number of people must still find refuge only in the dark. The coded messages are a reminder that fear and ignorance that vilify, repress and ostracize are very alive. When the plea to us to "try and be like me for a while" is made by the tortured soul, the lasting image is vivid, and the message is loud and clear: Stated in the way that a film is truly meant to say it. This film does it beautifully.
Gran Torino (2008)
Old School America meets Modern America
This film is poignant without corn/schmaltz; has social commentary without being too preachy; shows a strong leading hero without flashy stylized action; and is a simple, understated and beautiful reflection of dignity for both an American warrior in his golden years and the culture of his South East Asian neighbors. Not too much, not too little, and nicely balanced around Clint. Well, he is the man, isn't he?
A cohesive, well-told and believable story in the tradition of old school American film-making. Perfectly made in it's own genre. A solid piece of entertainment that's well worth the price. What more can you ask for?
Q: Would I buy this DVD?
A: Yes. I'd save it for when I'm in vapid-story action movie overload.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Expand ending and re-release to make-back more money.
Re-release it and expand the ending. The film will make-back a lot more money this way.
1. Present final scene at the station (The quiet before the storm). No button reveal: Boy is disappointed with girl's new jacket, takes out envelope, girl tells him "Keep it, it's yours, I gave it to you" before he has a chance to say anything, he agrees and puts it away. This causes some misunderstanding and slight discord. They both shrug it off.
2. New final scene at country house (Final climactic ending). Evil occurs right away; boy sees it too and is convinced. The evil horned antagonist has physical form and is there waiting for them. Girl is confused, but fighting commences. It gets bigger with time and has the help of Hell's minions, who join the attack. (Hell comes to the house) Button is revealed: Girl tells boy "Give it back to me; I have to finish this fight." Her soul gets taken but she becomes a Hell Queen. With the help of all the cursed souls, she destroys the thing. Teary-eyed boyfriend exclaims: "I'll see you in Hell." The End