Adventureland

Synopsis for INDIA - Self-initiated Project

This is a project that I have been thinking and dreaming for some time but due to my daily busy life as well as procrastination, I have not been able to work on this project for further development. Since I have some free time at the moment, I sincerely think that I should start thinking about how to develop this idea into a much more concrete proposal. I have prepared a small synopsis for On the Bridge, a workshop where I will have the possibility to present it. Hopefully by the end of next week, I will have a much more concrete synopsis.

"I'll not date in August" (working title)

Premise: Peace leads to a happy life but does peace come easy? Adaptation from I.N.D.I.A, a short story written by Dana Dutch

This is a proposal for a ten minute short film for a younger generation about a girl who meets a boy when in her life she gave up thinking about romance. She finally decides that she really cannot dictate anything to her own heart and wonders how funny little circumstances brought major changes in her life.

The purpose of producing this film is to give the viewer the experience that sometimes we are so fed up with out busy lives, we really have hard times understanding what is really going on around us. This is the story of a girl who happens to meet somebody when she expects the least from the opposite sex. 

Moreover, by adapting a short story from a comic book written by Dana Dutch, I expect to reveal the glossy aesthetics from the melodramas of the 50s as well as capturing and interpreting the sudden emergence of the boy and the girl. The story deals with the inner life of its characters and to visualize it in a cinematic manner is the purpose of the film. 

 

Verna

in 2010, I was offered a place at the Helsinki Film School as an Erasmus student. During my time in the film school, I had a chance to observe Finnish film students producing short films. Verna was one of them and I worked in the production to document the process. Here's the video.

The Film Director by David Lean

The director is the man responsible for putting the story on the screen. He is, or should be, a story-teller in pictures, and as such is the filter through which the acting and technical talents pass on their way to the celluloid.

Most movie enthusiasts think at heart that they are born directors; it is quite probable that you do, too. I am going to try and make you think again; but first let me confess it is one of the most fascinating jobs in the world.

Have you got imagination? Have you extreme tenacity of purpose? Do you like hard work? Are you the sort of person who will use most known methods to see your ideas carried through to the end? If your answer is yes, read on.

There is no short cut to direction and most of the established directors of today have come up through a succession of studio departments into their present jobs. The director has to give orders, and he must give possible orders. It is no use asking the sound-man or the cameraman to do something which is beyond the limits of sound recording or camera work. The director must also be able to protect himself from technicians who might persuade him that the possible is impossible. He must have authority, and he can only have that authority if he has a general knowledge of his craft. I should mention here that on occasions directors have come straight into the film studios from the stage, but in these cases it will always be found that a cameraman or film-editor has given him the technical knowledge which he would otherwise lack. (It is an interesting sidelight on these stage producers that I can only remember two of them who have had the grace to give their cameraman screen credit alongside their own: NOEL COWARD on In Which We Serve, ORSON WELLES on Citizen Kane. Good company!)

Rooney Mara

Last year around this time, just before my return to Istanbul, I was having my last days in Helsinki. It was around mid-December. Most of my friends were already gone to celebrate the Christmas so I was pretty much left alone and I was discovering Helsinki for the last time. I was visiting my favorite spot, Orion to watch black and white movies from the mid-fifties and I was having a cup of coffee in the bar next to the film theater. Helsinki was in a way a perfect place to discover myself. I could walk by myself in the afternoon when the city was almost in the dark but you could still spot the blues in the sky as well as warm colors coming from restaurants and bars.. which was a perfect mixture to describe being alone and not feeling bad about yourself.

Then The Social Network (2010) came around and I went to see it just before I came back. Besides the fact that I was inspired by the film, there was one thing that attracted me more than the film itself. And that was Rooney Mara who played the ex-girlfriend of the main character.

Rooney Mara was born in 1985 and this makes it my peer. I really don't know much about her except she is a very talented actress but I also believe that, deep inside, she is a very beautiful girl..

Today I had a chance to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) with my father and realized that the film was shot in Sweden. Suddenly I felt at home since I realized the filmmaker had benefited from this dark blues and warm colors that surrounds Scandinavian cities. I realized I missed being there. And Mara was there to produce this film. This connection made me happy.

Improvisational Cinema

The film you have just seen was an improvisation.

From Shadows (dir. John Cassavetes, 1959)

I made certain choices

From Hanna (dir. Joe Wright, 2011)

Editing Isea2011 Documentary on Avid Media Composer 6.0

 

The Beauty of 16 mm on Skin Tones

Make the Cut is a beautiful book!

Make the Cut is a beautiful book. Not only it teaches you the unwritten laws of film industry, it also emphasizes the importance of making short term and long terms plans in order to keep up with the industry without having a nervous breakdown. And it teaches you how to shine!
The book, in some cases, reminded me how important to be specific about one's own ideas and dreams. I think this book is not only for editors or assistant editors but for anybody who would like to have a career in feature film market.
Having said this, when I look at the books about cinematography or art direction, very few of them really mentions about career plans and moving in the industry.


++


The film industry is highly compartmentalized. It sucks to be indecisive!

John Seale Masterclass sponsored by Panavision

I am really happy that I have been able to find myself in this panel as a cinematographer. Needless to say without the help and support of Benjamin B, this would have never happened.
Click here to see the post by Benjamin B at Panavision official website.

Mayerson on Animation: Freelancing

I have been following this blog for the last couple of months and although it is mostly about animation, I find some entries really useful especially the ones about the production side of animation making as well as the aesthetics of it. I would like to share in this blog the entry about working as a freelancer and your rights that you should keep in mind before starting working with a client. It is recommended to anybody who does freelance work.

Mayerson on Animation: Freelancing: I'm writing this post for the benefit of Sheridan animation students and grads, but it may prove useful to others. If you are not on salary...