Stanley Kubrick, Cinephile

I grew up watching Stanley Kubrick films. The first film that I have seen was Eyes Wide Shut in 1999 when I was 14 years old. I remember a book in our house about the great American directors which included Kubrick as well. Late 90's saw the rise of DVD's and I was lucky enough to find his earlier works. I have around 10 books on Kubrick in my home including the famous Taschen edition as well as Eyes Wide Open by Raphael Frederick which only had only one publication. (I have it!)
We have very few interviews of him but we know one thing for sure, he was a cinephile. BFI published a new post about Kubrick's obsession with cinema as well as his favourite ten films.
It is great to revisit pioneers of cinema especially from the silent era.
There was a time in my life where I had time to watch films as much as I could. Yes those were the days when I was a student and I could just grab a film and study it. In Helsinki, I could see those pictures in cinema with black and white film projection. How lucky was I!
I know there will be time again in my life where I will be able to revisit these films.
Click here to go to the article.

Nolan on Following

The Criterion Collection's twenty minute featurette with Christopher Nolan on Following is amazing. Nolan talks about the choices he made during the production of Following in order to create a fictional world within the financial and technical boundaries he had.
This is an important piece for young filmmakers who have similar limitations. Nolan mostly argues that one should benefit from everything he/she has around him/herself. Understanding the limitations and walking around that is crucial.
The piece is highly recommended!

Seaburners

I have had the chance to work in Melisa Onel's feature debut "Seaburners" in the beginning of March, 2013. It was my first work after military service as well as my first AD'ing experience after 4 years.
During the shoot, my responsibilities included prepping and distributing the call sheets, assisting Mira Furlan and working closely with the first AD for scheduling and organising the shoot. I was also responsible for keeping track of the shoot and taking notes for the editor.
Seaburners is out! Go see it and support first time filmmakers!

Eve’s Recipe for success

1. Having recently red Hollywood Drive: What it Takes to Break in, Hang in & Make it in the Entertainment Industry by Eve Light Honthaner, I just wanted to share the author's recipe for success. The book is highly recommended for anyone outside of the film business looking to break in or who wants to switch their careers within the film industry. 
2. 
   

1. •a sincere love of the business
2. •one positive attitude
3. •one winning personality
4. •an array of well-developed people skills
5. •one large network, along with a vast collection of solid industry relationships
6. •endless reserves of energy
7. •huge portions of assertiveness and chutzpa
8. •a touch of humility
9. •heaps of inspiration and creativity
10. •a plethora of determination
11. •a willingness to start at the bottom and pay your dues
12. •an abundance of hard work mixed together with a “can do” philosophy
13. •an impressive knowledge of the business, blended thoroughly with an assortment of well-informed opinions
14. •the desire to keep learning and to give more than what’s expected
15. •the time to have fun and make new friends
16. •at least one unique quality that sets you apart from the crowd
17. •one foot capable of getting into multiple doors
18. •an ability to do well on interviews
19. •a workable plan to get you where you want to go
20. •the conviction that you’re in it for the long haul
21. •the patience and tenacity to get there
22. •enough savings or an alternate source of income to get you through the lean times
23. •oodles of confidence, motivation and self-esteem
24. •the intuitiveness to anticipate the needs and tastes of others and to remain a step ahead
25. •the talent to deliver a great pitch
26. •one teflon coat
27. •ten gallons of shark repellent to ward off all overinflated egos, nasty tempers, annoying back-stabbers and sleazeballs
28. •liberal amounts of schmoozing
29. •the time and effort to keep up contacts
30. •the support and recommendation of others
31. •one sense of humor
32. •at least one helpful and inspiring mentor
33. •the belief that in spite of all the competition, rejection, insecurity, uncertainty, nepotism and politics -- you will work again, sell a project or get a good role
34. •one stellar reputation
35. •generous dashes of passion and excitement
36. •a huge sense of pride and accomplishment for having made it this far!

The Importance of Visual Reference Gathering - 125 Images!

I just came across this great podcast on the ASC website. Michael Seresin, BSC talks with Iain Stasukevich about the making of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and his collaboration with the director, producer, production designer, 3D techs and visual effects team as a cinematographer. 
At one point during the session, he mentions the 125 reference images that the director shows him to discuss the look of the film. Photographs, paintings, stills or sequences from other films, films he or the director has shot constitutes this visual book, 125 reference images. 
There is no point in discussing the importance of visual reference gathering yet very few of us really do it.. It is a great way to discuss a project with others, to incubate an idea and a great source of inspiration when one lose tracks of his project.. 

To listen the podcast on the American Cinematographer website, click here.

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)

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.


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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...

From Charles Chaplin: My Autobiography

The mechanics of directing were simple in those days. I had only to know my left from my right for entrances and exists. If one exited right from a scene, one came in left in the next scene; if one exited towards the camera, one entered with one's back to the camera in the next scene. These, of course, were primary rules.

But with more experience I found that the placing of a camera was not only pscyhological but articulated a scene; in fact it was the basis of cinematic style. If the camera is a little to near, or too far, it can enhance or spoil an effect. Because economy of movement is important you don't want an actor to walk any unneccesary distance unless there is a special reason, for walking is not dramatic. Therefore placement of camera should effect composition and a graceful entrance for the actor. Placement of camera is cinematic inflection. There is no set rule that a close-up gives more emphasis than a long shot. A close-up is a question of feeling; in some instances a long shot can effect greater emphasis.

p. 152

Stan Winston Studios

I remember when I was an undergraduate student at Bilgi University, I was desperately sending my CV to Stan Winston Studios. Of course I never received any reply from them but that's okay. :) I think the first time I sent my CV was in the year 2005.
But my real fascination to Stan Winston really started after having seen Jurassic Park in 1993 when I was eight years old. I was astonished by what I have seen on the big screen and it was just incredible.
When I was in Taik, in Helsinki (maybe the only film school left in the world where they have production design department as well - because today most of the film school don't have a design studio) I was walking around through the studios and I found this book about the art and craft of Stan Winston Studios. I decided to scan the pages related to Dinosaurs and share it in this blog!
Stan Winston passed away couple of years ago but the studio is still very active.
You can check an extract from the book by clicking here.

Terrence Masson, a full time academic faculty and Director of Creative Industries at Northeastern University in Boston came to Sabanci University for Isea2011 Istanbul and he presented his paper Revolution. Excellence. Agility. I was very pleased by the lecture as it also covered his collaboration with Stan Winston. Here's the video. I hope you enjoy it. 

Finally

It is nice to realize that I can log in to my blog again and write whatever I want. The last couple of weeks have been both exciting and sometimes depressing. As usual, I am reading a lot of stuff for my thesis but when it comes to writing, the process becomes very difficult. The Film Festival is now over and it was nice to see a bunch of good films as well as some old friends from high school.
I think the best part of the Film Festival was the conversation with Derviş Zaim which was held in Aksanat. You can see an extract from this link.
As for my projects, I am trying to develop two fiction films but my biggest fear is to let them go before they have been incubated long enough. I think this is something that I usually do, I start discouraging myself about how bad my ideas are and in the end, the projects dies, unrealized.
In that sense, I think it would be nice to share in this blog, an article from the good, old Mackendrick about the techniques for having ideas. But most importantly, how to keep them alive?

The Beauty of Bresson