Feet Up! :: Summer Movies

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I’ve never been completely sure why there are so many big films that come out during the summer- aren’t we supposed to be outside while the weather is nice?  Ok, so I live in a temperate climate and we take all we can get when it comes in the form of sunshine.  I guess its the idea that school is out and that we supposedly have “more time” so we fit in more movies- is that it?

Anyway, whether it’s us escaping the heat for a few hours or having more time, there is the usual Michael Bay film out this summer.  I believe it’s another Transformers movie and  I probably won’t see it until the it comes out on DVD unless I end up going with a group of friends who are still enamored by Michael Bay movies.  It’s not that I don’t like his films, I actually do enjoy them from time to time, but it’s that each film gets more explosive and dizzying and the stories don’t seem to matter much anymore.  It’s all about the special effects and dare I say, they are all starting to look the same?

I’ve been having these thoughts for a while, and then I saw this:

Tony Zhou

 

I guess if I had examined several Michael Bay films, I would have see why I’ve been having these thoughts and this little critique explains it all.  It gives me a whole new appreciation for Bay’s work and although I may not be seeing his newest film this summer, I do enjoy his work.  I probably won’t be able to watch one of his films in the same way in the future but at least I know where to go when I want an action packed adventure.

Happy movie going this summer and if you do see the new Transformers, think of this little film as a little film school tutorial.  You never know what you might notice!

Feet Up! :: Dorian Gray

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Part of “putting my feet up” this summer is trying to read a bit more and spend less time in front of my computer.  I sometimes feel like my computer has become an extension of me and would very much like to rectify that and go back to old fashioned entertainment such as reading.  I have a huge list of books that I would like to read and why not knock off a few of those during the long warm days of summer?

So far, I’ve managed to read the following:

And I’m hoping to tackle a few more by the end of the summer.  These long afternoons in the sun are the perfect time to catch up on my reading list while working on my tan.

Of course, I can’t stray too far from the visuals of video and film.  After all, that’s what I do for a living isn’t it?  I found this little beauty a few weeks ago and couldn’t help but share it with you:

Gergely Wootsch

 

It’s been years since I read this book but I remember it fondly mostly because before I read it, I thought I was going to hate it.  I’m not a big fan of this era of literature but was on vacation, had read everything else that I had brought with me and someone happened to have this lying around.  So I read it and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it and was equally astonished at the themes that it addresses considering the date at which it was written.

I love this little animation because for once the story hasn’t been turned into a corny horror film and actually looks at the social and political stances at the time that the book was written.  It condenses it all into just a few minutes concisely and most importantly, it leaves me wanting more- always a good thing in a book review.

Feet Up! :: Baseball Borders

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There are a lot of things that I love about summer- for one thing I’ve really been enjoying the warm temperatures and the sunshine!  One thing that really stands out to me though is baseball season.  Baseball is one of those things that is always on despite the time of the day or where you are in the country, so it’s kind of hard not to associate summer with the all-American pastime.

And, I come from a family that loves baseball. When I was little there was always a game on at my Grandparents’ houses.  If it wasn’t on the TV it was on the radio or someone was checking out stats in the newspaper every morning.  I guess you can say I didn’t have a chance with all that exposure- I can’t help but like it.  I’m sure it could have gone the other way, but I’m glad that I didn’t end up hating it.

A few months ago, a friend of mine posted this article from the NY Times and it caught my eye:

baseball-zips2

click here for the full article

I had never really thought about the geography of a team’s fan base before.  With globalization and the movement of people, it’s not at all unusual to see people supporting teams from other parts of the country, or the world, than the area that they are currently in.  If you click on the link and actually use the interactive map, it’s amazing how a block here or there can change a fan base.

Now I know this has nothing to do with film, but it does have to do with documentary in the wider term of the word.  It is documenting something about the U.S. and its love for its national sport.  One thing that I find so fascinating (and terrifying) about it is that the whole thing was put together by people’s preferences and location on websites and facebook.  There’s Big Data for you…  So perhaps we do stay in our little corners of the world when it comes to baseball and we haven’t yet roamed quite as far as I had assumed.

If you are one of those crazy baseball fans out there- enjoy the rest of the season!  It’s the perfect reason to put your feet up at the end of the day and enjoy a cold drink.

Feet up! :: Stirred not shaken

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Happy Independence Day to all of my American readers!  I’m not a huge celebrator of this holiday although perhaps I should.  I grew up overseas where the most we did was eat burgers for dinner and maybe wear some combination of red and blue.  Other than that, we really didn’t do much.  The Brits aren’t huge celebrators of the American holiday- no surprise really.

As we’re all busy and off to drink copious amounts of beer and BBQ our food with friends and family I leave you with one short video to inspire your festivities and maybe even give you something else to indulge in this 4th of July:

Claire Thomas

 

I love the light in this short!  My only complaint is that some of the text is hard to read – maybe a nice outline or shadow next time?  Hope this inspires some good celebratory fun and hope everyone has a safe independence day!

Put your feet up

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How is it possible that time seems to slow in the summer?  Is it because the days are longer? Is it because the sun makes us forget about our busy schedules?  Is it because we somehow have less to do?  I’m pretty sure it’s not because we have less to do but it’s the perfect time of year to spend more time “hanging out” and a little less nose-to-the-grindstone like we do the rest of the year.

As we are at this lazy time of year…

July--feet

Take some extra time to relax with friends and maybe leave the office half an hour earlier than usual.  And, in case you can’t make either of those things happen, take a quick break with what I have in store in the next few weeks.  Short and simple and hopefully a quick break from the every day slog – something to make you want to say “Cheers”!.

 

Tracks

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Film festivals have become the center of my life in the last few months.  Between working on getting  current projects into  festivals and attending films at festivals, I’ve become dependent on festival catalogues and spend far too much time looking at what films are playing at what time.  It’s almost like I’m back working for a festival again but for once I’m on the other end of the phone asking the questions instead of having to know all of the answers.

Now normally I would try to see documentaries to see what other people are working on but I’ve been mixing in narrative film as well.  One film in particular, Tracks, is an interesting mix of the two as it is technically a narrative piece while being based on a true story.  Now perhaps some scenes aren’t exactly the way that it happened, but for the most part the story is in tact.

Dir. John Curran

I know that the idea of watching a girl walk across q desert with four camels and a dog, interrupted periodically by a photojournalist, may not sound like the most invigorating story, but somehow it captures your attention for the full two hours.  I love the cinematography in this film.  It’s beautiful and it moves the viewer through the film so seamlessly (with many thanks to the editor and the composer too) that it’s pure eye candy.

The film also has another draw for me in that photojournalist Rick Smolan is featured in this film which adds an interesting connection for me.  I happen to work with Rick’s brother and at times with Rick.  It’s a surreal experience watching a film where you see the same name that’s sitting in your inbox pop on the movie screen.  I know better than to think of this person on the screen to be the true Rick, but it’s amazing to see someone who looks and sounds so much like him.

If you have the chance to see this film, I would highly recommend it. And, for those who are completely entranced by the story and want to know more, there is a book and the original National Geographic article.

Food + Friends + Nature :: Nature

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As a freelance filmmaker, you never know where you’ll be working next.  Exciting, yes.  It also causes a lot of stress because you never know where your next paycheck will be coming from.

Enter, the side job. Now the trick with the side job is finding one that is flexible so that you can work on your projects and also pays well.  It’s not the easiest thing to accomplish as any artist can tell you.  So for this summer, I’m working as a gardener for a family friend.  I’ve actually did this when I was in college to make money during the summer and to be honest, its still one of my favorite summer jobs because I get to be outside a lot.  Ask me in a few months how I feel about it and I’ll probably tell you that I’m sick of it because I will have weeded the same flowerbed 100 times and the weeds are still prevailing. In any case, it’s still not a bad gig.

I found this video a few months ago but haven’t had the chance to share it with you.  It reminded me of pruning bushes last week, although what I do is very tame compared to this.  It also reminded me of working on my last project as we were filming up in the mountains and some of our team spent a lot of time moving wood around the property getting ready for our very large bonfire.

Juliet Zulu

I like the play of light in this even though it has a very limited color palet.  It’s hard to make green interesting, but Juliet’s combination of light and texture of the trees make it visually interesting.  Another plus- it’s short and to the point.  Just enough to grab your attention while giving you the information you crave.

Food + Friends + Nature :: The Friends

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Friends are one of those things that a lot of us take for granted.  It’s when we finally see those we haven’t seen in a long time that we realize how important they are to us.

Friends

In the last 10 years, I’ve moved around a lot, met a lot of people and made some great friends but I don’t get to see many of them very often.  In fact, there are some that I don’t see for years at a time.

Last month was a nice change for me because even though I was very busy with work I was able to see friends I hadn’t seen in several years, ran into friends I hadn’t been in contact with in a long time, made new friends and met the next generation of friends because lets face it, I’m at that age where my friends are having babies.  All of which I’m feeling very grateful for.  Why so nostalgic at the moment? I’m not really sure.

While looking back over the last few weeks and contemplating how nice it’s been to see so many people that mean something to me, I found this article: The 5 Types of Friends Everyone Should Have. Now this may not be the be-all-to-end-all list of friend types that we should all have, but I thought that it made a good point.  We really should all have:

  1. The friend who is always down for whatever.
  2. The friend slightly cooler than you.
  3. The friend you admire.
  4. The friend that doesn’t know any of your other friends.
  5. The friend whom you’ve known forever.

I probably have more of no. 4 than I would like- but I like that I have so much diversity and that they live all over the glove.  I also have several no. 5 which is always a comfort.

I know that I’ve moved away from my usual video analysis, but just for this week, I want to take the time to acknowledge all those people that I like to spend my time with and can only hope that I get to see them more over the summer months and beyond. Because really, what is life without the people we share it with?

Food + Friends + Nature :: The Food

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Last month, I worked for a small start-up in Seattle called ChefSteps.  If you like food and/or science, you must check them out.  It’s a very unique place where food and science come to you and inspire you to be a better cook.  That’s my mini plug over.  I’ll probably talk about them again in the future so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The project had me working with an amazing group of chefs who, like any one who cares about what they produce, are passionate about what they share with their customers.  They weren’t dishing up ramen, but the passion and intensity that they put into everything they do comes through in this film (I don’t think they are quite this intense when they’re driving though):

Nowness

 

Besides making me very hungry for ramen, I love this video because it conveys the personality of the main character so well.  I guess it’s a toss up between the Ivan Orkin and the ramen, but either way, you know who they are by the end.  The camera work is good, although I would have liked to see some more color in some shots, but overall I loved it.  I don’t know if it’s inspired me enough to go and make ramen for myself (there are a few more steps than I have time for) but I’m ready to go hunting for the best ramen restaurant that I can find.

Another month gone…

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May was one of the busiest months I’ve had in a long time and to be honest I loved every moment of it.  It was one of those good types of busy where I was exhausted by the end of the day (in a good way) and I looked forward to the next day.  I hope June can bring something like that because I’m feeling very fulfilled at the moment.

What was keeping me so busy?  I don’t know if I’m quite ready to share that yet as there is a lot in post-production to be done, but to give you an idea, it involved:

  1. Spending time up in the mountains.
  2. Food.  Lots of food. Really good food.
  3. Visiting with friends.
  4. Camping.
  5. Puppies.
  6. Watching films at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF).

I know.  Not a lot to go by, but like I said, post-production is going to take a while.

I don’t have much of a theme for this month but after reflecting on this last month, I’m using themes from the last few weeks to inspire my next few posts.

Food,-Friends,-Nature

A broad topic I know… stay tuned.