3. Filmmaking Goals

I once read that you shouldn't tell someone all your long-term goals and dreams because it shows a lack of focus. What will you do today- isn't that the more important question? Today, and more generally this semester, I want to become more comfortable with the language of film and to study the technology, structure, and creative processes that go into creating films. I still feel very unsure about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of making films, but already the material we’ve been assigned in class is starting to clarify things that until this point have been unclear.

         As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve had my sights set on being a filmmaker since I was relatively young. Not much has changed in terms of my aspirations, but the stepping-stones I imagine will take me there are in constant flux. What will I do after graduation? Or even before? When and where can I work? Where will I be in three years, five years, ten? My mind is constantly swimming with ideas, options, and future plans. For the time being, I’m focusing on my college plans and educating myself as best I can on the basics of film and business.

In the long-term, though, I have many goals for my career. These range from directing music videos to writing and directing my first feature. These events have slowly organized themselves into little clusters on my future timeline, where they share space with events like marriage and children, and goals for my finances and business throughout the years. I don’t expect to just find my future jobs or earn them or have them handed to me; I think I’ve sufficiently wrapped my head around the idea that I will make my own opportunities. I don’t expect things to go according to plan, either, but having the plan is what drives me. It gives me a reason to work and try and hope. Things will work out however they do, and at the end of each day I will remind myself (if I happen to forget) that I am capable, I am blessed, and I am happy.

2. Visual Inspirations

Here is a short list of some of my favorite visual references, collected over the years and stashed away for future inspiration.


First off, I have a few references for the way I like my home and workspace to be. I like for things to be bright, clean, and uncluttered. In particular I like modern style homes with some interesting personal pieces thrown in here and there. In line with what we covered in Cinematography for Directors this week, these might be examples of references for a character's home.

However, I might also reference some of my favorite "personal" items, like this rotary phone,

this Keystone film projector,

or this 1960's Arco floor lamp.

All of these items inspire me and I like to keep them in mind as references for my own style and design sense . . . 

Which brings me to my favorite design inspirations, Macintosh computers. Because who says computers have to be beige or black? I can't get enough of the design of these older Macs and miss the days when they were frequently seen in schools and offices. Thankfully, I'm not the only one who feels this way, and many filmmakers, stylists, photographers, etc. make a point to incorporate these computers into their  works. For example, this website lists films which feature the colorful "clamshell" iBook G3, shown below.

Second to the iBooks, I like the original iMacs, which came in colors like Blueberry, Lime, and Tangerine.

Also, just for fun, here's an example of my favorite mod project, the iMacquarium.

Another visual inspiration is celebrity photographs. Here are two I particularly like of Karen O, the lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I think both of these images epitomize her onstage personality and energy. She is, in a word, ballsy. Not to mention they draw attention to the contrast between her rocker persona (think lots of screaming and jumping) and her high heeled glitter-infused style.

Recently, I saw this poster for the film Melancholia, starring Kirsten Dunst.

I like the photograph, which is taken from above her as she "floats" in a pond. It reminded me of this Rolling Stone cover featuring Fiona Apple partially submerged in water, as well as the famous painting of Ophelia by John Everett Millais. I don't think that's any coincidence as the film is a metaphorical story of depression, and the painting was probably a direct reference for the poster. This image successfully conveys the emotion without sacrificing beauty or creativity.

Speaking of creativity, I really liked this photo by Annie Leibovitz, which poses Keira Knightley as Dorothy in front of a modern Emerald City skyline.

Annie Leibovitz takes lots of great, cinematic photos, and often substitutes current celebrities for nostalgic roles. Here are two more images from a series she did for Disney, featuring actresses Julianne Moore and Rachel Weisz. Notice where the light seems to be coming from in the first one, keeping in mind that each part of the photograph was probably shot separately and then combined. In the second, she uses some dramatic light rays filtering through the forrest trees to backlight her subject.

Speaking of beautiful actresses, this is my favorite image from the Mike Nichols film Closer. Although I don't really like the plot of the film, the cinematography is alluring and very appropriate. Here, Natalie Portman has just finished a conversation with Clive Owen and is left standing in a well-framed bust from the side, silhouette style. I also like the soft backgrounds in this scene, which takes place at a well-lit photography exhibit.

Next is a favorite image from a Regina Spektor concert. I went to see her live once in Atlanta, and for the last song she put a disco ball on the floor and shone a light at it, so the whole stage looked like the night sky. Regina, or course, remained lit by a warm yellow light, creating a nice contrast and an awesome composition.

Last but not least is a picture I'm always inspired by, of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm really interested in all kinds of bridges, and this is no doubt a great one. I love the framing of this photo, the high contrast, and the deep saturation in the orange of the bridge and the dark blues of the bay.

1. Top Ten Movies

1. The Sixth Sense
This is my favorite movie of all time. The one that started it all, at least for me. I think I was eleven or so when I saw it for the first time, and not only did it get me thinking about what makes a good story, it turned me on to the fact that filmmaking was an actual career for some people. So that was kind of it. I knew from that moment on I would be a filmmaker.

Above is a screenshot for which I have (somewhere) an accompanying storyboard. The sketch looks exactly the way it was shot, which I think says a lot about the detail with which the director, M. Night Shyamalan, planned and story-boarded his films. I also really liked this quote from him:
"In all great movies . . . the great, great movies, there's some element of magic . . . Something that goes beyond paper, where you go, you know, you put A with B and you get this. No, it's something beyond that. You can never recreate it if you try, you can never recreate it."


2. The Emperor's New Groove
Definitely the funniest kid's movie I have ever seen. A guilty pleasure that I'm not so guilty about.

3. When Harry Met Sally
This is the movie my girlfriend and I watch at least once a year. It's so funny, the music is awesome, and it just makes you want to find a great apartment in the Times' obituaries and move to New York.

Skip to 2:18. Has anyone ever looked as good as Meg Ryan on New Year's Eve? If you haven't seen this movie you really need to. "It's about old friends."


4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This film is inventive and compelling and visually striking and sad and funny and colorful and beautiful and all the things I like about movies.

“How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot? The world forgetting by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. Each prayer accepted and each wish resigned.” – AlexanderPope

5. Contact
I'm a big fan of Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and this is probably my favorite films of his, although I also really like What Lies Beneath. I'm particularly obsessed with Contact's sound effects and story line. The sound effects are so specific and so pitch-perfect and unique, and I like the fact that the story doesn't shy away from religion and doesn't push a "Hollywood" agenda or purport that science killed God and everyone is an atheist. I think it's accurate about how people view the intersection of faith and science.

6. The Ring
I've seen The Ring more times than I can count. No, it isn't perfect and no, it isn't for everyone. But it is definitely for me. The Ring falls in a very small group of well-made supernatural thrillers for the teenage demographic. Having been a teenager for the past seven years and searching incessantly for other movies that were on par with this, believe me when I say they are few and far between. It's scary, it's fun, and it's downright entertaining.

 

Also note the wonderfully blue-green color palette. This film is very specific in color, soundtrack, and locations, which I've always admired.

7. The Pelican Brief
I love The Pelican Brief mostly for its excellent story, adapted from a John Grisham novel. I have a thing for political thrillers, and this is one of my personal favorites. Of course Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts are fantastic (and even better in HD). Always good for a night when you just want a good, solid movie with friends or family.

8. Titanic
Admit it: you've seen it, and you love it. Even if you don't want to, from the music to the melodramatic acting, Titanic is pitch-perfect and practically irresistible. I'm not ashamed to say that I watched this movie when I was in the first grade and it has impacted my taste and vision for film immensely. And not just the sex. Titanic is cinema in the grandest possible style, and that is exactly how it should be.

9. The House of the Devil
This is a film I first saw at Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham two years ago. Executed in the style of early eighties horror, The House of the Devil builds suspense steadily and carefully before exploding into a truly intense ending worthy of the horror genre. Not everyone was happy with the resolution to the plot, but I thought it made sense and was satisfying. Regardless of that arguable flaw, this is definitely a horror movie worth watching.

10. Tootsie
Last but not least, a classic comedy starring one of my favorite actors, Dustin Hoffman, as an actor. I really wasn't expecting Tootsie to be as good as it was; if you haven't seen it yet and are in need of a good laugh you should definitely check it out.