mine

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist Dies at 83

The first images from the short film “Night Light” came my way today.  Talk about playing in the “mud”.  The only manipulation done to these images is an increase in brightness in the highlights and mid-tones and a slight desaturation.  Otherwise, I do like it – the final color correction should be fun. 

9-10 Sept. – I left my sleep in San Francisco.  It was a weekend in Alameda and a few thousand feet closer to having a two-year old project finished.  I was the gaffer on this show. 

I’ll write more later – it’s a very late night in Ft. Worth and I need to sleep.  I figured it would be nice to publish some pictures for those involved. 

It’s a fairly close representation of what seven hours of driving and a pinched nerve feels like.

“The Jay”

Brad Bird does a cameo.


Brad Bird and director Teddy Newton.  If I remember correctly, the conversation went something like, “have you ever been in so much pain that it started to be funny?”

Our fearless leader, Producer Aaron Rattner.


It was somewhere during the second day that someone other than the DP asked that some lights be adjusted based on the video assist monitor.  What the hell – figure it out.


We are Devo.

Yes, the movie will be this funny!

Finally, finally, finally, a narrative production to work on and I can hardly wait.  “Night Light” is the brainchild of director Mark Mullenkamp with whom I shot “Lure” late last year.  It’s a fantastic idea that revolves around a child who’s afraid of the dark only to find that the darkness on one night ends up saving his life.

We’re shooting  with my old friend the Panasonic VariCam provided by Alternative Rentals.  It’s a nine page script and we’ve got two days to shoot it.

This is by far and away the deepest into darkness I’ve gone with regards to the image.  We’ll see if it was too much.  It reminds me of what Gordon Willis said about playing in the darkness when he remembers “Godfather II”, “I might have gone too far at times.”  We’ll see.

At any rate, without a doubt it’ll be one of the best short films I’ve worked on.  The story is simple but strong, the visuals dark but dramatic.  This is definitely a project I can’t wait to see finished and soon!

Mark directs his young actor.  He did a fabulous job working with someone so young.

The killer enters.

Clothespin art.  Someone had way too much times on their hands.

(more…)

I don’t usually include this kind of stuff, but it is my blog so I can certainly do what I want.

A dear friend of mine sent me this in an email and I thought I’d share it here too.

- – - : – - – : – - -

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.

- – - : – - – : – - -

Thanks Melissa.

27 Aug to 2 Sept -

Travel Day:
A storm is on its way and yet it’s dry in Texas.  We’re right now hanging out at a bar in the terminal in Houston.  It seems that in Texas you can’t buy a drink until after noon.  Weak.

Two things are happening today that don’t inspire much confidence.  The first is that plane went down in Kentucky just after takeoff.  On the bright side what are the odds of lightening striking twice? (Actually it’s about 1 in 280,000.)

The other is Hurricane Ernesto.  News this morning said that it has shifted and is now on a course toward Florida.  Super Weak.

Funny thing.  I’m still at the terminal and i have to use the “facilities” and as I’m about to sit down, there’s a mosquito hanging out at the edge of the water.  The last thing I need is a bit in the rump.  So as I move back to figure out how to deal with my little friend, I  tripped the sensor and the toilet flushes.  With that problem solved.  I don’t really have a point here.

As our segment producer aptly pointed out, “we’re not in Oklahoma anymore.”  It’s also the calm before the storm.

This is the first trip where I was able to stay in touch with my girl back home via iChat video.  It’s cool because I get to see her and no so cool because I miss her a little bit more.  Ah, to be young and in love!

Day One:

This time we’re at Eddie Trotta’s new custom motorcycle shop, Thunder Cycles.  Eddie is by far and away one of the most respected custom bike builders in the nation.  So why doesn’t he have his own show?  Well because he’s a bike builder and not a cartoon like so many of the folks you see on TV.  Ouch.

We have no idea what this cool looking ring of coolness is for, but after ten minutes, Photoshop made it a Starrgate (thanks for the joke John).  “John!  Come back, the shoot’s not over and the hurricane hasn’t arrived yet!”  You can click on the image and see a larger version.  – -  [ We later found out it was going to a lighting fixture. ]

Eddie Trotta, Producers Glen and John

Sound mixer Ray and Mike (they’re both from the Florida area)

Camera Op Rich  (also a Florida local)

Today’s moment of Zen:

Day Two:

It started raining but Ernesto was a bust.  It rained, but hardly the deluge.  It was windy, but hardly a tempest.  The community is freaked-out.  Long lines at the gas station, windows boarded just about everywhere and stores closing early.  All for a heavy downpour.  (Ernesto turned out to be a big deal after it passed Florida.  It hit the Carolinas and lower New England states hard.)

Here’s a note posted on the shop restroom.  These rules should apply everywhere.

Today’s moment of Zen:

[ I love industrial art/warnings ]

Day Three:


How cool is this – Eddie Trotta and Burt Baker in the same room.

The best moment?  We’ll I’d have to say it was when Burt explained how his transmissions are made by an extrusion process.  Extrusion is a process of shaping a material such as metal or plastic by forcing it through a die.  So to describe how the process works, Burt used the human process of excreting waste matter from the bowels through the anus.  A jumbled mass of waste  (the aluminum is formed by the anus (the die) into a cylindrical poop (the product).  What a teacher.

DON’T DO IT JOHN – LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!!!

We lived through the expected Armageddon.  Ernesto amounted to about two hours worth of rain and wind and that’s it.  What a disappointment.  John and I both got room in the top floor of the hotel hoping to witness the devastation take place.  We didn’t even see lightening.

Day Four:

Highlights of today… sayings to add to your day-to-day conversation:

While having sex, holler to your partner, “spell my name backwards!”

You don’t want your bike build by Joe Black from behind the railroad tracks!

Don’t force it, use a different hammer.

And now, today’s moment of Zen.  Ohm mani padme hum.

Day Five:

How’s this for a workaround.  The wide-angle adapter we use (shame on Century Precision Optics)  causes a minor vignette on the lower right corner of the image.  To prevent this, you simply can’t zoom out all the way.  Well when you’re on the run it can be tricky without some help.  Solution.  A janky kludge that’s wonderfully simple.

I attached a tie-wrap around the non-moving section of the barrel between the focus and zoom ring.  Under that, I placed another tie-wrap with its locking section’s protuberance on the barrel leaving the belt section perpendicular to the zoom ring and hanging over above the zoom ring’s notches.  I cut it to about four centimeters and taped it to the chassis.  It has to be attached this way to leave some space between the tie-wrap handing over the zoom ring and the ring itself because the notches will catch if the tie-wrap’s belt is pressed on top of the zoom ring.  To work, the zoom ring has to have it’s zoom knob attached.  And to set it, just zoom the lens to where you want it to stop, move the second tie-wrap in front of the zoom notch and tape it down.  (The following pictures will do a better job of explaining it than I can.)  We needed it to stop on 05 every time and it did just, stopping as you’d expect it to stop if the tie-wrap wasn’t there.

“Bones” – Eddie’s airbrush artist

The color of the setting sun.  It was a bit drizzly and the sky’s hue was a rich canary yellow.  It’s a bit creepy since it’s so unexpected and unfamiliar – not a typical Los Angeles sunset.

Your final moment of Zen.