ELEMENTS
Character: Robert or Robin Leonard, Smooth Talker
Prop: a loaf of bread
Line of Dialogue: “In my opinion, it’s beautiful.”

I can see clearly now that I’m no smooth talker like Robert Leonard, but what can I say? This is my 2nd year and 2nd film competition as a 1 man crew. Don’t get me wrong, a 1 man crew is awesome, but for a project like this - it is very overwhelming.

As I’m sure everyone will know… Everything that can go wrong - has gone wrong.

I had all the intent and desire to run this project like an actual production company. But instead… the weekend were filled with anguish and pain. Heads were butting and heat exhaustion kicked in.

The day started off in the high 90s… and the sun was beating us down. Right in mid-day of production… RAIN.

Production was halted for a few hours to let the Saturday afternoon rain drizzle out. Sure, normally, I would have adapted to the environmental change and moved the story and scene along - however, I decided to wait it out.

Eventually, the entire production was moved and there were a lot of on-the-fly script rewrite.

Before I knew it - I was already behind schedule by several hours.

Audio problems. Battery problems. Missing lenses. Lost tapes… and most importantly ~ water. (definitely need to bring lots of water and umbrella for the crew/actors next time)

What started as a head start from last year’s fiasco by pre-planing properly - turned into the worst anxiety and fear. I pretty much lost my entire production team on the day of… (thanks to vodka and tequila ~ my “crew” got wiped out the night before. ergo - no show and no call)

So… I guess this weekend went back to doing it old school - ‘guerrilla style’.

Sometimes you just got no choice… when you’re given lemons, what are you going to do? Give it to that annoying brat down the street and hope that he trips on the way home…

It’s odd that the film you envision in your head never seems to turn out the way you want. That isn’t the odd part. The odd part is believing and hoping that you could do better than what you envision. But in reality, what you gain is really good experience… and if you happen to forget - you got the finished product to remind you of your agony…

I’m just glad that it’s over… the writing, filming, and editing… But in the end, despite it all - my worries and fears began to turn into relief and excitement…

And in my opinion, I think it’s beautiful…

I’ve been busy and so, I haven’t been keeping up with the lately trends that I want to talk about. I’m currently getting ready to ramp up to shoot 12 commercials starting Tuesday May 26. The objective goal without killing myself is to have them all shot, wrapped, edited, mixed, pressed, and really to be sent to the Cannes for judging.

Then I need to start preping for this summer’s 48HFP competition. In addition, I’m in the process of revamping this entire site. Yes, New Concept Studios is planning on becoming a full service ad agency. So watch for the new changes in the Fall. (Or at least around that time.)

That’s about it for now.

Cheers!

Nick

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090204-NEWS-90204051

I’ve written several screenplays over the years and have always been paranoid about something like this. The only thing I had “stolen” from me was a movie title. Then again, I let it go since the 2 stories were completely different, along with the genres itself. And really, I hardly doubt that it was “stolen” - rather just a coincidence.

Interestingly, the article  stated that the production company did do a side by side comparison of the 2 scripts - and found that they were nearly identical. Other than the fact that certain scenes were switched, but overall, the article lead to believe that the scripts were scene for scene identical. (Including a robot fight scene in the Rainforest Cafe). Sound like a coincidence? Or parallel “creative” realizations? Hard for me to say since I’m probably not in a hurry to go watch the film nor interested enough to further investigate on my own time.

Still, I can’t help but to wonder how much does Hollywood reject a script and only to rewrite someone else’s creativity and claim it as their own? How do you really stop someone or some company that big? I’m not making accusations, but rather, just looking for the best to way to protect one’s own hard work.

I guess the only way to really stop something like that is to register your scripts/works with places like: the Writer’s Guild of America, the United States Copyright Office , and sending a final copy to yourself via Registered Mail. Even then, it doesn’t guarantee someone from stealing your idea. Think of it along the ideas of having a locked door. It’s just there to keep honest people “honest”. Taking due diligence on registering your own work does help establish when the work was created and thus giving you (hopefully) the ammunition to win in a legal court battle.

The bottom line, is how does an unknown writer with a great script get a shot in Hollywood to see his script made into a film?  I guess it’s just comes down to luck and who you really know. On the other hand, produce it yourself and hope for the best…

While the claim is the overall improvement in the technology, Hollywood definitely wants to push in this direction - especially with the animation studios. Personally, I don’t think there can be much improvement in 3D simply because the basics of creating 3D is still the same. I’m pretty sure that the equipment being used, such as the camera, lenses, and computers are far much greater than of the old, I highly believe that it’ll make the whole experience any better.

Ironically there are a few people out there that are still subjected to getting sick or nauseated by just putting on the glasses. I personally am probably one of them, however, it won’t be from the glasses. It’ll more than likely be from the lack of substances in the commercials that  we might see in tomorrow’s half-time show.

Here is an example of the new SoBe Ad…

While the animations and CG Graphics are impressive, the commercial itself is totally a cheese ball. If you also notice, they’ve done away with the Red/Blue lenses and are using Amber/Blue. Ironically, I remember a few decades ago, Disney in Orlando had a 3D movie experience with Michael Jackson. While my memory is faded of the story, what was truly memorable was that there were no Red/Blue lenses. In fact, they were Polarized lenses. But the best part about the Disney experience was that it was not only a 3D movie experience but it had sensory immersion.  Meaning that when the character were caught in a trembling earth quake, you can feel your seat shake. When there were smoke in the scene, the theater would “puff” out a light smoke. Space battle? Laser lights in the theater… Aww yes, those were the days.

Too bad Hollywood never decided to bring this kind of total immersion to theaters. While it’s not probably cost effective for theaters, it would definitely bring the whole movie watching experience to a different levels, Of course - ticket prices would probably quadruple to $20 per person.

For now, I guess watching free 3D commercials and shows are probably better than nothing. Then again, I’m just really tuning to watch football.

10. U23D
09. RedBelt
08. Mongol
07. Leatherheads
06. Kung Fu Panda
05. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
04. Iron Man
03. Wall-E
02. The Dark Knight
01. Felon

Ironically, Felon wasn’t one of the flick I caught in theaters since it had a limited theatrical release. I did however, watched it on DVD and let me just say that this was one of the best Val Kilmer I’ve seen yet. Kind of makes up for that sorry Batman flick he did back in 1995… yes, I’m still holding a grudge on that poorly made film. Nevertheless, I was really impressed with the story of Felon. Not only did it put the audience into some what of a relatable situation, what made the difference is the fact that it wasn’t a glorified prison film. Prison is scary. The film delivers it as insightful as it can be, while making you think about what you would do if put in that situation.

If anything, Felon was definitely the most impressionable film for me in 2008. The action was limited, but the story and character development were compelling. Its definitely not one of those macho flicks you’d watch mindlessly. However, its definitely worth owning on DVD or at least renting and listening to the director’s commentary.

Grand Turino didn’t make it on the list. I don’t know if it was because it was released late in 2008 or if they’re going to count it for 2009. But that was a bummer. Surprisingly, Wanted made it on the list for several categories. To be honest, that was one of the most boring films I’ve ever watched - in addition the storyline line and plot twist were predictable. And the acting were lacking. It seems like another re-hash of the Matrix meets The Killer.

I can tell you now that my two favorite films of 2008 are The Dark Knight and Iron Man. For Best Supporting Actor, Heath Leger was nominated and I wasn’t surprised at all. He really did a brilliant job. It was hard for me to distinguish him from the character. If anything, I couldn’t help but to dispense my belief and be mesmerized by the Joker.

Iron Man is my second pick. Simply because it was well played by Robert Downey Jr. Although the story was somewhat predictable - nevertheless, the way Robert portray Tony Stark was also believable. Of course, I had a hard time watching a bald Jeff Bridges playing the villain. What I really took away from this film was the score. Ramin Djawadi did a very outstanding job in composing and performing the film’s score. It was very upbeat and very melodic. You definitely can hear some of the “hero” cues, in addition to perhaps feeling the emotions and excitement from the film’s sequences.

The Dark Knight’s score was ingenious. I’ve always been a huge fan of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. And the way Hans came up with the Joker’s chaotic tone of the film’s mood is mind blowing. James, in addition to scoring the hero’s score for Batman, it was a welcome delight to hear both of them working together again for this film. Honestly though, the first one, Batman Begins, was an decent score. However, it wasn’t as memorable as The Dark Knight.

Finally my last pick is Kung Fu Panda. Ironically, I actually did enjoy this film a lot. While it was also predictable, Dustin Hoffman was very “AWESOME” as Master Sifu. I truly enjoyed the hard work that went into animating the fighting sequences. In addition, the camera work and the color lighting they [Dreamworks] used help sell the mood of the story. Furthermore, I was also impressed with the film’s score. And guess who did the score - Hans Zimmer. What I really loved about the score is that it has that blend of “East Meets West” style with a flare of classical and modern sound. Finally - a kung fu flick without hip hop music that didn’t make sense. Ironically, the song “Kung Fu Fighting” was added to the film’s track. I guess that was for the kiddies. It was ok, but since I grew up already having heard the original written and performed by Carl Douglas… the expectation wasn’t met in this version.

Overall, it’ll be interesting to see which films actually make out with the most awards. I’m hoping at least TDK and IM do get at least 1 award. Interesting note - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took a lot of nominations - along with Slumdog Millionaire. While I haven’t seen SM, I heard lots of good things about it. But that’ll be a movie I will more than likely end up renting to watch. Benjamin Button, I did watch in a theater. While it was a long movie, it was a good movie. I wouldn’t say that it was great. Nor would I agree on some of the nomination category it received, however, I do appreciate the hard work that went into that film. I heard that it took 150 days to shoot the principle. That’s a pretty hectic schedule for any Hollywood production. But that’s why they get paid the big bucks huh?

According to the Wiki, here are the top 10 grossing films of 2008…

01 - The Dark Knight ($997,063,938)
02 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($786,636,033)
03 - Kung Fu Panda ( $631,908,951)
04 - Hancock ($624,386,746)
05 - Iron Man P( $582,030,528)
06 - Mamma Mia! ($573,034,202)
07 - Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ($558,281,654)
08 - Quantum of Solace ( $552,427,630)
09 - WALL-E Disney ($531,009,491)
10 - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($419,649,113)

Director: Ben Go | Agency: The Escape Pod

I was at most impressed, not only with the visual style but with the campaign of this video. It represented something different about OfficeMax. My personal experience with them is that while they’re a retail store specializing in office supplies, it always felt like I was walking into a corporate environment. Something about stores like OfficeMax, Office Depot or Staples, protrudes some kind of vibe as if I were there to work. I don’t know if it’s due to the environment, where pretty much the majority of the people there are shopping for their own businesses? Not once did I ever went there thinking I should be making my shopping decisions based on product style. It was always about functionality. Then again, it has always been my preference to choose functionality over style when it comes to work.

The video made me felt like I should go back there and take/try on a different perspective about the store and their products. So I did just that and went into an OfficeMax the next day. Still the same experience…

Ironically, I didn’t recall ever seeing their color rubber band ball anywhere in the store; or at least where it was branded for me to at least take notice.

By the way - for those curious - the music used in the video is by Ivy, “Edge of the Ocean”. (Which ironically I do own the album.)

To find out more please visit: http://www.joinred.com/

BTW -  I own a few (RED) products; mostly bought from the GAP. Let me just say that they fit very nicely and are absolutely comfortable. Keep in mind, I’m not endorsing the GAP company, but because for every product they (and RED partners) sell - it’ll help towards the fight against AIDS. A portion of profits from each (PRODUCT) RED product sold goes directly to the Global Fund to invest in African AIDS programs, with a focus on women and children.

Visit the Join(RED) site as they have a list of other partners that are also in the program, like Apple and Microsoft…

You can make a difference.

As part of revamping their website and refreshing/building new content, this was a great example of showcasing the team’s (Native Films) production skills. This is a great example of a ‘CASE STUDY’ that I’m trying to help them put together. In addition to updating their old website and integrating it with a proprietary content management system that I developed (which is still in BETA testing), it is definitely a great opportunity to utilize everything on the web has to offer to really get my client out there to the world.

Stay tune - as I’m expecting their new site to be launched fully at the end of this month.

Ironically, it wasn’t too long ago (well back in Nov of 2007) I was working on producing a new web series that revolved around the 2008 Mustang. But when I found out that the new Knight Rider movie was coming out in early 2008, I’ve decided to shelf my project. It wasn’t because that my story was about a super computer car, it just seem that NBC had the resources to do a bigger and better Mustang movie.

So, when I found out about this particular competition, I’ve decided to give it a whirl and work on the script. Hopefully, my script will be chosen as ONE of the 20 to produce the first short film. Ultimately, I want that bigger project that FORD is dangling over our heads. So I guess I will see what happens next week.

I just hope that I didn’t jinx it by blogging about it! Otherwise, I’ll just produce it on my own…