Adolescence in 'Beginners'

I recently revisited Mike Mills' second feature film Beginners (2010) after giving in to my quite embarrassing reignited love of Ewan McGregor (I saw Perfect Sense (2011) over the weekend, more on that next time) and thinking about Mike Mills' interesting graphic design and slightly quirky, dislocated style. (That is not to say his films are not cohesive in any way!)

A film seen twice is an entirely different film all together. I love Mike's playful and awkward take on the innocence within every one of us, older, old or young. We lose and we have lost - still it makes us no less of the adolescent we were in our past, and we are still beginners this way. We love and find happiness, yet it makes us fearful. We fear our future, yet it makes us more of who we are.

It's interesting to see that even in Mike's first feature film Thumbsucker (2007) he explores this idea of adolescence and a sense of 'coming of age'. I love this idea of everyone no matter how old is still 'coming of age' - whether they are falling in love again at 38, or dying of cancer. Beginners has a sort of honesty that says 'Y'know what? It's okay to grow up and still be scared'. These ideas are something I'd really like to explore somewhere. I'm always reminded to look back on my childhood for inspiration, and seeing this again has brought me back to this idea.

Michel Gondry's Big ideas continue

Stumbled across this fantastic, crazy Japanese commercial for a clothing store directed by the one and only Michel Gondry. It features his signature giant body parts which featured in many of his music videos including Foo Fighters' Everlong and in his film The Science of Sleep (see below).

It's slightly maniacal, but also great fun and true to Gondry's hugely imaginative style. Whatever medium he chooses to work with, from feature films to short minute-long commercials, he's still able to bring to us a piece of his insanely colourful world with amazing style. See below for this wacky new Japanese commercial.

Notes on the Malaysian film industry: diversity and multiculturalism

I've been back in Malaysia for just about a week now, and it's been a quiet one. As you may have already heard, this week people have been celebrating Chinese New Year across the globe, and like most Asian countries, everything in Malaysia is 'on hold' for the entire week. The public holiday only applies for two days, but it is pretty usual to have businesses close for the rest of the week, and employees of all races take the 'unspoken' kind of annual leave.

I'm always curious to find out more about the film industry in Malaysia - how it works, what sort of funding filmmakers can apply for, what sort of films succeed at the box office, etc. While I haven't quite got all the answers to those questions yet, I've noticed a large number of cinemas that release country specific films. For example, cinemas in the city or popular malls will screen most of the Hollywood blockbusters and big international titles. What interests me is the ratio of Hollywood titles are to Asian titles (be it Malay-produced, or from Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, India or Japan).

Some of the films out in Malaysian cinemas. Top left, right: The Viral Factor (Cantonese), All's Well End's Well (Cantonese). Bottom: Nanban (Tamil)

In almost every cinema across the city (from larger mall-based ones to smaller), there is almost a 1:2 ratio of Asian titles to Hollywood ones. In some cinemas a little further outside the city, the ratio of Asian titles to Hollywood ones was almost 2:1.

The first thing this shows is how multicultural this country really is. Never-ending racial conflict aside, if there are cinemas that purely represent or favour the Asian communities over international/American titles, it really proves to you how the Malaysian film industry promotes diversity.

 A still from Sepet (2004), a Malaysian film written and directed by one of my favourite directors the late Yasmin Ahmad. The film is a modern-day, Malaysian Romeo and Juliet story with a twist on racial divisions in Malaysian society. This is one of my all-time favourites.

Understandably, Malaysia is a country where language can be a barrier for many different reasons, some geographical which may explain the different types of cinemas in Kuala Lumpur and outside of the city. A ratio like 2:1 in favour of Asian titles though, well, I think that speaks for itself.

If Australia is a multicultural country as it so often calls and bathes itself in, then why isn't there a similar level of treatment to diversity? In a country so full of Asian communities, why aren't there distributors helping to bring Asian-produced or Asian-relevant content to Australia to the same degree of crappy Australian-produced films? Why are Australian distributors turning a blind eye on Asian films, or Asian-Australian films when these are people who make up a good majority of communities across the country?

I do think that Australia needs to see more Asian films, or at least help to bring these films to communities with larger Asian/Asian-Australian population. I suppose that having said this, it is the reason why international film festivals such as Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and even independent ones such as the Korean Film Festival in Australia are so fantastic in bringing films we would not have ever heard of, or will ever hear of again once the festival passes.

You would think that in a country that is so proud of it's multicultural approach and perspectives, people would at least practice what they preach.

The Lomokino

Hipster cousin Ji brought my attention today to this great new camera from LOMO called 'Lomokino'. It basically uses ordinary 35mm film (slide, negative, black/white, infrared, you name it) and shoots short movies that look a little something like this:

I love the fact that it utilises analogue photography and turns it into a form of filmmaking. It's cost-effective and simple enough for the average photographer by the looks of it. Looks like a fantastic tool to experiment with. I'm definitely adding this to my wishlist for the upcoming gift-swapping season!

Have a look at more examples of films shot on the Lomokino, or have a read about the camera itself.

'God's Eye View'

Stumbled across this amazing supercut of shots from films that use what is commonly known as the God's Eye View angle. I highly recommend you take 4 minutes of your day to watch this.

"Sleepskating" - New Short Film

As you know from the previous post, I took part in the Kino Kabaret challenge whereby you make a film in 32 hours (from thinking up idea to screening the next night). This is what we came up with in 8 hours. It's called "Sleepskating".

Kino Kabaret - the 32-hour filmmaking challenge

This year, I chose to take part in my first Kino Kabaret challenge. The rules are you make a film in 32 hours, to be presented at the Kino Kabaret party 32 hours later. I felt that it would be a great way to push myself back into making films again, and it will be good practise to get back behind the camera again.

What I had not remembered when I signed up and had my place in the weekend session (this weekend, 23-24 October) of Kabaret was that I had already bought entry to the annual SPAA Fringe film conference, held on 22-23 October.

I guess a challenge isn't a challenge without a few amateur scheduling mistakes, right? The other downside to this is that I won't be able to start shooting till at least 8pm tonight, which makes it all the more challenging. I've shot a short in 3 hours before, so perhaps it won't be such a bad next 32 hours.

I'll be uploading the film to Vimeo and will share it here once it has premiered at Kino tomorrow night. If you're around Paddington with nothing better to do at 6:30PM on Sunday 24th of October, come down to the Australian Centre of Photography (Oxford St) for the closing night of Kino Kabaret. $15 at the door will get you free drinks, food and some freshly made films. Hope to see you there!

KOFFIA Opening Night Montage

Whipped up a quick and short montage/teaser from the Korean Film Festival's opening night ceremony, last Friday the 1st. Did this is about an hour before today's first sessions. It's really quite rough and 'drafty', but passable, maybe. I also shot the footage.

PS. Come to our Closing Night ceremony, tomorrow, 5th October at Dendy Opera Quays. We're closing the festival with Im Sang-Soo's controversial remake of the 1960s Korean classic THE HOUSEMAID followed by Lee Hey-Jun's solo directorial debut CASTAWAY ON THE MOON. Come along as there'll be drinks, food and great company.

The Power of the Visual

"The simplest way to communicate a story is just visually."

- Sofia Coppola on her style in recent Golden Lion winner SOMEWHERE

Starting Fresh

As I have been revisiting my thesis film in the cutting room, I've started writing down some ideas for another short film I'd like to make. Rather than making something for contention in a festival, I really want to make a short film just for the sake of making one - and, of course, because I love making films and want to continue making films long after film school.

Music has always been a strong driving force in terms of what inspires my work. The stylistic approach for my thesis film "This Is Not Poetry" was partly inspired by Jon Brion's "Theme" from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The short film "Night" which I shot as a storyboard for the thesis film was inspired by Carter Burwell's "Lost Fur" from the soundtrack of Where The Wild Things Are. These tracks, to me, feel like mini-ballads. At 2-3 minutes long, they feel like short films themselves, like fragments of a much bigger story.

My next projects will be similar to the approach I took with "Night". 2-3 minute shorts, or 'fragments' that may, or may not grow into a bigger picture. Firstly, this could probably be the only way to get me right back into making lots of films at a regular (if not, more often than 'never') basis. And secondly, it puts the idea of 'making a film is as easy as you say it is' into action. And I believe it.

I'll end this post peacefully with the opening scene of Paranoid Park, which features a great track by Ethan Rose - "Song One". I need this soundtrack so badly.

Post-Film School Life Begins - Part 2

I imagined my post-graduation days to be very productive - I'd be applying for job after job every day; cleaning the apartment more often; catching up with friends; going to the movies more often; making films! Well, I thought wrong.

I've been sitting around spending most of my days in front of the television watching The Wire (I have all five seasons, all of which I stole from Kieran's collection). If I'm not at the television, I'm on the computer browsing Tumblr or Youtube, or checking my Facebook every two minutes. I want to blame it all on being ill over the last two weeks, but I've been feeling much better since a few days ago and I guess everything I say about it from now on is invalid. But here's the back flip - I did, however, go to an interview at the AAP Newscentre for an entry level position last week. Ta-da!

Yup. Such is the life of a twenty-one year old graduate with few 'clear' prospects ahead of her at the moment.

(In other pages of my life, I'm going to Melbourne for the Melbourne International Film Festival this Tuesday to see thirteen films over four days. Excitement will ensue)

Sounds Like It Could Be Better

The final cut has been handed in, and all that awaits now is the big screening this Tuesday evening followed by my graduation. A lot of issues had come up from the cut, and there wasn't much I could do about it. The audio tracks for the poem were muddy, and my actor's readings were not clear. There is a distinct 'hiss' from some of the clips on the track that you can hear throughout parts of the film. On the headphones, it sounds perfectly fine. On the big speakers, it makes me cringe. I can only pray that no one will notice during the screening.

I hope to re-record the poem when the actor returns from Hong Kong, and make changes to the picture - all to be done post-graduation. I'm not as happy as I should be with the final product, but I am determined to make it work.

If anyone wants to come along to see the film premiere on the big screen, you are most welcome to! It will be held on Tuesday the 13th of July, at the 5-6PM screening at Chauvel Cinema, Paddington. And if you stick around that evening, the film I produced will be screening from 7PM onwards.

This Is Not Poetry - Production Wrap Up

Note: this post is long overdue, and my head space has already moved on to the post-production side of things, so excuse the sloppiness of this entry!

Slate it!

The thesis production went very well, and much to my liking. It was my very first time running the show as both producer and director, and I must say it was an enjoyable experience. Of course, no production would be complete without the many downs and problems. Yet overall, we got some great shots and coverage, I worked with a fantastic, but small crew of four, and I had great actors who were accepting of my ideas.

I worked with a small, small crew. It consisted of four - a Director of Photography, who was also the camera operator and gaffer; a sound recordist, who was also boom operator, and a bit of a 2nd AD; a make-up artist; and a wardrobe manager, who also acted as my production designer. I initially wanted to have a small crew based on the idea that a short film doesn't need a dozen hands to work. They teach us about how to design a crew and what sort of roles are imperative to the operation of a film on and off set, but they don't really tell us that it's not always necessary for 1st Assistant Directors, production managers, gaffers and boom operators. To me, on a short film like This Is Not Poetry, there was no use for a bigger crew than I had already organised, yet I still had classmates and even crew members wondering why I never considered it. I even had my Director of Photography complain about how I failed to organise a gaffer to set up the lights for him. Filmmaking isn't about having lots of different hands on set in production. We are film school students, and we know about the roles - so why waste space with another body to do a job I know my crew members can already do?

Shooting the sunrise at Circular Quay
(From left to right) James, Karan and myself

We were sorely behind on schedule on the first day. Having organised to start at 5:30PM and finish around 11:00PM, we ended up spending far too long with make-up and hair dressing, and too much time shooting each scene. We spent so much time in all the wrong places, that we eventually finished at 4:30AM the next morning. I had two out of three of my actors sleeping in my apartment, one sharing the bed with me and another on the couch; and one other crew member taking the floor in a sleeping bag. All of us had at least an hour's sleep, as we had to get up to start shooting at 6:30AM, much to our distaste. I wondered, after the shoot, would this have happened to us if I had a proper First Assistant Director who was focused on making sure I was getting the shots I wanted in the scheduled time, or was it just a failure in scheduling and planning? It could have been a mixture of both. Nevertheless, the crew and cast worked even better the next morning, despite looking half-dead and about to collapse.

I worked with an open mind all throughout the film. At times, being too open-minded to different ideas and allowing your cast and occasionally your crew do what they feel is best can be considered lazy. I felt otherwise. I wanted my film to be as honest and organic as possible. I changed the names of each character to the actors' name, and I made sure the actors possessed similar if not the same qualities of my characters. I had given my actors directions that were open for them to play with. This was an experiment I wanted to play with, as based on previous experiences, often times when you work with experienced actors, they can tend to make action and emotion feel awkwardly fake, and inevitably spoil the entire film. I didn't want this to happen to mine, and so I gave my actors the freedom to 'do as they would', but at the same time, made sure they channeled and concentrated on the emotion of it all. It was, much to my surprise, a success.

The actors with the wardrobe manager
(From left to right) Arnie, Lucy, James and Genesis

All three of my actors were around my age. Two of them were younger than me, and the other was my age. I felt that this helped me work with them better because we were all speaking the same language with each other. Another great thing about working with younger actors is that there is a sense of honesty in their performance, and they are continuously open-minded to different ideas and techniques. Out of the three actors I worked with, only one had experience in theatre and film. My lead actor had no experience in film, while the other had some training but through short courses and school. Truth be told, I was concerned about this. I was worried that their inexperience may project through the camera and onto screen, but it never did. They were fantastic. I was extremely lucky to have found my three actors, and I won't lie - they were all chosen out of gut feeling. In the end, they looked great together, did an amazing job and were such a delight to work with.

I think this whole production has been based on luck, to be honest. Both my composer and lead actor were from mutual friends, and I even had to contact them via Facebook (a la stalker style). Others like my wardrobe manager and make-up artist were creatives who I really wanted to work with - my wardrobe manager Genesis is a good friend and ex-uni mate of mine who really introduced me to film with my first Wong Kar-Wai film, while my make-up artist was someone I had worked with previously on a short film I produced. It's so great to work with people who are like-minded, and who share the same vision while having the ability to enhance it with new and different ideas. The right people were there for me, and that's what made the production work so well.

Most of the team at the end of Day 2
(From left to right) Karan, myself, Lucy, Genesis and James

When a film works out that way, it's such a great feeling when you look back on how far you've come.

And now it all comes down to putting the film together. The final product is due in 8 days, next Saturday 3rd of July. I'll have an update on how the edit is coming along. I've got a few sound problems, but hopefully nothing I can't fix.

* Photos taken by Mimi, our make-up artist

Sofia Coppola's SOMEWHERE Trailer

This is the latest and first trailer for Sofia Coppola's latest film titled Somewhere. It's about an A-list Hollywood actor who begins to re-examine his life when his 11-year-old daughter visits him.

As I have been sitting infront of my computer all day, TweetDeck was going off the hooks in regards to the new trailer. People were claiming that it was very reminiscent of Lost In Translation and that the film was 'nothing new' for Coppola, who previously directed Marie Antoinette as well as Lost In Translation. That argument is invalid to me. To me, a filmmaker makes films that reflect who they are, and their experiences, emotions and stories. I saw this trailer and thought this looked great - sure it is reminiscent of Lost In Translation, but hey - who didn't love Lost In Translation?

I think what makes a filmmaker great is when they write from the heart, and from their own stories and experiences. It's true, and honest, and I feel that's what makes a great film. Her new film Somewhere looks great, and promising. Subject matter aside, I love her work and if it is as close to Lost In Translation, I will probably love it just as much.

So stop hatin'.

(I know I promised an entry about the thesis film production, but I've been sitting infront of this computer for the last 6 hours syncing the sound to picture of the edit, so I must go before my corneas burn into themselves. Later)

A Thesis Update, and Melbourne

I thought I was pretty set for this week leading up to the thesis production next Monday and Tuesday, but today presented a whole lot of new problems. For example, I still haven't locked down one of my locations, that being a classroom. Genesis, an ex-uni mate has been helping me delegate with the people who run the College of the Fine Art in Paddington, which is great since he is on the student committee. Other than that, I'm still missing my lead girl actor to play the role of Alex. It's difficult when the actor doesn't respond - it's hard to tell if they're disinterested in the role, or just plain busy.

I've also taken on two more projects, both of which fall in the same week of my shoot. At times, I wonder why I bother pushing myself into such challenging compromises. I guess you could say that I try to mould myself into a better person. I'm producing a thesis film titled Tree of Hurt, and production managing a thesis film set in Vietnam. A challenge and a half, no doubt.

Apart from doing busy things, I recently got back from Melbourne with Kieran. We'd spent last Monday to Wednesday there for a quick holiday. Mainly to see the Socceroos play New Zealand in a farewell friendly, and to celebrate our 11 month and pre-12 month anniversary (since he is going to South Africa this Sunday for a lengthy duration of the World Cup). We didn't do very much other than eat excessively and walk around the city looking for ways to make good use of our Metcard day-passes.

Our highlights would have been the Australian Centre of Moving Image in Federation Square. We browsed the Australian Mediatheque archives and watched classic advertisements (I had a great laugh at De-de-decore!), then spent a good hour wandering around their permanent exhibition Screen Worlds. Another big highlight was our anniversary dinner, which was supposed to be a pizza or two at D.O.C's Pizza and Mozzarella Bar in Carlton followed by a bit of ice-skating in Docklands. However, we were so knackered by the time we got home for tea that we over napped our way into the later part of the evening and decided to just have pizza at D.O.C's. It was great, by the way. I recommend anyone and everyone to check it out. They don't do reservations, so get in quick. They serve mozzarella in fistfuls. How could you say no to that?

Our quick sojourn down to Melbourne made me realise how much Sydney is lacking in everything. People are strangely nicer there, and there is so much focus on the arts and culture scene over there, which simply excites me. ACMI has their super Mediatheque program, where you simply walk in, take a seat in one of their very comfortable booths and flick through their archive of features, shorts, adverts - you name it. Melbourne has this incredible public transport system as well, similar to the intricate systems in London's Underground Tube. It's amazing, and not to forget - cheap!

And now we are back in Sydney, dealing with 90kmph gusts in the city and everything that goes wrong in a film production a week before it's shot. Such is life.

Will try to update more as I approach the D-Day, which is next Monday and Tuesday. For now, check out Kieran's blog. He updated, how rare!

That's A Wrap!

We completed the production shoot last Friday, exhausted and in need of a good sleep. Having started at 7:00 AM on the last day with most of the crew evolved into zombies (we finished at 12am earlier that morning), everyone including myself was relieved to have finally completed the four day shoot. Nothing feels better than wrapping up a shoot.

Overall the four day shoot went fairly well, minus a few tiny issues that came up throughout the course of the week. Such as my production designer falling ill on the second day and not being able to show up for any part of the day, leaving the already frazzled First Assistant Director and myself to spend more time on designing the set. Another 'tiny' issue that came up was the lack of time I organised for each day, which really wasn't my job in the end but for some reason it felt like organising the call sheets was my responsibility. Everyday apart from the last day started at 3pm (start shooting at 3pm, call times between 1 and 2pm) and was scheduled to finish at 10pm. We ended up finishing around 12am every night, which wasn't a good idea as I had Kieran and my younger sister also living in the flat who had to deal with a noisy and messy crew outside their bedrooms. It was stressful for me, as producer, to make sure both the film benefited from the time we had while making sure my home wasn't being ripped to shreds from C-stands and inconsiderate strangers. Face it, if it's not my home, then who cares is the approach everyone seems to stand by in situations like this.

Dealing with actors and their big egos was a big lesson I've learned from this production. We had an actor who was constantly disobeying the directions of the director, and it was difficult to see him stalling the director's vision especially when we had to stick to a tight schedule. The problem with student small budget short films such as Grey Zone was the known fact that we are amateur film-makers, and experienced actors will pick up on this. Some, like in our case, will actually exploit this and that is not what you want on your production, no matter what level of experience the crew have.

Another issue I found was the lack of assistants I'd organised prior to the shoot. This was a stupid, stupid mistake and probably would have helped in situations like my ill and missing production designer and having someone help clean up at the end of every day, instead of doing it myself. We didn't have an assistant production designer, 2nd assistant director or runner, so a lot of times I found myself doing the running around and organising the food etc. It's a good lesson to learn that a small crew doesn't necessarily help with anything, as I was under the impression that such a small apartment begged for a small crew to occupy it.

As producer, I organise the crew to 'get organised'. To be honest, I didn't do this quite right. On the day before shooting, I'd said to everyone that I would be picking up the equipment from all hire centres. Problem was all hire centres were spread out across town and I had no access to a car or driver during that time. So I paid $180 from the budget to catch a taxi from the city to Manly, to Lindfield and back down to the city. It was not the best option, but it seemed like I had no other choice especially when I had to be at all hire places to sign documents and pay insurances. I realised that what I should have done was organised a courier which would have cost me less than half the price I paid for that taxi. I've also learned that sometimes you need to know the right people, and it was in the last day that Kieran's sister offered to organise a courier from her work for me. Amazing when you know the right people.

Otherwise, I think in the end I worked with a great crew (minus the mishaps along the way). My camera department was a Swedish team of great ideas, and they were always on the ball no matter how important the issue. If your first assistant director tells you to fuck off on set, then you've made the right choice about them being there. Otherwise I probably would have sacked my script supervisor (continuity) for his lack of anything on set, if I had the power to.

I'll keep you updated on how the editing process goes. Apparently we shot around 100 hours of footage over the 4 days, which is excessive but considerably normal for a digital film shoot.

In the mean time, I've been working on my thesis film which was just finally green-lit by the Head of School. I've also chosen my lead actor to play the role of Justin (whose name I am now deciding to change), which was exciting because I knew I wanted this guy to be my lead when I first met him. I'm going with the gut feeling, so I hope anything outside of that doesn't let me down.

More updates on my thesis soon.

Raelene, Producer and Megalomaniac

With only two days to go till Day 1 of production, our major drama Diploma film is coming along well. I'd say it's a lot better than it was two days ago considering we've done our call sheets, shooting schedules, finalised shot lists and rehearsed actors. However, in this world, nothing is ever close to perfection.

I'm still missing extras to be a part of the film, and confirmations from one supporting role actor and a make-up artist. It's been a long and tiresome journey, and I've many stories to tell about this road of pre-production. All to be revealed in a week from now, or so.

Other priorities at the moment include figuring out how I am going to get myself all the way to Manly, then to Lindfield for camera equipment. Then down to Alexandria, to school in Redfern, and back to the city. This is going to be a long ass week.

That aside, I think the most challenging part of this project so far has been my inability to deliver the wants to satisfy everybody's needs. An ordinary day would see this glass in my head being filled and filled and filled till the water meets the brim but does not overflow. At the end of that day, the water would come gushing out like a violent river, leaving the glass half empty. Half empty. I want to make a superhero reference here, but I honestly don't know anything.

Four weeks later, I still wonder why I have put myself in a producer role again. It is as if a little, motherly part of me wants to test my limits by pushing me to the very edge. I don't like it, but I know I'm going to learn shitloads. A self-punishment kind of purpose, bordering along the lines of megalomania and masochism.

I promise to come back after production week to tell you all about it.

I could be a champion of sorts

Well.

This is awkward.

My last post was about a week ago and it was only a plug. I hope you haven't been assuming the worst, as I have (honest to the blogging Gods of the interwebs) been genuinely busy with the two internships I accepted not long ago and school.

I recently just started a two week, 30 hours in total Pro Tools sound editing/mixing workshop, which has been occupying me over the weekends. I've also been busy producing my second major drama film at school, which I have yet to realise is nothing but a mistake I will regret by the end of semester. Don't get me wrong though - I do enjoy being producer, and I love the power of management. In the long run, I am aiming to develop myself into that sort of organised, managerial role.

Apart from that, I have been managing two internships, one of which is 110% more demanding than the other. At this stage, I'm unsure if I can last with this one internship. For now, I must persist.

I am currently writing my thesis (final Diploma) film now which has to be greenlit in 3 weeks (complete with treatment and/or script, actors, locations and the whole lot), which will be a huge challenge with everything else resting on my shoulders. If I can get through this next couple of months, I think I might come out a real champion of sorts.

26 Ways To Die, School and Callbacks

Hello. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been terribly busy with school and other things. Kieran and I recently finished our latest production, which is in collaboration with Kino Sydney titled 26 Ways To Die. The completed works will be up in about a month's time when it is put together and premiered at the next Kino event.

I've also just started my Thesis and Directing workshop classes, which have been going quite well. I've to keep a diary for all my concepts and potential ideas for my final thesis film, which may suggest where my time is being spent the most. The directing workshops were fun - I created a character and held my first casting session (which was apparently received well). Otherwise, I skip the odd Meet The Filmmaker sessions and fall sick on the right days to stay home and watch movies.

I have been up to see some of the films at the French Film Festival here in Sydney. I just saw Phillipe Lioret's Welcome, and two days ago I saw Emmanuel Mouret's Fais-moi Plaisir! (Please Please Me!) - both of which I rated 6/10 for reasons I may explain in a later entry.

And apart from that, I have been to two interviews this week, both of which were for internships. They both went very well, and I hope to get called back for a second interview if not immediately given the job!

In other news, I'm off to Singapore for the weekend to attend a family reunion of some sort. To be honest I don't know much about it, and will probably not know the majority of family members due to attend - therefore, my idea of a out of town sojourn is and always has been from the start, a complete failure.

I leave you with a music video directed by Michel Gondry. There are some really great techniques and effects here that I think are worth sharing. Also, it's Everlong by The Foo Fighters.

(Sorry, Youtube won't let me embed the video in this post, so click here. You won't be sorry)

Cloverfield, From Paris With Love, and Other Film Things

My apologies for not getting around to updating. Kieran and I had started working on building our production company Fan Chan Pictures up post-social networking sites over the weekend, and now we have a great website, domain name, official logo and proper emails set up. It's unbelievable what you can achieve from one full day of sitting in front of a computer!

I recently started school again this week, although I haven't been to any classes yet! I was back at school last week to get my school ID taken, and to sit in an orientation day lecture. It was also nice to see everyone back from the holidays, and to finally set my mind back into the 'film-making' mode. Between then and now, I managed to come up with some rough ideas and concepts for my final project, which the school so professionally calls your 'thesis' film. I've been looking at Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 and Neill Blomkamp's District 9. Both are two very different films, with very interesting concepts which I would like to explore in a film of my own. After seeing many of the films produced from last semester, I have this urge to stand out from every other student film by doing something impossible to produce. I guess this is my goal for the next six months.

I got around to seeing Cloverfield and From Paris With Love yesterday. Kieran and I faced another big fail by firstly, going to redeem our free double pass tickets to see Jacques Audiard's Un Prophet at Verona, only to find out that Monday was their discount day. And secondly, walking down Oxford St ticking off all the movies we could have seen for free but unfortunately couldn't because we had no free tickets at hand, only to realise back home that we actually had a chance to see Andrej Wajda's 1957 film Kanal at Chauvel Cinema's Cinematheque Night - for free. What a fail of an evening.

Cloverfield

It was unfortunate that I didn't have the opportunity to experience the film in a cinema, as I thought it would have been more effective. Nevertheless, I absolutely enjoyed it. Produced by the very interesting J. J. Abrams and directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield is another one of those derivatives of The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and REC - only different. While the latter three explore the paranormal and have themes of ghosts (not including REC, as it takes on a different form of 'paranormal'), Cloverfield explores the very human experience of an attack on a small but seemingly large city by an abnormal, parasitic creature. A monster, if you will.

The film had all the concepts of a 'threalist' film (threalism, which I coined to describe films that Thrill with Realism) - the 'Queasy-Cam' effect giving the viewer a first-person perspective of the situation, and the cinema verite documentary style to push the "real" factor out for the ultimate viewer experience. Oh, and throw in a viral marketing campaign to get those viewers really riled up for the film, pre-release. Cloverfield's first trailer was debuted at the opening of Transformers in 2007, which showed a scene of a large explosion in the heart of New York City and the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty being thrown down the street, shot on a camcorder. The trailer was given no title. Only J. J. Abrams could have thought of that.

I wasn't as frightened throughout this film as much as I was in REC for example, but the whole concept of the film centering around these few characters trying to make it through the entire ordeal - oh, and throw in a giant unknown, alien-like parasite of a monster wreaking chaos throughout the city - well, it really excites me. I am falling in love with this sort of film-making. Putting the viewer in a fictional environment and situation, with the sense of realism all over it.

I do recommend this film to anyone who firstly, is into J. J. Abrams, and secondly, anyone who doesn't quite like to be scared out of their wits like they were in a film like REC.

I gave this film 8/10, and will most definitely watch it again.

From Paris With Love

Directed by Pierre Morel who brought us the action thriller Taken in 2008, and co-written by Luc Besson (The Transporter, Taken, Leon The Professional), From Paris With Love stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The film seemed like just another Taken, only minus a very angry, over-protective and direct Liam Neeson, with lots of terrorists and lots of gangsters. I appreciated Taken, and do like these sorts of action thriller films, but From Paris With Love just didn't work for me.

The directing was pretty awful. Liam Neeson in Taken was plain frightening. John Travolta here, on the other hand, did nothing for me. His character's intensity seemed to vary in the extremes throughout the film, and this didn't help the character. In all fairness, it may have been on purpose to give Jonathan Rhys Meyers' character room to develop, especially when Travolta's character's unstoppable bravado was the star in the first half of the film.

I'll admit though, the story is interesting - about an unlikely duo of agents who discover a link to a group of terrorists planning an attack on the US Embassy in France. However, it's a pity the execution and direction of the film couldn't do it any justice.

I rated this film a very generous 5/10. Generous, mainly for the Vince Vega and "Royale with cheese" reference.