I am actually still alive.
I haven't been able to find the time to read blogs for nearly a year now, and it seemed a bit rude to write one without reading other people's; but the Film Festival is coming up, and this is a good way for me to organize my thoughts, and provide a record of the many cool (and occasional naff) films that I see during this time.
Which reminds me, I should finish last year's coverage.
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Now I'm here, there are some articles that I've run across that may be of interest to people.
First is Ben Burtt talking about his work on the new Pixar film, Wall-E. Burtt is a sound designer (he made the Star Wars blaster sound by hitting a power pole guy wire with a hammer), and he talks about how he finds and creates the sounds he uses. (Be sure to click on the "Classic Ben Burtt Sounds" link!) Given the role I've ended up playing for Jenni's Angels in the 48 Hour Film Competition, it's kinda inspirational -- this year was probably the most sound-intensive we've done, and we certainly used a number of sounds out of their original context. Examples include a file folder sliding down a wooden slope and hitting the floor (used when Dr Discharge flies into the couch), a large slamming metal door (when one of them is slammed against the wall), and a straw being pulled out of the plastic top of a disposable drinks container combined with a roar (for Nick's transformation into Dr Discharge). In case you haven't yet seen our latest effort, here it is:
Unfortunately, it looks like independent film is only going to get more difficult to succeed in; the speaker whose notes I linked to talked about how 5000 movie were made last year, 603 of which were released theatrically in the US, and that there's room in the market for about 300; and that Sundance received 500 submissions fifteen years ago, but receives 5000 now, of which maybe five get a theatrical release and make money. He makes some suggestions about how to improve your odds, and points out an interesting distinction between the film and music industry -- basically, that the movie industry dropped the price per unit significantly when they shifted from tape to digital, whereas the music industry increased it. (Which has led to the weird phenomenon of soundtrack cds costing more than the movies they're from.)
In the more mainstream movie world... well, mainstream-ish, anyway... there's Studio Ghibli's Gake no ue no Ponyo, "an animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human." Unfortunately, Studio Ghibli keeps removing the trailer from YouTube, otherwise I'd link you to it.
And finally, how could I neglect to link to "Weta's Special Effects Wizard", the marvellous Norman Cates? (I know, old link, old news. Nevertheless, *I* hadn't seen it. :)
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And because it's important to link to random things, how about Rice Field Art? Actually, it may be worth poking around that site further -- the Hip-hop Chess Federation, bizarre high voltage installations, and glacier surfing. Oh, and a festival celebrating Mike the Headless Wonder Chicken!
Posted by svend at July 1, 2008 9:52 PM