Really getting somewhere

Another solid Korean thriller, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE. Not quite the "artistry" of I SAW THE DEVIL but with much more sentimentality (which is not necessarily a bad thing). It's really brief but I like the "wallet vs knife" scene - in just one move it reveals the bad-assness of the main character.

The Man From Nowhere Trailer (Official English Trailer) starring Won Bin

www.youtube.com

http://www.facebook.com/WonBin​.actorhttp://twitter.com/#!/wonbin_a​ctorhttp://www.facebook.com/ManFro​mNowherehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt15​27788/ http://en/...

Anatomy of SAKI character design: Kanekichi

People seem to have an affinity for the character Kanekichi. Again a testament to the efforts of the cast and crew that brought the initial character design to life.

Concept Art

Anatomy of SAKI character design: Saki

From concept to completion, the SAKI cast and crew did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

Concept Art

• • 
    

Midnight Chill

So if you're up at midnight PST (4pm Japan time) looking for a nice diversion in Japanese, check out HanaHanaTV hosted by the director of TAKAMINE. Since midnight is my script writing time, I just kick back with chilled glass of umeshu (plum wine), tune into the stream and listen to the chatter as I write.

野毛HanaHanaTV on Ustream

www.ustream.tv

野毛HanaHanaTV @ USTREAM: 8月1～20日の毎日16時～17時30分、野毛の旧コロンビア​から、Hana＊HanaTV～シドモアさんを探せ～、生放送を​行います。 番組主旨 ワシントン市ポトマック川畔に桜が日本から贈られて、 来年(1912年・3月)で100年 を数えます。桜を介し、日本と米国...

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Scarlet Influence

Wow, you can watch the entire film of director Fritz Lang's SCARLET STREET on Youtube. This is the film that inspired the writer and the thematic connection between death and art in the film SAKI. And if you pay close attention to the ending 3rd act you'll get a glimpse of some of the themes that will emerge in SAKI 2!

Scarlet Street

www.youtube.com

Middle-aged Chris Cross has a gold watch and little else. One rainy night, he rescues the delectable Kitty from her abusive boyfriend, Johnny. Chris is smitt...

TK Carter knife fight that inspired SAKI movie knife fight

You can see T. K. Carter's knife fight from the American TV show "Punky Brewster" that inspired the knife fight in SAKI. It starts right around 5:00.

fenster hall pt 5

gdata.youtube.com

Punky catches a boy breaking into her room and stealing from her. Henry takes the boy to Fenster Hall where Mike Fulton, one of the workers there, tries to bond with him. Stars Soleil Moon Frye - Punky Brewster Cherie Johnson - Cherie Johnson George Gaynes - Henry Warnimont Betty Johnson - Sus

Punky beginnings

Trivia: When killer Kanekichi 1st attacks Saki's grandfather, Shin, the Old Man takes off his sweater and wraps it around his arm to fight against Kanekichi's tanto knife. This action sequence was originally conceived by the writer as a child many years ago while watching an episode of the American TV show "Punky Brewster" where Punky's teacher (played by T. K. Carter) saves her from a trouble maker named Blade by wrapping a handkerchief around his hand to prevent from getting cut.

Dreams that lie to me

In my dream, my friend Sean explained that a young electric ukulele musician named Walt would train mice to bite down on his cables in order to prevent them from getting tangled. The 1st mouse he trained was named Mickey and thus the legend of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse began. Oddly enough if he wasn't explaining this to me while being bored in a Japanese hostess club, I would've believed him.

Subtext of subtitles

I don't know how many writers get to do their own subtitles but for SAKI it's been a good lesson on how to keep dialog tight and efficient. Nobody wants to read a fricken novel on the screen. Keep It Simple Scriptwriters!

3D to come

Sam K Yano

I'm game Mr. Scott. And I'm certainly looking forward to PROMETHEUS to convince me.

Ridley Scott vows to work only in 3D | 3D Radar - 3D news and reviews

‎3dradar.techradar.com

News and reviews for 3D TVs, games, movies, gadgets, tech and more.

Anime Toy Story

Although I can identify with the movie TOY STORY, my childhood toy play was imagined more like this...

Final Fantasy Stop motion- Sephiroth the World's Enemy 世界毀滅者

www.youtube.com

The return of Sephiroth, see how Cloud will do to fight back against Sephiroth, main skills is green screen, effects mainly practicing fire,twist fire, color...

SAKI Writer/DP Production Notebook

In prepping for my next script I came across the production binder for my feature SAKI. There's a lot of sweat & tears in these pages but it's all about collaborating with a great group of artists.

Dreams of War

Just woke up from a dream that was frightening - it wasn't the fact that it was terrifying but rather the relative scale of the destruction and the fact that it unfolded before my eyes and the consequences it meant for each moment after it occurred. I myself was a child in the dream, maybe about 12, but I was not in the house I grew up in. I was in a house more similar to the one I live in now with a view of the harbor. This view would normally be the welcome sight of swaying palm trees and rolling waves but this time there was a warship positioned a few miles out. I stood there marveling at the massive hulk of metal though from my view it appeared no larger than a toy - but that realism was the horror of the scene, the fact that this did not seem like a movie where the camera was right up close to action. I could hear the news on the TV blaring in the background, sounding off the play-by-play of the subtle event that started simply with a transport helicopter flying around the warship. In the next moment I could see smoke perforating through the helicopter in rapid succession followed by a black billowing cloud that trailed the helicopter as is tipped forward then twisted down to the water below. As the rotor blades hit the sparkling blue they crumple and thrash in the fraction of a second before the whole mass just belly flopped into one big splash. But before any question of consequence could wash over me I could see puffs of smoke silently pop from the warship followed the sound of distant thunder and then that was followed by an even louder boom and grumble that was certainly the exploding target of the warship's massive gunfire. I couldn't see what was being hit but from the sounds I could tell it wasn't far from where I was. I could hear the crazed yelling of the news reporter from the television down stairs. Then the screams of fighter jets above. But the next onslaught wasn't from these jets, it was from a projectile that seemed to have been launched from under the water. It was like a snake that struck just above the water then it smacked into the warship just above it's hull. What followed was a spectacular explosion that finally made be flinch as the whole center of the metal monster of a boat just burst backwards then crumbled into smaller pieces as if the ship was made of Legos. What was left of the front and rear just seemed to flatten and melt into the harbor, a mass of debris would be the only trace that a warship was ever there. And then that wash of consequence came over me as I ran out of the room - the world, the one I knew, was no longer movies and video games. As I raced down stairs, following the frantic reporting from the TV, I called for my parents and my sister. But when I got to the living room it was empty except for the television with the news replaying the very events that I had witnessed with my bare eyes. The dream didn't end there, I actually ran back up the stairs and would find my sister on the phone. But in that moment of standing in that empty living room I thought that some invisible force from the blast might have evaporated my family (remember in my dream I was only 12) and that I was the only person left on the planet. It was a chilling sadness that that sucked itself into a hole in my heart and I felt my knees weaken. In this case I was able to escape by waking up, but the fear is always that next time there will be no escape.

True to it's Grit

TRUE GRIT is great. When I polished the English dialogue for TAKAMINE I researched 1900's literature and found that they didn't use contractions back then (do not vs. didn't) but I found the dialog clunky & funny so I restrained myself & kept the dialog semi modern. But the Coen bro in TRUE GRIT really take that clunky & funny dialog & make it their own - very admirable writing as always.

KS x RP

Have a new script I want to write - I even know who I want to cast. But I have two other scripts I have to write before I can get to this one!

Production Binder

Really digging the writing software Scrivener as my research and production binder. Jumping in with both feet using it to break the script into scenes and packaging scenes with translations (script is in Japanese), location photos, shooting floor plans, etc. I can add keywords/tags so that if I want only certain information I can do a search and then output a PDF with only the info I want or I can output the whole binder and push it to my iPad to reference on the road.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html

SAKI 2

The journey to writing the sequel to SAKI begins even though I'm crazy busy with post production on SAKI part one and busy with pre production on another film I'm DPing. Writing is what keeps me sane.

Scrivner

Debating on whether to use Scrivner software for my next feature script. I like the index card tools but ultimately it's a linear based organization of the cards like Celtx or Final Draft. I've adapted to Celtx and like it but at least Scrivner has some additional features like folders for index cards. Decisions, decisions!

Puppet Master

Had a dream where I was attending a casual social for our building where everyone was welcoming this new couple into our complex. This couple was annoyingly excited to visit the latest play from the ICT theater group in downtown, just a hop-skip-&-a-jump away from our building. So didn't want to go but the wife wanted to so I got dragged along. As the wife as getting tickets the venue was offering free food, so in the name of getting the most out of the excursion, I loaded up on food and just as I was about to dig in the curtain call sounds and I had to abandon my bounty. So the show was supposed to be this interactive theater experience where performers would show up on stage and play to video projections and massive mechanically animated sets. On top of the that the seats would move and according to the scene but since this was a dream, the chair movements were ridiculously roller coaster like where we'd be flying around the room as independently moving rows. So the subject of the show itself was some kind of murder mystery and throughout the course of the show, someone in the audience would get bumped off and instructed to move to a waiting area. So as I was watching the show, much more amused by the level of interactivity, I started to feel my seat rumble and realized that I was pegged to be killed within the context of the story. So then my seat goes flying in the air and at some point everyone gasps because I'm literally falling off my seat 100 feet up in the air. But the whole time I'm having a blast. Then finally it ends and I'm instructed to go to the "dead" people's waiting area. That's where the fun stopped because apparently the theater people hired prison inmates to chaperone that room and these guys would randomly pick-off people and beat their face. I wasn't immune to such treatment and when they harassed me I broke into a full on martial arts action sequence kicking and chopping my way to broken bones and shattered prides. By the end of the whole ordeal I was screaming and threatening the theater owners as I was walking home with the wife. Then I woke up.

Sam Bam's Top 15 Films of the Decade... and Why

Ok so I bit. Here are my top 15 films of the decade 2000-2009. Of course there are plenty of great films I haven't seen and I basically looked up films I rated 5 stars on my Netflix account. They're not in any particular order (somewhat alphabetical) and because I hate "top" lists (they're so arbitrary without any context from the author), I tried to one-up other lists by typing a short blurb about how each film affected me.

Brick (2005) - Modern day Hammett with a teen twist, the movie I've always wanted to write/direct. Screw you Rian Johnson.

Children of Men (2006) - I may have to re-watch this one to see if it holds up but I was sucked into the reality of all young people dying and what that meant and/or represented.

City of God (2002) - So foreign yet so familiar. Stylistically flashy but I always felt it was truthful and sincere in telling it's story.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - The scene where Michelle Yeoh confesses her love right when Chow Yun Fat is dying, just makes me want to look up every girl that I ever secretly loved and then die in front of them in hopes that they'd confess their affections for me in the same way.

The Dark Knight (2008) - This is how action movies should be - epic, brooding, deep, unrelenting, kicking ass.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - I liked it as a funky love story with conceptually interesting metaphors for all the thralls of love and love lost.

Hero (2002) - Gorgeous. One of the few movies I've watched multiple times - studied.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - Such a unique world and way of expressing universal themes. Superb mixture of wonderment and affection.

Man on Fire (2004) - Denzel speaking Spanish like a bad-ass and killer graphical subtitles to remind you he's a bad-ass.

Mulholland Dr. (2001) - I hated this movie on 1st viewing. But the 2nd time around (admittedly to watch a blonde and a brunette get it on) I was enraptured by how black the blacks were - I'm not sure how else to describe it.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - Another film I hated on 1st viewing but when I paid attention to the dialog and subtleties of the performances (not to mention appreciating the photography) the humor just came roaring through.

Spider-Man 2 (2004) - The only Spiderman movie we ever needed.

Spirited Away (2001) - One of the best coming of age stories I can recall. It really highlights how we appreciate things once our horizons expand, once we grow up a little.

Traffic (2000) - Just a solid effort. Truly gritty photography, performances fluid to the story, intriguing to the end.

Whale Rider (2003) - Like City of God it's a window into a culture that endures universal sufferings - sufferings we tend to forget. It gets a little dusty for me when I watch this film.

Memento (2000) - The current benchmark (for me) of Neo Noir / Modern Hardboiled Fiction.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The scene where the hobbit sings for the king, cross cut with slow motion of the king's son charging into battle - I just hold my breath.

Oldboy (2003) - Being a big fan of Hardboiled Fiction, namely Hammett, I'm fascinated with the lineage of that tradition from Kurosawa samurai movies to Hong Kong shoot'em ups. Oldboy is another hallmark in that tradition: 1. A lone hero that must follow a code. 2. A harsh and violent city. 3. A dangerous woman. 4. Corrupt figures in power, figures of authority, and/or figures of affluence. 5. All is not what it seems.

The Prestige (2006) - At this point I'm just really kissing Nolan's ass, but the very process of misdirection to create the illusion of other worldly abilities is how I perceive the filmmaking process and this film encapsulates the thrill of that pursuit.

There Will Be Blood (2007) - I feel like this movie represents my American heritage, good and bad - as opposed to what I take from being part of the Japanese culture as well.

Testing Another Pipe

Seeing if Yahoo Pipes is properly aggregating my feeds. This one is from my Gnet-X blog.

Story vs. Plot

E.M. Forster, Janet Burroway

A story is a series of events recorded in their chronological order.

A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. (39)

• Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft 5th ed. Longman, 2000.

Usual Writing

I was just listening to Christopher McQuarrie talk about how he wrote "Usual Suspects." Apparently he had the end 1st when he presented it to Brian Singer. When an opportunity came about with Japanese financiers McQuarrie wrote the beginning and then filled the middle with various ideas that came from his experiences working for a private security firm, at times as a body guard for diamond brokers. He figured since he knew how security operated that he'd be able to steal from them. Later he replaced the McGuffin with a person instead of money, the person that could identify Kaiser Sozei. Incidentally a lot of the names in the film were from people that he had worked with in the past.

Brainstorm

A talented father that tries to keep his daughter from becoming the artistic prodigy that he once was because of a debilitating condition that he feels is robbing him of his full potential. He struck with the pain and grief of not being able to pursue his talents and does not want his daughter to feel this same anguish. But the influence is strong, in her blood, and she must discover the the secrets her father kept and face the same tragic decision to either accept fate or end life itself as her father did.

Cognative Dissonance in Film

Play with the audience's emotions, build expectations and manipulate emotions. And then at the climax of those heightened emotions, smack them with an unexpected stimulus. While they are in shock, their previous beliefs and conventions of thinking are vulnerable to a significant if not complete reconstruction. This where the 3rd act of your film can inject new meaning to the themes you are exploring.

Key to Movie Magic

Preparation + Opportunity = Luck (aka Movie Magic)

Feature Film Script Presentation

- Choose film script and read.
- Summarize story of film.
- Identify genre and underline themes of film.
- Identify main characters (at least 3) and describe their role in the film.
- Identify plot points of main character AND page number: Flaw, Catalyst, Big Event, Crisis, Pinch, Showdown, Realization.
- Identify the beginning and ending of Act 1, 2, and 3 and the plot points that transition to each act.
- Identify if the character changes by the end of the film and how or why this is so.
- Identify differences between script and film.
- Describe your own approach to directing this film: casting, locations, set design, lighting, camera, editing, etc.
- Oral presentation, 10 minutes.

Godfather Character Breakdown

Michael Corleone

Flaw: Doesn't want to be a part of his family.
Catalyst: Michael is always wanted close to the family but not a part of the business.
Big Event: Michael's father is shot.
Pinch: Michael must protect his father.
Crisis: Michael is the only one who can get close to Sollozzo and kill him.
Showdown: Michael discovers the traitor and plans a grand revenge.
Realization: Michael cannot escape his family responsibilities.

Vito Corleone

Flaw: Tries to retain to old ways, keep Michael out of family business.
Catalyst: Refuses to Sollozzo's drug business offer - grooms Sunny to take over business to keep Michael out. Don is shot.
Big Event: Don hears that Michael killed Sollozzo.
Pinch: Sunny is killed. Fredo is incapable of running the family.
Crisis: Michael is the only one who can run the family and find the traitor.
Showdown: Don dies and Michael takes over.
Realization: Times change and influence is subliminal as is blood - you cannot control fate.

Screenwriting: Lecture 1

Last week we covered:

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
- William Shakespeare

SCREENPLAY by Syd Field
SCREENWRITER’S BIBLE by David Trottier
STORY by Robert McKee
20 MASTER PLOTS by Ronald B. Tobias

Other Recommended Books:
A WRITER’S REFERENCE by Diana Hacker
ON WRITING by Stephen King

Making Choices

Screenplay - Act - Scene

Screenwriting compared to other forms of writing

Novel
In many cases the reader is aware of characters thoughts, feelings, memories, hopes, dreams, etc.
Great for expressing internal conflict.
Reader can take on multiple points of view.
Action occurs in mindscape of dramatic action.

Play
Audience becomes 4th wall.
Characters talk or express their thoughts, feelings, memories, hopes, dreams, etc.
Action occurs in LANGUAGE of dramatic action.

Screenplay
Visual medium.
Story told in pictures, dialog, description all placed within context of dramatic structure
Linear = form = structure = beginning, middle, end

Genres
Plots that share certain characteristics

Character Goals
The desire to fulfill a need.
Obstacles stand in way of need
Obstacle is often a character flaw
Flaw often exists in back-story

Conflict
Spielberg said that in the best stories someone looses control of their life and must regain it.

Layers of Conflict
Outside / Action Story
Indiana’s desire to discover the Ark of the Covenant.
Inside / Emotional Story
Indiana’s feelings for Marion.

Types of Plots

Plot Driven Stories
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Apocalypto
Magnolia
Shawshank Redemption

Character Driven Stories
Amadeus
Citizen Kane
There Will Be Blood
Edward Scissor Hands

Types of Plots
Character wins
Character loses
Character sows own seeds of destruction
Character grows by doing the right thing
Character grows up
Character learns
Character fails to learn
Character declines / falls

Form not formula
Form = Structure
Formula = replication, imitation
Structural components a can be rearranged
Beginning, Middle, End
Birth, Life, Death
Sunrise, Sun up, Sunset

Style is the perceived measure of deviation from a standard or from what is perceived as “real.”
Learn the rules first then you can break them.

3 Act Structure
Act I
30 pages long
Setup story, dramatic premise, situation, relationships, environment
Act II
60 pages long
Obstacles that keep character from achieving dramatic need.
All drama is conflict
Act III
30 pages long
Succeed or fail
Resolves story

Plot Points
Any incidents, episode, or event that spins the action into another direction and is used as a transition into each successive act.
Main plot points occur at the end of Act I and the end of Act II.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Action Story
Character Flaw: Indy’s obsession with Archeology
Emotional Story
Character Flaw: Indy chooses archeology over romance

Catalyst
Catalyst kicks things out of balance
Catalyst leads up to the Big Event
Catalyst reveals something about the main conflict
Foreshadowing, 伏線
Setting things up for a payoff later
Creates unity in story
Indiana hates snakes

Action Story
Catalyst: The Nazis are on the verge of discovering the Ark of the Covenant.
Emotional Story
Catalyst: His old flame Marion has the key to the Ark of the Covenant.

Action Story
Plot Point 1 / Big Event: Indy obtains the key to finding the Ark.
Emotional Story
Plot Point 1 / Big Event: Indy is stuck with Marion.

Pinch
Major event that fully commits the character
Point where all seems lost

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Action Story
Pinch: Indy and company are buried alive in a tomb.
Emotional Story
Pinch: Marion is kidnapped by the Nazis.

Action Story
Plot Point 2 / Crisis: The Nazis obtain the Ark and intend to open it.
Emotional Story
Plot Point 2 / Crisis: Indy must choose between destroying the Ark or saving Marion.

Showdown
Everything on the line
Showdown is bigger than Big Event
Unity of Opposites ensures character plots will cross

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Action Story
Showdown: Indy chooses not to see what is in the Ark.
Emotional Story
Showdown: Indy and Marion are both captured but Indy insists that Marion not look at what is revealed by opening the Ark.

Etienne!

Made a hamster sized contribution to this feature film but it was enjoyable. Check out ETIENNE! at www.hamstermovie.com. Going big in Vegas!

Saying goodbye to my old car - in my dream

Another weird dream. It started out with this sleazy restaurant owner that bought a an old run down place that had a specific name and logo that I couldn't remember. From there it somehow transitioned to me in some kind of contest where a bunch of medical practitioners (doctors and nurses) gathered in some kind of parking structure where I parked my old Infiniti G20 car (which I recently sold in reality). After everyone parked we all filed into some big cave like building where we were being locked into for a period of time - a month or so. It was kind of a social experiment like survivor where we were all supposed to live with each other and either help or compete for food, clothing, etc. So the 1st thing they throw at us is this huge cement truck full of ice cream and they put some hill-billy in distributing amongst the people. While everyone got just a small cup full, this hill-billy and his friends got cup after cup of this ice cream and so everyone was just got raving made to have this ice cream. That's when I noticed the logo on the side of the cement tuck was the same as the logo on the old restaurant, only the bottom was scratched out to say "Ice Cream." so as if it was some kind of flashback sequence, I went back to the beginning of the dream and over-heard this sleazy restaurant owner confess that he made up this survival game to create demand for his newly branded ice cream.

Then, I kind of flash out of that story and into me and my sister watching the ice cream restaurant story unfold on TV. After a few minutes I get bored and leave my sister to watch the show alone. I head for the parking garage to visit my Infiniti car and for some reason decide it would be a good idea to cut through the concrete floor of the parking structure around my car. After a few minutes I had this imperfect circle around my car and the next thing I knew there's a rumble and the Infiniti falls down to the level below smashing a Nissan 300Z car below it. Now in my dream, this was an unexpected result and I messed up my car along with someone else's. The guy who bought the car was supposed to pick up the car next Tuesday (in reality that's when he supposed to really pick up my car) and now he's not going to want to pay the full price with all this damage. So I'm freaking out and then this French guy starts complaining to me at the other end of the parking lot about how I've cut holes in the parking garage floor before and because of me they building owner had to re-route the water pipes because of the damages I caused. and then i realized in my dream that this was only a dream, so I reassured the French guy that none of this actually happened and woke up.

Che Part 1

Just saw Che Part 1 (of 2). Very much a biopic if I've seen one. It had the same tone as the "Fidel" biopic that aired a few years back on HBO (I think it was) - a mix of Che's UN speech inter cut with the Cuban revolution. At times it moves slow but I appreciate how the film avoids spectacle by letting the character breathe and talk and contemplate. In which case I suppose it's marathon running time can somewhat be justified. It's interesting how unnoticeable Soderberg is in this film - the film could have easily passed as an import from an under appreciated foreign filmmaker. Of course Del Toro couldn't have been anymore perfect for the role. From scene to scene there is no anticipation of plot but rather the feeling of history unfolding which is what fascinated me (my wife said the film seemed interesting but she quietly lost interest a quarter of the way through). So I wouldn't say this film is for everyone.

Look forward to seeing the other half. Interestingly the film was shot on the digital RED camera (although some scenes seemed to have been treated to look like 16mm). Celluloid would seem like the logical choice for such a gritty biography like Che but the in watching the film, there is no distracting qualities that come through from it's digital acquisition. It actually looks quite good.

A Quick Round of Movie Reviews

Dark Knight on Bluray - Friggin amazing as it seamlessly switches from full screen 16:9 (IMAX scenes) to widescreen matted.

Speed Racer - I liked it, but it seems like the rest of the world hates it.

The Lookout - A decent thriller if Memento was never made. Good performances.

Clerks 2 - I realized I was never into Clerks 1 but I've been listening to Kevin Smith's Smodcast and that's one hilariously random rant about gay sex, ass kicking, Nazi's, religion... you name it.

The Bank Job - If you expect the Transporter you won't get it - an exceedingly average film.

Rocky Balboa - I thought I could appreciate this film but I think it falls flat, at least Rambo had gratuitous violence.

Red Belt - Interesting film but the dialogue is weirded and surreal, the actors speak in simple sentences and repeat what they say. Maybe it's a Mammet thing.

Journey to the Center of the Earth - I should have known better than to rent this garbage.

Starship Troopers 3: Maurader - A friend's recommendation, yeah it's bad - the bad kind of bad. If you have Casper Van Deen listed as the main actor yet only really makes a guest appearance, you got one big pile of dung.

Paranoid Park - I thought I could appreciate this one too especially with Doyle behind the camera (and in front of it) but there wasn't enough in it to intrigue me.

Hellboy II - It was OK. Good effects and imaginative but it didn't seem to have any relevance - it didn't make me think or love or hate or feel... Hellboy I was kind of the same experience for me.

Tekkon Kinkreet - Very cool animated style and world. A kind of an evolved Akira story.

Books to Write With

In the spirit of encouraging writing, here are some book recommendations for writing:

"Screenplay" by Sid Field - The classic handbook to the 3 Act screenplay, a must for any tool kit.

"Screenwriter's Bible" by David Trottier - I Like this book because it introduces a plot structure driven by critical events that define and/or drives your character(s).

"20 Master Plots" by Ronald B. Tobias - I've had this one for almost a decade! This is where I learned the importance in balancing the triangle of relationships between characters and when I'm stuck plotting a story, I reference this book to get ideas on where to go.

"Story" by Robert McKee - If it can inspire Charlie Kaufman then it's good enough for me. If anything I learned that a great writer makes decisions whereas an inept writer avoids such responsibility.

"On Writing" by Stephen King - A seamless narrative of how he became to be and how he puts print to page. He claims that if you want to write, you got to read - a lot. The King reads something like 80 books in a year.

Here's a curve ball for you,

"Love Signs" by Linda Goodman - Now before you laugh your ass off, you know you yourself or someone close to you has identified with horoscopes on one level or another. This is simply because horoscopes are a time tested study of patterns and character. And if you think it's all fiction - well then that's exactly what we're writing, fiction. This book is a great reference on how your characters might interact with each other... and if you want to go one step further and use this book for your love life, well then that's just none of my business.

So there you go. You may now go back to your regularly scheduled programming.


Sam

Deja Vu

Tony Scott is such a great visceral filmmaker. Just saw the film "Deja Vu," which I hadn't heard much about in my circles, and I really liked the concept from the pretense of creating a window into the past via a "Google Street View" type extrapolation of visual data to the unfolding (or at least the ambition) of a greater theme with fate and free-will - there's even hints of religeous and/or spiritual thought. Of coarse there are issues with the climax in how Denzel takes it one step further than seeing into the past but when it's all wrapped up (and you've let yourself believe a little), it makes for a nice package. And view the making of the film reinvigorated the aspiring the technical director in me - the youth that studied the movements of visual filmmaking greats like Cameron and Fincher. The inspired ideas that spawn the use of all matters of technilogical advancements in any and all fields to realize a visual story point. The ability to see beyond the ever widening scope of digital possibilty and bring back the visceral feel of practical effects and, in turn, mixing up the right combination of the two.

Sleep Walker

I am all about control - control of the environment around me and control of myself and my emotions. So it becomes very unnerving to me when I loose a sense of control but at times it can be a funny and yet fascinating phenomena to recount. In this particular case I'm talking about sleep walking. My earliest memories are of my sister when we were kids way back when. I was watching TV with my dad late at night - unbeknown to my mom of course - when my sister suddenly appeared in the flashing glow of the TV. My dad and I questioned my sister but she was completely in a daze, not just sleepy and walking but sleep walking. After a few minutes idling she promptly turned around and returned to bed. The next morning she remembered nothing. I laughed at her total lack of control and baulked at such a thing ever happening to me. Low and behold so many years later my version sleep walking would manifest itself from extreme stress and lack of sleep.

The 1st two cases were when I and my good friends Robert Scott and Sean Lavin flew off to South America to shoot a documentary. In short, our travels got stressful at times - some of the toughest challenges I had ever faced. Tough in that the problems were much bigger than me, and I was completely out of my comfort zone - out of my element. There was nothing I could do about the Bolivian strike, the impoverished peoples, the road blockades, the rioting - I had absolutely no ability to either fix it or get a way from it. So in our time stuck in this small town the three of us were sleeping in a cramped room when I had this dream of chasing Sean down the narrow corridor of the train we had road into Bolivia, the "Tren de Muerta." Bodies of people were strewn all over the ground as I desperately crawled over them to try and keep up with Sean. Finally I reached out and started to scream Sean's name. After the third or fourth call I realized I was calling out loud from bed, disturbing the peace of the room and subsequently waking Sean and Scotty. When they asked if I was OK, I simply laughed in embarrassment and fell back into my sleep. In hind sight the laugh might have sounded somewhat sadistic because I never responded to Sean's calls after I woke him. The next morning I was stupid enough to bring up the incident, reminding Sean and Scotty of something they would have otherwise never remembered.

The second incident was well after we made it into Peru, but by then I had faced a humiliating and horrific bout of dysentery. As usual we all occupied a small room but in my dream I was now outside the train trying to get in. As I approached the door to the train, the massive machine began to move so I paced with the moving door and yelled to my companions to open up. As the train moved faster I became more and more desperate so I knocked on the train door when I suddenly realized I was out of bed and knocking on the room door. Once again I laughed at myself and went back to bed. And once again I was stupid enough to mention it to my companeros who would have otherwise remembered nothing. But they were good sports about the whole incident - I was genuinely concerned that I was going out of my mind. But then that would be the last of my sleepwalking for awhile. So many years later I would walk again, only this time the incidents were much more involved and that much more peculiar.

Rory Kelly Haunts Us

A really random Rory Kelly sighting on YouTube... While the video does
have less to do with R. Kelly than the title implies, the clips brings
back the "rush" of being in his class. The person that posted the
video obviously has issues with his CSULB experience.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ASs9IXnq2ns&mode=related&search=

Still no peep from Rory on my letter of recommendation to AFI...
holding my breath... turning blue...

Sam

Dreams

Another dream that is somewhat strange and surreal. I've been into zombie movies for a little bit even though apocalyptic visions are not high on my list of likes. In this dream I (or the character through which I see everything) is hurled into some dark alley with a handful of others that I don't specifically remember faces - a guy or two, a woman, a girl. We're all trying to navigate these back alleys of brick and shadow and we're trying to figure out who's a zombie and who's not. At this point the zombies are slow moving and they don't seem to be interested in sucking brains or anything. In one case we approached a security gate with a few zombies dragging there feet on the other end chasing a man. The man approaches the gate and begs for us to help him but we can't get the gate open and for one reason or another we kind of thought he was one of them and didn't try our hardest to get him out. So the dream is a bit spotty as I'm forgetting what happened. I do remember joining an older man and his wife on a roof and we look out over this nondescript plaza of this nondescript town and see that there are a lot more zombies than we thought. Once in a while we saw them chase a regular person but for some reason our interest was in the city hall of sorts that looked like an old museum of sorts. To be continued.... explosions, fight with construction worker.

Been wondering the same thing over and over again - why am I not writing? So why not kill a few words here. But instead of complaining about what's preventing me from commiting to the page or debating philosphical BS about what writing's all about (like I'm starting to do now) I'll just shoot the shit about whatever. Saw Blood Diamond today. Been waiting to get that DVD from my Blockbuster cue. I'm a fan of Edward Zwick's films - Legends of the Fall is a favorite as it makes me want to head on out to the mountains of Montana and rough it with the brothers I've never had. I must say that when I heard Leonardo Decaprio's South African accented voice in the trailer I was skeptical about him pulling off a convincing character. But I think he nailed it. There are things that bothered me, like the coicidence of Solomon's son becoming a rebel under the same man that enslaved Solomon. It would
have been easier to swallow if his son was recruited at same time Solomon got captured. A small issue

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Been wondering the same thing over and over again - why am I not writing? So why not kill a few words here. But instead of complaining about what's preventing me from commiting to the page or debating philosphical BS about what writing's all about (like I'm starting to do now) I'll just shoot the shit about whatever. Saw Blood Diamond today. Been waiting to get that DVD from my Blockbuster cue. I'm a fan of Edward Zwick's films - Legends of the Fall is a favorite as it makes me want to head on out to the mountains of Montana and rough it with the brothers I've never had. I must say that when I heard Leonardo Decaprio's South African accented voice in the trailer I was skeptical about him pulling off a convincing character. But I think he nailed it. There are things that bothered me, like the coicidence of Solomon's son becoming a rebel under the same man that enslaved Solomon. It would
have been easier to swallow if his son was recruited at same time Solomon got captured. A small issue

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit

www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

On Writing

According to Stephen King in his book, "On Writing":

- Art is not the life-support system to life, it's the other way
around. He says this in the context of having your writing desk in the
corner of a room rather than in the center.
- Creating a good story is like digging up a fossil - you try and
uncover something that already exists as complete as you can with your
set of tools.
- To be a good writer, you must read a lot and write a lot.

I suppose I should write out more key points as I re-read the book
("On Writing" is one of the few books I'm reading a 2nd time). More to
come I'm sure.

Sam

Newport Beach to Feel the "Effect"

If you missed the DGA showing of “The Richter Effect,” now is your chance to catch it at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The short film will show in the Cal State University Long Beach Showcase 4/26/2007 at 7:30 pm in the Edwards Island Cinemas - Cox Theater. As always I want to thank my cast and crew for making the film happen and I’m glad to see that collaborative energy propel us unto bigger and brighter endeavors, together.

'The Richter Effect' will appear in the following in the order shown:
Program CSULB Showcase

'The TV Broke' Contact - Gerson Sanginitto  sanginitto@hotmail.com
'One Sister' Contact - Michelle Gevoian  mwridir@earthlink.net
'Bee Golden' Contact - Ryan Silveira  rsilveira@gmail.com
'West of Glory' Contact - Daniel Kinsbursky  offhollywoodprod@aol.com
'Brooklyn' Contact - Sonyo Estavillo  sonyo_estavillo@hotmail.com
'The Unobtrusive Plot' Contact - Gregory Crosby  LBMovieMaker@hotmail.com
'The Richter Effect' Contact - Sam Yano  sky@skysyndicate.com
'Each Other' Contact - Roger Melvin  jmelvinjr@hotmail.com
'Orizuru' Contact - Junya Sakino  div-pictures@swissinfo.org

 

Ad Infinitum,

 

 

Sam K. Yano
Director, “The Richter Effect”

 

 

CREDITS AND THANK YOUS:

 

CAST

 

Sean P. Lavin, Father                

- My brother in arms, from the beginning to our undiscovered end.

 

Lezli Alley, Mother                    

- Lezli swooped in and saved me in the last moments of casting, meeting and beating my expectations for her role.

 

Connor Webb, Danny                

- Connor kept the production light with his charming smile and curious nature – he reminded me of why I never want to grow up.

 

Brooke DeBetties, Melissa                    

- Professional through and through, talented as well as dedicated beyond her years – a rare find to live and learn by.

 

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Adam Amberden                                   

- He managed to hit every curve ball I threw at him during production. And he just makes me laugh by being himself. Thanks Adam!

 

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY

Matt Dow

- Another homerun hitter. He backed all my plays no matter how ridiculous – Matt is the ultimate “Fixer” because he just made things work without even breaking a sweat.

 

ASSISTANT CAMERA

Anne Caballero

- When comes to camera positioning and framing, you either got it or you don’t – Anne’s got it… and then some!

 

GAFFER

 

José Sanchez

- Mister suave! When Sanchez speaks everything is just smooth and cool. Like a warming shot of tequila.

 

Archie Arenas

- When Archie smiles, it could be good or it could be bad, but at least you’ll know you can laugh about it later.

 

GRIPS

 

Michael Rossetti

- There ain’t anyone that knows their production stuff like the Rossetti – he’s scary that way. Nuff said.

 

Lester Corpuz

- Mister nice. You just can’t go wrong with this guy – calm, collected – I dare anyone to claim that they don’t like Lester. Lester’s cool.  

 

SOUND

ReyRonald Pineda

- Yeah… um, if there’s anyone I can easily blame for things going wrong on set, Rey would be the perfect scapegoat. But the guy has a heart of gold and he’s a really good friend. So I can only blame myself for liking the guy too much. Thanks Rey.

 

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Glenda Sherrell

- Always there with a winning enthusiasm. Thanks Glenda!

 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS

David Philip Miller – Thanks David!

Nicholas Pasqua – Nice guy. Thanks Nick!

Miho Shindo – I ended up marrying this PA.

 

MAKE-UP

Jennifer Kroll

- What is “The Richter Effect”? Well great performances framed by great makeup.

 

CATERING

Diane Timmons

IT Catering

- The food was good – Diane took good care of us and you know there’s nothing better than a hot meal after working your butt off.

 

EDITING BY

Sam K. Yano

- I wouldn’t trust my baby with anyone else.

 

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Rory Kelly

- The man, the myth, the legend. The god-father of my film production education.

 

Restaurant to go with Miho

http://www.mozza-la.com/

REVIEWS

FILM REVIEW
FILM: The Unknown Street
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/11265
RATING: 3.5 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: This documentary certainly has a heart and the imagery
is tragically beautiful in it's exotic locals and textured reality. It
also represents a unique perspective where the filmmaker himself is
very much a part of his message - the theme of surviving on limited
resources but thriving on altruism and the drive to achieve in
life/film making.
WHAT I SUGGEST: As I've commented on other documentaries, the key to
conveying your message is credibility. You are relying too much on the
sentimentality of your audience (how your audience feels about your
subject) rather than your characters/subjects evoking their own
sentiments.

The imagery you present goes a long way in establishing your
credibility but go one step farther - break the silence of these
people, get that camera up close and personal. Nice work.

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: Hero Hero
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/13970
RATING: 4 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Playful photography and music. The performances and
locations exuded a wonderfully deep sense of New York / Brooklyn
culture.
WHAT I SUGGEST: The boy got lost in the shuffle - he could have
contributed to the end.

Fun film!

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/20882

FILM REVIEWS

FILM REVIEW
FILM: Broken Doll Director's Cut
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
8941
RATING: 3 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Great opening graphics and photography give this film a unique style that pays homage to the psychological horror thrillers of old - very Hitchcock.
WHAT I SUGGEST: Ambient sound went in and out and the poor, hollow quality of the camera clicks and spoken words disrupted the experience.

Very curious film!

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: THE THING UNDER MY BED
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
10270
RATING: 3 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Great opening shot that establishes a freaky character. There are some genuinely tense moments when the "boogey man" pop in and out of the frame. Kinetic photography.
WHAT I SUGGEST: Some of the shots were too dark to follow the action. The film does well to exploit some moments of surprise but it never mixes up the formula and the film ultimately does nothing satisfying with each time it catches your attention.

Nice make up job - the old man is certainly freaky.

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: POPCORN DREAMS
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
2557
RATING: 4 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Very smooth, cinematic photography with stylized lighting and set design that supported the narrative. Playful music selection.
WHAT I SUGGEST: The end is a bit anticlimactic despite the moral of the story - because the film is so stylized and fantasy centric there is an expectation of a bigger than life ending. But the film's end is more or less a "real-life" irony which seemingly contradicts its look and feel.

Nice film!

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: Beans on Wheels - 3
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
29135
RATING: 3 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Quirky film with some funny, almost disturbing, images (and audio). Some shots had a unique look and feel (like when the wheel chair bound woman was rolling through a disaster of a house - good stuff).
WHAT I SUGGEST: The quality of the photography was very inconsistent. Some of the ambient noise became really distracting.

Sad, yes. Funny, yes!

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: MY WALLET
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
15693
RATING: 3.5 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Like a well adapted live action Looney Tunes cartoon. Some great comical timing and action, interesting shot selection, and some funny impromptu moments.
WHAT I SUGGEST: As great as some of action camera work was, the quality was inconsistent and most of the sound was not clear or the levels were uneven.

Great work! Looks like this film was fun to make.

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

__________

FILM REVIEW
FILM: creasy
LINK: http://films.thelot.com/films/
20493
RATING: 4 / 5

WHAT I LIKED: Fantastic photography - well lit and composed. The performances were sincere and hit the right dramatic tone. I can appreciate the angle of the story - not the typical anti-pharmaceutical big-business scenario but of someone caught in between.
WHAT I SUGGEST: The main speech verged on melodrama simply because it ran too long and pushed in too close when the true intimacy between the character and audience should have been during the last shot of Creasy visiting the grave.

Great looking film!

When the chase is cut short, the guns come out to play! Check out GUNPLAY!
http://films.thelot.com/films/
20882

BUDDHA AND THE HECKLER - RESPONSE TO A REVIEW OF GUNPLAY

SKYGUY: Who said anything about GUNPLAY being a "gangsta" flick? I said this film was based on the writings of Dashiell Hammett - look it up. It sounded like you had something intelligent to say about some of the shots and editing but then you tripped up on your own ego and I didn't understand the point you were trying to make - were you trying to say that the use of the guns didn't fulfill your expectations of the ending? The ending was suppose to be somewhat comical, if not, unexpected. So let me tell you a story in response to your attitude towards my film and me:

When Buddha was speaking to a group of people one day, a heckler interrupted him with a barrage of disrespectful insults. This continued for days until finally Buddha ask the man a simple question in the form of a short anecdote: If you were to give someone a gift and they were to refuse to accept that gift, then to whom does that gift belong? The heckler responded by saying that the unaccepted gift would belong to the person giving the gift. Then Buddha asked: Then if you were to give me your insults and I were to refuse to accept those insults, then to whom do those insults belong? The heckler could not respond.

Thanks for watching mdduke, and you're right - it should be 1 luv. So BLEEP you and I'll be sure to check your film out  ; )

mdduke | Mar 08, 2007
CUZ this was the worst want to be gangsta flick I have seen in some time. It doesn't look like this is the genre for U, I don't know whether to blame U or the actors for this BLEEP. Any body that knows what a gun is knows that when the barrel is exposed like it was that means the clip is empty. What was the purpose for him taking it out to look at it, was it because U were trying to add suspense? Well let me be the first to tell you all that did was further add to the disappointment of that 5:46 minute waste time. The way you placed all the frames together was not the problem, it was just the concept and story line. Leave the genre to the people that know about gun play CUZ that BLEEP was a motha BLEEPin GUN SHAME. Change the title to "gun lame," it would suit your film better!

1 luv & may God B wit U CUz!

PS if U look at my film U will see doing some comical things with my heater. But best believe I can break that chrome BLEEP down blind folded! The BLEEP I was doing wit my BLEEP was 4 kicks, and not to be taken serious. U need to put your film under comedy CUZ dat BLEEP was a riot!

RESPONSES TO GUNPLAY REVIEWS

SKYGUY: Yes, I tried very hard to telegraph everything - some found it
to be too much and others didn't get it at all. I tried to find that
sweet spot of subtlety without being too abstract about my ideas -
then again, I tend to lean towards the commercial sensibility of
wanting to explicate everything. I learn balance with every film I
make. And I back my actors up 100% - there's always room for
improvement but they did a bang-up job for me on set and on screen.

behindtheart | Mar 09, 2007

The acting was? You tryed to hard telagraphing evreything. So
pradictable. I cant spell . The style it was shot in was nice it had a
look. leave somthing to think about. Paint an abstract and let the
breath find the truth.

__________

SKYGUY: Thanks Hitman_1942! Omitting dialog was a big help in being
able to shoot the coverage I wanted in the time I had. Most don't
realize that the quality of audio, especially dialog, can really make
or break a film. I'll be sure to check out your film. Thanks again for
watching.

Hitman_1942 | Mar 04, 2007

That was actually kinda funny. I liked the animation you did while he
was throwing the gun. I should start making movies where nobody talks
then they won't have to worry about messing up their lines.
Check out The Habit
http://films.thelot.com/films/20947

__________

SKYGUY: Thanks for recognizing the music! That's all scored by Isaac
Agyeman - really nice guy. We worked hard on getting the right sound
going through several themes and styles. I really do like dealing with
cinematography - it plays an important role in telling my stories. But
directing is the grand challenge. Directing is so abstract in the ways
you can approach it that I am drawn by its mystery. Thanks for
watching!

maxtone | Mar 04, 2007
The audio on intro was a little low.
Though I didn't fully understand project - you get an "A+" for the
MUSIC. It was AWESOME! Love those beats.
You had some very FABULOUS shots though. Lighting was good too. You
have a GREAT EYE for details. Just work on the script more. I know it
was challenging without dialogue.
Good luck.

__________

SKYGUY: I like me a good, in depth, story as well. But this was more
of an exercise in plotting and fast action. Hopefully my latest film
and my future films will show more of my strength in story. I've also
started a story writing excersize on my blog should you care to check
it out:
http://community.thelot.com/blogs/skyguy
Thanks for the review!

ouneoas | Mar 04, 2007

Nice job on the shot selection and the music( I really liked it).
There were times where the fast motion to regular motion shots were a
little to much. And I agree with maxtone that your story isn't really
there, not to say thats a bad thing per say, just my preference. All
in all nice job and good luck. Thanks for the review.

__________

Thanks Victor! My latest short, "The Richter Effect," has more dialog
and will be showing at the Newport Beach Film Festival. You can catch
the teaser here:
http://www.skysyndicate.com/samdemo/media.htm
Thanks for the kind review!

victorpeceno | Mar 04, 2007

Good music
i miss dialogue but even without it
it is entertainning
good job

__________

SKYGUY: I'm glad the end worked for you - it's been a topic of debate
but I'm happy with the ending I decided to go with. Thanks for
dropping by.

jrhndrsn | Mar 04, 2007
The music throughout the film really carried the suspense. The guns
were used in an unexpected way.

__________

SKYGUY: Why you're welcome! And have another drink on me!

baddsully | Mar 04, 2007
hello. thank you. and good luck.

yeah, i'm drunk on a sunday. and?