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

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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.