Star Trek: A New Frontier

Firstly, and very important, if you read this blog entry and you haven't yet seen the new Start Trek already, you should stop what your doing, walk out your door. head to the closest movie theatre and go see it. Then you can come back and enjoy this post. But if you read ahead, it will drastically ruin the movie for you.

Now that that's out of the way. Star Trek is the BEST. MOVIE. EVER.



And I'm not saying this lightly. And no, I don't think you need to "be a Trekkie" to enjoy this film. Within the first few moments of the film, I'm going to say somewhere around the 10 min mark, I was crying my eyes out. This moment, this gut wrenching moment, this truly heartfelt and emotional scene was so strong. When you start out a film like this, what it does is it zeros you out. It's like having a blank canvas put in front of you and you know what the range of the piece is going to be. It prepares you for the rest of the two hours, which felt like they flew by. Not once did I feel like time was moving. I have never in a film, felt more emotionally invested so soon in. This moment, the birth of James T. Kirk, was just powerful, touching, and sincere. And I do want to say, these tears were the best kind you could ask for. The entire scene, they were welling up in my eyes. And in the final moment, when George Kirk jokes about not using his father's name (Tiberius) but his wife's Father's name (James), this was such a real conversation that echoes true life. Immediately you realize this is not a Science Fiction film. This is just GOOD MOVIE. And he was born, and his Father dies and then the flood gates opened up and the tears were streaming down my face....and it felt SO GOOD. Embarrased, I didn't want my friend to see that already, 10 mins in, I was a mess. But out of the corner of my eye, i saw the shine of his own wet face, and he saw mine, and gosh darn it, if we weren't in a movies theatre we probably would have hugged and cried some more. But then we laughed, and then we were on to the next scene, which was action, and from that moment we were glued. Just GLUED to the screen.



If I ever need to cry, I will pull that moment up in my mind and replay it, and I know without a doubt it will work. Now I could go on and on about the rest of the film. How it is a beautiful tribute to the series in so many ways. I could talk about the amazing casting and the top notch writing. I could give you a play by play account of all the great action scenes, and I could reveal storylines that again, which just ruin the film for you. But I won't. I gave you the first ten minutes of my experience in that dark theatre. And for now, I think that's enough. I am definitely going to see it again. maybe even tonight.



But what I DO want to say, and this is a bold statement, but; I feel so lucky to have seen Star Trek in the theatres. To have witnessed the dawn of a new era. What J. J. Abrams has done, is re-invigorated the series. Re-invented it. Refreshed it. He has breathed new life into such a well known and timeless series. And the result, this new world he has created, now lies before us. I think it's akin to probably what people felt like walking out of the first Star Wars in 1977. "Please don't stop making these," they must have said. It could keep going and going and going. I felt like this was MY Star Wars. And I will hold all movies after this up to Star Trek as a comparison. It has set the bar, a new standard from which I will define all films on from here on out.

It is that good.

So Thank you J.J. Abrams, for a beautiful film. Thank you so much.
And if one of your personal assistants happens to leave (I've assisted the Coen Brothers), I would be honored to work with you.

A cleaner Greenway

BGI 106, originally uploaded by Ian Savage.

This past Saturday, Oliver and I joined a few volunteers and walked along the Colombia Street section of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway to get 'er clean. We found some truly bizarre trash, which you can see at the photo set above.

I was excited that we got to use official DOT Arterial Maintenance "grabbers" and when I joked about getting a neon DOT safety vest......I GOT ONE.

If you aren't familiar with the The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway I highly recommend you visit their website. It's pretty impressive, to be planning a 14 mile stretch of public space on the Brooklyn Waterfront, from Greenpoint all the way to Bay Ridge. For nearly 100 years, there has only been four public access points to the water's edge. This MAP shows the proposed route.

I implore everyone to help out any way they can, join the Initiative!

Building a Chicken Coop

Building a Chicken Coop 129, originally uploaded by Ian Savage.

This weekend Sheila and I headed up to our friend's home in the Hamdens ( Hamden,CT ) to help them build a chicken coop. It took us two full days, but I think we did a bang up job. Especially considering we were pretty much making it up as we went.

We are very jealous of their little Hamden Homestead. They have a fabulous garden, utilizing the WORD method: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. And they grow seedlings under lights in the basement. Click on the photo to see all the amazing garden and building action!

Not Christian Bale's Day

If you haven't heard the audio clip of Christian Bale freaking out then take a minute and go have a listen.....then listen to the re-mix, which is pretty funny, both can be downloaded from the same page.

I'll wait a min......Okay.....you've heard it?

So I heard about it this morning on the Today show, and they were all pretty unforgiving. My wife is also very unforgiving. But I'm gonna say something crazy here. I think I understand where he's coming from, much like how Whoopi Goldberg sides with him on The View today:



So I'll start by saying this. Yes, i think Christian Bale was pretty hard on poor Shane Hurlburt the Director of Photography of Terminator: Salvation (and by an odd coincidence Semi-Pro, which I JUST watched last night.) YES, I think Christian Bale has anger management issues and I'd like to think he seeks therapy for that. But who knows. YES, he has a past history with this type of verbal abuse.

But I think people are being too hard on him here. From the audio clip, it sounds like this wasn't the first time Shane was stumbling onto the set during a take. I mean, can't you imagine, as an actor putting yourself into character and then being distracted by some dude walking onto the set in the middle of the scene...and TWICE no less. I think Christian Bale is an amazing actor. Empire of the Sun makes me cry. The Machinist is haunting and his dedication to the role was insane. His role in American Psycho was certainly unique and I'd say brilliant. And for me, he's been the best batman so far.....although I do think his "batman voice" is a bit much.

And what was Shane Hulbert thinking? I mean WHAT was he thinking....He was "looking at the light?" Not much you can do about the light if you are rolling. Why not look at it after "cut." There's a time and place for everything and while the camera is rolling is a time to sit behind a monitor and be quiet. This is the nature of "Quiet on the SET!" which of course includes walking onto set as a no no.

So I just think, or I'd like to, that this had happened before in the day, and maybe this particular scene required more focus and maybe he was tired, who knows when it was in the day and he just snapped. I'm not condoning it. I'm not saying I would have handled it that way. And again, he has some obvious anger management issues, so maybe he should take up meditation or therapy to help him out.

But what I AM saying is, I understand Christian Bale.....I understand and I'm with you on this one, me and Whoopi. And Shane Hulburt? I bet you a million dollars will never wander onto another scene in his LIFE! I mean, would you, after a verbal lashing like that?

Awww YEAH!

That's me, with my fund-raisin 'stache!

Me and my 'stache only have TWO WEEKS left until the big 'STACHE BASH. Check here for the details of the last two major Mustache for Kid Events, where you have the opportunity to see me and my 'stache in person. This Thursday I will be attending the 3rd and Final Checkpoint at 8pm at the Bushwick Country Club in Williamsburg.

Stop and by, and let me and my 'stache buy you a drink!

There is still plenty of time to
DONATE........REMEMBER........IT'S FOR THE KIDS!

Shaving Day

Well hello, hello!

Last Thursday was the official Kick-off of the mustachaganza that is Mustaches 4 Kids!

A grand time was had by all and below is the flickr slideshow to prove it. Right now I'm currently still the leader in Donations, but I got some competition and they're gaining fast. Only the TOP FUNDRAISERS will be eligible to compete in the final STACHE BASH on December 13th in Dumbo.

Please help my and my 'stache make it into the competition and don't forget......IT'S FOR THE KIDS!

Mustache 4 Kids!

Hello my friends!

I am Growing a Mustache 4 Kids!

Starting this upcoming Thursday, the 13th of November, I will grow a mustache until at least December 20th to raise money for public school programs that are under-funded, or not funded at all. I have chosen some cool programs for kids in Brooklyn schools close to my house.

Throughout this process I will keep you all posted as to my progress through photos and video, right here!

Thanks in advance for helping my 'stache raise money......FOR THE KIDS!

Click HERE to go to my Giving Page, where you can view the projects and donate to the cause!

Kodak "aint what it used to be" and the Pope hates mail

So a few weekends ago I was shooting this wedding, and I brought my big-boy film camera, an old Pentax 67. I shot three rolls of 120 film. Now, usually, I go to a hip Soho place to get the negs processed with contact sheets. They turn it around in like two days. Top-notch quality work. But I LIVE right above a Camera store. So I was in no rush to get the film back, so I opted for a more convenient location for pick-up by going through them. They sent the film to KODAK to process and do the contacts.

What a nightmare.

First, Kodak received the film, processed the negatives and sent it back....sans contact sheets. At that point, if the store had contacted me, I would have said forget it and picked up the film. But they sent it back. The nightmare continued. What was estimated to take 10 business days, ended up taking 19. And after they sent my stuff back piece-meal, it was still ALL WRONG.

They printed the 6x7 film on a contact sheet, where the images were SMALLER than a 35mm contact sheet. They also had the extreme un-professionalism to just throw my negatives in an envelope, unprotected. WHAT GIVES! This is KODAK! What other name should we be able to trust on NAME ALONE than KODAK? So I paid for the processing, and refused to pay for the botched contact sheets. I voiced my concern at Kodak's handling of the negatives and their reply was, "Kodak aint what they used to be." Then the manager said right there and then, "That's it, we don't process 120 film through Kodak ANYMORE!"

So, I'm going to buy a flatbed scanner today and do my own damn contact sheets.

And just a quick lil story. The Pope is in town this week. I went to mail some stuff at a street mailbox and it was sealed shut. Sometimes these things stick or have mail crammed in there, so I struggled with it a bit. Then some guy comes up behind me and says, "The Pope is coming! No mail here."

I hadn't thought of that. It totally makes sense. Nobody wants any bombs thrown in the mailboxes! I wonder how they lock them shut? Probably from the inside, like jamming a chair underneath a door handle type deal?

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Parrots in HD RULE!

I'm a big fan of nature and travel shows. One of the things I'd most like to do (besides direct feature films, television, or be a travel photographer) would be a cameraman for one of these shows. I'm looking forward to Planet Earth and Blue Planet on my Netflix Queue.

So last night, flipping through channels after watching the season premiere of Lost, I came across an HD documentary on PBS called:



Parrots in the Land of Oz was a pleasant surprise. I usually go for the "here's a region, learn all about it" nature shows as opposed to the "parrots, and more parrots" kind, but I learned a lot of interesting things about Parrots and the region of Australia.

There is a species of tree that requires fire to reproduce, a lightning strike will cause the fire and only after the tree burns, do the seeds open and release. Interesting I say.

Also, there is a species of parrot called the Golden SHouldered Parrot that nests inside Termite mounds, and when they hatch, it coincides with the hatching of a particular species of Moth Larvae, that feeds on the PARROT POOP! How symbiotic of you nature!

Another interesting thing, there's a species of Parrot called the Budgie, and when they fly in their flock, their wings shimmer and camaflouge them from predators. They fly like that for safety in numbers, as birds of prey will focus on the weakest link. you can see the phenomenan in this preview:


But what was REALLY interesting is that schools of fish, most notably the Sardine, do this same thing for the same reason:



Isn't it freakin AMAZING that in the natural order of things, on this extremely diverse hunk of rock in space that there are different species, as different as can be really, one in the air, one in the sea, that are utilizing the same techniques for survival?

I think it is pretty darn interesting. And a weird coincidence that THIS happened to be the National Geographic Photo of the day yesterday. My cat also enjoyed the quality content and format of the show, as she paced, crouched, an was generally frustrated for two hours straight as she watched the program with us... never once taking her eyes off the TV. Note to cat owners: this phenomena is heightened if you raised your cat SPECIFICALLY to be a non-watching TV cat (she normally could care less about TV when it's on).

I'm taking the Weekend off from blogging, I have developed "blogger wrist" this week from all my computer work and need a break :)

Flickr Widget Test

The Power of Post

I've been searching for a new Blog Host like Moveable Type and Word Press. Not that I don't love the Blogpsot, but I'm looking for a new look for a new site. I found bestblog.wordpress.com really helpful in perusing all the different styles of blogs on Word Press. I came across this blog and that's where I got todays video.

This video is really great. They did some amazing stuff.

A continuing discussion on the 30 second spot

Well, sometimes longer than 30 second, but that seems to be the average. They always cut together like a 30-sec, 45-sec and full min of the same spot. I am just fascinated with commercials these days. There are quite a few smart campaigns out there right now. Kia is doing a great job with some very original spots, this is poor quality, but it's one of the most recent ones and I think it's great:



I can't tell you how many times, not owning a car of my own, having borrowed a car or rented a car I myself have pulled up to the gas station and been like, "wait, WHICH side is it on." I'm sure I'm not the only one, so I think it has wide appeal. These two are also quite good:

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I like the 30 sceond spot above, better than the full minute spot.



Very well shot and directed. It taps into that situation where I think anyone who has driven a car can identify with, trying to find a spot at the mall or grocery store. Have you ever slowly "stalked" people as they are leaving? That's how you get the good spots. Of course I'm sure you've all seen the MOST DOWNLOADED car commercial in history, that took 3 months, 606 takes and six million dollars to produce:



Here's the Making of that spot

Another good campaign going on is Burger Kings Whopperfreakout.com campaign, filmed using Hidden camera's and REAL customers. Just hilarious the reactions. Can't seem to imbed the one I like the most, only this documnetary, but the spot titled MONTAGE under Day 2 is my fave:



Here is a commercial that I also enjoy, on a softer, more emotional, "isn't that cute level". Use of music of course is key here, not to mention good casting on the little tyke:



And I've always enjoyed the cinema Verite feel of these Kleenex spots. The editing is superb:



They have UK versions as well, but I prefer the little bald guy better...something about his image that I like, non-intimidating I suppose. They also have user uploaded videos on their site, which is interesting, some (a kid with snot running out of his nose) I can see the relevance. But "cute baby splashing in a tub" doesn't say Kleenex to me at all, no matter how cute. Their campaign reminds me of that Free Hugs Campaign a while back, which was also well-done:



1,206,869 views on You Tube and over 1,800 comments. Impressive. Quite a few copies in other locations as well, all over the world. truly a movement, and the guy was on Opera.

Year of the Rabbit

Yesterday I was picking up my laundry and I received a very robust "Happy Chinese New Year!" This year is The year of the Rabbit. It starts on February 7th. here in the states they take off one day. But in CHINA, they take off at least 7 days, if not 15! Poor Chinese in the States, our capitalist virtues keep them from being able to shut down to celebrate their holiday like they should.

And did you know the FRENCH all get Five weeks off and they usually take it off all at the same time, so business are closed for an entire month or more!

Don't even get me started on FOREIGN HEALTHCARE!

A whole...neeewwww....(digital)...WOOORRLLD!

Did you get that post title reference, didya?

As I spent a large part of the day yesterday trolling the net, learning more about the film Cloverfield and looking at options for an HD camera for a possible future upgrade to my at least 4 yr old Panasonic DVX100, I learned some interesting things about what is going on in the film world.

Films, are being shot completely digital.

Now, this isn't NEW, but I found it interesting to really get a good look and read on what cameras are being used on what films. Films that were shot 100% in the digital realm.

This article here professes that Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) was the fist film to be shot and exhibited completely in digital. The entire article (all 10parts) is a really good overview of the milestones of FX in the world of cinema. It brought back memories I had of some favorite films of my childhood, including this film:



I loved this film, Young Sherlock Holmes, and it's credited with being the first film to composite computer-generated animation with a live-action background.

But back to Star Wars, which was shot on this camera here:



The Sony or Panivised HDW-F900, today, goes for about $60,000. I think at the time, it was being specially built for Lucas, so the cost initially was probably way higher. But then WAIT, now another site says this movie, Vidocq was the first film shot entirely on digital:

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Click the image and it will take you to the Youtube trailer. I think maybe Star Wars was filming / in production first, and maybe Vidocq was released first in 2001. I'll call it a tie. They were both shot using the HDW-F900. I'll take just a BRIEF step backwards in technology, but forward in time to Open Water, released in 2003:

.

This film was initially thought to be shot on the Panasonic DVX100 (which wasn't available at the time) was actually shot on the Sony VX2000 and a PD150. I didn't terribly like the film, but they get props from me for the low budget and huge studio deal after playing at Sundance. Yet another aside, Here's an article on the true story it's based upon.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico also released in 2003 was shot on a "Sony 24fps HD" camera "similar to what Lucas uses." But I couldn't confirm over the internets EXACTLY what camera was used.

But wait a second, wait a gosh darn second! What, you might ask, does all this have to do with Cloverfield, and you searching for a new camera? Well, here it all ties together. SO I said to myself, while searching for an HD upgrade....."I wonder what CLOVERFIELD was shot on?" And here we have This wonderful article, which gives you all that info. At first there was a lot of talk of the camera that I was looking at, this Panasonic HVX200, as being the main camera:



It was in fact used, but very sparingly. Here's a screenshot from the film where you can see the character of Hud, holding the Panasonic HVX200. Which, of course, at at LEAST $3,500 and topping at around $5,000, I don't think he'd be toting this around at a party, unless that was his gig:



Image above can be clicked for a review, rating and video on the Panasonic HVX200, which again, is what I've been leaning towards as a future item for MEEEEE. But I digress, as I'm wont to do, Cloverfield was NOT filmed mostly on the HVX200, BUT, in fact was filmed on a combination of the two camera's below, photos clickable to links to learn more about each one"

The Thomson Grass Valley Viper, which goes for somewhere in the $80,000 range:



and the Sony F23, which is priced around $100,000:



Another film that has used the Viper for the entire shoot, and this was surprising, because I had already seen the movie when it came out and had no idea, was Zodiac:



This blog post gets into some nice detail of the workflow and use of the camera on the film.

Well, there you have it, my day on the internets. There are of course Tons of options these days for HD Camera's of all sizes and prices. Of big note, is the Red One system, which is supposed to revolutionize the industry, has a price tag of $17,000 JUST for the body, and a huge waiting list. And with MY personality and the piece-meal nature of the system, which is extremely smart because it makes it easy to upgrade, as opposed to getting a whole new camera, I would get lost In their Store and rack up a bill of $64,660 (one of everything please).

Well, an informative blog I hope, if not a bit dry. For now I'm gonna just gonna have to stick with My little guy here.

Cloverfield and Atonement

This past Sunday, Sheila and I had the rare treat to catch up on not one, but two films we were interested in seeing:



and



I will begin by reviewing Atonement first, as my review of Cloverfield leads to another topic. First I'll say, I enjoyed this film, very much. In fact, I found little about it that I didn't like. Keira Knightly was pretty good, James McAvoy was superb. A real treat was the skills of both young Briony, played by Saoirse Ronan and the young adult Briony, played by Romola Garai. I'll get this out of the way too, James McAvoy is REALLY an excellent actor. I liked him a lot in The Last King of Scotland. He has the great ability to say a lot without saying anything at all. It's all in his face, it's all in the eyes:



The film was good. It was shot well enough, nothing in my mind screamed holy CRAP that was awesome. There was a really nice tracking shot at the end, of soldiers on a beach waiting to be picked up that was noteworthy. What I REALLY enjoyed was the Score by Dario Marianelli . The thematic use of hitting typewriter keys as an instrument in several of the pieces was just such a savvy move. It just really tied in a lot of elements so simply, the play she writes, the letter he writes, her novel, becoming a novelist, love letters written back and forth, all neatly melded together by the simple use of typewriter keys in the score.

One touching moment (read, shed tear here) was, well, touching. A soldier lies on his deathbed and Briony is comforting him, she's not supposed to let the soldiers know her first name, so tells him her last name as her first name, and as he's slipping away he is mumbling her last name, and she is yelling "Briony! My name is Briony." It was a really powerful moment.

So what didn't I like? Well, that moment I JUST mentioned, was so close to the end, and so well done, when it came time to reveal that the two young lovers never saw each other again, well, I was emotional spent already. I felt more for that moment with the french soldier than I felt with the tragedy of the two main characters unfortunate ends. I also thought we could have spent less time with setting up in the beginning and more time with some story later on. When we see Robbie (McAvoy) not only have we skipped all his prison time, but the entire war as well. Just skipped over it. And Cecillia (Knightly)? what happened there? She just up and left her rich family and mansion to pursue nursing? It just left a lot to be desired on the main characters arch. It was more like a sharp triangle.

OK! So now, we move onto Cloverfield. Overall, I LOVED it. I went into it expecting that It was going to start in the party ala handheld camera, and then when the monster hit town, it would just jump out to a big-boy film camera. I was quite surprised, when we stayed with the pov of the "hand-held" lil guy for the entire film. Yes, quite surprised. More on the camera (s) they used later.

More things I liked about it....I didn't mind not really finding out where the monster came from and what it was doing in Manhattan. Would I have liked to have seen MORE creature? Yes, I would, but as we learned in Jaws, an audience can have a high tolerance for NOT seeing the monster. I believe you don't FULLY grasp JAW'S look and size until something like 1hr 20-1hr 30mins in. SO...I didn't mind the fleeting glimpses. It was enough for me. I also liked how during the entire length of the movie, there was no music. There was practical music in the party scene, but there was no score during the film. So when the music came up over the credits, it was pure eerie, it was THEN that I realized that I hadn't heard any score. Interesting choice there, very interesting.

So just a few, totally nit-picky things that bothered me. When they are crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, right before it goes down, they have a shot of the Statue of Liberty:



Click on the Pic above, and it will bring you to a view that is closer to the real scale. I just didn't buy that it was so close, or that "lil hand-held cam" he had could zoom in that far. Along those lines as well, with the length of the "footage" ie the film, he would have HAD to have changed tapes at some point. Next thing, again relating to living in NY, this Subway stop isn't real:



I know they shot in NY for 12 days....but they couldn't film in the real stop? And the real buzzkill, was at the VERY end, the two leads Rob and Beth are about to die, they say their last words to the camera, put it down, and then they say they love each other:



They each said it, and both of them had ZERO conviction or emotion in their delivery. I blame The Director, Matt Reeves. It totally ruined that, the final, moment in the film.

Now after the fact, I've been told, have heard about some interesting Cloverfield stuff. I stayed till the end of the credits and heard the sound bite. Someone told me that if you were to reverse it you'd get this http://cloverfieldmessage.ytmnd.com/.

Also, mention of some video of the monster attacking an oil rig:



and this one:



Basically, there is a hell of a lot of Viral marketing that went on, and continues to go on for this film. Check out Cloverfield Clues as well as Geeks of Doom. I think you could spend a day or two on there just absorbing it all and piecing it together. I just skimmed the surface.

Anyhoo, this has become a MONSTER blog, hehehe, and I'm beat, so I'll wrap this one up tomorrow. Stay tuned.