closer to doc talk

Working hard on getting a 2 minute video and pitch ready for this years DocTalk. It is going to held in Whistler this time around. It should be fun although David and I have 14 meetings in 3 days so I don't think I will be hitting the slopes. What are we flogging this year? Dr Tomorrow of course. We were one of 8 teams chosen to pitch our idea of an 86 year old Futurist. I won't get into the details but you know this guy must have something going on if I'm gonna commit time to it.

We shot some doctor tomorrow yesterday on HD and I presume to say it is the best-looking footage available for this guy. My cinematographer (the amazing Kimm) is coming over this morning to drop off the footage. We will be editing all day. I will manage to go for a run sometime during the process.

Altman 1925-2006

Saw this coming but still a very sad day. I've been a fan for years. Must finish watching Praire Home Companion. Don't really have much to say but I knew I had to post. A man that has given so much to cinema needs to be remebered. After I saw Three Women in the 80's I wanted to know everything I could about the director. His imprint won't leave the landscape of independant film anytime soon. I'm just glad P.T. Anderson got to work with him on his last film.

xeon and on

Mona and I have had our new Mac Pro (with the intel 2.66ghz Xeon quad processor) for almost two weeks now and we have got to tell you: it is great. We are not going back to our emac anytime soon if you're wondering. Logging tons of footage (like we are doing now) takes the same time but when we get to the editing it is going to be a breeze.

We also took in Resfest this weekend. I tell you trying to balance the two is no easy task. In the end the logging won. We saw the radiohead video marathon and couldn't muster the energy to do more. So we went back home and starting pumping more tapes into the machine.

Some Resfest Highlights

0.08 - a short doc from the Netherlands about a Spanish boy who is legally blind. Great production design, editing and story. Front to back narration...but it worked god dammit. It didn't hurt that the narrator sounded like Samantha Morton.

Massive Attack, False flags - This rock video was shot at 1000 frames per second. It is amazing what they can do with digital video these days. Will try to use the Phantom 9 camera, that the director used, in the Superdogs doc.

Coldcut, Sound mirrors - Not usually into cgi stuff but the pairing of their new-found ambient sound (former cut and paste beat junkies) and striking visuals was a very satisfying experience. I'm always impressed with photo-luminescent jellyfish.

Jon Bon Jovi's Pool Cleaner - That says it all.

Family, All he needs - A shot-by-shot remake of Mike Mills Air video: All I need. This time around it's for laughs. Instead of a hetro love story about two people who meet at a skate park there's a gay/rollerblading twist thrown in. Friggin' hilarious and inspiring at the same time.

Go to youtube if you want to see any of these.

Things change

Went to my uncle Doug's funeral in Edmonton this weekend. He died of a heart attack a week ago. It was sudden and we were all pretty shocked. The good thing about it was it allowed our family to get together. We all hadn't been together for some time; I got to see my cousins, aunts and uncle and my dad and stepmom.

I made a slide show from pictures my dad emailed me. I thought it was something I could do that would be a good tribute to a great guy. My uncle Doug was always in a good mood and it's a shame that I hadn't seen much of him over the last few years.

This is a wake up call for me, I am going to make more of an effort to see my mom and dad. You don't know how many years you have left with the people you love. I've been busy trying to get my film career together but now that I'm going down to two days a week at the hotel I should have some more time to visit them (but not necessarily the cash to do it).

Sometimes I wonder why I left Edmonton but going there for the funeral I realized why. It's so damn cold, you have to stay indoors for 6 months of the year. That can't be good for you. Plus you have to drive everywhere. The city is just wrong. I always thought it was a cruel joke of god being raised there but some good had come out of it.

I'm developing two projects that are based in Edmonton. Enough time has passed that I can finally appreciate what I went through. The eighties were funny and sad especially if you grew up in such isolation. When I saw the Commitments one of the characters says something about Scotland being the shittiest place around. They've never been to Edmonton if they made that remark. When you're stuck in a place like that you have to make something great come from it because when you look around all you see is darkness. That's what these two projects are going to do. Unique lives are what people are looking for when they watch movies and in this northern albertan city I think there are more than enough to satisfy the most discerning film fan.

Projects a'plenty

My life is finally starting to get back to normal. Over the last few months my schedule has been turned upside down but now, alas, I am back to posting.

Currently I am working on 6 projects: 3 Docs, and 3 fiction pieces. I can't share all the information but lets just say that 2007 is going to be more slanted towards Drama narrative, not Reality.

Info I can share -

Was accepted to doc talk again. We are one of 8 groups that are pitching our idea to 60 broadcasters from around the world. I'll give more info on our project later.

Mona and I are developing a sit-com with the ultra-young and super talented Ken Tsui. He was the only guy that stood out to Mona and I at the MAMM contest. Yes, it is true the rest of the crop were uninspired poo merchants.

We shot our first wedding video as a favour to Mona's friend. We are yet to edit it. You can rest assured we'll throw in lots of filters and slow mo plus a few CSI tricks.

What will we edit it on? We are getting a Mac Pro Quad Processor this week. This little Emac has served us well but it's a too slow for all the new projects we want to do.



I have watched a few movies as of late...

Marie Antoinette - Mood, tone, the inner world and all those things that I love and the mainstream despises. Kirsten Dunst was just amazing in this picture. Not a perfect movie but I felt comforted and inspired at the same time.

The Weather Man - Watched it on a lark and was heavily caught off guard by this mid-life crisis tale by bigger-than-huge director Gore Verbinski. I kept thinking how bad the marketing for this movie was if I got no sense of what the movie would be like from the ads. I usually hate Nick Cage but in this I couldn't see any other actor pulling of this precarious balancing act. From the colour palette to the script, everything just worked and at the end I was overcome with emotion. I watched it twice. As far as Hollywood movies go this one slipped out unmangeled. I love the cameltoe bit.

So let's just say I'm back to writing and living my life. At work the busy season is over so now they get us to do menial jobs instead of just sitting around (back in Alberta they used to call that "fucking the dog"). Had to rake leaves the other day and put my back out. I just kept thinking the whole time that I'll be glad when I can do film full time.

Going to the Asian Film Fest kickoff party tonight. Mina Shum is giving a talk and we'll be schmoozing with lots of the local filmmakers. I don't think I'll go to the Karaoke bar (yes, you heard that right) afterwards.