David Condolora

Bring Avid Into the Modern Age

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:01:05 -0700

I originally posted this to the Avid Community Forums, but I thought it might be useful to a more general audience. Since the release of Final Cut Pro X last summer, people are taking a second look at Avid Media Composer. And there’s a lot that the application does right. But in many ways, it feels like a piece of software from the late 90s.

There are five major limitations that I see in Media Composer that are in none of its competitors. These limitations are taken for granted by the rest of the editing world, and badly need to be addressed. As users take a second look at Avid, these seemingly ‘small’ issues may quickly turn them off; and of course, they constantly slow down the work that people like me do, which means that in a way they cost our companies money.

Here is what I think is needed to move Media Composer forward.

1. We need more than 16 voices.

The 16 active track limitation has been a major pain point for those of us in animation, as we constantly juggle audio between tracks and create mixdowns, having to often resync and update those mixdowns when changes are made to the sequence. Given the power of current hardware, this is a limitation that doesn’t make sense, and one that Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere do not have.

2. We need more than 24 audio tracks.

While 24 audio tracks may seem like a lot, when editing a major feature, they quickly fill to the brim. Walter Murch uses 50 audio tracks in his Final Cut Pro projects, and indeed Final Cut Pro has supported up to 99 audio tracks for many many years. This limitation seems silly and arbitrary.

This is also related to point number one, as more audio tracks won’t help too much unless you can actually hear them play back; that said, even if there are still only 16 voices, having more than 24 audio tracks would at least allow you to keep the tracks you mixdown in the same sequence, saving time when updating mixdowns.

3. We need to be able to non-destructively stack AudioSuite effects.

AudioSuite effects are great, but the fact that they only work destructively is a huge problem. For example, I want to add reverb to a clip of dialogue that I pitched down. Simple, create new media, then apply the reverb. What if later I need to adjust the pitch effect? The entire process needs to be repeated.

Stackable audio effects are common in nearly every editing application, save Media Composer. This costs us time, which in turn diminishes quality—since iterating is difficult, we will do less of it, and the end result will suffer.

4. We need to be able to intuitively and simply stack video effects.

Like audio effects, video effects are often used in conjunction with one another. While Media Composer does allow you to stack video effects, the implementation is confusing, hidden, and doesn’t always seem to work. Again, this is handled quite simply and effectively in every other editing application.

5. We need true long filename support.

It pained me to discover that the “Allow filenames to exceed 27 characters” feature is still functionally broken in Media Composer 6. This is obviously a known bug, as I was warned about it by a dialogue box when I enabled the feature. This lack of polish makes Avid feel old, and really should not be difficult to fix. It also would save editors time when naming bins and exporting files. Both the Mac and Windows have had support for 255-character filenames since the 90s; there’s no reason for this.

Were the above limitations addressed, Media Composer would finally proudly cross the threshold into the Modern Age of editing—and many assistants and editors throughout the industry would be able to work faster and better, giving Media Composer an even stronger position in the world of editing.

Now, to be honest, I don’t know that I want Media Composer to be in a stronger position. I’m still not a fan of some of its editing philosophy, and Avid’s UI designers don’t seem to ‘get it.’ But it’s still the standard, and I have to use it every day, so I would love to see it improve.

But these are tumultuous days in the editing world; who knows what lurks around the next corner…

Movies aren't dialogue, they're pictures!

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:00:06 -0700

I’ve been reading Nicholas Meyer’s memoir The View From the Bridge, a book that drew me in with the promise of behind-the-scenes stories from Star Trek, and then handed me an insightful look at a life spent writing and directing in Hollywood. Meyer writes with humor and intelligence, and it’s been a terrific read.

Not only has the book challenged my vocabulary (seriously—his use of the English language is adventurous), it has challenged my understanding of screenwriting. Here are a few choice excerpts I found insightful.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that being ‘on the lot’ is not a thrill. I was part of the circus at last.”

Once you’re ‘part of the circus,’ it’s easy to take walking onto studio lots for granted. But the truth is it’s a privilege. We’re in a fun business, one that few have the opportunity to be part of. This small bit reminded me of that.

“Resolving artistic questions is akin to revealing the secrets behind the magician’s trick. The audience won’t thank you for it.”

Often answers can not live up to the questions that beg them. As Spock once said, “You may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting.” That’s extremely true of filmmaking: a little bit of mystery and a few unresolved elements can add a large amount of depth, and make the audience’s imaginations part of the storytelling. JJ Abrams does this masterfully.

“When I began to focus on work, I made myself a new rule: no speech in a screenplay by me was going to be more than ten lines long. This restriction was a killer. I was going to have to learn to write all over again, write in a way where literacy itself was a disadvantage.”

“Later, watching the work of Steven Spielberg, I understand how much my verbal facility worked against me. It’s better if you can think in pictures. What happens to your scene when you turn off the sound in your head?”

“Another rule: how many pages can you write of a screenplay before it is absolutely necessary for someone to speak?”

Meyer is something of a literary filmmaker. His movies are peppered with references to Shakespeare and Doyle, and his dialogue has a literary quality to it which is in some ways delightful. In others, it’s a disadvantage. But even for those of us not as well-versed in literature, his thoughts above can improve our writing. When is dialogue necessary? After all…

“Movies aren’t dialogue, they’re pictures!”

This was a rebuke spoken to Meyer early in his career by his boss at the time, and it’s one that resonates with me. It’s easy to get stuck in the writing of a film—playing with structure, tweaking the dialogue, being immersed in letters and language—and forget that in the end, the audience will be seeing pictures, not words. But…

“Movies must move, and faces as well as actions can often do the work of words.”

Screenwriting and filmmaking are both in many ways about economy; it’s the simplest and most basic that often touches us in the deepest of ways. Our job is to strip away everything that’s unnecessary, so that what remains is the core, the essence of the story. That is what will keep us thinking long after we’ve left the theater.

Of Mice and Men.

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:00:06 -0700

Or,

How I’m Trying to Stop Being a Mouse.

I have a few goals for 2012, and one big one is to stop consuming and start creating. Specifically, to become a screenwriter.

My hope is to alternate months between writing short films and outlining/writing features. In January, I wrote a short, in February I took a third stab at outlining my second feature, and today I wrote the first draft of my next short.

So far, so good!

It’s ironic that we need to learn about ourselves, but we do, and one thing I’ve discovered over the years is that I need outside motivation to actually get anything done. The 48 Hour Film Project is a great example of this: over four years, I wrote or directed four short films, all done as part of the “make a film in a weekend” competition. It was energizing, and it got me to stop talking about making movies and actually do something. Every year after the competition, my friends and I would talk about making more films throughout the year, but we never did. It seems we needed a hard deadline hanging over our heads.

Screenwriting has proven to be no different. In 2008 I took a screenwriting class through UCLA, which resulted in the first 20 pages or so of a script, along with an outline for the whole thing. Yet even though I was freelancing through the rest of the year and well into 2009, I never found the drive to get past page 50. But once I signed up for a pitchfest that was happening in two weeks, I quickly threw out 20 pages and wrote another 80 over the course of a week, while still working full-time.

That taught me that I have a problem with motivation. It also taught me that I actually can write an entire feature film.

That’s an inspiring thing, and after writing that script in the summer of 2009, I tried to get the rights to adapt a book, which ended up falling through. But a new idea came to me, and slowly, off and on, I developed it into a rough outline by sometime in early-mid 2011.

Which brings me to today. It’s now early 2012, and that outline has gone through a few revisions, but a single page of script has yet to be written based on the idea which had its genesis in the fall of 2009. Over two and a half years. Something has to be done!

Enter Script Frenzy.

Script Frenzy is a competition of sorts, but one in which you compete only against yourself. The challenge is to write an entire 100-page screenplay in the course of a month, April to be exact. You don’t actually win anything, but you do get to write alongside thousands of others who also need the not-so-gentle push to actually get their ideas down on paper. It feels a lot like the 48 Hour Film Project, and it’s exactly what I need to get my feature written.

After all, I only need to write a little more than three pages a day. How hard can it be?

Self-control is really hard. So is nearly anything worth doing. Maybe that’s a by-product of the Fall, that creating anything, reflecting God in that way, is so much more difficult and unappealing (on the surface) than simply consuming things. It goes against entropy; it’s like defying gravity and flying.

“All writers hate writing, but all writers love having written.” I think Richard Walter said that, but it’s an old sentiment that applies to any great endeavor. We work hard to avoid taking that first step and actually going through it, but the reward at the end is great. Life is like that, especially the life of a Christian.

So maybe my struggle to be a prolific screenwriter is a microcosm of my struggle as a Christian, the constant battle to discard my selfish self and live for God.

It’s not easy, but it’s so worth doing.

"It’s never about the setting, it’s always about what’s going on with more intimate characters in..."

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:00:05 -0800

“It’s never about the setting, it’s always about what’s going on with more intimate characters in front of you.”

- Jim Morris, Producer of John Carter

Filmmakers may beckon us with the promise of a strange new world, but what they really want to give us is characters—people that we can relate to, cheer for, and love. That’s what makes movies meaningful. That’s also the strength of Pixar: their stories touch us on a human level. Whether we’re underwater, in Paris, or riding in a flying house, it’s the characters on the screen that make the story worth experiencing.

So it is with our lives.

Adding to our stash of cameras and attachment to film, Brooke...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:02:05 -0800

Adding to our stash of cameras and attachment to film, Brooke got me a Lomokino for Christmas. I’ve always wanted to shoot on film, and now I finally have that chance. That day I shot a quick video…er, film…of us taking Oliver for a walk.

The event was ordinary, but somehow the combination of film and frame rate make it so much more.

[Watch on Vimeo to see it in HD.]

The local cinema is not a pulpit.

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:30:05 -0800

“Go and make disciples of all nations…” – Jesus

We would be foolish to assume that mass media can do the job of sharing the Gospel.

Let me back up.

The Great Commission is likely the most difficult and critical mission ever entrusted to human beings. It’s a matter of the gravest importance, one of eternal consequence—and one to which little time is devoted by the majority of Christians (myself included).

Instead of going out into the world, we spend our time placing blame. We blame the media, we blame politicians, we blame schools, and of course, we blame Hollywood. We look on dissapprovingly, engage in rousing debates, and generally make ourselves known by what we hate, rather than Who we love.

We need to stop.

Sin is pervasive. Sin is evil. Evil must be fought. Yes, yes, and yes. But what about making disciples? What if the best way to fight evil and sin was to change hearts rather than change laws? What if, by following Jesus’ final command, we could redeem the culture?

It’s not too big an exaggeration to say that mass media is today’s greatest driver of cultural change. It’s an excellent tool, one that many Christians want to embrace so that we can fix things. But we would be foolish to assume that mass media can do the job of sharing the Gospel. Jesus didn’t ask us to beam His message into people’s living rooms; He told us to go. There’s a big difference.

That being said, I do think mass media can help plant seeds.

Here’s where we start talking about movies.

Movies aren’t great at getting people to actually do things, but they are good at starting discussions, and Christians rightly see an opportunity to use filmmaking for imparting hope. The problem is that we’re usually so focused on the message that we forget to actually do a good job sharing it.

I once wrote a couple of lengthy articles on what’s wrong with Christian cinema. They were full of statistics, analyses, and were too long. All of us know what’s wrong with Christian films: they’re badly made. And we all know the problem with Hollywood films: they’re full of garbage. Those are both oversimplifications, but you know what I mean.

But what if in the midst of the detritus lay the key to improving Christian films? Here’s the truth: most Hollywood films do not send bad messages intentionally. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Hollywood is, in some ways, a conservative community; they can’t push the envelope too far, because they need you and I to go to the local cinema and part with our money. There are exceptions, but generally they aren’t consciously pushing an agenda.

The messages in mainstream movies come from the hearts of their filmmakers. And that’s the big difference between us and them.

Now don’t get me wrong, we are definitely in earnest when we use our films to preach; we believe people need to hear the message. But while the message is from the heart, the story is not. Do you see the difference?

Messages need to come out of stories organically (for lack of a less cliché term). People can sense a “message movie” right away, and will turn on multiple filters of skepticism and (increasingly) snark to combat it. The message devours the medium, and that’s why those kinds of movies don’t work. They’re not honest.

Jesus used stories to illuminate truth, not to manipulate people into following Him. Like in everything else, we would do well to follow His example.

I believe that if we are going to use cinema to help redeem the culture, we need to tell stories from the heart. And to do that effectively, we need to be great screenwriters.

Screenplays are the foundation for every movie. They give order to the story, voice to the characters, and map out the emotional journey. If we’re serious about filmmaking, this is where to begin. And just like any profession, if we want people to pay attention, we need to be good at what we do. Writing a screenplay isn’t enough; we need to write a GREAT screenplay. We need to devour books on screenwriting (like this, this, and this), attend lectures, read great screenplays. We need to write, rewrite, and rewrite some more (something I’m just now finding the courage to do).

Along the way, we need to do it all from a place of honesty. Our stories need to be populated with real people facing real questions. They need to come from our hearts, not forced from a desire to make sure that at the end of the film every person in the audience knows what they must do to be saved (for the record, here it is). That honesty will glorify God far more than a cinematic tract.

That’s because the most crucial part of all of this comes after the lights come up. After all, the most we can expect our cinematic masterpiece to do is plant a seed, raise a question in the viewers mind. After that begins the real work of sharing the Gospel. It’s time to play Philip to the audience’s Ethiopian.

900 words in, here’s what I’m really trying to say. Creating impactful art always has the same two rules: do it from the heart, and do it well. What makes Christian art different is that our hearts are different. We don’t need to try to send a message; our art will plant seeds because that is who we are.

God will take care of the rest.

"Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have..."

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:01:06 -0800

“Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have “essential” and “long overdue” meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg.”

- J.K. Rowling

(Shamelessly stolen from Advice to Writers, a great inspirational blog. Follow them on Twitter.)

I received Motion 5 for Christmas, and sat down to check it out...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:03:00 -0800

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

I received Motion 5 for Christmas, and sat down to check it out last night. While I can’t really speak to its new features, as long-time Motion user I am extremely happy to report that the interface is updated and yet immediately familiar. I whipped up this little animation in a couple of hours, and quickly felt right at home among the darker shades of grey.

For only $50, how can you resist? Check it out.

On a side note, Tumblr’s video player is pretty much terrible, and I shan’t use it again!

"The world needs artists who are Christians. People who will start with an honest perspective of the..."

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:17:07 -0800

“

The world needs artists who are Christians. People who will start with an honest perspective of the world as it is, but refuse to leave the story clinging to the status quo. They need fresh voices who can paint or show or sing about hope in the midst of deep sorrow.

The world needs to see the Art of Lament.

”

- Jonathan Storment

Lessons from a week at Pixar.

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:25:05 -0800

When I accepted my new position at Pixar, I came home to find a spread of Pixar toys on the kitchen table, with a large card that said “Can!” on the front. It was an echo of the words of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, and an affirmation that I can fly. I’ll always cherish that card and that moment.

I’ve now spent one week at Pixar Animation Studios. An editor I recently worked with called it “the Valhalla of animation”, and he was right. Though I’ve only been there a week, I can already see how special a place it is, and indeed what a privilege it is to be there. The culture, the environment, even the work itself is so different and infused with creativity and meaning. It’s palpable, something you can see in the brick and taste in the water.

A place like Pixar is a place where one can learn. Steve Jobs once told a potential employee, “You’re like a small sapling, and we can take you and make you into a great tree.” Pixar is a place where that can happen, if you let it. And I’m determined to let it, soaking in everything I possibly can.

Here is a sample swatch of the color Pixar is painting in my life:

Always be both a teacher and a student. You always have something to learn, and often the person you learn from can surprise you. Have the humility to always be open to instruction, along with the confidence to share your expertise with others. Everyone stands to gain from this.
Be responsible for yourself. In many ways, Pixar still operates like the small company it once was, and this is possible because it trusts its employees to be responsible for themselves. When people are given responsibility rather than rules, they’re empowered to rise to the occasion, rather than live in fear of making a mistake.
People matter more than ideas. Pixar’s president Ed Catmull is brilliant, and I admire him more than anyone else in animation. In this video, he explains how in filmmaking people are more important than ideas. After all, it’s from people that ideas spring. This philosophy is engendered in Pixar’s culture, where relationships are encouraged alongside creative and personal development.

This merely scratches the surface of the densely rotating mass of Pixar that my brain is still attempting to sort out. But it’s a solid foundation for anyone in any line of work.

To infinity…

Day one.

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:53 -0800

Today is my first day at Pixar.

Since setting out for California three years ago with wide eyes and a narrow wallet, my life has consisted of one surprise after another. I’ve sat in the room as LOST was cut, been in meetings with John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, talked with Zachary Levi after a Bible study at his house, and said hi to Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) as he walked down the street with his wife.

All of that was great fun—but what resonates most deeply is how God has watched over Brooke and I. After those memories have blurred, I’ll still remember how the church that we had only recently joined provided for us when we were jobless, without even being asked. It was shocking, and a blessing spiritually even more than financially.

God is good.

In the documentary Art & Copy, advertising legend Hal Riney says something like this:

There are very few good people in this business, and it’s rare to get the opportunity to do really great work.

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to twice be a (small!) part of great work: first on Tangled, and then on Wreck-It Ralph. Now I’ll have that opportunity once more at Pixar. It’s a rush, and a ride I’m constantly surprised and excited to be on. I nervously wait for the day people realize that I don’t belong, and throw me back to the desert of local TV from whence I came.

Until then, I wonder. What’s around the next curve?

I have no idea. But I’m excited.

I owe a lot to Steve Jobs. One evening my parents came home with...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:02:00 -0700

I owe a lot to Steve Jobs.

One evening my parents came home with a mysterious white box: our first Mac. My dad told my sister and I to “set it up”, and watched with a smile as we excitedly unboxed it and figured out where the few cables went. Then came the inviting startup chime—and with it, an explosion in my creativity. On that humble little Mac I drew pictures, made simple animations, hacked the OS to change system icons, went on the Internet for the first time, and made my own computer games. Now anything was possible. If I could dream it, my Mac could help me do it.

That became my subconscious mantra over the years, as I modeled and rendered my own worlds, built web sites, and eventually edited my first video. That short 3d animation I cut in iMovie (1.0!) started me down a new path of codecs, file formats, and cinema. A path that has brought me here, an assistant editor at Disney Animation.

Steve Jobs changed the world. And in a direct way, he changed my life: both through the technology he created which ignited my creativity, and through Pixar, whose leadership brought Disney Animation back from the brink, and with it a job for me on Tangled. I wouldn’t be sitting in this office were it not for him.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Apple. I tore their ads out of magazines and hung them next to the “Think Different” posters in my bedroom. I counted down the days to every keynote address and watched them live. I went to Macworld Expo, and even got a black mock turtleneck as a Christmas gift. I know, this is all a little crazy. But it’s because I became one of the Crazy Ones, the misfits and troublemakers that Apple immortalized in their “Think Different” ad (which I memorized).

That ad is a self-portrait of Steve Jobs. It’s also true.

My younger self loved Apple and Steve for their innovation and life-changing products. And while those things remain, over the last few years I’ve come to realize how rare people like Jobs are. He is atop an elite group of personal heroes, people like Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, and Walt Disney. People who see potential in everything, and have the drive and insanity to go after it. They are visionaries, and we need them—not because of what they produce for us, but because of what they produce in us. They inspire us to push harder, to have hope in the future, to see.

They inspire us to think different.

The world is a bit smaller for Steve’s passing. This day came much too soon, and I’m praying for his family. And yet, in the midst of my sadness I’m also thankful and inspired. Inspired to push forward and be a crazy one, to not stop until it’s insanely great. This isn’t the end, but only the beginning, because there’s still One More Thing. Steve’s final announcement isn’t a phone that will change how we live, or a Mac that will enable us to be more creative. It’s the news that we too can change the world.

Here’s to the crazy one.

At Disney’s D23 Expo last weekend, Wreck-It Ralph was...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:38:00 -0700

At Disney’s D23 Expo last weekend, Wreck-It Ralph was officially unleashed! (Though the expo seems to have escaped unscathed. Perhaps we can thank Fix-it Felix, Jr. for that.)

I’m really excited about both the logo and the reaction that the film has been getting. I can’t tell you how hard we’ve been working on the movie (no really—I can’t), but I can say that I think it’s going to be something really special and unique when it wrecks theaters next November.

Here’s some info on the story (warning: spoilers!), and here are some great pictures of the arcade cabinet that was on the floor of the expo.

As for me? Back to work!

"The real serious advice is you’ve got to listen. You’ve got to listen. None of us have..."

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:01:06 -0700

“The real serious advice is you’ve got to listen. You’ve got to listen. None of us have all the answers; none of us have even half the answers. And if you find yourself in a really good room with really smart creative people who all become not threats to you, they just become extensions of your vision of whatever you’re working on, and they can help you tell a really good story. And I just have always opened it up for anyone’s ideas, if they’re good enough to go in the movie.”

- Steven Spielberg

This video uses blockbuster films to extol the benefits of...

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:01:00 -0700

This video uses blockbuster films to extol the benefits of “postvis”, or previsualization of visual effects. It’s interesting and has a lot of neat unfinished effects footage, but it’s producer Rick McCallum’s refreshing comments at about seven minutes in that really stole the show for me:

…They’ll spend five or six days, instead of one day, working to make these changes. And then they wonder why everything costs so much!

— Rick McCallum

Films really are getting pretty stinking expensive. This summer featured Thor ($150 million), Pirates 4 ($250 million), Cars 2 ($200 million), Transformers 3 ($195 million)… you get the idea. It seems all we are ever given is bombast and spectacle, and I think that’s one of the reasons attendance and revenue may be dropping. The expense of these films also makes it that much more difficult to make a profit. $150 million dollars at the box office is a decent hit, but with budgets like these, it barely covers your production costs, much less marketing, prints, and gross points.

One film this summer bucked the budgetary trend: J.J. Abrams Super 8. Made for a quite modest $50 million, the film nonetheless had great production value and effects. But most importantly it delivered on story in a big way, and went on to earn a tidy profit both here and abroad. By contrast, Captain America has already earned more money than Super 8, but will be lucky to break even.

The problem with these monster budgets isn’t that they don’t have monstrous production value; it’s the emphasis on spectacle rather than story. The films suffer for it. In a sense, they enters the market handicapped: a high budget film without the story to draw an audience is one that won’t be a success, financially or otherwise. To paraphrase C-3PO, “They’re doomed.”

Rick McCallum’s comments in the video above hit on one of the reasons for balooning budgets: directors who obsess over visual effects shots without considering the ramifications of low morale and escalating costs. There are two kinds of films that are subject to such endless tweaking and fixing: films without enough money and films with too much money. Only one kind has an excuse. It seems that McCallum takes his complaint (and job as producer) seriously: his latest producing effort, the upcoming Lucasfilm release Red Tails, has a reported budget of $30 million—and still features 1500 effects shots.

Decisions matter more when you don’t have money to throw away. Limitations force better decisions.

This discussion is really part of a larger one about the effect digital tools are having on the way films are made, which is itself part of a larger discussion on the effect of digital technologies in our own lives. I won’t get into those now, but suffice to say that digital filmmaking tools have removed practically all limitations from the process. Money is really the only limitation left—and on big studio films, it’s a practically nonexistent one.

If cinema is to remain viable in a world of Netflix on your cell phone, there seem to be only two paths: globalization and smaller budgets. The studios have thus far chosen to pursue globalization, which explains their intense focus on tentpoles and franchises. It’s also why films are no longer expected to be financially successful in the U.S. alone, instead relying on overseas profits. But if we follow this road to its conclusion, it leads to a homogenous cinematic world, one with all films tailored for the lowest common denominator and possessing little honesty. The second path is the one taken by Super 8, Red Tails, Cloverfield, and others, where they embrace their smaller budget but refuse to compromise their vision. The results may not always be great, but they push filmmaking forward, even while making every dollar count.

Maybe because they have to make every dollar count.

Rick McCallum, you’re ok in my book.

All you can do sometimes is just press harder on your pencil to...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:01:05 -0700

All you can do sometimes is just press harder on your pencil to try to make the drawing express what you’re feeling in your heart, and you hope that the audience can feel it as they’re looking at it.

— Glen Keane

The stunning animation of the characters in this video quickly make you forget that you’re watching pencil tests, scribbles of graphite on paper. And hearing Glenn Keane explain his process makes you realize why he is a master animator: there is thought and emotion behind every stroke of the pencil. There is nothing random about the work you see here.

There’s an interesting parallel between bringing animated characters to life and infusing characters on the page with spirit. Both mediums, even at their most simplistic, are capable of stirring emotion in an audience. A screenplay is a lot like a pencil test, in much the same way that a frame of film is like an animation cel. And yet both forms can affect us.

There should be thought and emotion behind every keystroke of our screenplays. That will give our characters shape and solidity, transforming them from vaporous imaginings into real people.

Sage Spielberg.

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:00:00 -0700

Cinema hasn’t defined Steven Spielberg’s career; his career has defined cinema.

The DGA recently hosted a tribute event for the legendary director, with Michael Apted moderating a panel consisting of J.J. Abrams and James Cameron reminiscieng over his influence. It was a fascinating discussion by an absolute powerhouse of talent. Fortunately for all, it’s available for viewing here (just click the first thumbnail on the top left).

If you can spare the time, watch the whole thing. It’s better than any lecture you’ll hear in film school.

If you can’t spare the time, here are a few moments from the event that are still swirling in my brain. May they happily traverse yours as well.

The doorway into science fiction for the average person is through family bonds. If you don’t have the human part of the story, the wondrous won’t work.

— James Cameron

My first thought was how helpful this quote was for me, as I’m in the thick of writing a sci-fi feature. But secondly, I realized how true this is for Christians trying to write faith-centered films. So often Christian films are so focused on message that they forget the characters and relationships, which are really why we go see movies in the first place. If you want to reach a broad (secular) audience, then you’re going to have to get the human part of the story in place before they’ll ever pay attention to the message of faith you’re trying to communicate.

The script pretty much has to speak to me and has to say ‘This is what I need from you to make me better than I am’ - but not much better. Because I don’t think any of us can be that much better than the screenplays or teleplays that we work on. We just can’t. We can be a little bit better, but we can’t be much better. We need great writing to make us look real good.

— Steven Spielberg

I’m going to be reusing this quote in a later post on the importance of screenwriting, and how if we really want to make a difference in the world of cinema, we need to be great screenwriters. As Spielberg said, the director can only make the movie a little bit better. If the script isn’t there, neither is the film.

What I don’t like about the Avid is I don’t have time to take a walk. I have to take forced walks to think because it’s just too fast. You literally ask for something and it’s done for you right while you wait. I really like to be able to give my editor a bunch of changes and then get up and walk for half an hour while he’s physically cutting, and taping, or clipping. My anticipation is building, I’m thinking about my movie, I’m thinking about “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have told him to make that cut.” Every decision takes man hours to achieve and that meant that there’s a craft, there’s a physical craft, when you’re actually…cutting your fingers, bleeding, literally bleeding with that buck splicer. I miss that, that kind of time out to think about your movie and take walks around the lot.

— Steven Spielberg

Spielberg and his editor Michael Kahn are probably the only team that still literally cuts their films. In fact, Spielberg’s upcoming film War Horse is his first to be cut digitally, and he makes some good observations here about the benefits of limitations. When decisions have real ramifications (in this case, the amount of time it takes to try a cut), we tend to make them more carefully. We might even make better decisions.

I love the idea of embracing limitations, because they so often give you the added incentive you need to think creatively. And in the case of Spielberg cutting on film, limitations give him the time he needs to really consider his movie in a quiet setting. That kind of thought is something all too rare.

Michael Apted: What are you most proud of?
Steven Spielberg: In my work, or in my life.
Michael Apted: Either.
Steven Spielberg: My kids. My marriage. You know. That’s…that’s way up here.

This really impressed me. I know firsthand (in a small way) how difficult it can be to have a family in this industry. The fact that Spielberg places so much importance on his family takes him out of the ranks of simply great talents and places him in the far smaller group of great people.

That’s worth looking up to.

Donald Miller's Thoughts on Creativity

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:27:58 -0700

Donald Miller's Thoughts on Creativity:

I recently said on Twitter, “I want to create, not consume. It’s in creation that I can reflect my Creator.” I firmly believe that. So much of what we do in life is in reality a dim reflection of who God Himself is; I suppose that comes with being made in His image.

The author of several books, including the rather successful Blue Like Jazz (the film of which is in post-production; more on that in the future), Donald Miller has been exploring the concept of creativity, and sharing his musings on his blog so we can undertake the journey of being creators together. The above link is a list of ten tips on being creative culled from those longer entries, and is well worth reading.

My favorite is “A Creator Doesn’t Just Talk About Their Work. They Work.”

In a way, creating brings together the physical and spiritual; it’s an act of reaching for the Divine. It’s also an act of redemption – not of redeeming ourselves, but understanding what it means to be redeemed in a broken world.

Would you believe that the lens flares in Star Trek are real?...

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:46:54 -0700

Would you believe that the lens flares in Star Trek are real? Yup. Not only are they real, they took a lot of work (and flashlights) to achieve.

Enjoy this more humorous Part Three of J.J. Abrams Week!

J.J. Abrams Week: Part Two

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:49:36 -0700

J.J. Abrams Week: Part Two:

Second in the increasingly inaccurately named J.J. Abrams week is this fantastic write-up from New York Times Magazine.

From the article:

“There’s no answer to the box that’s going to make you happy,” he acknowledges. But, he adds, “the key is to use the box as a bait, to grab people and bring them into one story, only to introduce another.”

That’s the key. J.J.’s projects aren’t about spies, space, or monsters. They’re about characters. People. That’s why we care; that’s why they touch our lives. The fact that they’re rolled up in genre just adds to the appeal.

This is something I have to constantly remind myself as I write my own sci-fi film.