Roberto Rodriguez Champions Digital Filmmaking...

[Alex]

I find it a bit distasteful that filmmakers who rely on the masses to pay their salary want to make their own movies with next to nothing crews, taking money out of the pockets of the very people who go to see movies.

Does that mean only films with large crews should be made, of course not. The way it normally works is the creative, independent director/filmmaker methodically makes their movie on a longer schedule, saving money every step of the way by strategically planning the most cost efficient way to shoot.

The new argument is the most cost-efficient way to shoot is with less lights, less crew, more natural filmmaking.

That may be true, but why tout it as giving a better look WHEN IT DOES NOT! Why can't the new breed of filmmakers just be HONEST and say "The actual picture quality is not as good, but I gain so much flexibility in other aspects that the trade off is worth it to me."

Then let the market decide. The market will probably decide that both ways are liked, if the film tells a good story.

If film prints from an HD master don't looking as good, there is a reason. Since film still has more lattitude than video, I believe the High-Def Filmmaker MUST really study how to convert the High-Def Image to film rather than just assume it's a straight copy over procedure.

If we acknowledge that HD needs low contrast to be most effective, than it's quite logical that the film prints won't look that good because the film wants MORE contrast than the HD is outputting.

I bet the most stunning High-Def to film prints would be one that is made in an optical print environment where the High-Def image could be "burned" into the film via longer time exposures.

[Alex]

I saw a report on Spy Kids II on Dateline NBC Tuesday night. I was confused. Roberto Rodgriguez has been touting the affordability of HD, and how it let him be more intimate with the actors, and his poor actors have to work with green screen!

"Now pretend there is a really big monster here!" Rodriguez gestures to a spot on the floor. The poor actors look confused, they sort of grimace and bear it.

While the green screen does allow for the effects to be done in a computer environment, it still looks like a set-up that is out of the reach of the independent filmmaker, and one not very different than film.

[GREATwarEAGLE]

As far as wearing as many hats as you possibly can on your own film - I'm all for that. It's called INDEPENDENT filmmaking for a reason. If I am competent at the positions, and am able to handle them all, then you better believe I'm gonna do it. Those who I turn down because of this - they will find work elsewhere, or perhaps begin to do the same as me - do THEIR OWN thing.

When I was a little runt, around 8 or 9, I used to "help" my dad with his carpentry work. Sometimes he'd be hired to build a deck in someone's backyard. Sometimes, these decks were massive. But he did it himself. My "help" was petty. He just wanted to bring his kid along. But imagine the pride and sense of self-worth he felt, standing back, admiring the work he alone had done.

This is what I'm talking about.

It's not my job to find and supply work for others. I'm not a civil servant for unemployment.

[TA152]

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<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ August 28, 2003 11:17 PM: Message edited by: S8 Booster ]</font></font>

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Original Message reinserted by the Moderator to keep the topic thread intact.

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Slightly off topic but still related and it is surprising to see that "HD" is not even necessarily "HD"?

It?s so simple to stick to the film?

http://videoexpert.home.att.net/artic3/262hdvr.htm

More linx:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/m...s/wallis.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/m...bagdonas.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/ne.../kuttner.shtml

R

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 21, 2003 01:37 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[Alex]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by GREATwarEAGLE:
As far as wearing as many hats as you possibly can on your own film - I'm all for that. It's called INDEPENDENT filmmaking for a reason. If I am competent at the positions, and am able to handle them all, then you better believe I'm gonna do it. Those who I turn down because of this - they will find work elsewhere, or perhaps begin to do the same as me - do THEIR OWN thing.

When I was a little runt, around 8 or 9, I used to "help" my dad with his carpentry work. Sometimes he'd be hired to build a deck in someone's backyard. Sometimes, these decks were massive. But he did it himself. My "help" was petty. He just wanted to bring his kid along. But imagine the pride and sense of self-worth he felt, standing back, admiring the work he alone had done.

This is what I'm talking about.

It's not my job to find and supply work for others. I'm not a civil servant for unemployment.</font></font></font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

When I shot Super-8 in college, I LOVED that I could create so many different kinds of movies and not be at the mercy of friends helping me. I'm not advocating that movies must be made with massive amounts of help.

On the issue of carpentry. Did your father make his own hammer, manufacture his own nails, cut down the trees he needs for carpentry, make a brew of shellac, build the car he drove to his job site on the roads he created?

Your father was an indpendent artist, but he still relied on others in other ways. We are all INTERdependent, even as marketing people incessantly tell us otherwise.

I think the Digital message is, "Don't be at the mercy of others, buy our Digital and HD stuff, then you can do it all yourself".

I find it ironic that as filmmakers, we should be encouraged to forsake the contributions of others even though it takes multiple thousands of people buying one's movie after it is made for one to profit.

I'm all for independent filmmaking. Why Roberto Rodriguez masquerades as one is beyond me. It just seems like Roberto Rodriguez is more af a frugal Movie Studio Director than an actual Independent Filmmaker.

As ones name and rep grows in popularity, one gets bombarded with offers from others to work on their movie. Some of those wanting to work with R&R are going to be very talented people.

Do you really think R&R's music is as "good" as someone who trained, studied, and has written music and has made a career of it?

Just what exactly is the point of R&R implying that making a movie is like coloring with crayons, you just pick one up and go!

And of course, the film prints did injustice to his HD Movie. That had nothing to do with having limited experience in the arena. If he doesn't know how to get the proper result, then it's somebody elses fault.

It just looks on the surface that whatever he does well is proof of the power of true indpendence, whatever he does mediocrely is the fault of the establishment.

However, R&R sure likes working with established stars.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 16, 2002 10:11 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[GREATwarEAGLE]

Did my Father build his own tools, etc? Come on, Alex. That's ridiculous. You're reaching. Just as Rodriguez doesn't build his own camera, editing equipment, etc.

And I'm not defending Rodriguez. I think I've only seen one of his films. He doesn't appeal to me. I'm defending independence. Or as close to it as one can get.

One of my roommates is an excellent typist. Far better than myself. But that doesn't mean I ask her to type all these posts. It may take me a little longer, I may rely on spell check more, but I'm able to do it myself.

[GREATwarEAGLE]

100 - "woo-hoo"

[Alex]

Then let me ask it another way. Did your father start to pour cement, paint rails, install pools, all the while calling himself a carpenter?

Maybe R&R needs to rename what it is that he does. Perhaps he's really more than a director.

When a new product such as HD in invented and promoted, just promote the product for what it does, rather than slam what came before.

That's been the issue for me.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 18, 2002 10:15 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[dr.sanchez]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Alex:


I'm all for independent filmmaking. Why Roberto Rodriguez masquerades as one is beyond me. It just seems like Roberto Rodriguez is more af a frugal Movie Studio Director than an actual Independent Filmmaker.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 16, 2002 10:11 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font></font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I read somewhere that Rodriguez really had no intention of being an indie filmmaker. El Mariachi was indie by necessity but even judging by his second movie (Desperado), I think he wants to be (an now is) a big budget action director. And that, by virtue of its big-budgetness, means non-indie. I don't think he's trying to fool anyone.

I think it's the same with Soderberg. He's even said in interviews that he wanted to make bigger movies all along. Sex Lies and Videotape was pretty indie but he's not going to do "Sex, Lies, and Videotape II: Revenge of Digital Video." (although maybe Full Frontal actually is......)

[cameraguy]

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ August 30, 2003 05:40 AM: Message edited by: cameraguy ]</font></font>

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Original message reinserted by the moderator to keep the topic thread intact.

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If there ever was a true independent filmmaker it was John Cassavetes. Nobody had control over his films but himself. His sacrifice was that he had to act in other movies and TV that he didn't give a **** about in order to make money to finace his films. For that I have to applaud him even though his movies stink.

I don't think that independence should be looked at as one who works alone (1 man crew) but one who is in total artistic control regarless of how many others are working on the film.

To me, you are an independent filmmaker if you are in total control artisticly. As soon as compromises are made to please others involved then its simply not a totally independent vision anymore. When others are fronting the money then they are going to want to have a say, which is fine its their money and they want to make money. Hollywood learned some lessons in the past about handing out blank checks to directors to self-indulge themselves to death.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 21, 2003 01:39 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>