What NOT to do in a film.

Started by ono, October 15, 2003, 09:23:22 PM

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SoNowThen

#15
October 16, 2003, 10:14:55 AM
From the article:

Often in film school, the only aesthetic advice you will get is "Don't use zooms."  Screw that.  Zooms are NOT on this list.  That's because zooms, while potential cheese, can be used even at the student level effectively and are much cooler than most film schools even understand.

THAT is the best advice on this page. So true. I had constant arguments about using zooms in film school. Why does every film school camera teacher impose the "no zooming" rule?

Anyway, I've violated a few of those "rules" listed in the article. Most noticeably the Feature Crammed Into A Short, and the Introspective Shot (which I like, and will continue to use). And the Solo guitar and Long Slow Piano, which is all I could afford and come up with, being fucked out of some of the music I wanted to use (thanks, Fleetwood cocksucking Mac...).
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

subversiveproductions

#16
October 16, 2003, 04:19:12 PM
Ghostboy, I thought for sure that your avatar was from pi.  No?
www.bloodlessriot.blogspot.com
let me pour my heart out to you strangers.

www.anewnothing.com
smile from ear to blood-dripping ear

mutinyco

#17
October 16, 2003, 06:41:56 PM
One thing movies should feature more of is eyes getting cut open by straight razors!
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

Ghostboy

#18
October 16, 2003, 07:36:42 PM
It LOOKS like it's from Pi, that's for sure. But it's definitely from Un Chien Andelou.

Gamblour.

#19
October 18, 2003, 01:22:42 AM
Quote from: GhostboyIt LOOKS like it's from Pi, that's for sure. But it's definitely from Un Chien Andelou.

For the longest time, I thought that truly was Max Cohen with a headache, my friend told me about Un Chien, and I wanted to look up the eye-slice, I see your avatar, and I'm like oh shit.  :lol:
WWPTAD?

Witkacy

#20
October 21, 2003, 03:36:23 PM
As much as I admire Bunuel (especially his films in Mexico), Un chien andalou is a moment... so was surrealism in film.  I love the film.  But Bunuel's short masterpiece is "Simon of the Desert".  It is totally uncompromised and not inhibited by artistic trend.

Ravi

#21
November 05, 2003, 06:38:36 PM
I used an overhead shot in a film I made earlier this year, but I feel it was justified.  It was in a cramped space and was the best way to show everything that was happening.  One of my story ideas that never took off was a "slice of life" nothing happens film.  Even I was falling asleep when I read it, so I scrapped it.  A film I made a few years ago starts with the main character waking up, but it makes sense in the film, so I don't believe it was a creative cop out.

I'm glad to say that for the most part I've avoided misuse of the things on the list.

TheVoiceOfNick

#22
November 06, 2003, 11:54:04 AM
Quote from: RaviOne of my story ideas that never took off was a "slice of life" nothing happens film.  Even I was falling asleep when I read it, so I scrapped it.  

That's the way I felt about Lost in Translation.

Gamblour.

#23
November 06, 2003, 02:20:05 PM
Quote from: TheVoiceOfNick
Quote from: RaviOne of my story ideas that never took off was a "slice of life" nothing happens film.  Even I was falling asleep when I read it, so I scrapped it.  

That's the way I felt about Lost in Translation.

I used to feel kinda that way, but the I actually had a similar LiT experience, so I totally appreciate it now. I'll buy it the minute it comes out.
WWPTAD?

Recce

#24
November 06, 2003, 07:34:08 PM
Damn, and I thought the walking into then away from the camera transition was cool. Sigh.
"The idea had been growing in my brain for some time: TRUE force. All the king's men
                        cannot put it back together again." (Travis Bickle, "Taxi Driver")

SoNowThen

#25
November 06, 2003, 08:15:49 PM
it is cool.

what do these fuckers know?
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

Alethia

#26
November 06, 2003, 11:05:06 PM
how cool was it in the graduate?  ahh mike nichols.....

Ravi

#27
November 06, 2003, 11:59:49 PM
Quote from: RecceDamn, and I thought the walking into then away from the camera transition was cool. Sigh.

I saw a feature film where they did this several times.  It got old quickly.

I've also noticed that quite a few student films are about a main character who encounters bad stuff all the way or is on a quest to find something but can't find it until the end (and often with an ironic ending).

Just in my HS communications class I noticed three such films, including one of mine.  One was about a kid whose dog ate his homework, then he kept encountering problems that made him late for school.  Another was about a guy addicted to coffee who is looking for it and doesn't find it until the end.  Mine was about a guy who was tired but something always kept him from sleep.  This kind of thing isn't bad, but I figure each filmmaker is allowed to do only one of this type of film.

More avoids:

Popular music
Horror- VERY hard to pull off.  I've tried.

Recce

#28
November 07, 2003, 12:08:30 AM
Quote from: Ravi
Quote from: RecceDamn, and I thought the walking into then away from the camera transition was cool. Sigh.

I saw a feature film where they did this several times.  It got old quickly.

I've also noticed that quite a few student films are about a main character who encounters bad stuff all the way or is on a quest to find something but can't find it until the end (and often with an ironic ending).

Just in my HS communications class I noticed three such films, including one of mine.  One was about a kid whose dog ate his homework, then he kept encountering problems that made him late for school.  Another was about a guy addicted to coffee who is looking for it and doesn't find it until the end.  Mine was about a guy who was tired but something always kept him from sleep.  This kind of thing isn't bad, but I figure each filmmaker is allowed to do only one of this type of film.

More avoids:

Popular music
Horror- VERY hard to pull off.  I've tried.

Well, there's nothing really wrong with doing those kind of concept videos or films, I think. Sure, they suck and when their done, they end up on some crappy VHS tape, never to be viewed by anyone ever again, save you when you feel like laughing at yourself, but they are good learning experiences. I've done one project where two sides of the same guy, good and evil, go to school, unaware of each others existence. So i intercut between the two till they see each other and the evil guy kills the good guy. Then, the evil guy dies with him and i have this cheesy quote that says that good can't exist without evil, like light without dark. Something I got from a comic book. I also had one about a girl who keeps getting teleported into the future by some weird stalker guy, so she kept missing her classes and stuff. Eventually, she goes crazy and beats him to death with a baseball bat next time he tries to teleport her. Then there was the rap music video. Boy, did i regret that one. And, of course, I did the obsessive compulsive man who meticulously plans out every aspect of his life and then comes home to find he has been robbed because he forgot to lock the front door.

But, of course, these projects don't exist. And if any of you says otherwise, I'll hunt you down.
"The idea had been growing in my brain for some time: TRUE force. All the king's men
                        cannot put it back together again." (Travis Bickle, "Taxi Driver")
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