modifoo

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Have you been toying with the idea of getting yourself an iBook or, gasp, MacBookPro, but have put off the decision because your current Windows laptop still does the job? Let the following film be an inspiration for that you can have both - and do something for your body, too.

Good weekend, everybody!

Extras are the people in the background of a film that give life to a scene. A less-than-glamorous job (lots of waiting), they are usually directed by the assistant director.

Usually the extras are furnished with simple instructions like “Hey you in the grey shirt - walk from here to there. You with the cap, sit here, count til 10 and then get up. Don’t look into the camera!”. On some films, each extra gets his/her own role description, including a motivation.

In Wim Wender’s excellent film “Wings of Desire” you can see Peter Falk talk to extras.
And if you happen to see the Oscar nominated film “Elling”, you might even spot yours truly - on 3 occasions
Thanks to my iceland-based informer, I found out that the BBC has a new series named “Extras”, and here is a hilarious clip from it:

Over at the Apple discussion board, I stumbled upon this gem:

I’m a film editor who’s had the privilege to work on $100 movies to $100 million movies.

Story is king. If your story is working, and crafted well, and paced properly, you can get away with almost whatever you want. For instance, when I cut scenes, I cut for performance… I don’t toss out takes because the glass of water was full in take one but empty in another. 9 times out of ten, even the seasoned filmmakers I’m working with never see the continuity errors because the performances are working.

Occasionally I work with first time directors, helping them with their first short. I see two main mistakes. First, they think that if someone knows how to operate [an editing station], that they are an editor. This is simply not true. I know how to use a chisel, but there is no way [...] I could sculpt the David. Editing is the same: knowing what buttons to push is the least important part of editing. Knowing how to tell a story well is everything. In fact, I know one Oscar winning editor who spent many years never touching the equipment at all. She chose the cut points, and had her assistants do the physical cutting.

The second main mistake amateur filmmakers make, IMO, is that they are not vicious enough when cutting their material. Every single frame of film you project should be conveying new information to the audience. If it’s not, get it out.

The same applies to the craft of cinematography. On discussion boards around film-making I often read questions from wanting-to-be directors on what camera they should buy, which lens they should use. Ocasionally I take the time to point out that if they want to become directors, they should not concern themselves about equipment. They should spend all the time they can on the story, developing the characters, working with the actors to achieve his/her creative vision.

Rather than buying a semi-professional camera, I advise to hire in a professional DP. S/he will not only bring superior equipment, but - most importantly - experience to the shoot. Take a good story and a knowlegdable DP, and you will have something in the cutting room to work with. Your chances of getting your film into a festival and ultimately to actually sell it, have tremendously increased.

Or you can spend all your money on a second-rate camera (never, ever believe the hype that the new HDV camera for $10.000 is as good as a $100.000 camera. But that is another blog…), and end up having to both direct and shoot on your first film. Not a good idea. Leave the technical worries to someone you can trust, and concentrate on your job: story telling.

Movie tip: Living in Oblivion by Tom DiCillo. 

Hans pointed me to this awesome tour-de-force of how the web has changed & thereby changed us.

A transcript is available at the author’s site. Be sure to have a look at the Sandbox section. Boy, if I was 20 now, I might seriously consider studying there.

At Zimbabwe’s official telephone company, you can read that

TelOne’s Core Business is that of bring people together through providing appropriate, affordable and reliable telecommunications service in Zimbabwe

Their vision is truly gripping:

To be the model in the provision of appropriate, affordable and reliable telecommunication service on demand in Southern Africa

And be sure to have a look at the site’s footer

Copyright 2006 [Tel*One]. All rights reserved.
BODY>
Copyright 2006 [Tel*One]. All rights reserved.

And I love how they strive for utter customer satisfaction. Here an excerp from the faq:

Why do you take so long to offer service?
It is not that service delivery to our valued customers takes too long to offer. Each area is to be treated separately in order to see where the point of delay is coming from. Where existing infrastructure is available, service delivery should be done in the least possible time. However, our commitment is such that service provision should be completed within 3 days after the receipt of an A/N-for ordinary customers. Within 10 days after receipt of an A/N-for construction.

(more…)

Over at my favourite blog, I enjoyed todays recipe for stir fried chicken, á la North Korea

- Build a nuclear warhead
- Trade the nuclear warhead for a chicken (remember to ask for change)
- Kill the chicken
- Stir fry it