SilverKottage

To really push a shoot to the extreme, try not eating or drinking for 24 hours and then film an event at the beach. Make sure that the event is running 30 mins late and you have to stand in the hot sand for that whole time.

Zappa zappa zappa!

Good thing I sat down before I had to shoot, or else I really would’ve collapsed with thousands of people watching… lol.

A couple of days ago, a client of mine asked me to make a Microsoft Powerpoint presentation for them that would play videos that I have edited.

Steve Jobs does not use this… but everyone else does.

Using a Mac, my workflow was edit in Final Cut Pro and out put as the project’s setting. Then recode it to H.264 in MPEG Streamclip for playing.

MPEG Streamclip, the video convertor of choice

Everything was good, my Powerpoint presentation was done and I inserted the videos into the presentation. Tested the presentation out and the videos played.

I then transfered presentation and the video files to a USB key and gave it to my client…

That’s when the problem occurred. My client’s computers uses Windows as it’s OS… and with Microsoft being anti Apple, Powerpoint in Windows OS does not play .mov files! The player that Powerpoint uses is Windows Media Player.

So, I had to figure out what format to use. I used MPEG Streamclip to convert the video files to AVI. But the quality was so bad and there was no sound for some reason. Also, converting a short clip would take AGES.

I then saw an option to convert to WMV, Windows Media Video. Surely, this would work on a Windows OS Powerpoint! But because Apple is anti Microsoft, I had to purchase a 3rd party plug in, Flip4Mac to allow me to re-encode .mov to .wmv for clips over 30 seconds.

Something that should be FREE!

So, if you want to convert .MOV to .WMV on a Mac, you will need to buy Flip4Mac Studio (AUS $58) and then use either MPEG Streamclip (free) or Quicktime Pro ($$) to convert to a preset WMV file.

In the end, I got the embedded video playing on my client’s computer. But at $58 just to make a Quicktime file into a Windows Media Video file? Seriously… that just shouldn’t be. Please love each other, Apple and Microsoft.

Love is in the air.

Guess you won’t mistake this for a teenage girl’s film.

Daybreakers has been building momentum over the past few months as a film that brings back the traditional Vampire genre instead of the sparkly Twilight vampire mytho. Following the footstep of Blade and 30 Days and Nights, we have a vampire film that stuck to it’s roots.

Surprisingly, this is an Australian film with a handful of Australian actors playing supporting roles with Ethan Hawke as the lead and Sam Neal as the corporate villian.

Something something something BLOOOOODDD MEEEE

Set in 2019, the film is basically about 90%+ of the world population opting to be the walking undead. But like all living things (well, they’re not exactly alive), they need to eat and their main source of food is human blood. Just like in Blade, the Vampires are harvesting humans so that supply doesn’t run out.

Have you had a dream that was so real…. and when you wake up, you’re drowned in your own blood? (How do these people shit? oh wait… I think that’s what the other tube is for…)

But unlike The Matrix, there’s no Zion to capture humans to replenish the cattle that’s died from old age. So, the Vampires need to find a new source via science and synthetic blood that doesn’t have side effects.

The film is dark and bleak with actually very little action but the pacing is fine as we follow Edward (Ethan) on his quest to make his heart beat again and see himself in a mirror instead of a video screen.

Maybe if we look into each other’s eyes long enough, we won’t get hungry.

Thumbs up to brother Directors, Michael and Peter Spierig for making a commercial viable film in Australia. I think the film will sell okay for overseas and not actually having it set in Australia (everyone has American accents) is a good thing… Screen Australia, you backed a good horse here.

Remember the time we went hunting and we shot a bunny with a bow and arrow? Well, this will hurt a lot more.

There’s nothing revolutionary here and maybe I would’ve liked the 3rd act to be not so rushed and better character development/conflict. But overall, I enjoyed the film and sci fi and vampires do mix well.

Ra ra oo la la! I want a sequel!

Oh, and Isabel Lucas of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen plays a small role too. Although it’s small, I’m sure enough Tranny fan boys will watch Daybreakers for her. Which is a good thing for Aussie films.

 
Now I’ve been in a Robot and a Vampire movie!

From the words of the Fuhrer himself:

The last Downfall parody that Phillip Bloom will make about Canon’s relentless onslaught of HDDSLR awesomeness.

Canon 550D, the 7D killer

The Canon 550D is the successor to the Canon 500D, an entry level DSLR that can now shot…. 1080p in 24, 25 and 30 fps and 720p in 50 and 60 fps. That’s Canon 7D territory!

I guess this is what happens with technology. You buy the latest computer then 6 months later, there’s another one that’s half the price and just as good.

Am I sad? No. It’s great that it’s cheap. I’m sure a lot of my friends will get it, so I’ll be able to borrow it as a B camera. Maybe if it’s real cheap, I’ll even get it as a back up.

In the end, the body can only do so much, it’s all about the lens… or at least, that’s what I thought until I saw the diff between full frame and crop sensors in low light…

WW1 Australian Sniper, Billy Sing

A few years ago when I was in New York, I was thinking about what sort of films can Australians make that can be marketable overseas. One night, I watched Saving Private Ryan and I thought, the only real good Australian War film is Gallipoli.

The last time I watched Gallipoli was back in high school. I didn’t think it was that great, but it did have a young Mel Gibson as the supporting character. I think it was a film we had to watch for English, about mateship and larrikanism.

I then asked myself if I were to make an Australian war film, from who’s perspective would I make it? So I tried to see if there were any Asian ANZACs and the one name came up, Billy Sing.

Well, it’s 2010 and I never wrote a script about Billy Sing. But reading his simple bio on Wiki, it seems like his journey can transition into film pretty well. The film should focus on cultural differences (we are talking the early 1900s here) and also, overcoming this cultural barrier and the development of mateship and brotherhood.

A few months ago, I read an Aussie cinematographers blog that he’s working on a Billy Sing mini series. Well, the trailer was just released in December 2009.

Trailer for “Legend of Billy Sing” mini series:

What do you think?
To me, the trailer doesn’t really feel that appealing. It tries to go the Metal Gear Solid 4 voice over and torn soldier feel but just doesn’t cross the emotion at all.

For a low budget indie project, what this needs is some good character development. I don’t see it here in the trailer either, but I do sort of like the last line. “At home, they call me a Billy, the press calls me the assassin, the enemy call me a murderer”… but maybe it should’ve just been “At home, they called me a hero, but in the trenches, they all called me a murderer”.

Well, let’s hope this mini series is okay. Most likely it will be taken up by either ABC or the SBS. Maybe Showtime or Movie Extra too if it’s alright.

If not, I guess I can write that feature on Billy Sing, which I’ll just call SING.

Oh, and I wonder if Peter Jackson will make the ANZAC film that’s been talked about so that it will coincide with the 100th Anniversary since the battle of Gallipoli? He’s probably busy doing the runs for The Lovely Bones.