Chewing Gum
A word of advice - never eat chewing gum when you are tired and near a bed. You have nightmares about swallowing chewing gum. Atleast thats the nightmare I had when I fell asleep while still chewing gum. I woke up to find that I had half swallowed it.
Benji sent in a new 5.1 file, since Encore was giving me problems even trying to open the old project, so I spent a good 3 hours recreating the DVD..tested it out at school and it sounds really nice..I can't comprehend how much time he must have put into it.
Also dropped in the new 1 minute TV spot to Triangle, so that should be playing soon.
Nothing more to update at this stage.
Amit
Hitchikers Guide
Back from seeing 'Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy' - it was funny and amazing...the ending did not do it justice but it was still a fantastic experience. Loved the dolphin song. Quite a few things have happened in the last couple of days - Debbie who writes for varsity.co.nz has said that the review she is writing for 'Memories' should becoming out soon.
Also did an interview with ONFILM and it should either be coming out in the May issue or in June issue.. Also Amanda from The aucklander got back and has agreed to run the movie pass giveaway with a small article she will be doing to help us out. It is closer to May and I am expecting another review to come out in Real Groove magazine in their May issue..i hope thats going ahead too. Also rang up TVNZ as well as TV3 to see if they would like to give us some coverage..i hope that that comes through as well as it might just be in synch with the festival screenings.
Benji did a 5.1 mix and i tested the DVD out and it sounds much better than the 2.0 mix...he is gonna try and do some more improvements and that would be a much wicked thing to happen as we can then play the movie as 5.1 during the festival - will definitely create a little bit more impact.
Lance got the CD with the Rangitoto pics..i will be uploading the pics to the personal gallery on saturday but enjoy a preview below. As i said it was a beautiful day and a beautiful trek.
Peace out,
Amit
Lance at the entrance of the lava caves
Lance standing at the usual spectacle - basaltic rocks amongst the greenery
Me taking a breather during the trek
Trekking and more
Watched 3 episodes of Michael Palin's Sahara and it is again a fascinating look at cultures and people. 1 more episode to go for the end of the series. It again never seems to touch the high of Himalaya for some reason. The weekend went really fast. It was a long weekend too...
Saturday started off with me conducting practical exams for those students wanting to specialize in editing. And the rest of the day went into relaxing. :D And obviously watching episodes of Sahara. Sunday went into sleeping and the game of netball in the evening. The game was close -we lost but it was a narrow margin..the final score was 19-17..so maybe next time.
Also talked to the organizers of Asia Film Festival...well -'memories' is gonna be the first movie screened at the festival but it is not opening the festival {which is kind of confusing in my head}. The screening dates and times have been fixed: May 20,2005 @ 5.30 PM and May 29,2005 @ 12.00 PM - both of the days being good...one is the opening day and the other is a sunday. Will also have to attend the media launch on May 5th....not sure what I will be doing there but i guess i will have to attend and see what happens.
Today, Lance and me climbed
Rangitoto and it was heaps of fun...got some awesome pics, which I will post up once I get them from Lance. It was a beautiful day and it was just great walking all the time. It was just a wonderful feeling walking across the black basaltic rocks.. Feeling just a tad sleepy and tired right now.
Ciao,
Amit
Microcinema
Exhausted right now but just popping in a note to say the review has come out at
Microcinema Scene and I am absolutely thrilled because they liked the movie and gave us 5 stars...surreal and a little unbelievable.
You can read the movie review
HEREAt this point I am too tired to think.
Bye
Amit
Tidings
It has been a happening day –now where to begin. The school – had 3 full on days and am really enjoying it. The kids on the STAR course are really bright and really receptive, so it is fun teaching to them. Yesterday they shot and edited Vox Pops. Today I was caught up with the 1 year course edit session while recording the shows from the STAR course photo stills.
I was racking my brain for the past couple of weeks on ways to get ‘Memories’ shown nationwide {atleast in the major cities} –more so because after Asia Film Festival –short of some TV station picking up the movie for broadcast there is no other way that majority of the public will see it. And as a first time film maker, I guess that’s one of the biggest fears you have –that no one will ever watch your movie. So I researched the movie theatres across the country and sent them an introductory email a couple of days back. I thought –well it is as far fetched as my promotion strategy can get but let me try it out anyway. Anyway, I got 5 responses from the mailing I did – 4 of them curious and supportive while 1 of them simply did not understand what I was saying {is that something which afflicts big organizations???}. And the theatres range from places like Wellington down to Dunedin –so am thrilled that atleast there is still interest in independent film makers and films. I am not sure if anything will materialize but it would be bloody fantastic if it did and will definitely mean that a wider range of audience will be able to watch our efforts. I was also discussing this mad idea with Olivia, editor of a magazine, who is doing a small feature on the movie, and she put me onto a PR person, whom I have to talk to. So things are definitely shaping up and it is hard to put in words the joy of being accepted as an independent film maker.
I am still awaiting reviews to come out for the movie. The first one which has come out is from Dave Davis at Chud.com and you can
read the review HERE. The other more immediate reviews I am waiting for is from microcinemascene.com and possibly 2 other local websites – keeping fingers crossed that they will appear soon. I contacted TAKE magazine – which is an industry magazine in NZ and they will possibly do a small article on us – which would be really cool. I guess as an independent film maker – all you can do is hope that the product itself is good enough to move people to help you. Till this point, I have to say, I am humbled by the support which we have been getting. The movie did not make it to the Sydney Film Festival though - a tad disappointed but well thats the name of the game -win some, loose some.
It is half way through the week and have to say that the week till now has flown past real quick and it is gonna be a long week. I got out Michael Palin’s Sahara and will watch it within the week – I have turned into a big fan of his travelogues/journeys and when I saw the DVD at the shop I couldn’t resist hiring it out. I won’t be taking part in any form or shape in this year’s 48 hour film making challenge because I am consciously trying to move away from short films and concentrate my time and energies on feature projects. It is hard though – making a short film is a shorter and much different process, so it is tempting. But I think my thought process is fascinated with feature lengths because in a way they are complex but simple, tough but easy, challenging but fun- it is a paradox which I enjoy.
Hmm….looks like I have indeed made this a very long update. Will cut it short for now and will keep you posted later.
Bye for now...
Amit
Old Boy
Watched 'Old Boy' yesterday night and must say that it is a really good film..it grips you by the throat and by the end it literally tears it away. You won't be coming out of the movie feeling elated - no matter what your tastes are. For most parts the movie is really really good but there are moments when you can see that they are trying to emulate a 'hollywood' feel.
Back from the netball game - we lost and won. how? well we won because the other team did not show up in full number, so they lost by default but we lost because we still get our ass kicked. The final score stood at 34-29 which wasn't bad at all, considering that last time we lost by a much higher margin.
Tomorrow is the re-opening of the school and a new term begins...it is gonna be an exciting term because i am trying to do some new things in post but the first week is gonna be hard because there is a STAR course running parallel to the usual 1 year course. It should be interesting.
Had a relaxing weekend and it is good to take some time off. Planning to climb Rangitoto next weekend- weather permitting.
Amit
Published a day late because of server problems...the first day of chaos was actually really peaceful and organized. :D
Sahara
Watched 'Sahara' with Lance yesterday evening - it was a cool movie. A fun adventure and definitely one of the better ones after a long period of time. What makes the movie work is the chemistry between Dirk and Al, otherwise it would have been just another wasted hollywood flick.
Can't wait for SIN CITY to be released here....yeah it is gonna take another month and half to get released in NZ. I also got out 'Pole to Pole' another travelogue by Michael Palin - it is again fascinating but never reaches the heights of 'Himalaya' which is absolutely stunning. I have watched Episodes 1-5 and there are another 4 episodes to go.
At this point, am waiting with bated breath for the reviews of 'Memories' to come out in magazines and websites - it will be a long wait because some will appear later towards this month, beginning of next month but others won't come till June... It is hard to say what kind of reactions the movie will have with the press but then again all i can do is wait.
Amit
Update: SIN CITY is getting a delayed release and is now opening on 18th August,2005...man am i pissed off? this is like an insult that the american studios are delaying the release and NZ will probably be one of the last countries to get a release... Thats absolutely stupid off them.
Just finished watching 'Lead by Example: Sol-illaquists In Action' a doco made by a good friend located in Orlando, Florida -
Elizabeth Anne. It was fantastic and simply blew me away. It was inspiring and fascinating. If you get a chance you can check out her doco by getting it on a DVD.
Meetings and Games
Wednesday morning and I am just about to leave for school, so will make this a short and quick update.
The past 2 days have been drowned in important planning meetings. I am still going to the gym(!!!)regularly - it does get painful at times but have to keep at it.
Lance invited me to play a game of netball along with some of the friends and it was fantastic...i lasted the whole game and nothing ached or pained after the game. :-)
Will get to know the exact screening dates at the Asia Film Festival real soon...which would definitely give me a little more focus to the promotion process.
THE BIG IDEA has just carried out a small article on their website to help more people know about the movie - which is really cool of them.
Anyway thats the update for now...off for now.
Amit
Movies
Back from watching 2 movies: Assault on Precinct 13 and Robots...Enjoyed both the movies even though they are radically different from each other.
Yesterday I watched episodes 4-6 of 'Himalaya' and it is definitely a fascinating journey that Michael Palin took. Also watched 'Bad Santa' and am planning to watch 'The corporation' sometime soon... So you must be thinking is that all i do...well most of the time..heeheee....
I managed to design a temporary DVD jacket, so that if i do send the screeners to more people - it will look atleast half presentable. The day at school was obviously a day full of maintenance on friday and a day full of meetings on thursday.
anyway off for now - enjoying the hard game of rugby between 'blues' and 'cats'...
amit
Himalaya
Got over the 3 day hump and am still going to gym regularly - have to admit it does take a lot of willpower to get up at 5.30 in the morning to go to the gym {which is probably the only time which fits into the schedule}.
Saw episodes 1-3 of 'Himalaya' presented by Michael Palin and it was fantastic...he has a wicked sense of humor {he was part of Monty Python's} and his way of looking at things is refreshing.
To have a peek at the pamphlet that I have been designing, here it is
Still needs more work...but hey it is a start..Also managed to sitdown and draw up a rough music cue sheet.
Anyway - not much to write right now. I have but it will mean an hour of writing my thoughts on philosophy and life and I don't feel like sharing those thoughts right now.
Amit
More Promotion
Just about managing to type because my hands are shaking a little bit after the session at the gym - the first 3 days are always the hardest.
Spent the whole of yesterday designing the flyer and the design is final -just waiting for some reviews, so I can pull off some quotes to put in. Today was a wonderful day, had an interview with Olivia - the editor of JETMAG..and after that popped into Real Groovy to meet the editor of Real Groove Magazine, as my phone calls were getting me nowhere, and yeah met the editor, gave him a copy of the movie and he said it will get reviewed in next month's edition -which is really cool.
And here is the
scan of the article which appeared in UNLIMITED. Incase it is hard to read then you can read the text
HERE.
I also cut a TV Spot for the movie - which is a good minute shorter than the actual trailer. You can check it out
HEREAm off for now.
Cheers,
Amit
Quick Post
Will be a quick post as i am tired
> Panasonic has agreed to be the marketing sponsors for the movie and have agreed to give us a small amount to get posters and promotional material printed for the movie. Yipeee....
> The article has appeared in UNLIMITED but I won't be able to put a scan before Monday evening.
> First term at school has come to an end - gives a little bit of breathing time to get some stuff sorted out.
> Got medical exam done for immigration procedure - will get results next week.
> Will be starting off my round of getting back into shape from tomorrow morning {yep...joined a gym - finally!!!}
Off for now
Amit
