Water Under the Bridge
Most of my room is now clean - another 20% left to clean. I had a day off today and did nothing at all. Time for quiet contemplation over things.
Nothing else to write for now.
Amit
Labels: Random
ONFILM
A quick update with links to 2 articles - one is the interview that I did with Nick Grant, the editor of ONFILM magazine and the second is an editorial he wrote after a small discussion I had with him about the lack of support for NZ Digi features by the NZ Film Festivals.
I am feeling like crap right now and don't want to spend time on the net. But before I sign off I have to say that '
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' was a dynamite movie - it takes a bit of time at the start to kick off but it turns out to be an emotional roller coaster ride rounded off by powerful performances from everyone.
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Five, Movies, NZ Film Festival
Dreams
Is a dream worth striving for? Is an idea worth fighting for? Everytime I think of those questions I cry. Human society is such a hard place to be in - the majority live with a compromise for most of their lives and they don't take too kindly to people trying to live a dream. I guess those questions gives me pangs of existential crisis now and then. But then again I know that the easy way out of this angst would be to give in to the majority and lead a 'normal life' but then where is the fun in living a life less ordinary. I bumped into an old acquaintance who heard that I had just finished off my second movie and sarcastically commented 'It is good that you are still trying'. I promptly corrected them saying 'I am not trying - I am doing it.' I don't know if the meaning of my words carried through or not but I hate the cynicism that people carry with them when they quickly pass judgements about you based on their 'normal' world view. On the other hand I had a few conversations where some people I know have told me that I am talented. I don't take compliments really well and I frankly don't know what talented means but it gives me hope that maybe I am still on the right path; maybe I can still keep dreaming. It is a matter of finding some sort of balance between reality and dreams, so I don't disappoint my family.
Waiting for the ferryFIVE's initial sound mix is done and I have fired off the copies for reviews as well as to Microcinema Festival. It is a big relief and definitely a big weight off the shoulders. I have decided to chuck out the idea of doing a proper 5.1 mix since time is so precious without money and the plan is to work a little bit more on the 2.0 mix and bring it as close to perfection as possible. The sound is good as it is right now but the additional work will lift the movie up a little more.
The second draft for 'Urameshiya' has come in and I am currently reading it before I send it out to the people already on board the project. My room is in a state of complete mess and I still have to tidy it up. It has gone from bad to worse after I started cleaning it up :-(
I watched a couple of really good movies - '
Half Nelson' and '
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days'. Half Nelson isn't technically perfect but the acting is fantastic and it totally pulls you into the movie and never lets go and it is the same with 'The Final Days' where the human drama is so raw and honest that it is emotionally devastating by the time the credits roll. Acting can make or break a movie and technically the idea should be to just capture those moments when they happen.
Time to try and cut a trailer for 'FIVE' and update the website along with cleaning my room - maybe all at the same time; maybe at different times - who knows.
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Five, Movies, Random, Urameshiya
And time...
Another of those sleepless nightsThe voice training workshops came to a close today and it is sad as I was finally making some progress and it feels like an abrupt full stop. I will probably continue with the workshop when they are held again after the tutor returns from her trip to France. It has been an amazing 5 sundays though. It is good to keep learning new things.
I read a couple of quotes that I had to share:
- "The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy" - Martin Luther King Jr.
- "The real contest is always between what you've done and what you're capable of doing. You measure yourself against yourself and nobody else." - Geoffrey Gaberino
I watched a kiwi movie called '
You Move You Die' and it was an interesting experience. Technically it is brilliant and has a visual style that is pretty flashy but the thing which really sucks in it is the acting. There were moments here and there that I believed what was going on screen otherwise it was just performing. Good on the film makers for trying something radically new but hopefully they will realize that acting is the backbone on which a movie rests on. I would recommend it reluctantly as it is a kiwi movie and it is good to support fellow film makers in their experiments and endeavors.
I just came back from seeing 'Rescue Dawn' and it was an excellent movie. I am pretty pleased with myself that both the movies that I have seen at the festival have been great. Christian Bale and Steve Zahn are fantastic in the movie and they keep the movie flowing seamlessly. It is a highly recommended watch. Next one on the list is '
Half Nelson'
I am just encoding the 2.0 mix of FIVE for DVD authoring and will be mailing off the festival screeners tomorrow after watching the movie for any unexpected slip ups. Better to be safe than sorry. The festival I am really keen for the movie to get into is
Microcinema Film Festival because it is a true grass roots independent film festival and is essentially what 'Memories' was and what FIVE is -
pure microcinema. More updates later.
Amit
Labels: Five, Movies, New Zealand, Random
Black Book
I saw my first movie at the International Film Festival yesterday - it was '
Black Book' by Paul Verhoeven and I must admit that it has been the tightest and tautest movie with SUPERB written all over it, I have seen in a while. Pan's Labyrinth was good but this definitely blows it away in terms of storytelling. It is highly recommended and hopefully this movie sees a wide release. The running length is close to 3 hours but there is never one moment where your mind wanders off anywhere else and it was a truly magical experience. Next on my list is '
Rescue Dawn'.
The heart that flew awayThe broadband is up and running again and the refrigerator is working again as well and the hot water is finally back on again. So pretty pleased that things are back to normal. Now I just have to clean up my room which is a complete mess. That I will probably leave till early next week as I have a couple of days off.
It is lucky living so close to a ferry terminal - I don't have to use my car, I don't have to worry about parking, I can walk everywhere and I can just sit back and enjoy the views while commuting. The times I do use the car is when I have meetings back to back at different locations and at that point I can't rely on the public transportation because it is too sporadic and time consuming at this point in time. I hope they did something about the bus service. Anyway I am rambling about transportation for no particular reason - here are some pics I took yesterday night while coming back home.
The ferry service at night
Auckland Skyline at night from the ferry
Calm and Quite
The Bridge
Time for me to scoot and get ready for another long day. Oh and my headshots came back and they look good - you can check out the portfolio pic
HERE.
Amit
Labels: Movies, New Zealand, NZ Film Festival
Sea of Fury
I finally caught up on my sleep today after 3 weeks. I was so exhausted that yesterday evening I fell asleep by 6.00 in the evening and woke up this morning at 10.00.
And today hasn't been the greatest day - the power surges that happened yesterday due to the storm has fried the broadband router and the fridge - so no internet for the next couple of days and no more refrigerator.
Talking of storms - yesterday I took the ferry to work and it was a petrifying ride to say the least. The sea got rough really fast and it was like being in a mixer-grinder. The ride back was better as the wind was flowing in the direction we were going, so the ferry was not fighting the waves. It was definitely the worst ferry ride I have ever had.
A view from the ferry
Furious and serious
The sea lashing at the ferry terminal
Magical lands by the seaThe feedback from the first audience test screening came back from Paekakariki and overall it ranged from interesting to good while 2 ladies walked out 20 minutes into the movie as they couldn't bear the tension and anticipation. So I guess overall it is a welcome change hearing that kind of feedback from people I have never met.
The stereo mix is still not completely done and I extended the deadline for that till this coming Sunday but I don't know if that will be delivered according to my expectations as the first pass of the stereo mix had a fair few issues and the way things are going I am just not sure if there will be enough time to review the mix before sending out the copies to the film festivals. The frustrating thing right now is that I can't do anything about it - I just have to wait.I wish I had the money to be able to pay someone to deliver to the deadline.
Anyway....
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Five, New Zealand, Post Production
Wired
Crazy times.... It has been almost a week and half since the last post and it is hard to believe. It has been insanely busy at my end. In the last post when I wrote that I had only 2 X 16 hour days coming up I was being pretty optimistic - the truth is that ever since then I have only had 18 hour days and today was the first time I got to sleep for about 8 hours. So in total it has been 2 weeks of 18 hour days and it is a minor miracle that my work rate did not drop + I didn't make any mistakes especially since every single moment was important.
The visual component of 'FIVE' is locked while the first part of the audio segment is almost done for sending off the DVD for the audience test screening at Paekakariki. I extended the 2.0 mix deadline by a week and half since the amount of audio post on the movie is massive - especially with the amount of ADR we have done (close to 30% of the movie).
During this time I also went to my first audition for a TV commercial and I was on hold for the job till this morning but ultimately didn't get it. It was great just being on hold since it was the first thing I ever auditioned for. I also got my head shots done on recommendation from my agent and it was a good experience - I will get to see the results sometime this week.
Ilke Gers has delivered the poster for FIVE and I love it since it captures the mystery of the movie. The poster at this point obviously has lots of space but that will be filled up once reviews for it start coming in and stuff. I am not sure that this is the poster that the distributor will be using but it is definitely the one I will be using to send as part of press kit to festivals.
Here is the poster for FIVE
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Acting, Five, Post Production
Waiting for the ferry
Another of those sleepless nights
The heart that flew away
The ferry service at night
Auckland Skyline at night from the ferry
Calm and Quite
The Bridge
A view from the ferry
Furious and serious
Magical lands by the seaThe feedback from the first audience test screening came back from Paekakariki and overall it ranged from interesting to good while 2 ladies walked out 20 minutes into the movie as they couldn't bear the tension and anticipation. So I guess overall it is a welcome change hearing that kind of feedback from people I have never met.
The visual component of 'FIVE' is locked while the first part of the audio segment is almost done for sending off the DVD for the audience test screening at Paekakariki. I extended the 2.0 mix deadline by a week and half since the amount of audio post on the movie is massive - especially with the amount of ADR we have done (close to 30% of the movie).
