I don’t know a whole lot in terms of this film’s storyline, but this a project that an Emerson colleague of mine, Benjamin Brewer, has been putting together for a while. The film stars another Emerson friend, Mike Bash, who has a role in So Long, Lonesome as well as makes an appearance in David Fincher’s upcoming feature, The Social Network.

It’s always interesting to see what my filmmaking colleagues are up to, as the ideas and styles vary wildly from person to person. But unlike Brewer, not every one has the drive or the resources to scrap together all their friends and equipment and make a low-budget feature, so I always applaud a colleague that tries. Looking forward to seeing this one once it’s done…

I’ve recently found that my feature SO LONG, LONESOME will be an official selection at the 2009 Zero Film Festival!

The film premieres Thursday, December 3rd at 8:30pm, at the Downtown Independent Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are available at the box office.

Hope to see you there!

One of my favorite songs off of Keegan’s Islands album. Matt Jay crafted this video over the summer of ’09 in the North Plains region of Oregon.

One of the things I love about this video is the fact that it’s so simple. Matt went out with these two actors and filmed them interacting naturally, like a documentary. No complicated lighting setups or heavy equipment was needed to create these effortless shots of a brooding romance.

Jay shot the film on his Panasonic DVX camera, a fairly old (in technology years) standard definition video camera. One of the strongest aspects of Jay’s cinematography is how he’s able to manipulate the camera to its full extent to achieve stunning images, regardless of the format. It serves to remind me that even though we have the crystal-clear capacities of high definition, standard definition still has an appealing tactile texture all its own.

I’ve always believed that a good music video is the perfect melding of musician and filmmaker. In this case, the sensibilities of both Jay and DeWitt sync perfectly to create a unified work whose disparate components seem to have never been separate from each other.

Directed by: Chris Terrio
Written by: Amy Fox
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Glenn Close, Jesse Bradford

I came to discover director Chris Terrio’s Heights in a rather oblique way. As I remember it, I downloaded a song that I had heard somewhere. The album identification of the file tagged it as belonging to the soundtrack of the film. I sampled the rest of the album on iTunes and came to really dig it, so I decided that I needed to see the film.

I finally got around to Netflixing it around the fall of my senior year in college, October 2007. I came away really surprised- at the time, it was everything I liked about film and was interested in story-wise all wrapped into one movie. Granted, time and repeat viewings have exposed some flaws (predictable story twists, mildly unrealistic, “actor-ly” dialogue, and hinged on the “everything is connected” cliche), but four years after its release it holds up as one of my favorite films.

First off, this film is very much a New York film. The film is drenched in an urban environment, threatening to trample the characters at any moment. The visuals adopt a cool, green-and-blue tinged color palette that evokes the cold weather and the cold nature of the characters. The handheld cinematography adds an immediacy to the story’s events and never distracts. True to the title, much of the action takes place on rooftops and lofts overlooking the city- from modestly cramped apartment buildings to opulent cathedral-like penthouses. Terrio does a fantastic job of instantly drawing you into this world of bourgeoise social climbers and their urban playground.

Very few “everything-is-connected” films (I believe the term is omnibus?) actually are able to pull off their conceits. Babel did it well, as did Magnolia…. I thought Crash did it excellently when I first saw it…but then I stopped to think and realized I’d been fooled. Heights pulls it off in that each character storyline is compelling and realistically grounded within their world. Sure, everything cleans up nicely and all the loose connections are tied together, but that’s how the story was designed from the start- to find fault with it is merely an issue of taste.

Many of the actors that appear in the film are well known, and I consider their performances to be some of the best of their careers. Elizabeth Banks plays a wedding photographer who is preoccupied with her own impending nuptials, as well as the direction of her career and her artistic leanings. Her fiance, played by James Marsden (in a role that appears from the outset to be like ever other role he’s played, only to be flipped on its head), is a rising attorney with a dark past. Glenn Close plays Banks’ mother, a famous Shakespearean stage actress in the midst of mounting a giant production of Macbeth. Jesse Bradford plays a starving young actor from the fringe festival world who looks to be making his big break when Close’s character takes a cougar-ish liking to him during an audition for one of her plays. All these characters (and more) weave in and out of each others lives, with Banks as the person who connects everyone together. The writing has a lot of potential to fall into cliche and melodrama, and admittedly it sometimes does, but overall, screenwriter Amy Fox has created authentic-feeling characters that have been realized onscreen in a dramatic and entertaining fashion.

The music of the film is also something that is worth mentioning. Terrio has assembled a very eclectic collection of songs whose sultry and hip grooves would not be out of place at a high fashion cocktail party. The score is also highly effective and fitting of the visuals. It goes for a subtle minimalistic approach, utilizing mainly a melancholy piano theme to underscore the comings-and-goings of the various characters as the days events begin to weigh down on them. I later used those same score tracks as part of the temporary cutting score for my senior thesis short, The Architect (2007).

**SHAMELESS PLUG**:
The film had such an inspiring effect on me when I first saw it, that I utilized its visual style as a springboard of inspiration for my final film at Emerson, The Architect. See for yourself after the jump!

Heights is available on DVD.

I only just saw this today and is the first time I’ve heard of french filmmaker Philippe Grandieux, but I have to admit I’ve become intensely intrigued about his work by this trailer. Seeing as I’m no position to talk in-depth about the director or this film, I’ll just post a blurb from an article about the film from the Institute Of Contemporary Arts:

” Suffice to say that Grandrieux has been hotly acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic as one of Europe’s most innovative and uncompromising filmmakers, his visionary films testing the very limits of screen language. This minimalist new work is at once Grandrieux’s most accessible film and his most abstract. The vestigial narrative takes place in a frosty Northern landscape of forests and mountains, where young woodchopper Alexis lives with his sister, their blind mother and a younger brother. Then one day a younger man arrives on the scene… “ -Johnathan Romney

Looking forward to seeing this one when it comes stateside!

I don’t watch a lot of TV, so my exposure to commercials is pretty limited. The commercials that I’m exposed to are uninspiring, to say the very least. Their general format hasn’t changed over the years: exhibit the product, present to the viewer what his/her life would be like to own the product, throw in a pop song (or worse, generic cover of a pop song), flashy colors, and you’re done. Even more reproachable is the practice of cranking up the volume of the commercial itself to blast out the TV speakers above the programming’s volume level in an effort to grab the audience’s attention. It’s as subtle as having your ear drum raped.

Once in a while though, you will get a commercial that transcends its exploitative trappings and actually captures your imagination. Advertising powerhouse and cultural tastemaking firm Weiden + Kennedy has built up quite a reputation for its edgy and hip campaigns, and its new campaign for Levi’s, an American icon, boldly continues their winning streak.

The Portland-based firm (which, by the way, is no coincidence) has crafted a stark, compelling image of youth in this New America- a land of uncertain political, social, economical, and generational stability. The two spots, directed by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) and M. Blash (Lying) respectively, seem to call for a new American manifesto of exploration and innovation. Invoking the poetry of Walt Whitman and the pioneer spirit of our founding fathers, the spots are a celebration of youth and classical American ideals lost to cynicism and decadence, while also serving as a battle cry and rallying hymn for a new generation to step up and shape a new future for America.

The first spot, directed by Cary Fukunaga, was shot in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in black and white. I’m in love with the cinematography of this piece- every little detail, while colorless, is vivid and has texture: the screaming fireworks… the muscles rippling under a young boy’s back as he runs… the indelible image of a a neon sign reading “America” half-submerged in water (perhaps a reference to the recession?). The spot also features a scratchy recording of a Whitman poem (purported to be the voice of Whitman himself), that spells out the philosophy behind the new campaign and harking back to an optimism and an innocence we lost a long time ago. We also see that the spot is very topical- juxtaposing images of an alienated businessman and the freedom of unrestrained youth, intercut with waving flags and even galloping horses. The impression that the spot leaves you with is very distinct: “This is the new America. Go forth and take back your future.”

The second spot, entitled “O Pioneers!” and directed by Portland’s own M. Blash, presents a very different America under the same philosophy. This America is a wild, restless, and young country, bursting at the seams with boundless energy and frenetic creativity in an unspoiled landscape. Shot in and around Portland, I identify the most with this particular spot, not just because of the “oh! I know where that is!” factor, but because the young people depicted in the ad are the kinds of people I grew up with, and hang out with whenever I’m home (albeit, they are cinematically idealized versions of their real-life counterparts). Blash has done a great job of crafting a tangible world for the ad campaign’s message to inhabit- I want to lose myself completely in their world. Hell, I even want to run freely into a field carrying a flaming torch! Blash departs from the patriotic/political undertones of the first spot and chooses to focus on emotional and elemental notions of youth. Together, they form a striking two-toned view of America as seen by those who stand to inherit it and shape its future.

And to think, all for a pair of jeans.

Sidenote: Slate recently ran a great opinion piece on these spots which you can check out here!

Directed by: Jason Hoffman
Produced by: Jason Hoffman and Mikyung Kim

I first saw Going Home at a screening of final works from students in Emerson College’s Bachelor Of Fine Arts film program in May of 2008. It was graduation week, and I found myself back in Boston, nearly paralyzed with anxiety over the gigantic question mark that was my future. All my life, I’d had the comfort of knowing my next move, and now that my entire future laid out open before me, I experienced an identity crisis- I had always identified myself with the institutions I was brought up under, but now I had to be my own man. Going Home, a documentary from my Emerson colleague and good friend, Jason Hoffman, provided a catharsis with a counterpoint: the story of a young man also being let loose in to the world, who reaches into his past to discover his own identity.

The storyline is complicated, so I’ll let the official synopsis speak for itself:
“A 21 year old Korean adoptee, Jason Hoffman was raised Jewish in New York City. This documentary about family, love, and blood-lines exposes the challenges and triumphs of locating Jason’s roots and birth family in Korea. As a child, Jason barely expressed interest in any of his Korean heritage. But as he grew up into a young adult, he became more curious. Jason summons up the courage to initiate contact with his birth mother, and without knowing whether face-to-face meetings are even possible, he takes a chance and travels to Seoul. Jason can only hope to meet his birth mother, father and his 23 year-old sister. According to documents from the adoption agency, neither his father nor his sister knows that he exists. With the documentary’s producer/his girlfriend, Jason undertakes a life-changing journey in a foreign culture full of uncertainties and surprises to discover the meaning of family”.

I found the documentary to be remarkably moving, especially given the fact that it is technically a student film. Student films are reliably infamous for being amateurish or self-indulgent, but Going Home is none of those things. In its simple chronicling of events without directorial fourish, Hoffman allows the story to come forward as the focal point. He hits genuine emotional chords– in the premiere screening I attended, there was not a single dry eye in the house (a well-worn cliche but in this case absolutely true). Even the editors, who spent countless hours tweaking the film to perfection, were swept away by the wave of emotion brought on by seeing it on a large scale.

Hoffman never trumps up the story to create something more dramatic, or out of an effort to “raise the stakes”- something I will always praise him for, as I know how hard it is to resist the temptation to do so. The fact that he chooses to turn the camera on himself as he goes through an emotional journey is a brave, and extremely effective choice. It was an eye-opening experience for me to see the world through Jason’s point of view and be a witness to his journey.

The film is screening again this weekend at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, so if you’re in town or can make it out, go support!:
More Info

Also, you can check out an interview of Jason Hoffman conducted by Lee Ann Kim, executive director of the SDAFF here!

I’m actually not too familiar with this band, as I feel like I outgrew their admittedly teenybopper sound halfway through high school, but my roommate/filmmaking collaborator/marginally talented business attorney Bryan Schlam recently directed the video for their new single, “Chelsea”. It’s been a featured video on Myspace for a day or two now, and has already racked up 50,000 views. That’s approximately 49,000 more views than your carefully calculated “viral video” will ever get.

Shot on the Red Camera this summer, the video employs the work of some other notable talent- director of photography Pat Scola, and actor Kerem Bursin, both of who making a great name for themselves in their respective fields. The video’s retro 90′s nostalgic visual effects were provided by yet another Emerson alumni and friend, Dan Norton.

I should also mention, that like Bryan’s other videos, this was shot on a shoestring budget- proving once again that $100 million dollar budgets are bullshit.

I could (and definitely will) do an entire post on the aural excellence that is Seattle-based hip hop band Blue Scholars, but for now I’d like to direct attention over to their music video director, Zia Mohajerjasbi.

Ever since Matt Jay turned me on to the Scholars in the summer of ’05, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Zia’s music video work evolve and take on a distinct personality and voice. Zia’s videos are unlike any video out there, and he gets phenomenal results out out of the resources available to him. It goes without saying that his style blends seamlessly with the Scholars’ identity and philosophy.

“Coffee and Snow” is probably one of my more favorite videos from him. It’s really simple in its chronicling of a carefree winter day in the Pacific Northwest. Every time I watch this video I get ridiculously nostalgic for the snowy winters in Portland doing exactly the same thing. Damnit, Zia! You’re making it really hard to live in a place where it’s sunny every day!

Blue Scholars are available on iTunes and in record stores. Do the right thing and check ‘em out!

So I haven’t really said a lot about the feature I shot last year, other than the fact that it’s almost done and there’s a few trailers out there in the interwebs…

Bryan Schlam, the Director of Photography for the film, has posted a great article about his experience shooting the film and some of the tricks we employed to capture the film’s signature look.

You can read it on his blog here!