I am prepping for a 35mm shoot for next month. One of the beautiful things about this gig is that everything I have asked for in my equipment package has gotten the ok. Bizarre and very new for me. I’m used to haggling with a producer or being told “you can only get the doorway dolly”. Whatever, I’ve done some incredible films with a Metrocard, Mag light and a note from my Mom. But also important for us Indie film folks is to know what to ask for when the money does show up. Otherwise we look like idiots.
This summer, I have spent plenty of time with all of my nieces and nephews, filling up our souls with countless hours of animated feature films. Pixar has truly raised the bar. Wall-E, Incredibles and Ratatouille. I’ve also watched all Shreks again, Madagascar, Happy Feet, Bee Movie…And it was the last film that reminded me of a very astute Op Ed piece I read in the New York Times, “The Real Life of Bees”. Besides all of the inaccuracies regarding bee/insect life as portrayed in animated films, I also wondered why do American animated films shy away from a female protagonist who is not a princess? (note: female love interests, even when all characters are animals, are usually the daughters of the king of the hive, tribe, flock etc thus making them the princess) Couldn’t Bee Movie be about the Queen Bee? What about Antz? What if the main toy in Toy Story was a girls favorite doll and her adventures? What if the mouse of Haute Cuisine was a female rat? It bugs me (pun not intended).
A friend of mine has crafted a very interesting film series called “Keeping the Lights On.” How he explains it, “Being a “starving artist” is so clichéd. So to pay the bills many artists work all sorts of jobs—whether interesting or mundane, related to their art or completely unrelated. Keeping the Lights On is a documentary series about artists, their work, and the day jobs they love and hate.”
The clip that I am sharing above I found especially poignant. Watch the clip and you’ll certainly find inspiration.
This is Cybel, reporting from the front lines. The resident Director of Photography. Before I discuss the Sony EX1 camera (a handheld flash memory HD camera that sells for $6500), let it be clear that I am a film girl. The day I die and my life flashes before my eyes, it better be shot with Anamorphic lenses and on Eastman Color Negative.
Having said that, I recently went to a film test screening at Duart. The very generous Andy Young of Duart did his own test, comparing the Sony EX1 to the Red Camera (both 4k & 2k) and outputted to film. He also shot some footage of his family with the camera “straight out of the box”. It was a relief to see unbiased camera tests not orchestrated and financed by a corporation, in this case Sony.
