Film making Articles and Creative Blogs

The Smalls is an online showcase for non-commercial creative work. We are here to inspire and to offer a medium where emerging talent can display work not only to fellow members of the contemporary creative community, but also to our subscription members in the broadcast, film and advertising industry.

Have you always wanted to work in an Art Department? This course with Jan Spoczynski, at the London Film School between the 7th and 18th December, seems to offer students the opportunity to develop the necessary skills – such as creation of a white card model from notes/sketches and production of a set of working drawings from a sketch model.

According to the information you need to provide your own basic equipment (e.g. adjustable set square, scale rule, etc). All other materials are provided.

Cost? £650 - to claim 10% Early Bird discount quote 'early bird' before 15 Nov.

For more info visit http://www.lfs.org.uk

The little horror movie keeps on truckin’, ‘Paranormal Activity’ hit number one at the box office today, pulling in USD $21.1 Million, despite being out for several weeks already (grossing a total of $61.6M so far). Have you seen it yet? We’ve been holding out to get as close to Halloween as possible, and we hope it gets us in the mood. ‘SAW VVIIXX’ debuted at # 2 ($14.1M) and the action flick ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ came in 4th at 12.4M. Sadly, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ dropped two spots to #3, but SOMEHOW the apparently terrible ‘Couples Retreat’ is still hanging on at #5 ($10.6M). Mira Nair’s ‘Amelia’ wins the worst debut of the week, at #11 with a paltry $3.9M.

We tend to be a bit critical when it comes to remakes and ‘reboots’ – our logic is, why ruin a good thing? We do understand that sometimes remaking a mediocre movie gives it a chance to be great, but mostly we’re seeing sub-par ‘who cares’ editions of everything from ‘Taking of Pelham One Two Three’ to clear abominations like the upcoming Jaden Smith / Jackie Chan ‘The Karate Kid’ (whyyyyy!!!!!???). But here’s a remake that you may be interested in, the Coen Brother’s adaptation of ‘True Grit’ starring (potentially) Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Jeff Bridges. Although the Coens rarely do wrong, remember that their last remake was the terrible ‘The Ladykillers’. If ANYTHING, please use it as an excuse to watch the original. Oh, and if these Keira Knightley ‘My Fair Lady’ remake rumors are real, then buy or rent the original please before your eyes and ears are laid to waste.

A controversial rumor we heard this week – did James Cameron steal the story idea for his upcoming ‘Avatar’? Supposedly it sounds pretty similar to some obscure sci-fi novels – I guess they’ll hear from lawyers soon if that’s the case. The Tom Cruise masterpiece ‘Cocktail’ is apparently headed to Broadway as a musical. Mad Max 4 is coming (yay!). And in TOTAL GEEK NEWS, Stallone’s ‘The Expendibles’ is chugging along, and guess who acted in a scene together for the first time ever – Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Our expectations are only getting higher for a film that could easily disappoint. In some sad news, we’ve been waiting for Werner Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’ (the um, update or sequel? of the unforgettable Harvey Keitel vehicle) but apparently it’s going straight to DVD? Oh well.

We’ll put the original 'Bad Lieutenant' on our list of DVD’s to buy, but since the new release may be quite a few months in the future, we’re looking at some new releases that are enticing. ‘Whatever Works’, Woody Allen’s latest starring Seinfeld creator Larry David quietly entered and exited the theatres, but we’re willing to give it a try. ‘Monty Python: Almost The Truth’ will have fans rejoicing; for your sugar rush, ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ will happily rot your teeth. But our pick of the week is Wim Wenders classic ‘Wings of Desire’ – this lyrical, contemplative film isn’t for everyone, but you’ll never see anything like it.

Talk to you next week!

Draw out real-life and moving performances from your actors. Avoid acting that looks like acting. Workshop includes talks, demonstrations, and exercises. $135 for entire weekend! We reduced fees by 50% to thank you for allowing us to experiment on you as we develop this brand new workshop. Info on our site:

http://TheIndependentFilmSchool.com

The Wild Things have landed – and it’s a lyrical, beautiful film that also debuted at the top of the box office this past weekend. Pulling in USD $32.7 million, likely because of the parent/children crowds, this film has caused quite a conundrum – parents of children up to 5 years old are actually complaining that the film is too scary, too mature for their toddlers. Well… have to say here that any film that’s PG (not recommended for those under 10) is fair warning to parents, and what disturbs us more are the expectations placed on films that are based on children’s books. Aside from the dark imagery that’s inherent to Maurice Sendak’s original Where the Wild Things Are, not every film about children has to be about cutesy animals that do silly things. Or perhaps the marketing for the film was too unclear? Let us know your thoughts here or in our forum!

Meanwhile, we’re being served up fall action flicks (Law Abiding Citizen, #2 at $21 Mil), middling comedies (Couple’s Retreat, #4 17.2 Mil) and sub par remakes (The Stepfather, #5 at 11.6 Mil) – we’re happy to see a film like Paranormal Activity go from a viral phenomenon to a wide release. Pulling in $19.6 Million at the box office this weekend (with a total gross of 33.2 Mil so far), this little movie that could has gotten rave reviews and may be the best film to put you into a Halloween mood. What do we have to look forward to? Well Astro Boy is on our list, as is Amelia, and Ong Bak 2.

In the rumor mill, we hear that there’s been some more casting developments for Little Fockers, the third film in the Meet the Parents Series – Laura Dern has been added as the headmistress of a school. Director Cary Fukunaga, who made a huge splash with his film Sin Nombre last year is rumored to be moving on to an adaptation of Jane Eyre. And Ridley Scott’s film about the Gucci empire is throwing names around like DiCaprio and Jolie. A film that’s moving full steam ahead is The Social Network (yes, the film about Facebook) that has added David Strathairn to its cast – did you know that David Fincher is directing? And finally, since it’s almost Halloween, we get to continue the rumor that Wes Craven will be directing Scream IV.

This is definitely the quietest period of the year for the entertainment biz – but DVD releases are pretty hot this week. For those who missed their chance to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen or would actually like to discern all the action and imagery this time, the Blu-ray is now available. Otherwise, you choose the new horror movie release you want – Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead, Orphan, or Waterworld (ok, this one not horror, but it’s certainly horrific). What do we recommend this week? Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition or Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Remastered. Laughing is better than screaming any day, in our book.

See you next week!

Move over James Corden, Matt Lucas and Sasha Baron Cohen. There is a competition running that discovers the comedy talent of tomorrow. The Comedy Smalls is running its third annual search for filmmakers with the power to send everybody into submission from laughter. In collaboration with the nations favourite comedy channel G.O.L.D, we are inviting writers, directors, illustrators or comedians that are ready to conquer the world of comedy. The call for entries is now open.

This year’s theme is TRAVEL. We encourage all filmmakers to take us on a trip we’re unlikely to ever forget. Blow our minds into space. Take us on a journey where you conquer the world, even if that means exploring the harsh outback of your city patio. All we ask you to do is make us laugh, remember to keep your story under 5 minutes long, and send it to us before the deadline date of November 13th 2009.

The Smalls and G.O.L.D are excited to be working together in their search for the talent of tomorrow. As a dedicated supporter of emerging filmmakers, The Smalls works to promote new talent that make engaging and entertaining short films and no-one knows comedy like G.O.L.D. the natural home of some of the UK’s best known comedians of today.

The winner, who will be announced at The Comedy Smalls Awards on December 2nd 2009, will have the opportunity to pitch their original ideas to G.O.L.D.

Enter today. Click here for the right forms to get you started. Please make sure you read the terms and conditions and follow the instructions.

NOTE: You have the option to upload your film online or send it in by post. If you upload your film online, it is important that you note your Upload Reference on your entry form.

Got questions? Drop us a line at comedy@thesmalls.com.

That’s it. Do all of the above and then relax until you hear from us. If your film has made the shortlist, or eventually if you’ve won – we will notify you.

If you’re serious about comedy, enter The Comedy Smalls today.

A BIG thanks to our partners:

                     

As a short filmmaker, you are going to have to make certain decisions about the look and visuals of your film – one of them purely has to do with the lighting and contrast, which will affect the mood greatly. This may be one of the pivotal decisions you will have to make, so keep the following terms in the back of your head at all times:

High Key Lighting refers to a low contrast lighting style that is used to brighten up everything within the frame and cut down on shadows. With high key lighting, every person in the scene, as well as every object get the same amount of light so that everything looks even. The advantage of High Key Lighting is that it also cuts down on shooting time as there is no need for a complex set up of lights.

What films enjoy High Key Lighting the most? Comedies, where there is generally no need for complex, mood inducing visuals.

Low Key Lighting is all about shadows. If you want drama, tension, and darkness choose a Low Key lighting scheme for more high contrast visuals. As opposed to the three point lighting scheme, this type of set up will often only use one light, sending harsh shadows upon anything that is not illuminated. Calculating a Low Key set up can take more time, but the results can be visually stunning.

What films enjoy Low Key Lighting? Film Noir, Thrillers and Horror films of course – but you’ll see it in classics like The Godfather too.

If you’re having some problems determining how you want your film to look, there are a couple of ways to get some inspiration. One is to find films that are similar to yours or find films you admire, and see how they approached the lighting of their film. The other is to work with a cinematographer whose previous work is what you want in your film. Whatever you do, make a clear decision about the lighting beforehand so you have no regrets later!

The British Society of Comedy Writers Autumn Conference takes place at The Green Man, 383 Euston Road, London, on Saturday 7th November 2009.

For full details and booking form contact; ken~at~bscw.co.uk or go to http://www.bscw.co.uk.

So after two weekends on top, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs has been knocked off the top of the US Box Office charts and down to #2, thankfully by another well-reviewed flick – Zombieland. A little more our style (thriller + humor) the film raked in about $25 million USD, almost double of what the Toy Story re-release did as #3. In its second week, Surrogates fell to #4 after a decent opening weekend, and the Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying unfortunately debuted at #5.

Only the box office will tell, but are audiences more apt to see a zombie movie or a movie about robots? That’s the subconscious battle we’re seeing set up here with Zombieland and Surrogates – and then when we see a comedy debut with only 7 million USD, starring one of the funniest people we know, something is amiss. Perhaps audiences get too much comedy at home from the telly – what do you think? Let us know in the comments and the forums.

Some things that caught our attention this week: speaking of funny people, it looks like Bill Condon’s (Dreamgirls) next project, a biopic about comedian Richard Pryor has lost Eddie Murphy and gained Marlon Wayans (GI Joe) – downgrade or upgrade? Robert Rodriguez’s reboot of the Predator franchise has cast Oscar-winner-and-Halle-Berry-kisser Adrian Brody – maybe it was the shirtless scene in King Kong that sealed the deal. And last but not least, National Lampoon’s Vacation will also be getting ANOTHER sequel, but this time Chevy Chase will be passing the torch to his son, who will be played by a yet unnamed actor.

The fall is usually pretty quiet in terms of movie news, but the roman Polanski case just keeps getting more interesting. We have a director who fled the US after pleading guilty to statutory rape of a minor, has still had a film career 32 years later, won an Academy Award for The Pianist, and has now been arrested in Switzerland. If he’s extradited to the US, no doubt he’ll be put in jail for the rest of his life. Hid fellow directors like Martin Scorsese are petitioning for his release, while others are shying away fro the controversy. So how do you stand? Does he deserve to go to jail? Is it finally time? If so, why the wait?

Talk about odd timing, Polanski’s Chinatown was just re-released on DVD – yes, it’s an incredible movie, but isn’t that a little inappropriate? And it’s likely our mentioning it might not be helping. So perhaps you will want to turn your attention to something more light hearted, like My Fair Lady, the classic musical starring Audrey Hepburn. And with Christmas only two months away, the US Stores are already clamoring to sell you classics like Miracle on 34th Street and our personal favorite, A Charlie Brown Christmas, now on Blu Ray.

See you next week for more news!

Do you want to meet other fun and easygoing people in media? The PIM (People in Media) Club hosts consistent networking events for its members. They also host networking Speed Networking sessions that receive a lot of buzz.

The next PIM Club event is in London on the 13th October 2009. To attend you need to register for full membership (it is free) and you will receive all the details.

If you go and have fun, let us know how it was!

For more information go to http://pim-club.co.uk