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05.30.09 * $200 million to
make
'Terminator Salvation': Mediocre Box Office ....
As usual, the insane mainstream movie biz and what I have many times
tiraded in past. Tinsel Town and the
hyper rising obscene
budgets of
these wannabie
blockbusters.
It is not
about Good Cinema
but the 'Suits'
OBSESSION with  Franchises
from the wannabie
blockbuster hit. When will
the mainstream movie
making budget
bubble
burst? It could happen, like the stock market, real
estate,
automobile, etc.. Maybe
some controls or partial takeover of mainstream movie biz
(like the USA Gov't owned Auto companies)?? Would you like
your
Prez Obama to do that?   How many lower budget films could have been done with that $200 mil instead of 'blowing' all their WAD on one fugg'n movie? Diversifying your 'WAD Blowing' is just so business-wise and commonsensical. IF I ever have desire to see 'Terminator Salvation', I might when it's out on DVD. 'Terminator Salvation' review ratings In my view, the first TERMINATOR (1984) was the one and only best. James Cameron's budget for original 'Terminator' was a mere $6 million. It's the principle of 'Less is More' Filmmaking and most critically important, DAMN GOOD STORY and CHARACTERS. Re-experience the original classic Sci-Fi thriller Terminator 1: Main Title & Terminator Arrival & Terminator Gets Up If you got time, soda pop & popcorn, turndown the lights, pump-up volume Terminator 1 Playlist / Scenes. * 'Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus' .... You maybe already figured out that 'Terminator Salvation' does not peak my interest much, however, I would likely be more JAZZED to see the commonse  nse affordable
low budget Direct to DVD B movie, starring the mega hottie Deborah
Gibson, and for you ladies
(& maybe
some of you men?), the marvelous & gorgeous Lorenzo
Lamas, in Mega
Shark vs Giant Octopus. From the trailer, it looks
like fun and entertaining. Unfortunately, no Stop Motion, but
it could have
been used. Like I ranted for long time, other outlets for
Stop Motion that is not mainstream. We have one Stop Motion
'comprade' that has been
venturing into this low budget special effects arena for awhile with
Direct to Dvd flicks, the Silent & Mysterious
Brett
Piper. If
you wish, drop
him a
line and say 'Hi' or 'Whassup'. We will see
if ISMC one
day will provide
their services to B Movie genre. 'Suits' feel free to contact
us.
If you
have cable/satellite TV, YOU KNOW that is a venue for
independents and of course you got Direct to Dvd. They all
need 'product'. Mega
Shark/Octopus Trailer The Asylum
site Tons
of interest online I remember little
Debbie Gibson and now Deborah
all
grown-up  * Aniboom followup .... In our last SMW News installment, we mentioned them and I stated last time, I have not looked at their site. According to someone who contacted me and checked them out, it might possibly be misleading how Aniboom is marketing themselves. Here's what my undercover informant 
said, "Aniboom's
use of
the term 'The Virtual Animation Studio' is wholly inaccurate and a
fraud, they run contests and provide a platform for people to interact
if they choose to. But if they do interact, it has nothing to do with
Aniboom. They have just found a simple way of taking credit
for people finding each other and whatever they produce together,
without any direct involvement in what's produced by the partners who
may have met on their site". Of course, that is the
observations
of one person. You can check out Aniboom
and arrive at your own opinion or conclusions.
____________________
05.20.09 * What is Aniboom?
..... As
many of you already know, I am involved as one of the member
participants in the experimental International
Stop Motion Consortium©
aka ISMC©.
I just found something that might be related but I did not have time to
look at 
this. That's why I put it here so you
can check it out. This is excerpt quote from them, "Aniboom is the
premier
virtual animation studio that partners with untapped talent around the
world to create, produce and distribute compelling high quality
animation brands. By leveraging the web to identify the best global
talent, Aniboom cultivates animated content intended for commercial
applications in TV, Advertising, Digital Gaming, Web and Mobile Content
industries worldwide". Hmmm .... what does that
mean? They
are announcing that they just added a Portfolio section.
Read the rest
yourself Aniboom
Virtual Animation Studio Launches New Brand - Aniboom Website* Jiri Barta's all Stop Motion 2009 'Na Pude' (aka 'In the Attic') ..... Most of us in the Americas likely never heard of this (I have not) Czech produced Stop Motion feature. I think it already has been released in some of Euro countries. Not the Aardman bright style but instead, Jiri's aesthetics more subdued darker noir'sh and maybe having some of that 'Jan Svankmajer' ambiance, but they say this is 'light' for childrens entertainment. I am not sure if USA kids (actually 'parents' who select) weaned on Disney/Pixar might jump on Jiri's work. Likely, there has not been theatrical release in USA theaters? No marketing or a specific website and/or making-of 'Na Pude'. Soundtrack seems to have high production values. Perhaps later on it might be released on Dvd (with subtitles or English dubbed?) Trailer IMDB About Jiri Barta * Cuppa Coffee Signs with Gotham Group ..... This appears to be the Canadian studio's venture into possible feature film work. Cuppa is a bigg'ish studio that produces lots of Stop Motion content (also other animation techniques) for commercial ad work and animated TV series. A couple of very micro-brief newsbytes here & here *
Turbo-charged
Classic Special Effects: 'Bunraku' puppetry style .....
There is no question that CGI
is a powerful
tool but as you can obviously see from the plethora of the
CGI orgasmic indulgence in these genre mainstream effects
ladened
movies, they are looking the SAME and MONOTONOUS. There is a formulaic
signature style to CGI, not only in the aesthetics/looks, but  also, the cinematic
techniques such as extreme HYPER-QUICK EDIT/CUTS and excess NAUSEATING SHAKEY
CAM syndrome. I was always a firm believer, where
applicable, of
using a VARIETY of COMBINATION SPECIAL EFFECTS techniques, and
especially now in
the computer era, the traditional
effects enhanced
with post production digital
methods. When you base
the Special Effects on the REAL & TANGIBLE (not totally
synthesized/faked with CGI), there IS a DIFFERENT FEEL,
AMBIANCE and TEXTURE to the Special Effects final product. The audience
may not be able to explain
what that difference is, but I BET that they can SENSE IT. Right now,
the consumers/public have been indoctrinated
with CGI and the 'Suits' and/or directors mostly
refusing to offer other alternatives
to the mainstream 'Movie Diet-Menu'. Let me show you an example. This is not Stop Motion Animation but a somewhat, relative of it. It is real time Puppetry special effects based on similar methods that Jim Henson Studio has used for the trademark Muppets for many, many years. I would take a guess that Henson might have been inspired by a very old Japanese Theater Art known as Bunraku in which the puppets are controlled by several puppeteers on the stage, 'live'. With the advent of Blue/Green Screen digital composting techniques, this 'Bunraku' puppeteering method, in my view, can be just as visually grabbing & compelling as CGI and of course an effective alternative/option in the creation of Creature Character special effects. The puppet characters are REAL & TACTILE, and have real gravity and their motion performance puppeteered in 'real time. In post production, one can even adjust the frame rates/speed to give the illusion of large mass & size to the puppeteered motion. A 26 year old talented artist from Belgium, Sacha Feiner, demonstrates the potential of puppetry methods and it can be cost-effective. He is a die-hard fan of the 'Gremlins' movies and created by himself with some friends, a 'homage/tribute' to the Joe Dante films. Very, very COOL what Sacha produced. These are not computer generated 'Gremlin' characters, but puppets, ingeniously composited into existing movie clips. With skilled artistry talent, thinking out of the box resourcefulness, and perseverance, he was able to create large Gremlin crowd scenes with only a few puppets. The same goes with all the other scenes that Sacha produced .... Creative combining ol' school methods with modern digital tools. Although, the above was not Stop Motion specific but to emphasize the Combination of Classic & Practical Special Effects methods and that would include modern/advanced Dynamation Stop Motion combined/intercut with Bunraku puppeting techniques. Watch Sacha's Work & behind the scenes at his YouTube channel ... 1) Gremlins Fan Film: 'Gremlins 3 Warmup' 2) Behind the Scenes 3) Belgian TV interview with Sacha. *
Only for
Harryhausen'ers:
Digital SLR combo
Hi-Def
Video .... Digital Still Cam manufacturers, constantly
trying to bait you and BUY, by
cramming
all sorts of bells and whistles into their cameras. It seems that
excess
Mega-Schmega Pixel  resolution
overkill used
for their
marketing, perhaps not attracting
consumers and so now, some of the 'digital cam pushers' are adding
Hi-Definition Video recording
feature in the DSLRs.
As usual, planned
hyper-obsolescence in general consumer products. You know,
the excess frequency of new models
replacing previous.
Maybe less than a year
ago, I did hear about Digital SLRs having built-in Hi-Def video
capture being used
by a few independents who shot the live
action scenes using the DSLR's Hi-Def
video feature (read).
Only until more recently, it seems a few more
DSLR camera manufacturers are now jumping on the combo DSLR/HD Video
'bandwagon'. I see it as possibly, just more complexity added
to the
the still
camera and
something
else to malfunction.
My personal
preference is: Each piece of equipment should be dedicated, a
DSLR specifically for still
image
capturing and a Hi-Def Video camcorder for live action
filming. In spite of my misgivings about this possibly superfluous HD video feature built into some of the new DSLRs, there 'might' be a unique advantage for those rare few who still have the passion for the Art & Craft of Stop Motion in the tradition of Harryhausen Dynamation Style. I say 'rare' because, 'mainstream media', the public, and most of the Stop Motion practioners 
usually are focused on
the ALL PUPPET Animation genre, and
they generally disregard
the Live
Action (filmed
actors) combined with Stop Motion puppet special
effects techniques.
That's okay
though. Free choice and whatever
"Floats
your Stop Mo Boat". To
make long
story, short: As many of you already
know, even though consumer
DSLRs have had some flickering
and unknown exposure
cycle longevity issues, these cams have generally been successful when
adapted to shoot high resolution
single frame Stop Motion,
HOWEVER:
How do you record or
film the 'LIVE ACTION' images in a higher
resolution and in a cost
effective
manner? Well,
theoretically, hypothetically and speculating here
now .... Lets say for an
investment in just one
camera, a wannabie
Harryhausen
could possibly use that
DSLR
to single frame animate
your
Stop Motion, then, you could ALSO use that same DSLR to record your Hi-Def
live action background plates. You now have both stop motion and
live action plates to composite in post production and
create finished Hi-Definition
Harryhausen-esque Dynamation, just using one
camera. I suppose, the above scenario could work for producing 'Harryhausen-mation' but I'm not sure of trying to PUSH a DSLR camera to also perform the function of a HD video camcorder. In the long haul, how long would a combo DSLR/HD-vid camera last?? Then you got possible minor issue of DSLR only able to store limited video but maybe enough for 'live action' background plates (for Stop Mo). Also, I read about possible issues of DSLR image sensors heating up with prolonged use. In addition, the frame-rates offered by these DSLRs may not meet pro cinema & video spec standards. So, is it cost-effective just buying one  DSLR/HD-Video
combo camera with
a bigger quality image
sensor
to do both single
frame & live
action, or, just get a separate
dedicated DSLR cam and a dedicated
Hi-Defintion Camcorder?? The
DSLR HD
Video Debate
Should
DSLRs Shoot Video? HD
from Still Cameras? Filmmakers
disclose how they're shooting movies with still cameras.These
independents
trying to get funding for their DSLR/HD video shot all
live action
film/short. Samples of their stuff: 1 -
2
- 3
Cameras: Canon
Eos 5D Mark II
Panasonic
Lumix DMC GH1
Nikon
D5000 & here
Pimped-out
DSLR: Video:
Mount-adaptor for 'live action' cinema work or go to their
site .... To
be continued
in a later SMW News
installment. EDIT:
05.05.09* MAY SMW Random Cinema©:  > Randy Cook & Phil
Tippett
Rapping with Uncle Ray It Came
from Beneath
the Sea > Rich Svennson's How to make a Giant Octopus - Goblin Wood 
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