Archive Six
August 3,
2005 - Sound Design -
Exploring and expressing visual reality through the nuances of
sound ...
I've
slowly been trying to digest the book
Sound Design by David Sonnenschein. It's quite
comprehensive, and has got me thinking about sound issues I had
not considered before. Since my project has some unique and
challenging music (and other sound) considerations, I feel I
really need to devour and immerse myself in what this so-important
element encompasses ...
Actually I
had gone to a workshop David (the author) had put on several
months ago, and had bought the book from him then, but had since
forgotten about it. I happen to come across it again, and presto,
realized it was time to dig into it. I'm glad I did ...
Anyway, I
could go on and on about all my music issues, since music and
sound play such a huge part in this story, but it would take pages
and pages of material. So instead, I will periodically write
about some particular part of my sound puzzle, hoping it may help
me solve a piece of it ...
411 days
and counting ...
J-Alden
Comments --
Love Mt.
Shasta, too! -- 8/4
I was raised near Mt. Shasta, and
have worked various odd jobs in the entertainment industry over
the years (now on the East coast), and have often wondered why no
one has ever shot a film there. Some of the views are
magnificent, and could be very cinematic. Anyway, kudos to you,
and good luck! I will certainly look forward to your film.
Sincerely, J R Green
August 8,
2005 - E. Kazan -
A bit
of directorial history, tomfoolery and controversy ...
While
working on my rewrite and scouting locations this past month or
so, I've also been reading the autobiography of the intriguing and
controversial director Elia Kazan, during my more leisurely
moments. His book,
A Life, has been quite fascinating in a number of
ways, whether as an intimate look into a creatively, and quite
honest, mixed life, or a treatise on the evolvement of a
directorial style, or an historical diary on key moments in the
development of modern cinema ...
Here are a
few excerpts to give you a bit of it's rich flavor;
"People have often accused me of being selfish and self-centered.
They're
right. All artists are. They protect like all hell what's
most precious for them--
the privilege to exploit the full range of their curiosity."
"I
had a newborn confidence in what I could do better than the other
Group
(Theatre) directors and better than the people I'd once call
the 'big pros.' I'd
come to my own views on the art of directing and acting, on
where I was able
and they were not. ... I believed I could take externally
clear action, controlled
every minute at every turn, with gestures spare yet eloquent,
and blend that
with the kind of acting the Group was built on: intense and
truly emotional,
rooted in the subconscious, therefore often surprising and
shocking in its
revelations. I could bring these two opposite and often
conflicting traditions
together, as they should be brought together. ... Acting is
-- or should be--
a human life on stage, that is to say, behavior, total,
complex, and complete.
... How arrogant I was in those years!"
"A
young director, about to start his first film in Hollywood, asked
the veteran
director William Wyler for advice. Willy responded, 'Resist
the temptation to
be a nice guy.' "
"I
learned from Harold (Clurman) that a director's first task is to
make his
actors eager to play their parts. He had a unique way of
talking to actors--
I didn't have it and I never heard of another director who
did; he turned them
on with his intellect, his analyses and his insights. But
also by his high spirits.
Harold's work was joyous. He didn't hector his actors from
an authoritarian
position; he was a partner, not an overlord, in the struggle
of production."
"Particularly with actors, a director has to be two-faced.
They're up there,
those tremendous souls with pleading peepers, waiting for a
good word or
two that will send them home believing that they are going to
make it. ...
The beautiful and terrible thing about actors is that when
they work they
are completely exposed; you have to appreciate that if you
direct them. ...
Their whole being is opened to scrutiny, waiting for your
praise, concern,
and help. ... How can you feel anything but gratitude for
creatures so
vulnerable and naked?"
"The
problem of form is still the problem and applies as much to the
insides
as it does to the externals. Emotions differ; they have
different qualities;
they are part of a characterization; they are specific We
don't feel alike,
nor do we all always feel at top pitch. 'In life' most of us
conceal our feelings,
don't want them to be seen; many actors I know brandish these
emotions
as if they were the only true measure of talent. The basic
problem of
artistic control is the problem of having the emotion and
giving it its most
appropriate expression."
"I
also learned, at last, that the camera is not only a recording
device but
a penetrating instrument. It looks into a face, not
at a face. Can this
kind of effect be achieved on stage? Not nearly! A camera
can even be
a microscope. Linger, enlarge, analyze, study. It is a very
subtle instrument...
I was a successful director who was technically an
ignoramus."
"You've noticed that I'm obsessed with death, the subject. I'm
typing
these words in the middle of my seventy-eighth year, so my
interest is a
natural one. ... An old friend, now dead, once said, 'I open
to the obituary
page every morning to see if I died during the night.' Death
tells a secret.
At the moment of death a person learns the bad news about his
life. Or
comes to see what was most important to him that he ignored.
... How a
person dies may be the most characteristic thing in his or
her life."
And there
are many more nuggets to mine in this book ...
To
basically summarize, Kazan collaborated with the likes of
Tennessee Williams, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, John Steinbeck
and Budd Schulberg (among others), and 'discovered' Marlon Brando,
James Dean and Warren Beatty (again, among others), and won many
awards and accolades in both the stage and film world. And yes,
his controversial testimony before Congress during the McCarthy
era arguably stained his creative accomplishments. A fascinating
book about a fascinating life ...
406 days
and counting ...
J-Alden
August 14,
2005 - Script Rewrite -
Is
number three a charm? ...
I'm
wrapping up my latest script revision this week, trying to make
these last ten pages or so tie the whole story all up (without it
tying me up). And yes, I'm leaving this regal mountain at the end
of the week, with it's amazing vistas, tranquil forests and fresh
spring water, all so I can go back to S. CA and get congested will
all the vulgarities of 'modern' civilization. Oh well, the things
we must do to realize our vision ...
I'll be
making a last trip up the mountain this week, armed with a digital
video camera, to get some visuals of possible locations. I've
already taken a number of digital stills, but the video extras
will help add some elements to my search and decisions ...
400 days
and counting ...
J-Alden
Comments --
Film Enthusiasts! -- 8/10
Mark and Charlie of Inspired Events
helped promote and run events around Boston for the past few
years.-"Movie Nights" "Share what moves you" etc.
To stay connected, we encourage you to attend Free monthly film
screenings & discussions. (Usually every third Wednesday of the
month)
A great place to enjoy and discuss Independent films with like
minded people! Hope to see you there!
For more Information and future events visit:
Charlie & Mark at
www.InspiredEvents.com
Boston Area Cinema Group
International Spiritual Cinema Community Coordinators
Comments --
Angry
Filmmaker Tour News -- 8/12
Hey Everybody,
The hottest tour of Fall 2005 is not U2! And it's not The Rolling
Stones or even Sir Paul McCartney. That's right, it's the Angry
Filmmaker's IRS Tour 2005. From Mid September to Mid November I
am on the road showing movies, conducting work shops and teaching
my subversive brand of filmmaking.
In the last week I have added stops at MadLab in Columbus, Ohio,
The (Historic) Roxy Theater in Northampton, PA, The Memphis
Independent Film Festival, The University of Nebraska- Lincoln,
(Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, Hixson-Lied College of Fine
& Performing Arts, co-sponsored by The Nebraska Independent
Feature Project), Columbia College in Chicago Michigan State
University in Lansing, the East Lansing Film Society/East Lansing
Film Festival, and San Francisco City College.
The goal is 50 venues in 60 days and I am getting there quickly.
There are still dates available so contact me if you need more
information.
And be on the lookout for my upcoming interview at
http://www.runnersworld.com, and a review of Kicking Bird in
the September Issue of Runners Gazette,
http://www.runnersgazette.com.
So who are you going to see this Fall? Thanks for all your
support.
Kelley
http://www.angryfilmmaker.com
August 20,
2005 - Rewrite & Directing -
Done,
for now ...
Yes, yes,
I did finally finish my latest script revision (third draft) and
feel quite relieved. I know I'm not done in the script
department, but this one was a huge hurdle. I predict (yes, I
hate doing that, but...) that I'll need one more draft and a
polish or two, but we'll see. I really feel writing the script
where the story actually takes place helped the writing of it. So
I feel lucky the opportunity was there ...
Now I'm
preparing for a 4-day director's workshop (8/25-8/28),
Script Analysis & Rehearsal Techniques, that J. Weston puts
on. I'm expecting it to be as enlightening, if not more so, than
the other workshop I went to a couple months ago. We all get to
direct scenes from a script that supposedly might get produced in
the future. Besides breaking the script down and learning some
rehearsal techniques, it would be fun to see what we come up with
as opposed to how they execute the script in their film ...
In
addition, I'll be in Rockport, ME next month for two weeks of
directing workshops. Looking forward to that experience,
also. Don't remember if I actually officially announced it on
this blog, but I have decided for sure to direct my script. So,
I'm trying to build my director's 'toolbox' as much as possible
when I take this helm in June/July of next year. I have a lot to
learn and a lot to get ready for. Any pointers or insights,
please feel free to contact me ...
394 days
and counting ...
J-Alden
August 28, 005
- Directing Workshop -
Imagined worlds, subtext, connections, adjustments, all in the
director's universe, and all for discovering a unique, individual
vision ...
Yes, I know I haven't updated this in a while, but I spent the
last four days at a very intensive director's workshop (as
mentioned in my previous entry), which I'm happy to say I survived
in one piece. But seriously, it was an enlightening,
eye-opening experience into that magical world of imagination and
creativity ...
Besides Ms. Weston's
insightfully guiding hand, it was amazing to meet all the talented
people who take, experience and inhabit her workshops. We
may seem like diamonds in the rough, but nevertheless, diamonds.
And with a little polish, ready to shine. And on top of
having the privilege of watching different directors unraveling
their own journeys, it was very pleasing to see each take on the
challenge of finding that, their very own path. The so-many
ways to arrive at a similar destination! ...
Anyway, it's late Sunday
night, and I'm beat. So, maybe more on this later, once I've
had time to process all that happened ...
Tidbits:
Is this what we need, an online super network named
Yahoo? Is this for real?
386 days and counting ...
J-Alden
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