TCF 444

First post for TCF 444.

A link to Kate's blog. She thinks she is cool.

This video, however, is confirmed cool.

Final Blog: TCF 312

It has been a lot fun taking this class. Dr. Raimist has come into the TCF program and breathed new life and it has never been a better time to study film at UA. The biggest thing I can take from class is that working together in an orderly fashion with everyone on the same agenda is the key to success. You have to have faith in your crew that your vision will be accomplished through the team effort. I also learned that organization and pre-planning play a pivotal role in the final production of a project. With the tools and skills learned in this class, I feel I am more prepared to face the journey at hand of creating a career in this field. I truly enjoyed working with everyone in the class and am looking forward to my next class with Dr. R in the Spring.

DP Reel/Artist Statment

Brandon Baker's DP Reel 2009 from Telecommunication and Film at th on Vimeo.

Brandon Baker
TCF 312
Artist Statement
December 1, 2009

My goal every time I get behind the camera is to capture a moment that otherwise would fade into a memory almost instantaneously. After becoming familiar with different techniques in the film genre, I have come to realize my desire to document and capture the memories and events that happen around us everyday. My aim as a filmmaker is to film an event or occurrence and capture that to my camera in order to share with the world or whoever desires to see it.

I have become enthralled with the level of technology that exists today and strive to continue to gain a mastery of all the tools necessary to make me successful. My amateur attempts at filmmaking have led me to a love for recording live music. There is something special about live music because that one performance will only happen that one time. Being able to capture that one unique and special event on a medium for those not there to relive is a powerful influence on my drive to want to continue in the field. I do not simply try to capture the event exactly as it happens, although it calls for that sometimes; I would rather take an event and turn into my own work with the original occurrence as the main influence and inspiration.

My mission as a filmmaker is to make my audience feel one with the event and to create an environment that makes the viewer feel that they never actually missed what it is they are seeing. We the people have a right to information and the ability to access that information is a necessity into today’s age, my goal as a filmmaker is to make that possible. No matter the calling, I will go where I am needed and do the task at hand to the best of my abilities.

Roger Deakins

"What I've always loved about film, documentary or fiction, is that everybody is working towards that one goal."

--ROGER DEAKINS

He has done a wide array of films, including but not limited to: (working from the most recent to oldest): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, A Beautiful Mind, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Hurricane, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, Mountains of the Moon, and Nineteen Eighty-Four....

Here are some interviews:

1. International Cinematographers Guild

2. The Hollywood Interview

3. InDigest

Deakins accepts Hollywood Cinematographer Award

What I really like about Deakins is his constant use of powerful imagery throughout his work. The Assassination of Jesse James has one of the most awesome scenes when the train is coming through the woods in the pitch black as the gang waits in the brush.

What is so cool about his work his he has done films that are considered some of the greatest of our generation. The Shawshank Redemption will probably be 30% of the entire country's favorite movie.

Deakins talks alot about trust between the DP and the director as that is the most important element achieving success. Even if the two aren't on the same page visually, having that trust will make things easier.

"The biggest thrill is looking through the camera and seeing a performance and a scene coming together and realizing it's special. Sometimes when something is working you get a tingle up your spine. It's a wonderful feeling when you realized you've captured a special moment."

Deakins makes an interesting argument that each film takes on a different genre and style to shooting. In his opinion,the look and how you shoot really comes off the script and the material. This is interesting because if you look at his body of work, he ranges from comedy, action, drama, black and white, music... he really can do it all and it shows with his widely successful repertoire of films.

Awesomely done Garcia/Grisman Video

Enjoy people!

Extra Blog: I Met the Walrus

A really well done video montage that I think a lot of people can learn from and also I just really enjoy the way the story is told. Here is a little background: In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.

Enjoy!

DP Reels: The good and not so good.

This reel is from a friend of mine named Alex Joseph.

Jon Salmon's DP reel.

This one, I do not like so much.

I will return here to elaborate on videos soon. Check back.