Various TOTEM posts 2001 - 2003

Brad Simmons · June 25th, 2003, 11:29 PM

You should check out www.shortscriptsonline.com
There are a lot of short scripts on that site you could produce, broken up into genre. Most of the good ones are snatched up quickly but there are some you might want to use.

They have the sluglines there and you can email the writer and ask for a copy. A lot of these guys aren't filmmakers and just want to see their work produced. Some of them expect Steven Speilberg to cut them a 1 million dollar deal on their poorly written short but just be honest and tell them your independent and can make their movie. If you want, send them a release form and have them sign it if you plan on reading any of them so you aren't obligated to make it and they can't sue you if you come out with an idea with similar themes.

Other than that, my suggestion would be to do some short comedy spec ads for fake products. Most of the things you and you're buddies joke around about every day can be filmed for a short ad.

Alex Knappenberger · June 26th, 2003, 10:21 PM

Robert Knecht Schmidt · June 26th, 2003, 10:53 PM

You may be interested in learning how to achieve a 360° panorama using a shiny chrome ball as a light probe. There's tons of fun to be had in making high dynamic range light probes and then using the resultant luminance map as a light source to light 3D models and environments with using a 3D modeling/rendering application.

Here are some links to get started.

Panorama Tools
Dr. Paul Debevec's web site - download HDR Shop and learn how to stitch light probe images together with it, then paint out the camera from two light probe pictures taken 90° apart from each other!

Joe Carney · June 29th, 2003, 01:28 PM

There is a new 3D storyboard program out called FrameForge3D. It looks like a great tool for the drawing challenged.

Their web site said they would be demoing at the LA Expo. Just wondering if anyone stopped by and took a look?

If it's any good, the intro price is right.

http://www.frameforge3d.com

Keith Loh · July 1st, 2003, 11:46 AM

It is Canada Day and in celebration of that great day upon which I have almost always worked I am presenting forthwith this list of great Canadian films in no particular order.

DEAD RINGERS - David Cronenberg's strange but true story about two twin gynecologists who live together and die together features Jeremy Irons in a marvellously creepy performance that established him as an intellectual weirdo for the rest of his career. The props for the gynecology scenes deserved star billing, as well.

IF YOU LOVE THIS PLANET - Along with "The Atomic Cafe" one of the great propaganda pieces of the 80s attacking the nuclear age. Based upon the book by Helen Caldicott, it is a totally slanted National Film Board of Canada short that won the Academy Award with its emotional, slamming message. Today Caldicott is a bitter radical. No surprise.

MANUFACTURING CONSENT - Canadians do very good straight documentaries but this one is very stylishly put together. An examination of the work and thoughts of political critic Noam Chomksy, this is really one of the great political documentaries and a staple for media junkies. Chomsky's critique of the mainstream media's reporting of the United States' influence on human rights in various countries that fall within its geopolitical sphere (or out of it) is damning. A very entertaining film as well with nice devices. The one shot everyone remembers if the big Noam Chomsky head lecturing down from the jumbotron in a football stadium about how Americans treat war as sports as football players high five.

EXOTICA - Atom Egoyan's film is structured like rose with each layer unplucked slowly to reveal the truths of the past. Oddly marketed as a sexploitation movie, actually it's a film about grief. Bruce Greenwood stars as a Revenue Canada auditor who has seen his life fall apart after the murder of his daughter. He returns night after night to a stripper bar where the pretty Mia Kirshner (the lesbian assassin in "24") performs for him in a schoolgirl's uniform. Why he does this is the question. A wonderfully structured movie and my favourite Canadian movie.

THE SWEET HEREAFTER - Atom Egoyan's adaptation of Russel Bank's novel about a school bus tragedy investigated by an 'ambulance chasing' lawyer. Egoyan sets the novel in a B.C. town and uses his same ensemble of actors (Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwoood, Murray Chaykin, Arsinee Karijian, Elias Koteas) and adds Ian Holm as the lawyer. A nicely structured plot that winds ever inward to expose the relationships and pasts of the villagers.

CUBE - basically a graduate film school project by the Canadian Film Center that turned into a cult SF rental standard. Take a single rotating cube set, change the lighting and you have a psychological futuristic mystery about a group of strangers who wake up in a 3-dimensional puzzle. Avoid the sequel, HYPERCUBE.

HARD CORE LOGO - You can describe this as a punk "Spinal Tap" but it's not really a parody. It's the story of a Canadian punk band that comes together for one last benefit tour. A road trip film (like other Bruce Mcdonald films), it is very funny in parts but turns very serious as the punk band begins to unravel as the trip wears on.

ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER - Last year's festival darling was the fresh pairing of new technology (digital video) with an ancient Inuit myth. The stark lines of digital video present the high contrast beauty of the arctic icescape in an environment that hasn't seen much treatment since Nanook of the North (which I have not seen). The story about two brothers and their conflict with a rival group of brothers is both brutal and funny. Weird weird humour. It features one of the most memorable images in film, the naked 'fast runner' of the title being chased over ice floes by hunters.

BLACK ROBE - One of the best films about Canadian history, Black Robe came out around the same time as Dances With Wolves and to my mind is a far superior movie about aboriginals and definitely avoids the golden interpretation of Indian lives that the Kevin Costner film spoons out. Set in 16th century Quebec, it is the story of a young and fanatical Jesuit (Lothaire Bluteau) assigned to bring the word of god to the Huron. To get to the Huron mission he must travel with a company of Algonquin (lead by August Schellenberg) through epic lakes, forests and through a cordon of fierce Iroquois. The Iroquois are skeptical of 'the black robe's attempts to convert them. At once a gritty survival film and a spiritual, cultural clash, it is one of the glossiest historical films about Canada you will see. Impressive photography showing the tiny, liliputian humans paddling amidst the immense geography that was and is Canada.

CLEARCUT - A grim thriller starring Graham Greene (from Dances With Wolves) about a white liberal who is kidnapped by an Indian activist and taken for a tour of the forest. The politics are a bit strange and not very well laid out but there is something deliciously fierce about Greene's performance. I don't know how it was received among aboriginal audiences but I wonder if they cheered when Greene blows away the RCMP and begins carving into the leg of the white liberal.

JESUS DE MONTREAL - the sole Quebecois film on my list (purely because of my own ignorance of Quebec film) is one of the best known films from Denys Arcand. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1990 it is a modern parable about the life and sacrifice of Jesus as experienced by a group staging a passion play. Lothaire Bluteau is the title character. Frequently shown in religious studies because of its uncynical examination of religiosity in modern life. Denys Arcand is a past Cannes favourite, having made a splash previously with The Decline fo the American Empire and its sequel this year.

32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD - An inventive and never boring fanciful examination of the life of pianist Glenn Gould who is forever enshrined in the performer pantheon for his recordings of the Goldberg Variations. I'm not a classical music fan (had enough of that learning piano when I grew up) but this is excellent filmmaking. Indeed, it is 32 short films in one package, each film encapsulating a certain point in Gould's life or a certain work. Playing Gould as an adult is Colm Feore who you will recognize in quite a few international films usually playing a stately middle aged man. Director Francois Girard also made The Red Violin.

Other Canadian films worth seeing: HIGHWAY 61, STRANGE BREW, THE NAKED LUNCH, ROADKILL, THE GREY FOX, THE BAY BOY, VIDEODROME

Alex Taylor · July 2nd, 2003, 11:52 PM

So as some of you probably know by now, we won the Olympic Bid! The 2010 Winter Games will be in Vancouver :)

I'm really excited about it, and I know we have a few other people from Vancouver on these boards. What's everyone's opinion on the bid?

Dylan Couper · July 3rd, 2003, 12:08 AM

Can't wait to be able to quintuple my rates...
I mean, I'm proud to host the Olympics!

:)

Keith Loh · July 3rd, 2003, 12:33 AM

In seven years I hope to be in a successful career.

Which is about the only way I'll be able to buy tickets for a Canada hockey game.

Rob Lohman · July 11th, 2003, 09:11 AM

Interesting stuff indeed Robert! Now if someone would pay so I
can play with this kind of stuff all day long and quit my day job <grin>

Charles French · July 11th, 2003, 01:03 PM

I see that Gateway has a HDTV compatiable plasma TV. What would be a good set to go with that has s-video and all the bells and whistles. Am I to understand you have the choice of 16.9 or 4.3 but not both? I read that the life expectancy of a plasma was somewhere around 25000 hrs before picture degeneration occurs. That is suppose to equal 24/7 viewing for app. 2 years.

tks, charles

Gints Klimanis · July 11th, 2003, 01:48 PM

I'm a plasma newbiw, but I'll recap after shopping for one.

There is an issue with image burn-in, which seems to happen
very quickly. I passed on plasma displays after learning about this. As a consumer, this simply isn't acceptible. All of my original DVDs have static menus, so I would probably trash the set quickly. The 25000 hr picture degeneration figure needs more explanation. It's probably the "half life" of the tube, which is
GoodGuys-speak for the # hours required for the full-output tube to degenerate to half. The plasma displays in the show room are
dialed up to full output. I was told that the "half-life" figure referred to an output level much lower than that of the showroom.

Matt Elias · July 17th, 2003, 06:03 PM

I recently watched Chris Roe's docu, Pop and Me, and would highly recommend everyone to see it. It portrays Chris and his dad's journey around the world, meeting pops and sons. The film was shot in DV (a sony vx1000 I believe) and 16mm. The combination of film doesn't distract from the content, as I thought it would. The interchanging styles serve more as a relief between shots. Anyway, I enjoyed it (watched it 3 times) and I hope you do as well - enjoy it that is, you don't need to watch it 3 times ; )

Dan Holly · July 18th, 2003, 09:58 AM

http://www.adn.com/business/story/34...-3510499c.html

A small part of what I manage in my real life outside of DV.

Boyd Ostroff · July 18th, 2003, 12:35 PM

There's an article in the current issue of Videography magazine about the 110' wide by 34' high LCD backdrop at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas, currently in use for a Celine Dion show. Unbelievable. 5 megapixels total, 1280 high by 4160 wide, at an 8mm dot pitch; the first row of seats is 80' from the screen. Total weight is 24 tons and it has a 6KVA power supply!

The little photos in the article make the image look great - has anyone seen this in person?

Alex Taylor · July 19th, 2003, 12:29 PM

And all that technology goes to waste on Celine Dion.... :P

June 26th, 2003, 10:21 PM	#152
Alex Knappenberger High School Student Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canton, Ohio, USA Posts: 609	Desk Panaroma + some other random pictures. Thought I'd share this. With bad luck the first 2 times I tried doing a panaroma, I finally pulled it off. I forgot that the lens had to be centered on the tripod (I had it flipped up sideways so it wasn't anywhere near center). The bottom line is panaromas are cool, I just have yet to perfect doing it... http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-.../panaroma3.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/1.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/21.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/22.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/23.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/24.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/25.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/18.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/19.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/20.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/15.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/16.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/17.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/5.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/8.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/9.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/4.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/252285/11.jpg

June 26th, 2003, 10:53 PM	#153
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	You may be interested in learning how to achieve a 360° panorama using a shiny chrome ball as a light probe. There's tons of fun to be had in making high dynamic range light probes and then using the resultant luminance map as a light source to light 3D models and environments with using a 3D modeling/rendering application. Here are some links to get started. Panorama Tools Dr. Paul Debevec's web site - download HDR Shop and learn how to stitch light probe images together with it, then paint out the camera from two light probe pictures taken 90° apart from each other! __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 29th, 2003, 01:28 PM	#154
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	FrameForge3D, did anyone take a look at the Expo? There is a new 3D storyboard program out called FrameForge3D. It looks like a great tool for the drawing challenged. Their web site said they would be demoing at the LA Expo. Just wondering if anyone stopped by and took a look? If it's any good, the intro price is right. http://www.frameforge3d.com

July 1st, 2003, 11:46 AM	#155
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Great Canadian Films It is Canada Day and in celebration of that great day upon which I have almost always worked I am presenting forthwith this list of great Canadian films in no particular order. DEAD RINGERS - David Cronenberg's strange but true story about two twin gynecologists who live together and die together features Jeremy Irons in a marvellously creepy performance that established him as an intellectual weirdo for the rest of his career. The props for the gynecology scenes deserved star billing, as well. IF YOU LOVE THIS PLANET - Along with "The Atomic Cafe" one of the great propaganda pieces of the 80s attacking the nuclear age. Based upon the book by Helen Caldicott, it is a totally slanted National Film Board of Canada short that won the Academy Award with its emotional, slamming message. Today Caldicott is a bitter radical. No surprise. MANUFACTURING CONSENT - Canadians do very good straight documentaries but this one is very stylishly put together. An examination of the work and thoughts of political critic Noam Chomksy, this is really one of the great political documentaries and a staple for media junkies. Chomsky's critique of the mainstream media's reporting of the United States' influence on human rights in various countries that fall within its geopolitical sphere (or out of it) is damning. A very entertaining film as well with nice devices. The one shot everyone remembers if the big Noam Chomsky head lecturing down from the jumbotron in a football stadium about how Americans treat war as sports as football players high five. EXOTICA - Atom Egoyan's film is structured like rose with each layer unplucked slowly to reveal the truths of the past. Oddly marketed as a sexploitation movie, actually it's a film about grief. Bruce Greenwood stars as a Revenue Canada auditor who has seen his life fall apart after the murder of his daughter. He returns night after night to a stripper bar where the pretty Mia Kirshner (the lesbian assassin in "24") performs for him in a schoolgirl's uniform. Why he does this is the question. A wonderfully structured movie and my favourite Canadian movie. THE SWEET HEREAFTER - Atom Egoyan's adaptation of Russel Bank's novel about a school bus tragedy investigated by an 'ambulance chasing' lawyer. Egoyan sets the novel in a B.C. town and uses his same ensemble of actors (Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwoood, Murray Chaykin, Arsinee Karijian, Elias Koteas) and adds Ian Holm as the lawyer. A nicely structured plot that winds ever inward to expose the relationships and pasts of the villagers. CUBE - basically a graduate film school project by the Canadian Film Center that turned into a cult SF rental standard. Take a single rotating cube set, change the lighting and you have a psychological futuristic mystery about a group of strangers who wake up in a 3-dimensional puzzle. Avoid the sequel, HYPERCUBE. HARD CORE LOGO - You can describe this as a punk "Spinal Tap" but it's not really a parody. It's the story of a Canadian punk band that comes together for one last benefit tour. A road trip film (like other Bruce Mcdonald films), it is very funny in parts but turns very serious as the punk band begins to unravel as the trip wears on. ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER - Last year's festival darling was the fresh pairing of new technology (digital video) with an ancient Inuit myth. The stark lines of digital video present the high contrast beauty of the arctic icescape in an environment that hasn't seen much treatment since Nanook of the North (which I have not seen). The story about two brothers and their conflict with a rival group of brothers is both brutal and funny. Weird weird humour. It features one of the most memorable images in film, the naked 'fast runner' of the title being chased over ice floes by hunters. BLACK ROBE - One of the best films about Canadian history, Black Robe came out around the same time as Dances With Wolves and to my mind is a far superior movie about aboriginals and definitely avoids the golden interpretation of Indian lives that the Kevin Costner film spoons out. Set in 16th century Quebec, it is the story of a young and fanatical Jesuit (Lothaire Bluteau) assigned to bring the word of god to the Huron. To get to the Huron mission he must travel with a company of Algonquin (lead by August Schellenberg) through epic lakes, forests and through a cordon of fierce Iroquois. The Iroquois are skeptical of 'the black robe's attempts to convert them. At once a gritty survival film and a spiritual, cultural clash, it is one of the glossiest historical films about Canada you will see. Impressive photography showing the tiny, liliputian humans paddling amidst the immense geography that was and is Canada. CLEARCUT - A grim thriller starring Graham Greene (from Dances With Wolves) about a white liberal who is kidnapped by an Indian activist and taken for a tour of the forest. The politics are a bit strange and not very well laid out but there is something deliciously fierce about Greene's performance. I don't know how it was received among aboriginal audiences but I wonder if they cheered when Greene blows away the RCMP and begins carving into the leg of the white liberal. JESUS DE MONTREAL - the sole Quebecois film on my list (purely because of my own ignorance of Quebec film) is one of the best known films from Denys Arcand. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1990 it is a modern parable about the life and sacrifice of Jesus as experienced by a group staging a passion play. Lothaire Bluteau is the title character. Frequently shown in religious studies because of its uncynical examination of religiosity in modern life. Denys Arcand is a past Cannes favourite, having made a splash previously with The Decline fo the American Empire and its sequel this year. 32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD - An inventive and never boring fanciful examination of the life of pianist Glenn Gould who is forever enshrined in the performer pantheon for his recordings of the Goldberg Variations. I'm not a classical music fan (had enough of that learning piano when I grew up) but this is excellent filmmaking. Indeed, it is 32 short films in one package, each film encapsulating a certain point in Gould's life or a certain work. Playing Gould as an adult is Colm Feore who you will recognize in quite a few international films usually playing a stately middle aged man. Director Francois Girard also made The Red Violin. Other Canadian films worth seeing: HIGHWAY 61, STRANGE BREW, THE NAKED LUNCH, ROADKILL, THE GREY FOX, THE BAY BOY, VIDEODROME __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

July 2nd, 2003, 11:52 PM	#156
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	Vancouver in 2010! So as some of you probably know by now, we won the Olympic Bid! The 2010 Winter Games will be in Vancouver :) I'm really excited about it, and I know we have a few other people from Vancouver on these boards. What's everyone's opinion on the bid? __________________ alextaylor.org

June 25th, 2003, 11:29 PM	#151
Brad Simmons Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Washington DC Posts: 304	You should check out www.shortscriptsonline.com There are a lot of short scripts on that site you could produce, broken up into genre. Most of the good ones are snatched up quickly but there are some you might want to use. They have the sluglines there and you can email the writer and ask for a copy. A lot of these guys aren't filmmakers and just want to see their work produced. Some of them expect Steven Speilberg to cut them a 1 million dollar deal on their poorly written short but just be honest and tell them your independent and can make their movie. If you want, send them a release form and have them sign it if you plan on reading any of them so you aren't obligated to make it and they can't sue you if you come out with an idea with similar themes. Other than that, my suggestion would be to do some short comedy spec ads for fake products. Most of the things you and you're buddies joke around about every day can be filmed for a short ad.

July 3rd, 2003, 12:08 AM	#157
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Can't wait to be able to quintuple my rates... I mean, I'm proud to host the Olympics! :) __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

July 3rd, 2003, 12:33 AM	#158
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	In seven years I hope to be in a successful career. Which is about the only way I'll be able to buy tickets for a Canada hockey game. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

July 11th, 2003, 09:11 AM	#159
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Interesting stuff indeed Robert! Now if someone would pay so I can play with this kind of stuff all day long and quit my day job <grin> __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

July 11th, 2003, 01:03 PM	#160
Charles French Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: grenada,ms Posts: 78	New Breed Of TV I see that Gateway has a HDTV compatiable plasma TV. What would be a good set to go with that has s-video and all the bells and whistles. Am I to understand you have the choice of 16.9 or 4.3 but not both? I read that the life expectancy of a plasma was somewhere around 25000 hrs before picture degeneration occurs. That is suppose to equal 24/7 viewing for app. 2 years. tks, charles

July 11th, 2003, 01:48 PM	#161
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	I'm a plasma newbiw, but I'll recap after shopping for one. There is an issue with image burn-in, which seems to happen very quickly. I passed on plasma displays after learning about this. As a consumer, this simply isn't acceptible. All of my original DVDs have static menus, so I would probably trash the set quickly. The 25000 hr picture degeneration figure needs more explanation. It's probably the "half life" of the tube, which is GoodGuys-speak for the # hours required for the full-output tube to degenerate to half. The plasma displays in the show room are dialed up to full output. I was told that the "half-life" figure referred to an output level much lower than that of the showroom.

July 17th, 2003, 06:03 PM	#162
Matt Elias Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: California Posts: 149	Pop and Me I recently watched Chris Roe's docu, Pop and Me, and would highly recommend everyone to see it. It portrays Chris and his dad's journey around the world, meeting pops and sons. The film was shot in DV (a sony vx1000 I believe) and 16mm. The combination of film doesn't distract from the content, as I thought it would. The interchanging styles serve more as a relief between shots. Anyway, I enjoyed it (watched it 3 times) and I hope you do as well - enjoy it that is, you don't need to watch it 3 times ; )

July 18th, 2003, 09:58 AM	#163
Dan Holly Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 336	OT: Made the local news paper today http://www.adn.com/business/story/34...-3510499c.html A small part of what I manage in my real life outside of DV. __________________ Dan Holly Anchorage, Alaska

July 18th, 2003, 12:35 PM	#164
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	The ultimate LCD screen There's an article in the current issue of Videography magazine about the 110' wide by 34' high LCD backdrop at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas, currently in use for a Celine Dion show. Unbelievable. 5 megapixels total, 1280 high by 4160 wide, at an 8mm dot pitch; the first row of seats is 80' from the screen. Total weight is 24 tons and it has a 6KVA power supply! The little photos in the article make the image look great - has anyone seen this in person?

July 19th, 2003, 12:29 PM	#165
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	And all that technology goes to waste on Celine Dion.... :P __________________ alextaylor.org