David Lynch...DV's filmmakers dream come true...
 

Greetings, not sure if I'm allowed to post this link but I'm sure all aspiring DV filmmakers out there would appreciate the read.

http://www.empireonline.co.uk/news/story.asp?NID=17580

"Having started without a script"

From Lynch? Gee; what a shocker.

I've never got into David Lynch; his work is too, hmmmmmm... how should I say?

Crappy?

Lynch is hit and miss for me but he is never boring. He engages me. I've seen Mullholland Dr. twice and understood it differently a dozen times. That movie was a miss for me but I enjoyed the task of deciphering it. Even if one stumbles over the narrative I could never call him a crappy filmmaker. He has wonderful camera direction and visual narrative sense and, for followers of the auteur theory, he certainly is his own man.

As for him using DV, why not. If he plans to build up the narrative in editing, then surely DV is the best - least expensive - most convenient way to go. Does that mean he doesn't have a story in his head? I would wager he does.

"Building up a narrative" is what 'reality TV ' is all about. It is why the editors of those shows, want to be paid as writers. They take a load of crap, and find/create/invent a story line through it.

I spent an interesting day on the set of "Inland Empire", was demoing the Flyer for David and did some shots for him. It was fascinating to watch him do what he does. Of especial interest is the fact that he was using a set of PD150's (his own)--worth keeping in mind, those who consider any camera older than the latest and greatest to be "obsolete".

Really interesting Charles, thanks.

Reading technicals forums like this one, it's easy to think like "I need this new XLHVX200H1 now! Since the announcement of this model all my old footage look like crap!"

You know, I'm so in love with my old 1997 XL1 ! When people see my shorts movies I receive plenty of comments about the direction of photography, story, lighting, etc, but never about image quality. And I am sure I would be the same if I had one of these new cams.

Why bother editing HD then!

Not enough guns and matrix kung fu for you? Did you even watch his movies???

Eraserhead
The Elephan Man
Blue Velvet
The Straight Story
Mulholland Drive
Wild At Heart

Are all great and solid at the worst

Lost Highway
Twin Peaks
Dune

are questionable, but each has some merit to it.

In any event, he has a damn good batting average and is one of the few to buckle under outside pressure to make what he wants.

Kindly take your immaturity back to your DVXuser.com LOL.

I agree about what you said, although I really loved Mulholland Drive, but I thought Lost Highway was not a great movie, but it still keeps me interested.
But as you said: although I'm not a fan of every movie he makes, I still think it's nice to see an artist have his own voice and doing what he wants. So I respect him very much!

Charles, can you elaborate more on your experience on the set? I'm very interested in little details or bigger things that went on on that set, about his direction but also on the use of these camera's on a professional set...

A friend of mine produced the film and he invited me to the set, I brough a Steadicam Flyer borrowed from Tiffen to show to David. He thought it was very cool and wanted to operate it himself on a shot, then he just had me do it. I didn't think that was going to happen, but he improvised a shot where I was to walk down some long hallways and enter a room with two characters in bed (Laura Dern being one) and then I climbed up on the bed and ended up looking straight down on them. Actually a near-impossible shot to pull of with a full-size rig but doable with the little guy. David thought it was cool stuff. I stuck around and operated another scene with Laura; the DP operated another camera and David operated the third.

Overall, it seemed that David had some ideas in mind but he was largely improvising bits of business and scenes on the day, and then asking for things to be set up and secured for future days. Keeping the crew lean and the format cheap obviously made this possible--the logisitics of a full-size crew would have been out-of-hand in this environment.

It was pretty cool to be around. He's a nice guy.

He's planning on doing more stuff like this, I think. But probably on a small-format HD camera next time.

Fire Walk With Me (Twin Peaks) and Dune did it for me. It don't take much to amuse a twisted mind.

Thank you Charles, your anecdotes and stories are always interesting to hear!

Attention Lynch fans in L.A...
 

Drop what you are doing and head to the corner of Hollywood and LaBrea from now until 5 p.m. Park and head to the northwest corner. You won't be disappointed.

Ahhh Charles, it's a bit of a drive from San Francisco! Do let us know whats' happening after the fact.

I just happened across it myself--on the streetcorner, a large sign saying "For your consideration, Laura Dern" with a picture of her, and another saying "Without milk, there would be no Inland Empire". Standing next to the sign, a large cow. And sitting in a director's chair next to the cow, puffing a smoke, David Lynch. They were out there for 5 hours or so.

My friend who produced the film was there and he took me over to David, we exchanged pleasantries and he told me the shot I did ended up in the movie, which was nice.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun for any local fans of his to be able to meet him in that odd but relaxed environment, looks like no-one got out there in time though.

Lynch... Crappy... Sure...

While his movies are not for everyone, they are far from 'crappy.'

Hmmm... Please... where can we find your works so we might all compare them?
C'mon.. Show us how a real 'master' does it...

On more serious fronts. I'm going to the Pasadena showing on Friday.
If it's good as I'm guessing it will be... I won't have ANY excuses anymore for not working. Dang!

DUNE is an amazing film in many ways, easily the most romantic science fiction film ever made.

BLUE VELVET and ELEPHANT MAN are probably his best films. Both are provocative and touch on what it means to be 'normal.' ANd it made Dennis Hopper famous again - that's gotta count for something! :)

ERASERHEAD, is well, ERASERHEAD. It is probably the last of the great midnight movies. If it seems super weird, it's suppossed to. Great, trippy flick with amazing use of editing and sound effects (much like original THX 1138).

I'll watch anything he does at least once. Neat to see he's using a video camera.

jdv

I laugh at that myself - this guy is a total troll moderator on another forum and really gets on a lot of people's nerves with his arrogance despite the fact he has minimal training and no experience and just bought a DV cam in 2003 LOL.

Anyway, if you want a laugh, a film of his is at...

http://www.outlandpictures.com/movies/Luper.mov

Straight Story also good
and I don't care what anyone says - Mulholland Drive kicks ass - initially I hated the first 90 minutes, but it takes skill to make you go back and appreciate the movie as a whole after watching the last half hour.

Ouch.

If Inland Empire comes out half as good as I expect it will after being shot with a PD150, I will be sticking to the camera I have and just working 3 times as hard. Heh.

Is it released yet - I can't find any concrete info other than it was supposed to be out in December sometime - can't wait.

Interesting he chose the pd150 over a z1u.

It is a limited release coming out tomorrow. Check http://www.inlandempirecinema.com/ to see if there are showings in your area.

I think he chose the PD150 for two reasons:
1) The PD150 is famous for its low light capabilities.
2) He had some of them from shooting parts of Mulholland Drive and his Playstation 3 commercial.

I have an A1U, and if the filmout turns out as good as I suspect it will, I will not be upgrading my camera. In the Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick Two equation, I'm going for Good and Cheap...