Kent’s Official Blog

So thats the flier that my ninja partner Douglas found on his windshield over the weekend and it was was every other car on the block too.

I emailed Ms. Clor because I thought she was the victim of a horrible prank — because no one would be stupid enough to put their name, bank account, routing number, phone number, and email out into the world, right?

Wrong.

Here was her response, along with the proof she sent:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP KENT!!!

I PROMISE TO MENTION YOU AS A MUSE IF I GET FAMOUS FOR THIS UNIQUE PLEA [FOR EMPLOYMENT FROM A UCSB GRAD. WHO MANY HAVE CALLED "THE MOST CREATIVE, ENTERTAINING, HILARIOUS, AND INTELLIGENT PERSON THEY'VE EVER MET."]  I’VE ALSO RECENTLY BEEN CALLED “MAGICAL” AND “STUNNING” AND “ARE YOU A MODEL?” BY STRANGERS.  SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT??

SO, WHY HAVE I BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR OVER A YEAR AND CAN’T I GET A JOB THAT’S AT LEAST $15 AN HOUR AND F/T???

DO I NEED TO APPLY AT TACO BELL AND OTHER MIN. WAGE PLACES OR IS THERE STILL HOPE FOR ME TO HAVE A CAREER AND MAKE MY $80K UCSB LOANS WORTHWHILE??

I HAVE LOTS OF HOT PICS IF YOU THINK THAT WOULD HELP MY CASE.

LISA

So if you want to help or contact the “magical” “are you a model” Lisa, she’s willing to send you some hot pix.

So you’re a busy filmmaker/web series creator and you’ve been hearing a lot about using a still camera to shoot video, but you’re a little scared to go for it without some knowledge.

Well, I’ve put together my dream team of DSLR geeks for a 3 hour workshop on the ins and outs of using these cameras to create stunning images at a budget level that was unimaginable only 2 years ago.

The lineup: Philip Bloom, if you don’t know who Philip is, let me just say that when Skywalker Ranch wanted to find out about what all the fuss was about with DSLRs, they invited Philip up to chat.  Read about that adventure here.

Barry Green.  Barry is the visionary and web grunt that started and niutured one of the best web filmmaking communities in the world, DVXUser.com.  He’s seen and explained how to use every flavor of 24p video out there.  He’s a DSLR owner and fan, but is also a realist when it comes to their limits and pitfalls.  He knows his shit.

The Bui Brothers, these guys are part of the new wave of imagemakers.  They come from the still photography world, but have been web series creators since the dawn of YouTube.

Here’s game plan for the workshop, each presenter has an hour:

Philip sets it up and shows why DSLRs are such a big deal in the first hour in a session called, “DSLR Filmmaking, Unlocking New Visual Possibilities.” Showing footage, explaining DOF, explaining some history of why this is what cinematography nerds have been begging for this for the last 10 years, etc.

Barry will next talk about what the real world limitations of Filming with DSLRs in a session called, “DSLR Filmmaking, Understanding Strenghths and Weaknesses.” He’s done a lot of cross-testing in this space and can explain what the real world limitations are at this point. I think this section is key so people just don’t walk with the notion that these cameras are all sex and magic. You need to know what you’re doing especially if you’re going to attempt pro-level (or even semi-pro) production.

And then Bui brothers will wrap it up with a session on gear and workflow requirements (for both post and acquisition) called, “DSLR Filmmaking, Gearing Up For Success.” Lenses (including image stabilization vs. non stabilized), lights, rigs, audio, a sample post path, how much memory, etc.

That’s it.  It should be an illuminating three sessions, and should provide the hardcore enthusiast and novice a like a dip of the toe into DSLRs for movie making.

Back in 2003 when I worked on two cancelled shows on the USA Network, one of the people I had the pleasure of meeting was Anthony Deptula.  I finagled him to be in my 48 hour Film project and another sketch comedy thing that has never seen the light of day.  Anthony was always forward thinking and ambitious, so it came with little surprise and great pleasure that the film he’s been working on for the last few years — One Too Many Mornings — got plucked and put into the new “Next” program at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

(BTW, a great interview with John Cooper, the new head of the Sundance Fest, is here.)

Part of what is so exciting about what the OTMM crew is doing is that starting now — during the festival (but after it debuted at Sundance) — the film is online for both purchase and download.  Their store even has an option to buy the film’s domestic distribution rights for a scant $100k.

I got Anthony, along with Stephen Hale, co-star, co-producer, co-writer, and co-friend of mine, and Michael Mohan, director and co-writer, to agree to answer some questions before they headed off to Park City.

Read the Interview after the jump!

Keep reading →

I’ve been thinking about this since A Curious Case of Benjamin Button went through the awards cycles last year.  Where’s the line between Visual effects movie and animated feature.

Last night in one of his acceptance speeches, Cameron said that every blade of grass had to be created.  How is that different from Up or Kung Fu Panda?  If that’s the case then the design categories, especially Production Design and visual effects need to be opened to films like Up.

Last year Benjamin Button won for best makeup, but Brad Pitt was mostly CGI’ed.  Watch this TED Talk about their process here.  Now tell me it fair for them to compete in that category against a film like Hell Boy II that used way more practical effect and makeup…

Go a step further and think about what we are giving these awards for — it is for mastery of a physical technique or is it for using techniques in a masterful way to tell a story.  If it’s for physical techniques, then we need to come down hard and segregate out films like Button and Avatar into a reality like they used to do — awards for Color and Black And White films.  If it’s for using techniques to service a story, then I think we need to lift the written and unwritten bans on Films like Up for even being considered for non Animation awards.

And it’s important to address these issues sooner rather than later.  Watching a movie like Up In The Air after watching Avatar, both good for what they are, but realities and orders of magnitude apart in terms of scale and budget.  And last year some of the best Cinematography ever was in Kung Fu Panda, but that’d would never even come close to being considered for the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

If you’re thinking CGI Cinematography and Real Cinematography are different, then you haven’t spent any time on a set of a real big budget movie, where they have complete control of their environment, especially in the studio.

Anyway, food for thought.  Where is the line?  Should there be two set of awards?  Should they invite Pixar to compete in all of the categories?  Chime in in the comments!

From Observer.com:

But increasingly local broadcast TV stations are struggling to come up with the money needed to pay hefty syndication fees.

In the months and years to come, whenever big programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show sit down to renegotiate their deals with local, broadcast stations they are likely to find a grim market where station-group managers are unable or unwilling to match the fees of yesteryear, let alone increase them.

That leaves two options for the likes of Oprah. Lower your fees. Or pack up shop.

The multiverse continues to grow.  This move signals a further devaluation of local broadcast media.  The line between big network and cable network continues to be blurred, and the line between online only network and cable nets will also blur.

So how does Oprah moving away from local TV affiliates effect me and you as indie media makers?

Well, for one thing, it puts us into further competition with Oprah for eyeballs and attention.  Oprah is probably the single best self-marketer in the history of humanity.  She’s come from less than nothing to become one of the richest and famous-est people in the world, and now she’s going to be using that fame and money to build up a new media empire.

All of the same leverages that have been available to us, ownership, control, and distribution, will be available to her, and you had better believe a ton of brand dollars will flow to her.

And that’s a good thing.  It means that if you, tiny little indie media person, can build up your brand and attention, you’ll be able to get some future brand dollars flowing to you.  Once money is flowing into the space it’s hard to get it to flow to other spaces.

But Kent, you ask in an earnest tone, I don’t have a cable network like Oprah does, how will I compete with her?

Well, you won’t directly, but as eyeballs and dollars flow away from broadcast down the hill to cable, and cable eyeballs peel off into the net, you’ll see an overall growth in the the net sector.

It will be a slower process than any of us would like, but it will continue to happen.

These last three years in Hollywood has been like when your grandma picked up the rug at one end and just shook it all out and then beat the crap out of it.  A lot of violent unsettling of dust and old crusts of bread have been loosed and taken out, and though the pets and children may be confused, it’s ultimately for the best.

It’s always been hard to make it in the entertainment industry, now you’re just at the mercy of you audience, not some gatekeeper.  The gatekeeper was strict, but offered some level of security and hope that you could make your lot in life if you just kept the gatekeeper happy.  The audience may indeed be fickle, but once they are your fan, they are your fans, and it’s hard to lose them if you treat them well.

And if there’s one thing that Oprah can teach us all — be good to your fans and they will be good to you.