Center for Film Studies

Today representatives from the Center for Film Studies came to speak to our Advanced TV Production classes. The founder, Mort Meisner explained to students the value of attending a 4 year University over a technical trade school. He explained that the Center for Film Studies offers short workshops (most are only six weeks long) that are designed for people who know specifically what they want to do on a film set. Workshops include: Set Construction, Technical & Grip Work, Costume and Stage Makeup, and Production Assistance. For more information on the Center for Film Studies, visit their website, or contact the school at 248-545-2222.

A few things to keep in mind from today's presentation: any person who wishes to be successful in their field should be skilled in building relationships with the right people, and networking. They should be able to seek out opportunities to build their resume and put themselves in the right position to succeed in whatever field they choose. Remember to follow up on job leads, once you submit a resume, be persistent and follow up with people to show your determination and abilities.

Kinetic Sculpture

The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. 714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the Kinetic Sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.

Click the link in the title above to watch the video of this art installation. Let me know what you think. What does it mean? How do you interpret the artist's intentions? Does this give you any ideas for future video projects? I'd love to hear your comments about this one!

82 Film Projects Made in Michigan!

This picture is from the set of the "Red Dawn" remake currently filming in Detroit.

The Michigan Film Office says 82 projects have been filmed in the state since April 2008, when it introduced tax incentives that are among the nation's most generous.

Spokesman Ken Droz (DROHZ) from the film office said Tuesday that 47 of those projects are from 2009. The TV pilots, documentaries, reality projects and feature films and represent a total expenditure of $216 million so far this year.

That amount includes all the money spent in the state on the productions such as crew, talent, extras, production offices, meals and the like.

The state hosted 35 projects and total expenditures of $125 million last year.

Michigan has become a magnet for filmed entertainment since creating a refundable tax credit of up to 42 percent on production expenses.

Michigan has been the set for over 120 movies prior to the incentive's beginning in 2008. Do you recognize any of these titles:
The Evil Dead (1982)
Doctor Detroit (1983)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
The Evil Dead II (1987)
Action Jackson (1987)
Midnight Run (1987)
Presumed Innocent (1989)
Roger and Me (1989)
Die Hard II (1990)
Truth or Dare (1991)
Hoffa (1992)
True Romance (1993)
Renaissance Man (1994)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Out Of Sight (1998)
Detroit Rock City (1999)
Escanaba in da Moonlight (2000)
Driven (2000)
Hardball (2000)
American Pie 2 (2001)
Road to Perdition (2001)
8 Mile (2001)
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Upside of Anger (2003)
The Island (2004)
Four Brothers (2005)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Transformers (2006)
Jumper (2007)
Semi Pro (2007)

These movies have begun production in Michigan within the past year:
20% Fiction (2009) – Comedy/Drama starring Martin Landau with locations in Troy.
Armored (2009) -– An action/drama starring Eric Bana.
Be Funny – Documentary about comedians starring Dave Coulier and Tim Allen (among many others) with film locations in Detroit
Betty Anne Waters (2009) – Biography starring Hilary Swank.
Butterfly Effect: Revelation (2009) – Sci-Fi Fantasy filmed in Detroit and Vancouver.
Clock Tower (2009) – A horror flick starring Brittany Snow
Demoted (2009) – Comedy starring Sean Astin filmed all over the Metro Detroit area, including Dearborn, Detroit, Inkster, Michigan, Milford, Novi, Plymouth (Bennigan’s Restaurant) and the Southfield Public Library.
(2008) – Clint Eastwood movie filmed in Grosse Pointe Shores, Royal Oak and Warren.
High School (2010) – Comedy starring Colin Hanks and Adrien Brody shot in Howell and Detroit.
The Irishman: The Rise and Fall of Danny Greene (2009) – A biography starring Paul Sorvino and Tara Reid
The Job (2009) – Comedy Satire starring Ron Perlman and Joe Pantoliano filmed in Detroit.
Killshot (2008) – Action Thriller starring Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke with film locations in Detroit.
Little Red Devil (2008) – Horror film starring Daniel Baldwin shot in Detroit, Livonia and Troy.
Miss January (2009) – Comedy starring Kim Cattrall and Brian Dennehy filmed in Detroit, Livonia, Romulus and Westland.
Street Boss (2009) – Movie about a Detroit mobster starring Nicholas Turturro and filmed in the prison in Jackson and Saginaw.
The Tower (2008) – Horror movie filmed mainly in Detroit and Pontiac.
Tug (2009) – A movie starring Haley Duff filmed in Grand Rapids and Holland.
Up in the Air (2009) – Comedy/drama starring George Clooney with film locations in Detroit and at Detroit Metro Airport.
Youth in Revolt (2009) – Movie starring Michael Cera, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi and Justin Long filmed in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Frankfort, Hazel Park, Lake Leelanau and Royal Oak.
Whip It (2009) – Drew Barrymore movie filmed in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Nov, Royal Oak, Saline, Troy and Ypsilanti.

Cross Border Communication

A band of Windsor artists -- Broken City Lab -- has started sending messages over to us via a projector. Read the article HERE.

Cross-Border Communication: We're In This Together from brokencitylab on Vimeo.

Movie Mistakes Website

This is the hilarious website we discussed in class. Remember to watch out for your own movie mistakes when filming in class! Beware of reflections, props in the shot, and what you are wearing between different days of filming!! Check out the site by clicking the link in the title of this blog, or enter the url: moviemistakes.com. They feature a different still shot each day, and you can search by your favorite movies. You can also submit movie mistakes that you catch! What do you think about this website? What did it make you consider about your own filming? Comments welcome!

High School Broadcast Journalism Forum

Created by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation (RTDNF), the High School Broadcast Journalism Project gives students voice in our democracy and inspires the next generation of informed news consumers and news professionals.

The project gives priority to schools with large minority populations and to schools with large numbers of students who qualify for the federal reduced-and-free lunch program.

RTDNF established HSBJ in 2003 with a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The mission was to develop and nurture electronic journalism programs and promote First Amendment education in high schools across the country. Today, this work continues -with a special emphasis on multimedia - through the continued support of the Knight Foundation and other partners.

To support students, HSBJ sponsors contests that encourage interest in broadcast journalism and First Amendment issues, provides information about student workshops and scholarships and arranges professional broadcasters to lead workshop sessions on topics such as writing, reporting, videography, podcasting and journalism ethics. HSBJ also features an online forum that allows students to share ideas with peers.

Check out the forum topics for students, the contests and advice and learn more about High School Broadcasting. After you check out the site by clicking the link at the top of this entry, let me know what you think. Did you find helpful information? Did you check out the SchoolTube site and watch any videos? How might you use this site in the future? Make sure you include your first and last name in your comments. Enjoy!

Building Projections

If you haven't heard of this before, it's definitely worth checking out. Click the link in the title of this blog, or perform your own Google or YouTube search to find more building projections.

Over the last year or so, we’ve seen a lot of projects involving the projection of video onto architectural structures. The most interesting of these are films that actually take the contours of the building into account, creating perceptual tricks of scale and encouraging viewers to think of the buildings as malleable structures.

To get the full effect, it helps to think about the experience of being a visitor to one of these structures—rather than simply viewing them as web video.

After viewing these videos, share what you think. What are some of the emotional effects you felt from watching these? What limitations might you find for performing this kind of demonstration? Can you find other examples to share? If so, please post your links. Remember to sign your first and last name to your comments.

APPARATI EFFIMERI Tetragram for Enlargment from Apparati Effimeri on Vimeo.

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.