Lights! Camera!
. M O V- e Issue 2 - May 2010
Inside:
The Flaming Hot
EOS 5D Mark II
Tutorial: Creating Realistic Blood
o
ELUR
Explained
Behind the Scenes: • Henley-on-Klip • The Unforgiving
Rising Star Interview with Morné du Toit
CONTENT
MOVIES Jakhalsdans
TECH
12
REGULARS
Henley-on-Klip
The Unforgiving
13
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21
Director’s Chair
02
Rumour has it
03
In the Spotlight
04
Give them Credit
62
ARTICLES 180 Degree Rule
27
Classics: Steven Spielberg
31
Money Money Money
53
Child’s Play
58
Extra! Extra!
61
41
Adobe CS5 Launch 55
What’s HOT
REVIEWS 25
Shu er Island
49
Interview: Morné du Toit
Tutorial: Crea ng Realis c Blood
Against the Odds: i-Line Films PG 39
Date Night
PG 51
PG 6
Disclaimer
Contact Us
Oppinions expressed in .MOV-e do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher while inclusion of adverts/adver sing features does not imply specific endorsement for any business, product or service. Copyright of material in this publica on is reserved and may not be reproduced without the wri en permission of the editor.
info@mov-e.co.za .MOV-e PO BOX 11874 Wierda Park-South 0057
Closer Look: How UFOs fly over ci es PG 47
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The Director’s Chair
I only have one word to describe the response to the first issue of our magazine: WOW! I don’t think we had any idea of how well-received the magazine would be to our readers. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts; especially to those who sent their sugges ons.
So much has happened since the launch a mere month ago that if we were to document it all, we’d have to create an en rely new magazine just for that. In short, we partnered up with Adobe’s new project: Adobe Source. This applica on gives you direct access to the company like never before. Anyone serious about the industry should download the so ware at h p://www.adobesource.co.za for immediate access to Event Updates, Product Informa on, Forums, Resources, and Partner News. It’s the Swiss Army Knife for Crea ves!
Oh yes! Another good reason to sign up is because you would be able to download the PDF versions of the April and May issues. Simply log in and click on APRIL 2010 or MAY 2010 in the menu on the le .
During the month of April, we’ve added a few new features to the site. We now have a Video sec on under member’s profiles where you can upload your The magazine itself contains all sorts of goodies. por olios and showreels. Actors & actresses can post We look at three local produc ons: Henley-on-Klip, vids of them reading lines as a sort of online audi on The Unforgiving, and Jakhalsdans. We look at how while industry professionals can showcase their they make those huge UFOs fly over skyscrapers and skills. We also added a shoutbox so that members also learn how to make realis c blood with common post their gree ngs and thoughts on the fly. household items. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II goes under the microscope and Wimpie shows you how to We also added a blog on which we will post regular format your script. Morné du Toit is our Rising Star of ar cles. Johnny Taute from i-Line Films assists us with the month and we also take a look at the life of Steven posts, so be sure to check out his site as well for more Spielberg. Oh yes! Two of our members, Elizabeth juicy film making ps. Details about his site can be Pienaar and E enne van Rensburg reviewed Date found in our ar cle about i-Line, our blog sec on on Night and Shu er Island for us. Thanks guys! Other the site, or in our BlogBuster sec on in the magazine. members interested in sharing their thoughts for our Finally, there are the forums. Post your thoughts next issue are more than welcome to contact us. and comments about anything and everything. Get networking and promote yourself! We also added We extend a VERY special thanks to everyone that’s a Classifieds sec on so that members can promote joined our site and Facebook Groups. If you haven’t their talents and services to others in the industry. signed up to the site yet, feel free to do so now. It’s Need extras for your movie? Go s ck it in there! Have quick, easy, and safe. We won’t SPAM you and won’t a camera you’d like to buy or sell? Classifieds! Go sell your details. Tell you what… if you register on our check it out and let it work for you. site during the month of May; you stand a chance of winning a 6-month subscrip on with NAG Magazine, Okay, I’m going stop rambling and wave goodbye so delivered right to your doorstep! April members that you can get to the good stuff. Please send us pics are automa cally in the draw and the winner will of you with celebri es or any le ers to be announced on the 30th. Yes, the good people at info@mov-e.co.za We’ll release issue 3 in the first New Age Gaming Magazine (NAG) have offered us week of June. Un l then; we’ll catch you in the a few subscrip ons to give to our members every forums! month un l December. We’ll dream up crea ve ways of determining what hoops you guys would have Take care, to jump through in order to get them, but it’ll be Len du Randt fun. This offer unfortunately only extends to South len@mov-e.co.za Africans at the moment, but we’re trying to see if it’s possible to treat our overseas readers as well. To win it this month, simply sign up if you haven’t already.
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Rumour has it... Angel el of the Skies
MIB III
The Smurfs Katy Perry is set to play Smurfe e in the 2011 movie, The Smurfs. Other cast members will include George Lopez, Neil Patrick Harris, Fred Armisen, and Jonathan Winters.
A local South African produc on company, DS Films, is currently in the works on a new film set in the skies over Europe during the last months of World War 2.
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the third instalment of the Men in Black franchise.
The film has been in development for over a year now and is set to begin principal photography in late May. The film’s story follows a South African pilot who serves with the Royal Air Force. More info in our next issue.
The new movie will hit the 3D screens and is wri en by Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder).
The Lion of Judah
Spider-Man 4
Shrek Forever A er
It seems that SpiderMan 4 has been canned because Sam Raimi pulled out. Rumour has it that Sony is reboo ng the en re franchise and will send Peter Parker back to high school when the new movie (totally new cast and crew) hits the big screen in 2012.
Rumpels ltskin (Walt Dohrn) lays one on Shrek (Mike Myers) by tricking him out of ever exis ng. Shrek finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Ever A er. In this universe, Donkey is an intellectual, Puss is fat and lazy, and Fiona can't stand Shrek. Only by sharing "True love's first kiss" with Fiona by the sunrise of the next day can the true meline be restored, but the determined Rumpels ltskin has built an army of witches to stop Shrek.
Raja Gosnell (Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Scooby-Doo) directs the movie which started produc on in April and is scheduled to hit theatres in July or August, 2011.
Character Ma ers, a South African anima on studio created South Africa's first 3D anima on movie set to hit our big screens before the end of the year. This is a milestone for our country's crea ve talents and we'll be sure to bring you more informa on about the Lion of Judah in our next issue.
SPOTLIGHT: Be the first to test drive Adobe Source The versa le Swiss Army knife for crea ves Johannesburg – 12 April 2010 – Adobe Africa has launched a new tool to help the local crea ve community gain quicker and easier access to user, product and promo onal informa on. Dubbed Adobe Source, this Air-based desktop tool was developed specifically for Adobe Africa to be the company’s primary source of communica on going forward. “Adobe Africa is minimising the volume of unsolicited e-mail arriving in our customers’ inboxes; they are already inundated with work e-mail and marke ng communica ons from various other organisa ons. It is for this reason that we developed Adobe Source, an applica on that empowers users and customers to choose when they want to interact with Adobe and its solu ons directly on their desktops,” says Leonard Rabotapi, Adobe marke ng manager for Africa. Adobe is con nuously searching for innova ve ways to reach out to its users and develop a stronger community built on knowledge, understanding and collabora on, which is what Adobe Source allows the company to achieve. The main driver behind Adobe Source is to aggregate as much informa on around the tools that the crea ve industry relies on and make this available on people’s desktops in a highly structured way. “Adobe Source streamlines and centralises Adobe’s online news feeds,” says Dinesh Copoosamy, Banzai Web Solu ons head of development. “The downloadable tool is therefore a single source of informa on about Adobe promo ons, events, training, user groups, as well as data relevant to the web, video and print communi es.” The applica on has been developed using Adobe Flex and Air, with a Drupal backend used to aggregate and moderate informa on.
Download the Adobe Source desktop tool at www.adobesource.co.za Proudly sponsored by Awesome Web Development - www.awd.za.net
wimpie224@yahoo.com
Celeb Profile Age: 27 From: Linden Johannesburg Occupa on: Directs Inserts, Corporate Films, Music Videos and Writes Screenplays Eye Colour: Green/Blue Hair: Blonde Favourite food: Braaivleis and Penne Pasta with Basil Pesto Hobbies: Photography, Movies, Comedy, Running, Cooking Famous For: Spaarwiel, Andre Metstrepie, Bakgat! (1st AD), All Gold Ad
Rising Star
.MOV-e interviews Morné du Toit
It’s
always a great opportunity speaking to some of our future local stars. This month we were fortunate enough to get hold of Morné du Toit, aspirant Writer, Director and occasionally Actor. Most of you will recognise him from the All Gold
tomato sauce commercial with the infamous line: “Thirty ssssshix”. This is not all he has been up to since then and he gladly shares some juicy detail with us... 6
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As a film maker, how did you get into the industry? Did you know anybody already in the industry? No. Initially I knew a photographer through my sister in law. I assisted him a few times and eventually went to film school. Throughout film school I met more people, in school and in the industry, when I started off working as a runner and p.a. When did you realise you want to go into the entertainment business? I remember telling a grade three teacher that I want to become a camera man one day. In high school I discovered that I had the natural ability to entertain people. What’s your advice on breaking into the movie industry? Would you say that formal studies are essential? No, I guess in this business there are no rules. It depends on the individual. If you have a great enough passion for movies/entertainment, reading up about stuff and teaching yourself, comes naturally. However film school/formal studies does set a platform for like-minded aspiring film makers to connect, inspire and challenge one another. It also depends what you want to specialize in, most of the time 1st year film school students don’t know yet.
Do you need an agent to be able to find work? If you are an actor, yes it helps a lot. The agents get all the briefs that are sent out to the industry. What are your views on the future of the South African Entertainment industry? Thinking of where it (the entertainment industry) is and where it is going, excites me tremendously. I get really happy for local writers, film makers, musicians and performer’s who come up with original concepts and find a way to sell commercially. When those projects do well, I do feel that they don’t always get the recognition and praise that they deserve, be it Kurt Darren, Athol Fugard or Leon Schuster. It was successful, because they did something right, and we need to always acknowledge and learn from that. We are not Hollywood yet, and the few that are successful, are paving the way for the rest. Also, what’s your opinion about the Afrikaans movie market? It is a very loyal market, if you give the audience what they want, and what you said you would give them in the trailer/synopsis, then they will support your product and tell people about it, as simple as that. I think it is key to know exactly who your target audience is, and what genre your story falls under. Based on that, stick to the rules of the genre, try to have an original concept, but do not try to be
too clever and unique with the way you translate the story. If it is too alien in comparison with what your target audience’s preconceived ideas of that specific genre is, then they will be disappointed and “diss” your film. How do you go about preparing to direct a movie (Short or Feature)? I have only directed short films, and worked as AD on feature films. I guess lots and lots of hard work, planning and making sure that you have a team who believes in your vision for the film. I have learned that the smaller your budget is, the more effort you need to put in the planning/preproduction process. What do you enjoy most about film making? The process is very interesting. An idea becomes a story that is usually written down by someone. That story has characters who speak lines/dialogue on a piece of paper, the script. Actors get chosen to portray those fictional characters and rehearse, recite and perform the lines/scenes in the script. Then an entire production team gets put together, to create the space where the story plays out, and a camera captures it all. Eventually an editor puts it all together with special grades, transitions, graphics and sound design. You look back at what was once just an idea and you see the magic. You also act from time to time. Please tell us how much different it is from being behind the camera? Much different. Although I am at a very early stage in my career in front and behind the camera, I have learnt that as an actor you do your home work by reading the script and you make sure that you understand where the story is going, learn the lines, think of your character. Then you pitch up on call time and leave the rest to the directors and producers. I find being behind the camera, to be very challenging and fulfilling. Acting and directing is the same but different. As a director you need to understand actors and their craft. As an actor you need to understand and respect all the things that
a director/producer needs to think of and consider. The better prepared you are, the happier he/she will be with you. What part of acting is the most challenging to you? Crying. I have never been able to do that. Even though I do enjoy serious roles, I think I am trying too hard. My strength as an actor is comedy. I became good at it when I stopped trying too hard to perform. How do you find it working with older, veteran actors as a director and also actor? Refreshing, because they are usually very laid back, humble and a pleasure to work with. Who’s your favourite Director, Actor and Actress? Don’t really have one favorite, there are so many. Directors: Coen brothers, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Mann, Darren Aronofski, Steven Soderbergh. Actor/Actress: Sean Penn, Kate Winslet. Favourite Movie? Why? There are too many. Some of my favorite films are: Matrix (first one), The Big Labowski, and The Shining. I guess because they are all films that inspire me. What new projects are you working on now? At the moment we are waiting for finance to make “Lucky’s Numbers”, a romantic comedy about a kasi boy from Soweto, who is cursed with bad luck by a Sangoma, and then wins the lotto. Lucky’s Numbers was my first feature length script, and I wrote it with Fidel Namisi from Coalstove Pictures. Currently I am in the early stages of writing another feature film, which I am not allowed to talk about. What would be your dream project? The script that I am not allowed to talk about, is one of my dream projects. If you are interested in using Morné for your own production, mail your proposal and contact details to info@mov-e.co.za and we will pass it on to him for you. 8
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We have a quick interview with two of the most notorious characters in the film:
“Karate Kallie” Quickly tell our readers where you are from. Mike: I come from Pretoria West. Was living on a plot for 24 years, just more West. Frits: I live on the proper side of the railway... Also Pretoria West, but the other side you know!
What are you currently busy with? Mike: Pu ng a turbo on my Bakkie to save lives faster. Frits: Pu ng a new chain and turbo sprockets on my bicycle to outrun my tjommies.
Do you have a love interest?
“That smell is not my skidmark...”
Mike: Of course I’m interested... Frits: The person in my mirror.
What is your favourite colour? Mike: Red, the colour of blood and passion. Frits: Purple
What is your favourite meal? Mike: Braai broodjies. broodjies Except when we have meat, then it will be Braai vleis. v Frits: Tuna with peanut pean bu er.
What is your favouri favourite movie? Mike: ‘Like Mike’ Frits: ‘Bakgat’ Proudly sponsored by Awesome Web Development - www.awd.za.net
Who is your favourite band/musician? Mik Mike Mike: M & the Mechanics Frits: Jurie Ju Els
Do you have any ter ary qualifica ons? Mike: Backyard B mechanic and panel bea ng, but for thos those you only need secondary qualifica ons... which I don’t have. Frits: No N and not interested. First trying to get through this high school thing.
What are the best quali es a friend of yours should possess? Mike: He should be friends with the police. Frits: He should keep his mouth closed and let me do the talking.
What was the heaviest your school case ever weighed? Mike: About 2kg’s with my size 52 spanner in it. Frits: Not sure, my tjommie carries it.
What is your favourite movie quota on? Mike: “Ek ken die moves!” Frits: “Wil jy hê ek moet jou lippe af skeur?”
What is your mo o in life? Mike: If there are flashing red lights, help. If there are flashing blue lights, double clutch and get the hell out of there! Frits: A bu er knife is sharper than a spoon...
What are your future plans? Mike: I want my own tow-truck fleet and a girl that can cook well. Frits: To grow a small moustache and dominate the world.
“I smaak these ‘aviators’ stukkend...”
www.karatekallie.co.za
AKHALSDANS
J
Oscar nominated director Darrell Roodt’s new Afrikaans film, Jakhalsdans, is set to be a highlight for any avid movie buff. It is fresh on cinema and is already pulling at the heart strings of many cinema goers. The story is set, and was also filmed, in the picturesque Loxton, situated in the Northern Cape. Popular local talent Theuns Jordaan and Elizma Theron star in the lead roles and the screenplay is wri en by the well-known, crime novelist, Deon Meyer. The beau ful Chris na Storm and mul talented Neil Sandilands can also be seen together with newcomers, Janke Bruwer and Chris Majiedt. “This film is an Afrikaans Drama in the same meless tradi onal vein as films like Paljas (1998), Die Storie van Klara Viljee (1992) and Nag van die Negen ende (1992)” says Roodt. “I have always been in love with the outstretched landscapes of the Karoo. Jakhalsdans was a wonderful opportunity to work with stars like Theuns and Elizma to create a roman c story which is s ll truly South African.”
The local lo “liedjieboer-troebadoer” David Le Fleur suggests they should host a music (Neil Sandilands) Sa fes val to raise the funds. Mara has to devise a plan all the country’s top ar sts to perform in to convince conv Loxton to be able to stand a chance of a rac ng any crowds. What Mara doesn’t realise is that her rude neighbour is in fact the popular singer-composer Ruan Landman (Theuns Jordaan). He moved to Loxton to sidestep the blinding light of fame from people who want to enrich themselves by riding on the back of his talents. Mia gradually unravels Ruan’s spark and crea vity so that he starts wri ng songs again, but a series misunderstandings and conflict between Mara and him leads to problems. The two of them first have to learn valuable life lessons before they can save the school and truly no ce each other. The idea for the script was sparked when Meyer a ended a music fes val in Bloemfontein in 2005, where Valiant Swart, Koos Kombuis, Dawid Kramer, Gert Vlok Nel and Theuns Jordaan performed. “All of them had such totally different styles and together they were phenomenal.” says Meyer. “I knew there had to be a way to capture this experience story wise and in my own way I started wri ng the tale a er returning to Cape Town. I was convinced from the start that this ought to be a screenplay, rather than a short story or a novel.” The film also proudly introduces brand new music by Theuns Jordaan. His claim to fame was his interpreta ons of old Afrikaans songs as well as his own original numbers. Jakhalsdans is produced by Anton Ernst who also made films like Number 10 with Colin Moss and Mandoza, Lullaby and Surviving Evil.
Jakhalsdans revolves around the story of a teacher, Mara Malan (Elizma Theron), who spends her last savings to buy a house in Loxton, so that she can raise her 5-year old daughter, Mia (Janke Bruwer) in a safe and friendly environment. Shortly a er their arrival in the small town, she discovers that the Primary school will be closed down within three weeks, unless she can raise the R500 000 needed to save the school. 12 Proudly sponsored by Awesome Web Development - www.awd.za.net
Marguele e Louw shares the details of her debut film
Henley-on-Klip
Synopsis: “Henley-on-Klip” is a fic onal film based
The idea: Director and associate producer,
on the true events of the 1970 bus/train accident that happened a er a school bus stalled on the train tracks in Henley-on-Klip, a small town in the Vaal Triangle. It tells the story of South African child hero, Johan le Roux. Johan, a matric pupil, lost his life a er saving two of his fellow pupils’ lives by pushing them out of the bus before the train hit it – too late to save his own life. In all, 23 Kids lost their lives that day and the movie looks at five different families that were closely involved, including the family of Dawie Louw – Johan le Roux’s best friend. Johan le Roux received the “Wolraad Woltemade” award posthumously for child bravery in South Africa and this is a forgo en story that needs to be told for people to believe in heroes again. Ul mately the film tells the true story about friendship, a South African community standing together through an extremely trauma c event and how every second in life counts – because everything can change in an instant.
Marguele e Louw had the vision of bringing this unique story together in a fic onal version of the events that took place on and around 28 January 1970. She was born and raised near Henley-on-Klip and was therefore very familiar with this tragic but inspira onal story. Her own parents were in the high school at the me of the accident and her father was Johan le Roux’s best friend. A er extensive research on the internet, she found that the events of that horrific day will soon be a forgo en part of South Africa’s history, as there was scant informa on to be found. She then decided to make a film to commemorate the vic ms and to ensure that the tragedy will not be forgo en.
The crew: “Henley-on-Klip” is an independent film by L3 Produc ons CC. The director and one of the associate producers of the film, Marguele e Louw, had the original vision for the project. She has extended experience in the South African television industry. Marguele e is originally from Meyerton, a neighbouring town of Henleyon-Klip and thus approached the project with the utmost respect and sensi vity. The script was wri en by professional actress and script writer, Marelize Engelbrecht. The execu ve producer, Phyllis Dannhauser, has more than twenty years experience in the film industry and has recently been nominated to serve on the board of the SABC. The other two associate producers are Hannes Loock and Heinrich F Löhrke. The project also tried to involve as many young filmmakers as possible. The technical crew consisted mainly of film students and young industry filmmakers who were willing to work on weekends over a period of approximately four months. The reason was to give them the opportunity to be involved in the making of a film and thereby learn and at the same me get exposure for their work. The film is shot in Afrikaans with English sub- tles and hopefully this project will therefore inspire young filmmakers to tell their own stories in their own languages.
The process: Marelize Engelbrecht (writer and cas ng director), Marguele e Louw and Phyllis Dannhauser (execu ve producer) did comprehensive research on the events of that day through newspaper ar cles, police reports, etc. It was decided to keep everything in the film as factually correct as possible. They got hold of some of the survivors as well as Johan le Roux’s family and conducted detailed interviews with them. The story was then formed around the families that they got in touch with. Pre-produc on was done over a period of six months and a er that the produc on phase started. The project is currently in postproduc on and the independent première of the film was held on 28 January 2010, exactly 40 years a er the accident happened. A er the première the plan is to send the film to various film fes vals across the globe and hopefully also broadcast it on na onal television.
Funding: This film was made on a very small budget and the majority of the funding came from the community where the accident happened. A lot of volunteers offered their services and exper se at no cost. The cast: We were fortunate to work with a brilliant cast. A few newcomers will be introduced, giving young actors the chance to show South Africa what they have to offer. We are also honoured that some of South Africa’s most talented actors graced us with their presence on set – actors like Carel Trichardt and Chris van Niekerk, to name just a few.
Henley-
“Our industry is small, but it is growing incredible speed. I think that although t not that many opportunities, we have th to create them ourselves! Never give up get somewhere!�
on-Klip
g at an there are he room p,, you will
.MOV-e: Would you mind briefly telling our readers what the story is about?
.MOV-e: Describe making this movie from the preproduc on phase to the end product.
Marguele e: "Henley-on-Klip" is a fic onal film based on the true events of the 1970 bus/train accident that took place a er a school bus stalled on the train tracks trac tr acks ac ks nea n earr He ea Henl nley nl ey-o ey -o onn-K Klip Klip Kl p, a small smal sm all town al town in in near Henley-on-Klip, thee Vaa th V Vaal aal Triangle. Tri riaangl gle. gl e 23 e. 23 school sccho hool ol kids kid kid idss died e in this tragic eve ev event, ent, iincluding en ncluding nclu lu u Joh Johan oh han le le Roux. R ux Ro ux.. Johan, Joh Jo han, a matric pupi pu pupil, pil,, saved pi sav aved aved e the lives liv ivess off two iv tw wo kids, kids dss, before beefore jumping outt of the ou thee bus, bus us, too o late l te to la o save s ve his sa h own own life. Johan was awarde awarded d d the he wolraad wo o woltemade woltemad ad de award awar aw ard ar d for for story bravery. The film revolves revvolves around thee st torry of Johan Joh ohan oh an and his two best friends. frieends.
Marguele e: It was a very diďŹƒcult process to gather accurate informa on about the happenings of that day, as there was nothing available on the internet. Luckily Lu uckkili y we got got hold hol h old ol d of Johan Joh Joh ohan an le le Roux's family, as well ass some off the th he survivors, he sur sur urvi vivo vo ors rs, who w o supplied wh supp su upp p lied us us with w th wi h a lot ot off photos, news paper ar cles e and police reports. They Th hey also told us there personal perrsonal stories and we built the personal th he script around these pe erso onal memories. The whole whol wh o e script ol scri sc ript p was done on n true tru ue accounts of people ngg the iinvolved. nvo volv lveed. lv ed We started star arted ted shoo sho hoo o n the film in in August Augu g st 2009 on had work 20 009 9o n weekends, week we eken ek end en ds, ass most ds, mos mos ost off the the crew cre rew w ha h ad d to ow orkk or during were du uring the week. 80% of the t e scenes th scen enes es wer w eree sh er shot ot on on loca lo oca on in Henley-on-Klip p and and Meyerton. We used d the th he original High school and and d Primary school as well weell most were as the the graveyard gra rave veya ve yard where m ya ost of the children wer re on and buried. Post stt produc pro pro rodu ducc o du n started sttar arte ted te d in November November an nd we only had 3 months to complete compllete lete the the edit, edi ditt, as as we wanted to have a press screening on 28 January 2010, exactly 40 years a er the accident happened. This was held at Atlas Studios.
.MOV-e: racted .M MOV OV-e -ee: What W at a ra Wh ract cted ct ed d yyou ou to to telling teellllin ng th this is par ccular ular ul ar ssto story? tory ry?? Marguele e: I was b born orrn and raised in in Meyerton, Henley-on-Klip 5km from Henley-on n-K -Kllip and knew aabout bout this story le Roux's since I was very young. youn ng My dad was ng. as Johan J friend best fri rien end d and the story sttoryy hass therefore t eref th erref efore always been veryy near neaar to ne to my heart. hea eart rt. Th This is a forgo en part of South Africa's history, a story that had to be told, not only for people to remember, but also to commemorate the 23 kids that died, the survivors and d the th ffriends i d and d families f ili off allll involved. i l d
.MOV-e: What type of camera equipment did you use to shoot Henley-on-Klip? Marguele e: We had no budget for this movie and
therefore had to shoot on DV Cam. The movie was edited on Final Cut Pro.
.MOV-e: How long did it take to produce the film from concep on to comple on? Marguele e: The official research started in November 2008 and the film was finished in January 2010, so I would say just over a year.
in the loca ons, cars, wardrobe, etc. To do all this with absolutely no budget, was quite challenging!
.MOV-e: What did you enjoy the most while filming Henley-on-Klip? Marguele e: Working with amazing people who were all eager to learn and help where they could - not because they had to, but because they have a passion for film and incredible stories!
.MOV-e: Do you have any formal qualifica ons in film making? Marguele e: I have an honours degree in film and television (Audiovisual communica on), from the University of Johannesburg.
.MOV-e: What former film experience do you have? Marguele e: This was myy debut film. Prior to g Henley-on-Klip, I had a year's experience as produc on secretary at Binnelanders from 20072008 and a er that I became a prac cal lecturer in film and television produc on at the University Un niv iveerrrsi sityy of sity of Johannesburg. Joha Jo hann ha nnes nn esbu es burg bu rgg.
.MOV-e: What are the advantages and disadvantages (if any) of being a female director in this industry? Marguele e: I don't think in this day and age that your sex plays that big a role in your success. I believe that anyone with passion and confidence will make it!
.MOV-e: What is the average budget for a film of this this ccalibre? alib al ibre ib re?? re Marguele e: Easilyy more re than thaan R 100 100 10 0 000, 00 but but as as men oned before, we h very had a ver e y small budget budg dget dg et to to work with.
.MOV-e: What interested .M M d you yo ou into pursuing direc dire reec ng as opposed to ac ng? ng? Marguele Marg Ma rgue rg uele ue le e: I had had been bee b een ee n ac ng since si since in I was very young yo oung un n and I decided to pursue purrsu s e something different that thaat I was always interested d in n and where I could create creaatee ac ng parts that I love. lovve. I think a good director dire rect ctor ct or should shou uld d not only have technical techniical icall knowledge, kkno nowl no wled wl edge ed ge,, but ge but also allso some some kind kin ind d of ac ac ng ng ability abilililit ab ityy in order it order d to understand the characters and how to work with the actors.
.MOV-e: How did yyou about acquiring ou go ab bout ac cqu uiring funds for the film?
.MOV-e: What difficul es were you faced with during the produc on?
.MOV-e: How did you go about abo a bo out finding ndi n ding ng the the required rreq equired cast & crew?
Marguele e: The main difficulty was the fact that we had absolutely no money to create this vision. Being a film set in 1970, we had to recreate the era
Marguele e: We held formal cas ngs for the actors. Most of the crew were current or former fi lm film students who volunteered to be a part of the film.
Marguele Marg Ma rgue rg uele ue le e: The The most mos ostt of the the money mon o eyy came cam cam amee from from the thee community and people peop ople le involved. iinv nvol ollve ved d. Most d. Mosst of o the the crew cre r w and actors were vo volunteers which vol lunteers whi hich hi c helped hel elpe ped pe d this thiis th is issue i a lot.
This film was therefore created by young filmmakers who have a passion to tell South African stories and be a part of an amazing industry.
.MOV-e: When and where will the film be showing?
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Marguele e: We are currently in nego a ons with several distribu on companies. Watch this space!
.MOV-e: Do you have plans on distribu ng the movie to overseas markets? Marguele e: Not currently, but most probably later on in the year.
* Colour Correc on * Muzzle Flashes * Op cs * Par cles * Green/Blue Screen Keying * Much more!
.MOV-e: What are your views on crea ng movies in South Africa? Marguele e: Our industry is small, but it is growing at an incredible speed. I think that although there are not that many opportuni es, we have the room to create them ourselves! Never give up, you will get somewhere!
.MOV-e: What future projects are you planning? Marguele e: I am planning on doing a short film during this year and will be star ng a very exci ng feature (another true story) at the start of 2011.
.MOV-e: What advice can you give any aspiring directors? Marguele e: We have amazing talent and touching stories, we should just do it - stand up, grab a camera and shoot! No ma er the challenges, if you believe in your movie, the people will!
Support Marguelette and her movie by joining the Henley-on-Klip Facebook Group and by keeping an eye on the release date so that you can watch it on the big screen.
Contact len@adforge.co.za for more information
MovieSTAKES 10 Tips for avoiding novice mistakes
misTAKE 1) Insufficient planning (pre-produc on phase) As the saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Taking the me to properly plan every aspect of your movie could save you both me and money. misTAKE 2) Not using proper equipment Too many first- me movie makers believe that they can build a sellable movie with nothing more than a cheap camera. This could turn out to be a costly mistake. misTAKE 3) Using family and friends as actors If you’re making a movie that requires proper produc on value, for example, selling it or sending it to film fes vals, it would be wise to use actors with a certain degree of skill. Although friends and family are more cost-effec ve and easily accessible, it could in the long run cost you me (mul ple takes) and could portray a good story/characters as amateurish. Although there are excep ons, we advise that you steer clear of using non-actors for your produc ons. misTAKE 4) Assuming that you could make a feature film at virtually no expense Proper equipment, petrol, loca on, and catering are but some of the unexpected expenses that you could incur while making a movie. misTAKE 5) Flimsy Catering Don’t expect a posi ve a tude from your cast and crew if you don’t feed them properly. Only feeding them hotdogs for five days in a row would certainly lead to disgruntled team members. Healthy and proper food will ensure that they give you their best performances. misTAKE 6) Assuming that everyone is just as passionate about the project as you are While you might think that you have the next Oscar-winning idea, others might not see it quite as vivid as you do. This could lead to a lack of enthusiasm and the necessary support that you might need to make a success of your project. misTAKE 7) Not having a script As obvious as this point might seem, there are a lot of novice film makers that believe they can create acceptable material without the use of a script. Although improvisa on can be a great and efficient novelty, it’s not something to rely on to sustain an en re produc on. A structured script is vital to any film, regardless of budget. misTAKE 8) Not considering safety Safety is usually neglected by amateur movie makers. On a set clu ered with equipment and cables, it’s easy for an accident to occur that could lead to injury or even death. Be sensible and always consider safety first. misTAKE 9) Legal and Logis cal implica ons Never assume that you can just shoot at any loca on without proper consent, for example inside a shopping mall or cemetery. When shoo ng people or homes, you always need to acquire wri en permission to use the footage. Also ensure that you have contracts in place with your cast and crew to protect you against people walking out in the middle of your produc on. In short, have everything in wri ng. As discussed in the beginning, sufficient planning will ensure that you have all the necessary paperwork in place before you begin produc on. misTAKE 10) “Let’s fix it in Post!” It is a very common mistake for film makers to believe that they could fix small technical issues during the edi ng phase. This could be anything from removing the noise of an airplane over dialogue to trying to turn a night shot into a day shot with basic colour correc on. Rather get it clean, crisp, and clear on set. This would avoid the proverbial pulling out your hair scenario later. Proudly sponsored by Awesome Web Development - www.awd.za.net
20
The 5D MarkII is probably one of the most versatile DSLR’s yet. It’s a stills camera, with an edge, especially when you’re a filmmaker and want to shoot a movie...
EOS 5D MARK 2
videographers will opt for the Canon L series EF lenses, or the equivelent of other manufacturers , the constant battle by using an adapter. Prime lens is the answer. between shooting on film and shooting on a digital Although the onboard sound is probably not on format is increasing at a rapid rate. A short while ago, there was still no real comparison between par with a proper Camcorder, the pictures will the two. Everyone knew that film ultimately gave beat almost anything else on digital. One of the the best picture, not even mentioning all the main concerns though, is the focus. Because of other technicalities, especially when going onto the huge image sensor, keeping up with focus cinema, and that was where the quarrel stopped. becomes quite a difficult task to achieve even for In the meantime, the digital formats have been a fairly adequate operator. There is thus a fare creeping up in the market to a point where many amount of discipline and skill that comes along more things could now be considered than just with working effectively on the 5D MII almost as image quality. The margin between quality is if you working on a film camera again. becoming less and less. Another drawback is the fact that the 5D MII shoots at 30p and not at 24 or 25p like its younger Costs are now one of the main issues regarding this battle. Some will argue that film would brother the 7D. The 7D has a slightly smaller still work out cheaper in the long run, but the sensor, but is a tough contender to the 5D. We advancements in the digital age gave birth to will discuss the 7D in a later issue and even do a new generation of filmmakers. It is now so a side by side comparison. For now, be sure much easier and more cost effective to get your that the 5D is not just the big brother for nothing. project of the ground. The unfortunate thing is Also, with the latest firmware updates, the 30p that this alone still doesn’t render you a good, issue has been resolved and it is now capable of professional filmmaker, and a lot of veterans will shooting in 24 and 25p modes, thus giving it the agree, but facts are facts and technology is not edge again. waiting on us. Companies and individuals alike are All the main camera manufacturers are keeping experimenting with all kinds of adapters and tools up to this changeover and this is where Canon to make the D5 more accessible and professional has set a new benchmark. In the form of a stills to work with. A company called Redrock Micro camera, called the EOS 5D Mark2. Now the 5D has probably got some of the is quite unique in the video world. It can record full HD video at 1920 x 1080 resolution with the Far Left: 5D M II with 24-105mm Lens same full frame, 35mm sensor it uses for photos. This is much bigger than any other video camera Bottom: 5D M II with on the market. It makes the 5D very attractive to Redrock cinema style bundle adapter. any filmmaker. The image is crisp, superb in low light conditions and is capable of achieving, with the right lens, a tremendous shallow depth of field. Don’t forget, the still imageries are also extremely good, which it is actually designed for, but for arguments sake we’ll only tackle the video functionality in this issue. It also means that all those lovely full frame lenses can now be used to their full potential.
Now
It might be regarded as a slight restriction not being able to use normal EF-S lenses, but most Proudly sponsored by Awesome Web Development - www.awd.za.net
most advanced and versatile adapter kits on the market. Redrock accessories bring the needed cinema form factor, support, and features to video DSLRs like the 5D. Filmmakers are always trying to achieve that professional cinema look in their productions. The 5D is an amazing piece of equipment, well engineered and it costs a fraction of the price other technically equal counterparts would. When handled properly and with the right knowledge you’ll be well on your way creating a low budget blockbuster look and feel film. It can be intimidating to some, but one should keep up with the times and the D5 is surely setting a milestone in our industry.
SPEC SHEET • 36 x 24 mm 21 megapixel CMOS sensor • Sensor dust reduction by vibration of filter • 3:2 aspect ratio • ISO 100 - 6400 calibrated range, ISO 50 25600 expansion • 3.9 frames per second continuous shooting • DIGIC 4 processor • 98% coverage viewfinder (0.71x magnification) • 3.0” 920,000 dot LCD monitor with ‘Clear View’ cover / coatings, 170° viewing angle • Live view with three mode autofocus (including face detection)
Top: 5D M II with Redrock cinema style bundle adapter seen from the rear. Bottom: Canon’s 7D with a Panavision Primo Zoom lens
• Movie recording: 1920 x 1080 (16:9) up to 12 mins (Quicktime 1080p H.264; 38.6 Mbits/sec) 640 x 480 (4:3) up to 24 mins (Quicktime 480p H.264; 17.3 Mbits/sec) Max file size 4 GB Quicktime MOV format (H.264 video, PCM sound) 30 fps • HDMI and standard composite (AV) video out • IrPort (supports IR remote shutter release using optional RC1 / RC5 controllers) • Compact Flash Type I or II (inc. FAT32) UDMA CompactFlash support • New 1800 mAh battery with improved battery information / logging • New optional WFT-E4 WiFi / LAN / USB vertical grip
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Reader Review
Elize Pienaar joins Steve Carell and Tina Fey on their
DATE NIGHT I decided to watch this movie as I was in the mood for light banter. Nothing too deep, sorrowful or scary. I just wanted to while away my me with a movie in which I could laugh a bit and not think too hard. For this purpose, Date Night was perfect. Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire (Tina Fey) Forster are credible and good together, as a married couple in a rut. They don’t hate each other and don’t fight, but the spark is gone. They try to make me for each other by having a date night every week. They go out and spend some me together—but even this is becoming mundane.
When their friends announce that they're separa ng because all they have become are “excellent roommates”, Phil feels that he and Claire could be going down that road too. So when the next date night comes around, both, a er some soul searching, decide to rekindle the romance between them. On this par cular date night, Phil decides to do something different as he is blown away by an all dressed up and sexy Claire. He takes her to a trendy Manha an restaurant, but because he didn’t make reserva ons (as it was a spur-of-the-moment decision), they end up wai ng for a table.
Phil decides to take a table reserved for a no-show couple, the Tripplehorns. Halfway through their meal, they are approached by two goons named Collins (Common) and Armstrong (Jimmi Simpson), who ques on them about a flash drive they believe Phil and Claire stole from mobster boss Joe Mile o (Ray Lio a). Phil and Claire try to explain that they are not the Tripplehorns, but the two men threaten them at gunpoint. They escape, and spend the rest of the night trying to prove their innocence.
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The Good The fact that they are mature and although both are a rac ve, neither are drop-dead gorgeous “20-somethings”, to ng around guns and other weapons. Their characters develop well, and I loved the scene when they sat back a li le while from all the mayhem, and talked about their rela onship, their feelings for each other and where they wanted their marriage to go. Phil declared sincerely that he would do it again, the marriage thing, with her and the kids, if he had a choice. The movie does have its funny moments. In the beginning, where Claire gets ready for bed and takes out her mouth guard with some drool following, you go “ugh, I can understand why the romance is dead!” At another scene, at the boathouse where the two escape in a boat, you expect the boat to roar away as it always does in movies. But this one is slow, as in “roman c slow”, and the unexpectedness of it drew a few chuckles from the viewers. They were both allowed to improvise and veer away from the script on occasion as the closing credit ou akes confirm; which gave it the spark this film would have lacked otherwise. The film allows Carell and Fey to take what they do best, and apply it to the outrageous concept that is the script.
The Bad The scene where Phil barfs in the street put me off, I didn’t find it funny, apt or even useful.
Maybe it was supposed to give the viewer insight into his character, but I didn’t care about it. Some people will find the car chase scene funny, it certainly is different, but I was somewhat bored by it. Always a car chase; the girl always tro ng around in her high heels. At least their hair looked suitably messed up most of the me, although the dirty marks on her arms and face weren’t always consistent. The pole-dancing scene was good, and although some people will find it very funny, it was a bit crude and one of the reasons why this movie carries an age restric on of 13. Only the part where they imitated two robots were, to me, well done. I don’t really know the director, Shawn Levy, as I’m not into his kind of movies. But in Date Night, his direc on is brisk and at a fast pace, but never too fast, and the cinematography and camera work, done by Dean Semler, is great. The edi ng is smooth enough.
SCORE:
It’s not a movie about conspiracies and cover-ups and serious criminals; it’s about a middle-aged married couple who need a li le excitement in their lives, and find more than they bargained for. And although it’s illogical and clichéd most of the me, it’s comfortable and goodnatured fun (even the bad guys aren’t too menacing). Accept the film at this level, and you will enjoy it. It gets the job done. My final verdict on Date Night is, it’s a light-hearted roman c comedy, but doesn't have enough substance to sa sfy more serious movie goers. But s ll, I’m glad I decided to see it for exactly that reason, as it gave me something to think about: why I should some mes go to the cinema just to let my hair down and relax and enjoy what I’m seeing without being too par cular or cri cal; and also the way taste differs, and how that’s not such a bad thing a er all.
Would I rent or buy the DVD? No. Probably not.
71%
Edi ng: 7 Character Development: 7 Cinematography (Camera work) & ligh ng: 8 Direc ng: 7 Ac ng: 7 Set Design/Costumes: 7 Script: 6 Story: 6 Pay off: 8 Sound: 8 26
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THE
ELU
Throughout the years, movie makers have learned
the hard way what works with audiences, and what doesn’t. Many have wri en books and helped develop courses so that those following down the path that they hacked out by making many mistakes do not have to stumble over the same obstacles that they did. These masters have created ground rules that every movie maker should consider when star ng out; rules that will save me, money, frustra on, and reputa ons. One such rule is the 180 degree rule, also known as the ‘crossing the line rule’ or ‘ac on axis’. It’s a very simple rule to follow, but just as easy to break if one is not paying close a en on. The result is a jarring effect on the audience and although they can’t outright say what’s wrong, something just feels out of place. This pulls them out of the story and robs the viewer of the ul mate experience you worked so hard to create.
The basic gist of the rule implies that if you’re filming two people, you need to keep the camera on one par cular side of them. Imagine a line between the two characters. Cu ng the camera over the line to the other side unse les the mind; a big no-no when trying to pull your viewer in your world.
It doesn’t ma er whether your angles are from the front or over the shoulder. The only thing that ma ers is that you don’t cross the line. You can move the camera around the actors to the other side of the line, but once on that side, you can’t cut back to the original angles. All new angles have to be from the side that you moved over to, or you’d risk crossing the line again. This becomes more complicated as you add more characters to a scene. Of course, in art, rules are made to be broken; but only if you have mastered the basics. One can break this rule if you have a good grip of its founda on. An example of how one could break this rule is with a fight scene. If, for example, you have a husband and wife quarrelling, and the husband starts off in defense, you can keep the fight on one side of the line. When the wife slips something that puts her in the wrong and the husband all of a sudden gains the edge, you can jump the line to represent the power shi . The trick is to do this so subtly that the eye won’t pick up on it. Also consider background objects that are now suddenly in the scene that wasn’t there from the previous angle. The slightest change to the eye can undo hours of hard work. If you’re s ll star ng out, stay safe. And remember kids: Don’t cross the line!
Invisible line between two characters
DO NOT CROSS!
Incorrect: Crossing the line
Correct: Staying on the same side of the line
Great Expectations turns 4!
W
e went to the set of E-TV’s hit talk show, Great Expecta ons for its 4th Birthday and were blown away at the complexi es of a live broadcast show. The ceiling was li ered with lights and the cameras with the Teleprompters were absolutely state of the art. While watching the broadcast; hundreds of ques ons were raised regarding the hardware, so ware, and other technical mechanics of live television. Who controlled the camera angles? What did they use to create the live graphics, for example the names on the screen? What cameras did they use?
What happens if something goes wrong on-air, for example a caller that lets out an accidental swear word? Some of our readers might know the answers to these ques ons, but most readers probably won’t. In order to sa sfy our own curiosity, expect and in-depth ar cle about live broadcas ng in a future issue. Un l then, we wish Great Expecta ons a happy 4th Birthday and hope that the show will be just as popular in its tenth year.
Lights galore! Quite a sight to behold.
Manoeuvring the Boom Mike through all the ceiling lights is more tricky than one might think
Sam Cowen and Philicity Reeken.
Sam Cowen thanks her team for their hard work and efforts over the last four years.
Classics Case study nr. 1
“My dad’s stillcamera was broken, so I asked the scoutmaster if I could tell a story with my father’s movie camera. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western. I made it and got my merit badge. That was how it all started.”
S
TEVEN
pielberg 31
Annual: USD 85,000,000.00 Monthly: USD 7,083,333.00 Weekly: USD 1,700,000.00
Steven
Allan Spielberg was born on December 18th, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish family. When his parents divorced he moved to Saratoga, California with his father. This film director, producer and screenwriter’s passion to be in the film industry began in his teen years, charging an admission of 25 cents to his “adventure” home films while his sister sold popcorn. At the age of 13, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled, Escape to Nowhere and at age 16, he wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute science fiction adventure called Firelight, inspiring Close Encounters in his later years.
Spielberg has been married to actress Kate Capshaw, since 1991. They met when he casted her in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. There are seven children in the SpielbergCapshaw family. Besides all his achievements and awards, he is the founder and supporter of many foundations, for example the Randy Adana and he supports the U.S. Democratic Party and local Boy Scouts. He loves watching a lot of movies when not shooting a picture and also has a keen interest in video games. He is the owner of a Wii, a Playstation 3, a PSP and XBOX 360. Spielberg’s earlier films were seen as a prototype for modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. They were packed with adventure and sci-fi with ordinary characters searching for, or coming in contact with extraordinary beings, or discovering themselves in strange and odd circumstances. Spielberg described himself as feeling like an
At the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television, he applied to attend the film school three separate times, but was unsuccessful. His actual career began when he started working for Universal Studios as an unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and visitor of the editing department. In 2002, 35 ye ears after sttarting colle ege,, Sp pie elb berg g finisshed hiss degree viaa ind depen nde ent projjects att CSULB, and was awaarde ed a B.A. in n Film Pro oducttio on an nd Electtronic Arts with an opttio on in n Film//Vide eo Prod ducction. Due to his great performance Universal signed Spielberg to do four TV films. The first film was an adaptation called Duel (which was filmed in a limited period and budget of 10 days, exceeding the time to 13 days) the film is about a monstrous tanker truck which tries to run a small car off the road. The British critic Dilys Powell gave Steven Spielberg special praise about Duel, which was very noteworthy to his career. The studio’s producers then presented Spielberg with the director’s chair for Jaws.
When Raaid ders of the Losst Arkk, the e firstt of the e Indiana Jon nes films, was made e, Sp pielb berrg teaamed d with Geo org ge Lucas the crreato or of Starr Warrs fo or this actio on adventure e film.. A yearr latter, Sp pie elbe erg g returned d to o the scien nce fiction gen nre with h E.TT. the e Extra-Terrresstrial.
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To da ate,, the unad dju usted grosss of all Spie elb bergdire ected film ms exceeds $8.5 billlion worlldw wid de. Fo orbe es puts Spielb berg’s we ealth h at $3.0 0 billlio on.
alien during childhood, and this curiosity came from his father, a science fiction fan. The most constant theme throughout his films is the tension in parentchild relationships. Parents (often fathers) are ignorant, reluctant, or absent. His films then began addressing issues such as war, terrorism, slavery and the Holocaust.
Most of his films are usually optimistic in nature and family-friendly. Critics frequently accuse his films of being overly sentimental. Spielberg won his first Academy Award for Best Director and also Best Picture with Schindler’s List, which was based on the true story of a man who risked his life to save 1,100 Jews from the Holocaust. In 1997, the American Film Institute listed the film among the 10 Greatest American Films ever Made. Steven Spielberg has been nominated and received many awards for all his achievements and movies, including: Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, Hollywood Walk of Fame and Other Awards like: • 2009 Liberty Medal • 2006 Kennedy Center Honors • 2001 Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire • 1998 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
In 20 006 6, Prrem mierre lissted him as th he most pow werfu ul and influentiial figure in the motion pictturre ind dusstryy. Tim me listed him as one e of the 100 0 Mo ostt Imp porttant People of the e Century.
Academy Awards: 1978: Best Director (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated) 1982: Best Director (Raiders of the Lost Ark, nominated) 1983: Best Director (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated) 1983: Best Picture (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated) 1986: Best Picture (The Color Purple, nominated) 1987: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (won) 1994: Best Director (Schindler’s List, won) 1994: Best Picture (Schindler’s List, won) 1999: Best Director (Saving Private Ryan, won) 1999: Best Picture (Saving Private Ryan, nominated) 2006: Best Achievement in Direc ng (Munich, nominated) 2006: Best Mo on Picture of the Year (Munich, nominated) 2007: Best Mo on Picture of the Year (Le ers from Iwo Jima, nominated)
Filmmaking terms can sound odd, strange and confusing at times. Sometimes very technical, which might be the case, but they can also mean the simplest of things. Here’s a short list of some basic definitions you will encounter in the process.
LINGO
SCHMINGO
Call Sheet: The daily schedule which is handed to the entire production team (cast and crew). It contains all the relevant information for the day, i.e. Call time, location, scenes to be shot, weather report, estimated wrap time etc. Preproduction: This is the development stage of planning and preparing that precedes the actual filming process. It will include elements like: Screenplay • Breaking down the script • Storyboard • Production strip • Production board • Shooting schedule • Film finance & budgeting etc.
Production: The actual stage wherein the movie is being filmed. (The shoot) Postproduction: Stage after shooting. The editing phase (Structuring and putting together your movie), Finishing the sound-and-music track and basically do all that is needed to finish your production like marketing, distribution, showing.
Jib/Crane: Heavy equipment consisting of a counterweighted arm to ensure movements in high positions and many other angles. Camera angle moves from low to high angle or vice versa. Dolly and tracks: Putting the camera on a small wheeled platform on a track (similar to a train track,
but smaller and lighter). You can move the camera Blonde: 2000 watt tungsten light. Mostly painted yellow, therefore - Blonde sideways or back and forth. Redhead: Similar to a Blonde, but only 800 watt Gaffer tape: Very sticky and versatile 2” wide cloth adhesive tape (similar to duct tape), works for and mostly painted red. (There are many different types of lights on a movie everything. This tape is very handy on set. set and more definitions will come in the next issue Clapperboard: A description board, that will be in the Lighting article. held in front of a camera before the shot is about Boompole: A pole on which the microphone, to start. It is used for identification and to provide a cue for syncing up the sound and video footage. usually a Rifle Mic (long, directional, very sensitive It makes it easier to identify footage in the editing microphone), is mounted. The microphone can then be held closer to the actor so that the soundman process. won’t get in the way of the shot. Shot: What is seen inside the camera frame within a take. Idiot check: After the day’s shooting, the crew will check if they packed away all the equipment etc. Scene: Continuous series of shots edited together The crew calls it an Idiot Check as per the script. “That’s a Wrap”: The scenes/shots for the day are Polyboard: A sheet of polystyrene used for done or it is the end of production. reflecting or deflecting (bouncing) light. That’s it for this issues lingo talk. Next month we’ll also Scrim/Scrim paper: Perforated sheet used in the tackle some of the more difficult, technical definitions. lighting department and clipped to lights, it softens At least now you can start walking past film sets and won’t feel entirely “cut” out from the “scene”... or cuts down light.
Also known as chillers, scary movies, spookfests and the macabre. Horror films are unse ling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears. It cap vates and entertains us and at the same me gives us an invigora ng experience. When well done and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, horror films can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irra onal and unknown, and the horror within man himself. When looking back on the genre, surely one of the most memorable and influen al early films was Germany’s silent expressionis c landmark classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, made in 1919 and directed by Robert Wiene.
Characteristics and Elements of the classic Horror Film
5. The evil can only be defeated when one accepts and understands its true nature. Some mes the protagonist realises it too late and it then leads to his madness or even death, but even so, this self sacrifice leads to the apparent salva on and restora on of the normal world. 6. Some mes the protagonist, because of loss of sanity or the ability to find refuge, can be “infected” by whatever created the monster, and either becomes one i.e. Dracula, or becomes host to it i.e. Nightmare on Elm Street, or turn into a monster early on in the movie i.e. The Fly, and is then his own antagonist. 7. The evil is usually released by some sort of foolishness or by overstepping the moral boundaries i.e. Hellraiser, where a man wants to unlock the forbidden secrets of a mysterious device. In normal life these things are considered as taboos i.e. knowledge we shouldn’t have. 8. The antagonist is an example of the worst that can go wrong in any given world and must appear in a believable fashion from whatever the surroundings may be to totally destroy our sense of safety i.e. Jeepers Creepers. The antagonist must be not only powerful and lethal, but from beyond the realm of normal experience or expecta on or nego a on.
9. The world of the story is either a supernat1. As we see everything we most fear come true, we are both extremely vulnerable and yet ural or otherworldly place to which the protagonist has travelled i.e. Alien, or the normal world in which invulnerable at the same me. Because of this shi of emphasis, the tles of these films o en name or the antagonist has invaded i.e. Poltergeist. refer to the antagonist (evil en ty) i.e. Dracula, Jaws 10. In some horrors the protagonist is etc. rather than the protagonist. confronted with an irresis ble sexual power, like 2. The protagonist (good en y) in a horror moths to a flame, which can destroy him/her i.e. movie is someone we can iden fy with, someone Dracula. normal and ordinary who is much closer to us. He 11. The antagonist, which is so overwhelming also lacks the enhancements of the protagonist in a and terrifying in horror movies, must always be courage type movie i.e. Superman. destroyed completely. When the antagonist is 3. The worse the fear we confront and survive, a human, some sort of gruesome death is the minimum punishment i.e. Halloween, but when it is the stronger the upli ing release when it’s over. something supernatural, it must either be dispatched 4. Those who a empt directly to confront or in a prescribed supernatural way or be disintegrated explain away the horror that has emerged are doomed completely i.e. a wooden stake for Dracula. Fire and to fail. In Jaws, the a empt to keep the presence of sunlight are also regarded as metaphorical purifying and all- consuming elements. the shark quiet leads only to more death. 36
12. Usually a small trace of the antagonist is le behind, whether it has contaminated the protagonist, escaped the explosion or even le us with off-spring that has survived. This then provides fodder for sequels i.e. Nightmare on Elm Street.
Final Thought...
Horror is usually one of the most desirable film genres to be watched. In some instances it can be even more roman cally perceived as would be with a usual tear jerking ‘chick-fliek’. It is like commi ng 13. The antagonist, evil or innocent, o en a sin without being punished or judged a erwards. proves its power and raises the stakes by killing off Horror can easily be regarded as B-grade or even those who are progressively closer to the protagonist ‘cheesy’, but the fact is, there will surely always be a meless classic in any good DVD collec on. i.e. Jeepers Creepers 2. 14. Usually secondary characters die for the So, have you ever figured out what that so hissing simple reason of stupidity or curiosity; they go into and crackling noises are the basement where they know evil awaits them. in the ceiling...? This is actually also a driving force for the film as tension and the stakes are raised i.e. Wrong Turn, Halloween etc. 15. O en there’s a mentor in horror films, an older person who has some experience with the nature of the evil. He also has the knowledge that the protagonist needs to defeat the evil with. This knowledge is some mes accepted only a er the veils of reason and disbelief have been stripped away. This mentor character is usually destroyed in an act of obsessive hatred for the monster. It’s a self-sacrifice that both saves and passes the mantle on to the protagonist i.e. The Omen. 16. A small difference between terror and usually older horror movies, is that to generate terror on the screen, one doesn’t need to physically see what is happening, it is merely suggested. In fact, what we don’t see or can’t see, is o en more haun ng than what we do. Thus, terror suggests evil i.e. The Others, while horror will show us something revol ng, usually then making horror films lowerbudget and lower-quality affairs i.e. Hellraiser.
Freddy Krueger in the new: A Nightmare On Elm Street 37
AGAINST THE ODDS! A Cinderella version for video Being one of six children and coming from a poor South African family may not sound applicable to a white kid, but for Johnny Taute, this is the case. But then neither does it seem appropriate for a forty year old man to resign his steady job a er 13 years to become an entrepreneur. Growing up with five siblings, with an ar san father and working mother, there were few opportuni es other than those created by you. “It’s all about the me you are born, whether history favours you or not.” Johnny laughs.
He was born in the 60’s , started school in the 70’s, was militarised in the 80’s and restarted his life in the new millennium. Johnny resigned from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria at the age of 40 to start i-Line Films in 2003, a video produc on company, with less than R 60 000. This home business took top honours as the 2009 - 2010 Small Business Champion Awards, an annual event is hosted by the Na onal Small Business Chamber. “Because you do not need overheads when you start an enterprise, there was no money to splurge on a grand studio or flashy equipment. Just the
“From a one man opera on, i-LINE FILMS is currently providing for about 9 families every month. I can not wait for the day when I can say we now take care of more than 50 families!”
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basic apparatus were acquired and those tools had to pay for themselves and my salary,” he says. Today the company delivers video produc ons for the broadcast, documentary and corporate markets and complement the video facility with corporate photography as well. Their first patron was the office of the Kgosi (king) of the Royal Bafokeng Na on in Phokeng. “Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi comes from a long line of visionary kings, they bought the land they now occupy, they build the soccer stadium ahead of its me and I am sure Kgosi saw the poten al in this small enterprise before anyone else could,” says Johnny. Today they supply corporate media services to seda, SARENS SA, CHUBB, PUTCO and even VODACOM and they produce documentary films. But what makes i-LINE FILMS unique? Photographer Dirk Pieters says: “Most definitely the fact that each and everybody employed by i-Line was granted opportuni es on the basis of their passion towards film making and photography, and all were trained via an in-house skills training programme.”
.MOV-e would like to congratulate i-Line Films for winning the Small Business Champion Awards 2009/2010. For more informa on on i-Line Films, simply visit their website at h p://www.iline.co.za Johnny also shares his blogs on our site. Read his insigh ul inserts at h p://www.mov-e.co.za
Johnny’s business skills were not taught in a conven onal sense (or at school) but were acquired from books and reading up on magazines. This piloted a mental business plan as no paper format would serve a need (because finance was not an op on) and lead to the appointment and training of the i-Line crews. Johnny deems that training of young, energe c, key personnel is obtainable for every company and should impact posi vely on job crea on. “We believe in the unflinching spirit of crea ve and talented people,” says video editor, Shani Kühn. “We acknowledge our weaknesses and try to keep our team balanced with people whose strong points complement other’s weaknesses,” adds Jean Pohl, videographer and sound engineer. i-LINE FILMS can take heart from the fact that they survived a global recession as they aim to support their sustainability further by delivering improved and quicker services to their exis ng client base before broadening the founda on to other media. For the future, they have submi ed a proposal to start and administrate a channel on the DSTV bouquet.
Writer/Director Alastair Orr gives us some insight into his latest film.
UNFORGIVING - THE -
Two survivors, who appear unwilling to co-operate, are the only links authori es have to a spate of vicious a acks that have struck rural South Africa. As their stories unfold, it is clear that the truth of what happened that fateful day is far worse than any one could imagine. 6th August 2010, get ready for the most terrifying film to hit South African cinemas in recent history, from Kamikaze Mo on Pictures. The Unforgiving crosses all moral boundaries that will leave the audience ques oning what they would do to survive if their lives were in the hands of a grotesque serial killer. 41
How did the produc on come together?
Who directed the film?
Ryan Macquet and myself were bashing around ideas one day about how could one make a South African film look like something interna onal with a limited budget. You’re not going to be able to do Transformers on a South African budget. The easiest genre that we felt we could match with our resources was the horror/thriller genre. Films like Wolf Creek, Saw and even Hard Candy are films with limited loca ons and few characters but have not been done in a South African context. We said to ourselves, “We’ve had the South African version of American Pie, lets do a ‘SAW’ type of film, but give it a South African edge.”
The Unforgiving is the directorial feature film debut of Alastair Orr
The script was banged out in 2 weeks over the Industry shutdown in December 2008. We pitched the idea to Lorika Boshoff who absolutely loved the script and she put together an amazing crew who all came on board at a deferred rate. We shot over 8 weekends so that the crew could keep their day jobs. There was a core of 6 – 8 people. Each weekend the actors would be consistent, but the crew would be whoever was around. Everyone had worked together in some combina on before so we all got along really well. We were a group of friends that instead of si ng around braaing, made a movie.
How was the film funded? Ryan Macquet and Alastair Orr started up a small corporate video company called Pro Cut Produc ons in 2006, catering for numerous Mining & Banking clients. When there was enough liquidity in the company account, we set out to do what we always dreamed of doing, making movies.
Where was the film shot? The film was shot in Vosluruus, 30kms outside of haann nnes nnes esbu burg bu rgg. Johannesburg.
Will the film be released in Cinemas across the country? Yes. The film will go out digitally in cinemas countrywide on 6 August 2010. The distributor is Helen Kuun's Indegenous Films
Who are the produc on companies involved? Kamikaze Mo on Pictures & Illusionz Unlimited Entertainment. Both companies where created for the produc on of The Unforgiving.
Who wrote the script? Alastair Orr
How long did it take to produce the film? The Unforgiving was shot over 8 weekends from March to the first week of June 2009. The big advantage of shoo ng over weekends was that we were able to edit during the week. This way we were constantly able to monitor our progress and re-shoot if necessary. The script evolved as things on set changed, and although the story is the same as what was originally on script, the details and scene specifics are very different. During the shoot, it was more of a case of what felt right as opposed to what was in the script, and as I was the editor and screenwriter, I was able to piece the film together as a puzzle and rewrite scenes for the next weekend if necessary. Things did go wrong, on a limited budget, you have to use you crea vity when your shot list says you have 5 shots le to do for the day, but the sun says you’re only going to make 2, and I couldn’t have done this without D.O.P Craig Maarschalk, who was awesome in achieving the look and feel that I wanted, but also in telling the story in the best way possible, despite the huge odds put on his shoulders. Stephanie Esterhuizen handled all special effects make up and was really brilliant in her approach to adap ng her discipline to the low budget film genre. Animal body parts were sourced for next to nothing from butcheries and aba oirs. Wrap a sheep’s knee in some Jeans and 42
take a cordless drill to it and you will be convinced that you are chewing through human anatomy. Two weeks a er principle photography wrapped in June, the film was off-lined and moved into Final Mix and Score. Wikus Du Toit, who has scored numerous Drama series, took on The Unforgiving’s composing while William Kalmer of Mono Post started cleaning up audio and doing ADR. Sound and score was completed at the end of October.
What did it cost to make the film? Making films in South Africa for South Africans have to be low budget because you are just not going to make your money back. District 9 is seen as the pinnacle of South African film, but when converted to Rands, it cost over R200 million. Take that figure versus the R9 million it made in South Africa. See what I mean? If you are not planning on releasing interna onally, if you are aking movies for South Africans, you have to go as low as you can, and that’s what we did.
What are your future plans in the South African Industry?
We want your stuff! Send us your 2 to 24-minute short film and if it’s good, it will be included in our annual short movie DVD. The best three will win awards. Closing Date: 15 November, 2010
Send all submissions to: .MOV-e P.O. Box 11874 Wierda Park-South 0057
Lets see how this film does, but our goal is to make films for a living. We’re not planning on re ring a er this film. The only goal with this film was to make the next one. See the trailer at h p://www.theunforgiving.co.za
The only requirement is that you must be the copyright owner of the movie.
For more info, mail us on info@mov-e.co.za
Movies we’d like to see
.MOV-e’s
Here are two random ideas that we believe would make great movies. Perhaps one or two of our readers would like to try their hands at these? If so, just remember to invite us to the premiere!
ARACH ATTACK!
pick of the month Every month we’ll select a book, DVD, or game that we think you might be interested in. Some mes we’ll review it, but in a case like this book, the back cover sums it up perfectly.
Filming on a Microbudget Paul Hardy Funding Scriptwriting Casting
Shooting Digital and HD Distributing
From the back cover of the book:
A gene cally mutated spider escapes from a laboratory and soon reigns terror on the ci zens of the sleepy town of Arach.
AFTERSHOCK
A er a Nuclear power plant melts down and destroys most of the city, the survivors struggle to find their way out through the chaos and debris. But the worst is yet to come…
“So you want to make a film? It’s the only way to get into the industry. No one’s going to let you play with the kind of money it takes to make a feature film un l you’ve already proven yourself by making a great short film. You can do that at film school – if you can afford to go to film school. If you can’t, then you’re going to have to make your films without money. You’re going to have to film on a microbudget – like Shane Meadows, who made Where’s The Money, Ronnie? Before TwentyFourSeven, and Guy Ritchie, who made The Hard Case before Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. With the technology available today, it’s easier than ever to make a short film without the benefits of funding, but digital cameras and edi ng systems are only part of the story. The most important thing is you, the filmmaker. This Pocket Essen al gives you all the informa on you need to put together a short film produc on – from scrip ng, planning and cas ng through loca on-scou ng, shoo ng and edi ng, to distribu on.
Paul Hardy has made eighteen short films with not nearly enough money. Despite this, he’s had work screened on FilmFour and at interna onal fes vals and was chosen to make a short film during the Brief Encounters short film fes val. He recently cowrote and co-produced his first independent feature film, and currently runs courses on how to make short films.” We believe that this book should be in every independent filmmaker’s bag of tricks. It covers the Development, Preproduc on, Produc on, and Postproduc on phases in step-by-step detail and also includes a case study to show the principles in ac on.
Filming on a Microbudget can be picked up at Kalahari.net for under R 110. It usually ships within 11 working days. The e-book is also on Kalahari.net for under R70 and is available for immediate download.
Scriptwriting 101: Basic tips and techniques hniques when writing g your screenplay (PART 2) In the last issue we had a look at the basic fundamentals of wri ng your screenplay. We gave some insight on where one can search for those great ideas and even touchecd on some basic layout rules. In this issue we are going to look at the script example again and see exactly how to get your script looking professional. Most of you will probably not have the needed so ware to start wri ng with and that is why I will guide you through the process of using Microso Word to get it as close as possible. Something to remember is that the real scriptwri ng so ware will already have all the default se ngs for wri ng in place, which can be altered of course, but MS Word doesn’t. Some of those default se ngs will include: • • • •
The font to be set to size 12pt. The standard font is Courier New. The spacing on the pages will be set for all variants in a script. And shortcut keys are assigned which are not available in a program such as MS Word.
For working in MS Word, take a look at these ps in the bubbles derived from the example typed in MS Word:
The keyy to writingg a ggood script p is
E T I R R W E RE
!
WR ITE ! REWRITE !
Scene heading containing informa on about se ng (interior/exterior), loca on (Restaurant/room/car etc), me (day/night/dusk/dawn/later etc.), wri en in ALL CAPS
When introducing a character for the first me, the name should be wri en in all capital le ers
Don’t write dialogue using the center jus fica on tool, the correct posi on where it should start is 3 ‘TABS’ from the le . Stop at and move to next line at a similar distance on the right
Actor direc on. Use sparingly, only when the writer HAS to instruct on the type of delivery of the line. Again up to the director. In brackets. Use center jus fica on. Mostly one word only
The ac on area/scene direc on. All the ac ons and descrip ons (nondialogue) that the characters need to do before and a er the dialogue within the story. Keep it short and simple. Write only what is necessary, the rest is le up to the director. Mostly wri en in lower case, clear and concise. Not jus fied and should be wri en in the present tense
Direc on given by the writer which is crucial to the story. Again use sparingly and leave to the director to execute as necessary. Wri en in ALL CAPS
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Heading before scene starts indica ng the picture fades in from black
All these areas should have a double-spacing
FADE IN: INT. RESTAURANT – DAY STEVEN and his wife, JENNY, are having a casual lunch at a restaurant with some friends. He is dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers. Everyone is cheerful as they await their food. They are talking about Steven’s fruit and vegetable shop. Use the center jus fica on tool to place the character’s name who MARK says the next line of dialogue. So Steven, veggie shop doing okay? Always use ALL CAPS when wri ng names in this area STEVEN Business is tough. It’s nice to get out for General Info: a change. Courier New, 12 point, MARK Never use (sarcastically) BOLD, Never We heard you’re buying that butchery across use Italics Italics.. 1 the road? Page of wri en script, equals STEVEN approximately Why not? Then I could legally burn it to 1 minute of the ground. screen me MARK just laughs at Steven. The food arrives and they all sit back. The waitress puts their plates down on the table. Steven is having a Greek salad; he is a vegetarian, while Jenny is having a steak. JENNY (excited) Haven’t had one of these in a while. FOCUS ON STEVEN’S FACE Steven takes a glimpse at Jenny’s steak as she starts cutting it. It is medium rare and there is some blood coming out of it. Steven is revolted at the site of the meat. He gets up quickly to go to the restroom. The others just look at each other, confused. Used to end/exit the scene. As this is understood as a norm to follow, it CUT TO: doesn’t always have to be wri en in. Can use it when moving to a totally EXT. PARKING AREA – LATER new loca on or different me se ng A pale face Steven walks towards the car...
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This month, we take a look at how the produc on houses make all those huge UFOs fly over ci es. This is not a tutorial, but merely an ar cle that shares the theory behind how certain effects are created in today’s big budget movies. The method described in here is not the only way to achieve this effect. If you know of other ways to create this effect, feel free to share your knowledge in our member forums.
First, the footage is shot. You will no ce that scenes like the one in Independence Day, District 9, and the new V television series will make these scenes short and choppy; changing from one angle the next in three seconds or less.
Next, the art department will create the 3D UFO in so ware like So Image, 3D Studio Max, or Maya. The UFO wireframe is textured and rotated to fit the angle of the shot perfectly. In our case, budget forced us to improvise and use a frying pan for our UFO.
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The city footage is duplicated and placed over the UFO. A mask is then used to outline all the objects that should be in “front” of the UFO. Everything not included in the mask would be “behind” the UFO if it were to move past it.
The UFO can now be posi oned in the scene to ensure that all the masks are placed properly. If there is movement in the scene, for example the camera man driving or running, the masks will have to be moved and adapted with the buildings. This can be extremely me consuming, and is one of the reasons you will only see a few seconds before the scene cuts to another angle. A good cut would be to show someone ge ng out of a car and looking up towards the UFO. This would help sell the illusion.
Final touches can now be made to the UFO. In our example, we decided that a larger UFO would look more menacing.
Basic shadows against the buildings will round off the shot nicely. The shadows are also revealed through masks and can be animated to move with the space ship. A good “movinag shadow” shot was in Independence Day when the space ship flew over the Obelisk in Washington.
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Reader Review
E enne van Rensburg takes a closer look at
You can say what you want; everyone loves suspense. Wondering what is going to happen next and then just when you think you have it figured out, the story goes the other way leaving you somewhat “thrilled”. Sounds like the recipe for a successful thriller to me. In most thrillers and especially this one you start formula ng theories about what’s really going on in the movie from very early on; about the exci ng stuff that only gets revealed to you at the end. There are a few oddi es you pick up as the movie progresses and these form a certain expecta on in your head of how the story will unfold. The exci ng
part of a movie like this is when your li le preconceived idea gets crushed and gets replaced by a work of genius. Please welcome, “Shu er Island”. Based on an island which houses nothing but a mental ins tu on and its pa ents, the criminally insane, you know from the start that you will be in for a ride. U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is sent to Shu er Island to inves gate the mysterious escape of one of the pa ents in the ins tu on. He is partnered with someone he does not know and hosted by people who start their introduc on by stripping him of his gun; a Marshal’s best friend.
Early on in the movie you no ce that there is a constant struggle as Teddy repeatedly seems to hit walls in ge ng the help he needs from his hosts. As he digs deeper the doctors’ behaviour becomes more and more suspect. Eventually he gets intertwined in their world and starts being treated more as a pa ent than an authori ve figure. His partner goes missing and the doctors tell him that the woman he was inves ga ng was never missing. In a confusing world where reality becomes ques onable, Teddy is figh ng a losing ba le un l he enters the room in a remote tower on the island. He believes that he will uncover the 49
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truth about the doctors’ illegal experiments on pa ents here but, to his horror he uncovers an en rely different truth, one that leaves even the audience gasping for air.
The Good Shu er Island got full marks for crea ng suspense in the typical viewer shou ng to the main character “No don’t do it!” sense. The ride is a constant roller coaster not knowing what to expect next. With a twist at the end of the movie that explains so many li le things the audience may or may not have picked up on throughout the movie, I would say it was wrapped up perfectly and leaves your thrill appe te fully sa sfied when leaving the cinema.
The Bad If there was one thing to men on about this movie that stopped it from ge ng a full 10/10 it would have to be the con nuity issues. The first me I watched the movie I picked up on no less than 5 severe issues between cuts in a scene. While these mistakes have no effect on the story line they do catch your eye and I can only assume that there wasn’t a dedicated member on the team for con nuity. One has to ask if, with such a budget, it was totally unavoidable or if perhaps they were pushed for a deadline? I would easily recommend this movie to anyone who wants to become wrapped up in a thick plot of suspense and mystery and will gladly buy the DVD for my collec on when it gets released.
SCORE:
80.
5%
Edi ng: 7.5 Character Development: 9 Cinematography (Camera work) & ligh ng: 7 Direc ng: 7.5 Ac ng: 8.5 Set Design/Costumes: 9 Script: 7 Story: 8 Pay off: 10 Sound: 7 50
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Blood Create realistic
W ith common h ou se h o ld i t e m s
You don’t have to break the bank in order to create blood that will look good in your home-made movies. This special effect can be achieved quickly and cheaply by using nothing more than everyday household items.
Ingredients: Golden Syrup, Red Food Colouring, Maizena Cornflour, and Chocolate Syrup.
First, take a bowl and squirt a blob of the Chocolate Syrup into it. This gives the blood a more darker and rich colour. If your blood turns out too bright, simply add more sauce.
Now pour some Golden Syrup over it. The Syrup will add some elas city to the blood, giving it somewhat of a s cky nature. If it turns out a bit too s cky and doesn’t flow naturally, you can dilute it somewhat by adding a few drops of water to your final mixture.
Add a splotch of Red Food Colouring for the main colour of the blood. It doesn’t have to be much. One or two caps full should do fine. If your blood turns out too red, you can desaturate it slightly by adding some Maizina Cornflour. Take note that the Food Colouring will stain the skin and clothes, so don’t use clothes that you can’t afford to write off, and don’t leave the blood on your skin for longer than absolutely necessary. Finally, sprinkle some Maizina Cornflour over your concoc on to lighten the red a li le and make it look more natural. S r it all together un l the colour and texture is smooth. You can add more of the ingredients depending on the outcome that you’re looking for. To make it richer in colour, add more Chocolate Syrup. To make it more s cky and elas c, add Golden Syrup. To make it more red, add Food Colouring.
Congratula ons! You’ve just made non-toxic blood that looks real, using nothing more than common items found in your average household. The trick is to keep playing and experimen ng un l you have exactly what you’re looking for.
There are tons of other ways of achieving the same or even be er results. If you know of another way to make realis c blood, please log into the forums on the .MOV-e site and share your findings with our other members. Send us your snaps of your crea ons using blood, and if they’re good, we’ll post them in our upcoming issues. Next month we’ll build on this tutorial and show you how to create Zombie-like flesh wounds.
MONEY MONEY MONEY In this a article rticcle we del delve lve int into to th the he w world orld do off tthe hee eve ever er dreaded mo movie ovie budge budgets ets in thee Sou South uth Af African friccan n ffilm ilm m industry.. “The impact of increased distribution has been a fragmentation of audiences as audiences have greater choices regarding the programmes they watch. This has resulted in two options for filmmakers. They can target a mass audience by accessing bigger budgets in order to employ high profile actors, actresses and directors and bigger and better special effects. Alternatively, they can target niche markets and access smaller audiences. It is recommended that the South African industry adopt the second option.” DACST (The Department Of Arts, Culture, Science And Technology), November 1998
M
ost people often wonder why South African films look low budget. Well, the simple fact is, they are. When Slumdog Millionaire was released, they claimed that the film is extremely low budget. Quite funny considering the fact that it only cost 15 million
dollars! In South Africa, this amount will allow us to make a dozen local productions. A lot of South African feature films are made with less than R2 million. This is why the producers and directors have to cut and squeeze corners to fit everything in the budget.
Someone once told S t ld me that th t he h wanted t d to t make a high-pitched action movie, similar to G.I Joe (which cost $175 million). So I asked how much he thought the budget would be and felt totally stunned when he answered: “R200 000.00”. With this statement I realized that a lot of South Africans are uneducated about the figures of filmmaking budgets. The worst thing about it is all the comments you will read from viewers that watched a local movie, complaining about how low budget the film looks. 53
For the readers: What will a high budget film then cost in South Africa? R300 000.00? With R300 000.00, a movie will be regarded as a low-low-low budget affair. Unfortunately, sometimes with this amount some filmmakers are more than willing to try and put forward a proudly South African production, just to be able to get their work out there. Sadly, not enough people have the same passion for our industry and people are not willing to give more money for a film. It is unlikely that investors would give a South African film R12.25 billion, like G.I. Joe. If so, local films would obviously have a chance of competing with the world. Don’t get me wrong, if the story is crappy, a movie will be crappy no matter what the budget is. The great thing is though; we have so many wonderful stories to tell in our country. We also don’t always need the R12.25 billion to justify this, but at least just give us a tenth of these figures and we’ll show you what we can do. A basic rundown of the equipment list in a budget, not in detail, will give readers an idea of where some of the money goes. As a filmmaker you will need to hire each item per day. First you have to choose between a camera, do you want to shoot on film or digital, for example: an Arricam 35mm film camera (35mm film stock is priced between R2000 for 400ft, gives around 10 min film time, and R4500 for 1000ft) with all its accessories will be around R12 500p/d. A full HD camera, like the Panasonic HVX500 fully equipped camera kit for R5000p/d. Digital is becoming the trend and it is so much cheaper in lots of aspects. Thus, you’ll probably need to go the digital route. You will need different lenses (Fixed Focus, Zoom, Wide etc which can set you back a couple of hundred bucks), Filters(R100 – R300), Hand-Held Support e.g. steady cam (from R800), Different types of lighting equipment, which is essential to make your production look professional (Anything from R400 and up. The more the better.), a Rain Deflector, just in case (R500 – R700), Mic & Boom (R500) Audio Mixer (R300 – R900), Grip Equipment, Dollies and Tracks (R400-R4000, for a bit of movement), Jibs & Cranes (R600 – R3500), and hopefully you don’t want to shoot something in the water, otherwise you’ll need an Underwater Housing,
Splash bag etc. There are other things you will always need on a film set like: gaffer tape, sand bags, lens cleaning fluid, stands, holders and even generators in some cases. The list can go on. As you can see, mentioning that not even everything is listed, there is a lot of equipment used on a film set. If you have a limited budget of say, the R300 000 we spoke about earlier, you don’t have a lot of money and you will try to shoot in the least amount of days possible. Just for the digital camera alone you will have to pay R100 000 for 20 days, meaning you still have R200 000 left, which might sound like a lot, but unfortunately you only paid one part of your equipment and you still have a long way to go. Other things like; catering, transport, location hire, the crew and actor salaries, editing, wardrobe, props, make-up, sound design, music, general supplies, insurance, marketing etc. are not yet even brought into the equation. One can quickly see where this will lead to once you plan on making a proper, professional production. This article is not based on pessimism, but merely on realism. The industry is picking up slowly day by day and soon we will hopefully have the same opportunities some other countries have had to thus far. It is critical that our audiences should realise the difficult efforts our filmmakers have to go through to get their productions made and presented. All support possible is needed to lift the spirits and to have an understanding of things to come. Please feel free to give comments and suggestions in our forum columns on the site or even mail us at info@mov-e.co.za Next time we’ll have a look at how budgets and salaries can be compared to the big productions from Hollywood and industries alike. As a taste: A top director in South Africa will get a salary between R15 000 - R20 000 per week, while in America the minimum salary for a director is $14 000 per week (which is R105 000). Chew on that... Local is Lekka!
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BlogBuster Adobe Launches CS5 Every month, we will select an ar cle from our blogs and post it in the magazine. When you’re done reading through the en re magazine, the blogs and forums aught to keep you occupied un l the next issue launches. This month, we will take a closer look at the release of Adobe’s Crea ve Suite 5, also called CS5. With 85 million lines of code, you can imagine that CS5 is certainly going to be a power horse worth of note.
similar, you can draw addi onal paint strokes to teach A er Effects which elements are in the background. A er Effects determines where the foreground and background are on subsequent frames; you can refine results with addi onal strokes. The process is fast and intui ve—and because A er Effects does the hard work of finding the edges, Roto Brush eliminates the tedium tradi onally associated with the task.
Once you’ve defined the foreground and background areas, you can control the quality of the edges Our interest lies especially in Photoshop and A er between the two using op ons for smoothing, Effects, two powerful tools that should be in the feathering, or choking (spreading inside or outside arsenal of any movie maker, both amateur and of the original edge). A er Effects can calculate professional. One par cular new feature in A er mo on blur for fast-moving por ons of the edge Effects excited us like kids on Christmas morning: The to deliver photo-realis c, professional results with minimal effort. “Edge cha er” from frame to frame Roto Brush. is automa cally reduced, and in addi on you can What is the Roto Brush? We’ll let Adobe answer the remove background color from semitransparent ques on in their own words: edges of the foreground object. And if the resul ng alpha channel s ll requires addi onal refinement, you can use the paint tools already built into A er Effects to further tweak your results. Roto Brush "Many shots require separa ng a foreground object—such as an actor—from its current live ac on background so that the object may be placed in a completely new environment. The revolu onary new Roto Brush provides a fast, efficient solu on for isola ng these foreground elements in complex scenes. In the past, this kind of work was meconsuming and expensive, and as a result, the technique was o en reserved for big-budget projects. The new Roto Brush is so fast that A er Effects ar sts can now perform rotoscoping on virtually any project—from previsualiza on to final composites— with greatly reduced concern about project budgets or deadlines.
The Roto Brush expands your crea ve op ons by enabling you to offer results that require sophis cated rotoscoping—on virtually any project. Professionalquality results can be realized drama cally faster and with far less tedium: ar sts are already repor ng that the process of rotoscoping is taking a frac on of the me it required in the past. This means you can accomplish crea ve treatments that previously were feasible exclusively on big-budget projects—from isola ng elements for targeted color enhancement to placing design elements such as text or logos between actors and their backgrounds."
To use the new Roto Brush, just draw simple paint strokes inside the foreground object, and let A er Effects calculate where the rest of the foreground object is. If the foreground and background are
There are many more features that make us want to rush out and purchase CS5; some which include an enhanced version of Mocha, AVC-intra support and expanded RED camera support, Auto-keyframe mode, Color Finesse 3 LE for advanced colour 55
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correc on, Digieffects FreeForm to create 3D text in A er Effects, and much more! Photoshop CS5 can now also create 3D text and also has intelligent selec on technology that makes selec ng tricky objects like hair a breeze. You can now also select an object that you would like to remove from the picture, and the so ware will intelligently calculate what the background is supposed to look like had the object never been there and fill the gap appropriately. What usually took hours with the clone tool now takes mere minutes (or even less!). It now also features Puppet Warp, a tool that allows you to control s ll images as if they were puppets. Think an elephant trunk that you can move around that flexes and bends accordingly.
Also take a minute to download and install Adobe’s new Adobe Source so ware. It’s your direct link into the company where you can obtain access to the latest news, product details, and partner informa on right on your desktop. We would also like to take a minute and introduce Johnny Taute from i-Line Films as a fellow blogger on our site. Please take a few minutes to read his insigh ul posts and feel free to comment with your thoughts. You don’t have to be a registered member on the site to view and comment on the blogs. Read Johnny’s first post, “So you wanna make movies?” here: h p://www.mov-e.co.za/blog/ viewpost/53.html
For more informa on Product details: www.adobe.com/a ereffects
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Child’s Play W
orking on set with children can be tricky and to direct a child can be even trickier. Andrew Adomson, director of Narnia: “I was actually a bit terrified to make a movie with children. It‛s a scary thing to do, to pin your future on children” Many actors and directors enjoy working with kids, because they are spontaneous and bright. In addition one of the main concerns parents have is their children‛s wellbeing and education on film sets. When children are cast for a feature film, they will probably have to stay out of school to work on the set. Children then need to focus their attention on the film set and still have the suitable education being taught to them.
teachers who are inventing the wheel for educating children on movie sets overseas. During shots, in Artificial Intelligence, A.I., where Hayley Joel Osmit wasn‛t needed, he would study his school subjects from “teachers-on-set”. “It is sometimes hard to keep children‛s attention and to keep them focussed on acting, so between takes where they are not needed, be sure to keep them busy,” says Short-film Director, Charl Cronje. Working with children on a film set is a lot of responsibility and according to the labour law, there are certain safety guidelines to aply on a film set. .MOV-e gives a few guidelines:
“Their education isn‛t put on hold,” Marilyn CHILD C HILD SAFETY SAFETY GUIDELINES GUIDELINES AND AND Costello said, working on the set of The Game DEPT DE EPT O OF F LABOUR LABOUR REQUIREMENTS REQUIREMENTS Plan as a substitute teacher. “They seem more interested in their schoolwork than • You must have a permit for every artiste their counterparts, someone you might find aged 15 and under. All permit applications in a big classroom.” Costello is one of many must be accompanied by a proof of Hayley Joel Osment was nominated for consent from the parent or legal guardian, the Academy Award for Best Supporting and a proof of age eg. a birth certificate Actor in The Sixth Sense, becoming the second-youngest performer ever to receive • Every single child on set must have a an Academy permit whether they are lead artistes, nomination for stand-bys or extras. a supporting role. One of • The labour inspectors have the authority Osment’s lines to do spot inspections at any company at in The Sixth any time without notice. They have the Sense, “I see authority to ask questions e.g. regarding dead people”, occupational health and safety that are became a popular above and beyond just the safety of catchphrase and children on set. is often repeated or parodied • For children aged 10 – 15 years the child on television may only work for 4 hours per day, and programs and may only be on set for a maximum of 10 in other media. hours.
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“Abigail Breslin, born April 14 1996, is one of the youngest actresses ever to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award”
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For children aged 5-10 years the child may only work for 3 hours per day, and may only be on set for a maximum of 8 hours.
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For children aged 5 years and younger the child may only work for 3 hours per day, and may only be on set for a maximum of 6 hours.
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Records must be kept of the times worked.
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For night work the child may not work more than 3 nights per week, and the employer must have written parental consent for night work.
Dakota Fanning began acting at the age of five after appearing on a Tide commercial. Her first significant acting job was a gueststarring role in the NBC primetime drama ER, which remains one of her favourite roles: “I played a car accident victim who has leukaemia. I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked.”
Nicole Kidman on the set of The Others: ”I love to work with kids, because I have 2 of my own, they are so spontaneous, honest and fresh.”
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A safe rest and play area must be available for the children.
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The child must not be exposed to any danger or safety hazards while on set.
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A child minder should be appointed when there are children on set.
“Oh yes, I always enjoy working with children”, smiles Shahid Kapoor, he is playing a school teacher in the film Paathshaala, “I believe that they are the most spontaneous actors of all and help you unlearn a lot of things. Now, that’s good because sometimes it is very important to unlearn. Spontaneity is a good virtue because that helps bring on screen things that were not planned or written on paper.” 59
Feed your Cast & Crew! Contact Mick’s Kitchen for all your on-set catering needs.
mickaroo4@gmail.com
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! a r t x “E
” ! a r t Ex
a xtr e n sa a Life
You don‛t really notice them in a MOVIE, but without them you will notice that they are not there...
the last day, when he and his wife did it for us to great cheers from the crowd. We got a compliment from MISTER HARRY BAILIE GIVES US A BIT MORE him as one of the best crowds he had ever worked INSIGHT TO THE WORLD OF BEING AN with. The Americans were apprecia ve of the way in which we worked, and took the jokes with and EXTRA ON A MOVIE PRODUCTION. about them in equally good spirit. There was a group My name is Harry, I am 62 years of age, and I started of young boys, who were painted in the Springbok my career as an extra a er I re red. Life is about colours who led the cheering, and who made the me full of fun. There were prizes each day for best experiences, and though no longer working, I wanted to do something I had never done before. An advert dressed, best cheering and more. in the paper caught my eye, and I thought why not, Having worked on other films since, I can honestly I am handsome enough, and the next thing I knew I was on the set of the Invictus movie as part of the say that this was a unique experience, well organized, no was ng me, everybody knowing what to do and crowd. doing their jobs well. The extras were treated with What an experience. 10 days of shoo ng at Ellis Park considera on, which is not always the case. Well and stadium, with one of my favorite actors/directors, truly professionals. Clint Eastwood, and his son, also Clint, who played the One can also get involved in soapies, but I have part of Joel Stransky. The story for those non rugby fans, is about the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which SA avoided it, because they don’t pay as well as films. I won for the first me that year. Ma Damon plays got to know several people who do this for a living, Francois Pienaar, the Sprinbok captain and Morgan some for as long as twenty years. One can make quite Freeman plays Nelson Mandela. He was nominated a good living from it, I am told, which is not my aim for an Oscar for his performance, and one could see though. One can audi on for all sorts of parts locally, why. Watching him walk around the set, he copied without formal training, and even get flown oversees Mandela's walk and movements perfectly, and one to make a film or advert. One has to, however, live had to look carefully to see that it was not Mandela near the centers like Johannesburg or Cape Town, where movies are made, to get these opportuni es. himself. Recently I audi oned, with 533 others, for a Wimpy We sat in the stands to simulate the crowd of nearly commercial shown on TV now. They paid well, R10 50,000 at the game, and as we were only 500-700 000, although I did not get the part. people, we were moved around the stadium to fill To me, as a movie buff for many years, and for the the seats where the ac on took place. We would be on call at 6am, which meant leaving Centurion at experience of mee ng different people, this 'life' 5am, was I mad? Breakfast was provided, followed is very interes ng. It has however spoilt watching by the wait ll around 10am, the crew started to set movies for me, as I now think they used that camera, up for the shoo ng, which usually wrapped (finished) this angle, how many mes did they shoot that scene at 6 pm. Long hours of wai ng, si ng in the sun, before ge ng it right, looking with an eye as how to and on one occasion being soaked by the stadiums use the light, the actors stood so, etc. I now look with sprinklers! Lunch was a pie, and supper being handed the eye of a par cipant, not an onlooker. How strange that now I can see how stories are told. Altogether a to us as we le the stadium. rewarding life. We were seldom bored because the crowd was in good spirits, and behaved on and off camera with Sincerely true ‘lekker rugby gees', singing, making jokes and ge ng the crew, mostly Americans, to do the hula Harry Bailie dance steps. Clint resisted the call to do the hula, ll 61
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Different titles, different jobs! What do they all mean? Our journey continues with our credit list from the first issue, as we bring you some basic definitions of the most common job titles in film and television... 1st AD (Assistant Director): The AD is responsible for assisting the director and is usually first on set. His/her duties will include: set up shooting schedules, arranging logistics, preparing call sheets, checking the arrival of cast and crew, rehearsing cast, and directing extras. This person must be very strict and have authority, because he/she needs to keep the director and the set on schedule. Production Manager: The main supervisor on set of the more non creative aspects including personnel, technology, budget, and scheduling. Another responsibility is to make sure the filming stays on schedule and budget. The PM also helps manage costs like salaries, equipment rental etc. Unit Manager: This person fulfils the same role as the PM but for secondary “unit� shooting. He/she must make sure that everything is in order before and during the shoot. They make sure that the catering is correct, maps are drawn, the electricity is up and running etc. Production Assistant: A production assistant assists the first assistant director with set duties. PAs, also assist in the production office with general tasks. Camera Opperator: One of the senior persons working on a set. The camera operator uses the camera at the direction of the director of photography or the movie director to capture the shots. Usually, the DOP does not operate the camera, but sometimes these jobs may be combined. Production Sound Mixer: The head of the sound department on set, responsible for recording all the sound during filming. This involves the choice and use of microphones, operation of a sound recording device, and the mixing of different audio tracks. Boom Operator: The assistant to the sound mixer, responsible for microphone placement and movement during filming. The boom operator uses a boom pole. It allows positioning of the microphone above or below the actors, just out of the camera’s frame. The boom operator may also place radio microphones and hidden set microphones.
To be continued... 62
Aaaaaaand CUT!