Lack of Creativity in Hollywood's Muse

I’m becoming more and more disappointed in the sources from which we find story material for films.

I’ve recently become aware of these trailers advertising a movie coming out by the name of Battleship.  Yes, it is based off of the game many of us have played back in the day (or currently).  This is a game that technically has no story to it, but at the very least insinuates that you are playing as two nations fighting each other.  The film, facing the lack of an existing story, must create one and even goes so far as to establish a scenario where a naval military is going against extra-terrestrial! 

How does a story like this come about?  Did a writer come up with an idea for a story about the Navy fighting aliens and perhaps have a movie executive decide “Hey, let’s take this story and slap the ‘Battleship’ brand name on it to attract attention!”?  Probably not, it was more likely the case that someone wanted a movie of Battleship to be made, and tried to find someone to “come up” with a story to fit the scenario.

Making movies based on toys that have no pre-established story is not new.  I enjoy the recent Transformers films as simple action movies that you see once in the theatres and then move on.  But one of the reasons those films work at all is that they do have a sort of pre-existing mythos established in cartoons and comics; granted, the films’ stories are still not that great.

Now I go on the Internet only to find that even more story-less toy lines are in the works for film adaptations.  Hasbro, the owners of the Transformers, Battleship, and G.I. Joe toy lines, are now “working with writers on moviesbased on Stretch Armstrong, Risk, Clue, Monopoly, Ouija, Micronauts andCandyland”. 

What’s next, should they have Michael Bay direct a My Little Pony adaptation?

I can only hope that films based on these toys and games are treated as well as the film based on Clue back in 1985.  Despite it’s mixed reviews, the film was funny, and actually seemed as though the writers cared about making a good, well-written story.

Oh, did I forget to mention Real Steele, which seems based on “Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots”?  Waaah, no; blah blah blah, Hugh Jackman, whine, moan.  Actually, I’ll be forgiving that one on account that it’s not actually using the franchise name so, at the very least, is not explicitly banking on the fame of the toy.  I also have not seen the film and cannot provide commentary.

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Film Series: a New Trend in How Hollywood Makes Sequels

In the film industry, it’s no longer new that we’ve been relying on sequels and remakes to provide a certain financial security in the films to be released. 

Lately, however, I’ve been more fascinated with the occasional practice wherein a set of several films is created to tell a longer story.  In a typical sequel situation, a move is created as a standalone story and later, depending on the success of that film, a sequel may be made as a way to bank on the success of the original film. 

In a film “series” scenario, which may include the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter series, the first film is created with the expectation and, perhaps, reliance on the fact that later films will come out to finish the story that the original film left untold. 

The sequel situation is more financially dependable because it banks on an already successful film.  In a series, the first film is banking on the possible success of a second film; by creating the first film with a cliffhanger or incomplete story, you are betting that future films will be made to tie up loose ends.  If this does not happen, then what story has been told so far will be considered incomplete and potentially not worth buying in the future.

Examples of films would first include the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Just watching the first movie on it’s own will not be a complete experience.  If it weren’t successful enough to complete the series, then it would remain forever to be an incomplete film.  Even if all episodes of the series were shot at once to save time, it’s still a lot more investment than would be needed to invest in a single film. 

The Potter series played it safe in the beginning; the first film may be viewed as a single story on it’s own.  Later chapters have left more room and expectation for plot points to be resolved in the future.  Having kept this up for eight films is a huge investment.

Now there are the films based on Marvel Comics that lead up to the upcoming Avengers film.  In this unique situation, several films are created as seemingly unrelated storylines and, later on, are connected into one film that brings all of the characters together.  In each of the Marvel films (Iron Man, Thor, Incredible Hulk) there is a story element near the end of each film that makes you expect that there is more story ahead; this hints toward the future Avengers film.  This creates a commitment to make a future film in order to follow-through on that expectation, another risky investment.

I personally enjoy these film series, if not always for the stories themselves but also for the fact that someone found it worth investing in not just one expensive film, but also several at once.

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Freddie Wong Collaborates with Samsung and Youtube for Revenue Opportunity

Sometimes people can make a living by distributing entertainment content for FREE.   

Samsung Galaxy S II Viral Video

Freddie Wong, famed filmmaker on Youtube, makes several entertaining videos people subscribe to; yet, although no one has to pay to see these videos, he makes his living off of sponsorships, including his recent deal with Samsung!

Freddie “freddiew” Wong makes many videos on Youtube often based on videogame concepts.  He often acts out events only seen in video games to show how absurd it would be if these concepts applied to real life.  He makes use of Adobe After Effects to make these kinds of stories possible.  He’s mastered methods of using green-screen, digital effects and pyro-technics, making his short films comparable to Hollywood quality. 

His films have garnered popularity with gamers, film students and special effects enthusiasts who wish to learn how to do all that Wong is accomplishing.  For every video he creates, he releases alongside it a “making of” video to display his “gorilla filmmaking” at work.

He’s gained the attention of some big-name companies wanting to cash in on his success.  Jon Favreau, director of Cowboys and Aliens, asked Wong to make a short film with him in the same style as Cowboys, as a form of promotion.

 Companies like Valve and Google have let Wong and his friends tour their office and have provided them with free merchandise.

Most notably and recently, Samsung cashed in on a marketing opportunity in regards to their new camera phone, Galaxy S II.  Wong was in need of a camera that was lightweight enough to attach on top of a moving car (for an aerial shot) without it falling over.  It’s not known as to who contacted whom first, but Samsung sent them the Galaxy for free.  It was lightweight, yet, recorded in 1080p HD so it matched Wong’s quality.  This was a strategic move since thousands of viewers take note on how Wong accomplishes all of his shots and many have stated they were impressed by the quality of such a camera phone.  Samsung states in the above video that Wong has an audience that is very “technically aware, technically savvy” and that allowing him to make a movie with the phone in the way that he wants allows the brand to be seen in a way it could not have before.  This shows people the best of what is possible with this device through a filmmaker who’s working through passion, which, as stated in the video, is much more effective than typical advertising methods.

Check out Wong's Youtube clip as he uses the Samsung Galaxy to make dynamic shots!

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Netflix: on the Queue for disaster?

Dear John,
I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

This is the Email I’ve received from Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings.  Recent changes for Netflix this past year has been giving the company some bad rep.  July of this year, Netflix had warned its current customers that prices would be going up by about $6.  This is generally a separation of DVD and streaming services; anyone with a DVD + streaming subscription would have seen their price as being a combo of $7.99 streaming plus however much they’d be charged for DVDs.  Many people have claimed to be canceling their subscriptions as a result.

As if this wasn’t enough, Netflix is now making further changes to their subscriptions.  The company itself will no longer provide a DVD service, but only provide streaming.  The DVDs will still be shipped, however, but from another branch company called Qwikster.  Although there will be no more price changes (“We’re done with that”), this means that to modify one’s DVD queue, one must log into another site; this means having two accounts to manage.

These approaches have not been sitting well with investors.  “Netflix Inc. stock fell $13.72, or 9.5 percent, to close at $130.03 Tuesday. It is now down 55 percent since July 12”, July 12 being the date when the initial price hike was first announced.

Hastings’ biggest concern was that Netflix “wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us)”.  As a result of this, Netflix decided to primarily embrace streaming as it will become the new demand.  His transition into this change is what knocked subscribers off guard.

When running a business that revolves around media, it’s important to keep up with the times so as to not be left behind like AOL or Borders.  I would have to say that Hastings handled this fairly well.  Creating a new company for DVD mail-ins might be a bit drastic, but if that’s the best way for his company to focus more on new technology, it may not be that bad of a move. 

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Attorney Ned McCleod Fights a Legal Storm

I’ve recently had the chance to interview a lawyer who works in Intellectual Property law.  Ned Mcleod is an attorney who works in Entertainment Law here in the Orlando area and I sought after him to discuss a case he worked on back in the mid 2000’s.  The case was involving a dispute with Time Warner regarding their movie, The Perfect Storm.  The movie was based upon a true story wherein fishermen, Billy Tyne and Dale Murphy, were lost at sea during a storm.  McLeod worked for the family members of the fishermen, collectively known as “Tyne”, as they disagreed with the method by which their husbands/fathers were portrayed by the film.  One of their main arguments was against the fact that the fishermen’s names were used in a commercial endeavor without any prior consent.  However, the court interpreted the definition of “commercial” product to not include motion pictures, as they are not technically advertisements.  McLeod and the Tyne family lost the case.

Speaking with McLeod in person, I’ve gotten a lot of insight into the situation that you typically miss in case documents.  He has related his experience in talking with the daughters of the fishermen and how they endured people’s anger towards their father as a result of him being portrayed in a false light.

McLeod has many years of experience both in the film industry and working in law; so he knows the strategies and philosophies of both.  He finds illogical the view, which dictates that a film in and of itself is not a commercial product.  He’s pointed out that film companies will hold industry conventions wherein they are proud to host their films as commercial tools to promote their companies and any products associated with them; they openly consider the films marketing vehicles in the marketplace but not in the courtroom.

Since my videography will mostly be making revenue from the stories of people or by the use of their image, I’m prepared to take release forms for any and all people involved with my video products.  For the most part, thankfully, any video I make will likely be commissioned by the person of whom it is about, so I should be able to avoid such issues as are reflected in this case.

It was very pleasant getting to meet the attorney in person; he was very interested in and glad about us making a presentation on his case.  He had materials related to the case ready for my partner and I the moment we got there.  He looks forward to a day when the laws will be clearer in describing films as commercial products and he seemed to hope that the issues of this case would eventually become better known.

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Assassination Picts.

My partner and I are currently organizing a videography business that we call Assassination Pictures. Under this name, we’ve made a number of funny stories on YouTube, including our web series, Roommates. Now that we’re branching into videography, this means we’ll be dealing with clients and doing what we can to make the best profit for ourselves.

I’ve been forming this business as part of my business plan that I’m developing for my Entertainment Business degree at Full Sail. This current semester is about negotiating; so, to see how negotiating comes into play in my industry, I found Joe DeBlasi from the Professional Videographers of Central Florida, and asked him some questions as to how negotiating comes into play in this business.

According to DeBlasi, his usual set price is determined mostly by his expertise, establishing his status as a skilled, professional videographer. Someone newer in the field would likely be considered a “budget” videographer until their status and reputation is built up. Despite his set fees, there are times when his clientele might be relatively low, leaving him with fewer choices in work, thus, reducing his BATNA. In times such as this, he’s admitted to occasionally lowering the prices of his services for the sake of securing a client.

There are also cases wherein a compromise can be reached between budget and services offered. A customer with little money might request a partial service to be rendered in exchange for a lower price. A newcomer videographer states in a support message board that some potential wedding clients were asking him to film less of the wedding, even to exclude the matrimony itself for the sake of paying a smaller price. At first suspecting that the clients were haggling him, the videographer was advised on the board that they were instead trying to reach a compromise to meet their budget.

Now is the time for us to branch out from our hobby-based, narrative film-making and dip into a solid business of shooting for clients. As we become more experienced, we’ll become more capable of asking for higher fees and, if we’re well known, will have more bargaining chips on the table.

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The Top 24 of the 24!

For those who don’t know, the 24 Hour Film Festival recently occurred last weekend, and my team’s submission made the top-24 list eligible for award!

The 24 Hour Film Fest is an event in Orlando where participants take part in a film contest. The goal is for each team to make a film, 3 to 5 minutes in length, in the course of twenty four hours. That’s not all; each team has restrictions that apply to their film, restrictions that they’re not aware of until the contest begins. At the contest kick-off time (9 am) each team is assigned a genre their film should conform to, a list of props from which they should choose three, and a line that must be said in the movie.

This means we can’t even start writing what the movie is about until the kickoff time, giving us 24 hours to go from concept to finished product: from 9 am to 9 am next day. My team came up with a solid story relatively fast and we seemed to be ahead of schedule. The biggest problem was that it had to be an outside setting, and the weather was trying to rain all day. This meant starting and stopping the shoot several times. Luckily all the shots were attained, and the film was finished. Out of all the submissions, the top 24 are chosen to be part of a screening and to be aired on PBS as well as being eligible for one of three prizes.

The Festival is financed by at least 29 sponsors, some of which are companies that appeal to the film crowd, advertising cheap filmmaking equipment or training; others merely offer samples of services in hopes of gaining customers. Red Bull even gave free energy shots assuming the contestants would find this useful for the all-nighter.

http://www.orlando24hourfilm.com/

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The Best Movie Ever Sold: Spurlock's New Form of Transparent FIlmmaking

I can't believe someone managed to pull this off.  This is a movie that's about the making of itself!

Morgan Spurlock, creator of Super Size Me, 30 Days(check it out on Netflix instant), and Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? is now releasing the film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  This film is a documentary wherein Spurlock is trying to attain funding for the very film itself; as said before, it's about the making of itself.

Spurlock is one who really works for his material.  He puts himself through whatever subject matter he makes films about.  He's put himself in jail, war zones and even in poor health for the sake of getting accurate results and being able to provide a new look on certain situations and people.  These qualities have securely developed a strong trust from audiences.

Because this film goes throughout it's entire production process, we get to see that several companies turn down requested funding for the film. Despite having an established reputation, Spurlock overcomes much adversity on getting the film funded.  He finds a new method of warming up to companies by approaching smaller (but still successful) businesses who are willing to skip middle-men such as agents to make deals; because of this, he gets more up-close and personal with them about ideas.

Spurlock has the ability to communicate to audiences and give them certain truths that are often hidden.  He reveals that much of sponsorship and advertising is less about projecting your brand to make it visible, and more about maintaining a certain level of artificiality, or keeping a certain persona that is generally an illusion and fictional.  Spurlock shows that companies would often shy away from publicity if it means that their advertising methods would be made transparent.
The speech itself, even without seeing the movie reveals much about the process of brands making themselves known and how much that comes into play in the funding of events or motion pictures.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1743720/
http://morganspurlock.com/
http://www.ted.com/talks/morgan_spurlock_the_greatest_ted_talk_ever_sold.html

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It Should Not Have Happened

This is the kind of thing that should normally never happen in the film industry; a confusing mix of filmmaking malpractice with a possible stroke of genius.

Tommy Wiseau is the star, writer, director and producer of The Room, which is referred to as the “Citizen Kane of bad movies”. Wiseau will be attending an Orlando multi-media convention, Mega Con, to host the showing of his film as part of his Love is Blind tour to show his movie across the country.

The Room has a cult following and people gladly go to see this movie along with Wiseau; but this defies expectations as it is confirmed with little to no dispute that the film was horribly written, acted, and directed.

There are several plotholes as well as narrative detours that never get completed. Lisa’s mother reveals she has breast cancer in the middle of the film; the response to this is relatively mild and the topic is never brought up again. The young man, Denny, gets in a conflict with a drug dealer to whom he owes money and who almost kills Denny. The situation is never mentioned again nor is the potential possibility that Denny makes illegal drug deals.

There are other small events that make no sense and play no part in the story. The acting and writing are horrible and many of Tommy’s lines had to be dubbed over. One has to wonder how a movie like this gets treated as a success.

The film experiences what I refer to as “The Producers” effect, where a show that should be a failure is instead a success. Fans of the movie seem so amused at how bad the movie is that they have to see it again. Even in it’s premiere, people who did not walk out were rolling on the floor, laughing not at any intentional humor but at disbelief in how clumsily the film was pieced together.

Wiseau is in a sense a genius in that he currently banks on the movie’s bad rep. He makes claim that the film was meant to be funny as a non-traditional dark humor. He shows the film all over encouraging people to laugh or throw spoons (a common audience activity in response to the unexplained photos of spoons in the background). An anonymous cast member says this is just making the best out of a disaster, “He is a nice guy. But he is full of s---. He was trying to put together a drama.”

Partly disgusted that a bad filmmaker can achieve this level of success, and partly proud for a guy who can take a failure and turn it around into his own kind of fame with a cult following, I will be attending Wiseau’s event at Mega Con on March 26. I will likely be writing on the event as well as other possible stories from the convention.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20246031_2,00.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/24/MVDS175KNE.DTL
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20246031,00.html
http://www.megaconvention.com/view/announcements/99/

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Keeping the old stories...

I just wanted to rant a bit on Hollywood’s practice of revamping fictional characters of the past for today’s audiences.

To give a clear picture of where I’m coming from, I grew up on cartoons, shows and video games from the 1980’s to early 90’s. I along with many of my age range cease to let go of those childhood days, and we continue to take joy in going to youtube for episodes of He-Man, downloading them music from Power Rangers and Dragon Ball Z, or paying unrealistic dollars on merchandise from Transformers on Ebay.
Members of this audience remember the significance of these characters and their storylines.

For several years but especially since the mid 2000’s, Hollywood has cashed in on our old beloved stories. Sometimes they are done correctly, sometimes not. The common issue that arises is that the original audience of the story isn’t taken into as much consideration. This is to be expected since there is a whole new audience to entertain. But too many times the original theme, message or story is distorted, and the filmmakers are content to merely keep the external characteristics of the story (such as character appearance, names, taglines, familiar designs) rather than the essence of the story.

One example is the 2000 movie remake of Rocky & Bullwinkle. It acts less like a movie re-telling of the show, and more like a movie that’s ABOUT the show. In the film, the characters leave the T.V. world, and into the real world. This method of remaking a story makes as much sense as deciding to make a movie based on the Lord of the Rings book, but in the film version, the hobbits come out of the book and meet up with Tolkien. The only thing the filmmakers banked on was the use of the characters’ names and images. The movie Dragonball Evolution showed only minor references to the actual storyline of the Dragonball comic. For people unfamiliar with the story, having a spikey-haired protagonist performing unrealistic martial-arts might be enough of a connection. But in truth, there should have been less effort in making the main character look like a cartoon, and more spent in actually following what the story was about.

The audiences of these shows who are now grown are very prominent. Tons of merchandise such as T-shirts and DVD box sets are testimony to the size of this audience. Using poor methods of remaking these old shows excludes several members of this audience. By simply keeping faithful to original storylines and themes, filmmakers can keep the demographics of early to late twenties for these kinds of movies. Impress them enough, and members of this audience will likely even buy expensive collector’s editions of these movie remakes. It’s nothing more than good marketing sense.

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Dance of War

This is a documentary I filmed about Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art.  The project restricted me to 6-7 minutes, so there's a lot of great information left out; but I may be working on an extended version.  Thanks to Ivan B. Watkins, PhD. Urban Studies for his input.

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Moving forward

Lately I've had to learn various technologies that I was not familiar with.  For the sake of my career and staying on top of the industry, I've been familiarizing myself with Final Cut Pro (I've been used to Avid systems), MobileME, Blogger, Live Meeting, Polycom and the latest versions of Adobe products.

It's easy to become content to stick with the familiar technology and be like an older man, afraid to move toward the next generation; but when working with film, video and other media, you have to keep updating yourself. 
This idea is not new, but lately I've realized this in myself since I've been adapting to the Mac platform.  I'm feeling more of an urge to be capable on multiple platforms of media technology in order to accomplish whatever tasks my art or my work demand of me.

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