The Perfectionist and the Projectionist

Stanley Kubrick on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick, one of the great directors in cinema history, was, in the strongest sense of the word, a perfectionist. This you can plainly see by watching any one of his movies. He was relentless in his pursuit of the realization of his vision. It is largely for this reason that just about every movie he made could be considered a masterpiece. Just take a look at this list:

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Shining (1980)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Lolita (1962)
Spartacus (1960)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Killing (1956)

All of his movies were controversial, unsettling, and beautiful. The care he took with them shines through in every frame. Here's a great example of that care. This is a letter he wrote to the projectionists at the theaters that would be playing his 1975 classic Barry Lyndon.

He had just created a movie for the ages, and he wanted to make damn sure it was shown to his audiences correctly.

Amazing that a director would do this. That's follow-through for ya.

Shot Angles

We went to MCS again this morning. I took mostly HDRs which I am still processing but I wanted to post this cool movie-related item. On top is a screen capture from the first Transformers movie, a scene which was shot inside the main lobby at MCS in 2006.

Below that is a picture I took this morning from about the same angle. I cropped it and altered the coloration to match the look of the film. Pretty cool. They used a big light down the hall for effect, and a wider lens than I did (hence the distortion they got in the pillars, etc). But all in all, it's very close.

Amazingly, much of the specific graffiti has survived, with some new stuff added in.

Transforming

Just to add one more dimension to the story of the MCS, here are shots from the scene in the movie Transformers where Shia LaBeouf runs through the MCS near the end of the film. These scenes were filmed at the MCS sometime in 2006, and it looks just about the same now, although it looks like for the movie they added some digital grunge to the exterior.



Here's how the second scene was set up:

Another Web Birthday

Isn't it almost hard to remember a time before YouTube? It has become so ingrained in our culture that it almost seems like it was always here. But in fact YouTube is only five years old as of yesterday: the domain www.youtube.com was registered on February 14, 2005. It's crazy to think that I have known Heather longer than YouTube has been in existence.

In October 2006 YouTube was purchased by Google for a cool $1.65 Billion. Not bad for a precocious youngster.

The Story Arc

Did you know we were being manipulated by storytellers and directors? If you did, you should have said something.

On The Inside

"Ideally, the technology is advanced enough to make itself go away. That's how it should work. All of the technology should wave its own wand and make itself disappear." - James Cameron

Avatar. What an amazing film. I mean, the story is not bad, it's basically "Dances with Wolves on Pandora", but the technology is very powerfully used. It draws you right in and you almost live it.

I have never seen anything like the kind of 3D effect Cameron was able to put into this film. Yes, he developed new stereoscopic cameras and a new kind of 3D interface to fine tune shot angles. But none of that really matters when you see it because it just blows you away. Everything about the old 50's version of 3D has been completely wiped and upgraded, from capture to CGI to edits right through to the digital projectors and the luminously reflective silver screen. Even the glasses are different, this system uses circular polarization to give you 3D without the headache. And finally, a first for 3D, you can tilt your head and the picture remains solid.

Meanwhile, motion capture has now been perfected. Yes, perfected, and I am very picky about these things. These creatures, generated inside a computer based on capture data, move in a completely, astoundingly fluid manner that is just absolutely stunning to behold. There is simply no hint of "video game" left in this movie.

But it's not about the tech, really. I mean, that's very cool stuff, but what really gets you is the experience. Just as Cameron says, once you adjust to it the technology simply disappears. You feel like you are inside the movie. I have bitched about obvious tech before, and this is one more step towards breaking down that wall.

I think we'll be seeing a lot more 3D in movies, and very soon. And the 3D Blu Ray spec was just finalized so the experience will be in our living rooms before too long. Before I saw this movie, I thought 3D was basically a gimmick. But now it's starting to look like it isn't going away anytime soon. And not just for action movies either. If used correctly, this kind of 3D can enhance almost any kind of movie because it removes the "fourth wall" and you fall right in.

Crab Claws By The Bucket

Yesterday was a long, hard day. It started out really fun in the AM, as we took Zach on a "Zach Day", treating him to a movie (the excellent "A Christmas Carol")and his favorite lunch (Sushi and other ocean goodness from Noble Fish). Then there was homework and a very difficult evening. Zach was really acting agitated, and then he started to feel queasy around bedtime. Not long after that he was barfing into a bucket and feeling miserable. This went on all night long.


At first I thought he might have eaten a bad crab or something. We shared some crazy tiny dried "snacking crabs" that sort of gave the impression of eating cockroaches but tasted fantastic. Or perhaps it was the "tentacle" he ate. But the more I thought about it, that seemed less likely. After all, I ate the same stuff he did, and more of it. And we've had the stomach bug ripping through our house like a tornado lately so I guess it's probably from that. I must admit though, it doesn't appear to be any fun vomiting tiny crab claws out of your nose.



But during the early, good part of the day, we had a blast giving Zach time with just Heather and I, something he rarely if ever gets. We need to do that again sometime soon. Sans the crab-vomiting of course.

Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan-Maria Ramirez

(Tuco is in a bubble bath. The One Armed Man enters the room)

One Armed Man: "I've been looking for you for 8 months. Whenever I should have had a gun in my right hand, I thought of you. Now I find you in exactly the position that suits me. I had lots of time to learn to shoot with my left."

(Tuco kills him with the gun he has hidden in the foam)

Tuco: "When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk."