The modern update of that seaside classic.
Now it’s fun for the adults as well as the children,
Steven Seagal Obese Action Film Star
The real meaning of the recent films action film star Steven Seagal has made.
How come he doesn’t do any martial arts moves anymore?
Fahrenheit 8 Part 2 : Editing
The Post Production Phase
So, the main shoot was a slight disaster in getting what I wanted on screen, a situation that Christopher Nolan never had to go through but then again he had money, lots of money! I just had third party camera insurance and some travel expenses.
I have a background in editing and always enjoy the challenges of cutting but this is way beyond what I expected or signed up for AND THIS WAS MY FILM. Why? Most of the projects I have worked on have a decent budget and big crew and pretty much the entire script filmed from various angles over multiple days. My film didn’t. Also I wasn’t as prepared to deal with everything like that little nugget called continuity.
After the first viewing of the rushes I noticed the lack of continuity of the scenes involved as we had to rush through the script due to the extreme cold which would depress any mere mortal. I have all the shots that I need to build something but it’s not the vision I had in my head but hey nobody really gets everything they need, do they?
Now, if had to farm out this material to an editor I would have plainly been screwed as working for peanuts, one expects at a minimum, footage that looks good (which it was) acted well (which it was) and cuts together easily (ermmm….). Nobody wants do be bogged down in fixing something unless you are getting full pay or you have that Steve Jobs style of enthusiasm of saying magic is in there. Coppola was great at keeping his post staff motivated during his darkest moments of Apocalypse Now and he did well out of it. I can now watch Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse and say I lived the dream!
Luckily as I am editing this I can find ways around the footage and even better I am going in an eccentric direction, which is putting my film in an interesting position. If all went well during the shoot it would have been a nicely edited film like so many other shorts but I have a chance of being different. I allow myself the chance to experiment in my darkened room.
I am back on track and enjoying the problem solving, as that is what I do best.
Junkie Doll Poster 4
another suitable obscure poster for the highly anticipated junkie puppet movie. come join the fun
Jimmy Saville Predator Poster
At the height of the BBC crisis comes a film depiction of jimmy savile saga filmed in glorious 70mm and directed by Michael Winner
The 70mm Film Experience
I got a chance to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic The Master projected in 70mm at the Odeon West End and since I haven’t seen a proper celluloid projection in some years I decided to give nostalgia a go.
As anyone who is a real cinephile I was constantly in the cinema during the 90’ and noughties and also catching retro favorites in the BFI but lately it has been harder to catch these flicks on the big screen now that nearly everything is digital. Also I rarely go to the cinema due to my parenting circumstances and the poor pedigree of cinematic drek currently littering the multiplex.
Also I edited one short film on a Steenbeck, actually cutting the film and it was truly amazing. New digital editors will never experience such a thing except in a museum.
Back to the film, money paid and sitting in my seat, I got excited when the Weinstein logo came on but was shocked at how blurry and slightly out of focus film is. It was weird to forget what it felt like compared to digital projection. There was even a track line on the film, which made me all nostalgic about battered prints of yesteryear and those amazing cigarette burns that signify a print change! Awesome! It was not the super exciting experience I was expecting but nonetheless a fantastic film and a novelty to watch it in a pre digital format was still there.
The worst part is that I was more blown away by the clean look of Skyfall even though the two films are polar opposites but film verses digital and digital is here to stay for my eyeball tastes seeing as you have Alexa and Red cameras. Film for me now is pretty much the BFI old film screenings which I intend to go back to you because there is nothing like the big screen and celluloid and battered prints.
Film is dead! Long live film!
Drug Deal Disclaimer Teaser Trailer
Drug Deal Disclaimer-Teaser-1 from sandip mahal on Vimeo.
Teaser trailer for my short film Drug Deal Disclaimer coming soon
meet Nigel, not your average drug dealer working in the modern world of narcotic sales
Fahrenheit 8 Pt1
The Premise
The title is based on the temperature in which my filmmaking burned. More of that later so let me start at the beginning.
I decided to direct a short film so I can push to achieve two things. Develop my writing, have material I can edit with and eventually have something I can show to the movers and shakers. In actual fact my Cameraman friend convinced me I could do it and his encouragement pushed me to give it a try.
The Push
Initially I found the setting up daunting as I have never had to produce/ direct but you know what? It was initially easier than I thought. My cameraman friend showed me a suitable location in Fitzrovia, which was perfect. Next was permission to shoot on that location. I went to the Film London website and to my amazement they say “as long as you are not causing an obstruction you don’t need permission to shoot”. For added security you can pay 25-75 quid and have a notice to shoot in case a concerned passer by walks by and wants to be a pain in the ass. The note is not enforceable by the way, just an act of legitimacy so I didn’t bother getting it. Public Liability Insurance (PLI). Need to get one in case a person dies on set but where do I get one? I am a member of BECTU (a British union dealing in Post Production) and automatically I have PLI. Surprisingly sorted!
The People
My cameraman/ friend supplied the kit so next up is actors and sound crew. Ads put out in castingcallpro and mandy.com got me connected to the people I needed. All on board and ready to meet up in Fitzrovia for the shoot day. That is where the easy part ended.
The Prep
As the shoot date loomed I thought I was prepared, I had a fair idea of what I wanted and rehearsed with the actors before the shoot. The weather said sunny but that was only the bright spot (sort of). It was 8 degrees and bitingly cold (hence the title). One actor turned up in a blazer shirt and tie (in keeping with the character) and would suffer the consequences later.
I set up the first scene and expected the actors to run through the whole 10 minutes, which was a big mistake as it was asking a lot. Where was the logic in my head where we break it up into short pages and make it easier for the actors? The actors kept flubbing their lines due to the short rehearsal window I had. This isn’t theatre where you have weeks of run through. The shot list I had in my head (the worst place to store such information!) was falling apart so I had and a lot of improvising had to happen.
The Panic
The weather really started to bite and slow down momentum. Three hours in and I did 4 pages out of 10… oops. Break for lunch and hope we shoot the rest. After lunch it started to rain even though the 2 respected weather sites said it was sunny (liars!) so the rest of the shoot was sheltering until the light rain stopped and continue until it came back. Never have I looked at the sky for two reasons in my life and don’t get me started on how I was going to get around the continuity. At one point I blurted out that it was my Lost in La Mancha moment, which got a chuckle.
The Price
By 3pm the cold just bit the actors who were unable to say the lines properly due to the intense cold I just rushed to get the lines said in extreme close up so I had *something * to cut with. I was line reading them just so I could get all the words filmed and don’t know as of this post whether it cuts together.
Thank god I am editing it because if I had to present these rushes I would have gotten a disheartening response in terms of what I can use. At least I can squirrel away and get something out there and get inventive!
News International Honest Advertising
there has to be more honesty in the a advertising market… and here it is
Drug Dealer Disclaimer Teaser Poster
Teaser poster for my recently filmed short film