Comments on: FILM

By: Justin Oswald

Justin Oswald — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:26:13 +0000

John,

Haven’t seen Control yet, keep meaning too. One of the things I loved about 24HPP was that it spent a good chunk of the movie really showing Ian Curtis to be this intense, doomed figure and then turn it all around by having Tony’s last memory of him being Ian singing “Louie, Louie.” A nice change from the usual movie treatment of the tragic artist.

By: Mat

Mat — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:37:15 +0000

Anca, Dave, I agree, ideas are better shared. On a shoot this year I had been getting along with the creative team well prior to the shoot & they were trusting me at the shoot. But my producer came over and whispered in my ear, asked if I’d like him to move them away from me and my playback monitor. I was against it - and kinda shocked. The 3 of us (director and creative team) were all communicating and the day/shoot was much better for it.

When the team first saw the offline they didnt change a single edit - coz they understood it as they were amongst it more than they usually would be at the shoot.

By: Riki

Riki — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:21:07 +0000

funny thing is people even tend to ‘hide’ books, Lurzers, blogs where they got info from etc. which is just ridiculous. especially youngsters.

my father used to say: “if I gave a hammer to you and a proffessional carpenter, who do you think will do a better job?”

the same is with knowledge or ideas. it’s not where’s coming from, it’s what you can do with it.

By: vinny warren

vinny warren — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:43:14 +0000

mat, yes, you should definitely seek out the creatives whose work you like. they’ll appreciate it and get to know you. and know that you’re not Billy Walsh.
do creatives rely on producers to pick directors in the UK? how does that work?

PS: where can i buy an Anca t-shirt?

By: dave

dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:30:24 +0000

Absolutely Anca.
One of my favourite quotes is by the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and it could refer to a lot of young so-called ‘creatives’.
“The problem with the world is that the ignorant are arrogant and cocksure. While the intelligent are full of doubt.”

By: Anca

Anca — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:03:59 +0000

To tell you the truth, sometimes I have such ideas that I pray for someone to steal them and produce them. Seeing them up and running is nothing but a confirmation that they were indeed very good ideas. Ointment for self-esteem (which by the way, young creatives more and more seem to lack.).

By: dave

dave — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:54:18 +0000

Nice reply Anca.
I learned years ago that the only people frightened of sharing their ideas are people who are frightened they can’t come up with any more ideas.
Most people think the mind is like a well: the more you take out, the less there is left.
But actually the mind is like a muscle: the more you use it, the better it gets.

By: Anca

Anca — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:46:59 +0000

Mat, I couldn’t agree more. In a world of people who spend most of their time at work, their only possibility of not losing their personal lives would be to make work part of their personal lives. Friendships among professionals would surely be a shortcut to it. I never understood that fear of sharing ideas. “Geeez, what if he’s going to use my idea? How can I prove we’ve talked about it over coffee???” This type of desperate creatives are really worrying. If you’re so paranoid about one good idea, it means it doesn’t strike you too often. Also, a relaxed atmosphere is most definitely the first step towards the right mood for creative work. Getting to know the person you (might) work with helps you understand why you should think twice before dismissing any of his/her ideas — it is also known as… respect; at a higher and more subtle level.

By: Mat

Mat — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:41:36 +0000

to digress a little, what about talking to directors without a job/pitch attached? Mean, it’s always good for creatives to meet directors without the pressure of a so-call job. I’m a director at one of london’s big / better production companys and I’d welcome the idea of meeting over a coffee slash film etc. Good work occurs more often and easily with like minded people getting along so building relationships and learning from one and other means that if / when you work together you can put stuff on the table - the good and the bad.

By: Anca

Anca — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:10:18 +0000

I don’t know why exactly I forgot to mention Steve McQueen’s “Hunger”. Wonderful direction. The art direction is flawless, extremely powerful and shocking at times and the sound direction is incredible also, with no music (this can sound weird to those who haven’t seen the film, but you’ll understand what I mean if you see it). The only instrumental sounds can be heard in the final scene, two alarm-like notes which in that context sound terrifying.