Netflix in Vista Media Center means no more movies in the mail necessary.

Netflix Watch Instantly comes to Vista Media Center, not Extenders

So, this is the final step in translating my entertainment needs to being completely online.  With on-demand access to a huge portion of the Netflix library, I could watch movies, TV shows, cartoons, and more for a mere $8.99/month.  We were on the $4.99 plan, but only got 2 hours of instant viewing for that price. The streaming quality is great though not HD-quality.  However, compared to analog channels on my HDTVs, it looks incredible.  Really makes me glad I pulled audio and video from my PC in the living room to the bedroom as well (and IR remote control via Jensen ir100a).

Scarlett Johansson sounds weirder than she looks..

OK, the 20s song, Summertime, off of Unexpected Dreams - Songs From The Stars, is pretty great. But the new album is like sad Enya wannabe. And I don't care for her acting all that much..
Amazon.com: Scarlett Johansson: MP3 Downloads

Summertime Unexpected Dreams - Songs From The Stars

Send in the Animated Clones

Star Wars: The Clone Wars | The Trailer & Poster for Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens in movie theaters Aug. 15.

ASCII Star Wars

This is pretty great. Colors were reversed in Terminal on my Mac, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
Friday Fun: Watch Star Wars in Text via Telnet

from any command line, type telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl and sit back to watch the show

Posted by cmwillis at 11:50 PM |

Sentient Zombies

Not completely sure how I feel about this sequel: 28 Weeks Later, but 28 Days Later came the closest to any zombie film film I've seen where the zombies aren't slow-moving idiots. My dream is a zombie movie where they are fully sentient, discriminated against and soulful. Is there one out there I just haven't seen?

Steven Soderbergh was born...

Steven Soderbergh - Biography

in Atlanta, GA

. Here's a guy who really wants there to be alternate realities. Just watch The Jacket with Adrian Brody, which he produced with George Clooney, and it really reminded me of Solaris which he directed. Pretty good breakdown of potential plot holes here.

Movie Reviews

Please post quotations here about my student's film, Jump.

"I read the script. It was boring.." Julianne, 13

bit part in movie

I have a bit part in this movie: www.killingelvismovie.com.

Not much, but it is slightly more than this guy's part.

Also I am starring in this: 10 Things Not To Do With Your Intern: Besides Than the Obvious.

Oh yeah, and my class this semester produced this: Jump. Link coming soon.

How do you make a good documentary?

Found this on iTunes as a video podcast, but its really a short film. iTunes is neat for finding new stuff, but these really don't seem to fit.

Anyhoo, check this out, its great:

Film articles

Good article on Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
Bride Stripped Bare

Filmmaking Articles

Here are links to a couple of articles I've written for the Chattanooga Film Blog.

Screenwriting Resources
DV Filmmaking - Production

Filmmaking Curriculum - Preproduction/Screenwriting

Screenwriting Resources

As a resource for those taking our filmmaking workshop, and for whoever else stumbles onto the CFB searching for filmmaking tips, I’ve compiled the following information as a resource for beginning screenwriters. I’d like to thank my former intern Ryan DiGiorgi of LazyBear Productions for gathering most of this research, and to a lesser extent my current intern, Kashad Moore (j/k Kashad).

The purpose of the workshops is to promote story-telling with film/digital video, to encourage local submissions for the Back Row Film Festival, and to generally encourage young filmmakers.

The first workshop covers preproduction, specifically, writing your script. Why is writing so important, isn’t film a visual medium? Well, yes, but, that is only the finished product. The first step is getting the idea out of your head and onto paper. Everything you see on the screen starts with the script. And the script starts with a single idea.

Where do good ideas for stories come from? Check out some scripts from films you’ve seen:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/, http://www.screenplays-online.de/

These Hollywood films required months, even years of preproduction, script development, and planning.

But where do story ideas come from? Random conversations with friends, waking up in the middle of the night (a vision from God), locations that evoke a feeling, where else? A good story idea can come from anywhere, but the question is, where is this story going?

Every story has already basically been told in some form. Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self. Any new idea, no matter how original, can be compared to an existing work. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can be helpful to look at previous work to get your ideas in motion.

How do these story ideas then get turned into films? Not just by talking about them! They had to be written down first--then submitted to film companies, completely re-written, then made into Hollywood films.

A lot of the movies you see started with a “what if” statement? From a conversation, someone came up with, What if _____ happened to _______?

What if an alien visitor was left behind on Earth and discovered by a child?
What if werewolves fought vampires?
What if a psychopath designed traps where people had to hurt themselves or others to save their own life?
What if we made a movie about a young rapper trying to make it?
What if toys came to life?
What if a student skipped school and had hilarious hijinx in Chicago?
What if four brothers vowed to avenge their mothers death?
What if two cowboys fell in love?
What if two professional killers were married to each other and didn’t know the truth about each other?

The “Chris Willis” method, as I like to call it is very similiar. Basically I have sat around and heard a thousand converations where someone said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if ______ happened in a movie?” Same concept.

All screenplays have common elements that need to be addressed, but the place to start is with the subject. What is your story about? (Field) Figure this out first, then move on to plot, characters, and endings.

What happens? “The story is NOT an action scene, it’s not a guy falling down the stairs, it’s not ‘wouldn’t it be funny if we dressed up like ninjas’ unless that sentence ends with ‘and then something interesting happens’” (DiGiorgi, 2006).

What else makes a story? Structure. Hollywood agents for writers have very particular criteria they are looking for. One thing in particular is that submitted stories have a “Three Act Structure.”

ACT 1
Setup
Who is the main character and what does he want?
Why?
What does he intend to do to get it?

ACT 2
Struggle
The hero’s plan goes into action
There are problems
He tries several different methods, meeting new obstacles and learning new things at each turn
Just when he’s sure he has everything figured out, his worst fear comes true. He’s ready to give up.
EVERY good movie has this scene, try to find it.
But WAIT. There might be hope.
One last plan

ACT 3
Payoff
CLIMAX: The hero’s last plan is put into action.
The plan pays off and he has the power to get what he wants.
But was it really what he NEEDS?
He takes everything he learned in Act 2 and applies it to his final decision to accept what he wants or reject it.
Resolution
How did everything turn out for everyone?

The Punctuation Method (The Screenwriter Within)

ACT 1 ends with a “?”
The premise is setup, what will happen?

ACT 2 ends with a “!”
Holy crap, I did not think that would happen!

ACT 3 ends with a “.”
Well, I guess it all worked out.

If you don’t know your ending, make up three. The real ending is probably a mixture of these:

The happiest possible ending
The saddest possible ending
The most absurd ending
-The Screenwriter Within

Another important point for scripts submitted to film companies is using the proper screen writing format. Eejit’s Guide has a very good explanation of how to write for independent films.

Is the format really that important? Depends on what you’re doing. The main things is to get your ideas out of your head and onto paper. People can’t read your mind.

Storyboarding is another useful tool in preproduction. Check Eejit’s Guide for help with this as well.

So get to work. And if you'd like to post your ideas or get other feedback from area writers, contact me at Chris-Willis@utc.edu.

For more info see:
Books on screenwriting:
King, Viki. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days.
Gilles, D. B. The Screenwriter Within.
Field, Syd. Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting.
Field, Syd. The Screenwriters Workbook.

Useful websites:
http://www.indiewire.com/
http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/
http://www.screenwriting.info/
http://www.dvshop.ca/dvcafe/writing/beginners.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/howtowrite/screenplay.shtml
http://worldfilm.about.com/c/ht/00/07/How_Write_Screenplay_For0962933827.htm

Things are not looking up for the Firefly Film Fest

Actually they are, just not quite so much. We do have this fancy new logo:

Also, entries are coming in and plans are being made for workshops before and after the fest for local filmmakers. We are also seeking sponsors and making contacts.

Let me know if you have any ideas..

Film Festival

Things are looking up for the Firefly Film Festival this fall. We are meeting with the county Monday about a tourism grant application I sent in, hopefully to fund an appearance by Efrin Ramirez, otherwise known as Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite.

Someone suggested a name change such that people would get a better idea of where we are and what the festival is about. I've got "The Unpretentious Film Festival" (TUFF), or "Student Films, Eh.."

Any suggestions?

Film Blog

A friend of mine is interested in starting a filmmaker's blog for people in Chattanooga who like making, watching or are otherwise into local films, but, we are kind of stuck for a name.

Any ideas? Other thoughts about a film blog or local filmmaking? My idea is to keep it simple. People should be able to post comments, watch dailies and finished shorts, and encourage each other to be creative..

Eternal Sunshine

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an accurate portrayal of what would happen if someone stuck a fork in my brain and jabbed around for a while. It actually felt like that watching it.

I liked it.

The what-if is pretty good. What-if you could erase unpleasant memories, would you? I have always said if Hell were personalized, mine would be to have watch or relive every stupid thing I've ever done. But would I want to erase those memories? Where's the learning? What's to keep you from doing it all over again?

This website for the film is cool. Reminds me of tylerdurden.com.

Firefly Film Fest

So, it's over. What a ride. I am extremely proud of Jean, Steph, Bo and all the others who worked so hard on this event. If anyone who went reads this and has suggestions for next year please let me know.

I was particularly impressed with "The Package," especially now that I know the 3 minute introductory scene was intentionally slow, and then followed by both fast-paced and madcap hilarity. An interesting debate/argument is raging on Ryan's website, Lazybear Productions, about different viewpoints of "working together" to build the film community in Chattanoogs.

I will post the complete version of "Hey Ladies!" shortly.

Thanks to everyone who showed up and everyone who had a part in this project.

"Hey Ladies!"

Click here to see some test shots from "Hey Ladies!" a film by Chris Willis, starring Meghraj Hazare.