WHITE THUNDER Production Portfolio

Production Portfolio
IB Film HL
Session: May 2013
Rationale
I chose to do White Thunder because I really wanted to make a cheesy movie and experiment
with the lost art of zooms. I think that lowballing rather than super serious can be quite an
advantage with the audience. I also notice it is easier to get a reaction from the audience if you
make them laugh rather than feel bad or emotional, and my bitter reaction to my last super
serious film, the bitter tragedy of it being comedic to the audience. After seeing the film black
dynamite, I knew what I had to do for my next film.
Word Count 100

Trailer
It is a rational trailer. First, I set open framed shots in the beginning to create questions in the
viewer. The car shots and mechanized sound effects represented speed, and the zooms
accentuate fast feelings. Afterwards, I introduce Thunder and his qualities such as violent, being
a “loose cannon” and needing a partner. Panama is introduced characteristics of being cocky.
Using Andy, we establish that they are both cops down on their luck. A shot of Panama and
Thunder disagree on musical taste explains their relationship, and ending shots conclude the
bad guy’s role, Dragon Wang.
Word Count 98

Written Commentary for White Thunder
I had always wanted to do a really fun film. I had made a White Thunder short before, and
I wanted a to expand on the character. Once my co produced project Epic Roll , I knew that a
comedic cheesy fun film was something I had to make. The idea for White Thunder came from
my love of Buddy cop movies and the recent explosion of parody blaxploitation and cheesy 70’s
parodies. The plot itself is a cliched buddy cop story, present in many films from Rush Hour to
Running Scared to Bad Boys. They would always begin with introduction to the characters, how
they were forced to conform to each other, find how different they were, mess up, take the case
into their own hands, and become friends. And thus our plot was created as so.

The script began as a treatment that was created at the end of sophomore year basically
outlining the events that would transpire in the full version of White Thunder. A short “pilot
episode” screentest proving ground for the show was shot later that year but not a full version.
With the help of 3 different screenwriters, a continuous edit and a 2nd draft, we completed the
majority of the major scenes, and I was very happy with actually having a almost full script by
the time of actual production, unlike many of my other productions. Unique characters would end
up being the most important part of this film, rather that could have been an intimate relationship
between Panama and Thunder. For better or for worse, this was the influence Jonathan Nievera
brought onto the project, and this would lead to the notorious marketing campaign. My “dual
meaning backhand” blunt style of writing was somewhat present in this project, as in the intro
scene, which was loosely scripted. For example, Thunder says “ Stop being a pansy, Jet. You
know I love you...” which at first glance is not inherently obvious, but under tighter scrutiny is
clearly recognized. The script was a marvelous thing, it created not only cohesion and efficiency,
but direction on the project., and was very beneficial.

Setting the film as a period piece was really a challenge with this film. Having to amass
the wardrobe, sets, props and even vehicles for such a large project was quite an undertaking,
but I think it was a really good learning experience. Even behind the scenes our film was a period
piece; This type of practical effect, home movie blockbuster production harkens back to the 70’s
Super 8 genre style filmmaking usually identified with Spielberg’s early works, and homaged to in
the film Super 8. To that end, each character in our film was uniquely characterized by their
wardrobe and choice of props. For example, White Thunder uses a large .45 Colt, and Panama
Jack uses a small, almost insignificant .22 revolver. Thunder is a brash and hulking fighter,as
well as speaker, whose large and flamboyant style may not actually relate to his actual
effectiveness. Panama, on the other hand, is a small and sly guy, he can hide his secrets until
he wants to strike. However, most of the Panama direct characterization didn't make it through
the first few drafts, and his character is very flat, letting the script focus more and Thunder’s
epiphany. Dreyfus has suspenders to suggest his maturity and wisdom, and the “Other Buddy
Cops” wear Hawaiian shirts not only to address the era, but to also suggest their laid back
nature, contrasting with their reactions later, creating ironic comedy. Dragon Wang Chan wields
a large, blunted sword to suggest his way of getting things done; he is a doppelganger to
Thunder, in the egotistical sense, he is the dark side of Thunder, brutal, blunt, and violent. The
setting of the film was important as well, many of the assorted sets we tried our best to adapt it
to be period acceptable or try to not face the camera towards such things as flatscreens and
cars. Modern cars are however a major error in the film, but are very luckily very subtle. The
choice of Penn School seemed to fit with it’s Cold War Era Architecture, the rest of the locations
were time period anonymous. The use of cars in films seems to be ramping up. Our usage of a
the 1976 red Chevelle was a little different. Because our car was restricted by time, driver, and
the fact that it was old, we decided to go with the green screen route rather than practical.
Conversely, practical effects were an interesting but briefly used in our film. The blood spurts
were created from a air compressor and fake blood in surgical tubing, clogged at the end with a cut piece of a rubber glove. The dummy was a old scuba suit, filed for hours upon hours with newspaper “salvaged” from the neighborhood, and the head was an equally laborious process. I wrapped Jon’s head in an old cloth, and then duct taped its crevices (of course with breathing holes) , and filled with newspaper as well. It was promptly thrown from the roof as a test.

My job on the film was Cinematographer. I really wanted to experiment with zooms in this
project, a sort of underused art. In my research, I found the reason that zooms were so prevalent
in the 70’s was because they had just reached the mass market and were now “new”. Films
during the era had used so many zooms to simply show off their new technology, but as a result,
prime lenses not being used and smaller aperture of zooms led to more exterior day shots and
less low light shots. White Thunder had to have a lot of light pumped into it, as present in the
Andy Litili scene, because most of the film was actually shot at f/8. Stopping down the f stop also
helped with the zooms, as being at a lower aperture meant less depth of field, meaning easier
focus between zooming. Similarly, I found it to be increasingly annoying that short films shot with
DSLR’s made shallow depth of field almost cliche, many shooters rarely stopped down manually
and as a result had trouble pulling focus.

The DSLR revolution has let even the smallest budgeted film maker capable of capturing great images, but as a result the “market” you could say was over saturated with shallow depth of field films. It is quite interesting that zooms were originally the new craze, just coming to market, and now filmmaker are rediscovering, and in some cases overusing the prime lenses of old.

Another aspect I noticed was people who do not use primes shooting at the widest FOV
possible, say 18mm on a T2i. While this is not a bad thing, in fact I quite like it’s epic sweeping
feel, its not what I wanted to do with White Thunder. I used the Panasonic GH2, a smaller name
than the widely used and trusted Canons, to represent not only the reaction, but as reference to
the era itself. The GH2 has a smaller sensor, but more sharply grained noise camera that is
widely regarded but rarely used by the filmmaking community. Even buying this camera was my
reaction to modern filmmaking: everyone had Canons, and if i wanted to I could borrow those at
any time. Why not try something new? White Thunder, at its core, is a BMovie,
and at that time they were shot on 16mm film, smaller than 35mm cinema; therefore, shooting on smaller sensor would make sense and add to the overall period feel of the film. Making White Thunder was my
antithesis to the modern DSLR filmmaking age, as this is clearly present in the zooms, stopped
down aperture, lack of sliders, longer lenses, and usage of smaller camera sensor. However, I
am not completely immune to falling into such self set pitfalls. As exterior scenes and naturally lit
scenes became darker as night approached, I was forced to open the aperture to, I dare say,
blasphemous f/4.5. This, paired with my innate ability to not sense when things are slightly out of
focus, led to some shots being blurry, which I take complete responsibility for.
And score. Indie production is not without its difficulties, but the film scorer is always the
worst. I must say, working with Jonathan Nievera was very beneficial in bringing another mind
onto the intellectual property of the film, but relying on him to do score was the worst experience
of my life. Numerous times he checked out the audio gear and not once did he return with
anything. Not even loops, and despite devoting and promising he would deliver, he did not.

My critical analysis of the film was that it was a fun adventure buddy cop film but with
some issues in pacing and sound. The film was deeply influenced and teat genre research
shows throughout the film, with very good attention to detail in costumes, sets, and ways of
speaking. The acting was a little underdone, but it kind of fit with the B movie style and era piece.

The Cinematography also represented the era with zooms and lack of depth of field, but there
were some issues of inexperience with the zooms that made them choppy. Editing was very
compressed and kind of sloppy, leading to some bad pacing during the Informant scenes. Sound
design and score was very lacking in this project and the weakest link overall. Overall it was very
fun to shoot and the actors play it out, leaving the audience feeling the same.

Word Count: 1600
Marketing Campaign
https://www.facebook.com/WhiteThunderShow

Contemporary Media Analysis

1. What does the media say about the world we live in?

Media creates a shared reality in our society. It projects the feelings of its creators as well as the needs of the audience to create an image of reality that we crave to see, whether we fear it, lust for it, or wish to experience it without discourse. Furthermore, a shared cultural attitude, it seems, creates the media we consume legitimate and acceptable. Media presents us with what someone thought was acceptable, and we consume and decide. Not only does it reflect ideas in a society, it can propagate these ideas, influencing a society and around and around and around. Media defines what a society thinks about, but not necessarily what it is.  Media is revealing that lines between the good and bad (transferred over from wars)  are blurred, such as Walt in breaking bad trying to gain money for his family, or the many possible protagonists in Game of Thrones.  There are also more positive things such as an increasingly accepted homosexuality in society (like on Glee) and the acceptance of Nerd Culture in Big Bang Theory. Furthermore, we are seeing more  sexuality and especially more violence on TV and in movies as part of medias increasingly inferiority complex.

2. Do you notice any one trend that keeps resurfacing through multiple media forms?

A trend that continually resurfaces itself  through multiple media forms is the idea of blurred lines. This can apply to the distinction of the protagonist and antagonist, and even to the distinction between good and evil in a protagonist, such as the anti-hero, which seems to be present in almost every work ever since the 70’s. Almost every modern TV show a new edgy “anti hero” who either conflicted about what he does because of his own morals, or we question his decisions by our own moral standards.

3. What do you see as the best and worst of what media portrays?

Media’s best usage is at its core, a tool. A tool of expression and consumption. As such, people feel the need to consume McDonalds Burger Meat when they also have Fillet Mignon with Salad on the menu. The worst of media is the stuff that ends up on TMZ, and I’m sure everyone is a likable person, with the benefit of a doubt, but acceptance of the hick culture or late with Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo is for me a success and a failure. Its the acceptance of a culture, but is that appropriation and propagation a positive? Furthermore,

On the flipside, Media has been opening up to accept many things lately. Of course, the hick culture as above, but also Homosexuality and nerd culture have come to acceptance. Homosexuality, in particular, has been getting alot of play in many modern shows, for one, Glee is a landmark in teenage homosexual fiction, and its popularity brings its closer to mainstream.

Nerd culture has particularly come into play, not only on the TV circuit, but on the Internet Media as well(if not mainly). Big Bang Theory in the mainstreaming of nerd culture on a major television show where general audiences pretend to understand references that the cult followers really appreciate. On the internet, many what would be considered “geeky” web shows have risen to popularity, in a direct correlation with the mainstreaming of video games.

4. Where do you see yourself contributing to the conversation?

I see myself as a person obsessed with pushing the envelope. Continually film class creates an environment where healthy competition creates an ever innovating environment, leading to new boundaries to be broken with every film. I've worked on the first war film at Cappuchino Film, a sexually charged noir film, and a film that sets new standards in violence through comedy.

Media always needs ways to excite. And in the ever growing capitalist society we live in, media because raunchier and more violent every year. I feel like this trend, like all expanding trends, lead to a depression or inflation of the market and then to collapse. Therefore, I feel that media needs to come to grips that they can't always outdo last season; but more importantly: the consumer needs to do the same.  If I ever do contribute to the media itself, it will be the consumers who define what they want and how I can entertain them.

My Top 5 Film of All Time

I think many people cant pin down their favorite film. For me I'm sucker for any one of these tings:

• 1930's-1950's Period Piece
• The Cold War
• A great film score
• Medieval Fantasy 
• Rallying speeches/ Monologues in film
• A bunch of friends go on an adventure
• Revenge
• good production design (Mis en Scene)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer Review

The trailer for The Hobbit clearly effectively expresses the basic storyline of the film, through narration as well as visual montage, while still leaving the viewer wanting more. We are first set up though old Bilbo explaining that he never fully explained his adventures top Frodo and thus, it is assumed this movie is about his exaggerated adventures from his perspective, setting up the plot. By starting off with Frodo from Lord of the Rings, we also are connected to the narrative and backstory of that trilogy. Afterwards young Bilbo explains he is reluctant to go on the adventure, setting up the conflict. We are introduced to the dwarves, through narration and montage of their faces, setting up the characters. These quick clips also add to their character, as each shot gives the dwarves different attributes ranging from fat to agile to raging warrior, and sets Thorin up as leader though narration by Gandalf. Intercut are title slides giving the date of release but also using a map serving to orient the viewer. The mysterious chant of the dwarves and slow tracking shots give an epic and mysterious quality to the shots establishing both feel and setting. It also further establishes Thorin as leader of the dwarves when hes stands up first in the ominous chant. A dutch tilt shot of Gandalf gives another aspect of creepiness to the story, and a shot of Galadriel moving Gandalfs hair in a  loving way seems to suggest a relationship not scene in Rings. At the end there a is a quick reveal of everyones favorite Mo-Cap, Gollum.

All in all, epic trailer, Pete.

Editing: Realism, Classicism, Formalism

Editing

Editing has been grouped into 3 groups, Realism, Classicism, and Formalism, in order of amount of editing. Realism is the use of long static shots and minimal editing, letting the viewer determine what is the most important thing in the scene, it was made famous by the neorealists of Italy in the 1940's. Classicism is cutting in a very modern sense, cutting to dramatic action, letting the editor explicitly express what is the most important thing in the scene. Formalism is the juxtaposition of images in a montage, with editing creating meaning form related or unrelated imagery. This technique was pioneered by Russians in the Soviet Union.

The film I chose to express these 3 styles of editing is the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Formalism

Example

Formalism is the juxtaposition of images to create meaning. Is this scene, the Ape moves forward on the first step of evolution towards man. The ape figures out how to use a bone as a tool and thus a weapon, and we see him crush more bones. The cutting in a a falling pig creates meaning in the context: we can see that the ape will or is thinking about using the bone as a more of a weapon than a tool. It is a thematic montage, IE  a montage of related images to create a theme to connect them. Another example of formalism is at the end of the film. Kubrick juxtaposes images of babies in embryos and inverted color landscapes. What you would expect of an eyeline match from the old man (a few seconds ago an young astronaut) leads to him as an older man in bed looking at a monolithic black pillar. 

Realism

Most of the movie is cut is a mix of the classical and realist styles of Kubrickian editing. Therefore, I will examine both ends of the spectrum. In this shot sequence, The camera never moves and we never get any cuts to their faces individually or over the shoulders. The deep focus in this shot allow us to realize the ominous HAL in the background reading the lips of the astronauts. The scene itself lasts over 3 minutes, with no cut aways or the like. Kubrick uses this and the lack of a consistent score throughout the film to give the viewer a sense of uncomfortableness and emptiness, fitting for the long voyages in space. Also, this realism makes us feel as if we are in the scene, and Kubrick uses all the visual vectors in the scene to suggest that HAL is the most important thing in the scene.

Classicism  

  Classicism is editing in a classical way; cutting to action to dramatize certain things in the scene. In this scene, the astronauts discuss the monolith just found on the moon. This scene is cut very normally compared to the rest of the film, it make us feel a bit more comfortable. Much like our character, who is surrounded by friendly people, we can feel more at ease. This ease later creates a contrast with the long static silent shots when the crew reaches the monolith. We have classical cuts to people talking and cut aways to object in the scene.

"When You Find Me" Review

Project Imagination

Project Imagination is a collaboration between Ron Howard and Canon combining the photography realm and the film realm into one. Participants submit photos that fit to defined themes, Unknown, Obstacle, Setting, Character, Backstory, Relationship, Goal, Time, and Mood, which are then rated by the community. Ron Howard picks his favorites and merges and conforms a short film based on those shots.

Mood and The Unknown

Using, or rather, using the lack of an IR filter in the camera creates the stunning image in the intro scene. This scene is based on a picture submitted to "The Unknown" theme, and its creamy textures and vast planes create peace in the viewer,as well as ostracize him: it feels like an alien, unfamiliar world to us. It's another world, and we can infer that it is heaven based of its light and pure feel. Infrared light is refracted into the camera sensor, rather than light which is visible. This itself is symbolic

for the scene: her mother is dead, in a world unseen.  The perfect white skin tones, stark blue eyes, and loose white dresses almost give the characters an angelic quality, and the sheer simplicity of the scene adds to its peace. Finally, the slight sound of a brisk breeze give us a final sense of calm.

Obstacle

Obstacle is defined as "something that stops the someone or something from accomplishing hi/its goals". The films main obstacle is Aurora trying to get over the death of her mother, something her sister has achieved long ago. The scene near the gate of the cemetery is symbolic of this plot line. We see that Aurora is unable to scale the fence, unable to face what is behind it. Lilly, the younger sister, can easily hop over and move into the metaphorical graveyard. Only with the help of others (her father) can she pass the gate. In the end we see her enter the graveyard with her sister, symbolizing how she has finally passed the obstacle, still with only the help of her sister. In the end. she passes not only the obstacle of facing her fears with her sister, but also facing the fear of her mother. We see her make amends with both and see her finally cross "the gate" obstacle of acceptance.

Relationship

Relationship is defined as "connection between people or things." The film is based primarily on the relationship between the two sisters and their mother. The relationship between the older sister and the mother is conflicted because the older daughter screamed at her mom while she was dying in the hospital. Her relationship with her sister is also eschewed because Lilly, the younger sister, fooled around before they were leaving 
to see their dying mother, and thus missing a chance to say goodbye. This motivates the entire plot and by the end of the film the sister rebuild their relationship and in the process, rebuild Aurora's relationship with her mother.  Aurora has also lost the relationship with herself, and she could never forgive what she said to her mother. Only after her sister's reveal can she finally reach her character arc of self discovery and find herself. The relationship between the father and daughter is pretty much flat, we see that the older sister gets punished for the younger on running away, etc. The relationship between the mother and father is also flat, and I feel this was a choice on the directors/ writers part in order to focus the narrative on the relationships with Lisle, The mother, Aurora, and the relationship with herself.

Time

Time is defined as "a moment in time". Time plays a large role in the story, as it sets the narrative in motion and involves the primary motivations in the film. In the intro, we see time has allowed her mother to die before they arrive, which motivates the Relationship break and thus the plot.  Time also plays a role in the sisters growing apart after their mothers death, evident in the dinner scene where they talk as almost strangers, initially. Time also plays a role in the time they spend together to grow back together, and their relationship rebonds in the falling action and climax of the film. We see that Time, besides relationship, is the primary thematic focus of the film. Time is symbolized by the tree in the dream sequences, because a tree can live a very long time yet takes a long time to grow, just  as Aurora has taken all these years to reconcile with her sister and her mother. 

Goal

Goal is defined as "something strived for".  The film relates to this theme through many motivations in the plot, one being Aurora's internal goal to make up with her mother and sister, and therefore at the same time forgiving herself. She doesn't externalize this goal however, but we can infer that she does in fact feel this way. Goal is also present in every action that humans do, everything has a reason or is motivated. They play to have fun. They rush to see their mother. They talk to make up. Simple motivations throughout film itself and all forms of storytelling media have motivation, goal, and thus plot.

Backstory

Backstory is something that is present before the actually film and adds deeper meaning and character to the narrative allowing us to get  a better understanding of the film. Back story is present in the scene with the dying mother, actions happen off screen which we can automatically infer when we see a single shot. For example, the shot with the father holding the dying mother shows us what has happened for the past few minutes without actually showing it to us. His eyes are wet and puffy, hes been crying. She is lifeless, she is dead. He hair is not shown, rather a head wrap, suggesting she has cancer and has been through alot of kimo therapeutic pain. The way he hugs her shows how much he loves her and that they have had quite a relationship together. Another scene with backstory is the scene of Auroura's apartment, its simple. but messy, which hives  a visual metaphor of her implied life in the time offscreeen: simple, in an apartment, but disorganized. Her small apartment suggests her not so wealthy-ness, and and the complicated railing outside gives us another visual metaphor of her simple life by contrast of the bare walls the colored intricate railing. She also lives in the city far away from her life on the farm, which suggests she is trying to forget the memories she had there.

Setting

Setting is defined as "the time and place a work is set in." Setting is important throughout the film, and it creates feeling in the viewer that aid in the storytelling by setting associated with emotions in the viewer. One such scene is the farm, it creates a simple, calm feeling that allows us to mellow and feel stark contrast with the hospital scene. Hospitals in this case are associated with death, loss, and pain, and it accentuates the sorrow and loss of relationships that aurora feels. You simply wouldn't get the same emotional response if this happened in a cornfield. Another setting that aids the storytelling is the graveyard. The gate creates a visual metaphor for Aurora's inability to "cross the threshold." The graveyard itself represents loss ad sorrow, which is what the story is secondarily about. It allows viewers to feel more emotionally connected because we all have lost someone and may feel emotional at the sight of a graveyard. This emotional sadness is also "cheated," yes cheated, by the filmmaker to create a more emotional ending to the film, during the climax where the sisters cry and make up. The crashed airplane also plays a role in the film because its broken and forgotten exterior and interior give a sense of loss of something that was once great, as well as the visual metaphor for flying and freedom, and thus dreams and clouds: heaven. 

Character

Character is defined as "can be anyone or anything." We see character all throughout the film, mainly in the three dimensional characters of Aurora and Lisle, as everyone in the film is a simple or flat character. We see more character in those two because of their dress, emotions, and to be quite honest, screen time. Their clothes are bright and colorful, playful and childish, where as the dad's and mom's are simple and neutral, efficient and minimal. The emotion we see in the children create our further perception of the character, and thus their character and traits.

Discovery

[Minor Update]

Discovery is defined as "finding something previously unknown." The film's interpretation of discovery is the ending of the film. We see that the older sister discovers the true nature of the relationship of her and her mother  while also finding herself, and making up with her sister after many years.