Green Lens Media

Category: Storytelling

  • Why the Writing of Breaking Bad is So Good

    Before we start, I have one word for you: SPOILERS.

    There. Let’s begin.

    Every screenwriter, aspiring or otherwise, knows the immense surge of inspiration that can come after watching a great film. It’s jet fuel. It propels us to keep working, to keep striving to make our own storytelling measure up. A great piece of filmmaking can be a better lesson than the most acclaimed college course on the planet. Which leads me to Breaking Bad.

    Breaking Bad isn’t just television. It’s filmmaking of the highest possible caliber. For screenwriters, it’s a goldmine (or money-stuffed barrel) of lessons on great storytelling. Though, if you’re only paying attention to the finished product, you might get a whole set of lessons that are, well, frankly… wrong.

    I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little worried that right now, somewhere, screenwriters and Hollywood execs are shouting “Make it darker!” Or perhaps, “Give it more ‘holy crap’ moments!”

    Yes, Breaking Bad is a very successful series (though it’s important to remember that it wasn’t for the majority of its life on the air). Yes, Breaking Bad is dark. Yes, Breaking Bad is chalk full of “holy crap” moments. But that’s not why it’s good.

    What makes it good, at least in this humble writer’s opinion, is the absolute honesty with which Vince Gilligan and his writing staff treat their characters and the world they inhabit.

    The Breaking Bad writers don’t shove those “holy crap” moments into the middle of the story just to get a rise out of the audience. They carefully earn every one. A guy opening his door and getting shot is dramatic, absolutely. But when the character who opens his door is Gale — perhaps as innocent as a meth-cook can be — and the character who shoots him is Jesse — someone totally aversive to murder – the drama is a hundred fold.

    Drama that good only lies at the end of a long road. One covered with too much coffee, tears and heads banged against keyboard. But there’s really good drama at the end!

    The first step on said road is to ask: “Where is the character’s head at?” It’s something the Breaking Bad writers refer to constantly as the starting point for their discussions. What does each character want at that very moment? What do they fear? What are they willing to do to get what they want? Just as importantly, what are they NOT willing to do?

    When these questions are answered, a character is formed. Then, telling the story becomes a matter of asking: “What would this character do in this situation?” If you’re honest, you get good drama. Breaking Bad writers often talk about having great ideas for scenes or story beats that would fall by the wayside, simply because that’s not where the characters wanted to go.

    A favorite example of mine is Drew Sharp, the boy on the motorbike whom Todd shoots dead. About halfway through “breaking” (meaning, plotting out the story beat by beat) the first eight episodes of Season 5, the writers had a general idea for where the series was going. The plan was for Walt to retire and Jesse to take over as Albuquerque’s new kingpin. Then Todd shot Drew Sharp.

    From that moment on, everything changed. The writers knew there was just no way Jesse would let that slide. There was just no way he would stay in the meth business. So he quit. The writers didn’t lock themselves into their original plan, they let the characters lead the way.

    I was curious if Todd was a character created out of necessity – aka, someone to shoot Drew Sharp – so I asked Breaking Bad writer and producer Thomas Schnauz. The answer was no: Todd came first, and Drew Sharp was a pretty last minute addition. Who knows what the writers’ original plan for Todd was, but it just goes to show their willingness to throw away their plans and let the story come naturally.

    Breaking Episodes – How Breaking Bad writers organize rock solid scenes.

    Famous amongst fans of the Breaking Bad writers are the index card filled cork boards. When breaking each episode, the writers would work together to plan out every single beat of the story in extensive detail. They would write out beats on 3×5 index cards and pin them to a cork board. All together, an episode would average somewhere around 60-65 cards. That’s a lot of plot, and a lot of detail. But it ensures that every episode has a rock solid structure, then, when an individual writer goes off to work on an episode’s script, they get to “do a little jazz”, as writer Peter Gould puts it.

    Each writer creates the dialogue, embellishes the scenes and puts their unique stamp on their individual episodes. They get to do this with confidence, because they know most of the heavy lifting has already been done by the group. But the work and time put into that heavy lifting cannot be ignored. Especially when the writers write themselves into a corner, something which, let’s be honest, they tend to do with frequency.

    Midway through Season 3, Walt and Jesse are trapped in the RV with Hank looming outside like a hungry shark. It’s a moment that pins the audience to the edge of their couches and makes them wonder “Just how are Walt and Jesse going to get out of this?”

    Well, believe it or not, the writers had to ask themselves the same thing.

    They often reference this moment as an example of just how painful the writing process can be. It took hours upon hours of thinking, of talking and coming up with plenty of bad ideas until a Breaking Bad worthy solution was thought up: A fake phone call to Hank telling him something horrible had happened to Marie.

    Made for some damn good drama, didn’t it?

    I came upon a similar roadblock recently while working on a screenplay. Well into the climactic scene, my protagonist was ready to unleash her master plan and defeat the bad guy. Ta-da! The sun shines high and everyone cheers. Feel good film of the year. Then something dawned on me (I like to call it logic), and I realized that there was no way the bad guy wouldn’t anticipate the protagonist’s plan. So he did, and he turned it on its head.

    And I had no idea what she was going to do.

    At that point, I wanted to shut my laptop off, go get lunch and convince myself the solution would come easier after some heavy procrastination. Then I remembered Hank outside the RV, and I realized that if I didn’t have any clue how the protagonist was going to get out of her plight, chances are the audience wouldn’t either.

    So I kept working. There was a lot of staring at the screen, a lot of start and stop writing, and so much thinking I ought to have paid tuition. The bad ideas came first. And man, oh, man, was there a lot of them. But finally, after what felt like three days in the desert, I came up with a solution. The scene – and as a result, the screenplay – is ten times better because of it.

    What allowed me to make it better is the inspiration I’ve derived from the Breaking Bad writers. The lessons countless hours of watching the show and closely analyzing it have taught me. Chief amongst which is: HONESTY.

    There’s an index card with “Where’s Walt’s head at?” taped on the wall next to my desk. It’s a constant reminder to always stay true to my characters. I must look at the thing a thousand times a day, and every time, it fills me with inspiration and an immediate self awareness if what I’m currently working on isn’t treating the characters with honesty.

    So, next time you’re writing a script and you feel the biting urge to make it darker, just because Breaking Bad is dark AND good, stop. Take your hands off the keyboard, put the pencil down (yes, I know there’s at least one of you still left) and remind yourself that Breaking Bad isn’t good because it’s dark. It’s good because it’s honest.

    —–

    PS: For anyone interested in studying the craft behind Breaking Bad further, I cannot recommend the “Breaking Bad Insider Podcast” more highly. Hosted by Kelley Dixon, one of the show’s editors, and Vince Gilligan himself, the podcast discusses every episode from Season 2 till the finale in glorious, extensive detail. Guests such as other writers, directors, cast and crew members are always present, and the amount of insight one can get about the making of the show is simply unmatched. Do yourself a favor and start listening.

    Also, most of the Breaking Bad writers are on Twitter. In particular, Thomas Schnauz and Moira Walley-Beckett are quite active and will often take the time to answer questions. As is the writers’ assistant, Gordon Smith, who provides a different view of the process.

  • The No-Brainer Business Venture and/or Education Decision

    This past weekend, on September 1st, 2013, Green Lens Media finally announced its newest service, The Filmmersive™ Workshop Series. This workshop series has been a year and a half in the making, and was much more demanding in its planning than was originally projected for multiple reasons. But we kept at it, because we knew as soon as we conceived of it, no matter how difficult it was to set up, we HAD to do it. It was just too perfect to not do it, as it fulfills multiple needs to multiple parties in a cost effective way. Through hard work and the will to succeed, we finally have it ready, and I am proud to officially proclaim our workshops are launched, public, and open for business – let the filming begin!

    Why is this such a big deal?

    Today, if you are a business, you want your product and service out there, circulating, known, because that leads to clients and customers. If you are a filmmaker or involved in video or marketing, you are looking for experience, for contacts, for resources, but really more than anything those are means to the end—you are looking for JOBS. If you are a writer, you want people to see your work, make connections, improve your storytelling skills, but more than anything, you want more and better JOBS. If you are an actor, you may want people to watch you onscreen, get your name out there, and meet people who can hook you up, but all of those things are to feed your ultimate goal, landing killer JOBS.

    I know this. Everyone knows this.

    But what is anyone DOING about it?

    As a filmmaker, I believe in video. I love making it, and I love telling a good story. As a business owner, I believe video can help a business in ways that almost all other forms of marketing fall short. Video presence is important, and will continue to increase as the years go on. And once everyone finally catches up and realizes video is important to attract attention, how will your video become more attractive than someone else’s?

    Film school is expensive, and a big decision. A fully customized video production is expensive, and also a big decision. Getting attention as a writer or actor is hard, because there are so many others out there, and so few really great jobs. I wanted GLM to solve these 3 problems faced by our community: 1) Attention, 2) Cost, and 3) Return On Investment (ROI). I believe our Filmmersive™ Workshops address these issues in a unique, smart way.

    I’m not advocating our workshops as a replacement for college degrees, program certificates, less expensive or free online training, or high-end custom productions, but as a supplement and booster for your career or business there is truly nothing like it. For some it may be just enough, while for others it will prove that only the surface has been scratched. From my perspective, it’s the kind of thing I wish had been available to me, both as a filmmaker AND a business, back when I was first starting out in the professional workplace.

    All the details can be found on the Training page of our website, so I won’t explain how it works in great detail other than this synopsis: the workshops are 5 days of intense filmmaking training for small 4-8 person groups given by experienced instructors. Workshop Attendees pay to learn filmmaking but also take part in actually executing a short video by the end of the week, start to finish, giving them a portfolio piece to showcase. In Narrative workshops we pay a modest fee to use a local writer’s 3-6 page fictitious script, which gives this writer heightened exposure. In Corporate workshops the Attendees do a 1-day shoot at a real company, each editing their own version of the video; the business gets to review all versions and decide at no obligation if they would like to purchase it for their website for a fraction of the normal cost.

    Basically, we structured our workshops to focus on the collaboration and the ROI for all involved. For Attendees, it’s a cost-effective, fun, and rewarding way to learn, and you wind up with a unique portfolio piece. For writers, actors, and sponsors, it’s a great opportunity for exposure with a limited commitment and with a quick turnaround final result. For businesses, it’s a risk free way to preview multiple videos about their business, since purchase costs are more affordable than highly customized projects and always no obligation to buy. For GLM, it’s a way to share our knowledge through training while continuing to operate in the field making productions. And for everybody, it is a great networking opportunity and an all around enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

    So what’s the catch?

    Honestly, I can’t think of one. This is the NO-BRAINER part of the whole concept – everyone benefits. Really, the only hesitation was in the idea of actually structuring the setup of the program, and then executing it. With all the variables involved it is a complex undertaking. As the host of the workshop, this responsibility falls on GLM’s shoulders, but I felt so strongly this model would strengthen the business and film community in Boston that it was worth every effort to see through. I would like to see new startups, particularly green / environmental ones (though we won’t be exclusive to them), benefit from this program, and begin to flourish and enhance our city. I would like to see Boston, which has already grown as a film town in the past decade, take this to a new, even higher level.

    The Filmmersive™ Workshops are not where your film education or video productions end, though it will be a good jumpstart. Every ingredient like this helps, and GLM will make its workshops one such ingredient of the overall recipe that promotes companies, individuals, and the film community. I hope you will check out what our program offers to see if it is right for you, but whatever you choose to do I hope you will continue to investigate how to get video on your site and / or learn the practices of filmmaking by whatever means make the most sense in your situation. 21st century communication is already headed in video’s direction, and riding the wave of the future should be one hell of a thrill, so let’s make it thrilling and catch the perfect wave.

  • To Film or Not to Film? That Is The Question

    Being in film school makes you feel like you’ve aged 50 years in the span of two. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad thing.

    I grew up in India, a country with brilliant minds and bold hearts. A country where your average young person is capable – and driven – enough to be exactly what they want to be, and be successful at it. But for the young Indian, being successful isn’t even the difficult part. The difficult part is self-knowledge. Knowing what you want to do. Finding the power to know, in a country where your future is determined as soon as you’re born: doctor, lawyer, engineer, business executive.

    When I applied to college, I applied as a journalism major. Far enough from the Indian career mold to be creative, but not so far that I can’t bank on the degree to get me a job when I graduate. The perfect balance.

    But coming to college changed everything.

    The idea of getting involved with filmmaking emerged from the experience of moving to the United States. I was in a new city, a new country, a new world. I was given a chance to rewrite my story, make new memories and, most importantly, get to know the person I would become. Suddenly, I was exposed to people from all over the world – my roommate was Korean, my best friend was Mexican, my study partner was half-Polish. Being surrounded by interesting people and interesting stories makes you fall into storytelling, even if you didn’t set out to do it.

    I’d always been interested in film, but it had never occurred to me that it was something I could do forever. There was something so exhilarating about the concept of creating something from nothing: of engaging in a craft founded in emotion and unpredictability; an outlier in the textbook-and-problem-set world of conventional knowledge.

    Think about the great directors of the world, for example. Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese (to name a few.)

    Now try separating film from filmmaker. You can’t.

    Every storyteller is unique. They vary in so many ways, but are great storytellers nonetheless. There are no formulas and numbers involved in storytelling. No right answers. No wrong answers. Just instinct and imagination.

    Terrifying, isn’t it? Having no rules? I can’t say it isn’t.

    But I wouldn’t be able to call my life a full life without stories. My life has been characterized by change. I’ve lived in Mumbai, Boston, Paris and London – I’ve been challenged, pushed out of my comfort zone and made to build up from scratch. By being exposed to stories and the storytellers that tell them, I’ve grown beyond the 20 years I’ve spent on this planet, because none of the places I lived in ever came with rules. But they came with faces, places and stories that are such an important part of my life. And that’s why I could never be a doctor, lawyer, engineer or business person.

    It might be human nature to fear the unknown, but it’s a filmmaker’s instinct to embrace it.

    Is it terrifying? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

  • Back to the Basics: Failure to Film

    Whenever people ask me what I do at work, I tell them I help out with making films. And whenever I say that, they’re intrigued: films? how glamorous!

    Except…not really.

    The reason the word film is so frequently associated with glamour is because most people are exposed exclusively to the final product. What they don’t see is all the mishaps, errors and edits that went into creating that glamourous product. What they don’t see is that everything that can possibly go wrong usually does.

    And the sad part is, I’m not even being dramatic.

    Take today, for example. I had the tripod set up. I had the camera mounted, the battery in, the SD card in. I even managed to plug the furry little mic into the correct jack (hey, when you’re a student, it’s the small victories that count…) I had a beautiful frame set up, my subject looked great and the light was co-operating. For once, everything was falling into place.

    So I went ahead and pressed the record button.

    One stimulating interview and exactly sixty minutes later, I felt great. The shoot went extremely well, we finished on schedule and I had some great sound bytes. I couldn’t wait to get started on the edit.

    And so the pack-up process began. I ejected the battery and the CF card, took the camera off the tripod. Folded it up. Unplugged the mic, opened it up to take out the – oh, wait. There was no battery.

    I stared wordlessly at the space where the battery should have been. Putting in a battery is probably the most elementary part of this whole process. There was no reason not to do it. I now have an hour of footage of my subject awkwardly moving his lips as no sound comes out and gesturing excitedly with no context.

    I’ve been on the Dean’s List at BU for three straight years, but I don’t know that I have to put in a battery.

    Now if you were in my place at this point in time, you would have two logical options:
    a) Cry.
    b) Cry.

    But both of those options render themselves useless when you ask yourself the dreaded question: now what?

    And then face the dreaded answer: Nothing.The footage is absolutely useless.

    While my complete lack of grey matter may make it seem like the moral of the story is don’t be an idiot, it really is simpler than that – be prepared. Make sure all your equipment is ready to work, and don’t rush the setup. Go in with a checklist and include even the most basic steps, down to the pack-up.

    It’s when you mess up the basics that you mess with the final product. It’s when you compromise on things like batteries and cards that you taint the perfection that people associate with your craft. I, for one, am not ready for my friends and family to think that my job is anything but clappers, bright lights and Matt Damon. And if all it takes to maintain that perception is being attentive and being prepared…then failure is not an option.

  • Books are Books, Movies are Movies, and Now the Twain Shall Meet

    Life of Pi vs. Life of Pi
    Life of Pi Book vs. Film Adaptation

    I know what you’re thinking. Ho-hum, another books vs. movies debate. But don’t stop reading yet! This is not a debate. I love books. And I live movies (no, that’s not a typo.) And I’m tired of people pitting the two against each other.

    Think about it. Both books and movies demand a significant amount of effort in bringing them to life. Both are mentally stimulating and emotionally engaging. I was only ten years old when I read Life of Pi. In case you haven’t heard of Life of Pi yet, it’s a story about a teenage boy who loses his family, loses his home and finds himself stranded at sea with only a ravenous tiger for company. But when I tried explaining the story with my best friend at the time, she scoffed and said “I can’t even imagine that.”

    But that’s exactly the point.

    So many of the world’s stories are about worlds and times that most people consider to be beyond the realm of human imagination. Books deemed “unfilmable” by book and movie lovers alike. The Hobbit. Harry Potter. Game of Thrones. The magic realism that characterizes Pi’s story – and Harry’s, and Frodo’s, and Tony Stark’s – sets them apart from stories closer to home. But it is the “unfilmable” and “unimaginable” nature of these stories that make them the stories most worthy of being imagined. Brought to life.

    And what better way to do that than through film?

    Book lovers insist that the movie can never be the same as the book, but does it have to be the same? If the movie was meant to be the same as the book, it wouldn’t be a movie. For me, the point of a movie adaptation is to re-imagine the story of the book without overwhelming it. I grew up with Harry Potter, and reading Life of Pi changed my life forever. And the film versions of those books didn’t match up with the little movies I’d already made in my had while reading them.

    But this little film I already made in my head while reading the book Life of Pi is one of those rare examples of a movie whose 3D visuals don’t overwhelm its storytelling but enhance it. It’s about that flawless balance between world and visual, capturing the complexities of a character’s world and the the viewer’s mental world.

    That said, even if the screenplay is amazing and the visuals are flawless, much of the audience’s decision about whether or not they like the film relies on their own emotions. Their own story. Having read the books for all the adaptations I’ve watched, I never walked into a movie thinking it would make me feel anything new. But each and every time, it did. And that’s what makes me believe in film as the book’s friend rather than its enemy. It’s the only medium that has the power to take an existing experience, reshape it and make it visceral in the way no other medium can.

  • Coalition of the Willing: Inspired Work, Inspiring Work

    I have a complicated relationship with film.

    For the most part, I love it. I love that it can inspire, empower and liberate people. As a medium, it is limitless – it can tell stories previously untold, tap emotions previously untapped and explore parts of the world previously unexplored.

    But here’s my problem: commercial film rarely ever does.

    Yes, Ryan Gosling is stunning. And so is Emma Stone. Alright, I get it.

    But why are we making a movie about it? That part, I don’t get.

    With all the fandoms, poster boys, Jennifer, and plotless excuses for movies popping up everywhere, I can’t help but feel disillusioned by film. But every once in a while, a movie comes along to remind me that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone haven’t completely taken over. On one of my many afternoons spent idly browsing Vimeo for inspiration, I stumbled upon a film by Knife Party that reinstated my faith in the wonders of the medium.

    Coalition of the Willing, is, as the title suggests, the collective brainchild of a brilliant coalition. The film addresses an issue burning with actuality (pun intended!) – the issue of global warming. And yet…there are no pie charts, bar graphs or visuals of receding ice caps viewed from outer space.

    That’s the beautiful thing about this film. It succeeds not despite but because of the lack of statistics and infographics in its storytelling. Because when you really think about it, global warming isn’t an issue that’s as far away and distant as the statistics and satellite images often used to represent it.

    It’s personal. It’s a choice.

    Throughout the film, the visuals follow man and mankind. Our evolution, our changing times, our history, our politics, our sociology. Visually, it is absolutely stunning. I felt myself being increasingly drawn into the world of the film – our world – and it wasn’t difficult to understand why the movie walked away with the Best Short Award at the 2012 San Francisco Green Film Festival.

    The stunning animation and smooth flow of the film transports the viewer back in time, employing the memorable image of a ’50s businessman turning into a hippie to chronicle the radical individualism of the ’60s. As the colours get brighter and the backdrops increasingly complex, the individualism fades into consumerism and the whole movement eventually culminates in a lack of regard for the world around us. The status quo.

    Although humanity took a turn for the worse, the film isn’t pessimistic about it. Not in the least. There is a palpable vibrance in its visuals, a quirky hopefulness in its scoring and an awareness of the power of individual efforts. It connects the past with the present, muses about the many changes that humanity has undergone, and, above all, provides hope for the future. Its look, feel and message work together to do what film fundamentally ought to do: awaken and stimulate the minds absorbing it. The film brings the concept of coalition to life and itself stands a testament to the wonders achievable through creative minds coming together.

  • 4 Quick Fixes: The DIY Filmmaker’s Cheat Sheet for a Quality Film on the Cheap

    Whoever said “time flies when you’re having fun” was absolutely right. And if you’re a filmmaker, you already know by now that having fun is part of your job.

    The best thing about creative work is that the sky’s the limit. If I wanted to, I could think up a world of gremlins and goblins and bring it to life. I could also make a hard-hitting documentary about world hunger. Or, if all of that doesn’t work out, I could set up a camera outside my lovely perch in Porter Square, leave it there all day, import my footage and still tell a story. (Hey, Andy Warhol did it…)

    All I need is my trusty DSLR, my lights, my sound kit, my tripod, my slate, my dolly…oh, wait, this is a problem.

    Or is it?

    It doesn’t have to be. Gone are the days of bombshell budgets and tedious technics. Times-are-a-changing and so is technology. Where once you had to worry about thousands of dollars and tons of extra baggage, you now only have to worry about the bare necessities. With a range of tools and technologies to our disposal, it’s becoming easier and easier to roll up your sleeves and start from scratch. Here’s how:

    Quick Fix #1: The Handheld Camcorder

    OK, OK. Before you scroll past this section altogether, let me remind you of a great moment from the pilot of Breaking Bad. You know, the one where Walter White leaves a video message for his wife and kid when he thought he was about to get caught. What’s interesting about that video message is that, even compared to the rest of the show’s already gritty visual style, the camcorder version was shockingly real. So if you’re on the run and you’re looking to capture the washed out realism of life pre-DSLR, this quick fix is for you.

    But if you’re going for a fancier feel, try…

    Quick Fix #2: The DIY Viewfinder

    Beautiful filmmaking is all about composition. And perfect composition is all about the little elements – aperture, ISO, white balance. But when you’re out and about, the sun can make it hard for you to get those elements just right, and a professional viewfinder will cost you a cool $100-$200 at the very least. But why shell out the cash when you have edit-room coffee runs and shiny new equipment to save up for? Believe it or not, you can make your own LCD viewfinder for under $20. And if you’ve got 5 minutes and an appreciation for dinosaurs, check out this video that shows you exactly how to do it:

    Make your own LCD viewfinder for your DSLR

    Now that you’ve got that viewfinder, you can focus on framing that perfect shot by getting all those little elements just right. But if you’re anything like me, that’s not enough. Getting everything right behind the camera is only a step towards making the magic happen in front of it. Which leads us to…

    Quick Fix #3: Get Creative With Lighting

    As a 5 foot nothing filmmaker without a bodybuilding certification, I was definitely not designed to haul around a light kit on long shoots. Paper lanterns and clamp lights are just two of the many options you have when it comes to quick, clean, low-maintenance light sources. Not only are these options totally affordable, they do just the trick if you’re lighting your subject outside or in a cramped space where you don’t have access to a lot of space or outlets. But if you do have some space and you’re looking for a conventional three-point lighting setup, here’s a video that will show you a low-cost way to achieve it:

    Make your own lights on less than $100

    A good lighting setup is really the cherry on top of the beautiful composition cake. But now that everything looks perfect, it has to feel perfect. And what better way to make it feel perfect than…

    Quick Fix #4: Create Movement with a DIY Dolly

    Think about it. What kind of world would this be if nothing never moved? A boring one. And what kind of film would you create if nothing ever moved? That’s right…a boring one. Camera movement is a foolproof way to inject your movie with feeling and dynamism, especially when used on what would normally be a static image. That said, the laborious task of carting around a full-size dolly is not something a small crew can afford to put up with. But that doesn’t mean your film can’t benefit from the wonders of movement. In fact, the solution for your static-shot problems can be easily found in none other than your local Home Depot. I’ll let YouTuber MediaUnlocked explain the details:

    Make your own DSLR slider dolly track

    And there you have it! With these four completely doable (and cheap!) fixes, you no longer have to let money or logistics stand in the way of telling your story. If you’re already imaginative with your storytelling, all you need to do is apply that great imagination to your technique.

  • The Hobbit: An Expected Review

    When I was a little kid, my father collected me, my little brother and sister, and a huge silver Casio tape-playing boom box, and set us all down around the fireplace. He turned the overhead light out and an orange glow from the fire cast itself onto the carpet, illuminating the tape deck.

    “What we’re about to listen to is a very special story,” he said. “I read this story a long time ago, and I enjoyed it so much I want to share it with you kids. If it gets too scary we’ll turn it off.” We all looked at each other and he hit the play button.

    Listening to The Hobbit in the dark around this light is one of my favorite memories. The recording was produced by The Mind’s Eye, and was a full production, complete with multiple talented voices, an extensive sound effects library, and an impressively orchestrated score. The recording originally aired in 1979 on NPR Radio, and it had finally made its way to three children listening by a hearth, the dog asleep in the corner.

    I loved this story, specifically this telling of it, so much so that in middle school I stole it out of my father’s closet and would play each tape to put me to sleep, every night. When the series ended I just started the 6 hour adventure from the beginning again. This continued for an embarrassingly long time, to the point that even today I can anticipate most lines and recite many of them. You must understand: for some reason, maybe the fact of how my journey with Bilbo started in our family room, I was a little obsessed with Tolkien and his world of Middle-Earth

    In 2000, I went to a movie. I don’t remember what movie–it doesn’t matter. What mattered was the trailer. It was a teaser, and it opened with a New Zealand hill top covered in dry grass, black rock, and mountains in the background. Epically adventurous music began, and up over the hill came a tall bearded man in a pointed grey hat and cloak carrying a wooden staff. At this point I was too excited to sit still, because I thought, oh wow, the next thing to come over the hill is going to be 13 dwarves and a hobbit and I’m going to go nuts. When the pointy eared elf walk over next I thought, that dwarf looks unusually high. Then came a character who could ONLY be a dwarf, followed by some obvious hobbits, and then some other tall people I couldn’t place. If you can’t tell, I had not read Lord of the Rings, but I knew of it. Though I was looking forward to the film no doubt, I was crushed it wasn’t The Hobbit.

    Fast forward through movies of Fellowship and Two Towers, and I’m a true LOTR fan. When the release day for Return of the King arrived I thought it was the end of the age of Middle-Earth, a three year movie-viewing journey. I waited in line with other enthusiast friends opening day and took it in, taking a mental picture in my mind. It was a special day, a great day, and a sad day all at once. It was worth the wait, heck, the wait enhanced it, but knowing it was over was tough to stomach.

    After its successes, we learned Hobbit was being talked about, and that was a giddy feeling. Then I caught wind of Peter Jackson’s awful relationship with New Line Cinema, and how it might jeopardize him directing, which sounded sacrilegious and a big blow to a well-defined series. Then there was the notion it might not have the same actors, or even be done at all. Years went by with nothing but rumors and hope (whispers of a nameless fear?). When it was evident Jackson was back on board, and when casting finally started, and when filming actually began, each stage brought this feeling of relief. I was there, and now would go back again.

    Only this time I would go back to an unknown sight. 48 frames per second. Twice the frames for double the clarity. You see, 3D is an issue for some. Fortunately I don’t get 3D sick, but I do heavily notice, with the fields being arranged the way they need to be for stereoscopic filmmaking, the picture taking a big hit in crispness and brightness. It is the nature of the beast, and the price for 3D. Jackson announced his belief that 48fps would be a better way to view the film. With this high frame rate (look for “HFR” in the marquee at the theater) we were going to break from that ever traditional and cinematic 24fps we’ve come to know, love, and get used to. The reaction from Comic-Con couldn’t be more deafening. I read in the news the crowd was nervous, hyper, then outraged at the clip they were shown, and how it looked more like a soap opera on TV than a throwback to the Shire.

    Whatever. At least they’re making it, I thought.

    I tried to avoid the screenshots, the behind-the-scenes clips online, and the eventually released trailers, but I failed miserably and was unable to help myself. All the while knowing this story I have waited 9, no 12, no 22 years for, was going to be told in a revolutionary new format. Pioneering new territory is thrilling, and as a filmmaker, I am always grateful to ride the wave of the new, scary as it may be. With the release of digital video, then DSLRs, then FCPX, the end of manufactured film cameras and the slow decay of celluloid overall, I’ve been privy to some fascinating, industry-changing events. I must be honest, though: as we got closer and closer to December 14th, I legitimately became nervous about this new frame rate, and worried it would spoil something near and dear. All I had to go on was that its Peter Jackson we’re talking about. Middle-Earth is his baby after J.R.R., and I just need to trust he wants to do the film justice.

    This evening, I again found myself in a line for another adventure. Joined by my brother Sam, who picked up tickets the day before, we arrive an hour early to already find a line of 50 people. When we got through we had to wait in another line outside the theater doors. When finally we were loosed, we found some seats in the exact middle, and settled in immovably.

    This was indeed the experience I wanted. The HFR version is different, and will look slightly strange to those not expecting it, but it truly does fade away. I plan on seeing it again in the other formats to compare, but as far as content I couldn’t be happier. I won’t spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it or who don’t know the story (what are you waiting for?), but take it from a very critical filmmaker and an even more critical fan that this movie is definitely worth seeing.

    My advice is to know what version you are walking into. There are a least 5 different versions: IMAX 3D, RealD 3D (RealD is a different 3D technology than IMAX), RealD 3D HFR (48fps), IMAX 3D HFR (48fps), and 2D Digital. For the most familiar cinematic look, your best bet is probably the 2D digital, but I want to verify this before committing to that claim.

    I’ve heard multiple complaints about too much CGI, but we all saw that coming. Personally, I too prefer great robotics and puppetry done right (Jurassic Park anyone?), but to get here at all was an elating experience in itself. I give the movie an A, mostly because I felt the Goblin King needed some major advice and reconsideration in the 3D modeling department, but moreover because I don’t think anything can really top what’s in the mind.

    It is absolutely a must-see this winter, though, and I hope you enjoy An Unexpected Journey as much as I did. It has rekindled the same magic I felt at the beginning of the LOTR run, where you had to wait a whole year before you could continue the quest, but the pay off was practically tactile. That feeling that I thought was a one-time occurrence is now present again, and it is this weird sensation of reliving the greatness of the LOTR span, but with a new, unseen yet equally epic set of films. And while it brought me back to all these memories, it mostly put me right back where I started, right next to that fire so many years ago. It was warm, and invited me right in.

  • The Power of Film Freedom

    I watched the 84th Academy Awards, like many professional and aspiring filmmakers did, only this time it seemed just a little more…unsure of itself. We had Billy Crystal up there reprising his host role having taken an 8-year hiatus. Though the intro was heartfelt, the jokes were cute, and it reminded me of how I’ve watched City Slickers II about 50 times with my grandfather chuckling the whole way through, it still was missing something.

    On the red carpet, which I was somehow forced to watch in my company, the commentators were as electrifying as ever: “What an outfit…Who are you wearing? Do I sound introspective and look as magnificent as you this year? Wait, before you go, I have one more shot for you. .” Like Crystal (don’t get me wrong, I will always love the guy), let me reiterate—the event was missing something. More than anything I heard the commentators talking about how classy, and old Hollywood it was this year, just like they claimed last year, the year before, and the year before. Hollywood seems to be fixated on retaining a time period when things made sense, and where the studios controlled everything from production to content, distribution to demographic. The movie industry is not about control anymore, it’s about fluidity, exposure and instant gratification. Whoever can get the most eyes on their product seems to be doing quite well for themselves.

    These are interesting times for filmmakers, independent or Hollywood, what with an evolving landscape changing every year for movies in the What, Where, Why, When, Who, How and How Much.

    What
    In Hollywood, the What is for the most part getting less intelligent and lazier. I swear, any day now we will get the prequel to Dumb and Dumbererer 5. We had some good movies this year, but were any of them really great movies? If it weren’t for the refreshing creation of The Artist (an homage to old Hollywood with some modern touch), I would say we’ve seen better years. The independent films I’m sure were great, but unless you go to festivals or subscribe to an independent on-demand channel, it is sometimes hard to find out about those films, much less see them.

    Where
    Movies out of Hollywood are being made more and more out of single locations, many able to claim that location as a post-production CGI house. The Where may be determined for tax reasons, logistics, convenience, but in the end the ultimate answer is money. Even though ticket prices are anywhere from $9 to $18 depending on how big the screen is and if the picture is in 3D, piracy has no doubt hit Hollywood hard, and the economy tanking hasn’t helped much either. Independent projects however are expanding outside their home base origins, with gear being less expensive and more portable than ever.

    Why
    Why Hollywood movies are being made (sorry if this is a shocker to anyone) is still about the money, as it always has been. You might have the best, most artistic, thought-provoking, culturally changing, life-altering script of all time, but if a producer can’t see it succeeding at the box office, good luck. That is perhaps the Oscars one redeeming quality. Out of all the junk the LA machine pumps out each year, it does make a few good artistic pieces worth recognition and worth seeing—movies that make us think. I wish there were more of them. Wait a minute, there are more of them! Only they aren’t Hollywood, they are independent, or even more so, they are really independent. Like the filmmakers going out themselves or with a small crew and uploading to Vimeo. Why are they doing it? Because they love it, because they care, and because they simply have to do it. They won’t feel complete unless they do it. Those are the movies you want to see.

    When
    Hollywood is making movies all the time, but not at the same volume or pace that the independent and online community is producing. Not even close. We have a democratizing revolution going on in the video industry now, where you can make a movie on an iPhone if you really want to. Whatever Hollywood movies come out that are worth seeing, you can usually expect them to release around fall or winter—right before the Oscars so it is hot and in folks’ minds. However, movies made on REDs, Alexas, and HDSLRs are being released all the time. There is no time like the present, and the sooner you can provide new content the happier your followers will be.

    Who
    Who is making movies is actually more of a question of who isn’t making movies? Hollywood of course makes movies, and filmmakers make movies, but it’s much broader than that. With a camera on every phone, the iPad, and HDSLRs, it is easier than ever to make a video, however short, low budget, or planned out. It is parents, business owners, students, doctors, salesmen, cooks—almost every industry there’s going to be someone who has zero training in videography, or even interest in filmmaking, and yet are still making films. It would be an interesting statistic to learn just how many people in the past year made at least one video clip, even if it was just a shot of their cat on their phone. Who is making good movies is another story.

    How
    The How I find the most exciting of all. Hollywood is making their films the same way they always have—big budgets, A list actors, huge crews, lavish locations, unparalleled cutting edge graphics, and the same formulaic scripts they’ve relied on for years with a couple diamonds in the rough. Independents are still looking for their moderate budgets, decent sized crews, and best locations possible for their scripts. But if you watch the content (particularly the short film content) coming in on sites like Vimeo, Blip.tv or occasionally YouTube once in a blue moon, you will find some incredible ratios of production value and resources to budget spent.

    How Much
    The trick is figuring out, in that last category of small online distribution, how to monetize it so you can both make a living and make more content, while not also selling your soul to the advertising devil. As of right now, I’m not certain how advertising dollars can’t be involved to make it work, though sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo may be on the right track. By crowdsourcing, and funding your projects with an audience that is already interested in your idea, it seems like everybody wins. I noticed the other day a project for a video game called Double Fine Adventure asking for $400,000. At the time of my writing this post they have secured 2.4 million dollars and have 5 days left. Wow. I think their success is not just due to what they are promising, but their attention to producing a professional looking video that allows fans a window into the behind the scenes, which helps sell their idea and convince people to donate. They decided to show (not just tell) what they doing, and it came back to them many fold.

    My point here is that the content you create matters. The story. With all the other noise out there online, in people’s ears and at the water coolers, you need some good content to help you stand out. This is true if you are trying to create the next LA Confidential, a corporate marketing video for your website, or an assembly of family home videos. You want it to not just inform, but entertain and engage. If you are thinking about budget, think about how much it might cost you later, when you’re forced to clean up a PR mess from a poorly produced video done in-house. If you’re thinking, “Well, only my family is going to see this,” consider your great great grandkids when they watch it. Wouldn’t it be ideal that they feel something, as opposed to just witness something? To achieve the emotional experience, to make it more than just the factual heritage connection, that takes some careful attention to timing and editorial decisions.

    The beautiful thing is, it’s true, anyone these days can make a movie. In fact, if you are outside the Hollywood machine, the filmmaking experience can actually be quite liberating creatively, since now you are the one in control. You may hear the followup, “Yes, but not everyone should make a movie / video.” If you love the process and ability to express yourself by making films, then I disagree with those pessimists; please make lots of movies to evolve your skills and your voice. Simply realize that when ready for a serious production, it can also be a very scary thing in the wrong hands, not just for you and the team but for your desired audience.

    What I am advocating is that after some experimentation and tests, once you get to a project you know matters to you, put some thought into how it will get accomplished the right way. Perhaps then we can look forward to increased interest in shows like the Vimeo Awards and Webby Awards, which stand to be much more in tune with viewers on an individual level. Everything is moving to the web whether we like it or not. I think the natural progression points to these more relatable, personalized shows thriving, while shows like the Academies focus on surviving. For non-filmmaker consumers, these new shows will only become more entertaining with age. From a filmmaker’s perspective, it is fun to watch these newer web-based award shows because the awards themselves seem so much more accessible and attainable. It still means you need to put care into your work; cats playing keyboards only gets you so far. Whether you are creating work for your friends and family, your peers and colleagues, or your customers and clients, think through your mission and make it cutting edge but still appropriately classy. And not swan dress classy; that is so 2001 old Hollywood.

    Focus of the Day:
    How do you make your content stand out?

    Film-tip: Learn the language. The more vocab you know on set, especially in the area that you are not a specialist in, the more you can communicate with the crew about what you want. It sounds simple and repetitious, but it really can take what should be a 4 hour shoot and make it an 8-10 hour shoot if you mess it up.

    Eco-tip: Help get support going for the coolest mode of transport out there yet. If you haven’t seen the Shweeb yet, you’re really missing out. Let’s get these into our cities and actually have fun getting to and from work.

  • The 9 Lives Rule For Humans

    Welcome to the first post of the new Green Lens Media blog. I’m going to kick off this blog by telling you our story.

    Why does Green Lens Media do what it does?

    I have always been drawn to activities that produce new emotions in people. As a young kid I put on puppet shows in the living room because it made the adults smile. In junior high I wrote plays for some History assignments because it brought what I thought could be old and dusty topics to life. In high school I made a lot of videos for fun and for class assignments because I loved to see people find humor, or sadness, or new meaning in an idea they hadn’t thought of before in the way I had. I captured the world on my trips, from high school through college and to today, because I want to share the experience with others, and see the reactions it stirs, which may be totally different than my own.

    Green Lens does what it does because when you affect someone at their core, emotional level, you have the ability to inspire new understandings, concepts, even purposes — those feelings make people feel confident, reflect, and grow. Let’s face it — it just feels plain good.

    Stories have a way of pulling in audiences, since we are naturally engineered to be curious and to enjoy learning about things we don’t know. This is especially true when we can relate in a variety of ways to the characters in stories; in some sense they can be extensions of ourselves in another world. Go to a party and find usually the big groups are congregating around the guy telling a good story. Storytelling, through spoken language, has been going on a very, very long time, dating back before the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Ancient Egyptians, the Neolithic period, all the way back to at least the Old Stone Age with its cave paintings. Did cave art come before or after oral storytelling? I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters for this discussion, because in either case, cave people heard stories by mouth (grunt?) or by looking at pictures others had drawn on walls with bloody bones. Basically, we are visual and auditory learning addicts.

    Nothing humanizes story more in the digital age than video, as you get your story told the exact way you want it told, over and over, and you use visuals and sound together to do it. I, and everybody here at Green Lens, affects people through this video medium. We are dreamers, and we make movies.

    What do we do specifically?

    We create high quality video production projects for clients and ourselves. We are also advocates for the environmental movement and industry, and promote good stewardship of the environment. We educate people through our films, as well as through our love for in-person filmmaking training, which is another aspect to our business. I will share more about these fronts in future posts, but I want to conclude this post by coming back around to the blog and the audiences it is written for.

    This blog is for storytellers, and those who strive through art to create positive progress in society and culture.
    This blog is for filmmakers who put hard effort into their films.
    This blog is for filmmakers who expect the best quality accessible (physically, financially) at the time for their film.
    This blog is for environmentalists, and those wanting to learn more about how we can live better.
    This blog is for the admins who run and build schools, the lifeblood of innovation in our society.
    This blog is for students: of filmmaking, writing, education, sustainable living, and without sounding too cliché, LIFE.

    My hope is in following this blog you will find facts, opinions, and great variety. I will do the best that a full time entrepreneur/film producer/editor/trainer can do to keep it fresh and frequent as well as keep my sanity. I am always one for collaboration and constructive criticism, so if you think I’m wrong about something or agree, or have a better tool or way to do something, please speak up! I only know what I know, not what I don’t, but I attend many tech, film, and business meetups for a reason — we are all still learning, all the time. We all are discovering each other’s stories. I have learned a great deal out in the real world post-college, and I anticipate that remaining a permanent condition of my being. If humanity were a cat, curiosity would not kill it; curiosity gives us something new, and new things are what living is all about.

    Focus of the day:
    Why do you do what you do?

    Eco-tip:
    CFL light bulbs are an important part of our energy solution in the home, but they do contain a small amount of mercury. Make sure to dispose of broken ones responsibly, same as you should do with batteries. Don’t be like this fellow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnm6AmaUzvs

    Film-tip: When purchasing SD, CF, or other types of media cards for tapeless cameras, invest in good brands, high speed rates (30 MB/s), and high class gradings (at least Class 5, 6 is better). A few dollars more for a reliable production is a safer and better shoot.