OK as promised, here is a roundup of Day 2 of the Produced by Conference. There were three sessions going on at any one time, so I could not get to everything.
The morning kicked off at 9am with a look at mobile technology as a new media platform. The basic gist is that now with personal devices like the iPhone, it is possible to deliver high quality video and other content to 2 billion people across the globe. Two things became clear. First, mobile technology is even more pervasive than the internet. Second, the internet has a culture of free content, where mobile technology has a culture of ‘paid for’ content and services. This is very interesting for indie film makers. Innovations such as mobile video headsets, new operating systems that are easy to navigate and built in projectors are changing the face of these devices. It’s certainly going to evolve as a new platform for us all to consider very seriously. I think the key is that the monetisation is built into the mobile model. All interesting stuff.
Following this was a comparison of all the major HD cameras, which was incredible and I will report on it next time on the blog (as it will be a bit lengthy). Yes they did test RED ONE and it was quite revealing. It was also my first time in the big Carry Grant Theatre were the awards were held. Sweet.
The next session was about 3D cinema. I had already seen a 3D test on a 3D TV and was blown away, so I was looking forward to this chat. What struck me while listening was that the panel was made of about six guys, aged between 35 and 65, all looking very respectable, all babbling enthusiastically about 3d animated guinea pigs in a new 3d movie called ‘G Force’. What’s more, the audience was completely with them too. I know I mentioned this on the blog a day or so ago, but there really is a sense that the ability to Entertain (with a big E) is both admired and seriously rewarded. Most jaw dropping was the demo of Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith, which had been ‘dimensionalised’, a process where 2D films are made 3D. They took us through how they did it, and showed how they could move and stretch 3D for effect. They could also move and stretch 3D effect for eye comfort too. There is a real attempt to keep the viewers in a similar 3 dimensional space from shot to shot, so as to avoid eye strain inbetween cuts. Of course in real life we don’t have edits in what we see, and our eyes don’t snap back and forth searching for the information to lock onto to create 3d in our brains. This is one major improvement the guys have been working on.
The day ended with a 2 hour chat with the guys from Marvel Studios, which was great fun. Of course, my mind kept swinging back to the fact that in 2 hours time, the PGA awards would be taking place, so it was hard to concentrate.
The conference was really terrific and if you are in LA next year, I recommend you try and get yourself to it.
Next time on the blog… as promised, the digital camera roundup.
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com
Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours with Genevieve and her husband Andrew (and daughter Casey Mae), signing copies of all three Guerilla Film Makers Handbooks (Including the new Movie Blueprint cover) at the FTX West Conference at Canada Place in Vancouver. FTX is a combination of Film Maker Forum with seminars and full blown technology expo. Sony unveiled a new HD Camera, but for me, the big thrill was to finally see the Red camera in the flesh. It’s not a pretty camera for sure, and it looks like there are many wrinkles to be ironed out, but it’s still by far the cheapest way to buy into full blown HD.
This weekend I had a great directing job – STAR WARS! Yes, I
know! Actually it was at the Star Wars show, but we got to shoot little movies
with people in costume and on set, who on minutes earlier, were in the crowd of
onlookers. It was more theatre than movie, for sure, but a huge amount of fun. There
was a huge section of set that was custom built and when filmed, boy did it
look like it was just ripped out of the movie. I was struck by how, even now,
the Star Wars design and costumes still hold up and feel utterly authentic to
their own universe. As directing jobs go, they don’t get much better than this!
I spent the weekend with my good friend Simon Cox, at a science fiction convention in Birmingham called Memorabilia, selling my books and his movie on DVD, ‘Written In Blood’, signed by him of course. It was an intense two days, but very rewarding, not least because I sold some books, but also because I was forced to sell DVD’s - and this is something every film maker should have to do. All to often we sit in our ivory towers, imagining how wonderful our movie will be, what the poster will look like, how the audiences will flock to it - and that dream is almost entirely based one WHAT WE LIKE, and not what the market wants or the audience finds attractive. 
