This is a real movie. I actually saw it on TV in the 1970s.
Every “Shut Up” in The Thing With Two Heads.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Jack Murray.
Roger Corman’s The Little Shop of Horrors is in the public domain so I had a little fun with a scene I remixed. I hope you all enjoy. Thank you.
Or you can visit @genreonline - the official YouTube companion to this website for other and exclusive content. Thank you.
https://youtube.com/shorts/5csxgNnlfRk?feature=share
(C) Copyright 2023 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Monday, January 30, 2023
Well Done.
Well Done.
I had some trouble sleeping last night and I had this idea of highlighting Henry Jones Sr. because he grows into a not only a hero on one level, but he bonds with his son more so that he is able to show him affection. So my first cut was eight minutes, so as I had with my experiments with Once Upon A Time In The West, I had to cut ruthlessly down to what I thought was most vital and then cut some more. Literally shaving seconds here and there and looking at how it was edited and experimenting with how the order of shots impacted the scene, did it the action and flow of thescene’s intent come across because a good action picture should be just as an emotional experience as a romance or a tragedy.
So I ultimately cropped certain shots while I took audio from one scene that I needed to delete and put it in another where unless you are examining on a big screen, you won’t notice the difference especially on a mobile screen aspect ratio on a cell phone and even then if I made no mention at all, some would not notice it because they would not be looking for it.
So that’s it. Like I did with the Leone shorts, I chose a name from the dialog to identify the clips. Since this is meant to be two minutes and I had to split it down to one minute each, I just named the shorts Well Done 1 & 2.
I really wish this kind of technology existed when I went to film school. The technology of film editing when I was an undergrad had not changed much since perhaps the 1920s or 30s. I am not exaggerating either. So look if you can learn something from this it is don’t copy what I do because I am not master filmmaker like Steven Spielberg. Learn from the best. Examine his films on your own and see what you would do if you were given a roll of footage in class and told make something out of it. That is literally what we did in Film Editing 1 back when I was there and now all you need is a few apps and a smart phone. I claim no copyright or ownership to anything. This is the property of Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Lucasfilm and Mr. Spielberg and all who actually labored on this classic. I claim nothing so please don’t ban these two shorts with a copyright strike or worse. Thank you.
Click on the URL or Photo below to view it complete as one on YouTube.
Eric Bogosian’s 1 +1, a new play, will have its off-Broadway premiere at SoHo Playhouse.
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BABYLON arrives for fans to watch at home on Premium Video-On-Demand and to purchase on Digital January 31, 2023 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Called “an absolute spectacle of filmmaking from start to finish” (Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly) and “extravagant, decadent…phenomenal” (Jazz Tangcay, Variety), writer/director Damien Chazelle’s glittering tale of Hollywood glamour and excess BABYLON arrives for fans to watch at home on Premium Video-On-Demand and to purchase on Digital January 31, 2023 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Nominated for three Academy Awards®, including Best Original Score, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design, BABYLON is a must-see spectacle featuring outstanding work from a world-class cast and filmmaking team. Fans who buy the film on Digital will have access to over 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews and deleted scenes to further illuminate how the cinematic tour-de-force was brought to life. Bonus content is detailed below:
- A Panoramic Canvas Called Babylon— The cast and crew discuss the inspiration and motivation behind the original story and development of this epic, 15 years in the making.
- The Costumes of Babylon— Discover how costume design was fundamental to character development and the challenges that went into creating over 7,000 costumes for the film.
- Scoring Babylon— Take a peek into Justin Hurwitz's musical process to understand the artistry behind composing an iconic score that further elevates the film.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes
BABYLON follows an ambitious cast of characters -- The Silent Film Superstar (Brad Pitt), the Young Starlet (Margot Robbie), the Production Executive (Diego Calva), the Musical Sensation (Jovan Adepo) and the Alluring Powerhouse Performer (Li Jun Li) -- who are striving to stay on top of the raucous, 1920s Hollywood scene and maintain their relevance at a time when the industry is moving on to the next best thing.
The film will arrive on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD, and in a Limited-Edition 4K Ultra HD SteelBook® March 21, 2023.
Well Done.
Well Done 1 & 2.
This counts for both shorts because if the limit were not set at sixty seconds, I would have posted this at two minutes, which was a challenge. I had some trouble sleeping last night and I had this idea of highlighting Henry Jones Sr. because he grows into a not only a hero on one level, but he bonds with his son more so that he is able to show him affection. So my first cut was eight minutes, so as I had with my experiments with Once Upon A Time In The West, I had to cut ruthlessly down to what I thought was most vital and then cut some more. Literally shaving seconds here and there and looking at how it was edited and experimenting with how the order of shots impacted the scene, did it the action and flow of thescene’s intent come across because a good action picture should be just as an emotional experience as a romance or a tragedy.
So I ultimately cropped certain shots while I took audio from one scene that I needed to delete and put it in another where unless you are examining on a big screen, you won’t notice the difference especially on a mobile screen aspect ratio on a cell phone and even then if I made no mention at all, some would not notice it because they would not be looking for it.
So that’s it. Like I did with the Leone shorts, I chose a name from the dialog to identify the clips. Since this is meant to be two minutes and I had to split it down to one minute each, I just named the shorts Well Done 1 & 2.
I really wish this kind of technology existed when I went to film school. The technology of film editing when I was an undergrad had not changed much since perhaps the 1920s or 30s. I am not exaggerating either. So look if you can learn something from this it is don’t copy what I do because I am not master filmmaker like Steven Spielberg. Learn from the best. Examine his films on your own and see what you would do if you were given a roll of footage in class and told make something out of it. That is literally what we did in Film Editing 1 back when I was there and now all you need is a few apps and a smart phone. I claim no copyright or ownership to anything. This is the property of Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Lucasfilm and Mr. Spielberg and all who actually labored on this classic. I claim nothing so please don’t ban these two shorts with a copyright strike or worse. Thank you.
Well Done 1:
Well Done 2.
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Who Are You?
Wow. What an epic journey it has been me to revisit this classic and experiment on the idea of a rotoscope motion graphic novel and this film is perfect in every way for that kind of exploration. Now please note, as happy as I am that this long widescreen version came out as good as it did, I am not stating this is perfect. The source material is perfect. Sergio Leone and the Maestro Ennio Morricone collaboration with all the actors and crew, the filmmakers are perfect. I am just a guy reliving his love of cinema through one of the best westerns ever made. I claim no ownership or credit here. In fact I am grateful to be able to do this. So thank you.
For this widescreen version, which was done completely on a second generation iPhone SE with iMovie and a free app called audio extractor you can find in the App Store, I cut down the sequence from nearly 8 minutes to 3 minutes and 55 seconds and cut down the action to bring the tempo up while still keeping in step with the soundtrack. I remixed the audio where necessary to match the score and applied both color and black and white comic filters to give it it’s graphic novel like look. That’s more or less it. This should be looked at as an experiment or just something made for fun and educational reasons. I like how this came out as compared to my take on Stanley Kubrick’s adaption of The Shining by Stephen King. On an iMac with something like Premiere Pro I imagine what could be created from scratch and maybe I will get to do that some day. In the mean time I have the less than sixty second short version done and I have an interview clip with Henry Fonda talking about the film in retrospect too. They are all below and the Longer Widescreen and Short Versions are cross linked in the respective discriptions on the @GenreOnline Channel on YouTube So stay tuned and thank you all for your support and patience. Namaste.
Click on the photo icon below for the Longer Widescreen Version on YouTube.
For this short version I managed to cut the scene down to less than sixty minutes by being ruthless in shaving off whatever was not absolutely necessary, remixing the soundtrack to account for all the cuts to make it flow better. Then I applied the filters and I was done.
Who Are You? (Short Version)
Henry Fonda On Once Upon A Time In The West.
It’s Already Past 12.
I basically cut out some of Frank’s, (Henry Fonda), shootings of his own hired killers, who have turned against him. Then I tightened up some of the angles and point of view shots along with reaction shots so that the entire sequence runs in less than a minute while it still gets the message across and maintains a brisk comic book like pace and feel.
It’s Already Past 12. (Widescreen Version)
It's Already Past 12. (Cropped For Mobile Screens Version)
He Not Only Plays. He Can Shoot Too.
Using the same filters and techniques I’ve used before, I cut this sequence down while adding a semi gradual music cue from elsewhere in the soundtrack to smooth out the introduction of Cheyenne (Jason Robards) into the sequence.
He Not Only Plays. He Can Shoot Too. (Widescreen Version)
He Not Only Plays. He Can Shoot Too. (Modified For Mobile Screens Version)
Friday, January 27, 2023
Two Too Many.
My graduate thesis was inspired by and adapted from Sergio Leone’s classic western Once Upon A Time In The West. The first draft was literally a transcription of all the dialogue and action, which while time consuming helped me to realize that the film is approximately 65 minutes of talking and everything else is pure visual storytelling. That means nearly half of the movie is various widescreen angles, including music by the great Ennio Morricone. After the straight transcription I eventually wrote my screenplay that while different from the film, including it’s location. (My story was set on Mars in the future). I learned and continue to learn about filmmaking and storytelling from watching Once Upon A Time In The West. One day I may reveal more, but as you can see from the minor edits I made along with the use of both the color and Black and White Comic Book filters found on iMovie, Once Upon A Time In The West is perfect material for turning into a graphic novel and anyone interested in visual storytelling should study this film. I purposely cut this to make it self contained, but it can easily be edited to undo that aspect. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this and thank you for your time and consideration. Click on the URL or photo to view the film on YouTube @GenreOnline.
HBO Renews THE LAST OF US For A Second Season.
Episode 2 of THE LAST OF US tallied 5.7 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts in the U.S. Sunday night, based on Nielsen and first party data, adding more than 1 million new viewers vs. the series premiere. This 22% jump marks the largest week two audience growth for any HBO Original Drama Series in the history of the network.
THE LAST OF US was also a hit on social media, with the series trending #1 both in the U.S. and worldwide on Twitter during its series debut. To date, season one teasers and trailers have amassed more than 100 million views globally. Additionally, the first episode of the series’ companion podcast hit #1 on the Apple Podcast US charts across all genres within 48 hours of its release.
“Craig and Neil, alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of ‘The Last of Us,’” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can't wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with season two.”
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations,” said executive producer Neil Druckmann. “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”
“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” said executive producer Craig Mazin. “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in."
THE LAST OF US takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.
With a 97% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, THE LAST OF US has been declared “HBO’s next big hit” by Rolling Stone, with Variety noting, “one sees the near future in which the show winds up among television’s best.” IndieWire declared the new series “better than every video game adaptation that comes to mind,” with IGN hailing it as “a brilliant retelling of one of video games’ most beloved stories” and adding that it “delivers an enriching show for fans of the PlayStation hit, while also managing to stay welcomingly thrilling to newcomers.” CNN called the storytelling “absolutely fearless and unflinching, creating horrifying scenarios and moments that can be alternately touching and utterly tragic.”
New episodes of the series debut Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and are available to stream on HBO Max, leading up to the finale on March 12.Starting today, the first episode of The Last of Us will be made available for free on HBOMax.com. Fans can also tune in to The Last of Us Podcast, the series’ official companion podcast where host Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the video game, sits down with series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for a scene-by-scene deep dive of each episode.