Quality Erosion In The Short Film Making

Introduction

When we look at the long history of the short film, we see hat it dates back to the technical invention of the cinema because the cinema started with the short film. Appearing as a type of movie as a result of short news and document films' being shown before the film on the performance in 1940s, started to change and became more mature in 1960s. All over the world, particularly in European continent, cinema affected by the impacts of free thinking and societal changes which had a great impact in the era, started to be reshaped as a means of expressing ideas, resistance and controversial opinions. A new cinema generation who were opposing, anarchist and radical and attempting to express what they could not write, draw and say through the outstanding power of the cinema emerged. Experimental cinema, underground cinema were come into being in this era as a type of cinema.

What made the people who were involved in cinema business look for this new understanding of cinema was big changes seen in political and cultural fields and restrictions imposed on the production of the movie makers by the technical restrictions of the era. 16 mm 8mm formats emerged as alternative to 35 mm format causing big costs during the production and after the production of the film alleviated demanding technical conditions and decreased the high costs. Nevertheless, these formats required a particular pre-budget for the purchase of the raw film. Moreover, It imposed restrictions on the short film maker with regards to the time of the project, repetition of the plan, and the number of the places to be used. This brought about the care and attention together with the demanding technical conditions. The short film maker had to pay special attention to details such as a conducting a serious project, work planning, and pre-search.

Short film genre developed under these conditions generated several very important creative director in 1980s. In addition, directors such as pioneer of the pop-art, experimental film maker Andy Warhol, German short film maker Werner Nekes, who never give up making short films have sustained their existence.

In the not very bright past of the Turkish short film making, there were very few short film makers who did great jobs and caused lasting impact, and very few short-film related activities. The short film-related activities that can be remembered from the past include Hisar short film competition held by Boğaziçi University in 60s, short film category involvrd in Antalya cinema festival until 1983, İfsak short film activities, Adana Altın Koza, Arıburun awards and competitions organized in Ankara film festival in 80s. Ali Özgentürk, Yavuz Özkan, Muammer Özer, Ersin Pertan, who started to make long films later, started their careers with short films.

Everybody is making short films..

Having been existent until 90s, 16mm and 8 mm formats were replaced by magnetic band and completely became obsolete for the short film maker. A new era began first with betamax and Hi8 and its derivatives and more recently with DV and its derivatives. Being cheap, easily available and not needing developing, DV format has become an indispensable part of this era. Making a short film is not expensive any more. The prices of film cameras are easily affordable. If it is not possible to buy them, they can be rented or borrowed. Another advantage of DV format is its rendering fast and easy assembly and editing possible. A computer with required software and hardware, and an interface to catch the view will make assembly and editing quite easy. Assembly and editing in a computer can be done through Apple Mac and PC based applications. Assembly and editing software programs such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Edius result in time saved and quality in assembling and editing process with their rich transitions, Real Time, correction features and visual effects. All the expenses needed for all these things are not something which can not be borne by a cinema student having cinema education and expected to produce project films or by a short film maker. When the tradition of working in cooperation in short film sector is combined with these technical opportunities ....

Although DV format is considerably new, its superior version, High Definition, is a new candidate for the leading position in showing images. HD and its derivatives are about the give the sense of realness which was converged in standart films. Distribution, being on performance in cinemas, finding saloons, taxing, and legal procedures are concepts outside the universe of the short film maker. The main target is to participate in festivals, mass display, competitions and make their voices heard.

WHAT ABOUT CREATIVITY

This is the real problem... how is the state of expression, creativity and having lasting effect in an environment where a lot of short films are made, the number of festivals and competitions has increased ? In 60s, while the short film makers (including ours) grounded their films on a perspective of cinema, today, short films seem to be made with concerning haste and carelessness. A few examples should be given about this boom of short film production:

When we review the sources and past films produced since 1981, the production by year is as follows: in 1981, only one film was made. From 1981 to 1990 112 short films were recorded. Most of them are 16 mm and 8 mm standart film format. From 1991 0n, the dominance of video format was felt. Most of the short films produced since 1991 are videos. And most of the 187 short films made between 1991 and 1993 are videos. The general increase in the number of the short films and their having video format can easily be recognised between 1994-2004. When we add those which are not registered in these lists, we get a huge sum of short films.

There are quality films among these produced with haste and carelessness. However, when compared to the total, the number of these quality products is very small. Those who are trying hard to make short films are usually young students who have cinema education and planning to have a place in the sector. The starting point of these students in their endeavour to make a short film is its being a reference in the future rather than their preferring short film as a type of cinema. The main target and desire here is to be transferred into long film or advertisement sectors.

Other short film makers also share the same perspective as students. their main purpose is somehow to be a professional and make a cinema film. For them short film is also a springboard a preparation period. Some well-known examples can be given here. Mustafa Altıoklar, Yeşim Ustaoğlu, , whose name we heard of by means of short film festivals in 90s, series director Taner Akvardar, Serdar Akar, Kudret Sabancı, who finished their cinema education in 90s are first to remember.

Most of the short films made are devoid of the basic technical rules, aesthetic, expression opportunities of the cinema, they are produced without much creativity and care. The shortcomings in thematic plot, story, depicting, characterisation, directing actors or actresses, and putting on performance are clearly seen. The short film maker attempts to express something with a short film, but he finds himself in the trap of not telling anything. The real purpose of the film, taking part in a festival or organisation and having one more reference for future career, can clearly be seen in the short film.

All these judgements can be seen a bit merciless and tough. Of course there are quality films in the sector. But they are not enough. However, praising every short film can make the short film makers very proud of themselves, and this may pose a threat to the development of short films. The opinion like the more short films are made, the better it will be for the short film sector may undermine the short film.

RESULT

In the light of all these, we can say that the short film is viewed as an area of freedom for some and stepping stone for others. In any case it is an important cinema attempt. There are differences between its mission and state thirty years ago and now. The most important determinant of this differentiation is outstanding improvements in the image technology. There is a quantity boom in the short films. However, the quality of content and aesthetic has not increased parallel to the number. Now, the organisers of festival, competition and similar organisations encouraging short film production has important role. They should have certain requirements considering depiction, aesthetic, and cinemagrofic values so hat quality products are encouraged. Over time, elimination system treating each product equally, organisations with high budgets, encouraging prizes, and serious organisations will improve the total quality.

As long as the gap between quantitative boom and qualitative deterioration does not close, the future seems to be not bright for the short film. Technology used carelessly, as in every field, will continue to improve by harming the field of art

Dr.Serdar Karakaya-Mugla University / TURKEY

www.kisafilm.org

http://film.ilef.net

http://www.kameraarkasi.org

François Richet and Vincent Cassel

Let’s face it – no one does Real McCoy, well-’ard gangster flicks like we Europeans. Of course, Stateside, you can cite Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) or Casino (1995) and, at a pinch, Coppolla’s The Godfather (1972) but sorry, when it comes to what violence, fear of violence and callous characterizations are really all about, we have (among many others) Get Carter (1971). We’ve got The Long Good Friday (1980).

Frankly, you’ve never really had a glass smashed into your face unless you’ve had it this side of the Atlantic, and there is a gritty, seamy, downright dirty side to the 70s gangster look and feel that only European pubs, bars, clubs and strip-joints can effectively convey.

And that’s why we should all be on our knees, to give thanks for Mesrine: L’instinct de mort and the follow-up Mesrine: L’ennemi public n° 1 (released across Europe on 19 November) – both have this dirt in spades. Order has been restored.

Jean-François Richet, whose previous film was the somewhat uninspiring remake Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), from John Carpenter’s 1976 original, has simply outdone himself with this balanced, and, in spite of the grim violence at its core, non-hysterical account of what drives a man to devote his entire existence to the crooked path, and the price that must be paid for taking on the system single-handed.

Although Cassel’s previous form might indicate he could play a hot-blooded, moody but intelligently motivate gangster in his sleep, his turn as Mesrine offers a whole lot more than murder and mayhem by the numbers. Helped enormously by the ensemble cast (Gérard Depardieu makes a welcome return to the classic brutish role that first made him famous, Olivier Gourmet is simply wonderful as Commissaire Broussard, Mesrine’s reluctant nemesis on the ‘right’ side of the law), plus a splendidly tight, acerbic screenplay from Abdel Raouf Dafri, which was in turn adapted from Mesrine’s own ‘novel’, written while in jail, Cassel simply IS Mesrine.

A peerless master of disguise, Mesrine, whose sworn enemies were the banks, became France’s public enemy numero un during the 1970s, but his road into crime began shortly after his return from France’s war against Algeria in 1959 – aged 23, our man comes back with a clean service record, but quickly finds, despite the best efforts of his loving mother and father (Myriam Boyer and Michel Duchaussoy) the straight and narrow of civvy street too restrictive. Gifted with a quick mind and first-class improvisational skills, Mesrine is also a man of his word, no matter what the cost to himself, as he proves when, upon breaking out of the inhumane Saint-Vincent-de-Paul penitentiary (to which he had been sentenced to 15 years) in 1972, he returns two weeks later to break his jail mates free.

The story of the two films charts his nearly two decades of legendary criminal feats (including multiple bank robberies and numerous, increasingly spectacular, prison breaks), finishing on 2 November, 1979, when his story ends, as outlaws’ stories usually do, at the point of a gun. Several guns, in fact…

There are those who may say that the story is romanticized, as much in love with the man at its centre as Mesrine so clearly was with himself. Pooh-pooh to them – what Richet and Cassel achieve is a near-peerless account of a man who became a myth in his won lifetime, let alone nearly 30 years after his death. Make no mistake – in this film, people die and people bleed. In some ways, none more so than Mesrine himself, who was tortured by his notions of neither being a good son, husband, or father. Put it this way – I know who you will be rooting for from start to finish, and it isn’t any of the representatives of the system that the ‘gangster’s gangster’ swore to bring down.

And, to boot, the films are truly thrilling, with Richet proving he is just as adept at the big action scenes as he is with the expository dialogue. Vive Mesrine!

http://efareviews.cineuropa.org

Alejandro Jodorowsky: King Shot

I was fairly convinced that King Shot was going to wind up another one of Jodorowski’s pie-in-the-sky ideas that never come to fruition, like his Dune adaptation, but this film actually seems to be rolling along. As far as I can tell, there hasn’t been a single frame of film shot yet but the wheels are actually in motion, it would seem. I’ve been hungry for more Jodorowsky for years so I have my fingers crossed. If anyone needs to jump back into the circuit, it’s that guy.

Ain’t It Cool News posted a video interview with Jodorowsky sourced from some Youtube channel. In it, he rambles on about his usual skewed point of view about filmmaking, which is awesome, all the while you get a look at storyboards, which show off some very elaborate sets. If this movie goes according to Jodorowsky’s vision, it’s going to be his most visually appealing movie ever.

On a final note, Harry Knowles needs to stop peppering his articles with sex references. If there’s one person on earth I would die before envisioning “post-coital”, it’s that guy. Here’s the video, yo.

The Hollywood Reporter website has reported David Lynch's company, Absurda, will be producing Jodorowsky's movie King Shot, which Marilyn Manson is set to appear in.

quote:In a separate development, Lynch's Absurda production company hasattached Asia Argento and Udo Kier to star with Nick Nolte inAlejandro Jodorowsky's metaphysical gangster movie 'King Shot.'

Marilyn Manson is touted to appear as a prophet in the 'SinCity'-style film, which producer Eric Bassett said has enough sexand violence to guarantee an NC-17 rating.

Lynch is executive producing both projects, and Absurda is reppingtheir sales rights in the Cannes market


- The Holywood Reporter

Below is more Information on King Shot and Marilyn Manson from Cinemafrenzy.com

Buried in an article on The Hollywood Reporter about Herzog and Lynch teaming up for My Son, My Son, which is huge news in itself (Lynch makes feature length films less and less often these days and Herzog was exceptionally brilliant in his heyday), they failed to point out the importance of Lynch’s company, Absurda, producing Alejandro Joworowsky’s metaphysical gangster movie, King Shot.

It’s been almost 20 years since his last film, The Rainbow Thief, but finally, Jodorowsky is returning to the director’s chair. As of now, Nick Nolte has the lead in the film, with Asia Argento, Udo Kier and Marilyn Manson also cast. Manson will play a prophet, in what is being touted as a “Sin City” styled film, destined for a NC-17 rating, based on the copious amount of sex and violence.

Manson’s involvement doesn’t come as much of a surprise, since he’s been a very outspoken fan of Jodorowsky for years. Neither does Argento and Kier’s involvement with the project, since they seem to be in every other genre project lately. Nick Nolte is the real curiosity here, since he hasn’t done anything of real merit in quite a while.

According to Anarchy and Alchemy by Ben Cobb, the film centers around “a casino in the middle of the desert, where gangsters play in a contest with fake shots [blanks]. There comes one other, who is not honest. That is one part of the story. Not all. There also comes a young gangster who is on the run [having] stolen diamonds. Back in the desert, scientists have found an enormous [prehistoric] bone. Then they discover bones everywhere in the desert. A big enormous hand. It is like King Kong. Then they close the desert because they know what it is. And the young person in the casino will dominate all the others and torture them. Everything is a story told by a beetle. There is a prophet, he came from [below the Earth] and eat the beetle.”

Apparently, Marilyn Manson’s role as the prophet will also set him as “a beautiful woman.” According to the book, King Shot is also suppose to be Jodorowsky’s last film.

Once again big thanks are due to cult legend Alejandro Jodorowsky for sharing more story boards from his upcoming "metaphysical spaghetti gangster film" King Shot, which will hopefully be moving into production soon with Nick Nolte and Marilyn Manson slated to star. Once again all of these storyboards are by conceptual artist Sylvain Despretz, whose resume includes work on Jeunet et Caro's City of Lost Children, Aronofsky's The Fountain, and a host of others.

While much of the financing for the three million dollar picture is in place - Nolte and Manson reportedly both believe so strongly in the film that they're putting up some of their own coin - they're still looking for the last few pieces to fall in place before shooting in Mexico. Potential investors or distribution partners - and investors only, he will check - can contact David Daniloff for a look at the script.

Anyway ... art. If you missed the first four storyboards you can find those here. The new images are linked below.

A while back word began to circulate that cult legend Alejandro Jodorowsky - he of El Topo fame - was moving ahead on his long rumored "metaphysical spaghetti gangster film", King Shot. Very happy to say that this is correct ...

Thanks to my Toronto After Dark compatriot David Daniloff - who brought Jodorowsky to Toronto for an event a few years back and maintains contact with him - we have confirmed that the script is 100 % complete, Marilyn Manson and Nick Nolte will star with both apparently chipping in some of their own funds, and they're looking to shoot the film on a budget of three million dollars in Mexico.

But it gets better. Jodorowsky himself has shared with us a trio of storyboards by artist Sylvain Despretz - his previous credits include The Fountain and The City of Lost Children - for the film to share with you and these look fantastic. And really, if you expected them to look anything other than fantastic you need to slap yourself hard right now. The man is a living legend for very good reason.

Provided that all goes smoothly with King Shot 2007 could prove to be a very exciting one for Jodorowsky fans, what with ABKCO Films recently announcing that newly remastered versions of Jodorowsky's El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Fando & Lis will finally be making their appearance on DVD. New Jodorowsky plus the old classics finally getting a high quality release? It's better than a kick in the teeth, that's for damn sure.

King Shot Storyboard One
King Shot Storyboard Two
King Shot Storyboard Three

http://www.cinemafrenzy.com/

http://www.cinema-suicide.com/

http://twitchfilm.net/

Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll

From Twitch Film (via Film Rot) comes news that the first images have appeared online for Marilyn Manson’s upcoming film Phantasmagoria: The Visions Of Lewis Carroll. Wait a minute — hold the phone. Marilyn Manson is directing a movie? I vaguely recall hearing something about this, but I guess I missed the official announcement a couple months ago. Isn’t it bad enough that we already have Rob Zombie unleashing his “uncompromising artistic vision” on the film world? Okay I know some people actually like Zombie’s films, and to be honest, I do think Marilyn Manson is a talented and interesting guy beneath all that make-up. Plus this movie sounds like a perfect fit. Phantasmagoria is not based on the 1995 Roberta Williams video game, but rather it is a biopic of sorts about Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, where his disturbing and strange imagination overlaps with his real life. I guess it’s kind of like a twisted version of Finding Neverland. Manson had said before that he would do a series of short films to be released on his website, followed by the feature film, although it is unclear whether or not the short films are still happening. RooTV has a video of a press conference from the Berlin Film Festival where Manson discusses his motives for making the movie. Check out images from the movie at the link below.

Manson's pet project Phantasmagoria, which is based on Lewis Carroll living by himself in a castle terrified of each night and his visions of Alice, is budgeted at $4.2M and backed by none other then Wild Bunch. Shooting was reportedly supposed to start recently after a tour to promote his 7th album. This will be Manson's directorial debut with him also starring as Lewis Carroll, and reportedly he's using a "new camera" he's very excited about and the film won't contain any cgi, instead relying on a "magician" he hired to create special effects. To boot, he's going back to do the days of Roman Polanski and Hitchock horror where the desire is to allow the viewer to "do their own damage". Damn, it sounds good already and knowing Manson it'll be really twisted. Unfortunately there's not much more right now, but you can check out three promo stills after the break.

http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2008/07/11/Marilyn-Mansons-Phantasmagoria-The-Visions-of-Lewis-Carroll

http://www.filmjunk.com/2006/03/29/marilyn-manson-directing-phantasmagoria-the-visions-of-lewis-carroll/