Guillermo Del Toros, King of Magical Realism

Mexican director Guillemo Del Toros is the King of magical realism directors right now.
Above is the link to a great interview with him, how he thinks spiritually about his films.

The photo is from where I worked as a post-doc and nothing to do with him, but the remote lake around which we used to ski was definitely magical.

Shooting in Oregon

Shooting in Oregon provides lots of interesting water effects indirect and direct. Trees grow for 2000 years, fish are in the ocean.

Our New High Def Canon Pro Camera

Magical Realism just got a brand new Canon XH-A1 Hi-Def camera with incredible adjustability.

Shoots at the Full Moon ( Moon cycle table below)

I want to finish casting and shoot full moon in the desert. The above is actually my bike in an Italian village, if I could be shooting there I might be.

The goal is to try to create a dreamlike psychological space.
There's a full moon (See calendar below) Friday the 18th at midnight, IDK whether it's early Friday morning or late Friday night.


Shoot schedule is pending, please email at help@magicalrealismfilms.com

Alain Lumina, Director
LIfe is change, and our plans work the same way.
At this point, all actors and crew can still call me eves and weekends at 541-469-7014

Quick and Dirty Pro Cinema Sound

1) Use a boom. Wireless lavaliers are too unreliable, nearby radar, C-I-A death-rays, etc. can cause unforeseen, intermittent interference that will leave you screaming about CIA death rays. Not good. .
2) Shotgun mike Sennheiser 416 about $1050
3) Small battery powered mixer with limiter built in Shure FP-33, about $1328

Record ambiance separately, then mix in at will, or during Foley.

George at Full Compass super-helpful and did film sound himself,
800-356-5844 x 1114

Bingo, ex pro gave me the five minute rundown it would take years of blunders to learn. However, blundering is so enjoyable I am still hoping to succeed at it.

Fantasy Noir

Our new poster has confirmed that we have created a whole new film style. Well, I like the coloring anyway.

It's Fantasy Noir. I had called up script consultant Karl Iglesias, and he told me ( at $100/Hour) my pretentious label of "Magical Realism" should actually, in "Industry" parlance, be "Fantasy."

I think of elves and boring witch fantasy tales when I hear that. Although the Wizard of OZ was one of the best films ever made.

So I've got my own label.

Lighting Supply Place

I can buy some of these tasty little suckers at :

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/

And can't lose the link here.

The Worser The Better

I've never met a harebrained scheme I didn't like. The worser the better.

And if you're really addled, you can come up with some great ones. Like shooting on film because it looks cool. Even on a microscopic budget. No, really-- it's logical! Film has so much more latitude!

As for services for the addled, this pre/post house in LA has all the pieces you need. The web page is easy to use also. If it's here, I can't lose it:

http://www.cinelicious.tv/

As for the required photo, taken with FILM in Hawaii-- wasn't the idea of technology to make out lives Better? Instead, we run like rats on treadmills-- thinking about how much space on the treadmill we have, rather than getting off. But it's an egalitarian treadmill-- everyone can go and make a bad looking video, whereas they never could have afforded a 35mm negative.

Great Ideas Generously Given By Collaborators

1) Use family members to motivate characters. Poor bastards.

2) Wind up the conflict. They live two hours. Punch it.

3) Incomplete sentences make things sound pithy and punchy. Pithy. Punchy.

4) Maybe if they sound pithy and punchy, they are pithy and punchy. (Refer to quote from Duke Elllington, "If it sounds good, it is good."

5) And the requisite Hawaii photo, ho hum I was there for years, don't hate me. OK, go ahead.

6) If it makes you feel any better, the stylish Minolta x-370 35 mm ( lots of anodized black parts) with which the above was taken was stolen from me in a Russian Metro.

7) Looking at the above photo, I realize how much my life has sucked since I left Hawaii. Whuh..whuh... why am doing this instead of eking out a living in Hawaii?

8) Do you think there is any chance that the above photo would look anything like that from a digital camera? Seriously, not a rhetorical question.

What They Did To Me

This is what happened the last time I filmed in San Francisco. It was for the script they said, more than for the shooting.

Tidal Wave of Talent

I posted a casting call for "A Meeting in A Dream" on a popular online casting site last night and the response in terms of the quality of the actors has been more or less astounding.

I knew Lee, Ada and I had a good idea with this script, but I can't escape the feeling of sitting off the North Shore of Hawaii and seeing a wave come in larger than I've ridden before.

If you're not going to paddle in (into the wave to catch it) why would you go surfing?

Please enjoy the attached shots done on a Minolta X-370 35mm film while I was in grad school in Hawaii.

Alain Lumina

New Lights- Mole 2k Fresnel

Our Latest addition-
--a classic Mole Richardson 2000 watt fresnel.

Now we have
--two 200 watt daylight flourescent softboxes
-- 200 Watt Mini Mole Fresnel
-- 2000 Watt Mole Softbox
Now we just need stands to start the rental biz

Casting for Paid Non-SAG leads - Male Lead 24-36

Male lead to play aspiring composer,  some musical instrument training especially on violin needed.

Compensation:

Food lodging, transportation to pleasant locations  such as SF bay area, desert, and Sierras and about $75 per day. 

Please call Director Lee Medvedov 310-422-8180

(mnemonic 310-I-ACT-180)

Casting for Paid Non-SAG leads - Female Lead 19-27

Romantic Magical Realism Drama Shooting Between August 20th and October 30:

• Female Lead, build of endurance athlete, slim and strong, about 24
• Needs to participate in Real/Simulated amateur bicycle race during film. 
  
• Does not have to be competitive athlete but needs experience cycling hard-- standing while pedaling up long hills.