Cynthia Corral generously offered the use of her home for the most important scene in Amity (and she provided plenty of snacks and drinks!). Cynthia writes for San Jose Metblogs, so she took the opportunity to write about our cast and crew tromping through her yard, acting tough and confiscating her cellphone. It’s great that we’re able to generate some early buzz for this project. Thanks, Cynthia!
“My Afternoon on the Amity Film Set (My House)” by Cynthia Corral
Last weekend Alejandro Adams and I shot tests and actor auditions at one of his satellite offices (an alcove in Starbucks in Mt. View). I showed up with my HPX170, a high definition camera, which threw a monkey wrench into Alejandro’s workflow. You see, despite the world shifting around him, Alejandro insists on shooting his films in DV standard definition on his DVX100, which he goes out of his way to verbally abuse, calling it “obsolete” and “only worth $15 bucks” (despite the fact that Panasonic still manufactures and sells it for considerably more than that). He says he has his reasons. Yet, always one for experimentation, Alejandro agreed to allow me to use my HPX170 as one of the cameras on the film (as long as I took an oath that I would indeed shoot in SD mode); however, the thought of a tapeless camera seemed to make him a little queasy.
For what it’s worth, I did some informal tests to see how close these two cameras could match up. My results showed they can be made to look nearly identical with minor changes to the settings. That the successor cameras to the DVX seem to cling so closely to its same fundamental architecture, look and feel says to me there is nothing obsolete about Alejandro’s technical considerations. For the technical (geeky?) details, click on the graphic below for a full sized image.
We have the limo.
We have the plane.
We have the motel.
Among the cast and crew, we have a perfect balance of regulars and new faces.
We’re almost ready. At this point, I just need to figure out what the film is, what happens in it.
Yesterday was incredibly productive. Cinematographer Ali Allie and I started setting up for auditions at 8:00 AM in Mountain View. After the auditions, we worked on calibrating his HPX-170 to match the three DVX-100As which have served each of my productions thus far. It was strange to use a tapeless camera and bring the image quality down to match obsolete technology. I’ve discussed these technical and aesthetic issues in plenty of articles and interviews, so I won’t go into them here, but I’m convinced the DVXs are still the most suitable cameras for my production methods.
Ali continued to work with the cameras last night and this morning, putting in far more time and effort than I would have expected or asked. He’ll be commuting up from L.A. for the next five weekends to make this project as good as it can be. Canary benefited greatly from his involvement, so I’m glad to have him back.
Tomorrow is my daughter’s fourth birthday party–that’s a production I’m only marginally involved in (I’ll be holding the park tables from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM and, of course, celebrating at the appointed time). I’m in post-production on Babnik and will start production on Child of God in June. I’m hoping my daughter’s birthday party will be the best and most rewarding of these productions, but after that I love them all equally and wish them all the best.
Thanks to Jagruti Patel of America’s Best Inn & Suites (Redwood City) for offering complimentary use of a room for a scene in Amity.
Jagruti may be reached at (650) 369-1731 or jagu733@yahoo.com.
Every film needs a little exposition. In Amity, we get most of the main character’s backstory when he talks to the guy sitting beside him on a commercial flight.
Thanks to Brandon Rose, one of Amity’s producers, and Carl Panter of San Jose State University’s aviation department, we will have access to a retired United 727 which is parked just outside the San Jose airport (alongside some picturesque helicopters and other aircraft). Brandon and I shot test footage of the airplane’s interior, and with the right exposure (or the wrong exposure, depending on your point of view) it should be easy to suggest that the plane is mid-flight.
Thanks to Brandon, Carl and SJSU for access to the plane.
The most challenging scene in this film takes place in the back of a parked limo, in the dark. Peter Runyan of Affordable Limo Service in Los Gatos has offered us a truly affordable rate for the use of his 1996 Lincoln limo. Contact Peter at (408) 768-3706 or prundog@yahoo.com.
