KGB Productions

 I reviewed this long ago, and now I see it's available on-line for free.  How cool is that. http://youtu.be/0Q2MI23zS2w ENJOY!

I've worked in the A/V field now for over 20 years and have installed, re-fitted, replaced, and fixed  many A/V related equipment.  The largest expense, and the most maintenance heavy piece of equipment is the LCD projector. No matter where I go I am confronted by these dinosaurs and as always I've written memos on what to do about them that usually lands on deaf ears.  replace those LCD with LED projectors and you're organization will be happy, and a even have a bit more cash.  LED projectors are quite good, and can last 10 to 20 years.  Now of course the having a piece of equipment that last almost 20 years may not be the greatest.  After all you want your organization to have the latest pieces of equipment, bu a projector is just that a display device.  Hook it up to a computer and or a DVD player and you have an instant presentation device.  Include a smart board and have a multimedia 21st century blackboard. Why am I talking about thi...

Gone to soon.  A brilliant thespian, comic, and performer.  He will be missed .  Thanks for the laughter. 

 I have a fascination of low budget films, and when I heard that Greydon Clark wrote a book about his career my interest peaked, and so I was happily given the book by my family for a father's day gift.  Who is Greydon Clark you ask?  He is the producer and director of such films as: Black Shampoo, Without Warning , Joysticks , Satan's Cheerleaders just to name a few.  Why should you care?  Well if you're a film enthusiast, a filmmaker, or even if you happen just to like low budget films this book may shed some light on how hard and difficult it is to produce these types of films. Mr. Clark goes about telling us how he financed, and how he produced and directed his films.  Many of these films were ultra low-budget, but you would be surprised to know where all the money goes, and that is talent.  Clark never skimped on his talent, and knew that he needed to draw audience's in by getting bankable stars.  Mr. Clarks budgets ranged from 50K ...

My oldest who is twelve wanted to see this and so over the July 4th opening we went with the family to see " Earth to Echo ".  A film about four kids on a search for extraterrestrials.  This is not ET , or a re-hash of it.  This is a bit different.  The movie focuses on the kids, and the film is seen through video that the kids record as they go about their adventure.  I thought the way the film was presented was kind of cool, and was a different take on movies with the same plot line.  The movie reminds me a bit of a Spielberg produced movie entitled "Batteries Not Included ", but their are differences such as the main characters are kids and the movie is marketed to younger teens and kids that are a bit younger.  The movie is not great for children younger then 8, or that's how I felt.  My youngest who is ten liked it, and thought the alien was cute, and there is the movies problem. For all the promotion of the movie there aren't enough s...

   Okay it's been a while and another summer is upon us.  That means it's summer blockbuster time, or that's what the movie studios want you to know.  The Transformer series has been a sort of tradition in our household.  Having two boys who love the series they got their parents to also enjoy them.  I even have a love for the animated series and see how complex the series was.  But I digress.  Is this a movie you could enjoy?  The answer to that is yes, but only if you like BIG blockbuster action, where things blow-up often, and you love robots battling each other.  If not then this may not be the movie for you. The magic of these movies are that you go with the family and enjoy it together.  The movie has a universal plot of good versus evil sure, but there are some things that Michael Bay puts in that actually mimic our times.  "Keeping Earth human", and "If you see alien activity report it" are slogans taken from toda...

Here's another example of micro-film making, and this from Director/Producer Joss Whedon.  In Your Eyes - Trailer from Bellwether Pictures on Vimeo . One more example of a micro-film getting  world wide exposure.  All through the Internet.  I can only hope and surmise that bold new films will enter our consciousness, and take film making into a new realm.  If companies can make this viable for EVERYONE, maybe content will increase, and new forms of entertainment will evolve. 

 Since NAB 2014 is this week there is a lot of info coming out from them, so here's one of them.  The price seems very nice, and it's 4K.   Check out the link for specs.   http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/blackmagic-ursa/

Here's a link that may inspire you or if anything it may make you think.  I try and find inspiration where ever I can, so check it out and see what you think. I've always been a dyi guy, and if it doesn't start with you who else is it going to start with? Check it out.  Though he filmed his film "The Cube" with a Canon Rebel T3i I myself think there may be other cameras that are better and are far less expensive.  In the end use what you have and make it work.  Better then doing nothing.  Stay creative people. http://filmtrooper.com/

It was once again time for a family outing, and since our boys have been keen on seeing "The Lego Movie" since it was announced last year, so it was off to the movies.  After breaking several piggy banks for the admission fare, and the goodies that go with movie watching we caught an early show.  I had heard things about this film being pretty smart, and funny, and I can say I wasn't disappointed.  The filmmakers do a great job pandering to their audience, which face it is anyone under 12.  But that's the charm of the movie.  There are so many in-jokes, and jokes that kids won't get that makes the film pretty funny at whatever age you are. Sitting here writing this review I still can't remember all the jokes in the film, and maybe that's what the filmmakers wanted.  After all maybe after seeing it with the kids maybe the grown-ups will see it again, and you know they'll have to take the kids again, so double score for the studio in the money depa...

  Dearest Francesca, I’m writing this letter to you about the future. I’m looking at it through the lens of my world. Through the lens of cinema, which has been at the center of that world. For the last few years, I’ve realized that the idea of cinema that I grew up with, that’s there in the movies I’ve been showing you since you were a child, and that was thriving when I started making pictures, is coming to a close. I’m not referring to the films that have already been made. I’m referring to the ones that are to come. I don’t mean to be despairing. I’m not writing these words in a spirit of defeat. On the contrary, I think the future is bright. We always knew that the movies were a business, and that the art of cinema was made possible because it aligned with business conditions. None of us who started in the 60s and 70s had any illusions on that front. We knew that we would have to work hard to protect what we loved. We also knew that we might have to g...

  Can I get excited now?    Just heard about this, and it is still in the development stages, but it's exciting to hear about this innovation.  Before I ventured into 16mm there was my handy dandy Super 8 camera.  The epics that were shot with that camera were fun and filled with enthusiasm.   Even my dad filmed with his own 8mm camera the family events while I was growing up.  It seems like ages ago, and some how when I view the footage taken back then a feeling of nostalgia comes over me.  The color, and even the sound comes popping off the screen and I'm transported back to that time. The magic of home movies everywhere, but with Super 8 it was different then what we have today.   There were no shaky camera movement, because it was film, and we only had about three minutes worth to capture the people and places we loved.  There was a lot involved in getting that image, and you wanted it right, and perfect, and somehow that transl...