Dylan Wiehahn & Bon Iver

Congratulations Dylan Wiehahn for his beautiful work on the Bon Iver - Holocene video. Made independently and unofficially, but in our opinion, a really magnificent clip and very much suited to the song. Enjoy Dylan's work here.

Bon Iver - 'Holocene' Unofficial Music Video from Dylan Wiehahn on Vimeo.

OPEN TABLE

Mountjoy has recently initiated a character study project, documenting individuals over a night at their house, where they cook us dinner. Our first subject, the beautiful Haruka Sawa, was shot last week and will be posted up here over the weekend. In the meantime, have a look at the inspiration behind OPEN TABLE, a short conversational documentary Martin Scorsese made about his parents, shot in their New York apartment.

Echolalia

Working behind the scenes of a film festival this year, I've come across a bunch of interesting films currently on the festival circuit. Here's a selection of few, which to me seem similar. I'm overly excited to see Melancholia, at last, even if Von Trier might be a Nazi.

senses of cinema

A film journal produced with the assistance of Film Victoria, senses of cinema contains many great articles from contributors the world over, like this one The Treasure of the Sierra Madre or, Socrates in the Desert

I stumbled upon this via a contributor, Brad Nguyen, who is co-editor of Screen Machine, an online collection of film, media and cultural criticism. He wrote an engaging review of Tree of Life which can be read online here.

The Tree of Life

"There are two ways through life. The way of nature and the way of grace."

After a year of suspense, we all raced to see Malick's polarising new film on the day of its release. Within fifteen minutes, ten people had left the cinema. Two hours later, we sat speechless, winded by a film that I feel unable to review. I feel it is almost artless. It is the closest any film I've seen has come to revealing the minute, the cosmic, the meaning of natural order and chaos.

There is a particular moment amidst the infamous 16 minute birth of the universe sequence where the emptiness and endlessness of the universe seemed exactly as I've imagined it. Watching The Tree of Life, there are many moments like this, where it is as though your memories or imagination are being recreated on the screen. This is cinema at its greatest.

I don't know what else to say.

You must see this film.

The Possibility of Hope

Trawling Youtube for videos of Slavoj Žižek has led me into deep voids this week. It began with Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón's film about a dystopian world in which no one has had a baby for eighteen years. What affected me most about this film was the resemblance this chaotic and desperate society has to our own world. Institutions, workplaces, cafes and transport, all are amplifications of the ugliest parts of our civilisation.

Following my viewing of Children of Men, I watched Cuarón's accompanying documentary The Possibility of Hope. A kind of Inconvenient Truth without the moralising, the doco is a series of interviews which address the sociological issues which are evident or will emerge from global warming and capitalism. It is a truly interesting half hour piece and you can watch it all on YouTube (I've linked Part 1/3 below).

It also reminded me of another film available to watch for free online called HOME. If you have 93 minutes and high speed internet, you should spend it watching this.

The Pervert's Guide to Cinema

In The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, Slavoj Žižek navigates the desires which are implicit in our cinema. His discussion propels films by Hitchcock, Tarkovsky and Lynch into the territory of Freud and Lacan, but with the charm of this Slovenian philosopher who believes "the first duty of philosophy is making you understand what deep s--- you are in!". This documentary is essential viewing. I've linked one of my favourite parts below.



Thank you Archer Davies and Nat Koyama for sharing this with me.

Watch Cannes Films for free!

Mubi and Cannes Critcs Week have gotten together and arranged the free streaming of a collection of films from the past 50 years of Cannes. They're only free for the first 1000 views before June 30, so get on it! Wonderful, sweet Sunday ahead.

La Semaine de la Critique on Mubi

Meek's Cutoff

This film looks grand



ACMI in Melbourne is currently showing a whole bunch of director Kelly Reichardt's films. Get some tickets here.

Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man

I've been watching so many music videos lately as we deliver treatments to various artists. What's been striking is how little originality there is, and how many silly ones get made. Grinderman's new clip for 'Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man' is no such clip. Ilinca Höpfner has made an animation which somehow does Cave's poetry justice. I love this clip and, after a week of 7D-focus-pulled-hipster-babe-gimmick clips, it was just the hit I needed.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

This Australian film just had its premiere at Cannes. Looks very interesting, especially for a film from our shores.

AFTER - MOBY from Henry Cuevas Paredes on Vimeo.

How to Steal Like an Artist

Some Internet wisdom for you all, courtesy of that guy who makes poems out of blacked out newspaper clippings.

How to Steal Like an Artist

R.I.P Sidney Lumet

Show some respect and watch Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.

Here's a scene to get you in the mood. The acting (Ethan Hawke & Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and the cinematography (Ron Fortunato) is incredibly paced. A master of tension.



forgive the shitty youtube aspect ratio*

Adric x

What if I take my problem to the United Nations?

Oh dear. I think I'm in love. Nothing like a protest song.

Harvey asked war photographer Seamus Murphy to make music videos for her new album.
Take a look at his photos seamusmurphy.com



Thank you Jesse McCormack
for drawing my attention to this album

PTA via Rhett Wade-Ferrell

I recently sat down and had a chat with the guys behind Melbourne music video outfit Moop Jaw. It was great to hear about their experiences in film and really got us excited to keep doing what we're doing. Sometimes you lose heart, especially when you're really putting yourself out there and things don't come up rainbows.

Rhett recommended this interview with Paul Thomas Anderson to me, "a master with no ego". We're all big PTA fans here, hearing him speak made me remember why making films is so good all over again. Highly recommended.







And also, have a look at one of Rhett's music videos. I really like this one he did for Flight Facilities:

La Mirada Film Festival

La Mirada Film Festival opens in Melbourne this week and, in a stroke of good luck, I will be able to attend! The festival is co-curated by Pedro Almodovar. He has a good little blog going here, which offers interesting perspectives on film history and the industry.

I'm looking forward to seeing Even the Rain, with my favourite revolucionario, Gael Garcia Bernal:

rulin

one of the best music video clips ive ever seen from one of my fav albums. the rip. portishead. third -->

Portishead -The Rip from Whalum on Vimeo.

here's some more clips from animator Nick Uff:

ruff toot from howies on Vimeo.

and portishead again. 'we carry on'. apocalyptic.



adric x

New Logo and Vimeo

vimeo.com/wearemountjoy yet to load any videossss

And a website to follow. Keep checking up on us ∆∆

Jamie Harley

Jamie Harley is getting lots of attention out there in the interweb. He recently compiled a list of his favourite music videos for Modular. He modestly chose one of his own, a clip he made for Memory Tapes - Today is Our Life. His work includes a lot of found footage, a time-consuming but cost-effective way to create some beautiful video collages. Have a look at his Memory Tapes clip below - the parts with the Busby Berkeley dancers are lovely - or visit his Vimeo for more examples of his work.

Memory Tapes : "Today Is Our Life" from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.

Everything Must Go (Why Don't You Dance?)

I would've loved to turn Why Don't You Dance? into a film but it appears I'm a little late. Will Ferrell is starring in the feature length version of Carver's short story, the film called Everything Must Go. After really enjoying Ferrell's performance in Stranger than Fiction I'm interested in seeing him in a similar role. I found this trailer to share with you and from the looks of it, the only real element remaining from the short is the yard sale. It's all very glossy.

Barney's Version (what Margaret and David forgot to mention)

Yes Paul Giamatti is good. And I have as big a crush on Dustin Hoffman as any of us. But 4 stars apiece? What's going on? Barney's Version is a bloated life story, loaded with too many relationships, a strange whodunnit B-story and the inclusion of a terminal illness to tug audience heartstrings. I really enjoyed the first half. They should've left it there.

Snow (1963)

Some beautiful shots from Adric's trip
onezandzeroz.blogspot.com

the:viral:factory

I read about these guys in Wired today. They specialise in viral videos and online marketing. In the interview they said that they care more about their internet audiences than the companies they produce content for. They'd rather lose business than lose their viewers. I"m very interested in the obscure ventures advertisers throw money at as social networking and the global online marketplace grow and affect the film industry. Check out The Viral Factory here.

You should really know about... Sam Dixon

Sam is going to hate being written about. But I have a feeling he's going to have to get used to it. Sam Dixon is our resident scriptwriter and no one I know captures the dark parts of people quite like him. His latest work, Joy of Sex which was directed and co-written by Dan Whelan, screened at Byron Bay Film Festival on the weekend. The audience loved it, and American filmmaker Jack McCoy offered his personal congratulations to Sam at the after party. Sam has another three scripts set to go into production in the first half of 2011. Yes sir, Sam Dixon and the red carpet gonna be friends.

The King's Speech

I only just saw The King's Speech. You should have a read of this article in The Australian about the writer. A great bit of perspective for budding screenwriters: David Seidler - A Writer Who Found His Voice

jasonbkohl.com

I'm not gonna pretend I know who Jason B Kohl is. But his blog is definitely an interesting insight into the American short film industry. Here's a link to his site and some great shorts he recommends. Check out The Discipline of D.E., one of Gus Van Sant's first films. I'd seen this before and I find myself talking about it all the time. I also trip much less now.

You might also want to pay special attention to Crossbow, the 2007 short by the director of Animal Kingdom.

La Alegria Del Sexo

We've been a little quiet this month, with our cards close to our chest. This is all about to change however. March is shaping up to be a busy month for the Mountjoy collective. Sam Dixon is back and his fingers are furiously churning out more scripts than we can handle. Milena has joined the film school crowd and is just about ready to shoot and make her acting debut. Watson is on his way home and Emily is on her way out - down to Melbourne to swim with the big fish.

Mountjoy works closely with another collective - Third Horror. A film they made recently called Joy of Sex has made it into the Byron Bay Film Festival (12 March) and the West End Film Festival (27 March). If you're nearby on either of those dates, come by and check it out. It's a really great little film which is unlike anything else being made in this town. Here's the trailer:

Untitled from wheelo3 on Vimeo.

Colour discussion with Milena: GREEN

Green is a conflicting colour, it is the colour of fresh vegetables but also the colour of spoiled meat. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Virgin Suicides and The Caveman’s Valentine a green liquid is used as a metaphor for poison. One might hesitate to drink a green liquid, however, when you pass a patch of fresh green grass you don’t hesitate to sit on it. Precisely because of this, green can be used as a powerful tool for irony.

In The Thin Red Line green, the colour of life, becomes an ironic presence; one moment we are amazed by the exquisiteness of the tropical flora and next we see men fall dead onto it, it is the very freshness of those grasses that leads us to remember that moments ago, they were alive. Green is similarly represented in The Mosquito Coast but is explored with a psychological twist. Peter Weir wanted Harrison Ford’s character Allie to be the only one that saw the beauty in the rainforest, to achieve this the colour grade was olivey green and drab; no one except for Allie, not even the audience could see the beauty. Alfonso Cuaron uses green in a very overpowering but effective manner in A Little Princess, it has a very ominous presence. When we arrive at Miss Minchon’s Seminary for Girls, the building in a mouldy green, the kind of green that looks like it has been deprived of fresh air.

Colour provides visual context within which the story takes on a fuller emotional meaning. The greens discussed within this segment have been used to convey something negative, however, depending on the context and the themes within your film green can also be used as a healthy presence.

Advice from Peter Weir

I caught a bit of Peter Weir being interviewed on The 7:30 Report about his new film The Way Back. Here's an excerpt from the interview, where he gives a little advice to those starting out here in Australia:

HEATHER EWART: Do you worry that that approach is in fact going to limit the number of the sorts of films that you've just made?

PETER WEIR: Um, yes, although I think I'm at a point - you know, if I were starting out now, I'd be very concerned. And I am concerned for younger filmmakers in a way.

HEATHER EWART: If you were starting out, what would you do now?

PETER WEIR: I would not try and beat a path to Hollywood - not that I did when I ws young. I made films here for 10, 15 years. But here now I'd concentrate on television I think and the Australian audience. I don't think I would go down the film path. Someone like - so impressive like Chris Lilley, Rob Carlton - you know, these are people who have gone into television and really made very interesting programs. And if somebody comes knocking at your door as with Chris Lilley, HBO, BBC, great. Or if someone says, "Why don't you come and do a film?" But let them come to us. Let's make it here - that's the way I would approach it if I were starting.

HEATHER EWART: How would you categorise the state of the Australian film industry at the moment. If you're saying that TV is the place to start out in now.

PETER WEIR: Well if we talk about just talent, it's very healthy. In front of the camera and behind the camera. Wonderful people and they just keep go coming. The sort of Underbelly series, the first series produced a wonderful crop of actors, new to me, and then behind the camera too, terrific directors. But I think the kind of challenge remains distribution again. I would love to see a sort of young Harvey Weinstein appear on the scene here. Or a - instead of saying I'm going to be a director or an character; I am going to create a distribution company and get out to that audience and open an office in LA and New York. That would be thrilling.

HEATHER EWART: Do you think it's an industry that is prepared to take enough risks ... here in Australia?

PETER WEIR: Well, you know, I don't think we really have a film industry. We have a television industry. I think we have filmmakers. And it's true of most national film industries. There's really only Bollywood and Hollywood; the rest of us just struggle along picture by picture and so you look to individuals. That's why we do need world marketing and world markets, which makes it tough. We'll see. It's an interesting period. No-one quite knows where this will settle, but it would be a horrible thought that in the future movies would just be for children.

Read the rest here and have a look at the trailer for his latest below.

Arcade Fire, Terry Gilliam and American Express

Last night in a flurry of prospecting, I came across a company I'm sure is a household name somewhere because their whole getup is so damn cool. Radical Media is the company, headquarters in NYC and other bases the world over, including our own Sydney. They deal in media, producing feature films, music videos, commercials, photography, interactive design, on it goes.

Derek Cianfrance's name came up, and he's one of their directors (they have loads). Then I watched this behind-the-scenes webcast that Amex paid for and Terry Gilliam directed for band of the hour, Arcade Fire. It's a good little watch and a great example of the way media is heading. Big companies are paying big money for low cost, short form content, that will go no further than the internet. And they're getting people like Terry Gilliam to direct! Sure he seemed to just wander around talking with the band, but still. Is this where filmmakers are headed?

See what I'm talking about here:

ARCADE FIRE: UNSTAGED
Behind-the-Scenes

You should really know about... Adric Watson

While we're all keeping regular hours in sleepy Brisbane, one of us is out roaming the world. Mountjoy creative director Adric Watson is currently somewhere in India, maybe hurtling along on a Darjeeling Limited, or taking a shoeshiner out for supper. When he returns in a little while, there's sure to be some really great additions to his photo blog - onezandzeroz.blogspot.com. For now, check out some of the other great shots he's taken. Once he gets back, DOP Watson is going places.

127 Hours

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that 127 Hours was my favourite film this summer. I know that some of my fellow Mountjoy co-workers will disagree with me and say that Black Swan takes the cake but 127 Hours struck a chord with me and I haven't been able to stop raving about it. Essentially the entire two hour film is about a man whose arm is stuck in between a giant boulder and a rock wall. Sound boring? Think again! This movie is heartwarming, surreal and not for someone with a weak stomach. Okay, I won't give any more away, just promise me you'll all see it!

Naomi Wolf

I am currently working on a script that is heavily themed around female sexuality. A friend of mine recommended the book Promiscuities by Naomi Wolf as further research. If you have 30 minutes to spare please watch this fantastic interview with the author. I've only just started to read the book but apparently it's a must read for all women.

Raymond Carver

I picked up a collection of Raymond Carver's short stories yesterday and they've been such a good read. He writes in such a concise, minimalist way but that really means you imagine the characters in real life, not in a fanciful poetic world. I'm always aware of the amount of whimsy that creeps into my writing, so am taking note of the way Carver navigates a scene. One of my favourites so far is Why Don't You Dance?, and the story reads almost as a screenplay. Print it out, it'll be nicer that way.

Why Don't You Dance?

Yes Yes Y'all

A great handpicked bunch of music videos. There go my downloads: yesyesyall.org

Blue Valentine

Definitely not a movie for Valentine's Day. Blue Valentine is an examination of the breakdown of a good thing, a relationship that life slowly grinds on. Young love becomes muddied by family and work, money and old dreams. There are so many wonderful scenes in this film and Ryan Gosling is so great, equal parts pathetic and lovable. With a soundtrack by Grizzly Bear and a grainy look to it, I wasn't expecting the film to have such depth. I'm excited to see what Derek Cianfrance makes next.

Colour discussion with Milena: BLUE

Blue is the colour of powerlessness; it is a colour to think to but not to act. Within blue environments people become more introspective and passive.

Films like The Shipping News might not be everybody’s cup of tea but after sitting in the wet and heavy blueness for about 20 minutes your responses will slow down and you start to relate to the melancholy of characters on a visceral level. That is why you will remember this film; the use of colour reaches inside and physically alters you.

In The Cider House Rules Toby Maguire says “to do nothing is a great idea. Maybe if I just wait and see long enough I won’t have to do anything… or decide anything… maybe if I’m lucky enough, someone else will decide and choose to do things for me” The passive blue undertones of the walls in the orphanage subliminally provide it’s psychological underpinning.

Having said all this, when blue is warmed with green to create turquoise a completely different effect is created. Turquoise inspires openness and interaction. In Chocolat the turquoise walls of her little shop are the colours of the Caribbean; with this she creates a space that goes beyond the confines of walls.

Test it out for yourself, have a look at various blues and see how they make you feel , once you’ve done this compare it to turquoise and see the difference for yourself.

The Shipping News blue

Chocolat turquoise

moop jaw

How nice is this? Moop Jaw are great.

We're in the process of making a trailer for a short we recently made called Kangaroo Skull. I've been watching a lot and thinking about the ones I like best. Generally, they are ones which just show the mood of the film without telling too much of the story. Here are a few of my favourites:

A Serious Man (2009, dir. Joel & Ethan Coen)
This trailer blew my mind when I first saw it. I love the clever editing and the way it cuts to that Jefferson Airplane song. Brilliant.



The Shining (1980, dir. Kubrick)
This trailer is soooo chilling.



The Tree of Life (2011, dir. Malick)
Not out yet, but this film looks incredible.

127 Hours

We're gonna go see this tomorrow. Makes me think of Into the Wild. From the guy who made Slumdog Millionaire and starring James Franco.

What makes a good film?

With so many great movies out at the moment, comparisons are naturally rising amongst us and we are asking, comparing, what actually makes these films good?

The other night I went and saw True Grit, the latest offering from the Coen Bros who really must be the most exhausted men in America. Their output is extraordinary and True Grit delivers a consistent amount of subtle humour, right-on characters and brutal violence. When the four of us left the cinema though, we stood in the carpark for a good while trying to work out what wasn't there.

It was a beautiful film, no doubt, and the performances were grand. But together in the dark summer night we decided that what was missing was that which you can't plan for. Heart. We didn't feel for Maddie Ross, her revenge wasn't our revenge, her peril didn't make us cry out. Every element of the film was considered and if we were to compare True Grit to most other films it would be stretches ahead.

But compared to other Coen Bros films, it did not touch the dark places of mankind. The confounding meaninglessness of my personal favourite, A Serious Man, nor the selfish depths of Burn After Reading and nowhere near the tension of No Country for Old Men.

True Grit is good, but I did not find it great. Perhaps that's the Coen Bros curse, that they must be compared to themselves. It did not meet my expectations, which were probably garnered by the song they used for the trailer. The film's actual score had much less bite.

Show Me How You Burlesque

Talking about movies with my sisters goes something like this...

Me: I saw Burlesque yesterday..

Claire: Oh really? Was it good?

Me: It's probably the worst thing I've ever seen.

Claire: Oh really? Like ten of my friends said it's really good.

Me: That doesn't surprise me.

Claire. Well, whatever, you like different movies to normal people.

Harriet (from her bedroom): Yea Emily, you're so judgemental!

Me: Ok, do you wanna hear some of the lines from it?

Claire & Harriet: NO!

Me: "I've held back your hair while you've vomited out everything but your memories". Cher said that.

Claire: Whatever Emily why don't you just go and watch your weird emo Black Swan movie?

The Cafe Shorts

Here at Mountjoy we're busily working on scripts to be shot next month, a series of 5 short films all set in the one place - a local cafe. The general focus is on communication.

The first story is about prejudice, about a group of guys who fail to see beyond their foreign friend's heritage.

The second is about sex, a couple explicitly discussing what they're attracted to.

Three and four will be about a lone man and a business meeting respectively.

Five is about a girl in love with the barista.

This process will see all of us shifting roles and having the chance to direct our own scripts, in a low cost, low pressure environment. We're hoping to shoot at Brother Espresso in Margaret St. If you haven't been there, it's well worth the stroll.

A&P - John Updike

Coming to the realisation that most films we worship come from books, we decided to read more short stories. I would love to make this story into a film, but feel like I've already spent enough time shooting in supermarkets for one life. I love the economy of dialogue in this one and the end.

A&P - John Updike

Colour discussion with Milena: YELLOW

Yellow is a very misleading colour. It can be assumed that most people would associate yellow with feelings of joy, but what a lot of people don’t realise is that it is also very aggressive and portrays obsessive behaviour. Like all colours it relies on the right tone and saturation to convey what is intended. There is a reason why highly saturated yellows are used for caution signs, it is visually hostile and appears to come towards you. However, the more a yellow is lightened the more elegant it becomes. Pastel yellows are used to convey innocence; and golden and late afternoon yellows are when memories and dreams are visually born.

In Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Mia Farrow transforms their apartment from dark and gloomy to open, happy and innocent. In the scene where she wakes up covered in scratches the red appears more gruesome because it is contrasted with the naive yellow room. If you then examine The Caveman’s Valentine (not a great film but is a perfect example of effective colour use) you will see the use of a saturated neurotic yellow. When we are inside Romulus’s head the colours create a sense of visual schizophrenia, you see bright yellow, which is obsessive and warm orange-amber, which is comforting. The brilliant use of these two colours together portrays an obsessive mind that has the emotional protection of feeling safe.

I found this week's research particularly interesting because I never perceived it as a colour that can represent dark emotions. However, when I looked into it further it made perfect sense! Have a look at films like The Talented Mr. Ripley and pay close attention to the use of yellow.

BLACK SWAN

E: In my neck of the woods, everyone is talking about one thing. Black Swan. It has been a very long time since I have seen a film that got inside me and made me feel a little insane. People will say Inception did it but that movie is confusing trite next to Aronofsky’s incredible thriller about a ballerina obsessed with the perfect performance.

A fellow filmmaker likened it to The Shining, and really there’s no better way to compare the way you’re aligned with Natalie Portman as she begins to lose her mind. No character can be trusted and all elements are an achingly beautiful orchestration of master cinema. The heaving breath of the dancers as they painfully twist, the claustrophobic apartments and rehearsal rooms and the best use of special effects I have ever seen. Five stars. Milena?

M: After leaving this film it was all that I could think about, the past 72 hours have been filled with constant discussion about the beauty of this film. It is sexy in the grimmest of ways and disgusting in the most beautiful way. You leave feeling uncomfortably self aware and that is when you know that a film has reached inside you, when it follows you home from the cinema. Every glance in a mirror took me back inside Nina Sayer's head. Five from me.

Beware! This clip's a spoiler

The Fighter

Maybe it was walking out of Morning Glory and sneaking into The Fighter which made it seem so bold a film. To transition from Rachel McAdam's super perky, kinda creepy rom com to Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg as boxing brothers battling their own blood reminded us that for every horrible Hollywood fairytale, a dirty little diamond is waiting nearby.

The idea is not a new one. The volatile boxer with plot crescendos in the ring was done expertly in Raging Bull andThe Fighter certainly echoes Scorsese's film. But the story of family and of brotherhood is what lifts this film out of the streets and fills the air with tension. The scenes with Micky and Dicky's sisters are particularly good as love and dysfunction compete to be the dominant family dynamic.

It is a great film with compelling performances, especially from Bale and Amy Adams. Way better than Morning Glory. Sneak in and see for yourself.

Michael Nye

Over coffee this morning a friend of mine was telling me about his uncle and his work as a photographer. He creates exhibitions that deal with issues like mental illness, hunger and teenage pregnancy. He takes portraits of people with a camera that he built himself and accompanies them with audio stories of the individuals. I looked it up as soon as I got home and his work is truly beautiful. I urge you to check it out. The audio provided on the website are only snippets but it's enough to be completely moved. As a filmmaker I love being confronted with various characters and I feel that his work gives you a taste of the sorts of ideas that brew in the minds of others.

Michael Nye

The Lunch Date

A short film nearly as old as we are. Director Adam Davidson shows us just enough about the characters for the story to hit. But I'll let you watch and see

The Pecknolds

I've long admired the wonderful Robin Pecknold, of Fleet Foxes fame. Finding out his brother Sean is a great filmmaker in his own right gave me sibling envy. This little video made me think of Pet Sounds:

Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

Colour discussion with Milena: RED

I have been reading a book called If It’s Purple Someone’s Gonna Die and have been very inspired by my findings. Each week I will focus on one colour and discuss how it is implemented by filmmakers to convey and provoke different emotions.

This week’s colour is red, according to my book red is the caffeinated colour. It gives the illusion of coming forward and can manipulate our sense of space; it is fast, exciting and provides energy. When using red you need to be very aware of how you want the production design to assist the story. It is the most powerful colour in the spectrum and therefore extra care needs to be taken when using it. Bright red can raise anxiety and heart rate; warmer reds are sensual and lusty and burgundy reds are mature, regal and elegant.

In The Wizard of Oz Dorothy wears a disempowering pale blue dress, without her ruby slippers Dorothy wouldn’t have the visual strength to move forward in her journey. This can be compared to the use of red in The Schindler’s List. The colour of the little girl’s coat isn’t pink but a transparent red, a red that was robbed of its colour. The colour symbolises both life and death and sets us up for the dramatic ending. You can also examine how reds are used in films like Shakespeare in Love. The architecture is filled with greys and browns so that when red is present our senses respond accordingly; a darkened room with a hot red bed cover appears more intense and sensual.

This is only a brief insight into how red can be used in film. Each film that I looked into has used it to convey something different, which just shows that if enough thought is put into it you can manipulate the colour to convey a great number of powerful emotions.

We Are Mountjoy

We are a collective of Australian filmmakers, writers, designers, photographers and artists. This blog will document our current projects, reviews of what we're watching, experiments and ideas. As we grow as independent creators, we want to share our learnings.
Follow us as we make things happen.