PhillM

Starting Over

2010-10-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Michel Hugo ASC passed away this morning. For anyone who isn't familiar with Mr. Hugo's work is, please take a look at the following IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0401066/. I had the privilege to know Mr. Hugo on account of his semi annual visits to Mole-Richardson in Hollywood. I'd like to share my thoughts on what Mr. Hugo meant to me.

Michel always laughed. He had a french accent and always seemed to have a little chuckle following each sentence. I always looked forward to Mr. Hugo's visits because he'd always bring 2 van load to kids to Hollywood from UNLV in las Vegas (a 4 hour drive) so the kids would 10 always be looking forward to the visit to Mole and 2) he was always on time. He was kind and patient and had nothing by pure love and passion for film making. "I suppose that when you've been through 60 years of the industry and are still in it like Larry and Richard Kline and Michel Hugo then all you have is passion for it," my brother Joe once said. it is completely true and I always told myself that if I had the 10th of the passion that someone like like Mr. Hugo has when i am his age then i have done much more than "alright". Mr. Hugo loved making movies and he loved teaching. he and Larry Parker, my mentor in lighting, have and will always have a common bond. They love to see that glimmer f understanding in a young film maker's eyes; that explosion of "woooow" and wonder that flashes when you see something amazing for the first time. It's the same sparkle that I get every time i step onto a back lot or see a production truck drive by.

There is an amazing transition that happens when an older profession passes on knowledge to our younger generation. I remember once realizing that the 100+ year history of film making was being transitioned to me at a singular moment, embodies in the telling of a story by Mr. Hugo. He once told me and the class that the most expensive light meter/director's view finder we would ever pay for was not only in the palm of our hand but what's, in fact, the palm of our hands. He held his fist up to his eye so he could look through a barely closed fist and see the scene. "And the contrast and aspect ratio are already built in" be snickered in his smooth french-American with a laugh.

What he taught us wads that you didn't have to spend a lot of money on the latest meters and gear but that the the creativity would come from within and that it was incredibly fun. All of a sudden I realized that as a young person in the industry it was my responsibility to take this information and collect it to be transferred to the next young generation of film makers when i am old enough to pass it on. What I learned from Michel was don't ever be afraid to teach, to share and to pass on knowledge. knowledge is the single most important tool that us film makers have and it is the our gift to have and our gift to share. I love what I do and i am honored to have known Mr, Hugo and learn from him. i will do my best to teach others and to pass on what he has passed on to me and to show anyone who wants to be in this industry the same kindness and understanding that he showed me and his other students.

Mr. Hugo, vous nous avez beaucoup manqué.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Use a Lighting Control Grid Egg-crate on your 6x6, 8x8, 121x12 etc rags. It's a cloth egg crate that strings up to the same frame as your rag and it eliminates a lot of the spill light and really directs your soft source. I will never use a butterfly set without it!

NY, SF, LA

2009-08-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I am back in LA after being in New York City for three weeks and then up in San Francisco for a few days. New York was fun, the shoot was exhausting because we were doing all overnights but if there is any city in the world to shoot all overnights then New York City is the perfect city.

Here are some pictures of me from the shoot:
PhillM and Art Director Megan Lyons with their mustaches.

PhillM taking a meter reading at the jewelry store set.

PhillM taking a meter reading with lead actress Emily Young at Clinton Diner in Queens(where they shot a scene from Goodfellas).

PhillM during one of the many night exterior scenes on the twinkling streets of New York City.

After a long and fun three weeks I flew back home to LA, still recovering from my backwards schedule and jet lag and then set off for a quick road trip up to San Francisco with Pam. We stayed in Alameda for two nights with my parents and brother and I had a lot of fun showing here the city I grew up in. We went to the Alameda theater on a date to see GI Joe, I gave her the grand tour in my dad's electric car and she got to meet some of my grade school friends for drinks at McGee's.

Then we went over to San Francisco for the afternoon and night. I showed her SFSU first and then we made a giant loop around the city starting at Ocean Beach, heading through Golden gate Park, across the Haight and around Pacific Heights and the old neighborhood of our apartment on our way to Nob Hill. We got to the Fairmont Hotel to get checked in(we had booked a room online) but the hotel was overbooked for the night!! So they comped us a free night at their sister hotel across the street, the Stanford Court! We spent the evening on my favorite walk through the city down California and through China Town to North Beach where I showed her Coppola's and City Lights and then we ended with dinner at my favorite little Italian place called Franchino's(the gnocchi in tomato sauce is amazing!). Then we met Sam for drinks at Vesuvio down the street.

We decided to stay an extra night in SF so we booked another night and spent the day around Union Square and then the SF MOMA, then a movie at the Metreon. We met my friend Rich in the Mission for dinner and drinks at a great mexican restaurant called the Velvet Cantina. After dinner we walked over tot eh Elbo Room and met Rob and his girlfriend Stefanie for drinks before heading back to the hotel.

Then we left SF as early as we could get up and stopped by Alameda real quick before heading down to Monterey for the day. We sent the rest of the afternoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium(the best aquarium in the world) and had a lot of fun seeing all the animals and exhibits. Then we started our long journey back down to LA.

And now I am back in LA finally. I did a day at Mole doing a new scene from that feature, Division 123, that I did just before New York. Larry showed me the ASC Member's newsletter(the internal newsletter for only members of the ASC) and pointed out an article about Isidore Mankofsky ASC where he mentioned me:) I think the quote said something about the 1st AC(a friend of mine) and his "young gaffer, Phill Matarrese" should be commended for their great work and good attitudes on the film we did together. I thought that was pretty cool and exciting; Larry said he's going to try and get me a copy of it.

It's been a crazy month of travel and work and I look forward to the next adventure.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A good and cheap way to build background depth for night exteriors is to shoot on a long lens and let the background lights go out of focus and become glowing orbs of light. A string of christmas lights placed behind the subject at a distance works well if there are no lights available in the background. But make sure they are not bunched up(maybe even tape over a few of them so there are less spots of light) so the lights look more organic and less like a string of christmas lights. A hand full of bare light bulbs dimmed down also does the trick.

New York Summers

2009-07-20T16:50:00.001-07:00

It's summer and again I find myself in New York City for an NYU thesis film. Rob asked my to come out for this film a while ago, it's a short musical titled "Manhattan Melody" about a young girl who gets voluntarily kidnapped by a handsome bandit. The movie takes place over the course of just one night, so we'll be shooting almost primarily during night time, which will make the schedule a little grueling. To make things even more interesting, the budget is pretty small as in the case of most student or independent films AND we have a lot of night exteriors that require fairly large lights- but not to worry, Rob and I are embracing the idea of using available lighting and doing our best to work with what we have. It will be a fun challenge for us.

I am staying at my friends, Brett and Emily's, apartment up in Harlem. They have a really cool place with a great view(and have a very comfortable couch). We had a balcony BBQ last night, it was amazing. I've been prepping the film here and there... we went on a location scout the other night and yesterday Rob and I met to finalize the grip and electric list. Things are coming together, we'll see if we can pull it off.

Today I went on a little walk about through Manhattan. I started by taking the subway to Central park north and walking my way all the way through the park. I had never been through the north side of the park and it was amazing. There's a public swim center as you enter the park from Harlem and then softball fields further south. As I passed the fields where some guys were warming up one of them asked my if I wanted to play softball... I was very tempted to play but I had to get downtown to drop my film off from the night before by 2pm. After the fields I made my way down to Conservatory Pond and watched the RC sailboats float around the water. I continued on and attempted to re-visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art but it's closed on Mondays... maybe next time.

I finally made my way downtown, stopping at Grand Central for a picture and then made my way back down to the NYU area. I was aiming for the Lomography store on 8th street(where I got 120 film for my Holga) to drop my film off at their lab there. I stopped by the photo store right next to NYU to quickly compare prices and the prices were exactly the same but the guy at the photo store could develop them for me in two hours so I quickly finished my roll and dropped the film off.

I wasted some time around Strand book store looking for a James Elroy Fletcher poetry book(I'm finally finishing Round the Bend and each chapter starts with an excerpt from one of his poems) and then tried Barnes and Nobles... nothing. Then I got a bite to eat and wasted some more time before picking up my photos and then headed back uptown to Brett's place. It's a little weird being here with Pam back in California, but I am getting lots of ideas of places I want to explore more with her when she moves back out here in September.

And now we're off to go visit Brett at work, he bar tends at Bruckner bar just over the Harlem river in the Bronx. Tomorrow we do check out, hopefully it will go smoothly. Either way, it's an adventure.

PhillM Tip-of-the-Day:
Wet downs can help you with night exteriors because all of a sudden the amount of hot spots in your frame doubles due to all the reflections off the water. We plan on using this a lot(the forecast calls for rain) in the film to help us with our many night exteriors.

Downtown Holga Adventure

2009-07-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

I recently went on a Holga adventure to Downtown LA and Chinatown with my friends Mike Di Ricco and Chris Babers. We headed out a few hours before sunset and walked around Chinatown(though we were distracted by the DWP fountains) until the sun went down and then I shot a roll of night shots. I was nervous because the only other night or long exposure stuff I shot did not come out very well. But this time I was more prepared and had a great location to capture. Here are some of my favorites:

Old Chinese Man

Zen Under South Grand

Dumpster Divers

Chris Babers Broken Frame

You can see all my Holga pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157621011302401/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
There is an old saying, "Sometimes the best light on set is the one that you turn off." It's true. Sometimes the best lighting I've done is the result of turn lights off rather then turning on more.

Holga Roll

2009-07-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

I recently went down to Venice Beach and shot a roll of 120 Color Reversal on my Holga Toy Camera. Here is what I got:

More to come... You can see my Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157620735867109/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Recently I have been using small fresnel units with all the full scrims in it right in frame to create little hot spots out of focus in the frame. These lights don't actually light anything but they create depth in an otherwise dark and flat background. If you take the barn doors off or fold them all the way back then they look like out of focus practical lights in the background... but try using long lenses so you can really through them out of focus.

Are You Prepared?

2009-06-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

NYC Feb '09

2009-02-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am in New York prepping for an NYU thesis short film shooting near Boston. I'm staying in Brooklyn and working on logistics and planning for the film with Rob and the Director, Sara Colangelo. Most of our actual prep will happen in Boston itself once we're up there with the equipment, so for now it's mainly been planning. I am excited because I get to bring Fred Young, my Best Boy, out from Boston and I always love working with Fred. He became my Best Boy for the first thing I ever gaffed(was also in Boston, an NYU Thesis named Aquarium and was the first time I worked with Rob- http://phillm.blogspot.com/2006/08/boston-saga-continues.html)

Rob and my friend Pam and I went out to Coney Island to take pictures with Pam's pin-hole film camera(a camera that uses a tiny hole the sine of a pin instead of using a lens to collect light and expose an image). Rob and I are really excited to see how the pictures come out; I'll post them once we get them developed. I've decided to shoot more film any chance I can get to help promote the Film Re-Revolution as well as hone my skills with the medium. We walked along the pier and then after we took our pictures we went to the Worlds Famous Nathan's Hotdogs of Coney Island while we were out there- yum! The line was long but worth it for my first time out there. We also celebrated Rob's 30th birthday on Valentine's day at this restaurant bar at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. It was fun, I got to meet a lot of Rob's old friends including his good friend Topaz who is a director he worked with a few times. Rob and I both dressed up a bit- got lots of compliments about how dapper we looked. The hotel actually reminded us of a hotel we saw in Shanghai that was open air in the middle and all the hallways of the floor above looked down at the ground floor and bar. I have noticed that every bar or restaurant in New York seems to have candles on the table, the lights dimmed down so they are orange and $4 cokes. it was expensive but I guess you are paying for the atmosphere, too.

Pam's birthday was the 16th so I went to the movies with her to see "He's Just Not That Into You"... which was surprising good. I convinced her to spend the rest of the day hanging out with me shooting film. So we went to Kodak and bought a few little daylight spools of black and white film, borrowed a Bolex 16mm camera and went out and exposed film! Then we went to a bar in her neighborhood called the Pencil Factory to get drinks with all her friends and fellow NYU classmates. I saw a lot of people that I worked with in Louisiana, which was exciting. Hopefully Joe and I can get some work from this, a lot of the directors seemed excited that Joe and I were twin Gaffer and Grip team.

Tomorrow we are heading up to Boston for a quick tech scout and then we prepare for equipment pick ups on the 23rd at NYU and then we get the gear from High Output in Boston on the 24th and start shooting!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Even though fire light is hard light, sometimes I'll take a few artistic liberties and use a few 1K zip softlites dimmed down on flicker boxes to create my fire effect. The softlites are still very directional but are soft enough to smooth the light out and wrap around the face a bit to create a prettier light. I also end up gelling the lights with overlapping colored gels(oranges, straws, ambers, reds, etc) and put the units close together to create multiple shadows.

Adam

2009-02-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

I worked on a short USC thesis, title Adam last May as soon as I got back from China. I was nervous because I was so rusty after being away from LA and off set for three months. Luckily I was very excited about this film and the approach we took with it. Jon Miller, the Cinematographer, had told me that we didn't have a ton of money for lights and we couldn't do much lighting anyway, which I was very excited about because I wanted to use this opportunity to apply some of the things I had heard abut from Jim Plannete(one of my gaffing heros) about Domgma 95 and the "Cinema Minema" approach to lighting a scene.

Here are two clips from the film:
Clip 1:

Clip 2:

This film would not have been possible without the understanding and cooperation from the Director, Kyle Burns, the camera, grip, lighting and sound crews, all the actors and the entire production staff. We all collaborated to make sure that we created the images, sounds and performances that we were happy with to tell the story. I am very proud of this film and hope you all get a chance to see it sometime in the near future.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Good lighting should be invisible. If you can make it look like it wasn't lit then you're on the right track. Instead of working against the existing light, try to merely augment and add to the lighting that is already there in your location. It saves you time and headache to make the is already there wrk for you and not against you.

Through the Eyes of a Producer

2009-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

I am a gaffer by trade. My opinion of "producers" up till this point was not a very complimentary one. My idea was that all producers did was look for the bottom line and ignore any of the artistic decisions made by the director or department heads. I thought of producers as people only interested in the dollar amount, constantly trying to find ways to cut corners and save money, even at the expense of the creative choices.

Now that I have done a lot of producerly work for this film I have come to realize that producers do a lot more then just worry about the budget(though that is a huge part). I have been doing things like arranging meal donations, calling cast and crew to maintain the flow of information, schedule the shoot days, balance the budget, arrange transportation and contact the equipment vendors and film labs. In this short time I have learned so much of what I thought I already knew about the entire production process that I wonder how I ever thought a production was possible without such knowledge.

My work station, which normally consists of some carts with lights on it and my tool belt with my light meters, is now a mobile command center complete with laptop, cellphone and lots and lots of paperwork. I get up early and spend most of my time checking and replying to emails and returning phone calls. I get up early(ish) and get coffee and go over to the dinning table that is now my desk and spread out all my papers and go through my to-do list for the day. I do constantly check the budget to make sure we aren't spending more money then we have, and I seem to have become a little bit of what I hate because I keep telling people, "we can't spend it, we have to cut things..." I now see WHY they are always looking at the bottom line and it frustrates me but I understand it at the same time.

I am constantly on the phone, constantly putting out fires and trying to accomplish as much as I can in the short amount of daylight hours there are in a business day. It's a lot of work but it is exciting and I like the feeling of accomplishing a lot of tasks in a short amount of time.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
You will find that a lot of people want to participate and get involved with your project, all you have to do is be able to ask. This is a hard thing to learn how to do, I am still learning it. But if you can get past the fear of asking for things then it seems to come easier.

Star Wars: Retold (By Someone Who Hasn't Seen It)

2009-01-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Safe speed to shoot fluorescents(in a 60hz system) are: 24fps, 30fps, 40fps, 60fps, 120fps.

Fundraising

2009-01-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

We have been doing fundraising for Gweilo and we'd like to thank everyone who has contributed, we would not be able to do this without you. We are just a few thousand dollars short($8,000 to be exact) of our goal and right on the cusp of production we are doing one final push to help us get to the number we need!

Here is a list of some ways you can donate to help the students:

•Building materials
(wood, paint, props, glue, etc...)

•Meals during production
(30+ people)

•Craft Services
(healthy snack food and drinks for the crew)

•Money
(tax deductible through SFSU)

•Basic materials
(pens, note pads, paper, etc...)

For more information and to see the progress we have already made, please visit our website at: http://www.distantthunderfilms.com/gweilo/

Film Test

2009-01-13T20:16:00.001-08:00

We shot our film test today at Lee Utterbach Cameras here in San Francisco. We were testing three different 35mm film stocks: Kodak 5229 500T Expression, Fuji 8582 400T and Fuji 8573 500T Eterna stocks. We chose a lower contrast stock for the look of this film to help blend and smooth out all the vibrant colors and lights we plan on filling the market place with.

We did an "Over/Under" test where we over exposed the films and under exposed the films by a selected amount to see how it reacts to being over lit of under lit. We also tested out some colored gels that we plan on putting on some of our lights for the bulbs in the shop.

We sent the exposed negative to Deluxe Labs in Hollywood to process and print for us and they will send it back to be screened by us. The reasons for these film tests is to help the Cinematographer and Director choose the film stock(which effects the look) for the project.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
It is important to see these film tests projected in print form to help you make an accurate decision based on color rendering, contrast and grain. If you have the option to print and see print dailies- always, always, ALWAYS take that option. You'll be glad you did.

Gweilo

2009-01-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of prep for a new short film we are doing in association with the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University. The art department is hard at work building the sets, designing and collecting props and constructing the flats. Everything in this film is being designed and constructed from scratch by the students. We are busy working with Kodak and Fuji to find a film stock that will work for us and we have also been working with Deluxe Labratories in Hollywood who will be doing our film processing. Here are a few pictures so far:

The interns hanging out at the art space during a production meeting.

All the hand crafted flats, constructed by Evan Wade.

Bottles collected by the art department for the liquor store shop.

The producers hard at work doing an amazing job stretching every one of our dollars. I have a new found respect for what they do.

Director Joseph Matarrese and Composer Victor Paredes work on some of the songs for the website, trailer and film's soundtrack.

Some of the amazing costumes created for the film by Valerie Galindo, Costume Designer.

For more pictures: please click here:http://flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157608661642321/

For more information on this wonderful project, please visit our website for more pictures, information and updates: http://www.distantthunderfilms.com/gweilo

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A positive attitude is infectious. Moral must be kept high because it helps promote productivity. Don't forget to take the time to smile and give positive re-enforcement to your fellow crew members!

Congratulation, Brian Corral!

2009-01-06T13:32:00.001-08:00

Congratulation to Brian Corral who just got swarn into IATSE Local 695, Hollywood Sound Union! We're proud of you!

PhillM tip-of-that day
Remember to always bring a compass when you are tech scouting. It helps to know which way the sun is moving.

Always Coca-Cola

2008-12-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

We just finished 2 shorts sponsored by Coke for their student filmmaker competition. Both of them were a lot of fun, especially because we got to shoot in movie theaters and eat popcorn! Anyway, here are some pictures from the shoot.

Joe standing in for the camera while setting a point for me to put my light on.

The Vista Theater where we shot the first short.

Tie day on the first shoot.

Andrew Russo's girlfriend, Amber, and us taking a myspace photo.

Nick Kane, best boy electric, working the shutters on the 10K.

The set from the second Coke shoot.

Posing with the talent... er, cardboard cut-out.

The "Bad Guy's Lair" set

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Lasers are hard to light. Use smoke or haze near the lasers to get them to appear but avoid filling the room of the foreground too much, otherwise it will lower the contrast and make the lasers harder to see.

The Dark Knight

2008-12-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.darkcampaign.com/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Feb 22nd, 2009! Save the date!

"Prop 8 - The Musical"

2008-12-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Small Par 20 par cans are great little lights to use as small architectural lighting because they draw low power, put out a good amount of light and they look like practical lights if they are scene by the camera.

Choosing Your Lights (...not what you think)

2008-11-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

To the untrained eye, there is only color temperature between the various lights that we use in the motion picture industry. HMIs appear to be "blue" or daylight balanced; tungsten seems "warm" and "orange" resembling indoor lighting; fluorescent lighting seems to have a sickly green cast or sometimes a hint of magenta in them, etc. All of these observations are accurate, however there are a few other ideas you should think about when choosing which lights best fit your situation.

Before we talk about the actual units, let's talk about color temperature. Color temperature, in the film industry, is measured on the Kelvin scale, named after British physicist William Kelvin. The scale is based of of his findings when he heated a block of carbon. The block changed colors from a warm red glow to a bright yellow and eventually to a screaming hot blue color. Read about it here: http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm.
We use the Kelvin scale to measure the color temperature of a light. Film has two effect color temperature ratings, 3200ºK(tungsten/indoor film) and 5500ºK(daylight film). Now, the lower the number the "warmer" the color looks and the higher the number the "cooler" the color looks. Indoor lighting is estimated around 3200ºK and daylight is estimated somewhere around 5500ºK, hence the color ratings of the film stock. An important thing to note is that the Kelvin scale is NOT LINEAR. This means that a 200º change in color temperature at the higher end of the scale is not the same color shift in the lower end of the scale. The lower you go on the scale, the more dramatic each degree change is. I will address this idea when I talk about each light source.

HMIs:
HMI stand for Mercury, Medium Gap Arc, and Iodine. These are a daylight balanced light, so they are 5500ºK. There are many issues with HMIs, but I will only be addressing the color temperature and light quality issues. HMIs are gas discharge light, meaning an electrical arc is used within the bulb to pressurize the vapors inside the bulb which provide the light. There is, however, a shift in color temperature based on the life of the bulb and the integrity of the gasses inside... meaning the temperature will change over time. This is just one of the many problems with HMI units, however, there are steps you can take to compensate for these changes.

HMIs burn at about 70% light energy, 30% heat, translating into a lot of light per watt. They are very efficient lights with a lot output in contrast with a low(er) amperage draw. But there is often an unnatural cast to these lights. They often have a sharp specular reflectance on skin, causing an even bigger problem on oily skin. We have gotten used to seeing them light actors in movies, but there is still a subconscious disconnect to our eyes that we may or may not be aware of. This is the result of the electronically created light source. An HMI's light is the result of an electrical arc, an artificially created light source, which our eyes pick up on even if we don't recognize it. There is an inorganic characteristic to HMI light that has the potential to be exaggerated on skin tones.

Fluorescents:
Fluorescents are also gas discharge lamps created by an arc of electricity. Again, this inorganic light quality can be seen under these lamps. Now, they do come in a variety of color temperatures(3200ºK, 4700ºK, 5500ºK and more in between) but there is also a risk of a green or magenta shift in them. This is due to their interrupted nanometer spectrum( http://www.cameraguild.com/technology/kelvin.htm). This artificially created light source attributes to why people sometimes feel uncomfortable or even develop headaches with long exposure under fluorescent lighting. Again, power cycles and the hertz rate and voltage factor in to this problem as well.

Some people use fluorescent fixtures as fill light to raise the ambient light in the shadow areas, however, you run the risk of an extra shadow(any time you add a light, you add a set of shadows) as well as the risk of an artificial looking fill light. However, these lights can be used to great effect to simulate a computer screen glow, a monitor glow, overhead fluorescents or other types of artificial illumination.

LED:
LEDs are the latest addition to our lighting arsenal. They have have many of the same attributes that fluorescents so in terms of looking like an artificially created light source with the feeling of a heavy specular hit. For some reason these lights look sleep and "greasy" to me on skin tones due to the artificially created light. They have advantages much like fluorescents in terms of amperage draw and low heat, but they are not the most flattering lights on skin tones.

High Intensity Discharge Lights:
These lights include Sodium Vapor, Metal Halide and Mercury lamps used for lighting parking lots, buildings and other utility lighting situations. These lights vary in color temperature and often have other colors(greens and magentas) mixed in creating a generally unpleasing looking light. However, these lights work well for gritty lighting situations set in industrial locations. Again, these lights are pressurized vapors in an envelope stimulated by an electrical arc, so they also look a little artificial on skin tones. However, they do put out a lot of light and can achieve some incredible and unconventional looks.

Tungsten:
Tungsten in the oldest, and in my opinion best looking light used today. Tungsten is 3200ºK and used for indoor film. The word "tungsten" refers to the material used as the filament for electric light bulbs. If you want some more information on the mineral, please click here: http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/74.html If you would like to learn about the electric light bulb, please visit the following links:
•http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllight2.htm
•http://www.howitworks.net/how-light-bulbs-work.html
•http://home.howstuffworks.com/question151.htm

Why does tungsten look so good, in my opinion? It's simple, really... electricity is introduced to the tungsten filament and the filament glows as it burns, releasing heat and light. It's a naturally created light source, reminiscent of flame or fire light, and because of this it appeals to our base sense of illumination. We have gotten used to tungsten filaments for the 120+ years we have had electric illumination(tough a lot of people are opting for compact fluorescent bulbs in their homes now) but we also have an ingrained pre-history of naturally occurring sources of light with our use of fire and flame. Tungsten feels better to our eye on skin tones and faces and seems to have better wrapping ability without giving a harsh specular highlight on the surfaces being hit by the light.

I try to use tungsten as much as possible, though it is not always the most efficient, because I feel that I can get better results and can control the lights easier without having to worry about any light quality issues.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
If you need to scrim down a softlite, just get a 1K scrim and lay it on top of the safety screen of the soft light lower the light level. However, be careful- because the softlite is a bounced light, the scrims won't have the exact same effect of your foot candles(there is only a slight discrepancy) as they would if you were using them in the traditional sense.

Cube Tap- "It Was a Good Day"

2008-11-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when electrics have too much time on their hands. But at least he's getting stuff done hahahahah.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember that there isn't always consistent work in our industry, there are constant peaks and valleys. Make sure that you save your money when there is a lot of work, because sooner or later the industry will be slow and you want to make sure you have the money to ride it out.

Light Meter Versus Picture Monitor

2008-11-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

This article is a little old, but I find it very interesting...

"LIGHT METER VERSUS PICTURE MONITOR

The key to achieving consistently good results in lighting for video is using a light meter in the same way one does in lighting for film. The idea that a picture monitor on the set makes lighting for video faster and easier is one of the great fallacies about video. In fact a picture monitor is a very unreliable and inefficient tool in lighting.

First of all, a picture monitor requires that the camera be fired up and shooting the composition that is being lit. Prelighting a set or lighting while the camera is being set up or adjusted is impossible if one is dependent on the picture monitor.

Second, picture monitors, especially the type one is likely to have on the set as opposed to in the van or near the recorder, are notoriously unreliable. Setting up a picture monitor is to some extent a matter of subjective evaluation of the image it is displaying, and the image on a monitor may not be an accurate indication of what is actually being recorded. A picture monitor is comparable to timed dailies with no indication of the printer light. It shows you one way the scene can look, but it does not really tell you what with.

Moreover, a picture monitor does not really enable you to do consistent lighting from one setup to the next. The picture monitor tells you nothing about how the levels compare to those in a previous setup. It is entirely up to your memory to compare what you see to what you saw earlier.

Consulting a picture monitor to evaluate lighting will probably require walking back and forth from the set to the monitor repeatedly during a setup-unless you abandon the set altogether in favor of a work station near the monitor from which you instruct your crew via an intercom. Neither is a very efficient procedure. The best place from which to light a set is on the set and next to the camera or the position where it will be placed.

Generally, if you ask the production company to provide a monitor for you on the set, you will get a modified home receiver or the monitor that has received the least maintenance. Even if you bring your own monitor, the ambient light levels on the set will wash out the picture so much that you cannot judge contrast in the image.

It is also inadvisable to become dependent on a picture monitor for lighting, since there will occasionally be times when it is not possible to have a monitor. When the camera is battery powered, for example, it will probably not be possible to have a picture monitor; but you may still have to light.

Using a light meter that you can carry around with you as you work is really the simplest and most efficient method of lighting. Using a light meter properly also ensures consistency from scene to scene. When you are lighting a set, the video camera and picture monitor are really just the world’s most expensive and clumsy light meter.

There is another problem associated with the use of a picture monitor as a tool for evaluating lighting. It tends to invite lighting by committee. While a good monitor may promote constructive discussion of lighting in some instances, there are also plenty of instances where discussions of the lighting based on what the scene looks like on the monitor may be fruitless and counterproductive.

If you are still unconvinced about the use of a picture monitor in lighting, consider the following: Anyone who shoots video will at some point inevitably have to insist that the producer or the client ignore the way the image looks on the monitor. You will know that it is not an accurate indication of the image you are recording; but if you yourself have been referring to the monitor while lighting, your ability to persuade them that it is unreliable will be considerably diminished."

*This article was taken from the Spectra Cine Inc. website.

Here is the article: http://www.spectracine.com/Spectra_Pro_4_artical_3.html

Here is the PDF file of the article: http://www.spectracine.com/Pdf/LightMeter_vs_PictureMonitor.pdf

If you don't have Adobe Read 7.0, here the the link to download it: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=Windows

PhillM tip-of-they-day:
Please, please, please keep in mind that the monitor(even when properly calibrated) is not an accurate source for color, exposure or framing... and sometimes it's not even an accurate representation of the actors performance, either. Trust your Cinematographers, Gaffers and your Camera Operators... we have a hundred year history of filmmaking, ninety of which have been successfully, dramatically and beautifully executed without the use of monitors.

RED Fever

2008-11-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

I found some Anti-RED ads online. I thought they were pretty funny...

This one is simple, to the point.

Same thing, version 2.0.

This on is creative... I like it.

This one is just silly.... but I still agree with it. Hahaha!

I have to admit, after being on several shoots with the RED and having most of them go horrably wrong on the camera side... I have to agree with going against the RED hype. Film is still way better!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When the RED heats up, sometimes the distance between the back of the lens and the digital censor changes with the expanding metal of the camera... this dramatically effects the focal distance, so be careful.

The Film Re-Revolution

2008-11-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Now, there has been a lot of talk recently about the new digital wave and the replacement of film as a strong, viable medium. Most of the people who know me or my brother know that we are both film snobs and proud of it... and though I will try to keep my emotions out of this debate, it is hard to when the idea of making movies on film with the intention of theatrical exhibition was the driving force behind the choosing of my career. So, please indulge me and let me get the ranting and raving out of the way first...

I LOVE film, it is more flexible, better looking, longer lasting and simply easier then any digital format at this time. Does this mean the digital formats have no place in creative artistic expression or the motion picture industry? Absolutely not, digital formats and the advancing technology have a tremendously important role to play in our industry as well as other art forms and industries. However, there are many myths that the general public or uniformed filmmaker have bought into which have the potential to cause serious harm to our industry.

Almost every cinematographer I meet says the same thing, “If I could shoot on film then I would.” I say to them, arm yourselves with the knowledge and the logical reason to educate your directors and producers on the benefits of film. The power is in our hands and we must demand quality in our industry and in our art form. However, this isn’t always just a decision of emotion but a decision of facts and numbers. I have decided to write down a few of my arguments to help arm our pro-film cinematographers in order to help then spread the message of the new Film Re-Revolution.

(1) Film is more flexible then digital. Yes, you can do a lot in the digital post-production world these days, but the extent of what you are capable of doing is still limited by one thing… the initially captured information. The limiting factor still comes down to what you captured on the day… on set. True, you can do a lot in post to save an otherwise worthless shot, but you can’t completely fix a bad looking image.

You always try to make sure to keep most of the lighting in your frame within an acceptable range of under and over exposure to your t-stop, but there is a certain point within the film curve where you long have visible information in the shadows or highlights. However, even if an image is so over exposed that parts of it are blown out, there are still ways to retain the information in the highlights through various printing techniques. Now the problem with the digital curve is that at a certain point on the top end of the curve, the range plateaus and flat lines, meaning there is a point where no information can be pulled from the areas that are blown out. This point of no return is much lower on the digital latitude curve then it is on the film latitude curve. You have more flexibility to save a shot with a film negative then you do with digital acquisition.

On the flip side, though digital mediums were originally designed to handle low light situations, there is still the high risk of image noise in an under exposed image while capturing on a digital censor. Film is much more tolerant to retaining a range of exposures so you can still get an acceptable and usable image even if you under or over expose your image.

(2) Film is still better quality then any digital on the market today. Seriously… the idea of HD, 2K and 4K resolution is, exactly that- a measurement of resolution. 4K is about 4096×2304 pixels in resolution.
There are some digital camera that now capture in 4K and there are plans to go past that into 8K or beyond… but, right now 4K still cannot compare to the image quality of 35mm film negative(4K does not equal 35mm film, look it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_film#Resolution).
And when there finally is a digital camera that can match the image quality of 35mm film negative, then we’ll just move on to 60mm. And even when the resolution of digital technology reaches the quality of 60mm, we’ll just start shooting IMAX (70mm sideways=larger negative space).

Another thing to consider is the physical and technical make up of how each medium is captured and how that translates to the perception of our human eye.

The digital image is, obviously made up of a square matrix of square pixels. This matrix takes the curved lines captured by the lens and organizes them into a pattern made up of squared parts, which, when expanded, creates the illusion of a curved shapes. This idea, no matter how small the pixels get, still goes against the fundamental microscopic make up of our environment(very few straight lines exist in nature, of course). This clearly posses a very distinct problem in creating a natural looking image.

I mean, have you even wondered why some movies, commercials or TV shows look just slightly different to your eyes? You can’t seem to put your finger on it, but you know that there is something there…? Well, this can be attributed to how our human eye works. On the back surface of the eyeball sits the retina, covered in color and contrast receptors that allow us to see and interpret light, thus allowing us to see and recognize shapes. Essentially all we are really seeing are the reflection of light on objects and surfaces of the world around us. This light reflection travels trough the iris and pupil and hit the back of our eyeball. The light receptors which capture this light is a random pattern of cone shaped receptors and rod shaped receptors. The cones detect light color and the rods detect contrast(black, white or shade of grey).
•http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/eyes.html
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye#Rods_and_cones

Celluloid works in a very similar fashion. There is a polyester film base with layers of light sensitive film emulsion on it. The film emulsion faces the gate(the hole in which light passes from the lens and hits the film). The emulsion is light sensitive plasma made up of a gelatin that holds tiny particles of silver halide crystals, which react when exposed to light. This gelatin is a random mix of these silver halides, not a matrix of straight lines. This process of expose makes the projected film image feel more natural, realistic and akin to our human eyes.

The digital image will always, subconsciously, look different then our eyes because of the squared matrix in which the image is captured and then displayed with.

(3) 100 years, and beyond! Film has a 100 year known shelf life. I say known because, well, to be quite honest, film has only been around for a little over 100 years. We don’t actually know the maximum lifespan of a celluloid negative, but we have hit the hundred-year mark. Obviously new advances in technology and preservation techniques will further that estimated time, but, for now, 100 years isn’t too bad.

Digital… well, it’s a bit shorter then that. Right now, the longest estimated shelf life is 15 years. Now, it’s not simply a numbers game… It gets a little more complicated then that. You see, because technology is moving to quickly now, a concept known as technological obsolescence has come into play making it harder(economically and practically) to store the digital information. This is because every few years, when a new system, file type, or program comes out- the entire catalog of information must be taken off the shelf and reformatted so it can be used and accessed in the future. For more information on this, please download the 2007 Digital Dilemma Report put out by the Sci-Tech Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:http://www.oscars.org/council/digital_dilemma/index.html

(4) “But with digital I never have to worry about flashing a roll of film accidentally or those other problems ever again!” …flashing a roll of film, for all you none filmmakers out there, is when a roll of film is accidentally exposed to light before it’s been processed. Basically this means that you will end up with a white image unusable and unsalvageable.

Yes, with new technologies come faster processors, smaller file sizes and quicker data transfer, but there is anther side to this technology revolution that is not talked about. Both film and digital have an even number of physical threats that can affect the capture or preservation of the information. A film can might get flashed accidentally, the film can be put through an x-ray machine, the film lab could screw up and the developing bath could disintegrate the emulsion. But a digital capture runs the same physical risks that film does. A hard drive could be dropped on accident, a hard drive or laptop could get crushes by the camera truck, a magnet could accidentally pass over the hard drive or P2 card, or the DIT could accidentally delete the files as he transfers them to a film labs’ data storage system. Digital filmmaking does not sidestep the physical risks we run(and always try to minimize) while making our film.

Now, there is the other category of harm that could befall digital data… this is what I call the “non-physical harm factors”… until I come up with a better name. These are things like… well, honestly, the unexplained corruption of a hard drive with all your raw footage on it… or a patch not working on your edit program because you started editing wit an older version f the software and it hasn’t been updated… or even something like a computer virus. These are things that you have no physical control over, risk factors that happen without warning, without explanation and without solution.

You are susceptible to water, heat, moisture and humidity, power kick outs(when a cable is accidentally pulled) and having to work with kid gloves around a delicate and sometimes temperamental camera system.

Yes, freak accidents happen with celluloid, too, but because it is a tangible medium, there are always tangible explanation and most often tangible solutions to the problems we face. My question for all directors and producers out there is this: why do you choose to put your film, your art and your money in the hands of an inconsistent and accident prone medium that has not been properly tested and stabilized? You’ve worked had on your story, on your idea, with your actors and with your sets to get them just right… why not use a format that allows the minimum amount of risk, the maximum amount of quality and longest shelf life of any motion picture technology to date?

(5) Digital is not always worth the cost. It takes a lot more money then people think to make a digital moving image to look as good as film… so much more money that its cheaper to just soot on film. A lot of people think that they eliminate a lot the cost of production by shooting on digital when, in fact, this is not the case. Yes, they don’t pay for processing or film stock purchasing, but these costs get made up and compounded in the digital post-production many times over.
You still need the same number of camera crew members(1st AC, 2nd AC, and loader) to keep the convoluted digital workflow going. The loader’s responsibilies are pretty much the same as with film, only instead of downloading a magazine, they are downloading P2 cards and hard drives. (*a quick note about the RED camera. A new problem that has come up is that the camera overheats so much that the flange between the censor and the lens moves with the expanding metal, changing the focal distance dramatically)

A lot of people also think that they need to rent fewer lights with digital acquisition. I can tell you from many years of experience that this is simply not the case, in fact, you often need more lights to get the image to look anywhere near the clarity of film. The size of lights and the theory behind lighting is based on a doubling and halving method(each f-stop is measured in half or double the amount of light of the preceding stop). Lighting for film is an exact science with inexact creativity. Digital censors at of the writing of this article do not react to light in the film does, rendering the exact science of our current lighting systems useless. All of a sudden I find myself having to call for a light two or three times larger then that I would normally call for because I know that the Director of Photography will end up asking me for more light. I have also found myself in situations that would normally require no lighting where I have had to pull out medium to large sized units just to “bring up the ambience” so the image would not read noisy. More light needed means more lights, which means more stands and more cables, which means more crew, which means more power, which means a bigger generator. The prices skyrocket very easily!

And that doesn’t include all the technical problems that often occur that take time to fix and special techs to fix them. Time is money in our industry and we try to streamline things the best way possible. All of a sudden you loose control over your medium(creative or otherwise) because now if there is a problem with a digital piece of equipment then you can’t fix it. Now you have to send it back to the rental house and one of their certified techs has to fix it… there is no jury rigging in the digital work; you can’t just piece it together. You are now at the mercy of this technology that is supposed to make things easier for you, but it can often make matter even more complicated then they need to be.

Now, forget all of this… lets just talk about a basic principal. As much as you can, you try to treat any digital camera as if it were film. However, no matter how any times the director promises to treat the digital tape or hard drive as if it was a 1000ft film magazine, they always end up shooting more volume of footage then if it were film. now, this isn’t the director’s fault, this is merely an inherent flaw with the digital design… the idea of endless possibility and supply along with instant gratification. You can try and try and try to only do a few takes but even the best of us slip up and “waste tape”. Now, this causes a problem in post-production because you now have to spend that much more time logging footage, transferring footage, looking through the extra takes and choosing which of the 15 takes you actually like. Post-Production is arguably the most expensive part of the process and you don’t want to be stuck in a $300 an hour online edit suit editing your 4K RED camera footage while trying to decide if it is take 4 or take 12 that you like the best. I am not saying that I’ve never seen a take 12 on a film set, I am just suggesting that sometimes the forced limitations on a medium actually help to limit our choices so we can make quicker decisions and move our project forward to completion.

(6) Consistency, Consistency, Consistency. Film is simplicity at its best. It is merely light passing through a small hole and photochemically embedding itself onto light sensitive material. It’s a simple process with superior effect and the best part… it’s consistent. There are already so many things that can go wrong while making a movie, our jobs as creative artists and expert technicians is to minimize these dangers and attempt to create as much consistency as possible. Film offers that consistency.

Now, I call on crewmembers, Cinematographers, Directors and Producers alike who want to join me in this Film Re-Revolution to ask these questions and consider these thoughts. I ask you to do all that you can to present the facts and numbers and to look at all the possibilities before you discount using film due to budgetary restraints. Let’s bring back the demand to shoot on film and take the creative control back to the hands of the creative artists.

I quote the Digital Dilemma Report in saying: “The place to start is here. The time to start is now.”

Peace and Love

2008-11-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

California, please be moved.

"Dear Generation Y" A letter from Victor Paredes

2008-11-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Generation Y,

We can now breathe a sigh of relief: after two years of hard work and hope for the chance to build a better future, we have helped to elect the United States’ first black president. And, as the cover of last week’s Economist boldly proclaimed, “It’s Time.”

But what is it time for? At the moment, celebration. Last night, after it was announced that Mr. Obama was to become our country’s 44th Commander In Chief, the Bay Area erupted in elated enthusiasm for what we collectively hope is a change for the better. It was exciting, I must admit. Over and over again cheers from the crowd underscored our excitement. “O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA!” Drive-by wooing ran rampant and gleaming smiles of hope radiated jubilantly, welcoming the dawn of a new era.

However exciting it is to have won, we must understand that our time for celebration needs to be short and sweet. Our country is in a delicate state, both domestically and internationally: our foreign relations have been strained by a president and a people blinded by a conveniently ambiguous definition of patriotism, our own economy is weathering a possible meltdown of sorts, and the American public’s faith in its own government has dwindled to what could be construed as political depression.
So it is time for our beloved candidate to follow through. It is time for the cost of his hope-product that we so willingly purchased to be validated. And it is time for change to be implemented on the national stage. Yes, we bought into the campaign rhetoric, but we are not blind…we expect results.

In the same vein, it is also time for us to follow through. Please don’t regard this victory as a socioeconomic fix-all. Don’t repeat the very recent mistake of embarrassingly declaring “mission accomplished” when our fight has just begun. We must keep ourselves politically active or we belie the very principle of our own message. Let us not hollow the promise that we so adamantly made to our candidate, to our country, and to our fellow Americans. Let us move our oft repeated “yes we can” to the more actionable “yes we will” so that we can tell our children, without crossing our fingers, “yes, we did.”

Sincerely,
Victor Paredes

http://www.janusbean.com

I promise I will be back to film related postings soon :)

Yes We Did.

2008-11-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Chicago, Illinois

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Barack Obama
November 4th, 2008
President-Elect of the United States of America

Yes We Can!

2008-11-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

Yes We Can!

This is funny...

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Vote! Just vote!

One Hell of a Feature

2008-10-27T01:47:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know, some of you don't but I have been gaffing a feature for the past 3 weeks. It's a low budget feature (only about $500,000) but there have been some big names in it including Ed Harris(yes, THE Ed Harris), Amy Madigan(yes, Oscar nominated Amy Madigan), Peter Weller(yes, Robocop), Rance Howard(yes, Ron Howard's father) and a bunch of other great actors. The production has been hard at some points, easy at other points, but always fun and a great experience for me.

This is the first feature I've completed(the first one went off to Morocco without telling me(thank goodness) and the other was in China but never actually happened. The director is fun and the cinematographer is forgiving and easy to work with... which makes the 360 degree lighting set ups that much easier. The crew is tight and we quickly became friends in the first week due to all the setbacks and roadblocks all the departments are having to deal with.

Here are a few pics from the shoot:

Brian Deutsch, the key grip, and Tarin Anderson, the cinematographer

Keegan Thomas, who plays the character August

A great pic of Tarin

Brian and Me relaxing on set

Me and Ed

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Recently I have been turning on all lights with a double in it from the beginning. This way when the DP asks for more light out of the unit I can pull the double and get more out of it:)

Don't Vote!

2008-10-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UaRXvRwhOk

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Sorry for all the politics, but this is important... for our industry and for every other industry in the US and possibly the world: http://www.maps.google.com/vote

Distant Thunder Films

2008-10-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Recently I have been adding 1/4 CTS to all of my HMIs in order to take the edge off and warm up the light a little bit. So far it's worked really well and has brought the light to a more acceptable color temperature. CTO works well, too if you don't have CTS.

Nothing But Nets

2008-09-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

I recently saw Rick Reilly on the Colbert Report and I was impressed by the organization he was representing. It's a group called Nothing But Nets and they provide mosquito nets for $10 a piece(including the guy who comes and hangs it for you). So I made a small donation and I want to invite everyone to check out their website:

http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

It seems like a simple way for me to help people, so take a look at it and maybe you'll see something you like.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
It is always a good idea to make sure you have at least one set of lug-to-cam-adapters in your electric package, because you run into bus bars more often then you think. Just make sure you have one reversed or at least one of each suicide pin adapter.

Palin 2: Cruise Control

2008-09-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Vote.

Palin

2008-09-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

wow... he's right.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Communication helps on set, in politics and in life in general.

http://www.olafureliasson.net/

2008-09-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

I found it! I found Olafur Eliasson's official website! He is one of my favorite contemporary artists; he does amazing stuff with lighting(probably why I love his work) that also has an ecologically conscious theme.

So here it is: http://www.olafureliasson.net/

it is lain looking, but you can click on the links to see all his work and photographs and stuff. We saw an exhibition of him at the SF Moma last year and it was amazing!

Enjoy!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Hi Lite(a Rosco gel) is a great diffusion to use outside for day exteriors because it softens the light but does not reduce the intensity! I have used it a lot now and love it! Check it out!

August 16th, 1984

2008-08-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday. I am 24 years old.

Other people born on August 16th include:
-My twin brother Joseph Matarrese (1984)
-T E Lawrence (1888)
-James Taylor (1953)
-Madonna (1958)
-Steve Carell (1962)
-James Cameron (1954)

Large Post Coming...

2008-08-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry, guys- I'm working on a large post that should be up by the end of the week.
-PhillM

Thin Blue Flame

2008-07-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Josh Ritter with the Boston Pops- 6/27/08

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Just so we are all clear: OSHA does not have an official policy of wearing neck ties on film sets. All they say is that they you shouldn't wear loose clothing around heavy machinery. Most people suggest removing or securing neck ties and also have their workers wear short sleeves and prohibit jewelry made of metal because it's conductive, etc.

The Fall

2008-07-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, I saw an amazing movie last night. It is a film by a director named Tarsem Singh, who directed The Cell, and it follows the imagination of a little girl in a hospital being told a story by a paralyzed stuntman. The opening 10 minutes are worth the price of admission alone, the rest of the film is just icing on the cake.

GO SEE THIS FILM!

http://thefallthemovie.com/

Also, if you haven't seen The Dark Knight you have to go see it! This movie makes me proud to work in the film industry, especially after seeing something like Indy 4.

Anyway, I am back in LA working on a few shorts and continuing to let people know about Distant Thunder Film up in the bay area. We finally moved the gear into a storage space and are now able to do official business as a rental house. So if you wan to get out of LA to make your movie, come to the Bay Area. We have gear and crew for you and the Bay Area is a great place to make a movie!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Shoot on film... it's just easier.

Indy 4

2008-06-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so hopefully most of you have seen the new Indiana Jones. I won't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it, I promise. I just wanted to share an little bit of the article in this months American Cinematographer Magazine.

' A 4K Xenon lamp was used to create the hard shadow on the car in full daylight. “We were in New Mexico, and it was 108°, and all of our electronic lights kept shutting off because of the heat,” recalls Devlin. “So we came up with very elaborate air-conditioning and huts for all of the ballasts, and we made sure the heads and cables were out of the sun. We ended up giving a lot of star treatment to all the electronic lighting because it just hated being in that kind of temperature. Steven just smiled and said, ‘Well, that’s why we used arcs last time!’” '

...that's all I am going to say.

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.ascmag.com/magazine_dynamic/June2008/CrystalSkull/page1.php#

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Student Oscars!

2008-06-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Check it out, the winners have been anounced and you can see pictures and video clips here: http://www.oscars.org/saa/2008/index.html

2 USC films that I was Best Boy Electric(but pretty much gaffed) won Gold and Bronze medals for narrative films and a San Francisco State film won a silver medal in the Alternative film category!

You can see clips from some of the films here:http://www.oscars.org/saa/2008/video/clips.html#

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember, you can't dim fluorescent lights... once your reduce their voltage then the bulbs will start to flicker. This is eve true with CFLs(Compact Flurescent Lughts).

The Start of Summer

2008-06-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am excited for this summer. I have a few shorts lined up(at least one per month for the next 3 months) and a possible feature with Rb over the summer that might take us to Idaho! Plus we have plans to start a physical presence in the SF Bay Area by the beginning of July and other various travel, work and life plans that promises to make the summer of 2008 a very memorable one.

Aaron Rockwell and I kicked off our summer by going to a Dodgers game. We came by some free tickets through Aaron's work, he is a rep at the Musicians Union who has hired him full-time. One of the sales reps got 4 tickets and gate 2 to Aaron and 2 to one of his coworkers. So we get there and we have a parking pass with the tickets... that gets us into the Season Ticket holders lot... we parked less then a hundred feet away from the entrance. Then we go in and our tickets get us into the lower level of the stadium and we find our section, section 17, Row C. Turns out.. sections 17 is right behind the Dodgers dugout... and Row C just happens to be 4 rows from the field! I have never been so close to a sporting event before, I could hear the players talk and we even saw the owners, the managers, the presidents and a bunch of other "famous" old guys who have a history in baseball that I couldn't recognize but was told they were famous. We saw Joe Torre, who I guess had a long history with the Yankees?? Anyway, the only people I recognized were Jeff Kent(who hit a home run at his first at-bat as soon as Aaron Booed him) and Larry King, who was there with his wife. His hair is a lot darker then it appears on TV. Aaron is a big Giants fan, so he wore his SF hat, but surprisingly only got one verbal comment(because he was rooting for the Rockies) and one cheer. It was a lot of fun... and I am not a big baseball fan(...yes, still mad about the strike back in '94(?) but I won't say no to free tix).
Aaron Rockwell showing his SF Giants pride at Dodger Stadium in LA

Former Giant Jeff Kent warms up before his first at-bat, in which he hit a home run.

Recently, Joe and I went to Mole to test out some lighting for the next move I am doing with Rob. For the film we are mainly using beam projectors for shafts of sunlight attempting to light 90% from outside the house; but I needed to find a small HMI for inside so I went in and tested the Digimoles. They worked out very well, so I am going to get a few of them for this film.
400w Digimole into a 4x4 bead board for soft key/eye light

Joe with a heavy back light from the Beam projector and a soft key from the 400w Digimole bounce.

Shafts of light formed by the Beam projector.

We also tested out an old camera/lighting car mounting system that uses suction cups to attach to a cars hood. It wasn't the most stable rig, but we had fun doing it.
Frank rigging the car mount to the car as Joe prepares to "act".

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Anytime you have a bar HMI bulb without a lens you run the risk of a color halation(color separation due to focal shift of the light) when you try and cut it with a gobo or cutter. Mainly, you will see an orange and blue halation on either side of the shadow.

Universal Inferno and Steve's Camera...

2008-06-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am sure that a lot of you have heard about the big fire at universal yesterday. It's kind of tragic because a lot of film history was destroyed in the blaze including the King Kong exhibition hanger, a film/TV/music archive storage area, part of New York Street on the back lot where they filmed movies like "The Sting" and also the famous clock tower from "Back to the Future"!

Joe and I took some pictures on the way to set on Sunday morning, we had to drive right past the studio. We both were fortunate enough to work on the back lot at Universal and I think that a lot of people are sad about the destruction of the fire.

In other news, we both worked on a small shoot on Sunday for a former student of Larry's named Mike Parry. Mike is union and he called me a few times before for work. I think we really impressed him and the rest of the crew- it was pretty much just Joe and me for grip and electric. It was this simple little short comedy about goofy paranormal exorcists who help a young couple relieve their house of a poltergeist and it was really funny to watch.

But the best part was that on the bottom of the camera was a little label that said "Steve's HDR-FX1" Can you guess which Steve the camera belongs to?

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A standard screen door is the same density as ND .6 which takes away 2 stops of light.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

2008-05-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here is the trailer for a great film that Andrew worked on:

We went to the LA premier a few nights ago to see Andrew's name in the credits; it was such a great film. I highly recommend it, I feel like a lot of people in the United States need to see this movie.

For more information of where it is screening, check out their website at: http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A C-48(a reversed C-47) makes a perfect tie clip.

Young Adam, USC Thesis

2008-05-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished 5 days of shooting a USC thesis tentativly titled, "Young Adam" directed by Kyle Burns. It was a lot of fun to work with Jon Miller, the cinematographer, again. I had worked with him on this Heineken sponsored Music video for a band called Low Stars and he is always great to work with because he is easy going on set and he allows me to do my job while he concentrates on camera and telling me what light he wants and not what lights he wants.

Another friend of our, Rob Edgecomb, was 1st AC on it- it's always great working with him, too. Also, a PA named Will Ewing, who I had met the last time I was in New York for a film came out and was a grip/electric on the film. In fact the whole crew was very supportive and had the right attitude. It was fun because we did very little lighting; we took a cinema minema approach(inspired by gaffer Jim Plannette and cinematographer Robert Elswit ASC) to make the lighting look natural and seamless like in movies such as "Michael Clayton" or "Children of Men". We only lit when we had to and that was so much fun... it's going to look so good. The only lighting I was unhappy with was when we had to use tiny units in the small bedroom scene. It is going to be the only thing, I think, that looks like it is lit. Anyway, here are some pictures from it, I tried to make the captions like an article in American Cinematographer Magazine:

Director Kyle Burns(top left) and Cinematographer Jon Miller(with camera) shooting on the small bus. There is a lot less room then you would think.

The film's star Adam, played by Luke Eberl, sits in position while Kyle Burns and Jon Miller discuss the next shot.

Luke Eberl and Kyle Burns sit between takes at the bus stop, lit by a single battery powered 1x1 light panel made to mimic a sodium vapor street lamp.

Jon Miller going over the steadicam shot at Venice Beach.

Key Grip Raul Fernandez checks out his handy work for the night exteriors, entirly lit by battery powered Litepanels.

Cinematographer Jon Miller poses bellow the Litepanels rigged to replicate street lamps.

Grip/electric Will Ewing poses under a Litepanel rigged right under the ceiling in a hallway.

The crew decided to switch positions for the day: (L-R) Boom Op Chris Brenner, First AD Mike Witman, First AC Rob Edgecomb and Cinematographer Jon Miller.

Best Boy/Wannabe Producer Mike Klein observes the monitor during a take.

Roger, played by Warren Sweeney, gets ready for the next take.

Raul Fernandez and Gaffer Phillip Matarrese pose for tie-day, the last of principal photography tradition for both of the Matarrese brothers.

"Absurdly Rediculous Rigs Monthly's" cover for May, by Raul Fernandez.

Producer Pip Satchell does shoe acrobatics as Boom Op Chris Brenner looks on in amazement.

Steadicam Master Dave Baldwin and 1st AC Rob Edgecomb reset for the next take.

Director Kyle Burns tries on the steadicam rig during wrap on the final day of filming.

Cinematographer Jon Miller poses with Director Kyle Burns and Camera PA Monica Sender after wrap.

Check out more pictures from the "Young Adam" shoot on my Flickr page by clicking HERE or by going to: http://flickr.com/photos/15005161@N06/sets/72157605223811807/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
The small brick shaped Litepanels work well when you make a little "car port" or "fish belly" of diffusion that bubbles out from it. They work well right out of frame next to a practical lamp to just push the soft light a little further to hit whoever is standing next to the light. But careful, their batteries run out fast and there is a slight magenta hint to them.

Best Day at Mole!

2008-05-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, so yesterday was the best day I have ever had at Mole-Richardson so far! Larry had asked me to come in and gaff a few interviews of some cinematographers and other hollywood people for a tribute to the president of Deluxe laberatories who recently passed away last week. Levie Isaacks ASC was shooting it and I had worked with him a few times when he has come in to Mole, he's always great to work with. So we get in and they had already done a pre-light on friday, so all i had to do was add a few different lights and make sure that the power was balanced.

So then, as we are starting to turn on some of the lights, Richard Crudo ASC all of a sudden appears behind the camera. He was supposed to come in the next day for an ASC demo but ended up hanging out the entire day and getting interviewed. I was really excited because I didn't know he was going to show up and he is one of my favorite cinematographers to talk to. He remembered me and we chatted a little bit about China and what we new with work, it was great.
Richard Crudo, ASC

Then, at the same time, Owen Roizman ASC and Allen Daviau ASC both come in and sit down. Owen remembered me, which was exciting, and the camera operator introduced me to Allen Daviau(I had met him a few times before) and we talked for about half an hour about both of our experiences in China. He was there last when he was shooting Spielberg's epic film "Empire of the Sun".
Owen Roizman, ASC
Allen Daviau, ASC

Then a few other ASC guys came in including the current ASC President Daryn Okada ASC, legendary cinematographer Bill Fraker ASC, former ASC President Woody Omens ASC and the current President of the camera union Steven Poster ASC. And then we had the biggest treat of them all, a legend walking into the stage at Mole...
Daryn Okada, ASC President
Bill Fraker, ASC and Larry Parker
Woody Omens, Former ASC President
Steven Poster, ASC and President of Local 600.

A man by the name of Abby Singer walks in, he is 80 years old but still sharp as a tack. Mr. Singer is a legend because he used to be a production manager and assistant director who was famous for calling out the martini shot(the last shot of the night) when it was really the 2nd to the last shot of the night. So from then on, the second to the last shot of the night has become known as the "Singer" or the"Abby Singer".
Mr. Abby Singer

And to make the day even better, we wrapped out in less then fifteen minutes and Levie turned to me and said that he was very happy with the lighting.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Your contrast will be enhanced if you have something in the frame that is blown out and something that is underexposed enough to be black.

Student Academy Awards

2008-05-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good news! Two films I've worked on just won Student Academy Awards! The films "A Day's Work" directed by Rajeev Dassani and shot by Nicola Marsh(both from USC) won along with a move called "Pitstop" directed by Melanie McGraw and also shot by Nicola Marsh(also both from USC)! I was best boy grip/electric for both of them but ended up stepping in as gaffer for most of the shoot anyway per request from Nicola. Very exciting!

Also, an SFSU student, Phoebe Tooke won a Student Academy Award for her alternative film "Circles of Confusion" ! Woo hoo! Go SFSU!!
Check them out here: http://www.oscars.org/saa/2008/winners.html

Me in the middle for the crew picture of A Day's Work at the house location in LA.

You can check out the film's website by clicking here.

Here is a picture of me on "Pitstop" out in Lancaster, CA with DP Nicola Marsh. We were right down the street from the church they filmed Kill Bill at!
You can see more pictures of the shoot on my Flickr page by clicking here.

I went to SFSU Animation Finals and Film Finals last night which further strengthened my belief that we make incredible films despite being away from LA and not having the Hollywood connections that schools like AFI, UCLA and USC have. It was great to see all my old professors and classmates, the films were great and the food was pretty good this year! but on a sadder note, it was announced last night(I guess I was the only one who didn't get the memo) that Ray Rea, SFSU's Production Coordinator, will be leaving for a post in the midwest. It's sad that he is moving on, but I am happy to have studied under him while I attended State and have been honored to know him while I have become a working professional. I know he'll be back eventually, it's hard to stay away from the Bay Area and SFSU.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I'll say it and keep saying it: try to shoot into the dark side of the subject. i always try and use at least a side light if not 3/4 back light as the key for the subject. this is known as a "back key" light. This way their lighting facing the camera is not flat, creating depth and shape to the subjects face.

Back in the USofA

2008-05-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, i am back in the US! Man, it is god to be home. I can't wait to get back to work!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Use a contact cleaner spray to clean out old sockets in HMIs and tungsten units so that the bulb makes a solid connection to the socket.

Little Trouble in Big China

2008-05-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it had been almost 3 days since we heard anything from Fan Fang and had that last meeting about our A-bomb contracts. So we decide to go find her before we head to lunch, so we walk down to her room and we see here cross the hallway to her assistant’s room. We were lucky because we were prepared for her not to open the door because she’d be “busy” and then she would ask to come find us later… which means we wouldn’t hear from her again.

Anyway, we find her and we ask if there was nay news about our contracts in talking to the investor. We wanted a yes or no answer so that we could give people back home definite answers. We were prepared t tell her that we needed an answer by noon the following day(24 hrs) and that if we didn’t hear anything then we would assume it was a no. So the conversation went a little something like this:

ROB & PHILL:
Hey Fang Fang, how’s it going?

FANG FANG walks briskly across the hall, back to her room.

FANG FANG:
Oh, hi Rob, hi Phill. I’m fine.

ROB & PHILL:
So it’s been a few days since we spoke last and we were just wondering if there was any update on our contracts because we need to start giving solid answers to people back home. Have you spoken with the investor yet?

FANG FANG:
Oh… um… yeah, Rob, my situation is this… I have not spoken to Mr. Chew yet, because I want to present him with all the information first…

FANG FANG keeps talking, repeating herself.

ROB & PHILL:
Yes, we’ve heard all this… We were thinking that we could hear within 24 hours, would that be reasonable?

FANG FANG:
Ok, how about this, if I don’t come to you in 24 hours then you can go home.

ROB & PHILL:
Ok, so we will wait for 24 hours but if we haven’t heard from you then we will assume it is a no, ok?

So she beat us to the punch, which is fine. Anyway, we waited 24 hours and we hadn’t heard anything by noon the next day so at lunch we agreed that it was a “no” on the contracts and we were heading home. We have been told that the negotiation tactic here in China is a “Last Man Standing” tactic where each opponent tries to stall the other one until they give in, so we simple just added a deadline(which does not seem to exist in this production) and made a solid decision(which also does not appear to be anywhere in this production).

The only thing we wanted to do was make sure that we told Sonic, our acting translator, and Wan and Darius, the two guys who worked directly under us in lighting and camera. We felt responsibly to tell them that we were leaving, to respect them enough that they could hear it from us that we were leaving. We wanted to make sure they understood that we were leaving and why we were leaving directly from us so that nothing was lost or mixed up in the miscommunication that seems to have plagued this production.

So we brought Sonic in to translate and we broke the news to Wan and Darius that we were leaving and we hinted at the reason being the lack of progress that we’ve seen here and that we won’t wait around because we have other(better) things to do back in the US. Sonic was shocked, which Rob and I were amazed at because we figured he would have put it together since he was downloading other DP reels for Fang Fang… Wan and Darius and Sonic al understood, they were bummed of course, but they know that we work a lot and have our lives back home.

Anyway, we decide to go to Starbucks and it was kind of rainy so I called Sonic to ask if there was a car available to take us and the Fang Fang gets on his phone and asks to speak to Rob. I only heard Rob’s side of the conversation but basically she was mad that we “went above her” to tell Wan and Darius that we were leaving. She hung up on Rob- so we went up to her room to try and smooth things out because we didn’t want to leave with bad blood.

We knocked on her door and her assistant opens the door and she says “No, I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to talk to you…” like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Rob and I played the mellow Californian and tried to explain our side without raising our voices at all. She wouldn’t let us get a word in and yells at us saying things like, “they are my crew, I hired them, they are my responsibility and now I look like a fool because I was going to get everyone together and have a going away party for you and tell them myself why you are leaving!” and on and on…

They she told us to get out and then said, “fine, you don’t leave, I’ll leave!” and she leaves her room and walks around to the producers room and slams the door. Hahaha Now, if she was really going to throw us a party, then why didn’t she tell us not to tell anyone? Plus, I don’t think she is that organized to throw us a good bye party. Our feelings were that nothing would be said to us or anyone until the morning we leave and then, since we have to leave at 6AM to get to Shanghai, nobody would be up anyway. We waned to avoid anyone assuming why we left because we saw a pattern of miscommunication and non-communication and we wanted it to be know why we are leaving and that we are leaving out of our own will. We also wanted people to know that we won’t put up with waiting around and not being told information that we need, so we have no reason or faith in the production to extend or renew our contracts.

Anyway, we finally cornered her later that night and apologized that we offended her and explained that we did not mean to offend her. She said “Ok” and that was it, hahaha she’s still mad at us I guess.

So that is the update. The rest of the crew doesn’t seem to know or show that they know, except for Fang Fang, her other assistant Ja Ja(who has always been quiet and a little cold) and one of the Producers. We do want to say our good byes to everyone, but she might not let us do that, hahahahah. We’ll see.

We ARE coming home on May 12th, as in our original contract

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Don't forget to order UV Shield to add to all of your gel frames if you have a lot of HMIs, especially if they are older HMIs.

Dropping the Bomb

2008-05-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday, Saturday the 3rd Rob and I went into Fang Fang’s room just before dinner to discuss us leaving once our contract expires on the 10th. We wanted to give her at least a week before our contract runs out so we don’t spring it on her at the last minute, but we also wanted to avoid a hurry-up-and-go effect by bringing it up too soon… plus we also wanted to give them the chance to come to us first.

Rob and I have been going over this for a while now, discussing and re-discussing all the reasons why we need to leave and talking about what it would take to stay. But we went into the meeting knowing it was going to be a heavy blow to Fang Fang, but we knew it was the right thing to do. However, our plan of going in strong and firm and avoiding specific money talks ended up falling apart in the first fifteen minutes. But we both come out of the meeting positive and sticking to our guns with the decision to leave May 12th.

But then Rob got a call from Fang Fang last night and they had a 3 hour talk about the whole situation where Fang Fang made a few offers to Rob, who said, “I doubt Phill will agree to it and I need to think about it, too, so I’ll get back to you by noon tomorrow after I talk to Phill.”

So at lunch Rob and I talked about it and we both left with a clear decision to just say that we were both sorry but we have to decline the offer and stick to our original plan to go home. So we told Fang Fang and she kept pushing us to name our price so we told her that we would have to think about it and write up a whole new contract and really take some time. I could see Rob getting frustrated because he had finally committed to going home and now we were back to square one in negotiations. Rob confessed to me later that he even got a little light headed because he felt like he was getting pushed into a corner.

So they went on a location scout and Rob and I stayed at the hotel and drafted up new contracts(after going on a walk and letting off some steam). We put in really high rates for ourselves in addition to other compensations we felt would make us ok with missing out and pushing back commitments and responsibilities in the US, hoping these outrageous prices would be refused by Fang Fang and the investor. We then sent off the email, throwing funny quotes back and forth across the hall like, “bomb’s away!” or, “Duck and cover!” or, “hit the deck!” or, “…did… did you hear that? Sounded like an explosion.”

***BREAKING NEWS***
Wow, ok, just got an update a few minutes ago. Fang Fang just left Rob’s room where we had a quick little chat about the new contracts. She started by saying just what we hoped, that she was surprised by the numbers and how high they were. We gave her the reasoning behind the high prices we put into our contract and she understands why… but the thing tripping us out right now is she says that the prices are fair(even that she thought they could have been more!?!?) and she will see if her investor, Mr. Chew, thinks it is worth it! We had hoped that she was going to say, “I’m sorry, it is too high,” then we would say, “We’re sorry, but we can’t push our commitments back for any less,” and then it would be left at that and we’d go home. But she says that getting the film done for the Olympics is very important to the investor and if Mr. Chew feels we must make the Olympics then she thinks he WILL pay what we ask!?!?!?

We still think that he will say no, and we hope he will say no… I give it about 90% chance he’ll say no. But I am having a hard time being able to predict things now because I was not expecting Fang Fang to even entertain the idea of paying so much. We just don’t what to think anymore.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Having your equipment on carts not only save time and money but also saves your back!

Second-to-the-Last Week and Counting...

2008-04-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we are entering our second-to-last week here in China and we have yet to expose a single frame of film… not even a film test. This past week, things have been “picking up a little” with location scouts in the afternoons. But there is still no talk of scheduling any dates for a test or the start of production. Communication is still very poor and we are left in the dark most of the time.

On top of the lack of communication, we believe that there are still actor/casting issues to be solved. The lead male role of Ming Yuan had been tentatively cast with an actor named Kenny, but we were told that Fang Fang doesn’t want Kenny as her first choice but her first choice actor wanted more money in his contract and then got on another film. But now he is available and Fang Fang wants him, but Kenny is still around which leads us to think that the original actor is still going over contract negotiations with the investor. So as long as Kenny is around we know that we probably are not going to start filming any time soon, unless he is playing another role now… And they don’t want to do the test until the actors are cast.

So Rob and I are both going to stick to our original day of leaving, which is May 12th probably without shooting anything at all. We both have commitments back in the US we need to take care of like Karolina moving down to LA, finding an apartment, Rob’s friend’s bachelor party, and now a possible music video and some other work. The only thing that we are worried about is that Fang Fang might offer us a lot of money to commit to another month out here, but unless the offer really is an amount that we can’t refuse, we’ll be on that flight home on the 12th.

As we go on these scouts though, a little faith is renewed for Rob and me that maybe there is a reason to stick around, but the hard part is keeping in mind the amount of time we’ve wasted here already. So we need to keep that in mind if Fang Fang asks us to renew our contracts for only a small raise. The problem is that after about eight weeks of literal standstill, the momentum is now starting up again like it was in the first two weeks here and she might say, “Now that we are almost ready you want to go home!?” So, unfortunately, the amount that it would take to keep me and Rob here another month would be way out of their price range considering the amount of money we came over here for in the first place for. But who knows… right now I think we are 85% for leaving and 15% to stay.

But then the only reason we would be staying here is out of greed, which is not why I decided to go to film school and make movies in the first place. But I do need to keep in mind that I have bills to pay and financial stability is important and an honorable motivation to work. Rob and I have been using the only phrase that fits what we feel right now, which is morbid curiosity. I still am 90% sure we’ll be coming back in the 12th.

The other thing we want to avoid is bad blood, but I think that if we leave it open and are honest with her and say that we would like to come back and support her and work with her when they are ready to shoot, then things should be fine. I am looking forward to coming back to California, though

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
If you are limited in the number of gels you can get, I recommend getting the thinner gel because you can always double or triple them up to get a thicker color. For example: if you can only get two kinds of CTB, I recommend getting 1/2 and 1/8 CTB because you can always double them up to create any thickness of CTB using those two gels.

Phill in China

2008-04-22T21:40:00.001-07:00

Well folks, here are some pictures of Phill Matarrese in China:
Phill and Rob with some of the cast and crew at the hotel.

Phill at a temple in Hangzhou.

Catfish Phill in a restaurant in Shanghai.

Phill was cast for the staring role, but decided it would better to leave the acting to the professionals... though he hopes for a small cameo.

Phill looks at some LED lights for the movie.

Phill on the side of the road in Hangzhou, China.

Phill next to West Lake, the only place to see in Hangzhou... but we hear it's very pretty.

Phill in the van.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare. Some would say it has yet to occur on Earth."

-Professor Stephen Hawking
Astrophysicist

Funny Headline Today...

2008-04-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

The Simpsons has been dropped from morning TV in Venezuela after being deemed unsuitable for children - and has been replaced by Baywatch.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7338131.stm

...think about that one for a bit.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When putting gel on fresnels, make sure that you put the color gel closer to the fresnel "inside" the barn doors and the diffusion on the outside of the barn doors. This helps make sure the beam is completley covered by the colored gel and this also gives you the greatest surface area for the diffusion.

Man Uses Hedgehog as Weapon

2008-04-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, the title does read: man uses hedgehog as weapon. Just had to share this article I found on BBC news.

NZ man 'used hedgehog as weapon'

A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported.
Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy.
"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.
It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence.
The police spokesman said the suspect was arrested "for assault with a weapon, namely the hedgehog."
Mr Singalargh is due to appear in court on 17 April. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7334233.stm

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Sometimes on small fresnel units I like to use medium or large sized paperclips to clip the gels to the barn doors. Just make sure you don't get the paperclips that are coated with rubber or paint or anything that will melt.

Live in Hangzhou

2008-04-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Yup... still in China... still not doing much, well, not doing much about the movie- that is. We are finding things to do to keep ourselves occupied. I've been reading the news a lot and trying to write a few script ideas when I have the patients to force myself to stay off the internet.

Let's see, what are some cool thing's we've been doing. Oh, we've been going to a jazz club we found called J Z Club. It's great, they have some cool live music and food and drinks. We see a lot of gringos there and have made friends with the band. We went on Friday because it was Carlos's(the drummer) last night performing before he moves on to Hong Kong. The place was packed and there was good food, great music, good company and we had a lot of fun.

If anyone ever travels to Hangzhou, I highly recomend it: JZ Club, No. 6 Liuying Road, Hangzhou China, Tel: 0571-8702 8298. There is also one in Shanghai, as well. http://www.jzclub.cn/

Yesterday we went to a silk market place... it's a long road with shops that sell silk goods. It was cool, we ended up buying some gifts for people back home, it was fun barganing with people. We also went to a "small goods" market where you buy different bags and clothes and pretty much anything you want. It reminded me of the market we go to in San Salvador.

Oh, we also went to a Hangzhou soccer game at Yellow Dragon sports area! The team is called Greentown(?) and our friends we met who work at the Regal Victoria hotel(where we are supposed to be shooting) took up to a game. The seats were great seat, right by the goal at field level! But the stadium wasn't even 1/2 full, plus it was raining- but I bought a jersey and scarf and we had fun! We(Hangzhou Greentown) lost, 0-2 but we still had fun watching them. Rob and I think we can maybe get summer jobs as ball boys or maybe even as back up players on the team! hahahaha But I think as it gets warmer we'll be going to more games. The stadium was really nice, it looks huge from outside... seemed a little smaller once we got to our seats, but it was really cool to see a game live. However, Rob and I were a little disappointed and frustrated with the high amount of theatrics some of the players did with some of the falls. It was funny, as soon as the stretcher team ran out on the field the player would get right up and start to play again... but it did make up a little frustrated.

And in other news: there has been a slight(and most likely temporary) break in The Great fireWall of China. Wikipedia and BBC news are 2 of some of the few websites that have been opened up to the chinese internet surfer... this has been done mainly to allow people in China to comment on wester reporting. I figured it was pretty significant if you follow that kind of stuff... so I decided to document the historic occasion:

You can see all my pics at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/15005161@N06/JxK637

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Contracts are a great thing to write so that you minimize the things that are "assumed". It is always good to write down the conditions to a job, bot to protect the employer but especially the employee!

Just so We're All On the Same Page

2008-04-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

I was reading the New York Times today and I came upon an article that disturbed me a little. The headline is what caught my eye first: Prominent Chinese Rights Activist Is Jailed. "A little scary," I thought, since I'm in the country that sentenced him. Give the article a read, you might find it interesting.
The thing that worried me was the sentence: But Xinhua, the country’s official news agency, reported that Mr. Hu had confessed to the charges. I have noticed similar uses of words and phrases like "confess", "turned themselves in", and "admitted to authorities" in other articles I've read about Tibet in other Chinese published news papers... something to think about.

New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/world/asia/web30china.html?fta=y

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
The thicker(denser) the gel, the faster it is to melt because the darker color absorbs more heat, raising the surface temperature faster... so always keep them a safe distance away from the light to still cover the entire beam.

On a Slow Boat to China... er, In China.

2008-03-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not posting, it has been slow here and the internet is expensive here in Shanghai... yes, they sent Rob and I on a "vacation" to Shanghai while they recast the film...

Ok, so it's been very slow moving here for the film. There has been issue after issue with actor contracts and equipment negotiations and the director getting sick for a few days that has really slowed down production. It is now looking like a 2 week push back on the schedule... however, Rob and I still don't know what this means for the date we are supposed to come home.

So with nothing really to do, Rob and I decided to get into acting and, as a result, ended up getting cast in the movie:

No, just kidding. We were bored enough to get really excited and take head shots and post them on the casting board as a prank... I think they are still up, no one has come to us and said anything yet.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Higher voltage tends to arc more, so always be extra careful around 12Ks, 18Ks and 20/14Ks.

Paranoid Park

2008-03-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

Though, I'm not a huge fan of Gus Van Sant, I do appreciate his work and I have to say, I want to see this one:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I tend to keep my key light somewhere close to a 90º angle to the camera so that we are always shooting into the dark side of a person's face... like a 3/4 back light, for example.

China Update 2

2008-03-05T03:30:00.000-08:00

Well, things are slowly coming together... maybe they are not slowly coming together, but things seem slow for me and Rob. Slow enough to get us to start messing around with the program Garage Band on my computer to see if we can write a song or two... Haha, we keep doing location scouting and a bit of pre-planning, but not much after that. We have a film test planned though, so at least we'll get to do a little bit of lighting for that and actually start working.

Rob and I have a routine down now where we will go to lunch and then go for a walk after lunch and work out at the little playground... we call it our outdoor gym. Haha, it's a little playground but everything is some sort of aerobic exercise machine! It's designed for little kids, but we made due... as we work out with all the children playing and all the grandparents who take the kids out to play.

PhillM tip-of-the-day: (guest tipster- Rob Hauer, Cinematographer)
On tech scouts of exterior locations, always bring a compass with you or an experienced local... so you can figure out which way north is and can estimate the sun's path.

Day 5... I think

2008-02-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

So Rob and I have been a little stir-crazy because there hasn't been much work for us to do and a lot of unanswered questions that we needed solved before we could really move forward. However, that all changed yesterday. We started by a relaxing morning, like the past four morning, no real plans. We had breakfast on our own, we ended up getting milk and cereal and bread and stuff so we could have some variety in the morning. However, the milk ended up making me throw up about half hour after breakfast. I was expecting it at least once on this trip and I'm glad it happened earlier rather then later... the good news is now my body is getting used to their bacteria.

We hung out and then went downstairs for lunch. Rob has been a little congested with a bit of a cold so we both weren't felling 100% when we went to lunch but, man, it was some of the best food I've eaten in my life! There was this one eggplant dish that Rob and I agree is the best dish we've had here and the best eggplant we've ever had in our lives! It was so good and the rest of the day we were in great moods! It was the first time we were able to clean 2 full dishes of food and 90% of the 3rd dish!

Then, Fang Fang had a meeting with some "big shots" by a lake called West Lake. So we headed over there to see the lake while she was in her meeting because we are shooting at this one bridge called Broken Bridge, our biggest nighttime exterior location. We walked along the lake to the bridge after stopping off at the Shangri-La Hotel(a very, very, very nice hotel on the lake where Fang Fang was in her meeting).

Fang Fang had said that Hangzhou is the most beautiful city she's ever seen and I have to say, this part of town was very beautiful. There was so much texture and the locations we saw were incredible! There were people everywhere but it was such a peaceful place and it was so good to get out of the hotel and get some fresh air, even though we were there just to kind of sight-see, Rob and I couldn't help but start figuring out how to light the bridge and the rest of the location. We stopped by and got a little Starbucks cuz we were thirsty... it tasted just like back home and the baristas all spoke English, too!

Then we got a call from Fang Fang to come and visit a location that is overlooking the lake. It is the house that we will be filming in for the Uncle's house, a lot of the film takes place here. Now, Rob had said that supposedly there were going to be "wild walls" which are walls that can be removed.. he kind of shrugged his shoulders when he said this because we both have never worked in a practical location where they are able to move walls... that for stuff on sound stage. S o we didn't know what to expect...

We get to the location and could not believe our eyes... there stood a house, we had seen the exterior in pictures from the production designers emails but we weren't prepared for what was going on inside. We noticed a lot of scaffolding and construction materials... it turns out that Fang Fang was introduced to the mayor of Hangzhou and he got her any location she wants for this movie in Hangzhou for free, including this house that overlooks West Lake!
They literally cut out the first floor ceiling to create a large open living room... the art department is building a house for us to shoot in! It isn't like normal where you go to someone hose and shoot in it for a week and make sure you put it back the way you found it... there is some serious remodeling going on in this house- they put in a whole new staircase for crying out loud! Not replaced an old one, designed and installed an entire new one! And there are so many windows, Rob and I just smiled and giggle the whole time imagining how we can light and shoot this location. I might even ask to make it my summer home after the movie is complete- hahahahahha! I have never sen anything like this, or even imagined that this was possible! The house looks like something out of Great Expectations, beautiful and lush with lots of dark wood and rich colors!

Then we went to another location near by, again, something else that they are building from scratch for this film. It's on top of a hill on a way up to a temple, it's a circular rock garden that is going to look amazing! Rob and I both thought it was already there and that the workers were just repairing it and getting it ready, but no- it was never there to begin with.

Then we went to another possible location, supposedly the most expensive and exclusive restaurant in all of Hangzhou, it wad glass ceilings in the courtyard that made Rob and I both feel like we were in a Bond movie and we going to have to jump across the panes of glass as the villain's henchman chase us... but be decided to be polite and not do t but say we did. The locations were great, we are both very excited to be getting to work finally and we can't wait to make this film look as good as we can make it. We all got in the van and headed back to the hotel, all of us very excited.

You can see all the pictures on my Flickr site, I apologize they are not being updated quickly, the internet connection is very slow in the hotel so I have to upload them one at a time: http://www.flickr.com/gp/15005161@N06/5N5TJ1

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
If you are using a thin diffusion like High Light, Durham Frost or Hampshire Frost, it's most effective closer to the subject. They are so thin that their effect is practically useless if you have it closer to the light because it's so far from the subject it does not diffuse the light.

I'm in China!!!

2008-02-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a trip s far... first we got delayed coming out of LAX because of the winds in SF, so we missed our flight from SF to Shanghai and had to stay over, which wasn't too bad because I got to see Karolina before I left. So we few out the next day(Sunday), the flight was slightly delayed, but that was fine.

It was a good flight, we got exit row seats so we had a lot of leg room and we had a great stewardess named Mary sit across from us. We taxied out and then we had to go back because there was a lot of condensation and a seat(and the passenger in it) got wet and they had to switch the entire seat out. So we sat for about 15 or 20 minutes waiting around. Rob was smooth and offered Mary and the rest of the flight staff some peanut M&Ms(he had a 1 pound bag) so they made sure we had extra drinks and food and stuff. We were even able to sleep a little bit on the plane.

We arrived in Shanghai around 7:30pm the next day(Monday) because of the time change... however, Rob's suite case did not. Luckily we had Fang fang's(the director) assistant, a guy named Sonic, there to meet us and help with sorting everything out. W got some food at the airport before heading out for Hangzhou.. we must have left the airport around 10:30pm after everything was said and done... Rob's suite case was still back in San Francisco, though.

We arrived at about 1:30am, met the crew and production team and then got our stuff sorted and went to bed. Rob woke me up around 8:00am- I was surprised how fast I adjusted to the time change. We had what Sonic called a typical Chinese breakfast which was a rice porridge, steamed dumpling type things with pork in them, a boiled egg, various chopped vegetable to mix with the porridge and some bread. It was pretty good, especially the steamed dumpling with the pork.

Then we went back to our rooms and sorted out the internet stuff and settled in. We both got cellphones so we can call people, my number is: 15824457223 in case anyone wants to call me, it's free for me to receive calls... but you have to call long distance, so...

After that we had lunch... it was pretty good, I liked all the flavors, the only complaint was there were a lot of little bones in the chicken, but I went with it. I had heard that there was really good food here, but my last trip seemed very sheltered, food wise, we were extra cautious. This trip I want to make sure that I try everything that I can and really pus myself out of my normal limits and experience the food.

After Lunch Rob, Sonic and I went to the local mall so I could get a bag to carry my computer and stuff around with us on location scouts and to also get some snacks at the grocery store. It was really interesting, I saw many of the same brands that we have in the US but just in different varieties.

So now I am just finishing re-reading the script and making initial notes and talking to people on AIM before they go to bed. My screen name is: phillmatarrese in case anyone has AIM and they want to chat. And if you have a mac with an iSight or some other type of web camera we can video chat!

Check out more pics on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/gp/15005161@N06/NQj900

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Just to remind everyone, film is a lot more sensitive then some of the HD people lead you to believe. We watched dailies from The Company Man and there was a shot we did in a basement hallway where all we had where the fluorescent tubes overhead and I was barley reading an f1/f1.4 split and was really nervous we wouldn't get a good exposure. The film totally handled it, the shot looked great, we couldn't have lit in any better! Plus, it was an ASA 200 speed film, with the newer ASA 500 stocks these days you can get an exposure pretty much anywhere! Why would you want to settle for a lesser quality image in HD(not to mention the complications digital brings with it) when you can capture it on film just as easily if not easier!?

Scarecrow II

2008-02-18T22:14:00.000-08:00

Check out these pictures from this USC thesis joe and I are working on... we did the first half last year in November and we just did 2 days on a sound stage at USC where we had a civil war battle scene set up(*we also had some days on location)! Joe and I even impressed the two old-school hollywood guys who run the sound stages and equipment at USC with our rigging and how we treated the equipment and left the stage when we were done! ...SFSU and Larry Mole Parker taught us well.

You can see pics from both sections of the shoot here: http://www.flickr.com/gp/15005161@N06/3DJbm4

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Leave your locations(even sound stages) as good or BETTER then the way that you found them. You'd be surprised how good karma can help you sometimes!

Oh no! My Computer is Dead!

2008-02-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, quick update: my computer died today... it literally will not let me boot into windows, it won't even let me do the system recovery with the re-install CDs that CAME WITH MY COMPUTER! Ggggrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, I am looking at getting another computer, but it will have to wait until I get back from China dues to money(and time, hahaha). I am looking at the MacBook right now... anyone wanna loan me $1,000 to get one- hahahahahah! No, but seriously, has anyone applied for the mac loan that Apple has for their computers? I was toying with the idea of applying so I can get a laptop for China so I'll have internet access. Any thoughts? hahaha, although I guess if I did get a Mac loan I could just get the new AirMac thin laptop thing, couldn't I.

Well, time to get off Joe's computer. Anyone have a cheap old laptop they can loan me for a bit?

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Don't buy a PC hahahahahahahahaha.

2008-02-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

We started the studio today.

Up in SF

2008-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

We left for San Francisco on wednesday morning. We ended up getting into the city around 4:00pm, making pretty good time considering there was snw on the Grapevine...yes- snow on the Grapevine! And I'm so glad we got through wen we did because as we passed through we cold see clouds moving in above us and behind us e could see a storm creeping towards the pass.

Anyway, we ended up working on an SFSU grad film titled Post Bianca built bathroom in the backyard of the house we shot at and I was pretty happy with the lighting considering we only ended up using two 1Ks, a little 300w Midget and a 2ft 4 Bank Kino. It should look pretty nice.

The rest of the week we hung out, visited friends and family, meet up with old teachers and relaxed. We went with our mom and dad to a beach in Marin on sunday for our dad's birthday...it was rainy but still fun. We also went to the White Elephant Sale in oakland and i bought a bunch of old light meters for $1 each and a suit for $20! We also went to two 310 classes and talked about our experiences during film school, graduation & post-graduation, and now in the working world. I do miss San Francisco and I can't wait to be able to bring the industry back up here and work.
I know a lot of people are counting on it and I have a feeling that 2008 will be the year things begin to take shape.

In other news, Aquarium, the movie I worked on in Boston with Rob Hauer and Rob Meyer just won Honorable Mention at Sundance.

oh, and there is a new official trailer for Argos:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
The only real way to tell what a gel is if it is unmarked is by using a gel swatch book. I know a lot of people who think they can eyeball a gel just by holding it up to a light, but this is very, very, very hard... plus as a gaffer i want my electrics to be 100% sure so i make sure they use a swatch book and don't guess.

The Company Man

2008-01-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of how the film, The Company Man, will look. Rob Hauer took these reference pictures during filming!, so the colors are probably going to change a bit, but you get the idea. I am very excited though, because we are probably going to get an optical film print of it! Yay

If you want to see behind the scenes pictures, click: here.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember, drama is one of the hardest genres to do effectively in the short format because it takes time to develop characters the audience can sympathize with as well as create a story with enough dramatic tension to hold the audience's interest and allow the characters to go through a dramatic change.

Funny Story About Sissy Spacek

2008-01-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Joe and I go out last night to a spur-of-the-moment wrap party with the crew of the short film, The Company Man, we just shot with Rob Hauer over the weekend. Rob has been dating this girl named Schuyler(pronounced Skyler) Fisk who plays guitar and sings and she has been playing shows ever Monday at a little venue not too far from our house called Hotel Cafe. So we wrapped on Sunday and figured it would be fun to meet up with the crew there and go see her play to support Rob and everything.

So a few people come over to our place early and we make dinner and then head out. It's only about a 10 minute walk so we all get there around 9:00 or so and we are waiting for the rest of our friends to show up when Schuyler's mom comes out and talks to the door man. She sees Rob and they talk for a little bit, it was funny because she reminded me of Sissy Spacek. Anyway, Rob comes back after Schuyler's mom goes back inside and I ask if that was her mom and he says, "Yes." I make a joke; something like, "Oh, you mean Sissy Spacek over there? Hahaha, her name doesn't happen to be Carrie does it? Hahaha" Rob laughs a little.

So the rest of our group shows up and we get in and Schuyler's mom comes back out as we are getting tickets and she says, "Rob, you're on the list." and so Rob shows us in... but he introduces me and Joe to Schuyler's mom while everyone else gets their tickets.

He turns to her and says, "This is my gaffer, Phill. Phill, this is Sissy." And I thought, haha- how funny because she looks like Sissy Spacek and I made that joke earlier and her name happens to be Sissy and... ooooh.

It was Sissy Spacek.

Turns out that Schuyler also stared in that movie called Orange County with Tom Hank's son...yeah, she was the girlfriend.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I find that a good, simple eye light ir a 650w Tweenie with all the wire(scrims) in it bounced into a 4x4 or 2x2 piece of beadboard. Try it.

Updates...

2008-01-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

I am in the Kodak magazine!

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/jan2008/heartArgos.jhtml

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
216 looks great on Kinos. I'm still not a big fan of them, but they are nice with a heavy diffusion on them.

Dolly Moves!

2008-01-08T09:07:00.001-08:00

Joe, this is for you!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember, wheels save your back.

Check Out My Work...

2008-01-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

You can see some of my work with Rob Hauer on his website f you watch his reel. Look for the 3 piece in his reel, it is a movie called Stereopsis which we went to New York this summer to film.

http://robhauer.com/feature%20reel.html

And you can watch the Sundance accepted short film Aquarium that I worked with Rob on here.

And here is the movie Keys that Joe and I did up in SF with our friend Chris Babers: Keys Trailer

Add to My Profile | More Videos

And check it out, we just got into a bunch of festivals, so let me know if there is one near you, I can probably get you a free ticket: Key's website

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A simple cure for an eye light is shooting a little 650w or 300w light into a 4x4 beadboard and place the beadboard in the spot where the actor looks. The trick is to get a glowing surface that is bright enough to reflect in the eyes but not bright enough to effect your contrast ratios on the face.

Wow... I Feel Special

2007-12-29T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hahaha, so I just needed to share this. I feel so special because I got a call from Larry to check in with me over the weekend about the upcoming shoot and I told him that we are picking up on Thursday the 3rd and he said that we was gonna go over to rental on the 2nd and help the guys pull the gear for me! The VP of Mole is going to help pull gear for me! He said he wants the best gear they have, so he's going to inspect it himself! hahaha I promised him that for my first big movie with a real budget I will have Mole charge me double the normal weekly rental rate because they already cut me an incredible deal with the lights and genny and everything.

I love Mole.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Try to avoid the term "Inky". A lot of people missuse this word... they usually mean a small Mole light like a Mini Mole or the Midget. But Inky means different things to different people so I would jus stick to the manufactures names like Mini Mole, midget, Tweenie, Betweenie, Teenie, etc. yes, it's more work to memorize the list of names, but you aren't making movies because it's easy, are you!?

Oh yeah...and Sundance

2007-12-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, and that film that I went to Boson for with Rob Hauer, Aquarium, yeah... it got into Sundance this year. I was gonna go but decidied to wait until next year when Heart of the Argos gets in.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
This is a good quote from the crest of Bazmark, Baz Luhrmann's production company. It says: "A life lived in fear is a life half lived." I find it fitting because I am very nervous about this feature in Morocco... but having all my friends as the crew, knowing they will work as hard as they can for me is keeping me at ease.

New York, LA, SF and Morocco

2007-12-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, things have been crazy! I hope everyone had a good Christmas, I know mine was very eventful. So, let's see... what is there to get caught up on...

I was just in New York again, working with Rob Hauer, my cinematographer and Brian, our Key Grip, and Fred, my Best Boy. We were working on an NYU 2nd year project called The Boundary and we were working with an actor named Alexander Siddig, who played the prince in the movie Syriana. He was amazing to work with! New York was sooooooo cold- we arrived just as that huge snow storm hit the midwest. There was snow on the ground at JFK and it snowed the first 2 days we were there. It was really cool because we had about 5 days of prep before filming so we got everything together and finalized the crew and equipment.

If you want to see pictures from the shoot you can see them here:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/15005161@N06/q57X91

Then Joe and I got back and started on a USC thesis film called The Harvest for our friend Andrew Russo who was the cinematographer. Man, it was a hard shoot because the miscommunication among the producers and also the lack of support and appreciation for her crew displayed by the director. But a good thing did come out of it.

As we were on our way out of LA we got a call from the lead actor from the film asking us if he could pass our names along for a film he is doing. I said yes and he handed his phone to the producer... it turns out it is a feature shooting 1 week in LA and 4 weeks in Morocco on the west coast of Africa! Joe and I were not expecting to get it at all... but we eneded up meeting with the producer and we met the cinematographer and now the producer is writing up the contacts! So I am Gaffing and Joe is Key Gripping a feature that is taking us to Morocco!

The director is the 2nd unit director/cinematographer for Roland Emmerich who directed...well, just take a look: http://imdb.com/name/nm0000386/ Skywalker Ranch invited her up there to finish all the post sound up there FOR FREE because they know that her next film with be a $100 Million film with Roland Emmerich! The production designer did the production design for 21 Grams and Moulin Rouge! So big names...

Anyway, i need to head down to LA now to finalize the equipment and stuff. Lots of work ahead and I am nervous but very excited at the same time!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A good rule of thumb I just learned is to have 1 lunchbox for every distro box you have on set.

The Matarrese Twins are on IMDB!

2007-11-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

Joe finally got an IMDB credit! The credit is from a great movie we did that has been doing incredibly well in the festival circuit called Keys! It won Grand Jury Best Film prize at the New York Film and Video Festival and has been accepted to and winning at many other festivals across the country and soon across the world! Check out the film's credit: http://imdb.com/title/tt1141654/ I am also pleased to say that it was filmed entirely 100% in the SF Bay Area!

Check out Joe's credit!

http://imdb.com/name/nm2836008/

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
If you want to make a shadow with a hard cut on a wall or object, sometimes I prefer using a silk instead of a solid flag because that was atleast a little bit of light gets through so you see some details in the shadow. I learned that from Isidore Mankofsky ASC. Pass it on.

Hear of the Argos Lives!!! ...again!

2007-11-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the new Web Intro Video for Heart of the Argos! a lot of the behind the scenes video was from my little digital camera! Yay!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember, try not to over light! See what you get when you light the space rather then the people in the space... does it look more realistic?

Ringo Starr

2007-11-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

So, today Joe and I worked on Ringo Starr's new music video for a song called Liverpool. Ok, so I am a Beatles fan, but not as hard core as most people... however, I do find that the more i listen to them the more I like them. But this shoot was an AMAZING experience.

First of all, Joe and I are pushing a cart down the hallway because we have to move our gear to the floor above us and all of a sudden a bearded Brit with sunglasses pops out of the elevator and sneaks past us as we attempt to squeeze the cart through a doorway. He smiles and says, "Oh, looks like we're all set up and ready to rock!" All I could do was laugh, smile and utter the word "yeah" as the drummer from the Beatles passes us and goes to set. A woman who happened to be coming out of the office door next to our cart walks past him and turns around and asks me with a look of disbelief, "is... is that Ringo?" I smile and nod, half amazed at the man who just passed and half amazed on the effect he had on everyone who comes within 15 feet of him.

Then, we get on set we do a few short little shots to the opening of the song, all about 20 or 30 seconds long... and then he gets on stage with David Stewart to perform the whole song and... wow!

We all kind of stopped working and just stood there watching them perform and then a chill came over Joe and I at the same time as we realized that we were watching a quarter of THE BEATLES play for us, standing less then 10 feet away, a song about The Beatles! I am serious, I could not help but smile widely and move to the beat of the song! I could feel a cold sweat come over me and our legs actually went a little weak and I think this happened to most of the room because we all were either staring at the stage with stupid grins on our faces or looking around at each other as if to say: "can you believe this!?"

After they performed a few takes and stepped off as we re-lit, Ringo passed me and I told him, "(smiling)that was amazing..." He smiled as gave me a light jab in the arm and replied, "Oh, good. Thank you." Then, after Ringo was wrapped, we all got to take a big crew picture with him and Dave Stewart! I hope to get a copy of it very soon, I'll post it as soon as I get it. but for now, here are some of my own pics:

Me in Dave Stewarts office next to an MTV Music Award and Grammy!

Joe being a stand in for Ringo!

Ringo on the left and Dave Stewart on the right.

Lots of flags.

Ringo and the Red camera.

Ringo's new album cover?

Joe and our favorite italian producer, Paolo!

PhillM tip-of-the-day: If you get an opportunity to meet a famous person, take it, even if it is unpaid. because you never know when you will get to meet them again, and next time it might be too late(like with Laszlo Kovacks).

SF Filmmaking

2007-11-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

I was recently u in San Francisco for a week to work on an SFSU thesis film and, boy was it fun! No- it's not what people are used to in LA but it was still great to work on. Joe and I had our 2 favorite crew members on it, Justin Plummer III and Martin Strauss- Justin was my Best Boy Electric and martin was Joe's Best Boy Grip. They both worked with us in these same positions for Heart of the Argos and they will continue to work with us on whatever we do up in SF.

Here are a few pics from the shoot and our trip:

I miss this city...

They set this whole thing up by themselves!

<>This is a good one of Steve and and even better one of Satuski!

Satsuki assisting Erin with her eye patch.

Yes, Erin knows she has that tape on her eye...

The buddhist temple in Oakland.

The orignal owners of Joe's Icecream Parlor in Geary Ave.

The edge of the world.

Crew rocking it old school!

We ended up not doing much for Halloween, but that was fine, the Castro was canceled this year and we were so tired from the shoot anyway that we didn't even bother going out. Joe, Bianca, Laurnan, Karolina and I stayed home and watched Sleepy Hallow and ate dinner, it was nice and relaxing.

We have also decided to begin preliminary work on the studio, we will be starting the LLC and business accounts so we can start saving money for the space we want to get up in Oakland. We are also starting to develop a couple of feature scripts to have ready by the time Argos is in festivals. Oh, speaking of festivals, Two men in Suits, our film we had in the New York Film and Video Festival won Best Action Film and that film, Keys, won Grand Jury Best Film of the festival. Hahahah, so the two films with the Matarrese Brother's name on them won best picture awards!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember, you can't beat the sun with any light... so you might as well use it to your advantage by trying to time your shooting schedule accordingly to work best with your location.

Travel Pictures

2007-10-18T22:30:00.001-07:00

I have gone through all of my pictures and have found some great pictures from my trip to New York. Here are a few panoramic pictures I took:

<>

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Some students asked my today for advice on choosing film schools and I told them this, in the end: film school is film school and the same complaints people had at San Francisco State are the same complaints I hear from people at USC, NYU, Columbia, Full Sail, AFI, UCLA, Chapman, Brooks, Art Institute and so on. Of course these schools(and complaints) are different in degrees, but I found that the trick is that what ever school you go to- you will get out of it what you put into it. Yes, some schools have many sound stages, or top of the line lights or cameras, or even a backlot... but sometimes the less you have the better you have to be to be successful. This means that it is possible to come out with a degree from a state school having gotten a better education then from USC, AFI or NYU... but it's up to you to make that happen.

Max's Movie

2007-10-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, this is a movie my friend Max shot. It's a pretty dark story, but I love the black and white and the music is really amazing!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
It's not who you know, it's who knows you.

Heart of the Argos Comes Alive!

2007-10-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the highly anticipated sneak teaser for Heart of the Argos. It was taken from the video tap as we filmed the picture. So please ignore the cross hair and TV Safe lines and enjoy...

or you can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8diw0115WI

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Remember that there are a million and one ways to make an eye light, but try to always get a source(light) hitting your subject from somewhere in the area of where the subject is looking... this will provide you a nice little hot spot right in the pupil.

Still Making News

2007-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Check it out, the Cinema Collective, SFSU Cinema, Heart of the Argos, and DTF/Quandary all wrapped up into 1 great article appeared in the SFSU X-Press, with full color picture and everything! read about it here:

http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/arts/008731.html

And here are some of my favorite pictures(in no particular order) from behind the scenes of Heart of the Argos:

Me as a storm trooper.

"Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper? ...oh, the uniform."

Charles in the hallway, one of the many long impossible jib shots that I am very proud of.

Me, the 416 and my Spectra Pro IV light meter(I'm all about the brand name)

I love this picture of Peter in the cockpit during our pre-light. I'll be very happy if the film looks anywhere close to this picture.

Sound and camera in tight quarters.

Spenser with the Arri 416.

A great pic at the warehouse we used as a soundstage. Look, you can see Andrew in the background(wearing Red), Patrick video taping behind the scenes on the right, and Brian and Erin on sound in the middle.

Phill says what!?

I'm on TV!

Andy cam(and he thought there were no pictures of him)!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
An efficient set is a neat set. make sure that you coil your excess cables to the light(or to whatever it is running to). You always want the slack to go to whatever is more likely to move(not the generator) so for example, the extra cable from the light should be coiled neatly under the light stand, the extra 100 amp bates going fro the distro box to the lunch box should be coiled next to the lunch box, and the extra banded cable going from the generator to the distro box should be put in a figure 8 next to the distro box.

Heart of the Argos... post

2007-09-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

So it has been about 3 weeks since we wrapped Heart of the Argos up in SF. We are now moving into our heavy post phase of telecine, editing, animation, music, sound, and CG effects work...

Anyway, here is a little video that Patrick Newman put together that introduces the crew... I get a lot of face time and I also appear topless in the beginning of the clip... so it muscles and 1/2 nudity offend you, please avert your eyes.

We just got a CD with all of the behind the scenes video clips and pictures and I'll be posting them soon!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
This sounds silly... but seriously, try to be aware that on set there is usually an on set photographer or videographer documenting the production... so don't go walking around in a towel like I did:)

Robot Chicken Star Wars

2007-09-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

These are super funny clips from the Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode(Dad, you'll think the last one is funny)...

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
HMIs are flicker free at any frame rate that can be divided into 120(as in 120v)... this includes 24fps.

Heat wave!

2007-09-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is sooooooooooooooooo hot here in LA! For the first time in the year that we've lived here in Hollywood, we've had to turn on our air conditioning! The heat made this weekend semi-miserable because I was working thursday through sunday. I did a short zombie horror movie in Burbank(the valley gets even hotter then Hollywood) in a tiny little apartment. but I soon got acclimated to the heat and sweat and it was fine.
Then, Sunday, I did pick-up shots with Nicola for that USC thesis i shot back in Feb or March. We were out in San Gabriel(even further inland and hotter!) and the entire neighborhood was blacked out. So we drive to 2 Home depots(the first one was out of gennies cuz the blackouts) to rent 2 small gennies to run our lights. The power came back on, thank goodness, so we were able to use house power after only 2 shots.
Anyways, I just got an email from Karen Holmes, my favorite teacher at SFSU, because I had heard she was retiring!!! In her email she explained what the situation and the good news is that she WILL continue teaching, just not in the same way... much to my relief. She also sent me a really cool picture that I'd like to share.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
I have gotten in many disputes with people over this, but, trust me, I am right, I have seen it and I have had the experts tell me- HMIs WILL flicker if they are not run on a quartz-synced putt-putt generator that can maintain 60 Hz. Believe me, it is devastating to find out your shots are unusable because of HMI flicker. The good news- all modern Honda putt-putts are quartz-synced.

Dang... (and IMDb)

2007-08-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Dang, so New York, then China and then finally an excellent week up in SF for Heart of the Argos! So much has gone on since I last posted! And I got on IMDb! Check it out: http://imdb.com/name/nm2645700/.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Please, please, please remember to try and stay quiet about commenting on the lighting and color of any monitor that is on set. The monitor(even if it is correctly calibrated) is not an accurate representation of color, contrast, or illumination. Old timers will get mad and will be insulted if they hear people(especially if they are not the DP or gaffer) comment on how "dark" the image looks or how "the color doesn't look like that by eye".

Heartbreak of the Argos

2007-07-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am super excited about the sci-fi film we all are working on called Heart of the Argos! But we have run into some problems... We've been wiring in all the fluorescent bulbs and other tiny lights we are using to light the space ship and the set has really been coming to life! Here are a few pictures.

Peter's eye light while in the cockpit... looks good any way the characters turn!

Peter in the cockpit area.

Amazing art in the cockpit.

Cool cables in the hallway.

Spenser working on the mechanic's bay through the door.

Spenser and Matt working in the mechanic's bay.

Dillon's eye light from the lights in the mechanic's bay.

The layers of the mechanic's bay.

The set looks amazing, I am super proud of all of us for being able to fit all of this in such a small space. I got chills when we realized that we were actually going to have camera moves and shots that litteraly match the concept art drawn by Spenser and Matt from months ago!

The only hard part is that with the amount of light we are dealing with and the small space, we have discovered that the nice new camera that we want is now more of the camera that we need. See, besides it being the perfect size and weight for Spenser to hand hold it through our tiny set(and he'll be hand holding it a lot, the new lenses for this camera will enable us to not have to bring the light level up(which would destroy the lighting ratios we've already established) and we risk what we call "shooting blind" because of the view finder systems in the older cameras(we won't be able to catch the boom mic or even the top of the set if it is in frame because the light level is so low... but it will show up on film!)

But we are so close to getting the money for this camera that we're willing to make sacrafices...

So Spenser and Matt and I talked about all the ways we could shift around funds to find $2,000 more dollars to ensure we get this camera and lenses. What we decided on was we would pull the money from the food budgit(which I know Sam is against) but we'll just have to find a way to get free meals.

So if anyone out there has any ideas on where to get free meals(my parents have generously agreed to BBQ for us one night and Spenser's mom is making us one or two meals) please email me:
pmatarrese@gmail.com

Here is a little taste of how the ship will look in an example of what is basically the opening shot of the film:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Always wrap any spiced wire(where you join two wires together) with electrical tape. Also, try and use wire buts whenever possible, they are easier, faster and safer.

Cats

2007-07-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

This video made me and Andrew laugh so hard we cried:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Careful when you type in cute kitties into Youtube, you'll be sitting there for hours watching videos. It's dangerous.

NYC pics

2007-07-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from NYC:

The Brooklyn bridge (yes, I walked over it).

The empire State Building (yes, I went up it).

The Flatiron Building near Madison Square park.

The Ghostbuster's Building- now home to FDNY Ladder 8.

The greenscreen at the NYU Todman soundstage... last day of the shoot.

The Imagine memorial in Stawberry Fields, Central Park NYC

Me and the Empire State Building.

NYC Public Library... as seen in Ghostbusters

A shot from the set

Me in Joe's apartment(all the way up on 160th street) at night.

NYC!

Me and the two PAs who came down from Boston: jenna and Luke(both from Rob Meyer's shoot we did in Boston)

Brian and Me on the mean streets on New York.

Fred and Me in the subway.

The subway map and me.

Safari Phill.

Taxi sunset...

New York New York

2007-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

So today is my last day in New York, I fly back to LA tomorrow in the evening. It's been an amazing expeirence working here in the city that never sleeps. The film looks great, I can't wait to see the footage cut together- I am super excited! Today is the 4th of July so I am just relaxing at Joe's apartment until it's time to meet up with everyone downtown for fireworks. Earlier today I walked around a little bt, found the Ghostbuster's fire station, did some shopping, and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I am downloading pictures as I type and will post them in a few minutes.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
A cheap and easy way to prepare your power distro for rain or moisture is with garbage bags. Just make sure you wrap all connections(the cables are rubberized and sealed already) and remember... water flows downhill, so try and get ur connections elevated.

Heart of the Argos

2007-06-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the 1st two production journals for the movie that joe, Andrew, Sam, Spenser, Matt, Patrick, and everyone else up in SF are working on. Check them out!

Production journal #1

Production journal #2

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When using zip chord, the smooth wire is always the hot wire and the wire with the groves running down it is the neutral wire.

Premier at Mann's

2007-06-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

So Edwin, Joe, Kevin, Roxanne and I all went to Mann's Chinese to see Ocean's 13. Anyway, the movie was pretty good, but the highlight was when the Movietickets.com commercial that Edwin gaffed and I bested was shown before the movie!!! We were really excited, especially because literally 30 seconds before it came on, Edwin turned to me and said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we saw our commercial here!"

And that was my first premier at Mann's!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Always keep the spare globes(light bulb) close to set... you never know when a bulb will blow.

Little Richard

2007-06-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

So Joe, his girlfriend Bianca, our friend Edwin and I all went to Roscoe's house of Chicken and Waffles after a long day of hangin out at Mole. We're a little early for dinner so there was no line. We walk in and I sit down and over Joe's shoulder I see Little Richard! I told Joe that Little Richard is sitting behind him and he says, "Oh, yeah, I know. He said hi to Edwin and called Bianca darlin".
Well, dinner was good(of course... it is Roscoe's) and before we left I said Hi to Little Richard and shook his hand. ...and that's my story.

for those who don't know who Little Richard is, here's a little taste of the rock n' roll legend:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Always keep your lights "complete" with barn doors and a full set of scrims.

New York

2007-05-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

So I am going to New York to work on my next picture with Rob Hauer. This will be the 4th project that I have gaffed for Rob and the 2nd time I have gone to the east coast with him... but only my 1st time to New York! I am super excited to not only work with Rob again on a very interesting and good project but to also explore a city that I have always wanted to visit and even wanted to live in when I was younger.
Today was also exciting at Mole. I helped interview Laszlo Kovacs ASC for a documentary by Jim Chressanthis ASC! He was really nice and a lot of fun to listen to his stories(like the time I got to grip for him on that PSA that was shot at Mole).
So if anyone was any suggestions of things to see while in New York, please let me know!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
All cables(except sound cables) are coiled clockwise, following the cables natural memory. As you coil it, allow it to spin around in your fingers so it cols up neatly.

Daze in the Desert: Take 2

2007-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

For a second time I have found myself out in Lancaster, CA in the desert near the Kill Bill church for a film, this time it was a UCLA thesis with my cinematographer Rob Hauer. This is only the 3rd project that I have worked on with Rob, however, our relationship as a gaffer/cinematographer team is very strong already. This is the same guy who took me to Boston to gaff a film only 2 weeks after meeting him and who, on every visit to Mole, has made Larry sneak up to me and tell me, "so you know you have a cameraman for life now, right?"

This shoot was alot of fun. We met some great people, including a 1st and 2nd AC who are almost certain to join the team under Rob. We stayed six Days in Lancaster and just finished up today with 1 day in Burbank. I was super pleased with the footage because we successfully made 12 hours of changing sunlight look like it was late afternoon/magic hour for 3 days! Rob and I tried a new tenting approach that we had never tested(tenting in the desert under direct sun and still expecting it to match the background!? That's crazy!) and on top of that we used only mirors and shinny boards with sunlight almost exclusively! We also got to use a Shotmaker tow truck(what the real guys use) for the car shots!

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Household fluorescent bulbs can only be dimmer to abuot 50% max with a regular household dimmer.

IMDb

2007-05-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

Look- I'm on IMDb!

http://imdb.com/name/nm2645700/

Spenser, Matt and Sam are down here in LA for the weekend, starting pre-production on the sci-fi... lots of fun! And we get to interview Isidore Mankofsky ASC tomorrow for a new video journal.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
You can do almost anything with the three most basic knots: the square knot, the clove hitch and the bowline. Learn them, know them, use them.

Makin a Movie...

2007-05-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When you get someones business card, I find it helpful to write down where you met them and what they did to help remind you who they are when looking through your cards.

Long Time...

2007-05-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I wrote last. I've been super busy on shoots and traveling. I was up in SF last weekend for an alumni panel and to visit friends and family but now i am back in LA. Anyway, real quick, I was a stand-in/actor today for a Kodak film test by Jim Chressanthis, ASC. It was fun... and I met a gaffer who will help me get more 728 days on "Ghost Whisperer".

Joe moved down here and we've been working together on a few pictures, he's been getting a lot of job offers, some of them paid, which is amazing! So things are going well. Our apartment is cramped and cluttered, we're slowly sifting through the mess and making sence of it all. Work is steady, we'll be on the Universal backlot for a night shoot from thurs to fri- that will be tons of fun! Well, time to do dishes and clean some more.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When giving your cards to some of the old timers and other union guys, make sure you have "electric" or "grip" only on your card, don't put "gaffer" or "best boy" because some of the older guys get insulted and say, "who does this kid think he is!?"

Union for 2 Days Teaser...

2007-03-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

I am so tired due to..... (drum roll) TWO DAYS OF UNION PERMIT WORK AT WARNER BROTHERS!

I have so many stories to write about and no energy right now, I promise I will post an in-depth blog about my 2 days as union... but let me leave you with some very interesting math...

Day 1: 10 hours

Day 2: 12 hours

-I got $29.90 per hour which was last years rates for some reason.
-I worked a total of 10 hrs.
-Hours 1-8 is normal pay...
... hours 9-10 is time and a half!
...hours 11-12 is double time!

so if you do the math...

Day 1: $328.90
Day 2: $448.50

total: $777.40

...minus taxes of course:(

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
For some reason, when you are untying a rope from something that somebody is lowering down to you you yell "hollywood!" or give the rope two(2) hard tugs to let the person know that they can then pull the rope back up.

wow...

2007-03-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

look what my little brother found for me online:

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When setting a c-stand, always try and get the base of the stand as close to the thing that needs holding as possible. Doing that at the very beginning seems to make things go a lot smoother.

Owen Roizman ASC Knows My Name!

2007-03-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

Wow- Owen Roizman ASC came into Mole yesterday to shoot some portraits of fellow ASC members for the American Cinematographer Magazine. He remembered my name. Owen Roizman ASC knows MY name!

I am coming up to SF for a short film in the next couple of weeks... very excited. if anyone wants to come out and day play, please email me or call me:
pmatarrese@gmail.com
(415)385-2679

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When tying knots, it is a good idea to ties the knots on the same plane as the direction of the rope or ropes. A key grip once told me that there should never be more then 2 directions you pull the rope when tying a knot... it seems to keep everything going in the right direction and it helps you learn to tie the knot faster and stronger.

Girl In The War

2007-02-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

Peter said to Paul, “you know, all those words we wrote…are just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go. Now talking to God is Laurel begging Hardy for a gun. I got a girl in the war, man I wonder what it is we’ve done.”

Paul said to Peter, “you gotta rock yourself a little harder. Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire.”

“I got a girl in the war, Paul, the only thing I know to do is turn up the music and pray that she makes it through.
Because the keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom. And the angels fly around in there but we can’t see them. I got a girl in the war, Paul, I know that they can hear me yell. If they can’t find a way to help her they can go to hell. If they can’t find a way to help her they can go to hell.”

Paul said to Peter, “you gotta rock yourself a little harder. Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire.”

“I got a girl in the war, Paul, her eyes are like champagne. They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain. They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain. They sparkle, bubble over, and in the morning all you got is rain.”

I just heard this song called "Girl In The War" by one of my favorite musical aritsts, Josh Ritter. it just sounded poetic, so I decided to post it.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
Never pass up an oportunity to teach, especially in this industry. It's the only way we can pass down the one hundred plus years of film history and learning how to teach will teach you how to learn.

Pitstop

2007-02-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from Nicola Mars, a cinematographer that I work with alot. She sent me the link to a rough cut of this USC thesis film that I key gripped on. Click on the link bellow to view the cut- please keep in mind that the film has not been graded or color corrected and that the cut is super rough as well as the sound. Also, it takes a while to load- so please be patient:

http://web.mac.com/brentfortune/iWeb/Pix/Pitstop%206th%20Cut.html

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
When breaking down a script, it is wise to count 1/8 of a page per planned shot(we count pages of scripts in 1/8th) because one page of action is more then 8/8 of a page in shooting time.