Diamond Thunderbolt Studios, LLC

Recent Shoot – Connected by 25

Christopher Gayle :) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:24:49 +0000

On 07/26/2008, I joined Dan Brienza and his production company “Weekend Film Crew”, to shoot a 30sec and a 60sec pro bono commercial for “Connected by 25”.

We used facilities at the University of South Florida to shoot the project, and we shot it on Dan’s nice new HD Sony camera!

“Connected by 25” helps foster children who “age out” of the foster care system at 18 yrs old to fully, positively and independently engage society. Their mission:

“to ensure that foster care youth are educated, housed, banked, employed and connected to a support system by age 25.”

Our next pro bono commercial will be with the “Homeless Coalition” and with the “Child Abuse Council”.

Connected by 25 – http://www.cby25.org/

Weekend Film Crew – http://weekendfilmcrew.com/home/

Recent Shoot – “Combination Lock”

Christopher Gayle :) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:04:13 +0000

We got done shooting “Combination Lock”, a psychological thriller, written and directed by Tampa local and New Jersey native, Pete Guzzo.

It was a 3 night, all night shoot. We started filming on 08/17/2008, 5pm and officially wrapped on 08/19/2008 from 6pm to 6am.

We had a great crew (Erik Curtis – D.P., Shawn McCarthy – Camera, Bobby Baker – Gaffer) and we had a blast filming this on one of the hottest cameras today – the “Red”!
http://www.red.com/cameras

A big thanks goes out to Pete Guzzo (1 Day Productions – writer/director) and Joe Davison (Pop Gun Pictures – producer) for inviting me to come out and play!

A Great Story – The key to film success

Christopher Gayle :) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:30:51 +0000

Wall-E

I’ve been doing some research on Pixar – specifically, I’m trying to better understand how it is they create such outstanding AND commercially successful stories. Based on what I’ve been able to find out, study and adapt these story construction theories for your own material and you’ll be heading in the Pixar direction.

One of the major concepts Pixar follows is “no dialog” – if you can’t tell your story with minimal or zero dialog, keep working your story. There’s nothing wrong with dialog, but visually tell as much of your story first, then add dialog. Action/Visuals 1st; Talking 2nd.

Also, please keep in mind that Pixar will spend from 2 to 4 years creating a story, so in addition to skills, you gotta be diligent and patient if you want to create amazing stories.

Pixar likes these authors, in no particular order:
“The Art of Dramatic Writing” – Lajos Egri
“Story” – Robert McKee
“The Anatomy of Story” – John Truby

A summary of the talk Pixar gave at the Screenwriting Expo in 2006:
http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/screenwriting-expo-5-pixar.html
http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/pixar-storytelling-2.html

Stories about Pixar:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/02/01/336871/index.htm
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/pixar.html
http://denitza.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/innovation-lessons-from-pixar/

2008 48Hr Film contest ends

Christopher Gayle :) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:15:33 +0000

The 48 Hr Film contest came to a close on 07/20/2008 at 7:30pm. We entered our 6min and 30sec film “Skin Deep” into the competition. Our randomly selected genre was “Drama”. All awards will be announced on 08/08/2008.

I had a great time working with our team and we did a really great job with our film inside the 48 hour time limit.

A total of 27 teams participated and all the films were shown on the big screen at the ChannelSide Imax theater!

Genre: Drama
Required elements:
Prop – Hair dryer
Character – Bob or Barbara Percival – a food connoisseur
Line – “How could you do this to me?”

Contest start: 07/18/2008, 7:30pm
Contest finish: 07/20/2008, 7:30pm

48Hr Film Contest

Christopher Gayle :) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:37:28 +0000

Diamond Thunderbolt Studio’s has thrown its hat into the ring to compete in the “48hr Film Contest”.

Starting on June 8, we began pulling together a team of strangers and willing film adventurers to form a film crew and production team. We’re still looking for more folks to join our team, but the nucleus of our group is starting to form.

I’ll keep posting updates as the adventure unfolds!

Terror-porn

Christopher Gayle :) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:28:11 +0000

I caught this article on MSN about “terror porn” – the current wave of empty calorie horror movies that show characters getting mutilated and butchered, and then call this a “story”…there is no story…it’s just a reason to depict cold savagery to human beings on screen, and then trying to pass this off as cinematic storytelling (like the difference between a genuine romance film and traditional porn).

http://movies.msn.com/movies/torture?GT1=7701

AFI’s 100 Best – “Psycho”

Christopher Gayle :) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:01:11 +0000

All I have to say about this movie is: Hitchcock is one twisted s.o.b! Stephen King and Hitchcock – two very creepy dudes…

I loved “Psycho”…wicked movie; forever a classic!

It’s not just the expected use of shadow and darkness to create a nervous, suspicious, creepy feeling…Hitchcock also manages to shoot “creepy angles” with the camera. He also knows how to play with your mind and get you all wrapped up in the drama and suspense. In my opinion, most horror films today rely much more on visual gore and guts and sacrifice the power of subtle psychologically manipulation of the audience. It’s like the difference between a well choreographed symphony and beating on drums with a baseball bat – the former takes craft, skill and finesse, the latter…well you get the point.

And when the secrets in the film are finally and dramatically revealed to us, holy crap!!! As I said, Hitchcock is a very creepy dude!

Spine/Theme: Loneliness, running away from problems, desperation, choices that ultimately imprison us.

Camera work: midshots, close-ups, close-ups at odd and visually disturbing angles.

Sound & music: Urgent, panic, tension, dread.

Lighting & color: It was filmed in black and white. There’s a definite change in the amount of lighting in the 1st half and 2nd half of the movie.

Characters: The characters were pretty normal and natural in the 1st half, but the tension, anxiety and fear just keep getting pumped up higher and higher during the 2nd half, right up to the end!

Dialog: Normal, conversational. The verbal texture believably reflected the feelings of the characters and supported the unfolding story plot.

After seeing this Hitchcock thriller, I gotta scare the crap outta myself some more and watch “The Birds”…I’ll be ok…I’m starting to get used to sleeping with the lights on…

AFI’s 100 Best – “Citizen Kane”

Christopher Gayle :) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:16:02 +0000

Ok…I watched the movie….and…didn’t get it. I can’t see or understand why this movie is considered the “number one best” movie in the AFI’s list. At the very least, this movie didn’t grab me at all.

In my opinion, Casablanca, Raging Bull, The Godfather, Schindler’s List, Psycho – there are tones of great movies that could have been ranked number one, and for me, Citizen Kane is not one of them. It wasn’t a bad movie; it just wasn’t one I’d rank as being “number 1”.
There were some cool technical aspects to the film – the way certain scenes were shot (angles, depth, light, etc), but the acting was so-so. There could have been more depth to the story; is seemed to move too fast – it was very busy.

But hey, that’s just me! If anything watch it; rent it, experience it and you decide for yourself how you feel about this movie.

Warning: Interesting, but weird movie…

Don Quixote

Christopher Gayle :) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:01:44 +0000

I’m reading “Don Quixote”…a story about a rich nobleman who has his mind filled with fantasies about valor, knighthood and adventure. He’s not satisfied with just reading and daydreaming about such topics, so he decides to strap on his rusty armor, get on his horse and sets out into his community to slay dragons, free the oppressed and rescue fair maidens.

“Batman” and “Don Quixote” – both men are rich, both piece together elaborate costumes, both have a sidekick, both set out to fight crime. Classic literature is ripe and filled with great stories that have the potential seeds to become great cinema!

Sad but True – President George W. Bush is as mad as the fictional character “Don Quixote” – living in a fantasy world were he’s convinced himself that he’s been given a mandate by god to travel the world (i.e. the Middle East) like a knight errant to spread freedom and democracy.

AFI’s 2007 top 100 U.S. Films

Christopher Gayle :) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:13:17 +0000

On June 20, 2007 the American Film Institute released an updated list of the greatest movies ever made during the first 100 years of American filmmaking.

For my own education and skill development, I’m in the process of reviewing and studying each of these films; there’s nothing like learning form he masters of the craft!

I’ll share my impressions of each film I review here, and remember: art is subjective, so I’m cool if you disagree with my observations and critique and I welcome different perspectives!

1. “Citizen Kane,” 1941.
2. “The Godfather,” 1972.
3. “Casablanca,” 1942.
4. “Raging Bull,” 1980.
5. “Singin’ in the Rain,” 1952.
6. “Gone With the Wind,” 1939.
7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962.
8. “Schindler’s List,” 1993.
9. “Vertigo,” 1958.
10. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
11. “City Lights,” 1931.
12. “The Searchers,” 1956.
13. “Star Wars,” 1977.
14. “Psycho,” 1960.
15. “2001: A Space Odyssey,” 1968.
16. “Sunset Blvd.”, 1950.
17. “The Graduate,” 1967.
18. “The General,” 1927.
19. “On the Waterfront,” 1954.
20. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946.
21. “Chinatown,” 1974.
22. “Some Like It Hot,” 1959.
23. “The Grapes of Wrath,” 1940.
24. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” 1982.
25. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” 1962.
26. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” 1939.
27. “High Noon,” 1952.
28. “All About Eve,” 1950.
29. “Double Indemnity,” 1944.
30. “Apocalypse Now,” 1979.
31. “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941.
32. “The Godfather Part II,” 1974.
33. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1975.
34. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” 1937.
35. “Annie Hall,” 1977.
36. “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” 1957.
37. “The Best Years of Our Lives,” 1946.
38. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” 1948.
39. “Dr. Strangelove,” 1964.
40. “The Sound of Music,” 1965.
41. “King Kong,” 1933.
42. “Bonnie and Clyde,” 1967.
43. “Midnight Cowboy,” 1969.
44. “The Philadelphia Story,” 1940.
45. “Shane,” 1953.
46. “It Happened One Night,” 1934.
47. “A Streetcar Named Desire,” 1951.
48. “Rear Window,” 1954.
49. “Intolerance,” 1916.
50. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001.
51. “West Side Story,” 1961.
52. “Taxi Driver,” 1976.
53. “The Deer Hunter,” 1978.
54. “M-A-S-H,” 1970.
55. “North by Northwest,” 1959.
56. “Jaws,” 1975.
57. “Rocky,” 1976.
58. “The Gold Rush,” 1925.
59. “Nashville,” 1975.
60. “Duck Soup,” 1933.
61. “Sullivan’s Travels,” 1941.
62. “American Graffiti,” 1973.
63. “Cabaret,” 1972.
64. “Network,” 1976.
65. “The African Queen,” 1951.
66. “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” 1981.
67. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, 1966.
68. “Unforgiven,” 1992.
69. “Tootsie,” 1982.
70. “A Clockwork Orange,” 1971.
71. “Saving Private Ryan,” 1998.
72. “The Shawshank Redemption,” 1994.
73. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” 1969.
74. “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991.
75. “In the Heat of the Night,” 1967.
76. “Forrest Gump,” 1994.
77. “All the President’s Men,” 1976.
78. “Modern Times,” 1936.
79. “The Wild Bunch,” 1969.
80. “The Apartment, 1960.
81. “Spartacus,” 1960.
82. “Sunrise,” 1927.
83. “Titanic,” 1997.
84. “Easy Rider,” 1969.
85. “A Night at the Opera,” 1935.
86. “Platoon,” 1986.
87. “12 Angry Men,” 1957.
88. “Bringing Up Baby,” 1938.
89. “The Sixth Sense,” 1999.
90. “Swing Time,” 1936.
91. “Sophie’s Choice,” 1982.
92. “Goodfellas,” 1990.
93. “The French Connection,” 1971.
94. “Pulp Fiction,” 1994.
95. “The Last Picture Show,” 1971.
96. “Do the Right Thing,” 1989.
97. “Blade Runner,” 1982.
98. “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” 1942.
99. “Toy Story,” 1995.
100. “Ben-Hur,” 1959.