Books, Books, Books!

I have been traveling quite a bit, first to Chicago for a wedding, then Phoenix to see Mom and Nana. While on the plane, I have finally had a chance to read, and I'm pleased to say that I sucked up three books like a sponge.

The first novel was A Time Gone By, a mystery by William Heffernan. I have been reading his work since I was in high school, and this one was one of his best. A judge is murdered in New York in 1945, and it's Jake Downing's first big case. Fast-forward thirty years later, and Jake has just buried his wife. The widowed Downing decides to re-open the case, knowing with all certainty that the man they convicted (and who was ultimately executed) was innocent of the crime.

Heffernan's novels are unique mysteries in that they are more concerned with how the crime affects the characters emotionally than providing action. This one was no exception, and also includes the author's trademark taste for well-realized locales and plenty of steamy sexuality.

MY REVIEW: ***1/2

Now that I had finished A Time Gone By, I needed another book for the train ride to Quincy (where the wedding was). I stopped at a Borders in Chicago and picked up Black Sunday. This is the first novel by Thomas Harris, who received worldwide fame for writing The Silence of the Lambs. This is also the only novel not to feature Hannibal Lecter.

This one was a real page-turner. A domestic terrorist plans to fly a blimp loaded with 1,500 lbs of plastic explosives into the Superbowl; killing an estimated 80,000 people (including the President). His opposition: a veteran Israeli intelligence operative who's convinced the threat is real. The result: a book read in weekend. I simply could not put this one down.

Thomas Harris writes books far too rarely; having only published five novels in over thirty years. But his books, when they do come out, are unusually well-realized visions and a major event in the literary world. He has not given an interview since the late 70's, so no word on when the next one will come out or what it will be about.

It was made into a movie by John Frankenheimer, but it is not shown on television out of sensitivity to the 9/11 victims.

MY REVIEW: ****

The last book I picked up was Blue Heaven by C.J. Box. I needed it for the flight home since I finished Black Sunday much sooner than I thought I would. I was drawn to this one because I saw it won an Edgar Award for best novel (2009). The Edgar is the Oscar-equivalent for mystery novels, so if you see it on a book, it's usually going to be a good one.

In this one, two kids witness four men commit a murder in the rural Idaho woods. Although spotted, they manage to escape. Unfortunately, the killers are ex-cops from Los Angeles, and when the kids go missing, they easily convince the local Sheriff to let them lead the search.

The kids are eventually found by Jess Rawlings, an aging rancher whose property is about to be foreclosed. He takes them in, believes their claims about witnessing a murder (despite no body being found), and decides not to report them until he can figure out what to do.

This one didn't work for me. Although it was certainly plausible that he wouldn't go into town because of the Sheriff being compromised; I could not figure out why Jess wouldn't just pile the kids into the car and drive 100 miles away to another police force. Or why not go directly to the press and turn the kids in live on TV?

It was also 50 pages too long. And it wasn't much of a mystery. It had a good premise, and it could have been great, but it wasn't. Certainly not worthy of the Edgar Award.

MY REVIEW: **

I am currently reading Columbine by Dave Cullen. I think this one is going to be a great one. And on a side note, I think I took a great roll of film in Phoenix, and am hoping to post it soon.

MOVIE REVIEWS: IRON MAN 2 & OCEANS

Today, Jen and I took got together with some friends and saw Iron Man 2 at the old Vista Theatre in Los Feliz; sold out show. On the way in, my brother Alex called me and said that he had heard it was a "buck full of sucks." I would disagree with that critique.

Was it as good as the first one? No. Why not, you may ask? For starters, it didn't have enough Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). The film got a little too carried away with the side characters, namely whoever the hell Scarlett Johannson is supposed to be and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Now I enjoy comic books, but apparently not enough to know who these characters are, what their back story is, and how they're relative to the plot. They ate up a lot of screen time where there could be more character development for Mr. Stark; played quite well again by Robert Downey, Jr.

And this one did seem a little bit more absurd than the first one. Specifically, Mickey Rourke's scream of anguish over what will become the driving force of his villainous tendencies seemed especially funny. But for the most part it was only a quick moment or two. The original Iron Man had a great story about a narcissistic corporate weapons manufacturer having to look at himself in the mirror, and the metamorphosis that follows. Tony Starks' struggle in this film is much more physical, but I will not give away details.

But I DID like all the spectacle. Big action sequences, a first rate cast, and a fun premise make this film a quality summer film. "A buck full of sucks." Come on; that insult deserves to be thrown at the likes of Volcano and Godzilla (the one from the 90's).

My rating: Just under *** (putting it at good, but not great)

-----------------------------------

Now Disney's OCEANS, on the other hand, was a great movie. Over five years in the making, it provides a level of intimacy with oceans and their inhabitants that makes it much more than just "a nature documentary." It is an experience.

Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, it goes all over the globe showcasing marine life that simply must be viewed on the big screen for full appreciation. One stunning sequence, near the beginning, shows an iguana scavenging for food. After it's catch is complete, it rests on a rock on shore. In the distance a massive rocket blasts off into space, and the picture captures the reflection in the iguana's eye. The camera holds on the iguana's face of awe, and you can almost sense it's feeling that it is facing a force it can not possibly comprehend: us.

This is the sophomore effort of the company's newly launched imprint, DisneyNature. The first, Earth, was criticized for simply containing a lot of footage from Planet Earth. Not here. This is almost entirely new footage, and it without question the most comprehensive study of life under the sea. Catch it on the big screen!

My rating: **** (Greatness)

Oceans is the second film from DisneyNature.

It was unclear if additional productions would

be released, but their next film, African Cats,

has been announced for a 2011 release.

Waterfalls...

A few weeks ago, Jen and I decided to go to Eaton Canyon in Alta Dena (near Pasadena) and seek out the waterfalls that is hidden deep within. This was supposedly one of the bigger falls in L.A. county, but the website made it sound like it wasn't too difficult to get to.

They lied. It was way more than the 1.5 mile hike they outlined. The trail had plenty of climbing, and never ending river crossings. Not knowing that, we lacked the proper footwear and we're setting ourselves up for disaster.

And that's exactly what happened. We were sooo close. The waterfalls was IN VIEW, when Jen slipped on a rock in the river and sprained her ankle pretty severely. She trooped it through to the waterfall for a picture, but after than she had no choice but to walk on it all the way back to the car. Go figure, the one time we try to unglue ourselves from the couch, and this is what happens.


Still, it was a gorgeous waterfall. Enjoy the video (though I don't know why we turned the camera sideways).

Lights Interview at Club Nokia

I have been VERY bad about keeping current here, but I have been very busy. A while back, I was hired by Channel M to provide sound for an interview. The gig was at Club Nokia in downtown LA, where Pee-Wee Hermann had recently done a month of shows for his comeback.

Traffic was remarkably light, so I was the first person to arrive. The concert that evening was for OWL CITY, a rising synth teen bop musician. His back-up artist, our subject, was named Lights. I'm not kidding, she legally changed her name to Lights.

The interview was in the VIP room, but we were unfortunately scheduled right in the middle of the sound check. Not good for audio, but then again, it never is, because no one EVER thinks of sound when making "pictures."

Our director was Alec, who was unceremoniously removed from our last production (see the Milk Studios post). Today would be something of a repeat of last production's problems, but the source would be from the P.A. It turns out, that while looking for Lights' tour manager, the P.A. accidentally spoke to the talent themselves. This is a big no-no in Hollywood, and the tour manager was pretty pissy about it.

So pissy, in fact, that she took calls during the interview and walked loudly in high heels; further dirtying up the soundtrack. The director and I looked at each other with a "nevermind, play-it-cool" look. We had both been here before, and we knew the plan without speaking. We would wait for the tour manager to leave, then simply ask the question again. The talent was young, and definitely had the energy to do it twice.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The P.A. motioned the tour manager for quiet, which further angered her and she left the room. We knew we had a serious problem now. She wanted to rush her talent out, and the P.A. was once again sent to fix the problem. Normally, we would send a different one since the manager was already pissed off, but this was a small crew and he was our only P.A. I was really starting to feel for him.

The DJ equipment from the Club Nokia VIP room.

The two modules with the circles are for digitally

"scratching" a CD or digital music file; taking the place

of a traditional turntable. The vertical faders

in the middle adjust the volume of the

respective instrument, and the horizontal fader

switches between the two.

The tour manager pretty much ripped him to shreds. He came back to the location, and told the director, "we have a serious problem" in front of the talent. This is the second big no-no of film production: never discuss ANYTHING in front of the talent. Now the talent perks up and wants to know what's going on, and the tour manager is looking for any break she can to whisk her talent out of the interview. Luckily, we were able to finish the interview without any of that happening.

The P.A. then got a "light spanking" from the director, but we had to move on to our next set-ups. We were still slated to shoot the sound test, her concert set, and if time permitted, Owl City's set. This meant that I had to haul ass down to the stage and get tapped in to the sound board where the roadie's were.

Or not. The tour manager went to Club Nokia's office and asked about our permits. It turns out Channel M only had clearances to shoot in the VIP room, for the interview only. At this point, security notified us that we would have to wrap our gear and leave immediately. This was good for the crew, since we get paid a flat rate, and our day was now going to be a whole lot shorter, but it's bad for the production.

Again, this probably would not have happened if the tour manager wasn't such a bitch. Concert halls are super busy before a show, so chances are we would have gone through undetected if it weren't for someone making an issue over it. Permits can be very expensive, and small productions often don't secure them and take the risk. If you pull it off, you save thousands of dollars. But if you don't, you will not get the footage you need, which can cost you jobs, and even lead to arrest or having your equipment confiscated.

Still, it was an interesting shoot. The piece was shot on a Canon 7D Digital Camera, which is a normal photographic camera set to video mode. It is rapidly replacing the Sony HVX-200 as the camera for new media content, such as this one. As an added benefit, production must use the sound off of my dedicated recorder, because the camera does not have the proper hardware to send a feed directly into camera.

Since then, I have been hired by Channel M to cover the B-Boys from STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (Riverside, CA) and for an interview with Free Runners (UCLA). Free Runners are acrobatic stuntmen, the most famous being the guy from the opening chase sequence of Casino Royale. I absolutely love working for them, and I wish I could share more stories, but I have been very bad about bringing a camera to set! Until next time...

Renato Moore shoots the interview with the Canon 7D.

The camera is set to video mode, and uses it's own

lens to create stunning H-D footage.

Mom's Visit...

Let's take a break from film and talk about more important things: family. My Mother flew in for the weekend and had a wonderful time. If memory serves me correctly, she has not visited LA since my graduation in 2007, so after much pressure and pointing out how many times I have gone to Phoenix, I got her to come out.

Mom at the Korean Friendship Bell in Ft. MacArthur in

San Pedro.

She arrived earlier than I thought in Burbank, so I got to leave work early (darn!). We came back home and she finally got to see where I call home. I cooked pork chops with spuds n' carrots, and served 'em up with cottage cheese, bread, and apple sauce. Delicious dinner.

After, on a whim, she decided she wanted to see just a little of LA on her first night. Apparently her nausea from her vomitous flight in had subsided. I did her one better and showed her the whole city.

We drove up to the Griffith Observatory, which is up there right by the Hollywood sign. You may know this place as where James Dean has the class field trip in Rebel Without a Cause. It was an unusually clear night and we could see all the way to Long Beach, including Catalina Island. Unfortunately, it was too dark to take a picture, so the memory will have to do.

Mom and I at the Pacific in San Pedro.

On day 2, we rose early and I took Mom to get the Dairy way out in Montebello. It's farmer fresh and much cheaper than the grocery store; despite the distance. We got back home within an hour and made a huge breakfast.

Mom was starting to get a little freaked out by the city and wanted to see "beautiful California." So I took her North to Lake Elizabeth. I had been on a shoot there some time ago and had been meaning to go back. What was truly shocking was that I remembered how to get there by memory.

When we arrived, I took some pictures on my large format camera and enjoyed the scenery for a while. Then we went to the Rock Inn and had a very greasy lunch. Before leaving, I noticed they had an Addams Family pinball machine in the corner, so I hit that up and finally got my pinball fix. We drove back and I developed the negatives while my Mom read. We turned in relatively early.

On Sunday, Mom's last day in town, she was starting to get kind of tired and wanted to vegetate. But she hadn't seen the Ocean yet so I said, "no way." I drove her down to San Pedro, which is just next to Long Beach, to Fort MacArthur. The view is truly stunning, and I took some more pictures on 35mm; this time with a near-infrared film stock called Ilford SFX. It gives you that somewhat dreamy quality you're seeing with the pictures on this post. Unfortunately, they don't scan very well so this really isn't doing them justice.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge.

There was also an NA meeting happening at the park, and Mom stopped to listen in for a minute. So no matter where she's at, if it's Sunday, she will find a meeting. That's all there is to it. After that, we headed to the Port of Los Angeles, right under the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

The main point was for me to photograph the bridge, but we also stopped to admire the trolley that services the port (though we did not ride it) and look at the enormous cruise ships that were docked there.

Me in front of the Sea Princess at the Port of Los Angeles

We were about to pack it in when Mom noticed the SS Lane Victory, a navy vessel that was docked literally right under the bridge. We realized it was a museum, so we paid the admission and hopped aboard.

Needless to say, memories of Wampa immediately took hold, especially when we found the companies' piano near the radio room. It was quite something to see how these sailors must have lived. The quarters were quite cramped, and the boat could be a bit difficult to get your bearings on. But there was also an incredible freedom to it as well. Just you, the boat, and the Ocean.

I snapped a bunch of pictures before joining Mom starboard. It was about Mid-afternoon and we had to get back to my place in North Hollywood. On the way back, we saw a near-fatal car accident, and judging by the look on Mom's face, I think she had enough of the Los Angeles freeway.

Mom on the S.S. Lane Victory.

Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.

On the way back, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant called El Torito in Burbank. It was right across the street from NBC studios where the Tonight Show with Jay Leno is taped. We stuffed ourselves silly, then headed back to my place.

Mom finished up the book she was reading and then I took her back to the airport. We said our good-byes and discreetly gave ourselves the family "shalom." The weekend really flew by, but I was glad she got to see a lot more of LA then just concrete. In fact, we didn't watch a single movie, didn't go to Hollywood, and watched all of maybe 60 minutes of TV. There's a lot more to life than all the distractions that seem to dominate our daily existence. It's definitely hard to live so far from family, but we definitely made the most out of it while we were together.

Captain's Quarters

S.S. Lane Victory

Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, CA

MOVIE REVIEW: GREEN ZONE

Jen got the hook-up for a free showing of this movie from the Producer's Guild of America. The screening was last Friday night at the WGA theatre in Beverly Hills and it was shown on 35mm. I'll just come right out and say it: This is a great movie. Much better than I thought it would be.

Green Zone takes place in 2003 in Iraq. The USA has just invaded, and Chief Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is in charge of a group of soldiers who have been dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction.

As we now know, there weren't any. This movie makes a point that a lot of soldiers fought and died to secure weapons that didn't exist from bad intelligence. Miller begins to question who's providing this intelligence and why this person should be trusted after providing three bogus locations.

As the picture goes on, Miller finds himself in the middle of a military campaign quickly going to hell as the U.S. government makes a series of pivotal mistakes that puts him in grave danger. This is a thriller with a lot of brains, and I was really impressed with how good the plot was. Honestly, I was expecting more of an action film.

That's not to say the flick is short on that. It starts off with a big battle, and ends in a chase scene that as good as I've ever seen at the movies. Add to the mix one brutal villain in the form of a Special Forces Op with a license to kill (Jason Isaacs), and this one's a winner.

Unfortunately, the film is seriously under-performing at the box office. It is being labeled as left-wing and Un-American . I say B.S. to that; putting our soldiers in harms way without reliable intelligence is Un-American. This film made valid points about those first days in Iraq, how we lacked a cynical press to cover it, and what the effects were on the ground troops who had to carry out dangerous missions based on "bad intelligence."

My rating: """"

IT'S ALIVE!!!

Over the past few months, Jen and I have been ever more serious about getting in to post-production sound. Up until now, I've worked exclusively as a production sound mixer. In that role, it is my job to record good sound on set, as it occurs. Basically, that means getting clean dialogue.

A post-sound mixer is the person who would take my audio and go to town on it. First, they would repair any problems from the original audio, such as clicks, pops, spit, etc. Then they would EQ out any unwanted ambience like hum, echo, and reverb. If the dialogue is completely unusable, the actor would need to come back and record their lines again, in sync to picture. This is called ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement). This is to be avoided if at all possible, since it requires hiring an operator and paying the actor again.

After that, they do the fun part of making the sound sexy. Adding footsteps, punches, artificial ambeince, gunshots, explosions, gore, music cues, you name it. This is a painstaking process that can take months depending on the size of the film and the unique problems of the production. All of this is done digitally with a program called PRO TOOLS. It's very complicated, but the picture below shows you what a typical project looks like.

Notice that the image is on the top line. Underneath

are the various soundtracks. Other windows are

plug-ins that process the audio for a desired effect.

This is definitely Jen's dream more than mine. But I have found myself more and more interested in it lately. So much so, that I'm starting a studio with my tax return and some money I've been saving. This way, we can have both sides of the sound coin. I got a BIG head start when Columbia gave me a Digi 002 console. It's a digital mixer that interfaces with the program to make sound editing much easier. Very expensive piece of equipment that I won't have to pay for, so the studio will definitely be a contender when it's done.

The glorious Digi 002 mixing console.

List Price: $2,250. My Price: $0.00

To prepare for what will hopefully become a career, we have audited a class at Columbia for no charge (a perk for alumni). Our Litmus Test is a short film called "Dead Dog" that our friend Josh made but never finished due to bad audio. Significant improvements have already been made, but we have a long way to go.

Unfortunately, I'm forced to use an old version of the program on my laptop with the Digi 002 rack I got from Columbia. My computer simply can not handle what is necessary, and it will crash quite often. Still, Rome wasn't built in a day. And it's pretty freakin' incredible when you consider how sound used to be done: in a giant lab with lots of reels.