People Who Make Me Smile #2

Now I know it's not cool no more! But again this entry is a photography thing, this time it's linked with a fad that came and went with the ferocity of a storm (casualties included). I'm talking planking, the buffoon sport that suited Australia's knock about, larikin sensibilities to a tee. Read into that, what you like.
But specifically it's about a duet from Taiwan who have taken the game of lying down to the next level, playing it with consummate passion but what separates them out and makes me smile is the attention to the photography. Shots are very beautiful, well composed, exposed, focused etc etc even without the planking element.

The Pujie Girls

"Pujie Girls literally translates to “falling on the street” in Mandarin, the name is also a pun on the Cantonese curse “Puk Gai” which means “may you drop dead”. 

Check out some more photos on their blog

 Hats off I say, Hoorah for the PKGirls

FAFFed around on the Docklands

FAFF trailer/promo shoot
Fantastic Asia Film Festival

Role Call:
Jenifer, Takako, Stephanie, Natasha, Susan, Cici, Hee, Vi and Chris
Crew Call:
James B, James H, Matt P, Matt R, Josh, Chrisi, Paulini, Brooke

Arrival at 0900 for most down at the Docks setting up shop. 3 x make up stations and wardrobe
Vi and Takako were first up on Camera A for some stop mo blur shots.  Head and shoulder shots taken with a 1/2 to 1/4 sec shutter speed with deliberate movement to create a blurred frame. 750 + frames.
So for those inside the frame there is a lot of repetitious movement of the head from side to side and so on but the results were fantastic and quite spooky. When the body and shoulders were static the effect worked the strongest. Between James and the guys they produced the footage exactly how it was imagined. Success!

Takako about to become a human dragon fly

Meanwhile On Camera B Jenifer was doing a walk to camera in a cosplay costume dubbed the leather suit The idea here being that when she reaches camera she stops, then closes her eyes. She has a 2nd pair of eyes painted on her eyelids. Spooky!! We didn't really nail this concept for a number of reasons but essentially the eyes were not effective. Must give more notice!

After that it was Hee, Vi and Cici to film their personal reviews of some films they had seen. This was an idea from Neil to have people ranting on about their favourite scenes from an Asian Genre Film. They just keep going on and on. In the promo the camera will slowly move in on them until the audio is just faded out and the Logo comes up.

Have I shown you the Logo? Well here it is

Inaugural Festival Logo

Fantastic Asia Film Festival

The trailer shoot last Thursday....done and very very successful. We got a wealth of material sitting in the edit suite just waiting to be polished and finished and then posted. Apparently the 1st trailer (graphic based homage to Gasper Noe's Enter the Void) is triggering epileptic fits, from its rapid cuts, at the Nova. Yet to see it on the big screen myself but it is working a treat.
Just thought I'd give you a BTS of the trailer shoot and post some stills.
A big thanks to all involved on the day, it was ambitious and smooth.

Stephanie, Takako, Susan and James. Setting up for Trad Dress Stop Mo.

A more formal pose. James, Takako, Susan, Stephanie

This was just one of many ideas. Move a bit, pose, SNAP! Move a bit, pose, SNAP! etc etc
Very methodical and laborious but the results are very colourful and a lot of fun.

This one was a walk to camera with a whole lot of attitude. It's on a long lens so begins out of focus out then Jenifer walked into crisp focus when the frame was a close up.

Jenifer, after she 'owned' the walk to camera

Jenifer was in 3 looks for the day, here she is in Traditional Chinese Dress for a potential FAFF poster (unofficial at this stage)

more later.

수요일

Hot Bikers damn damn damn I mean Hot Bikes!

from the Burning Man, that's all I know?

TOMORROW IS RIDE TO WORK DAY?....WELL?

FAFFing around

Currently helping out on an upcoming Melbourne film festival called the Fantastic Asian Film Festival but you can call me FAFF. It is being put together by the people at Monster Pictures and will be twenty or so genre films sourced from Asia to be screened at Cinema Nova (Carlton) in mid- November. Top of the list for me is Sion Sono's Guilty of Romance (see past blog post) but that is just the start. The Yellow Sea from Korea is an absolute cracker, it's about a cab driver but it is so much more than taxis. There are some whacky ones like Helldriver (trailer) and Yakuza Weapon (trailer) and some pink ones like Erotibot and Sex & Zen 3-D (trailer). The films are coming from China, Japan, Korea and even a couple from the Philippines, the majority of the films are yet to be released in Australia. Check the FAFF website for programing details (although at the time of posting the website was still work in progress.)

So my involvement to date has been on the cinema trailer front. This is a multi pronged affair, we pumped out a quick one that was completely graphic based in vein of Gasper Noe's Enter the Void opening title sequence. Maybe a rip off, surely a homage and definitely appropriation.
Check it here FAFF Trailer 1

The second front of attack is to cut a live action trailer or trailers. This is a little more challenging because of the wealth of material that is to be condensed into 15 and 30sec slots. Shit!
They are currently being cut as we speak.

The third prong is to shoot some vignettes/promo's/trailers, again they will be 15 & 30sec but with real live people shot by ourselves. This is probably the most exciting. theshoot is planned for next thursday and a small team of production people is being amassed along with a number of actors/models. We are going to shoot down at the Docklands (my Spiritual home :P ) and we are going to employ some in-camera special effects techniques. It should be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to the results.
Will keep you posted.

This won't be shown, but Guilty of Romance will be

People Who Make Me Smile #1

YowaYowa camera girl (japanese for weak/feeble) hahahaha
Natsumi Hayashi, Tokyo Photographer, or as I refer to her: The Girl Who Floats.

Natsumi Hayashi (right) floating through life, here with an accomplice

I used to work with a man who floats. Hal McElroy, he is a legendary heavyweight in the Australian Film & TV Industry. I was working on Blue Heelers at the time and he was the Executive Producer.
He was the man who floats because when he walked into the room it was like he glided, like he was floating. He was magic! Everything that Hal touched turned to GOLD.

But although I admire him, he is not a person who makes me smile. However, for the record, he worked on 'The Cars That Ate Paris' (Peter Weir's 1st Feature) and that does make me smile, in fact I have credit envy with that one.

Natsumi makes me smile, well her photographs do. She specialises in self portrait levitation photographs (no special effects). She describes her techniques on the website. Pretty much every one that I look at makes me smile. One other thing she photographs are her cats and they make me smile too. I posted a video response to her photographs at the start of this financial year. She has inspired me along with Baes Pascal to venture down the path of Human Stop Motion Animation. James & I thought it would be nice to say thank you.
Hats off to Natsumi, a fine photographer, a woman that floats and a person who makes me smile

amazing levitation photography