It was a genuine blast to discuss one of my favorite sci-fi movies of the last two decades on the Dune Pod Podcast.
My friend and ILM collaborator Lorelei David, Matt Haitch, Jason Goldman and I talk about "Edge of Tomorrow" (2014). We talk about Tom Cruise' charisma, Emily Blunt's amazing performance, the editing and visual effects, and much much more.
Listen to Dune Pod on Apple Podcasts, or Overcast.
Update: Dune Pod is now Excape Hatch! Direct link to the episode.
It's time for the Awesomest Oscar Pool Ballot In The History Of Oscar Pool Ballots.
Every year I create a special ballot based on a typical Academy Awards printable ballot -- but on my ballot, each category has a different point value. The highest valued category is "Best Picture," while the mainstream films' categories are valued at two points. The non-mainstream categories (like the documentary and short film categories) are valued at one point.
Twin Pines Mall became Lone Pine Mall after Marty changed the future in “Back to the Future” (1985). Is that an Easter Egg or a Thing in the Movie? Let’s find out!
To me, an Easter egg is a fun gag referencing something that doesn't require full audience understanding to decode the character or plot point. For example, the Harold Lloyd "Safety Last!" clock operates as both an Easter egg and a setup+payoff gag.
An absolutely beautiful piece of video went viral - the stunning drone footage of Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater shot by Jay Christensen is wonderful and has been showered with praise on social media.
In visual effects, we constantly bump up against an uncanny valley of sorts when it comes to camera moves. Over the decades, audiences have become completely aware of dolly camera moves, tracking shots, steadicam, hand-held, big booming crane shots, and have integrated these moves (either consciously or unconsciously) into their cinematic vocabulary. These types of camera moves "make sense" to audiences, and therefore "feel honest". Sometimes, artists and directors who create live-action scenes rendered entirely in computer graphics go too far with their camera moves (twisting, twirling, speeding up and slowing down with magical precision), creating camera paths that are literally unachievable in the real world, forcing audiences to consciously or unconsciously reject them as "dishonest". We sometimes refer to unrealistic synthetic camera moves as "cameras of God", as in God is the only camera operator who could achieve this kind of move.
When new camera techniques become ubiquitous, audiences will accept them as "honest" and consider it part of the vocabulary.
This kind of wonderful photographic innovation adds to the language and vocabulary of cinema. Just beautiful. https://t.co/HZU8ls3kiK
— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) March 9, 2021
That's what I was trying to get across in my hastily written tweet - that this drone shot, captured in-camera, could signify the addition of these types of authentic live-action camera moves into our cinematic vernacular.
I was very surprised to see The New York Times' writeup of the drone shot and its reaction from Hollywood filmmakers.
Thank you to everyone over at WIRED for inviting me to be a part of the program.
Here are some "show notes":
More to come.
And now, here are two things I got wrong in the video.
