"Transformers 2" and the Tomatometer

photo credit: michaelbay.com
read about what these two are discussing here

Update, January 11, 2009 - "Avatar" has surpassed "Transformers 2." Read more here.

Happy end-of-2009! 2009 will be remembered as the year we saw "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" earn $402 million at the North American box office (and $834 million globally)!

Putting those $402 million into context: "Transformers 2" was the highest grossing film of the year! And it wasn't even close! The #2 grosser was "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," with over $100 million less in earnings!

I thought it would be fun to chart the box office champions of the last 29 years against their Tomatometer rating, an aggregate of the critical consensus of the film! So I did it! And, boy, it was fun!

sources: Box Office Mojo and Rotten Tomatoes

Wow! That's enlightening! An updated chart is here.

(Why all the exclamation points, you ask? Obviously, this post was meant to be a reflection of the spirit of "Transformers 2," which is the cinematic equivalent of an exclamation point!)

Expectation vs. Reality

The Cinematography of "Let The Right One In," Part 2

In Part 1, we looked at cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema's geometric motifs in "Let The Right One In." In this post, we look at some simply cool images from the film.

Images may contain minor spoilers.

The List of 15, 82nd Academy Awards

The visual effects branch of the Academy have announced their 'list of 15' films, considered semifinalists in the race for the Oscar nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards, as determined by the branch's Executive Committee:

• Angels & Demons
• Avatar
• Coraline
• Disney’s A Christmas Carol
• District 9
• G-Force
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Sherlock Holmes
• Star Trek
• Terminator Salvation
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• 2012
• Watchmen
• Where the Wild Things Are

The visual effects branch's Executive Committee will then whittle this list down to seven films in the next few weeks, which will be featured at the bake-off (to take place on January 21, 2010) where each of the seven films presents a 15 minute reel of their finished work, and takes questions from the entire visual effects branch. The entire branch then votes for their top three choices, which ultimately determine the three Academy Award nominees for Best Visual Effects. The nominees for all categories will be announced on February 2, 2010. The entire Academy membership then votes on the winner.

I'm very proud to have contributed to the visual effects for three films on this list: "Star Trek," "Avatar" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," while at Industrial Light & Magic.

My prediction for the final seven films: "Avatar," "District 9," "G.I. Joe," "Harry Potter," "Star Trek," "Transformers 2" and "2012." Stay tuned!

James Cameron's "Avatar" Trailer

Yeah, it's a few weeks late, but I've been a bit busy finishing a film. On an unrelated note, the final trailer for James Cameron's "Avatar" is out in the world, and the Randomizer 2009™ software was cranked into overdrive and selected two images from the trailer.

Hey, didn't this shot look a little different in the teaser?

View the trailer here.

The Cinematography of "Let The Right One In," Part 1

Illustrating a visual motif without being overt and obvious is not a simple task. Director Tomas Alfredson and his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema achieve this delicate balance in "Let The Right One In," the excellent Swedish thriller from 2008.

We'll present two posts on the cinematography of "Let The Right One In." In this post, we'll examine the geometric shapes formed within the images, and illustrating how the camerawork and production design work together to give the film a distinctive look. In the second post, we'll feature a few, simply cool images.

Hoytema frequently frames his shots with long lenses, allowing vertical and horizontal lines to remain parallel to the edges of the frame, giving the feeling of the shapes within the frame existing as subsets of the theater screen. Contrast this with, say, the wide-angle photography of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" (which we examined here: "Converging Lines and 'The Dark Knight'"). The production design and cinematography of "The Dark Knight" worked together to impart a sense of dread, a feeling of the decaying world collapsing around the characters. In addition, "The Dark Knight" was filmed with anamorphic lenses, which bow and bend straight lines giving even long lens shots a fish eye, distorted and abstract feel, while Hoytema chose to film "Let The Right One In" with spherical lenses (in Super35 for a 2.35 to 1 composition), minimizing distortion. Hoytema's images have straight lines that are parallel to the edges of the frame, emphasizing, coldness and geometric precision.

Alfredson, Hoytema and production designer Eva Noren use everyday objects to highlight this geometric precision. The window frames of Oskar's apartment building is used to great effect, along with the tiny jungle gym in the building's snowy yard (where we meet the mysterious Eli for the first time). Even props like the Rubik's Cube Oskar gives to Eli help drive home the visual theme.

For "Let The Right One In," the use of long lenses significantly reduces the impact of converging lines; wide lenses exaggerate perspective, while longer lenses compress perspective. When a zoom lens is framed on characters, it isolates and focuses the subject. Using longer lenses also exaggerates and enhances the feeling depth of field, so extreme foregrounds and backgrounds drift in and out of focus, further isolating our characters.

American Cinematographer Online has a short article about the film here, called "An Unusual Romance," from December 2008.

Images may contain minor spoilers.

In Part 2, we'll look at some simply cool images from the film. Go to Part 2.

Twins on TV!

Holy cow - my sister is on the television!

I wrote about her before, when her book debuted a few weeks ago. Well, were she is, promoting her book "Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool" on WGN News with Allison Payne.

Way to go, Shelly!

Twins!

Do you know someone with young twins? Or is expecting twins? Is that someone you? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have to buy this book.

My sister, my amazing little sister, wrote a book called "Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool." She's a mother of four and a brilliant pediatrician, and offers a unique insight into raising twins.

The book is published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which kinda indicates that she knows what she's talking about. She even has a blog called "A Pediatrician Mom of Twins," which features even more advice on having fun with your twins, and also features some of her mentions and interviews in, you know, obscure outlets like The New York Times.

I am so incredibly proud of my sister. You go, girl, indeed.

From the Amazon.com page:
About the Author: Shelly Vaziri Flais, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the mother of four children, including a set of twins. She has contributed to Chicago Parent, Healthy Children, and Twins magazines.

James Cameron's "Avatar" Teaser

update: Please read the new FXRant post, "'Avatar' and ILM" to learn more about ILM's work on the film.

Looking back at the last few posts, it seems like I nearly leapfrogged over an entire production on which I worked. It's almost as if "Transformers 2" didn't even happen, as if it is being erased from our collective consciousness. Huh. Imagine that.

Anywhoo, the highly anticipated teaser for James Cameron's "Avatar" is now available online. And the image above was chosen by the Randomizer 2009™ software, featuring ArbitraryBoost 3.0.

View the teaser here.

Because Editing Is Fun

Harrison Ford keeps losing his family.

This is the Sports Report!

Here are some cleverly edited clips from "The Colbert Report," with Stephen air-guitaring the 'extreme' theme of the Sports Report. And I say 'cleverly,' because I did it.

Colbert Character Breaks

Here are two amazing fan-made videos of Stephen Colbert breaking character. Serious kudos go out to these obsessive fans who cut the videos together.

Character Break Compilation by Di_br

These videos are courtesy of the No Fact Zone, the amazing Stephen Colbert fan site.

Camera Confusion

From "The Colbert Report," June 2, 2009. During the opening segment, the camera does an inadvertent cut, briefly taking Stephen by surprise. Ostensibly remaining in character, Stephen gives an honest and hilarious reaction. I just love Stephen's complete mastery and control over his face, and how he can change his entire screen presence with relative ease. I also admire Stephen's ability to move the show forward with nary a pause, as well as the producers' choice to keep the minor glitch in the show (rather than edit around it, or reshoot the segment).

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A Summer of Sequels

Two summers ago, I wrote about a Pixar film standing tall as the only major summer studio feature that was wholly original. In Wonder Takes Time, we marveled at Pixar's genuine intent on giving the marketplace of ideas fresh stories. Among sequels ("Pirates 3," "Spider-Man 3," "Shrek 3") and based-on-toy-films, television shows, and reboots ("Transformers," "The Simpsons Movie," "Halloween"), Brad Bird's "Ratatouille" stood alone as the unique entry of the summer.

Well, here we are again, in the summer of 2009, where Pixar has the lone wholly original film of the summer. Pete Docter's "Up," which opens May 29, and is a (gasp!) original screenplay, goes up against these summer films:

• Fast and Furious (sequel)
  
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (sequel)
  
• Star Trek (reboot/sequel)
  
• Angels and Demons (sequel/based on novel)
  
• Land of the Lost (based on television show)
  
• Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian (sequel)
  
• Terminator: Salvation (sequel)
  
• The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (remake)
  
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (sequel/based on toy)
  
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (sequel)
  
• Bruno (based on television character)
  
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (sequel/based on novel)
  
• Julie and Julia (based on article)
  
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (based on television show)
  
• The Final Destination (sequel)
  
• H2 - Halloween 2 (sequel of a remake)

Post Magazine: "Star Trek" Returns

Post Magazine's cover story is all about ILM's visual effects for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek." The article, written by Ken McGorry, touches on some of the major challenges behind our visual effects.

The article includes mentions and quotes from visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett, co-supervisor Russell Earl, animation supervisor Paul Kavanagh, digital production supervisor Michael DiComo, CG supervisor Tom Fejes, compositing supervisor Eddie Pasquarello, paint supervisor Beth D'Amato, and sequence supervisors Greg Salter, Mark Nettleton, David Weitzberg, Raul Essig, Conny Fauser, Jay Cooper, Francois Lambert, and Todd Vaziri.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

J.J. Abrams and DP Daniel Mindel shot Star Trek with an anamorphic lens... and if there's the sun or a star in the corner of a synthetic ILM shot — or when the Enterprise passes in a beauty shot and its lights strike the virtual lens — the compositors have to replicate all the complexities of light dancing across such a lens. "There are all these different layers to the lens flare that we have to replicate digitally," DiComo says.

ILM's Todd Vaziri analyzed what anamorphic lenses do and all their different properties so they could be used in simulated shots and they call the resulting program "Sunspot." Vaziri was a sequence supervisor whose job was to overlook all the sequences and make sure that ILM's shots were "correct to the film" — that they matched. "He takes great, great pains and it shows," says [compositing supervisor Eddie] Pasquarello. "That was one of our compositing coups that I feel made a difference here — finishing touches that help our shots blend with the live action that J.J. gave us."

Click here to see the full credits for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek."