Black book knocked up.

Watched two very entertaining flicks on DVD over the weekend...

Black Book is an old-fashioned action/adventure war movie with a healthy amount of sex and graphic violence thrown in for good measure. The plot is a bit convoluted, but this movie feels a lot tighter than its two hour and 25 minute running time.

Knocked Up isn't quite as funny as Superbad, but there's no shame in that. Be sure and check out Jonah Hill's pro-gay-sex Brokeback Mountain rant in the deleted scenes.

"Other Worlds Than These" episode 005.

005: Engadget.

I love that filmmaking involves all kinds of neat gadgets. Sure, some of them cost more than your car, but they're awfully fun to play with.

I'm an amateur gadget connoisseur compared to the guys at Engadget.com. Though the site is more gadget-centric than film-centric, they cover a lot of equipment of interest to filmmakers, from video cameras to high-def DVD players to obscure cheapo portable media players imported from China.

And I mean cover. The Engadget crew seems to post news items non-stop, especially on weekdays. I tend to hit the site a few times a day when I'm online, and I usually find a new story of interest each visit.

Another cool thing about the site -- it's mobile-device-friendly, in case you need up-to-the-minute gadget news when you're on the road.

Busy weekend.

It was a busy weekend. John, Chuck, Stacey, and I attended sometime Interplanetary cinematographer Jimbo Roberson's wedding on Saturday. Then we went back down to DeSoto to do some more in-cave filming.

I don't have any wedding photos handy, but here are a few stills that Michael shot from the first DeSoto weekend...

"Things..." episode 005.

005: Get it in writing. No. Really.

I'm including this for my own benefit as much as yours. If you're shooting on location, and it's a location you don't own, get the appropriate paperwork signed up front. Here's an example of a location release, though you should consult with a lawyer (not a filmmaker with a blog) when it comes to this sort of stuff.

As many times as I've been told "get it in writing," and as many times as I've passed that advice on to other filmmakers, I find myself not getting it in writing all the time. And, almost every time, it ends up biting me on the ass one way or another. Even if the person in charge of the location says "no problem." Even if the person in charge of the location is your best friend. Settle on all the details of the shoot (especially the date, duration, and price) up front, on paper, and save yourself a lot of heartache.

"Other Worlds Than These" episode 004.

004: Hearts of Darkness.

I probably shouldn't mention Hearts of Darkness, a documentary about the making of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, because it's so hard to find. It's never been released on DVD, and it's out-of-print on other home video formats. I only got to see it because Stacey got me a used Laserdisc copy for Christmas last year.

But I have to mention Hearts of Darkness because it is awesome. I think it's as compelling and entertaining as Apocalypse Now. I'm not going to try to write an in-depth review (Ebert's more eloquent than me anyway), but I will say it's required viewing for anyone interested in the filmmaking process. I would never endorse the purchase of a bootleg movie, but... well, by hook or by crook, you need to get your eyes on Hearts.

One more thing for the filmmakers out there. After watching Hearts of Darkness, no matter how rough of a day of filming you might be having, you'll at least be able to say, "Well... it could be worse."

"Things..." episode 004.

004: Insure a shoot.

It was bound to happen eventually. I asked for permission to shoot at a location. The people in charge of that location said, "sure, you just need a million dollars of liability insurance."

A little web research revealed...

1. A liability insurance policy for ten days of low-budget filming only costs five hundred dollars.
2. That policy will not cover real guns and blank ammunition.

Crap.

I could have asked the price of big-budget filming insurance, but I figured that would open a whole 'nother can of worms. We'll just work around any real gunplay while we're shooting insured.

The low-budget policies I looked at also exclude stunts and pyrotechnics. So if you're looking to insure a movie shoot, plan accordingly. If you're ready to start shopping for a policy for your project, check out CSI Entertainment and Film Emporium.

Touch. Me, I'm sick.

I got my iPod Touch last week, and it's a great little machine. I used it to show off the "non-trailer" for Interplanetary at the Sidewalk fest over the weekend.

I also got sick at Sidewalk. Probably something to do with too much socializing and not enough sleeping. So, yes, it was a fun festival.

EDIT: Link changed to reflect new server address (2008-Oct-01).

EDIT: Link changed when QuickTime "non-trailer" file moved to a different server (2007-Dec-31).