November 16, 2007

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                                       The Best "Making of..........."

  If you want to be inspired as a writer, director, or producer, even a writer of books, watch these three documentaries:

   

  "The Making of Psycho"

   

  "The Making of TheTreasure of Sierra Madre"

   

  "The Making of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"

   

  Also the John Frankenheimer commentaries on:

   

  The Manchurian Candidate

  The Train

  Seconds

  Seven Days in May

   

  The documentaries and commentaries will show you the real challenges of producing a project (film or book) and inspire you by showing the joy of completing something that is personal to you.

   

  Example: When making the classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" the famous fight with the giant squid was first filmed on a calm sunset sea, with a bad rubber squid. After if was filmed and edited together Disney and director Richard Fleisher could see that it was too fake to put into the movie.

   

                

   

  So Disney ordered a new squid to be built and to film the fight on a story night sea with lightning. This cost twice as much as the first squid fight and they had to junk that first fight. Disney risked his studio and the opening of Disneyland on this (at that time) the most expensive movie ever produced.  The squid fight became the highlight of the movie.

   

                                

   

  Recently, I had to take a lesson from Disney and pay to make new graphics and title for my audio-book. Now it looks like this:

   

  

   

  More work, more money, more risk. But worth it because the rest of the project is so perfect it needs a perfect "squid fight". 

   

  This was the movie that made me want to a director in the first place, now this movie pushed me on to do the best that I can do.  Richard Fliesher said, "That movie is the best that I can do. I wouldn't know how to make it better."

   

  Sometimes art, creativity, and dreams take risk and money. Or is it 'often' or 'always'?

  • 10:44 pm
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