Reflection

It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, but very productive, nonetheless.  We are in the final stretch of the first year at Flashpoint, and I am already so busy that my schedule has filled the summer.

In fact, my schedule actually filled up way back at the end of January.

After being here for a year, and reflecting on my time at Flashpoint, I can proudly say that it is much more than a school.  I don't feel like I come here to do school work, I come here to better myself as a filmmaker, and as a person.  I am in a workplace, and I work with students and faculty to bring projects together.

I have been on 3 internships, two of which will continue into the summer, and I have worked on at least 10 short films over the course of the last 9 months.  I have set up and run a weekly film screening for the school and crafted a plan for a student government.  I am tired, but I am adjusting, and I feel far more qualified to be in this business than I did a year ago.

What Flashpoint Academy provides now for me is a path, which is my choice, of course.  I just don't know what it should be.  So, as we reach the end of the first chapter at Flashpoint, the time for reflection has begun.

A decision soon,

DM

Go Go Speed Racer

What makes a trip to IMAX such an exciting experience is not only the movie you see, but the fact that you can sometimes get an early screening - for free.  I was lucky enough to attend a screening of Speed Racer earlier this evening, and all I can say is that was one wild experience.

The movie begins with Emile Hirsch as Speed, racing around a dazzling display of lights and dodging cars left, right, up, down...well...pretty much any way you can dodge a fast moving vehicle.

The films greatest strength is also its greatest weakness - editing.  The quick cutting between takes can get you really excited about a racing scene, but it can also drive you up wall.  That said, I felt the racing scenes were spectacular.  The color and VFX were quite unlike anything I had ever seen before, but at the same time, I wish there had been a little less going on in front of me.  I kept wanting to push all of the extra stuff out of the way so I could just see what was going on in the background!

To the credit of the Wachowski's, they pretty much through the rule book out on this one.  This movie was undeniably insane, and yes, people did walk out after the film saying "that was really unrealistic."  Yet, I'm pretty sure that they wanted it that way.  Yeah it's unrealistic, and they knew it, so they went way overboard!  For that, I applaud them.

Sometimes unrealism in a film can really drive me crazy, but not this one.  This one was crazy enough already.

Go see Speed Racer, at IMAX.  Go Go.

DM