The Starway Blog

Introducing the U.S. Poster for "The Blackout"

2009-11-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Cannes Film Festival Info

2009-05-04T11:29:00.001-07:00

"The Blackout" will be screened at Cannes on Thursday, May 14th at 5:30pm and on Sunday, May 17th at 1:30pm (both screenings in the Gray 4 screening room). Contact Michael Paszt at Cinemavault Releasing for more information at the Cannes Booth Riviera G5/H8 +33 (0)4 92 99 32 15.

2009-03-30T10:57:00.001-07:00

Starway Pictures is proud to announce that it has officially signed with Cinemavault Releasing for the exclusive worldwide (including Canada and Latin America) sales and distribution rights to the motion picture "The Blackout". Starway began negotiations with Cinemavault during the Sundance Film Festival. Cinemavault will also serve as the official home video distributor for the movie in Canada.

"The Blackout" will be teased at MIPTV this week and will be screened for buyers at Cannes in May. We are looking forward to a long relationship with Cinemavault Releasing.

The Dead: The Haven Chronicles :: Chapter Two: Haven & The Duke

2009-03-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

The second chapter in the exclusive Web series THE DEAD: THE HAVEN CHRONICLES is now playing on StarwayPictures.com -- "Chapter Two: Haven & The Duke." If you haven't already, please check out "Chapter One: Manny Gallardo"

www.starwaypictures.com/thedead/index.html

Please give the Flash Video player a few moments to load the video (you may see a blank black screen for a moment or two).

Originally shot during the summer of 1998, THE DEAD was an ambitious digital featurette in many ways unique to itself. It was one of the first projects to use the brand new emerging technology of digital video (shot with a Sony VX1000).

Starring Barbara Streifel Sanders (as Haven), James Martinez (as Jimmy) and Jonathan Carter Schall (as The Duke). The Dead tells the dark and surreal tale of the rise and fall of a scorned hit woman seduced into the dark and seductive goth underworld.

The world this dark fable unfolds within is partly real and mostly a digital creation. Many have commented that the look and feel is like "a living graphic novel." Many of the sets built were only partial. Painting in the rest of the set or location was a main cost savings feature for production. Many street exteriors, cityscapes and backdrops are hand painted and digitally composited giving the film a ghostly and surreal quality.

So please enjoy this newly released Web series edition of THE DEAD: The Haven Chronicles. Now playing Chapters One and Two.

Canon Event & Birns & Sawyer

2008-04-24T13:00:00.001-07:00

I have been invited to speak at Birns & Sawyer, the famous camera facility in downtown Hollywood, about our experiences using Canon's XL-H1 high-definition camera on "The Blackout". The event takes place on Wednesday, April 30th from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. I will be showing a few select scenes from the movie as well as discussing our digital HD workflow.

The event will most likely sell out. If you'd like to attend you must RSVP using the link below:

Canon Video – NAB Recap (4/30/08)

From its inception in 1954, Birns and Sawyer has been a premiere rental and sales firm of motion picture equipment in the United States. Birns and Sawyer has been a Hollywood standard for quality and dependability for the last fifty years and continues to assist the needs of filmmakers and progress with new technology.

First Teaser Trailer for THE BLACKOUT Debuts!

2008-03-11T02:48:00.000-07:00

Starway Pictures is pleased to announce the debut of the first Teaser Trailer for the feature-film production of THE BLACKOUT. A more in-depth Feature Trailer will debut at a later time. Post-Production on the science-fiction disaster film is in the final stages and will make it's premiere soon.

Starway Pictures invites you to take your first footstep into the darkness of the blackout...

VIEW THE TRAILER HERE!

Check out the THE BLACKOUT MOVIE BLOG here!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2007-12-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

On behalf of Starway Pictures and Team Blackout we'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!

THE BLACKOUT - Movie Blog

2007-11-26T10:59:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to check out THE BLACKOUT Movie Blog for regular updates.

THE BLACKOUT - Post Production Update

2007-11-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

Since we wrapped production at the tail end of August, we have been full-tilt into post-production and editing of the movie.

First, the hyper-technical issues that needed to be resolved before editing could commence. (Apologies in advance for the techno-babble and geek talk, but it must be said.) Because we shot the film with the Canon XLH1 and captured all the footage direct to disc (bypassing HDV and tape all together,) and because neither the Blackmagic or AJA HD capture cards support Canon's HD-SDI implementation, we were forced to capture the 24 fps image at 29.97 fps, which meant that all the footage needed to be inverse-telecined using a reverse 3:2 pulldown.

Now, originally, we thought we could use the Compressor application, which is part of Apple's Final Cut Pro 2 suite, to "batch" convert the footage. Unfortunately, Compressor did not like the 10-bit ProRes codec we captured the footage in, so we had to convert the footage using Apple's Cinema Tools application instead. The downside to this was that every shot needed to be converted by hand, one by one. Ugh. So it took nearly 4-weeks to convert all the footage before it could be cut.

We finally got started cutting picture in earnest toward the end of September. As of this posting, we have completed Reels #1 - #3 and are well into Reel #4 of the movie. Why reels, you ask? Isn't this a digital movie? The answer is that it's easier to compartmentalize the movie in traditional film "reels" which run 18-20 minutes in length and as movies are still being distributed traditionally on 35mm film they must ultimately be broken into individual 2000 foot reels for shipping (usually 5 to 7 reels total, depending on the overall length of the movie). Because of this, you want to control where that splice is, so it's not in the middle of a scene, but rather in-between scenes. We anticipate our film being five reels (100 minutes or so in length).

Considering we're just over 63 minutes into the rough cut of the movie and that we've only been editing for about six weeks, we think we're making very good time, but because we lost an entire month to conversions, we are "technically" behind our internal schedule by a couple of weeks. Hopefully we can continue to make up time by trodging forward at a steady clip and have a full first rough cut of the movie by Christmas. Our "rough" cuts, however, are actually pretty polished. Preliminary color correction, sound effects and temp track music is already in place.

Now it should be noted that the film takes longer to cut as each reel progresses because the action gets tighter, the scenes get more complicated, and there are 5-6 times more physical edits than, say, the first reel where it's mostly dialogue and setup.About two weeks ago we also conducted a special effects test of the The Beast's tail. Even though we produced a full size physical tail for The Beast, we did not use it very much during the shoot. It was heavy and cumbersome and very difficult to puppeteer. We simply couldn't waste any valuable time on multiple takes due to the tail, so we eliminated it in favor of inserting it digitally in post. This was a leap of faith in many ways, and if we couldn't successfully insert the tail digitally ourselves, we would be in trouble.

Well, I'm happy to say that our first tail effects shots have been resoundingly successful. For many of these shots we will be using Adobe After Effects CS3's new "puppeteer" tool. This tool uses a flat 2D image and allows you to set joint points and then puppeteer the 2D image in 3D space. It's very cool, very effective, and very fast to use. We will, however, have to use either a miniature tail shot practically or a full 3D CGI tail for other shots.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas soon to follow we're looking forward to our next round of shooting. We will be shooting on the streets of downtown Los Angeles as businesses and shops are decorated for the holidays and people are milling about doing their Christmas shopping. We will also be shooting establishing shots of the Delano building exterior during the day, afternoon and at night. This will help us to cut together the opening sequence of the movie.

After that, we anticipate shooting the actor playing the news anchor at The Studio/Stage for insertion into the television shots. We will also suit up The Beast again to shoot additional pickup shots, FX plates, and various FX diddies for post-production effects work.

We expect to have another update for everyone after the holidays.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!

Cameras and Lenses by Canon

2007-09-10T12:44:00.001-07:00

A brief wrap up of Canon's involvement with the Starway Pictures' production of THE BLACKOUT is over at the Blackout Blog.

Production of THE BLACKOUT wraps!

2007-08-31T05:44:00.000-07:00

The team behind the production of Starway Pictures' THE BLACKOUT has wrapped principal photography after 27 days of shooting. The production began production on July 30th in downtown Los Angeles, continued in the basement of City Lofts on Spring Street and finished at the Studio/Stage.

Post-Production will begin next week.

2007-04-30T11:14:00.001-07:00

Clip from Peter Jackson's "Crossing the Line"

2007-04-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Many independent filmmakers having been following the development of the new REDONE camera which is being built from scratch by a small team in Irvine California and is the brainchild of Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley. Team RED had put out a call to filmmakers to test their prototype cameras and Peter Jackson answered the call. So they all got on board the Oakley Bombardier Business Jet and flew down to New Zealand for a weekend.

Much to their surprise, Peter Jackson had no intention of just shooting test charts. He had a script, a production team, costumes, actors, special effects, props, and two vintage WW1 bi-planes. And Peter Jackson proceeded to shoot a 12-minute World War 1 short in all sorts of conditions including trench warfare, complete with explosions, as well as an aerial dog fight.

Thirty seconds of that footage has been put Online. Remember, this was a "camera test". Here are a couple mirrors:

Watch Clip

"The Dead" Available for iPod, iPhone and Apple TV

2007-04-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Starway Pictures Online presention of "The Dead - Chapter 1: Manny Gallardo" is now available for download on the iPod, the upcoming iPhone and Apple TV.

Starway Pictures presents: THE DEAD

2007-03-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

And they say miracles don't happen! After far too many years sitting on a dark, cold, lonely shelf the chronicles of Haven, Jimmy and The Duke can finally be told in the Web version of THE DEAD.

It is a visual narrative told with an hallucinogenic flare that is often fragmented, non-linear, esoteric and ephemeral.

This Online exclusive will be told in multiple chapters starting with CHAPTER ONE: MANNY GALLARDO. With a little luck we'll release subsequent chapters over a period of time (still to be determined).

A note from the director:

Originally shot during the summer of 1998, THE DEAD was an ambitious digital featurette in many ways unique to itself. It was one of the first projects to use the brand new emerging technology of digital video. The world this dark fable unfolds within is partly real and mostly a digital creation. Many have commented that the look and feel is like "a living graphic novel." Unfortunately, the release of "The Matrix" and "Kill Bill - Volumes 1 & 2" killed the project before its completion. There are major striking similarities between the production design of THE DEAD and "The Matrix", namely the Trinity character resembling Haven. However, it was the plot of "Kill Bill" that was the final nail in THE DEAD's coffin.

The tragic part of this tale is that many people put a lot of hard work into shooting THE DEAD and the fruits of their labor have gone unseen. Many of the key sequences were already finished. So it made sense to finally start releasing some of these sequences to the Online world.

It will take some time and effort to get the last chapter into shape for presentation, as most of it still requires digital set extensions and digital environments. But I look forward to everyone having a chance to see this once beloved project.

Robert Sanders

Starway Website Updated

2007-03-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Please visit the updated Starway Pictures Website. We have added brand new mini-sites for SHADOW POINT (formerly Shadow Falls) and THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER. Plus the mini-sites for our short films have all been completely updated.

The Hi Def DVD Format War is Over

2007-01-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

If there's one big story coming out of the CES show in Vegas right now, it's an indication as to which competing high-definition DVD format will prevail. HD-DVD or BluRay?

Porn appears to have chosen sides. These two articles back up my premise:

CES 2007: HD DVD versus Blu-ray - The porn industry says HD DVD

1080p Porn? Blu-ray Says 'No Thanks'

Both of these stores indicate that HD-DVD is the format that the porn industry will ultimately support. And anyone who follows consumer electronics trends where formats are competing for market share, it's always the format used by the porn industry that emerges as the victor. I find it odd that BluRay intentionally chose not to be involved with the porn industry.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2007-01-02T11:38:00.001-08:00

2006-12-26T22:26:00.000-08:00

"We may laugh down the dream, For the dream breaks and flies; And we trust now the gleam, For the gleam never dies;— So it's off now the load, For we know the night's call, And we know now the road And the road leads us all."
–from the Edwin Arlington Robinson poem "Twilight Song."

The Future of Cinema: Independents

2006-12-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

Preservation vs. Innovation

Great article over at the Cinematech blog titled Cinema’s Future Belongs to Indies (As Does Its Past).

A passage:

Since the days of Edison and Eastman, established movie studios and big-name filmmakers have tended to focus on preserving their reputations, their status, and their revenue streams, not on innovating. As director Robert Greenwald puts it, “Throughout history, it has always been the individuals – the mavericks – who make the changes.”

In other words, to track the future trajectory of cinema, keep the camera trained on the indies and outsiders.

Interview - FTTW

2006-11-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine, Jason Giacopelli, did an interview with me over at Faster Than the World, a collaborative website with various writers coming in every day. The writers on FTTW come from all over the world and talk about many different subjects. This interviewed focused on "The Struggling Indy Filmmaker".

You can ready the article here.

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Pitch-Reel Finished

2006-11-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

Starway Pictures is proud to announce that "The Twenty-Third Letter" Pitch-Reel is finished.

David Stump, ASC and RED

2006-11-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

There is a battle going on over whether film is still superior to digital acquisition. Well, in all honestly film is actually a lot better than today's most sophisticated digital cinema cameras. It's still better than the Viper Filmstream camera (Collateral, Miami Vice, Zodiac), still better than the Panavision Genesis (Fly Boys, Superman Returns, Click), still better than the ARRI D20 (some major commercial spots). How much better? That's a subjective judgment. Some say film still has more stops of latitude (12-15 stops as opposed to 9). Some say film still has much better resolution and color fidelity (4K versus 1080p).

But all that could change in a few months. The brilliant folks in Irvine, CA have been building the ultimate digital cinema camera, the RED ONE. We've mentioned it before. It's a 4.5K (like film) camera using a S35mm chip (like the Genesis) that records RAW (like todays D-SLR still cameras and the Viper). Team RED has displayed 4K footage to select audiences in Amsterdam, Warner Bros. and reservation holders at the DuArt Theater in LA. And everyone's been astonished with the quality of the footage. Peter Jackson and James Cameron are also reservation holders.

But it's when you get a quote like this, from David Stump, a member of the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) and also the chair of the Digital Camera subcommittee for the ASC, who is well regarded as a technical authority on all things film and digital:

"The RED Mysterium sensor has finally pushed digital acquisition past the timeless 35mm film barrier in resolution and clean color fidelity."

That's major.

"Evan Almighty" Trailer is Online

2006-11-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

The trailer for "Evan Almighty" starring our boy, Johnny Simmons, is available today.

You can view the trailer here.

Endeavor Independent

2006-11-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

So it appears the Endeavor talent agency has picked the head of Endeavor Independent, a new arm of Endeavor specifically for packaging independent (that would be with a capital "I") film, Graham Taylor.

You might think, "This is an odd posting." Well, you're right. But the article in Variety got me thinking. There's a huge difference between what Hollywood deems Independent Cinema and what true independent cinema really is.

Here's a quote from the article:

"Recently announced Endeavor Independent projects include James Cameron's high-def 3-D film "Sanctum," which he is co-writing and producing; writer-director Zak Penn's ensemble comedy "The Grand"; and Stuart Townsend's "The Battle in Seattle," an ensemble political drama starring Charlize Theron and Ray Liotta.

Taylor also has secured financing for films including Richard Gere starrer "The Flock," from Bauer Martinez Studios; Jake Paltrow's Penelope Cruz starrer "The Good Night," from Inferno Entertainment; and the Kevin Bacon-Andy Garcia starrer "The Air That I Breathe," from Nala Films."

So you got that guys? Endeavor's idea of "independent film" is James Cameron, Zak Penn, Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Richard Gere, Kevin Bacon and Andy Garcia.

Good luck getting them to consider your no-name horror film project.

HD-DVD vs BluRay

2006-11-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

I've been asked many times what my opinion is about the competing high definition video discs. There are two competing formats: HD-DVD and BluRay Disc. HD-DVD has been created and is backed by the original DVD consortium of manufacturers. BluRay is being created by Sony and will be the primary format used on the PlayStation 3.

There are many folks who believe that Sony has the advantage because of the upcoming PS3 game console. But I don't agree.

While I have no crystal ball with regard to this matter, I do have some feelings about which format will prevail.

1. HD is already a well recognized brand. Most consumers know it means High-Definition. DVD is one of the most recognizable brands in the history of consumer electronics. Therefore, it isn't a stretch to assume that John Smith consumer will instantly recognize that HD-DVD is a "High-Definition Digital Video Disc". On the flip side, John Smith consumer has to be educated as to what exactly is BluRay. I think that's an uphill battle for Sony.

2. HD-DVD players, while a little buggy, have already made it to the market. They're a bit pricey at around $500.

3. BluRay players have been delayed multiple times and are still not available for purchase. They're astronimically priced at $999.

4. Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles are already sold out and they haven't even been released yet. So getting your hands on one will take a while until the gamer fanatics get theirs. So, you're looking at March or April until the regular consumer can own one. And the question still begs: do PlayStation owners really use their consoles to play movies?

5. HD-DVD titles have a slight edge over BluRay titles.

The DVD Wars

Canon's New 6X Wide Angle Zoom Lens

2006-11-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

Canon is releasing this week their new 6X wide angle zoom lens for the XLH1 HD camera. We had a chance to look at the lens at HD EXPO in Universal City last night and we have to say that we were extremely impressed with the quality. The focus servo is still a little spongey, but the amazing edge-to-edge, corner-to-corner clarity impressed us. This is definitely going to be added to our staple of lenses we have collected for our HD system.

The 6X lens has a focal length of 3.4-20.4mm and is an "L" series lens. Anyone who uses professional Canon equipment will recognize that the "L" insignia signifies that you're buying Canon's best glass.

Is Star Power on the Decline

2006-08-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

An interesting article in the Los Angeles Times about the decline of bankable star power in today's Hollywood.

In the wake of the Cruise/Paramount scandal, there are a lot of articles in the trades lately that are speculating that star power is not what it used to be. There are more and more films breaking through and becoming surprise hits that feature very little to zero star power. This summer "Step Up" features zero star power, cost $12M to produce and has already earned over $44M at the box office. Lionsgate's "The Descent" features no recognizable stars and has earned $23M domestically after a HUGE foreign theatrical run. It is positioned now to make millions on DVD sales.

"Celebrity is less powerful now," said Jeff Fenster, an executive at Jive Records who helped discover pop superstars Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. "Just because a film or album stars a big-name celebrity doesn't guarantee success anymore. And Hollywood craves making money above everything else."

Even Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount owner Viacom Inc., suggested in an interview Wednesday that parting with Cruise after a 14-year business relationship had more to do with the profitability of his recent films than with his off-screen antics.

"There is no question that the box office is affected by other distractions such as the Internet and video games," Redstone said. "Studios make peanuts compared to the stars, and unless they learn how to say no and demand more for less, they won't survive."

Star Wars Rocks

2006-08-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Snakes on a Plane!

2006-07-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

A Day in History that Changed the World

2006-07-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

On April 16, 1902 Thomas L. Tally opening the Electric Theater, the world's first movie theater, in Los Angeles. The theater was dedicated to movies and audio recordings. It was quickly imitated around the country which eventually became dubbed "nickelodeons". The world's love affair with the moving image would endure until today. Many of the movies shown were Thomas Edison's Kinetoscopes. These were films shot at the Black Maria the first movie studio built for the express purpose of motion picture production. Most of the films were very short (usually less than a minute) and depicted everyday scenes of life at home or the workforce common referred to as "actualities". It wouldn't be until better cameras capable of larger film loads that narrative films would be born.

On May 9, 1893 the "Blacksmith Scene" was the first Kinetoscope film shown to the public and is still the earliest surviving complete motion picture. This scene was one of the first movies exhibited at the Electric Theater along with Edison's "Butterfly Dance", "Edison in Chemistry Lab", "Kiss Scene" and "Strongman Eugene Sandow"."Blacksmith Scene"
"Edison in Chemistry Lab"
"The Kiss"
"Strongman Eugene Sandow"

Congratulations James Martinez!

2006-06-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a banner year for our good friend and alumnus James Martinez. He just booked two national commercial spots back to back. This month he shoots a spot for Hallmark and another for State Farm Insurance. He recently finished two national spots for Kodak and Kia, not to mention a local spot for Cox Communications.

Everyone at Starway is very proud of you!

The Twenty-Third Letter - Scene 10

2006-05-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

We are proud to introduce SCENE 10 from THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER Trailer. Post-production on the trailer itself continues full steam ahead. But we thought it would be fun to show off a short scene we're very proud of. SCENE 10 was cut separately from the trailer mainly because it contained nearly all the shots required to create an entire sequence as if it were from the feature proper.

SETUP: Detective Donovan Sloan is suddenly awakened from a drunken stupor by his partner, Detective Jesse Stewart. Like many times before, he knows why she's calling. Time to go to work. But this one's different. This one's personal. It's the girl in his nightmares. The day he's been fearing has finally arrived. Our scene begins.

D O W N L O A D [ H I G H - D E F I N I T I O N ]

These are compressed Quicktime 7 files in the H264 format. Because they are highly compressed these clips should not be used to judge ultimate picture quality.

SCENE 10 - 1080P | 98MB : 1920x816 : H264 : STEREO

SCENE 10 - 720P | 75MB : 1280x544 : H264 : STEREO

SCENE 10 - 480P | 35MB : 853x363 : H264 : STEREO

Moments in Time

2006-05-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Kelly Herrin, Barbara Sanders, Mark Ross, Jim Beck, Robert Sanders, Alexandra Boylan, Sean Pritchett, Jay Hinton
Greg McDougall, James Martinez, Alexandra Boylan, Jay Hinton, John Gorman
Michael Caruso (Drake Dante)
The production in full swing.
Sean Pritchett and Robert Sanders
Dorien Davies, Greg McDougall, John Gorman, Tanner Almon, Mark Ross, Justin Memnovich
Dorien Davies (Jesse Stewart) and Sean Pritchett (Donovan Sloan)
City Lofts basement location.
Terry G. Reed (Hadrien Dante) and Ian Malcolm (Jack Winston)
James Martinez, Sean Pritchett, Robert Sanders and Michael Caruso
Mark Ross, Justin Memovich, Robert Sanders, Dorien Davies, John Gorman
Christina Rodriguez (Makeup), Dorien Davies, Greg McDougall (FX Makeup)
City Lofts basement "torture set" location
Kelly Herrin operating the Jimmy Jib.
Scott Cecil, Sean Pritchett, Robert Sanders and Michael Caruso.
City Lofts basement location.

Tanner Almon (Assistant Camera) and Mark Ross (Cinematographer)
Rooftop location.
Cedric Martin (Steadicam Operator).

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Fifth Weekend: That's a Wrap!

2006-05-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

We finished off all principle and special effects photography on day #9. All of the crash matt stunt work went without a hitch with the cast doing their own stunts. Having a grand ol' time, the crew also took turns jumping on the trampoline.

Now we're on to post-production with some model photography in the near future.

Cameras, Cameras, Cameras

2006-05-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Looks like the venerable HD cameras that started a revolution are now dinosaurs. With the new breed of smaller, lighter, and far less expensive cameras like the Canon H1, it has become clear that the F900 and the Varicam are now huge, bloated, ultra expensive boat anchors. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled I got a chance to play with the F900 on SHADOW FALLS, but it's the size of Mini Cooper! Weighs as much, too.

Sony had a whisper display off the main floor at NAB of it's new high-end Cinealta that won't be in full production until NAB next year. It records full raster 1920x1080, 4:4:4, RGB with frame rates of 1 to 30fps in RGB mode and 1 to 60 fps in YUV mode. I don't know -- it looks huge and heavy to me. Probably will cost a quarter of a million dollars fully outfitted. Is this camera really going to save Sony's dying attempt to stay relevant in the digital cinema arena? I don't think it will.

The true buzz around town is Jim Jannards (Oakley, Inc.) new venture into designing a 4K digital cinema camera from the ground up, from scratch, that could revolutionize the camera industry. It's called RED. At NAB they displayed a non-working prototype but swore on a stack of bibles (just kidding) that they will be shipping by the end of the year. We predict Q2 of '07. However, the biggest paradigm shift here is not necessarily the technology (which is outrageously impressive), but it's the price...$17,500. Now, would you rather spend $30-40K on a fully outfitted RED camera that will shoot 4K resolution or $250,000 on a camera reusing old parts?

But the real question is will any of these cameras be relevant after James Cameron completely changes the theatrical distrubution scene with the introduction of high quality digital 3D camera and projection system? Cameron is currently prepping his first film since "Titanic" to be shot with his new cameras, called "Battle Angel Alita" followed closely by "Avatar". Here at Starway, we love 3D.

Read the article here.

So Canon! How 'bout building us an XL-3D camera?

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Fourth Weekend

2006-05-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

We have finally reached the end of principal photography. We now move on to next weekend where we will shot for a full day of special effects greenscreen photography. Followed by model photography. But the bulk of the trailer is in the can.

Day #7 brought us additional shooting in the basement location again. Terry Reed shot his torture scenes with Ian -- great fun.

One of the highlights of the shoot was shooting on the City Lofts rooftop with a panorama of downtown Los Angeles as our backdrop. Cedric Martin returns from SHADOW FALLS as Steadicam operator. Michael Caruso and Sean Pritchett were the victim's of the grueling stunt work they had to perform last night. Our hats are off to them.

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - 3rd Weekend

2006-04-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

We're finally rolling cameras again since the Easter break. Everyone was excited to be back.

Day #5 was at home base again. Only this time we were shooting on the terrace. This was Edwin Craig's first day as Seth.

Day #6 was far more challenging. We did a half day/half night shoot in a downtown L.A. alley complete with extras, picture cars, camera crane, the works. What a thrill! We also got to work with Kelly Herrin (Shadow Falls) and All-In-One-Truck again. Two more cast members from Shadow Falls joined the production, James Martinez and Alexandra Boylan. Also, Bill McCullough from DAY:11 made a cameo.

First VTR - 50 Years Ago

2006-04-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's almost unfathomable to think of a time when television video images could never be recorded in their original format. Can you imagine shoving a film camera into a black tube and "filming" a video monitor as a means of recording the live broadcast? It was called the Kinetoscope. It's even harder to imagine that it took science twenty years to eventually replace the Kinetoscope with an actual VTR. It was 50 years ago this month that the VRX-1000 debuted.

The Videotape Recorder Turns 50

Thanks to FreshHDV for headsup.

New Forum - XLCinema.com

2006-04-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Some Online friends of mine have created a new home for Canon XL shooters to share tip, tricks, techniques and workflow issues. The site will be home to the entire Canon XL series of cameras with a primary focus on the H1.

Check it out.

XLCinema.com

Our Boy Johnny

2006-04-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Johnny, SHADOW FALLS, on the set of Evan Almighty...

Digital Filmmaking - Same as the Old Filmmaking

2006-04-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - 2nd Weekend

2006-04-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we finished shooting day #3 and #4 on the TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer shoot. We basically shot in and around our home on Saturday. Which is always a love/hate thing -- we didn't have to pack up everything and drive to location, but our home is now in complete shambles.

Sunday was a phenomenal day of shooting. While being in a building basement in downtown Los Angeles with no windows and a TON of dust can be taxing, the quality of footage we got down there is incredible.

So far the Canon H1 has performed flawlessly. The 20x lens is a challenge to focus, especially racks. But it's sharp and the quality we're getting from the camera has everyone grinning. The big surprise is the sharpness of the 3x lens. It's a standard definition lens with some softness in the corners, but it performed exactly how we wanted it to.

H1 Review - DV.com

2006-04-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

There's a really great review of the Canon H1 camera at DV.com by the venerable Adam Wilt.

"It's big and heavy, but nothing else below $10,000 can touch it for picture quality. The lens is lacking at the wide end and the controls are rubbery, but you can change the lens. There's some loss of vertical resolution in 24f and 30f, but the temporal signature is correct. No other low-cost 1080i camera does 24 fps better. It accepts any and all XL-series accessories. It genlocks. It has HD-SDI. I haven't even discussed Canon's Console software for monitoring, recording, and tweaking settings over FireWire; the monochrome viewfinder; SD cards for stills and camera setup files; or the enhanced remote controls available.

In short, the XL H1 punches above its weight. It may be as fair to compare it to Sony's new XDCAM HD camcorders as well as to its HDV companions and the HVX200. Only f-mode vertical aliasing and squishy lens servos keep the camera from being a perfect 5.0 score. Even if you dislike the XL form factor, check it out—the pictures are worth the wrist pain."

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Shooting Begins

2006-04-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Principal photography has officially begun on THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer. The first two days of a nine-day shoot commenced on Saturday, April 1st and 2nd in downtown Los Angeles.

Short production diaries to follow soon.

Announcing the Cast for "The Twenty-Third Letter"

2006-03-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce the cast for THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER Trailer. We are thrilled to be working with such a talented group of artists. No doubt they will bring an immeasurable contribution to the quality of this production.

The shoot begins April 1, 2006 and will shoot through early May in and around downtown Los Angeles and the valley.

THE CAST

H1 - Wafian/Cineform Support

2006-03-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of good ultra-geeky news for H1 and Final Cut Pro owners and users. The Wafian HR-1 Recorder now supports the 24F and 30F frame modes of the Canon XL-H1 camera and removes 3:2 pulldown for true 24FPS support. The Wafian HR-1 is a hard-drive based recording deck in the same ballpark as the $100,000 HDCAM-SR deck at a much more attractive price point ($15,000) and even cheaper than a AJ-1200 DVCPro deck...and it's a tapeless workflow.

The other good news is that CineForm, the codec the Wafian HR-1 uses, will soon be releasing support for Quicktime. CineForm currently only supports Windows PCs because it utilizes specific instruction sets built into Intel processors. We suspect that CineForm Quicktime will require one of the new Intel based Macintosh systems for this reason. Apple is slated to release new Intel PowerMacs sometime this summer.

This bodes well for our upcoming feature production of SHADOW FALLS. We have been researching methods in which we could leverage the HD-SDI output of the H1. Most HDCAM-SR decks are extremely expensive to rent and aren't field production friendly (with the exception of the SRW1). Other hard-drive RAID based solutions require hauling around a mobile IT center on wheels. The Wafian easily provides the most attractive solution.

It's now a question of whether their Quicktime support is around the corner or not.

Shout out to MobileWhack and HD4Indies for the headsup.

H1 - Full Moon & Cloud Timelapse Test

2006-03-15T00:57:00.000-08:00

So I'm driving home just after sunset and noticed that it was a full moon and the clouds from the previous storm were creating some fantastic mood. So I rushed into the house, grabbed the H1, my sticks and ran up to the terrace and quickly framed up some shots.

Now the H1 doesn't have an interval recording feature. So I simply set the camera up to record in 24F mode (not sure if 30F or 60i would've been better), set the camera up for +6db, 1/8th shutter, stop full open. Then I hit record and just let it run. Reframed several times and let each shot run for several minutes each.

I then brought those shots into After Effects and did a 10x speed increase (frame blending toggled 'on').

Wow! The exposure, lack of grain, fluidity of motion of the clouds...it all looks phenomenal!

Here are some Quicktimes of two shots (h264, high bit-rate):

Test #1 - 21 Sec. - Cropped to 2.35:1 - 24p - h264

Test 1 480P 16.4MB
Test 1 720P 24.4MB
Test 1 1080P 40.6MB

Test #2 - 15 Sec. - Cropped to 2.35:1 - 24p - h264

Test 1 480P 14.1MB
Test 1 720P 20MB
Test 1 1080P 26.9MB

L.A. Night - H1 Available Light Test

2006-03-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

In preparation for our rooftop sequences for THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER shoot, we wanted to see what the new camera's low light sensitivity was. We didn't bring any lighting equipment with us. Our goal was to shoot wide-open, +6db, 1/48th shutter and see what we got.

The weekend's rain storm was just coming in behind us. We only had about 40 minutes up there before it started precipitating. So it was difficult to get the buildings to look razor sharp as we were shooting through a lot of atmosphere.

We're now convinced that once we have our foreground talent lit appropriately, our backgrounds of Los Angeles will look phenomenal for this film-noir thriller.

Here are some links to some Quicktime movies of the tests:

Test #1 - 22 Sec. - Cropped to 2.35:1 - 24p - h264

Test 1 720P 15.7MB
Test 1 1080P 23.4mb

Test #2 - 20 Sec. - Cropped to 2.35:1 - 24p - h264

Test 2 720P 14.7MB
Test 2 1080P 19.5MB

It Has Arrived!

2006-03-06T23:08:00.000-08:00

We finally took the plunge and placed our bets on the Canon XL-H1 high-definition digital cinema camera system.

- Canon XL-H1 Camera
- Canon 20X Zoom Lens
- Chrosziel Matte Box
- Chrosziel Follow Focus
- Chrosziel Flags
- Nebtek/Panasonic 7" LCD
- Microforce Remote Zoom + Focus Control
- Sachtler DV6 Tripod and Fluid Head
- 1/4 Black Pro-Mist
- ND6 Filter
- Polarized Filter
- Hard H1 Case
- Pelican Case

DAY:11 - FilmThreat Review

2006-03-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

FilmThreat magazine, an Online publication specializing in independent cinema, has a very good review of DAY:11 on their website.

Check it out here.

"Day:11" and "Shadow Falls" Photo Archive

2006-02-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

Oscar Rodriguez, our resident set photographer, has graciously posted an Online archive of photos he's taken during the shoots for DAY:11 and SHADOW FALLS.

The DAY:11 photo archive can be found here.

The SHADOW FALLS photo archive can be found here.

Oscar R. Photos - Los Angeles

2006-02-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of the upcoming shoot for THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer, our resident photographer Oscar Rodriguez took these amazing photos of Los Angeles. I love these photos because they represent the film noir nature of the movie we're about to shoot. The diversity of colors represented in the cityscape photo and the photos we took on our location scout (below) are exciting and vibrant.

I can't wait to go to all of Oscar's cool photography locations with the Canon H1 and shoot some cityscape shots.

For more of Oscar's photography, visit his gallery.

Starway Website Refresh

2006-02-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

The Starway Pictures Website has been refreshed and updated with links to this blog. A new SHADOW FALLS mini-site has also been put up, complete with filmmaker bios and Quicktime trailers (the HD versions will be updated shortly).

Enjoy.

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Location Scout

2006-02-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

We'd really like to give a big thank you to Michael and Barbi for their huge generosity and superb hospitality. We went into downtown Los Angeles last night to scout some potential shooting locations for the TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer. And wow -- were we surprised and delighted!

First stop was their very cool and hip loft. While I'm still not sure which scenes would be best for the loft, I know we'll definitely be shooting here.

Michael and Barbi gave us the whole tour of their building and another building across the street. The rooftop of their building is a great location with great views. I could definitely see shooting some of the confrontation scenes between Drake and Seth up there, as well as additional stuff.

We also checked out the basement of the building. The place definitely has that "Fight Club" vibe. Very spacious and not a ton of crap lying around, but tons of texture, history and grit. Plus I was surprised at how well the lighting was. You could almost shoot it with available light. A definite bonus when you're trying to keep the production lean.

Then we went across the street to another building Michael had access to. What a great building. They have a killer art decco lobby that just begs to be shot inside of.

Plus they have a killer looking elevator maintenance room. We HAVE to shoot something in there.

But I have to say the real treat of the evening was getting on the building's roof. Wow! What a view! I've have always wanted to get on top of one of these buildings and shoot something. And I was not disappointed. It was a bitch getting up there and I don't do so well with heights, but it was worth it.

Outside of Michael and Barbi's building is the ideal alley. It's not very long, but it definitely has the perfect look for our film. I can't wait to shoot some of the Devi scenes there.

All I can say is, "This project is going to rock!"

A Quiet Revolution

2006-02-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

I knew that things were changing when Canon, JVC and Panasonic announced their recent crop of HD cameras. And I've known for a while now that HDV and DVCProHD are the two predominent codecs that are here to stay. But I've also known that if you're doing serious, high quality, HD cinematography the only real choices are the Sony F900 and 950, the Viper, Panavision's Genesis and Arri's D20.

But what I didn't realize was how much these cameras, particularly the Canon XL-H1, was going to be a huge paradigm shift.

Mark Ross and I visited Birns & Sawyer today to review the Canon XL-H1 and also to get some pricing on a rigged out H1. And boy were we in for a surprise.

First, if you're into HD and digital cinematography then you've no doubt heard of Scott Billups. Apparently he's been conducting a full on comparison test of the H1 versus the F900. And he's come to some very surprising results...the H1 is within 90-95% of the F900's quality. Let me state that again -- the Canon H1 will give you 95% of the same picture quality as the F900!

That's a big deal.

A fully rigged F900 with lenses and accessories will run you approximately $150,000. A fully rigged H1 will run you $18,000.

Additionally, Scott Billups also mentioned that the H1 actually keys green and bluescreen plates BETTER than the F900. Wow! That's quite a statement. And considering that the upcoming shoot for THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer will require some bluescreen work, that's exciting news for us.

Jim over at Birns said that his technical team is surprised that the H1 (stock) doesn't cost at least $13,000. In their estimation the HD-SDI and Genlock output is a $2000 feature. Not to mention the costs association with a full resolution 1080i CCD block.

So to make a long story short (ha!), I think Sony and Panasonic are probably going to be forced to take very drastic measures to protect their "pro" line of cameras and start seriously considering massive price reductions.

Not only are we this impressed with the H1 and wowed by the paradigm shift taking place right now, but we're seriously considering this rig as the A-camera for the SHADOW FALLS feature film. Now that's saying something!

"Shadow Falls" Website

2006-02-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

We will be building a new "Shadow Falls" Website soon. And yes we will be hosting and serving up both of the trailers. We will also offer super high-quality Hi-Def Quicktime versions of the trailer as well.

The site will include a story synopsis, a biography page of the creative team, and basic contact information for prospective investors and distributors.

Which HD Camera?

2006-02-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

We're seriously considering the purchase of a new in-house high-definition camera system. There are three cameras new to market that we can choose from.

Canon XL-H1
Panasonic HVX-200
JVC HD-GY100

All three cameras have strengths and weaknesses. As it stands right now we're leaning toward the Canon XL-H1. We like that the form factor is nearly identical to it's sister camera, the XL2 (which we shot DAY:11 with).

[Note: Now I will go on record to say that we absolutely did not like our experiences with the XL1 (which we shot FETWICK with). Not only did we have serious problems with track errors on two of our master tapes, but we were not impressed with picture quality and dynamic range. However, my concerns with Canon were quickly eliminated by the wonderful performance of the XL2. Everything we hated about the XL1 was fixed with the XL2. In fact, we will go as far as to say that it made us a Canon convert.]

I believe it was a brilliant stroke for Canon to not change the form factor of the H1 and stick with the basic XL2 body. This means there's literally hundreds of accessories in the market that will bolt right onto the H1 like matte boxes, follow focus units, viewfinders, batteries, hard disc recorders, etc. Additionally, there are several lens options from Canon. Most notably the professional manual 14x and 16x lenses. We're also a fan of the wide angle 3x lens.

Speaking of lenses, there's been some debate about whether or not Canon's SD (standard definition) lenses are good enough for HD acquisition. Thankfully, there have been a handful of tests conducted by XL2/H1 owners using the SD lenses on the H1 and the reports are both surprising and pleasing. Apparently the SD lenses are resolving enough resolution for the H1. Great news. This does make us question Canon's aggressive marketing for the new 20x HD lens that comes standard with the H1.

There is a very large base of devout DVX100 user's who adore Panasonic's offerings. And we have to admit that we're a very big fan of Panasonic's compression codecs (DVCPro, DVCPro50 and DVCPro100/HD).

[Note: I recently finished post-production of the SHADOW FALLS trailers using the customized DVCPro100 codec from Blackmagic Design. Simply amazing how well it handled a 1080P post-production workflow.]

The new Panasonic HVX-200 is unique among the three cameras because it is not an HDV camera, but a DVCPro camera. This is the single biggest attraction for me. Additionally, Panasonic has taken the multi-frame rate features from the Varicam and shoehorned them into the HVX. So what's the problem? The fixed lens. I'm sorry, but I'm a firm believer in having the best possible glass in front of the camera. With the HVX I'm stuck. And when you add the costs of the camera and the P2 cards you're approaching H1 territory.

In a recent camera shoot-out everyone was surprised at how well the new JVC GY-HD100 performed in its "film look". There were a lot of concerns about JVC's initial build quality. Plus there were some problems with the CCDs. But it appears JVC has rectified some of these problems and there are many happy owners/operators out there. My biggest concern is that it's only a 720P camera. We'd prefer 1080.

We're heading to Birns & Sawyer next week to talk packages and pricing.

Congratulations Johnny Simmons

2006-02-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

Everyone at Starway would like to give a big congratulations to "Shadow Falls" cast member, Johnny Simmons (Casey,) for landing a lead role in "Evan Almighty," the sequel to "Bruce Almighty," playing Steve Carell's son. The film will also star Morgan Freeman, reprising his role as God. Tom Shadyac will also helm the sequel.

This is a HUGE break for Johnny and we couldn't prouder of him!

"Shadow Falls" Screening Party

2006-02-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a party! We'd like to thank everyone in the cast and crew who attended the "Shadow Falls" Trailer screening party last Saturday night. It was fantastic to see everyone again.

Based on everyone's feedback the screening was a rousing success. Everyone was very pleased with how well the trailer(s) turned out. Many were surprised that they were as good as they were. We got a lot of compliments about the overall quality of the production.

I was very happy to be able to present the trailers in all their HD glory on the 50" plasma. The resolution and color looked amazing. We even won over a couple HD skeptics.

The party ended around 3:00AM. Probably because all the booze and food was gone! Ha!

Welcome to the Starway Pictures Blog

2006-02-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally broke down and decided to add a blog to the Starway Pictures website. In here, you'll find information and commentary about current and future Starway projects. We'll try to post our thoughts and feelings about "the process" of filmmaking and the industry. For the hard-core gear heads and geeks, we'll also discuss digital filmmaking technology and our philosophies about digital cinema. And maybe a rant or two.

What you won't find here are politics, personal issues or topics like why we like trees. It will be all things filmmaking, movies and production.

Enjoy.

Rob