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Courtney Hoskins

Writer/Director

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Wait For Me

Magic uncovers the beauty of beginnings and endings in an ordinary cafe... This was my submission to the Moby music video contest hosted by Genero. This was also my final project for my dynamics effects class at the Gnomon school (the flower, in particular). I wore several hats for this project: writer, producer, director, cinematographer, matchmover, editor, animator, VFX artist...

What I didn't do was any of the acting. I am extremely grateful to Jameelah Nuriddin, Marie Kleinschmidt, Brian Sounalath, Ace Marrero, and Erin Stegeman for doing this on short notice and for nothing but the love of acting and my eternal gratitude.

It's a little rough around the edges, but I only had about two weeks to get the entire thing made (with the exception of the flower- I worked on that throughout the course of the term).

tags: magic, moby, music video, vfx
categories: Uncategorized
Friday 08.05.11
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

Film Screening at the Pompidou

One of my less frequently screened films is going to be playing at the Pompidou center in Paris this weekend. I doubt anyone who reads my blog will be there, but if you happen to find yourself in the City of Lights with nothing to do on Saturday, you might want to check it out. It will be part of the "Festival des cinemas differents de Paris," playing on December 6th at 8:00PM. The film is "Ether Twist" (click the link to read about it) and is one of my early experimental polarized light films. I don't really like for people to watch my films online. I mean, I don't "mind" when people do, but I haven't put HD versions up yet (does that mean they are forthcoming? Yes, it does! In fact, my whole site is being slowly overhauled.) The pieces lose their power when they cannot envelop the viewer, so I try to push the live screenings when I can. This film in particular is rather dark and quiet and tends to lose its "mood" on the small screen. Still, I've embedded it here, so happy viewing if you care to watch!

It's abstract, but has a scientific sort of logic behind it. The images are polarized bits of plastic while the sound is VLF radio recordings or auroras and meteor showers and the like. Oh, and yes, the title comes from Tori Amos.

tags: cinemas differents, ether twist, film, film festival, hoskins, museum, pompidou center, video
categories: Uncategorized
Thursday 12.04.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

Dreams

While talking to a friend the other night, I realized that I could probably keep my blog nicely filled out by writing about some of the dreams I have. I remember my dreams almost every morning. Some of them are mundane and not really worth repeating. For example, when I've taken Ambien, I usually dream about not being able to fall asleep, being hungry, or going to work (though in my waking moments on that drug, I battle flatscreen television-stealing gypsies with my broadsword and swim with talking sharks- go figure). Most of my dreams, however, have been fodder for screenplays and short films. And a few of them are so bizarre, they wouldn't even be re-creatable with today's modern cinematic technology. The dream I recounted for him was on the cinematic side.

The background: I had just returned from Comic-Con, with geek pop culture fresh on my mind. Rising to the top of my thoughts, of course, was Lost. I had an initial suspicion that the current viral marketing campaign was part of a contest of sorts (I've since kind of given up on that idea). My hope/dream/thought was that the winner might win a walk-on spot, based on the fact that we had to do video "interviews" for "recruitment."

The dream: I was on a plane to... somewhere overseas... to audition for Lost. I had to get off the plane because I somehow didn't have my boarding pass. I went to go stand in line and realized I didn't have my passport, either. Two guys in front of me took my place on the plane (I don't do math in my dreams), and I was forced to wait for the next flight. Luckily, there was a group of Lost folk in the airport, and they were practicing for the upcoming auditions. I decided to join them. Josh Holloway was there and decided he was going to help me get the role (despite my massive crush on Sawyer, that's about as racy as it got).

There was an obstacle course that we needed to get through.  After a bit of coaching by Sawyer, I took off.  I ran across a tropical field to a sort of Mayan temple.  I had to scale the side of the temple.  I was surprised by how quickly I was able to get to my goal: a large wax candle.  My mission was to bring the melted wax of this candle back down to the ground.

I scooped the wax up in my hand.  This presented a problem: the temple was suddenly quite steep and there was no way I would be able to make it back down using only one hand.  I decided the only solution was to hold the wax in my mouth.  I ladled the warm wax into my mouth, where it began to solidify.  I feared that I would choke, but I climbed back down.  At the bottom, I handed off the wax, which at this point had turned to a kind of glowing piece of amber, and boarded the plane, now confident in my ability to get the role.

This next part happens quite often in my dreams: the plane began taxiing, but could not take off (if you ask me, that's a pretty lazy metaphor that my mind has concocted for my film career, but I'll take it).  We wound our way through the streets of Manhattan in this jumbo jet, never quite able to get enough runway for liftoff.

Somehow, my friend and I were in... some tropical location (Hawaii, maybe).  He confessed to me that he was actually one of the co-creators of Lost, but that J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindelof kind of cut him out of the picture.  He proved this by revealing where the show was headed (and curses!  I don't remember what he said!  Guess I will have to keep watching...)  I asked if he was upset.  He confessed that he initially was, but that he was too excited about his latest project (more on that soon) to let it really bother him.

After that, things either got too blurry to recall or I woke up...

tags: airplane, dream, josh holloway, lost, mayan, sawyer
categories: Uncategorized
Saturday 09.13.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

The Waiting Game

So, I thought I would give my blog readers a little glimpse of what I have been going through over the past few weeks (and offering up yet another excuse for blog slacking). Last week, I applied for an apprenticeship at Rhythm & Hues Studios in Los Angeles. It would be an amazing opportunity to get some experience on the professional "industry" side of filmmaking (uncharted territory for me), and potentially continue on to more industry projects. Don't get me wrong, I've loved working on indie projects and my own work (which falls into the realm of "avant-garde"), but a girl's got to pay the rent. I'd also like more of my challenges to be creative and collaborative- "doing things" rather than "finding work outside of my day job," which seems to be my big challenge after leaving New York. In fact, I'd say that is the greatest challenge when it comes to independent filmmaking, no matter what your role: finding work, finding money, finding talent, finding locations, finding time, finding finding finding... it's miraculous that DIY films can even get finished, let alone end up "good." This apprenticeship is specifically geared toward texture painting, which an obsessive, observant person like myself actually loves doing (for example: though I love the stories and the animation of both Ratatouille and WALL*E, I just couldn't get over how cool the tiled kitchen floors and blocks of trash looked). It would also be perfect timing, as the apprenticeship starts the day after Comic-Con ends, giving me plenty of time to drive straight from San Diego to Los Angeles without flying back to Denver. I pumped up my demo reel to (hopefully) highlight my texture painting abilities. I offer the new, improved version below. Sorry about the bad censor box. I don't want the world to have my phone number, though. :)

It took me a couple of solid weeks of work to get my demo reel, application, resume and cover letter all in order. I dropped it in the mailbox last Monday and waited. And waited. And I'm still waiting. I leave for Comic-Con tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM and I still don't know if I should be packing for three days or three weeks! The frustrating part is that it's not as simple as "you haven't heard yet, just assume it's not happening, kid." The postmark deadline for the application was only a week ago, meaning applications might still even be trickling in! They've really only had a few days to look at all of the submissions. Cutting it close...

But still, until my flight leaves tomorrow or I hear back from the studio, I'm holding on to that slight possibility of getting my foot in that oft-closed door that is the film industry.

(edit: posted later. Not sure why it didn't post the day I wrote it)

tags: apprenticeship, avant-garde, demo reel, hollywood, indie, los angeles, n 3D, rhythm and hues
categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday 07.23.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

Day Ten - VACATION!

img_0030.jpg

Much needed, I might add. Today, my roommate Alicia woke up with a fantastic idea: let's go to the beach! She didn't really need to convince me. I think I was in my bikini before she even finished the sentence! (you couldn't ask for better lighting than this)

I spent the day passed out in the sand (with my broad-spectrum sunscreen, I might add- high praises for Bliss Lab's "The Big Screen 30SPF" spray-on sunscreen which did not smell bad and kept my pale skin pale). It was easily the sunniest day of the festival and although the water was cold, I managed to get a couple of good body surfing turns in! Alicia and her friends managed to finagle their way into P. Diddy's small private party the night before where they got to hang out with the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the uber-hip. Yes, her "girlfriend" was there and no she wasn't drinking- I was given the tabloid dirt LONG before it came out in the gossip mags, which I think makes me almost the coolest person in the world. The coolest, of course, is Linz herself, then the girls who were actually there, and then me.

I enjoyed listening to their stories, but I was glad that I had spent my evening on a quieter, more introspective note: watching Michelle Williams portray Wendy in Kelly Reichardt's new film "Wendy and Lucy." She was fantastic (and there in person, I might add- swoon). In fact, I can't remember the last time I felt so connected to and moved by an actor's performance. She is now on my list of "favorite" actors. The film was very sad, very quiet, and very good (Lucy is her dog- they are traveling to Alaska so Wendy can find work when her car breaks down in Oregon and she has to confront the reality of her finances and situation- I don't do spoilers, so I'll end it there).

Beachy introspection

Beachy introspection

After relaxing on the beach and eating ice cream for lunch, I realized that I still needed to return my rented cell phone, so I ran back to the palias, slid beneath the closing gates, and returned my phone, having just enough time to text a friend about dinner. Okay, the gates weren't closing. That was just an Indiana Jones flashback. After that, I got my last free Nespresso coffee, a free bottle of mineral water, a free glass of wine and a free glass of Asti, both from Piedmont. I finished the day with a fantastic dinner of mussels in white wine broth, calamari and tiramisu and topped it off with a glass of armagnac (my favorite French liquor- after wine, of course). That was one of two good dinners I had in Cannes. The dollar doesn't get you much these days. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with my cuisine experience in Cannes. Not that I have anything against omelet sandwiches and cheese paninis, but it gets old when you eat them every day. When you're visiting the country of haute cuisine, you would like your $18 to get you a little more than a salad with cheese (not an exaggeration). The free coffee helped make up for that, though. :)

My festival days ended the way they started, with a bang:

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img_0046.jpg

I'm definitely happy to be home with some built-up steam pushing me to seek funding for my own film. Only time will tell if I was able to help LOOP. This experience was a mix of excitement, frustration, and education and I feel quite a bit more enlightened about the film industry. I'll share my thoughts on that in the next post.

tags: beach, bliss labs, cannes, Cannes film festival, dollar, euro, lindsay lohan, michelle williams, p diddy, wendy and lucy
categories: Uncategorized
Sunday 06.01.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 1
 

Day Six- War and Peace at AmPav

Monks on the Beach

Monks on the Beach

Just thought this was an interesting combination of invitees at the American Pavilion: Buddhist monks and Navy sailors on the same beach!

Navy officers on the beach

Navy officers on the beach

tags: american pavilion, buddhist monks, Cannes film festival, navy
categories: Uncategorized
Tuesday 05.20.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

Day Six- Second Wind...

...though none of it is hitting my sails. I'm just not impressed anymore. Now I'm beginning the major marketing campaign for LOOP- Walking through the palais and scoping out potentials, standing around, passing out postcards to whomever will take them, much like the tour bus drivers. And like the tour bus drivers, I can promise a ride, albeit an artistic and intellectual one, but a ride nonetheless. Unlike the tour bus drivers, I believe in this ride. I'm not looking for fare, I want to share!

I think LOOP is fantastic. I think it's amazing that Pericles has put this together in two years with zero budget and massive amounts of love. THAT is what makes a great film, in my opinion. I worked on this project not because it was presented to me as "it will make you big" or "it's the next 'Blair Witch Project'" or any other such bullshit, but because the director was straightforward with me and asked me to help, appreciated my vision and gave me the freedom to really cut loose and let my imagination run wild. I can't say enough good about it.

And unfortunately, it does not have the representation it deserves here in Cannes! I'm no good at this marketing and self selling crap.

In fact, although the red carpet is glamorous and it is exciting to be a part of all of this, to see the stars and all that, I must say this: the Cannes Film Festival is the oil slick of Hollywood! All of the schmoozing, lying, gawking, "fakiness," standing around and hoping to be accepted... I know it's a part of the industry, but it is not a part my mind plays well with.

I do best with the panel discussions, where working professionals talk about what they do. The parties are making me ill. As is this infected wound on my heel (because I don't usually wear heels)...

So this entry was my diatribe against the Wall Street end of filmmaking as well as my love letter to LOOP. Not much festival news. I ran into some interview with some... star, but I've given up on trying to identify them.

Oh... and Rachel Leigh Cook was who I thought was Kirsten Dunst. I suck at this form of star gazing! And you can't even see the ones in the sky from here!

tags: burnout, Cannes film festival, hollywood
categories: Uncategorized
Tuesday 05.20.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 6
 

Day Five- Hitting the Wall

So today was the big Indiana Jones premiere and all I felt I could do was sleep! I am still seriously jet lagged and did way too much too fast when I got here. Plus, the access/no access security check point stand in a line all day thing really wears you out after a while. It’s like going to the airport for fun. Even the lawn is "forbidded" here:

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This is actually a common complaint of festival-goers. Nothing is explained to you here. Access to certain places seems to be granted and denied at the whim of whoever. Not only that, but there’s this fatalistic attitude that goes along with the whole thing- as if nothing can be done to make anything clearer. That’s just the way it is. “This space is now closed,” one guard said to me. “Oh, okay. Well, what time is it usually opened?” I asked. “Not now.”

Oh... Thanks for the help. I guess as long as it's not "now," I can go in.

Indiana Jones was a mob scene. I was pushed from one end of the carpet (no access) to the other (limited access) and then back again, all the while being accosted by people demanding if I had “un ticket de plus” that they could have. I ended up being late for the big red carpet entrance and had to wait as the movie stars made their way up the carpet. After all, the last thing you want in a picture of a star on the red carpet is a normal person in the background! Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but this meant that by the time I got to the top, I was ushered into a sort of overflow room and wasn‘t allowed to sit in the larger theatre. This was an extreme disappointment to me, as I went to great lengths to secure a ticket in the main auditorium so that I could share the film with its director. That was the whole point, in fact. I didn’t quite see the point in reserving a ticket if the space was not… reserved. I still got to see the film, but no Spielberg. I’d have just gone to the earlier screening that did not demand formal dress if I had known that would be the case. Still, I think I looked okay- even though my phone somehow skewed/warped the image…

Courtney Hoskins at the premier of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Courtney Hoskins at the premier of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I'm really not that diagonal...

After the film, I ended up by the back exit where the movie stars and their entourage leave. This is where I had seen Woody Allen the night before. I decided to stick around, just in case Stevo and the cast decided to show up. I ended up in the paparazzi mob- which is not a place I ever wish to find myself again. And that’s about all I got photos of:

img_09981.jpg

I did see the back of Goldie Hawn’s head, Faye Dunaway, some guy named Giles, some woman named Denise (or a guy named Denny- it’s hard to tell with the French accents) and a woman who looked like Kirsten Dunst (but who I don’t think was). I think the people from the film had left by the time I got there. No Spielberg.

Oh, there was one famous woman I did see: Salma Hayek. In fact, as I mentioned, I arrived at the same time as the stars. We had to move around the red carpet to get to the steps. When I arrived at the steps, I heard the paparazzi scream “Salma!” I turned to my right, and there she was. So, we climbed the red steps together and we left the film together.

This is particularly funny to me, as Salma Hayek and I have a bit of a “history” together at Cannes: When I was an intern here in 1999, I got to be “the list holder” for a swanky party- if they didn't have their invite, they came to me. This beautiful woman was sent to me because she didn’t have her invitation. She looked at me, perplexed. “Hayek? Salma Hayek?” What can I say? Her name wasn’t on the list! I didn’t know what to say. Luckily, a herd of official people ran out of the party to grab her and bring her in, saving me the embarrassment of putting her in an armlock and throwing her out (I'm mean like that). Still, I felt like an idiot. Telling her she wasn’t on the list was bad enough!

Flash forward nine years and not only do I know who she is (heck, one of the companies I worked for in New York did the special effects for Frieda), but here we are on the same side of the fence this time. Only, I was the one denied entry and no one ran out to grab me and bring me in…

That and the film made it a good night. None of the access/denial crap mattered once the movie started. I loved it. I think it’s going to get a mixed reception by the fans, but this fan adored it. It was fun, and Indy and... yeah. I thought it was good.

tags: Cannes film festival, celebritites, indiana jones, steven spielberg
categories: Uncategorized
Monday 05.19.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 2
 

Day... wait. What day is this?

Aaaaalll right! Giggity giggity giggity! I'm too excited for Indiana Jones to do a real recap of yesterday. Like I said, I had to stay up until 3:30 in the morning to get them so I was a bit tired the next day. In fact, that day, which I believe is day four in my adventures, could be summed up in one word: frustration.

I got up to see an older Japanese film that was playing in one of the sidebar festivals. I stood in line for a while to see it and was impressed that the line was so long. I finally got settled into my seat only to discover that it was the same gloomy/creepy Turkish film that I saw the day before! Because they close the doors on all of these screenings, that pretty much ruined that time slot for movie watching.

marche-001.jpg

I wandered around the market looking for folks, unable to find them. I will post a picture of the insanity that is the film market as soon as I find my USB cable. Updated- USB found. Imagine about 30 hallways like the two below. And this year is supposed to be a "quiet" one here:

marche-002.jpg

I went home and got dressed up for the evening. Then the sky opened up and dumped rain on everyone, forcing me to spend an unreasonable amount of money on an umbrella.

I wandered some more, waiting for some friends to get out of a screening. We grabbed dinner and tried to get into some parties, where we were repeatedly denied access.

But I don't particularly care about all of that. Like I said, I get to see Indy. After tonight, though, I will be a bit more aggressive about the marketing of LOOP (which includes muscling my way into parties where I think the buyers might be hanging out).

Oh, and I also happened upon Woody Allen and his entourage being herded into their private cars after his screening. He was the only one I actually recognized, but Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Patricia Clarkson were apparently there. Again, photos are forthcoming (though I don't think they include any recognizable stars).

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tags: Cannes film festival, france, woody allen
categories: Uncategorized
Sunday 05.18.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 1
 

ZOMG! Holy Crap! Cool, cool, cool!!

indy.jpg

Know what this is? It's a freaking ticket to see the world premiere of Indiana Jones- with the cast and crew- tomorrow night!!!

I had to stay up until 3:30 in the morning and do some clever math to get it on my own steam, but it is the most coveted thing in this whole town right now! Needless to say, I'm guarding it with my life.

tags: cannes, indiana jones
categories: Uncategorized
Saturday 05.17.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 2
 

Day Three- Cannes Tryptophan

Or an extremely gloomy, slow and visually boring film from Turkey. Get it? Turkey? Tryptophan? Yeah, lame joke. I knocked it down a notch today. The festival is 12 days so it's important to pace yourself. I saw "Three Monkeys" from Turkey. I didn't care for it. It had most of the visual elements that make me physically uncomfortable: vomit, rape, and a deformed little naked alien-looking kid who just stood there and whispered and look creepy.

Then, I saw "Tokyo." Well, I saw the first two of the three films that make up "Tokyo." The first was directed by Michel Gondry. Loved it. The second by Leos Carax. Loved that one too, though it was completely different. I missed the third part by Korean director Joon Ho Bong, but I wanted to make sure I gave myself enough time to fight for my Indiana Jones tickets. More on that in a bit...

I took care of the technical ends of LOOP today- making sure the Beta screener was in the right hands and that people who should see the film have been invited to do so.

Unfortunately, I ended the day's adventures dealing with a French creep who was waiting at the bus stop, trying to explain to me why I have to go get coffee with him.

No pictures today. But then, do you really want a picture of boredom and creeps? It's too bad my day was bookended in this way. I really did enjoy "Tokyo."

tags: cannes, creepy, film festival, france, three monkeys, turkey
categories: Uncategorized
Saturday 05.17.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

Day Two- Kung Fu and 3D Love

The day started with me attempting to get some work done in the American Pavilion, or AmPav as the folks in the know call it. It’s difficult to write when people sit down next to you and start chatting, but it can be worth the frustration. One person offered me a job… here. He wanted me to do some animation for him on the film he is screening in the market next week. The thought of stopping all festival activities to do AfterEffects work does not sound appealing to me. I’ve politely declined. A couple of times... I sat in on an AmPav panel discussion about 3D. I don’t mean 3D animation, but actual 3D where you wear the glasses.

3D Panel - Awesome

3D Panel - Awesome

I must admit, I am a convert. After realizing how doable 3D is these days, I began seeing my whole film in 3D and it was pretty exciting. I'm seriously considering going down that road. The guest celebrity speaker here was James (Jim) Cameron- participating via Skype. I read part of a recent article he had written in a video magazine, so I knew that he was intimately familiar with the technology he is using, but I was still impressed. He spoke briefly about "Avatar," which I really can’t wait to see, but spoke more about industry trends and technological possibilities. He's passionate about what he does. It was inspiring and contagious. He was "there" with his DP and basic... genius guy, Vince Pace.

James Cameron and Vince Pace talk about 3D

James Cameron and Vince Pace talk about 3D

Then, it was the red carpet premiere of Kung Fu Panda! I have to admit, it wasn't number one on my list, but it stars Jack Black and Angelina Jolie, who were kind enough to pose for me the last time they were in an animated film together and in Cannes (my pictures from 2004- Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Will Smith on an inflatable shark). Plus, it was an animated film about Kung Fu. How could I not see it? Now that I have chilled in the same "room" as them and watched a movie, I think that officially makes us "friends." George Lucas and Dustin Hoffman and Lucy Liu and countless others were also in the audience. I didn't get many pictures of the stars (yes, Sue, Brad Pitt was there), but if you've ever wondered what it's like on the other side of the paparazzi cam, here's a bit of a photo rundown:

Almost there

Almost there

Approaching the tapis rouge:

Red carpet, baby!

Red carpet, baby!

J'y arrive!

The guards and the paparazzi

The guards and the paparazzi

on the other side of the lens:

Walking up the steps

Walking up the steps

and up the steps I go:

The steps (les marches rouges)

The steps (les marches rouges)

Looking back at the crowd

Looking back at the crowd

Me- red carpet in the background! Thanks to the english women who took my photo!

Me- red carpet in the background! Thanks to the english women who took my photo!

my outfit (I got this for the screening of LOOP because of the cranes printed on it, but I thought it was appropriate for Kung Fu Panda because... well... Kung Fu! Crane style is one of my favorite styles:

Detail on my dress.

Detail on my dress.

Inside the theater- balcony

Inside the theater- balcony

The stars really glow!

The stars really glow!

You know, I've made jokes about the two types of stars that I like, but I thought it was funny to see just how brightly they glow:.

My phone doesn't zoom, so I had to take a picture of the screen:

Jack and Angie- my buds

Jack and Angie- my buds

Fireworks on the croisette (the main street of Cannes):

Fireworks on the Croisette

Fireworks on the Croisette

Fireworks from the rooftop poolside party.

Fireworks from the rooftop poolside party.

I decided to do a crane-style pose in my crane-style dress in honor of Kung Fu Panda:

Black tie crane

Black tie crane

You can see from the photo that I'm carrying my trusty fish purse- my festival favorite. I was photographed twice by some fashion magazines because of it.

The film was okay, by the way. Nothing new for anyone familiar with Kung Fu movies/stories. I thought the idea of having animal characters for each animal style was pretty cute. For the most part, the animals seemed to behave true to their style. I liked it a lot, but it was definitely not a "phenomenal" film. Part of me wondered why Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan were even cast- they spoke all of three lines.

tags: 3d, american pavilion, angelina jolie, Cannes film festival, film, jack black, james cameron, kung fu panda, movies, vince pace
categories: Uncategorized
Friday 05.16.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 11
 

Cannes Day One- Setting Up

Helicopter at ampav

Helicopter at ampav

A helicopter just landed in front of me. I can’t see who got out of it, but an entourage met them at the landing pad and rushed them off from beneath the blades. I find this amusing. You see, I, too, was brought here by helicopter. Many many helicopters, actually. I modeled a swarm of 3D helicopters that got me started working on LOOP. I never would have guessed that over a year later I’d be representing the film at the Cannes film festival. And yet, here I am. And I’m excited.

After my flight ordeal, I was both exhausted and jet lagged. I slept in until about 11:30. Eventually, I figured I should get up to get my festival accreditation and cell phone, so I dragged myself out of bed. My hotel is about 2.5 miles from the palais where most of the festival activities take place.

I tried to get a week-long bus ticket, but the tabac where one buys such things was closed. I decided to walk:

The Med

The Med

Les bateaux

Les bateaux

Basic recap of my day: slept till noon, walked a couple of miles along the beach under the warm Mediterranean sun, collected access badge for biggest film festival of the year. Oh, and did I mention, boys, that the beach was a topless beach?

Yeah, it was a hard day.

I'm all official now. I missed out on the opening film, Blindness, but there are hundreds of others, so I'm sure I'll see something good eventually.  A couple of quick pictures from the opening of the festival.  This was the arrival of all of the judges.  Natalie Portman is in there somewhere.

The Palais- Blindness at Cannes

The Palais- Blindness at Cannes

The Palais at Cannes- Opening Night

The Palais at Cannes- Opening Night

tags: beach, blindness, cannes, opening night, palais
categories: Uncategorized
Thursday 05.15.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 2
 

Panic attacks and hospitality

It's always a bit terrifying when the plane starts lurching back and forth and dropping several feet while the engines rev and struggle. Especially when the only information given from the pilot is that all passengers and flight attendants need to take their seats and securely fasten their seat belts immediately. And even more especially when, as I mentioned before, you have been re-watching the first season of Lost and joking about crash landing on a desert island (only we were over Detriot). I think this scenario is the very reason Xanax was invented.Needless to say, I took a pretty decent dose of it. Once we were out of the turbulence, I was able to sleep a bit. The food was awful, the sleep sporadic... really a terrible flight.

And then there was London. I love the English. The terminal in which I was waiting for my next flight offered pedicures (not free, but reasonably priced). I immediately signed up. It was fantastic.

While I waited for the paint to dry, I got to sit in a fancy massage chair (which felt eerily human). I pulled out my laptop and tried to connect... denied. Another "pay as you go" type of wifi. When I brought this frustration up to my pedicurist, she fetched me an Ethernet cable and made me tea. Loverly....

Of course, this is posted a day late because I became SO relaxed, I panicked  when I looked up and saw that my flight was bording and pulled the plug on my connection...

tags: airline, airpiort, airplane, flight, heathrow, london, pedicure
categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday 05.14.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

The Terminal

Only without Tom Hanks or Catherine Zeta-Jones or any comedy, drama or story of any kind... Well, the last part is not quite true. There's always a story. Even if you have to delve into the inane to find it. And I do. A lot. Six hours is a long time to have to sit at an airport.

I have to confess something: I am a total tech toy geek. It’s an illness I’ve had since childhood. When the MacBook Air came out, I wanted one. I didn’t want to pay thousands of dollars for it (and what's the point if you can't get that solid state drive), but I wanted one. I think I found a reasonable compromise.

My latest purchase is the ASUS EeePC. For $360, I get the smallest damn laptop I’ve ever seen. It weighs two pounds and is… well, look (and I have small hands):

tiny little laptop…

tiny little laptop…

It comes with Windows XP and (fairly zippy) wireless internet, AND, to my shock and glee, a built-in web cam and microphone (we were right over the Grand Canyon here):

looking at the grand canyon

looking at the grand canyon

The tradeoff is that it has no disk drive and an extremely small amount of storage, but for blogging and keeping up with e-mail, it's perfect. I have my iPhone (the last manifestation of my tech illness), but I’m terrified to do anything online with it while I’m in Europe- international roaming rates are… pretty high.

This should keep this blog sufficiently supplied with tales and pictures and videos throughout Cannes. As long as the free wireless I was promised is really free. I had to do some hacking to get it for free here at LAX.

tags: airport, asus, eeepc, laptop, lax, travel
categories: Uncategorized
Monday 05.12.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 5
 

A new adventure dawns...

sunrise_bus1.jpg

I’m tired. It was impossible to actually sleep last night. I was fussing over my baggage weight. I got a large bag with swiveling wheels so that I could carry the publicity material for LOOP as well as my costume changes for the festival (and the makeup and hair care products/devices that entails). Then I realized that combined with my own luggage, everything weighed about 75lbs. There is a 50 pound-per-bag limit for checked luggage before you are charged an extra $50-$100. You can have TWO such 50lb bags, however. I ended up packing a 25lb bag within a 50lb bag for easy transport and split them up at the luggage counter. Problem solved. I don’t know why that makes them happy, but it does. That and putting your shower gel bottles in a ziplock bag...

I took the bus at sunrise to get to the airport where, after pulling my matryoshka luggage trick, I stood in the security line for an hour and argued with them over why it was NOT okay for the Betacam screening copy of LOOP to go through the x-ray machine. “It should be okay,“ said he. “Should be.” Well that makes me feel better. It’s only like the most important piece of this trip… They finally agreed to a hand inspection explaining that for security reasons everything MUST get x-rayed but that they were doing me a favor. Meanwhile, my pencil sharpener (read: razor blade) managed to miraculously get through these "magical" x-rays… Not that I intend to use it for evil. Unless I draw an evil character, and even then, I’m sure I will be putting him to good use.

Now I have to wait at LAX for six hours before I actually leave for Cannes, which is then a ten-and-a-half hour flight... Why I am going from Colorado to California to France (well, London, then France) is a long story. Suffice it to say, I’ve only completed the first few hours of my journey and I’m already tired.

We hit some heavy turbulence leaving Denver. That’s pretty normal going into the mountains (that rugged terrain makes all sorts of exciting air currents and is one of the reasons you hear of planes going down in the mountains). I don’t like flying. Actually, that’s not true. I love flying. I don’t like the idea of crashing. It doesn’t seem like it would be pleasant. Probably shouldn’t have brought the entire first season of Lost on my iPhone, but… I suppose if I had to crash, it might as well be with Jack and Sawyer and Kate and the gang of cool characters on that show. Especially Sawyer… ahem.

Wormholes and time warps and magical islands notwithstanding, my only major obstacle getting to France should be fatigue.

tags: airplane, Cannes film festival, france, lax, lost
categories: Uncategorized
Monday 05.12.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 4
 

to pack or not to pack...

What a question! What do you pack to a 12-day film festival that goes from casual to black tie in a matter of hours?The answer: a lot. And an adapter.

More updates to come...

categories: Uncategorized
Sunday 05.11.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 

And now for some new news! LOOP at Cannes!

That's right! Real, realtime, new news! Next Monday I will head overseas for the 2008 Cannes Film Festival! THIS is why I have been such a blog slacker lately. When I traveled to the festival in 2004, it was mostly for fun. This time, I will be representing a film that I have really been working really hard on. The film is LOOP by Pericles Lewnes.

Now I know I have plugged this film before, but since then, Pericles has been generous enough to let me go to town with visual effects... and I have! I have gone rotoscope-crazy!

Pericles Lewnes in LOOP

Pericles Lewnes in LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

Still from LOOP

For those of you who do not know what rotoscoping is, I'll put it like this: it's like tracing, only you trace over every single frame of a movie (by the way, video is roughly 30 image frames per second, meaning one 8 minute scene (which each still above represents) contains about 48,000 images...)

Now, I didn't do all of the inky, graphic novel-looking stuff by hand. Most of that was automated (most of it- though I might add that "automated" does not necessarily mean "easy"). What I did do frame-by-frame was trace over the "real people" to cut them out of the graphic novel-looking background or vice-versa. There are usually MUCH easier ways to do this- typically involving keying out some shape or color (think bluescreen), but the scenes were not set up that way when the film was shot, so I had to do it all by hand. Yes, my hand hurts.

I will dedicate an entire posting to the art of digital compositing at some point, but for now, the most important thing is LOOP is playing at the Cannes Film Festival and I am happy to represent it! I am very proud to be part of the team that put this film together. Pericles has done an amazing job to pull off an independent film worthy of attention and I hope it receives a lot of it at Cannes.

A little over a year ago, now, Pericles and I competed in the prime time disaster that was On the Lot (think American Idol for film directors). He had posted a question to the forum asking if anyone knew how to do 3D animation and if they thought they could make a helicopter. He had no budget, but I saw it as a great learning opportunity. So I taught myself Maya. Which is insane, but yes, I did it (incidentally, it is now one of my favorite programs). It took me a while to do, but I modeled the helicopter, textured it, and composited it into the scene:

(The Loop section of this video starts at about 2:10 into it)

Pericles and I have never met in person. We have never even spoken over the phone. Despite physical obstacles, we have managed to pull off some pretty slick visual effects using e-mail, snail mail, ftp, trust and probably some sort of strange psychic something or other. I can't wait to see it on the big screen!

tags: cannes, Cannes film festival, film festival, indiana jones, loop
categories: Uncategorized
Thursday 05.08.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 4
 

Reflections on Los Angeles

Yes, it's been a while since I've written. I've been traveling and am about to do some more, but one thing at a time. I'm going to "lie" about the post date of this blog because it was written and photographed quite some time ago.

So, I recently returned from Los Angeles. While having fun was part of the plan, I was also doing some reconnaissance for my career. As an aspiring filmmaker, it's definitely a place I want to be at some point- though that point might be a little later in time than I initially thought. Quite a few people are cynical about "La-la Land" (a term that I really dislike), but I think that a lot of that is founded on its Hollywood mystique and its mostly false promises that anyone can make it big on a dream (though those are good reasons to be cynical, I suppose). In the end it's just place, and even the Hollywood power players are just people.

That's not to say us film geeks don't find it magical on a certain level. The "fun" highlight of my trip was a tour of Warner Brothers (thanks to Opie for recommending this). While I maintained my outward composure, the inner me was pretty much geeking out.

Warner Brothers Studio water tower. Animaniacs!

Warner Brothers Studio water tower. Animaniacs!

A fistful of Smiths.

A fistful of Smiths.

Replica of the piano from Casablanca

Replica of the piano from Casablanca

The Batmobile!

The Batmobile!

Central Perk Menu

Central Perk Menu

Central Perk.

Central Perk.

Me at Central Perk

Me at Central Perk

One of the "cool stuff" we didn't get to take pictures of was legendary "stage 16-" the largest sound stage in the world (over 32,000 square feet and 65 feet tall). They even rent it out to other studios. Jurassic Park was filmed there! Many other films were also filmed there, but I'm just saying, this place is big enough to house a T-Rex! It also has a two million gallon water tank under the floor. The very thought of that made me shudder. Poseidon (the new) was filmed there. The thought of walking into a building and seeing ships floating around was just too much for my brain.

Other off-limits "cool stuff" was their museum (which is pretty much dedicated to Harry Potter at the moment), and the set of "Chuck." I don't particularly like that show, but it was pretty cool to walk around the set. They also have one of the few remaining Scenic Art departments that allows hand-painting of enormous backdrops for sets. Quite a bit of that is done digitally these days, but they still keep pretty busy, it seems. There's a slit in the floor that allows the canvas to be raised up and down 30 vertical feet so the artists can keep their feet on the ground rather than climb scaffolding. I thought that was a pretty well thought-out touch.

Now, I'd also like to avoid implying that Los Angles doesn't take some... getting used to. Burbank (which is more "Hollywood" than the actual place called "Hollywood") is particularly odd and really does have that "movie magic" mix of awe and bullshit. I can deal with that, though. There were other things that are keeping me from making any sort of immediate move:

Housing is extremely expensive. Being from Boulder, which has its own high-range price tags, I wasn't too shocked to hear the prices of rentals, but it's definitely not cheap. Neither place would be ideal for someone without a job.

Lights of Traffic on the 405

Lights of Traffic on the 405

The second point of frustration was the driving. I was there for ten days and it cost me $150 in gas! Granted, I was doing quite a bit of driving, but if one were to end up in a commuter situation, it would probably be comparable to that without an alternative fuel vehicle. I was able to avoid the highways during rush hour (though it's pretty easy to get in a traffic jam at 2am), but I wasn't able to avoid getting severely lost. I had my trusty iPhone with Google Maps, but when you are both driver and navigator, that does little to help. I would definitely want some sort of GPS if I lived there...

By the way- if anyone at Google Maps is reading this: a 90 degree turn is a "left," not a "slight" left. A "slight" left implies that the road curves... "slightly" or that there is a fork in the road. When you have to turn 90 degrees to the left at an intersection, that is called "making a left." Thank you for utterly confusing me and adding to the feeling of hopelessness. Needless to say, I never made it up to Griffith Park Observatory and I never saw the damn Hollywood sign.

The third- and greatest- annoyance was the smog. I tried to stay west of the hills whenever possible, but when I traveled into the smog sink that is Burbank, I got a sore throat and a mild attack of asthma within about an hour. I would have a hard time living or working right there. Burbank is, incidentally, where I got lost the most. On several occasions, I wound up on the back lot of a movie studio, apologizing profusely to a security guard (only later wishing I hadn't apologized as much as lied and gotten myself past the gates).

Toes in the Sand in Santa Monica.

Toes in the Sand in Santa Monica.

All in all, though, I had a great time. Santa Monica is the place for me! If I could get a job there AND live there (both realistic dreams), I'd be pretty happy. You can actually walk around there, ride your bike, and of course, hang out at the beach (even on a cold, gray day like this one)!

categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday 04.09.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
Comments: 1
 

Snowbird on Cable

The title of this post sounds like a casual observation. Birds are frequently found perched on cables when it's snowing. While that is very true, that's not what this post is about. Ahem.

My film is going to be on the IFC three times (that's thrice) this month:

Tue 01/08/08 02:50PM Tue 01/15/08 12:50AM Mon 01/28/08 10:50AM

All times are Eastern Standard. Check it out if you haven't already. Chances are, if you read this blog, you have already seen this film. You've never seen it on cable, though! Think about it...

If you haven't seen it and don't have cable but would like to see it and don't have cable so you can't see it on cable, you can watch it online here: Snowbird on IFC

I'm in a bit of an idiotic mood...

tags: film contest, hoskins, independent film, short film, snowbird
categories: Uncategorized
Friday 01.04.08
Posted by Courtney Hoskins
 
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