Something that seems to be overlooked in film courses, books, reviews and just about anything that analyzes film is one of the most important aspects cinema...the last scene. I don’t think a lot people including many writers and directors understand how important it is. The last scene has more influence on how someone judges a film than most other aspects. It is the final thing a viewer sees before they make their initial judgment of the film as a whole. I believe this can make or break a film. Ask a lawyer how important the closing arguments are to a case.
The Rum Diaries is a recent example of a weak end - events wrapped up in text on a black screen. Interest that we have invested in characters and plots weakly concluded or worse, unresolved. Contrast this to a great ending like The Matrix. The Matrix’s last scene showed us with a punch that there is even more to the story and we are left with anticipation. The ending slams to a close and one can’t help but smile. Iron Man was another good ending.
It isn’t even what all was delivered, but more importantly how. As I think of the movies I like almost all had great endings that leave a nice taste in your mouth.
I have a really nice ending to Insectula! planned and even though on the script it doesn’t read that all that dramatic, I plan to deliver it with a punch. I’m excited to get to work on it as I think it’s real solid.
The Rum Diaries is a recent example of a weak end - events wrapped up in text on a black screen. Interest that we have invested in characters and plots weakly concluded or worse, unresolved. Contrast this to a great ending like The Matrix. The Matrix’s last scene showed us with a punch that there is even more to the story and we are left with anticipation. The ending slams to a close and one can’t help but smile. Iron Man was another good ending.
It isn’t even what all was delivered, but more importantly how. As I think of the movies I like almost all had great endings that leave a nice taste in your mouth.
I have a really nice ending to Insectula! planned and even though on the script it doesn’t read that all that dramatic, I plan to deliver it with a punch. I’m excited to get to work on it as I think it’s real solid.
I had some very shaky footage that I had tried several plugins on to help stabilize. Some of these plugins were very expensive and I did eventually get satisfactory results. I decided to try it again after I upgraded to After Effects CS 5.5 as it includes a stabilizer called Warp Stabilizer. I am amazed. This is far ahead of the best stabilization tools out there...nothing comes close. The rolling shutter fix in it is perfect. This really frees me up to do more tracking shots and more handheld work. It makes shaky footage butter smooth like a steadicam. In my next shoot I plan to do alot of camera work to see how free I really am.
EDIT: After shooting more and further inspection it turns out I'm not that free. It's still a great stabilizer but it isn't quite the magical tool I first saw.
EDIT: After shooting more and further inspection it turns out I'm not that free. It's still a great stabilizer but it isn't quite the magical tool I first saw.