My Cinemagic blog

A blog about my passion and love - Cinema. All things cinema will be covered here. Films to inspire, to captivate and films for you to also fall in love with. I am a film maker by trade. Working in Movies and Television over the past few years. But this blog is not about me promoting myself, it's about celebrating the craft, the art of the visual image. To inspire any creative minds out there. Let's celebrate the moving image together. Enjoy.

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'Johnny Express' is a very well made CGI short. Written, Directed and animated by James Kyungmin Woo. It is a dark comedy. The storytelling here is superb. Humour, action, this animation has a lot. Really worth the 5-minutes of your life to watch it.

It's 2150. There are all sorts of Aliens living throughout space. Johnny is a space delivery man who travels to different planets to deliver packages. Johnny is lazy and his only desire is to sleep in his autopilot spaceship. When the spaceship arrives at the destination, all he has to do is simply deliver the box. 

However it never goes as planned. Johnny encounters strange and bizare planets and always seems to cause trouble on his delivery route.

Will he be able to finish this mission without trouble?

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'The Gift' is a short film / advert directed by Carl E. Rinsch. One of the great things about this short is it allows us as a viewer the chance to project our own thoughts onto it. What is in the box? A really good watch. It is a old short from 2010 that propelled Carl E. Rinsch into features with him directing his first '47 Ronin'  I love the production design more than anything else that is seen in this film. It is just beautiful. 

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Sam Mendes talks about the importance of research in film. No matter the size of your production, Whether it be a no-budget film you are making or a large budgeted film, research is vital. Never underestimate its importance when developing a project.

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Anyone who has ever studied the heroes journey will be familiar with what is spoken about in this video. I have done, but found this video to really sum it up well in a limited amount of time. It is really worth a watch if you are a fan of the mythical heroes, superheroes, or want to get a better understanding of it yourself and how that journey applies to your daily life. Synopsis

What trails unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes? Matthew Winklet takes us step-by-step  through the crucial events that make or break a hero

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'Invasions' is a short film created and directed by Clément Morin. It is a wonderful film that really has a heart-warming theme to it. Watch it and enjoy. If you like it check out the website of the creator at: http://www.clement-morin.com/  

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Roger Deakins work from the film 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'.

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This is Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece 'Ikiru'. It is one of his greatest films. I watched it again over the weekend thanks to the beautiful Criterion restoration rerelease. If you have never seen the film, please do. It is sad, funny, and inspiring. It really celebrates life and brings home the message of making the most out of it. It is simply a beautiful film.

Synopsis

A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer

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A great short film. Very inspiring and well made. I think a lot can be learned from this short, mainly that to tell a captivating story well doesn't mean your project needs to be excessively long. This project was shot on a Canon 7d and was shot mainly with a 24-70mm 2.8L lens.

Synopsis

"Living in a world where everybody wears masks due to lack of self-identity, a brave girl encounters the truth that sets her free"

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A very good and analytical look at the work of Steven Spielberg. It is a great video to watch to see how a master handles the frame and uses all the different elements to capture his vision. Credit to Steven Benedict who created this work. 

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If I’m any example, it took me nine years of starving, struggling and honing my craft before I started making my living as a writer. Those were lean years, too, believe me. But in the nine years since then, I haven’t stopped working. I consider myself very lucky, but I also believe you can make your own luck by applying the elbow grease of determination and effort, by nurturing a persistent belief in yourself no matter how bleak your chances seem

Frank Darabont

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One of the hardest things that people seem to get their head around when they want to embark on making a great film. How do you make a good film Vs a Bad film? Nobody sets out to make a bad film. I think this video of Quentin Tarantino explaining the advice he was given early in his career, and what he does to make his films work could be very useful. Despite what you think of his films, love or hate, I think this is a good video with some really good advice for budding film makers.   I believe very strongly in a few pieces of information Quentin talks about here. Mainly hiring the best people for the various roles in production and shooting single camera. There should be no need to  have multiple cameras - it is just a way of saying you do not having a clear vision for that scene or film. There are exceptions of course, such as 'Captain Phillips' which used multiple cameras in order to really amp up the momentum in that film with fast-paced editing. As a general rule, single camera shoots should be used for the most part.

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I'm sorry to say I have not been updating this blog as much as I should have over the past year. I got distracted with life and illness which prevented it. Thankfully, I am back, and you can expect to  see a lot more posts to get you back into sharing the love for cinema. For those those who have followed me and wanted more from it - you will get it. I look forward to what I will share and help build this as a great place for creative inspiration and celebration. 

Love, Chris

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There is no reason why challenging themes and engaging stories have to be mutually exclusive – in fact, each can fuel the other. As a filmmaker, I want to entertain people first and foremost. If out of that comes a greater awareness and understanding of a time or a circumstance, then the hope is that change can happen.

Edward Zwick

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Here is a great inspirational video. All different types of clips have been edited into this short film, that really will leave you inspired. Watch it in HD and full screen to get the most out of it. 

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A music video that is visually captivating. The music is beautiful - The Tallest Man on Earth 'Into the stream'. He has long been a favorite of mine. Simple, beautiful, timeless.  

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A music video of Beruit 'Nantes', filmed by LaBlogtheque. It shows the power of telling a story well. One shot, no over the top gimmicks or in your face editing. Just simplicity, which works brilliantly. Enjoy.

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Benoît Debie' cinematography from the film 'Enter the Void'. His beautiful work on the film brings the world alive and every frame is gorgeous.