Recently, I was interviewed by Chris Magee, the creator and Japanese film guru of The Toronto Japanese Film Appreciation Pow-Wow, a group of Japanese film aficionados of over 500 people. Chris met with Andy and I one day while were cutting Ashita (you can read Chris’ article on Ashita here: http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2008/06/mj-di-rocco-takes-on-challenge-with.html --in fact if your at all interested in Japanese movies, which you may be, if you’re interested in my film, you should check this site out) To me, the ultimate sign that I am not losing my mind making these films I make is when people whom I’ve never met take an interest in what I am doing. Which is, case in point, the result of Mr. Magee’s article on Ashita. A young gentleman by the name of Ben Dower contacted me through Chris with his own dreams of making a Japanese movie in Toronto—bringing the total of gaijin nut jobs who want to make Japanese language movies to 2! Still, though, the boat is a little less lonely now that Ben came aboard.
Ben and I have exchanged a few emails in which he’s asked me a few questions and my advice on making a Japanese movie in Toronto. Honestly, like Andy and I discussed with Chris, I’ve never really met anybody who’s done what we’re doing with Ashita, so we kind of invented the rules and processes as went along.
Below are some of the interesting points of our email conversation:
BEN: What interested me with you and Ashita is that you managed to make a film entirely in Japanese and about Japanese people in Toronto (which is something I'd very much like to do).
MJ: Thank you, I take that as a high compliment.
BEN: I just graduated from Confederation College's film production program. I am now trying to figure out where (and how) to to take the next step from here.
MJ: I can appreciate your situation. Throughout film school , not once do they really teach marketing, financing, management or any of the business skills you would need in order survive in the real world trying to make a film. Any sensible person knows (or quickly learns) that when you graduate film school nobody will hire you as director. More than likely, you are working as a 3rd AD wrangling extras or some other fun stuff.
BEN: It is true that very little film business is taught in film school. I had one course in the last semester on film business but I could tell the teacher just did not have enough time in this course to cover the information properly.
MJ: I can see not much has changed in films schools over years.
BEN: I am just out of film school and the only experience I have is on student films. I want to know what the best way is, in Toronto, to go from this point in my life to making the films I want to make...films that I write and direct.
MJ: Again, I can appreciate your situation. I have been there too. The best advice I can give you here is that if you really, really want to make your own films--if you want to make your stories, your way--well you need to do it on your own. Get yourself a half decent camera, join LIFT find a good cast and crew and just shoot it. When I say find a good crew I mean find a crew that wants to be crew and not directors (you've been to film school I am sure you understand what I mean in that statement). Find a DP that just wants to shoot and do pretty lighting. Find a sound guy that eats and breathes sound. And more importantly find a good editor who loves to cut and build stories through cutting (editors should never be 'yes' men that agree with everything you say, trust me on this one. You want an editor who is a free thinker and will surprise you.) But most importantly, you need patience. If you make a film for next to no money or no money at all, you will have to accept and understand that it is a longer process than if you had millions to throw at your crew. And if you work in a language you don't speak fluently, it will take you even longer--but if you believe in what your doing and you respect the integrity of the filmmaking process, then it will be a good final product.
(What I didn't mention to Ben, but I will mention here--when you work independently, what really counts are the people you work with. Find some good people, people who are passionate and excited about making a movie, like I did with Ashita, and that is a good first step in the right direction.)
BEN: I want to know how you were able to get such a project to be made. How did you get to the point in filmmaking where you could actually do that? I know many studios wouldn't fund this sort of experimental project because it probably be considered a large risk for the studio. Are you doing it independently, out of your own pocket, did you manage to secure funding, or did you get a government grant?
MJ: I am doing it independently. I've done enough work over the years to get all my own equipment. I did a TV pilot for LIFE Network a few years ago and managed to gather my equipment from that. Studios rarely give money to anybody and usually whatever budget you give them will be cut in half or even more by the time its green lit. Government grants are always fun to try and figure out, you have a lot of forms to fill out and it takes several months before they respond to you.
BEN: Did you shoot on film, HD, or tape?
MJ: We shot the film on PAL DV tapes--I love the colors on PAL and it looks much nicer than any 24fps (PAL is 25fps) camera out there. HD is nice, but the pro-sumer technology is not quite there yet. True HD cameras cost upwards of $15 000 and give a bitch of a time on hard drive memory on any editing system. By the way in case you're curious we're editing on AVID.
BEN: My current plan is to get a job at some place , make some money, buy some gear, and then shoot some films on my own.
MJ: Good plan. Honestly, I think you will appreciate what goes into making a film if you have to work elsewhere to pay for your film. It will make you a better, more appreciative filmmaker and producer.
BEN: I really like the DVX100 since Sion Sono used it for "Noriko's Dinner Table" and I love the way that movie looked. I know they aren't insanely expensive so I am going to start there I think (if you know any equally good/better cameras that are equally/lesser priced please let me know).
MJ: I don't know of any other cameras, I think JVC does a nice 24p HD camera for a pretty cost effective price. Let me level with you, I see far too many film grads spend money on equipment and then they shoot utter crap. A good camera does not make a good film. It may help it to look pretty but it will not help with the substance and the story, nor will it teach you to shoot. Buy what you can afford--your real focus should be on the story and the acting because nothing is worse than bad acting in super high definition. I have never seen Noriko's Dinner Table, I will take your appreciation of it as a recommendation and I will check it out.
BEN: My current plan is to get a job at some place , make some money, buy some gear, and then shoot some films on my own.
MJ: Good plan. Honestly, I think you will appreciate what goes into making a film if you have to work elsewhere to pay for your film. It will make you a better, more appreciative filmmaker and producer.
BEN: I also see you have "Battle Royale" and "Gojira" on your list of movies that inspire you. Those two movies are huge movies to me and changed my life a lot. Godzilla brought me into Asian film and my dream is to make a kaiju movie one day (short or feature...as long as it's a guy in a monster suit I'll be happy).
MJ: Dude if you make a kaiju movie, count me in as free help. I would adore the thought of working on a giant monster movie. On my next trip to Japan I plan on sneaking into TOHO and trying on the Godzilla suit. Battle Royale is one of those pivotal movies that gets most people hooked on Japanese cinema, still stands as a modern day classic in my mind, not so much because of the violence, but because the movie is really about the society of children. If you haven't studied Ozu's films, you should.
BEN: Thanks for all your help!
MJ: Always a pleasure.
Well there you go, I wish Ben all the best in his adventures in filmmaking. I compliment him for wanting to try new things and for wanting to try it all on his own. I hope that his experiences good or bad will be rewarding for him in the long run.
If you have an questions or comments about me, Ashita or making movies in general, I invite you to email me at mj@ashitamovie.com and I will do my best to reply in a timely manner.
Ben and I have exchanged a few emails in which he’s asked me a few questions and my advice on making a Japanese movie in Toronto. Honestly, like Andy and I discussed with Chris, I’ve never really met anybody who’s done what we’re doing with Ashita, so we kind of invented the rules and processes as went along.
Below are some of the interesting points of our email conversation:
BEN: What interested me with you and Ashita is that you managed to make a film entirely in Japanese and about Japanese people in Toronto (which is something I'd very much like to do).
MJ: Thank you, I take that as a high compliment.
BEN: I just graduated from Confederation College's film production program. I am now trying to figure out where (and how) to to take the next step from here.
MJ: I can appreciate your situation. Throughout film school , not once do they really teach marketing, financing, management or any of the business skills you would need in order survive in the real world trying to make a film. Any sensible person knows (or quickly learns) that when you graduate film school nobody will hire you as director. More than likely, you are working as a 3rd AD wrangling extras or some other fun stuff.
BEN: It is true that very little film business is taught in film school. I had one course in the last semester on film business but I could tell the teacher just did not have enough time in this course to cover the information properly.
MJ: I can see not much has changed in films schools over years.
BEN: I am just out of film school and the only experience I have is on student films. I want to know what the best way is, in Toronto, to go from this point in my life to making the films I want to make...films that I write and direct.
MJ: Again, I can appreciate your situation. I have been there too. The best advice I can give you here is that if you really, really want to make your own films--if you want to make your stories, your way--well you need to do it on your own. Get yourself a half decent camera, join LIFT find a good cast and crew and just shoot it. When I say find a good crew I mean find a crew that wants to be crew and not directors (you've been to film school I am sure you understand what I mean in that statement). Find a DP that just wants to shoot and do pretty lighting. Find a sound guy that eats and breathes sound. And more importantly find a good editor who loves to cut and build stories through cutting (editors should never be 'yes' men that agree with everything you say, trust me on this one. You want an editor who is a free thinker and will surprise you.) But most importantly, you need patience. If you make a film for next to no money or no money at all, you will have to accept and understand that it is a longer process than if you had millions to throw at your crew. And if you work in a language you don't speak fluently, it will take you even longer--but if you believe in what your doing and you respect the integrity of the filmmaking process, then it will be a good final product.
(What I didn't mention to Ben, but I will mention here--when you work independently, what really counts are the people you work with. Find some good people, people who are passionate and excited about making a movie, like I did with Ashita, and that is a good first step in the right direction.)
BEN: I want to know how you were able to get such a project to be made. How did you get to the point in filmmaking where you could actually do that? I know many studios wouldn't fund this sort of experimental project because it probably be considered a large risk for the studio. Are you doing it independently, out of your own pocket, did you manage to secure funding, or did you get a government grant?
MJ: I am doing it independently. I've done enough work over the years to get all my own equipment. I did a TV pilot for LIFE Network a few years ago and managed to gather my equipment from that. Studios rarely give money to anybody and usually whatever budget you give them will be cut in half or even more by the time its green lit. Government grants are always fun to try and figure out, you have a lot of forms to fill out and it takes several months before they respond to you.
BEN: Did you shoot on film, HD, or tape?
MJ: We shot the film on PAL DV tapes--I love the colors on PAL and it looks much nicer than any 24fps (PAL is 25fps) camera out there. HD is nice, but the pro-sumer technology is not quite there yet. True HD cameras cost upwards of $15 000 and give a bitch of a time on hard drive memory on any editing system. By the way in case you're curious we're editing on AVID.
BEN: My current plan is to get a job at some place , make some money, buy some gear, and then shoot some films on my own.
MJ: Good plan. Honestly, I think you will appreciate what goes into making a film if you have to work elsewhere to pay for your film. It will make you a better, more appreciative filmmaker and producer.
BEN: I really like the DVX100 since Sion Sono used it for "Noriko's Dinner Table" and I love the way that movie looked. I know they aren't insanely expensive so I am going to start there I think (if you know any equally good/better cameras that are equally/lesser priced please let me know).
MJ: I don't know of any other cameras, I think JVC does a nice 24p HD camera for a pretty cost effective price. Let me level with you, I see far too many film grads spend money on equipment and then they shoot utter crap. A good camera does not make a good film. It may help it to look pretty but it will not help with the substance and the story, nor will it teach you to shoot. Buy what you can afford--your real focus should be on the story and the acting because nothing is worse than bad acting in super high definition. I have never seen Noriko's Dinner Table, I will take your appreciation of it as a recommendation and I will check it out.
BEN: My current plan is to get a job at some place , make some money, buy some gear, and then shoot some films on my own.
MJ: Good plan. Honestly, I think you will appreciate what goes into making a film if you have to work elsewhere to pay for your film. It will make you a better, more appreciative filmmaker and producer.
BEN: I also see you have "Battle Royale" and "Gojira" on your list of movies that inspire you. Those two movies are huge movies to me and changed my life a lot. Godzilla brought me into Asian film and my dream is to make a kaiju movie one day (short or feature...as long as it's a guy in a monster suit I'll be happy).
MJ: Dude if you make a kaiju movie, count me in as free help. I would adore the thought of working on a giant monster movie. On my next trip to Japan I plan on sneaking into TOHO and trying on the Godzilla suit. Battle Royale is one of those pivotal movies that gets most people hooked on Japanese cinema, still stands as a modern day classic in my mind, not so much because of the violence, but because the movie is really about the society of children. If you haven't studied Ozu's films, you should.
BEN: Thanks for all your help!
MJ: Always a pleasure.
Well there you go, I wish Ben all the best in his adventures in filmmaking. I compliment him for wanting to try new things and for wanting to try it all on his own. I hope that his experiences good or bad will be rewarding for him in the long run.
If you have an questions or comments about me, Ashita or making movies in general, I invite you to email me at mj@ashitamovie.com and I will do my best to reply in a timely manner.
