Category Archives: filmmaking

Violence

By Hugo | Published: April 19, 2010
Dear Readers, There are moral repercussions to all acts of violence. Art that depicts realistic violence and deliberately omits the moral dimension of the act, is dehumanising and wrong. Two recent examples come to mind. The first is ‘Underbelly’ – a TV series based on real-life criminals who wrought violence and misery on the Australian East-coast. The events of [...]
Also posted in ethics | Leave a comment

Detail

By Hugo | Published: April 12, 2010
I must re-emphasise, if just for my own benefit, that the films that I’ve been most impressed with and most engrossed in, pay attention to detail. ‘A Prophet’ is another great film that is rich in seemingly* authentic detail**. This creates the illusion that you are watching real events, real people, in a real world – [...]
Also posted in writing | Leave a comment

The Surface

By Hugo | Published: March 19, 2010
There is a nice quote from Leonardo Da Vinci which goes something like this: “Think about the surface of the work. Above all think about the surface” – Bresson in ‘Excerpts from an Interview with Robert Bresson’ (James Blue, 1965)
Also posted in writing | Leave a comment

What makes a film ‘too bleak’?

By Hugo | Published: January 11, 2010
One of the arguments recently levelled against Australian films is that they tend to be too bleak or too miserable (Last Ride, Beautiful Kate, Blessed, etc.). But many of the greatest films ever made are incredibly dark to the point you might label them ‘bleak’ or ‘miserable’. So what makes a film ‘too bleak’? I don’t really [...]
Posted in filmmaking | Leave a comment

Scary Face

By Hugo | Published: January 1, 2010
In the most terrifying moments in film, there is always a face The face of someone who shouldn’t be there. (Bob, at the end of the bed in ‘Twin Peaks’) The face of the dead. (The girl in the jar of formaldehyde in ‘The Kingdom’) The face of the old. (The old woman in the veil in ‘The [...]
Posted in filmmaking | Leave a comment

Incongruous Detail

By Hugo | Published: December 13, 2009
Like the magician’s left hand… Three Colours Blue: A beach ball rolls out of the crashed car, across the road and onto a field. The Limits of Control: Two men carry a bathtub across the piazza. The Mirror: The encounter with the doctor; the fence breaking, the locked briefcase, the wind rustling through the bushes as he walks [...]
Posted in filmmaking | Leave a comment
  • Want to hear about my new projects?