Jimmy Keegan's Lounge Discussions

I only (to date) watched the opening. Great idea! My only suggestions would be to use tripods for steady visual and more than 1 camera for continuity from multople angles. A few cut aways would be nice, grab the flavor of NYC subway environment.

Thanks Don. BTW Where did you see it?

Justin, I watched the first 30 seconds at http://www.bigstar.tv/movie/busking-the-system-2011... I think you have a great idea with this production. But hand hold camera sucks -- it takes away from the intensity of what your cast of characters are saying, their emotion and artistic work. Let your viewer's build the intensity of a non moving 'camera' eye contact. Granted, camera movement is a good thing -- when it is smooth movement. Even the top dogs in film USE A TRIPOD! Cranes and dollies are stable. Also lead your viewers -- remember the composition in the rules of threes. Do not center. Also. Show us what those people that are speaking are seeing -- give us some Medium Shots, (MS) a Distant Shot (DS) or two with cutaways. CU are most effective when they are extremely steady! Nice idea. Great cast of characters -- Yeah, I want to get to know them and their daily lives... Good luck, think you have a winner of an idea. Needs some polish at camera and editing. You are heading in the right direction! Polish it. The additional free music (soundtrack) is a must so add to your microphones. Record plenty of ambient sound for later use. Suggestions. My two cents... I am not rich or famous...

Great job Justin! I have only checked out the 90 second preview at bigstar.tv, but it's really got my attention right off. Great subject matter, shot very well, I feel like I'm there with you and I'm feeling the conviction of the street artists. When I have a little more time, I'm going back to watch the whole film. Thanks for posting this and thanks for sharing the story of these artists, they so often get overlooked for their contributions to our communities and our culture.

Thanks Much Jimmy! And Don? Thank you as well for the advice! I would watch the whole movie if you get a chance. tough to get a good feel in 30 seconds and not the best 30 seconds at that. But again thanks everyone for taking a look!

@ Tim Rogers- absolutely agree. I'm a long time Sly fan. Stallone's magic is that he knows his audience and caters directly to them.,not to the critics. There are number of examples I could use here, but let's focus on a recent one: The Expendables. While people trashed The Expendables, Stallone was able to laugh all the way to the bank. Personally , I thought The Expendables was something of an arcane work of genius, because it knew exactly what it was trying to be - an old school, ultra-violent, testosterone- fueled, he -man action movie throwback- and it had a lot of fun doing it. The very 80's genre it borrowed it's stars and storyline from was itself replete with films that weren't exactly paragons of terrific plotting or top flight dialogue. They were excuses to have powerful bad asses firing heavy artillery at one another and blowing buildings/ people up while tossing off quick one liners. The Expendables deliberately did the same exact thing, only it did it bigger and better. It's the type of film specifically designed to allow the audience to just sit back in the theater seat , put their brain in neutral and enjoy the thrill ride. With that sequel on the way soon (which will be rated R after all, so I hear) , that makes this his third successful franchise. For a guy a lot of people have taken potshots at over the years, Stallone has demonstrated remarkable staying power. If you check out my desert island films here on Stage 32, you'll see that Rocky Balboa is on my list.

Somewhere between Hitchcock, Capra, Kubrick, Ridley Scott and Woody Allen. I might say some of the European directors from the 50s and 60s but I really don't watch their stuff much anymore though they are dear to my heart. Kurosawa also is a big contender. Lynch, too. Gee, I'm not sure I can pick just one. :) I'm probably missing someone. Tarkovsky is another.

@Casey, if you take the time to watch the behind the scenes for "The Expendables" or "Rambo"(2008), you will see that he is in fact a great director. As D.S. already explained, he caters to the audience, not the critics. "The Expendables" made $266,159,621 and still counting. IF he isn't that good of a director, I wouldn't mind be as "not good" as him!

I have to say that I liked The Expendables. But I have to say, among many of my friends, I was the only one, most of them thought it was a waste of their time. I had the feeling that I was appreciating it for what it was, perhaps and my bar just wasn't as high as theirs for that type of film.

My two cents: I think he's a good director, not a great one, and he's definitely not a good writer. He gets Rocky's story, because if you know Sly's history, you'll know that Rocky, for him, is a "there but for the Grace of God go I" character for Stallone. Even then, a lot of his scripts aren't very good, like Rocky II (which is Rocky I except Rocky wins) and Rocky IV. Half his directed films are Rocky films. They're competently shot and he pulls good performances from himself and his cast in Rocky III and Rocky Balboa, but brilliant? Hardly, certainly not up to Spielberg, Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, Clint Eastwood, there are a number of contemporary directors I could name who are better behind the director's chair.