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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

NY Redusers @ "Che" - This Weekend!

ibloom said:
Koreatown?
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My wife is Korean... so I know Korean town very well. :-) Seoul Garden is cool for reunions.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/seoul-garden-new-york


For me anything is fine. But considering the movie we're about to enjoy ... A Cuban would be nice.

I haven't been in any Cuban in Midtown, but I did a citysearch and there are 2 restaurants nearby.

One more expensive, but with nice music in their website. :biggrin:

http://guantanameranyc.com/media/guantanamera.html

And another one in Times Square that it is cheaper.

http://www.havanacentral.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=65

Hopefully we won't drink so many mojitos that we'll miss those ugly highlight clippings people were complaining about the explosions scenes... :sarcasm:


I already got my ticket!! Can't wait.
 
Anything with food and beverages is considered a party in my book, so I'd be up for anything. I just have to see if I can get enough work done today to be able to get down to the city. Are there still tickets left?
 
I'm in. I'll be down for whatever the plans are for food. Just give me a time and a place to be there. I bought my ticket. Saturday, 7PM Ziegfield theatre on 54th. Looking forward to it.
 
I'm having trouble finding a Cuban restaurant in midtown. Would you guys rather eat cuban somewhere else and then taxi to movie, or eat closer to the theater?
 
Doesn't matter to me. What's the parking situation near the theatre?
 
stevesherrick said:
Doesn't matter to me. What's the parking situation near the theatre?
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136W54thSt-GoogleMaps.jpg


Looks like there's parking right there. I got the image from google so I can't confirm this.
 
Hey all-

So, I think the best place to go is a place called Havana Central, right off times square. It's good, cuban food, and the prices aren't ridiculous. And it's about a 10 minute walk to the Ziegfield. If you want to check it out online, here: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/41750590/new_york_ny/havana_central_times_square.html

So, to give us enough time to get to drink, eat, and move to the theater, how bout 5:30 PM @ Havana Central. I have reservations for 6, pending more.

If everyone who's coming to dinner would PM me, that'd be great, so I can update.

If you have any questions, feel free to call or text me - 303-506-1389. I'll be shooting a music video tomorrow during the day, so I may not pickup, just be sure to leave your number.

Thanks! Excited to meet you all in the flesh!

Ryan
 
Sorry I could not make it guys, my wife was not feeling well and I really want to see this with her as she just moved from Cuba not even 3 years ago. I will have to catch it another day this week. Enjoy!
 
I made the trek down to NYC. Had a good time checking out the movie and talking about it with the guys. Ian, sorry we missed you man. I need to get your new cell. The one i have in my phone must be old because I couldn't get through to you.

Che looked great. I'm still trying to get accustomed to RED in theaters. This was digital projection, and everything looked very clean. I don't know that it was too clean, just that I'm not used to it. I liked the look of Part one a bit better than Part 2. I liked the 2:35 aspect ratio and the footage had a nice quality about it. Here I will break down some of the elements of the films and my observations.

REDCODE
I thought Redcode held up very well on the bigscreen. There were very few things I found objectionable. I thought the noise levels were minimum, and for the most part non-existent. That's what led to me needing some time to get used to the look. My brain has been programmed to expect noise, whether it's film grain or HD video noise. The Che films seem to be pristine. The UN scenes were of course shot differently and it looks like they were intended to have a grainy look.

Now, what's strange is due to how clean the jungle scenes and a lot of other scenes were I was at times wondering if this was a detriment to the story. I think of this revolution as gritty, hard fought, and textured. The footage however doesn't always convey that type of atmosphere. We discussed this during intermission, and it was a sticking point for a couple of us. So, on the one hand I was loving how beautiful the Red footage looked and at the same time wishing it was grittier, more organic.

I was happy with how the compression held up on a large screen. Nothing jumped out at me. There were a couple of times where I spotted shots that surprised me with how good they looked compared to similar shooting scenarios I may have faced. Just goes to show me how important an accurate monitoring chain is. I think some of the problems I see are due to weaknesses in the monitoring chain and not so much in the Red footage.

STORY
Che is an intriguing figure in the context of history. In some ways he represents the quintessential struggle of mankind - freedom. Both individual and as a people. On the other hand, it is through violent acts that this freedom is achieved. This lends itself to a good story as Che and others must reach deep inside themselves to determine what price will be paid to achieve freedom. But the ideologies he subscribed to were seen as revolutionary to some and downright brutalization by others. Soderbergh's challenge is to portray the ideology and hence the man, and allow himself and the audience to subscribe to it, at least for the four hours we are watching the film. And to this extent, I think he is effective. Steven did not know the man, but we must believe his depiction, whether it is entirely factual or not. Charisma and humor can be hard to define, and yet those are two things that are used to round out Che's character in these films. The audience laughed during the moments that humor was intended and they jumped in fear during the moments of battle and surprise attacks. Che's journey, or at least a leg of his journey is brought to life by Soderbergh and Del Toro. Viva La Revolution.

Now, in regards to Red, I knew going in it would be difficult to watch this film, solely for the story, as the secondary motive for seeing it is the fact that it was shot with Red cameras. Naturally, there is a tendency to let the brain focus on the technical details and the danger is, you miss the story at times. I am pleased to say that while yes I was focused on the image, eventually story became more important. That is a good sign.

TECHNICAL QUALMS
Fire. Don't know what was happening, but the explosions had a strange tint to them. Didn't quite seem natural.

In Part Two, I found the jungle scenes confusing at times. There were instances where I felt they stayed in wide shots too long, and due to the way the highlights were interacting with the actors, I had trouble seeing who was talking at times. I would have to go back and watch a second time to pinpoint the exact instances where this was occurring, but I did find it distracting.

I would have personally went with a different color correction/look. Although, it doesn't by any means ruin the story for me, I would have liked to see grittier, and more texture to these scenes. But, I have also never been to Cuba and as I discussed with one of the guys at the screening last night, it could be that Steven felt it was better to keep it with the look he did because he has seen the landscape down there. For the most part, the footage looks beautiful and most shots are actually quite technically proficient. I guess in my mind I see guerilla warfare as a different tone.

CONCLUSION
Red has arrived. Actually, it's been here for a while and it's been quite successful in a lot of productions. But for me, I went to see a movie and left feeling I had seen a movie. We can argue all day about dynamic range, compression, skew, etc but the fact remains that Steven shot a movie that is theatrical, and by that I mean it's a digital film that holds up very well in a theater on a large screen. I can say it's not film, and I can also say it didn't feel like projected HD. It seems to be in its own world. And maybe that's a good thing. As long as I can watch Red shot movies and get more wrapped up in the story than in the technology, I am a happy guy.

I think these movies show me that the camera is up to the task, but I have to be up to the task too, by knowing every single strength and weakness of it so you have the best chance of achieving cinematic quality.

I highly recommend everyone see the films.
 
I didn't get out of my shoot until 1:30am but the guy I was shooting for said he had tickets for the opening on Friday and didn't think to give them to me until yesterday. Oh well. Maybe next time.
 
Spike said:
I didn't get out of my shoot until 1:30am but the guy I was shooting for said he had tickets for the opening on Friday and didn't think to give them to me until yesterday. Oh well. Maybe next time.
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yeah...
Make it happen..
 
Thanks for the insightful review Steve!

Dave
 
To Red,

I thought I loved film. I will always have fond memories of film. Now I know. Che shot on RedOne, is what I only could imagine come true and more. Thank you :love:
 
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