Blackswan Entertainment

04/17/2020

In need of some afternoon entertainment? Here's a short film reel!

Drop a comment and let us know what you think!

08/29/2019

The World has Officially gone MAD!!!

Trade wars, flying sharks, and now Killer Kangaroos...

There is just no end to it is there?

This short film directed by Ryan Coonan gives a satisfying ending as it completes the story that the film began with - not like many shorts I've seen lately...

Here the link to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=488&v=XiOtklXEe6Q

But a question for you once you're done watching it; If you were to ever go toe to toe with a kangaroo, what would you do?

When a local ranger in a small country town finds an unidentified algae overwhelming the water supply, he knows that something's not right. But it's not unti...

08/23/2019

Weekend movie recommendation

Apologies for our absence the past two days, we will be back to posting as usual, just had some crazy schedules that got in the way of things (I hope you were all able to get through your day even without my inane ramblings). No matter how busy I get I’ll never leave you without a weekend movie recommendation! So this week, it’s one of my all time favourite movies to recommend, it’s definitely under appreciated and needs to be seen by more people!

Big Bad Wolves is an Israeli black-comedy, horror-thriller, directed by Aharon Keshales, and is honestly pretty awesome! It’s sad and super tense and still some how hilarious, and I will say it’s a foreign language so that fact that it’s funny even while reading subtitles is incredible!

I watched this movie randomly on Netflix and have been talking about it ever since! It’s really out of the ordinary and not something you’ll see every day and that’s really exciting to watch! It’ll have you on edge and laughing, upset and disturbed and it’s just all together a great movie! Really a lot to learn from this one so be sure to take notes!

Rotten tomatoes: 75%

08/20/2019

Short film of the week

Let's chat about proof of concept shorts, they are a great way for filmmakers to get an idea solidified and is a super useful way to sell people on your idea. Yes, it may not be exactly what you want it to be, but if you can nail the heart of your project in the proof of concept then people are way more likely to buy-in to your final vision.

One of the strongest proof of concept shorts ever made is Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash" which is, of course, a proof of concept for his incredible (in-friggin-credible) film of the same name. This short is obviously well-acted and having JK Simmons is JK Simmons and the actor playing the role that MIles teller later takes on is also giving a really strong performance (honestly he could have done the feature).

But more important than the amazing acting, the minimalistic cinematic style that he applies to both the short and the feature, the strong writing, more important than all of this is that this short nails the heart of the movie and it leaves you wanting more and that is what a proof of concept should be. So watch the short and then the feature and let this be a lesson when you're considering making your proof of concept.

This is "Whiplash" by Edd Lukas on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

08/19/2019

Important movie of the week

Kinda breaking the rules this week, I'm recommending two movies "Troll 2" aka "The Worst Movie Ever Made", and then "Best Worst Movie" which is a documentary about the making of Troll 2. Troll 2 is a masterpiece in all the wrong ways, it's confusing and weird and sort of beautiful, it's got a lot to learn from (I think? Maybe? I don't know, but at the very least it's friggin weird). Quick thing I should mention is that even though it's technically a sequel the first Troll movie has nothing to do with this movie, they only named it that because the studio owned the rights to the name an thought if it was a sequel it would bring in some more money.

So you watch the wonderful and wild Troll 2 and then you need to watch Best Worst Movie which breaks down how one of the most confusingly bad movies ever made came to be, how everything went wrong in just the right ways to allow this movie to be made. For any young filmmakers out there this documentary has a lot to teach you about how not to go about developing your projects, but we also shouldn't look down on them, the filmmakers should still inspire you in a sort of humble way, learn from their mistakes but respect their tenacity in fighting to get their movie made. So sit back, and get out a pad of paper, you're gonna need lots of room for notes.

Troll 2 Rotten tomatoes: 6%

Best Worst Movie Rotten tomatoes: 95%

08/16/2019

Weekend movie recommendation

Alright, so I’m supposed to recommend movies, but the new season of Netflix’s Mindhunter just came out and I honestly can’t recommend watching anything else right now. It’s produced by David Fincher and is pretty obvious when you watch the show, his fingerprints are all over it. Full of amazing performances, unsettling and downright disturbing imagery, and some awesome mysteries along the way, this show is incredible and worth a couple rewatches from anyone who loves the crime genre.

Honestly, what do I need to say? It’s Fincher, it’s creepy, it’s engaging, you need to watch it all now.

Rotten tomatoes: 97%

08/15/2019

Random Thursday post

Today I just want to drop a little inspiration on everyone, because sometimes you need it. This video I’m linking is a video of Steven Spielberg talking about Stanley Kubrick, he talks about Stanley’s skill as a filmmaker as well as his personality and also goes into how Kubrick inspired him as a filmmaker. I think this is an important one to watch once in a while because it gives you insight into two of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and their friendship and hearing Spielberg geek out about Kubrick is a lot of fun! So if you’re needing a little inspiration then this ones for you, enjoy!

[ http://www.archiviokubrick.it ] An interview with Steven Spielberg about Stanley Kubrick. This is the uncut version of the interview, aired on British tele...

08/14/2019

BTS photo of the week

The last few weeks I’ve been posting about props and this week I’d like to continue that streak by talking about miniatures, which honestly could be my favourite craft in the filmmaking process! Miniatures have been used for a hundred years in movie making and have led to some amazing sequences throughout history! The trench run in Star Wars, the Whitehouse explosion in Independence Day, the city scapes in Blade Runner and a million more amazing shots!

In a world that’s becoming increasingly digital and CG heavy we are losing that art a bit, although CG does allow us to do similar work and use a similar tool set with a more consistent result, it does mean we lose some of the fun and humanising imperfections. So my message to you is to do both, if you can do it with a miniature then do it, it’s a fun experience, especially if you have the patience to design and build them yourself and you watch them come to life, but if it makes more sense to do it digitally, do it digitally, but make sure you make yourself apart of that process too.

This argument between CG and practical is honestly pretty pointless, they’re both tools, it’s up to us to use each one when we need to! And most importantly make sure you’re excited with what you shoot, no matter what method you use to get there!

Here are some pictures of our miniatures and then a picture showing how much better they look when paired with the amazing VFX work done by Will Dano!

08/13/2019

Short film of the week

Once again I am recommending a Neil Blomkamp film, and I don't feel bad about that. "Firebase" is another short film produced by his company Oats Studios and as always it is filled to the brim with great production value, interesting concepts, and amazing VFX work! Firebase is a very Blomkamp twist on Vietnam war movie.

Blomkamp is one of the only big Directors who is focusing on making web-based shorts with incredibly high production value and I think that this is a trend that we will see becoming more and more popular as the web becomes a viable platform for young filmmakers. SIt back and enjoy this one because its a lot of fun (well I mean it's not like a romp, but it's creepy and gross and unsettling), and take a lot of notes!

Oats Website: www.oatsstudios.com Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/633030/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/oatsstudios/ Instagram: https://www....

08/12/2019

Important movie recommendation

"Warriors of the Year 2072" is a 1984 Sci-fi/Fantasy/Sports film, I bet you didn't know you wanted one of those. It's worth watching for the miniatures alone, add in all the dirtbike based gladiatorial combat and you have a recipe for success. Movies like this are impressive because they really lean into the use of practical effects and stunt heavy scenes. Guys really had to fall off motorcycles and that's pretty impressive, the explosions are real (and really cheesy), and the combat is slow but still deserves some respect.

I think this movie will be a fun watch for you, and it really is a great example of the weird B movies that the 80's produced, the premise is confusing, the acting is interesting for sure and you never get an explanation for why they're all riding motorcycles from the '80s in the year 2072, but that's all beside the point! Be sure to take notes on this one, lots to learn about shooting miniatures.

Rotten tomatoes: N/A

08/09/2019

Weekend movie recommendation

“Indian Summer” should be one of your summer classics, and it’s probably not. This movie is a lot of fun, super nostalgic and a great example of Canadian comedies in the 90’s (it’s a Hollywood movie but largely Canadian crew so it’s Canadian). Honestly this movies just a great ride, it’s heartfelt and funny, and feels like summer.

If you haven’t seen this movie I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by it, it’s not a ground breaking cinematic experience, but it’s comfy and fun and that’s all you need sometimes, movies like this don’t get made much anymore. Take notes and have fun with it folks!

08/08/2019

Random Thursday post

I saw "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" two days ago and fell in love with movies all over again. Now maybe I'm just a Tarantino fanboy (I am) who would have liked the movie no matter its content, maybe. But I don't think so, I think that "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is a great example of a director flexing different muscles and showing us that he's much more than the hyper-violent, bad-mouthed, grindhouse misfit that we all know and love (maybe not all, I'm looking at you, Spike Lee). He's done this before several times, to be honest, "Jackie Brown" is a great example of him flexing different muscles (people should rewatch that movie, cause it's way better than it gets credit for) and even "Inglorious Basterds" demonstrates some of what I'm talking about. However, none do it to the level that this movie does, this movie is in my opinion, his most emotional, his most honest and his most human.

Some background, I went into this movie after having sat on a bus for six hours, taking a train and subway and having barely eaten all day, not the best way to head into an almost three-hour-long movie. I got in my seat at 10:30 after a rushed drive to the theatre, missing an exit and having to get off an back on the highway twice and panicked to get to my seat as the last trailer played (I hate being the guy who comes in during the opening credits). Something about this movie though made all the aggravation of the day slip away (I'm being sentimental I know, but whatever, it's nice to be romantic sometimes), and I think that's something that not every movie can do and I'm sure for some of you who've seen this movie it didn't change your world, but for me man, it really sang. I loved everything about it, the old Hollywood romanticism, the loveable characters, Leo swings for the fences and crushes what in my opinion is the performance of a career, Brad Pitt plays one of the coolest characters I've ever seen, and if you don't fall a little in love with Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate then I don't know what's going on in your life, but cheer up. I'm struggling to keep this cohesive and to stop myself from drooling all over the place, but I honestly don't care. I haven't felt this way about a movie since the first time I saw "The Great Escape" when I was eleven and my head spun around (it works out pretty nicely for me that The Great Escape is featured pretty heavily in this movie).

What I'm trying to say in all of this is partly that you should see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but is more so that you should find movies that make you feel the way I feel about this movie, that blow you out of the water and light your hair on fire. Find movies you want to live in because there's really nothing better. This movie may not be the one for you, but it sure is for me.