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Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 3B
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom I l(~ 1) 1(1 Thursday, February 21, 2013- 3B
FILMING FIR ST S
Film students develop
their craft with 'V Card'
SAC 423 quality short films.
Last year's most notable short,
trains aspiring "The V Card," written by 2012
University graduate Rebekka
filmmakers Pesqueira, received several
awards at the University's Light-
By JOHN LYNCH works Film Festival in the spring
Senior Arts Editor (including Best Director for
its duo of 2012 graduate Bran-
It's finally Oscar week - that don Verdi and LSA senior Jake
amusing time of the year where Burnstein, son of Jim Burnstein)
we prepare to be disappointed by and also secured a spot at the
the Best Picture winner, reflect Traverse City Film Festival last
on the true winners that the August.
Academy opted to snub (moment Available for viewing on You-
of silence for Leo DiCaprio) and, Tube, "The V Card" is a 30-min-
of course, deliberate over the art ute-long comedy/drama that
of film and the institution of cin- resembles a more charming, less
ema. obscene, college-inspired ver-
Here in Ann Arbor, cinema sion of the HBO series "Girls."
is the bastion of entertainment The film takes place here on
(seriously, which other city has campus and centers on the sexu-
two movie theaters within 300 al escapades of four senior girls,
feet of each other?), and the Uni- two of whom - including the
versity's Screen Arts and Cul- protagonist, Laura, played by
tures program burgeons with Music, Theatre & Dance senior
talent and innovative vision. Allison Brown - make a pact to
The University's SAC 423, lose their virginity in one week
"Practicum for the Screen- after learning that they're the
writer," class, taught by Robert remaining virgins of their friend
Rayher and Jim Burnstein, is the group.
culminating course for the pro- "Laura, my character, is super
. gram's most driven and gifted type-A. She's a planner," Brown
students. Each semester, the said. "And it's funny because I
class produces two professional- think she's super similar to the
average girl, even at Michigan, if
I may be so bold to make that gen-
eralization."
The script, penned by Pesquei-
ra, is genuine and witty (at one
point equating the friend group's
remaining two virgins to "shoot-
ing an Olsen twin"), and it's
loosely based on the writer's real-
life experiences.
"I guess I had a lot of virgin
friends one year, and then in like
six months, they all were not vir-
gins," Pesqueira said. "As soon
as someone lost their virginity,
it was like a snowball effect and
they all lost it, so I thought it
made for a funny story."
"The V Card" is an ode to Ann
Arbor and to college life at the
University, and was filmed at
many notable locations on cam-
pus, including - as co-director
Verdi recounted - the Big House.
"We had one hour to get
that entire sequence (at the
Big House) filmed before they
kicked us out," Verdi said. "And
it was one of the weirdest, most
intense, most amazing experi-
ences of my college career, and
I imagine everybody else's too."
Verdi and Burnstein conduct-
ed a cast and crew of more than
30 University students to cre-
ate the film and were afforded a
number of resources by the Uni-
versity for the filming process,
including the use of the Red One
MX camera - the same model,
according to Verdi, that "The
Social Network" was shot on.
As Burnstein recalled, the
potential trials of co-directing
a film were greatly alleviated
by the fact that he and Verdi are
close friends.
"We were completely and
utterly on the same page the
entire time," Burnstein said.
"It was almost like osmosis. We
always knew what each other
was thinking, and we did every-
thing together and didn't divide
any jobs up."
Upon graduating, Burnstein
plans to join Verdi, who is now
working as a production coor-
dinator in Los Angeles, and the
two aspire to work together
and develop film projects in the
future. Brown, who has a back-
ground in theater, hopes to move
to New York after graduating to
pursue an entertainment career.
Pesqueira is currently working
with Jim Burnstein, her former
professor, to refine and expand
"The V Card" script into a mar-
ketable, feature-length work.
MOVI/lE MUSICW MAG\IC
* James Newton Howard talks
putting mood in cinema score
FOOD COLUMN
Whipping up
a respectable
Oscars bash
hat do eating and cut into small squares and serve
the Oscars have in warm. This is a flavorful, hearty
common? For me, and healthy small bite that will
it's that I prefer to do both on satisfy vegetarians and meat
the couch. But most people, you eaters alike. Tip: This pizza can
know, get be made on Oscars eve, refriger-
much more ated for a day and cooked just
excited about before your guests arrive to cut
these Oscars down on your party pressures.
parties:
Everyone Bacon-wrapped dates
dresses up as
if they were These dates can and should
on the red NATHAN be made one day (or more)
carpet them- WOOD ahead to ensure proper cook-
selves, drinks ing and, as an added bonus,
fruity cock- less stress on the day of! Buy a
tails, eats dainty hors d'oeuvres few pitted dates (e.g. the tender
and concentrates on the televi- Medjool), stuff them with a
sion broadcast. good quality goat cheese and
In my eyes, the whole point is wrap with a half of a slice of
to fake an air of sophistication, bacon. Secure the bacon with
eat good food and pretend you a toothpick. Place the pre-
are full of exigent reviews of the pared dates on a baking sheet
past year's cinema, which are all and freeze until they're to be
things I do regularly, anyway. cooked. When ready, place the
So if you - unlike me - plan to baking sheet of prepared dates
partake in such frivolities and in the oven at 400 degrees.
are even thinking about throw- Cook the dates for 20 minutes
ing your first Oscars party, let me or until the bacon is brown and
guide you with a few entertain- crispy, flipping each after 10
ing suggestions. minutes. The chewy sweetness
Send out invitations. People from the dates combined with
like invitations. Design some- the crunch, saltiness and smo-
thing elegant yet modern, save kiness from the bacon and tang
it as a picture file and send it from the goat cheese ensure
as an attachment in an e-mail these bites will be a hit.
individualized for each of your _______
guests. Tip: Spelling out R.S.V.P.
- rcpondez s'il vous plait -is a Entertainyour
surefire way to seem sophisti-
"tceeeveryone to dress up,
butbe reasonable. You aren't carpet style this
going to get any guys to wear a
tux, and no girl's going to show
up with a $31-million diamond
necklace (unless Carrie Under-
wood's on your guest list). Tip:
"Formal attire required" is a Fried truffle mac and cheese
classy, ambiguous phrase that bites
still demands everyone look
snazzy. Make a homemade mac
Go buy a tablecloth, because and cheese using the standby
- let's be real - you don't have favorites - milk, butter, elbow
one. Set it out with some artsy, macaroni, cheddar cheese,
film-themed centerpiece (flow- salt and pepper - and then
ers and unwound camera film?) throw in a few twists: a more
and make little freestanding exotic cheese, such as a smoked
cards with the names of the gouda, Fontina or Gruyere
foods you're making in a script-y (my pick) and a bit of truffle
font. Tip: Edwardian Scrip ITC oil. Refrigerate the mac for a
= script-y. couple of hours and then form
And now for the food. it into balls. Freeze the mac
Each year, the who's who and cheese balls overnight. On
among Oscars attendees dine Oscars day, dip the balls in egg
at the Governors Ball, which wash, coat with Panko and fry
takes place immediately after in a couple of inches of oil heat-
the awards ceremony. Wolfgang ed to 350 degrees for five min-
Puck has been catering the event utes. Serve the mac and cheese
for the past 19 years, and it's kind bites with warm Alfredo sauce
of a big deal. But since Chef Puck for dipping. A classy finger
isn't going to be catering your food? It's possible.
party, let me walk you through
an easy-to-do home version Concord grape lollipops
based on his menu for this year's
ball. This one really doesn't get
Each of the following dishes any easier. Rinse and de-stem a
should be served in small por- bag of concord grapes, skewer
tions (two to three bites) on large each grape with a toothpick
platters. Provide tableware and and place them in the freezer.
allow your guests to serve them- Serve the grape lollipops fro-
selves as they desire. zen. This same dish is being
By PROMA KHOSLA
Daily Arts Writer
As the Oscar race draws to
a close, speculation continues
about the year's most coveted
and contested awards. But just
because "Best Picture" and
"Best Directing" are the only
things entertainment reporters
want to debate, this shouldn't
diminish the significance of the
other awards. One category that
has always remained inextrica-
bly linked to the final stretch of
the awards season is "Best Musi-
cal Score." Often overlooked,
a musical score can make or
break a film by providing it
with the right soul. Recently,
the Daily discussed the process
and experience of film scoring
with renowned composer James
Newton Howard.
Like most composers, How-
ard should be well known to film
enthusiasts. If you haven't heard
of him, you've heardfrom him by
way of his work in scoring more
than 130 movies since he got into
the business in the 1980s.
"I never meant to choose this
career path," Howard explained.
"I started classical piano lessons
and I was something of a prodi-
gious pianist. And it was shortly
after that that I realized I was
pretty good, but I wasn't any-
where near good enough to have
a career as a concert pianist, nor
did I want one.
"I was sort of tired of prac-
ticing the piano, and I was very
much drawn to popular music;
so I dropped out of (the Univer-
sity of Southern California) sort
of embarrassingly, six or seven
weeks into my freshman year,
and turned down a full scholar-
ship, which was kind of traumat-
ic - but I just had to do it."
In 1975, Howard was hired
by Elton John to play keyboards
and do orchestration. After a
few years, he went on to work
as a session musician, arranger
and orchestrator for record pro-
duction. He was offered his first
movie score in 1985.
"I didn't know how to write
music to picture - how to syn-
chronize the music - and I
didn't know what I could write
in six weeks or eight weeks,"
Howard said. "Then I was talked
into it ... and I don't mean to be
simplistic, but I was just head
over heels in love from day one."
His creative process is simple:
Write music.
"I think what happens is if
one starts to try and look at an
image of a movie and try and
immediately write music that
synchronizes exactly with the
movie,
trating
explai
read a
detaile
direct
the mo
"Wh
pose sc
15 or 2
like it
connec
seen. I
feeling
level."
"Am
the pi
works,
kind o
very m
all cre
- abor
intern:
turn it
... in sp
curity,
will b
the mo
N
cc
ou
Beyr
Howar
ers ho
as a col
cal won
"I th
beyond
have?'
tening
that id
a good
can be
I reall
a score
a movi
so the
it becomes very frus- ing that I wanted to write inter-
and overwhelming," he esting music in its own right is
ned. "What I usually do is something that I've had to bal-
script or have a fairly long, ance with supporting the film in
d conversation with the a sort of simple and meaningful
or and just go away from way."
vie and just play. Still, Howard doesn't limit
rat I'll try and do is com- himself as a composer. He
omething, even if it's 10 or explained that his creative pro-
0 seconds, that just feels cess tends to differ a little each
has some DNA - some time he sits down to compose.
ction to the movie I've "A great score is a great
t's really mostly more of a score," he said. "Sometimes it's
level than an intellectual a very busy, in-your-face score
and depending on what the
d then I'll put it up against means of the movie are, some-
cture and see if any of it times it's an ambient, simple,
he added. "And I just kind of atmospheric piece of
f inch my way along. It's work."
iuch about - and I think The focus is, ultimately,
ative process is like this establishing a clear point of
it being able to trust your view that moves the story for-
al life and somehow just ward.
over to that process and "I guess what a good compos-
rite of your fear and inse- er can do is somehow transform
just trust that your ideas his or her emotions and feel-
e somehow applicable to ings in response to a movie into
vie." music," he said.
"That's something I don't
really feel you can learn," he
added. "I think you either can do
O escores that or you can't. You can learn
an have life technique; you can learn how
to play; you can learn how to
tside of film. orchestrate; you can learn how
to operate your sequencer; but
in terms of responding meaning-
fully and emotionally in a kind
and being set to a film, of profound way, I think that's
d said he strongly consid- something that's completely
w a movie score can stand intuitive."
hesive, independent musi- Beyond that, scoring is, as
rk. Howard described, a process of
rink a lot about 'What life "inching forward."
I the movie can this music "It's very tempting to accept
and I think of who's lis- your first solution to a problem,
to it and I pay attention to because the stress is so great
ea," he said. "I think that's and you've got so many elements
thing to feel, but it also that are rained down on you," he
potentially dangerous. ... said. "I know how to go from a
y didn't sense how subtle car chase to a lovemaking scene
e could be in supporting to the office ... I can do all that,
e without being so busy, that's just architecture. What's
inspiration and the feel- really hard is to be patient and
let another idea somehow sur-
face."
As the music industry and
process of score production
evolve, Howard tries to keep up
to date on the latest techniques
and musical synthesis.
"I was a synthesis and a key-
board player when I was with
bands back in the '70s and '80s,
so I learned the idea of working
with electronics and working
in recording environment," he
said. "I seek out younger people
to do programming for me. Like
on 'The Bourne Legacy,' for
instance, there was a real need
for that to be a more electroni-
cally oriented score, and I listed
other people to come in and
help me with the programming,
which I think was successful."
According to Howard, all he
hopes for at the end of the day is
a well made movie.
"When you get a movie like
a 'Michael Clayton' or a '(The)
Hunger Games,' that's really an
exceptionally well made movie,
it always makes everybody work
better. I can write my best score
for a bad movie and nobody
notices, and I can write a medio-
cre score for a great movie and
everybody thinks it's a great
score. It's all context."
Moving forward, much of
Howard's repertoire will depend
on established relationships
with directors like "Catching
Fire" director Francis Law-
rence, and he aspires to keep his
music relevant and emotionally
charged.
"I think everything inspires
me. What is inspiration other
than the totality of your life
experience? It's not as though I
have a moment and it inspires me
to go write. I think inspiration
just consists of some reservoir of
life experiences that you're con-
nected to and you start the cre-
ative process."
Pesto and grilled vegetable
pizza
Spread a layer of pesto onto
an unbaked pizza crust. Add
slices of fresh mozzarella. Grill
up an assortment of chopped
vegetables, such as bell peppers,
zucchini, asparagus, eggplant
and mushrooms (yes, I realize
mushrooms are not technically
vegetables). Top the pizza with
the vegetables, cook at 400
degrees for 15 minutes or so,
served as one of the desserts at
the Governors Ball: If they're
good enough for the Academy
Awards, then they're good
enough for you and me, so
freeze away.
And with that, you're now
officially ready to take on your
first Oscars party. Be-sure to let
me know how it goes. I'll just be
over here on my couch.
Wood is crashing the
Governors Ball. To join, e-mail
nisaacwoumich.edu.
ALL THAT TWITTERS
IS OSCAR GOLD.
@amichdailyarts
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