The X-Files...

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Originally Posted by Frank Granovski

It's too bad there was never any resolution.

Do you mean at the end of the series or at the end of every episode?
If it's about the end of the series: I haven't seen it yet, so don't spoil it for me :-)

If it's about the mostly open endings at the end of every episode, I actually liked that!

Yi, or everybody else, I don't know if this interests anyone, but this is a site with all the episodes on a row, with their ratings from some people. You can read their reviews there too:

http://xfiles.amaroq.com/archive.html

ps: Yi, that link really looks like an X File, LOL :-)

EDIT: Yi, I just saw a superbe, really superb episode from the X Files! Really scary. When I read the synopsis I thought: okay, but it was really brilliantly directed with a very, very dark cinematography!
The episode is called Die Hand Die Verletzt, with teachers at a high school, busy in the occult.

[Yi Fong Yu]

http://www.insidethex.co.uk/
^scripts if anyone's interested in it.

the woman who played devil incarnate was very scary... especially the eyes =). v. creepy. this is one of the reasons why XF is the best. doesn't matter if you like any genre, XF covers a variety of genre. that's why SF is the genre of all genres.

re: your comment on cinematography. i think shows like XF inspires us to tell our own version of the stories that we've come to know. plus, it's really like filmschool in a box. you can learn a lot just by watching the 'trix' that they employed on XF.

PS how'd you like duane barry? it's really the episode that hints at the mythology in a heavy-handed way. in 2 more episodes colony and end game are the watershed eps that brings the mythologies to the forefront. when you catchup to s3, lemme know we can do those eps side by side =).

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Yes, I saw Douane Barry, but I didn't think it was as WOW as many other fans. I love other 'mythology' episodes a bit more (Deep Throat, if you consider it an arc episode, Little Green Men, the last episode from s1,...)

Yes, you're right about that film school-thing :-D
And indeed, that woman is sooo creepy.
And the scene with the snake! No music, only the sound of that snake creeping on that stairs... really great!

[Yi Fong Yu]

upto season3 yet? i've been busy with deadwood all seasons.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Hi Yi,

I finished Season 2 yesterday evening... exiting times :-)

[Yi Fong Yu]

so, what do you think of the mythology heavy episodes? if you examine carefully (having full knowledge of the story after), it's actually paperthin and not as well constructed as people might imagine. meaning, the "conspiracies" weren't fleshed out (like lost, bsg, and so on) beyond these episodes.

i'm somewhere in the middle of the 6th episode (2Shy) of the 3rd season. it's fairly forward thinking since online dating scene was just beginning but the episode (and the show itself) makes it seem like it was a regular thing.

i'm already back@school again so i'm going to have a hard time catching up.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Yes I'm watching episodes now too at a slower pace.
I did watch the first 2 episodes of S3, because they were all continuing each other.

I actually like those mythology episodes, as well as the 'usual' X Files MOTW.

spoilers*

I very much liked Colony/End Game, because of story, emotions and visuals, it had everything a show or a movie needs.
And in the last episodes it had some very exiting suspense moments and I REALLY liked that surreal image of all those medical files with a train track in between, that was really nice.

*end of spoilers

[Yi Fong Yu]

many XF episodes hold those qualities of a film you described. this is why i believe it is a truly revolutionary show instead of evolutionary show. by taking filmic techniques and using them on a show, it elevated TV as a whole.

by the end of XF, the leads will have lost nearly everything. it's both personal/private and very much public at the same time because of what it would take to find "the truth". the sacrifices they've had to lay bare. it doesn't stop here =).

that's why it makes all those dialogues later on very painful as you know these characters have gone through hell.

while s1-2 had both cast and crew trying to find themselves, 3-6 were really refined becauase the technical aspect of the shows caught up. by technical i mean the techniques the lead actors used, the technical vocab. the crew used expanded greatly. the guest stars (like brad dourif, the guy for duane barry) were always high caliber. in the first few seasons the guest stars tended to overshadow both duchovny and anderson, but by s3-6, duchovny and anderson really stepped up. s1&2 had a semi-indie feel, but 3-6 had a huge, hollywood blockbuster feel. the scope generally continued to increase.

[Matthew Nayman]

I always liked the voodoo episode where that dude comes out of scully's hand!

Also, the one with the ship missing in the bermuda triangle and "Alternate" mulder and scully was cool.

The one shot from the XF I would kill to see again was in this episode about a man with a pituitary disease and he kills peopel to take theirs. He is crawling around in the vents at the end of one episode and we just see a flash of red eyes and white skin. Was very creepy.



Fluke man will live 4ever

[Jipsi Kinnear]

Originally Posted by Frank Granovski

A friend of mine took pics on the Richond set. It think it's near a dike---enough for a movie set like Mission to Mars.
Where ever it's been clear cut. :-)Manitoba has lots! On the east side of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg plus in the Manitoba desert with Camp Shilo near the middle.

Mission to Mars was shot on the banks of the Fraser River and the sand was dyed not spray painted. And near Nelson there's a town called Osoyoos (sp?) which actually has a mini desert. And for those who say the X-Files changed TV are correct. The influence seen in shows today is amazing. Lost is one example, both shows had/have the same DP and Rodney Charters from Millenium is the DP on 24. I did many day calls on all of Chris Carters shows over the years, that was my film school. Why pay to learn when you can get PAID to learn.

[Yi Fong Yu]

Matthieu,

any progress updates? lol =). you might have surpassed me. haven't seen anything beyond 2shy. =(. school sux, don't you agree?

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Hi Yi,

No, actually, to be honest, I haven't got the time to move on lately, the last episode I watched was DPO, with that lightening.

Are you a filmstudent?
I went to film academy last year, my first year, I was one of the 20 people selected from 100 participants to get in the first year, but I've quiet because I had the feeling I made THEIR movies, and not my own movies. And I constantly had the feeling that I wanted to try it on my own.
I don't want to slam film schools, they're great, but they're not for everyone.
How are you in that department? Or are you at high school, I don't know?

Best regards,

[Yi Fong Yu]

hi matthieu,

i guess we're both stuck on season3, lol! =). we'll have to wait til holidays to catch up. most likely... christmas =). we'll have to continue this then.

re: me. i'm not a film student. i'm 25 and i work full time in vinyl, aluminum windows manufacturing industry as a projects manager and goto classes for my undergrad fulltime. i've been doing that for the past 5 years with plans to graduate next june.

i wish i had more time to play around with DV shooting+editing... but i don't. i actually bought a XL1s once... but sold it to someone here i believe. i also parted ways with a 3x lens. i owned it for about 6 months... but played around with it once or twice for a friend's wedding. i need MORE TIME! =).

nowadays, i end up spending what little time i have doing chores or just catching up shows/movies like XF because creating takes a LONG time for me because i want it to be good. i catch good content in the hopes that some of that magic may rub off subliminally or not so subtle..ly.

my plan/goal is to work at a job that is stable and pays me well so i can pursue these hobbies on weeknights and weekends.

re: your frustration. i know exactly what you meant. in festivals like 48 hour film festivals, you have to work with many, many people. everyone wants input and wants to direct... it's a real mess.

if you want to "try it on your own", there's nothing stopping you... but time. just go and DO IT! that's the best way to learn. i'm not talking about technical aspects, because for kids like us (who grew up with technology), that aspect should come easy. i'm talking about writing techniques in dialogue, plotting or directing techniques for actors or sets and so on.

the first step if a script. try to write one yourself... if you can't but want to direct... direct someone else's script. remember to try your hand at a character/story-oriented movie and concentrate on the acting. i've found that many shorts i've seen in festivals and online (like youtube, etc.) fail in the acting dept. some works can look really well done technically... but lack a higher substance. if you compare an amatuer work vs. hollywood's crapfest, you can still see a level of professionalism. just my 2 cents =).

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

YEs I agree.
Sorry for responding a bit lately, but I was away for a couple of days.

I'll let you know if I catch on the X Files again :-D

Best regards,

[Yi Fong Yu]

was feeling stressed out... but felt better after catching up the entire season3. i'm on season4 now =D. s3 is pretty incredible but still not as good as season2 =). a bad season on XF is like the best seasons of any other TV series =). i love the framing/blocking of many of the episodes... especially jose chung's outer space. very theatrical. absolutely loved it.

i'm also noticing MANY, many "before-they were stars" or guest stars that have appeared on other series. off the top of my head, lucy liu, jewel strait (kaylee from Firefly/Serenity), amanda tapping and tom mcbeath (harry mayborn) both from SG-1 were all in season3 =).

tom mcbeath actually appeared a few times as different characters =).