ALEXIS Van Hurkman
Directing
Color
- Grading Inquiries
Writing
About Me
Contact

ALEXIS Van Hurkman
Directing
Color
- Grading Inquiries
Writing
About Me
Contact

Home drawing a shape

drawing a shape

by alexis March 22, 2012

written by alexis March 22, 2012

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Short Film: Carry My Heart to the Yellow River

A 21 minute science fiction short I directed in China, which is in the middle of its 2019-2020 film festival run. It’s played in the Hawai’i International Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and Orlando Film Festival, among a total of 33 festival acceptances to date, and has won “Short Film Fiction” at the Syracuse International and “Best Family Friendly Film” at South Dakota. Taking her hospitalized friend’s place on a bike tour to the Yellow River, a high school graduate travels to faraway Gannan and races the clock to share pictures of the journey. Watch the Trailer on YouTube.

Short Film: The Place Where You Live

My 12 minute science fiction short had 18 festival screenings in 2014-2015, including the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, and which won Best Leading Lady at ConCarolinas, Special Jury Prize at Worldfest-Houston, Best Science Fiction Short at Big Easy, along with Editing, Production Design, and VFX awards at Wild Rose, and a nomination for Best Original Score at Idyllwild. A professor of physics is abducted by her counterpart from an alternate dimension – in which her husband has died. Replaced by her doppelgänger, Nina struggles to rebuild the machine which will reopen the gateway between worlds, to regain the life that should be hers. Available to watch on YouTube.

Feature: Four Weeks, Four Hours

My debut feature in 2005 tells the simultaneous stories of two women stranded in the desert on opposite ends of the earth. When her plane crashes, a photographer on assignment finds herself lost and alone in a war-torn middle-eastern country. Halfway around the world, a car breakdown strands an affluent wife along an abandoned stretch of road in the American southwest. Both women need to walk for help under the blazing desert sun, and both are pushed to the limits of their endurance and beyond – the photographer over four weeks, the wife within four hours. Played seven festival screenings internationally, from 2005-2008. Not publicly available.

Color Correction Handbook

Get the 2nd Edition of this best-selling, platform-agnostic book covering all aspects of professional color correction theory and practice. Expanded with 200 pages of new and revised information ranging from grading workflow, display selection and calibration, detailed color and contrast theory for both 709 and log-encoded workflows, practical grading techniques, quality control adherence, scene balancing, and a deep exploration of memory color, image ideals, and the intersection of video grading and fine art in an interdisciplinary context. Whether you’re just starting out or have been grading for a while, there’s something for colorists of all levels.
In print from Amazon; From Barnes & Noble; ePub, MOBI, and PDF from Peachpit

Color Correction Look Book

The 216-page Color Correction Look Book focuses entirely on creative grading techniques. Myriad techniques are explained and shown, including color washes, undertones, bleach bypass emulation, cross-processing stylizations, film stock emulations, flat looks, greenscreen grading for compositing, flaring, light leaks and color bleeds, vibrance and targeted saturation, monochrome looks, grain/noise and texture, and much, much more.
Available via Kindle from Amazon

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Tonight, the “Algonquin, from the PDT app. 2 oz Rye Whiskey, 3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth, 3/4 oz pineapple juice. Stirred. Surprisingly dry, efficient but sophisticated. Deserving of the name.

In the mood for lemon and gin, tonight, I made the “Southside Cocktail.” 2 1/2 oz Gin (Plymouth), 5 mint leaves, 4 lemon wedges (half lemon), 2.5 tsp sugar. Muddle the mint, lemon wedges, and sugar together, add ice, add Gin, SHAKE and strain. DELICIOUS. Way to welcome summer. From Joy of Mixology.

Tonight, it’s “Groceries for the Queen,” by Souther Teague in his “I’m Just Here for the Drinks.” 1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin, 1 oz Cherry Liqueur, 3/4 oz each Amaro Montenegro and fresh orange juice, 2 dashes Mole chocolate bitters. Over hand bashed pebble ice, again, and with an orange twist and cherries. Delicious, probably the most interesting use of orange juice I’ve tasted.

Made the “Mint Julip” to go with lunch. Hand crushed ice, 2 1/2 oz 107 Proof Bourbon, 1 oz simple syrup, 12 leaves mint. It was a process, muddling a quarter of the syrup with the mint, then adding ice, and pouring the bourbon and then the rest of the syrup over it, but well worth it, and crushing the ice by hand was both satisfying and produced an excellent result. Delicious.

Determined to use the Strega, I looked far and wide for a cocktail that I could make with my current inventory of spirits, and after perusing several that used all manner of things I didn’t have, I finally found “Autumn Leaves,” on DiffordsGuide.com. 1 oz each Rye Whiskey, Calvados, and Sweet Vermouth, 1/4 oz Strega, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Stirred, over ice, Orange twist. Absolutely delicious, Bulleit 95 Rye was a good choice, the Pere Magloire VSOP Calvados really contributes, and Antica Formula and the Strega play well together. Delicious, and really balanced despite the long list of ingredients.

Tonight, I really wanted to see what the Creme de Banane was about, so I tried the “Platános en Mole Old Fashioned,” from the PDT app. Mount Gay 1703 Rum, Tempus Fugit Creme de Banane, Dashfire Mole Bitters. Stirred, large format ice. Really, really good. The banana flavor and rum go well, and the bitters blend seamlessly. Five stars.

It was more hassle than it should’ve been, but I finally got a fridge for the liqueurs and vermouths in the basement. Except for the absence of beer, I finally feel like a true midwesterner.

Added some mixers to the bar today.

In the mood to use some Rhubarb, I tried the “Strawberry Rhubarb Daquiri” recipe in the PDT app (great app, well worth the price). Double straining was a lot of work between the muddled strawberries and the cooked unsweetened Rhubarb, but it was worth it. Delicious.

Kaylynn has obtained glassware for every occasion. Little cookie jars.

Just for fun, I thought I’d try making an “Aviation” with some tart grapefruit juice instead of lemon. 2 oz Gin, 1/2 oz each Creme de Violette and grapefruit juice, 1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur. Shaken and strained. Pleasant, the grapefruit lets the Creme de Violette shine through more, which is good or bad depending on how much you like Creme de Violette. I do prefer lemon juice, which adds a brighter note to the drink, but it was interesting to taste the difference.

To celebrate another cocktail book acquisition (The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual), I made the “Maiden’s Blush,” from 1896. 1 oz Rasberry Cordial (I used Chambord), 1 1/2 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin, 1 oz Pernod Absinthe, 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice. Shaken, served on the rocks. A delightful licorice rasberry flavor, far lighter than the 1 oz of absinthe would indicate. Still has a wee bite, though.

Sunday afternoon, I poured Souther Teague’s “Waterproof Watch,” from “I’m Just Here For the Drinks.” 1.5 oz London Dry Gin, 3/4 oz each Aperol and Amaro Montenegro, 2 dashes Dale Degroff’s Pimento Bitters. Stirred, Orange twist (I used lemon for reasons). Outstanding. Smooth and light. Nice alternative to a Negroni.

Saturday night after dinner, was in the mood for a digestif, and I wanted to explore the Amaro Montenegro. Searching the web found Harry Chin’s recipe for the “Montenegro-cello.” 2 oz Amaro Montenegro, 1/2 oz each fresh grapefruit juice and lemon juice, 1/4 oz rich honey syrup. Stirred, grapefruit twist. Bitter, tart, and delicious. Kaylynn and I split a single pour using our little vintage coupes.

On Saturday before dinner, I poured bartender Joaquin Simo’s version of the “Sidecar,” from “3-Ingredient Cocktails.” 2 oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac, 3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1 bar spoon Rich simple syrup (I used Demerara syrup). Shaken. Excellent. I’m finding myself really liking Cognac based cocktails.

Kitties napping in tubes…

Puppies napping in beds…

Last night, to mark the 8th episode of my webinar series, I poured the “Vesper.” First repeat cocktail since isolation, but a worthy drink of the new Zwiesel cocktail glasses we got. I used the proportions from “Meehan’s Bartender Manual.” 2 1/4 oz Plymouth Gin, 3/4 oz Vodka (I used Reyka), 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc, stirred, lemon twist. Elegant, delicious.

Tonight, I needed something extra. Thus, the “Corpse Reviver No 2.” 3/4 oz each Fords Gin, Pierre Ferrand Orange Curaçao, Lillet Blonde, and Fresh Lemon Juice, .6 ml Absinthe (a measured dash). Terrific, just what I wanted. Well balanced with great citrus flavor and the gin and Absinthe played very well together. Smooth, not boozy. Got to use my new Duke’s Bar cocktail glasses, too…

Tonight, Kaylynn wanted a cold weather drink, so I figured an old fashioned variant, the “Old Bay Ridge,” from Robert Simonson’s “The Old Fashioned.” 1 1/2 oz each Rye and Linie Aquavit, 1 tsp Demerara Syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, Lemon twist expressed into the drink and dropped in. Magnificent marriage of spirits. A nice stiff drink in Minnesota’s sad excuse for a springtime.

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