Authors — Jane Schoenbrun
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DAVID LOWERY ON STORY STRUCTURE IN “MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE” & “SLEEPING BEAUTY”
Filmmaker David Lowery (Pioneer, St. Nick) has an interesting piece on his blog today comparing the storytelling engines in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty. Martha, he argues, deliberately builds tension by withholding key information, while Sleeping Beauty lays everything on the table up front in an attempt to diffuse tension and focus deeper on story, theme, and character. In the article, Lowery also defends Martha against Richard Brody’s recent New Yorker blog post (a response in itself to Anthony Lane’s review of the film) in which Brody argued that the film’s flashback-heavy narrative […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 7, 2011 -
CINEMATOGRAPHER ED LACHMAN DISCUSSES HIS CRAFT
At Independent Film Week this past September, Ed Lachman taught a Masterclass sponsored by Kodak. An acclaimed cinematographer known for creating lush and arresting images in films such as I’m Not There, Erin Brockovich, and The Virgin Suicides, Lachman was nominated for an Academy Award and received an Independent Spirit Award for his work on Far From Heaven. While the full panel is pay-walled and available only to IFP members, you can watch these three free excerpts right now: Here, Lachman discusses the difference between working with first-time directors and more experienced directors. Here, Lachman theorize about the difficulty of […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 2, 2011 -
VIMEO LAUNCHES PERKS PROGRAM PROVIDING DISCOUNTS TO SUBSCRIBERS
This morning, Vimeo announced the launch of Vimeo Perks, a new program that offers discounts on camera and video products to their Pro and Plus subscribers. Through partnerships with electronic manufacturers such as B&H, Kessler, and Garage Cube (a VJ software), Perks will feature dozens of curated packages, with savings ranging from five to twenty-five percent. In some of the pricier packages, such as B&H’s DSLR kit, savings range up to $300. Vimeo VP of Creative Development Blake Whitman spoke with Filmmaker about the process of curating the Perks packages. “It’s not everything under the sun,” he explained. “It’s not […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 1, 2011 -
SUNDANCE ANNOUNCES ARTISTS AND PROJECTS FOR THEIR 2012 NEW FRONTIER PROGRAM
Sundance announced today the lineup for their annual New Frontier program, taking place Friday, January 20 through Saturday, January 28 as part of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. This year’s lineup features installations from multimedia artists such as Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then director Brent Green, 0100101110101101.org creators Eva & Franco Mattes, and indie gaming company Molleindustria. Now in its sixth year, New Frontier provides a venue for innovative media installations, multimedia performances, transmedia experiences, and panel discussions. For the first time, the program will be taking place simultaneously at two locations: The Yard (1251 Kearns Blvd.) in Park City […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 31, 2011 -
DAVID LYNCH’S CRAZY CLOWN TIME NOW STREAMING ON NPR
Almost as if they knew today was Halloween, NPR has offered up a free stream of Crazy Clown Time, the much anticipated debut album from director David Lynch. Eleanor Kagan writes: “To those familiar with (Lynch’s) tendencies, the content of Crazy Clown Time should come as no surprise. Written, performed and produced by Lynch with engineer Dean Hurley, Lynch’s first solo album finds him meandering through a series of dark dreams and visceral meditations on modern life and society.” Indeed, the album is a beguiling, often unsettling listen. In other words, it’s unmistakably Lynchian. Many of the songs call to […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 31, 2011 -
BLACKHOUSE FOUNDATION STRESSES STRATEGY AND COMMUNITY IN THE FESTIVAL PROCESS
Last night at HSBC’s corporate headquarters in New York, The Blackhouse Foundation celebrated the launch of the 2012 film festival season with a networking event and panel discussion focused on festival strategy. Now in its fifth year, Blackhouse is a non-profit organization set up to support communities of black filmmakers throughout the festival process. The Foundation has had a presence at many of the top North American festivals, including Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto, and the LA Film Festival. Blackhouse exists to help black filmmakers at all stages in their careers, a fact made clear by the event’s attendees. The talent in the […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 28, 2011 -
JOSS WHEDON MAKES A SECRET SHAKESPEARE ADAPTATION
News broke earlier today over Twitter that Joss Whedon has finished principal photography on what may be a screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The official website, appears to give little information on the project — just a cast list and a poster. According to the site, Whedon regulars Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, and Alexis Denisof star. Clicking on the poster, however, reveals an official press release: Bellwether Pictures proudly announces the completion of principal photography on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy adapted and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel’s upcoming THE AVENGERS, […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 24, 2011 -
KIDS WITH SUPERPOWERS IN RETRO NEW M83 MUSIC VIDEO
French electro-pop innovator M83 (AKA Anthony Gonzalez) might still be finishing his victory lap in celebration of today’s 9.1 Best New Music review over at Pitchfork, but he’s found time to post a great music video for “Midnight City”, the lead single from his mammoth new double album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Much like the album itself, the Midnight City video is colored in a dream-like retro sheen. Directed by Fleur & Manu, it plays like the opening to a lost 70s Spielberg film, as a group of super-powered kids break out of school and run-amok in the woods. It’s […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 17, 2011 -
TIM SUTTON’S “PAVILION” GETS A GORGEOUS NEW WEBSITE
Tim Sutton’s upcoming Pavilion is a beautiful debut, a collage of subdued, hypnotic moments that combine to capture the aching aimlessness of youth. And now the film has a similarly stunning website. Designed by Caspar Newbolt of Version Industries, the site overlays images and GIFs on each page to bring many of the film’s visually striking moments to life. This lovely GIF, for instance, loops on the homepage: Over at the IFP website , Newbolt blogs about developing the Pavilion website, as well as the film’s posters. He discusses how watching the film inspired and informed his designs: “For the […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 17, 2011 -
IFP TO STREAM 2011 FILMMAKER CONFERENCE
Did you miss the Filmmaker Conference at Independent Film Week last month? Me too – I managed to catch a few panels, but I spent most of the week running around, working, and attending other IFW events (as evidenced by my photo blogs here, here, and here). Luckily, IFP will streaming the entire conference available to members. One new video will be added to ifp.org every weekday this month. Membership levels start at $35, which for roughly 30 hours of film industry education (and tons of other benefits) is not a bad deal. One video is already online – a […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Oct 14, 2011
