Authors — Scott Macaulay
-
Watch: Robert Bresson, Less is More
For the uninitiated, Robert Bresson can seem like one of the more forbidding of the all-time great directors. But his work has a visual precision, narrative economy and compelling worldview that remain absolutely transfixing today. In his latest video essay, which itself clocks in at an economical seven minutes, Julian Palmer (aka The Discarded Image) isolates and comments upon several of the most important elements of the Bressonian style, making it a great intro for beginners. If you’d like to learn more about The Discarded Image, and to possibly support further videos, check out the Patreon page.
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 7, 2017 -
SFFILM Picks Two New Filmmaking Teams to Receive Sloan Science in Cinema Fellowships
A multi-layered biography of Alexander Graham Bell that explores not only the invention of the telephone but Bell’s work with eugenics and a thriller about industrial hacking are the two projects receiving Sloan Science in Cinema Fellowships from SFFFILM. SFFILM, the parent organization of the San Francisco International Film Festival, awards these grants — funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation — biannually and will provide each filmmaking team with script development support, a $35,000 cash grant and a two-month residency at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s suite of production offices for local and visiting independent filmmakers. Filmmakers will be connected with scientific […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 7, 2017 -
How Viral Video Contests Led to Will Blank’s Beautiful Fantasy Short, Limbo
Recently receiving its online premiere after months of plaudits on the genre festival circuit, Will Blank’s Limbo is a beautifully executed fantasy short concluding with an unexpected philosophical gut punch. Adapted from Marian Churchland’s graphic short story, the set up is simple — a man coping with the detritus of a failing relationship heads to the desert, where he comes across a dying dog able to grant him one wish. The starkness of the environment and the pathos of the situation — nobly conveyed by Sam Elliott, who voices the (skillfully animatronic) dog — elevates this simple story into something […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 19, 2017 -
IFP Announces Series Lineup to be Presented at 2017 IFP Week
IFP, Filmmaker‘a parent organization, announced today the more than 35 television, digital and app-based series that will be included in the 39th annual IFP Week, taking place September 17-21, 2017 in Brooklyn. For the last several years, IFP has been broadening its mandate to include both script and non-fiction series of all formats and genres. This year’s IFP Project Forum, writes IFP in a press release, includes “series from veteran and new creators, with 70% of works at the scripted/early development stage and 30% with independently shot pilots. Of the series featured, 51% are made by women and overall, 74% […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 19, 2017 -
Web Series Trailer Watch: Let Me Die a Nun
A team of notables are behind a forthcoming independent web series about “the opposing but intersecting trajectories of a lesbian soon-to-be nun (Ana Fabrega), her Jewish stalker (Carl Kranz), and the object of her affection (Hari Nef).” In addition to the actors above, the cast includes Eleanore Pienta (star of Filmmaker favorite See You Next Tuesday) and 2015 25 New Face Zia Anger, and the series is written, directed and edited by Sarah Salovaara (the short Google Ambien and also a former Filmmaker Contributing Web Editor). It’s produced by Rachel Wolther — whose Snowy Bing Bong was a delirious highlight […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 11, 2017 -
Watch: Michel Gondry’s Charming, iPhone-Shot Summer Vacation Short, Detour
Michel Gondry has made a charming and inventive — in his typically lo-fi way — short film for Apple that shows off the video capabilities of the iPhone 7. With elements of The Red Balloon, Toy Story and, I’m sure, memories Gondry has revisited from his own childhood family vacations in France, the short follows a family on their annual summer sojourn, a trip that winds up leaving the youngest child’s prized red tricycle along the side of the road. Impressively, the short doesn’t try to fake some kind of crazy bokeh, or indulge in trick macro shots. No, like […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 29, 2017 -
LumaFusion Ups the iPad Video Editing Game
The iPad is my favorite device of all time, yet, after a brief stab at writing and editing for this site on it when the first iPad came out, I pretty much gave up on it as a productivity device. I’m waiting for iOS 11 to see if that changes — I suspect for me it won’t, actually; I’m too committed to my multi-window writing workflow. But one app I may try to play around with is the new Luma Fusion, which looks like an impressive leap over iMovie and other iPad video editors. Here’s 9 to 5 Mac’s Jeff […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 28, 2017 -
Ira Glass Still Hates Producing
One of my favorite Filmmaker video interviews is one from 2012 where, spontaneously, This American Life creator Ira Glass goes on a rant about the job of film producer. As you can see and hear above, his jeremiad is both passionate and quite specific — Glass is not going off about a job he hasn’t done. No, anyone whose name sits — or deserves to sit — above-the-line on a call sheet will recognize the laundry list of tediums and indignities that comprise a substantial chunk of the glamorous job of the producer. But, as noted above, Glass gave this […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 24, 2017 -
Watch (and Look): Teaser and Poster for LAFF Premiere, Everything Beautiful is Far Away
Several 25 New Faces — directors Andrea Sisson and Pete Ohs as well as star Julia Garner — grace the Los Angeles Film Festival premiere, Everything Beautiful is Far Away, which screens tonight at 9:10 PM. Here’s the festival capsule: Traveling across a barren landscape, Lernert digs through piles of rubbish in an attempt to build a body for his companion, Susan, the unresponsive robot head who hangs from the back of his pack. The pair come across Rola, a spirited young woman who lacks survival skills but makes up for the deficiency with sheer determination. This unlikely trio navigates […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 21, 2017 -
Parting Shot: Naomi Ackie
“A cheerful lass around town” is how actress Naomie Ackie describes herself on her Twitter account. It’s an ingratiatingly modest introduction that belies the sense of discovery surrounding this British actress who makes her feature debut in William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth. Ackie, who studied at London’s Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, had a career in U.K. television (Doctor Who is a notable credit) before she was cast by Oldroyd to play the quietly observant maid in his microbudget adaptation of Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 Russian novella, a role she imbues with an unexpected power. The success of the film […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 16, 2017
