Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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The Tainted Veil: Andrew Niccol’s Good Kill
The soldiers can barely agree to disagree. They are primarily ex-pilots but a few video gamers have recently thrown into this mix that operates drone strikes from the safety of temporary metal trailers on a military base outside the rhinestone city of Las Vegas. The year is 2010; the U.S. drone program is at a new high. Some of these armchair warriors have increasingly strong feelings against the manner in which drones are deployed in places like Afghanistan, Yemen, and Waziristan; others feel that anything goes to keep America safe following the events of 9/11; and a couple are practical […]
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Ridiculous Netflix: Sterlin Harjo Discusses Netflix and Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six
“The movie has ‘ridiculous’ in the title for a reason — because it’s ridiculous. It is a broad satire of Western movies and the stereotypes they popularized, featuring a diverse cast that is not only part of — but in on — the joke.” So comments Netflix in the wake of the recent exodus of a dozen Native American extras from the set of Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six, its first film in a four-movie deal with Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. The comedy features characters with names like “Beaver’s Breath” and “No Bra,” so, yes, “ridiculous” certainly seems to be the […]
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Camden International Film Festival Announces Points North Fellowship Call for Entries
The Camden International Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its Points North Fellowship, which provides grants bringing five teams of documentary filmmakers to September’s Points North Documentary Forum and trains them in the art of the pitch. The Fellowship takes place before, during and even after the festival. Before the festival, filmmakers receive a day of intensive training and mentorship, sponsored by the Main Media Workshops. Then, filmmakers go on to pitch their projects to an array of international funders, broadcasters, distributors and producers — all before a live audience. Past panelists include representatives from the BBC, HBO, A&E […]
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Towards the Palme d’Or: A Conversation with DP Gökhan Tiryaki On the Set of Asif Kapadia’s Ali and Nino
When you have one of the most anticipated films of the year about to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, how do you prepare? For Asif Kapadia — director of Amy, the forthcoming documentary about the British jazz singer Amy Winehouse — the answer is to direct another film. His adaptation of Kurban Said’s 1937 novel Ali and Nino is the first fictional narrative the British director has helmed since 2007’s Far North; both it and Amy are his first features since 2010’s much-admired documentary Senna. For his fictional narratives, Kapadia has made a habit of shooting in remote, unique locations. […]
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IFP Announces Documentary Line-Up for Annual Independent Filmmaker Labs
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today the ten documentaries selected for the 2015 Independent Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s annual yearlong fellowship for first-time feature directors. The creative teams of the selected films are currently attending the first week’s sessions – The Time Warner Foundation Completion Labs – taking place May 11-15 in New York City. The Independent Filmmaker Labs are a highly immersive, free mentorship program supporting first-time feature directors with projects in post-production as they complete, market and distribute their films. The Labs provide filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic tools necessary to launch their films and careers. […]
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Lots of New Software from Blackmagic, Adobe, Avid and More
The advances in camera technology over the past few years have somewhat overshadowed application software developments, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some interesting new updates and new applications. Here are just some of the most interesting application updates announced over the past couple of months. Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 12 At NAB Blackmagic announced Resolve 12. It’s not available yet, but this update continues where 11 started, adding more video editing features and continuing to turn Resolve into a serious editing tool. Blackmagic even claims it’s now the “most powerful editor available.” The new interface is lighter and offers […]
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A.C.L.U Investigates Exclusion of Female Directors in Hollywood
Early this morning, The New York Times ran an article that detailed the A.C.L.U’s investigation into Hollywood’s hiring practices and their demonstrable prejudices — given the statistics — against female directors. As spearheaded by Melissa Davidson, the director of the L.G.B.T, Gender and Reproductive Justice Project at the A.C.L.U of Southern California, The Times also ran her official letter to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that outlines the reasons behind her inquiry in full. Cara Buckley, author of The Times article, put forth the career trajectory of Godzilla helmer Gareth Edwards, who landed […]
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Trouble at the Cinémathèque québécoise
The Cinémathèque québécoise — the main repository for all film, television and video production in the province of Quebec — is in the midst of controversy over its future direction. Like many cultural-memory institutions, it has been plagued by severe budget shortfalls, and members of both the Cinémathèque ‘s own board as well as the provincial government have suggested a merger with the Bibliotheque et Archives du nationales du Quebec (BAnQ) as a means to keep it solvent. Others, including most of the Cinémathèque’s workers and non-administrative staff, as well as filmmakers and other supporters, have expressed grave concern that […]
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Popularity Mechanics: A Beginner’s Guide to Curmudgeonly Crowdfunding
Randy Mack is in the final three days of his Kickstarter for his New Orleans-set Laundry Day, and with roughly three grand to go, he lets loose with an acerbic howl against the indignities of crowdfunding that, he hopes, might make you think and, perhaps…. donate. People are the worst, and there’s nothing more humiliating than pandering to them. You became an artist to push back against sheeple’s sacred cows and conventional wisdom, and now technology has risen to empower… them. Not you. The Popular Ones. The last people on Earth who need empowering. Popular people, remember them? The ones […]
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Short Film: ornana’s All Your Favorite Shows
ornana’s latest short form outing, All Your Favorite Shows, might just be my favorite yet. Length notwithstanding, it features some of the most exacting and exhilarating editing you’re likely to see anytime in the near future, as it seamlessly shifts from film clips to Danny Madden’s original animation in the blink of an eye. I asked Madden to elaborate on his collaboration with editor Mari Walker in designing the film and stringing together its “found imagery”: The clip selection began at the storyboards. I laid out these high energy action moments that followed as many modern film and television tropes as I could […]
