Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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Toronto, Toschmonto: Time for a Festival Plan “B”: 12 Steps to a Saner Festival Game Plan
The author of this guest essay is a filmmaker whose most recent film is Between Us. He is also the co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival. — Editor Okay, you didn’t get into Toronto and you’re crushed. Guess what? You also didn’t get into Telluride, Venice or the New York Film Festivals either. But I’ve got news for you: You probably didn’t stand a chance with any of those festivals anyway. It’s not you, it’s them. Don’t get me wrong: They’re all perfectly good festivals run by nice – frequently Canadian – people. The problem is the so-called big Four […]
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A Trailer in Clips: Lars von Trier’s Curious Nymphomaniac Rollout
Oh, Lars, what are you playing at? The court jester of Cannes has remained uncharacteristically tightlipped about his next film, the pornographic two-part epic Nymphomaniac, having sworn off the press following that infamous Melancholia conference. In lieu of his usual stops on the festival circuit, von Trier has taken to releasing “appetizers” from each of the film’s eight chapters. Trailers are for the merely conventional. The first clip, entitled “The Compleat Angler,” appeared on June 28th, and introduced us to Young Joe, the adolescent iteration of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s protagonist. The hallmark handheld sways in unison with the train car where […]
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The Week in Digital Platforms: VHX and Target Ticket
The past week witnessed big announcements from two divergent digital video platforms. VHX, the direct distribution site, lauded by the likes of Shane Carruth and Ira Glass, publicized its recently acquired $3.2 million in Series A financing. Spearheaded by new board member Andy Weissman of Union Square Ventures, the funding will allow VHX to expand into public beta, bringing their services to a greater user network. They’ve already put out a call for “filmmakers, distributors, publishers, educators and moving-picture-creators” who are ready to sell their work, thereby joining the ranks of Sound City, We Are Legion, Upstream Color, and, most recently, […]
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Day 10 of 16: Chad Hartigan and This is Martin Bonner
In This is Martin Bonner, Chad Hartigan’s second fiction feature, Martin (the wonderful Australian-born, Seattle-based actor Paul Eenhoorn), is heading into life’s third act and attempting to make something of it. Post-divorce, he moves West to Reno, Nevada, where he takes a job as an outreach counselor, offering spiritual guidance to recently paroled ex-cons. Enter Travis (Richmond Arquette), who, rejoining civilian life after doing time for a hit and run, finds himself adrift, unable to fully assimilate and to connect with his now-grown daughter. In Martin he finds an awkward but needed companionship. This is Martin Bonner‘s narrative is a […]
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Our Ten Most Popular Posts of August, 2013
Here, according to Google Analytics, are our ten most popular posts of August, 2013. 1. “5 Lessons on Making a ‘Bigger’ Movie.” Drinking Buddies producer Alicia Van Couvering’s advice for directors stepping up to larger budgets was our top post of the month. 2. “In the Same Way Painters Used Their Paint: D.P. Bradford Young on Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Mother of George.” Anthony Kaufman’s in-depth interview with Young, in which he talks about drawing inspiration from Renaissance painters and how he lit Rooney Mara, was our runner up for most-trafficked post of the month. 3. “Ten Lessons on […]
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Call for Entries: IFP’s Made in NY Media Center
IFP’s Made in NY Media Center is now accepting membership proposals for their inaugural year. The MINY Media Center is a community workspace and incubator program that seeks to connect all kinds of mediamakers and tech startups with each other and provide education, mentorship, and entrepreneurship. So if you have an idea for a transmedia project that you’d like to develop and monetize, this is a great opportunity to be on the ground floor as the media center kicks off its inaugural year in October with a brand-new space in DUMBO. At the “Community Workspace” level, you get access to […]
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Four Lessons in Cinematography from Nestor Almendros
Nestor Almendros has quite the filmography: most of Eric Rohmer’s films, a good amount of Francois Truffaut’s, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and Days of Heaven (often considered one of the most beautiful films ever made). No big deal. You’d think that a cinematographer of his pedigree would be technically proficient and incredibly exacting in his approach. This couldn’t be less true. His approach to cinematography was incredibly intuitive. Directors and cinematographers alike could learn a lot from Almendros’ process, particularly when working on lower budgets and tighter schedules. Lighting Must Be Justified. Almendros believed that lighting exists for the actors, […]
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Kickstarter: Cheryl Dunye Takes Off Her Cool with Black is Blue
Filmmaker Cheryl Dunye recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for the post-production of her latest short, Black is Blue. In this guest post, Isis Asare of Sistah Sinema, the film’s community sponsor, talks with Dunye about this latest phase of her work. In one of the most moving scenes of Black is Blue, tears roll down Black’s – the film’s title character – cheeks after he makes a shocking discovery about a former lover. His emotional fragility is placed in sharp contrast with his sheer physical strength. In that moment, the viewer peers past Black’s masculinity, darkness, and confidence. The viewer […]
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Story Hacking in Hollywood
The following is a guest post by StoryCode’s co-founder Mike Knowlton on the inaugural Los Angeles Story Hackathon. From Knowlton’s official bio: “A digital veteran of 20 years, Mike has always pushed the boundaries of storytelling and technology. His work at StoryCode has created a vibrant cross-discipline global community of immersive media creators. StoryCode programs immersive media case study presentations, Transmedia education workshops, and Story Hackathons.” What do you get when you mix a live Steve Jobs-esque pitch presentation and the concept of dating insurance? Or a story about an abducted woman who suddenly appears via webcam, live in front […]
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Shooting With John: Adam Schartoff
I was very nervous about the experience. The idea was to go upstate, about 80 or 90 miles or so north up the Hudson Valley region, to some bucolic spot and shoot guns. Originally we were supposed to shoot skeet but that equipment wasn’t available so we ended up doing target practice. A longtime gun control advocate, I was a bit at the end of my rope. It was November of 2012 and there had been close to 16 mass shootings in the U.S. up to that point including the Batman shooting and the Texas A&M shooting that summer. The […]
