Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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Sony Announces PXW-Z100, Ushers Era of 4K Camcorder
Sony announced today at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin a new line of 4K camcorders, available this fall. The pro version will be called PXW-Z100, while the “consumer” version will be called FDR-AX1. Bucking the large-sensor trend I described recently in Filmmaker, the PXW-Z100 (from this point, I’ll detail the pro version only) contains a single 1/2.3-in. Exmor R CMOS sensor, a smidgen less than full half-inch. At first glance above, the PXW-Z100 would seem to do for 4K what Sony’s epochal HVR-Z1 did for HD almost a decade ago: introduce affordable capture of the latest high-res format […]
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Independent Film: Hobby or Career? Kentucker Audley on the Eternal Question
Independent filmmaking: hobby or career? It is a question that has been on more than a few lips for years now. Though digital platforms have greatly democratized the distribution process, filmmakers are still reaping minimal financial returns on their work. Should the aspiring independent filmmaker pursue her passion wholeheartedly, or should she be pragmatic from the get go, making films as a hobby alongside a more lucrative career? Filmmaker spoke with Kentucker Audley, filmmaker, actor and proprietor of NoBudge, about the professional concerns of the modern moviemaker, and the benefits of having yet another passion project to keep you busy. […]
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Test Footage and Drawbacks of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
Many pundits predicted a serious shakeup when Blackmagic announced their new Pocket Cinema Camera back at NAB in April. Priced at just $995, the Super 16 handheld, complete with 13 stops of dynamic range, seem poised to encroach upon DSLR’s steadfast popularity. As the camera underwent initial shipments in August, homegrown test footage began popping up here and there. Dan Chung, co-editor of News Shooter, recently took his BMPCC out for a spin in the Sanlitun area of Beijing — at night. The experiment yielded mixed results. Armed with a Voigtlander 17.5 mm f0.95 lens to maximize light on the […]
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September Opportunities for the New York-based Filmmaker
For those who didn’t attend film school, the learning curve when it comes to the technical aspects of filmmaking can be a largely solitary process. Reading up on manuals, trial and error with editing suites, blog browsing and other self-taught measures are often conducted without reaffirmation, encouragement or collaboration. Should you seek the company of others, the following are a few New York organizations whose doors will open for fellowships and workshops in the ensuing weeks. Yes, I am shortchanging 97.35% of the American population, so additional suggestions are more than welcome. Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective Deadline: September 6, 2013 The […]
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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 […]
