Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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The Ten Best TV Shows of 2012
With each passing year, it seems more and more archaic to refer to television’s current landscape as a ‘Golden Age.’ How long exactly can a ‘Golden Age’ last before we start to consider it a permanent phenomenon? For a decade and a half now, we’ve seen a steady stream of pioneering shows that have changed the mainstream standard for quality television. Yes, many of these shows exist on the fringes of TV – are supremely low-rated or in constant threat of cancellation. And yes, the medium is still undoubtedly in a state of flux, as everyone scrambles to figure out […]
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Shooting Angels with the Panasonic GH3 in Mexico
When the Panasonic GH3 was listed on B&H I did something I had never done before. I pre-ordered a camera, sight unseen. And after returning from a shoot from Juarez, Mexico with it, I don’t regret it one bit. A little more than a year ago I bought the GH2. For the longest time I refused to get on the DSLR bandwagon. I was quite satisfied with my Sony EX1 and its XLR inputs and ability to shoot hours on end. However, even a minimal kit was bulky. I wanted something small if I had to travel light or needed […]
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Panasonic Gooses the AG-AF100 to 10 Bits
The Panasonic AG-AF100A, the incremental update to the AG-AF100, is now shipping. Most notably the new model is now capable of 10 bit 4:2:2 output when recording to external recorders. Internal recording is still AVCHD 4:2:0, but according to Panasonic the AG-AF100A complies with the AVCHD ver. 2.0 (AVCHD Progressive) standard and adds a new PS recording mode (average approx. 25Mbps, maximum 28Mbps). Uncompressed 16 bit LPCM 2-channel audio recording is supported. Other new features include: a sync signal through HD-SDI for the Rec Start/Stop with the AF100A trigger; an expanded focus assist function; and a 2.39:1 (cinema scope size) […]
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Immersive Storytelling for The Lost Children Pt. 2
Part 1 of this series laid out the overall plan for The Lost Children Premier event at Film Society of Lincoln Center in January 2013. In this post, I’m going to focus on some thinking behind the live immersive portion of the event. As I’ve been working on this, I’ve been thinking a lot about this term “immersive.” Any great piece of art can be immersive. Any time you get sucked into an amazing movie to the point that you forget you’re actually watching a movie, that is immersive. I remember having that experience with No Country for Old Men. But here, I’m […]
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Twine Unboxing
Last year I wrote about Twine, an easy-to-use sensor kit that broke out on Kickstarter by raising 1,500% over their initial ask. The interest in Twine was so strong that their goal of $35k ended up bringing in over $500k. The concept taps directly into the “internet of things,” where interactions involving everyday objects are given a voice. Since contributing to the project, I’ve been waiting anxiously for my Twine to arrive. In December, it finally came and I immediately put it to work in a storytelling context with my students at Columbia University. Listen to your world talk to […]
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RED’s Dragon Sensor, Now with More Dynamic Range
RED has been making a lot of claims about their new super-sensor Dragon, that is currently in development. An upgrade to their EPIC cameras, Dragon was initially expected by the end of 2012, but that date has now been pushed back. Jim Jannard of RED first said that the sensor had more resolution than 65mm film scanned at 4K. He went so far as to say, “Dragon should never be compared to 35mm film. It should only be spoken in reference to 65mm film from here on out.” Now Jarred Land has released a sample image (above) on the RED […]
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My Year in Film: A Memoir of Sorts
It was 2012 and there was an election on and it was getting hotter everyday and I didn’t know how much time we had left and it was the end of film (if not the end of cinema) and I knew not what to do, so I did what I always do in situations like this: I went to the movies. Usually for free, at the behest of some publicist or festival. About half the time I went because I had nothing better to do. Often I went alone for no discernible reason other than that I had no one […]
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Dear Artist of 2013: “What If?”
What if, you did it to feel? What if, you did it to learn? What if, you did it to expand? What if, you did it to fly? What if, you did it to explore? What if, you did it to breathe? What if, you did it to connect? What if, you did it to give? What if, you didn’t do it to be liked? What if, you didn’t do it to get accolades? What if, you didn’t do it to get your next job? What if, you didn’t do it to get a date? What if, you didn’t do […]
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An Afternoon Music Video Shoot with the Canon C300
It’s a late fall Sunday afternoon and Rick Macomber is setting up his Canon C300 on a bridge near Harvard Square to shoot some inserts for a music video. The video is for the band Air Traffic Controller, and the plan today is to shoot two sequences of a couple that illustrate “happier times” in their relationship. Rick will first be shooting them crossing the bridge, and then they’ll move to Harvard Square to shoot some additional scenes. With his production company Macomber Productions Rick has been shooting music, promotional and wedding videos since 1995 and has been using DSLRs […]
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In Pursuit of The Purple Onion
When I was a doorman at San Francisco’s Punchline and Cobbs comedy clubs, I never would’ve thought that three years later, I’d be making my first feature film about a comedian. I went to film school in Poland, from where my parents emigrated. While there, I made several short films, which went on to play at international film festivals in France, Albania, Poland, and the U.S. Before I went to Poland, while working with my father in China, I passed on his proposal to expand his furniture-making empire, as he called it, in order to pursue filmmaking. Eventually, back in […]
