Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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Cap’n Crunch and the Serial Killer: John McNaughton on His Career
Currently underway at the the Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park, “Portraits of Wild Things: The Films of John McNaughton” is a long overdue retrospective of the Chicago-based filmmaker of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986). Like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), I’ve always felt that the most exploitative aspect of McNaughton’s film was its title—it sounds like something you shouldn’t take joy in watching even if you’re even depraved enough to seek it out in the first place. Critically praised upon its (much delayed) release, Henry provided McNaughton with a path to mainstream success, even as the filmmaker […]
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The Gotham Pages: Community News
It’s that time of year again. Fall is setting in, with cooler temperatures and a flurry of exciting film and media events on the horizon. Chief among these is Gotham Week’s Project Market, the nation’s oldest and largest marketplace for film and TV creators, slated for September 30 to October 4. Mark your calendars and dive in below to learn more about some of the filmmakers joining us for a week focused on filmmaking, connecting and relationship-building. This issue, we’re highlighting the standout filmmakers and media creators of our first-ever Branded Storytelling Initiative. Amandla Baraka is a self-taught commercial director […]
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The Gotham Pages: Tahira White is Building an Accelerator for Branded Content Storytellers
19th & Park is a lot of things—a creative marketing hub, a branding and production powerhouse—but perhaps equally important is what it’s not. Tahira White, the agency’s co-founder and president, will be the first to tell you that 19th & Park isn’t interested in the linear approach of traditional agencies. Instead, it does its business holistically, taking a 360-degree approach to working with brands by offering creative direction, social media strategy, robust production and more—all while foregrounding underrepresented talent in front of and behind the camera. For White, who started her career in media at Hearst before segueing into production […]
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The Ofcom Gap: VOD, UK Broadcasters and Ethical Fact-Based Filmmaking
Netflix’s breakout hit Baby Reindeer brought into vivid relief an issue long at play in the UK: VOD platforms do not have to jump through the same regulatory hoops as broadcasters, for whose programs “compliance” is a necessary headache. The UK’s extensive regulatory framework for broadcasting is overseen by the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), a super regulator covering a vast array of communications from postal services to internet provision and online safety, radio and television. The ten sections of Ofcom’s broadcasting code provide a detailed roadmap for broadcasters to ethically make and deliver programs, addressing a vast number of […]
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“How Would Frederick Wiseman Order This Procession of Images?”: Making Robert Kolodny’s The Featherweight
Robert Kolodny’s Venice-premiering The Featherweight is the dramatic story of real-life boxer Willie Pep as he exits retirement to attempt a comeback in the ring — all as he’s shadowed by a documentary crew. The film’s action occurs two decades after Pep’s 1940s heyday, with Kolodny and his team, who include producer and screenwriter Steve Loff and editor Robert Greene, convincingly replicating the look and rhythms of 1960s verite documentary to meditate on both the past as well as the boxing film’s durability in the present. Wrote The New Yorker’s Richard Brody in his review, “It’s an instant classic of […]
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“We Needed to Steer the Film to a Place Where It Wasn’t a Biopic”: Cinematographer Turned Director Ellen Kuras on Her Kate Winslet-Starring Lee
For years filmmakers have tried to tell Lee Miller’s story. Famous first as a model for artists like Man Ray, then as a fashion photographer, Miller became a war correspondent during World War II. She captured some of the most iconic images of her time, from views of Hitler’s life to the horrors of concentration camps. For her feature debut as a director, Ellen Kuras was determined not to fall into standard biopic conventions. Starting from a book of Miller’s photographs, she collaborated with star and producer Kate Winslet and writers Marian Hume, Liz Hannah, and John Collee to find […]
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“Punching Above My Weight”: Director Simon Hacker on Partnering with NBA Star Gordon Hayward and Self-Distributing His Indie Comedy, Notice to Quit
I first met Simon Hacker more than a decade ago when I was teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Simon was a film student. He stuck out as someone who responded to what most people around him in the classroom weren’t much interested in: tradition. While the nascent auteurists were looking to reinvent the wheel, Simon grabbed hold of the ideas of a couple of people I introduced him to: Alexander Mackendrick and David Mamet. I was preaching the basics of classical narrative storytelling, and Simon took the time to listen. “What happens next?” became […]
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Film & Television Areas of Study at Full Sail University (Sponsored Post)
If you’re considering a career in film or television, it’s important to understand that there are many different roles in the field, so there are lots of opportunities where your interests and skills can be a good fit. Perhaps you enjoy directing others to perform a certain way. Maybe you’re a wordsmith who wants to pursue work in scriptwriting. Or you might like to design animated characters. Full Sail University offers many different areas of study that could lead to careers in the realm of film and television. While they focus on different aspects, all of Full Sail’s courses are […]
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“Made by Five People Who Love Cats”: Mary Dauterman on Booger
After the sudden death of her best friend and roommate Izzy (Sofia Dobrushin), Anna (Grace Glowicki) starts to act strange. At first, her odd behavior seems easily attributable to intense grief, but soon she begins to recognize physical abnormalities she can’t quite explain. Granted, she was bitten by her and Izzy’s fluffy, inky-black cat (the eponymous Booger) just before he fled via the fire escape. But Anna begins to suffer from far more than just cat-scratch fever and a gnarly hand wound: coarse, dark hairs begin to sprout, her movements become increasingly delicate yet uncanny, and could that actually be […]
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On the Way to the Cutting Room: How to Be an Assistant Editor
If you’ve ever wondered, “What even is an assistant editor, and what do they do?,” you’re not alone. I find myself explaining my job repeatedly to my perplexed but well-meaning family members and even to other people in the film and TV industry. The job varies from project to project, but mostly an assistant editor deals with various technical aspects of post-production so the editor can focus on the creative work of editing. That said, it’s not an entirely technical role. Sometimes, an assistant gets the chance to help the editor creatively through assembling scenes or working on sound design; […]
