Filmmaking

“AMERICAN SPLENDOR” AT STRANGER THAN FICTION

At last night’s Stranger Than Fiction, a weekly documentary series at the IFC, host Thom Powers paid tribute to underground comic icon Harvey Pekar, who died in July of this year, by screening American Splendor, the dramatization of Pekar’s celebrated autobiographical comic series about his life as a file clerk. A comics fanatic who became friends with the writer while working in the underground comic scene, Powers described discovering Pekar’s work as “a truly transformative experience.” Powers almost did not attend a screening of the film at Sundance in 2003, terrified it would do something horrible to something “so precious.” […]

By Mary Anderson Casavant on Oct 6, 2010 Filmmaking
TRAILERING JAMIE STUART’S “NYFF 48″

Jamie Stuart’s video of the 48th New York Film Festival will be live next week. For now, a trailer…. Download this trailer here in Quicktime.

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 5, 2010 Festivals & Events
INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK WRAP-UP: TAKEAWAYS AND GRATITUDE

I now have a full week’s perspective on what happened at Independent Film Week as part of the Emerging Narrative section; what I learned, who I met, follow-up completed, what I might have done differently, and a new sense of where I’m going. If you are considering applying for next year, or lucky enough to have gotten in, hopefully this will be helpful. The best place to start, and usually the best place to finish, is with gratitude. I’m grateful to IFP for having selected my project; to the IFP volunteers, who with smiles and patience steered us around for […]

By Marc Maurino on Oct 3, 2010 Filmmaking
“STRANGER THINGS,” “MARWENCOL” WIN WOODSTOCK

I was very excited to see the list of Woodstock Film Festival winners over at Indiewire. Two Filmmaker favorites picked up the top prizes. You’ve read about Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol on the site before (see Alicia Van Couvering’s blockquote interview with the director here), and if your memory is good you’ll remember that I picked Stranger Things directors Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal for our 2009 “25 New Faces” after seeing the rough cut of this very same feature. I think this is a beautiful, delicate, and extremely well directed and acted film, and I’m really happy that it’s now […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 2, 2010 Festivals & Events
Unboxing and Shooting with the Canon 60D

Geek.com posted these two videos from J.J. Kim at Orange Wedding Films containing info on the new Canon 60D. The 60D sits between the Rebel T2i and the Canon 7D in their product line, and it has a flip-out LCD screen, which is obviously an attractive feature for anyone interested in shooting handheld video. The first is an unboxing video and comparison with the Canon 7D. Canon 60D quick review video from Orange Wedding Films on Vimeo. The second is test footage comparing the 60D to the 7D. Canon EOS 60D vs 7D short sample footage from Orange Wedding Films […]

By Scott Macaulay on Oct 2, 2010 Cinematography
Is Apple Delaying a New Final Cut Studio?

Back in May at his No Film School blog, Koo asked, “Is Apple Dumbing Down Final Cut Studio?”, wondering whether the “pro” elements of the Mac editing platform would be diminished (or, perhaps, not updated) in favor of features of interest to the less-pro “prosumer” crowd. Well, today, according to Hardmac.com, a next version of FCS could indeed be delayed. The site reports: A few months ago we told you that Apple were hoping to release a new version of their Final Cut Studio suite in 2010. It now seems likely that this target has been missed according to one […]

By Scott Macaulay on Sep 30, 2010 Filmmaking
AM I A FILMMAKER OR A BRAND? CAGE MATCH PANEL REPORT

On the last day of Independent Film Week, I asked myself: Self, am I a filmmaker or a brand? Quickly realizing what a thorny Mobius strip of a question that was, I conveniently hied myself over to the panel entitled … Am I a Filmmaker or a Brand?, being moderated by writer/director/Hammer to Nail blogger Michael Tully (Cocaine Angel, Silver Jew), in what was billed as a “Cage Match” between Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance Institute, and Jon Reiss, filmmaker/author of the marketing and branding tome “Think Outside the Box Office.” Thanks to a conveniently timed Facebook post, I […]

By Marc Maurino on Sep 30, 2010 Filmmaking
“MARWENCOL” OPENS STRANGER THAN FICTION AT THE IFC CENTER

“Stranger than Fiction,” the annual documentary series at the IFC Center, opens tonight with Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol, winner of the Best Documentary award at SXSW, Comic-Con and SIFF. From tonight’s program notes: On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside of a bar in Kingston, NY, by five men who beat him literally to death. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn’t recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to […]

By Scott Macaulay on Sep 28, 2010 Filmmaking
SALLY MENKE, R.I.P.

Stunningly sad news today that Oscar-nominated editor Sally Menke, known for cutting all of Quentin Tarantino’s films, died sometime Monday while hiking in Los Angeles’s extreme heat. She had set out with a friend in Bronson Canyon; after an hour, her friend turned back, and when Menke didn’t return police were called. Her body was found at the bottom of a ravine with her dog at her side. The Los Angeles Times has the details. In the public mind, editors are sometimes judged by the flashiness of their cutting, a style Tarantino’s films have never embraced. But his films are […]

By Scott Macaulay on Sep 28, 2010 Filmmaking
MANAGING AND AGENTING YOUR CAREER AT INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK

Here’s another report from a part of Independent Film Week that I’ve written a little about, but which is actually a huge—or at least, half—of IFW—the conference. I previously described the Project Forum situation, but get this—when we were out of our meetings, we had the opportunity to walk outside and around the block to an auditorium where every hour, on the hour, assembled experts, case studies, and assorted panels were weighing on various subjects. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker and don’t have a project in Project Forum, it would still be extraordinarily worthwhile to get a week pass just […]

By Marc Maurino on Sep 28, 2010 Filmmaking

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