So now it’s all over. Independent Film Week has come and gone and the follow up begins. That’s the whole point of all this — to make the connections and see where they can take the film. Who is really interested in launching this film into the universe and what’s the best path? The goal — identifying, creating, and assembling the audience. The good news is that there are people who want to help and are good at it (see conference panel). At IFW there was no shortage of advice from experts on marketing imperatives, branding, and being an active participant in the afterlife […]
Four Weddings and a Funeral director Richard Curtis scripted this commercial promoting a climate change campaign that’s been pulled from theaters in the U.K. due to its…. exploding children. Gillian Anderson did the voiceover, Radiohead provided music, and it also features soccer star Peter Crouch. In their report, The Guardian notes the inspiration of Monty Python, but many people didn’t seem to get the joke. Learn more about the 10:10 campaign that urges people to cut their carbon emissions here.
Lurking about the less reputable precincts of Texas’ capital, Erica (a terrific Amanda Fuller) at first seems like another aimless, sexually adventurous young woman who in the city that embraced mumblecore would find herself in a pedestrian drama of mid twenties malaise. Living for free in a dusty co-op, she trolls the seedy side of Austin, scoring a new suitor every night for a bout of casual, unprotected sex. Clad in denim cut-offs and white cowboy boots, she drifts through days and nights with an anomie that is only enhanced by the arty, elliptical rhythms of Veteran UK helmer Simon […]
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.” […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Yup, it’s true. IFP’s Independent Film Week has come and gone. We are now navigating that outside-of-the-cocoon existence again, where our Melvin team is no longer in the safe environs of IFP’s Independent Film Week hug. Will a higher percentage of our emails and phonecalls be returned now that we’ve made some sort of personal connection with people from all walks of the industry’s life? That’s to be determined. I can only say, I really hope so… After all the speed dating, panels, cage matches, and impromptu conversations, I am left with a strange taste in my mouth. After navigating the production […]
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 […]