Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? A roll of black duct tape. The lead character in my film, Tomaz, is a man beset with recurrent nightmares. These are so bad that he is forced to strap his hands together to prevent him from injuring himself in the night. The tape, and his action of tying himself up, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Our film Spaceship Earth is comprised almost entirely of archival footage, but we did a number of interviews in studios across the country. The most important object for this film is a modular erector set of geodesic rods that appears out of focus behind all of our interview subjects. Production designer […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? The Glitch. The analog video glitches throughout Whirlybird are more than stylized decorations, they are ghostly characters. While sifting through thousands of hours of the Los Angeles News Service archive (3/4″ and beta tape from the 80s and 90s), video glitches were abound. As much as I wanted the audience to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020Natalia Erika Jame adapts the real-world terror of degenerative disease into a supernatural horror film in Relic. Edna, an aging woman, is feared for by her daughter and granddaughter after she abruptly disappears, leaving in her wake the signs of someone struggling with dementia. One day, she inexplicably returns, and a dangerous entity may have come back with her. Editor Sean Lahiff talks about why he so enjoys editing the “darker side of genre films.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020Fox and Rob Rich are married, but they’ve been apart for 21 years—Rob is currently serving a 60-year sentence for a crime that they both committed. Fox has been diligently fighting for the release of her husband, while also filming home footage to share with Rob so he can watch his six children grow and observe the home life he cannot be a part of. Garrett Bradley’s documentary feature debut Time explores the violent oppression of African American people entrenched in America’s prison system and editor Gabriel Rhodes elaborates on the process of weaving archival, home and interview footage together […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? The telephone is a key object throughout the film. It’s the middle man. The conduit between problems and solutions, hope and disappointment. A dream refusing deferment. Sundance Responses 2020
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Charles and Ray Eames apparently wanted their Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman to have the “warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.” When I was a child, I simply knew their chair as “Dad’s chair.” He had one of them at his psychiatry office and one at home. Buying […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Mirrors are almost always a production headache. They (bear with me as I describe what a mirror does) reflect all the c-stands and lights and crew members that you were trying to hide from frame in your cramped indie film location that was never intended to be “a set”. However, when […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Radha’s head wrap. It seems to be a nice fashion accessory. One that nods to Black and African culture and reflects identity and cultural pride. And in a time when women obsess over our looks and feel pressured to express ourselves through hair, a head wrap feels like an act of […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020