Categories
These Are Those Things

One Of My Fave Cinema Moments Of 2011

It was at the only projected WorkInProgress screening we had for Martha Marcy May Marlene. The film was submitted to Sundance on a 6 week cut and Sean Durkin had to lock at 8 weeks to get in done in time for the festival. There was no money but Technicolor helped us out with a weekday screening. The only people generally who could come were screenwriters as virtually everyone else we knew were working.

Screenwriters can be a bit focused on structure, some on discipline. The point was raised that this song was not like any other moment in the film. People started to suggest it be cut. My wife –one of the few women in the room — stood up and said it was the crucial moment when Marcy May feels loved. She was right. It needed to be there. Sean knew it too.

Even if it had been cut, I think it would have made my list of favorite MUSIC moments of 2011

Categories
These Are Those Things

What If You Could Escape Your Daily Routine?

I met Steven Briend at the Disposable Film Festival last year. I liked his papercraft stop motion “magic” short PROTEIGON. I just got to see his new short SHUNPO which is a nice bit of dance on film with another tad of cinema magic thrown in with excellent results. Check it out:


SHUNPO by stevenbriand

What if we could escape our daily routine for a moment ? A Step, just one, that could move us miles away from here, in a second; a flash step. A Shunpo.
Shunpo was shot in 6 days in 13 different locations in Paris plus one in Turkey at “Tuz Göllü” salt lake.
The camera used was a Canon 5D Mark III with 16-35 L, 24-70L and 70-200L lenses.

Categories
Truly Free Film

James Franklin: All Your Distribution Options In One Image

A picture’s worth a thousand words, right?  I mean that is why movies have so much impact, right?  2011 did seem like the year that data visualization went mainstream.  I know I understand and I remember things much better when an imagistic way of expressing things is found.  I was very excited to receive this chart from James Franklin.  It’s pretty complete.  Let us know if you have ways to improve it though.

James Franklin is the creator of Moviesparx, the founder of Pixeco and Creative Director at the Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation. Over the last 7 years he’s worked on the marketing for over 100 high profile films and has created a web based tool to make the whole process easier, it’s called Moviesparx.
Twitter: @jamesfranklin

Categories
Truly Free Film

The Really Good Things In Indie Film Biz 2011

2011 was a bit of a year of experimentation for me — and I imagine it was for all others who state they are in the Film Business. How could it not be? Evolve or die it seems, doesn't it?

I didn't produce a movie this past year, but I did premiere three. I managed to blog on a regular basis, and offer up my "column" as a soapbox for many others, hoping it would inspire more action and change from the community at large (the results still remain to be seen). I also did a lot of public speaking and consulting all over the world in 2011, telling myself that all of this was part of my personal attempt to move things forward towards a vibrant, diverse, and ambitious culture open to all who are willing to take responsibility for it. I taught at NYU for the same reasons, but remain unclear as to the results of any of these endeavors. Maybe it was more of a survival tactic or some sort of self-justification. After all, what I really want to do is… make films. It's what I think I am particularly good at, particularly when the broadest definition of both "making" and "films" is applied (i.e. the discovery, contextualizing, and deployment) — yet as much as I try to keep a broad perspective, I am still a bit confounded as to why it is so damn hard to get good work made or even appreciated.

People still seem to love movies, even those folks who have not committed their labor and life to the manufacture and appreciation of them. Yet they really aren't going to them any more. And the people who earn their livelihood from the industry that facilitates flicks don't profess the concern that permeates my being. Oh well. Maybe it's just their ability to see the bright side. I see it too. And I know there's a great deal to be thankful for. I have a lot of resolutions for the new year and one of them is to focus less on what is wrong and more on what makes life worth living.

Today, being the day that the film business returns to work, it seems fitting to focus on the positive. If I had more time to give, I'd rough out more of each of these ideas, but alas, this ain't that world. So perhaps you could fill in these paragraphs below and we can write the final version together. 2012 will be the year of collaboration (won't it?).

1. 2011 Was The Year That Crowdfunding Took Off
     1. Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act (H.R.2930) was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this November.
     2. Films readily surpassed their goals.
     3. Many exceeded $100K
2. The Rise Of The Artist Entrepreneur
     1. And media starts to notice
3. Festivals Recognize That Serving The Filmmaker Means More Than Showing Their Film
     1. Sundance's Artist Services
     2. Tribeca Is A Distributor (Profit motive aside)
4. Micro Went Macro
     1. MMMM, Another Earth, Like Crazy, Take Shelter, Weekend, Bill Cunningham
          1. Films made for pennies reach significant audiences in US & get real attention
5. The Community Theaters Triumph & The Art House Convergence Is An Institution
     1. Theaters are more than just a movie house, but a community center
     2. Value of movie attendance is beyond entertainment
     3. Art House Convergence will have over 250 bookers of indie theaters 
6. The Conversation Of The Future Of Film Takes Hold 
     1. Tribeca, NYU, Columbia w Lance Weiler
7. VOD Starts To Deliver Real Numbers
     1. Margin Call makes $4M VOD while Day & Date
          1. With simultaneous web streaming in addition to cable
8. Direct Distribution Is A Viable Alternative
     1. Kevin Smith, Eddie BurnsLouis CK, Producers Distro Agency
9. Filmmakers don't rely on Theatrical
     1. Ed Burns skips theatrical on both Nice Guy Johnny & Newlyweds
          1. AND: makes a real profit
     2. Kevin Smith's road show
10. Art Film Sensibilities Embrace Horror Genre
     1. Martha Marcy May Marlene, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Skin I Live In, The Innkeepers, and others I have not yet seen.
11. Plethora of Platforms
     1. 34 and counting
     2. Personalized VOD Players: Distrify, DIY, Dynamo
12. Cord Cutting becomes common place
     1. Levels the playing field for indies as Cable providers rarely acquired truly indie content
13. Tax Credits & Film Incentives are not going away (as we recognize they are job/revenue stimulus)
     1. http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577_57657-267901–,00.html
     2. New York State's production at high levels
14. Tons of new films stars with tremendous talent have not only arrived on the scene, but have been noticed.
15. The Dominance of the feature film form is starting to end…