Monday, September 12, 2011

Two More Festival Appearances for FALLOUT

Our epic sci-fi short film "Fallout" is now set to mark one full year on the film festival circuit with two appearances at East Coast genre festivals.

First up - the 2011 Atlanta Horror Festival, September 15th through 17th. "Fallout" is one of 6 "Sci-Fi Shorts" screening at this mostly horror-themed event on Saturday September 17th at 4:30pm.

Then in October is the 2011 Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia. "Fallout" screens on Saturday, October 29th at 3:00pm as part of "Splatter Shorts." I guess all the terrorist blood we spill in the battle sequence qualifies! "Fallout" is also nominated for nine awards:

Best Actor - Anders Striemer ("Hopper")
Best Supporting Actor - Steve Briscoe ("Rawls")
Best Supporting Actor - Ted Herbig ("Harrington")
Best Sound Design - John Chafuen
Best DP - Chris Erickson
Best Original Music Score - Rod Ibieta
Best Editing - Chad Hryhorysak and Chris Erickson
Best SFX - everyone on the team!
Best Science Fiction Short Film

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Perspective: "Why studying film in college is still a good idea after all"

Filmmaker and cinematographer Nino Leitner posted on his blog recently about what he feels is the true value of a film education:
A film or media school will get you together with people from other fields in filmmaking that you are unlikely to meet otherwise. It will also bring you together with more experienced people (tutors, teachers) that are unlikely to be available as online mentors as well as people who are in a very similar life situation to yours (same age, same aspirations).
We couldn't agree more, Nino. Read the rest here.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cinemetrics: A "Senior Innovation Project" from The Royal Academy of Arts

Here's something that should inspire our DV students that are beginning their Senior Innovation Project: "Cinemetrics." It's a "bachelor graduation project" by a student named Frederic Brodbeck at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. In other words, their version of "SIP."
cinemetrics is about measuring and visualizing movie data, in order to reveal the characteristics of films and to create a visual “fingerprint” for them. Information such as the editing structure, color, speech or motion are extracted, analyzed and transformed into graphic representations so that movies can be seen as a whole and easily interpreted or compared side by side.
Here's a demonstration video:

More info can be found on Frederick Brodbeck's site.

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Visual Language of RAGING BULL

FreshDV has begun publishing articles focusing on the "Visual Language" of cinema. They kick it off with a detailed discussion of one of the masterworks of modern cinema, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive look at the language of the film, as there is a lot there to unwrap. Rather we will limit our discussion to a few select elements. We will look at how Scorsese uses shot composition, lens choice, and, surface division to enhance the tone and mood of the film.
Read the whole article on FreshDV's website.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

15 Stunning Demo Reels

German visual arts blog Cromoart recently posted their "15 Absolutely Stunning Showreels," and they're worth looking at if you're thinking about your portfolio. Here's the first one:



Check out the rest on the Cromoart blog!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

DV Job: MillionaireSeries.com

MillionaireSeries.com
Video Technology Part-time Job
Tempe, AZ


MillionaireSeries.com is a source for solutions to elevate your business and life.  We provide training, education and support for individuals and companies in service industries.  We are dedicated to helping businesses be successful and individuals grow and prosper.  We are located one block east of UAT on Baseline.

We have a part-time position open for someone skilled in audio/video technology.  We support our products and sales with audio and audio/video recordings that require edit and post production.  The ideal candidate will be fluent in Adobe Premier, Camtasia, Photoshop and Adobe Soundbooth.  Prior experience editing video is required.  Hours are flexible but work must be performed in our office.  Salary DOE.

Responsibilities
  • Edit video and audio including green screen and banners.
  • Mix video with audio.
  • Maintain / create procedures consistent with the work accomplished.
  • Assist with website maintenance.
  • Special projects as required.

Skills
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills.
  • Proficient in Adobe CS5 Production Premium.
  • Proficient in Camtasia, MS Word, MS Powerpoint, MS Excel and Outlook (Goldmine a plus)
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, sense of humor.

Please send qualified resumes to jimkenehan@millionaireseries.com.

IFP/Phoenix Offers Assistant Director Workshop

Tired of working 18-hour shoot days? Frustrated with watching time being wasted on set, wishing the crew could be more efficient? Do you wish you had more time to be creative on-set so that your films could be BETTER? Then you need to know the ins-and-outs of being a quality Assistant Director. Come and learn from professional AD Kevin R. Phipps, in an afternoon workshop dedicated to help you manage and operate your film sets more professionally, and get a better quality result.

When: Saturday, September 10
Time: 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Registration: $50-Non IFP/PHX members, $35-IFP/PHX Members
Where: IFP Phoenix/PFF Offices
1700 North 7th Avenue
Suite #250 Classroom
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602.955.6444

This workshop has been purposely timed to coordinate with the start of the Breakout Film Challenge. IFP Phoenix has taken a lot of effort to line up a whole series of seminars and workshops specifically designed to help you create a better film over the 7-week period of this challenge. The Assistant Directing workshop will give you skills to help start your production with the right preparation mindset.

More Details