The Past Week in Review: June 21, 2011
Left: Hayley Mills in “Whistle Down the Wind” at BAMcinemaFest.
We find the more interesting and provocative news and views of the past week, just so you don’t have to.
This week we get the big picture on 3D movie production, feel nostalgia for the present, and get a film history lesson.
Charting 3D
We’ve written about 3D movies before, and some of the smart moves companies like Sony are taking in helping to educate DPs, editors and others about the complexities involved in adding a new dimension to filmmaking.
To give you a little scope on just how prevalent 3D has been—people have been fooling with it for over century—check out this timeline chart from Sony Professional on the Electricpig site, which details every single 3D movie Sony could find.
New iOS Film Apps
On his Studio Daily blog, Scott Simmons writes about some new iOS apps useful for postproduction. These include an NLE control, timecode calculator, and a color-grading tool. More information here.
Lloyd Tells Us What He Really Thinks
If you’ve ever heard him talk or had a chance to meet him, you’ll know that Troma Films founder Lloyd Kaufman is one live wire when it comes to discussing his opinions about the state of the film industry. Indiewire posted this excerpt from his book “Sell Your Own Damn Movie!” in which Kaufman makes the case for putting creative work in the public domain and not copyrighting it for years and years. One point he makes strikes high on the irony meter—the very movie studios who are so adamant about controlling copyright that they’re willing to throw just about anybody’s grandmother in jail to protect said properties–are nonetheless the companies who left New York in haste when Hollywood on the Hudson began to flourish. Seems there was one Thomas A. Edison who started to enforce his own patents and copyrights on film technology against these corporations. Read more on Indiewire by clicking here.
Film Linc Got It Wrong
In her post What’s Wrong With This Picture? Melissa Silverstein takes on the Film Society at Lincoln Center for including only one woman among the 10 young men in their panel “New Faces of Indie Film.” The panel was part of the celebrations for the opening of the Film Society’s new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
Is that reflective of the indie production scene or part of the institutional bias museums have been accused of having for decades (think Guerrilla Girls)? Decide after you’ve read her complete post by clicking here.
Nostalgia for the Present
In an article in the Times, A.O. Scott says that this is an idyllic time for fans of film in New York with the opening of new screening venues and the strength of festivals such as the Tribeca, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Read his article Ushering In Golden Age for Fans of Film if you’d like to feel some nostalgia for the present.
Short Films are Worthy
Reporter John Anderson has an article in the Times that reviews the recent Palm Springs International ShortFest. He uses that to launch into a look at the rising popularity of short films to either establish yourself as a director or to simply as the goal for fulfilling your creative desires. Click here to read it.
Pilots Fly
Showbusiness Weekly looks at the eight new TV series that have filmed on New York soundstages recently. Reporter Mikael Page claims it’s the expansion of New York’s Film Production Tax Credit last summer that should be credited for bringing these pilots to the city over the prior year’s total of zero. Page offers a little detail about the series that have been picked up including “Smash,” a Broadway-centric show about a new Marilyn Monroe musical that NBC has picked up for one season. More here.
Super 8’s Place in History
If you like learning a little bit about film history and found yourself wondering why J.J. Abrams would dedicate a film title to an amateur film format, the Smithsonian’s blog offers a look back at the Super 8 format. The blog paints Kodak as innovating the 16mm and 8mm formats—Super 8 followed in 1965–to open up more creative opportunities for amateurs via a lower tab for camera, film and processing.
Regular 8mm film, for example, was introduced in 1932 as the Depression was underway. Super 8, meanwhile, would also become indispensable for scientists and anthropologists for field documentation.
The Atlantic Monthly actually hosts this Smithsonian article here.
If you’d like to read it on the Smithsonian blog, click here and search for the June 17, 2011 posting.
