ProductionHUB.com

How You Can Help Give a Voice to the Voiceless in Haiti

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:57:23 -0400

Nehemiah Records is an international indie record label committed to giving a voice to the voiceless. Nehemiah Records was established by Steph Leigh Limage while she was filming a feature documentary in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. During her adventures she wound up in the projects of Port Au Prince producing beats with artists who were living in tent cities after the earthquake. What she discovered was a pool of extremely talented artists who had no way to support them selves, through this need Nehemiah Records was born.

Learn all about the movement and how you can help.

Q: Tell us a little about your mission to encourage production talent in Haiti.

A: We give a voice to the voiceless. We provide on going training and skills development which creates a much needed platform for Haitian artists, filmmakers and musicians to support them selves. We believe in allowing an artist to share their story their way by providing the tools to bring visions and dreams into reality.

Here at Nehemiah Records we believe in providing opportunities in the arts for the “underdog artists” as well as established artists of the world by creating events geared towards those living on the margins, suffering from the bondage of addiction or other social/economic barriers. Through this we hope to encourage global artistic unity & showcase local/global talent while stewarding the gifts our artists possess to show love to those whom we cater to in a creative way. We accomplish this by working on collaborative projects that focus on causes bigger than our art and our selves.

We partner new & emerging artists with established artists on collaborative projects.

All of our signed artists are associated with a registered charity of their choice to create awareness for the causes they are most passionate about when they are launching a new EP or performing at a venue/event. If an artist is with out a charity we have them come along side Haiti Love Revolution, Nehemiah Records Charity of choice due to our partnership.

Nehemiah records works with people of all denominations, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or race. In addition, we also look for the gifts inside of each person regardless of their past mistakes, geographical location, social or economic barriers & try to accommodate our artists facing social, geographical and economic barriers.

We have initiatives for artists of all levels & genres.

Q: What have been the biggest struggles in your efforts and how have you overcome?

A: That’s a hard question; Haiti is full of social and economic challenges. We have a hunger crisis happening in Haiti, many of our artists will not have had a good meal in several days and we found it hard to work with those who are malnourished as they are not able to focus which makes it very hard to train staff. We end up financing meals and travel and even having artists crash at our house after a gig because they couldn’t afford the bus, we end up covering more than our overhead but also covering the immediate needs our artists and staff have, some times that is a sick parent, some times that is a visa to go to the Dominican Republic to earn some money.

It is a case by case basis but since we are a business it makes it challenging when the people you are working with are not able to meet deadlines due to factors that are so easily remedied such as food and shelter…things one can take for granted, however if loaded onto 2 people ( leaders/owners) it can become taxing, which is why you need to have boundaries and appreciate that you can not save the world even though it is heart breaking to experience and suffer along side our artists and staff. It is a process and we are rejoicing in small beginnings while we pioneer knowing that in time if we keep it up we will be able to do more.

In addition, the social barriers in terms of class between the rich and poor are often an issue when sourcing projects locally, this is a battle of status and skin color that dates back a few hundred years but is still prevalent today. We battle this racial and social division every day and act as a liaison between divided peoples groups and create events where all are welcome, its a new mentality to bring here but the battle is in the mind so this is our biggest fight…the slavery ended in Haiti a few hundred years ago but it is still happening in the minds of the people. It is a touchy topic, just like politics so we try to address it the best we can but are still learning.

In terms of resources, we currently do not have any investors, not because we do not want any but simply because we believe in timing and allowing things to grow organically so we have been patiently pitching softly over the years and waiting, but in the meantime working and being grateful for what we have.

In terms of overcoming there have been many times when I have been in the studio going “what the heck am I doing?” but later on I see results and it makes it worth it, some times it is just really frustrating, you have the power go out and the generator does not kick in automatically and you loose half a days work in a session. Or you spend half your day in the Port Au Prince traffic not accomplishing much… There also are security risks; we are working with individuals located in areas that are considered “hot zones” which have a tendency to be quite volatile. I have had to change my expectations, specifically with time and the way North Americans value time, it is not the same here at all. I have had to change and adapt to my surroundings and submit to the culture in order to keep doing this (it helps that my husband is a Haitian music producer and we met in a recording studio making music so he is an excellent mentor) … honestly I could sit here all day and list the barriers and challenges. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere with social and economic barriers that can blow your mind but the good news is there is many people who are devoted to rebuilding the nation and utilizing the arts to do so.

Q: Why is this so essential right now, and timely?

A: Haiti is full of talent, when you say starving artist that can be taken literally here. We need to create jobs and empower Haitians to break the cycle of poverty that has been plaguing the nation for generations. It is better to teach a man to fish rather than hand him fish, while we do provide food through our Organization Haiti Love Revolution www.haitiloverevolution.org it is only to meet a life and death need of those in our community, it is not a long term solution but a mere band aid…we have a majority of the population here unemployed and they do not want to be nor do they want food hand outs, they want to work. We also have a majority of the population with artistic abilities and those who do not have artistic abilities can be camera operators or lighting technicians…the options are endless…we need the support from the international community to continue to provide jobs for Haitians in the local Entertainment industry that does not involve them abandoning the nation to look for resources and opportunities elsewhere, we need to create opportunities here in Haiti and rebuild the nation from the inside out. The need for jobs is critical, the need for change is un-escapable and absolute, it takes one visit to showcase the many needs of this nation, and it is worth the fight. Haitians were brought here as slaves and were the first independent black nation in the world, there is strength here in the people that you can not find elsewhere and to me that spells potential.

Q: How can production professionals help?

A: Production Professionals can help by donating their time to come down and teach a workshop with our artists and also by reaching out to others to sponsor the workshops so we can keep them going and sustainable.

We also need Sponsorships for our upcoming Film & Directing Essentials workshop with Peter D Marshall (July 31st and Aug 1st 2013) so we can offer subsidies to those who have to means to purchase a ticket (youth, students and those on the margins). We also need to continue to put on workshops and have industry experts come here to work with us so we can continue to move the film and art community forward here in Haiti. There is so much talent here to let it go to waste.

Q: What equipment do you need and why?

A: We need everything, Haiti has nothing in terms of infrastructure to import or export the tools and equipment we need which makes it very expensive. Everything we have we have ordered one by one and patiently assembled the studio.

We could use:

Sound

* Capture Device: This is either a digital audio recorder (which I almost always recommend), or if you have a digital camera with audio inputs, you can record sound directly to the camera (not recommended, but this is a list of “bare minimum” stuff).

* Shotgun Mic Kit: Including a shotgun mic and a boom to hold the mic.

* Two Lavalier Mics: These are the tiny clip on mics that you can hide under clothing and are perfect for dialogue between two characters.

* Audio Mixer: For multiple sound inputs, this will allow us to mix down our sound as it’s going into our capture device.

* Headphones: need some good ones.

* Camera: The truth is, just about any camera will work. We just need something that preferably captures at 24 frames per second in a widescreen aspect ratio.

* Lens: This depends on the camera, but if you have one that swaps lenses, at least have one prime 35mm lens.

* Tripods & Monopods: a poor man’s (risky-man’s) crane/steadycam/dolly when you don’t.

Light

Using natural light is preferable (because it’s free), but natural light has a couple of shortfalls. First, it’s limited. Second, it really only lends to one look, artistically speaking. So, having a little help is a good idea.

* Light Kit: any light kit will do. Light kits come in a bevy of configurations, but all of them will include a key, a fill, and a back light. These are handy when we need to supplement the natural light, or just need a little extra heat in the room.

* Gels: We need a bunch of this in bulk. A good rule of thumb is that you want to capture the image you want rather than trying to adjust in post. Gels give us the ability to control the tone of our light, and can be the difference of a scene feeling like springtime or a nightmare.

* Reflectors: These handy things we really need because they give us the ability to manipulate natural light, remove shadows where we don’t want them, and be a master of our lighting domains.

Tip: we can be sent white foam board. I hear it’s just as good as the pro stuff.

Post-Production

All we need is another computer and some editing software. Final Cut Studio is a great one, though Adobe has a fantastic offering as well in Premiere and the ubiquitous After Effects. In a pinch, iMovie or Windows Movie Maker can do the trick. We need another Mac Pro Lap Top, some external hard drives for storage of course.

Misc.

You can probably get away with just what’s above, but here’s some random gear you might want to acquire:

* Sandbags: For those lights and the tripod. We want to weigh stuff down.

* Gaffer’s Tape: Duct tape fixes everything in the real world, but in filmmaking, it just makes a sticky mess. Gaff tape fixes all

Batteries for cameras

Flash and SD cards

Speakers for the studio & live performances

Mic’s and Mic Stands

Cables

Shipping Sponsored on Donated Items Please.

images and content courtesy of Stephanie Limage, Haiti Love Revolution & Nehemiah Records.

Inside "Inside the Cutting Room"

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:17:00 -0400

Editors, Sound Designers & VFX Artists Share Their Secrets at MEW’s 6/8 Event

By N. Halpern

On June 18th, the Manhattan Edit Workshop presented “Inside the Cutting Room: Sight, Sound and Story,” a series of panels on post-production techniques. The day’s events included panels that ran the gamut from picture editing, to sound design and visual effects. Here are some highlights from the day’s panels.

In the afternoon panel “Anatomy of a Scene: Documentary and Narrative Editors Deconstruct their Work” film editors Michael Berenbaum, David Tedeschi, Jeffrey Wolf, and David Zieff screened and discussed sequences from documentary and narrative film projects, charting the processes of their respective developments.

In Mr. Wolf’s presentation, he charted the development of the opening sequence of the comedy “A.C.O.D.” which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. He began by showing an early rough assembly of the film’s opening, followed by subsequent versions, in which progressive changes were made: elements of time were compressed, jokes were swapped out for entirely different punch-lines, shaky performances were elided (“improved”), and pieces of exposition were moved. In all editing decisions, the primary directive was always to have this opening sequence set up the forthcoming narrative as efficiently and quickly as possible. An inevitable consequence of this process was the loss of comedic moments that may have been strong in and of themselves but had to be removed to serve the story. Indeed, at the panel’s end, all of the panelists concurred that the need to “kill your darlings” is an inevitable part of any successful edit.

In “MPSE SoundShow NY: ‘Life of Pi’ from Production Audio to Final Mix,” moderated by Maddy Shirazi, key members of the sound team on “Life of Pi” - Eugene Gearty, Phil Stockton, and Sam Mille - discussed the development of the film’s final sound mix, showing scenes “raw,” and then with their final sound mixes. The panelists made the point that the way in which the film was shot presented them with unique challenges and creative opportunities in the sonic realm: In a more typical production, sound design and foley must interface elegantly with pre-existing production sound that has been recorded on set. In this case, however, most of what we see on screen has been computer generated in post (in this respect, the panelists compared the film to a work of animation). As a result the sound team had the opportunity to create much of the film’s sound from the ground up. This process included the creation of field recordings that could represent elements of the film’s oceanic seascape. For the film’s storm sequences for instance, original recordings of waves crashing down upon rocks created a convincing aural analogue for waves crashing down in the middle of the sea.

The day’s final panel was “NY Legends of the ‘70s: Master Editors Discuss Their Work from This Revolutionary Era in American Cinema.” Moderated by Bobbie O’Steen, the panel included Alan Heim (“All That Jazz,” “Network”), Jerry Greenberg (“Kramer vs. Kramer,” Apocalypse Now,” Susan Morse (“Manhattan,” “Hannah and Her Sisters”), and Bill Pankow (“Body Double,” “Carlito’s Way”), who screened clips and discussed their classic works. One recurring theme in the conversation was the importance of apprenticeship and assistant editing; it was in this way that such editors as Susan Morse (assisting Ralph Rosenblum) and Bill Pankow (assisting Jerry Greenberg) truly learned their craft.

One highlight of this panel was Susan Morse’s discussion of her creative contribution to iconic opening montage in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.” Whereas the sequence was originally meant only to hold music, Ms. Morse suggested adding voice-over; this, she contended would not only add interest, but would also help to establish the main character right off the bat. Even more strikingly, it was her idea to replace an “overture” of Cole Porter songs with the comparably grander choice of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” This is one of the classic opening sequences in cinema, and Ms. Morse played an essential role in its creation.

For more on this event, visit http://www.mewshop.com/

images courtesy of Mewshop

Canon 5D Mark III Firmware 1.2.1- HDMI Clean Output and the Atomos Ninja 2 recorder.

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:00:36 -0400

by Barry Andersson

Recently Canon announced the latest firmware update for the 5D Mark III camera (Version 1.2.1). The exciting new feature here for video is the clean HDMI out on the camera that allows you to record the signal to an external recorder. The clean HDMI out sends the video feed over the HDMI cable without any of the menus or markings so it can be recorded and used for your edit.

I chose the Atomos Ninja 2 external recorder to use on two of my recent productions and it works like a charm. The HDMI feed goes directly into the recorder and is recorded onto a SSD drive. If you have primarily been using DSLR cameras SSD drives may be new to you. They are solid state drives that are about the size of an iPhone.

If this is your first time using SSD drives there are a few things you should know. You need an adapter or device to connect to your computer. There are two that I have really been liking.

Seagate Goflex SSD adapter.

This is a $25 or less adapter that plugs directly into any SSD drive. It is super easy to carry with and is great in the field. It only connects to the port on the drive so you must be a little careful as any stress on that connection could damage your drive.

Voyager Q Drive Dock.

I can’t live without this unit. It allows you to easily swap between 3.5” and 2.5” drives by just sliding them in and out of this unit. The SSD drives slide directly into the smaller port on the top of the device. You can get either a USB 3.0 or a Firewire 800 base depending on your desired connection.

In order to starting using the clean HDMI out you must set up your 5D Mark III to some of the new settings.

First make sure you updated the firmware (or if you rented a camera make sure the firmware is version 1.2.1 or higher.

Go to the last camera menu on the 5D Mark III and a new option will appear under the “Movie shoot.Btn” that will say “HDMI output + LCD No mirroring.”

Select and that option and it will ask you if you want No mirroring or Mirroring. You want to select Mirroring so the HDMI signal is being sent from the camera without any menus or other markings on the screen.

You should now see that your HDMI output + LCD is set to mirroring.

You still have to set a few more settings before you can connect and control an external recorder. In the last sub heading under the play menu you can find a new Ctrl over HDMI option. You need to set it to “Enable”. This will allow you to press record on the camera and it will start the external recording device at the same time.

Next go to the second sub heading under what I call the Wrench menu and you will see a new option for “HDMI frame rate.”

If you select it will give you three options AUTO, 24p and 60i. For most circumstances AUTO will work fine.

You are ready to connect your Atomos Ninja 2 external recording device. Assuming you have not yet used one here is a quick guide and settings so you are ready to roll.

First you must put your SSD card into one of their special cases before you put it in the Ninja itself. The SSD drives are a little thin and don’t fit tightly into the device.

You will notice a little groove on the side of the SSD case and a matching groove on one side of the Atomos Ninja. This prevents you from sliding in the SSD drive the wrong way and messing up the connections.

In the menu section of the Atomos Ninja 2 you can get to the screen where you can setup your source and camera trigger. This tells the unit which input to get the signal from as well as the camera protocol in order for the unit to be controlled by the camera.

The next thing you need to do is to set the frame rate for the video. You can see the current frame rate in the upper left corner of the screen. If the camera and device are talking properly and the settings match the frame rate will appear in white.

If your settings don’t match then the frame rate will be grayed out and it won’t let you record. If you are getting this make sure the frame rate is correct on the camera.

I recommend using a CF card in the camera in addition to recording to the Ninja 2. It acts as a double backup live on two separate storage decives. This is great on jobs were there isn’t a DIT or data wrangler and you don’t get a chance to dump cards until the end of the day. This way you will always have two copies of your footage at all times. Redundancy helps keep your mind at ease and covers the production in case of a card or drive failure.

Go ahead and press record and test to make sure your camera and the Ninja 2 is recording. The Ninja 2’s screen will have no bars on the screen when it is not recording but will add a red strip across the entire top and bottom of the screen so you can easily tell if the unit is recording or not.

From here you are good to go. The Atomos Ninja 2 does not accept an audio feed directly from the HMDI feed. You need to bring in a direct feed for the unit to record audio. If you don’t have the ability to bring in a direct feed you can always sync in post. If you are like a lot of us you have been using Plural Eyes to sync your audio in post. This external recorder though adds a new twist. Since there is no audio feed then Plural Eyes has nothing to work with to sync the clips.

Here is a little trick. If you record both in camera and on the external recorder you can use Plural Eyes to sync the audio to the camera’s video files. Then since the clips are exactly the same timeframe you can just line up the takes in FCP and turn off the video layer from the CF card files you have a quick dirty solution to sync your audio and video files.

Bonus Tip-

Perhaps you don’t feel you need to use an external recorder or see the need. Even if that is the case the new firmware update has a huge benefit to you. The HDMI mirroring from the camera allows you to send a signal to a monitor while at the same time keeping the image on the LCD screen on the back of the camera. This eliminates the need to buy or use two monitors! If your director or client needs to be able to see what you are shooting you can send a feed to a monitor for them and operate off the back of the camera’s LCD screen. A huge cost savings if you don’t want to buy a second monitor.

images courtesy of Barry Andersson

The Cine Gear Experience

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:06:00 -0400

For those who missed Cine Gear 2013 this past week, this expo offers artists & technicians the opportunity to discover the latest technology & techniques, all while being able to network with industry pros in a professional & fun studio environment.

Thanks to ProHUBBer, Kim Karel, she shares her perspective on what you might have missed at the expo this year!

Q: Tell us about your first Cine Gear experience!

A: My first Cine Gear experience was completely amazing. The drink tickets. The free coffee. The world-famous Paramount Studios. The sunglasses. The cars. The perfect weather. The IN&OUT Burger truck. The after parties. The lights. The cameras. The action.

CineGear has a different energy than other conventions. There’s something about being there, outside, on the Paramount Studios back-lot where so many great productions have been filmed that made the experience extra special. I loved meeting so many local production people face-to-face and hearing about their specialties. I was blown away by how nice every single person I talked to was, and how devoted they all seemed to be to their respective crafts.

Q: What was the coolest thing you saw at the expo and why?

A: I’m not sure if this qualifies, but the coolest “thing” I noticed at the expo was how many female camera crew, producers, directors, and key executives were in attendance, and that made me very happy. Being a woman who has worked in production myself, it’s great to see how many other women work in the industry and fill every role above and below the line. Female gaffers, grips, DP’s, and Directors- super cool and inspiring.

Oh, and the mini helicopter cameras were very cool too!

Q: What major trends were you noticing at the event?

A: My main focus while at Cine Gear was on the people, so for me it was fun to hear what they had just seen or were excited to see. The trends I noticed and have been aware of for a while, were smaller and smaller cameras and equipment, and an increasing improvement in the development of smaller, brighter, more energy-efficient lights that don’t overheat.

Q: How was the booth traffic and attendee quality? Would you recommend others exhibiting?

A: Well you know what they say about L.A. and traffic…

Cine Gear L.A. certainly lived up to Los Angeles’ reputation in that department. There were times when the show was PACKED and we’d have a backup at the booth of people waiting to get more info. For the most part though, there was a steady flow of pros stopping by who were genuinely interested in finding new ways to get found and hired for jobs, and were at the show because they care about staying on top of the latest technology and connecting with the companies whose products they use to make their livings. After my experience there, I have to say that Cine Gear is hands down my favorite show. If it were up to me it would last for two weeks instead of two days. I definitely recommend exhibiting there … and when you do, don’t forget to stop by and see me at the ProductionHUB booth!

images courtesy of Cine Gear Expo & Kim Karel

How Old Media is Embracing Online Video and New Media: Streaming Media Recap

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:00:39 -0400

by Nina Streich

The panel opened with the question, “Has old media died off?” and the interesting factoid that social media has now exceeded porn as the most used aspect of the internet.

All the panelists agreed that the distinction between old and new media is shrinking. Mina Seetharaman (MS) said that everyone used to think of TV as old media but now all media – new or old – goes through a pipe.

above image courtesy of Streaming Media FB

Moderator:
Jose Castillo, President, thinkjose and Contributing Editor of Streaming Media magazine

Panelists:
Max Haot, Co-founder & CEO, Livestream
Steven Siegel, Special Sales Executive Video, Microsoft Advertising
Mina Seetharaman, Senior Partner, Advanced Video Practice, OgilvyOne
Erin Gargan, President & CEO, Socialite

Steven Siegel (SS): The model has changed but good content always bubbles up to the top. Internet distribution and programming can cost very little and can go out instantly, unlike old media.

Max Haot (MH): People predicted that “old media” would collapse but it’s all about content and rights. That prediction has gone away.

Erin Gargan (EG): We are all publishers, content creators. How does old media stand out from the noise? The old media monetization model is still working, i.e. for newspapers online.

MS: In the old model, I delivered x number of ads to x # of households. But were they paying attention? On second screen, nobody has been able to prove that it is complementary and not a distraction.

Moderator: What are examples of old media doing it the right way?

EG: The Oscars back stage pass is an example. The old media coverage is directing a new second screen experience and folding it into the format of the show.

MH: Democratizing production and distribution i.e. through ancilliary content. Like the X Games on ESPN. They don’t want to put content anywhere else but embraced broadcasting ancillary events live. Also with movie studios, for instance the premiere of Iron Man where there was a backstage experience. But that’s really just an ad that provides marketing for the product.

MS: MTV, for instance, knows where their users watch. Their mobile team uses a lot of close ups as opposed to the main crew thinking about it as programming overall.

There’s a Smartglass app. If you’re watching content on Xbox, there’s complementary information on other devices i.e. a tablet of a smartphone. On Game of Thrones, on Xbox, you see the program and with the smartglass app, you can get character bios and other content that complement the program.

SS: More people are now using Xbox for content now than for games. 46% of users are using it for content consumption and only 42% for gaming content. Steven Spielberg will produce a show that plays into and affects game plat that will be a milestone for entertainment.

JC: What about non-traditional content?

MH: Micro interest, I mean very local. During Sandy, Livestream did live streaming of citizen created content during the storm.

EG: It is important to look at how to translate old media into new media and social media. The most important thing is if it is shareable. It’s not the length. Does it grab your attention right from the beginning? People hate reading, so we have to challenge these print content creators to think about shareability.

MS: It’s not about length but about shareability. How do I make a human connection to my brand while there’s not a direct link?

EG: It’s about evoking a reaction.

MS: Quality matters online.

MH: We want every event to be live streamed.

Driving TV Everywhere: Innovations, Challenges and the Tools of the Trade

Wed, 29 May 2013 11:00:54 -0400

by Nina Streich

Moderator:
Mike Green, Senior Director, Strategy & Development, Comcast

Panelists:
Eric Hybertson, Director, Rendering Devices, Time Warner Cable
Glen Stone, Convergence Strategy and Standards, Samsung Electronics America
Michael Bishara, VP/GM TVE, Synacor
Damon Phillips, Vice President, WatchESPN & ESPN3

Eric Hybertson: Time Warner Cable uses multi-DVR product, deployed more traditional streaming media through Time Warner Cable TV application.

Glen Stone: Samsung provides extra service look to aggregate and give content choices.

Michael Bishara: It’s important to take into account how TV gives instant gratification, not just linear, not just VOD, but the breadth of the experience. When users start to watch they have no idea what they want to watch. Our job is to give them choices in how they watch and how they interact.

Damon Phillips: It’s about the desk-available screen that allows people to watch the content they want, where they want.

Moderator: When is an experience good enough to talk about?

Damon Phillips: It’s a personal experience. People have to personalize their own interests and it’s not consistent across everything.

Glen Stone: When do you deploy? Wifi is a good example. At first, most people didn’t need wifi with desktop computers. It was a pain in the butt at first. Now it’s everywhere. The time to deploy is when the utility is greater than the frustration. The education of the consumer is happening a lot faster.

Michael Bishara: The majority of the market is not aware of TVE yet. Our consumers are going with major brands first. 2013 is really the year of TVE. The number of players we’re integrating and the size of our team is growing.

Moderator: How do you decide what to produce next?

Damon Phillips: You have to invest in resources. You don’t want to drive a 2011 model in 2013. You must always innovate.

Michael Bishara: Satisfying the core propositions of watching TV and bringing it to as many platforms as possible; to be able to bookmark where I am from one device to another. We have to stay close to the marketplace we sit between the consumer, the producer and the content provider.

Glen Stone: We want a uniform way to get content on all devices. It’s an internal and external choice. It’s important to get the ecosystem growing as quickly and as best as possible.

Moderator: Where is the watching going to happen?

Damon Phillips: We don’t care where you watch, we just want you to come through the door. And can we measure it? Can we monetize it?

Eric Hybertson: We want people to watch all our content wherever they want to be. We can simplify it for our customers to come through out portal.

Damon Phillips: The future of TV is going to be in more personalized experiences. We’re talking to multiple companies about working out this personalization. We’re open, we just want our users to be happy.

Designing Women: Star-Studded NYWIFT Event to Honor Costume Designers & Stylists

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:15:00 -0400

by Nina Streich

New York Women in Film & TV hosted a star-studded event to honor costume designers, makeup artists and hair stylists in the entertainment industry. The 14th annual event, co-produced by Variety, and sponsored by PEOPLE Magazine, paid tribute three outstanding honorees as well as presenting the Variety Ensemble Award for the entire creative team of The Americans.

Left: Jenny Gering, Lori Hicks, and Peg Schierholz (photo credit: Cindy Ord, Getty). Right: Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell in The Americans.

“The many talented women in these crafts are rarely recognized for their contributions to the films and TV shows they work on. Fourteen years ago, NYWIFT decided it was time to put them in the spotlight,” explained Terry Lawler, NYWIFT’s Executive Director.

The event was held in the McGraw-Hill Building on a cold and rainy evening in New York. Emcee Valerie Smaldone, a New York actress and radio personality, greeted the guests on this “very bad hair day” in New York and told the audience that “NYWIFT is filling a glaring void by honoring these designing women who are not often recognized.”

Producer Jon Landau presented the award for costume design to Deborah Scott, whose many credits include Legends of the Fall, Titanic and Avatar. Describing the decision to hire Deb to work on Titanic, he explained, Jim (Cameron) asked if she was detail oriented enough and I told him that, for Legends of the Fall, we went over budget because of the (authentic) undergarments.

Julianna Margulies recognized make-up artist Andrea Miller for her outstanding work, including The Good Wife, saying, “If you IMDb Andrea Miller, from the sheer volume of her work, you’d think she would be 150 years old!” Miller began in the entertainment industry as an intern for Spike Lee and went on to an impressive career with credits that include 13 seasons on Saturday Night Live. Accepting the award, Miller spoke for all the honorees, saying, “Working together with a costume designer and hairdresser, we are one voice.”

Singer-songwriter Norah Jones presented the award for hair styling to Mandy Lyons who is known for, among other credits, her work on Sex and the City. She’s really an artist, said Jones, “I’ve never seen anyone who can make hair do exactly what she wants. She’s like the Hair Whisperer!”

We notice these crafts in a film or on TV most often when they are outrageous or spectacular or when there’s a glaring mistake. The best work, which which we see most of the time, is so much a part of the whole production that we don’t notice or appreciate it for its significant contribution to the success of the end product. It is a tribute to NYWIFT that they recognize these Designing Women for their contributions in the industry.

Images courtesy of: WIFT-NY & Google

Opening the Cannes Film Fest: Gatsby & Spielberg

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:53:00 -0400

With the Cannes Film Festival kicking off today, France is definitely ready to be the center of attention. As the red carpet rolls out for some of the world’s most awe-inspiring films, actors and cinematographers alike, this years Cannes Film Festival might be one of the most important yet!

Luhrmann’s 3D adaption of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is this year’s film festival opener. Cannes usually takes precedence over release schedules, especially since the movie has already released in North America, but ‘Gatsby’ sails into France regardless, to make its grand debut in Cannes.

Above: The Cast of “The Great Gatsby”

The Jury

Spielberg has had films at Cannes before, including “E.T.” but never in competition. His presence at Cannes is a rarity, and appreciated as a king of cinema.

“We will see films, we will talk about them and we will present you with the outcome. Here there is no campaign, like in the Oscars, and it is a breath of fresh air.” - Steven Spielberg

Spielberg is serving as president of the jury that will decide the prestigious Palm d’Or, given to one of the 20 competing films. Entries include new projects from the Coen brothers, Alexander Payne and Steven Soderbergh to name a few. This year’s jury has a few intimidating, well-known faces, including Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz and Ang Lee.

* Official 2013 Selection

* 10 Movies That Might Sell Big at Cannes

* Watch some of this years trailers submitted for Cannes 2013

* Below are a few of our Fave picks for the Cannes Film Fest:

Only God Forgives

Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of Plains Indian

Behind the Candelabra

Content & Images courtesy of: Cannes Film Festival, Yahoo, YouTube

Behind the Scenes: Lion Ark, a Remarkable Animal Rescue Documentary

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:18:00 -0400

Lion Ark is a vivid behind-the-scenes account of one of the most ambitious animal rescues ever seen.

It all starts off with a shocking undercover investigation leading to a ban on animal circuses in Bolivia. But the circuses defy the law. The team behind the investigation return, track down the illegal circuses and save every animal. Follow the confrontations, heartache and risks the team face, before an emotional finale sees 25 lions airlifted 5,000 miles to freedom in Colorado.

Get a firsthand look at what it took to produce a film such as this, and how it all came together for the greater good.

Q: Tell us the story behind the production and how it came into fruition.

Tim & Jan: Animal Defenders International (ADI) undercover investigators worked in South American circuses for two years. Our findings shocked the whole continent - the public was horrified at the cruelty and abuse of animals. Bolivia was the first to ban animal circuses. One circus gave up their animals, the rest defied the law. So a year after the ban came into force, the ADI team returned to Bolivia and assisted the Bolivian wildlife department to seize all the circus animals. The Bolivian authorities wanted the African lions removed from the country, so we seized them, built a temporary lion mash unit in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and then moved them to the USA. We moved 29 in total and we took a professional crew with us.

The movie is based on all live action and the words and faces of the people who were there.

Q: What obstacles did you face during the production and how did you overcome? (Any location or animal handling / logistics issues?)

Tim and Jan: Seizing animals from unwilling circus owners including lions, primates, a coati mundi, horses and others.

It was tough hoisting the animals in their cages onto the backs of trucks and transporting them across Bolivia. Some journeys were 24 hours, in a country the size of Texas and California put together, with a population of just 9 million, no roads, no infrastructure. Rainforest and few roads.

Building cages for the lions to live in the temporary lion compound (our mash unit) and feeding them and giving veterinary treatment to bring them back to health was another challenge we faced, along with building tailor-made transport crates to international airline regulations in order to take them from Bolivia, 5,000 miles to the United States.

A few other obstacles we came across were:

- Hiring various aircraft, hiring the main aircraft to the US, crating up the animals and preparing them for their journey.

- Extreme heat and humidity.

- Rainy season, rained for days.

- Angry owners, threats and battles.

- White-knuckle rides with cages of lions through treacherous mountain passes through the day and night.

- Jan caught a form of Dengue fever because there was an outbreak of cholera and Dengue fever in the village where our temporary compound was located.

All in all:

Domestic animals were re-homed in Bolivia. A baboon and 29 African lions were removed from the country.

It was probably the most dramatic and spectacular animal rescue the world has ever seen a whole country, emptied of all its circus animals. We flew, drove and trucked thousands of miles.

Q: What did you shoot on, and was there any special equipment or software used in production?

Tim and Jan: We knew that this operation could be historic because no one had attempted anything on this scale before – clear an entire country of animals in circuses in one go. So we decided the top priority was to document this.

We shot primarily on Red with Cannon 5d digital SLR as back up, and made the location filming our biggest commitment. We had Mark Whatmore as Director of Photography and Tony Pattinson filming for over five weeks in Bolivia, so we have an incredibly rich visual record of these events. In Colorado when the Lion Ark landed we had even more cameras. On top of the filming were additional audio sources, radio mics, surround sound mics etc., so we built up a huge audio record of the operation.

It was this commitment to getting the raw materials that makes Lion Ark such a vivid document and as the operation unfolded we realized that we had something really, really special.

This then enabled us to build Lion Ark entirely from live action with commentary and reaction from the participants as events actually unfold. We wanted everything taking place as the story unfolded, have any interviews and personal commentary in the context of the story.

So when Jan is talking about the confinement these animals endure and the resulting problems, she is looking into the eyes of the lioness she is describing.

It was then a real labor of love piecing this together in the form of conversations at the time and live action.

Shooting on Red really paid off because this is areally beautiful film in amazing landscapes with these awesome animals at the centre of the story. The Digital SLR proved a good back up, was smaller and faster, so that proved a good combination.

We edited in Final Cut Pro and then color corrected in Da Vinci.

Q: Describe the hiring process: how did you solicit a team and crew your project? And what do you typically look for when building your team?

Tim and Jan: Our first task was the film crew. We had worked with Tony Pattinson on many operations and so we had someone who really knew the ropes, what to see. We then drafted in Mark Whatmore at DP. He likes filming in Red in the most difficult circumstances, brought a fresh eye to the project and was ready to really get stuck into the action.

Once we realized that we could tell the story in live action that is how we would make it, that determined a lot of our next choices, because we were editing far more in the style of a drama than in a traditional documentary.

Tim directed and Tony edited at Marvellous Pictures in Bristol. A big challenge was that we were using multiple audio sources recorded in very difficult, frontline situations. Obviously we were compressing an hours action into a few minutes so it was a complex narrative edit and we wanted smooth flowing, quick conversations.

We therefore wanted a sound editor with drama experience and a studio with that kind of background we didn’t want this to sound like a traditional documentary. We went to Wildfire in Los Angeles, who’d just completed Olympus has fallen and have an incredible track record in action movies. Javier Bennassar whose credits include Austin Powers, Dexter, Desperate Housewives, and American History X did the mix. It was also important to have a Spanish speaker on the mix.

Although we have various featured tracks from the likes of Joan Jett, we wanted a big movie score. We were recocomended Karel Havlicek, based in Prague in the Czech Republic, who had scored films, TV shows for HBO, theatre and numerous adverts. Advertising giants scored by Karel include Orange, Coca Cola, T-Mobile, Hyundai, Range Rover, and Nike. He produced the original score for Lion Ark.

The final piece of the puzzle was to find someone who could truly bring out the beauty of the film, the lions running free of course, but also the scenes travelling through the Bolivian mountains or the dusty metal work shops in Santa Cruz where the cages were built. We had greatfootage and we didn’t want it to be effects driven, we wanted to capture even the beauty of lions when they were in terrible circumstances. We chose Prehistoric Digital in Santa Monica for the digital intermediate with Chris Hall as the colorist – we liked the fact that they were former cinematographers and would understand what we wanted from our footage.

We’ve now done the first pass color work and are heading towards the finish line.

Q: Were you involved in the marketing of the film as well? Either way, would you like to update us on the results of the film thus far?

Tim and Jan: We are finalizing the film now, entering film festivals; we have had two private screenings and got a hugely positive reaction. People are very excited. We have launched a Facebook page and a website.

For more info:

Website: http://www.lionarkthemovie.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LionArkTheMovie

images courtesy of: Lion Ark

A Directors Choice: Sony F55 vs. Canon C500 vs. Arri Alexa

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:39:00 -0400

Review by Jeremy Pinckert

I recently needed to prep for a shoot where we had to match RED ONE 4K footage from 2010. The discussion came down to which 4K camera to use for this video shoot, and at first I was stuck choosing between the Sony CineAlta PMW-F55, the Canon Cinema EOS C500, and the ARRI ALEXA camera systems. Read further to follow our thought process, and see the final results captured by the winning camera system!

The ARRI ALEXA is a great camera, it’s become somewhat of a standard for motion pictures and television series, and having never shot with this system I really wanted to use the ALEXA initially. Here’s the kicker, though: according to ARRI, “The ALEXA’s ALEV III sensor has 3392 × 2200 effective pixels used for generating an image, however, only 2880 × 1620 pixels are used for recording on the regular ALEXA and other models in 16:9 mode, the rest are used for look-around in the viewfinder.”

As the director for this shoot, I couldn’t shoot 2K+ if I needed to match 4K RED footage, so the ARRI unfortunately would have to be put back in the rental holster until a future big-budget commercial comes calling. (Hint Hint)

That left myself, DP Jeremy Jackson, and AC Tanner Fields weighing the Sony F55 vs. the Canon C500. Now the Canon EOS C500 is a great camera, with both Canon and ARRI PL mounts, the ability to capture 10-bit 4K footage, and all coming in Canon’s trademark, easy-to-work with size & components. We’d shot with the EOS C300 for a national TV ad for Notre Dame a couple of months previous, and loved the cinematic results.

To capture 4K 10-bit with the Canon, however, you need an external recorder like the Genesis 444, and our shoot involved capturing 12 doctors who all have very limited schedules, so using an external recorder added a level of complexity we didn’t need.

We decided to go with the Sony CineAlta PMW-F55, and after going logically through the decision process, for our shoot this really was a no-brainer. The camera can capture 10-bit, 4K footage natively, and internally. This means unlike the ARRI, true 4K is native to the camera, and unlike the Canon, the recording is internal and hence, much easier than adding the complexity of a recording system. Also, and this claim needs to be substantiated, but our rental house indicated Sony makes many of the internal components for the ARRI ALEXA.

We ended up going with the Sony F55 with Zeiss CP.2 lenses. Take a look at the finished product below and see how the Sony F55 4K did cutting with the RED ONE 4K footage. For the record, I will definitely be recommending the Sony PMW-F55 for future projects I direct!

“Pajamas” :30 TV Ad - shot in 2010 on RED One in 4K

“Pajamas 2013” :30 TV Spot - added doctor shots which were captured by Sony F55 in 4K

See an F55 vs. ARRI Side by Side Test from Cinescopophilia here

or watch another review below on the Sony PMW-F55!

Jeremy Pinckert is the executive producer of Explore Media, an award-winning TV ad and web video production company. For more of his work you can see his portfolio, read his blog, follow him on Twitter @videocompany, or checkout the free share of “How to Produce for Video.”

images courtesy of Google and Jeremy Pinkert

"I got tired of being in a dark room while the rest of the crew went off making another two or three..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:28:03 -0400

“I got tired of being in a dark room while the rest of the crew went off making another two or three films while I was still on one! But I don’t regret it. People ask me if I would have used computer graphics today. I may have, I don’t know. There’s a lot of technology now that allows you to view instantly the film you’ve just shot. But I never cared what I had done, I only cared where I was going.”

- Ray Harryhausen

The legendary Ray Harryhausen, the VFX and stop-motion pioneer, has passed away at the age of 92.

(via tribecafilm)

Stock Photography: Then & Now

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:00:00 -0400

by Ron Avery

In the 1970s, my dad, photographer Sid Avery started making fine art prints to sell at galleries. He had to dig the originals out of storage where they were collecting dust. It was the first time in decades that he had seen some of these images. It was during this process that he discovered that he only had 20% of the images he ever shot. It turns out that the magazines or clients that he worked with never returned the originals or they were stolen.

He started to talk to his friends in the business and found out that they were having similar issues. No one really knew what to do with the material. Some of these photographers thought of what they did as a job. A great job but once it was over, they didn’t all see the value in the negatives. Some guys just threw away their originals not thinking that anyone would be interested or that they were worth anything.

above image: Ernest Borgnine & Sid Avery

By the early 1980s, my Dad came up with the idea of having one location for all his material so that it could be seen and used. He also felt that photographers should receive compensation not to mention recognition for their work. He signed on many of his friends such as photographers Paul Hesse, Sanford Roth, Gene Trindl, Bob Willoughby, David Sutton and Ted Allan.

At the time, there were no large Walmart style stock agencies, just a handful of small independent companies. I believe they turned to my dad because they could trust him. He was one of them. The company started out as a non-profit called the Hollywood Photographers Archive. He didn’t want people to think that he was profiting off the work of other photographers. He did not want the business to be about him. My dad got donations from Ernest Borgnine, Steven Spielberg and others to get the business off the ground. Ernest Borgnine met my dad back in 1950s on a shoot for the Saturday Evening Post quickly became friends. They stayed friends up until the day he passed away in 2002.

When the company turned for profit, it became known as The Motion and Picture Television Photo Archive which is now known as mptv. Back then nothing was digital. People would call or fax in a request, then we would find prints to fit the request, we would make Xeroxes of the prints that we had to then ship to the client. That was the ‘lightbox’ of the day. The client would receive the Xerox copies from which they would make a selection. They would let us know via phone or fax and then we would need to ship the print to them to use. This whole process could take days. Later on we started using copy slides instead of Xerox copies. That way the client could see and use whatever we sent. We could easily ship out 14-18 packages a day. Fedex would send us Christmas gifts every year because we were such good clients.

Image above: Audrey Hepburn with dog

The internet completely changed how the world worked not to mention stock agenices. It became big business. Individuals, not just businesses, could gain access to images and reproduce them very easily. People began to rely on images instead of text.

For example, newspapers used to be filled with words and very little images. Now, news websites are filled with images/videos and very little text. When we started, the editorial usages were all newspapers and magazines.

Now it’s digital magazines and websites. When we started, the only easy way to share an image from a newspaper was to physically hand it to someone. Now, the newspaper image is online and you can email it to as many people you want, in multiple countries from your phone. Or you can post to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. and it can be seen by anyone. Information travels very fast and is available to a much wider audience. This has changed the public perception of photography and copyright.

Everyone today thinks that they are a photographer because they carry a camera. The general attitude is that if images are online then they are free and clear to use. Unfortunately, this devalues the work and drives pricing down. That being said, the technology has also opened doors for stock agencies.

We can scan 35mm negatives and reproduce them in better quality and at much larger sizes than ever before. Our images have been seen on the sides of buildings. That would never have been possible 20 years ago. With our website, we can show clients the images we have available and provide hires in a matter of minutes. We can also work with international clients just as efficiently as we do with our US clients. We used to rely solely on agents working in those countries. We still have agents but the relationship is different. We work a lot closer with them because we can communicate better using websites and email.

Sid was definitely interested in technology. He was able to see our first website and was amazed at the speed at which we could do our job. He always embraced evolution and change in business. In the decade since he passed away, I think he would have been proud of the changes we’ve made to the company without compromising our core beliefs. We still believe that we should have personal relationships with our clients and photographers. We’ve never had voicemail. When you call, you talk to a real person. We believe in delivering the highest quality image possible. We respect the work and want to show it in the best possible way. A lot has changed in the stock industry but the heart of mptv is essentially the same. That will never change.

image above: Ernest Borgnine

Review: AKG C451 '65th Anniversary' & D12VR Microphones

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:09:00 -0400

Reviewed by Chris Sanchez

AKG recently sent me a pair of their new 451 ‘65th anniversary edition’ models as well as a D12VR to evaluate in studio. While not strict re-issues per se, these beautifully made microphones combine vintage and modern features to continue the legacy of these two great product lines. AKG introduced the original D12 in the mid 1950s, and it has been a favorite for kick drum mic’ing for decades. The 451 has a similar lengthy history, with that series debuting in 1969. AKG 451s have for decades been staples in music recording studios as well as on film sets and foley stages.

I examined the 451s first, using these two microphones exclusively for a television scoring session. The composition was for an ongoing library of Americana-themed rock and pop that I’ve been building for a music production company. I was curious to see if I could use just one variety of mic for the entire arrangement: two acoustic guitars, mandolin, shaker, percussion, pump organ, and upright piano. The 451 proved valuable on all sources, and even with the slight high-end rise that the 451 introduces, the final mixes had no harshness or top-end imbalance whatsoever.

I tracked the 451s through both an Apogee Mini-Me preamp/convertor and a DIY’d EMI REDD47 type tube preamp; the 451’s variable low-cut and variable pad were especially useful for the percussion tracks, allowing me to get a good level into the REDD47 without too much grit. On my Gibson J45, the 451 proved a little brighter than I would have preferred, although by mix time I was not inclined to correct it. In X/Y over my Yamaha U30 piano the 451s gave me a great sound. Recording a wood/seed shaker proved to be the most illuminating test: the detail that the 451 brought out was remarkable. I felt like I could hear every grain in the thing. I imagine that this is partly due to very even off-axis response.

My overall impression of the 451 65th Anniversary: if you want a clean, detailed mic that adds a touch of brightness, you cannot go wrong with these things. It creates an overall impression of naturalness, and the build quality is extremely high. A good value, especially at the $400 street price that I’m seeing right now at Sweetwater.

Where the 451 proved itself an excellent all-purpose acoustic-instrument microphone, the D12VR is a very specialized microphone. When the original D12 was introduced in the 1960s, it was initially sold as simply a high-quality dynamic mic; its reputation as a kick-drum mic was rather earned through decades of use on records.

With this new D12VR model, AKG has reinforced the D12’s strength as a kick-drum mic with a unique EQ feature specifically designed for that task. I had the chance to use the D12VR in a live studio session with a rock band: drums and sax baffled in our big live room at Gold Coast Recorders with guitar and bass in ISO rooms.

I used a straight-forward 11-mic setup on the 4-piece kit, with the D12VR as the beater-side mic.The band wanted to get 5 basic tracks done in one day, with material that varied quite a bit: this translates into not much setup time and a need for great versatility in the sources. The D12VR was very useful in accomplishing this. Once the mic is positioned, the user can engage a built-in EQ correction from the control room by engaging phantom power on the mic preamp. There are three such corrections available (selectable on the mic itself) and they are the typical sort of EQ procedures that are generally needed on rock kick drums. Here’s the best part though: the overall level of the signal remains pretty much the same with or without the EQ correction, so it’s super easy to get a real apples-to-apples comparison of the what the mic sounds like with-or-without the correction. I opted to track with the ‘position 2’ mid-cut and the results were excellent. At $500 street, the D12VR is not an inexpensive dynamic mic, but the price is certainly inline with competing models from Sennheiser and Electrovoice - and only the AKG offers the functionality of control room-enabled equalization. Overall, a bold idea that I hope we will see on more microphones in the future.

Summer Flicks Preview: What makes a Blockbuster Vs. a Bust?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:17:00 -0400

by Jeremy Pinckert

As we enter the beginning of Summer Blockbuster Season, there looks to be a large amount of big-budget movies coming out in 2013 which are adapted from either books, comic books, or earlier TV series.

Logic tells us not all of these films will be successful or worthy of your viewing time. With so many options you’ll either break the bank and gain 15 extra buttery-popcorn induced pounds, or you’ll simply be more critical in deciding which movies are worthy of your viewing time, money, and self-image. Read below for ideas as to why some of these adapted films will succeed, and others will fail.

The Wolverine

Star Trek Into Darkness

Thor 2: The Dark World

1.) Directors / Producers must take the stories as seriously as the fans.

The most common complaint you’ll get in many adapted films are from fans of the original works who say, “It was different than the book!” The reality is the film or TV series is of course going to be edited for length and not able to include all parts of the book. Viewers seem to accept this fact without too much issue. Where fans get really upset, however, is when film producers & directors take creative license to stray too far in creating the world around the books, or worse, to introduce new characters or endings.

The Lord of the Rings is a great example of a very hard-to-adapt fantasy book genre which nailed the story, the acting, and the look. In short they created a world both Tolkien and fans could be proud of. By contrast, The Hobbit, some could argue, is an example of straying too far from the author’s original intent. In trying to follow up on the impossible task of at least equaling the Lord of the Rings series, Peter Jackson gave us a good film, but two films for a short children’s book? A new villain not found in the original book? Seems somewhat arrogant and gratuitous to this fan.

In short, the successful films seem to eschew the cheese factor, or the “Hollywood ending” pressure, in favor of creating a film reflective of the already-successful original. Here are some examples of films or TV series which have succeeded in this realm:

Sherlock Holmes

The Avengers

2.) Story gets as much emphasis as special FX

Crafting a careful balance between CGI graphics, 3D cinematography, and storytelling seem to be a major factor in the success of many films. Unless you have an Avatar-like technological surprise, for the most part the bar for special FX greatness is so high in 2013 film-making it’s hard to sell a movie purely on CGI. Put more simply, there won’t be a quality difference between the special FX of Thor 2 vs. Start Trek vs. Man of Steel. This is where storytelling makes a difference.

“Once upon a time” has a magical quality to immediately enthrall viewers, and a movie like Captain America captured my attention with it’s World War II backdrop. In fact, until well into the second-half of the movie this felt more like a combination of Rocky & Bourne Identity than an Avengers comic book.

The Great Gatsby should have no problem focusing on the 1920’s story of extravagant emptiness, but will Man of Steel be as successful? In going back to the beginning and retelling the story of Superman’s origins, Man of Steel is taking a cue from Batman Begins. By essentially crafting a coming-of-age story from the beginning, Batman Begins reset the franchise and allowed the viewer to connect with Christian Bale’s character, we’ll see if Superman has this same sort of story pull.

Great Gatsby

Man of Steel

3.) At least one outstanding actor as Hero

In on of the my personal favorite adaptations, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in the HBO juggernaut Game of Thrones lends credibility to this argument: you won’t have a successful movie adaptation without one vulnerable (hence believable) hero. A small-person besting others in the ultra-violent, medieval world of knights and physical brute strength? Not hard to see why Tyrion is the beloved face of the series.

In another example, Jennifer Lawrence plays a character so manipulated and innocent in the beginning of the Hunger Games, viewers can’t help but fall in love with her as she gains strength, insight, and confidence, all while still maintaining a sense of vulnerability. Checkout The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, set for a November 2013 release:

In the Iron Man series, Robert Downey Jr. is the smart-mouthed, witty driving force behind stellar FX in a fairly straightforward action-movie story line. Without such a powerful personality, does a man in a robot suit succeed? Iron Man 3 drops May 2013.

4.) Don’t use Spiderman, Batman, or Superman as reliable litmus

Spiderman, Batman and Superman are franchises so widely adapted, with many hits but even more misses, they have become a case study alone amongst themselves. In addition to the current franchise movies, you’ve got 50’s and 60’s TV shows, Saturday-morning cartoons, and changing lead actors to further muddy the waters.

Michael Keaton as Batman? Good. Val Kilmer & George Clooney as Batman? Bad. Christian Bale as Batman? Stellar.

Tobey McGuire as Spiderman? Okay. Andrew Garfield as Spiderman? Better.

Christopher Reeves as Superman? Believable. The Guys Who Play Superman in Every Movie Since Then? Unmemorable.

See what I mean? Trying to predict or analyze the success of those unique franchises could make one feel as hapless as Jim Carrey in a Riddler costume.

5.) Villains

Faced with an alien in my backyard in the middle of the night, I’m going to be scared. I’m also scared by raccoons, cats, and some large moths at night as well. The point is, villains can entice varying levels of emotion from viewers. One thing, however, is true of the Antagonist in any story…the more believable the villain, the better the story. Evil robots or sub-human villains may work. But if the evil-quality in humanity is effectively translated into the villain? Blockbuster.

As you set out on your Summer Blockbuster Movie-watching, keep in mind the tips above, and remember: successful movie adaptations don’t need just one of these tips…there needs to be a balance between all of the variables to make entertaining, exciting, and memorable movies. The 2013 movie season is perhaps as good a time as any to stop reading and “Just wait for the movie.”

SNEAK PEAK
Captain America 2 coming in 2014

Tribeca Film Festival Forum

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:01:00 -0400

by Nina Streich

A new highlight at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival was the two-day Forum about “Growing Your Festival Brand” moderated by former TFF Executive Director, Nancy Schafer.

Day 1 brought together a panel of representatives from online distributors and platforms that offer opportunities for film festivals to move beyond their bricks-and-mortar environments.

Fandor, www.fandor.com, provides access to a curated global library of thought-provoking independent films.

Film Buff, www.FilmBuff.com, which is part of Cinetic, is a digital entertainment curator that designs innovative digital strategies to supply content on all on-demand outlets.

Seed & Spark, www.seedandspark.com, is a new crowdfunding and social distribution platform that launched in December 2012 that is non-exclusive and takes no rights.

Snag Films, www.snagfilms.com, distributes over 4000 award-winning films, primarily documentary. Snag is a hybrid platform and digital distributor that offers a growing array of options to filmmakers that also owns and operates Indiewire.

On the second day, Chris Horton, Assistant Director of Artist Services at Sundance, described Sundance as a facilitator rather than a distributor. He explained how Sundance works with all programmed films to help them get distribution and discussed the Festival’s early relationship with Kickstarter.

Tugg is an on-demand theatrical platform (www.tugg.com) that offers individual theatrical screenings of films in their library. Users can request a screening in a specific geographical location; Tugg books the theater and takes care of all screening details but the local community must sell tickets. The local organizers must meet a threshold of sales before the screening can take place.

image courtesy of Google.

Transmedia at Tribeca Film Festival

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:38:00 -0400

by Nina Streich

An innovative event at the Tribeca Film Festival was “Storyscapes,” a selection of transmedia collaborations. Sponsored by Bombay Sapphire in a warehouse space just north of Tribeca dubbed the “House of Imagination,” the presentations were varied and imaginative.

“Sandy Storyline” includes accounts of the storm and its aftermath in various media – audio, video, photographs and more.

“Star Wars Uncut” was probably the most entertaining, with fifteen-second fan re-enactments of “The Empire Strikes Back,” as varied as you can imagine. The participant used a joystick to select scenes to create their own mini-movie.

When the festival began, cute little robots began appearing, asking personal questions of anyone who would interact with them. These sneaky little robots recorded people’s confessions as they walked around the festival. “Robots in Residence” created a space for these stories to exist in a hybrid of hardware and software.

A big dark box created a space for actors and spectators to be interchangeable, combining participants’ stories of sleepless nights in words or drawings. Prompted by questions such as “What is your relationship with your alarm clock?” and “What scares you?” the audience becomes the actor in this innovative project.

“This Exquisite Forest” is an interactive installation that allows people to create short animations and build on other peoples’ animations. Viewers participated by drawing on two tablets alongside the installation, as well as seeing the contributions of thousands of people who had already added their artistic visions.

The diversity of these transmedia presentations was amazing, revealing some of the potential of this emerging medium.

Moving-Image Storytelling in the Modern Mediascape

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:36:32 -0400

by Katrina Diamond

The panel kicked off with a 5-min. montage of great movies, then dived right into questions.

This ‘The State of the Crafts’ session at NAB was a panel of the following speakers:

* Richard Crudo, ASC - Vice President
* Stephen Lighthill, ASC President, “The Spirit of ‘76”, “Earth 2”, “Nash Bridges”
* Dean Cundey, ASC
* David Mullen, ASC, “Northfork”, “Smash”, “Big Sur”

Moderator: What is the role of cinematographer now?

- Dean Cundey considers himself the bridge between the expo hall (science) and the aesthetics (art). He helps create the image the audience wants to see not because of the device used, but because it speaks to them.

Yes, Cinematogs are the guy in between’ but more importantly, they help create the images that make people want to go to the movies.

- Stephen Lighthill: Our role starts earlier now, with pre-vis software, current knowledge of workflow & tech, and working more closely with post than we ever have in the past.

We hear things from time to time, such as “You no longer need to light, etc.” from marketing but you still need a humans eye…right? Are there ways new technology has affected the way you light?

- David Mullen: I am finding I worry a lot less when in high-rise or a dim-lit restaurant, because I can augment/shape light w/higher sensitivity (like Alexa). Not like Grand Central terminal (where you can’t bring in lights), but not too worried with the lens. So from a purely technical standpoint, you can now work at lower levels.

What about interaction with people on set? Are there ways technology advances has changed the dynamic?

- Stephen Lighthill: For starters, everyone has an iPhone and can send jpegs on set really quickly.

- Richard Crudo: The pace has accelerated the amount of work we do in the time we do it. There is massive communication (which can be confusing) People often mistake movement for progress, and sometimes you have to slow it down, step off the speeding train, because it dead ends sometimes. Also, a lot more people have their hands in everything, and they have an opinion on everything, which can be instantaneously disseminated.

- Dean Cundey: There are still the essential pieces; the Production Designer, set design & location, environment where characters are in, and also we still work with the director to help implement his vision and editing. Those are the essential pieces; how it’s implemented is now the big question. Production Designers pretty much do the same thing (while set designers use CAD programs, and use to help director visualize, the essence of what they do is still the same. Where the relationships are changing most is in post, since many characters are being created in post.

- Richard Crudo: Technology today is the TOOL to get you there. It’s hammers and nails, but it’s all about how you use them. It’s not about if you can get exposure / lighting.

With the rise of color correction, how does the rise of DI affect the way a movie is created? (E.g. If on film, still flashing negatives, or now using post tools to create similar effect?)

- David Mullen: Whatever tool looks best for the job.

Color saturation overall is so much easier to dial it down digitally, and saves you time on set, lots of practical considerations. Pick and choose your combination of set vs. post tools. Just make sure you know which would do what first!

- Stephen Lighthill: The elephant in the room now is the issue of collaboration. Now that an image can be manipulated at any stage, the support of director and producer to help carry out that work is essential; we spend a lot of time making sure we have that support to see project successfully through to the end.

- Dean Cundey: The other side of proverbial story (personal experience in this sort of situation) is the extent of what you would change on set. On one project, t Director wanted to keep it as he saw it, the Cinematographer wants to go and alter it to set the perfect mood.

- David Mullen: Directors’ priorities change. Sometimes a DP’s job is to insist on the visual consistency established early on. You have to respect what the director wants to do. But sometimes they think monitors on set will be how it looks, and not think about how it will look after the fact.

- Stephen Lighthill: Hi-resolution is a very important fight, because there’s the classic phenomenon of them falling in love with a bizarrely tweaked image that just won’t work. Dailies are so important so editors don’t fall in love with image they won’t be using.

Are accurate dailies in editing pipeline still a struggle? Is work being better represented at each stage now?

- Richard Crudo: Double-edged sword, because more could go wrong as well. Need to control it- take everything through entire production and make as many post alliances as possible. Going on set, then having to step off to then take time to go into editing bay and vice versa can be a recipe for disaster if not governed very closely.

- Dean Cundey: Magazine disappears; you think you know what’s on it. We used to go to the lab and went through same process; hope they interpret correctly. Now, the producer wants to do it on set because they can. You can potentially control the image so it’s closer to what you want, instead of a guy in middle of night who couldn’t get a day job (colorist). Oops, hope there’s not any out there. =\ The role of the DIT (who used to be just responsible for recording material) - now his capability has expanded. Need somebody collaborating with editor and director for six months, and hope it reflects how everyone wants it to look at the end.

- David Mullen: In the 90s, indies all had video dailies on VHS. Generally an improvement. Now they getting them on the Internet, but issues with gamma on computers and not being standardized. Producers from LA talking about contrasts issues and it’s because the MAC display vs. PC! We need another set just for the computer it’s a huge problem, this lack of standards.

Still watching dailies with crew?

- Richard Crudo: TV is so quick; the only person who sees dailies is the editor. You’re literally cutting right there with while you are shooting. There’s a calibrated screen you can sit and see at lunch. That tradition of “the wrap” hopping in car, watching the whole thing together as a team ritual has evaporated.

- Dean Cundey: The good ole days (not that old, and not that good). In Spielberg’s screenings with crew, you would sit and discover work you did yesterday. Gaffer would run back and forth, watching on set. In spite of the free lunch, it’s better to not do that.

- Richard Crudo: Something has been lost, certainly the communal experience to have ‘that moment’ when it’s not an integral part of production’s way of doing things. It’s never been simpler to do, and do well. (If you have the will to fight that battle).

- David Mullen: Analyzing dailies is not there anymore. If it doesn’t happen at the moment, it doesn’t happen.

- Stephen Lighthill: Film school is an extreme issue.

- Richard Crudo: Assistant stays on a monitor so they don’t have to communicate with the operator. Digital technology has disrupted the familiar, strict protocol on how things are on set. It has gone by the wayside.

- Stephen Lighthill: Truism. All productions involve visual effects, we at the ASC need to catch up with our relationship with visual effects people to keep improving the collaboration. Definitely a culture clash and will take lots of effort. But they are both growing, separately a little bit.

images courtesy of: Google & ProductionHUB

How Music Supervisors Set the Mood

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:55:00 -0400

by Katrina Diamond

Moderator:
Randy Thornton, CEO & President of Warner/Chappell Production Music

Speakers:
* John Houlihan: Music Supervisor, “Training Day,” “Austin Powers,” “Vegas”; VP, Guild of Music Supervisors
* Jeff Lusk Music Supervisor and Sound Designer, Warner/Chappell Production Music
* Alexandra Patsavas Chop Shop, Music Supervisor, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Mad Men,” “The Carrie Diaries”
* Edwina Travis-Chin Music Director, APM Music

Session Description:

So many successful films and television shows feature memorable music that strikes the perfect balance between what is seen on the screen and what is felt by the viewer. From haunting ballads to hard-driving rock and roll, much of this is accomplished through a mix of both production music and original scores. Leading music supervisors know how to work with both. In this panel of industry executives and working music supervisors, learn how the pros determine the best approach to achieving the desired mood for a film. Produced in partnership with the Production Music Association (PMA) and the Guild of Music Supervisors.

Moderator: What is the craziest music search request you have received?

- AP: I do a lot of period pieces where they want cheap music from that time period e.g. Carnivale (late 30s) Mad Men, Water for Elephants…

- EC: German punk rock band hitting iron pipes.

- JL: Baroque Swan music

- JH: It’s a creative business search to get the rights— like a detective uncovering all kinds of legal complexities.

What is a Music supervisor?

- AP: Producer that deals with all music aspects (whether it’s a happy birthday song, Led Zeppelin track in montage, etc.) We act as an air traffic controller for any time that music hits the production

- EC: Our company is like the Music Supervisor to the Music Supervisors. (APM Music)

- JL: When working with a Music Supervisor, we tend to get more detailed / accurate description. Client might say, “we need something that sounds orange here.” You need to translate…get to the root of what they need. Whereas Music Supervisors typically have an idea of where they want to go.

- AP: We sit on the creative collection team with the director. What is the director trying to get across in each scene? New scores, familiar songs? Lot of creative conversations… how can we speak intelligently about sound, which is such a visceral topic? Music Supervisor has to synthesize and give examples.

- JH: For example, “soulful” is a broad team.

- AP: Right, it’s all very personal. Director most likely has point of view of what he wants

- JH: I still think directors are most responsive to music he heard when he first got laid.

- JL: Music takes you back, makes a connection in minds eye to past experiences and memories.

- AP: My clients are the creative for TV, films, but we (Chop Shop Music) are an extension of that, Music Supervisor is a go-between to two worlds that don’t always understand each other. (Film/TV and Music industry)

- JH: Producer and director hate each other sometimes, won’t sit in room together by the end and sometimes have to work on parallel tracks trying to finish. Film editors are a strong force, spent lifetime to protect the piece. But you can’t piss off director, the film studio (Paramount or who ever), or the film editor who may recommend you one day. You really just can’t make enemies, so you can have the most opportunities to get hired again.

What do clients do that is most challenging?

- EC: Someone who changes their mind. My personal philosophy is that I need to try and make the same film as everyone else. If they don’t have a clear idea, I need to get them to articulate with nuggets of information you can hang hat on and interpret.

- JL: I like to include a ‘wild card’ track that is out of realm as well as their playlist. Sometimes they pick it and you save the day.

- JH: They have to have a trust - we have zero time to waste. I loves honesty with music houses who say, “we can’t do it- great, appreciate it. I’ll use you again.” Don’t give us 20 irrelevant things.

- AP: Shoot schedules are so quick, especially in TV. More time in features, but never seems like enough time. Sometimes they tell you at 10 that they want options at 3 pm. As supervisor, you don’t want to send something that doesn’t work. We do call you a lot , every day probably. Quick turnarounds, feeling of urgency to help sort it out with the clients.

True Confessions- worst disaster in career?

- AP: most involve a rights disaster since you need clear, ‘airable’ music. Calling Germany at 3 am to sign off on a paper they don’t really understand - those parts are definitely the most difficult. Artist may have opinion on violence, or not want to be part of project.

- JH: On the 1st Charlie Angels movie, there was a scene where the S&M teacher got girls memorized, “hot for teacher” song or “pretty woman” by Van Halen would have been perfect. About to get his gardener to help slide it in. Once we finally had it, the trailer had a knock-off band so they pulled “hot for teacher.” and said: ”don’t ever ask us for a song again!”

I don’t enjoy clearances, but many times have to do it. Like the control of it, knowing challenges to get song through. Love getting it for significantly under market value.

- AP: I deal with lots of clearance/ studios issue licenses. I reach out to rights holders, sometimes split master (it’s like a new puzzle for every one). Especially in TV doing them helps a great deal, assured that all pieces are together on Mix today and all cleared.

How do you go about your music searches?

- EC: In searches internally, we have a search engine, but it’s a combination of that and tons of library / memorization, and my personal background. Because I understand the catalog, I might find things you might not have found initially.

- JL: We use searches and some others as a palette cleanser. I have the passion, since musician background. I employ keywords, but it’s about digging deeper to the tangible.

- AP: we have our own system in-house. For example, the Carrie Diaries finale (1980s) internal tagging helped us find music that could be from that time period, or sounds like it could have been from there.

- JH: We use search engines quite a bit. Sometimes I worry because if somebody saw my searches, they think I was like a mental patient because I scoured through like, 900 Dominican Republican songs at 2 a.m.

How important is the meta data?

- JH: I won’t use data that has meta data that is weak or irrelevant.

- EC: Need the ability to trust meta data and what kind of mood does that set? How is that piece of music support the production objective?

- AP: We are enhancing the picture, we are paired with the picture (a companion piece for that fan to experience it later), so it can never be taken away from the discussion. Even if meta data matches exactly, unless the piece works, it’s less relevant than finding that perfect thing. Then you have to pitch them to editor / producer / director while they judge it.

- JH: Most scenes need help; they are weak, director didn’t get what they want. Sometimes it’s a very specific ‘magical’ song that will crack the code and bring piece to life.

- AP: Always interesting when you need silence. Interesting choice.

- AP: Production libraries afford a great service

- EC: If they show you something they like, you need to analyze why they liked it: energy, tempo?

- JH: I like sound-alikes in keyword search.

What would you change about the line of work?

- JH: If I could change anything, I would get healthcare and pension, treated like every other craftsperson. The guy who brings in donuts does, but we don’t.

- AP: Guild recognition for the craft would be nice. Last 10 years have been become more far-reaching (we have a label now as well) with more producers interested in introducing songs.

- EC: Love this job. We deal with ad agencies, corporate video, the whole gamut. There needs to be better bridge explaining and educating that process to those types of clients.

- JL: With ad clients, they are more concerned with visual aspect. Music is almost the last thing considered. And then budget scaled back.

- JH: I disrespect producers when they don’t protect the music producers. They decide mid-production that they want $1 million of music for $100K, they sure don’t do that in middle of production with the camera ops! But they do it to us.

Those are the features that stand the test of time: the ones who spend the money and time on music. But now it’s people with spreadsheets who make final call unfortunately, and it’s taking away from all that.

How do you deal with Temp Love?

AP: Echo, that was a great score from American beauty. Bittersweet symphony, groundbreaking legal case on how rights were worked out. It’s almost impossible to clear, but in lots of temps. Those are ones that really speak to directors but we can’t use because of rights issues.

- JH: Mr. Holland’s Opus- that was like nominating someone for supreme court, you can put it out there, but can’t promise or get excited anything.

- JH: Young composers need to find young filmmaker and the director needs to fight for them. Put your stuff out there, etc.

Re-titling?

Walk away from re-titling. In world of messiness, our entire job is to make things clear and tight. Don’t want 5 people shopping your music.

Gratis License?

- AP: I don’t believe in the gratis license. We should pay for it, no matter how small amount it is.

- JH: Yeah, there are a few free libraries that none of us want to support.

images courtesy of: ProductionHUB & Google

5 Must-See Events at the Tribeca Film Festival

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:00:58 -0400

It can be slightly overwhelming wrapping your head around all the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival has to offer. From checking out the 60 short films screening to listening to Clint Eastwood and learning about “The Future of Film”, this year’s festival seems like it will be full of yet another week of amazing attendees, panels, events and of course, star-studded cinematography in the city that never sleeps.

Tribeca Talks Industry: New Filmmakers in the Digital Age

Learn from doing. With expanding options in digital cameras and lens combinations, along with a transparency of production workflow strategies and processes, directors, producers and cinematographers are learning more from each other than ever before.

Tribeca Drive-In: The Birds

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest thrillers ever made! A casual boy-meets-girl story takes a turn toward the extreme when the couple lands in the tiny town of Bodega Bay, California, just in time to witness its sizable population of birds attack.

Tribeca Talks: Director Series: Clint Eastwood with Darren Aronosfsky

Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood in conversation with Academy Award-nominee Darren Aronofsky following the world premiere of Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story.

Future of Film: New Standards, New Aesthetics

Josh Topolsky (EIC of The Verge) dives into the deep-end of the ever-changing creative formats with the industry players who are driving the change, and exploring what this means for tomorrow’s filmmaker.

Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair

Step onto the Tribeca Studios backlot and into a filmmaking experience, watch a live chef demonstration from a local restaurant, fly a kite, create life-size bubbles in the Bubble Garden, get creative in our Arts & Crafts pavilions & dance to live music.

——-

Learn what “GE Focus Forward” is all about:

A proud sponsor of Tribeca Film Festival, GE FOCUS FORWARD—Short Films, Big Ideas, is an unprecedented global film program. At its core is a series of 30, three-minute shorts by Oscar, Emmy and festival award-winning documentarians about people who, through innovative thought or invention, are making the world a better place.

* Here are the 60 Short Films Screening at the 2013 Festival *

* Here are the 6 Films Playing in the Special Screening Section of the 2013 Festival *

* Here are the 7 Films Playing in the Midnight section of the 2013 Festival *

images & content courtesy of: Tribeca Film Festival & Google

Live from NAB, it’s Saturday Night Live [Editors]!

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:21:43 -0400

by Katrina Diamond

Session Notes from “How SNL Produces Short Films in 48 Hours or Less” at the NAB Show.

Speakers: George Winslow, Rhys Thomas, Stacey Foster, Alex Buono, Adam Epstein

(Basically, the SNL Film unit produces killer shorts in less than the time it took me to write these session notes).

First, they kicked off the session with a montage of some of the best recent SNL shorts, including ‘Red Flag’, “Sopranos Diaries” and the “Real Housewives of Disney”.
See More Here: http://www.rhyst.com/filter/snl

Then they showed my personal favorite, the Louie CK parody “Lincoln.”

How many of you would have guessed that happened in the wake of Sandy? More to come on that later.

Basically, the film unit has Thursday - Saturday to make an entire shoot happen before the live show. Ideally, Thursday is prep, Friday is on camera at 8 or 9 a.m. But it’s based around the framework for the live show as well – so the cast is pulled between live sketches and taping making the shooting window very small. If the shoot is say, 9am – 2pm, then they are in a “post race” to Saturday night. More frequently, the scale has gone up and production has taken longer. Sometimes less than 24 hrs.

In the case of Lincoln, they found out Wed. (well written piece), but everything below 29th was blacked out after Sandy.

First problem, how do we recreate the very recognizable Louie opening?

Can we bring generators? Pizza guy was operating on candles. We literally turned on generator for lighting on that one building. The subway wasn’t working, police were everywhere, and the city was on lockdown from shooting. We had to do all this without drawing attention. [We] had to shoot really quickly then disperse like cockroaches.

Stacy Foster (Coordinating Producer of Saturday Night Live) explained, “We stay out of their way. We help be the buffer, whether it be with the city, the rest of the production team, or if you need the artist an extra hour and need me to argue with the producer…we enable all these logistics to help the creative guys do their job. They have a lot of support and are not operating in isolation.”

Alex Buono on the process:

The big challenge with the show is the time factor. We recently did a commercial for Adobe, and our first thought was that the lax schedule was a luxury, but then almost got bored.

“You gotta get your team at SNL, so many people have been there so long, and know each other so well (key grip since mid-90s, gaffer every shoot this season, 1st AC, etc.) It’s difficult with new people.”

Any time there is a new PA or something you have to be like, “Yeah, this is going to be different than what you are used to.”

As cinematographer, you want it to look great but also have to keep in mind the time constraints. There is a fine line. The short should look good obviously, but you also need to move the schedule forward and maintain elements in a practical manner.

Lorne Michaels said it best: “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready to go on; the show goes on because it’s 11:30.”

So, what do they do first when given a particular script?

The guys agreed that there are so many possible styles, if it’s a mock promo, then they realize it will be very sound design and graphics heavy. It’s all about finding the rhythm with tons of research. Why does this particular piece feel that way, and how can we emulate? Then they get on the same page with whole team. Their fave part? Bringing little nuggets that weren’t necessarily in the script to begin with. Then it’s all about getting confidence as quick as possible to the people who need it.

Adam Epstein:

I started as a PA, and then went up the ranks. When I started, it was 35mm or 64mm with film to the lab by 4 o’clock. We still try to get to assembly Friday evening, but it’s not always ready. Someone over your shoulder: “Is that going to be there?” (Like a green screen up or something that looks unfinished).

Beware of what you succeed with, if you pull off a seemingly impossible task that ends up awesome, e.g. all green screens, then they are like, “let’s do that again!” (Sure, why not?)

Heartbreaking Rehearsals / Noteworthy Quotes.

Then after all the shooting and editing, you still have the rehearsal in front of a real audience. This starts the heartbreaking process of getting rid of stuff that we thought was funny all day. Then re-do some shots, back to AfterFX, back to mix (the whole finishing process), but this time, the whole finishing process is from like 10-11:30 p.m.

One time we were literally ingesting the piece / feeding the show as it was playing (EVS Playback).

Equipment, Gear & Tools

The guys switched to Premiere before anybody was using it for broadcast. For them, the back and forth necessitated a new tool, not the other way around I think it was Rhys that said: “If we see something new that will help us get more done / smoother in the timeline, we’ll try it out. But it will never cut things down THAT much. Even if there was a magical “done” button, we’d still use every last second to keep pushing to make it better.”

SNL was in 5D, then 7D before in market, I think we were the first to broadcast with those. Also first to broadcast the Alexa, the RED EPIC monochrome, etc. We’re looking for the best tool for the project; so the EPIC was perfect for the Chanel spoof / Brad Pitt commercial. It had just come to NY, and it was an option. So we used it.

- Using brand new G-tech thunderbolt drives (saves us 20 minutes) maybe we’ll have time to rerecord voiceover or whatever.

- Right now, there is a sweet spot between filmmakers and manufacturer

- You can literally request a “firmware update” when a few years back it was unheard of to give feedback like that, that actually made a difference.

SNL was on film until 2004-2005. Most were on film and just a few digital. The following season, it completely switched - 15 pieces video, and 3 on film. Film to mini DV was a black period. It was a heavy time — we’ll get you something that looks really bad, really fast.

In the last few years, there has been such an explosion of new cameras and formats (Canon mark II was a game changer.) We shoot a lot on the Alexa.

Last tips for the road:

- Don’t ever start over at end of the day, you just want it to be funny.

- Take out anything that will distract people from whether or not it’s working. Is this music working? Is this joke / take working here? The gear should become invisible you should be interacting with the footage as fast as you are thinking about it.

- They have never missed a deadline, sometimes not color corrected, but online it is!

- Can’t really do much planning until the show has a host - but the goal is to be topical. Writers are rewriting even on set sometimes. But, that’s part of the fun as well.

- We’re trying to go to a 4K workflow. Alexa used the most often looks great, piece of cake to start editing. So easy for us.

- 4 times we shot 4k with Codex and Gemini recorder, keypro happy with the C500, and we’ll try the 55 before end of season. Who knows, maybe ‘Go Pros’ strapped to head of every actor? ;-)

- We don’t own any equipment so we don’t need to be married to any piece. This one feels like the Alexa, or this one needs the sharpness of a C500, or whatever.

- Since it’s a 40-week season, we all work on commercials, indie films, documentary, etc. as well depends how motivated we are in summer hiatus.

Images courtesy of: Katrina Diamond & Google