January/February 2004

Sam Chen

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Oftentimes an independent filmmaker requires the support of an army of many—actors and crew—to nurture his or her film into fruition. In the case of director-producer Sam Chen’s computer-animated short film Eternal Gaze, a biopic on the life and art of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, the required support came down to an army of one.

Festival Circuit

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Nestled next to majestic Mt. Tamalpais and filled with four-star restaurants, fine watering holes, and numerous natural wonders, the small city of Mill Valley nestled in Northern California’s Marin County provides a great backdrop for a relatively small but exceptional film festival.

The FCC Showdown

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

On October 22, 2003, the FCC held a hearing on localism in Charlotte, NC. FCC chairman Michael Powell probably wished he’d stayed home.

Sweet Sixteen

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

MAY 10, 2003

Digital Intermediates

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Your next film probably won’t be digitally mastered. But the one after that probably will be. That’s how fast the costs of a digital intermediate are falling, even as the quality and benefits of digital mastering rise.

Detroit, Michigan

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Over the course of two generations, Detroit has gone from a symbol of American industrial pro-wess to a shorthand term for the worst of American urban decay. The city’s hardest days are over, though—the days when commentators were calling Detroit a third-world city or, as Diane Sawyer once said, “the first urban domino to fall”—and there are real signs of recovery.

Ask the Documentary Doctor

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Doc Doctor:

Is a short film the obligatory starting point of a filmmaking career? If so, what can I do with it when it’s finished? It doesn’t seem to make financial sense to make a short.

Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

What is the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media?

It is a fund that gives grants to video, film, and radio programs.

How long has it been in existence?

48 Hour Picture People

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

At 7:00 p.m. on a Friday night, more than twenty teams of filmmakers gather at a local film center or bar. In a random drawing one member of each team picks a film genre out of a hat. Every team is then given the same character, prop, and line of dialogue they’re required to include in a film—a film they will write, shoot, and edit in less than 48 hours.

The Medium is the Maker

marla — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Filmmakers are often touted for their “vision”—their singular sense of how a movie should look, sound, and feel. But every film starts on paper, with a screenplay or even just an idea for a character or a mood. A director must partner with a cinematographer, a production designer, and others to translate that idea into a compelling, visually sophisticated narrative.