Category: News

Have you ever felt like your creative dreams are simply tantalizing you into a state of insanity, until you want to take an axe to your own creativity? This filmmaker knows just how you feel.

[Disclaimer: I have a small role in this film]

Director/editor/VFX specialist Damien Christian D’Amico got tired of kowtowing to his client’s notes and decided to break out and make his own movie CARROT, premiering at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival on February 17th. The result is a non-stop trip down the rabbit hole of perhaps the most cryptic of all subjects: creativity itself.

Here’s the trailer:

I really still reject the whole formality of filmmaking, so I always try to keep it as punk as possible.

NFS: How’d you get this idea?

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The behind the scenes footage isn’t necessarily that enlightening, but it’s interesting to see that the new film is being shot on 35mm (though thanks to the Kodak deal, directors and DPs will have the option for the foreseeable future). While the first Sam Mendes Bond film Skyfall was captured on the ALEXA by Roger Deakins, the new film Spectre is being shot on 35mm by Hoyte Van Hoytema, who was mostly recently the DP on Christopher Nolan’s completely celluloid Interstellar.

There are some enlightening thoughts from Hoytema in this interview, where he mentions that comparing film and digital is a little bit like comparing apples and pears:

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If you’re a director working on your first feature-length project, chances are you could really use some help completing, marketing, and distributing that project. Luckily, IFP wants to offer you that help!

IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs are now accepting applications for 2015. This year-long mentorship program offers an immersive experience for first-time directors, focusing exclusively on feature film projects, both narratives and documentaries, with budgets less than $1M. Plus, it’s the only free U.S. program for first-timers, so — that’s definitely a huge selling point.

Here’s a bit from IFP:

Through the Labs, IFP works to ensure that talented emerging voices receive the support, resources, and industry exposure necessary to reach audiences — Twenty projects (10 documentaries and 10 narratives) are selected for the annual program, which has three components: the Time Warner Completion Lab in the spring, the Marketing Lab in September, and the Distribution Lab in December. All Lab projects also automatically participate in the Project Forum of IFP’s Independent Film Week.

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Some days you just need an extra dose of awesome in your life to give you the boost you need.

Today’s awesome boost comes in the form of a BTS video and reel showing off the tremendous creative potential of a new piece of gear, the Mark Roberts Motion Control (aka MrMoco) BOLT High-Speed Cinebot, a robotic motion-control arm, much like that of Bot & Dolly, that can breeze through complex camera moves in just fractions of a second. When paired with a slow motion camera such as the Phantom Flex 4K, which can shoot 1,000 fps at full 4K resolution, the BOLT transforms into one of the most jaw-dropping creative image capture tools known to humankind. Don’t believe me? Have a look for yourself.

Here’s the finished BOLT demo reel that shows off longer form versions of the shots captured above. Quick warning, there’s a brief, but artful NSFW moment near 1:10 in the video.

And just in case you wanted to see the BOLT in action one more time, here it is zooming around on some dolly track like it has a mind of its own. I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords.

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This town isn’t big enough for the both of us! Well, actually, it is, and while Sundance is incredibly popular, there’s another great festival that happens in its midst.

That’s Slamdance of course, and here we sit down with Detritus filmmakers T.J. Misny and Kaija Matiss to speak about creative process, TV versus cinema, why film festivals are like sausage factories, and more.

T.J. Misny (who appeared in our FILMMAKER PASS series last year) directed and lensed Detritus, while Kaija Matiss wrote and starred.

All confrontations that are worth having are gonna be messy.

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Want your work to be featured on the walls of a NYC art exhibition? Up until February 20th you can try submitting your film/music/sound/image to Nomadique.

No, it’s not just you — the name of this Brooklyn based collective makes me think of this, too. However, the intention behind the project is pretty interesting, and they’re wanting you to get in on the action. Nomadique is “a Brooklyn-based multimedia cooperative committed to facilitating cross cultural communication, self expression, and empowerment.”

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Besides the new 5DS and the new T6s/T6i cameras, Canon also introduced another camera worth taking a look at for video folks: the EOS M3.

While Canon’s previous EOS M and M2 were simply Canon dipping their feet into the mirrorless waters, the new APS-C sensor M3 is a bit more grown up (we have an optional EVF now). Compared to offerings from Sony and Samsung (like the 4K NX500), however, these still have a long way to go. It also looks like at least for the time being that North American shooters won’t be able to get their hands on one, as Canon, just like they did with the M2, has not chosen to release it on this side of the Atlantic.

Here are some videos taking a look at the M3:

Essentially the M3 got most of the guts from the T6s/i cameras, so expect still and video quality to be pretty similar. Here’s what the specs look like for the EOS M3:

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Besides the crazy new 50.6MP Canon 5DS and 5DS R, the company also announced some new budget cameras, the T6i (750D) and the T6s (760D).

While the new 5D is a little lacking in the video department due to its very high megapixel count and the fact that it’s aimed at stills photographers, the new Rebel cameras don’t really have a reason to be as underwhleming as they are on the video side. Aside from new sensors and built-in WiFi, the T6i and T6s don’t really add all that much from previous Canon budget models, and are limited to 30fps at 1080p and 60fps at 720p. These models are more for still photographers than people shooting video, as the video specs are nearly unchanged since the T2i, the first Rebel capable of shooting video.

Here’s a quick rundown of both cameras:

Here’s the intro video for the T6s:

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While it hasn’t exactly been a well-kept secret, the next Canon 5D has been officially announced.

Coming in with a 50.6MP full-frame sensor, Canon has finally pushed up against the limits of full-frame 35mm, and is aiming this camera straight at people who want medium format, but just can’t afford it, and want to keep using lenses they already have. The two new models are the 5DS and the 5DS R, with the difference being a low-pass filter cancellation effect on the R model, which should give even sharper photos (but the potential for some moire/aliasing). They also announced a new lens, the EF 11-24mm f/4L, to presumably take advantage of this crazy resolution (many lenses will not be able to fully resolve 50MP).

The first thing we should get out of the way is that this likely isn’t a direct replacement to the 5D. We’re probably going to see a different 5D model with more video-focused features down the line. These new models are aimed squarely at photographers, and thus the video is limited to just 30fps at 1080p (and there is no headphone port). There is one video sample here, but it doesn’t give the whole story as it’s rather low-res.

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Film is fading out as a capture medium, but the experience of shooting it remains an invaluable one for aspiring filmmakers.

Zander and Elliot Weaver are working filmmakers and the founders of Elliander Pictures, a production company based out of the UK. Together they’ve produced a wide range of television content for networks like BBC and Discovery, as well as numerous commercials for major clients. Their true passion, however, lies with independent narrative filmmaking. In the past few years, they’ve shot a few brilliant short films, and they’re currently in pre-production on an independent sci-fi feature called Cosmos.

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