| | | |
Cinematography
Behind the Lens: The Kings of Summer with Ross Riege
Ross Riege just finished shooting his first feature film, The Kings of Summer. Currently working on a feature-length documentary with director Greg Kohs, Ross took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with Creative COW about his career path as a young cinematographer and his experiences shooting Kings of Summer.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Ross Riege |
| | | | |
| | | |
Film History & Appreciation
VFX Titans Remember Ray Harryhausen
"When we grieve Ray Harryhausen's passing, we are at least in part grieving perhaps the last living link to the earliest days of movie visual effects," says Creative COW's Debra Kaufman. She spoke to many of today's VFX giants who were inspired by Ray, including Phil Tippett, Richard Edlund, Jeffrey A. Okun and ILM Animation Director Hal Hickel, who says, "Ray Harryhausen's impact on an entire generation (several actually) of filmmakers cannot be overstated, each of them trying again and again to reproduce the wonder they first felt as a child watching Jason fight those skeletons."
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Autodesk 3ds Max
Creating Animation for PBS - in High School
Lanier High School students work with 3D Studio Max creating a real world project thanks to a collaboration between Biscardi Creative Media Principal Walter Biscardi, Jr. and CDAT teacher Mike Reilly. Instead of just working on a class assignment, these students are creating something that will be part of a PBS documentary due to air in Fall 2013.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Michael Reilly |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
PREVISUALIZATION Part FOUR: When to Use Previs
In this fourth chapter of Gare Cline's tutorial series on Previsualization, we focus on when is the best time to hire a previsualization artist. We begin by looking at the various stages of filmmaking and then concluding with making the decision as when is the best time to hire a previs artist.
Editorial, Feature
Gare Cline |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia - Goodbye
Saying Goodbye, April 7th & 9th: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia April 6th
April 6th: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia April 5th
April 5th: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia April 4th
April 4th: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Save This Script Episode 4
In each installment of this series, a writer/producer team is confronted with a creative challenge. The scenario, written in screenplay format, revolves around a typical client management situation that can lead to a problem script.
The problem script itself can then be read, followed by some back-and-forth as the creative team rises to the challenge.
EPISODE 4 ENDS WITH A TWIST, AND YOU can get involved!
Editorial, Feature
John Morley and Mark Suszko |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia April 3rd
April 3rd: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Art of the Edit
Sony Launches Media Cloud Service Company
Sony Corporation unveiled a new subsidiary - Sony Media Cloud Services - which brings Ci, a new platform and tools to collect, produce, share, manipulate and archive content. This brings Sony not just into the cloud but also into the Software as a Service business model. NBCUniversal is an alpha customer for the Ci MasterSuite tools, which enters beta today.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted in Ethiopia April 2nd
April 2nd: Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
Cinematographer's Journey: Rightfooted - Travels to Ethiopia
Bill Megalos, cinematographer and documentarian, is in Ethiopia with first-time documentary feature director Nick Spark on a mission to "make a film that makes a difference." Raising money on Indiegogo, they're following Jessica Cox, a 29-year old woman without arms who is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is licensed to fly planes solo (among her many accomplishments). She is an advocate for the disabled and often spends time in countries where the handicapped are stigmatized. Megalos is keeping a shooting diary for Creative COW readers of their experiences in Ethiopia. Today's entry covers events from March 28th to April 1st.
Feature, People / Interview
Bill Megalos |
| | | | |
| | | |
Film History & Appreciation
VFX Crossroads Pt. 2: Can The VFX Business Be Saved?
In VFX Crossroads, Part 1, we took a close look at how the seeds of the VFX industry’s dysfunctional business model were planted in its earliest days. Although outsourcing and tax incentives/subsidies are the culprits most often cited in today’s news, we saw that the financial picture for VFX houses is far more complex than that. Here in Part 2, we look at some of the solutions proposed by leading voices in the VFX industry, including a VFX facility trade associations, a union or guild, and ending subsidies. The question is, is it all too little too late?
Editorial, Feature
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Film History & Appreciation
VFX Crossroads: Causes & Effects Of An Industry Crisis
The VFX industry is in a crisis. As Life of Pi won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, the venerable facility that created those effects - Rhythm & Hues - declared bankruptcy, and they're hardly the first to close their doors due to financial problems. Debra Kaufman pulls from her 25 years of experience covering the industry to take a close look at how the creators of some of cinema's indelible images are falling prey to dysfunctional business models. Their deep historical roots have also led to visual effects becoming one of the least-profitable areas of film and TV production. How did we get here?
Editorial, Feature
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
The Making of 1000 to 1: Lenses & Lighting For The RED Epic
Working with Angenieux on new lens solutions for the RED Epic, wrestling freakish gym fluorescent lighting, wrangling national park filming permits: these were just a few of the challenges facing cinematographer and co-producer (and Digital Cinema Society founder) James Mathers in the making of "1000 to 1," an inspirational indie drama to be released later this year. James tells a remarkable tale of the lengths one production went to make their film look much bigger than its budget, with practical advice for filmmakers on every scale.
Editorial, People / Interview
James Mathers |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
America Is The Movie: WWII Exclusion Zone & Internment Camps
A unilateral action by the US government during World War II resulted in the forcible internment of more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry. Two-thirds of those interned were citizens of the United States, and none had ever shown any signs of disloyalty.
In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, which allowed local military commanders to designate "military areas" as "exclusion zones," from which "any or all persons may be excluded." This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in internment camps. Nearly 40 years later, President Carter investigated the "justice" of the internment, and the US slowly began to set reparations and formal apologies into action. We go behind the lens with Stephen for his inspiration in telling this story.
Feature, People / Interview
Stephen Menick |
| | | | |
| | | |
Indie Film & Documentary
Mondays at Racine Documents Beauty Salon for Cancer Fighters
Filmmaker Cynthia Wade - who previously won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for Freeheld - has recently finished Mondays at Racine, a moving piece about two sisters who open up their beauty salon every Monday to cater to breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Focusing on two characters, the film delves deeply into the emotional lives of the women and how the salon, Racine, serves as a place of nurturing and companionship.
Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
NO Relies On 1980s Cameras To Tell A Historic Tale
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film after having played Cannes, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival, NO is a gripping film about the peaceful overthrow of Chilean strong man General Augusto Pinochet. To make it more intriguing, the filmmakers opted to shoot with Ikegami cameras from 1983, to match existing footage from the era. It's not a decision they took lightly, and their calculations paid off.
Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
The Camera Is An Eye - Not A Vacuum Or A Gun
This article is intended to be a friendly guidepost for all shooters who wish to improve their craft. At the highest level, you, the shooter, are involved in one of the greatest art forms the world has ever known. At the lowest level, you, the shooter, are still involved in one of the greatest art forms the world has ever known. Find out how to channel your "Inner-Welles" and create the majestic poetry we all crave from your art.
Editorial, Feature
David Allison |
| | | | |
| | | |
Business & Marketing
Suck It Up, Buttercup
The Best Excuses from New or Underemployed Filmmakers and Freelancers: "You've really really got to stop being lazy and making excuses for not getting what you want," says Creative COW Contributing Editor Kylee Wall. "Seriously. It's sad and it makes me sad for you. So sad in fact, that I've created this BEST OF compilation of stupid excuses. It's perhaps a little more brash than my usual fare. Don't mistake this for arrogance. I'm young and stupid too, but I'm still allowed to almost rant. Pseudo-rant. Pretend I made you cookies and you're eating them as you read this."
Editorial, Feature
Kylee Wall |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
Line of Sight: John Bramblitt's Story
Personal despair is turned into an inspiring vision of beauty and life as John Bramblitt learns to express his talent for painting - without sight. Join Stephen Menick as he relates meeting this remarkable young man and the tools Stephen used to tell John's story.
Feature, People / Interview
Stephen Menick |
| | | | |
| | | |
Cinematography
The Aesthetics of High Frame Rate Cinema
Any change in the way we watch movies creates a heated debate, from the introduction of sound and color to digital acquisition and stereoscopic 3D. Now, the subject of debate is High Frame Rate cinema and, naturally, the debate is emotional. From watching hundreds, maybe thousands, of movies, we all have an idea of what a movie ought to look like, and for some people, HFR doesn't fit into the picture. Other moviegoers are excited about HFR's potential -- but to fulfill it, filmmakers and technologists have a lot of work ahead of them.
Editorial
Debra Kaufman |
| | | | |
|
|
