The Sony F55 looks to be a game-changer, I took these photos of the camera at the SATIS expo in Paris. — Sony’s new F5 and F55 share the same body with slightly different functions and have very competitive pricing. The Sony F55 and F5 both have: – Super 35 4K CMOS sensor – PL [...]
Actor Kevin Spacey speaks eloquently, putting forward his series House of Cards as a business model for television giving people what they want, and predicting that the distinction between features and television will disappear. watch on YouTube +++ I liked the last part of the speech so much, that I transcribed it, on these 2 [...]
The finale of Season 2 of West Wing is an example of pure cinema on television. ——————- +++ The episode is entitled Two Cathedrals. President Bartlet has just returned from the funeral of his secretary, Mrs. Landingham, a lifelong friend. It has been revealed that he has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and is going to a [...]
+++ This short film by Duval Guillaume Modem tells its political message very well Watch on YouTube +++
Below are 3 stills from James Blue’s documentary The March, documenting the 1963 March on Washington 50 years ago by 200 000 peaceful protesters, which culminated in Martin Luther King Jr’s historic “I have a dream” speech. The non-violent revolutionary envisioned that the next generation of Americans would be judged by “the content of their [...]
Noted cinematographer and filmmaker Haskell Wexler shot a documentary (with Mike Butler and Nel Cox) of people traveling across the US in a bus to join the March on Washington in 1963. The 12-minute excerpt below shows a succession of brief interchanges by the protesters about non-violence, group decisions and other political talk. In Washington, [...]
The great Russian cinematographer has passed away. My condolences to his wife and family. I took this photo of Vadim at the Plus Camerimage 2012 Festival, where he received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Yusov’s lengthy filmography included 3 films with Andrei Tarkovsky: Ivan’s Childhood, Andrei Rublev, and Solaris. I also had the opportunity to interview [...]
+++ I wrote a simple introduction to the current Hollywood business model: box office, profits, international growth — and published it on my blog on theASC web site. This helped me understand why future studio movies will continue the trend towards action franchises in 3D and Imax, with Chinese characters & settings. +++
PINA (2011) by Wim Wenders is a true 3D masterpiece that combines the cinematic and dance art forms in a powerful, poetic and moving film homage to the late Pina Bausch, a brilliant, innovative choreographer. Wim Wenders was assisted on Pina by cinematographer Hélène Louvart, AFC, 3D supervisor François Garnier and director of stereography Alain [...]
The take away points: – 2/3 of the world box office comes from international, and 1/3 from US/Canada – Only one film, Hunger Games, in the top 20 made more in the US than overseas – The top 20 films accounted for about $14 billion, 40% of the total 2012 gross of $35 billion – [...]