The Hollywood Professional Association has issued the call for proposals for the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat, which includes Tech Retreat Extra, the Supersession, breakfast roundtables, an Innovation Zone, and the main conference. Also open now are submissions for the breakfast roundtables. Now in its 24th year, the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat will take place February 11-15, 2019 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California.
T&B Media Global, Thailand’s largest film fund, has invested $2.25 million to enable Cinelytic to further advance its role in artifical-intelligence driven decision support for the entertainment industry.
The American Film Institute has appointed industry veteran Juli Goodwin as its new chief communications officer. Goodwin brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing and publicity to AFI, most recently as executive vice president of domestic publicity for Warner Bros. Pictures. Goodwin will serve on AFI's senior management team, leading communications strategies for AFI's national arts and education programs.
Crazy Rich Asians is one of the summer’s biggest success stories. Shot by cinematographer Vanja Černjul, ASC, HFC (The Perfection, The Deuce, Marco Polo) with VariCam Pure cinema cameras, the film is based on the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan, and tells the story of an Asian American woman who meets her boyfriend's family, only to find out they are one of the richest families in Singapore. The Warner Bros film was directed by Jon M. Chu (Now You See Me 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and features an all-Asian cast, including Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh, and many others. It is the first Hollywood studio film to feature Asians in leading roles since director Wayne Wang’s 1993 film, The Joy Luck Club.
Filmmaker Megan Griffiths has announced that she and producers Lacey Leavitt and Jennessa West will independently release her acclaimed drama Sadie. Working with creative distribution strategist Mia Bruno, the film will begin its roll out in New York and Los Angeles on October 12.
The Hollywood Section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers will review emerging storage and workflow systems for 4K post-production at its monthly meeting September 19 in Hollywood.
The American Society of Cinematographers has broken ground on the construction of the new ASC Arri Educational Center. The contemporary building, located behind the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood, will serve as a hub for the organization’s ongoing efforts to educate the next generation of filmmakers on the art and craft of cinematography. The structure also will be home to all print and digital publications staff. The ASC Arri Educational Center offers a modern, inspired space with offices and meeting rooms, and is slated for completion by 2019.
The rustle of a newspaper, the sounds of the bus engine far away, the steps of the stalker in the pitch-black night. Writer/director Roxanne Benjamin used only the soundscape to make her short film Final Stop and to create an astonishingly realistic and thrilling cinematic atmosphere. Benjamin made Final Stop for Sennheiser to showcase some of the company’s latest audio technology. It was recorded in immersive 3D audio, using just a Smartphone and recording most of the audio with Sennheiser’s Ambeo Smart Headset, which was developed with A/D conversion specialist Apogee.
Pixelogic has opened new advanced and innovative post-production content review and audio mixing theatres within its facility in Burbank, California. The main theatre is equipped with a Dolby Vision projection system, and supports Dolby Atmos immersive audio.
MTI Film has completed the 4K restoration of Time Piece, a 1965 short film written, directed and starring the late Jim Henson. The story of a man’s desperate attempt to escape the passage of time, the short received an Academy Award nomination and is a testament to Henson’s under appreciated work as an experimental filmmaker.
