Sundance Explores a New Frontier

As movie exhibitors strive to differentiate themselves among a crowded competitive marketplace they are employing innovative immersive cinema technologies like 3D sound 4K and high frame rate presentation on giant screens to capture a larger share of the entertainment dollar. One of the latest trends takes the show beyond the auditorium into the lobby and outside the theater: video projection mapping. Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program showcases films media installations multimedia performances transmedia experiences and panel discussions that explore the convergence of film art new media technology and storytelling. The Festival’s fans look to the organization as a leader in cinematic innovation and breakthrough film artistry and companies like Barco enthusiastically support their efforts to highlight the latest visualization technologies available to filmmakers and event promoters. Festival organizers commissioned Klip Collective to create the stunning 3D projection mapping display for the venue’s exterior. Klip creative director Ricardo Rivera envisioned a man vs. machine steampunk-styled vignette entitled and inspired by the Tom Waits song What’s He Building in There. To fulfill the technical demands of the concept Sundance Film Festival used Barco’s HDX-W18 large-venue projectors to deliver the ultra-brightness high reliability and simple seamless operation to present the show in its best light. “New Frontier offered the opportunity for unbridled creativity allowing us to seamlessly blend art and technology to create a truly surreal mind-bending experience said Rivera. “We’ve used Barco projectors on many of our high-profile national advertising projects and we love them because they’re small smart and pack a punch like no other brand. We often position projectors in extreme angles and they’re the only ones robust and versatile enough to handle our requirements.” “We were honored that our technology was used at the Sundance Film Festival building upon our digital cinema relationship to contribute our industry-leading large-venue projectors to New Frontier ” said Scott Stremple vice president sales for Barco North America. “We are seeing an exciting convergence of projection technologies in the market which is elevating the production value of event promotion in many areas of entertainment. Barco is proud to be at the forefront of this movement and will continue empowering our customers with the tools to make it happen.” Barco has been an ongoing contributor to the Sundance Film Festival providing a wide array of digital cinema as well as event projectors on a growing basis for the organization to elevate the presentation quality of the event’s cinema showings. ,4057
Films of Eight New Women Directors Screened at AFI,2013-05-13,The American Film Institute's elite AFI Directing Workshop for Women program screened eight short films May 6 at the Director's Guild in Los Angeles. The eight new directors are Shaz Bennett Catherine Dent Antoneta Kastrati Lauren Ludwig Stephanie Martin Juliana Peñaranda-Loftus Lisanne Sartor and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro. The films are the end result of an immersive year long tuition-free fellowship conducted each year at AFI. On average only eight percent of applicants are selected to participate in this prestigious program. The program's emphasis is on women who have had at least seven years experience within the film industry and are transitioning into the role of director. The keynote address was delivered by Ava DuVernay winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film Middle of Nowhere. DuVernay who transitioned from publicity to directing is currently in post-production on her documentary about Venus Williams for ESPN Films and has just completed a film for Prada. Shaz Bennett's Alaska is a Drag is the story of a boy whose dreams of being an international superstar are hard fought working in a small town fish cannery. Bennett currently works on The Glades on A&E. She wrote and performed four critically acclaimed one-woman shows. The New York Post described her as the Mormon Dennis Leary. Bennett performs regularly in Los Angeles at Sit N Spin at the Comedy Central Stage and The Moth. Radio listeners can hear her on KCRW's UnFictional. Presently Bennett is developing a television series and raising money to shoot the feature-length version of Alaska is a Drag. Catherine Dent has been a successful actress in film and television for over 20 years and is known widely for her role on the award-winning FX series The Shield. Her film Silk is about a woman portrayed by Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo who is given away by her family and forced to marry at age 10 is currently garnering attention in film festivals around the world. Antoneta Kastrati is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker from Kosovo. After surviving the war in the late 1990s she became a documentarian and her award-winning films have addressed unexplored issues of postwar society. Her AFI DWW film She Comes in Spring tells the story of a young woman who visits a middle-aged father in a Serbian village compelling him to uncover a dark secret buried in his wartime past. Lauren Ludwig is a multi-media director and writer based in LA and hailing from upstate New York. Her past work has earned a Hollywood Fringe Festival Best of Comedy Award an LA Weekly Best of the Fringe Award and a Chicago Reader Critics Choice distinction. She regularly directs videos and live shows for the underground comedy group Lost Moon Radio. Her original play exploring the life and work of Charlie Chaplin 15 Tramps was the recipient of numerous honors in Chicago. Ludwig's AFI DWW film is Burn Brightly an offbeat love story about a boy allergic to the sun. Stephanie Martin co-wrote and directed Wild Horses starring Mireille Enos Brooke Shields and Barbara Tarbuck in an effort to tackle the emotional and political subject of the U.S. Government involvement in wild horse roundups. With this in mind Martin is currently developing a feature-length project about the wild horse issue. Born in Sao Paulo and raised mostly in Buenos Aires Martin discovered her passion for film while at Wellesley College. She earned her MFA from AFI Conservatory and has since been working successfully as a cinematographer on features shorts documentaries and commercials. Wild Horses has been selected to premiere at the Palm Springs Shorts Fest. Juliana Penaranda-Loftus' film studies have included prestigious schools on several continents. After September 11 she traveled to Afghanistan to direct and produce a documentary about Aid Afghanistan an organization fighting for the right to educate women. Since then she has produced three independent feature films: Kalamity Wild 7 and Trip Out. Her AFI DWW short film Learning to Fly is about the innocence and imagination of a child in contrast with the harsh reality of life in urban America. She is currently producing the upcoming documentary Landfill Harmonic to be released in 2014. Lisanne Sartor began in the entertainment industry as a Directors Guild trainee and then became a DGA assistant director. She left production to get an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. Sartor's original screenplay Clearverville was produced by Don Enright of Alexander/Enright and aired as a Lifetime Television movie of the week. Her AFI DWW film Six Letter Word stars Rumer Willis and will screen at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Emerging Filmmaker Showcase and the Cannes Short Film Corner later this month. She is currently polishing the feature-length version of Six Letter Word. Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's critically acclaimed short film Sequin Raze starring Ashley Williams Frances Conroy and Anna Camp took home Honorable Mention at SXSW this year and was the only U.S. short to be invited to New Directors/New Films at MoMA/Lincoln Center. She then sold Sequin Raze to a major cable network and is currently writing the pilot episode of that television series while simultaneously developing her feature film Tremble. Shapiro has worked at a variety of noteworthy day-jobs including a substantial tenure at renowned ad agency Wieden+Kennedy - all the while producing her own works which have garnered acclaim at festivals world-wide including her comedy short 2nd Best which premiered at Frameline 2012. ,4063
Finding Meaning in A Name,2013-05-13,Hawaiian naming practices are steeped in tradition and carry many different meanings. Origins of the name given at birth can range from dream or spiritual inspirations to family names that are passed down or an event that happens around the birth of the child. The documentary film E Haku Inoa: To Weave A Name follows filmmaker Christen Marquez on her personal journey to reconnect with her estranged mother and find out the meaning of her 60-letter-long Hawaiian name. The story touches on Hawaiian culture and the struggle to support traditions in a world where there are many forces working to erase them.  Before beginning post-production director and producer Christen Marquez and editor Regina O de Freitas consulted with AlphaDogs editor and colorist Sean Stack. Stack said  “I knew this would be a fun project to work on  the clients were nice the images were beautiful and it was an interesting story filled with family drama Hawaiian culture and a positive point of view.” Working collaboratively the team scanned through the film to find a creative approach that would best convey the up-close and personal story of Marquez. “I was surprised at how extremely welcoming AlphaDogs was in wanting to work on an independent documentary project for public television. They were great in explaining the post-production process and in making sure delivery went as smoothly and efficiently as possible ” said Marquez. To keep costs under control the consultation included instructions for film editor O de Freitas on preparing the Final Cut Pro project for audio and video finishing. Several different formats in the offline edit needed to conform to ProRes422(HQ) along with the timeline being optimally organized in preparation for the online. O de Freitas re-organized the timeline with the majority of video on track one while moving the graphics—including lower thirds and subtitles created in After Effects—to upper tracks  saving substantial time and cost in the color correction process. “The sequences were delivered ready to Send To Color with the video footage that needed color correction on the lower tracks. The upper levels didn’t need correction so I removed them from the timeline pasting the graphics and text layers back in after color correction was completed ” said Stack. Archival black and white film footage of Hula dancers in Hawaii—including Marquez’s mother as a young Hula dancer—had artifacts and glitches in the images resulting from the film-to-video transfer. Using masking techniques  Stack was able to get rid of intermittently appearing horizontal lines. “Sean cleaned up some very glitchy areas on the archival video footage. I didn’t even ask because I figured it was beyond repair but he went above and beyond and fixed it. It was wonderful. Sean is not only a great colorist but skilled with fixing other problem areas ” said Marquez.  Clean-up restoration dramatically improved picture quality without any of the glitches being noticeable to the viewer.  Stack said  “I loved the reaction when the clients saw the improvement.” Audio mixer Curtis Fritsch used Isotope RX plugins to remove noisy parts of the audio shot on older equipment removing any undesirable sounds without making the voices of the characters in the film sound altered.  Marquez said  “Curtis did some really amazing things with cleaning up audio that was pretty rough in spots.”  The soundtrack included a lot of singing tracks requiring Fritsch to make sure the songs flowed together smoothly throughout the documentary.  Fritsch comments   “I made sure that the singing on camera sounded as good as the singing in the title sequence along with the audio from other sources including a clip of grainy Hawaiian TV footage that was treated separately from the rest.” Stack also performed secondary color correction to fix iris shifts and automatic color adjustments that occurred in the handheld camera footage. Digital Heaven Reincarnation plug-in filters were used to fix dead pixels in the picture with final delivery output to 1080i HDCam for PBS Network. “I am very happy with the final delivery and didn’t have to worry about the technical specs at all ” said Marquez. “The artistic help with color and sound design was great and I would most definitely use AlphaDogs again because they were very supportive all the way through the project. Their customer service just doesn't quit and by far exceeds my past experiences in working with other post facilities.” E Haku Inoa: To Weave A Name was produced in partnership with PBS Hawaii and is supported by the Independent Television Service Pacific Islanders in Communications and the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and an incredible amount of family and community support.  The film screened last month at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival and will screen on PBS nationally in May of 2014. ,4064
Real Image Media Technologies Expands Deal with Barco,2013-05-13, Real Image Media Technologies has entered into a strategic partnership with Barco in India. The first 700 DCI-compliant Barco projectors are scheduled for installation during the first year; deliveries started last month. Over the next three years 3 000 units will be deployed in theaters across India. Established in 1986 RIMT is one of the leading digital cinema deployment entities and led the transition from analog to digital in India. RIMT chose to partner with Barco on account of its market leadership in digital cinema projection. The new understanding further strengthens that partnership. Through the agreement Barco’s range of 2K digital cinema projectors for any screen size becomes available for the Indian market. Equipped with a Qube integrated media block and featuring Barco’s unique modular design these projectors are set to bring the digital revolution to cinemas all over India. “Together with RIMT we’re very excited to continue playing a leading role in bringing digital cinema to India a market with such a rich cinema history and tradition ” said Tim Sinnaeve market director digital cinema at Barco. “We have been using Barco projectors for the last few years and we are very happy with the quality of their products and the support provided by Barco India. On top of that most of our service team is Barco-certified for installation and maintenance. So it seemed only logical to reaffirm our trust in them ” said Arvind Ranganathan CEO of RIMT. Wim Buyens senior vice president of entertainment at Barco said “We’re very proud to have a strong partner like RIMT at our side in the ever-promising Indian entertainment market. I’m convinced that both companies will reap a lot of benefits from this enhanced collaboration.” ,4065
Earthquake Rocks at the California Academy of Sciences,2013-05-13,Projectiondesign supplied its FL32 DLP projectors to the California Academy of Sciences for use in its Earthquake exhibit. The projectors which use the manufacturer’s ReaLED solid-state light-source technology are used to drive the display aspects of a 20 foot-wide immersive dome which shows a three-minute film linking the concepts of geological time (plate movements over millions of years) and human time (earthquake activity specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area). The outputs of the projectors are edge-blended onto a domed projection surface with content being derived from 7thSense Delta media servers and image processing and alignment from Scalable Display Technologies. Visual Acuity acted as an independent technology consultant for the project effectively reprising the role the company performed in the original design of the Academy’s planetarium. Systems integration was performed by local AV systems company BBI Engineering. Maria Dahl Aagaard product marketing manager projectiondesign said “When our relationship with the California Academy of Sciences started we knew that they wanted to achieve Platinum LEED certification for sustainable building design and we were delighted that the low power consumption and high efficiency of our projectors helped to make them first-choice. “Four years later with the Academy having achieved a second Platinum rating for its environmentally responsible operations and maintenance the emphasis is even more firmly on sustainability. The ReaLED technology that powers our FL32 promises 100 000 hours of service life with no deterioration in output over time which in addition to helping preserve our planet also gives the customer a very low and completely predictable cost of ownership.” Independent international technology consultant and long term partner with the California Academy of Sciences Blair Parkin managing director at Visual Acuity said “having worked extensively with projectiondesign and their integration partners during the 2008 opening we knew just where to go to find the latest in projection technology. Since the original project projectiondesign have made massive strides in furthering energy efficient display technology with the launch of their ReaLED product range hence it was an easy decision to select the FL32 projectors for this demanding application.” Earthquake which contains a number of other attractions in addition to the mini-dome occupies the entire west hall of the Academy and opened to the public for the first time in May 2012. It is expected to be part of the Academy’s visitor offerings for several years. ,4068
Christie Projectors used for Gatsby Premiere ,2013-05-13,The highly anticipated world premiere of Warner Bros. The Great Gatsby took place at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The 3D screening used two 4K Christie Solaria Series digital cinemas projectors. Directed by Baz Luhrmann the film is based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and is in theatres now. The event was a glamorous evening worthy of the film’s 1920s setting featuring an audience filled with the film’s stars—Leonardo DiCaprio Tobey Maguire Isla Fisher  Joel Edgerton  and Carey Mulligan. A host of other A-list celebrities including Jay-Z and Jake Gyllenhaal also made appearances at the red carpet event.  “Christie is thrilled to have projected the world premiere of The Great Gatsby a long-awaited movie based on one of the most beloved literary classics ” said Craig Sholder  vice president Entertainment Solutions Christie. “As a trusted leader in digital cinema projection we were pleased that that our projectors displayed all the splendor and opulence of The Great Gatsby fully realized in 3D.” Christie dealer Digital Media Systems selected two Christie CP4230 DLP digital cinema projectors for the screening which converged the light from two projectors to create a seamless image projected onto a silver screen. Gregg Paliotta president and owner of Digital Media Systems said that this was the only choice for providing the brilliant 3D images needed. “We have done other major premieres at Avery Fisher Hall in the past such as ‘Hugo’ and ‘War Horse ’ so Warner Bros. and Lincoln Center trusted us and Christie to deliver the high brightness and absolutely flawless picture quality needed to screen this major studio event ” said Paliotta. “The Christie projectors always perform to our expectations and ‘The Great Gatsby’ premiere was no exception. We are proud to be an exclusive Christie dealer for that reason.” ,4069
Cinedigm’s Docurama Launches Paid YouTube Channel,2013-05-13,Cinedigm’s Docurama is launching a paid channel on YouTube. The announcement follows the launch of the company’s inaugural Docurama series of film screening events currently booked in theaters across the country through June 16. The fully-branded Docurama YouTube paid channel is launching with a curated playlist of feature-length documentary films one-quarter of which are new or recent releases. An introductory monthly subscription price of $2.99 is being offered. Content will be refreshed weekly including films from the now-running Docurama theatrical series. Cinedigm is shifting the paradigm of the distribution business to an alternative model that merges traditional theatrical releases with new digital platforms and aggressive windowing strategies with a focus on exclusive content and early access to new films. The new channel was developed by Cinedigm to further leverage Docurama’s brand imprimatur in the market place the company’s 20-plus years of content management experience and its filmmaker-centric business practices.  This is the start of our foray into the curated channel business said Chris McGurk chairman & CEO of Cinedigm.  Leveraging our library of independent digital rights – the largest in the world – makes this a natural evolution for us and we expect to launch additional curated channels in the near future. Docurama’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/docurama ,4072
European 2012 Box Office Results Mixed,2013-05-13,In 2012 attendance for European Union films grew by 12 percent year on year amounting to around 313 million admissions boosted by Skyfall the latest installment of the James Bond franchise. The British secret agent’s latest outing a majority UK co-production brought the market share of European films within the EU to 33.6 percent the highest level of the century. For many years now EU box office has struggled to break the 30 percent market share threshold. 2012 saw European films getting 33.6 percent of total admissions more than a third of which were for non-national European films and an increase of 5.6 percent in comparison with 2011 corresponding exactly to Skyfall’s market share. In a sense as a British hero with US support James Bond has occupied the space left empty by the vanishing of Harry Potter. Aggregate figures for the EU represented more than ever a mathematical artifact as there were remarkable differences among European countries. Attendance fell by 2.2 percent within the Union down to 933.3 million admissions. Countries like Finland (19.7 percent growth) or Romania (+15.4 percent) bucked the downward trend. As for the larger markets the UK remained stable and Germany grew by 4.3 percent on the previous year. Although France sold the highest number of tickets in the EU (203.4 million) attendance fell by 6.3 percent. This drop in admissions did not prevent GBO from reaching for the second year running a record high of EUR 6.47 billion. This was achieved thanks to the hike of ticket prices (2012 average was EUR 6.9) due to 3D releases. Skyfall a British film with solid support from a US major studio was the undisputed king of the world box office with 44 million admissions throughout the European Union and 36 million in North America. It becomes the highest-grossing Bond installment of all time. It was followed at a distance by American blockbusters such as Ice Age: Continental Drift  The Dark Night Rises and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. This confirms the trends of franchise success with 10 of the films within the box office top 25 being sequels. With 22 American films within the EU box office top 25 the 62.8 percent US share of the European market by admissions was slightly superior to last year (61.8 percent). The main category that decreased on 2011 was that of films produced in Europe with American incoming investment (EUR inc/US) down from 8.1 percent to 2.1 percent year on year. Non-EU non-American films represented 1.4 percent of the total admissions against 1.8 percent in the 2011. Apart from Skyfall two other EU films made it into the box office top 20. Intouchables became the most successful French film ever in the French market with 21.4 million admissions between 2011 and 2012 just losing to Titanic at the finishing line by a fistful of admissions. More importantly the film went beyond borders ranking at the top of the box office in most EU markets (i.e. #1 in Germany and the Netherlands #3 in Poland #4 in Italy and Spain). With 18.5 million admissions in EU countries other than France  Intouchables obtained 46 percent of its European admissions on non-national markets an exceptional rate for a French comedy. Intouchables thus became the most successful non-English language production of all times in the international market. However it was another French film this time in English  Taken 2 (#17 in the EU) that made it into the American box office top 20 alongside Skyfall. Also shot in English the Spanish disaster film Lo imposible (#26 in the EU) was the fourth most successful European film of the year mainly due to the domestic market. Therefore it comes as no surprise it became the highest-grossing local production in Spain ever. A landmark for EU production volume was set in 2011 with 1 336 films shot. Despite the fact that 1 299 films were produced in 2012 (37 less than the year before) this was mainly due to a rather slight drop in documentary production with features at full steam throughout 2012. Quantity aside the anatomy of film production changed compared with 2011; average budgets dropped in most of the main production countries such as Spain and France moreover in others such as the UK overall spend was drastically reduced. In addition several larger production countries showed a trend in film budgets toward the upper and lower extremes. Equally there was an increase in international co-productions as a form of feeding the fire at times of lower domestic investment and in many cases important cuts in public support. With 74 percent penetration within the EU digital rollout has entered its final stage. As a whole the EU had crossed the point of no return with 21 693 digital screens by the end of 2012 which represents a growth of 36 percent on 2011. Here again each country progressed at a varying speed. While Luxembourg Austria Belgium and Finland are fully or almost entirely digitized Lithuania Greece and Slovenia are still behind the eight ball with less than 25 percent penetration. The leading digital markets by number of screens were the UK and France whereas other big territories such as Germany Italy and especially Spain are below EU average of 74 percent. ,4074
FotoKem Completes Hello Dolly! Restoration,2013-05-13,FotoKem recently completed the digital restoration of the 1969 film musical Hello Dolly! directed by Gene Kelly and starring Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau to its original glory. Under the supervision of 20th Century Fox’s Barbara Crandall  the movie was re-mastered in 4K for last month’s Blu-ray release. FotoKem also created a new 70mm print and a new 65mm intermediate positive for the studio for archival purposes.   FotoKem began the restoration process with the creation of a new 70mm answer print and 65mm IP followed by an 8K scan of the new IP using FotoKem’s large format Imagica scanners. Those files were imported into FotoKem’s digital restoration pipeline at 4K where cleanup of artifacts such as dirt gate hairs scratches and flicker was performed.   When restoration was complete the entire film went through a final grading pass at FotoKem performed at 4K by colorist Walter Volpatto working in tandem with film colorist Kristen Zimmermann. Performing print and digital color timing of Hello Dolly! in sequence allowed FotoKem to deliver a pristine 4K master that closely matched the projected 70mm version of the classic film.   FotoKem’s Andrew Oran vice president of large format and restoration services says “We’re honored to have played a part in Fox’s efforts to restore this classic musical to its original luster for a new generation to enjoy; and we’re proud of the expertise high quality tools and custom solutions that distinguish our on-going efforts to preserve cinema’s heritage.” ,4076
Designer 3D Glasses Make Appearance at Great Gatsby Premiere,2013-05-13,Writer producer director Baz Luhrmann made sure that The Great Gatsby premiere was as fashionable and over-the-top as the film’s sets and costume design timing the release to coincide with collaborations with Tiffany’s Brooks Brothers and Prada. Even the premiere’s 3D glasses were designer: a select few of the star-studded guest list including the cast and crew were given retro-inspired Ingri:Dahl frames to wear during the screening. Ingri:Dahl is a Norwegian label based in Los Angeles founded by the Stavanger twins Einy and Kine Paulsen. The sisters say the brand is known for providing moviegoers with stylish alternatives to the cheap ill fitting 3D glasses handed to them upon entering the theater. A project of Warner Bros. Pictures adaptation of The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio Carey Mulligan  Tobey Maguire Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher. It opened nationwide on May 10. 2013. The Great Gatsby look with Popcorn Black is available for $29.99 at http://www.ingridahl.com. ,4077
Rachel Morrison to Receive Kodak Vision Award,2013-05-14,Cinematographer Rachel Morrison who photographed the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner Fruitvale Station will be presented with the Kodak Vision Award at the 2013 Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in Los Angeles on June 12. The award is given annually to a female filmmaker with outstanding achievements in cinematography who also collaborates with and assists women in the entertainment industry. “I am deeply humbled and incredibly honored to be chosen as this year's recipient of the Kodak Vision Award ” says Morrison. “I look at the astounding group of women who have received this honor before me ranging from personal heroes to dear friends and I brim with pride because all are groundbreaking innovative resilient and above all exceptionally talented. “It baffles me how women remain such a minority in an industry whose primary currency is visualizing human emotion but I am grateful for the efforts made by Women In Film to gain equal footing ” she adds. “Our voices are important and need to be heard both in front of the camera and behind the scenes as well. I truly believe it is only a matter of time before there is more equal representation and that time is very near.  It is essential that we advise assist and collaborate with each other - after all film is nothing if not a team sport. I strive to do my part as a team player and to continue to be thought provoking and evocative using the tools I know best - light and camera.” “We are honored to recognize Rachel alongside Women In Film at this prestigious event ” says Kodak’s Lorette Bayle. “This award pays tribute to her creativity as well as her resolve to succeed. We admire her passion and willingness to assist the next generation.” Morrison has emerged as a refreshing young talent at the forefront of independent cinema channeling each story’s core emotion into arresting imagery. Her work has a haunting quality at times and a beautiful elegance at others. She recently lensed Fruitvale Station choosing Kodak Vision3 500T Color Negative Film 7219 to tell the story of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on the final day of 2008 and his untimely death New Year’s Day at the hands of a police officer on the Bay Area Rapid Transit station platform in the Fruitvale district of Oakland California. The Weinstein Company will release the film theatrically on July 26. In addition to Fruitvale Station  Morrison lensed two additional Sundance premieres: Sound of My Voice and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. In 2012 she also saw Any Day Now win the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. In March South by Southwest premiered her latest drama Some Girl(s) and her upcoming work includes the thriller The Harvest. Additional credits include Palo Alto CA. After completing a master’s degree in cinematography at the American Film Institute Morrison honed her craft lensing for television. Her work has been featured on most major TV networks including HBO ABC MTV IFC Biography Comedy Central E! CBS and OWN. She received an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s Riker’s High a documentary about a high school within the Riker’s Island prison system. A mixture of heady and hip Morrison uses her own life experiences to inform her cinematography. She cites an early loss as the inspiration to preserve time through frozen imagery and is grateful to have discovered a passion and talent for cinematography. Morrison is based in Los Angeles but travels frequently around the planet to tell stories through extraordinary images. For more information visit www.wif.org and www.kodak.com/go/motion. ,4079
Madison Media Institute Announces New Independent Film Program,2013-05-14,Trends and technological advances are making it easier for independent filmmakers to get a foothold in an industry that has previously been perceived as inaccessible. The marketplace is changing.  Madison Media Institute has anticipated this increase in interest in independent film by offering a new bachelor’s of science degree in independent filmmaking. Nella Citino chair of the Video and Film department initiated the concept of an independent film degree after discussing the topic with several local independent filmmakers. With the influx of online distributors like Netflix’s Red Envelope YouTube’s Screening Room and Amazon’s Studios more opportunities are given to all filmmakers. More states are courting Hollywood as locations sites and Hollywood film is still one of the biggest exports of American entertainment. Film Wisconsin is a non-profit organization which promotes film television and the video game industry. According to the Bureau of Labor the employment rate will increase rapidly over the next six years. For well-trained producers writers directors and editors the increase is expected to be 17 percent. Michael Graf local Emmy award-winning filmmaker said “Business needs to be a part of basic film education. The purpose of a local filmmaker is to not only entertain but also find and manage the money and resources to bring an idea to screen. Today’s filmmaker must be an entrepreneurial businessperson as well as a storyteller.” Students who have completed the Independent Digital Film program will be able to not only create independent films but they will be able to set up a freelance business as well as work in the many aspects of the film industry. Students gain the basic skills and crafts of filmmaking because the industry depends on an economically diverse workforce and vast project collaboration. Over 285 000 people in the US are employed in the production marketing manufacturing and distribution of creative film works. According to Citino “This program takes a holistic approach and exposed future producers and directors to all aspects of filmmaking. The technical craft trades are part of the program as well as the liberal arts side and the business component gives the student a strong and comprehensive foundation for film development distribution and exhibition.” Madison Media Institute is a college of media arts located in Madison Wisconsin offering degrees in Music Recording Technology Media Systems Technology Video and Motion Graphics Digital Media and Design Entertainment Media Business and Gaming and Animation. ,4080
Sachtler Offers Support Systems for Sony PMW-F5 and -F55 Cameras,2013-05-14, Sachtler has introduced support systems for the new Sony PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K image sensor cameras. The cameras’ modular design makes countless set-ups in an array of weight classes possible and Sachtler offers fluid head tripod systems to match the variety of configuration possibilities. The Video 18 S1 Video 20 S1 Cine 7+7 HD and Cine 30 HD are ideal partners for Sony F5 and F55 projects.
 According to the payload requirement of their set-ups F5 and F55 filmmakers can choose either the Video 18 S1 (4-40 lbs /2-18 kg) or the Video 20 S1 (4-55 lbs /2-25 kg). This gives users enough leeway to equip cameras minimally (9-11 lbs /4-5 kg) or elaborately with heavy lenses handgrips a matte box monitors and other accessories. Both fluid heads come with Sachtler Speedbalance technology and the Boost Button. With the 16-step counterbalance the camera set-up can be balanced precisely and instantly. 

All four fluid heads score with the familiar precise Sachtler drag and offer seven horizontal and seven vertical grades of drag (+0). Features such as the phosphorescent touch bubble and the parking position for spare screws are the finishing touches on the perfect camera support package. The Video 18 S1 as well as the Video 20 S1 and the Cine 7+7 HD can each be combined with the robust and quickly mountable Sachtler tripods from the 100mm range. The 100/150 adapter (Order Code 3901) expands the range of selection to include the even more stable Cine 30 HD 150 mm tripods. ,4081
Praise for From Queens to Cairo,2013-05-14,Akhnaton Films has announced that Sherif Sadek has been nominated as Best Director of a Short Documentary for his award-winning documentary From Queens to Cairo which will be screened at the Madrid International Film Festival in July. Sadek’s film was the winner of Best Feature Documentary at the Queens World Film Festival held in March in New York. The documentary was also an Official Selection at the Rainier Independent Film Festival Mount Rainier Washington last month and was featured on Indiewire as Project of the Day. Don Cato curator of the Queens World Film Festival 2013 gave high marks to Sadek’s documentary. What at first seemed ordinary quickly turned to an unflinching drama drawing a line between pyramids and poverty Cairo and New York a people's movement for freedom and the reactions of his children ” he said. “It’s a very very fine piece of work. “When I saw this [film] at the Queens World Film Festival this year it brought tears to my eyes ” said Faiyaz Jafri award-winning NYC filmmaker and artist. The documentary follows Egyptian-American filmmaker Sherif Sadek as he returns to his native Cairo with his family one year after the start of the Egyptian Revolution. With tons of misinformation flying around in the media Sadek is determined to see for himself how Egyptians will navigate the bumpy road to democracy after decades of authoritarianism. His journey takes him from famed Tahrir Square to the inside of taxi cabs to rallies and slums as he searches for perspectives from all walks of life. Sadek shot From Queens to Cairo with a Nikon D7000 HDSLR. He then used Assimilate Scratch software to do the conforming and turned to Jason Crump at Metropolis Post for the color grading in Scratch. Sadek was able to do the finishing himself using the Scratch Finishing software. Sadek said “I work with Scratch every day in a technical support role for Assimilate but to experience its ease-of-use and powerful tool set as a user gave me invaluable insight into the craft and creativity of post-production artists. As an American Egyptian this film is very personal to me.  Like many others I had been awaiting change in Egypt for a very long time.  It was frustrating for me not to be able to participate in the revolution so I was determined to bring my family with me to document the first anniversary of change.” Akhnaton Films www.akhnatonfilms.com ,4082
SIM Digital Acquires PS Production Services,2013-05-14, SIM Digital has acquired PS Production Services Ltd one of Canada’s largest rental houses for lighting grip generators digital cameras and dolly equipment.  The move is the latest in a series of acquisitions by SIM Digital and is part of the company’s ongoing global strategy to be the most comprehensive provider of motion picture and television services in North America. Founded by the late Doug Dales in 1972 PS Production Services serves U.S. and Canadian motion picture and television producers through offices in Toronto Vancouver and Halifax and has more than 130 employees.  Since Dales’ untimely death in 2010 the company has built on his legacy and continued to experience significant growth. “Doug was someone I very much admired and respected ” said Rob Sim president and CEO of SIM Digital.  “Both of our companies came from humble beginnings and through hard work and constant dedication we were able to successfully grow them into what they are today.  Our cultures are very similar so when this opportunity presented itself I couldn’t think of two companies that better complemented one another.  That thought was echoed by our management team who worked diligently to see SIM and PS come together.” Through this acquisition SIM Digital gains additional resources a strong regional sales network and experienced staff.  Integration with SIM’s Canadian facilities will begin immediately.  “There are tremendous synergies with this acquisition ” said SIM Digital chief strategy officer James Martin.  “It enhances our ability to bundle and deliver full-service solutions to our clients.” SIM Digital worked with Granite Partners a leading mid-market investment firm to complete the acquisition. Granite played an integral role and will be working in partnership with SIM moving forward. The acquisition of PS Production Services follows SIM’s recent acquisition of Bling Digital a U.S. and Canadian specialist in post-production technologies and workflows and Master Key Finishing a Los Angeles post-production facility. The company has also been extending its footprint through an expansion of its facilities in Los Angeles and Atlanta.  Its goal is to provide complete production and post-production solutions to producers throughout North America and ultimately in other production centers around the globe.  Further acquisitions and expansion moves are planned. SIM Digital believes that the motion picture and television industry is undergoing revolutionary change driven by emerging digital production and post-production technologies innovative workflow strategies and the globalization of production. Service providers need to embrace new digital strategies to meet producers’ rapidly evolving needs. “We are committed to supporting producers wherever they happen to be located observed SIM Digital chief technology officer Chris Parker “by providing them with tools and expertise that enable them to work with maximum quality efficiency and creativity.” ,4083
Stratacache enVu Introduce Interactive Display for Moviegoers,2013-05-14,Stratacache and enVu an out-of-home interactive media company recently introduced a technology collaboration enabling cinemas to interact more closely with moviegoers. Unveiled at CinemaCon in Las Vegas the system features an immersive movie-based experience from enVu powered by Stratacache’s digital signage software. “Interacting with today’s sophisticated moviegoers is crucial for cinema owners and operators ” said Chris Riegel Stratacache CEO. ”The goal of our joint solution is to create immersive experiences that help the moviegoer feel a connection with the cinema and its brands while facilitating a better customer experience.” The system displays interactive movie characters programmed to respond when a customer interacts with the content via motion-based gestures. With the Digital Play experience moviegoers can step into the movie character’s role to fight villains and defend civilians all by using gesture-based hand motions thus entering into the world of a superhero and experiencing it firsthand.   ,4084
School of Visual Arts Announces 24th Annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival Winners,2013-05-14,The School of Visual Arts has announced the winners of its 2013 Dusty Film & Animation Festival and Awards highlighting the work of more than 150 filmmakers and animators graduating from the BFA Film Video and Animation Department. We are very happy to be celebrating our 24th year of the Dustys recognizing these wonderful filmmakers and animators said Reeves Lehmann chair of the BFA Film Video and Animation Department at SVA.  Dusty Producer and SVA faculty member Annie Flocco said We also would like to express our appreciation to our generous sponsors and supporters and we applaud all for collaborating on another year of outstanding events. This year's Dusty all-star presenters included notables from the world of film television and animation including Melissa Leo Geoffrey Fletcher Andrew Jarecki Roy Frumkes Lisa Jackson Fred Seibert Peter C. Frank Frank Gresham and Chris Newman  among others hosted by media personality Valerie Smaldone.  This year's Headlining Sponsors were: AbelCine; Act Zero Films; Adorama Rental Company; AJA Video Systems; Animation Magazine; Avid Technology Inc.; B&H Photo; Bryan Singer; CAVA – SVA Computer Store; Channel Frederator; Emmett/Furla Films; Feature Systems/Kits and Expendables; Foto Care; Gotham Sound & Communications Inc.; Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP); Machinima Inc.; National Board of Review; New York Women in Film & Television; Nice Shoes; Offhollywood; Rota6; Scheimpflug; and SCS Agency Inc. One hundred percent of the sponsors' donations benefit the thesis students in the form of grants and in kind awards. The winners are: 
Outstanding Film: Shubhashish Bhutiani for Kush 
Outstanding Achievement in Directing: 
Shubhashish Bhutiani for Kush and John Strong for Out of the Center 
 Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting: Abdool Laltaprasad for The Sum of One 
 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Nicholas Stango and John Strong for Out of the Center 
 Outstanding Achievement in Editing: Shubhashish Bhutiani for Kush 
 Gotham Honorary Sound Grants: Emma Huckstadt and Ankit Somani 
 Outstanding Documentary: Katherine Knight for Cicada Psalm 
Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Animation: Sara Ho for Crabby Day 
 Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Character Design:  Sara Ho for Crabby Day 
 Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Production Design:  Michele Malecki for Catastrophe 
Outstanding Achievement in Stop Motion Animation: Deanna DeMaglie for Bagelwolf  
New York Women in Film & Television Award: Java Jacobs 
Independent Filmmaker Project Award: Colin Hingel 
National Board of Review Human Spirit Award: Daniel Rodrigo Arias 
National Board of Review Student Grant Recipients: Java Jacobs and Mark Floyd The Dusty Film & Animation Festival began in 1990 when the BFA Film Video and Animation Department sought to bring its year-end screenings of student thesis films to a wider audience. School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists designers and creative professionals for more than six decades.  BFA Film Video and Animation Department alumni have received accolades from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Sundance Film Festival; International Animated Film Festival in Annecy France; American Film Institute; Women in Film; and the National Board of Review among many renowned institutions and organizations. For information visit sva.edu. ,4085
Skqattro Tracking Pedestal Smoothes Live Cinema Broadcast,2013-05-14, A Skqattro tracking pedestal from The Camera Store followed the action during a March National Theatre Live broadcast of Alan Bennett's new play  People for cinema audiences around the world. 

National Theatre Live broadcasts of live productions to cinemas started in June 2009 with a production of Phedre screened live in 70 cinemas across the UK. Today National Theatre Live productions are broadcast to over 600 venues in over 25 countries around the world.

It all worked brilliantly said Robin Lough camera director for the live broadcast of People not least because I had an excellent camera team alongside me and also because once again we had chosen to use a tracking camera mounted on a TCS Skquattro dolly near the front of the stalls.”  National Theatre Live has now been going since 2009 when we first used equipment TCS designed specifically for us on Phedre with Helen Mirren.  Since then over the 11 broadcasts I have directed at the National Theatre we have regularly used TCS-developed camera mounts not only for the very particular demands of the Lyttelton and Olivier theatres but also for the special requirements involved in filming live theatre.”   The Skquattro provides the kind of fluidity and movement to the shots that gives the whole presentation a cinematic quality which is what distinguishes National Theatre Live. This was particularly evident on People where the use of just a single tracking camera made all the difference. The stage production was beautiful elegant and often quite deliberately static and it was all very effective in the theatre. But we needed to bring our own subtlety of movement to the big screen and this is where the TCS equipment in the hands of two of the best operators in the business really came into its own.

 Developed by TCS from the Vinten Quattro pedestal the Skquattro gives camera operators and directors the opportunity to achieve different shots and angles from a pedestal on track. We were originally asked to come up with a way to get a pedestal shot on track said Tim Highmoor head of rentals for TCS. The mounting needed to achieve low and high angles as well as move from side to side in a restricted area of a theatre. Normally a ride-on film dolly employing a grip would have been used but on this occasion the cameraman wanted to elevate and depress the column himself while keeping his full attention on the viewfinder. A prototype was produced which did everything the client needed. From that the Skquattro has evolved and is now being used on some of the biggest productions in British television. ,4086
ThinkBox Announces Stoke MX for Autodesk 3ds Max,2013-05-14, Thinkbox Software has announced Stoke MX a particle simulator plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max designed to simplify and accelerate the creation of high-volume particle clouds driven by velocity fields.
 Stoke MX supports a large number of emitter and velocity sources and introduces new workflows. Previously unavailable capabilities include multi-threaded particle advection rapid memory-buffered playback and asynchronous multi-threaded particle file saving which enable significantly higher performance compared to existing workflows.  The flexibility of Stoke is phenomenal so we are super excited to see what artists can do with it said Chris Bond founder Thinkbox Software. Stoke enables a completely new way of working. Instead of being stuck in a rigid linear simulation workflow artists can essentially layer their particles and work backwards to mix enhance or alter simulation data quickly and easily without having to re-simulate. It opens up a lot of possibilities.

 Stoke MX gives us the opportunity to build layers of detail upon fluid simulations with the exciting speed control and freedom of imagination that have become a trademark of tools by Thinkbox Software said Hristo Velev a visual effects artist with early access to the software. A simple well directed base simulation can be quickly developed into a complex modern effect. Artists get plenty of room to create with negligible learning curve due to the use of very successful Thinkbox technology like Magmaflow and PRT caching. And with these it fits tightly in existing pipelines hosting the rest of the Thinkbox portfolio especially Krakatoa and Frost. Stoke is a force multiplier for simulation work.

 Visual effects artist Jason Crosby added For the wormhole shot in After Earth Stoke allowed me to come up with a look in just a couple days. Creating iterations was a very quick process and the support from Thinkbox was amazing!

The Stoke MX base package includes one workstation and two network simulation licenses. Additional network simulation licenses can be purchased individually. To request a 15-day evaluation license or for more information about Stoke MX including pricing visit www.thinkboxsoftware.com/sales. ,4087