The plot is a bit preposterous and some of the violence is way, way over the top, but this is actually a well made, if copycat movie. It will remind you of so many others – the original Die Hard comes to mind – but the movie does get you thinking about the kind of decisions the President (or, in this case, the ‘acting President’) has to make – and for the first time in a very long time, I actually liked Gerard Butler in a role.
Mud is a tale of elemental things -- falling in love, and putting your faith in others, and spending summer days with your best friend when you’re fourteen years old.
Like the paintings Pierre-Auguste Renoir created, this is a movie filled with visual splendor.
I usually use this space for announcements about projects I am shooting or screenings of films I have shot. But I have had so much interest in my camera tests for the new Sony F55, that I wanted to share my results publicly.
In the 1990s The Shooting Gallery produced some of the hottest indie films, including Sling Blade (an Academy Award for Billy Bob Thornton), You Can Count On Me starring Mark Ruffalo (Academy Award nomination) and a series of projects with now-famous actors, producers and directors. Not long ago, director/producers Whitney Ransick and Bob Gosse, along with DP/producer Gil Gilbert and his co-DP Derek Wiesehahn, chronicled the rise and fall of this industry icon in Misfire: The Rise and Fall of The Shooting Gallery.
Mixed frame rate media has become a common headache in the post-production profession. With the abundance of affordable cameras now available on the market, and more filmmakers producing their own content using a variety of methods, post-production facilities must not only stay relevant, but also stay flexible to the clients needs when delivering projects. All of this was top of mind when Burbank based AlphaDogs Post Production recently completed post on the feature documentary FrackNation.
In anticipation of the mass adoption of 4K/Ultra High Definition technology worldwide, New York’s Digital Arts has opened what it is calling the first true-4K post production facility on the East Coast.
Directed by and written by Farzana Tipurita and produced by Chris Carr, owner of Beyond Mirrors, the short film The Other Woman depicts a life-changing encounter at a beauty salon between a wife who’s hiding her unhappiness behind Gucci shades, and a mistress who’s concealing her frustrations behind a professional facade. The film was a co-production between Mandala Films and Beyond Mirrors Ltd.
With the digital cinema standard of 24-bit, up-to-16-channels of PCM non-compressed audio, now becoming reality, new challenges have arrived for existing equipment. Upgrading with just higher powered versions of existing solutions is just not enough to benefit from the new audio standard; speech, music and effect should be reproduced with non-compressed non-colored detail, with lowest distortion and fullest digital dynamics. Alcons has introduced the CR3 screen system to address the problem.
Despite the long odds against them, the low budgets, the uncertainty about commercial success, independent filmmakers consistently deliver movies that are compelling and entertaining. The stories are unique and personal, and the acting from new and established actors alike is often better that what you normally see at the cineplex. Yet too few people have the chance to enjoy these films. Here are what I thought were the twelve best independent movies of 2012.
