AWAY

The other day Wegman and I were talking about the use of VFX in Dead Dixie California, the film he's been working on for the past year or so. Specifically, the almost unreal amount of planning that's required to pull off even the most basic effects. Ultimately, the conversation reminded me of this piece from Convolv, AWAY.

Aside from the really great FX, there's a really good story behind the production. Basically, the two filmmakers were going into the project completely blind and with very little experience. You can read the full story here.

AWAY Official Trailer from Convolv on Vimeo.

AWAY VFX Breakdown from Convolv on Vimeo.

Film + Music

Film + Music is a new online and print publication from The Music Bed and Film Supply. They can tell their story best through these videos...

Introducing Film + Music Magazine from Musicbed on Vimeo.

A Look Inside Film+Music Magazine from Musicbed on Vimeo.

That said, I've been reading a few of the online articles and have been very impressed. I particularly like these two so far... The Golden Age of Documentary: A Conversation with Wendy Cohen of Picture Motion is, in short, about Wendy Cohen and her experience with Picture Motion. Picture Motion distributes socially aware documentaries and helps film makers find an audience. While talking about her process she notes that...

"On every film, we try to do something we’ve never done before. We always start with a lot of research, a lot of listening. We make 20, 30, 40 phone calls to hear what’s happening in the issue, what the issue is going to look like in the next 12 months. What are the organizations that are working on this, who has been doing this work since long before the film existed and will be doing this work long after? We figure out how the film can help them, these organizations. Then we put a strategy together. We think about what we want to accomplish, the goals."

I also really liked this article about the art of short filmmaking entitles New Theories of the Short Film: A Conversation with Dr. Richard Raskin. In the story, Raskin illustrates how short filmmaking and short stories differ from traditional story telling models that revolve around conflict, character development, and context. The article paints him as an authority of the short film format. In fact, Raskin says...

"Very few academics are passionately interested in the short film. Sometimes I get the impression that I am the only one. In any event it’s a niche I am happy with, and I get to give seminars on short-film storytelling at festivals and film schools... I love narratives that are very short and meaningful. Jerry Seinfeld once said: “If I wanted a long boring story with no point to it, I’ve got my life”. I have a low boredom threshold; and films running, for example, six or seven minutes are just right for me."