Here are my favorite film industry and production articles + videos from around the internet from the last month. There is an awful lot of junk to sort through every month, so I’ve broken down my favorite articles and videos to help cut through the clutter.
It looks like everyone is refreshed and energized after the New Year because there was some awesome stuff published this month!
VIDEOS
The behind the scenes of The Revenant
“Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).”
Every Frame A Painting
“How do you emphasize to the audience that something is important? Well, you could always cut to a close-up, but how about something subtler? Today I consider ensemble staging — a style of filmmaking that directs the audience exactly where to look, without ever seeming to do so at all.”
Making of the Sunny Pilot
This video recently resurfaced to show the making of the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which was filmed for $200.
BEHIND THE SCENES: First feature film shot entirely on Prius backup camera
A Brief History of Swearing in Movies
Composition In Storytelling
“The cinema screen is just another canvas for an artist to crete images. Composition is the tool that gives those images structure and purpose.”
Young Advice from Master Filmmakers
THR’s Full, Uncensored Actor Roundtable With Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo and More
“Some of the past year’s most notable actors join for The Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Oscar Roundtable. The actors include Will Smith (‘Concussion’), Mark Ruffalo (‘Spotlight’), Benicio Del Toro (‘Sicario’), Joel Edgerton (‘Black Mass’, ‘The Gift’), Samuel L. Jackson (‘The Hateful Eight’), and Michael Cain (‘Youth’).”
Scene Breakdown, Ex Machina
“A quick analysis of Ex Machina’s Ava Sessions and how camera positioning can change the dynamic of a scene.”
Director Roundtable With Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott and More
“The year’s most notable directors join for The Hollywood Reporter’s Writer Oscar Roundtable. The directors include Quentin Tarantino (‘The Hateful Eight’), Tom Hooper (‘The Danish Girl’), Alejandro G. Inarritu (‘The Revenant’), Ridley Scott (‘The Martian’), Danny Boyle (‘Steve Jobs’) and David O. Russell (‘Joy’).”
How to Direct like Quentin Tarantino – Visual Style
ARTICLES
How They Did It: The Incredible-but-True Story of Blue Ruin: “Blue Ruin‘s director-writer-DP, Jeremy Saulnier, shares one of MovieMaker‘s greatest “How They Did It” stories of all time, lying, begging, and impoverishing himself on the way to Cannes glory with his sleek bullet of a revenge thriller.”
Inside Professional Editing Timelines: “It’s not often that you get to peer over the shoulder of a Hollywood feature film editor and see exactly what they look at day after day, whilst honing the latest cinematic blockbuster. But thanks to interviews like the Art of the Cut series Steve Hullfish has conducted for PVC, and other editors who are willing to share their work via Twitter’s #TimelineTuesday, now you can.”
PA’s suing Paramount over horrific working conditions, ‘forced’ to poop in their cars“Paramount Pictures is being sued by a group of production assistants who are raising quite a stink about their working conditions on movie sets.
Four parking production assistants (PPAs) are alleging that Paramount, along with Nickelodeon Movies, Regency Films, and a number of other production companies, were so strict about them leaving their posts during filming that they were required to turn their cars into bathrooms.”
How Do You Light A Wall?: “To learn how to light a wall or a entire space, all you need to do is visit your local coffee shop, mall, office, school, or any man made building. We see business and store lighting everyday, so it becomes invisible to us.”
Adam McKay On Directing “The Big Short”: In the last 10 years, Adam McKay has primarily been known for his comedies with Will Farrell. While his films such as Anchorman, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys are hilarious, McKay has rarely demonstrated his true mastery for direction as with The Big Short. A film based on a book about the financial crisis of 2008, you could hardly pick a more depressing and unfunny topic. However, according to McKay, it was a project he not only wanted to do, but was almost possessed with the obsession to create this film.”
Data on Hollywood’s use of film vs digital formats. Plus, top digital cameras and changing aspect ratios 1996-2015: “John from Israel emailed me to ask what format most Hollywood films are shot on – film or digital. The question is rather topical as recently we’ve seen a number of high profile films choose to shoot on film, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Hateful Eight. I looked at the cameras used to shoot the top 100 US-grossing films for each year over the past two decades (1996 to 2015 inclusive). ”
Discover 11 Podcasts About Filmmaking and Creativity: “If, like me, you’ve been introduced to the world of podcasts thanks to Serial, you’ve probably realized that podcasts exist by hundreds and cover every topic you can think ok. It can be overwhelming to decide which podcast to try and where to start, so with that in mind, here are 11 podcasts, created and hosted by readers from this site,that talk about filmmaking, storytelling and creativity. Below is a description of each one from their creators’ own words and presented in an alphabetical order, along with a suggested episode, so you can give it a shot and decide.”
4 Reasons Why That Crappy Student Film You Made In High School Made You A Better Filmmaker!: “In some ways, I get it. It’s like looking at an old photo of yourself as a baby or a ten year old and thinking, “Wow. I look ridiculous with that mullet.” Sometimes those old photos bring up bad memories of your past, people that you didn’t get along with or even dark periods that you would rather forget. Both of these are understandable reasons why a filmmaker wouldn’t look back at their old movies from high school.”
Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments below!
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