Is Green Screen Creative Or A Cop-Out?

Is green screen always the best way to capture your shot?

Dan Brockett

Is green screen always the best way to capture your shot? I shoot green screen. Quite a lot of green screen at times. As a cinematographer, I have to be honest, having to utilize green screen isn’t my favorite type of shooting. It’s my job to help a director visualize a scene, scenario or environment. If you think about it, most scenes can be broken... Read more

Sundance 2019: Power of Story—Pushing Boundaries

The Sundance Film Festival also entertained audiences over the past 10 days with dozens of offscreen events, including conversations with the next wave of storytellers.

By Simon Wakelin

The 2019 installment of the longstanding “Power of Story” series rolled at Sundance with some great conversations, including the “Power of Story: Pushing Boundaries,” an insightful lecture that gathered filmmakers Rick Alverson (“The Mountain”), Mads Brügger (“Cold Case Hammarskjöld”), Kitty Green (“Casting JonBenet”),... Read more

Sundance 2019: It’s A Wrap—Top Prizes At Sundance Go To “Clemency” And “One Child Nation”

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony wraps this year’s event, handing out prizes to 28 of 121 feature-length and 73 short films that were showcased during the festival’s 10-day event

By Simon Wakelin

All told, 28 awards were handed out at the Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City for 23 films comprising the work of 27 filmmakers last night. Diversity and female filmmakers were the big winners, with 13 films directed by one or more women, eight by one or more people of color and one by a person identifying as LGBTQI+. Here are some... Read more

Sundance 2019: “Knock Down the House”

While many documentaries are focused on climate, the environment and our changing habitat this year, “Knock Down the House” investigates the modern face of American politics, following a new and passionate group of insurgents that are fighting to be heard and for change.

By Simon Wakelin

The Rachel Lears’ documentary “Knock Down the House” played to a packed theater audience, an emotionally-stirred crowd following four female insurgents fighting tooth-and-nail against longtime political incumbents from the left. The bulk of the film focuses on a campaign by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ran as a progressive to win New York’s... Read more

Sundance 2019: “Memory—The Origins of Alien”

“Memory—The Origins of Alien” premiered this week in the Midnight Category of Sundance, a compelling documentary examining the many influences that went into the making of “Alien,” an iconic science fiction masterpiece directed by Ridley Scott.

By Simon Wakelin

If you’ve seen Alexandre O. Philippe’s “78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene” then you know what a love for cinema the director holds. While his “78/52” examined the hypnotic screen murder scene that profoundly changed the course of world cinema, Philippe’s “Memory—The Origin of Alien” revels in the history behind the making of... Read more

Sundance 2019: Composer And Artist Kathryn Bostic on “Clemency”

We discuss the art of sound and examine the challenges of creating the soundtrack for “Clemency,” a film examining the spirit of a prison warden (played by Alfre Woodard) who is tasked to carry out executions at a maximum security prison.

By Simon Wakelin

Years of carrying out executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute yet another death-row inmate, she is forced to confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, a move that ultimately connects her to a man she is sanctioned to kill. Such is the powerful storyline of “Clemency,” from... Read more

Sundance 2019: Sundance Sales—Amazon, Hulu, A24, Apple And More

Major sales are revealed at Sundance 2019 in Park City, while award-winning standout work begins to be honored as the festival winds down.

By Simon Wakelin

As the Sundance Film Festival draws to a close, we’ve learned which films have been purchased by major studios. The festival has also begun to hand out awards. Here’s what we’ve learned: Major Film Acquisitions Amazon Studios has paid $13 million to acquire US-domestic rights to Nisha Ganatra’s “Late Night,” a film written, produced and... Read more

Sundance 2019: “Photograph” Has Its World Premiere

“Photograph,” a film produced by Amazon Studios and directed by Ritesh Batra, has its world premiere at Sundance and is scheduled to appear in the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival

By Simon Wakelin

“Photograph” plays on screen with quiet fortitude, framing the relationship between two people whose lives intersect in Mumbai, a meeting that changes their lives in unexpected ways. The film is directed by Ritesh Batra and it received positive reviews after its screening in Park City this week. The film was produced by Amazon Studios and is scheduled... Read more

Sundance 2019: “The Sound of Silence” in US Dramatic Competition

Mandy Tagger Bockley and Adi Ezroni of Keshet International Films sit down to discuss “The Sound of Silence,” the producers’ first film under the newly minted film division of Keshet Studios

By Simon Wakelin

Directed by Michael Tyburski, “The Sound of Silence” follows a self-taught “house tuner” in New York (Peter Sarsgaard) adjusting the sonic harmony of people’s environments to cure a myriad of disorders, including anxiety, depression and fatigue. When he meets a new client (Rashida Jones) experiencing a problem he can’t seem to solve, his... Read more

Sundance 2019: Nope to “Mope”

Even ardent cineastes will have difficulty remaining in their seats watching this tedious, low-rent feature, which debuts in Sundance’s Midnight section.

By Simon Wakelin

The film “Mope,” which is based on real events, appeared in the Midnight section at this year’s Sundance film festival. Sadly, this trashy ride into LA’s porn industry was directed with all the finesse of a dizzy elephant on ice and is replete with uneven performances, abysmal direction and appalling cinematography to boot. It’s simply... Read more

Sundance 2019: Cinematographer Tarin Anderson of “Corporate Animals”

Today, we’ve returned to interview Cinematographer Tarin Anderson here at Sundance and to join Zeiss for its Art Motion Event, a day of interviewing prominent cinematographers and directors who uncover their moviemaking techniques on films screening at the festival.

By Simon Wakelin

The setting for the dark comedy “Corporate Animals,” a film directed by Patrick Brice and starring Demi Moore and Ed Helms, is in New Mexico, where a self-centered CEO of an edible-cutlery company leads her long-suffering staff on a corporate team-building exercise. It’s also where disaster strikes: Trapped underground, the mismatched posse must... Read more

Sundance 2019: Director Alma Har’el And Natasha Braier, ASC, of “Honey Boy”

Today at Sundance, we’re back again to interview two crew members of the film “Honey Boy” at the Zeiss Art Motion Event, where prominent cinematographers and directors uncover their moviemaking techniques on films screening at the festival.

By Simon Wakelin

This year’s Zeiss Art Motion Event has attracted prominent cinematographers to discuss their approach to the craft of shooting on set, including Natasha Braier, ASC and director Alma Har’el, who broke down the production of “Honey Boy,” which stars Lucas Hedges, FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is currently... Read more