DIY Promotions

Today’s indie filmmakers are turning to social media, video sharing and crowd-funding sites to promote their movies

By Teresa Echazabal

Kevin Smith does it. Edward Burns does it. Even novice filmmakers do it. Many indie filmmakers are opting to market, finance and even distribute their own films via the Internet instead of the traditional route of going with professional (and sometimes very expensive) PR firms. The Internet has given today’s filmmakers new avenues for gaining... Read more

Play It As It Lays

Director Joshua Leonard and DP Benjamin Kasulke create a ’70s L.A. look for The Lie

By Valentina I. Valentini

It’s hard to tell what constitutes true independent film today. Is it the budget alone? Does it mean using no-name actors? Or using only off-the-cuff material for the story? Cinematographer Benjamin Kasulke believes that the only real defining characteristic of an indie film in the current climate is that it’s made outside the studio. ... Read more

Sundance 2011

Did this year’s festival signal the call for Indie Film 2.0?

By Neil Matsumoto

To say the film industry has seen a few changes in production, distribution and exhibition in recent years is a huge understatement. Technology such as HD DSLRs, 800 ASA-rated sensors, all-in-one studio desktop NLE systems and online movie distribution (Netflix, Hulu) have all made it possible for filmmakers to produce a professional-looking movie and... Read more

Social Status

Shooting The Social Network — Director David Fincher and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, unmask Facebook with the help of RED’s Mysterium-X sensor

By Simon Wakelin

Master storyteller David Fincher proves his penchant for the zeitgeist with his new film The Social Network. Fincher digs deep into the past of Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to examine how something that began between friends at college quickly descended into bitter acrimony and litigation once billions of dollars were at stake. The... Read more

Coming Of Age

Director David Fincher and cinematographer Claudio Miranda create a unique character for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By Pauline B. Rogers

Mark Twain once quipped that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. The comment stuck with fellow writer and fan, F. Scott Fitzgerald—so much so that he turned it into a short story. "My name is Benjamin Button and I was born under unusual circumstances. While everyone else was aging, I was getting younger—all... Read more

Saving Planet Earth

An innovative PBS series uses interesting HD tools to develop a unique look of the world

By Neil Matsumoto

e2, a series on PBS now in its third season, profiles the cutting-edge individuals who are trying to create a better quality of life. Narrated by actors Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the series explores solutions to environmental and social problems we face today, with subjects ranging from design, energy, transport, water, food and urban development.... Read more

Sundance Reboot

HDVideoPro reports from this year’s Sundance Film Festival as it seeks to adapt to a changing industry

Neil Matsumoto

With the arrival of iTunes, Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” program and websites like Hulu and CinemaNow, there has never been a better time to watch movies on the Internet. And with video-sharing websites like YouTube and Vimeo, and a growing number of social-networking sites, filmmakers can now upload, distribute and promote their own... Read more

Modern Love

Shot on Panasonic VariCams, Paper Heart brings a unique perspective to the romantic comedy genre

By Kevin H. Martin, Photos By Justina Minz

The genesis of director Nicholas Jasenovec’s Paper Heart (cowritten by the director and star Charlyne Yi) was a prolonged affair, according to director of photography Jay Hunter. "Charlyne and Nick had to go around town explaining the idea to studio people, and I don’t know if anybody ever truly ‘got it’ until they saw footage,"... Read more

Road Trip

Shooter Thomas Rist captures the essence of America with the help of Audi clean-diesel vehicles and the latest digital tools

By D. Bonham

In these days of economic challenge, companies are looking for “eye-catching” ways to capture both employee and consumer attention. For Audi, taking a fleet of 26 vehicles on a road trip was a way not only to increase support for and understanding of clean-diesel technology, but also to educate consumers that its TDI lineup features a new... Read more