Tell it to the camera

The new issue of the British Film Institute magazine, Sight and Sound has a great article about Jonathan Couette's remarkable documentary, Tarnation. In Tell it to the Camera, B. Ruby Rich writes about the reception the film received when it first came out and how the film came about as well as more about Couette himself.

SxSW: How to Make Big Things Happen With Small Teams

There are lots of great things showing up online from the SxSW conference this year in Austin. One neat one is How to Make Big Things Happen with Small Teams where Jason of 37signals (the creators of Basecamp) shares his slides from the presentation. If you think that you don't have enough people to get something done, have a look at this and figure out a way to do bigger things with fewer people.

(Via Signal vs. Noise.)

The Onion A.V. Club: The DVD Makers

There is a great feature article on The Onion's AV Club about The DVD Makers where we get to find out what a DVD producer does and have a chance to find out how classic films are being released on DVD. The standards and expectations of viewers are increasing and studios are coming out with better DVD releases.

Indie Tip: From Idea to Screenplay

Another great tip for writers via Raindance where Helen Lin gives some advice on moving From Idea To Screenplay. A good checklist and ideas for taking your great idea into screenplay format.

raindance :: the nine elements of great films

The always excellent indie tips section of the Raindance web site has some great advice on the nine elements of great films which can help you focus your writing to create a solid film that people will remember and want to see.

indieWIRE BLOGS > SXSW

The great on-the-scene coverage that indieWIRE excels at continues as they cover SXSW which is a great film, music and interactive festival that is going on now in Texas. Find out what is going on at one of the hippest festivals around by reading the blog.

MOXIE { blog }

I'm a big fan of independent theatres and I'm a regular patron of the Fundy Film Society screenings in Wolfville. I just found the MOXIE { blog } which follows the adventures of setting up an independent movie theatre in Springfield, Missouri.

Wired 12.10: The Long Tail

Is there hope for independent filmmakers in a world where the marketing budgets for one mainstream film is greater than all the money spent in a year on production in Nova Scotia? I think that the answer is yes and it's partially due to the phenomenon known as The Long Tail. With the growth of online retailers such as Amazon and rental services such as Netflix and Zip.ca it makes it possible for very small films (especially documentaries) to seek out an audience on DVD. It's a fascinating development in distribution that gives me a lot of hope for the future.

The Fourth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival

You can view the 16 chosen short films in The Fourth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival on their site. Some great short films about civil liberties, corporate accountability and youth media and many other socially progressive topics.

Getting Things Done with Your Mac

Giles Turnbull has an article in O'Reilly's MacDevCenter that explains many of the things that I've been ranting about lately. It's called Getting Things Done with Your Mac and it provides a great summary of the paper and software that many geeks are using now to stay organized.

Congratulations

Glad That They're Done,
originally uploaded by Chris Campbell.

10 Minute Walk wrapped principal photography today and I snapped a picture of most of the crew after they finished. It's always amazing when a group of talented people work together to bring a story to life. It's fun to be part of something so exciting and wonderful. Screen Arts filmmakers rock!

Zombies, smack addicts and Starbucks

I always try to be ambitious, not in terms of budgets but in terms of being imaginative.

Salon.com has a interview with Danny Boyle by Brian Libby called Zombies, smack addicts and Starbucks, where Boyle talks about his latest film, Millions,which is coming out next week, as well as his other films and the types of stories he tells. (You have to either be a member of Salon or view an ad to read the article).

Yahoo! Netrospective

Sometimes I feel old when an anniversary is celebrated. I remember when Yahoo! first started and the Web was young and the whole thing was smaller than the blogosphere now is. The Yahoo! Netrospective collects together 100 moments from the first 10 years of Yahoo! Happy Birthday!

file: michael rutchik - 2:1

Via File, I found a great gallery of photography by Michael Rutchik where he cropped photographs of Los Angeles into a 2:1. The gallery is called 2:1 and there are some great widescreen images of LA.

Why are all movies the same price?

Marginal Revolution explores the idea of Why are all movies the same price?. It's something that we all accept and I hadn't really thought about the reasons why until I read this. It's interesting, because we don't pay the same price for all DVDs or books or many other things that we buy, but movies are standardized.

Raindance Independent Films

You can view some of the Raindance Independent Films online. It's a great chance to see some short films online.

The Criterion Collection: Ratcatcher

On the Criterion site they have an essay about Lynne Ramsay's haunting debut feature Ratcatcher written by Lizzie Francke. An essay that explores the poetic world created by Ramsay.

rodcorp: How Martin Scorsese Works

I wish I did know something more than movies so as I could make a living

Rodcorp's series of how people work continues with Martin Scorsese, director who recently almost won an Academy Award.

Remixing Culture: An Interview with Lawrence Lessig

Find out more about the implications of peer-to-peer file sharing, creativity and Creative Commons licensing on the O'Reilly Network in Remixing Culture: An Interview with Lawrence Lessig.