Happy New Year!! 2015!!

We’re putting a cork in 2014 – it was a year of triumphs and heartbreaks – but now onto the promise of new beginnings, new stories and new films. May your New Year be fruitful and fantastic – we’ll take a few days off to recover from the our hangover and start a brand new Read MoreRead More



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Make a Crowd With Only A Few People!

Ryan Connolly shows how to fake a crowd.Read More



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The Year in Filmmaker: Favorite Articles and Top Posts of 2014

After four print issues, hundreds of online articles and a few dozen weekly newsletters, Filmmaker wraps 2014. I’m proud of our content this year and look forward to, alongside our writers and other editors, making it even stronger in the next year. Below you’ll find an issue-by-issue breakdown of the year, with links to highlights from each print edition. Following that are two Top Tens — the first is our list of most-read online pieces published in ’14, and the second our top reads from the archives. There’s a holiday weekend worth of reading here easily; thanks for following Filmmaker […]

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The Ins and Outs of Sex Scenes

Bob Verini is the Los Angeles-based theater critic for Daily Variety dissects the task of writing sex scenes. “It took me three hours … but, you see, when it was over, I had really done something—something worthwhile— something only I could have done. Who else would have cared enough to do it right?” There’s a Read MoreRead More



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Shooting Action Sports Photography with UV Light

With powerful black light flashes on his hands Marcelo Maragni decided to shoot something that he could not with common UV lamps: action. Via PetaPixelRead More



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New Year’s Anti-Resolutions for Filmmakers

Elliot Grove offers some tips on how to make and keep resolutions this coming new year. My name is Elliot Grove. I’ve witnessed 23 New Year’s celebrations since I started Raindance in 1992. The fresh perspective the New Year brings is a great time for reflection and renewal. Here’s where so many of us go Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/new-years-anti-resolutions-for-filmmakers/

After a Tumultuous Year at the Box Office, Hollywood Looks to 2015

Brook Barnes explains how Hollywood can’t wait to put 2014 to bed. LOS ANGELES — The delay of major movies from Pixar and Universal. The pirating of “The Expendables 3” and “Annie” before their release. Warner Bros. suffering one dud after another. Hackers forcing the cancellation of a big Sony comedy. Hollywood does not want Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/after-a-tumultuous-year-at-the-box-office-hollywood-looks-to-2015/

Unbroken: Editing Angelina Jolie’s War Drama

Editors William Goldberg and Tim Squyres discuss what it was like working on Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut. “I don’t think anybody can edit a film to be the best it can be by themselves,” editor Tim Squyres, ACE, told me when I asked him about his first time as co-editor. “You need to push each Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/unbroken-editing-angelina-jolies-war-drama/

Watch: The Invisible VFX of Gone Girl

If you’ve seen previous breakdowns of David Fincher’s f/x, you’ll know what to expect from this reel from the VFX firm Art Temple Hollywood: lots of green-screening, color correction and visual tweaking seamlessly in places where you’d never expect, all in the name of making shooting more efficient. It’s all rather invisibly impressive.

from Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/88814-watch-the-invisible-vfx-of-gone-girl/

The Future of Movie Theaters with Douglas Trumbull

Cinema technology legend Douglas Trumbull shares his vision of future movie theaters, with an emphasis on spectacle movies with larger screens, brighter images and higher fps.Read More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/the-future-of-movie-theaters-with-douglas-trumbull/

“Film is just as social as it is creative…”: Zsuzsanna Kiràly on Development and Co-Production in Berlin

I’m the first to arrive at a panel on “Sexism & the Film Industry” at the inaugural Berlin Art Film Festival in Kreuzberg. As Berliners trickle in at a considerably early 2:00 PM on a Saturday, I notice that the modest audience is all women. I’m reminded of my conflicting feelings about Emma Watson’s recent HeForShe speech at the UN, a campaign to formally invite men to join the feminist movement. Naturally, a conversation about gender inequality without participation from all genders is insufficient. It’s just that the unspoken camaraderie in a room full of women feels somehow appropriate, at […]

from Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/88810-zsuzsanna-kiraly/

Drive, He Said: A Most Violent Year

The guy’s a tease. Up until the end of Margin Call (2011), the debut feature of A Most Violent Year director J.C. Chandor (All is Lost), our moral compass in the story of a New York investment firm at the onset of the 2008 financial crash is brainy risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). The young MIT graduate is so upright that he not only disentangles the masked electronic numbers signaling impending doom for those who can least afford it but also allies himself with the mid-level powers who prefer to forestall than cash in. In the penultimate sequence, once […]

from Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/88794-drive-he-said-a-most-violent-year/

Erin McKean: Go ahead, make up new words!

In this fun, short talk from TEDYouth, lexicographer Erin McKean encourages — nay, cheerleads — her audience to create new words when the existing ones won’t quite do. She lists out 6 ways to make new words in English, from compounding to “verbing,” in order to make language better at expressing what we mean, and Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/erin-mckean-go-ahead-make-up-new-words/

The Difference between Copper and Fiber Cables

Why is fibre better than copper in an all-out head-to-head showdown? If it’s that much better, why don’t we use it everywhere?Read More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/the-difference-between-copper-and-fiber-cables/

An Interview with Christoph Waltz DP/30

What do you give a man with 2 Oscars? A more range-y part as the real life marketing genius behind the Big Eyes paintings, Walter Keene. Part wannabe, part marketer, part madman, Waltz has a ball in this relatively low-key Tim Burton movie. Waltz spoke to David Poland about the film, his work, his place Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/an-interview-with-christoph-waltz-dp30/

Watch: Honesty, Directed by Mark Pellington

Feature and music video director Mark Pellington has released via Nowness a short film, Honesty, that adapts the words of poet David Whyte. Here’s Pellington: “The words written by David blew me away. They don’t preach but they speak their own beliefs in a very strong and challenging way. Each person was cast randomly having no knowledge of the essay. They were only asked if they had experienced loss. They entered the room four at a time and were asked to simply walk forward, stand in front of the camera and listen to the soundtrack–the poem read by David accompanied […]

from Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/88807-watch-honesty-directed-by-mark-pellington/

Pixar 25 Magic Moments

Through 25 key moments, this programme takes a look at the highs and lows of the multi award-winning animation studio Pixar as it celebrates its 25th birthday, and discovers the secrets of how to make a Pixar movie. With unique access to Pixar HQ and the creative team, it features memorable moments from hits such Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/pixar-25-magic-moments/

Watch: What Makes a Video Essay Great?

As our attention spans grow increasingly shorter in the age of information, there appears to be a growing audience for a form of film criticism beyond the written word. More precisely, for the video essay. Kevin B. Lee, the video essayist at Fandor, provides a nice inquiry into the state of the video essay today in his year-end recap, spotlighting the efforts of Tony Zhou and ::kogonada, while musing on what viewers respond to in their works: decisive analysis, politics, or the occasional cinephile fetishism. Further, Lee considers how even a narration-less supercut can adhere to its maker’s perspective based […]

from Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/88806-watch-what-makes-a-great-video-essay/

Film Riot’s 10 Resources for Filmmakers Online!

Ryan lists of his top 10 favorite resources for filmmakers online! Because, sharing is caring! How could we not share this? Kiana Jones SFX: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr8f… FilmmakerIQ: http://filmmakeriq.com Cinematographer Style Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12SSi… Indie Filmmaker: Lighting Tutorial and Samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6JFV… Video Copilot: http://www.videocopilot.net FXPHD: http://www.fxphd.com The Art of Color Correction: https://vimeo.com/45264096 SoundWorks Collection: http://soundworkscollection.com Hurlbut Visuals: http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/film-riots-10-resources-for-filmmakers-online/

The History of the Broadcast Yulelog

The yule log is a fascinating tradition, isn’t it? 3+ hours of footage of a burning log, a holiday symbol of home and family, first broadcast in the 1960s for those poor city folk without fireplaces of their own. This simple, beautiful, long-from programming is a holiday miracle!! Enjoy this short episode, and we’ll see Read MoreRead More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/the-history-of-the-broadcast-yulelog/

Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

ILM Visual Effects shows off the work they put in for Marvel’s blockbuster hit, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo.Read More



from FilmmakerIQ.com http://filmmakeriq.com/2014/12/behind-the-magic-the-visual-effects-of-captain-america-the-winter-soldier/

Turns Out Hell Didn’t Want Me Either…

If you recall my previous article on this website, penned a few months back, I wrote in harsh detail my desire to give up making films as well as my despondent, rather nihilistic views on my life at that time. Not wanting to go into much detail or spend the majority of this piece explaining myself, I will say that I meant every word of it. At the time of writing it, I lived life at a thousand miles per hour, and that was on the slow days. With multiple deaths in the family, destroyed relationships and a substance abuse […]

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Merry Christmas from all of us at Filmmaker IQ

2014 is coming to a close and we would like to extend warm and happy wishes to all our fans around the world. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!Read More



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Guinevere Turner and Rose Troche Interview Jenni Olson about Writing, Archival and the Sundance-bound The Royal Road

At this past summer’s Frameline festival, where their Go Fish received its 20th Anniversary Screening, actress and writer Guinevere Turner and director Rose Troche interview filmmaker Jenni Olson about her Sundance-bound documentary, The Royal Road. Topics include Olsen’s influences (including Chantal Akerman, James and Sadie Benning), archival documentary practice, urban landscapes and shooting on 16mm film. Check it out above.

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A Best Cinematography of 2014 Supercut

Here’s an elegant and understated supercut from Jacob T. Swinney, scored with a meditative cue by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Alongside some of the big Hollywood titles — Interstellar, Godzilla — are a number of indies and foreign films like Blue Ruin, Ida and White Bird in a Blizzard. Check it out.

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The Reel Distribution Politik of The Interview

The year’s most fascinating entertainment story gets even more so today, as the Seth Rogen/James Franco North Korea-baiting The Interview becomes available for online rental and purchase via YouTube, Google Play and Sony’s own site, with a limited theatrical release occurring tomorrow. (As I post this, Sony’s site just reveals the film’s poster art.) Only days after issuing a statement saying the studio “had no plans” to release the film, it has suddenly become the poster child for the day-and-date exhibition of a studio release — a distribution strategy the theater chains have been balking at for years. From Todd […]

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