by Matt Barone.

In February 2009, when Slumdog Millionaire took the Bets Picture prize at the Academy Awards ceremony, the filmmaking world, unbeknownst to casual moviegoers, officially entered a new, exciting, and in many ways threatening age. Like they did with the equally transitional 2002 horror gem 28 Days Later, Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and his digitally forward-thinking cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle shot Slumdog solely using digital technology; when the film reigned supreme at the Hugh Jackman-hosted festivities in ’09, the once-frowned-upon alternative to the older photochemical film type formally received the most prestigious level of appreciation. And the movie industry will never be the same again.

One industry move-maker who’s been aware of the change is Keanu Reeves, the actor who’s slowly jumped behind the camera to wear a producer’s hat, which he did to help get the new documentary Side by Side made. Currently playing as part of NYC’s Tribeca Film Festival, and directed by Chris Kenneally, Side by Side provides an unprecedented amount of access into Hollywood’s inner workings, entertainingly breaking down how movies are exactly made while clearly and painstakingly articulating both sides of the digital-versus-film debate.

Read the rest of this article from Complex Pop Culture.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 238 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Bryce J. Renninger.

I never set out to make “Off Label” on four camera systems, but the technology was changing so rapidly that I ended up trying a lot of things out over the course of shooting it. It was shot on a Panasonic HVX-200, a Canon 5D and 7D, and the Panasonic AF-100. I always ask myself the same questions when faced with a new camera. What unique kind of image does it produce that I can best exploit, and how easily can I disappear into the room with it?

A camera really alters my physical and psychological relationship to the world when I’m using it. It makes me behave and interact with subjects differently, yielding different results, so choosing the right tool is especially important for me not just for visual reasons, but for psychological considerations as well with respect to the subject. I have a strong cinematic visual style that probably transfers across any video or film camera I use, and I would say it’s the same for my filmmaking partner, Donal Mosher, who is first and foremost a still photographer. His sensibility is a continuous source of inspiration – he always sees the world so differently than I do! – regardless of what camera he’s shooting his photographs on.

Our last film collaboration, “October Country” was shot on the HVX200, a small-sensor HD camera. There was something about that camera that allowed me to transfer the feeling of Donal’s photographic work; the film moved onto a more cinematic realm that remained both true to his work and to my own sensibility. The camera could shoot slow motion, which I like to use stylistically, and it had a zoom lens with an incredible range on it. Using the zoom was actually less stylistic than practical: it gave me the widest range of options later when I was editing the film. A zoom lens was an especially important tool when I was following around a precocious 12-year-old girl who wasn’t going to do something for me twice. It was also critical in allowing me to be close to family members at an especially intense emotional moment without being right in their face.

Read the rest of this article from Indiewire.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 238 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Louis Bedigian.

The company that popularized the art of shooting with a DSLR is about to release the next evolution in digital cinematography.

Last week, Canon (NYSE: CAJ) unveiled the C300, a new camera designed specifically for high-end filmmakers. Due for release in January at a price of $20K, the C300 comes with a “super 35MM-equivalent 16:9 large CMOS sensor” that shoots 4K images (or not, depending on who you talk to). Thus far, the initial test videos have been very impressive.

This announcement came just as RED announced the final plans and pricing for its long-awaited Scarlet camera, a smaller, less expensive alternative to its previous offerings. Scarlet will retail for just under $10,000 (camera body only), but you can get a ready-to-shoot model for roughly $15,000.

At first glance, Scarlet might sound like the better deal. But RED cameras typically require a bunch of expensive extras. That’s part of the company’s strategy; lure filmmakers with a low base price and hit their pockets later with a plethora of expensive add-ons. While Canon could be planning a similar strategy (ex: you’ll still have to buy the lenses and other equipment separately, but that’s true of most film cameras), the company has one significant advantage over its competitors: filmmakers are already fans of the format.

Read the rest of this article from Forbes.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Jim Fisher.

Canon threw its hat into the pro filmmaking ring last night, announcing the new Cinema EOS camera system.

It was only a matter of time before the company made a move like this—it has long been a major player in the consumer and prosumer video camera markets, but also found success in independent filmmaking circles with the 5D Mark II and 7D D-SLR cameras. An episode of the Fox medical drama House, in which most of the action took place inside the rubble of a collapsed building, was shot with a 5D Mark II because of the ability to work in tight spaces using the camera.

Read the rest of this review from PCMag.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Rachel Abrams.

With 50% more buyers from mainland China attending the American Film Market this year than last year, independent filmmakers have new avenues for breaking into the restricted Chinese marketplace.

China’s Film Bureau, part of the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT), only allows 20 foreign films to unspool on a revenue-share basis, mostly studio tentpoles, which would seem to limit returns for independents.

But Peter Shiao, CEO of Orb Media Group, says new digital platforms have a stronger presence at AFM this year, presenting more distribution options than even a year ago.

“A lot of these portals are now trying to go legit,” Shiao says. “There’s a lot of new money coming in from these new-media activities.”

Digital platforms are slowly making inroads in China, though piracy concerns are still paramount. In June, China’s biggest online video streaming site, Youku.com, launched its Youku Premium paid content platform after signing a digital distribution agreement with Warner’s China joint venture, CAV Warner Home Entertainment.

Read the rest of this article from Variety.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

from Daiji World.

Panelists at an open forum on digital tools in filmmaking at the Mumbai Film Festival Saturday were unanimous in endorsing digital technology as the future of the medium.

“We have no choice but to adapt to digital. And unlike in the past, it is not because it is cheaper but because the quality of digital has gone up and it allows you to do a lot more,” said filmmaker Rohan Sippy.

Cinematographer Amit Roy agreed.

“Digital for years was not up to the standards of film. But in the last three to four years, it has changed. The ‘red camera’ was a game changer and now you have the Arri, the 5D and other amazing cameras,” he said.

When someone thinks digital, one thinks only of digital filmmaking. Yet, digital permeates cinema in more ways than one.

Read the rest of this article from Daiji World.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 220 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Steve Rose.

When Jean-Luc Godard declared that all you need to make a movie is “a girl and a gun”, he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Above all, you need a camera, which has often been more of a sticking point than the other two.

Professional-quality stills cameras have always been affordable, but even in the digital age movie cameras are traditionally the sort of equipment you hire, or remortgage your house to buy. But that’s all about to change, thanks to – of all things – a stills camera.

Canon’s EOS 7D, released last year, looks no different from any other digital SLR camera you’d take your artful holiday snaps on, but the camera’s video function – traditionally an afterthought on stills cameras – is good enough to shoot a proper movie with.

According to film-maker and photographer Mike Figgis, the 7D is “one of the major breakthroughs in cinematic technology of the last 100 years”.

Read the rest of this article from IOL Scitech.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 28 pages of my 210 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

by Alexandra Savvides.

Philip Bloom is one of the most important film-makers working with digital SLRs today.

Philip has most recently worked on the George Lucas film Red Tails, but he’s been active as a director, cameraman and director of photography for the past 20 years. Here’s a few of Philip’s tips and tricks for film-makers using digital SLRs as their tool of choice.

Read the rest of this article from Cnet.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 28 pages of my 210 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

Scott Simmons Interview: Useful Applications For Digital Filmmakers

Scott talks about some handy, useful Macintosh applications that would be at home in any digital filmmaker’s toolbox. The software discussed runs the gamut from free to paid, a few dollars up to a few hundred. While all stages of filmmaking is discussed with useful tools for pre-production, production and post-production, a strong emphasis is placed on post production.

Listen to this Podcast now at Filmmaking Webinars.

—–
Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 28 pages of my 210 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”
—–

This article was written by Remco Merbis.

I love film. And I love it even more now that the evolution of digital cameras, editing software and digital distribution really has opened up the world of film-making to anyone with a great idea and a handheld camera. Pixillion has been the sponsor of the Online Audience Award at this year’s Encounters International Film Festival, and that’s given me a great excuse to go nosing about online for interesting stories about how the Internet has changed the film industry over the past ten years.

Read the rest of this article from Pixillion.

—–
Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 28 pages of my 210 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”
—–