A partnership between YouTube and the Sundance Film Festival, which saw new and year-old fest selections made available to rent through the Google-owned video site, seemed a disappointment early this year. But YouTube still sees potential in such a distribution model and will now open the rental fee option to its general users, according to MediaPost (via Mashable). An exec told them engineers are currently working on a self-service initiative through which fimmakers can upload their work and rent it out for an undisclosed (if it will even be standardized?) price. Might this be an eventual threat to Netflix as the better way for independent filmmakers to reach a large audience?
Users have already been making money for years through the site's YouTube Partnership Program, which shares ad revenue with members, many of whom are popular enough to make a living uploading videos on a weekly basis. More recently, "one-hit wonders" have also been able to reap rewards via the Individual Video Partnerships, so suddenly hot viral clips like "David at the Dentist" can garner submitters financial gain in addition to their 15 minutes of fame. But most of these moneymakers are short subject videos and feature-length submissions may not be as successful, either with ad share or rental models.
Source http://www.cinematical.com
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Do You Really Need a Star for your Film?
Hollywood stars are in demand when it comes to movies. They bring big attention and big bucks to a movie. They can also be a source of distraction. The over-publicized actor/actress can make it difficult for your audience to transition from real life into full movie immersion.
Can you watch a movie with Lindsey Lohan, once a promising young actress, without thinking about her personal life, which is splashed daily in the tabloids. More and more stars personal lives are dissected daily within the media. This question begs to be asked...do you really need a star for your film?
Consolidated Films created a list of benefits that stars can bring to a movie.
Once the benefits of a "Hollywood Star" are understood, the challenge is to find successful creative ways to replicate these benefits sans a "Hollywood Star".
"Stars can bring your film advantages that it otherwise would have to work hard to attain. Stars not only cost money (usually) but they are strong personalities that can quickly take over a production. They are on fire and you can get burned. For those with strong visions about the film and little money, they can put effort into replicating the benefits of a star's participation with a little creativity, some help, and lots of time."
Can you watch a movie with Lindsey Lohan, once a promising young actress, without thinking about her personal life, which is splashed daily in the tabloids. More and more stars personal lives are dissected daily within the media. This question begs to be asked...do you really need a star for your film?
Consolidated Films created a list of benefits that stars can bring to a movie.
Once the benefits of a "Hollywood Star" are understood, the challenge is to find successful creative ways to replicate these benefits sans a "Hollywood Star".
"Stars can bring your film advantages that it otherwise would have to work hard to attain. Stars not only cost money (usually) but they are strong personalities that can quickly take over a production. They are on fire and you can get burned. For those with strong visions about the film and little money, they can put effort into replicating the benefits of a star's participation with a little creativity, some help, and lots of time."
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Podcast Discussion of "Kick Ass"
If you have heard the controversy about "Kick Ass", definitely go check out the podcast below as they discuss the latest graphic novel adaptation, Kick-Ass. Is Matthew Vaughn's superhero film a successful deconstruction of the genre? Does Hit Girl deserve all the controversy? Tune in to find out.
http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.randomchatter.com/files/podcasts/MC_096.mp3
http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.randomchatter.com/files/podcasts/MC_096.mp3
Friday, April 16, 2010
Hitachi Working On Glasses-Less 3D LCD
A glasses free 3D TV display is being pursued by none other than Hitachi.
Hitachi's going to use Sharp's parallax barrier technology (supposedly used in the Nintendo 3DS and that mysterious StreamTV panel) on some mean LCDs, hopefully just as slim as their previous models.
Last year at CEATEC Hitachi showed off a 10-inch prototype with a VGA screen, which used 16 projectors to create the glasses-less 3D, which is visible dependent on the viewing angle. We've always said glasses would prove the barrier for most people considering buying a 3DTV, but it's not yet known whether the parallax barrier technology can actually compete with what we've seen from Panasonic, who's the only manufacturer with a 3D plasma out. [Akihabara News]
Hitachi's going to use Sharp's parallax barrier technology (supposedly used in the Nintendo 3DS and that mysterious StreamTV panel) on some mean LCDs, hopefully just as slim as their previous models.
Last year at CEATEC Hitachi showed off a 10-inch prototype with a VGA screen, which used 16 projectors to create the glasses-less 3D, which is visible dependent on the viewing angle. We've always said glasses would prove the barrier for most people considering buying a 3DTV, but it's not yet known whether the parallax barrier technology can actually compete with what we've seen from Panasonic, who's the only manufacturer with a 3D plasma out. [Akihabara News]
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Top Ten Worst Special Effects
The Vine lists the Top Ten Worst Special Effects.
10. The Sharks in Deep Blue Sea (1999)
9. Hulk in Hulk (2003)
8. All the werewolves in An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
7. Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2000)
6. Dinosaurs from Sound of Thunder (2005)
5. Monkeys in Jumanji (1995)
4. Garfield in Garfield (2004)
3. Yoda in Star Wars Episode II (2002)
2. Werewolves in Twilight: New Moon (2010)
1. Jabba the Hut in Star Wars Re-release (1997)
Check them out and see if you agree!
10. The Sharks in Deep Blue Sea (1999)
9. Hulk in Hulk (2003)
8. All the werewolves in An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
7. Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2000)
6. Dinosaurs from Sound of Thunder (2005)
5. Monkeys in Jumanji (1995)
4. Garfield in Garfield (2004)
3. Yoda in Star Wars Episode II (2002)
2. Werewolves in Twilight: New Moon (2010)
1. Jabba the Hut in Star Wars Re-release (1997)
Check them out and see if you agree!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Did Avatar Change the Rules?
"During the final months before "Avatar" was released, director James Cameron holed up in a hotel near the Fox lot. He already had led innovation with his stereo 3D and performance-capture techniques. This time, he was pushing the boundaries in presentation quality and postproduction-distribution processes, helping to shine a light on the unsung heroes of postproduction and an often overlooked but nonetheless critical challenge in theatrical exhibition.
When film projectors were standard, deliverables meant the creation of a large number of film release prints. But since the industry began its shift into the digital and stereoscopic 3D realm, a theatrical release now amounts to a large number of film prints as well as multiple versions of digital media with various technical specifications.
When the digital-cinema push began a decade ago, one consideration was that digital would result in the elimination of film prints and therefore cost savings on deliverables. But with the global movement in its current state, movies require traditional film release prints as well as all emerging 2D and 3D digital-cinema formats, meaning the task of creating deliverables is -- for the time being -- more daunting than before."
Read more about how Avatar Changed the Rules
When film projectors were standard, deliverables meant the creation of a large number of film release prints. But since the industry began its shift into the digital and stereoscopic 3D realm, a theatrical release now amounts to a large number of film prints as well as multiple versions of digital media with various technical specifications.
When the digital-cinema push began a decade ago, one consideration was that digital would result in the elimination of film prints and therefore cost savings on deliverables. But with the global movement in its current state, movies require traditional film release prints as well as all emerging 2D and 3D digital-cinema formats, meaning the task of creating deliverables is -- for the time being -- more daunting than before."
Read more about how Avatar Changed the Rules
Monday, April 5, 2010
Using an iPad to Read Scripts
It seems that the wave of the future might include actor/actresses rehearsing their lines via their iPad!
As of this writing — on iPad’s launch day — there are at least six dedicated .pdf readers in the App Store. My favorite at the moment is GoodReader – Tablet Edition, which is currently priced at 99 cents. There will no doubt be more contenders in the weeks and months to come, so keep in mind this endorsement has an expiration date. It’s the best solution I’ve found today.
Read the entire Review of Reading Scripts on iPad here
As of this writing — on iPad’s launch day — there are at least six dedicated .pdf readers in the App Store. My favorite at the moment is GoodReader – Tablet Edition, which is currently priced at 99 cents. There will no doubt be more contenders in the weeks and months to come, so keep in mind this endorsement has an expiration date. It’s the best solution I’ve found today.
Read the entire Review of Reading Scripts on iPad here
Friday, April 2, 2010
How to Grow Your Film's Comedic Characters
Building a unique comedic character that connects genuinely to an audience can be a challenge. It is easy to slip into comfortable stereotypes and jokes for cheap laughs. However, cheap laughs come at a price. It will lock down your creative ability to grow your character, becayse your audience will become too comfortable with the easy stereotype. Any attempts to grow your character into a more serious role would be distracting to your audience.
Jane Espenson writes, "I would recommend that you should be able to produce a non-funny answer to the question, "what is your script about?" Answers like, "My main character is afraid his kids don't respect him" or "My main character is scared that he's more feared than loved at work," or "My main character thinks her lover is growing bored with her." Very non-funny. But the way that character takes action to address the problem -- now you've got a whole vista of comic possibilities that the viewers are going to actually empathize with. And that's golden."
Jane Espenson writes, "I would recommend that you should be able to produce a non-funny answer to the question, "what is your script about?" Answers like, "My main character is afraid his kids don't respect him" or "My main character is scared that he's more feared than loved at work," or "My main character thinks her lover is growing bored with her." Very non-funny. But the way that character takes action to address the problem -- now you've got a whole vista of comic possibilities that the viewers are going to actually empathize with. And that's golden."
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