Category Archives: DIY

Power to the Pixel Panels at Edinburgh Film Festival

Written by Scott on 15 July 2009 — Leave a Comment

Power to the Pixel has posted a great bunch of videos from a series of presentations it put together at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Lots of great ideas on metadata, exhibition, new media business models, distribution and funding that apply not only to film and video but music and publishing as well.
In Developing New Business [...]

Also posted in Conferences, Distribution, Festivals, Film+Video, Ideas

The Workbook Project Launches RADAR

Written by Scott on 27 March 2009 — Leave a Comment

Lance Weiler’s Workbook Project has partnered with Babelgum to produce a web-series called RADAR, and it looks pretty sweet.
RADAR is a weekly, 3-minute series produced by WBP LABS – a division of the Workbook Project. The series is a timely, insiders view into the cutting edge of storytelling and creativity, and the attendant tools, tech, [...]

Also posted in Film+Video

DIY Days: Los Angeles, July 26

Written by Scott on 8 July 2008 — Leave a Comment

I’m mad I didn’t see this sooner. Brought to you by the peeps at From Here to Awesome, with support from Current TV.
DIY Days
Saturday, July 26th
1745 North Spring #4
Los Angeles, CA 90012
How do we sustain ourselves as filmmakers and storytellers in this day of shifting film distribution systems? How do we monetize our film and [...]

Also posted in Conferences, Distribution, Film+Video

YouTube Adds Indie Film Screening

Written by Scott on 20 June 2008 — Leave a Comment

YouTube has opened up a channel/section/whatever for long-form indie films, The YouTube Screen Room.
Check out Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody? written by Miranda July and directed by Miguel Arteta, from the Wholphin DVD series.
The YouTube Screening Room is a platform for top films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve.
Every [...]

Also posted in Distribution, Film+Video, documentary

Opencut, An Open Source Film Competition

Written by Scott on 14 May 2008 — Leave a Comment

Via Prolost.
Opencut is an open source film competition where (for a $25 entry fee) you get digital footage shot on a RED camera and a shooting script. A description of the first project, “Susannah” is available at the website.

Also posted in Creativity, Film+Video, Ideas

Bent Festival 2008 NYC

Written by Scott on 26 April 2008 — Leave a Comment

Forgot about this. The Bent Festival NYC is happening this weekend in NYC. Make has some highlights:
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Also posted in Art, Festivals, Mashups

Download: DIY or DIE

Written by Scott on 23 March 2008 — Leave a Comment

D.I.Y. OR DIE
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interviews and performances from: Lydia Lunch, Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), J Mascis (Dinosaur jr.), Jim Rose (Jim Rose Sideshow), J.G.Thirlwell (Foetus), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Richard Kern (Filmmaker), Ron Asheton (Stooges),
Torrent of iPod/iPhone [...]

Also posted in .torrent, Art, Film+Video

Dumped for Saturday.

Written by Scott on 1 March 2008 — Leave a Comment

I’ve switched from Greencine to Netflix, due to Greencine’s complete lack of customer service. Here’s the RSS for my Netflix queue.
Mac Goodies
Newsfire is now free. Best MacOS newsreader after NetNewsWire. Secrets is a preference pane to access hidden/secret prefs in the OS and numerous apps.
DIY
From Here to Awesome I’ll let them explain it:
(Either JavaScript is [...]

Also posted in Apple, AppleTV, Film+Video

Little Room For DIY Blu-ray Titles

Written by Scott on 23 February 2008 — Leave a Comment

Besides the limited (or outrageously expensive) production tools available to non-studios for producing Blu-ray discs, the Finishing Line breaks down the costs for developing your first project:
_$2,500 : License Fee to author and distribute Blu-ray
_$3,000 : One-time fee to AACS. (I think this is billed per production company / individual)
_$1,585 : Per complete Blu-ray project
_$.04 [...]

Also posted in Blu Ray, DRM, Film+Video

Jaman on AppleTV

Written by Scott on 29 September 2007 — Leave a Comment

Jaman, the online community for World-Cinema downloads, distribution and discovery, has released instructions on viewing/syncing Jaman downloads (supposedly including rentals) with AppleTV. This was rumored/announced back in June.
The hack/mod is explained in-depth at AppleTV hacks.
I’m looking forward to getting an AppleTV to hack/play with. Thinking about the possiblity of integrating it into a forthcoming project.

Also posted in AppleTV, Distribution

001- Women in Trouble
One crazy day in the lives of 10 wildly different women -- including a porn star, psychiatrist, flight attendant, housewife, masseuse and others -- forms the basis of this indie comedy from writer-director Sebastian Gutierrez. Starring Carla Gugino as adult film actress Elektra Luxx, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Adrianne Palicki, Connie B […]
002- Thirst
When the smoke clears from a failed experiment to find a cure for a fatal disease, a devout priest finds himself forever changed. Specifically, he's a vampire -- but that isn't the only thing that's different. Now he's also willing to commit adultery with the wife of his childhood friend, a sin he never would have considered before. Kang- […]
003- Switchblade Sisters
Director Jack Hill's kinetic, 1975 cult classic tells a lurid tale about girls, guns and gang wars. The addition of a cool blonde newcomer (Joanne Nail) to the Dagger Debs -- a female gang led by Lace (Robbie Lee) -- sets off an internal power struggle. With a conspirator in their midst, two bluecoats just waiting to bust them and a rival, male-gang lea […]
004- Bronson
Nicolas Winding Refn's vivid and unflinching biopic delves into the life of Britain's most notorious prisoner, Charlie Bronson (Tom Hardy) -- who's been jailed for nearly 35 years -- and attempts to dissect the real man behind the deranged persona. While Bronson's primary ambition was to be famous, he became a celebrity of sorts as a crim […]
005- 24 City
From director Zhang Ke Jia comes this drama about changing times in Chengdu, China, where state-owned factory 420 is closed by the government to make way for a high-end apartment complex called 24 City. The film tells the story through the lens of several distinctive characters, from factory workers to executives to the newly monied, who are all affected in […]
006- American Experience: The Lobotomist
First hailed as a promising cure for mental illness, the lobotomy soon became known as an utterly barbaric procedure that ruined lives. This documentary explores the history of the surgery and its early proponent, Dr. Walter Freeman. Uncover the rise and fall of this "medical miracle" through interviews with historians, health experts and relatives […]
007- Friday Night
Paris, 1995. Laure (Valérie Lemercier) is about to meet friends for dinner to celebrate her moving in with her boyfriend. But on her way out, she discovers that the entire city is stalled by a massive transit strike. When a handsome stranger (Vincent Lindon) offers her a ride, Laure takes a highly charged, impossibly erotic detour. […]
008- La Ronde
Set in Paris on the eve of World War I, Roger Vadim's remake of the 1950 film follows a lusty soldier (Claude Giraud) as he engages in a number of affairs. He sleeps with a prostitute (Marie Dubois), seduces a chambermaid (Anna Karina) and beds a married woman (Jane Fonda) before coming full circle, returning to tryst with the streetwalker once more. Va […]
009- The Silence
Three passengers travel through a foreign country on the brink of war. Taking ill, Esther checks into a hotel room, with her sister Anna and Anna's son, Johan, occupying the adjoining suite. Still unable to travel the next day, Esther gives Johan a list of helpful translations for their journey and stays behind. Part of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of […]
010- Through a Glass Darkly
Recently released from a mental institution, Karin is on holiday with her family. But their inability to give her love and support causes a mental breakdown that leads to a hallucinogenic episode during which Karin envisions God as a spider. Director Ingmar Bergman's experimental "chamber play", which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, is par […]
011- Schlock!: The Secret History of American Movies
Ray Greene directed this engrossing documentary that features clips of independent movies made in the pioneering era of the 1950s and '60s, along with interviews with the cinematic mavericks who made them (such as Sam Arkoff, Doris Wishman, Vampira, Roger Corman and Peter Bogdanovich). Includes rarely viewed clips by Wishman, David F. Friedman and Harry […]
012- Cockfighter
After an offhand boast costs him his best fighting cock -- and his chances at the Cockfighter of the Year award along with it -- Frank (Warren Oates) swears not to speak again until he has redeemed himself by winning that medal. But his fortunes continue to decline, and soon, he's lost much more, including his girlfriend. Monte Hellman directs this bloo […]
013- Dark City: Director's Cut
Alex Proyas directs this shadowy sci-fi masterpiece about a man (Rufus Sewell) who awakens to find himself accused of murder in a strange city. Now, he must untangle his jumbled memories while eluding both the police and a woman claiming to be his wife (Jennifer Connelly). This special edition director's cut boasts 11 minutes of new footage, plus commen […]
014- Alexandra
Nominated for a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, this meditation on the effects of war from director Aleksandr Sokurov follows an elderly woman named Alexandra (Galina Vishnevskaya) as she travels to Chechnya to visit a grandson posted there. As seen through Alexandra's eyes, the barracks and its inhabitants reveal the staggering costs -- bo […]
015- Near Dark
In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is handily seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a pack of vicious drifters, which turns out to be no ordinary band of outlaws. Soon, Caleb is trapped in a nightmarish world of soulless evil and hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror. […]
016- The Quiet Earth
After surviving the apocalypse, scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) faces a dangerous and uncertain new world in this thriller. The government researcher wakes up to find all human life on the planet completely destroyed. That is, until he encounters a lovely young woman (Alison Routledge) and a trucker (Pete Smith). Tension mounts as the survivors adapt t […]
017- Ace in the Hole
Fired from a number of big-city papers, reporter Charles Tatum (Kirk Douglas) tries to reestablish himself in New Mexico. When a local store owner is trapped in a cave-in, Tatum turns the victim's misfortune into a media frenzy to further his own career. A local sheriff agrees to help prolong the rescue efforts, thereby helping build up the story. This […]
018- Wide Awake
This disturbing Korean thriller centers on a little boy who -- due to a lack of sufficient anesthetic -- remains in a conscious but immobile state during open-heart surgery. Not surprisingly, he's severely traumatized by the torturous experience. Many years later, the now-grown man embarks on a homicidal tear in an attempt to exact revenge on the powers […]
019- Burnt Offerings
A vacationing family rents a sprawling mansion for the summer and soon discovers that all is not as it should be. Among other equally strange things, dead plants come back to life, and the swimming pool kills bathers -- which makes a quick dip out of the question. Stars Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith. […]
020- La Collectionneuse
The third of director Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" finds foxy and licentious Haydee (Haydee Politoff) bedding a different male each night on the French Riviera. When Haydee's moral well-being becomes the concern of self-absorbed Adrien (Patrick Bauchau) and his friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) -- neither of whom will sleep with Hayde […]