Rooftop Films is a Brooklyn, New York-based non-profit festival series that hosts dozens of screenings and film programs throughout the summer months in parks, schoolyards, and of course, on building rooftops. They have grown to become a pretty serious organization, and their lineups are always filled with top notch independently-produced shorts and features from established and up-and-coming filmmakers, students, and others. (I did some volunteering for them two summers ago, and was definitely impressed with their approach.) Anyway, they have launched a blog that brings attention to films that they have previously screened, and other notable shorts worth watching. Worth a scope.Rooftop Films blog
Rooftop Films is a Brooklyn, New York-based non-profit festival series that hosts dozens of screenings and film programs throughout the summer months in parks, schoolyards, and of course, on building rooftops. They have grown to become a pretty serious organization, and their lineups are always filled with top notch independently-produced shorts and features from established and up-and-coming filmmakers, students, and others. (I did some volunteering for them two summers ago, and was definitely impressed with their approach.) Anyway, they have launched a blog that brings attention to films that they have previously screened, and other notable shorts worth watching. Worth a scope.Arin Crumley and Susan Buice's Sundance Festival Blog
Arin Crumley and Susan Buice of Four-Eyed Monsters have been given the hefty task of producing a video blog from the Sundance Film Festival, with daily entries appearing on the Sundance Channel's YouTube profile. There are five videos thus far, and the latest features a brief segment in which Arin ends up at a RED party and meets up with Mike Curtis. Unsurprisingly, Arin walks away extremely impressed with what he learns about RED, saying "whether or not I ever get a chance to shoot with this camera, just the idea of doing so got me pretty pumped about doing another feature film". It's an entertaining little video, and a full interview with Mike regarding RED will be posted here in the near future. Nifty. Keep those eyes peeled.Sundance shorts now online
Select Sundance short films have started to make their way online for viewing, and today several of those have trickled into the iTunes Store for purchase. The free shorts can be streamed directly from the official Sundance website, and the seventeen download-to-own (warning: iTunes link) versions are available for just $1.99 each. There are just over 45 total shorts available, so that should keep any prospective viewers busy for a while... And don't forget about the official Sundance podcast, which is freely available for subscription in the iTunes Store.Avid 30-Second Spot winners announced
The grand prize winners in the Avid 30-Second Spot contest have been announced and they are probably having fun hanging out at the Sundance Film Festival right now. The winner in the Professional's Choice category was "In the Halls of Avid, One is Many" by Aaron Osborne. This spot was shot in HD with the HVX200 and put together using Avid Xpress Pro and Adobe After Effects. The winner in the People's Choice category was "CaveMan" by Bob Chambers. It was shot with the Sony WS790 and created with Avid Media Composer Adrenaline and Digidesign Pro Tools. All the entries are posted so go check 'em out.Stockstock Film Festival
Stockstock Film Festival takes a different approach to the typical film fest by providing the video footage for you. Potential entrants must re-edit a pre-selected hodgepodge of stock film footage from the Prelinger Archives, keeping their short mashups under two minutes without any alternate materials allowed. Submissions must be uploaded to a video sharing website, and entries will be featured on the Stockstock website and later judged by a panel of producers. Best of all, entry to the fest is free, but donations are encouraged. Sounds like this might be a fun little exercise. Anyone interested might want to hurry up, though, because the deadline is February 11th.Park City Fest Mob: experiencing Sundance and Slamdance
Wish you were in Park City for Sundance or Slamdance? Attending either film festival and want to share your experiences with others in real time? The Workbook Project has launched a new social mobile experiment called Fest Mob, wherein participants can share their festival experiences via mobile text messages, photos, and video. All real-time documentation can be viewed at the Fest Mob website, and non-attendees can interact with comments and questions for the lucky folks over in Park City. Workbook Project founder and filmmaker Lance Weiler says: "Since I won't be able to make the annual pilgrimage to Park City this year, I started thinking about how I might be able to experience it first hand. The fest mob is a way for people who can not make it to the festival, to interact with those who can, in a sense creating a social network around the experience." Definitely an intriguing concept, and worth checking up on throughout the next couple of weeks. Content is already creeping in.
Sundance short films to premiere on iTunes
The Sundance Institute and Sundance Channel announced that they will offer a selection of narrative, documentary and animation short films from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival for download in the iTunes Store starting January 22nd at a price of $1.99. During previous fests, Sundance has streamed shorts for free on their website (which is planned again, starting January 18th), but this is the first time that people will be able to buy digital versions of select screened films. The movies will be chosen from the 71 shorts scheduled to play during the festival. In addition to the shorts, free podcasts from behind the scenes of Sundance will be hosted on the iTunes Store. The Sundance Film Festival will be running from January 18th-28th.iPod Film Festival 2007
The Flux has just announced their second iPod Film Festival, quite possibly the only fest dedicated to bringing quality short films to the screens of iPod owners around the globe. Festival entries are free thanks to a recent partnership between The Flux and Small Dog Electronics, and categories include Indie, Student, and Kitchen Sink. If you've got a short under ten minutes that is suitable for small screen viewing, this fest might be for you. Check the official site for more details and an entry form.HDFest 2007 is ready for entries
HDFest is now accepting entries for their HDFest 2007 festivals. All submissions must be in HD or HDV and received by April 15, 2007. So forget about getting your taxes done on time, get that submission in! Entry fee is $50 for features and $45 for shorts (under 40 minutes). Don't try to slide anything other than high-def by them, they won't accept it. It's all high-def all the time for HDFest.
HD House back at Sundance
If you are heading to the Sundance festival in January, you might want to check out the HD House. This 4 day filmmaking conference offers a little bit of everything including equipment demos, screenings, panel discussions and footage show-and-tell. The sessions this year include:- Digital Cameras Exposed presented by Emmy Award-winning Engineer and Videography Technical Editor Mark Schubin
- HD Camera Compendium presented by Cinematographer, Director and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Billups
- Digital Imaging Demos with camera and lens first-looks
- The Workable Digital Workflow
- Digital Intermediate Possibilities for Independent Filmmakers
- Data and Digital Cinematography
- Painting by Numbers: 4:4:4, 2K, 35, 16
- Facts on the HDV Format
A Film Festival Without the Film
Growing up with Sundance (Park City, UT) in my back yard, I thought I'd seen it all when it came to film festivals. Boy, was I wrong. In a move that hearkens back to the earliest days of motion pictures, several art galleries around the country are hosting the International Flipbook Festival. Dubbed a 'Celebration of Hand-Powered Cinema' festival entrants are graded on the quality of their image, the story they tell, and the craftsmanship of their books. When was the last time someone told you your film canister wasn't sturdy enough?Click READ for a link to one of the festival's recent stops
Sundance comes to Second Life
The Sundance Film Festival is coming a bit closer to home next year, when it lands in the virtual world of Second Life. Ok, that might not be quite what you were hoping for, but Sundance is hoping to mimic the film fest experience by creating a virtual festival where folks can view films, and get into the vibe with other online attendees. I'm not too keen on trying out Second Life myself, but how well will the experience translate? Anyway, the opening film will be none other than Four Eyed Monsters, the recent Sundance Channel award winner.Tribeca Film Festival plus ESPN equals sports films!
Sports filmmakers rejoice! ESPN and Tribeca are hooking up to launch the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival to showcase independent sports films.
The festival will debut at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival which occurs April 25 thru May 5. The festival will feature:
The festival will debut at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival which occurs April 25 thru May 5. The festival will feature:
- Premiere screenings of sports-related narrative and documentary films
- Sports Saturday, a major community event featuring a full day of sports-oriented screenings and Q&As as well as panel discussions with filmmakers, appearances by actors and sports stars, and interactive activities
- A dedicated online destination where sports and film fans can submit videos featuring their own "Hometown Sports Hero"
Avalon Film Festival: virtual film fest
You won't need to leave the computer to attend the Avalon Film Festival, a virtual film fest that takes place within the Second Life 'game'. You'll obviously need to be a Second Life member to check it out, but registration for the 'game' (is it really a game? I hesitate to call it that) is free. Film fest attendance is also free of charge with any contributions made to Cancer Research UK. That bit is pretty neat. Apparently, this is the second annual festival. Anyway, I'm too weirded out to try any of this for myself, but the idea of a virtual film fest is sorta neat, I think. And weird, yes. Thanks to our reader, Klim!
SXSW submissions due December 8th
Final deadlines for film festival submissions in all categories (narrative feature, documentary feature, narrative short, documentary short, animated short, experimental short, and music video) for the 2007 SXSW fest in Austin, Texas are coming up on December 8th. If you've been hesitating to submit, there is precious little time to continue pondering. SXSW has grown to become a major player in the realm of film festivals, so give it a go if you think you've got the goods. Submission prices are $35 for shorts, and $45 for features. (Which is actually not a horrible deal considering the excellent reputatation of SXSW.) The film segment of the festival will run from March 9th to the 17th of 2007.
