NYT Reviews the Sony HDRFX1 High Def Camera

In the NY Times today, David Pogue reviews Sony's new prosumer (i.e., sub-$4,000) 3-chip, high definition camera, the FX1. Net net, it gets pretty high marks. It's got a stunning, true 16:9 CCD, which can shoot HD30 or film's 24 frames per second. One feature I'm eager to see in person is the pre-programmable settings with which you can automate changes in exposure and focus to match the changes in a shot--moving from a bright exterior to a dimly lit...
[read the full post...]

The Sound of One Hand Clapping Over Your Mouth

It is about this time that we realized we were in a room of fundamentalist film students, for they were laughing appreciatively with the person in the position to one day give them work, and sneering at the representative of a free press. In short, they are fully prepared for Hollywood.- bwahahaha, Fox Searchlight gets all Rathered up, planting (aka "inviting") a NYT's gossip reporter [sic] in a Columbia U. screening and Q&A where my boy, David O. Russell, worked...
[read the full post...]

The Nudist Buddhist, or Humping Sharon Waxman's Leg

Whatever it takes to get the story, I guess. A serious shoutout to the Times' Sharon Waxman, who had my boy David O. Russell [boxers, not that anyone asked] rub up against her on the set of I Heart Huckabee's. That's the tip of the antics iceberg, though. Check out Waxman's report covering the last 18 months of the production. Interestingly, she's very cagey about the finished product itself. She was very circumspect on the reactions at a cast/family/friends screening....
[read the full post...]

Kevin Smith Production Diary for Jersey Girls

On his illustrious entertainment portal Movie Poop Shoot, Kevin Smith is publishing a weekly production diary of Jersey Girls, his latest, which he calls "hands-down, the best movie we've ever made." The dates are a little ambiguous. The Week One entry is dated July 12, and the Week Two entry isn't exactly dated, but the original schedule had the 11-week shoot wrapping on November 1, er, tomorrow. It's got Ben Affleck and Jen Lopez in it, who also star...
[read the full post...]

Well, early to rise, at least

Joseph Smith Sphinx, Gilgal Garden, Salt Lake City Unable to stay asleep, I read Paul Ford's excerpt of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, wherein I learn that Franklin's worth more than a Benjamin. At age 79, he recounts his clearheaded pursuit of Moral Perfection, determining that: on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man...
[read the full post...]

How Kevin Smith may be the Most Important Filmmaker on The Internet

Kevin Smith's irreverent but brilliant Dogma just ended on Comedy Central (albeit in highly edited form). I sat behind Smith and his posse when it premiered at the 1999 NY Film Festival, but I haven't seen it since. It really is great--a serious exploration of real issues of faith in an unexpected way (and by an under-the-radar believer). Smith is certainly an influence in terms of his career and his smart use of the net--via his View Askew site--to connect...
[read the full post...]

Adapted from Victor Khong's site,

Adapted from Victor Khong's site, DV Cinematography A reasonable checklist of equipment and accessories for shooting using a Sony VX-1000. It makes fairly clear the difference between hiring a PM and a crew (the old/OPM* model) and prepping a shoot yourself, essentially from scratch (the new/MM** model) wide angle adaptor 3 f-stop neutral density filter Ultra-violet (UV) filter Polarizer Diffusion filter - Cokin Warm Sun #694, Tiffen Pro Black Mist, Tiffen Pro White Mist, Tiffen Hollywood F/X filters Warming filters...
[read the full post...]