Pushback on Technopush

Hollywood --

In today's New York Times, Michael Cieply writes about some pushback of the industry's massive attention to 3D technologies and also something predictable: The complication (ed. emphasis) behind "the industry's jump into the third dimension." Sorry, but we all saw this coming, right? At the NABshow in Las Vegas in spring 2009, the firstlings of 3D were showing up. This is a trade show (note previous posts here) that is largely technology-oriented with many engineers in attendance (IEEE and all that), so it's an appropriate forum for all of the breakout schwag and non-linear thinking.

Then, this spring, 3D was even a larger presence at NAB, no doubt fueled by the excitement of the mega-success of James Cameron's latest blockbusting effort, "Avatar" released the prior summer. Owing to the fact that (at least recently), much of Hollywood's production community and decisions are motivated by the gaming industry, this could accurately be called a calculated success. (Good that Mr. Cameron's track record equals his brilliant mind).

"Gaming industry," you ask?? (well, you might if you're older than forty) while you are lamenting the lack of film fare that you might enjoy, and longing for the time when a communal experience at the movies was also a night out that didn't cost what it costs today. Yes, and because you are not tied-in to the idea of "Comic Con" in San Diego, where the younger demographics are catered-to in detail, you should simply understand that the disposable income in this world is largely commanded by our 16-to-28 year-olds. Hence, a fascination by Hollywood to the confluence of comic book heros and intimate audience participation. Did this start with Spiderman?? We can't know. We do know that Michael Bay is prepping / shooting / animating "Transformers 3." Enough said.

Effects, Action or Scale

While the studio execs and the exhibitors still salivate over their 3D options (10% of the screens in America are now digitally able, a requirement of the third dimension) we are left with a dizzying lack of attention to the rest of our demographics by Hollywood studios.

The similar and historical situation to the "conversion" of black-and-white classics to "colorized" versions may give us a clue to what may happen next. The auteurs are already complaining about the possibility of their work being converted to 3D without their permission or desire, and audiences are still discovering what they will pay the premium, 3D ticket prices for. As far as (DreamWorks' chief production executive) Stacey Snider's comment that "It’s naïve to think we wouldn’t be having [3D] on any movie that has effects, action or scale,” we ask, is it naive to think that a film we'd like to see has a story..??? Would "Breakfast at Tiffany's" be more sellable in 3D?? That point is made by Mr. Cameron who designed the specific "gee whiz" 3D shots into his "Avatar." We were all impressed, but we were supposed to be. To his credit, Mr. Cameron planned the effective use of the third dimension. It worked, and he went to the bank while the industry thought they'd gone to the races.

Planned, not Applied

What you'll see in the near future: Several rock concerts are scheduled to be produced in Imax 3D, where ticket prices can be expected to be greater than average. (Interestingly, this at a time when many artists are arguing with promoters to reduce their concert ticket prices). We've seen Sony demo material where the crewe procession of Brazil's Carnivale with its resplendent colour is attempted to wow us in 3D, but, note to wanna-be directors of 3D: it doesn't. The reason why it doesn't is because the best 3D scenes have LOTS of foreground v. background composition, and this needs to be planned not "applied." The gaming crossover properties can do this kind of planning, and likely admirably so for their audiences. But conversions for the sake of conversions and a chance at more box office revenue just won't do. We are not holding our collective breath for "A Cabin in the Woods," in 3D. Please give us compelling story. If there's some effects, action or scale involved, so much the better.

Coming: A possible solution to the studios' inattention

Next: Comments and review of "The Help"

Michael Orton is a newmedia specialist and writer working in the west

Okay, You Be the Judge

Berne et Gstaad --

Msr. Polanski was released from electronic custody and house arrest in Switzerland earlier today, much to the dismay of the Los Angeles District Attorney's office who had sought to have him extradicted and to stand and answer charges which made him an international fugitive for more than twenty years. That recent story is widely known, as is the masterpiece he created from different story by Robert Towne who described his "Chinatown" as the "tunnel at the end of the light."

For me, this interview is among the best from a director, if only because it includes the effect which had Jack Nicholson's J.J. Gittes wearing a bandage on his nose for most of the rest of the picture. But... there's more to it than that. And if you're a film geek, it's worth :10:35 minutes.

The Maytag Effect

If you've ever pushed full-ocean scuba gear through the surfline and toward a favorite reef, especially on a day where the breakers were coming in pretty strong, chances are you've heard the term "the Maytag Effect." This is the time when, while wearing a wetsuit, lead weights, a 40lb tank, regulators, a bottom time computer and probably carrying a speargun, you find yourself caught in the biggest part of the surf and pounded mercilessly by all of the hydraulics involved. It can tear your facemask off of your face if you're not prepared. (Hint: Once you see it coming, go UNDER it and tuck your human pinipeds under yourself in a fetal-like position until the main agitation is over. Then resume your kick out to the place you're headed).

River kayakers get this idea, too. Especially on the Payette in Idaho during a record runoff. Sometimes its all you can do to keep the pointy-end facing downriver. Crabbing in the middle of the roiling whitewater is exhilarating beyond your imagination. Is that the river or your stomach churning??

No difference.

Props to the camerawork and assembly by Anson Fogel and team for their upcoming feature, "Wildwater."

Base Jumping at Dean's

Dean's Blue Hole -- Bahamas

Freedivers are unique in what they understand about their own tuning and performance. Imagine being able to not only hold your breath for almost four minutes, but to do work and remain mentally focused during all of that time.

It's a long time.

Especially if you calmly walk to the edge of a 600 foot sink hole and throw yourself into it face first, all while being entirely underwater. Underwater camera people are also unique. They despise bubbles that would distract the viewer from what they intended them to see. Often they use "rebreather" units that scrub the CO2 out of the air that recirculates in a closed system. But some of them just hold their breath, too. For this man and his shooter girlfriend, a free fall is different than others might experience. Dreamlike, even.

Guillame NERY AT THE ABYSS

The idea is that you become so comfortable in the water that your heart only beats a few times per minute. This is also because you are completely lean and physically conditioned into kinship with the aquatic mammals who divert their bloodflow to major organs during a dive. Quite tricky to do, because with each additional 33 feet of depth in the seawater column, there's an additional atmosphere of pressure that makes that breath of air you caught at the surface half as much smaller in your lungs. (Conversely, on assent, it expands, but at that time you've exchanged some of the O2 into CO2 and its the latter that tells your brain you are "hungry" to breathe air. Gulliame's poise in this clip would indicate that he keeps all of his hunger in check)

If you claim that kinship with the other aquatic mammals and believe that you have returned to an environment where all life began, then base jumping in a sinkhole isn't all that intimidating.

Maybe it's just a parallel dimension with another place and time.
Or maybe its just a dream.

Augmented Reality at Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City --

Most of the time you might see the hashtag online or hear the conversational term "newmedia" at cocktail parties or around backpacking field reporters and cinematographers narrowcasting on specific blog interests. Internet citizen journalism is often referred to as a "new media" activity, among these others. So when Eric Gradman says the word "transmedia," around his augmented reality "Cloud Mirror," it tends to get one's attention. This is at least because David Granger and Esquire Magazine's "First Ever Augmented Reality issue" (Dec. 2009) allowed readers to download some resident software, find the unique symbols on several pages and then hold them up to their webcam to see their magazine come to life. (We especially liked the "Funny Joke from a Beautiful Woman" in that form)!! Augmented Esquire was in your hands and on your laptop screen simultaneously.

Monkeys and Robots is Eric's idea lab and prototyping company in Glendale, California where his projects leave concept to become some kind of reality. After seeing the website, we're thinking that someone'll be biggin' him up and that pretty soon he'll be doing some hush hush projects for the Rand National Defense Research Institute's ATP or NewsCorp. Afterall, Sundance called him and extended an invitation to exhibit at the New Frontiers on Main portion of the film festival.

In Eric's own words...

Eric Gradman and his augmented reality "Cloud Mirror" at SundanceTwentyTen

But it's his Virsix.com that has plans to knock the world of entertainment on its ear. What if you bought a ticket to an experience, one that would immerse you into a motion picture as your own gamepiece and with a game and story that you could then continue at home via the internet??

Discussing the "Virsix" collaboration in transmedia, "all supporting a single story."

Watch for additional applications using transmediated, augmented technologies and Eric's limitless brain. As you can see, neither are close to stopping yet, and it ain't your mama's arcademovietheaterinternet anymore.

For Monkeys and Robots, click here.

For information on Virsix.com's upcoming launch, click here.

The Prize Worthy Disturbance Continues

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City --

When these films were announced and screened, a couple of things came to mind. For those who have seen the 1984 Oscar-winning feature "The Killing Fields," about the life of Dith Pran, you'll understand what is meant by the expression "art that disturbs." This year's lauded Sundance entries "Restrepo" and "Enemies of the People" also have much in common with Picasso's monochromatic cubist canvas known simply as "Guernica."

Picasso's "Guernica," 1937

In 1937, as part of a protest of Franco's complicity with Hitler in the extermination of a Basque village in northern Spain, Picasso sent the painting to Spain's pavilion at the World Expo in Paris. An unapologetic denouncement of the atrocities that had occurred when Franco agreed to allow Hitler's airpower to test the effectiveness of "carpet bombing," Guernica now hangs in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Disturbing then and disturbing now. When one walks into the hall which displays "Guernica," its size immediately imposes its eventual impact. The canvas measures almost 26 feet wide and is 11 feet in height and was created at a time well before anamorphic aspect ratios were conceived for film.

Much has been and will be written about Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's Afghanistan war documentary named after a fallen U.S. medic, Juan "Doc" Restrepo, who was also memorialized when the Forward Operating Firebase where most of the action occurs was named for him as well. In the first moments of the film, we witness Doc bleed out while being evacuated from the front in a futile attempt to save his bullet-riddled life. Sufficient to say here that Junger and his producer Tim Hetherington were able to get footage that almost killed them several times and allows viewers to understand the war in a very personal way. This film is not for the squeamish. It is shocking and stark and beautifully horrific.

"Enemies of the People" chronicles the efforts of Thet Sambath to infiltrate and expose the lives of Pol Pot's cronies who systematically exterminated millions of Camodians in the 1970s. The film documents his 10-year effort to get close to, document and then expose the men and women responsible for a generation of youth in Cambodia who were orphaned by the Khmer Rouge. The film picks up where "The Killing Fields" left off.

Yes, this kind of art is disturbing, but still very necessary. Artists who make paintings of World War II Spain, songwriters and performers who include lyrics exposing social injustice in Nigeria, and filmmakers who bring atrocities into our minds to expose those responsible, are owed our time and our attention if not our gratitude for the sacrifices they've made to create such a prize worthy disturbance in an otherwise comfortable society.

"Restrepo" - Grand Jury Prize Winner, Documentary - Sundance 2010
"Enemies of the People" - World Cinema Special Jury Prize, Documentary - Sundance 2010

more information on Sundance 2010 awards here.

Sundance Snack, Same Day

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City --

One of the treats of SundanceTwentyTen was the presence of PBS and NPR. A feast for our souls on the airwaves. (The real airwaves, a public resource).

Video: PBS Promotion for "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"

Tabla Rosa Sundance

One of the wise things done at the film festival is the gracious participation of Brita, the water filtering people. In a bid for global responsibility, water consumption is encouraged due to the altitude's effects on those who come from sea level or below Park City's elevation of over 10,000 feet. To reduce headaches and some aspects of fatigue, water is provided and filtered by Brita which offer quart-sized bottles (see the amber one in the foreground, above) gratis to the festival goers.

Why did we ever allow Coca Cola to sell us the same thing and to truck it to us for the increased inefficiencies of fuel consumption and waste?? Bravo to the Brita people and to Sundance for their leadership and foresight!

Sundance Breakfast, Second Week

Berries and demerara before creme fraiche

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City

Two weeks is a long time for me not to prepare food. It is as much art to be consumed in that sense as film is. But I don't recall ever receiving any complaint or bad reviews from those visual thinkers to whom I present this offering. (see photo) The best craft service (not my job, man. I'm only sayin' what I like) has "healthy alternatives" and these days it appears that we're all attempting to be more responsible in that area.

When searching for ingredients, I attempt to have some of my own from a kitchen garden because these days I think of how inefficient it is to airlift produce and fruit to markets everywhere when we could have an omlette, steel cut oats or Blake's "Black Powder Biscuits" with marinated, sun-dried tomato and call it a great morning. (This bowl was not from my kitchen garden, but tasted great. Inefficiently produced I admit, but great and it had plenty of antioxidants and potassium).

We are the spoiled children, afterall.

Hot at Sundance 2010

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City --

A Word on Tickets and Wait Lists, etc.

If you are in the Park City area and approached by a person who is willing to sell you tickets to a coveted and hard-to-get screening, be sure to check the venue, since there are many in metropolitan Utah but not all in/around Park City. Some are downtown SLC, some are even north of Salt Lake in Ogden which might take more than an hour to get to by private auto depending on conditions. As most know, several screens are peppered around Park City itself, and with parking and shuttle service kind of like Manhattan-in-Utah during the festival, it's not always easy to find and get to the screening of choice if you’re a newcomer. There's more cab service this year and even with a direct route, like your mother told you, it's best to be aware and plan ahead and wear your galoshes. This year you even had to beware of vampire fans which your mother said nothing about.

About “heat” and its conspiring cousin, “buzz:”

The former implies serious box office or audience potential waiting to ignite, and the latter is word-of-mouth promotion. Buzz leads to heat and thus eventual combu$tion. A very large contingent of attenders this year was assembled in the ether via YouTube, Twitter, and online fanzines. (See what we mean by fractured distribution channels?) I know, I know, I didn't have to explain that to you but maybe your mother is reading this.

SundanceTwentyTen People:

Yesterday there was a large reception hosted by the Utah Office of Tourism (Utah has one of the best online resource divisions in U.S. govt) headed by the venerable Leigh Von Der Esch, the premiere plankholder in Utah's film industry. Prior to taking the reins of the tourism department for "Utah: Life Elevated" and the "Best Snow on Earth," as well as for several Utah's national and state parks, etc., Leigh ran the Utah Film Commission for several of the state's governors and the commission is still under Leigh's uber-competent purview. If you have a Utah shoot to plan or locations to scout, Leigh is your go-to person with a modest staff that is eager and capable. (Note: Do NOT expect her to fix your crew's moving violations or parking tickets, since you will need to be courteous and responsible while in Utah as anywhere else). If you've been working with Leigh for as long as we have, you understand all of the above.

John Cooper, the new Sundance executive director. From Los Angeles and with significant prior experience, he's brought the festival back to its focus on independent film. Sundance is not about making the famous more famous, it’s about the recognition of talking/moving picture art, innovation and collaboration. This year there are “little Sundance” venues in several other cities in the U.S. concurrent with the Park City festival. Enough said.

Genaro Molina of the L.A. Times. A great shooter with a great eye at SundanceTwentyTen. A moveable and visual feast.

I mentioned in a previous post here that by far, the greatest online buzz surrounded ingénue Kristen Stewart who appears in two features presented at Sundance 2010, “The Runaways” and “Welcome to the Rileys.” If you have a Twitter account and search the hashtags "Sundance" or "Stewdance", you’ll find her fans there and since these Twilight vampires are all over the world, they don’t disappear with the break of day. Hey, vampires need love too and they're using the Twitterstream to give it to you right in the neck.

~grin~

As has been widely reported, Bill Gates attended Sundance 2010, danced (!) during at least one of the afterparties and helped to promote the ideals behind the documentary on public schools in America called “Waiting for Superman.” ("in America's public schools, all children are left behind.") The man whom Tom Brokaw has called "this generation's Thomas Edison" came to Utah to play and create some heat of his own.

SundanceTwentyTen Places:

We were all crowded out of the Bing Bar due to Bill Gates and his entourage. The Bing Bar (a private venue for a-list festival goers) was also new to Sundance and Park City's Main Street. It will likely be gone after the festival just like Bill.

The slopes. It's worth mentioning again that if you like to ski or board, the slopes around Park City are almost empty during the film festival. Stay in downtown SLC, take a shuttle to any of the Park City resorts and enjoy the Best Snow on Earth without fearing long lines or vampires who are undoubtedly trying for another Kristen Stewart sighting. Snowmobile tours are organized in the nearby town of Daniels (among other places) on the way to the airport in Heber where all of the G3s are parked. Bring your own heat or faux fur.

New Frontier on Main. Across Main Street from The Egyptian Theatre and down one level are Sundance 2010's "New Frontier" exhibits. One is an motion image installation called the "global warming survival kit") which requires night vision glasses to see. It is not easily found, so ask around. Then there's "The Cloud Mirror" which features a concept called "augmented reality" and was used with advertisers in a recent edition of Esquire magazine. It's a mind-blowing concept presented by a tireless man with a flamin' mohawk named Eric Gradman. (full disclosure: Gradman is a fellow USC grad). Do not miss either of these. If Steichen or Steiglitz were around Park City this week, you'd find them here without a doubt and probably wearing mohawks.

Sundance Documentaries on Fire

Restrepo: Sebastian Junger embedded in Afghanistan. If you come to it at the film festival, no problem, but how will war get to you in your living room with surround sound? We don’t know but it will and in his own, very potent way, Junger is this century's Edward R. Murrow and Ernie Pyle. Check upcoming channel and DVD release announcements. (Not on fire, but with the same distribution concern is The Pat Tillman Story. Sometweep suggested that Disney option Tillman for air on ESPN since the story largely began with an NFL career and then a life cut short). If we were still in the era of double features at the "movies," we’d suggest adding The Hurt Locker, which is neither at Sundance nor a documentary but will be nominated in Oscar’s Best Picture category in a few weeks, just watch and see. (ffwd to 31:32 for Kathryn Bigelow's Charlie Rose interview here).

A Small Act: The way meaningful connections can be made in a connected world. Again, finding a wide audience in the fragmented and digital age may be daunting but should still happen. I think these two people were united here at SundanceTwentyTen. This is the ultimate connection in the information age in a story that should be cloned by everyone. Pay It Forward came to life.

Smash His Camera: Because Roger Ebert tweeted this past Sunday that Ron Galella (one of the original papparazzi) is "a vermin, parasite, stalker and a national treasure." Here, art imitates life imitating art and stalking celebrities. This week, Galella is stalked at Sundance by a new generation of shooters. This is like video feedback in the conceptual sense. Point a video camera at its own monitor and you'll get the idea. #mindblownconcept

The b/w still photo of Galella wearing a football helmet while stalking Brando (who had previously knocked Galella's teeth out) is a classic.

Sundance Dramas on Fire

Get Low:

(…to be cont. off to a screening)

All copyright 2010 Michael Orton, all rights reserved

Distribution Channels in a NewMedia World

Sundance Film Festival, Park City--

This year marks the amazing developments in distribution for the film industry. The biz is rightfully on its ear with the new landscape, and is groveling to adapt to the vagueries of what to do with this emerging #NewMedia. That's why many feel that conferences like Sundance are so important. Content providers, the young, aggressively self-branded who are creating product are now able to distribute through channels that weren't even available as recently as the past twelve months. You could actually attend this festival from anywhere in the connected world. See one you'd like to watch?? Chances are great that you can find it on YouTube for a small fee. (see previous comment)

Off to the outdoors with cam to be your ManAtSundance... (getting a new profile pic today) ~grin~

(more to come)

Sundance Sunshine Sunday

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City --

The weather broke for the better, and the women's feet were a little bit warmer. But someone should tell them that this is the MOUNTAINS of America's west, not Manhattan or Los Angeles with their stylin' non-utilitarian footwear. Hadta work the morning, so now I'm relaxing and planning my screening sched for the rest of the week.

Best kept secret from the locals?? (Shhhh, but there's no one on the mountain or in the halfpipe. Absolutely the best time to snowboard at the Park City resorts, 'cause everyone in town is searching for a tribe or a fire to tell stories around)

When I teased a young Tilda Swinton handler that Conan O'Brian wanted to cast her in his autobio-pic, (true joke!) the young Yalie said, "It was on the interview Q sheet, but it didn't quite fit the tone." With judgement like that, the guy has a real career ahead of him.

I'll offer some of my own reviews and photos tomorrow, (HotAtSundance, for what that's worth) but you could virtually attend the fest by hashtag and YouTube, where many of the films can be downloaded for a fee. The film production and distribution business is in monumental revision with the proliferation of NewMedia. In 2010, everyone has a personal brand.

next: PrimalScreen, New Frontiers, yada, yada, yada...

Let the Festival Begin

The Sundance Film Festival, Park City -

Back to the business of independent filmmaking and distribution. Okay, but the fringes are still mostly Hollywood even if that is more of a concept than a place. Look for more here after I get on station Monday.

First impressions: The amount of Stewdance* people here is astounding. They're as thick as flies. (*These are the fans of Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame, as she is appearing in Sunday night's "The Runaways," the dramatic interpretation of Joan Jett's career which also stars Dakota Fanning. I believe that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be appearing at Harry O's that night as well). Get your rock on at Sundance.

Sightings of the majormost abound!! Marisa Tomai arrives with Orlando Bloom?? (Was that by design?) as someone just said, "Sundance, blah, blah, blah... Redford this, snow that."

~grin~