Alpha Channel Due TODAY!!!

Edit Workshop Screenings

Blurring the Lines Between Post and Production Masterminds Behind "The Johnny Cash Project," Sting's "Appumentary," Arcade Fire's "The Wilderness Downtown"  and "Hotel 626" Discuss the Art of Digital Media Please join @radical.media's  Evan Schechtman  ("The Johnny Cash Project," Sting's "Appumentary") B-Reel's  Patrick Ehrlund  ("Hotel 626," "Asylum 626," "The Wilderness Downtown") &  Oscar Tillman  ("Hotel 626," "Asylum 626") as they screen their work and discuss groundbreaking interactive media projects with moderator Gordon Burkell, founder of Art of the Guillotine More information and available discounts below. The Johnny Cash Project Please join us for a full-day celebration of the evolving and complex art of film editing! Discuss landmark New York classics Explore ground-breaking interactive media Experience the magic of feature sound design See the vital role of the VFX artist Deconstruct key scenes from fiction and documentary favorites PLUS: NETWORKING PARTY WITH OPEN BAR, HORS  D'OEUVRES & GIVEAWAYS FROM OUR AMAZING SPONSORS! Saturday June 8, 2013 10am-9pm | Florence Gould Hall  French Institute, 55 East 59th Street NY, NY $89 Admission | $69 Admission for Members of the  Following Partner Organizations: NYWIFT | MPEG | ACE | IFP | AICE | MPSE | DGA  MoPictive | PostChat | Post Magazine | MEWshop Alumni SFCutters I AOTG  USE CODE ITCR002 GROUP DISCOUNTS - $59 Admission for organizations  registering FIVE or more attendees (a savings of  at least $150!); contact us to save on group registration. $49 Admission for currently enrolled  college or high school students:  USE CODE ITCR001  (must email copy of a valid student ID to jason@mewshop.com) REGISTER NOW    Inside The Cutting Room: Sight, Sound and Story's prestigious guest lineup features Oscar winners and industry visionaries including: Yuval Levy, VFX artist from Gravity World - "The DaVinci Code," "The Adjustment Bureau" Eugene Gearty, MPSE - "The Departed," "Inside Man," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" Jerry Greenberg, A.C.E. - "The French Connection," "Apocalypse Now," "Kramer vs. Kramer" Chris Healer, VFX artist from The Molecule - "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Elementary" Alan Heim, A.C.E. - "Network," "All That Jazz," "Lenny" Susan Morse, A.C.E. - "Manhattan," "Arthur," "The Warriors," "Hannah and Her Sisters" Patrick Ehrlund, B-Reel - "Hotel 626," Arcade Fire, "The Wilderness Downtown" Oscar Tillman, B-Reel - "Hotel 626," "Asylum 626" Bill Pankow, A.C.E. - "The Untouchables," "Carlito's Way," "Drumline" Michael Berenbaum, A.C.E. - "Before Night Falls," "Sex and the City," "The Americans" Evan Schechtman, @radical.media - "The Johnny Cash Project," Sting "Appumentary" Phil Stockton, MPSE - "Hugo," "Shutter Island," "Brokeback Mountain," "Life of Pi" David Zieff, Editor - "McConkey," "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," "TV Nation," "Chico Mendez," "Voice of the Amazon" Sam Miille, Sound Effects Assistant - "Shutter Island," "Hugo," "Life of Pi" To Register Please Click Here.

Common Theory Trailer

The much anticipated trailer for Dave Future's Common Theory has been released. It is a story of an urban precocious teen with a unique gift for physics and the desire to free himself from his benighted neighborhood starring Niguel Williams, Akim Black, and Letha Rose.

Crowdfunding Exploitation

It looks like Ron Howard & Brian Grazer are jumping on the Crowd Funding bandwagon. These two wealthy, well-known television producers are hoping to continue the Friday Night Lights storyline in a film, but with the help of the fans, of course. They will be asking fans to fund (produce) this film and in exchange they will allow fans to pay and watch this film? Genius.

This fan exploitation is dangerous and began with Zach Braff, not Veronica Mars, which was funded by fans because, without the fans, it would not be made. Braff's film, Wish I Was Here, which gained $2 million through Kickstarter, could have easily been funded by a studio or by Braff and his wealthy friends. But, instead, he chose to ask his less affluent, but loyal, fan base for money, because it's easier that way.

Watch both of these videos and form your own opinion:

Zach Braff is ruining Kickstarter for the rest of us - watch more funny videos

Cinematography Workshop!!!

Don't Miss This Saturday's NYC Advanced Cinematography Workshop with Peter Stein, ASC, May 18, 1pm-5pmLearn techniques for achieving flashlight effects for scenes. Participants will light a dramatic night scene at the workshop. Pre-registration required. Sign up today. 1123 Broadway, Suite 307, Manhattan, New York Corner of 25th and Broadway
An afternoon of education and networking with Peter Stein, ASC. Register online now. Announcing New Door Prize: All Attendees Will Be Entered in Drawing One winner will receive a Steadicam Smoothee with mounts for iPhone 4/4S & Go Pro Hero. Leveraging the same technology as the $60,000 Hollywood rig systems, Smoothee lets users shoot crisp, smooth, and never shaky footage straight from their iPhone or GoPro camera. Topics Include: Discussion and Analysis: Flashlight effects are very popular, and can be a very powerful visual device. The workshop will start with the screening of a number of scenes that use flashlight effects. We will discuss the various techniques to achieve this to best advantage. Exercise: Next the workshop attendees will build on all their skills to light a dramatic night scene. An actor will move around the set, using mainly a flashlight as the source for the lighting. Workshop participants will be the crew. Sign up to attend.  Produced by StudentFilmmakers and HDProGuide.  StudentFilmmakers.com 1123 Broadway, Suite #307, New York, NY 10010, 212.255.5454 Kim Edward Welch, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Jody Michelle Solis, Senior Editor

Adobe Creative Suite : Announcement! *Update

As some of you may heard, Adobe is no longer supporting the CS programs as stand alone software. They are moving their creative suite to a cloud based operating system. This is an important announcement for your since we are moving away from FCP 7 to Adobe Premiere Pro as our primary editing software.

Here is what this means for you:
Good News - You will have total access to all Adobe products (including web, design, and video editing) for a low, monthly subscription.
Bad News - It will be close to impossible to pirate or use illegally. * I know this last one is technically not bad news, however I am not an idiot either.

Here is a link forwarded by Alumni Adam Spieler - http://lifehacker.com/what-photoshops-move-to-the-cloud-actually-means-for-y-494225482 - "The Creative Cloud name initially confused a number of people as a cloud service often implies doing work through the web. Adobe Creative Cloud is not a set of webapps. Creative Cloud provides the same suite of applications Adobe always offered for the desktop, but along with a number of bonus cloud services like only file storage for easy sharing and . The desktop applications do not live in the cloud. You install them like you've always installed them. That said, they need to connect to the internet once a month to verify your membership."

Adobe has a great offer - student memberships for $19.99 a month until June 25th. 

Explore the links below to get information from Adobe and a link to the discounted membership.
Press Release from Adobe - http://www.adobe.com/cc/letter.html
Link for the Student Plan - http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud/students.edu.html?

Get Inspired - New Online Resources

Your Online Library has been Updated!

Take a break from mainstream storytelling and check out some archival images and footage that you might not be exposed to after you graduate. Take advantage. Who knows, you might just get inspired.

Go to: Online Library -> Find by Resource -> Images + Footage

New Stuff: American Film Scripts, Filmakers Library, Silent Films

For a quick link, click here.

Steven Soderbergh: Financial State of Cinema

In congress with our kickstart series, I encourage you to watch this speech by director Steven Soderbergh. He discusses the politics of producers, defines cinema vs films, and films made by business rather than artists. If you are interested in similar opinions, please review the links below in our ongoing series of film business and out-of-box approaches to filmmaking -
http://ainycvpstudents.blogspot.com/2011/01/red-state-and-kevin-smith-warrior-poet.html
http://ainycvpstudents.blogspot.com/2013/04/crowd-funding.html
http://ainycvpstudents.blogspot.com/2013/05/future-of-art-finance-amanda-palmer.html
http://ainycvpstudents.blogspot.com/2013/05/we-need-adult-films-no-not-porn.html


State of Cinema: Steven Soderbergh from San Francisco Film Society on Vimeo.

Two Tributes

Yesterday, Ray Harryhausen passed away at age 92. Today, Saul Bass would have been 93. Below are tributes to both men. Google did a wonderful tribute to Bass by mimicking his famous title sequences. A fan has edited the creature reel for Harryhausen's most famous scenes. Enjoy the videos below!

We Need Adult Films! (no, not porn)

Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) vents, in a recent interview, about the loss of adult films in our industry. He explains that we are in danger of loosing the honesty within our artform as we tell our stories through a "family friendly" filter. He calls our time the "Pixarification"of cinema, because, like Pixar, most films after the 70s have been designed to satisfy all members of the family. He is not making a statement on how Pixar has ruined film (he praises them on their sophistication), but he knows that those films have their place and that films are lacking in the place prohibited for children. We need more movies that are honest depictions of sex and violence (Last Tango in Paris, Taxi Driver) that can make us feel.

Future of Art Finance: Amanda Palmer

If you know Amanda Palmer, you KNOW Amanda Palmer. She is a musician who claimed notoriety for having an extreme personal connection to her audience. For example, the band will couch surf at fan's homes instead of staying at hotels. Her name became more common place when the kickstarter for her latest album achieved over 200% of her slated goal. Her opinion on social-media financing is emotional. In this TED talk, her speech revolves around connecting with the audience in a way that goes above and beyond a signed photo and posing for a cellphone picture. She has decided to make a living on giving away her music for free then asking the audience for donations in return. Watch below to hear her whole speech. Ask yourself, is this the economic future for the artists? Do you think artists will be able to live this way?

SOTW Article on Film Festivals

There is a world of difference between experiencing a film in a theater and experiencing a film online. Editor Andrew S. Allen, for Short of the Week, examines the audience experience to explain why your film may sell out in festivals yet gets negative reviews online. I would recommend to check this out for what to do and what not to do when assembling your thesis!

SOTW Article - Know Your Medium

42 Review - ★★★☆☆*

        42 is a film depicting Jackie Robinson's career starting with his departure from the Negro leagues through to his rookie year in the Major Leagues, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This film is less about the life of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) and more about the cause of this legend and his supporters to break through the color barrier of America's past time in 1947.

        42 starts as Dodgers President and GM, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), explains to a couple of his subordinates that the times are changing and that he plans on being the first manager to introduce a black man to major league baseball. "I don't know who he is or where he is, but he's coming." Rickey's awareness and preparation for the harsh future sets the tone for this film's depiction of racism in Robinson's life.

       Boseman's performance tends to be overshadowed by both the film's message of overcoming oppression and the exceptional performances of Ford and Nicole Beharie, who plays Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife. We find relief in the presence of Rickey and Mrs. Robinson from the stresses of racism that are impossible to avoid.

      The true appeal of this film and what separates it from other films tackling the subject of segregation in sports (The Express, Remember The Titans) is its depictions of Robinson's struggle on the field. Through the vision of Helgeland and the technique of cinematographer Don Burgess, every time Robinson takes a hit, we take a hit. Every time he steals base, we steal base. They show us exactly why baseball was America's game and why Jackie Robinson could not be ignored, regardless of his race.

     The highlight of 42's message lies in a scene with Phillies manager, Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk), attacking Robinson, up to bat, with a barrage of childish and racist insults, "nigger, nigger, nigger." The scene is extensive and takes a toll on us as an audience because we know that, if Robinson reacts, the oppressors will have won.

     42 thrives in its moments of athletic competition that are thrilling for anyone, not just sports fans. There is a repeated thought that "...he's coming." Now, he is obviously Jackie Robinson, but what he represents is change. Change is inevitable and, most importantly, change is necessary. Whether he wanted to be or not, Robinson was a pioneer in the advancement of equality in America. He has most certainly arrived and his legacy will live on, thanks in small part to this exceptional film.
★★★☆☆*

*Changed to a five star system for an adequate rating