From Purdue News:
April 17, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Five students received the top prizes at the Purdue University Digital Learning Collaboratory's sixth annual Digital Cinema Contest Premiere Night and Awards Ceremony on Thursday (April 17) at Wabash Landing 9 theater.
Awards were given for best documentary, alternative, animated, and narrative film, along with a viewer’s choice. Those chosen for best actor, actress, cinematography, sound design, special features and director also were recognized.
"The Shelter," submitted by Mathhew Byori Mann, a senior in film and video studies from Champaign, Ill., won three awards - Best Narrative, Best Cinematography (by Dan Skubal), and Best Director.
Another film earned two awards. "Story Never Written" by Alex Donkle, a junior in acoustical engineering from Valparaiso, Ind., was recognized for Best Alternative Film and received the award for Best Special Features.
Other winners in the film category were "Bug Bowl" by Aaron Black, a senior majoring in psychology from Aurora, Ind., for Best Documentary; "Ara" by Tyler Kupferer, a senior in computer graphics technology from Columbus, Ind., for Best Animation; and "Unnoticeable Flying Object (UFO)" by Don Han, a senior in computer graphics technology from Seoul, South Korea, for Viewer's Choice.
Individual awards included John Cessna, a 2007 alumnus of the film and video studies program at Purdue and a current MFA student in studio arts, who was recognized for Best Actor in the film, "We'll Miss You." Andrea Morales, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts, from West Lafayette, Ind. received Best Actress for her role in "A Dreamer's Rendezvous" (trailer). Paul Laux, a senior in film and video studies from South Bend, Ind., won Best Sound Design.
Prizes for the top winners included software packages, a digital camera, and cash. Local restaurants and retailers supplied other prizes.
The filmmakers and their crews arrived at the theater in limousines.
"The whole production was first class," noted Kevin O'Shea, contest organizer and coordinator of the Digital Learning Collaboratory (DLC). "We were very impressed with the caliber of this year's entries and enjoyed having this opportunity to recognize the talent and hard work of these students."
The contest is presented annually by the DLC in the John W. Hicks Undergraduate Library at Purdue University. The DLC is a joint initiative of Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP) and the Purdue University Libraries.
"We hope the students see this contest as a learning opportunity," said John Fritch, associate professor of library science and the DLC's reference and instruction librarian. "Several of the top winners are studying film or animation at Purdue, and this contest gives them the opportunity to showcase their work and be recognized for it." The DLC offers access to film editing software packages and instruction, video and computer equipment, and DLC staff members provided feedback during "pitch nights" on the development of each film.
For a complete list of winners and to view the submitted films, please visit www.dlc.purdue.edu.
Contact: Jim Bush, (765), 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Sources: Kevin O'Shea, (765) 496-2875, koshea@purdue.edu
John Fritch, (765) 494-6735, jfritch1@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Monday, May 19, 2008
Student filmmakers win top prizes at Purdue's 6th annual Digital Cinema Contest
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Papal Visit Photos
Dear friends,
Check out these very cool photographs of the work 5 of our students did to film the pope. Work of this magnitude shines extremely favorable light on the experiential learning program of the Hall of Music and its partner, Film and Video Studies. Major congratulations are in order to Steve Hall, Bill Callison, and the students who participated in this memorable event!
Patricia Hart
Chair of Film/Video Studies (F/VS)
Professor of Spanish
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Friday, May 9, 2008
Article on Film Restoration: The Godfather
Here is a great article from the ASC [American Society of Cinematographers] about the restoration process for Godfather that some of our students (and others) might be interested in reading.
Bobby Chastain
Mgr. Pre/Post Services
Hall of Music Productions
________________________________________________________________
Post Focus: Paramount Restores The Godfather
By Stephanie Argy
Widely regarded as an American classic and a landmark achievement in cinematography, Paramount Pictures' The Godfather (1972) is identical to most films of its era in one respect: it was not properly preserved. Paramount, like most Hollywood studios, did not create a preservation program - "asset protection" in industry parlance - until the home-video boom of the 1980s proved film libraries could have indefinite, lucrative lives. Before that awareness took hold, original negatives were typically used as printing negatives, which meant the original negatives for popular pictures took a lot of abuse. The Godfather was not only popular, it was Hollywood's first blockbuster, and over the years, "the neck of the golden goose was certainly wrung out," says the film's cinematographer, Gordon Willis, ASC, with typical candor.
Now, a new batch of golden eggs is in the offing. At director Francis Ford Coppola's request, film-preservation expert Robert A. Harris and associate archivist Joanne Lawson of The Film Preserve recently spent a year digitally restoring The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (1974) with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI). Harris' key collaborators in the endeavor were ASC associate member Jan Yarbrough, MPI's technical director/senior colorist; Daphne Dentz, MPI's vice president of digital services; Willis, who shot the pictures and gave advice by phone; and Allen Daviau, ASC, who paid many visits to MPI to lend the effort a cinematographer's eye.
After working through The Godfather and Part II, the team turned to the much more recent Part III (1990), which required no restoration at all; they did a digital intermediate (DI) to create the director's cut, a version that previously existed only on home video. For all three films, there are now new 4K preservation negatives, separation masters from which new printing elements can be derived, and backup data tapes. Shepherding the project to completion was Martin Cohen, Paramount's executive vice president of feature postproduction. "Marty's support was vital," says Harris. "He is a postproduction executive who truly understands film restoration - he gets
it."
[ . . . ]
See the original article here: http://www.ascmag.com/magazine_dynamic/May2008/PostFocus/page1.php
Thursday, May 8, 2008
NY Times Article: Your Chance to Finish a Movie Microsoft Started
Your Chance to Finish a Movie Microsoft Started
By Stuart Elliott
Published: May 8, 2008, The New York Times
CALLING all would-be Judd Apatows, Martin Scorseses and Coen brothers. Your cinematic ambitions may be supported by an unlikely patron, based not in Hollywood but more than a thousand miles to the north in Redmond, Wash.
That geographic clue gives away the sponsor: the Microsoft Corporation, which is underwriting an online movie-making contest in an effort to stimulate sales and burnish the reputation of its Windows Vista operating system. The product has met with mixed reviews since its introduction last year.
The contest is another example of the popular marketing trend known as user-generated content. It is intended to promote the higher-end version of Vista - Windows Vista Ultimate - among videophiles, early adopters of technology and filmmakers.
The contest, which is to begin on Thursday, is called the Ultimate Video Relay and has its own Web site (ultimatevideorelay.com), a spinoff of the Windows Vista Ultimate Web site (ultimatepc.com). The relay reference comes from the invitation to computer users to complete a story titled "The Cube" in several stages. The tale, a humorous cross between "The Matrix" and "The Office" (or "Office Space") begins with a six-minute clip that can be watched on the relay Web site. The clip is directed by Kyle Newman, the director of "Fanboys," a coming movie about "Star Wars" aficionados.
The online clip is labeled Act I of "The Cube" and ends abruptly. Contestants are supposed to finish the story by providing first a middle (Act II) and later an end (Act III). The entries will be judged by visitors to ultimatevideorelay.com.
Microsoft is teaming up for the contest with TriggerStreet.com, the Web site of a production company owned by the actor Kevin Spacey that is aimed at aspiring moviemakers and screenwriters. TriggerStreet.com and Microsoft were brought together by Omelet, a company in Los Angeles that works on advertising, entertainment and branding projects with marketers that in addition to Microsoft include Anheuser-Busch, NBC Universal and Toyota Motor.
"Omelet has helped us to amplify the impact of the contest by hooking us up with partners that have reach, influence and credibility," said Barry Goffe, director for Windows client product management at Microsoft.
"I've done video editing on my PC and could probably write a white paper on it," Mr. Goffe said. "But I'm a geek, not a Hollywood director" like Mr. Newman, he added, so such a technical approach would draw a far smaller audience than the contest.
Encouraging consumers to create content "is a very different approach for
us," Mr. Goffe said of the Windows division of Microsoft, but "I think it's the best way to engage with our customers and achieve the long-term goals of the business."
There is always a risk with user-generated content: the materials submitted by consumers may be at variance with the shiny, happy, official corporate approach to a product or brand.
For example, when the Chevrolet division of General Motors asked computer users in 2006 to create commercials for the Tahoe sport utility, many spots made pointed references to its large size and thirst for gasoline.
If the Microsoft contest is flooded with video clips that criticize or mock Vista, "I'd probably end up with a little bit of a red face," Mr. Goffe said.
"But in the end I'd be happy," he added, "if it generated that much noise and traffic."
"One of the things that makes me feel O.K. about this," Mr. Goffe said, "is that we're not asking people to write a script that says 'Windows Vista Ultimate is great' or romances technology." Rather, he added, the idea is to create content that in its tone would mirror the lighthearted approach of Act I of "The Cube."
Shervin Samari, a partner at Omelet, acknowledged that marketers asking consumers to create content must be comfortable with giving up control of the ad-making process.
"Those brands willing to let go will make deeper connections with consumers," Mr. Samari said. "There is that element of 'You never know,' but in this case we're showcasing creativity and how the technology can help deliver that."
Besides, he added, if restrictions were imposed on the intended contest audience - whom he described as "the filmmaking community, superenthused gadget fans and early adopters" - they "would just backfire, because these people are going to smell any funny business from a mile away."
Microsoft has undertaken other efforts to improve perceptions of Vista, including price reductions and statements of support from senior corporate managers.
But reports of problem-plagued upgrades to Vista from Windows XP have been widespread. And ads from Apple that make fun of Vista are among the campaigns most often talked about online.
The Apple ads - by TBWA/Chiat/Day, part of the TBWA Worldwide division of
the Omnicom Group - show "Mac Guy" watching "PC Guy" trying to light a sign that reads "Don't give up on Vista." Glitches render the sign's message as either "give up" or "give up on Vista."
Mr. Goffe said: "There are some people having issues with Vista. A lot of people are having a great experience. The people I'm talking to know the technology works for them."
The contest will be conducted in four phases. First, contestants will submit scripts for Act II, and five will be chosen by voters at the relay Web site. After those five scripts are produced, voters will select the winning clip, which will be added onto Act I on the Web site. Act III will be created the same way.
Act I of "The Cube" features an actor, Sam Huntington, who is also a star of "Fanboys," as well as the model Jaime King, who is also Mrs. Kyle Newman. Mr. Goffe even makes a cameo appearance in the clip, as a character named Barry Turtleneck.
"Fanboys" has attracted attention in Hollywood because its intended distributor, the Weinstein Company, is embroiled in a dispute with the filmmakers over which version to release. There has been a large effort online among young filmgoers to persuade Weinstein to release the filmmakers' preferred version.
Mr. Newman, in a telephone interview, had encouraging news for the "Fanboys" fans. "I have been brought back into the editing room to work on a final version," he said, adding: "All the key people are back. That's all good."
Mr. Newman may be the perfect choice to direct a movie for a consumer contest because, he said, "I won a similar contest when I was in college."
In 1998, when Mr. Newman was a 21-year-old undergraduate film student at New York University, he became the first winner of what was known as the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award. A 60-second film that Mr. Newman made, "Bitten by Love," was chosen from among 150 entries and was shown in about 10,000 theaters around the country.
A decade later, an aspiring filmmaker can "make something so fast, get it online and get millions of people to watch it," Mr. Newman said. "It's great."
See Your Chance to Finish a Movie Microsoft Started for original article.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mystfest Video Competition
Frank Burke
Please announce to your students and anyone else who might be interested:
If you have-or have the urge to make--a mystery/crime/"noir" or similar video, five minutes or less in length, you might consider submitting it to Mystfest. Linked to a longstanding and prestigious international literary prize for noir and crime fiction in Italy (Premio Gran Giallo) and itself a former international competition for mystery, crime, and noir film, Mystfest has evolved this year into an international video competition. Cell phone video and more conventional digital video are all welcome.
The deadline is May 16. Videos can be uploaded to the site www.mystfest.com. For more information, consult the site. You will find all the English-language material you need, including an application form and an email address (concorso@mystfest.com) to obtain instructions for uploading.
Prizes will be awarded in three categories:
- best script
- best technical realization
- best acting
Each winner will get 1,000 Euros and a 3G Samsung smartphone. The winners will present their works during an event held in Cattolica (Italy) on June 28-29.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Heartland Film Festival
Dear Filmmakers and Friends,
Just a note that the Heartland Film Festival is now celebrating its 17th year, and is announcing its 2008 Call for Entries. The festival will take place October 16-24 in Indianapolis. Student filmmakers are eligible for the Jimmy Steward Memorial Crystal Heart Awards and cash prizes. Students entries are also eligible for the $100,000 Grand Prize for Best Dramatic Feature, $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature, and $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film, as well as Audience Choice Awards for the same categories.
For more info, go to www.HeartlandFilmFestival.org or www.withoutabox.com
Or call: 317-464-9405
Or email: info@HeartlandFilmFestival.org
Good Luck!
Patricia Hart
Interim Chair of Film/Video Studies
Professor of Spanish
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Purdue University
