One can only guess what Stanley Kubrick would have made of the more developed online world we now live in.
Like many celebrities, over the last couple of years various actors, directors and producers have embraced Twitter as a self-promotional tool which use to engage fans and post updates.
But what about those filmmakers whose online activities go a little deeper?
I can’t remember when I first heard that David Lynch had a website, but it was a few years ago and when it turned out he was selling ringtones and doing weather reports, I had to check it out. Designed and maintained by the indexsy seo agency, it is now mostly dedicated to his music and you can also see the live Duran Duran concert he recently directed, as well as various music tracks from his films and TV shows. He also occasionally does cooking videos.
Ever since securing the ingenious URL www.romzom.com (sadly no longer active) for his breakout film Shaun of the Dead (2004), Edgar Wright has been fairly active online with behind-the-scenes video podcasts for Hot Fuzz (2007) and his own website which seemed to start in 2009. He regularly posts articles, videos and a lot of photos (at one point he even did a daily photo thing), but he also engages with people in the comments section, puts up videos he’s directed (be they music promos or early experiments in editing) and generally has a bit of a laugh whilst doing so. He’s also pretty active on Twitter.
What does one of the world’s greatest cinematographers do when he’s not shooting films like True Grit (2010), No Country for Old Men (2007) or The Shawshank Redemption (1994)? It turns out he runs a pretty active forum on his own website, where he answers questions from readers all around the world. Whether you have a query about cameras, lighting, digital intermediates, whether 4K really matters or the merits of anamorphic over super 35mm, Roger is there. It is more for the technically minded film fan, but given his amazing back catalogue of films, there are some illuminating stories on how scenes were shot and put together. An incredible resource, it’s a bit like having Paul McCartney give out song writing tips at your local music venue.
The screenwriter of Go (1999), Big Fish (2003) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) runs a site he describes as ‘a ton of useful information about screenwriting’ and he’s not wrong with that description. When you think of screenwriting gurus who charge hefty amounts for books and seminars, it’s worth noting that a successful, working screenwriter is giving away lots of useful advice for free on a regular basis. More than that, he takes time to answer reader comments and also blogs with a lot of insight about storytelling and the wider industry. It is particularly useful for those little practical details which confront the working screenwriter, be it formatting, genres or pitching. He has also created an iPad app for reading screenplays (FDX Reader) and a web browser extension (Less IMDb) that makes the movie reference site easier to navigate.
The producer of Natural Born Killers (1994), Apt Pupil (1998), From Hell (2001) and the Transformers franchise runs what appears to be a fairly old school site. But look deeper and you find some hidden treasures, such as a message board, genuinely interesting links, and some fantastic Hollywood stories. There are sections titled good guys (Michael De Luca), bad guys (Peter Biskind), fun with lawsuits (eye opening to say the least) and an archive of related stuff going back to 1997. You can also make him happy by sending him the front page of the LA Times from June 18th 1952.
The successful US indie producer (American Splendor, In The Bedroom) has been an active blogger and Twitter user at a time of great turmoil and change for the independent sector. Part of that is down to the challenges facing filmmakers and distributors in a world where old economic models have been disrupted by new technologies and the financial crisis. His previous blog has now moved over to IndieWire and is a good place to visit to find out what the future of the industry might look like, as the ideas and debates he encourages may filter through to the mainstream.
If you have any other examples of filmmakers using the web in interesting ways, then leave them below.
First, they discuss a sequence from Frank Darabont’s drama, where Andy Dusfresne (Tim Robbins) gets in to a row with prison guard Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) on the roof of Shawshank Prison.
They discuss the use of a crane shot, how safety cables were removed digitally and the segue to his favourite shot of the film, where Morgan Freeman’s voiceover ‘syncs’ with the movement of the camera. (Click here to see the video)
Then they talk about the scene from the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men where Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) examines a hotel room where Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is hiding in the dark.
A tense sequence, in which light and angles play a key role, they discuss specific shots and how certain decisions were made on the set.
For anyone interested in the cinematic image or how DPs visually construct a scene, it is essential viewing.
As the awards season comes to a close, let’s forget about the campaigning and debate about what would or should win and reserve a special mention for some of tonight’s nominees.
In what has been a strong year these are various people I think deserve special mention, regardless of whether they win tonight.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Javier Bardem in Biutiful: The most powerful performance of the year was Bardem’s searing portrait of a decent man on the edges of modern Barcelona.
Although the film’s relentless focus on death turned off dweeby critics, Bardem’s acting will be remembered for years to come.
Christopher Nolanfor Writing and DirectingInception: The enormous commercial success of Nolan’s career has strangely obscured his very real creative accomplishments. Fashionable contrarians and elederly members of the Academy were turned off by the gorgeous labyrinth that was Inception, mainly because it was ‘too loud’ or ‘too clever for its own good’.
The fact that Nolan (as director) and his veteran editor Lee Smith were snubbed still hints that some Academy members don’t get his films. But for a generation of filmmakers it will be discussed, analysed and appreciated for years to come.
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxterfor editingThe Social Network: One of the crucial aspects of Fincher’s drama that makes it work is the phenomenal edit job by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter.
It might take a couple of viewings to fully appreciate, but the criss-crossing timelines and overall construction of sequences is masterful. Some Academy voters might not have got the film on first viewing but repeated viewings highlight the dazzling, but often understated, work that went into it.
Roger Deakins’cinematography forTrue Grit: Although already something of a legend for his amazing body of work, Deakins managed capture the haunting beauty of the west in True Grit whilst providing some indelible images.
Many people think it is his time to be awarded an Oscar and who would begrudge him a statuette this year?
The Visual Effects in Inception: The team at British SFX house Double Negative who worked on Nolan’s film (Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb) deserve a lot of credit for helping build convincing dreamscapes through live action and CGI.
The inventive blend of real locations, stuntwork and CGI were stunning and in the hotel fight sequence, limbo city and the overturning of Paris have set a new standard for effects work at this level.
The score for The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross: One of the most startling and arresting scores in recent memory was this wonderfully discordant electronic score. The way in which the dialogue driven opening scene gives way to the unsettling title sequence is one of the most memorable film transitions of the year.
Just a few minutes later the urgency of the Face Smash sequence is powered by an unforgettable frenzy of beats and noise. In some ways the score to the film is what gives the film it’s unique flavour, with no cliched strings or cliched tracks from the time, it gives the story a distinct and original feel.
The Sounds of Inception: People always get confused between sound mixing and sound editing. To simplify, editing involves how the parts are assembled, whilst mixing is about the whole soundscape is put together.
It is a crucial and often undervalued aspect of movies and in the case of Inception, Richard King did an incredible job of recreating the sounds of all the different dream levels, which involve trains, guns, explosions, punches, car chases. The construction of the audio landscape in Inception was one of the great unsung reasons as to why it worked so well.
Charles Ferguson’s Inside Job: The documentary category this year is incredibly strong but Charles Ferguson’s documentary about the financial crisis deserves special mention.
Brilliantly dissecting the way Wall Street has essentially captured a generation of politicians and held society hostage for their own ends, it is a chilling reminder of how the political orthordoxies of the last 30 years have wreaked havoc but largely gone unpunished.
