By Dyana Carmella
While at the American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, I attended a seminar titled “New Technologies and Low Budget Films” presented by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). Emmy winner George Spiro Dibie moderated the event and demonstrated a humorous side to shooting Independent Films.
It was an all-star panel with ASC cinematographers […]

By Iain Blair
If you love film and docs, you have to see NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS, the new documentary about the artistry, triumph and lifelong friendship of the great cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond. Directed by James Chressanthis, ASC, with cinematography by Anka Malatynska, it tells the story of how the two, […]

By Iain Blair
Just saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the charming sequel which looks certain to continue audiences’ current love affair with talking animals. It’s significant that Beverly Hills Chihuahua easily destroyed Leo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott at the box office!
The Paramount Pictures release featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, […]

By Iain Blair
It’s a small world and I’m always amazed at some of the coincidences and links that happen. When I first moved to Topanga, I met Alexis Sonnenfeld, a great contractor, who helped us redo our house. We became good friends, went to his wedding, and met his brother, Stefan. It turned out that […]

By Iain Blair
I’ve had lengthy conversations with Quentin Tarantino throughout the years, and for quite some time he’s been talking about “writing this big WW11 script, The Inglorious Bastards,” as he calls it. Well, his dream is finally a reality as Inglourious Basterds – as it’s now known - began principal photography last week on […]

By Dyana Carmella
 
This year, the DV Expo was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center right in the heart of Downtown. The blue-carpeted breezy venue had wall-to-wall exhibit booths showcasing the industry’s top digital video products.
 
A highlight at the Expo was the Keynote Presentation from DP David Stump, ASC. “Cameras don’t make […]

By Iain Blair
 
Britain and India have been closely linked ever since the Empire days, and it continues. The latest merger is the UK/Indian film industries. A Brit producer friend – whose son is a DP and who last year married an Indian girl (whom he met at film school in London) -told […]

By Iain Blair

 
I had dinner with Clint Eastwood a few years ago up in Carmel and it was fascinating to talk about filmmaking with him. One of the main things he stressed was that, “most movies just cost too damn much,” and that growing up in the Great Depression had taught him the […]

By Iain Blair
 
Had lunch with Bruce Lyon, an old friend who is now the co-founder and CEO of hot new company, Integrated Media Technologies Inc. The Burbank-based company  - check it out at www.imtglobalinc.com - “offers ground-breaking solutions for creating, managing, storing and distributing digital media content,” Bruce told me. “We’re building […]