Category Archives: News Reel

ABC’s Oscars Broadcast Up from Last Year in Early Ratings

With host Seth MacFarlane, a Best Picture win for Argo and a lot of music, last night’s Oscars were up from the 2012 show. In fact, the 85th Oscars saw the ABC broadcasted ceremony hitting its highest rating since 2007′s show. more »

An Open Letter to Ang Lee

While, yes, R&D can be expensive and, yes, it takes a lot of technology and computing power to create films like yours, it is not computer chips and hard drives that are costing you so very much money. It is the artists that are helping you create your film. more »

Turning the Black Magic Cinema Camera into a Movie Making Machine

You all know that I have been conducting many camera tests during prep on Need for Speed. I have been testing all of the different digital emulsions to see where they will fit into my toolbox. Black Magic graciously supplied a camera for some of these tests. We pushed and pulled this baby to see when it would break as well as where it excelled. more »

At the Bench: Introduction to the Sony PMW-F55

The cameras are so packed full of features that I opted for two 15-minute videos to cover the camera system. The first video goes over the F55′s form, function and IO capabilities, while the second covers its menu system, various recording modes and output options. more »

Five Below-the-Line Lessons from David Fincher’s House of Cards

When Netflix handed David Fincher the keys to a $100 million production called House of Cards, nobody knew what was going to happen. Would the investment pay off? Would Fincher flounder or flourish in television? Is it still considered TV even if it never broadcasts over the cable pipes? more »

NBC’s on a First-to-Worst Freefall

The high ratings and industry swagger of last fall have vanished, and Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt's pet project Smash has led the decline. more »

Why Hollywood Studios Need to Learn Chinese

A pair of recent releases co-produced by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Limited focused on Chinese-language movies, show why language may matter more than ever. more »

New York’s IFC Center Mounting Complete Kubrick Retrospective

In anticipation of the March 29 opening of Rodney Ascher's documentary "Room 237," New York's IFC Center is mounting a complete retrospective of the the films of Stanley Kubrick. more »

From Shawshank to Skyfall, How Master Cinematographer Roger Deakins Got These 10 Shots

Root all you want for your Chastains, your Rivas, your Hathaways, and your Day-Lewises; for me, the Oscar nominee to pull for this weekend is venerated cinematographer Roger Deakins, nominated 10 times with nary a win to his name. more »

How “Golden Eagle Snatches Kid” Ruled The Internet

Four Canadian film students were assigned a project: Create a YouTube hoax video that gets 100,000 views. They got nearly 42 million instead. Here’s the definitive behind-the-meme look at how — and why — their homework snowballed into one of the most popular and rapidly spread videos ever. more »