Caught a quick moment with King of California director Mike Cahill. We talked a lot about trees which we both love (everything but palms), and about California light which we both grew up with. Capturing that light–at least in a way that looked real to Cahill turned out to be a big task for DP Jimmy Whitaker, both in camera and in the DI suite at Matchframe DI.

Factors in the shoot: three Kodak stocks and lantern light. “Everyone told us not to do it,” Cahill says. “It made the actors their own grips since they were acting and holding the light. We‘d say, ‘turn this way, now turn the light‘. After a painstaking DI it all ended up looking like real California. “Or my definition of it, anyway,” Cahill says.

Oh and there‘s one shot with an unavoidable palm tree. Can‘t win ‘em all.

Listen in on an exclusive interview with Year of the Fish Director David Kaplan as he talks about the creation of his Sundance film. Millimeter Senior Editor Michael Goldman asks the questions.

To listen to the podcast interview click here.

(To download: Right Click, Save As)

Check out our entire Sundance Podcast Archive.

Cluster in New Frontier at Sundance

January 18 - 28, 2007

“Schatz is documenting the present, showing snippets from the past and continuously turning both into video compositions. It‘s art in constant flux.”

-Robert L. Pincus, The San Diego Union-Tribune

bitforms gallery is pleased to announce a third solo exhibition of Chicago-based artist Lincoln Schatz and his inclusion in the New Frontier program at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, featuring works in Schatz‘s generative multi-channel video installation series. Remarkable in vision and scale, these painterly compositions collapse time, depicting dynamic landscapes and portraits. Visualizing the memory of an environment, these works reconsider fixed notions of history, time and place. Each unique artwork records, stores and displays video that recounts its record of exhibition, building a distinct visible aura. more

Screening of Powerful Documentary to be Followed by Press Conference with Producers and Featured Families

Autism Speaks Co-Founders Bob Wright (Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal) and Suzanne Wright, Gabrielle Reese, Laird Hamilton and MPAA President Dan Glickman will be among those on hand for the world premiere of the powerful, new documentary Autism Every Day at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January 21 at 9:30am at Holiday IV-CINEMARK Holiday Village Cinemas, 1776 Park Avenue, in Park City, Utah. more

Below are comments from Julien Temple, director of the 2007 Sundance World Documentary competition film The Future is Unwritten - Joe Strummer.

“Right at the beginning, in 1976, I was trying to do this film about the Clash, then jumped ship to the Sex Pistols and cut off all communications for something like 20 years, even though I had a deep love for the band and what they stood for,” says Temple. “Back then I couldn‘t get too close to Joe. So it was quite a surprise, ten years ago, when he turned up at my garden gate. He was looking for somewhere to live in Somerset and I was genuinely shocked to meet him again - we had a great night lighting fires and trying to raise this hot air balloon I was building. From that moment on there was a closeness that lasted until his death.”

For Joe Strummer, the idea of a “campfire” - any loose assembly of people bonded by the rising flames and the advancing dawn - became an art form in itself. The campfire was the melting pot, the wisdom stone, the HolyGrail; the essential outdoor forum for constantly evolving ideas and conversations. more

Noise premieres in the World Dramatic competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Below are comments from the film’s cinematographer László Baranyai.

“As soon as I read the script, I knew that Noise would be a film that was different from anything else being produced in Australia; a film about all of us, our lives and our feelings. Coming from East Europe where filmmaking is far more political and social in its intentions, I felt privileged to be trusted with this project. I knew from the beginning that this was the kind of film I have always wanted to make.

“[Director Matt Saville] and I have very similar taste in films and creative ideals. We both love the adrenalin rush of risk taking and are always seeking new opportunities. I was fortunate to work with him on Roy Höllsdotter Live and all the while Noise was in the back of our minds. more

Jake Paltrow (Writer/Director) started his career in motion pictures as a set production assistant on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994. His first achievement as a writer/director came in 1995 with the short film An Eviction Notice, which screened at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. Jake Paltrow makes his feature film debut with The Good Night at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film boasts acting performances from Penelope Cruz (Vanilla Sky), Danny DeVito (Terms of Endearment), Martin Freeman (BBC’s The Office) and Jake’s sister Gweneth Paltrow(Shakespeare in Love).

The movie focuses on Gary (Freeman), a once moderately successful musician, who struggles with his career and an inert relationship with his girlfriend. He retreats into his dreams where he is prolific, appreciated and meets his literal dream girl. In service to maintaining this perfection, he discovers how to control his dreams. more

Animated/Live-Action Film Sets Cinderella in a Chinatown Massage Parlor

Year of the Fish, a contemporary re-telling of Cinderella set in a Chinatown massage parlor, will premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on January 24th, 2007. This low-budget independent feature film was shot with live actors entirely in Chinatown, New York on low cost video, and then animated in post-production on Apple computers utilizing Studio Artist to create the final high resolution feature film. more

At New Frontier on Main, one of the earliest adopters of Sony XDCAM HD PDW-F350, Robin Berg of Berg Entertainment is sharing his footage, experience, and workflow using the camera in brutal weather (22ft. boats and 6ft.-7 ft. seas, etc.) for his new documentary Speargun Hunter. Berg, who is a prolific regular on the Outdoor Channel, shot worldwide with the F350 XDCAM HD and intercut with underwater footage shot on the Z1. (More on that in a minute, and it‘s interesting.)

Berg first saw the XDCAM HD at the behest of Outdoor Channel president Andy Dale. “From my standpoint, as someone who has to oversee all areas of production–pre production, field production, post–I realized instantly how powerful the workflow could be,” Berg recalls. “The price point is exceptional and the quality we were going to be able to deliver was remarkable.” more

When everyone involved with bringing Resurrecting the Champ to the big screen read the soul-searching truth that ran through every word in J.R. Moehringer‘s article (LA Times, 1997, also entitled “Resurrecting the Champ”), it became the utmost of priorities to make the film as genuinely true to the spirit of the article as possible. To that end, writer/director Rod Lurie (The Contender) wanted to capture the powerful authenticity of the newsroom, so instead of constructing a set of a newsroom, he shot in a real one.

For logistical and financial reasons, Lurie chose to film in Calgary and the story was reset to Denver because the look of the city was a better match. Therefore, they later shot key exteriors in Denver itself so that when audiences see the Bronco‘s training ground and John Elway‘s restaurant (where he makes a cameo appearance), they are looking at the real thing. more