Not every filmmaker I talk to at Sundance has a film in the festival. Jacob Rosenberg is here doing the work he so often does for Adobe, teaching desktop workflow to all kinds of filmmakers, many of them his own peers.

Jacob‘s generation is the first to be able to truly just “make a movie.” Like, make it at home the way you make a painting or a piece of furniture. A bit more expensive, but certainly doable. You may have to spend for film out or a good digital print–that‘s not going desktop anytime soon. You may want to pay for advice, and everyone has to pay for marketing (even Blair Witch). You may need an expensive camera–though less so all the time, and you may dearly want a speedy workstation (also more affordable than before, at least for what you get). more

At Stein Erikson with Alex Weil, writer director of One Rat Short. You might have seen it at Siggraph this year (where it won best of show) or at one of a number of venues worldwide. Now it‘s in competition here in the shorts program and just missed an Oscar nomination this morning.

I‘ll be rooting for this film. I don‘t normally get involved with assessing content, but in this case the film is so smart about the things I do cover–cinematography, editing, and other tricks of the production trade that I feel a bit more qualified. Weil has for years honed his skills at Charlex, the shop he co-founded and one of NY‘s longstanding, premier post facilities. So Weil is savvy without being cynical and his film has the same canny humor. more

Sterlin Harjo‘s Four Sheets to the Wind is David Michael Maurer‘s first feature. Now it‘s in dramatic competition at Sundance. As he sits down in the Park City Marriott to talk about the film and his transition from years of reality TV (The Apprentice, American Idol, Big Brother…) he looks to be in his twenties, but talks with the understated conviction of a veteran editor.

Maurer cut the show on Avid Xpress Pro, finished on Symphony Nitris and went to 35. This was a best of both worlds workflow, Maurer explains, because the team needed portability on four-month location in Oklahoma as well as the ability to see detail, hence the Nitris. “This was just before the software-only Media Composer came out,” Maurer says of his decision to load his laptop with Xpress Pro. (This was also just before SDI Mojo, so Maurer was quick to point out that the workflow was a product of the April 2006 timeframe.) more

Last year at Sundance, Adobe VP Jim Guerard was making the further case for Flash. At that time the installed base was enormous, but Guerard had something even bigger in mind. He described how the nonlinear potential for Flash was virtually untapped, that people still understood it as player rather than a whole new way to think about content and interactivity.

Since then, the Flash train has rushed forward, powered in part by its use on YouTube and other hugely popular sites. Overall there‘s no doubt that internet video has made significant gains since this time last year. But still, Flash still has more to offer if Guerard‘s ultimate concept is to be realized. Towards that end, Adobe is actively teaching Flash 8 to filmmakers here at New Frontier on Main (the can‘t-miss session is tomorrow–Wednesday–at 2pm when Flash developer Justin Everett-Church covers how to “Expand Filmmaking Options with interactive Flash Video,”). more

“We knew we would have to do a DI from the get go,” says Padre Nuestro DP Igor Martinovic, “Time and finances were not on our side and we were using a lot of available light.” Joe Beirne describes how in addition to doing a DI process to a 4:4:4 scan of Martinovic’s film footage (see previous post), Postworks also developed an end to end dailies to offiline Avid DNX post process at 10 bit 115mbps (which Beirne says he will try at the more efficient DNX 36mbps that Avid is soon to release).

(If you want to hear Beirne, Matt Feury from Avid and representatives from Arri–the film was shot on Super 35–talk about the workflow drop by NY Lounge.) more

NY post facility Postworks touched a lot films at Sundance–in some cases in an instrumental way. Just ask Alex Vlack and Andrew Zuckerman who appear in the NY Lounge as if on cue to rave about their screening and how pristine their short High Falls looked. “We wouldn’t be here without Joe,” they say, and it’s not a plug. They talk about the other films and how soft their prints looked, how people were complaining about 3:2 pulldown (”which we didn’t have to worry about) and how if the other filmmakers had been fortunate enough to have a professional finish and filmout their films would have looked just as good. They’re trying to be generous but you can tell they’re so pleased to be rising above the competition with their Varicam-shot film. more

Black Snake Moan Director Craig Brewer

To watch our YouTube slideshow for the Craig Brewer interview, click here.

Black Snake Moan Editor Billy Fox

To listen to the Billy Fox podcast interview click here.

(To download, right click, “Save Target As”)

Fotokem’s Walter Vopatto on Black Snake Moan Postproduction

To listen to the Walter Vopatto podcast interview click here.

(To download: right click, “Save Target As”)

Check out our entire Sundance Podcast Archive.

Black Snake Moan Director Craig Brewer

To watch our YouTube slideshow for the Craig Brewer interview, click here.

Black Snake Moan Editor Billy Fox

To listen to the Billy Fox podcast interview click here.

(To download, right click, “Save Target As”)

Fotokem’s Walter Vopatto on Black Snake Moan Postproduction

To listen to the Walter Vopatto podcast interview click here.

(To download: right click, “Save Target As”)

Check out our entire Sundance Podcast Archive.

from Darroch Greer

Lest we forget, some of the best drama occurs in sports. But who has the time to watch movies and follow baseball? How many devoted film fans watch NFL Films? How about this: What‘s the last film you saw where the lead character never leaves the screen? Never.

Visual media artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, a Scotsman and French Algerian, had some time to kill in Jerusalem while installing an exhibit back in 1996. They got a football - that‘s soccer ball to us stateside - and kicked it around for three days, while also kicking around ideas. What if they could make a documentary about their favorite footballer (soccer player), and how might it be different than just a fawning documentary portrait?

“What if we were to make a film where the central character was, literally, always central,” Gordon asks, rhetorically. “If action was happening off that character, then that action would be missed. Originally, we thought of Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait as a more traditional narrative film. And then we thought, why not take it out of the traditional narrative and put it into something that is the same time structure as a feature film - and that would be a football match.” [Soccer games last 90 minutes.] “So, that was how we thrashed out an early strategy….We really wanted him to be the central character in a film that would construct its own narrative.” more

With the ‘07 Sundance Film Festival now in full swing, Festival Director Geoffrey Gilmore shares his thoughts on the how this year‘s lineup fits into the history of independent film, how Sundance is celebrating the emergence of a new arena, and what he hopes you‘ll take with you when you leave Park City.

Insider: This is your 17th year as Director of the Sundance Film Festival. How many films have you watched in that time?

Gilmore: It‘s almost impossible to know for sure, but my best guess is that it‘s over 15,000.

Insider: During your tenure, you‘ve witnessed the explosion of independent film - both creatively and in the marketplace. In the films at this year‘s Festival, how do you see that evolution of American independent film continuing?

Gilmore: I‘m sure not everyone would agree with me, but I think there‘s been a gradual and graceful evolution of independent film over the years and I particularly see it this year when it seems we‘ve entered a new phase. The independent world seems to be maturing in terms of subject matter and also a new level of sophistication in the craft. We‘re seeing work that encompasses broader visions and spirit. I really do have a sense of a new form of American independent film as an engaged cinema. Read more