Nearly missed Southwest dawn patrol to Salt Lake– the LAX security line was out the door and onto the sidewalk. The plane is half-full of Sundance people and half-full of riders who are hoping to make it to Snowbird by 10:30. All are optimists–this is so far the “Why Bother” year all over the West for decent snow, and Sundance is rumored to be Bigger Than Ever, which is not what Sundance needs to be.

Though it really is inevitable, and to be fair it‘s probably right. You will hear people say that it‘s bigger in the wrong ways, that it‘s just another studio co-opted celebrity duty call in Ug boots and Hobo Kelly sunglasses. I‘m sure that‘s true, but I don‘t really know since that‘s not the Sundance I see. I see more people from more walks of filmmaking life who are getting a chance. Last year one of the visual effects artists from The Darwin Awards brought a bag full of swag mittens her mom had knitted (with her logo, kind of). She wasn‘t the only person who un-cynically embraced Sundance as a Big Deal. I‘m thinking of a couple of earnest first-time cinematographers and most of the animation department from San Jose State. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were the best kind of grassroots music video directors before Little Miss Sunshine got them to the Golden Globes (more from them in a minute). more

Below is an excerpt of last week’s interview between Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton and Millimeter contributing writer Darroch Greer.

What did Sundance mean?

JD: (Little Miss Sunshine) wasn‘t in competition, but it was scheduled to premiere outside. I think that for various reasons they thought it wasn‘t a proper film for the regular festival, but it usually features five or six premieres. I think that was right. We ultimately ended up with a cast of fairly big actors, and it wouldn‘t be fair to compete against lesser-known casts.

VF: They also like to have certain films in their premiere category that have stars to draw an audience. more

Live Blogging Starts Thursday, January 18

Welcome to the second annual Sundance blog from the editors of Digital Content Producer and Millimeter, brought to you by HP. We‘re on our way to Utah to cover the annual film festival, which serves as a celebration of independent filmmaking and as a gathering of the tribes for directors, cinematographers, editors, and actors.

In the blog we‘ll be posting information about the latest happenings, information on people using the latest technology, as well as interviews with filmmakers at Sundance. We start with a Sundance Preview podcast series on the making of Black Snake Moan, as Senior Editor Michael Goldman talks with Director Craig Brewer, Editor Billy Fox, and Fotokem’s Walter Vopatto.

Check back often, as we‘ll be updating multiple times a day starting January 18. Have a great Sundance if you‘re attending, and if not, this is your source for realtime coverage of the show.

Scroll down for some pre-show podcasts and press releases.