The 82nd Annual Academy Awards
The Hurt Locker, a suspense drama about a bomb disposal squad in war-torn Iraq, was the night’s big winner, garnering six Oscars overall. Three were for top line categories including best picture, best director (Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to win the helmer honor) and best screenplay. »
Berger, Kivilo and Egilsson Earn Top ASC Awards
It was retro night at the 24th annual awards dinner of the American Society of Cinematographers. Austrian director of photography Christian Berger, AAC, was the surprise winner for best work on a feature film for his black-and-white cinematography for The White Ribbon. Another theme at the gala was the virtue of film over digital... »
Developing an Eye for Great Cinematography
The look and emotional feel of a film, more than simply a series of unfolding images, is the responsibility of the director of photography. The cinematographer, from choice of camera and lenses, to the crucial task of lighting what’s being shot, is the director’s “right hand,” working to support the helmer’s vision of the... »
A Great Year for Animation
This year has seen a bumper crop of top-notch animated films, making the competition for the Best Animated Feature Oscar particularly interesting. The award, recognizing a genre that was long ignored by the Academy is a relative newcomer, having been instituted only in 2001. “It was certainly a pretty exceptional year for animation,” said... »
The Invisible Art of Cutting Films
“Every editor is going to tell you the same thing,” says Sheldon Kahn, A.C.E. “If you don’t notice the editing, that’s good editing. Whether it’s an animated picture o »
Costume Design: Helping the Actor Find the Character
Costume Designer, Jenny Beavan, can appreciate a beautiful piece of fabric in the same way she would appreciate a beautiful painting or a beautiful flower, but “it’s not what she lives and breathes.” As a costume designer she does not even have a particular interest in clothing, fabric or accessories. “But when it comes... »
Score and Sound: The Unsung Heroes Behind the Scenes
Every year about this time, the Oscar nominations are made. Music, of all the crafts, is possibly the most subjective category to judge, especially for an award of this magnitude. The daunting task of deciding what is worthy of contention goes to the composers, music editors and music supervisors who are Academy members. “Movies... »
Apocalypse-Almost-Now: Volker Engel and Marc Weigert on World’s End FX in 2012
At the recent Production Summit thrown by the Visual Effects Society in Marina del Rey, collectively attempting to suss out the future of Hollywood filmmaking in a world both all-digital, and all-outsourced, director Roland Emmerich’s visual effects cohorts, Volker Engel and Marc Weigert—the former supervising VFX on most of his pictures, the latter in... »
Gorillas or Guerrillas? The Year in FX
Because of our own release schedule for this annual fall “voters’ guide” to the upcoming awards—just call us “Secretaries of the State of the Crew!”—we go to press just as this year’s two 800-pound gorillas of visual effects are hitting screens. The symbolically simian pair is succinctly referred to by VFX supervisor Wojciech Zielinski,... »
Assessing the Year in Shape Language
It’s a good year for production designer Mark Ricker to suss out award finalists in that category (and it’s kissin’ cousin, art direction), since he may find himself in the thick of the awards hunt—on the Academy and guild sides—for his own work channeling both ’60’s-era Paris and the present-day US in Julie &... »
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Director Series
Get Low Director’s First Feature Attracts All-star Cast and CrewAugust 2010 | By Jack Egan
Get Low, a small-budget gem now in theaters, is directed by long-time cinematographer Aaron Schneider, his first time at the helm of a feature... »
Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois show How to Train Your Dragon
April 2010 | By Mary Ann Skweres
Helmed by Oscar-nominated writer/director Chris Sanders and writer/director Dean Deblois (Lilo & Stitch, Mulan), the DreamWorks Animation SKG production of »
Exclusive Film Reviews
Up in the AirDecember 2009 | By Len Klady
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has an amiable disposition that belies the fact that it’s best to stay out of his path. You see he’s... »
The Young Victoria
December 2009 | By Len Klady
The enduring image of Queen Victoria, whose reign dominated the bulk of the 19th century, is of a benevolent, elderly grandmother. Though she was... »