Welcome to another edition of the Auteur Edit: diary of a female film director — a short roundup of what’s keeping me sane, inspired and awestruck in the madness that is the media arts business — plus my take on the trends, tech and tips for achieving creative success.
Let’s get into today’s lineup.
In my studio is a new addition and extremely versatile way to capture b-roll and insert shots. That is to say — Proaim’s version of a doorway dolly — the Cinebird camera rickshaw support. There are many iterations of the doorway dolly— most of which are frustratingly, consistently out of stock. And after waiting for over a year for one we originally ordered, we settled on this rickshaw instead and couldn’t be happier. In fact, my film students are obsessed with it. With a 440lb. payload, gliding jockey wheels and ergonomic seat — it makes maneuverability easy for those long and smooth-like-butter tracking shots.
In a snapshot. Speaking of my students. This is the time of year they cap-off their digital portfolios with a deadline-induced, prompt-based, team-centered short film. This photo captures some of the BTS footage I gathered as they worked feverishly to pull it all off. Once the films are complete each team is rated by their peers, they aggregate the responses to summarize in a presentation and then add highlights to their own personal sizzle reel.
On my screen is the official release of a public service campaign I directed. You may recall, last year, I took you behind the scenes to discuss my directorial decisions during filming. Buoyed by a recent uptick in teen opioid overdoses, the No Fun In Fentanyl PSA, is a stark dramatization with young actors aiming to make inroads with their peers. Now you can view it on this site in full — in case you missed it.
In my cart and now in my possession, is this gem of a mini, so when I’m not carrying or don’t need to lug round my big tote that I love, use for everything, everyday and I’ve told you about before. Thing is, I still need something smaller — enough to fit inside the bigger one — so I can just grab it when I jump out of the car for a quick errand that only requires carrying the essentials without all the extra baggage. This one, like the biggie, is from Free People and it’s the Sochi mini tote. It comes in a whimsical variety of colors but the popular ones sell out quickly and are usually on backorder. I was waitlisted for months, until last week, when my little black lovely finally arrived — and it was worth the wait.
In my reads I’m tracking how the funding debate with media behemoths PBS and NPR — have them making unprecedented moves by taking a sitting president, Donald Trump, to court. Using a free speech argument— that might prove hard to prove for the publicly backed outlets who access a whopping $1.1 billion in federal funds and arguably skew to the ideological left. This definitely has the hallmarks of a script for the big screen. And while the real-life impact is far reaching, PBS-sponsored programs like Sesame Street are doing what all filmmakers do when funding gets pulled or production doesn’t go as planned — troubleshoot and pivot. A move that’s now landed the kids television staple a deal with Netflix.
That’s another Auteur Edit. Content links are embedded in the text. I hope you found something useful. Thanks for your support. I’d love to hear what you think or might want to add to today’s list.
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