WE GOT THE BEAT

The year is 1983 and Brad Roberts is the top recruited high school quarterback in the nation. He dates the hottest girl in the school and is quite popular, but this isn't the life Brad wants. To prove that he's more than just a hot-shot quarterback, Brad attempts to turn his heavy metal band into the first ever boyband.
See how a jock, a stoner, and an ex-figure skater team up with a couple of reject break-dancers from the Bronx to make their mark in this Footloose meets Sixteen Candles edgy teen comedy. In the independent style of Napoleon Dynamite, We Got the Beat pulls no punches and is sure to push, bend, and gyrate the PG-13 genre to a breaking point.
From the director/producer team that brought you Rutland, USA, Freedom Park and the soon to be released teen drama, Still Green, Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian are scheduled to begin principal photography on the teen comedy We Got the Beat this August, 2006 in central Massachusetts.
Familiarize yourself with this site to learn how you can get involved with the production. Opportunities include auditioning for the film, volunteering your time, becoming part of the crew, offering a potential location for the shoot, and becoming an extra.
TO THE WEBSITE...
http://www.wegotthebeatmovie.com./
PHOTO: The cast of Still Green includes both recognizable Hollywood actors as well as Florida based talent, who have starred in such projects as HBO's Band of Brother's and Big Love and feature films such as: Mean Creek, Stolen Summer, But I'm a Cheerleader, Brick, and the Visitation. In addition, our actors have guest starred on television shows including: Smallville, Dawson's Creek, CSI Miami, and Cold Case.

1080i vs. 1080p HDTV: should you care?

Why 1080p is theoretically better than 1080i
1080i, the former king of the HDTV hill, actually boasts an identical 1,920x1,080 resolution but conveys the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). In a tube-based television, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i sources get "painted" on the screen sequentially: the odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines--all within 1/30 of a second. Progressive-scan formats such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p convey all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially with sports and other motion-intensive content.
Why you should buy--or not buy--a 1080p set
While we haven't posted any reviews of 1080p rear-projection sets yet--before you ask, we've requested review samples from most major manufacturers, and received some promises but no product yet--we have gotten early looks at several of the new models, some of them have been early, nonshipping units. These include HP's MD6580N, a 65-inch 1080p DLP, and Sony's KDS-R60XBR1, a 60-inch LCoS (SXRD) set that brings the technology from Sony's highly regarded Qualia 006 down to a more-affordable price point. After seeing 1080p in action, we've come to some conclusions.
LEARN MORE...By David Carnoy for Cnet.com
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6361600-1.html

B R O K E N

"BROKEN is essentially a demonstration of the mastery of horror imagery and techniques...effective and professional.
Looking forward to “BROKEN: The Feature." - Roger Ebert (Film Critic Chicago SunTimes/Ebert & Roeper)
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT B R O K E N
"B R O K E N has all the visual potency of the likes of The Matrix and Fight Club."
- FilmFocus UK
"4 STARS! "Broken” looks great, sounds great and threatens to put a bullet between your eyes right from the get go."
- Film Threat
"Excellent directing, camerawork, music, production design, and very well edited.
The production value is truly amazing for $8000. The story is intriging and as a viewer you want to know more.
Very nice job, you guys have talent."
- Jonathan Krane (Producer: Swordfish, Face Off, The General's Daughter, Phenomenon, Look Who's Talking)
"Allow me to introduce you to the next big thing. ...the sweetest indie trailer this side of the Matrix.
They have single handedly taken indie to the next level . This $8,000 dollar film looks as good as Sin City.
- MoviesOnline CANADA
"Broken rivals the Lord Of The Rings Extended Editions...a how to guide, a budget handbook for budding filmmakers."
- DVD Reviewer UK
"I really dug the style and the visuals, and hope to see something a little LENGTHIER from you in the future.
The next David Fincher perhaps?"
- JoBlo.com
A must for anyone intending to make their own low budget action/thriller.
This should be a essential part of any independent filmmaker's library.
- Einsider.com
"The film was made for $8,000 but looks like it a million!"
- Cinema Insomnia.com
"B R O K E N packing enough cinematic DY-NO-MITE to completely blow your ass off!
It delivers a skull-shattering array of special effects shots that equals the quality of big budgeted studio flicks!"
- Living Corpse.com
"...reminded me of a mix between The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, and Sin City."
- Cin3ma TV
"It looks like something Quentin Tarantino might have done on his day off when
he was jamming with the Wachowski Brothers."
- Film Guru.net
"...literally overflows with bullets, brains and blood…Sam Raimi would be proud."
- DVD Verdict
"It's sheer entertainment. Best indie & the most effective indie calling card we've ever seen.
Hell, you could hand these two guys MI: 3 and it might draw me into watch it."
- Need Coffee.com
"...seeing people creating works like this is like a breath of fresh air...
T he people behind BROKEN could probably step up to the major leagues."
- Cleverdonkey.com
"Broken, an action/sci-fi piece complete with explosions, automatic weapons, & a stylish, neo-noir look that isn't all that far removed from its main stylistic inspiration, the Matrix trilogy."
-PLAY Magazine
"Broken also makes for an excellent resource and lesson for any other aspiring filmmaker out there."
DVDDude.net
"...shot for a mind-bogglingly small $8,000, which includes over 100 visual effects shots.
Stuff like this must make the Hollywood studios tremble."
- Pixel Surgeon.com
"These guys are responsible for, perhaps, one of the highest quality independent films ever created."
- Entertainmentopia
"Visually, it’s fantastic, with production values as high – if not higher – than anything you will see in more mainstream films.
- Pulp Movies
"Quite literally, a lesson in guerilla filmmaking."
- DVD Dude.net
"...sensibilities of a video game and the visual feel of films like SAW and SEVEN.
- Foywonder
"B R O K E N is a quality film! It's the best suspense thriller you never saw."
- World's Greatest Critic.com
"A great achievement in Independent Cinema. It is probably the best short film I've ever seen."
- The Horror Review
"If you're planning on filming your own short movie anytime in the future you'd be well advised to
check out Broken to see how to make a short movie right!"
- Dangerous Universe.com
"Let’s just say that if The Matrix was a darker movie, it would be BROKEN’s bigger brother. BROKEN definitely represents a victory for low budget cinema."
- Shade.ca
"Stylish, noirish and edgy, Broken engages from the start"
- Andrew L. Urban - Urbancinefile.com.au
"B R O K E N may have started as a independent project but Hollywood is definitely going to take notice."
- The MovieReporter GERMANY
""B R O K E N secludes your mind, ties you down, gives yah a bit of a tickle and then slaps you in the face."
- CG UNDERGROUND
"It's slick with fast paced editing and plenty of style to boot...the trailer flies by and leaves you thirsty for more."
- The Movie Blog
Twenty minutes well spent...this is one of the coolest action films I've seen in a while!"
- Cinema Crazed
"Director Alex Ferrari is confident with the camera – the end product is slick, well edited and very professional. For a brief no-budget film with amateur actors, I dug B R O K E N quite a bit."
LEARN MORE...
http://www.whatisbroken.com/index_short.htmlhttp://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51593508

HEART OF STEEL

What remarkable power lies beneath the facade of the ordinary citizen?
What happens when we step outside the box in which we live?
What miracles occur when we simply volunteer?
How these questions are answered in the face of the most devastating act of the new century, the attack on the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, is to meet The Renegade Volunteers in a new documentary: THE HEART OF STEEL.
THE HEART OF STEEL is the untold story that explores how impassioned individuals choose to break from their comfortable lives to help those in need and, in so doing, find themselves calling upon inner resources they never knew they had.
On the front line, and going where no civilian has ever gone, the very essence of their beings is challenged continually as they strive to accomplish what seems like an impossible set of tasks. Despite the figurative and literal roadblocks, they become more determined, uncovering their own hearts of steel.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.theheartofsteel.com/home.htm

STAGES

When a 26 year-old, nice Jewish actress is offered the role of a lifetime, she hesitates. Haunted by the death of her childhood best friend, fearful of growing apart from her troubled roommate, and enamored with the wrong guy, she can’t see her way clear to a future. But when a surprise visitor reminds her that the show must go on, she finds the courage to step out of the wings and into her life. At turns, hilarious and heartbreaking, STAGES is a deeply felt and imaginatively written examination of love, loss, letting go, and the many uses of a single white sheet.
Rosalind Productions explores stories in which the female characters are as vital, complex and influential as the male characters. Working with classical, contemporary and original material, we endeavor to engage, move and inspire audiences on an intellectual, emotional and spiritual level, by allowing them to experience and empathize with each character’s desires, vulnerabilities and range of masculine and feminine traits.
Our hope is that our audiences will take with them a sense of recognition and a better understanding of their own humanity.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.rosalindproductions.com/nowplaying.htm

BREAKING the "NORMAN ROCKWELL" CODE

A famous museum... a shocking murder... a distinguished symbologist... an alluring cryptologist... secrets written in code. IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN!

No, it's not that "other" story. It's
THE NORMAN ROCKWELL CODE

When the curator of The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is murdered, the police desperately need help with the investigation. Langford Fife, Professor of Symbology at Stockbridge Community College and the son of a certain Deputy Sheriff from Mayberry, North Carolina, is called to the scene.
He may have received his degree in symbology through a correspondence course but he's "just as competent as those high-falutin' professors from Harvard with their fancy sheepskins from accredited schools."
With cryptologist Sopha Poisson of the Quebec Secret Service, Langford sets out to uncover the clues hidden in the paintings of Norman Rockwell... clues which will lead them to a secret society, a legendary bloodline and a battle with sinister forces.
VISIT THE SITE...
http://www.thenormanrockwellcode.com/
SEE THE FILM...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BffPAw4HMME#GU5U2spHI_4

Tough Times for Indie Film Distribution

At an IFP panel Monday night: Filmmaker Magazine editor Scott Macaulay, "I Am A Sex Addict" director Caveh Zahedi, IFP executive director Michelle Byrd, "Down to the Bone" producer Susan Leber, and "The Puffy Chair" director Jay Duplass. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE
Sometimes with high expectations, independent filmmakers create work and then try to navigate the increasingly murky world of releasing their movie. It might be a hard pill to swallow, but filmmakers today need to know that getting into a top film festival and/or securing representation from a leading sales company isn't enough to guarantee a moneymaking deal to release a movie.
Calling distribution today, "one of the biggest challenges facing independent filmmakers," IFP executive director Michelle Byrd introduced a panel discussion Monday night entitled, "Distribution Now... Distribution How?" Filmmakers Caveh Zahedi (director, "I Am a Sex Addict"), Jay Duplass (director, "The Puffy Chair"), and Susan Leber (producer, "Down To The Bone") chatted with FILMMAKER Magazine editor Scott Macaulay about the topic and offered some filmmakers some reality checks.
"We totally bought into the idea of, if not a major distributor picking up (our film), then at least a middle-sized one," explained Leber, adding that having won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival, her team thought that the awareness and acclaim would be enough help them secure a deal.
"I totally bought into the idea of a huge distributor picking it up," agreed Zahedi, eliciting a few chuckles from the crowded Manhattan movie theater on Monday night." "Puffy Chair" director Jay Duplass added, "I actually had no expectations whatsoever. The film was so small that I was just glad that it was at Sundance. (But), then we had a huge screening at Sundance and I thought we would (get a big distribution deal), and that took a year for it to recede."
In the case of all three films, each has secured a theatrical distribution deal, but none received money up front and it looks unlikely that any will break even financially. Susan Leber explained that in the case of "Down to the Bone," a critically acclaimed narrative indie made for $500,000...
READ MORE... by Eugene Hernandez for indiewire.com
http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2006/04/during_tough_ti.html

G R I E F

G R I E F
The first Filipino horror movie filmed in the United States.
Ummm...
OK, the second Filipino horror movie filmed in the United States... that we know of :-p
The first, we are certain, to center around the legend of the manananggal
LEARN MORE...
http://griefmovie.com/
SEE THE PREVIEW...
http://griefmovie.com/trailer.htm

The XXX Factor

It’s a maxim in our business that when it comes to the technology of personal or home video, pornography is the decider. Like it or not, smut played a decisive role in the triumph of VHS over Betamax, the rise of video-on-demand and online streaming, and the development of all manner of Internet commerce for the lonely. There are many out there for whom the term JPEG still means something naughty, like etchings in the 19th century.
What, after all, laid the groundwork for YouTube and Google Video, or selling videos on iTunes? Ever peeked at racy clips or JPEGs one click away on popular sites like College Humor or Gorilla Mask? I guarantee you that most people were introduced to watching video on a computer by something other than CNN or New York Times video journalism.
So what might pornography have to teach us in handicapping Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD? Will it be the decider once again? A lot has been written about this already. About how major pornography suppliers have lined up behind Blu-ray.
By D. W. Leitner for digitalcontentproducer.com
READ MORE...
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoencodvd/revfeat/dvd_focus_top_story_05252006/

INNOCENT VOICES

Based on the true story of screenwriter Oscar Torres's embattled childhood, Luis Mandoki's Innocent Voices is the poignant tale of Chava (Carlos Padilla), an eleven-year-old boy who suddenly becomes the "man of the house" after his father abandons the family in the middle of a civil war.
In El Salvador in the 1980s, the government's armed forces are already recruiting twelve year olds, rousting them out of their classes at the local middle school. If he is lucky, Chava has just one year of innocence left, one year before he, too, will be conscripted to fight the government's battle against the peasant rebels of the FMLN. Chava's life becomes a game of survival, not only from the bullets of the escalating war, but also from the dispiriting effects of daily violence. As he hustles to find work to help his single mother pay the bills, and experiences the pangs of first love for a beautiful classmate, Chava's tiny home village becomes both playground and battlefield.
Armed only with the love of his mother (Leonor Varela) and a small radio that broadcasts a forbidden anthem of love and peace, and faced with the impossible choice of joining either the army or the rebels, Chava finds the courage to keep his heart open, and his spirit alive, in his race against time.
SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.innocentvoicesmovie.com/eng/HTML/trailer.html

STRIPPED DOWN

Visualiner Entertainment’s Stripped Down award winning stylish thriller set in the under world of a second rate dancing clubs isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a mother of four whose children range from 10 months old to a student at Stanford University. But that’s exactly what you get with writer/director/actress Elana Krausz. While serving up provocative images Stripped Down transcends it’s candy coated exploitation bubble to make a serious statement of feminine empowerment. This social consciouness has led to Stripped Down being an official selection of the prestigious Monaco Charity Film Festival.
The film tells the story of Lily (Elana Krausz) a former dancer turned club manager, who has allowed herself to succumb to years of abuse and objectification. All of that changes in the course of 24 hours in a series of events that involve her paranoid and violent club owner husband (Pirae) a judgemental Tax Agent (Ziering) and two strippers who evoke memories of Lily’s distant past.
SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.strippeddownthemovie.com/Visualiner/Frameset-3.htm

E A R T H L I N G

A globe spanning cinematic experience based on a dream come true. EARTHLING is a movie about taking another look at life from a different angle.
In spite of the enchanted world he has experienced while growing up with his dad, renowned wildlife filmmaker Wolfgang Bayer, Tristan finds himself in shadow, not knowing his place. He struggles to hear his own calling more clearly.

Just when it looks like the situation could never change, the entire reality of Tristan and his family is shaken by Wolfgang's cardiac arrest. Suddenly life, death and the precious beauty of the natural world are thrown into sharper relief than they had ever appeared before. Wolfgang emerges from his near-death experience with a new-found obsession—to show his family the hidden magic of the world and capture it by making one last film -- while he, his family, and the wild places still remain.

On their global odyssey they encounter; orangutans in the rainforest, toxic lakes filled with marooned jellyfish, ice flats scoured by polar bears, the eerie underwater grace of manta rays, the shifting ice sculptures of the far North, and the sky darkening with the migration of monarch butterflies.

Tristan begins to understand and appreciate his father, realizing more deeply how human beings and the natural world have a fragile beauty in common. When this journey reaches it end, he knows what a great gift he has been given, but also sees the daunting responsibility he and his generation have toward the natural world. With a camera and his father’s blessing he walks towards his future.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.earthnative.com/sites/earthlingmovie/assets/html/main.html
Photographs Copyright 2000 Tristan Bayer / EarthNative Inc. All rights reserved.

Director's Chair: Dual-Role Directing

Multitasking when you are directing is not easy but sometimes necessary. Here are a few suggestions.
When is a director not only the director? Well, in today's fast-paced, small crew production world, the answer to that question is; often. The director must be able to pick up the reins for various positions and still maintain the quality and integrity of the production. In this column we will look at two common examples of dual-role directing and note the benefits and challenges of each.

The Director/Camera Operator
The director as camera operator is a common occurrence, especially in a 2-person crew video production. This dual-role can be detrimental to the production for a number of reasons. When acting as the camera operator, you are concentrating on looking through the viewfinder and keeping the action in focus and well-composed. As the director, it is hard to pay attention to the performance of the talent. It will also be difficult for you to monitor the other aspects of production and possible distractions. Because of these problems, you should only choose to jump into the role of camera operator after careful consideration of the production needs.
LEARN MORE...by Dr. Robert G. Nulph for Videomaker.com
http://www.videomaker.com/article/12598

NYU Film Grads Open Their Exclusive Entertainment Industry Network

(HOLLYWOOD, CA) - NYU Film Grads' TribeHollywood.com is opening its doors to the entertainment industry.
Two years ago, founder and NYU Film grad Ilja von Nagel sought to combine his desire to get his screenplays out of the drawer with his knowledge of internet programming.
Von Nagel launched TribeHollywood.com, which extends traditional social networking by adding a way to network based on entertainment projects such as films, screenplays, headshots, plays, etc.

The site grew quickly into an ultra-exclusive network for NYU Film, Art and Business Grads mingling and hooking up for projects. "The site was bursting at the seams, though," says co-founder Tracey Adlai, "because it's all about networking and networking calls for more and more quality people. People started trying to scam us by pretending they were NYU grads. So sooner or later, it was just too tempting to go all-out industry-wide."

Of course - this being Hollywood, after all - the site has a gatekeeper who checks new members' qualifications, such as an imdb.com credit or a professional email address. "If you want to break into Hollywood," jokes von Nagel, "you don't have to pay $20 to park on Sunset anymore. You can be rejected right in the comfort of your own home."
Once you're in, however, you can distribute your press kits and sample pages, get feedback on your projects, display video and sound, find partners and mass-mail query letters to the network. "The most popular feature, however," von Nagel says with a grin, "are the stats weere you see who checked you out, who saw your logline, browsed your project, and so on. It's almost as if Hollywood people are a bit obsessed with themselves."

TribeHollywood.com now has roughly 5000 professional members, 2000 active projects and receives approximately 400,000 page views a month. "The best thing about it," says von Nagel, "is going to a party and running into people who tell me they found agents, producers, distributors, projects, etc. on my site." And did he get his screenplays out of the drawer? "My loglines were viewed 21,745 times as of May 8th," he says, "my profile was seen 1,562 times in the last six months, 217 people
downloaded my sample pages, two people have hired me for rewrites and one bought a
feature script."

TribeHollywood invites all entertainment industry and creative professionals, independent filmmakers, serious artists and students of the arts to join at http://www.tribehollywood.com.
EXPLORE THE SITE...
The site can be explored at: http://www.tribehollywood.com
Log in using:
Username: Official_Visitor
Password: lookaround

SHUT UP AND DO IT

This is probably the best advice any independent filmmakers can recieve.

SHUT UP AND DO IT is also the title of a new independent film in which the main character, Michael, is fed up with the portrayal of Latinos in film and TV. With his passion for acting and self respect hanging in the balance, he decides to take destiny into his own hands, by making a movie.

Michael’s dream soon becomes a nightmare as he encounters the trials of independent film making; dwindling budgets, actors' egos, and jealous boyfriends (Does this sound familiar to anyone out there?). Michael’s comic and emotional journey leads him to realize that there just might be more to his dreams than making a movie.

SHUT UP AND DO IT gives the best advice! If you have a dream and have been sitting around idle for too many years, grab the bull by the horns and go for it.

SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.222p.net/suadi.htm - copyright © 2006, two twenty two productions, All Rights Reserved.

D E L I R I U M

Newton said that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and that law holds true as college students innocently venture forth to have fun and enjoy their spring break.

Unknown to them, it's time to get even when the six find themselves stranded in the desert with a broken-down car on a deserted highway. Having no alternative but to walk to the next town, they slowly begin to die one at a time at the hands of a shadowy figure who foresees their every move.

Delirium is not your ordinary slasher film made just for the sake of gore. The bloodshed in this tale is the resuly of bullying. The film possesses all the elements a good horror film should have, but it also reminds its youthful audience of how others look at what we do and cautions them that like Newton's law, there is a reaction to every deed.

San Diego-based writer/director Mark Allen of Forsaken Films has produced a well-made low-budget independent first-feature and the cast includes competent acting by Mike Burnell, Tallia Cuellar, Louie Del Monico, Wren Napier, Heather Self, Luke Slinko, Donovan Smith and Fiona Finlayson.

Like many independent films made without studio funding, Delirium suffered with a cast of unknowns. Luckily, Tallia Cuellar, the female lead, moved to LA to persue a career in acting and has since appeared on the ABC series, INVASION.

Distributors are advised to have a look and contact Mark Allen at mw_allen@yahoo.com
(c) 2006, Forsaken Films. All Rights Reserved.

Midnight Massacre Theatre

Hellooooo kiddies..and welcome to the dead of night.stay a while and let me tell you the tale of, “The Midnight Massacre Theatre”. ready?...ok. It was a dark and stormy night…wait! its always a dark and stormy night in this classic late night “creature feature” show, incorporating modern dark humor and entertainment with the classic late night horror movie showcase creating the most entertaining fright night fun you’ll ever experience. We’ve all been thrilled by the late night creature feature show…hardcore horror film fan or not…everyone enjoys a good creature feature. Hosted by a sinister and deranged ex priest…(me! Mwahahaaaaaaaaa!)… with a penchant for old creepy films, sexy young catholic schoolgirls…a.k.a…my “Altargirls”…and just dripping with sarcasm and malevolence…I, the “Sinister Minister” along with the Altargirls, bring the Midnight Massacre Theatre to you in the dead of night and makes the witching hour creep by with thrills and laughs. Showcasing the best in old creepy horror films to tingle your spine and chill your bones. So…kiddies, turn down the lights…light some candles…lock your door, bolt your windows, sit back, curl up and enjoy the Midnight Massacre Theatre…
Darkest Regards…
The Sinister Minister
LEARN MORE...
http://tyrotv.com/midnightmassacre.html
http://www.myspace.com/midnightmassacretheatre

ViewSonic N3760W 37" LCD TV

Low-priced HDTV is an outstanding value
You can get a lot of HDTV these days for $1600, and the ViewSonic NextVision N3760W 37" LCD TV is no exception. I watched a variety of content on the display, including standard-definition DVDs, HD-DVDs, 1080i high-definition programming and extremely high-resolution computer files and slides, and was impressed with this 1366x768 LCD display's ability to deliver high-resolution video at a low cost.
This ViewSonic flat panel 16:9 LCD TV is a versatile piece of equipment. Its 37-inch diagonal screen dimension and small footprint makes it appropriate for a bedroom TV, but its high-resolution picture will also make it right at home in a home theater. When setting it up in your home, keep in mind that as with any 37-inch display, just because it's an LCD panel doesn't mean it's light. In fact, it weighs 84.7 pounds, and it was quite an effort taking it out of the box by myself -- I would recommend that you enlist a strong companion to help you when it's time to set up this TV.
Placing it on an appropriate stand, I first connected and HD DVD player to the monitor via its HDMI ports. For my testing, I used the first HD DVD player on the market, the Toshiba HD-A1 ( read the review of that player here).
While I wasn't particularly impressed with the Toshiba HD DVD player, it was the ViewSonic monitor that emerged as the star of the show in that review. The high resolution of the HD DVD content brought out the most immediately noticeable attribute of this ViewSonic monitor: its startling sharpness. Playing the HD-DVD through this monitor at had 720p resolution gave us some of the sharpest video we've ever seen here at the Midwest Test Facility.
LEARN MORE...
by Charlie White for consumerelectronicsnet.com

BAZOOKAS

When Gus Bazooka (R.I.P.) built his gym he never would have imagined that someday his two sons would battle for control and that his employees would have to lay it all on the line to save the gym from the wrecking ball.

Bazookas: The Movie is a High Definition feature film currently in pre-production. The sexy comedy, in the spirit of Porky’s and Old School, will begin principal photography in late June 2006 in the Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia area.

Producers are currently interviewing for several crew positions including makeup artist, boom operator, and production assistants. Some pay.
Email your resume to : Bazookasthemovie@gmail.com

If you are interested in becoming an Executive Producer of Bazookas please email us and one of the producers will contact you: Bazookasthemovie@gmail.com
TO THE WEBSITE...
http://www.truancyfilms.com/bazookas.htm
(c)2006, Truancy Films. All Rights Reserved.

Justice through the eyes of a vigilante

The hero ‘Cliffhanger’ uses two bullwhips as his main weapons in his fight against tyranny in this independent film in the works.
Cliffhanger is just an ordinary man (he has no special gadgets, no backup, no specialist training-he's just himself with his whips).
Rich Hoffman is the author of The Symposium of Justice and 2005 winner of the of the bullwhip fast drawl and Speed and Accuracy contests at the WWAC Ohio Regional Convention. Currently a film version of The Symposium of Justice is in preproduction with Fishmongerfilms to be completed in 2007.
The other thing that was well thought out about Cliffhanger is his own identity, you never find out truly who he is, this causes you to think of him just as Cliffhanger, which works very well. Once you pick up the book this independent film comes from, its hard to put down.
TO THE FILM...
http://www.cliffhangernow.com/

FILM CHEST

Film Chest is the one-stop source for programming executives, offering high-quality content for use in broadcast television, film projects, video streaming, distribution, public television, cable or other professional needs.
Our library is ideal for independent television stations, film and video distributors, stock footage companies, independent production companies and streaming media Internet sites. Film Chest's programming is professionally transferred from library masters in both PAL and NTSC formats. Our public domain content may be utilized for broadcast, duplication or resale without restriction
Public domain material may be used for any purpose, including commercial use such as broadcasting on television, or as footage in film or video projects. The copyrights have expired, eliminating licensing fees. Our library has been researched through the Library of Congress to ensure all programming is royalty-free.
LEARN MORE...
http://filmchest.com/films.php

“The People’s Filmmaker” Tim Greene

Watch out, world, here comes Tim Greene!
Hailing from Philadelphia, this amazingly inventive, young director is making movies on no budget. That's right, zero budget. So forget the old micro-budget standard bearers like El Mariachi and The Blair Witch Project, for Mr. Greene has managed to finance and make his movies for free, relying on a combination of ingenuity, coupons, rebates, tradeoffs, frugality and an infectious optimism which even I found inspiring during the course of this interview.
Already on his resume' are such fun flicks as Ya Grandma's a Gangsta, a hilarious parody of rap videos, Raykwan's Cuties, a clever take-off on Charlie's Angels in which a trio of single moms team up to track down the guys who got them pregnant, and Creepin', a comical horror flick which takes place in the 'hood.
What I appreciate about his work is that it represents the hip-hop generation from a refreshing perspective, not that relentlessly malevolent one which make you think the ghetto is all guns and ammo. While giving a chance to a cast of veritable unknowns, Tim wears a whole host of hats on the set.
He turns into a cameraman, actor, make-up artist, food service caterer, prop man, chauffeur, whatever is needed at each moment to advance the cause. Post-production, he edits the footage and handles the packaging and distribution of the final product, still on limited resources.
Remarkably, Tim Greene's micro-budget films are available in the same video stores all across the country offering $100 million Hollywood blockbusters. Given his boundless talent, magnetic personality and generosity of spirit, I know that it's only a matter of time before this bona fide genius is discovered by some studio big-wig and gets the backing he deserves.
READ MORE... Story By Kam Williams
http://www.timgreenefilms.com/NewsStory.html

FEAST OF LOVE

"The Feast of Love", an ensemble drama feature film, is now casting major roles for production starting this summer.
This movie will be an adaptation of a Charles Baxter novel about several overlapping stories of "extraordinary love" between ordinary people. The characters include an espresso bar owner, a mentally-ill neighbor and his elderly parents, and a waitress and her ex-junkie boyfriend.
"The Feast of Love" was adapted into a screenplay by Allison Burnett and will be directed by Robert Benton.
Filming begins in Summer 2006.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.summerfeature.u4.pl/

ANSWERING THE CALL: GROUND ZERO'S VOLUNTEERS

This is not another in the seemingly unendless stream of 9/11 conspiracy theory films, but rather a 5th anniversary tribute to the 70,000 men and women who served during rescue and recovery at Ground Zero -- they are the forgotten heroes.
''Answering the Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers'' is an emotional tribute to the thousands of regular citizens and emergency personnel who, on Sept. 11, 2001, responded to the worst disaster any of them had ever seen. For 16 days after the collapse of the twin towers, the filmmaker and volunteer firefighter Lou Angeli -- one of the few sanctioned videographers on the scene -- documented their efforts. The resulting film is a record of indefatigably focused activity that began with the simple goal of rescue but evolved into a therapeutic tool for resolution and acceptance.
Narrated by a huskily respectful Kathleen Turner, the film is equally divided between talking heads and familiar, surreal images of devastation, most shot at close range. Traversing the acres of twisted steel alongside firefighters, lawyers, playwrights and musicians, Mr. Angeli trains his camera on the less visible heroes of the hour: the volunteers who evacuated an estimated half-million people from piers on the Hudson River, and the dozens of rescue dogs whose uncanny ability to scent buried human beings is both moving and awe-inspiring. (''We're like colored smoke to them,'' a handler says.)
LEARN MORE... by Jeannette Catsoulis-The New York Times
http://www.911documentary.com

ROBOTS ARE BLUE

In the future, robots live and work among humans.
In a workplace infiltrated by robots, sometimes the line between human and machine becomes blurred. Tom must decide where to draw the line when one of his 'workers' begins to show an interest in poetry.
TO THE FILM...
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=52640693

Sony HVR-Z1U Camcorder

The Sony HVR-Z1U professional camcorder shoots brilliant high definition 1080i pictures with jaw-dropping detail, color and clarity, and comes equipped with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar® T 12x zoom lens - the same glass and coatings as in Zeiss prime lenses. (Shown with optional ECM-678 shotgun microphone.)
New 3CCD 1080i HDV camcorder is here! The new HVR-Z1U features three newly developed Super HAD 1/3" CCDs. These new 16:9 native CCDs, combined with a high quality 12X Optical Zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar® T* Lens and Sony's new 14 bit A/D and DXP Digital Extended Processor, result in precise image acquisition with superb detail and clarity. The advanced CCD design allows more light to reach the pixel imager, reducing video noise and improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The new HVR-Z1U records this exceptional imagery using the recently adopted HDV 1080i format onto a DVCAM™ mini cassette. Please note that the directional shotgun microphone is not included with this camcorder. The Supplied Accessories are: AC-VQ850 AC Adaptor/Charger; Remote Commander® Unit RMT-841; A/V Cable; Component Video Cable; Shoulder Strap; Large Eyecup; Shoe Extender; Lens Hood with Integral Lens Cap; NPF-570 InfoLithium® "L" battery.
LEARN MORE...
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/DisplayModel?m=10014&p=2&sp=141&id=78439

1080P — Time for a Reality Check!

The fraud of "HD" will simply grow over time, as most consumers will feign enthusiasm for shelling out thousands of dollars for new TVs but quietly they're wondering why they're not really that impressed. Because the picture sucks, people. If you've ever seen real HD (like a D-5 tape on a good monitor), you already know that these consumer formats are a joke.

OK, I didn't need to read any further than this wrong statement:
"But these programs must be converted to 1080i/30 (that%u2019s interlaced, not progressive scan) before airing on any terrestrial, satellite, or cable TV network."

WRONG. Both ABC and ESPN use 720P (progressive) transmission. That said, there are plenty of others using 1080i, which is more evidence of the FCC's incompetence than anything else. The fact that consumers and the production community are still saddled with interlace (a relic of the '30s) proves that this agency never learns.
The main thing to avoid in these "1080P" TVs is the ones that don't accept 1080P signals through their HDMI inputs; they are a half-assed effort indeed.
Another problem: Nobody has proposed a "high-bit-rate" consumer format. If you do the math on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, the bit rate is going to suck. The capacity we hear about with either of these varies from week to week...
READ MORE...
http://digg.com/technology/1080P_%E2%80%94_Time_for_a_Reality_Check_

Filmmakers flock to the Net

Smooth-talking film distributors nearly robbed Kelly Schwarze of his love for moviemaking, he says. The Hollywood system offered him too many broken promises and too little creative freedom. So he asked himself, "Why not try the Web?"
"Hollywood would tell us that you have to have this amount of sex and this amount (of) violence to sell a story," said Schwarze, the president of Vision Dynamics Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based production company. "By distributing our short films on iTunes (as video podcasts), we don't have to be so formulaic...We make the kind of films we want to see."
The trick to surviving on the Web is learning to entertain people in a much shorter time, Schwarze said. He and his eight-person production staff are trying to trim their stories down to a minute. To keep costs down, Schwarze's movies, which include "Digital Desolation" and "The Creature from the Beige Berber," are made in less than a day. The longest film runs about 4 minutes, but he's still experimenting with the format. Schwarze has even come up with a name for his new shorts: Smidgits.
The process is much more fun than what his team used to do, he said. Schwarze's production company, Vision Dynamics Entertainment, tried for five years to scratch out a profit by selling B-movies to Hollywood. He tangled with film distributors who would try to beat him out of money and others who were uninterested in any material unless it followed a proven storytelling format.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.smidgits.com/

JUNE AND JULY

JUNE and JULY tells thes tory of fraternal twins June and July Shauer, lifelong residents of a depressed town with its glory days well in the past. After their mother suddenly dies in a car accident, June decides that she must get out and do something with her life before it's too late. July, on the other hand, is comfortable where he is and has no idea of June's longing for something new. Adding to June's stress is a struggle to deal with her unexplained supernatural physiology, of which only her brother knows. Or, so she thinks...
LEARN MORE...
http://www.juneandjuly.net

TOLERANCE

It's not how long but how well you live...
After a top CIA mission fails, two American agents are captured by an elite group of terrorists and stored in an abandoned prison like caged animals.
Upon imprisonment, these two agents realize that they are not alone. They have been stored in a prison with other disavowed spies and agents from
all over the world.
Immediately these agents are put through rough interrogation, bled for information about their mission and thier identities. Trained to withstand foreign interrogation and beatings, these agents don't hemmorage easily. The terrorists aren't willing to give up either. The agent's persistence only makes them try harder, and from much practice, these tough terrorists bring in the experts - the top tortures in the game.
Daily, these disavowed agents are tortured, broken down and striped of all their worth. Over time, the agents are forced to reevaulate their lives, their patriotism, and their relationships.
Due to the tough career these agents voluntarily signed up for, they know there is no way they will ever escape or survive. They try to make the best of their time, and they are forced to answer the question: Do I fight to keep my countries secrets
safe, the same country that has denied my existence and told my family lies about whereabouts, or do I protect myself and escape the pain of daily torture?
After many months do by, some agents do break down and hemmorage information to the terrorists, and these terrorists use this information to attack America from the inside.
What happens after that, well, you'll have to see for yourself.
SEE THE TEASER & TRAILER...
http://www.techincproductions.com/prisonfilm.htm

Toshiba launches HD DVD notebook in U.S

The Qosmio G35-AV650 carries over the case design of the $2400 G35-AV600 that has been sold in North America for several months. However, the $600 premium of the HD DVD device does not only buy a high-definition optical drive, but also an upgraded graphics chip (GeForce Go 7600), a faster processor (Core Duo T2500, 2.0 GHz), more hard disk space (two 100 GB SATA drives) and a higher resolution 17" widescreen that can display 1920 by 1200 pixels.
Of course, the G35-AV650's selling point is the HD DVD drive. However, just as the previously launched family room HD DVD players, the PC drives output is also limited to 1080i (1920 x 1080 interlaced) and cannot run 1080p resolution, which many consider as "true" high definition. For users who would like to watch movies on an external display, there is an HDMI port (1080i) which can connect the notebook, for example, to HDTVs that also integrate an HDMI port.
LEARN MORE… by Wolfgang Gruener for tgdaily.com
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/05/10/toshiba_qosmio_hddvd/

VIDEOHELP.COM

This site will help you to make your own VideoCDs, SVCDs or DVDs that can be played on your standalone DVD Player from video sources like DVD, Video, TV, DV, Cam or downloaded movie clips like DivX, MOV, RM, WMV and ASF.
We also have extensive lists of Capture Cards, DVD Media, computer DVD Writers, desktop DVD Recorders and desktop DVD Players with features, compatibility information and user comments.
The Guide, How To, Tutorial and Article list
Glossary - Explanations of common video terms
Everything you need and want to know all on one site!
Enjoy.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.videohelp.com/

CINEMA

CINEMA (The Cleveland Independent Network of Entertainers. Moviemakers, & Artists) is dedicated to supporting and aiding Cleveland filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, and artists through fundraising and a comprehensive network of local talent.
CINEMA will remain a Cleveland based organization utilizing the many talented artists in the Cleveland community.
Each year the CINEMA board of directors will select and support, through financial funding and marketing, a new film written by a local filmmaker.
Whenever possible, CINEMA will use only Cleveland based talent, capital, performers, and venues, in an effort to bring Cleveland into the forefront of American Cinema.
Come together with the largest network of local filmmakers in support of the only non-profit organization dedicated to aiding Cleveland filmmakers through networking and fundraising.
Help support THE DONUTHOLE, CINEMA's first grand jury selected feature film, as well as countless film projects to come.
LEARN MORE...
http://www.cinemacleveland.com/

Feral (2006)

Animals have been disappearing in the woods along highway forty-five.
A young couple's life changes forever when their young daughter disappears without a trace. The frantic search for their child brings them into contact with an unknown, relentless creature, at night, in the woods. They shoot into the darkness of night to kill the creature, but accidentally hit their neighbor instead. When they try to cover up their fatal mistake, their lives spiral downward into murder, conspiracy and psychological chaos.
All the couple's senses of reason and civility - years of evolution - are brutally stolen in a matter of days. One murder turns into four and the couple is still left looking for a way out. Everything comes back to the horrific creature in the woods - the perfect alibi if only the couple could kill it and blame it for the murders. But what is this creature? Feral is a horror film with a deeply terrifying antagonist and a series of disturbing events that lead to a shocking ending.
It questions the fine line between the human and the inhuman, civilization and the wild.
The legend of Hartwood tells of a beast that strikes in darkness, nestled in the English countryside the Beast brings tourists from far and wide, but some of them are never heard from again. When a zoologist who specializes in displaced animals takes a small group to search for the elusive beast they get more than they bargained for. The hunters become the hunted and the struggle for survival begins.
SEE THE TRAILER:
http://www.feralmovie.com/m1.htm

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT

Games Let You Play Housewife or Hit Man
Publishers aim for female players with titles based on shows such as 'Desperate Housewives' and '24.'
They're game, boy...No line is too long, no sense is too overloaded at the video gaming expo.
Five Crossover Titles
Here are five TV- or film-related games that caught our eyes:
1. Scarface: If we hear another "First you get the money, then you get the women ..." Pacino impression ... Argh!
2. Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley seem like they were plastered everywhere.
3. Desperate Housewives: Huge banner in the main connecting hall had people snickering, but they were curious.
4. Spyhunter: Haven't heard a lot about the Rock's movie yet, but he's featured in the game's promo and cover art. Did they see Doom?
5. John Woo Presents Stranglehold: Yeah, yeah ... not a film or TV project. But wow! This sequel to Woo's "Hard Boiled" film has more cinematic grace than a lot of stuff on the bigscreen today.
LEARN MORE... at LATIMESblogs.typepad.com
http://latimesblogs.typepad.com/videogames/

'Adventure' DVD Idea Leaps From Books

As kids growing up in the 1980s, Jeff Norton and Michelle Crames loved navigating the world of tigers, exotic valleys and fantasy realms that came alive in the pages of the popular "Choose Your Own Adventure" children's books.
Now, as young adult entrepreneurs, Norton and Crames have chosen their own business adventure. The two are turning their Harvard Business School project into an interactive DVD version of the book series, mixing elements of video games, paperback narrative and Saturday morning cartoons.
With a distribution deal set to become final today with a distributor of family DVDs, Norton, 31, and Crames, 30, are hoping to persuade a new generation to test the adventuresome waters, using a remote control in place of a bookmark. First up is "The Abominable Snowman," a film aimed at children ages 6 to 11 that allows users to guide what happens by registering their choices on their DVD player.
Like the books, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" DVDs start with a set introduction. In "The Abominable Snowman" three siblings set out to find their uncle trekking in the Himalayas. But when their plane sputters out of gas, the screen prompts a choice, asking the viewer to choose whether to crash land in the plane or parachute into the unknown. Each choice begins a different adventure. Can't decide? The DVD will do it for you.
LEARN MORE... by Claire Hoffman, LA Times Staff Writer
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-choice10may10,1,3414717.story?coll=la-headlines-business&track=crosspromo

Shooting HVX200 for DVD

Many folks have trouble grasping a simple fact that the DVD player is a native 24p device. This means that optimal SD DVD workflow from image acquisition to encoding to DVD-compliant MPEG-2 should ideally be performed at 24p. It need not and should not entail interlacing à la NTSC (or PAL) until the last possible moment, and that being the final output from the DVD player to the display.
That DVD players should operate natively at 24 FPS ought not be surprising. After all, Hollywood product is typically photographed on film and finished at 24 FPS so encoding to DVD at other frame rates would be both inefficient and counter-intuitive.
Encoding 24p (film) programming at 29.97 NTSC invites not only ugly artifacts but also negatively impacts a project’s bit budget; the higher frame rate requiring 25-percent more disc space with no associated benefit. Thus shooting, editing, and encoding 24p makes ultimate sense if your primary release vehicle is standard definition DVD.
The advent of the Panasonic HVX200 P2 camera introduces a new wrinkle in today’s preferred 24p workflow. This is because the HVX camera shoots in at least 81 different formats and modes, including multiple frame rates and resolutions; indeed the camera can record 24p in at least ten different ways! So the question becomes which 24p option makes the most sense for ultimate output to SD DVD.
READ MORE... by Barry Braverman
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/newsletters/Shooting_HVX200_for_DVD051006/

MISSED CUES

MISSED CUES was shot on a very low budget with a 16mm Arri along with most of the props purchased on E-bay.
MISSED CUES is a quick witted comedy about a big city female director who must win over a lax, but charismatic crew at a small town television station. As job losses loom on the horizon, this comical crew tries to outmaneuver the management team, who means to destroy their comfort level. This story embodies the meaning of true friendship, the search for happiness and the importance of following your dreams.
SEE THE TRAILER…http://www.missedcues.com/mc_full.htm

28 beers, 6 students, 1 assignment

THE UTOPIAN SOCIETY“The Utopian Society” is the story of 6 college students from different backgrounds, who are assigned to work together on a final project. These six students have so far spent no time together, can’t stand each other and must pass this final assignment in order to pass the class. The assignment is to create a utopian society, on paper. They’ve had all semester to work on the project but in the tradition of most college group assignments, have opted to wait until the last minute to cram the entire semester’s work into one night.
The film explores the six character’s differences, commonalities and secret’s, and the real shit they have to go through in order to accomplish the task at hand. Over the course of the night, the students learn how their pre-conceived stereotypes are often incorrect. As we discover the differences that Nera, Justin, Caleb, Aaliyah, Ken, and Tanci have, we also find out what makes them part of the same human family. In trying to create their own Utopian Society, our characters discover just how hard it is to make it work in a world as diverse as the one they live in.
SEE THE TRAILER...
http://www.theutopiansocietymovie.com/trailer.html

IRIK

In the small town of Illvaria, something evil is lurking in the woods. Young Jessica Williams knows this. For she stood and watched in horror as it took her young sister Allison. Though her father refuses to believe it, Jessica and the town’s people know better. A monster has come to Illvaria…a Vampire. Alone Jessica is forced to seek the help of a retired Vampire killer named Irik. Once a legendary hunter and skilled fighter, Irik has become nothing more than a drifter, a shadow, a broken down man plagued by nightmares, death and loss. It is not until his love and loyalty to Jessica resurrects the warrior inside I