film magazines

[pauls opinion]

Hi,

I would like to read more about film-m-a-k-i-n-g (!); about directors, DOP's etc, of todays films; about why they decide on this or that lighting, kind of film; about why the choose for that type of editing, about screenwriters etc.

I'm reading books on it; but am also interested for a good magazine on that, for more recent info on recent projects. I like indies and arthouse movies a lot. What magazines would you recommend.

[mattias]

i read american cinematographer, res, filmmaker and moviemaker quite regularly, plus all the underground genre movie (lesbian aliens with guns) magazines i can find a copy of. :-) i've also tried to read screenwriter, but it's just not very interesting for some reason, although screenwriting is my main professional focus after editing and directing...

http://www.theasc.com/
http://www.res.com/
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/
http://www.moviemaker.com/
http://www.nyscreenwriter.com/

/matt

[woods01]

A few years ago I had a subscription to American
Cinematographer. It is an extremly boring magazine
to read. DoPs might find it thrilling but its
really very dry reading because its a trade
magazine. The articles usually lack any critcal
opinion as they usually gush over a DoPs favorite
gel and film stock. Since the mag doesn't really
offer much in the way of lighting schematics I
didn't really learn much that helped me as
beginner. Since I was working with video until now that has affected my opinion. There was always
a few good articles in each issue but for the most
part it was great for getting me to sleep at night.

I think the best sources of info are on the
audio commentaries of SOME dvds. I say some because 99% of them are gushing reviews of
mediocre films. Check around the DVD websites
to see which ones that are the most informative
and critical. I reccomend the Citizen Kane dvd
I really learned a lot from the two commentary
tracks on that one. For doing it low budget
El Mariachi is very informative for the finacially impaired. A really great one that is
out of print, is the laserdisc of Raging Bull
(or was it Taxi Driver?) My friend used to own
it before dvd came along. Martin Scorsese pretty
much did a master class of his film. Discussing
frame speeds and lenses and everything else.
Hopefully it will be released on dvd (the current
dvd does not have director commentary).

I'd also reccoment looking for books written
by film critics or ones that are written many
years after the inital release of a movie. Most
"making of" books are like the dvds: cookie cutter
Entertainment Tonight hype that don't really
tell you much about the film.

[pauls opinion]

Thanks for your input guys!

John, about books, right now I'm reading "I was interrupted" of Nicholas Ray. It's a really nice book where the director comments on different aspects of filmmaking and with reports of a directors class. sometimes quite basic, but (imo)a very nice read.

[woods01]

The book I am currently reading is an older one
called the 5 C's of Cinematography. It was first
written about 35 years ago. I've only just started
to delve into it but so far it has been very
helpful for a film beginner like myself. I also
like the Bare Bones Camera Course. As the title
says its just the bare essentials of lighting
and camera operation. Good diagrams and easy
to read.

[Nigel]

I am a big fan of AIVF. Yes it costs more but you get a more well rounded look at what is going on in the "Indie" world.

Good Luck

www.aivf.org

[dr.sanchez]

I read FilmMaker on occasion; there are usually a couple articles I really like. This month's magazine has a good article on Steven Soderberg. In the 'not bad' category are The Independent Film and Video Monthly and Release Print, though both are local magazines and tend to focus on New York and San Francisco, respectively.

Oddly enough, I get most of my beginner info off of this and other forums. Thanks, guys.

[calgodot]

Add another vote for the Independent Film and Video Monthly (short hand "The Independent") published by AIVF. BTW, the AIVF has salons everywhere, and if they aren't active in your city, then join and get them active.

I've been a loyal reader of the Independent for years. They are at the avant garde of filmmaking news, and their focus on independents is traditionally very non-Hollywood. (So much so that whenever they put a known director or star on the cover, they get tons of mail accusing them of selling out.) And nobody else covers experimental films with the dignity and respect they do. The monthly profiles of independent production and distribution comanies are worth the subscription price. And the festival listings in the back are detailed. Additionally, the writers and editors have a fine sense of humor and can be counted on for highly original "theme" issues. Finally, if you are interested inmaters of race or gender as they relate to filmmaking, then this is the only magazine for you.

Online, you can't do much better than IndieWire for news (www.indiewire.com). They have excellent coverage of festivals, good interviews with directors and writers, and film reviewers who don't think with their gonads. The daily e-mail bulletin is a must-have if you are at all interested in industry news. (Full disclosure: I used to write a little for IndieWire.)

Also online, do not negelect the websites of the various guilds and unions, like the WGA or DGA. They have links to articles, interviews with members, and excellent advice on breaking into the industry.

FilmMaker, MovieMaker, and all the other mags tend toward s-uckage at best, and downright industry toadying at their worst. They are prettymuch the Entertainment Weekly of indie film magazines. IMHO, of course.

[Greg Crawford]

"A few years ago I had a subscription to American Cinematographer. It is an extremely boring magazine to read.

American Cinematographer should be must reading for anyone wanting to shoot his/her own film. If you read a story you like,...then go see the film. then look over the story, production stills and yes schematics from time to time, you will learn a lot.

It's true that on a Super - 8 budget you will not have all the Big Boy Toys but don't let that stop you.

[Jon P]

Kodak produce a really good freebie called CAMERA that you can pick up from professional film suppliers in Soho. It is a bit of a self promotional effort as the DOP's say what "Kodak" stocks they use but it is really useful.