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This book is the complete guide to digital filmmaking by the owner and chief engineer of DVfilm Digital Transfers. Everything from selecting a camera to promoting and marketing your finished film is covered in this comprehensive guide, written specifically for those who wish to shoot with digital cameras and project their movie on 35mm film. The author, Marcus Van Bavel, is an electrical engineer…
It’s
starting to become an interesting time to be a DVD fan. With an
increasing number of movies being released on the format for a second
time (watch out in the next column for a review of the upcoming
‘Definitive Edition’ of Fight Club which might gall the thousands who
bought the already extra laden DVD only a – comparatively - scant few
years ago) and talk of B…
It’s the time of year when the summer blockbusters that filled the
cinemas begin to fill the DVD shelves instead. In Special Edition # 27,
Laurence Boyce looks at one of the biggest hits of the summer alongside
some cinematic classics, some laughs and a few TV staples.
I've also been
watching films with a lot of porn in them, but as its work then it’s
allowed. You know, I…
Laurence Boyce has a lot to catch up on as he’s been under water for the last couple of weeks. Nope, he’s not been on a fun diving holiday. He’s been in the city of Hull, which – for those of you who haven’t been following the news – has the kind of weather that would make Noah very happy. He wrings himself out and removes the damp from his DVD player to find t…
Laurence Boyce had just got back from enjoying the vodka in Krakow and sunning himself in Portugal and was ready to get back into business. And then his computer blew up. It’s always the way isn’t it? Thanks to friends, some technical nous and a lot of crossing his fingers, he’s managed to sort out the problems and is ready to bring Special Edition # 24 to the world. There are p…
Welcome to Page to Screen # 1, Laurence Boyce’s newest column that takes a look at some of the best books related to cinema, TV and anything else that fits into our broad remit. From serious academic tomes to graphic novels, weighty reference material to film tie-ins there’ll be something here for everyone to feast your eyes on when not actually in the cinema.
The honour of th…
What is the difference between torture and punishment? According to Ridley Scott’s latest thriller, which casts a harshly critical eye on the spy game, it is simply the fact that one is efficient and the other is not. Set against the backdrop of the infamous “war on terror”, Body of Lies centres on the hardships of a CIA agent who heads to Jordan to track down a high-ranking…
Laurence Boyce presents Netribution’s first regular round-up of the best DVD’s available for all those who want to know which shiny discs to watch and which to use as coasters. Just brace yourself, as the first time around, our Special Edition is massive (and, with a line like that, it’s a shame that we’re not reviewing a Carry On film …)
Wes Craven moves away from the horror movie to…
As the film world anxiously awaits the release of David Lynch's latest film Inland Empire, Michel Chion's definitive book on the one of the most complex directors in American Cinema today is finally updated. But if you're looking for a book that explains all of Lynch's work then you're going to be disappointed: after all, it's sometimes questionable if Lynch himself knows…
This book’s subtitle is The Power of Color in Visual Storytellling, but it’s also something of a tribute to the power of a good title. I would defy anyone to spot this in a bookshop and not have their curiosity aroused.
Publisher: Focal Press
ISBN: 0-240-80688-3
Published date: Current
Country of origin: US
Subject area: Colour in Film Design
price: £24.99
Personally, I’ve know all about the i…
There's a real air of independence with Special Edition # 17 as there’s
no Hollywood blockbusters in sight. Instead there are movies from
across the world, which show the real diversity of things available to
movie goers nowadays. Whether it’s French horror, some classic
documentaries or a curious Sci-Fi film then Laurence Boyce is here to
show you can find just abo…
If Grizzly Man was too scary, but you still haven't had your Dr.Doolittle fix, this documentary might be the one for you.
Director: JUDY IRVING
Starring: MARK BITTNER, JUDY IRVING, LOADS OF PARROTS
Unemployed 'dharma bum', Mark Bittner, has become the modern-day 'St
Francis of San Francisco', by tending to the squawking parrot
population. The director, Irving, dia…
Chosen to be Microfilmmaker Magazine's lead camera analyst and reviewer due to his expertise in camerawork, Andy Yardy has over 10 years experience shooting documentaries in the most remote portions of the globe. Based out of LA, he creates films under his production company, New Link Media.
As a filmmaker, I dreamed of the day that I could toss my standard def camera for a high Def one…
Any book that attempts to reinforce the idea that film is, first and foremost, a visual medium has to be a good thing. 'Cinematic Storytelling' certainly does just that. Directors, writers, editors and cinematographers will all glean much of use from this book.
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
ISBN: ISBN 1-932907-05-X
Published date: Current
Country of origin: US
Subject area: Visual Film Na…
This review is going to be full of spoilers; if you don't want to know, best look away now.
So, for the remaining reader: The Reader hinges on the power of writing, and the flexibility of the truth.
It can make or break lives. Reading aloud draws two people into a
decades-long relationship; the shame of illiteracy leads to a terrible
crime and a life of penance; a Holocaust…
As dedications go, the one to (500) Days of Summer tells you immediately that we are definitely not in rom-com land anymore, Toto: "Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch.” Wow. And although the film is fun, occasionally true and makes you feel incredibly sorry for the main character, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the underlying bitt…
You would be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks Ken Loach's films are simply OK, or all right, or not so bad. Loach divides opinion. ``The Wind That Shakes the Barley,'' which won the top prize -- the Palme D'Or -- at the Cannes Film Festival last month isn't going to change that fact. The film is, at least in part, a damning indictment of the British in Ireland…
Producer: Generic Pool Productions
Wildlife films have long been family favourites on TV, but the smooth and easy presentation of the earth's fauna on the box belies the infinite patience and dedicated professionalism of the men and women who set out to capture it on film. This special interest video DVD gives us the inside story. And for those who feel they would enjoy the…
There are plenty of surprises cooking up in the Shah family's Indian restaurant in Pratibha Parmar's debut feature, Nina's Heavenly Delights. Described by one of the cast as "My Beautiful Restaurant," the film's director acknowledges that ground- breaking launderette drama's influence upon her colourful and amusing romp across some of the boundaries that c…
Ken Loach finally gets a DVD collection worthy to his name, the horror continues seven months after everyone thought it has ended and Shane Meadows proves that he's still one of the best UK directors today. Add in more classic and contemporary films and - of course - some of the best comedy and TV shows available then you've really got no excuse: read Special Editon # 22 before you go shopping as…
by Robert Latham Brown
Chalk Hill Books, L.A, March 2006, 416 pages, $29.95
Low budget film production is a chicken and egg scenario. For the production to be successful you need experience to avoid potentially costly mistakes. If you have that sort of experience already, you are unlikely to be making low budget films at all. If you want to go the low budget route, how do you get…
Life is a strange thing. It keeps interfering when you want to do a DVD column. Yes, due to lots and lots of things, Special Edition has been away for a long time. But it’s never been forgotten and Laurence Boyce returns with Special Edition # 29 complete with lots and lots of discs, including an absolutely ton of British cinema, that you can get to keep you entertained whilst you absolutely igno…
Everyone
who says that there are no decent films being made in the UK are dead
wrong. There are plenty of decent movies made in the UK. It's just that
no-one really gets the chance to see them. With UK distributors
consistently playing it safe, there's a raft of excellent stuff that -
apart from an occasional screening at a film festival - that's
gathering dust on a shelf. But t…
Who would believe it but its mid-life crisis time as its Special Edition #40. But, before it grows its hair long, buys a motorcycle and searches for a girlfriend of an inappropriate age, it will find enough time to go through some of the latest and most exciting DVDs available. Laurence Boyce picks some new releases (including a ton of brand new animation), TV shows and classic film that will hop…
Shane Meadows
has been awarded almost iconic status as one of the pioneers of low
budget filmmaking in Britain, which he certainly is, but some people
find his work on screen doesn't always reach – on the audience
satisfaction scale - the parts others claim it does reach. This week
his latest opus Dead Man's Shoes opens Stateside in Greenwich Village, the heartland of New Yor…