Multi-City Tour Across U.S. To Begin July 22nd, 2015 in Detroit; Over 30 Major Cities Scheduled For Day Long Cinematography Workshops by SNL DP
In 2013 MZed produced The Art of Visual Storytelling Tour featuring Saturday Night Live Film Unit Cinematographer Alex Buono. This educational workshop visited 31 cities teaching a comprehensive overview of the filmmaking process and elicited rave reviews from its over 4000 attendees.
This summer MZed is proud to announce Alex Buono’s Visual Storytelling 2; Style & Subtext in Cinema. This 32-city tour is a follow-up filmmaking workshop that goes beyond the original tour by focusing on lighting & shooting techniques with a full day of live demonstrations. Alex's 15 seasons shooting for SNL have given him the opportunity to shoot essentially every filmmaking genre. Because of SNL's format, he faces incredible time demands; virtually every shooting situation presents challenges that must be overcome with almost no prep time. Alex's field-tested experience allows him to teach attendees skills and techniques to utilize in a variety of lighting & shooting situations, such as shooting in mixed color temperatures, shooting in a car, choosing the proper lens, and controlling natural light.
One of the hallmarks of Visual Storytelling 2 is that it will be taught using gear that is practical and accessible. There will be a limited gear package used during the class and the instruction will utilize the same set of tools in different ways. This approach will give filmmakers range and flexibility to create several different looks with a modest set of affordable and easy to acquire resources.
Just like its predecessor, Visual Storytelling 2 is divided into a daytime hands-on workshop and an evening lecture. In 2013, the evening lecture was all about the principles of visual structure. This time around, Alex will focus on visual subtext, one of the biggest things that separates average films from the greatest films of all time. Alex will delve into art history, literature, religion, politics and philosophy, and will discuss the seven most practical ways to add subtext to your films – things like camera movement, composition, lighting, sound design, production design, hair design and even makeup.
For more information on locations, dates, workshop outline, and to register visit www.visualstorytelling.com.
About MZed
Through educational workshops and online downloads MZed creates a community where filmmakers, designers, and photographers can form rewarding
relationships, while learning from world-class instructors in these fields. In the past MZed has partnered up with many noteworthy instructors on filmmaking tours such as Adam Epstein, Shane Hurlbut and Vincent Laforet.
About Alex Buono
Born in Portland, Oregon, Alex moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts, majoring in film production and still photography. His early post-collegiate years were spent on the camera crews of studio films including Twister, Conspiracy Theory, and Armageddon. Alex was a professional cinematographer of many indie films and music videos, and is also currently the Director of photography for the Saturday Night Live Film Unit.
In 2003, Alex received an Oscar® Nomination for the short film Johnny Flynton, which he photographed and also produced. Alex repeated the dual role of cinematographer and co-producer on Green Street Hooligans, about London’s football subculture starring Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2005 South By Southwest Film Festival. Following, Alex wrote, produced, and shot the feature documentary Bigger Stronger Faster, which premiered in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Magnolia Pictures.
Along with his continuing work at Saturday Night Live, Alex is currently writing, directing and producing the feature documentary The Deporter, and has begun co-directing the new IFC-series American Documentary. Alex is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, the International Documentary Association, and the International Cinematographer’s Guild. He lives in Venice, California where he continues to write and produce with his partner Tamsin Rawady for their production company, Third Person.
Video Credits
Produced MZed and Alex Buono
Contact:Jeffrey T. Medford
MZed
9841 Washingtonian Blvd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 202-448-2895
US Toll Free: 877-318-1032
Contact Jeff via email
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More