A group of panelists from different walks of the industry sheds light on how technology is not just facilitating but breaking new ground for inspired content. An executive producer from BBDO NY reflects on her agency's first foray into a full fledged VR storytelling film. A production house principal shares lessons learned from a piece of immersive theater currently playing in L.A. and its implications for branding and marketing. A new media production house creative director discusses his experience on three VR projects–one modestly budgeted, another with a decent mid-level budget, and a third with a huge budget. A cinematographer looks back on this year's Tribeca Film Festival and the noteworthy VR projects on display there. And a seasoned post artisan affirms that HDR could prove to be a game changer. SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich moderates this panel discussion.
Panelists: Trevor Forrest, cinematographer; Brendan Kiernan, managing director of HeLo; Sam Smith, creative director, MediaMonks; Jay Tilin, editorial dept. head & finishing editor, features/episodic TV shows, CO3 NY; and Kristin Tomborello, executive producer, BBDO New York
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More