Michael Schwartz, an editor at Breathe Editing in New York, is a sucker for good causes, so he jumped at the opportunity to team up with supermodel and tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova to document the progress her charity Happy Hearts Fund has made over the past two years in the nations ravaged by the Asian tsunami of 2004. He was introduced to the former Sports Illustrated model through Dino Rinaldi, a friend of Breathe Editing Executive Producer Kenny Pedini.
“Here’s an opportunity to work with images from tsunami and earthquake affected Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan taken by a supermodel who survived the tsunami as she visits the projects her charity is funding. Coming from a background in journalism and history, and having a love for editing, how could I pass this up?” he told SHOOT recently.
He describes the documentary as a story about people overcoming tragedy and the efforts of the people at the Happy Hearts Fund, as well as a story of overcoming differences in language, religion, customs and politics to change the lives of children in trouble. Nemcova is the tour guide in the film, taking viewers from the building of schools in Indonesia to the mobile medical clinic or orphanage in Sri Lanka.
“She is also our tour guide in the edit room, appreciating the work and creativity and partnering on structure and focus,” explained Schwartz. “Yes she hangs out in the edit room and doesn’t sit in the back, she pulls up a chair and gets really into it. It’s really fun working with that passion. All I can say is the hours fly by.”
So far Schwartz has seen about five hours of film from two or three trips to Asia, which he used to edit the trailer for a post Grammy Awards fund-raising event. But Nemcova and friends are already documenting trips to Haiti and Kampuchea. Schwartz said he is hoping to get a half-hour film out next year. “But Petra is very ambitious so it could be sooner,” he said.
While he has worked on other documentaries–long pieces on Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Billy Joel for SonyBMG, and a couple of independent films–those projects were more narrow in scope, usually focusing on one story or situation.
“This film is a collection of situations loosely threaded together by the love of this amazing benefactor. Each project introduces us to a new situation with a story of its own structure and narrative,” Schwartz said.
The broader scope has not posed any challenges for Schwartz, but what has is the unpredictability of guerilla production. The films come in mostly on HDV DVDs but the occasional odd format is certainly a part of it. Essentially anyone with a free hand becomes the cameraman and as a result sound and lighting are a crapshoot, he explained.
Surprisingly, though, this has not taken anything away from the film. “The locations are exotic and remote with a lot of environmental sound and unfortunately they don’t have time to set up a proper set, it’s very improvised. But I find that this creates a different vibe for the film, very raw and sincere. There are no actors so the moments are very gentle and never rehearsed. We may lose some of what they come back with due to technical issues with sound or lighting but not enough to compromise the experience,” he said.
Since cutting spots is one of the most challenging forms of filmmaking, according to Schwartz, he says his commercial experience has certainly helped him in every aspect of working on this documentary for Nemcova.
“Unscripted dialogue is a passion of mine, I was taught that the storyboard is a taking off point, not necessarily the end all be all.
“When something happens on film that is unexpected, it is often the best and most real moment of the production,” Schwartz said. “To recognize that–or to go as far as to base a whole film on finding those unexpected moments–is the boldest and most gratifying form of editing in both commercials and documentaries.”
Oscar Nominees Gather For Cocktails, Dinner and The Annual Class Picture
Five days before the Academy Awards, nearly every nominee gathered for a cocktail reception, dinner and class picture shoot that served as an Oscars orientation.
The event Tuesday night at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was a stand-in for the annual Oscars luncheon usually held about a month earlier but scrubbed because of the Southern California wildfires.
With the voting over and winners determined, contenders got chummy and the mood was cheerful. Best actress favorites Mikey Madison and Demi Moore hugged and chatted. So did best actor front-runners Timothรฉe Chalamet and Adrien Brody.
"Everyone say Oscar nominee!" best actress nominee Cynthia Erivo shouted gleefully from the front row of the museum's David Geffen Theater, where the dozens of nominees sat for their group picture.
Clustered in front with Erivo were three best supporting actress nominees: her "Wicked" castmate Ariana Grande, Monica Barbaro of "A Complete Unknown" and Zoe Saldaรฑa of "Emilia Perez" along with Madison, nominated for "Anora." The five women stood in a circle and talked happily together after the photo, and kept the conversation going as they descended the stairs together to dinner.
In the back of the theater, a trio of best actor nominees sat together: Sebastian Stan of "The Apprentice," Colman Domingo of "Sing Sing" and Brody, of "The Brutalist."
After the photo was taken, Academy President Janet Yang gave the orientation presentation, reminding everyone that the 97th Academy Awards will be held Sunday.
She greeted first-time nominees and acknowledged there were also some with more than one.
Denis Villeneuve, director of "Dune: Part 2" and a four-time nominee, raised his hand. Sixteen-time best original song nominee... Read More