The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) will host two sessions at the 2016 NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. One will be a light-hearted look at Key and Peele’s cinematic debut, Keanu for Warner Bros., in which the hapless duo infiltrates a vicious gang to find their adorable "catnapped" kitten. The other will explore one of the most exciting developments in film technology — drones.
The first session, “Catnapped! Key and Peele’s Keanu,” will focus on the creative collaboration between director Peter Atencio and cinematographer Jas Shelton when they worked together on Keanu. David Geffner, executive editor of ICG Magazine, will moderate the session on Tuesday, April 19 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in the South Upper Hall, Room 220.
The second panel, “Drones…Opening New Vistas to Content,” is a super session about filmmaking with drones, the new tool in the storyteller’s toolbox. Panelists will delve into pre-production and production, technology, safety and permitting. Panelists are Dylan Goss, aerial cinematographer for Team5; Drew Roberts, aerial cinematographer for Wild Rabbit Aerial Productions; Tony Carmean, aerial producer for Aerial MOB; and Nick Kolias, aerial cinematographer for Aerial Edge. Michael Chambliss, ICG business rep will moderate. The panel will be on Wednesday, April 20 from 10:30 am to noon in the South Hall Upper, Room 222.
Unmanned aerial vehicles enable filmmakers to position cameras in places they have never been before and to move them in ways that are dynamic and innovative. The panelists will discuss the unique creative capabilities of UAS cinematography, how it differs from helicopters, Steadicams and other production tools, and what to expect as the technology and its implementation matures.
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