The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Hollywood Professional Alliance (HPA) have issued a call for entries for the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival. The film festival will be held during the SMPTE 2015 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2015), Oct. 26-29 in Hollywood, Calif.
“SMPTE is committed to supporting the next generation of technologists, and the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival is a rich addition to our existing student engagement programs,” said Barbara Lange, executive director of SMPTE. “The event will showcase the impressive creative talent of the Society’s youngest members.”
Festival entries must fit into one of three award categories:
• Best creative use of technology to engage the audience in the story (run time 5 minutes, 30 seconds)
• Best portrayal of entertainment technology in the film — documentary format (run time 5 minutes, 30 seconds)
• Best creative use of virtual reality in storytelling (run time 3 minutes)
A fourth award, for best in show, will be voted on by the festival attendees and awarded on the evening of the festival.
“The merging of creativity and technology, at the heart of the combination of SMPTE and HPA, is also driving the future of content creation,” said Leon Silverman, president of the HPA. “We want to encourage the next generation’s vision and ability to tell stories in new and exciting ways.”
The SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival is open to full-time students currently enrolled in an accredited college, university, or film school. This is an international festival, and entries from all parts of the world are encouraged. As the festival focuses on technology, students should ideally major in an area that emphasizes engineering, science, advanced technologies, or fundamental theories associated with motion imaging, sound, metadata, and workflows consistent with SMPTE’s field of interest. Eligible students are required to have completed four courses toward their major course of study and be in good academic standing. Supporting documentation and identification must be presented in order to qualify.
The application form, requirements, and rules and regulations are here. Entries will be accepted now through Sept. 9.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More