I am far more compassionate towards a stranger's uncertainty and fear than I am to my own.
Fuck the Fear, circa London, 1977
They [The Clash] were afraid to play until they saw the Ramones. I mean, Paul [Simonon] and Mick [Jones] told the Ramones, “Now that we’ve seen you, we’re gonna be a band.” The Ramones said, “You gotta play, guys. You know, come out of the basement and play. That’s what we did.”
Basically the Ramones said to them, which they said to countless other bands, “You don't have to be better, just get out there, you’re as good as you are. Don't wait until you’re better, how are you gonna ever know? Just go out there and do it.”
That’s what the Ramones got from The New York Dolls, you know, “What are we waiting for?”
To me that’s the important part of it, what bands pass along to other bands by way of confidence.”
—Danny Fields, manager of the Ramones. Quoted in Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
20 Feet From Stardom
20 Feet From Stardom is a compelling look at the challenges faced by some of rock 'n roll's greatest backup singers, including the legendary Darlene Love.
The Filth and The Fury
The Filth and The Fury is a messy, chaotic and brilliant documentary about the Sex Pistols.
As it should be.
Blackfish
If there was ever a doubt that keeping killer whales in captivity for entertainment purposes was cruel and inhumane, this documentary closes that question.
Recent Posts on the MediaStorm Blog
I’ve been a bit quite here but there’s been a maelstrom of posts on the MediaStorm blog.
Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to Creating Multi-camera Sequences in Premiere Pro, Part 1
MediaStorm Guide to Quickly Replacing Files in Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to Copy and Pasting a Clip Range in Premiere Pro
Essays
MediaStorm Guide to Setting Up Shots
Time Lapse: The Making of Darkness Visible
In Praise of Tim McLaughlin
Thoughts on Going Further
MediaStorm Website Receives 2013 Edward R. Murrow Award
A bit of old news, but I'm nonetheless still thrilled to announce that MediaStorm received a 2013 National Edward R. Murrow Award in the category of Website by a National Online News Organization.
Congrats to my colleagues.
For more information see the MediaStorm blog.
I Hate 'Multimedia'
I went off on a bit of a tear about the misnomer that is 'multimedia.' You can read the gory details at the MediaStorm blog.
This Is What Editing Feels Like
I wrote a short piece for the MediaStorm blog about the emotional experience of editing, and all its associated turmoil. It turned out pretty well, I think. You can read it here.
Two New Posts on Premiere Pro CC
Adobe Premiere Pro CC, the followup to Creative Suite 6, will be released later this month. In preparation, here are two new tutorials on the forthcoming release:
MediaStorm Guide to Nudging in Premiere Pro CC MediaStorm Guide to Through Edits in Premiere Pro CC
I Know Where I'm Going Shortlisted for AnthropoGraphia
From the MediaStorm blog:
MediaStorm’s film “I Know Where I’m Going,” created for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with Simon Schorno, Leandro Badalotti, Tara Todras-Whitehill, and Eric Maierson was selected for the Multimedia Shortlist. All Honorary Mentions and Shortlist entries can be viewed at AnthropoGraphia.org.
The Dude on Photography
It's been my honor to produce this project on a such an awesome subject. And I count it as one of the greatest moments of my life that Bridges said we did a "cool job."
Details: The Project was made in collaboration with the International Center of Photography with support from the Harbers Family Foundation.
From the project description:
Jeff Bridges is an Academy Award-winning actor. He is also an accomplished photographer. He’s been taking pictures on the set of his movies for more than 30 years, capturing intimate and surprising behind-the-scenes moments.
To watch videos for the other seven honorees please see the MediaStorm blog.
Congrats to all the winners.
New Project: 480 Votes
I’m pleased to announce the release of 480 Votes produced for CARE in conjunction with Ripple Effect Images.
Rick Gershon did most of the heavy lifting on this project. He shot some stunning video in Peru and did most of the post. I added a touch here and there, cleaning up when Rick had to hit the road again.
Watch 480 Votes here.
Eight New Tutorials on the MediaStorm Blog
I’ve written a slew of new tutorials for the MediaStorm blog .
They are the following;
- Finishing is the Hard Part: The Details
- MediaStorm Guide to Installing Missing Final Cut Pro Codecs for Premiere Pro
- MediaStorm Guide to the Adobe Premiere Pro Media Cache Database
- MediaStorm Guide to Dynamic Linking in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects
- MediaStorm Guide to Cropping Stills in Adobe Premiere Pro
- MediaStorm Guide to the Warp Stabilizer Effect in Adobe Premiere Pro
- MediaStorm Guide to Creating Freeze Frames in Adobe Premiere Pro
- MediaStorm Guide to Rendering in Adobe Premiere Pro
Enjoy.
MediaStorm Wins First at NPPA Best of Photojournalism
I couldn’t be more proud of the MediaStorm family.
A Shadow Remains by Phillip Toledano won first place at NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism 2013 contest, in the Documentary Multimedia category. The piece was produced by my good friend Tim Mclaughlin.
Second prize went to former intern Andrew Hida for his master’s thesis Follow My Steps. I was part of Andrew’s thesis committee so this one makes me especially happy.
Check out the MediaStorm blog for more details.
MediaStorm Wins Second at Picture of the Year International
MediaStorm won second place in the Picture of the Year International Best Website category. The Los Angeles Times won first place and TIME took third.
Pretty good company, I'd say.
Congratulations to all the winners. Check out the MediaStorm blog for more information.
More Premiere Pro Tutorials on the MediaStorm Blog
I've written a number Adobe Premiere Pro tutorials this year.
MediaStorm Guide to Rendering in Adobe Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to Creating Freeze Frames in Adobe Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to the Warp Stabilizer Effect in Adobe Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to Cropping Stills in Adobe Premiere Pro
MediaStorm Guide to Dynamic Linking in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects
Additional Premiere Pro tutorials can be found on the MediaStorm blog.
Steven Soderbergh on Retiring from Filmmaking
And what was that reason? It’s a combination of wanting a change personally and of feeling like I’ve hit a wall in my development that I don’t know how to break through. The tyranny of narrative is beginning to frustrate me, or at least narrative as we’re currently defining it. I’m convinced there’s a new grammar out there somewhere. But that could just be my form of theism.
from Steven Soderbergh on Quitting Hollywood, Getting the Best Out of J-Lo, and His Love of Girls
Follow My Steps by Former Intern Extraordinaire Andrew Hida
First a confession. I have a bit of a man crush on Andrew Hida. A bit. He's one of the most talented interns with whom I've had the pleasure of working. I remember a particular screening with him, when we were showing Brian a piece we'd been working on for weeks. Andrew had helped organize thousands of images and hours of video. He'd also edited one of the sections in the project. Brian watched the piece silently, then he said, this section is really great. It was, of course, Andrew's. He didn't cop to the truth so I did for him.
So that's Andrew. And Follow My Steps is his thesis.
It's everything I like about the guy. It's honest and intimate and funny and just good.
One last confession: I sat on his thesis committee along with Bruce Strong and Seth Gitner. It was one of the best decisions I made this year.
Watch it. And watch out for Andrew. You'll be seeing a lot of him.
The American-Made Benny
Eddie Van Halen once described his guitar playing as falling down a flight of stairs and landing on his feet.
This project feels about the same, though I'm still not sure exactly how we landed.
The American-Made Benny consists of the feature plus a two-part epilogue: Benny Watches in Split Screen and Benny Responds.
Also check out my essay Unanswered Questions: On the Limits of the Single-Subject Interview for a full account of this production's challenges.