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Korean Cinema :
Story of a Revelation
The selection of Chunhyang
by the Korean filmmaker Im Kwont'aek for the 2000 Cannes Festival
cuts markedly the international consecration of the New Korean Cinema.
As a flashing melodrama shot in the past with appropriate costumes
and settings, the film perpetuates the aesthetism of a leading genre,
at the same time it reflects the exceptional soaring of the cinema
industry in Korea. Chunhyang has benefited from the
largest budget ever spent on a film in Korea, that is about 4 million
dollars. Only such an amount of money could make it possible to get
the necessary settings, costumes and work in natural lighting.
Spec Script Market Develops Online
The indie film business first began flirting with the Internet
in the form of web sites that marketed and promoted films. In the aftermath
of the legendary Internet success of The Blair Witch Project,
that flirtation exploded into a torrid affair. In a short period of months,
independent filmmakers have been turning to the Internet for all aspects
of their film, including buying or selling scripts and financing their
productions. “The Internet affords writers the opportunity to have their
scripts seen by filmmakers and producers who normally wouldn’t see it.”
Vancouver: "Hollywood North"
Any conversation about filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest
begins and ends with Vancouver, British Columbia. As a matter of
fact, this fledgling city is such a popular destination for American
filmmakers that workers in the industry have dubbed it “Hollywood
North”. According to Kevin Reidy, a prominent Vancouver producer
and Unit Production Manager whose credits include Swimming
with Sharks and One False Move, as of April
1st there were 39 full-fledged film productions simultaneously shooting
in the greater Vancouver metro area, not to mention a plethora of
television programs. “We were doing toe shots [filming actors in
a car being towed by a special truck], driving in downtown Vancouver.
We went to make a left turn at an intersection and nearly got in
an accident with another film crew doing the same thing we were,
coming in the opposite direction,” Reidy related. That Vancouver
is the Film King of the region is undisputed; explaining why is
a more complicated affair.
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Fly Film-making
Three indie filmmakers took the Seattle
International Fourth Annual Film Festival's Fly Filmmaking Challenge
this year to come to Seattle and scout, cast, shoot, edit, and screen
a short film in seven days. The program, designed to showcase local
filmmaking talent, vendors and crew as well (re) ignite the spark
of creative impulse in filmmakers, also re-invented itself to address
the new media digital technologies as directors Jim Taylor, Meg
Richman and Clay Eide shared three formats: Super 16mm, High Definition
and Digital Video with varying success.
The Ins and Outs of Internet Film Distribution
The Internet is by far the most powerful marketing tool
available to the independent producer. It goes without saying that
independent productions are hopelessly outgunned when contending
with a Hollywood marketing campaign that involves TV, magazines,
radio, billboards and newspapers. The Internet is proving to be
the one form of media where your production can compete on the same
level as a major studio.
Film Festival Strategy:
Guerilla Marketing
Given the intense competition, how does an independent filmmaker
make himself heard? This is the striking question I took with me
to the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festival in Park City. Although
not entirely scientific, I did carefully study the guerilla marketing
techniques of the low budget productions and noted not only their
methods but also the effectiveness of their from-the-hip marketing
campaigns.
Film Festival Strategy:
A Seminar of Ideas
As any experienced independent filmmaker knows, completing
your film is only the beginning. Signing a distribution deal is
the ultimate exit strategy for many filmmakers and the quickest
route there is through a film festival, where distributors and agents
will be scouting for new talent and content. However, with so much
riding on this shot at fame and fortune (or simply the continuation
of a career), a filmmaker must have a carefully planned and executed
strategy if they plan on succeeding.
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FESTIVAL