The Film Strip Blog
Film releases, awards, news and comment from Rubberductions - get it here first
iFeatures Blogs launch
Posted 16/02/10
The iFeatures blogs (which we're in the finals of) have launched over at the iFeatures website. Check out our team blog here and all the teams in the iFeatures final here.
Our project is called "The Bristol Job" and is a family heist movie about an 11 year old girl who discovers her parents are too poor to pay for her last school trip so decides to rob a bank with her two best friends.
iFeatures Kick Off
Posted 03/02/10
The last few weeks have been a little busy! I entered the iFeatures competition months back but wasn't aware I was on the scheme until last week when I got a call asking me to meet a writer and producer who had got through to the final 12 without a director. I had had a project in the final 25, which didn't get through, but the panel wanted me to meet these two (Nick Pitt and Carol Noble) to discuss whether I would be suitable for their project. After a hasty meeting and a weekend of phone discussion I was on board.
I've just returned from the kickoff of the iFeatures development process. Two days of intensive workshops in Bristol with much more experienced industry writers, directors, producers and distributors coming in to give feedback on our projects and advice on how to get them to the next stage. These workshops can be a bit gruelling. The teams in the final 12 all have hefty experience in the film world (albeit in very varied guises) and I think there was a general sense of apprehension at the start of the two days as everyone must have experience of similar "development" workshops that can either be tiringly spirit crushing or annoyingly useless.
We shouldn't have worried. It was great. In fact a number commented that if this two days was all they got out of the project, having had some great advice and tips, that would probably make the effort worthwhile.
But there's lots more work to do. So it was to the organisers and speakers (including Laurence Coriat, Asif Kapadia, Lawrence Gough, Peter Ettedgui, and David Shear from Revolver) credit that everyone was left feeling charged and energised, as we've all got a lot of work to do getting our projects in shape for another round of pitching in mid March.
3D comes of age...
Posted 18/01/10
I went to see Avatar for the second time on Friday night. The first time I saw it left me so awed I had to go and experience it again.
There are many people saying good things about the film at the moment, but for me, the thing that has impressed me most is the way the film has pioneered a sensible use of 3D, and seems to have finally overcome what I see as the cack handed use 3D has been put to over the last 10 years. And massive hat tip to Cameron for pulling off such a massive achievement. Both visually and technically, this film is such a leap forward that it's quite likely only a person who bullies girls into filming in cold water for 5 hours would have the lack of regard for what everyone around him was telling him to pull it off.
Anyone who knows me and has entertained a film geek dialogue about 3D with me over the last 18 months will have heard me getting hugely frustrated at the way directors have been using this oddly retro-future technology. The idea that I want to have things thrown at my head when I go to see a film fills me with a kind of questioning concern for exactly what kind of human understanding I share with these directors (not to mention the idea that having things thrown at my head is in any way "more immersive", given it normally makes me check that I am in fact safe, sitting in a cinema, and not in fact experiencing a story first hand). This is before I get on to the way directors seem to think that giving me the full range of depth of field available to their grubby mits is going to please me. Personally I've been a huge admirer of the fairly basic directorial technique of guiding audience attention using focus ever since I first experienced a movie, because it feels so natural and so similar to the way I experience the world when using my own eyes. When given a 3D image in which every plane is in focus, so I can let my eye wander from foreground to background without any real concern that I might find any of it a little blurry, I find myself checking out details that are in no way pivotal to the story and missing important bits. I feel like I'm watching bad theatre where the set designers deserve as much credit as the writer or director, and end up getting a bit bored.
But this was before I saw Avatar. The most impressive thing about the film is the level of understanding it shows for how people experience stories, emotionally and visually. This is all the more impressive given everyone else, even directors I have admired for years, has been getting it so un-utterably wrong.
Cameron doing some 3D with some cheap camera he found
Cameron essentially uses the 3D tool he spent so long researching (and oftentimes developing technology for himself) so subtly. Once the film has been running for a couple of minutes you practically forget its in 3D. He shoots with limited depth of field in the same way filmmakers always have. He tones the effect down when he needs you to be noticing characters and performance more, and only opens it up to its full extent in scenes where he really can get away with it without knocking you out of the "world" he's created.
It IS more immersive. Its hard to say how this additional perception of depth would affect a drama film for example (and Cameron himself seems keen to experiment and find out). And ultimately the effect is negligible in comparison to factors such as story, performance, shooting style etc. This really isn't a way to rescue cinema, merely a way to make good cinema that bit more visceral to prompt viewers to bother making the trip outside their house to watch films.
To top my awe at his achievements off, I noticed his name in the credits as camera operator, and was searching yesterday for more info on this when I found an article outlining his approach to much of what I've mentioned above. Why other filmmakers have ignore his hugely rational and clear headed assessment of a technology that has kind of been pinned to his flagpole, I don't really know, but I hope more will start taking notice now the film is out for all to see.
iFeatures: launches today in Bristol
Posted 21/10/09
This is important for Bristol: three low budget feature films that will put Bristol stories on the big screen. It's innovative, collaborative and awesome.
iFeatures. Launches today, Colston Hall. More soon.
GI JOE film added
Posted 18/09/09
We had a busy start to the year and are only just catching up with ourselves at Rubber Towers. Newly added to the portfolio is our GI Joe Film Promo. We did a lot of other secret work this year. We'll see if we're allowed to add any more...
New, shiny
Posted 17/09/09
We've got a shiny new slideshow. I would like to say more about it, but really, it's slidey, it's showy, what more's to say :)
Don't say a word...
Posted 14/06/09
We've been working on some secret projects over the last two months for some major feature film releases. We can't say any more than that, but we've been busy as bears in a honey storm despite the lack of ability to (legally) show anything for it. We're just about to shoot some exciting projects we can talk about though, so watch this space...
Posted by Matt Golding
Recycle Now...
Posted 04/04/09
Last week saw the launch of a Recycle Now campaign we shot with sister agency Rubber Republic for Torchbox, promoting recycling.
The film features a printer and bin doing battle in a stop motion animation directed by Matt Golding (Rubberductions) and Lee Lennox (Between The Eyes).
It is possible to take any small household electronics (technically called WEEE - or "Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment") to be recycled, either at your local recycling depot, or at retailers. Visit the website dontbinitbringit.org to find out where your nearest collection point is.
Check out the "Printer Vs Bin" film here
Today programme film discussion...
Posted 31/03/09
Following the launch of our Today programme film for the BBC's flagship radio 4 show two weeks ago, the BBC had us back on to discuss the results our film had met with on-line. 50,000 views in its first week online, hundred of positive comments and twitters from fans, and a huge amount of debate amongst journalists and bloggers discussing the use of the word viral. All good stuff! Today's article summarises a complex issue well here.
Posted by Matt
IVCA Win
Posted 30/03/09
Friday saw us pick up a bronze IVCA for our Sony Buzz PSP promo in the "Sales of Products and Services" category. Pats on the back all round for the win!
Posted by Matt