Jonathan Fowler
Multimedia Producer
Lightscapes: Non-Verbal Series on Discovery
Jul 7th
I never thought I would see a broadcast television series that sites Baraka as its main inspiration. Slated to air on Discovery HD Theater, Lightscapes is billed as a “half-hour experiential television series that captures famous buildings and landscapes around the world as they are transformed by stunning, large-scale lighting displays.” Read more about the project at the official site.
1 Great Concept, 4 Days of Shooting, 8 Months of Post: Nuit Blanche
May 14th
Filmmaker Arev Manoukian combined all of the right elements to make his amazing short, Nuit Blanche. From Wired:
For Arev Manoukian, capturing the live action for his elegant short film Nuit Blanche came easy: He filmed two principal actors in four days on a green-screen soundstage in Toronto.
The hard part happened over the next eight months, as the 28-year-old Canadian filmmaker hammered out densely layered digital effects shots culminating in a crushingly effective slow-motion car crash lavished with beautiful breaking glass.
That attention to detail paid off. Within days of posting the four-minute, 41-second romantic drama on the Spy Films website, Manoukian says he got calls from Hollywood agents and managers. He signed with talent agency William Morris Endeavor last month and went on a two-week spree of meetings with studios and producers. “Needless to say, it’s very exciting,” Manoukian told Wired.com in an e-mail interview.
In March, he brainstormed with Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov and 9 producer Jim Lemley. “I just came back from some very promising meetings,” Manoukian says. “They are interested in producing my first feature!”
Continue reading the article for some of the technical details and a short interview with Manoukian. Also, just to round everything off, watch the making-of video.
Tutorial: “The Kid Stays in the Picture” Effect Using Photoshop and Motion
Apr 8th
In this tutorial I show you how to create the so-called “The Kid Stays in the Picture” effect (sometimes referred to as the 2.5D effect). The idea is to separate a still image into distinct layers, move those layers in respect to the Z-axis, then animate movement on those layers to give the impression of 3 dimensions. The effect is a refreshing (though admittedly similar) alternative to the omnipresent Ken Burns effect. Like the Ken Burns effect, it lends itself nicely to documentary films which tend to rely heavily on using stills or photos as illustrative B-Roll.
The effect is named after the documentary, The Kid Stays in the Picture, which uses the technique extensively and in many creative ways. If you have not seen this film, I highly recommend checking it out.
Viewing options: View the full tutorial in HD, above. View in HD on Vimeo. View in HD on YouTube (Part 1 and Part 2).
Oscar Nominated Documentaries Cut On Final Cut Pro
Mar 6th
A recent Macworld article points out that 9 out of the 10 documentaries nominated for the 2010 Academy Awards were edited using Final Cut Pro… pretty impressive, considering that the first version of FCP was released only twelve years ago. (The exception, Burma VJ, was cut on an Avid). From the article:
Apple’s PR rep put it this way: “This year’s Academy Award nominations demonstrate that the best documentary filmmakers in the world are using Apple.” According to the “2010 SCRI Report for Non-Linear Video Editors”—a scintillating sounding report if ever there were one—Final Cut Pro captures half of the professional video editing software market.
This is good news for me, as I’ve been using Final Cut from day one. It seems like the natural progression would be for a single professional editing application to ultimately dominate the industry. Anyone that’s collaborated on a project using more than one NLE (e.g. FCP and Premiere) truly knows what it means to have a headache. My guess is that, surprise releases aside, Final Cut Pro will be used on 90% or more professional productions within a few years.
‘The Virtual Revolution’: BBC’s Collaborative Web Documentary
Feb 15th
From the BBC, regarding The Virtual Revolution, their collaborative documentary about the web:
It was a radical change for BBC documentary making – an open and collaborative production, which asked the web audience to debate programme themes, suggest and send questions for interviewees, watch and comment on interview and graphics clips, and download clips for personal use and re-editing, all months before broadcast.
The subsequent distribution is just as innovative. At the project’s web site, you can explore the documentary in 3D. As you visually browse through clips, you are presented with the option to follow links associated with the current topic. The project is a great example of innovative use of digital media and maximum interactivity. Click the pic above to launch the 3D Documentary Explorer.
“Cascading Effects” – A documentary on climate change in the Pacific Northwest (Part 2)
Jan 31st
Following up on my previous post… here is Part 2 (of 2) of Cascading Effects.
“Cascading Effects” – A documentary on climate change in the Pacific Northwest
Jan 18th
I co-shot this piece – a project produced by fellow friend, filmmaker, shooter, and producer, Jim Tharp. A synopsis from Jim:
[Cascading Effects examines] the sublime landscapes of North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic National Parks, researchers shed light on emerging indications that climate change is real and predict how warming temperatures will affect the natural resources and timeless beauty of the region.
We began shooting in the North Cascades in June of ‘08 – and, ironically, it was snowing relentlessly… not necessarily ideal for outdoor summer interviews intended to illuminate global warming. However, that ultimately addressed the notion that the climate is indeed changing despite the occasional cold snap (or cold year or decade)… and that things aren’t as simple as “it’s going to be a few degrees hotter in the future.”
The project was funded in part by the US National Parks Service and edited by fellow producer, filmmaker and editor, Scott Wiessinger.
Watch Part 1 of the documentary above. Part 2 will be my next entry, but if you would like to see it immediately you can watch it on Jim’s YouTube channel. There are also a range of viewing options on TERRA, a video podcast project from Montana State University’s Master of Fine Arts program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking (where Jim, Scott, and I learned to be responsible film-makers). Enjoy!
“FilmFellas” Webisodes: Round-Table Discussions With Filmmakers
Dec 28th
The folks at Zacuto have been producing FilmFellas, a “webisodic series” featuring round-table discussions with filmmakers of all variety, from novice to seasoned professional. The clip above is the first segment of the “DP Series” Cast (Philip Bloom, Trent Opaloch, Jens Bogehegn, and Robert Primes, ASC).
For anyone in the film industry, I highly recommend having a look. The round-tables are very informal and conversational, so a huge range of topics arise… often with opposing, thought-provoking, informed opinions. Very interesting and the entire project is a great example of innovative new digital media.
My Latest as Director of Photography – “Fanihi: A Cultural Digest”
Dec 9th
Fanihi (The Mariana Fruit Bat, a type of Flying Fox) have long been considered a delicacy by the inhabitants of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Unsustainable hunting has brought the population of Fanihi to critical levels on the archipelago’s small island of Rota - despite recent laws prohibiting the killing of the endangered species. Fanihi: A Cultural Digest explores the slippery slope of cultural preservation versus environmental conservation… and whether the two efforts are necessarily mutually exclusive.
I acted as Director of Photography for the film, spending two weeks shooting on the island. The film is a project by my good friend and fellow producer, filmmaker and shooter, Jim Tharp.
Watch the standard-definition version above. Watch in HD at Vimeo.
“By the People” – Highly Recommended HBO Documentary
Nov 28th
By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. Add it to the list of amazing content picked up by HBO Documentary Films. It premiered a few weeks ago, but is still airing - so catch it if you can. The filmmakers, Amy Rice and Alicia Sams, seem to have mojo reminiscent of D.A. Pennebaker (Primary and The War Room – also highly recommended).
As is often the case, the story behind the production is equally compelling. Rice and Sams started filming well before anyone would have guessed Obama would be the next president. Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman interviewed Rice and Sams on the day of the HBO premiere. Watch that interview here. Videography.com also ran a great article on the production, here.
