DC Metro Final Cut Pros

New Cast, New Topics, New Generation of Independent Filmmakers

FilmFellas is back with a second installment featuring new faces hungry for more cinematic discussion.  Independent filmmakers Joe Swanberg (Kissing on the Mouth, Hannah Takes the Stairs), Susan Buice (Four Eyed Monsters) and Kris Williams (Young American Bodies) join me for an intimate conversation about their art and the practical business of independent filmmaking. In Webisode 5, I break the ice by telling Susan that I liked her web series even more than her film. This opens up discussion on the difference between making films for the computer screen, as opposed to the big screen. Joe and Kris stress the benefits of film school, and how it has changed over the years, while I highlight the work of Joe Simon, a filmmaker who turns wedding videos into artworks. While all of us acknowledge the challenge in balancing personal art with profitable business, we couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “Filmmaking is a compulsion for me,” Swanberg says. “I can’t not do it.”

FilmFellas – webisode 5 from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.

Enjoy…

Rodney – DCFCPUG

FilmFellas Cast 2 Trailer from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.

DCFCPUG members: We have established a relationship with Larry Jordan’s group to bring our members a great source of training on FCP and donor to our user group meetings!  Let’s show our support !

Sign up quickly as these limited seats go quickly! 

Take advantage of this once a year opportunity when Larry Jordan comes to Washington D.C for his Final Cut Pro PowerUP series. We’ve established a special discount for our DCFCPUG members to save you money on this great seminar. See below for details:

• Succeeding in the New World of Tapeless and HD Video (4 hours)
• Integrating Adobe Products into a Final Cut Workflow (4 hours)
• Discover the Hidden Power in Final Cut Studio (8 hours)

OpenCut.org describes their new film competition as “completely open-source” and “designed to encourage people to take professionally shot material and edit it in their own way.” Explaining that “there is no ‘one way’ to tell a story,” the competition is looking for their footage to be “re-edited and re-told from many different vantage points and perspectives.” Read the rest of this entry »

In his On Language column in Sunday’s The New York Times Magazine, William Safire writes about the three phases of language “compression.” The first phase occurred centuries ago, when contractions like “won’t” and “you’re” were introduced, much to the consternation of contemporary linguists. Read the rest of this entry »