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SXSW Film announces more panels
The folks over at SXSW Film, which kicks off on Friday, March 7, have announced a few more panels for the festival. Among the newly-announced additions to the schedule are:
- “A Conversation with Billy Bob Thornton & Dwight Yoakam”
- “Coming Soon: The Making of a Trailer”
- “An Actor’s Workshop with Jeffrey Tambor”
- “Drugs, Politics, and Race: A ‘Harold & Kumar’ Panel”
- “What the Writers’ Strike Taught Us”
These panels join the following (with descriptions from the SXSW site):
Filmmaking used to be an elite club and up-front financing was a necessity. But with advancement in digital technology, and more alternative distribution routes, the options are virtually endless. These days, no budget equals no problem. Come listen to filmmakers and experts talk about the subject and learn how to jump start your film without the help of financiers and rich uncles.
You can get paid to create a videoblog (vlog)? Meet some the people who have made internet video a full-time endeavor, and find out how they got that job, where they think it’s all going, and how you can get into it, too.
Jeffrey Tambor - the acclaimed TV, film and theater actor - explores different avenues leading to a great performance. Tambor will rehearse and refine scenes with actors onsite, to break down the performance process. This workshop is intended for those interested in bridging the gap between actor and director. Attendees are encouraged to bring questions.
Sophisticated visual effects and computer-generated animation used to be big-ticket items, best left to the $100 million blockbusters from Pixar and the Hollywood majors. But new tools are making visual effects and CG-animation more accessible to independent filmmakers, and also spawning smaller VFX and CG shops willing to work with indies. We’ll get an update from several innovators on the front lines.
When it comes to making a film, “nobody knows anything,” and novice filmmakers know even less. Poor choices can ensure that no one will watch what you’ve made. Early attention to legal and technical issues could mean the difference between having a viable film, or just an expensive calling card. Are you ready to talk about your project? Who should you talk to and what should you say (or not say)? Veterans of the industry discuss how filmmakers most often sabotage themselves, and discuss how to avoid it by doing your homework.
How can indie directors/producers get their work onto the growing number of digital screens in the US, and what are the economics of encoding your film so it can be downloaded digitally and onto a cinema’s server? We’ll also explore how digital cinema is changing the balance of power between Hollywood studios and independents, and what new developments lie ahead.
Use the Internet before the Internet uses you. Thanks to blogs, web-video, and social networking sites, the online universe is a valuable (but no less intimidating) landscape for artists. How do you get the best out of blogs and other sites, to maximize your potential for an audience? Or, how do you get yourself introduced to the booming industry of online journalism and video sharing? These experts will dig deep into these ever-changing trends.
For some filmmakers, getting their work to the masses becomes a very personal task. And, even when a conventional DVD or cable deal is part of the equation, some decide to take on the theatrical release solo. What is this process like? Seasoned filmmakers and members of the industry chat about the complicated world of “self-distribution,” and whether or not they would do it again.
SXSW is happy to announce the inclusion of acclaimed musician Moby, as part of the 2008 SXSW Film Conference. Moby will participate in a session entitled “A Conversation with Moby,” hosted and moderated by Doreen Ringer-Ross of BMI. The session, scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, will take a look at the musician’s relationship with cinema, from composing original scores (Southland Tales) to contributing and licensing his music for film and TV projects (The Bourne Ultimatum, Heat). In addition, it will include a look at “moby gratis,” the musician’s new endeavor to offer some of his music, free-of-charge, to independent filmmakers.
Documentarian Stanley Nelson, one of the most prolific nonfiction filmmakers working today, will attend SXSW 2008 next March to take part in a discussion of his work and his process. The acclaimed filmmaker (Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till) will showcase samples from his award-winning career as part of the 2008 SXSW Film Conference. Nelson’s career includes a bevy of lauded historical documentaries, and he will share how he’s achieved such an impressive body of work. Nelson will also dissect the way he approaches historical documentaries with a fresh and inventive sensibility. From the gripping portrait, The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords, to the popular music doc, Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice, Nelson’s filmography speaks for itself as a glimpse into the sometimes-overlooked aspects of American history. Join Stanley Nelson for his panel session, “Stanley Nelson: History in the Making,” at SXSW 2008.
The entire lineup of panels and schedule will be available on the SXSW Web site on Friday, Feb. 15. Buy film passes now at Waterloo Video for $70. Check out the official SXSW site for more information.
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