I’ve always been a fan of the director’s commentary on DVDs (I would really love to hear Iñárritu discuss his films!) In fact, if I have the time, I’ll watch a film three times: once to watch it, a second time with the director’s commentary, and a third time to appreciate what the director discusses.

Sadly, many director’s commentaries are disappointing (I suppose speaking about one’s art is a gift that not all artists possess?) So…when I come across a really good director’s commentary, I like to pass on the intel. In case you were wondering, yes, Tom Hooper’s director’s commentary on The King’s Speech DVD is well worth watching – a real education in film/directing. Hooper discusses his relationship with his art directors and location scouts, how he uses the locations to visually tell his story, how the soundtrack contributes to telling his story, which lenses he chooses to use (when and why), and much more. Hooper’s an excellent director and would be an excellent educator as well, I think. Until he begins teaching, however, check out his director commentaries!

If you’re interested in learning more about Hooper’s directing style right now, check out Wikipedia.

While Terrence Malick’s highly anticipated Tree of Life has yet to see its theatrical release, there is already a great deal of buzz surrounding the highly acclaimed writer/director’s latest film. In an interview with the LA Times, Malick’s cinematographer, Emanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, describes working on the set with Malick: “Once you think you got the

Chan-wook Park, an award-winning South Korean filmmaker is about to release his film, Night Fishing, which was filmed entirely on the iPhone 4. Park’s film is yet another example of how technology is empowering filmmakers to work in innovative ways. Remarkably, Park’s 30 minute film was not, actually, extremely low-budget, having a budget of about

Chan-wook Park, an award-winning South Korean filmmaker is about to release his film, Night Fishing, which was filmed entirely on the iPhone 4. Park’s film is yet another example of how technology is empowering filmmakers to work in innovative ways. Remarkably, Park’s 30 minute film was not, actually, extremely low-budget, having a budget of about

After a couple of tech-focused posts, I thought it was high time to provide a bit of perspective by mentioning a short film I watched this past week, which was made on a scanner. The short was shown at this year’s Disposable Film Festival whose mission statement is “to celebrate the artistic potential of disposable