March 20th, 2012
Stanwyck never signed a long-term contract with a studio. This non-exclusivity goes far to explain why she kept coming home from Oscar night empty-handed (until, that is, the Academy awarded her an honorary Oscar in 1982). Whichever studio she happened to be working for had little incentive to mount a vote-for-Stanwyck campaign. But freelancing gave her a measure of control over the roles she played. She made some excellent choices, and her natural style of acting has aged well. The result is that, unlike the movies of her rival Bette Davis, which ooze campiness, many Stanwyck vehicles — especially “The Lady Eve,” “Double Indemnity,” “Stella Dallas,” “Remember the Night” and “The Bitter Tea of General Yen” — are as watchable today as they were on first release. ~  Dennis Drabelle on American Actress Barbara Stanwyck Being an individual is a more arduous road and there are no guarantees, but if you can persevere years, and sometimes decades, you’ll see other people admire your sense of self-fulfillment.   ~ü [Image: Barbara Stanwyck]
Stanwyck never signed a long-term contract with a studio. This non-exclusivity goes far to explain why she kept coming home from Oscar night empty-handed (until, that is, the Academy awarded her an honorary Oscar in 1982). Whichever studio she happened to be working for had little incentive to mount a vote-for-Stanwyck campaign. But freelancing gave her a measure of control over the roles she played. She made some excellent choices, and her natural style of acting has aged well. The result is that, unlike the movies of her rival Bette Davis, which ooze campiness, many Stanwyck vehicles — especially “The Lady Eve,” “Double Indemnity,” “Stella Dallas,” “Remember the Night” and “The Bitter Tea of General Yen” — are as watchable today as they were on first release.

~  Dennis Drabelle on American Actress Barbara Stanwyck

Being an individual is a more arduous road and there are no guarantees, but if you can persevere years, and sometimes decades, you’ll see other people admire your sense of self-fulfillment.  

~ü

[Image: Barbara Stanwyck]

20 notes·
individuality artist
January 26th, 2012
The Most Influential Filmmaker You’ve Never Heard Of:  I still refer to Lenny Lipton’s 1972 book Independent Filmmaking as a resource for low-cost celluloid (not digital) production.  A recent interview by Don Diego Ramirez showed me that Lenny has done more in his life than just write a few books on 8mm and 16mm production.  I was amazed by the breadth of his work.  Creativity that truly knows no bounds. Some highlights: He pioneered early documentary filmmaking - with films such as Revelation of the Foundation. He pioneered 3D cinema.  Note the photo above.  The man is holding two Super 8 cameras: this is, in essence, how 3D films are shot today.  Lenny even wrote an article in that magazine about shooting 3D Super 8 films in the 1970s. Authored the seminal book Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema (1982).   His 3D work was used by NASA in the Mars Rover. James Cameron acknowledged Lenny’s work in the making of Avatar. He wrote Puff, the Magic Dragon with Peter Yarrow, later made popular by Yarrow’s group Peter, Paul and Mary. He also kept company with Tim Leary and Ken Kesey, novelist of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and lived with Salvador Dali. Don’t just be a filmmaker.  Be an artist.  Read more about this fascinating filmmaker here. ~ü

The Most Influential Filmmaker You’ve Never Heard Of: 

I still refer to Lenny Lipton’s 1972 book Independent Filmmaking as a resource for low-cost celluloid (not digital) production.  A recent interview by Don Diego Ramirez showed me that Lenny has done more in his life than just write a few books on 8mm and 16mm production.  I was amazed by the breadth of his work.  Creativity that truly knows no bounds. Some highlights:

  • He pioneered early documentary filmmaking - with films such as Revelation of the Foundation.
  • He pioneered 3D cinema.  Note the photo above.  The man is holding two Super 8 cameras: this is, in essence, how 3D films are shot today.  Lenny even wrote an article in that magazine about shooting 3D Super 8 films in the 1970s.
  • Authored the seminal book Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema (1982).  
  • His 3D work was used by NASA in the Mars Rover.
  • James Cameron acknowledged Lenny’s work in the making of Avatar.
  • He wrote Puff, the Magic Dragon with Peter Yarrow, later made popular by Yarrow’s group Peter, Paul and Mary.
  • He also kept company with Tim Leary and Ken Kesey, novelist of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and lived with Salvador Dali.

Don’t just be a filmmaker.  Be an artist.  Read more about this fascinating filmmaker here.

~ü

75 notes·
artist 3D filmmaker Super 8
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@dschmudde

Techniques for directing film. More than the script, bigger than the screen - the tangible and mystical characteristics of truly great filmmaking.