Editor's Notes
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Cynthia Wisehart
Every year at Sundance one thing is the same, only more so: The working people get squeezed by the rings of concentric irrelevance that orbit the festival. The place is crowded with people who are not there to work or celebrate the work of filmmaking — or even, in many cases, see films. This would be fine if the resources and logistics of Sundance were unlimited, but they're not — and with that scarcity, filmmakers lose some ground as the central reason for the festival's existence.
I'm not really talking about directors; they do get a lot of attention. But I wish I could say the same for cinematographers, editors, sound people, effects artists, colorists, etc. Everyone we interviewed for our annual blog was gracious about being there, and to their credit, they focused primarily on their process with their collaborators — not on grumbling. But I couldn't help but feel that these important artists have the real behind-the-scenes stories to tell at Sundance, and we end up as virtually the only source for reading those stories.
We're certainly happy to do it. It is a great way to start the year — being reminded of the remarkable work that gets done across the spectrum of filmmaking disciplines. In just the last five years that we've been covering the festival, the promise of democratization has really come true. The number of films cut on Avid Xpress Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro continues to grow, and the cameras come from across the range from MiniDV to HDV to film. Workflows were individual — some taking advantage of data Dis, some pushing Apple Color to new boundaries. No two the same, really.
If you haven't already done so, please check out our blog at blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/sundance, and you'll see (and hear through our many podcasts) the kind of working collaborations that went into so many of these films. We didn't get to a lot of parties, but we got to talk to a lot of people about that rare meeting of the minds that can happen when filmmakers click with their partners (and their gear).
I also want to mention that as we go to press, we learned that millimeter was one of three finalists for the top award in American Business Media's Neal Awards, which is considered the most important of the business media journalism awards. Contributing Writer Ellen Wolff is also a finalist in the online category for her wonderful decade-long column Step by Step, which now has both a print and an online edition.
We received this recognition in large part due to the access you have provided to your compelling process stories. Everything starts from having the right stories to report, as well as having your support in keeping them accurate, your help with fact checking, and all the ways you extend yourself for our enlightenment and that of your peers. We know you're busy, and we appreciate your time and trust.
