Monthly Archives: April 2013

Short Films, Big Ambitions

In the age of YouTube and watching movies on smart phones, the short film is making a comeback, according to Ellen Gamerman in the Wall Street Journal.

Even though it won an Academy Award in February, the short documentary “Inocente” likely would have faded into obscurity most years after a quick theatrical run. This spring, however, the 39-minute film, about a homeless teenager who creates fanciful paintings to escape her dismal circumstances, is beating out Disney movies in an extended run on the iTunes short films bestseller list.

Short films—typically under 40 minutes—have long been the movie industry’s outliers, calling cards for aspiring directors that rarely made any money and occasionally surfaced at indie-minded movie theaters. Now that mainstream audiences with digital devices are searching for entertainment that will last as long as a commute or a workout, the market for short films is suddenly booming.

“On iTunes or YouTube or Netflix or video-on-demand or mobile, there is no issue of length—in fact, shorter is better,” said Albie Hecht, producer of “Inocente” and former president of film and television entertainment at Nickelodeon.

Movie distributor Shorts International now has nearly 600 short films on iTunes, after starting with 10 in 2006. This year, the Sundance Institute began programming a YouTube channel for shorts called the Screening Room. Amateur and professional filmmakers have more ways to get their short films noticed: The video-sharing site Vimeo saw more than 14,000 submissions for its online shorts awards in 2012, up from about 6,000 the previous year.

Rest of article here.

(Hat tip to Lee Buechele.)

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Cast Set for ‘The Trap’

Four Atlanta area actors have been chosen for David Rosinger’s film The Trap. The Exhibition Pictures’ short narrative follows the attempt of two young con artists, Jerry and Anna, to perpetrate a scam on elderly couple Fred and Mildred.
Betty

The distinguished actress and director Betty Mitchell will play Mildred. Ms. Mitchell has appeared as Lady Markby in the Lyceum Project’s An Ideal Husband; as Roberta Burke in the Essential Theatre’s Evelyn in Purgatory; as Mama Wheelis in Onstage Atlanta’s Daddy’s Dyin . . .; and most recently as Nat in Newnan Theatre’s Rabbit Hole.

Lee

Cast as Fred is Lee Buechele, familiar to many theatre audiences for his work as Ben Hubbard in Main Street Players’ Little Foxes; as Dr. Larch in Oglethorpe  University Theatre’s The Cider House Rules; as Greg in Onstage Atlanta’s Sylvia; and as Mr. Goodfellow in Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s Inherit the Wind.

Lauren

Lauren Boyd, who will play Anna, holds an MFA in Acting from the New School for Drama. On film she has appeared as Suzy Hazelwood in Delusions of Guinevere; as Polly in The Brazilian; and as Jennifer in the TV series School Spirits.

Borge

In the role of Jerry is Borge Etienne, whose film credits include Roland in My Brother’s Keeper; Mr. Franklin in Starry Nights and Roller Blades; and Rufus in the upcoming Shy’s Way. On stage he played Pervis in Black Man-O-Logues.

Camera and sound will be handled by Thomas Donaldson, who is completing the Broadcast Video Production pathway at Rockdale Career Academy and who is the recipient of several awards, including “Best Picture” at the 2012 Summer Academy at UGA Digital Film School.

Writer-director David Rosinger is responsible for the 2012 documentary The Castle on Peachtree Street, a history of Rhodes Hall in Atlanta.

Principal photography on The Trap begins in June.

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