DEFIANT is a hybrid publication, a little bit like a magazine, a little bit like a YouTube or Vimeo channel and also like a TV show. We hope to use all the best bits from those media types and present a weekly newscast for our professional video industry. As DEFIANT is weekly we will have a definite news agenda but also present interviews that you’ll be able to read in our monthly print and digital issues. Welcome to Issue 1 – we hope you enjoy it.
17-22 APRIL 2020
THE WEEKLY VIDEO NEWSCAST FROM DEFINITION MAGAZINE
How to wake up Hollywood PRODUCTION 2.0 The production of Robin Hood in 1922
ast week, a lighting cameraman was asked by an ad agency if he had a ten-year-old daughter, if he had a nice kitchen and how much kit he kept in his house. All his answers were positive and the advertising folk then asked him to shoot a cereal commercial in his house. Is this the future of filmmaking? Perhaps if the videos in Definition Diaries on page 12 are anything to go by.
IMAGE The ASC Clubhouse in LA circa 1920 (where the arrow is pointing). The ASC was founded in 1919, just after the Spanish flu pandemic. A century on, it has a new challenge
JULIAN MITCHELL
04 EPISODIC FOR THE TIMES We talk to Tales from the Loop DOP, Jeff Cronenweth 06 CINEMATOGRAPHY THREAT President of the ASC, Kees Van Oostrum paints a dark picture ahead 08 SHORT-FORM QUIBI LAUNCHES DURING PANDEMIC Quibi’s programmes are under 10 minutes – is this the perfect platform for today’s production restraints? 10 FREEFOLK STAYS OPEN BY WORKING REMOTELY London’s Freefolk VFX and grading shop explains its remote agenda 12 DEFINITION DIARIES Commercials, production in isolation, new focus for Fujinon and the beautiful Isolation film
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CINEMATOGRAPHY | TALES FROM THE LOOP
EPISODIC TALES FOR THE CORONAVIRUS AGE Tales from the Loop is here to mollify your isolation as famed DOP Jeff Cronenweth explains his cinematic message
INTERV I EW BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
he Amazon Prime show, Tales from the Loop , is a delight – so as you buy unnecessary items from your Amazon wish lists in lockdown, you can delve into a cinematic wonder for the television screen. Jeff Cronenweth shot the pilot for the series and in so doing he set the tone for the rest of the episodes. Think of the series as Stranger Things for grown ups – don’t miss it.
ABOVE An appreciation of Jeff Cronenweth’s work
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TALES FROM THE LOOP | CINEMATOGRAPHY
That kind of colour science and the LUT that comes with the DXL2 came to fruition based on all the work we did on The Social Network ”
ABOVE Jeff Cronenweth talks to DEFIANT about the look behind Tales from the Loop
JEFF CRONENWETH Jeff Cronenweth was born on 14 January 1962 in Los Angeles County, California. He is known for his work on such culturally significant films as The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – both earning him Academy Award nominations – and Gone Girl (2014). He’s a graduate of USC School of Cinema- Television (now known as USC School of Cinematic Arts).
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CINEMATOGRAPHY | ASC
ASC PRESIDENT SEES ROUGH ROAD AHEAD The American Society of Cinematographers is the oldest and largest of its kind in the world – it needs all of its 101 years of wisdom now ABOVE Production of the 1922 Robin Hood movie. From left: actors Wallace Beery and Robert Florey, ASC founding member Arthur Edeson, star Douglas Fairbanks and director Allan Dwan
INTERV I EW BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
the most challenging. We spoke with the president Kees Van Oostrum, who is in isolation in Brussels, about the road ahead for the society and its members.
he American Society of Cinematographers celebrated 100 years last year. ASC has seen many crises since then, but perhaps the coronavirus is
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ASC | CINEMATOGRAPHY
LEFT Van Oostrum, who was re-elected just over a year ago, speaks to DEFIANT
The Spanish flu pandemic was in 1918 and the ASC was formed a year later, so we know how to emerge from a crisis ”
KEES VAN OOSTRUM As ASC president, Kees Van Oostrum initiated and continues to oversee the ASC’s Master Class programme. The master classes, which take place in LA and various locations worldwide throughout the year, are taught by ASC members. The programme was created for cinematographers with an intermediate-to-advanced skill set. Master class participants get practical, hands-on demonstrations of lighting and camera technique, all within current workflow practices. Van Oostrum has also significantly expanded the activities of the ASC over the past three years in the areas of diversity, social media and web presence, and in establishing the ASC ARRI Educational Center, which will open its doors this September in Hollywood. Van Oostrum has earned Emmy nominations for shooting the telefilms Miss Rose White and Return to Lonesome Dove , which also earned a 1994 ASC Outstanding Achievement Award. He also collected ASC Award nominations for The Burden of Proof , Medusa’s Child and Spartacus .
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CINEMATOGRAPHY | QU I B I QUIBI SWEATS THE SMALL STUFF Newly launched Quibi features seven- to ten-minute programmes with A-Listers and some production in lockdown
STORY BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
ABOVE Quibi’s reboot of Punk’d with Chance the rapper as host
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QU I B I | CINEMATOGRAPHY
ABOVE Quibi’s CEO Meg Whitman on launching the service in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic It turns out people have in-between moments at home. We don’t actually think it hurts us ”
THE PITCH Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to be entertained, informed and inspired. Launching this April, Quibi will present fresh content from today’s top talent – one quick bite at a time. Get ready to make any moment extraordinary with incredible storytelling delivered right to your phone.
ABOVE Quibi promotion featuring Most Dangerous Game with Liam Hemsworth
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REMOTE WORK ING | FREEFOLK FREEFOLK FAST TRACKS ITS REMOTE PLANS From virtual floors to coffee breaks, post-production studio, Freefolk, takes working from home one step further
INTERV I EW BY CHELSEA FEARNLEY
ittorio Giannini talks to DEFIANT about Freefolk’s move from working in the office to at home. The challenges surrounding the practicality of such a task
were not the only things considered with Giannini working on providing an “at-home office space” for his employees, including virtual floors and coffee breaks.
ABOVE Freefolk’s advertising reel
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FREEFOLK | REMOTE WORK ING
ABOVE Joint EP and MD of Freefolk, Vittorio Giannini, speaking to DEFIANT in the last week
VITTORIO GIANNINI Giannini is joint MD/EP of Freefolk, alongside Fi Kilroe. He started his career in post-production at The Mill, where he spent five years working his way up to the position of producer. He then joined MPC and throughout the following eight years, Giannini held the positions of deputy head of production, head of production and director of production. He also joined MPC’s executive committee in 2010, where he was involved in the strategic development of the advertising department. In 2014, he joined the team at Freefolk, which at the time was called Finish.
We were monitoring the situation and we had three to four weeks to get the remote working right before the lockdown happened
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DEF INITION DIAR I ES
In this time of self-isolation there is plenty of advice on what to do with the time – but we want you to perform on our virtual stage. Email us a link to your self-iso video!
FUJINON’S ADVANCED FOCUS FOR BROADCAST LENSES
TECHNICOLOR’S TECHSTREAM
SHOOTING COMMERCIALS IN LOCKDOWN
SHOOTING COMMERCIALS IN LOCKDOWN
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DEF INITION DIAR I ES
ISOLATION BY MARK SELIGER
SHOOTING COMMERCIALS IN LOCKDOWN
THE LIGHTHOUSE TRAILER REMAKE
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