Film Formally

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. Please note that, due to sync necessities, there are a few gaps in the episode’s discussion: we’ve filled with with snippets of Will’s original score for the film. STILL PROCESSING (2020) A box of stunning family photos unseen for decades awakens lost memories as they are viewed for the first time on camera. In this episode, we discuss: Hybrid documentary and fictional elements. Still Processing’s long production and post-production schedule. Photographic storyboards. Audience expectations and documentaries about grief. Composing the score. What did we learn? Sophy’s films can be seen on the CRITERION CHANNEL - feel free to sign up for a free trial if you aren’t a member.

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. IN DOG YEARS (2019) Old dogs are celebrated in ten short stories about love, loss, and letting go. In this episode, we discuss: Why the CBC hired Sophy to make a dog documentary. Cinemascope as a canine-friendly aspect ratio. A talking head documentary without talking heads. Documentary structure. Will and Sophy’s correspondence editing style. Sophy’s films can be seen on the CRITERION CHANNEL - feel free to sign up for a free trial if you aren’t a member.

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. NORMAN NORMAN (2018) A young woman grapples with the declining health of her beloved dog in this film about mortality, cloning, and Barbra Streisand. In this episode, we discuss: Creative “Labour” and filmmaking. Cross-country collaboration. Norman’s TIFF pass. Conceptual cinema. The opportunities afforded by non-traditional modes of production. Sophy’s films can be seen on the CRITERION CHANNEL - feel free to sign up for a free trial if you aren’t a member.

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. PUMPKIN MOVIE (2017) Two women trade stories of misogyny while carving pumpkins over Skype as part of a Halloween tradition. In this episode, we discuss: The film’s extremely truncated pre-production and production timelines. Ultra low-budget filmmaking and unconventional production methods. Structuring 45-minute conversations with editing. Documentary, fiction, and the way that PUMPKIN MOVIE inadvertently became a hybrid of the two. Sophy’s films can be seen on the CRITERION CHANNEL - feel free to sign up for a free trial if you aren’t a member.

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. IT’S HIM (2016) An unexpected encounter during an afternoon at the cinema catapults a young woman into a confrontation with her own grief. In this episode, we discuss: Creative geography. The learning process of collaboration. Working with actors on an indie budget. Remastering NINE BEHIND and IT’S HIM. Restructuring IT’S HIM in post-production. The transition from the relatively large production of IT’S HIM to the stripped-down minimalism of PUMPKIN MOVIE.  

FILM FORMALLY is back! This month, friend of the podcast Sophy Romvari’s films are premiering on the CRITERION CHANNEL and to mark the occasion we’ve recorded a set of commentaries for six of these films - NINE BEHIND, IT’S HIM, PUMPKIN MOVIE, NORMAN NORMAN, IN DOG YEARS, and STILL PROCESSING. We’ll be releasing one per week for the next six weeks. To listen along, have the film ready to go and hit “play” when prompted within the episode after the introductions. NINE BEHIND (2016) Calling her grandfather in Budapest to learn about the Hungarian film industry, a woman instead finds the conversation shifting to her family’s history. In this episode, we discuss: Sophy’s early works leading up to NINE BEHIND. The influences and production of NINE BEHIND. The lessons learned on this set and how they informed Sophy’s next film, IT’S HIM.

It’s our one-year, 43rd-episode spectacular, and we’re once again answering your questions! We go deep on the new WONG KAR-WAI restorations, our thoughts on Zach Snyder’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, the merits of handheld camera operation, film scores, not one but TWO aspect ratio rants from Devan, and more! But first, some NEWS. We’re going to be taking a bit of a hiatus, and we’re adjusting our Patreon to reflect this. In the interests of keeping the quality of this podcast high and sustainable, we’re going to take our time with the next season. It’ll be ready whenever it’s ready, but it will happen! As such, our Patreon will now be structured on a per-creation basis. Our previous tiers will be retired in lieu of $1 and $2 per-creation tiers. In this episode, we discuss: (04:24) Criterion’s THE WORLD OF WONG KAR-WAI box set, and our mixed feelings on the changes made to the films contained within. (29:11) Handheld vs Tripod: the final showdown. (33:58) Will opines on this year’s film scores. (40:43) Zach Snyder’s JUSTICE LEAGUE: it’s out! What do we think? If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon. We’ve also released a bonus mini-episode wherein we discuss PREFACE TO A HISTORY and THE MARTYR.  

How an acclaimed director’s versions of a famous film be unavailable for decades — when there’s nothing stopping their release? How can a small group of fans gather the evidence and means to reconstruct those versions? How can they finally have a hand in its official release? Endless passion — and a lot of luck. It’s a subject and film as near and dear to our hearts as any, and we’ve brought on superfans Benji Heran and Jordan Krug to talk about the film prints, continuity scripts, and years of tireless, unpaid passion that they’ve put into preserving Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.\r\n

Adapting literary works to the screen involves a certain amount of translation. There are certain things that are easily conveyed in writing that cannot be conveyed in a straightforward way onscreen; likewise, there are elements of cinematic language that open up new routes to expression. John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a useful case study in this regard: it has been the subject of two acclaimed adaptations that could not be more distinct in the toolkit each uses to translate book to screen. We’ve invited Tim Brayton, film critic at Alternate Ending, to discuss both the 1979 John Irving adaptation as well as Tomas Alfredson’s 2011 take.\r\n\n\nIn this episode, we discuss:\n\nLiterary accuracy versus formal expressiveness in adaptation.\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nFocal lengths, zoom lenses, and the observational mode.\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\n1970s BBC television house style: is it any good?\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nNarrative obscurity.\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nJohn Le Carre’s stylistic toolit as a writer and the challenges it poses for adaptations.\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nThe construction of performances through lighting and framing.\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nMark Strong: MVP?\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\n\nIf you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.\r\n\n\nWorks discussed during this episode:\r\n\n\nThe Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)\r\n\n\nTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)\r\n\n\nSmiley’s People (1982)\r\n\n\nThe Little Drummer Girl (1984)\r\n\n\nThe Tailor Of Panama (2001)\r\n\n\nTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)\r\n\n\nA Most Wanted Man (2014)\r\n

Colour grading, the art of manipulating the colour of a film digitally in post-production, is as omnipresent as it is misunderstood. To help demystify the process, we’ve invited supervising colourist Andrea Chlebak (Mandy, An American Pickle, HBO’s The Watchmen) to discuss the art of colour grading with us. In this episode, we discuss: Where does the colour grading process begin? Pre-production? Production? Development of multiple palettes within individual films. Digital and celluloid image capture and the implications on the colour grading process of each. The future of colour grading and digital imaging. The limits of colour correction: what can we change in post? What can’t we change? Exposure ideologies for fun and profit. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.   Works discussed during this episode: Andrea’s Work: An American PIckle Mandy Watchmen Hello Destroyer Elysium Other Work: Hekademia Traffic Game of Thrones S8e03: “The Long Night” Blade Runner 2049

Extreme ways are back! In pog form! This week we’ve got a wonderful little discussion about the evolution of the Jason Bourne film series. In particular, we’re here to dissect how Paul Greengrass transformed it into the 21st century’s foremost example of Chaos Cinema. Handheld camerawork, fast editing, questionable focus? It’s all here, and we’re here to sift through the wreckage.

Geez, it’s been a while since we got spooky on the show, hasn’t it? High time we brought back Mike Thorn to talk about how Wes Craven fused meta storytelling and horror in two franchises: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. We’ll permeate the membranes of reality, disassemble Craven’s views on horror’s social and political value, and laugh about how Matthew Lillard yells “BOO-GAH” when he imitates a gunshot. Mike has a terrific new horror novel, Shelter for the Damned, that you can check out in print or e-book format directly through Journalstone, or you can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Walmart.

An Anti-Masterpiece is, as defined by our own Will Ross, is “an astonishing, essential work of art in spite of a distinct lack of conventional competence on the part of its makers”. After Last Season by Mark Region is one such film, and we’ve invited filmmaker Bram Ruiter to discuss it with us. In what is very much not a “bad movie” episode, we attempt to grapple with the nature of outsider art. In this episode, we discuss:The value of different competent cinema. The many, many mysteries behind the production of After Last Season More realism in cinema: Mark Region’s seeming insistence on pushing the boundaries of acceptable cinematic ‘reality’. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon. Additional Resources:Jason Coffman’s Article on After Last Season Jason Coffman’s Follow-Up Oral History with the Cast and Crew Filmmaker Magazine’s interview with director Mark Region   Works discussed during this episode: After Last Season (2009) The Room (2003) Street Fighter: The Movie (1994) Inland Empire (2006) The Treasure Planet (1982)

For this episode our Associate Producer Paige Smith has relieved Devan and Will of hosting duties so that she can talk about Eighth Grade’s depiction and use of the Internet — and she’s brought on two friends who survived eighth grade with her, Bronwyn Henderson and Brietta Stewart. It's both a dive into how the film interweaves screens and scrolling with its characters and dramatic presentation, and a personal reflection on how strange and hard it is to grow up — and how much "growing up" has changed.

In part two of our Verite series we discuss truth in documentary filmmaking with returning guest Sophy Romvari. Sophy’s films have increasingly blurred the line between fact and fiction and are often classified as ‘hybrid’ documentaries. What can we learn from this type of fusion cinema? We go deep on the existential questions that inevitably ensue when one claims to be telling a ‘truth’ and explore the various ways different filmmakers have sought to build ideological frameworks for reaching their truths. In this episode, we discuss:Documentary, the genre: a contract? ‘Hybrid’ documentary and the mix of fact and fiction Cinema Verite and Direct Cinema: they’re different! The Ecstatic Truth and Werner Herzog Errol Morris’ epistemological meat grinder: is truth connected with style? Kirsten Johnson and Cameraperson Ethical representation of documentary subjects. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon. Additional Resources:Media: Werner Herzog’s Minnesota Declaration

We're doing two episodes on truth in cinema, starting with one on standards of reality in narrative films. Whit Stillman (The Last Days of Disco, Love & Friendship) joined us, largely to register his animosity towards the idea of making stylistic decisions based on realism, and shared his thoughts on aesthetic decline, pretension, and the meowling cat sound in Damsels in Distress.

Welcome to season 3! To kick things off, we’ve brought Duplitech Film Services Manager Blake Blasingame in to discuss film preservation and mastering for home video. Are you ready for 88 minutes of unadulterated shop talk about grain structure, bit depth, oversampling, color grading, and vinegar syndrome? Of course you are! This is Film Formally, after all. In this episode, we discuss:The process of preserving and restoring films for Blu-Ray and DVD releases. Scan resolutions - 4k, and the value of oversampling. Vinegar syndrome: the silent killer. How film elements are sourced for scans - negatives, IPs, IBs, and release prints. Robert Richardson and revisionism. William Peter Blatty and the restoration of the lost Legion cut of The Exorcist III More audio restoration! If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon. Additional Resources:Works discussed during this episode: Snow Falling on Cedars The Exorcist III / Legion The Thing The French Connection The Big Lebowski Blade Runner 2049 Mad Max: Fury Road The Heartbreak Kid Playtime Tree of Wooden Clogs Army of Shadows Ran The works of Wong Kar-Wai

It’s our second SEASON BREAK SPECTACULAR! You sent us some great questions, and we answered them. Per our answer early in the pod, you can check out https://native-land.ca/ to see which indigenous territory you might live on (bear in mind it’s not comprehensive or “official”). There’s a good explanation of land acknowledgments there, too. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.

Film Formally is on hiatus, but that won't stop us from taking your questions! Take our quick survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y7HV6CM to submit questions that we'll answer on our podcast in an upcoming episode. Plus, Devan comes in with some HOT TAKES.

For our season 2 finale, we keep it simple and discuss none other than the use of colour across the works of Wong Kar-Wai. In particular, we discuss the use of colour to evoke emotions, mood, and symbolism in his 21st century masterpieces In The Mood For Love and 2046. We’ll be taking a break for the holidays, but our regularly scheduled programming will continue in January 2021. And who knows, there might be some bonus episodes coming… In this episode, we discuss:The different ways in which colour is utilized and created in cinema: lighting, production design, grading. Wong Kar-Wai’s evolution as an artist and his highly instinctual and intercultural approach to colour. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s approach to colour. The new restorations of Wong Kar-Wai’s cinema, and the possible issues therein. AKA: “In the Mood For Love: was it always this green?” If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon. Additional Resources:Works discussed during this episode: By Wong Kar-Wai: Days of Being Wild Chungking Express Fallen Angels Happy Together In The Mood For Love 2046 By Others: Apocalypse Now Dick Tracy