Gaming: convergence is inevitable
From Pong to Assassins Creed II, games have evolved into a business and art form that is starting to merge with the traditional screen media. Miguel Gonzalez found filmmakers should start playing if they want to win.
“Computer Game: Approx $80, almost guaranteed entertainment, at least 30 hours fun. 2 Hollywood blockbuster dates: approx $80 (plus the rest), 5 hours of ‘fun’. Computer game wins every time.”
Rise of the Middle East
It’s nearly impossible to overstate the impact of the Middle East as a content creation hothouse when, at a time of scant funding, the region is pumping money into the film and TV world. Laine Lister writes.
Shaking off its date and pearl farming ancestry Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates has broken upon the entertainment world’s financial woes like a great wave. Read more »
Score composers: a bittersweet melody
Composers are among the most passionate people in the industry, but they also have bills to pay. Miguel Gonzalez spoke with five established composers about the issues that are making noise in their sector.
Screen practitioners spare no efforts to ensure their project looks the best it possibly can, but according to sound post-production houses, the aural component of their work seems to be an afterthought, with diminishing resources allocated to this aspect. This problem is also reflected in the music domain. Read more »
Bran Nue Dae: something nue under the WA sun
A retro, indigenous-themed musical satire starring pop stars and an out-of-control Geoffrey Rush? Bran Nue Dae is all that and more, writes Paul Hayes.
They’ve started doing it again in Hollywood. They do it all the time in Bollywood. So why doesn’t Australian cinema make musicals? In terms of genre, the musical has at best been sporadically represented in Australia. Read more »
My Place: history for families
Capturing the essence of and recreating 220+ years of modern and indigenous history is no easy task, but Penny Chapman has turned a storybook My Place into a very special place for all Australians.
Trees are the oldest living creatures on earth and, in My Place, one of them bears witness to the stories of a community and, particularly, its children. Going back in time 10 years every week starting in 2008, the series presents a moment in the life of a local child and, most importantly, captures the issues and changes that have shaped our nation.
Bright Star: a southern star shines up north
Jane Campion and Jan Chapman re-teamed to tell the story of a poet and his muse in Bright Star. Chapman told Miguel Gonzalez how this quintessentially British tale has an Australian heart.
The romantic poet John Keats died in Rome in 1820, aged 25. His work would achieve posthumous recognition but, until today, the source of inspiration for his most famous poems had been largely ignored.
ABC3: 3 is for kids
The new digital channel ABC3 is a reality now that Kevin Rudd has literally switched it on, but it didn’t happen overnight. It was a long, painful birth, but one that will offer Australian children- and producers- an entire world of content.
Home entertainment: new formats, old habits
The lucrative movie rental and retail business is under siege; with increased broadband access, piracy may soon be as ubiquitous as the PC in Australian homes. Of course, industry has a plan. Laine Lister writes.
To say that the home entertainment industry has hit a hurdle on the path to profits would be something of an understatement.
While consumers have spent big on HD screens and sound systems, they have become less extravagant in their game and movie purchases. In addition, file-sharing websites are more prolific than ever before. Read more »
Blue skies for 3D
With the arrival of James Cameron’s Avatar and an increasing number of international releases, 3D is impossible to ignore. Miguel Gonzalez found that Australia is getting ready to embrace it with stereoscopic arms.
The global 3D market is reaching a stage of maturity, with the release of A Christmas Carol (November), Avatar (December) and Alice in Wonderland (March 2010), according to the president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, Mark Zoradi. Read more »
Documentary: both sides of the camera
For better or worse, documentary filmmaking has been plagued by the shadow of subjectivity since the first images were committed to celluloid. Trent Griffiths asks, does it even matter? Is subjectivity inevitable? Should the subjectivity of the lens be embraced? Is objectivity the (unattainable) ideal documentary should strive for? Read more »