Weekly round-up of filmmaking articles

How can the film industry tackle climate change?
‘The average tentpole production (a film with a budget of more than $70m) generates 2,840 tonnes of CO2. This could take you to the moon and back six times.

Undoubtedly, the film industry has played its part in exacerbating climate change on its own doorstep.

Research demonstrates that transport has the largest impact on the carbon footprint of a film shoot, accounting for around 51 per cent of total emissions on tentpole films.’

Read the article in full, here.

Why 'The Crown' Feels Like 'The Godfather' in Royal Form
‘The baptism scene in The Godfather and scenes of The Crown’s fourth season premiere are meant to evoke purity, symbols of incorruptible strength and stability. Religious iconography and natural beauty starkly contrast with the moral decay to immediately follow. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) methodically dispatches the heads of the other crime families in a gorgeous and terrifyingly orchestrated montage that cuts between new life and violent death. The Crown showrunner Peter Morgan aims for a similar sentiment, utilizing the same family-oriented foundation to build tension as Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance) is murdered.

In both works, the death and its fallout are fragmented. The mob heads spread across several locations as Michael holds vigil at the center of a new power dynamic; the royal family is individually informed of Mountbatten’s murder across different sites and countries. The culmination of tension, sound and action bleed into each successive shot. The result is the same: deep pain and violence rippling outward like stones dropped into a pond.’

Read the article in full, here.

Jim Henson and the ABCs of filmmaking

‘Henson sought to create worlds that felt larger than the scope of human imagination. Few characters have managed to keep such a universally heart-warming quality as The Muppets, or as devoted a cult following as Labyrinth.

So, what was that secret sauce that helped Henson stay indelible as a storyteller even 30 years after his death?’

Read the article in full, here.

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS: Taking Bold Risks in the Pursuit of Truth
‘When Bryan Fogel set out to make “The Dissident,” his intrepid and arresting exposé on the assassination of Saudi Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, he knew there were myriad security risks involved.

There was the matter of Khashoggi’s killing—a brutal one, his body sawed into parts—at the hands of a Saudi murder squad, a death that US intelligence agencies have determined with a high degree of certainty was ordered by the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. (To date, the US has leveraged zero sanctions against Saudi Arabia, nor meted out any punitive measures.)

Fogel, a cinematic troubadour in the dogged pursuit of truth, was undeterred. Armed with exclusive access to Turkish criminal files, he embarked on a daring quest to unveil all facts in the case and hold accountable the perpetrators behind Khashoggi’s gruesome murder.’

Read the article in full, here.

We’d love to hear from you

Thinking about using video or animation production in your next project?
Or just want to chat through a video idea you may have…

Get in touch today.

3