A Transcendent Film About A Forgotten Hero

By Media Match member Taylor Segrest

Our rabid media culture devours and discards its subjects with the same apparent disregard with which it distracts society from any contemplation of causal relationships or underlying significance. In this hyperactive contemporary media environment, a historical film as fresh, compelling and beautifully crafted as the forthcoming American Experience premiere, Jesse Owens, produced and directed by Laurens Grant and written and produced by Stanley Nelson, can seem like an oasis in a flood of mirages.

The transcendent sports biopic is timely in its anticipation of the forthcoming London Olympiad and the 75th anniversary of the riveting 1936 Berlin Olympics, where Owens made his mark in an epic match-up of nationalist narratives that pitted him against Adolf Hitler, but it is also a story that merges a rich array of seemingly timeless as well as uniquely American themes.

“I think it’s a real cautionary tale about the ephemeral nature of sports celebrity in America,” says Mark Samels, executive producer of American Experience. “I don’t think that’s changed a great deal. We worship athletes, but our attention is distracted by the next coming thing. It’s a very short lifespan for a sports celebrity in our gaze.”

As sports writer William Rhoden comments in the film, “It was extraordinary when you think about it. There are these moments in history when the actors understand that moment in history and they just do the right thing.”

Rhoden’s sentiment indirectly captures the ethos of not just Jesse Owens, but also the American Experience series at its finest. For Samels, this awareness is strong. “Each one of us has the potential for having the reigns of history in our hands at some point,” he notes. “Some people seize it and really affect great change and make this country a much better place.”

Yet even within his lifetime, in fact for much of his life, Owens experienced first-hand the racist forces that he had tried so hard to escape. After winning four gold medals in Berlin in defiance of Hitler’s agenda, the American hero Owens returned to his home country to find himself paraded and then swiftly pushed back to the margins he had fought so hard to escape. He and his wife were unable to get a hotel room in New York City until one allowed them on the condition that they use the service entrance. The creative team behind Jesse Owens fully explores the tragic and shocking post-Olympics denouement that ensues as Owens struggles gracefully to provide for his family – racing against a horse, running a dry-cleaning business. Here, and at other surprising junctures, the film poignantly demonstrates the elusive nature of social progress in America through Owens’s very personal plight.

Here’s a link to the full piece I recently wrote about the film, including interviews with producer/director Laurens Grant and American Experience Executive Producer Mark Samels.

Jesse Owens premiered on May 1st on American Experience on PBS. Click here for trailer and local listings.

This week in Media Match’s world…

Welcome to our highlight of this week’s videos, news, views, and reviews, and also our Quick Tip of the Week for using the Media Match website. Week ending 11th May 2012.

Rolling!
Bike Chicago Video Contest : (Media Match Blog)

Genre-fied
Disney Dark : (Media Match Blog)

Production
Amazon Studios Will Develop Comedy And Children’s Series : (Deadline)

Kerching!
‘Mad Men’ Paid $250K for Beatles Song : (Rolling Stone)

Sound Off
Do film schools do enough to promote good audio? : (Media Match Blog)

Quick Tip of the Week

Apply To Jobs:
Here we walk through the process of applying to a job from our jobs board, and give you some tips on the best was to organize your application.

Video of the Week

the camera collection
animation – antonio vicentini // boobiesareawesome.tv
illustration – billy brown // robobilly.com
music – ben hantoot // benhantoot.com

TV and Film Jobs

Don’t forget to check our jobs board for the latest jobs in the TV and film industry.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Media Match Team

Get rolling and rolling.

The idea of incorporating biking into film works and events has been touched on before here at Media Match, and it is one that intrigues and inspires us. For those of you who thrive on tight deadlines, we have just found out about this interesting competition, but your entries need to be submitted within the next nine days: the City of Chicago is hosting a public service announcement (PSA) video contest in association with Bicycle Film Festival Chicago, Goose Island, The Chainlink, Active Transport Alliance, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The call for entries is soon to close (submissions must be uploaded by 11:59pm (Central) on Sunday May 20th 2012), but you can still put something together and enter to win some great prizes and exposure.

The contest is in part to celebrate Bike Chicago 2012 (a series of events throughout the summer) and also timed around Bike To Work Week (June 11 through June 15). Video finalists will be screened at the Bike Chicago Movie in Millennium Park on Tuesday, June 12 and the winners will be announced at the City of Chicago’s Bike Rally on Friday, June 15. Other bike-related prizes include a Trek commuter bike courtesy of Goose Island, a pair of Chicago Bicycle Film Festival passes and many other goodies from sponsoring companies.

Rules

The videos must be 30-90 seconds in length, all bike footage must obey rules of the road, be filmed within the City of Chicago, and incorporate themes of the ‘Bike it Everywhere, Chicago!’ campaign (including, but not limited to; bike safety, shop by bike, exploring neighborhoods, environmental impact, racing, and more). There is no fee to enter the contest, and videos are to be submitted via The Chainlink. Full rules are here

Timeline

- Submissions must be uploaded to The Chainlink by 11:59pm (Central) on Sunday, May 20, 2012.
- Finalists will be notified by Monday, May 28, 2012.
- General Public will be allowed to vote on the finalists from Wednesday, May 30, 2012 through Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
- Finalists will be shown at the Bike Chicago Movie in Millennium Park on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
- Winners will be announced at the City of Chicago’s Bike Rally at Daley Plaza on Friday, June 15, 2012.

For more information and details on Bike Chicago 2012, check out bikechicago.us

by Lee Jarvis.

Disney Dark
By Matthew S. Surprenant

Film has come a long way since the late eighties and early nineties. These days, though we see primarily the same genres in the market, more and more producers are willing to blend ideas in a way which treats intelligently caters to wider age groups. Perhaps my favorite spawning of the modern era is what I call “Disney Dark.”

In the nineties, aside from the Addams Family films, darker, frightening content almost inherently meant an R rating, regardless of the actual content of the film, especially if it wasn’t animated. Even one of my childhood favorites, 1984’s Gremlins, was threatened with an R. We can thank Spielberg for getting it a PG after an extensive appeal process which, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark, brought us into the era of the PG-13 rating, potentially depolarizing content and allowing for some middle ground. Prior to then, if it was scary and wasn’t Spielberg-made, it pretty much didn’t have a chance at a marketable rating.

Then there was another major change, and it’s one I’m eternally grateful for. In 1993, Disney decided to remove their logo from Tim Burton’s innovative The Nightmare Before Christmas, having deemed it too dark for children. Since its success, the logo has been reinstated and Disney has been willing to let some more disturbing themes into its movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was the first PG-13 title to get mass distribution and theatrical release while openly retaining the Disney name.

For someone such as myself, I like getting some genuine scares in, but I don’t always feel like taking in a film that has the sole purpose of filling my eyes with carnage candy (or excessive nudity). For something to be “Disney Dark,” it doesn’t necessarily have to be made by Disney, but retain the fright without having to go overboard in any other area. It’s that little area allowing a babysitter to scare the tweens out of their wits without showing anything parents would patently disapprove of. I’m talking about works like Insidious (2011), Devil (2010), Drag Me to Hell (2009), The Invasion (2008), 1408 (2007), When a Stranger Calls (2006), Cry_Wolf (2005), Secret Window (2004), all the way back to 1998’s Tremors, which I dub as the unofficial first “real” PG-13 horror flick. It had guts, both figuratively and literally.

Of course, there has been some flak from die-hard horror fiends who prefer their horror hard. For me, all I care is the creators get a fair shot to show their visions to the markets they’re intended for. Sure, material does occasionally get trimmed for a PG-13 theatrical release, but we also live in the era of the unrated in-store copy. Even more, many retail releases include both rated and unrated versions, putting control over content where it belongs: in the hands of the consumer. Parents can choose if they want the carnage candy or Disney Dark, including for their kids.

This week in Media Match’s world…

Welcome to our highlight of this week’s videos, news, views, and reviews, and also our Quick Tip of the Week for using the Media Match website. Week ending 4th May 2012.

Animator
TV/Film Industry Career Profile : (Media Match Blog)

Submissions
Lifetime Unscripted Development Pipeline : (NYTVF)

Finale
Mick Jagger to Host Saturday Night Live : (Vulture)

Kerching!
‘Avengers’ nabs $18.7 mil midnight take : (Variety)

R.I.P.
Joel Goldsmith (1957-2012) : (Ain’t It Cool)

Quick Tip of the Week

Apply To Jobs:
Here we walk through the process of applying to a job from our jobs board, and give you some tips on the best was to organize your application.

Video of the Week

Venice in a Day
A day in Venice (Venezia) in Italy, from daybreak to sunset in timelapse. It’s really a great place and I hope I can share some of its magic with this short video. Some technical specs: Shot mainly with my trusty Canon G10 (and not a G12, like I wrote here first). Post in Motion, After Effects and Final Cut Pro X. Music: Heart of Champions, Chris Haigh, premiumbeat.com

TV and Film Jobs

Don’t forget to check our jobs board for the latest jobs in the TV and film industry.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Media Match Team

Do film schools do enough to promote good audio?
By Peter Santana

I recently had the pleasure of viewing a number of film school productions and I was astounded at the high level of work being created. The majority of student I recently had the pleasure of viewing a number of film school productions and I was astounded at the high level of work being created. The majority of student films displayed keen attention to filmic detail and were very well produced, however despite all that hard work, some still seemed unprofessional and incomplete. The simple reason being that the sound was often completely neglected.

Avoiding the crucial last step of editing the sound in a film can have very deleterious effects on the viewers’ perception of the quality of the production. For example, although the verite style of shooting eschews conventional steady camera movements, the audience can still watch a ‘shaky’ film and regard it has high caliber (having said that, it does take great skill to shoot that way). The same cannot be said of shaky audio though, and the tolerance level for bad sound is much lower than that for bad shooting. As such, the sound needs to be as level and balanced as possible and in film and television this requires not only good recording, but also good audio editing.

Unfortunately, there are no NLEs that are capable of performing the kind of audio editing tasks that are required for a professional sounding mix. Audio specific editing software (DAWs) can make adjustments down to a microsecond, whereas video-editing software is limited to the length of a frame and usually the editing tools are not tailored to audio making the mixing process extremely frustrating.

Although it is useful for student filmmakers to learn about audio editing, it is not necessary to become proficient. There are up-and-coming audio editors who do just this work and would love the opportunity for real world experience for their own demo reels. I would urge film students to create ties with their local audio engineering schools so that complementary relationships between student filmmakers and student audio engineers can blossom from an early stage. The result would be that otherwise thoughtfully produced films would get a professional sheen and it could form the basis for long-lasting professional networks.

displayed keen attention to filmic detail and were very well produced, however despite all that hard work, some still seemed unprofessional and incomplete. The simple reason being that the sound was often completely neglected.

Avoiding the crucial last step of editing the sound in a film can have very deleterious effects on the viewers’ perception of the quality of the production. For example, although the verite style of shooting eschews conventional steady camera movements, the audience can still watch a ‘shaky’ film and regard it has high caliber (having said that, it does take great skill to shoot that way). The same cannot be said of shaky audio though, and the tolerance level for bad sound is much lower than that for bad shooting. As such, the sound needs to be as level and balanced as possible and in film and television this requires not only good recording, but also good audio editing.

Unfortunately, there are no NLEs that are capable of performing the kind of audio editing tasks that are required for a professional sounding mix. Audio specific editing software (DAWs) can make adjustments down to a microsecond, whereas video-editing software is limited to the length of a frame and usually the editing tools are not tailored to audio making the mixing process extremely frustrating.

Although it is useful for student filmmakers to learn about audio editing, it is not necessary to become proficient. There are up-and-coming audio editors who do just this work and would love the opportunity for real world experience for their own demo reels. I would urge film students to create ties with their local audio engineering schools so that complementary relationships between student filmmakers and student audio engineers can blossom from an early stage. The result would be that otherwise thoughtfully produced films would get a professional sheen and it could form the basis for long-lasting professional networks.

This week in Media Match’s world…

Welcome to our highlight of this week’s videos, news, views, and reviews, and also our Quick Tip of the Week for using the Media Match website. Week ending 27th April 2012.

Yikes!
Top 15 Most Controversial Music Videos : (Media Match Blog)

Grrr!
20 Most Annoying TV Characters Ever : (EW)

Wha…?!
David Lynch’s ten weirdest scenes, by film : (Westword)

Cut!
Alec Baldwin is once again pretty sure that 30 Rock is about to end : (A.V. Club)

Ahoy!
PBS Salutes Earth Day : (Ain’t It Cool)

Quick Tip of the Week

Apply To Jobs:
Here we walk through the process of applying to a job from our jobs board, and give you some tips on the best was to organize your application.

Video of the Week

Jaws Film Restoration
Academy Award Winner Steven Spielberg’s iconic summer classic comes to Blu-ray for the first time ever on August 14th, digitally remastered and fully restored in honor of Universal’s 100th Anniversary Celebration .

Take a look at the extensive process that went into restoring this unforgettable film.

Jaws will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack with DVD, Digital Copy, UltraViolet and over 4 hours of bonus features including an all-new documentary “The Shark is Still Working.”

TV and Film Jobs

Don’t forget to check our jobs board for the latest jobs in the TV and film industry.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Media Match Team

Sometimes artistic expression is perceived as inappropriate. Controversy is commonplace within film and video production, and there is a fine line between necessary boundaries to push and a runaway ego. Here we share some of the most infamous music videos that have blurred that line over the past 30 years….

15. Eminem – Stan (2000)

Part of the disturbing nature of ‘Stan’ is that it is completely believable. Eminem at the height of his fame, spells out how an obsessive fan takes things way too far, from being engrossed in writing fan mail, to insanity and violence. The edited version shown on MTV cuts out footage of Stan’s wife bound and gagged in his car, plus other moments too dramatic for TV.

14. George Michael – I Want Your Sex (1987)

This video features Michael and his then girlfriend (make-up artist Kathy Jeung) in various nude scenes. At one point, he is shown using lipstick to write the words “explore” and “monogamy” on her back. Whilst possibly tame by some of today’s videos, it certainly shook a few trees back in 1987, and led the way for future similar videos.

13. 2 Live Crew – Me So Horny (1989)

A groundbreaking single accompanied by an equally polarising video. Being explicitly about sex, it required a heavily edited version to get on TV, in which the female dancers wear cycling shorts instead of G-string bikini bottoms.

12. Eric Prydz – Call On Me (2004)

This is where “artistic interpretation” is pretty much thrown out the window. Hot gyrating women = 27 million Youtube viewings. Directed by Huse Monfaradi, the video features an aerobics class of sexy women wearing 80s leotards and leg warmers. When interviewed by Chris Evans for UK Radio Aid, ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair infamously said: “The first time it came on, I nearly fell off my rowing machine.” There are two versions of the video; an edited one shown in daylight hours and a late night version which is uncut. The music video spurred a full-length exercise DVD, which featured…. well, much of the same.

11. Serge Gainsbourg – Lemon Incest (1984)

Being accused of glamorizing pedophilia and incest is all in a day’s work for Serge. Here, in 80s synth/Lolita mode, he caused a scandal when he featured in this music video with his 12-year old daughter, Charlotte. She sings ambiguous lyrics referring to a physical love between an adult and a child. Suspicions on the autobiographical nature of the work were heavily denied.

10. Nas – Hate Me Now (1999)

Twenty years after the Pythons did it, Nas decides that carrying a cross is fitting for his latest video, also donning a crown of thorns and receiving a full crucifixion. Puff Daddy was originally filmed doing the same, then he asked it to be taken out. MTV aired the wrong version, and Puffy got all gangsta with a champagne bottle and a manager’s head.

9. Marilyn Manson – (s)AINT (2003)

Of all of Manson’s work that could have been included here, I decided on ‘(s)AINT’ because even his label didn’t want anything to do with it. From the self-harming, bondage, drug use and all other degenerate-type conduct. The video was directed by Asia Argento, who guest stars in the video along with Eric Szmanda & former band member Gidget Gein.

8. Madonna – Like a Prayer (1989)

Back in 1989, ‘Like a Prayer’ caused quite a ruckus. Scenes of burning crucifixes and stigmata apparently don’t go down to well with the Vatican; Madge’s biggest critic was the Pope, and she ended up being banned from setting foot in Italy. Following the video, Pepsi, whose product was featured in the video, canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna. Security is still tight on this one, so much so that there is only one official version on Youtube, and embedding was diasabled, so you’ll have to check it out here.

7. Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy (1997)

As warped as some of Aphex Twin’s music is, this Chris Cunningham directed video takes the mind-bending to a whole new level. Screeching, disturbing images of the artist, in multiple John Malkovic-style herds, terrorize a UK council estate. The same one at which Stanley Kubrick shot many scenes in ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

6. M.I.A. – Born Free (2010)

Written by M.I.A. and directed by French director Romain Gavras, their joint social commentary piece hit the headlines last year, and proved how ill-balanced people’s views and beliefs can be. ‘Gingers’ (redheads) are hunted by soldiers, then beaten and shot. It was intended to speak out about the genocide and immigration issues in the U.S. and worldwide, and a response to the subsequent hysteria from M.I.A. concluded that “people are more moved by something synthetic than something real.” Gavras went on to direct the film Our Day Will Come, a continuation of the ginger-genocide theme of the video-short.

5. Erykah Badu – Window Seat (2010)

This ‘guerrilla-style’ crew-less, permit-less shoot serves as a controversy double team, with Badu publicly stripping through the streets of Dallas, and also reenacting a gunshot death at the site of the JFK assassination. She was later charged with disorderly conduct for public nudity, paid a $500 fine and agreed to serve six months’ probation.

4. Justice – Stress (2008)

Having had several TV stations boycott the video, Justice uploaded their Romain Gavras directed piece to Youtube, to instant criticism. The video shows a gang of youths vandalizing property and attacking anybody on their way. Much of the criticism was for the ‘unintended’ focus on racism; the short-film depicts stereotypes of African descent (both black and North African) from Paris’ socially deprived banlieues.

3. Pearl Jam – Jeremy (1992)

‘Jeremy’ is based on the true story of Jeremy Delle, who took his own life at a Richardson High School in Texas in 1991. Pearl Jam teamed up with Mark Pellington to direct a dramatization of this, climaxing with Jeremy putting a gun in his mouth and his terrified classmates, covered in blood. The video won four MTV Video Music Awards in 1993.

2. Nine Inch Nails – Closer (1994)

Another cult-status twisted video from the minds of Trent Reznor and director Mark Romanek. The scenes depict some kind of 19th Century mad scientist and his laboratory filled with a monkey tied to a cross, a pig’s head spinning on a machine, a diagram of a vulva, and Reznor wearing a ball gag. The Museum of Modern Art has added ‘Closer’ to their permanent collection.

1. Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up (1997)

Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the extreme nature of the Prodigy’s 1997 video caused it to be banned at various stations around the world. The film shows a night out in the city, filmed from a first-person perspective, and includes drinking, fighting, snorting cocaine, vandalism, nudity and sex. The unedited version also includes a scene of heroin use and a hit and run incident. Of course, this cocktail of controversy was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards, and ended up winning won Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video.

by Lee Jarvis.

To be directed to the Mundo Fox website please click on picture.

Mundo Fox is a Game Changer
By: Adriana Cornejo

When you think of Spanish-­‐language television what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Telenovelas? Variety shows? Cleavage?

Well, hang on to those tatas because it looks like Mundo Fox wants you to know that there’s a market full of Latino-­‐Americanos that are craving some American style Spanish-­‐language programming.

Young, bilingual, Americanized Latinos are the primary target, but don’t count Abuela out just yet. She’s enjoying CSI in SAP mode just fine, for now-­‐-­‐-­‐you know, that button on the remote you never push? Its there for those Spanish speakers who would prefer to hear, say, ABC News in Spanish. And who’s to say she and her grand-­‐daughter couldn’t both bond over a TV series, completely stylized to not only look American, but have an American story-­‐telling formula, and with a Spanish speaking cast? The possibilities to find, target and build an audience are endless, and Mundo Fox knows it.

As a Mexican-American female independent producer and writer, I personally welcome the change. Not just because I hope Mundo Fox will like the two sitcoms I have been trying to sell to virtually any Spanish-­‐language network that would listen, but because I believe in this cause.

The number one response I got from pitch meetings with those other big Spanish-­‐ language networks was that my shows were too edgy for their audiences. Apparently their audiences are more interested in variety shows, and international telenovelas, featuring actors and actresses famous in their audience’s home country. I was asked to “sex up” my shows, adding a hot girl here and there, with just the right amount of buffoonery to give the audience a hearty laugh. In short, when it comes to the idea of a more Americanized Spanish-­‐language TV show I get a lot of, “Why fix it if it isn’t broken?” My response is simply that even if it’s not broken, everything could use a little updating and polishing once in a while. Spanish-­‐language programming in the United States is no exception.

I don’t necessarily feel good about the fact that it’s Rupert Murdoch’s company that will be launching this game-­‐changer of a network. As of late, his brand has not been brooding well in the media, but this aside, I must commend News Corporation for taking this bold move. It’s a move that I believe will prove just how much US Latinos are ready for this kind of TV.

The tide has turned on the US population of Latinos. We’re not all just a bunch of recent immigrants who don’t speak a word of English. We’re 2nd and 3rd generation Latinos educated in American schools and speaking, or at the very least understanding two languages, and trying to preserve the good of our ethnic backgrounds. News Corporation seems to understand these facts about US Latinos, so much so that they’re banking on it.

My advice? Go have that awesome spec pilot you wrote, translated into Spanish, and get yourself into a Mundo Fox pitch meeting. I know I will.

This week in Media Match’s world…

Welcome to our highlight of this week’s videos, news, views, and reviews, and also our Quick Tip of the Week for using the Media Match website. Week ending 20th April 2012.


A week in the desert. With Gear. Lots of gear : (Media Match Blog)

Media Match Blog Promotion: Working with Maya Angelou : (Media Match Blog)

Matt Damon to Film “Anti-Fracking Blockbuster” : (Alternet)

New York City Is Getting The Alamo Drafthouse : (Ain’t It Cool)

A How I Met Your Mother Themed Party : (Media Match Blog)

Quick Tip of the Week

Apply To Jobs:
Here we walk through the process of applying to a job from our jobs board, and give you some tips on the best was to organize your application.

Video of the Week

Biotechnology was a collaborative art project shot by Jake Snider in Los Angeles, exploring the artistic relationship between modern technology and the natural world. Produced by Farida Amar and Gabriel-Bello Diaz / Architect: Gabriel-Bello Diaz / Writer: Sherry Youssef / Vocals: Caitlin MacKenzie / Flute, Bass, Guitar, Hopi UFO: Matt Piper / Percussion, Synthesizer: Zach D’Agostino / Sound Mix and Master: Sarah “Billie” Bearse / Chef: David McConnell / Photography: Will Van Beckum / Video: Jake Snider.

TV and Film Jobs

Don’t forget to check our jobs board for the latest jobs in the TV and film industry.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Media Match Team