Unsure what to give the film director / camera-person / video editor / TV fan in your life? Perhaps some Media Match ideas will help.

NTSC T-shirt

Beeeep. Geek is in! Share your love of the National Television System Committee color palette, vertical interval timecode and System M with the world! Ideal for a video editor, video engineer, assistant editor or all-round NTSC enthusiast.
(from $17 from Zazzle)

Vintage Camera

Add another dimention to a photographer’s artillery, and be prepared to lose them for a few days whilst they explore and experiment. There are many vintage cameras around, for all kinds of budgets, and the Polaroid J66 above comes all the way from 1961, complete with manual and case. Film is “Type 47, 3000 speed”.
($55 from Think Great Stuff)

Aspect Ratios Tote Bag

Express your x:y formats fandom with a 100% cotton canvas tote bag. Plenty of room to carry all your other aspect ratio related gear.
($14 from Cafe Press)

Camera Lens Thermos Mug

Perfect for photographers – imagine the look on their face when they realised you haven’t bought them a really expensive Canon/Nikon lens. That alone should be worth it, but wait… the fake lens cap doubles as a cookie holder? SOLD!
($29 from Daft Gadgets)

Director’s Alarm Clock

This LED clock is a petite movie slate for the director in your life. Monday morning, take 17! No, really, you shouldn’t snooze this alarm 17 times, there is lots of important Directing to do.
($30 from Urban Outfitters)

SDHC Memory Card

You can never have too much memory, or too many spare SDHC cards. These Transcend Class 10 cards can hod plenty of HD video, or stills, or both. Lifetime warranty.
($7 for 4Gb / $11 for 8Gb / $20 for 16Gb / $39 for 32 Gb from Amazon)

Editing-specific Keyboard for Final Cut Pro

Editing-specific keyboards offer flexibility and extra efficiency when working with editing software. This model, compatible with Final Cut Pro, has an integrated jog / shuttle controller, and extra USB and power ports for connecting an array of devices. Can also be used as a standard keyboard, and works for either Mac or PC FCP Editors.
($116 from Mac Mall)

Final Cut Pro X

You could splurge a little on one of the best pieces of editing software out there. The latest version of Final Cut offers brand new editing features and 64-bit performance, letting you be more creative and productive in post-production projects.
($299 from Apple)

by Lee Jarvis.

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Taking the theory that everything has it’s source of inspiration, stimuli or origin, New York-based filmmaker Kirby Ferguson has produced a four-part video series named Everything is a Remix.

I’ve often been aware and immersed in remixing, growing up with a lot of hip hop and electronic music, but Ferguson’s series applies his theory to film, TV, books, quotes, and even inventions. The first three episodes have been published over the last year; the second of which really blew my mind and changed my opinion about the word ‘original’. That part delves into movies, from the box office hits to foreign independent films, to sequels and remakes. From shots being used as templates, to irrefutable sub-genre formats, it gives an amazing overview of the creation process. Ferguson comments that “creation requires influence. Everything we make is a remix of existing creations, our lives, and the lives of others.” He goes on to say “without the films that preceded it, there could be no Star Wars.”

As much as the movie part was my favorite, I highly recommend watching from the beginning, with part one touching on the history of remixing in music, the first ever book ‘mash-up’, high profile ‘rip-offs’ from Led Zeppelin, and the blurry lines between covers and legal remixing and attribution. Part three explains that ideas in the field of inventing are often not moments of inspiration, but evolution and improvements, or even the combining of two or more existing ideas.

As if the editing and production wasn’t enough work, Ferguson has created an incredible website to provide tools and resources for his own film-making. For example, he lists all the samples of his pieces, including speeches, film scenes, soundtrack info, and origins of any still photo shots, all with links to the ‘original’. The sample sources for part two number 123 in eight and a half minutes, and include scenes from Kill Bill, Yojimbo, Flash Gordon, True Grit, Transformers, Alice in Wonderland, The Matrix and more. It gives you some idea of the amount of research and production work that has gone into each part of the series.

Part Four has been planned and scripted, and is slated for release in early November. You can contribute to this project by donating here.

Enjoy the first three parts below…

by Lee Jarvis.

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This post is intended to offer general ideas to independent production professionals, rather than legal advice. Please consult a tax specialist with your specific legal questions.

April 15th is fast approaching, which for Editors, Cam Ops, PAs, Producers and every other freelance TV and Film industry worker across the country, is a fearful date: something about all that tax jargon just isn’t as appealing as cutting a new showreel, or checking the latest local feature. Well, Media Match thought we should share a few last minute helpful tips, ideas, and reminders on deductibles, seeing as the independent media industry worker can often take deductions that are normally not available to most people. Oh, and there’s additional good news this year: April 15th coincides with a District of Columbia holiday, and so all 2010 tax payments are instead due on Monday, April 18.

Common tax deductibles for freelancers and professionals in the TV and Film industry

- Equipment purchases, rental, repair and maintenance.
- Subscriptions and purchases of Variety / The Hollywood Reporter and other trade publications.
- Being a service that you use to find employment, your subscription to Media Match is tax deductible.
- Rehearsal hall, studio, office or storage rental.
- Acting / Singing Lessons.
- Stage clothes/makeup (but you can’t use the clothes for everyday use.)
- Memberships in professional associations and the unions.
- Website and email database setup and maintenance costs.
- Production of physical promotional materials; DVDs, photos, newsletters.
- Whilst away from home, you can deduct 100% of travel and accommodation…
- And 50% of business meal expenses – while shooting on location, all of your meals are business meals.
- Report payments to other freelancers. Legal fees are also deductible. (Note: You must send a 1099 to any independent contractor, such as the sound assistant you hire for a music video shoot, to whom you pay $600 or more.)

Finally, a little soundtrack to give you the motivational kick you may need Happy filing!

The Media Match Team.

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Call it a renaissance if you want.  A rebirth of a specific aspect of American cinema: the franchise.  Whatever label you wish to give it, we are witnessing a revival of film series that were once thought dead – moribund franchises, that were had long ago outlived their usefulness.  “Batman”; “Superman”; “Rocky”; “James Bond”; even “Die Hard”.  It doesn’t take a film expert to see that these movies had descended into self-parodying shells of their former selves (admittedly, the first three more so than the latter two, but still, they were on their way).  Banking on brand awareness, producers were down to giving us stories that were basically dressed up recycling, always reliving the same plots but never pushing new bounds.  Brand awareness can only do so much, before you find yourself stuck with the conventional missteps of filmmakers eager to use a franchise for what it can offer, rather than what they can do for it.  “Batman & Robin” was a prime example, as was “Rocky V”.  (Of course, there are those who feel both films are good, fun storytelling, and wouldn’t change a thing.. this is not meant for them).

It now appears that it can sometimes take a decade of futility, and an utter lack of interest from the audience, before you can get a new lease on franchise life.  It takes time before you can get a Christopher Nolan to the table, or a Martin Campbell – men who re-create a series based on quality, not merely the recognition of the name.  All these years we’ve waited, and we finally have filmmakers who can take all the memorable images and ideas from our iconic heroes and make them real again – and can also make them relevant in a more modern world.  Whether it be Batman’s beginning, or James Bond’s first kill, we’re treated to an analysis of what makes these men great – faults and all.  In fact, it’s a testament to these filmmakers that they’re able to recognize the greatness in our most flawed characters – and it marks the beginning of an era in which our creations truly reflect the best and worst of us all.  That is what these writers and directors have done in re-imagining classic franchises, and as fans of cinema we should be grateful.

As a final note, one can’t mention “Rocky V” without also discussing the fabulous work that Sylvester Stallone did in “Rocky Balboa”, the 6^th Rocky film – and perhaps the best since the very first.  More so than any of the other films mentioned above (even more than Bond’s “Casino Royale”) this newest Rocky film is remarkable because it not only reinvigorated a franchise that had become a joke (“What’s the latest movie up to, “Rocky 12”?), but it did so using the some of the same actors, in very much the same setting.  What Stallone did was, at its core, very simple: he wrote an incredibly truthful, self-assessing cinematic gem, that never tried to be more than it was.  And the result was dialogue so honest, that even as we’re watching Rocky say the lines, we’re also seeing Stallone say them himself.  Stallone should be credited with having the depth and technique to pull this off, and the self-awareness to make this one of Rocky’s best moments.

I for one am off to watch the new “Rambo”.  After that, I will eagerly await the next Batman and James Bond films, knowing they’re in good hands… for now.

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