February 2012 ~ Northern Borders

Friday, February 24, 2012

Behind the Scenes: Filming Interviews

1:13 PM Northern Borders

Friday the Behind the Scenes and Production Management Units collaborated in their first practical shooting session, filming interviews for the Behind the Scenes documentary that is to accompany the film. Students within their departments were assigned leading roles to simulate the work flow of a set.

Take a look!

Photos courtesy of Anna Pinchuk

Film Critic Gerald Peary Visits Northern Images Class

3:37 PM Northern Borders

North American film critic, Gerald Peary, visited the Northern Images class this week to show his documentary film For the Love of Movies. The film chronicles the history and the current state of American film criticism. In a discussion following the film Peary reflected on the production of his film and he offered his view on ways in which the internet and social media have entered the picture––sometimes validating and other times invalidating professional film criticism. He also explored the often charged relationship between film directors/creators and film critics.

Gerald Peary is a much-published North American film critic for more than twenty-five years. His cinema articles have appeared in many newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Chicago Tribune, and the Boston Globe, and in film periodicals around the world, including Film Comment, Cineaste, Sight and Sound, and Positif. He has been a reviewer for many publications, including the Real Paper, the Boston Review, Toronto Magazine, and Macleans.

(Sourced from Gerald Peary's website at http://geraldpeary.com/).

Director of Photography, Brad Heck, leads Lighting Workshop for Cinematography

8:10 PM Northern Borders

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Davis

Team Puts Together a Staged Reading of Northern Borders Script at Brattleboro Museum

11:40 PM Northern Borders

The Northern Border's Production Team headed over to the Brattleboro Museum this evening for a staged reading of the Northern Borders working script. Lead by veteran theater and film actor Munson Hicks, Marlboro College Theater Professor Brenda Foley and Marlboro student Logan Smith the reading went smoothly. Brattleboro High School student, Irene Shamas, also participated, playing both Cleopatra Kittredge and Hettie Hill, the role she'll be playing in the film. Cast members also included Film Intensive and Marlboro College students. Professor Jay Craven, who read the stage directions, explained that the purpose of the staged reading was not only to give the community a better sense of the project but also to examine how fluid the language of the script is when actually taken off the page and put into a characters mouth. With only a rare stumble in the reading the script seems to be in good shape. The Film Intensive team will meet today (February 16) to review script notes and further expand the dialogue.

Stay tuned.

Photography taken by James Brad Heck

All photographs courtesy of Jeremiah Davis.

The Man with the Story: Howard Frank Mosher, author of Northern Borders, visits our class

8:33 PM Northern Borders

Author and self-styled “co-conspirator,” Howard Frank Mosher visited the Marlboro Film Intensive’s Northern Literature class to discuss his novel and director Jay Craven’s screenplay adaptation. Leading the discussion with high energy and more than a little self-deprecating wit, Mosher regaled our class with his thoughts on the screenplay and responded to student questions about his writing process (he writes 6+ hours each day using longhand on yellow legal pads), his previous collaborations with Jay Craven (four previous films), and the fascinating and unconventional worlds of his Northern Borders characters. Mr. Mosher proved himself to be an expert storyteller, equal to our beloved Director/Professor, Jay Craven.

With the production looming we hope to see more of Mr. Mosher!

Northern Borders Art Department Visits Brattleboro Artist Terry Sylvester

5:03 PM Northern Borders

The Northern Borders Art Department, accompanied by director Jay Craven, visited Terry Sylvester in her Brattleboro studio to discuss possible ideas for the look of our production. Inviting Terry into the sometimes magical realist world of Northern Borders, our team delved into the details of the script and possible ways in which the story can be further brought to life through set decoration and design. Terry provided the group with some input and showed us a range of work by herself and others. Our primary focus included work by “outsider artists” since we’re thinking that one of our film’s lead characters, Abiah Kittredge, might be developed as someone who makes paintings and sculptures that chronicle her experience and imagination of “Egypt.” It looks like everyone is now fired up and ready to begin work developing these ideas and images.

Terry Sylvester is a member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, a labor union and association of designers, artists and craftspeople organized to protect the working conditions and wages of people working within the entertainment and decorative arts industries (United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829). She also plays a role in arts education, has done film work and has created a number of public murals. She worked on Jay Craven’s previous films, In Jest and A Stranger in the Kingdom.