From cancelled premieres and virtual film festivals to the delay of production timelines across the world as waves of COVID-19 cases continued to scupper the best-laid plans, after almost two years of conducting so much of our work, industry, and connections remotely, gathering for the long-awaited launch of Cinegirl Club was a special moment.
One Saturday morning spent productively scrolling through my FYP, I stumbled across a young woman explaining the process of setting up scenes on a film set. Intrigued, I took a deep dive into her account. From safety shots to storyboarding, I found that this content creator was offering a rare ‘through the keyhole’ insight into filmmaking. This lady’s name was Sabrina Lassegue and her TikTok page, @directedbybrini, featured reel after reel of videos covering all things filmmaking: life on set, advice to aspiring filmmakers, and even vlog-style ‘day in the life of pre-production’ montages. Racking up millions of views, Sabrina’s creative BTS shorts have helped her amass an impressive 90k followers, proving that viewers are eager to learn more about the reality of working in the industry. I caught up with Sabrina to chat about her production company, accessibility and, of course, TikTok.
Eating organ meat has mostly gone out of fashion - but it was once a cooked staple in many homes. I remember my grandmother frying sliced calves liver with onions and mushrooms for a quick, easy and nutritious dinner. Organ meats that are traditionally eaten are liver, kidneys, brain, heart and intestines. However the thought of eating an animal’s organ can seem squeamish and many of us in the Western world have never eaten this part of an animal.
Although it might not feel like it given the low key affair that was last month’s Golden Globes, awards season is well and truly underway. The Globes forewent their customary red carpet and ceremony broadcast after television rights-holder NBC scrapped the live show, citing ongoing pandemic uncertainties. The Academy Awards are hoping not to follow suit for their 94th edition, with a full show poised to broadcast on Sunday March 27th, hosted by Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes.
It was an honour speaking with Cinematographer, Ari Wegner ACS, after she made history at the BSC award ceremony recently. She is the first woman ever to receive a BSC award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film for her stunning work on The Power of Dogs, directed by Jane Campion (and it was about time!). Read on to get to know and feel empowered by award winning Cinematographer.
Trainees often ask me what they need to bring on set, so I’ve composed a beginners list. Keep in mind : your first few times on set it is okay, completely normal AND understandable if you haven’t got everything you need. If you haven’t acquired any equipment yet I’d strongly suggest to text or call your 2nd AC/loader prior to the shoot and inform them so that they can prepare to bring consumables that you, the trainee, might need during the day. If you are on a long form, you’ll have consumables provided by production which you’ll be able to use for the shoot.
I've always been someone very visual. I drew a lot growing up, enjoyed taking photos and found myself to be quite happy when I got to have a go with a crummy handheld tape recorder as a young teenager. I had ideas of potentially going in to Producing whilst I was at Uni... haha... I can't ever imagine doing that now! My first job out of Uni was as a runner on a short film.. still slightly undecided on which role to take, but by that lunch time, having watched the Camera Department.. I knew for sure that Camera was the Department for me.
“I’m not like a regular widow, I’m a cool widow”. If, like yours truly, anything that references Mean Girls ticks all your boxes then you’ll love Grey Widow, a one man (or, more accurately, one queen) play by Lady Aria Grey aka Callum Tilbury.
Eleonora is a 2D assistant animator and cleanup artist with an eclectic range of credits – the Academy Award nominated films The Breadwinner and Isle of Dogs, the audiovisual project Song Machine by Gorillaz, and the Emmy Award winning episode “Ice” from Netflix anthology series Love, Death & Robots. We spoke about her career so far and why regular tea breaks are essential to the art of animation.
It’s a balmy winter morning on the canal at Here East when BAFTA-Nominated Bethany Swan arrives in an orange beany hat, a yellow puffer coat and a cute Ghana bag. Her disposition is as sunny as the weather, making it even nicer to sit and get to know this rising Hair & Make-up star.
Cinemamas was founded in December 2020, the year after my daughter was born. I had quite a difficult first year as a new mum and felt pushed out of the industry. I was battling with all the fractured identities within myself - the mother, the filmmaker, the foreigner, and the Londoner; I wanted to bring all the pieces together. I really craved being part of a community that bridged both my career and my new life as a mother. I shared the Cinemamas idea with anyone who would listen and with the help of a kind friend who knew a lot more than me about websites, we put together a pretty basic site. I had been invited to speak at a panel and that gave me the push to get the website together.
My name is Winnie Imara, I’m the founder of ‘7blackwomen’ a collective of black & mixed black women creating work for Film, TV & Theatre. ‘7blackwomen’ started late last year I was in a questioning state of mind, and I felt like things were going really slow in my creative journey. So I prayed about what was next for me in my creative journey and a few months later, ‘7blackwomen’ fell into my heart
You were not alone, as worldwide over half a million people signed up for eating no animal products in January, and every year more and more participants take the Veganuary pledge.
The Veganuary 2021 survey found that almost half (46%) of the participants signed up said they wanted to protect animals from suffering, followed by 22% saying personal health was the reason, and 21% said looking after the environment. Other reasons included a change/challenge/curiosity (5%), global health (4%) and a friend/partner/family member participating (2%).
Mariam is a Yemeni-Russian filmmaker, curator, educator and journalist. Now a two-time TEDx speaker, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Strategic Communication from Northwestern University, as well as post-graduate diploma in Museum and Gallery Practice from University College London. Mariam won the Most Promising Filmmaker award at the Toronto Arab Film Festival in 2019 for her documentary In The Middle. She is currently working as a consultant on a Hollywood film production on Yemen.
Clapperboards are a symbol of movie making, a token gift on your trip back from studio tours. They are symbolic, but they are also extremely useful, and an essential part of your job. As a trainee, you would need to know how it works, so that if you need to step up for a couple days you wouldn’t be at a loss. Lets go through the basics.
Every year, I spend a cold December day watching Christmas specials of my favourite TV shows. It’s become one of those very mundane traditions that makes Christmas feel festive. One of the annoying things, though, is trying to find the right episode among all the others. So, here’s my list of the best Christmas specials – ideal for chucking on when you’ve already watched Love Actually ten times.
Chi Thai is the producer of Paris Zarcilla's debut feature film Raging Grace, a horror drama about an undocumented Filipina worker and her daughter. She has been Cannes Lions finalist three times, she is CE50 production company’s voting BAFTA member and Screen International Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021. I am lucky enough to be stuck in a COVID bubble for the film with this brilliant woman, and it’s my immense pleasure to share with you some of her wisdom, rage and creative tips.
Who are these so-called Eternals, and where were they during Marvel’s cosmic climax of Endgame? We all wondered, and if you’ve seen the film, you’ll know the answer. Chloé Zhao introduces us to a team of immortal cosmic warriors with all sorts of abilities from superspeed to mind-control, who were sent to earth thousands of years ago to protect humanity from supersize lizard-like predatorial monsters called Deviants–except that wasn’t their only purpose, and you get to know more about it throughout the film.
Sadie Frost is the definition of a multi-hyphenate. With an acting career spanning three decades and multiple mediums—including a turn as Lucy in Francis Ford-Coppola’s 1992 horror flick DRACULA—Frost’s additional creative endeavours include film producing and fashion design as co-founder of the label Frost French. Her most recent foray in filmmaking marks her feature directorial debut with new documentary QUANT, exploring the vibrant life of one of Britain’s most seminal fashion influences - Mary Quant.
COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Glasgow: leading figures from UK entertainment and broadcasting corporations pledge a commitment to integrated climate-focused storytelling across commissioning, development, and content production. The COP26 media industry panel, ‘Telling Climate Stories Together: In Conversation with the Broadcaster CEOs,’ takes place today at 11:00AM GMT. To stream the panel live, register for free tickets here.
