Archive - Hamilton Film Festival

Published on: February 17, 2022

BRENT PERNIAC - FEBRUARY SPOTLIGHT

Sylvester Stallone and Brent Perniac

BRENT PERNIAC - Photographer

What originally inspired you to get in this line of work?
I've been interested in photography all of my life. It was actually my Dramatic Arts teacher at Delta S.S., J.P. Morrison, who encouraged me to explore creative projects including writing, phototography, film, and video. Mr. Morrison planted the seed that I could pursue the Arts, specifically photography, for a living. I started photographing for my high school yearbook and newspaper. At university, I continued to pursue photography for McMaster’s publication, the "Silhouette". I then moved on to work professionally for numerous local publications until I was hired by Hamilton Magazine and contributed for 20 years.

How would you describe what you do to someone who is not in the industry?
I am a professional celebrity and event photographer. Like a wedding photographer for instance, I have a list of photos that my photo agency and clients expect and need from me in a timely manner. I supply these images to my photo agency which in turn supplies these images to magazines and entertainment publications. They also provide these photos to all the various related entertainment professions such as publicists, movie production companies, agents, and even the talent themselves.

Is there someone that’s no longer alive that you wish you had the opportunity to photograph?
Yes. Great question! David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, Elizabeth Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, and of course Elvis are all on my unfilled wish list. They continue to inspire me with their legacy of work.

What creative tools do you use to get your work done?
Besides having a relatively “good eye" for photography composition [haha], various camera lenses, digital cameras, memory cards and lighting equipment are necessary. In post production, my Mac computer, with various software to view (Photo Mechanic), retouch (Photoshop), and uploading images (Cyberduck) are essential.

Brent Perniac is a professional photographer based in Hamilton, Ontario. Brent has become one of Canada’s most popular celebrity-event photographers and regularly covers national events such as The Juno Awards, The Genie Awards, Canada’s Walk of Fame, MuchMusic Video Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival. You can see his work at brentperniacphoto.com

Writer Bryn Wilkinson is a co-op student at the Hamilton Film Festival

Published on: January 17, 2022

MIKE TREBILCOCK - JANUARY SPOTLIGHT

MIKE TREBILCOCK - Film composer

What originally inspired you to get into this line of work?

I think my love of composing for film might have come early on from the movie musical Oliver, where Lionel Bart's music is obviously so upfront. The emotion in that music was overwhelming to me as a kid. I wore that album out. I loved Bernard Herrmann's scores for things like Journey To The Center of The Earth, Mysterious Island, Jason and The Argonauts and of course all of his work for Hitchcock. Finding out that these were all by the same man was a thrilling revelation. Another big moment came later on when I heard Howard Shore's score for Cronenberg's The Fly. It played like the great tragic love story the movie was under the surface. I used to carry that around on cassette and listen to the audio of the movie in a walkman, noting how the music worked with the dialogue and sound effects to create this great work. So my early inspiration came from musicals, fantasy, horror – the place I'm in now, not surprisingly.

What is your philosophy when approaching a new project?

I love getting new projects and entering a new world. I research the landscape a bit, and make sketches based on my initial impressions. I try out new sounds and sample things that will be unique to the film. Each film has its own personality, and I treat each one differently. Something I learned from another favorite composer, Richard Band, was that no matter the film's budget or how strange and funny the premise, give each film the weight and respect it deserves. My job is to elevate the project and make sure the director's vision is fully realized, even beyond their expectation.

What film would you like to go back in time and be a part of?

In 2013, I was a composer for a live theatrical version of Night of the Living Dead. It was Executive Produced by George Romero, John Russo, Russ Streiner and it was a bit like going back in time to score the movie. I got into the technology of the day, especially the Roland Space Echo, and wrote pieces in the style of the Capitol Hi-Q library that George Romero liked to use. In a live Q and A at the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, George wondered how they got that library music. I felt a bit like I had fooled the master magician. So in a way I did get to go back in time and tinker with Night of the Living Dead.

Where can people go to learn more about your projects?

They can visit my website, miketrebilcockmusic.com or find me on Facebook, which is often open on my computer while I work, so I'm pretty accessible - for better or worse!

Bryn Wilkinson is a co-op student at the Hamilton Film Festival.

Published on: February 26, 2021

MY FILM IS ALREADY ON YOUTUBE. CAN I STILL SUBMIT?

You've made your movie, you can't wait for everyone to see it, you put it on YouTube, and then you want to submit to film festivals. So, you reach out to the festival for an answer to the questions "My film is already on YouTube, can I still submit to your festival?"

The answer from the Hamilton Film Festival comes in the form of a question. Depending on how you answer, determines if we will allow it. We ask the filmmaker "If your movie is already available to everyone, everywhere, why do you want a film festival screening?"

Often we will get the response that the filmmaker is looking for awareness, to meet other filmmakers, or to see their movie on the big screen. Those are all good answers, but we have to weigh this against some factors of our own.

If we are spending thousands of dollars to rent venues, and the way to pay for those venues is ticket sales, who will buy tickets for a movie they can see for free?
If we spend hundreds of dollars promoting the movies that will be in our festivals, and someone does a title search and finds your movie online already, will they still be motivated to come to the festival?
We will receive hundreds of films that are NOT on any streaming platform, meaning the first time people see it at the Hamilton Film Festival, may be their only opportunity to see the movie for a few years, as the movie makes their rounds, is it fair to those filmmakers who have strategized?
If you didn't get the connections and views on YouTube, is it something that people aren't interested in seeing?

We are a very encouraging film festival, and we want to help filmmakers navigate this crazy circuit, so we are likely more forgiving than other events. However, a filmmaker, should, know the release strategy for their movie before they start making it. If you are just emerging, you will learn this as you go, but you can save a lot of money by strategizing.

So the short answer is YES, you can submit, but before your spend your hard earned money, you should really have a good reason on WHY you are submitting. We do cross check all the movies we select so it's best to be up front, in your cover letter. We have selected movies in the past, and then rejected them as they were widely released before the festival.

We always ask that if your film is selected, that you make your movie private from the time it is selected, until the day after our last festival date.

My optimism usually has me saying, "If our audiences haven't seen it, it's new." But the small business owner in me has to put up a few red flags.

If you have anything to add to this, or if you like what you have read, please like, comment and share this post to anyone that may be navigating the film festival circuit.

- Nathan

Nathan Fleet is the CEO of the Hamilton Film Festival and has been with HFF since it's inception in 2004.
Movies can be submitted exclusively through Film Freeway

#FilmFestival #FestivalStrategy #IndieFilmmaker #HamFilmFest #FilmIndustry

Published on: June 30, 2019

Top 10: What makes a "Canadian" film? USA has the answers!

"I think you have to have 30 Canadians on your film team to qualify as a Canadian film. I read up on that for a tax break. Ya, 30 Canadians. Are there even 30 Canadians that work in film?"

It's Canada Day weekend so we thought we'd look to our neighbo(u)rs from the south to find out "what makes a Canadian film, Canadian." Here are our top 10 favo(u)rite response! At least #1 tried. #4 clearly didn't understand the question.

10) Uh, like, aBoot! Ha! You gotta have someone saying aBoot!

9) Pretty cold. Not sure they are making too many movies up there unless you need snow.

8) Lot's of beaver!

7) Go Raptors!

6) Mounties n' shit. A mountie car chase! Make THAT movie.

5) Probably a lot of hockey movies.

4) We visit Ontario and the people are nice.

3) I think they made Titanic in Canada?

2) U-S-A! U-S-A!

1) I think you have to have 30 Canadians on your film team to qualify as a Canadian film. I read up on that for a tax credit. Ya, 30 Canadians. Are there even 30 Canadians that work in film?

---
Quiet On The Set! is a monthly blog post about happenings in the indie film world. Any resemblance to any persons living, or dead, or in limbo, or who identifies as being alive, or dead, or in limbo, is purely coincidental.

#QuietOnTheSet #HamFilmFest #IndieFilm #Comedy #HappyStuff

Photo credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/ca/portfolio/dorian2013?

Published on: May 31, 2019

Want to get Millennials into the cinema? Portrait mode movie theatres are coming soon.

"The time is now to revolutionize the way people experience cinema. People have been shooting in portrait mode for years but the industry has failed to keep up."

Portland, OR - Your local movie house is showing the latest indie flick and the people that show up are all over 45 years of age. The problem here is that the younger generation aren't coming along with them. The very things that are keeping this generation away from the cinema could be just the trick to getting them back. Portrait Mode.

"If you think about how people are experiencing content, it isn't horizontally. The time is now to revolutionize the way people experience cinema. People have been shooting in portrait mode for years but the industry has failed to keep up." said Sarah Elizabeth of Portrait Mode Cinema Inc.

Portrait Mode Cinema Inc. (PMCI), founded in Portland Oregon in late 2018 by a group of young entrepreneurs, purchased an aging theatre and the first thing they did was turn the screen 90 degrees. After purchasing a projector from Staples and using bluetooth to connect their smart phone, Portrait Mode Cinema was a reality.

Finding content to fit the format was no trouble at all since over 85% of the people in their social circle shoot that way. "Now when we see someone filming in landscape mode we frown upon that, the same way we would get frowned upon by Gen Xers." Said Elizabeth.

Finding an audience is not so easy, even with the PWYC (Pay What You Can) model as they only see an average of 15 people per screening, and that is including family and staff, but Elizabeth and Co. do have a point. Every news clip we see is typically shot in portrait mode, and the network editor will fill the sides with an expanded, blurred view of the content.

When asked if PMCI would venture into home televisions, Sarah said the team already pitched the concept. "When we approached investors they just suggested to turn the TV 90 degrees, so we're now working on a bracket that will allow the user to swivel their unit on the wall. We WILL revolutionize the cinema industry, 90 degrees at a time!"

---
Quiet On The Set! is a monthly blog post about happenings in the indie film world. Any resemblance to any persons living, or dead, or in limbo, or who identifies as being alive, or dead, or in limbo, is purely coincidental.

#QuietOnTheSet #HamFilmFest #IndieFilm #Comedy #HappyStuff

photo credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/ca/portfolio/peshkov

Published on: April 30, 2019

"Cinetelligent" can write a script, source CGI characters and locations, create FX and music, and post to social media...with the click of a button.

"Filmmakers have proved that they don't really know what to do with the tools we have given them so it is time to take over!"

Punta Gorda, Florida - Modern technology has levelled the playing field for filmmakers. For a few thousand dollars, or even a few hundred, you can make and distribute a movie. The great "equalizer" was supposed to give filmmakers access to audiences around the world and put money back into the pockets of the makers, but that hasn't been the case for many who are still struggling to find ways to make, complete, and showcase their films.

If you look at the trends over the past decade , people gained commercial access to digital cameras and editing software, thus becoming their own cinematographers and editors. The tools are more accessible but the roles are now taken by only a few people, all doing multiple jobs. The phrase "Jack of all Trades, Master of none," comes to mind here.

The next step, eliminating the need for cast and crew, is Cinetelligent.

Founded in Punta Gorda, Florida, the team was looking for inspiration and were headed for a coding meet-up at the area conference centre, and wandered into a local film festival by accident, and didn't like what they saw. Chip Licone, founder of Cinetelligent, jokingly stood up during the film's climax and proclaimed "A computer could generate better films than this!" That is when the scuffle erupted. A group of filmmakers, who were attending to celebrate the debut of their short film, strong-armed Licone out the door and tossed him onto the red carpet. Licone, who wasn't injured, vowed that the best revenge would be to make their jobs obsolete. The other members of his tech team sat silently and waited for the room to clear before exiting.

Related "Florida man interrupts film screening and receives his own red carpet treatment."

"Filmmakers have proved that they don't really know what to do with the tools we have given them so it is time to take over!" -said Chip over the phone from his Punta Gorda apartment. The team, who had never made a film, went to work creating Cinetelligent. After six months, and a 10,000 loan from Licone's father, the team delivered a prototype. Licone demonstrated to us by entering data into two fields, time and genre. He entered 00:00:06 (six seconds), and Action. After about 4 minutes of rendering, the final film is generated by pulling royalty free images and sound from the internet, and some graphics created within the program, and then automatically uploaded to our YouTube channel. While the initial result was clearly no threat to the independent film community, the idea is a scary one. Will this technology take over the cinematic world?
See for yourself in the video below.

---
Quiet On The Set! is a monthly blog post about happenings in the indie film world. Any resemblance to any persons living, or dead, or in limbo, or who identifies as being alive, or dead, or in limbo, is purely coincidental.

#QuietOnTheSet #HamFilmFest #IndieFilm #Comedy #HappyStuff

photo credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/ca/portfolio/chombosan

Tags