Massify Studio

Conversation with Jody Lee Lipes

Amy Allen — 2009-06-30T14:15:38Z

Massify Interview: Brock Enright from Massify on Vimeo.

For his first documentary feature, Cinematographer-turned-Director Jody Lee Lipes followed the artist Brock Enright as Enright prepared for his first major gallery exhibition in New York. Learn about the making of Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same, which Paste calls a provocation and an enigma, in this interview.

A Conversation with Eileen Yaghoobian

Amy Allen — 2009-06-24T17:46:13Z

Massify Interview: Eileen Yaghoobian from Massify on Vimeo.

Died Young, Stayed Pretty is Eileen Yaghoobian's first feature, a documentary about underground rock posters. Drawing on her background in fine arts, Yaghoobian shot, produced, directed and edited the movie, and deserves respect for diving into the project without any initial financing.

A Conversation with Jennifer Kroot

Amy Allen — 2009-06-22T14:51:22Z

Massify Interview: Jennifer Kroot from Massify on Vimeo.

Documentary filmmaker Jennifer Kroot talks about the inspiration behind her homage to the Kuchar Brothers, It Came From Kuchar. The film highlights the prolific directors' love for camp, for fun, and most of all, for filmmaking.

A Conversation with Steve Kastrissios

Amy Allen — 2009-06-18T18:29:42Z

Massify Interview: The Horseman from Massify on Vimeo.

Steve Kastrissios is an Australian filmmaker who recently released his first feature, The Horseman. His goal was to make a low-budget, high-impact action movie. Here's how he did it.

A Conversation with Peter Esmonde

Amy Allen — 2009-06-17T18:42:40Z

Massify Interview: Trimpin from Massify on Vimeo.

Documentary filmmaker Peter Esmonde talks about the making of his film TRIMPIN: the sound of invention. A profile of the gifted musical and artistic force that is Trimpin, the film is an exploration of the creative spirit. Esmonde espouses on why he turned his camera on Trimpin, the ever evolving relationship between filmmaker and subject, and the challenges he faced shooting for two years, among other things. Filmmakers, you'll appreciate this interview for both its advice and the subject matter of the film.

Wah Do Dem: A Conversation with the Filmmakers

Amy Allen — 2009-06-16T13:10:33Z

Wah Do Dem, a beautifully shot new film with a kick ass soundtrack about a young man who finds himself stranded in Jamaica, will premiere at the LA Film Festival in a few days. Co-directors Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner sat down with us to talk about their experiences making the low-budget feature, including what it was like to work with non-actors (their lead was musician Sean Bones) and limited resources. The audio interview (below) is useful to any guerilla filmmaker. Enjoy!

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A Conversation with Mai Iskander

Amy Allen — 2009-06-12T18:26:08Z

Massify Interview: Garbage Dreams from Massify on Vimeo.

Director Mai Iskander, who helmed the powerful documentary Garbage Dreams, talks at length about her subject matter in the clip above.

A Conversation With Jessica Oreck

Amy Allen — 2009-06-05T18:01:56Z

Massify Interview: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo from Massify on Vimeo.

Filmmaker and Scientist Jessica Oreck strives to "reach children and adults alike, and to help reframe their relationship with the natural world." Her documentary, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, explores Japan's complicated and beautiful relationship with insects.

A Conversation with Luke Meyer

Amy Allen — 2009-05-27T17:38:12Z

Massify Interview: Luke Meyer from Massify on Vimeo.

52 Reasons Why American Indie Film Will Flourish

Amy Allen — 2009-05-26T17:02:26Z

Ted Hope, always a master of the fact-packed list, just posted 52 Reasons Why American Indie Film Will Flourish. Since he asks others to add onto the (extremely comprehensive) list, I would add:

53. For those starting out, there are more networking opportunities outside of film school. While a formal program has never been a prerequisite for quality work, it's still important as a place to network. While important, film school is also expensive, and if you're only plucking those who can pay from the talent pool, the quality almost certainly diminishes. Tutorials and film theory distributed to the masses online can help everybody develop their skills. The best training is to go out and make something anyhow, which has never been easier.

54. Unions like SAG are embracing the importance of independent film. SAG Indie has an intuitive website and offers affordable contracts to movies with lower budgets, allowing everybody access to experienced talent.

55. Building on #42, while a lot of attention has been placed the falling prices of digital production equipment, projectors are just as important. As more studios pay for digital projectors to be installed in major theaters, those theaters will be better equipped to screen independent fare and indie filmmakers won't have to budget for that expensive 35mm print, allowing both small films and theatrical distribution to survive.

Ted's List is a must read. Check it out.

A Conversation with Andrew Neel

Amy Allen — 2009-05-26T13:21:11Z

Massify Interview: New World Order from Massify on Vimeo.

Andrew Neel is one half of the directing team behind New World Order, a feature length documentary about people who believe in conspiracy theories. Andrew, a thoughtful, experienced filmmaker with four feature documentaries under his belt, notes that "We went to great lengths to not get involved in making any sort of truth evalutions about what the people in the film were saying." Read the interview with Andrew and his directing partner, Luke Meyer in Indiewire, and make sure to check back here for the interview with Luke.

A Conversation with Ry Russo-Young

Amy Allen — 2009-05-14T17:03:07Z

Massify Interview: You Won't Miss Me from Massify on Vimeo.

Director Ry Russo-Young talks about her latest film, You Won't Miss Me. The film, shot on multiple formats and co-written by its star Stella Schnabel, premiered last January at Sundance.

A Conversation with the Deagol Brothers

Amy Allen — 2009-04-30T18:27:46Z

Make-Out with Violence: A Conversation with the Deagol Brothers from Massify on Vimeo.

Make-Out with Violence, the genre-bending first feature by The Deagol Brothers, has received warm praise on the festival circuit since premiering at SXSW this year. The filmmaking collective known as the Deagol Brothers, consisting of - from left to right - Cody Devos (co-writer/actor), Chris Doyle (co-director/co-producer), Andy Duensing (co-director/co-producer), Eric Lehning (co-writer, actor), and Leah High (actress) talk to Massify about how the zombie-infused coming of age story came about. Their making-of documentary below is pretty great, too.

The Promised Land: A Conversation with Matthew Wilkinson

Amy Allen — 2009-04-24T10:13:45Z

Massify Interview: The Promised Land from Massify on Vimeo.

London-based filmmaker Matthew Wilkinson chats about his feature-length Documentary, The Promised Land. The film follows a group of musicians collectively known as the Lil' Band of Gold against the beautiful backdrop of Southwest Louisiana, the home of Swamp Pop.

Green Movies for Earth Day

Sasha Nelson — 2009-04-22T14:25:31Z

In the mood for some eco-friendly entertainment? This Huffington Post article by Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management includes some great recommendations, all of which can be found online. Now you can honor Earth Day by watching environmentally-conscious films on a carbon-friendly medium! Try to contain your excitement.