Capturing the #ProjectScouted moments in motion – Cinematographer, Brittany Hurrell

Brittany Hurrell describes herself as a cinematographer rather than a videographer. She films for cinematic experience and uses colour grading instead of editing. Currently a second-year student studying Cinematography and Data and Image Enhancement at AFDA Durban, which is a school of motion picture and live performance, Brittany has the depth and intuition needed for someone capturing emotion and energy. This makes her the perfect person to document the thrill and adventure that #ProjectScouted is.

1.    What sparked your interest in cinematography?

I have always had a passion for cinematography. I love capturing motion pictures in a way where the audience can appreciate the certain style of the image and the lighting techniques, the symbolism, the shot style, the angle, and how the overall look tells a story with visuals. It’s a form of art and the creative side of it keeps me alive.

2.    What is the best part of the entire process of creating videos?

I would say the actual filming of it is the best, because you are essentially part of the scene and the world which the director has created for you and you are constantly capturing these images and moving with the characters to help progress the story and add to the narrative. It gives you an adrenalin rush because you always want the best take!

4. How did you hear about #ProjectScouted?

I heard about #ProjectScouted last year via Facebook when I saw some of my friends getting tagged in pictures that were taken of them. 

5. What motivated you to become a cinematographer for #ProjectScouted?

I really just want to do it for the experience! The more you learn about this art, the more you grow as an artist! There is also a lot of exposure and it would be great for my future! So being a part of this Project will ultimately help me with my career and my skills at the same time which is a win-win situation. Plus, I get to make awesome friends, meet new people and make memories!

6. From what you know so far, what do you love the most about #ProjectScouted?

I love how it brings everyone together. Everyone from different mediums: photographers, scouts, models, stylists, makeup artists, writers etc. It’s great to know such creative and passionate people that will help you and inspire you in the field that you are in. 

7. What has been your most memorable experience as a cinematographer?

Filming for my peers. They create such magical scripts and being able to translate words into visuals is incredible! Every term, I have the privilege to shoot some epic films and each term it has helped me learn and grow so I am better than before. 

8. Would you advise someone who wants to be a cinematographer to get a qualification first or to learn on their own?

I would definitely tell them to get a qualification first. In this day and age, if you don't have a Degree it is very difficult to get employed. There is also so much to learn about film, how it’s done and the skills that you would need that are only acquired when one studies at an institution like this. It also helps you know many people that will help you when you enter the industry after you graduate. These people would have worked with you previously so they will take you to awesome places with them!

Stay active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for everything that is #ProjectScouted. The Project kicks off on 28 February 2015 with Phase One and the launch. And remember that all shoots and events are open to the public free of charge! But if you aren’t there, Brittany will be one of the team making sure that you don’t miss out on the experience.

Jessica Chastain turns Blonde for the next Marilyn Monroe biopic

Jessica Chastain has been somewhat of an enigma in Hollywood. With a name resembling royalty and glamour; Chastain has bagged some enviable roles in her career and has given brilliant performances to match and now her name is being attached to the next biopic, titled Blonde, on one of Hollywood’s most legendary stars that filmmakers cannot stop being obsessed with, Marilyn Monroe.

The film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel by Joyce Carol Oates, is going to be different from the other films recently produced about Marilyn. Blonde is said to be focused on the inner, spiritual and emotional life of the star that has captivated the world for generations, along with her aura of beauty and glamour that was tinged with depression and strife.

Oates's 700-page novel, published in 2000, accounts many of Marilyn's infamous relationships, including one with United States president John F. Kennedy. Many of her alleged lovers haven’t been named, but they are clearly identified by the nicknames given to them by Marilyn and the context in which she talks about them. A male co-star from Some Like It Hot is labelled "C", who can be presumed to be Tony Curtis while Marilyn's husbands, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, feature as "the ex-Athlete" and "the Playwright" respectively. It’s no wonder Marilyn is famous for her illustrious and tumultuous affairs.

It’s going to be pleasant to see Chastain as a blonde once again, ditching her natural red hair. She also played a blonde as a ditzy but spirited woman in the period drama The Help, for which she received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination in 2011. Her other Academy Award nomination was for 2012's Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain has been particularly busy lately. She will star in a number of movies this year, including Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi mystery Interstellar with Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, as well as Miss Julie - based on the 1888 play - with Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell. She is also currently filming Guillermo del Toro's horror Crimson Peake.

Blonde will be produced by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B, with the actor reportedly having been key in convincing Chastain to take the role. The two had worked together on Terrence Malik’s The Tree of Life in 2011, for which Chastain also received critical acclaim. Blonde is set to be directed by Andrew Dominik, known for his work on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Killing Them Softly, having cast Pitt in both films, and will also forge the film from his own script.

The film was first reported for making back in 2010 and has been an infatuation project for Dominik. Chastain having been cast was a move to ensure that Marilyn is channelled as a lost and lonely movie star trapped inside a world of glamour and frivolity of her own volition. Judging from Chastain’s and Dominik’s previous work, Blonde might just be a step up from the other Marilyn biopics that Hollywood has turned out in recent years. Shooting for the film is set to start in August this year with a release in 2015.

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood – A film like we’ve never seen before

Coming-of-age films form part of the daily bread of filmmaking, not only in Hollywood but in almost every movie industry around the world. Boyhood, to be released in June this year, however, takes the concept of a coming-of-age film to a whole new level that we have never seen done before.

Boyhood's creator Richard Linklater (known for the Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight trilogy all released 9 years apart) chose 7-year-old Ellar Coltrane as his protagonist, Mason, back in 2002. This groundbreaking film, which encompasses the very essence of what dedication to art is, captures the journey of a young boy growing up over the course of 12 years using the same actor.

This larger-than-life experiment saw the group of actors, including Ethan Hawke (one of Linklater’s staple actors) and Patricia Arquette, who play Mason's parents, reunite every summer for over a decade to document a moving account of a boy growing up, culminating with him leaving for college. 

But it is not the physical and emotional growth of the boy turning into a young man that the audience witnesses, it is also the aging of the other principle actors. Hawke and Arquette visibly change through the film, going through a journey themselves. Even Mason's sister, played by Linklater's daughter, Lorelei, also evolves into a young woman through the film.

This is the first time a story of this nature has been attempted to be told on screen. The renowned director's Before Sunrise trilogy grazed the surface of this idea, with the three films spanning almost 30 years, but not to the extent that Boyhood has gone. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year and was also widely critically acclaimed at the Berlin Film Festival in February. 

This is a once-in-a-lifetime cinematic event – and quite literally so. We’ve waited over 12 years so far for the filming to be completed and now we just have to wait a few months more for the film to be officially released. The trailer is out but of course it does no justice to the magnitude of the film. Linklater should be saluted – this is not only a daunting task that required extreme patience and perseverance, but also one that not every director will have the mettle to fulfil.

The next Steve Jobs biopic

Leonardo DiCaprio has become a movie star god in the recent years, having delivered an array of blockbuster and brilliant performances in films like Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby and The Wolf of Wall Street. But, to the dismay of cinema-lovers everywhere, he is yet to win that coveted and much-deserved Academy Award for his work.

But the possibility of Leonardo playing Steve Jobs in the latest biopic about the Apple Inc. co-founder could very well put him in the running for his work finally being recognized. Although the film has not begun shooting yet, if he is in the cast, there’s no doubt Leonardo will turn out a mesmerizing performance as usual. In the last 13 months alone, he's been associated with nine films. 

The last film revolving around the life of Steve Jobs was released last year, titled Jobs, directed by Joshua Michael Stern and starring Ashton Kutcher and Dermot Mulroney. The film wasn’t a major success or even critically acclaimed. The latest biopic with Leonardo possibly (and hopefully) in the role of Jobs will be directed by ace-filmmaker Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) after he took over from David Fincher who reportedly wanted Christian Bale in the lead. Boyle also won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2009 for Slumdog Millionaire, which became a worldwide phenomenon.

Aaron Sorkin, who won the Oscar for Best Writing for an adapted screenplay for The Social Network, will be penning the script for the film, roughly entitled “Steve Jobs”, based on the Walter Isaacson biography of the same name. Sony acquired the rights to the biography following the Apple mogul’s death in 2011.

If Leonardo is cast in this role, it will be the first time in almost 14 years that he will be working with Boyle, after they collaborated on The Beach in 2000. A release date has not been announced for the film yet but we will definitely be waiting with baited breath, if Leonardo is cast, for another captivating performance. And it would be a mistake not to cast him, because it seems as if everything he touches turns to gold at the box office.

Gia Coppola – Success is in her name

For cinema lovers new talent, especially in the way of edgy directors, is hot and exciting news. The Coppola family name has become synonymous with groundbreaking artistic work in cinema and it certainly seems as if this momentous storytelling is in their blood.

Enter Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the pioneer of this genius family. She is the daughter of Gian-Carlo Coppola, a film producer, the eldest child of Francis Ford Coppola, and also the older brother to Roman and Sofia. Roman Ford Coppola, Gia’s uncle, is an American film and music video director, who was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 2012 film, Moonrise Kingdom.

The other well-known female in the Coppola family is Sofia Coppola, who has stunned Hollywood with her intuitive eye and mesmerizing filmmaking skills. She is a successful and acclaimed screenwriter, director, producer and actress. In 2003, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for her film Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, and she also became the third (and the first American) woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.

And did you know that Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage, also known as Nicolas Kim Coppola, is the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and had changed his name to make his own way in the film business?

With a family like this, it would be hard not to follow in the footsteps of such accomplishment and trademark brilliance. Gia has now also captivated Hollywood with her debut film offering, Palo Alto. The film is an adaption of actor James Franco’s collection of short stories of the same title and premiered in the “Orizzonti” section of the 70^th Venice International Film Festival, as well as the 38^th Toronto International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The film stars James Franco, Emma Roberts and Val Kilmer and tells the story of a group of menacing teens with a weakness for trouble.

This maiden work of Gia has been cited to have many similarities with Sofia’s film The Virgin Suicides for its technique and scope. Palo Alto has been picked up by Tribeca Films for distribution with a release date in May 2014. Whether or not the film fares well critically or at the box office, Gia definitely doesn’t have to worry about finding a place to fit in as the Coppola name unquestionably has a home in Hollywood already.

Film as dream

We’ve all been there; a dark cinema with nothing but our thoughts and a film playing out in front of us in a larger-than-life way. And just like that we’re drawn into a world other than the one we inhabit where we are forced to reconcile ourselves with the mundane nature and banality of everyday life.

Through film, we’re taken on a journey into something great and beautiful, something we could only ever dream about; when the moment we leave the cinema or press the “stop” button, life just seems a little more wonderful.

It doesn’t matter what kind of a film it is; whether it is considered to be good or not critically, all that matters is that in a moment we are able to see something that gives us a completely new experience. Just like reading a book, watching a film can transport us to anywhere we allow it to.

The moment that we cry when we are watching a film isn’t necessarily because what we are watching is sad, but because what we are watching is far more beautiful than anything we could ever have imagined or experienced.

Cinema isn’t frivolous; it’s a necessity. Film is a dream made just for us to enjoy the life we have a little more.

“Maleficent” – A villain has never been so beautiful

We have been waiting for quite some time for this flick to be released since the casting and shooting has taken place. But with the sneak peak we’ve had from the trailer of “Maleficent”, the title lead played by Angelina Jolie, being released recently, we can safely say that a villain has never been so beautiful.

“Maleficent” is the untold story of one the stealthiest villains in Disney history from one of its most classic and loved fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty, and documents the experiences of Maleficent’s life which result in her turning into such a villain. Motivated by revenge, Maleficent viciously places a binding curse on the human king's newborn baby, Aurora. And as the child grows, she is caught in the middle of the conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her inheritance. Sounds familiar?

The movie is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes long but that’s not too inconvenient as 38-year-old Angelina’s ethereal beauty – seeming almost like a fairy tale type of beauty that never ages – makes it worth it. The movie also stars Angelina’s daughter, Vivienne, as a young Aurora, and Elle Fanning in the older role. We’re also set to see South Africa’s own Sharlto Copley in a major role in the movie.

“Maleficent” is directed by Robert Stromberg, also known for “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End” (2007), “The Golden Compass” (2007) and “The Hunger Games” (2012). The trailer that has been released of the movie looks fantastical and magical with everything that is loved from a movie in this genre. The new trailer officially debuted during the 2014 Kid's Choice Awards on Saturday, March 29 and the movie will be released in theatres on May 30.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” straight out of Wes Anderson’s imagination

Wes Anderson has come to be appreciated most for his unique and intricate visual style in the direction of his films. He has received copious amounts of critical praise for his work and vision and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “The Royal Tenenbaums” in 2001 and for “Moonrise Kingdom” in 2012, as well as for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for “Fantastic Mr. Fox” in 2009. But now it is being said that every film he has directed prior to his latest release, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, has just been a starter to this fantastic main course of cinematic pleasure.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” could aptly be called typically Andersonian. The film conjures tales within tales and manages to be at once whimsical and winsome as well as haunting and sombre. In a nutshell, the film recounts the marvellous adventures of Monsieur Gustave H., a renowned and legendary hotel concierge at a famous European hotel, and Zero Moustafa (played by 17-year-old Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

Like most of Anderson’s films, this one too revolves around a middle-aged man and a gifted young boy whom he takes under his wing. One of the treats of the film is the captivating Ralph Fiennes in the lead, playing the role of Gustave H. He has mastered the slight nuances of his character, who can be seductive and flattering to his older female guests while being ruthless and abhorrent in his work ethic.

The film also features actors in cameo roles; including Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Owen Wilson, a nearly-unrecognizable Tilda Swinton, as well as newcomers to the Anderson club; F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law and Saoirse Ronan, among other very pleasant surprises.

Anderson’s attention to detail and the breathtaking execution of his vision has become a hallmark of his cinema. But perhaps the greatest quality of this film is the sense of reverberant joy that one instantly picks up on that Anderson and his team had while putting this film together, like children constructing a play-house filled with magical toys and characteristics.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is an ode to a world and time gone by when – adopting this ‘golden age’ mentality – life seemed more beautiful and palatable. Wes Anderson’s brilliant imagination and quirky sense of creation brings a stunning work to the cinema that exudes sultry and romantic nostalgia.

Cinemagraphs – A new kind of (creative) photography

Take, for example, an image photographed expertly of a beautiful woman standing in the breeze. It’s a stunning shot and on looking at it, it becomes alive to you. But imagine if you could put some sort of life into it – and not just in a figurative sense – maybe with her hair or dress moving slightly. Cinemagraphs have made a way for that to be possible and are appearing all over the Net for their ingenuity in simplicity and their versatility.

Basically, cinemagraphs are still photos which have a small but repeated movement in them. They are usually made in GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) format and give the viewer the impression of watching a video, when it is still actually an image. Usually, cinemagraphs are produced from a series of images or a video recording which are composed together using editing software making the image become an uninterrupted loop of continuous frames, giving the image movement between exposures. This is then perceived as the repeated motion in the image.

Although GIF files have been around since the 80s, the vividness and clarity of cinemagraphs – and the term itself – is relatively recent. The term "cinemagraph" was coined by US photographers (and couple) Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck of Ann Street Studio in Manhattan, New York, who used the technique to animate their fashion and news photographs in early 2011.

The photographers collaborated in 2009, after years of friendship, and were married in 2012. Their passion for photography and stirring emotion from images brought them together. Some of their most beautiful cinemagraphs are those of model Coco Rocha and their clients so far have included Google, Donna Karan, Tiffany & Co., Veuve Clicquot, Rachel Zoe, and Oscar de la Renta among others.

Cinemagraphs have managed to capture beauty, glamour and fantasy in an image. Granted cinemagraphs cannot be printed, but that makes this kind of photography all the more a unique digital art form. Cinemagraphs now incorporate two of the most affecting forms of documentation, film and photographs, into one stunning package.

“Life” – The next film based on the life of James Dean

“If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live after he's died, then maybe he was a great man. Immortality is the only true success.”

-       James Dean

Film makers, novelists, and pretty much most creatives have had a fascination with James Dean since, and even before, his untimely death. How could we ever put a finger on what it was exactly about him? He was beautiful and brash, masterful and misunderstood, genius and gutsy. But everything that he was, he was the original.

Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer, music-video director and film director, is set to direct the much-anticipated film, “Life” centred on the 1955 road trip that James Dean took with Life Magazine photographer and friend Dennis Stock, a mere few months before he died. Stock is credited to have taken some of the most iconic and memorable images of Dean.

Dane DeHaan, best known for his role in the series “In Treatment”, has been cast in the lead as Dean. He bears a striking resemblance to Dean as did his predecessor to play Dean in a film, James Franco also did. DeHaan is also hot news in Hollywood right now after being signed on to the next “Amazing Spider-Man” movie.

Robert Pattinson, made infamous by the “Twilight” movie franchise, has been cast to play the role of Dennis Stock, the photographer from Life Magazine, while Ben Kingsley (“Gandhi”, “Schindler’s List, “House of Sand and Fog”) has also been cast in the film. It hasn’t been released as to which role Kingsley will play yet but the Oscar-winner will certainly make the film one to watch.

Dean died in a near head-on collision in September, 1955 in his Porsche 550 Spyder. At the time, movie-goers only knew him for the film “East of Eden”, which also released in 1955, and the actor only became better known for “Rebel Without a Cause” when it was released a few months later. “East of Eden” had not been released yet when Stock received the assignment for Life Magazine to photograph the actor and on the journey from New York to Los Angeles and then Indiana, the two became friends.

The shooting for the film will commence within the next few months and the release date is yet to be estimated. But there are very high hopes for this film. There will never be another actor as iconic and legendary as James Dean, and even more so for him having achieved the very same immortality and greatness by still being relevant after his death that he spoke about.

The 2014 Academy Awards – The triumphs and the utter disappointments

After weeks, and even months, of premonitions and predictions – and many, many hopes – about who the takers will be at this year’s Oscars, the results are finally out after the ceremony took place last night, Sunday 2 March, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. There were a few obvious winners but there were also one or two surprises that have no doubt left many cinema-goers extremely perturbed.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Leonardo DiCaprio not winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street. He had the weight of the world’s hopes on his shoulders and we all thought that his gripping and astute performance – one of the many in his career – would finally earn him that award. But unfortunately, it wasn’t Leonardo’s time yet.

12 Years a Slave winning the Oscar for Best Picture has made history. Director Steve McQueen has become the first black director to get the top film honours in 86 years of Oscar history. This film was a firm favourite and definitely deserves the honour. And space thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock, from Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, racked up five Oscars for technical achievements like visual effects and cinematography as well as Best Direction.

These were some of the main highlights of the awards function:

Best Picture – 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Best Animated Feature – Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)

Best Cinematography – Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)

Best Costume Design – The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)

Best Directing – Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)

Best Documentary Feature – 20 Feet from Stardom (Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen, Caitrin Rogers)

Best Adapted Screenplay – 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)

Best Original Screenplay – Her (Spike Jonze)

It’s been a great and significant year at the movies. And hopefully next year will be as good, or even better. And hopefully, Leonardo gets that Oscar that the world is waiting for to be his too.

“Oppressed Majority” – Imagined female dominance goes viral

Can you picture a world where women run around topless, urinate in the street, whistle at and check out men, and men are left in charge of child minding? Not so easy to, is it? Which is why French actress, director and screenwriter Eleonoré Pourriat has made a short film entitled "Majorité Opprimée", or "Oppressed Majority", depicting just this setting. And the film is not only hilarious and candid, but thought-provoking and nerve-hitting.

The film, in French with English subtitles, follows an ordinary man, Pierre, through a day of sexist experiences. The switched angle to women objectifying men really hits home in realizing the everyday taunting women go through. The male protagonist takes his child to day-care and then on his way to work is leered at, subjected to cat calls, and even sexually assaulted by a group of women. The film is a complete eye-opener that will most definitely leave you feeling reflective.

The video was recorded in 2010 but uploaded to YouTube on 5^th February this year. Since then it has gone viral with more than 5 million views. It’s being spread around the Net almost as a form of activism with women saying “Yes, this is what we go through!” Without painting females as victims, the film manages to portray sexism by not showing the issue how it is but by forcing men to look at their behaviour in a different – but perhaps not completely original – light.

Pourriat got the idea to make “Majorité Opprimée” when her husband was shocked to hear that she got yelled at in the street. The film’s exaggeration is also a tool in achieving the reaction that Pourriat was aiming for. But she was still shocked with the response she got for the film, having not expected it at all.

In light of the short film’s subject matter, it’s amazing that it has gone viral in such a short amount of time; most feminist films are overlooked and would probably never be discussed as luridly as this one. It’s certainly not a perfect or even brilliant piece of work, but it gets the message across.