This short video was created by a first-time producer/shooter/editor who took one of RosenblumTV’s video journalism courses. It’s got story, pacing, music, humor and great cinematography. According to Rosenblum the student had “never touched a camera or an edit before” in her life. A little training, some lightweight equipment and some desire can create great outcomes.

Dead Reckoning: Champlain In America Dead Reckoning: Champlain In America

• Tue
  Jan 4 9:00PM

Dead Reckoning: Champlain In America
Dead Reckoning: Champlain In America
This animated documentary shares the story of the brave explorer and visionary, Samuel de Champlain.

A great by-product of KCET dropping their PBS membership – independent documentaries will get their day in the sun! Thanks KCET!

Both sides have claimed early victories in the case of documentarian Joe Berlinger vs. Chevron over access to the raw footage he shot for his expose “Crude” on Amazonian oil exploitation. I’ve blogged about the case and the filmmaking community reaction here.

On Thursday, the appeals judge ruled that Berlinger must turn over Crude footage that does not appear in any public version of the film’s release if it shows the counsel for the plaintiffs in the Lago Agrio class action lawsuit against Chevron or any experts or Ecuadorian government officials involved in that case.

This is bad news for the plaintiffs in that case, and likely good news for Chevron. Thankfully, the court also found that Chevron had to use the footage strictly for legal defense purposes and could not use if for marketing or other PR purposes. But whether this decision means that filmmakers can rest assured that their footage is safe from similar “takings” is still pretty unclear.

As for the case’s potential use as precedence on non-confidential information and journalist’s privilege in the future, Floyd Abrams, the famed First Amendment lawyer representing the media amici, cautioned that a ruling alone is not enough grounds to gauge its future applications. “We have to wait for the opinion of the court to see how they applied the law,” Abrams said. “It’s too early to tell where we’re going in this area.”

Berlinger himself seems both confident that the court will ultimately uphold the narrowing of the original request and the difficulty of any court appeal to prevail:

Most appeals are unsuccessful and the appealing party has a lot to prove. I was very relieved the court seemed to be sympathetic to my primary concerns about the case. Nobody expects the decision to be completely reversed. Having covered the legal process, I know there are times you want journalists to be compelled. But it can’t just be a fishing expedition. If I knew I had any evidence that was exculpatory, I would want the footage to be turned over. But only if the First Amendment standards of true relevancy and exclusive access of information are met.

 

This Week on EXTRA

June 3rd, 2010 @ 8:30pm

LAKE PLACID FILM FORUM

The Lake Placid Film Forum is celebrating 10-years, with special guests including actors Hal Holbrook, Parker Posey, and authors William Kennedy and Jay Parini. The festival host screenings of 2 locally produced films, The Summers of Walter Hacks by Vermont filmmaker George Woodard; and Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy by filmmakers Colin Powers and Laurie House from Essex, New York.
For information on events and screenings: www.lakeplacidfilmforum.com

SKATOPIA

We’ll talk with filmmaker Laurie House and Brewce Martin, who is the force behind the outrageous skateboard park in rural Appalacia.

• www.skatopiathemovie.com

DOUBLE FEATURE

Our film critic Rick Kisonak has his own mini-film-festival with a double feature of 2 of the summer blockbusters: Robin Hood and Macgruber.

• www.7dvt.com

This group is looking worldwide, but I wonder how PBS might respond to this group’s plea.

Lobby group wants to make docs a priority for PSBs

by Kelly Anderson

At the recent Hot Docs festival, MercuryMedia CEO Tim Sparke took the opportunity to announce the launch of the Documentary Distributors’ Association, a group that aims to lobby public service broadcasters to consider airing more documentaries.

Sparke says the idea behind the Documentary Distributor’ Association came from MercuryMedia chairman and former ITV director of television Simon Shaps. “He felt it was something that the industry really needed,” says Sparke. Shaps will be chairman of the DDA, while Sparke’s role right now is to get the word out and get the first 10 distributor members on board.

The main goal is to approach public service broadcasters to get docs back on their schedules. “It’s about documentary fighting – and I use that word guardedly – for an enhanced position within television schedules and on other platforms,” says Sparke. “There’s no doubt in my mind that television is still the preeminent place for telling people about what’s going on in the world and documentary is the single most important tool [for] telling people that.”

CTD…

This ruling represents a shocking setback for investigative documentary journalism. The IDA and filmmaker Patrick Creadon (I.O.U.S.A., Wordplay) are circulating an open letter to show suport for freedom of the press. More info to come in this space about how to sign on to the letter.

Juan Diego Pérez/Entendre Films An Ecuadorean cancer victim’s reflection in an oil-polluted stream near her home in the documentary “Crude.”

5:10 p.m. | Updated

A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday granted a petition by Chevron to issue a subpoena for hundreds of hours of footage from a documentary about the pollution of the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador and the oil company’s involvement.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of United States District Court said that the director Joe Berlinger would have to turn over more than 600 hours of footage from his documentary “Crude.” The film, which was released last year, chronicles the Ecuadorians who sued Texaco (now owned by Chevron) saying the operations of the companies’ oil field at Lago Agrio contaminated their water.

CTD…