Resourceful Filmmaker Makes Waves At Sundance With Doc Cut On iMovie

by , 5:15 PM EST, January 20th, 2004

Wired News online has posted an in depth look at a first-time filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's break into the Sundance Film Festival. Mr. Caouette's film is an autobiographical documentary about his own troubled life told through old home movies and stills. What's of even more interest to Mac users is that Mr. Caouette's film was edited entirely with iMovie. From the article:

Before he taught himself about cameras and editing, Jonathan Caouette designed a do-it-yourself method for making movies. He'd record the audio of a Hollywood film, and, with crayons, pencils and loose-leaf paper, draw it out.

When Caouette turned 11, he borrowed his first camera and tripod, intending to translate his strange, painful life into movies. His first short film featured Caouette, in makeup and a dress, playing a battered woman.

[...]

"Tarnation is a very strong statement for low-budget filmmaking," (Shari Frilot) said. "It's a testament to what someone can accomplish with simple desktop tools, and exciting and encouraging to see how much can be done with so little."

(Gus)Van Sant described Tarnation as "amazingly original," and the kind of film he'd been waiting to see since the 1970s.

"People assumed that one day film would be as accessible and inexpensive as writing, and now it practically is," Van Sant said. "For the price of a typewriter, you can make films with sound and burn them on a DVD.... Filmmakers can afford to work now. No more excuses, or filmmakers' block, or procrastination. Either they start shooting, or they are waiting for the vanity crew, or they aren't filmmakers."

You can read the full article at Wired News Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Wired News