668 | links

updated 5/28/00

668 films+fx / Little Beast: Hosts to this site, watch for exciting DV filmmaking later this year.
The Orphanage: Scott Stewart and other ILM-exes start their own media maker. Short films like Stewart's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" and Stu Maschwitz's "The Last Birthday Card" promise to be only the first of many internally-produced pieces.
View Askew Productions: Kevin Smith, of Clerks beginnings; through Mallrats to Chasing Amy, and Dogma.
Rick Schmidt/Lightvideo: Award-winning filmmaker-extraordinaire, and author of "Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices," a classic/must-read in no-budget/low-budget circles. Schmidt hosts an annual hands-on filmmaking seminar of critical acclaim. Valuable web site.
Pure Grain Digital Productions: Home of Robert Miller, director of Mail Bonding, the first "all-digital" short film.
Michael Wiese Productions: Film and video consulting, seminars, books, software, etc.
Null Set Productions: San Francisco-based producers of Pressurecooker.
Pirromount Pictures: Home of Mark Pirro, director of the $2,500 A Polish Vampire in Burbank and a new "more-mainstream" comedy feature called Color Blinded.
Galtham Films: Home of Space Rogues and Whoman.

Clerks: From Kevin Smith of View Askew Productions. One of the original low-budget successes.
Color Blinded: Directed by Mark Pirro of Pirromount Pictures.
El Mariachi: There's lots of "unofficial" Robert Rodriguez websites out there; I kinda like this review by Roger Ebert. Also be sure to check out Robert's Ten-Minute Film School, either online or reprinted in his great book, Rebel Without A Crew.
Hell Is Texas: Online here. (Self-plug intended.)
Rick's Undiscovered Movies: Several low-budget features showcased on Lightvideo's own web site.
No Budget Film Network: A registry for no-budget films and filmmakers. Network database and classifieds.
The Internet Movie Database: Includes any registered low-budget films as well as blockbusters. Voting system by viewers.

To add your film to this list, send email to zane@rzanerutledge.com; let me know what web URL to link to.

Adam Wilt (adam at adamwilt dot com): Sony VX1000, Steadicam JR, lights, mics, etc.; also a DHR-1000 feeding a DPS Spark NLE and long-form linear Hi8 editing with a WJ-MX50 SEG and a pair of EVO-9850s); San Francisco Bay area (Menlo Park). 16mm/35mm/Nagra III experience as well.
Craig Blair (craigblair@imagina.com): AM Videographer - using Canon XL-1's and Sony 1000's, Media 100 and Macintosh. Currently have free time, willing to travel anywhere. Located in Portland, OR.

To add yourself to this list, send email to zane@rzanerutledge.com; Be sure to list where you are located (or willing to travel) and what your specialty is. Also any links to more web information and/or your email address for contacting you. (Note: phone numbers will NOT be listed.)

The Visual Effects Resource Center: An organization (and a web site) for fx people.
Low Budget Special Effects Discussion Forum: A great idea with some decent discussion.

Studio 132: The biggest digital audio production studio in San Francisco. Well, okay, maybe not. Still, B.Z. is a damn nice guy. (And a hell of a musician.)

DV Central: The best web site for beginners seeking information on digital video (DV) or related technology. Also host of the DV-L list-serv, which generates between 50 and 200 messages daily on DV-related topics (including how to reduce traffic on the list!)...I recommend "digest" mode: one long email message daily.
Desktop Video - About.com (formerly The Mining Company): A veritable plethora of information; FAQs, articles, reviews, and links to most information found here. Also a valuable contributor to the DV community via DV-L.
The DV Format FAQ: The best, detailed FAQ guide out there for DV and FireWire. Note that most of my FAQ list has a link to Adam Wilt's authoratative reference for more information.
SuperVideo: A Euro-Site on everything in DV camcorders and more. And I mean everything.
John Ferrick's Informer: Tips and Insider Tricks from a DV pro. (Brought to you by DV Central.)
John Ferrick's VX-1000 Tips: Tips and tricks specific to the Sony camcorder that first brought DV and FireWire to the masses.
The Canon XL1 Watchdog: Reviews and updates on this stunning (but controversally "flawed") DV camcorder. (BTW, the word is the "flaws" are null-and-void.)
Side-by-side: Sony VX-1000 and Canon XL-1: Adam Wilt's opinion comparing these two workhorse camcorders.
Shooting Stars: A Digital Video Revolution: From the July '97 online issue of New Media Magazine, a review of many DV camcorders.

Filmmaker Magazine: Yes, the magazine.
IndieWire: An online resource for independent film.
RES: The Magazine of Digital Filmmaking: A new way of looking at it, from the producers of the ResFest digital film festival.
New Media Magazine: Consumer-level look at the tools that make the media.

Ten Things You Should Know Before Making Your First Feature Film: by Jim Robinson, director of "Still Breathing." Quite possibly the best advice I have ever read on the subject. If we could all just listen to advice like this, everything would all be a hell of a lot simpler....
Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player, by Robert Rodriguez. This is a book, not an online link, but well worth adding to your library.

Digital Origin's EditDV: The "most-powerful-and-affordable" NLE solution on the Macintosh and PC. See "Recommended vendors/products" below.
Final Cut Pro: The new champ on the block; a NLE solution on the Macintosh from Apple Computer. (Actually developed first at Macromedia by the original creator of Premiere. From the looks of it, he learned from Premiere's mistakes.)
Adobe Premiere: With version 5.1, this QuickTime-based "standard" may finally be ready for real editing work. (Though I personally wouldn't recommend this over EditDV or FCP, above.)
Avid: The "standard" for professional non-linear editing. Should be cheaper, IMO.
Media 100: Just below Avid in reputation and price. Some limited DV/FireWire support as well.

Internet Filmmaker's FAQ: Probably the most complete Frequently Asked Question list online for general filmmaking info.
Video University: With lots of great video-relevant links, including: Shoot Video to Look Like Film and Tips and Tricks for the Sony VX-1000, among others.
Digital Movie News: An informative website by Robert Purser, including "20 Steps of Making Motion Pictures on Your Personal Computer." This is a great idea, but a little overly simplified and cookbookish for my taste. As gaps in this document indicate, digital movie-making just ain't quite that simple yet... Still, worth a look.
eXposure: Great stuff for the indie filmmaker (with a bit of a UK slant. Not that that's bad...).
Filmmaker: Not the magazine, but a great resource nonetheless.
Independent Film Budgeting: A little guide to video vs. film (or one person's opinion, anyway).
Tip Sheet for Low-Budget Film Scripts: I broke 10 out of 16 rules from this tip sheet, and probably paid the price for it. Still, some great food for thought on the writing process.

Adobe After Effects: The killer app of video and computer graphics, period. Production Bundle recommended for serious work.
Digital Origin's MotoDV/EditDV: FireWire interface and the best non-linear editor short of Avid (and for a tiny fraction of an Avid's cost). Now available on Windows machines, this program has been the best solution for Macintosh-based non-linear editing.
ProMax: Home of the FireMAX FireWire interface; Now armed with Final Cut Pro, a far more worthy solution than simply Adobe Premiere. Also, a complete turnkey-capable source for desktop video peripherals; headed up by the venerable Charles McConathy, a nice addition to the regular crew at DV-L.
Apple QuickTime: The right solution for all media.
The DV Steadicam: A bit pricier than the original Steadicam JR, but even better than the original and still a fraction of the cost of a real Steadicam rig.

The DV Format FAQ: by Adam Wilt. The best resource I've found for Frequently Asked information on DV and related technologies. The more-complex areas of my simpler FAQ list mostly points to Adam's online gem.
The Golden List by Ross Jones (as posted at About.com): A valuable pointer to all things DV/FireWire/NLE. Maintained by Ross "Middle-name Here" Jones, a regular source of inspiration and humor on DV-L.

DVFilm — For DV-to-film transfer and more. Check out their FAQ for more info. Also do HD and CGI to film. Many Canon XL-1 transfers. Transferred Sundance award-winners "G" and "Titler," and Emmy-award winner "The Reunion."
Beyond Star Wars: A WIRED Interview with George Lucas, by Kevin Kelly and Paula Parisi. Contains several notable comments on moviemaking with video instead of film, and the "two guys in a garage" approach to feature filmmaking.
IWAS: Because I can put anything I want here.