Cinequest 22: Leisurely Saturday

The day in between our two screenings was fairly laid back and was not always spent centered around the film festival.

This morning we went to a breakfast and presentation put on by Panasonic. They showed off their newest camera, the HPX 250, which brings back the P2 workflow that's been fairly absent since the HVX 200. The difference between the 250 and the 200 is the 250's updated Intra-AVC codec which allows you to shoot 10 bit uncompressed onto P2 cards. The body is very much like a DVX or HVX, only just a wee bit larger and a wee bit heavier.

I was able to play around with one that was on display. My time with it was limited and I wasn't able to play with all the settings, but the camera does have the potential to replace the HVX for doc filmmakers and students. However, for narratives, unless you're shooting doc style, I don't know if you'd want to leave behind the interchangeable lenses of the AF-100 or the Canon 7D/5D for this particular camera. As always, depends on the nature of the project. Still, the images that were on display form this camera were very impressive and the colors were quite rich.

After breakfast, I, my fiance, and my producer Andrew Logan spent some time at the San Jose Museum of Art. While not a large museum, it was a lovely space and featured a Joan Brown exhibit. I had never seen here work prior to this visit, but I fell in love with her ever evolving and personal style. It was so striking and inspiring how much her work shifted gears over time. To be able to knock lock yourself in to a particular style is very freeing for any artist.

Also there was a fun piece of work that had magnetic costumes that any visitor could stick onto a row of political figures, including President Obama, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and Arnold Schwarttzeneger. This was a fun piece to play around with for a few minutes and something you don't always get to see at an unplanned art museum visit: an art display you could actually touch and create new meaning with all on your own:

Unfortunately it's getting late, I'm running out of steam, and we have an early day with our second screening beginning at 1030 AM tomorrow. Next chance I jump on I'll try to talk about two movies that stood out to me that we saw today: the mockumentary from Canada about a children's puppet show called SUNFLOWER HOUR and an energetic, oddball, fun Fellini spoof of a short called ZOLTAN: GANGSTER OF LOVE. Until then...