Production histories, craft explainers, business and policy analysis, and equipment guides for people who make films and people who watch them closely.
How It Was MadeProduction breakdown
Sean Baker's 2015 Sundance feature used iPhone 5S cameras, an anamorphic adapter, a stabilizer and a conventional sound kit. This is the rig, the schedule and the post workflow, as published accounts describe them.
Wren Calder · 5 min read
The two cameras share a sensor, mount, codecs and recording media. Blackmagic's specification page lists built-in ND filters and a brighter screen as the differences.
Wren Calder · 3 min read · Specification comparison
California's film credit program sets aside $75 million a year for independent films. The January 2026 guidelines fix the rates, caps, minimums and the ranking rule, and several other states changed their programs in 2026.
Wren Calder · 5 min read · Policy explainer
Murch ranks six criteria for deciding where to cut, with emotion first and spatial continuity last. The ranking tells an editor which rules to break when they conflict.
Wren Calder · 4 min read · Craft explainer
Production histories of specific films and series: the equipment, schedules, crews and decisions that produced the result.
1 article 02Techniques and the people who practice them: editing, sound, camera, lighting, production design and the departments behind them.
1 article 03Financing, distribution, creator economics, and the tax incentives and rules that decide where productions happen.
1 article 04Cameras, audio, lighting and software compared from published specifications and, when stated, hands-on testing.
1 article
