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This post originally appeared on the site on 8/20/2010.

YouTube is proving to be a treasure trove of invaluable film records. I have just found this clip, from Italy’s public channel Rai3: “8 Minutes on the Set of Fellini’s 8 1/2“, which happens to be my number one favorite film.

I had no idea there was such a record: a backstage reportage shot during the last day of filming for 8 1/2. A male TV reporter walks around the film set and interviews the key actresses from the film: Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Barbara Steel, and Eddra Gale (aka “La Saraghina”). We see Fellini behind the camera (a heart-stopping, super precious moment), directing the “circus scene” that closes the film. Marcello Mastroianni doesn’t want to be interviewed on camera, so we see a close-up of his “dummy” that an artisan is working on…

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I’m psyched at the prospect of attending this year’s Cannes Film Festival: I will be there to film extra B-roll for The Illusionists and to do a bit of networking.

And now, for a trip down memory lane, here is a reportage from the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, showing a young Giulietta Masina and Federico Fellini, who are there to present La Strada.

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Vimeo user – and undeniable cinephile – “kogonada” has been editing video compilations that show off the signature shots of auteurs like Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino.

My favorites: a compilation of Stanley Kubrick’s “one-point perspective” and Wes Anderson‘s high-angle shots.

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Four days ago, on August 1st 2012, I officially started editing the master sequence of my feature-length documentary The Illusionists. It’s not really the beginning of the post-production process per se, since – thank goodness – I had been judiciously editing interviews after each location. I can’t imagine beginning from scratch with all the material I gathered… I have in front of me about 150 pages of transcripts (single-spaced), 23 interviews (average length: 30 minutes), copious B-roll from London, Boston, Paris, Milan, Beirut, Tokyo and Mumbai, and hours upon hours of recorded TV commercials and music videos from 6 countries. Thinking about the big picture would bring me pangs of anxiety, so I’m breaking the film down into 10 different “chapters” so to speak. It’s not so bad to think of it as 10 short films – I can do that!

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Minutes ago, while checking the news, I saw this headline: “French Filmmaker Chris Marker Dies at 91.” And my heart just sank. Chris Marker (aka Christian François Bouche-Villeneuve) happened to be one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. “Sans Soleil” – an extremely poetic, evocative documentary he made in 1983 left a big, important imprint on me. Same goes for “La Jetée.” I admired Chris Marker the filmmaker. And Chris Marker the man, for his reserved nature, his intensity, his originality and his uncanny ability to combine poetry and politics – with thought-provoking effects.

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