Filmmakers Collaborative

12/03/2025

"...When Wirecutter conducted an investigation into the tracking habits of modern smart devices, we (and our readers) were alarmed by how much data collection smart TVs engaged in. Considering that almost every TV is smart these days, there’s almost no avoiding it unless you turn it off in your specific TV.

Here’s what you need to know."

Smart TVs can track and catalog everything you watch. Here’s what you need to know — and how to turn off the function.

12/02/2025

"...This is, unfortunately, not the first time this has happened when a classic series has changed platforms and/or formats. Most shows that originated in the 20th century were filmed in standard definition, in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio. Putting the images into a higher resolution, and then reframing them for widescreen television, has created similar problems."

The errors in one of the most beautiful shows ever made continue a modern tradition of reformatting things that are better off left alone.

12/02/2025

Haven’t listened to our most recent episode yet?

🎙️ In this clip, director Daniel Masciari shares how he and cinematographer Jackson Jarvis brought the cold, textured world of Stationed at Home to life—by stripping it down to light, shadow, and imagination. Stationed At Home

🌌 Set on a wintry Christmas Eve and filmed entirely at night, the film’s black-and-white aesthetic invites viewers to dream deeper and connect more intimately with its strange, beautiful characters.

🎧 Full episode out now: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/daniel-masciari-makes-film-directing-debut-with-stationed-at-home/

12/02/2025

"...'The Merchants of Joy' (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) follows New York City’s five big families – of Christmas tree sales.

Inspired by a 2022 Epic magazine and New York magazine feature titled ‘Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade,’ Celia Aniskovich’s documentary details the ins and outs and comings and goings of the lovably no-nonsense eccentrics who set up corner Christmas tree pop-ups throughout the biggest city in America – and if Charlie Brown once railed poignantly against the commercialization of the holiday, he might want to watch this movie, which shows us a sweeter side of Xmas capitalism."

The film follows five family businesses setting up shop on streetcorners every year.

12/01/2025

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW

🎙️ In this episode of Making Media Now, director Daniel Masciari joins host Michael Azevedo to talk about his debut feature film Stationed at Home—a tender, offbeat story set on a freezing Christmas Eve in 1998. Stationed At Home

🚕 As the hours tick by, a taxi driver dreams of catching a glimpse of the International Space Station—until a string of strange passengers takes him on an unexpected journey through his small, forgotten city.

🎬 Masciari’s path from filming childhood friends to making his first feature is just as inspiring as the story he tells on screen. With warmth, humor, and heart, Stationed at Home reminds us how meaningful connection can come from the most unlikely places.

🎧 Tune in to hear the story behind the film: https://fcmakingmedia.podbean.com/e/daniel-masciari-makes-film-directing-debut-with-stationed-at-home/

12/01/2025

Shortly after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Lou Bopp, a commercial photographer from St. Louis, got a call from an old friend, longtime CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, asking if he’d like to join him on a unique assignment.

They would be photographing the bedrooms of Parkland victims just as the teens had left them, down to the indentations their bodies had left on the sheets in their beds.

Over the ensuing eight years, Bopp and Hartman visited the bedrooms of eight victims of school shootings, not just in Parkland, but also in Saugus, California; Uvalde, Texas; and Newtown, Connecticut.

The project is now the subject of a documentary, “All the Empty Rooms,” directed by Joshua Seftel and premiering on Netflix December 1.

In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.Watc...

11/30/2025

"...The erasure of the Black cowboy from the American mythos sounds frivolous until you give it a second’s thought and realize that if cowboys are integral to the American mythos and Black cowboys have been erased from that cultural tapestry, it’s tantamount to nothing less than erasing the Black experience from the American experience.

This quick and easy journey from micro to macro, from seemingly inconsequential to objectively integral, is at the heart of Peacock‘s new docuseries, High Horse: The Black Cowboy.

Directed by Jason Perez and featuring Jordan Peele among its producers and talking heads, High Horse makes a smart argument in easily digestible form, though at three episodes of barely over 40 minutes apiece, it could stand to be significantly more rigorous."

Jason Perez directed the three-parter that covers Bass Reeves, 'Cowboy Carter,' Manifest Destiny and more.

11/29/2025

"...Robinson’s work can be intense and disturbing to watch. His characters are often beyond belligerent, and the cinematography can resemble horror films or true-crime dramas.

Still, he’s cultivated a dedicated following, as evidenced by his apparent box-office pull and by the proliferation of Robinson-related memes over the years: Even those who haven’t seen a minute of his work have probably become familiar with his face via images of him, say, dressed as a hot dog or furiously pointing at the camera.

His latest show, HBO’s The Chair Company, is the clearest distillation yet of what makes Robinson so compelling as a performer."

Tim Robinson has figured out how to make abrasive men sympathetic.

11/28/2025

"...For 53 years, Na**lm Girl was credited to Huynh Cong 'Nick' Út, a then-21-year-old South Vietnamese photojournalist working for the Associated Press in Saigon.

But a controversial new documentary on Netflix argues that the iconic photograph long considered the pinnacle of war journalism – one which brought Út a Pulitzer prize, amid other international acclaim – was actually taken by a different man on the scene in Trảng Bàng that day."

A controversial Netflix documentary follows an investigation into the truth behind one of the most important wartime photos ever taken

11/27/2025

"...Ms. Prior Fentress, 53, is a location agent who is responsible for scouting and booking people’s homes and property for fashion, commercial television and film shoots. She had tried to book the Upper East Side penthouse for over a year, and it had been considered a dozen times, until finally the Tiffany campaign deemed it a perfect fit.

A former child actress from Westchester, Ms. Prior Fentress worked in television — as the assistant to the head writer on 'Saturday Night Live' and as a producer for MTV, among other roles — before starting her own business Priority One Productions in 2022 as a way to stay in television while making time for her family..."

The former television producer Wendy Prior Fentress finds the most important background characters for films and shows.

11/26/2025

The last few episodes of Making Media Now featured conversations with documentary filmmakers about the profoundly serious topics that are explored in their films: the decline of print journalism, addiction recovery, and PTSD.

👉 We lighten things up a bit on the latest episode with a conversation with Daniel Masciari, writer and director of Stationed At Home, his feature debut now available via video-on-demand.

👉 Check out this really fun conversation about his creative process, the allure of black & white film, and artistic influences.

👉 And look for Daniel's delightful film, it's perfect for kicking off the holiday season!

11/26/2025

Dave Wiskus, founder and CEO of streaming service Nebula, joined PBS' Firing Line to discuss the rise of the creator economy, how the rapidly growing industry is changing the traditional media ecosystem, and what it means for entertainment, content moderation, and politics.

Dave Wiskus, founder and CEO of streaming service Nebula, discusses the rise of the creator economy.