The tagline for Making Of, a web site about the behind-the-scenes of filmmaking created by Christine Aylward and actress Natalie Portman, is “Front Row. Behind the Scenes.” This should have been my first warning. After all, aren’t those two totally different locations?
Launched last week at the Tribeca Film Festival, Making Of is like one big compilation of DVD featurettes, some of which are tied to upcoming or recent releases, some of which are more general in scope. As the Token Celebrity Name-Dropped All Over the Press Release, Natalie Portman is front and center with two lengthy interviews about her process as an actor and her process as a director. Insights include the fact that a 1st AD is important to a film set and that she’d always wanted to act — and frankly that’s about as interesting as either get. (The bare-bones editing and production of these interviews doesn’t do her any favors.)
Portman isn’t the only one who disappoints. Michel Gondry is nearly incomprehensible in his ramblings, and while Marc Forster has some interesting insights on how he filmed a particular action sequence from Quantum of Solace, there’s not much there for the independent filmmaker to engage with. Most of the interviews trigger a mental “tl;dr” response, which is never good.
The site has a clean layout that’s fun to explore, and there are some hidden gems. The upcoming blacksploitation parody Black Dynamite gets great coverage, including a clip from the film and some genuinely interesting interviews that detail the film’s genesis.
It’s also one of the site’s few attempts at embracing diversity — otherwise, there’s a pretty heavy emphasis on white males. Perhaps that’s a realistic depiction of current Hollywood, but there could have still been more effort made to bring in different voices, such as those coming from the indie film world.
And by keeping focused on those voices, which speak of ways to break into this this industry, Making Of might be able to harness the DIY spirit that made the independent film movement so vibrant in the 1990s. I again return to the slogan: “Front Row. Behind the Scenes.” Is it meant to imply that site visitors are getting a front row seat behind the scenes? Because a site targeting aspiring filmmakers shouldn’t be encouraging them to sit down. It should be pushing them to stand up — and make something.
