A Film by LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON

Director of Photography HIRO NARITA, ASC

Director of Photography/Virtual Sets BILL ZARCHY

Editor ROBERT DALVA

Starring TILDA SWINTON KAREN BLACK TIMOTHY LEARY

FRANCESCA FARIDANY JOHN PERRY BARLOW JOHN O'KEEFE J. D. WOLFE

Music by The Residents

Produced by LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON & HENRY S. ROSENTHAL

 "Conceiving Ada" focuses on the life and career of Ada Byron King, countess of Lovelace and daughter of Lord Byron, who is now credited with having written the first computer program and predicting the possibilities of artificial life and the digital revolution.

I shot the Victorian period scenes with actors on a blue screen stage with no physical sets, and we composited them live into photographic backgrounds from the 19th Century.

 

WORLD THEATRICAL PREMIERE

February 19, 1998 LUMIERE CINEMA, SAN FRANCISCO

February 26 CINEMA VILLAGE, NEW YORK

 

OTHER SHOWINGS

March 2 CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL, SAN JOSE

March 12 FACETS, CHICAGO

 

OFFICIAL SELECTION

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

 

"The most striking aspect of the film is its integration of conventional and digital photography. The latter elements are blended into the piece, punctuating the drama with odd, effective reminders of its scientific pursuit. The cutting-edge technology by Bill Zarchy is abetted by the handsome images created by vet cinematographer Hiro Narita." -- review by Leonard Klady in Variety

"I designed a new technical process that allowed still photographic images taken from Victorian Bed and Breakfast Inns in the Bay Area to be dynamically placed into live video. Actors could reference their location, dynamically, through a monitor that showed them their 'virtual' environment." -- Director Lynn Hershman

"The actors were then shot against a bluescreen with a Digital Betacam (later to be transferred to 35 mm) while six digital artists on set did live composites of performers and the pre-made background computer files... "Conceiving Ada" is one of the first features to have had substantial background compositing done live as opposed to in postproduction." -- American Cinematographer

"A film without category or precedent. A meditation on memory, feminism, immortality and the horizons of virtual reality" -- Edward Guthmann, SF Chronicle

"A mesmerizing mix of psychological drama, romance, science fantasy and period biography in a dazzling blend of mixes media styles" -- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

 Distributed by Fox Lorber Films & WinStar TV & Video