hmmmm

A quick and dirty rough practice with some still footage from today. Did not clean up my edits at all so they're pretty rough right now. The background jumps between 2 of the middle frames by accident and the mermaid picture moves haha. Just checking out how its all gonna work. As usual I seem to be doing this the most complicated way possible, there has to be a easier way!

Filming my discovery today, woohoo. Hopefully I figure out this camera...

Discovering

I NEED to shoot my discovery this weekend. Currently seeking the inspiration to finish my storyboards and touch up my final ideas.

this song is sort of terrifying- but for some reason it works

That will work.

Philips Carousel

This is the Philips Carousel commercial directed by Adam Berg. It's all filmed in one shot, with the camera on a track and all the actors are real and stay still in their position until the camera roles past. Its pretty incredible when you watch it to think it is all one shot. Here is the how they made it video.

I worked on a similar video based off this one for the Calgary International Film Festivals YYC competition intro in 2009, but unfortunately I cannot find a copy of it anywhere. Sad.

Scream

Here is something I did last year for fun. I ended up using it for a project last term. 

Yup this is what I do at school

An analogous color scheme inspired photo for color theory class term 1. Had to walk home covered in mustard and ketchup but it was totally worth it.

Ketchup and mustard fights are always fun..

Mock Up

For my multimedia design course last term I had to choose a music video and design a mock up dvd menu for it, using the aesthetic, narrative and conceptual ideas within the video. I chose Sia's breathe me video 1. Because I love the song and 2. Because the video has a great visual concept to work off of. 

The video can be found here.


This was the final product

Some of the previous  unfinished attempts or research include:

and

Ain't nothing please me more than YOU

Words cannot be used to describe how good you feel when you hear this song

Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

At first when I started watching this video, I was a bit disappointed about the narrative/ happenings in the video because I was expecting something really great and out of this world like the song, but after watching it for a while I started to really admire the simplicity of it and the idea of people together doing things and sharing moments together . By the end i decided it fit the song beautifully. 

Banksy

BANKSY

Vincent

Here we look at one of director Tim Burtons first short films he created called Vincent. Its a very Tim Burton thing of him to do thats for sure. 

I like it. Again the look and feel is very Tim Burton, which I like obviously because I am a fan of the man.

14 Actors Acting

The New York times did a feature of 14 of 2010's most influential actors by creating 1-2 minute black and white short features. The shorts were directed by Solve Sundsbo and have no dialogue only dramatic music which was composed for each short by Owen Pallet. The 14 Actors include Natalie Portman, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Michael Douglas, Anthony Mackie, Noomi Rapace, Javier Bardem, Leslie Manville, Robert Duvall, Vincent Cassel, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chloe Moretz. Its ridiculous to assume that you will watch all of these if any, but don't fret, I have chosen my three favorites! Not to say that they all aren't entertaining!

James Franco

Javier Bardem

Vincent Cassel

Unmade Beds

This is a film directed by Alexis Dos Santos. I first saw it at the 2009 Calgary International Film Festival and have been in love with it ever since. Its weird because you watch it and love every second of it for no particular reason. Its got a great soundtrack from the indie bands of the UK and the characters are quirky and easy to like, not to mention great cinematography. 

Beautiful monster

Pans Labyrinth is definitely included in my collection of well loved films. The cinematography in the film is outstanding and earned an oscar in 2007 for cinematographer Guillermo Navarro's work. The overall feeling of the set and the characters is dark and filled with fantasy while almost making you believe that it is real.


But I have to say this fellow by far is the best part. He is terrifying but so freaking cool. Such a neat idea! And perhaps one of the most terrifying scenes in history.

Click here to see the five minute clip of this scene

zero gravity

Here is a video from behind the scenes of Inception. Christopher Nolan and Joseph Gordon- Levitt talk the zero gravity hallway sequence and show us how it was made possible.

Bite Me

Yes. I realize I am probably making a huge mistake by having my first post relating to vampires. About 95 percent of people will automatically navigate away from this page the second they see vampire talk and of the 5 percent that don't, well their probably just looking for Edward Cullen. Yes, I am a true blood fan, but you dont got to be a fan to appreciate this wicked True Blood title sequence! Seriously, if you haven't seen it check it out.

I realize that most people cant find the time of day to click on videos so here is a contact sheet with some screen shots.

This Title sequence was done by Digital Kitchen who are also responsible for the acclaimed Six Feet Under and Dexter sequences as well. [ I may have to post the dexter one as well, its just too good!]
The sequence is perfect. It captures all the elements of the show, the characters, plot, look and feel and almost leaves you feeling slightly unsettled by the end. The creators wanted to make a comparison between the plot of the show which features vampires as social outcast characters and real life relatable racial and social outcasts of america. Another major theme is the act of being reborn. The sequence features flashes of images representing this throughout like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar or the baptism near the end. I think that by using images and ideas that don't directly relate to the content of the film but allude to the main ideas was an effective way of drawing in an audience that may not be interested in the content of the show to begin with. I especially love the way that they juxtapose the concepts of sex, violence and religion together, and what better way to than to show a kid in a KKK hat, entangled naked bodies and bar fights all entwined in one perfect little package. Brilliant. We are also presented with the idea of hunter vs hunted  with the snake ready to attack and frog getting eaten by a plant and most of the scenes feeling like they are from the POV of a predator stalking its prey. And who doesn't love the kid with smudged strawberries all over his face which totally looks like blood. Come on!


Aesthetically I think the beauty of this sequence is the format in which it was filmed and edited. Besides the fact that the captured footage itself is interesting to watch, the fact of the matter is the footage is shot on all kinds of different medias. It ranges from home video dv cams to old school super 8 film to 16 mm to HD.  Impressive stuff, and they also approached it as a experimental project, where they went on a four day filming rampage with very little pre-story boarded and very little frames considered before hand. As if that wasn't enough the editing techniques range from splattering single frames of blood drops throughout the sequence, almost not to be seen, to dropping out frames of movement to make them feel jarring and out of control, causing the viewer to feel slightly uneasy. I think this vivid title sequence is extremely effective in capturing the mood, setting the tone for the show and covering most of the overall concepts within the show. And it is just straight up pleasing to watch. props to the people at digital kitchen!

- I am currently in need of an idea for my Discovery project. Perhaps playing around with dropping frames like in this video could be fun... hmmmmmm. I'll ponder that.