creative news for entrepreneurial artists
Hitchcock was not only a masterful director, he also knew quite a bit about marketing. His trailer for The Birds clocks in at a little over 5 minutes, features almost no footage from the film and relies on subtly and wit. It’s a stark contrast to the trailers of today, and it is amazing.
Watch the trailer right here, right now.
- chris
(via Coudal )
How do you make a great movie better? Add Muppets. In an homage to Pulp Fiction the crew at 416 Films decided to overlay Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppet crew onto some choice scenes from Tarantino’s masterwork.
What they’ve created is a truly unique and bizarre take on one of the most parodied movies of all time. Fortunately for them, Kermit makes a phenomenal Jon Travolata.
- chris
(via Ticklebooth)
Tonight we’re going to be heading to the theatrical premiere of Buddy: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Mayor. Buddy is a documentary chronicling the career of Buddy Cianci, the former mayor of Providence, Rhode Island who ended up in jail after a whirlwind of political corruption.
I’m pretty excited because this is the first film I’ve been a part of to have a theatrical release (albeit a small one). I worked on post production for Buddy over the course of three years. It’s a great film, so if you’re in the Rhode Island area, you should come and check it out. A list of screening times can be found on the official site and Movietickets.com.
And don’t worry, if you can’t make it to any of the screenings, the DVD will be coming out this summer — so you can watch my name scroll through the credits in the comfort of your own home.
- Chris
Looking to be inspired? Well sit yourself down and settle in for a serious Q&A lecture session with the great Walter Murch. Murch spoke during the 2003 BAFTA ceremonies about the craft of editing and his creative decision making.
Murch is going to cover the history of film editing in detail over the next 90 minutes, so you may need to get out your moleskine. Watch Part 1 and then Part 2.
If you still need more Murch be sure to check out our previous coverage.
- chris
Fast Film is easily one of the best short films I’ve ever seen. This incredible stop-motion short was animated using origami constructed from over 65,000 photocopied frames from over 300 films. If this sounds familiar that’s because Fast Film was directed by Virgil Widrich, the inventive director behind Copy Shop who we recently covered.
Widrich has some great background on the production of the film including stills of the origami when prepped for shooting. I’m blown away by the level of detail and planning that was put into every second of this picture.
It’s 13 minutes long, but worth every second. Settle in and watch it now!
- chris
Looking for an inexpensive way to transfer your video to film? All you need is an inkjet printer and some transparent 8mm or 16mm film. It’s not going to look pretty, but you’re going to get a great gritty version of your video that’s ready to be projected.
Check out the process here, as documented by Jesse England an artist whose work often bridges both film and video. Here are some examples of his results.
A different technique I saw in school was to shoot, cut and then project a video in High Def. Film the projection with a finely tuned 16mm camera and you’ll have your video in beautiful 16mm format.
- chris
(via BoingBoing)
Ever wondered what the most expensive domain names are? Well not to worry, GOOD Magazine has put together a great stop motion video covering the five most expensive domain names of all time. It’s quick, fun and worth your time.
GOOD is a brand new magazine that’s been doing a great job releasing original content to the web. This short video will likely become viral and help to spread the GOOD name.
GOOD has a unique business model, they donate 100% of subscription fees to charity and make all their money through advertising. For more, check out another GOOD video we’ve previously covered.
- chris
Crossing the Line is a new short film directed by Peter Jackson. The short takes place during WWI and premiered last weekend at NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters). It was shot using a prototype of the brand new camera, Red.
Red is essentially a hybrid of traditional film and high definition cameras. The word is that it’s set to change the indie scene dramatically because of it’s ultra low price, $17,000, and its high quality output. Check out this video at Apple.com to learn more about the camera.
It’s pretty unusual for a Hollywood director to release a short film, so Jackson must have been pretty impressed. In the near future Crossing the Line will be appearing in full on Red’s website, but for now you’ll have to watch this gorgeous 30 second excerpt (more download links here).
- chris
(via FreshDV)
Andrey Chezhin is a prolific Russian photographer. He captures ‘unnatural’ shots using natural techniques. Think lots of mirrors, dual exposures and clever angles. His results often look more like Escher paintings than photography.
When he isn’t behind the camera, Chezhin will often manipulate found photos. In one of his more profound series, he replaced the facial features of headshots found at photo-booths with hardware. His results speak to the loss of individual identity in an over saturated society.
Chezhin’s work can be seen all over the place.
- chris
(via Photobooth.net )
Want to direct the next Modest Mouse music video? Apple and Epic are running a competition to create the music video for Modest Mouse’s new single “Missed the Boat”.
Epic (Modest Mouse’s record label) is providing footage of the band jamming in front of green screens for you to cut, remix and intertwine with your own original content. The winning entry will apparently be used as the official video, making the rounds on all the major music networks.
This is a great opportunity for a motion-graphics master to show off their skills and get some stellar exposure. The competition page has all the footage, rules and regulations. Happy cutting!
- chris
(via NewTeeVee)
