The Short Films Blog

The 2012 Short Film Oscar Nominees

2012-01-24T11:27:00.001-05:00

Here are the 2012 nominees for the short film Academy Awards. We will attempt to provide reviews for them this year as they become available for viewing:

from Raju

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS

Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzo

ANIMATED SHORT FILMS

from The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

From The Barber of Birmingham

Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna, Enrico Cararosa
A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life, Amanda Forbia and Wendy Tilby

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

The Barber of Brimingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, RobinFryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Quintessentials: We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris

2011-12-12T05:18:00.002-05:00

Rihanna
We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris, 2011
Melina Matsoukas

The most important thing, in my opinion, when viewing any type of art is the emotional response that it creates with the viewer. In terms of this Rihanna's "We Found love", I do not find myself incredibly attached to the lyrics but more so the idea that is portrayed in the video. Being a huge fan of electronic music, Calvin Harris is notable for his lyrics and the emotionality of his songs. This music video juxtaposes two things: drugs and love. Both of these things I am very familiar with especially the ones involved in the video. What is portrayed in the video is "rolling" or the use of molly or ecstasy; this is illustrated with the giant dilated pupil and seemingly inexplicable urge for everyone to dance. When on such drugs, it is very easy to develop feelings of closeness with others very quickly and apparently no reason. I believe that is what is happening in this video. The two fall in love because of their drug use and quickly realize that their relationship is not even real when they are sober.

This idea of "falling in love on drugs", is not something I have ever personally experienced but something I have seen several of my friends experience. Perhaps its their personalities or their own loneliness that causes them to create false relationships with people. In one particular instance, my friend and I were attending a three day music festival called "Bonnaroo" in which there is quite a bit of drug abuse over the three day span. On the first day, my friend, while under the influence, found himself "falling in love" with a girl we had met. By the end of the weekend he had convinced himself that they were in love and that he had never had feelings like that before. Following the festival, the girl made it clear that she did not feel the same way. My friend was crushed. I believe the same thing is happening in this video. The drugs create somewhat of an alternate universe for the user in which things are to good to be true. Often they are.

Though I agree with the original posting on the cinematographic value of this video, being emotionally connected to the events in the video make it that much more powerful for me. Yes, I understand its a Rihanna video and that according to society I shouldn't like it, but well drugs are crazy.

Quintessentials -- Thriller

2011-12-10T17:02:00.001-05:00

Michael Jackson

"Thriller"

1983

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&ob=av3n

This was my first time ever watching the “Thriller” musicvideo. I will start off by saying that1983 Michael Jackson is super creepy; perhaps even more so than NeverlandMichael Jackson. I don’t think that manymusic videos qualify as short films, but this one certainly does in mybook. Morgan outlines the reasons why:there is a narrative and storyline that the viewer can follow, which is why Iconsider it a short film.

On the other hand, many other much videos don’t meet thatsame criteria. There may be a generalstory told that matches the words of the song, but not enough that warrants themusic video receiving the label of short film. Most music videos are jumpy, sporadic, and cut back-and-forth betweenthe band members and other characters acting out the story. A storyline is often created to match thelyrics but doesn’t make sense (think Taylor Swift). That is why I don’t consider many musicvideos to be short films.

In the case of “Thriller,” all of the elements of a shortfilm are there for me.

Quintessentials: We Were Once A Fairytale

2011-12-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

Directed by Spike Jonze, USA

What you need to know: Kanye West is at a club. He's surrounded by adoring, arguably begrudging, "fans" (loose term). He's drunk. He sounds like the cartoon of himself. In the previous post Emily quotes, '"It's my song!" he tells a pair of unimpressed women. "I made all the notes!" Proclamations like these play off the stereotype of West as a puerile, out of control egomaniac. It would seem West is in on the joke, and the tension the self-consciousness creates is a great example of star power importing extra meaning to a film. West's celebrity makes the film something of an inside joke we all feel privy to." In the end West ends up alone, in some sort of dark, twisted, fantasy (album title, I think). It would behoove the audience to view the film at this point.

Fantasy-

I've been stewing over the details of this film all morning. How shall I approach the icon, the ego, the narcissist himself? The beginning of the film plays out to me as fantasy; a very master- slave dynamic or daddy- son, whichever you prefer. West like a dom top. His adoring fans sub bottoms. All of which, seemingly, taking a turn in the circle jerk of his ego. What's worse, his own song is playing in the background. Jonze roots us in the fantasy - this is what it's like to be Kanye West. Or is it? I think it's important to take note of the joke. However, unlike Emily who says, "It would seem West is in on the joke" I'd argue that the joke is on West. I'd be a liar if I didn't say that he makes fantasy look good. To be Kanye for five minutes might fill the coffers of ones ego for years.

Dark-

In the case of West, dark is not dichotomous. It's not so black and white. West actually appears to be in a dark place emotionally. He pummels the audience with his ego. It's a relentless repetition that gets old quick. Throughout the entire film his ego only isolates him from others. People are unsure of how to approach him. He's unsure of how to approach people. He dances alone. In his darkness he's consoled by a woman that he has sex with (an exercise of his ego, further isolating himself), but ultimately he ends up alone. Jonze takes the audience on a ride to a deep dark place that West occupies in an expensive tuxedo jacket and trademark sneakers.

Twisted-

This is where Jonze gives birth to the films metaphor. A drunk, sick West spews pink goo. It's a spectacle and again, he's alone. Out comes something less of a gremlin, something smaller, but with equal parts hair and animation. My interpretation is that this monster represents the monster (West's ego) living inside of West. In a standoff, West acknowledges his dark passenger (thank you, Dexter) and the monster kills himself. The end of West? An end to West's cartoon-like, oversized ego? I doubt it. Just a lot of melodrama and a fascinating short film experience in the way of the id, the ego, and superego (Dark, Twisted, Fantasy) from the brilliant Spike Jonze.

The Quintessentials- She Was The One

2011-12-09T11:02:00.005-05:00

She Was The One
Directed by: The Rauch Brothers, USA, 2011.
Source: StoryCorps on YouTube

Ever since I saw this video that Kate posted on the blog a couple months ago, I continue to find myself thinking about it from time to time. The cartoon tells the true story of the relationship between Richie and Karen. In Richie's voice we can hear the raw emotion in every second of the video. From him telling us all about how Karen changed his life for the better to the painful details of how he lost her in the September 11th attacks.

As Kate points out, the animated style of the short really does contrast with the emotional and heavy story. Which actually turned out to be a huge reason why I loved the short so much. Since by this point, we have all seen hundreds of videos and heard the millions of stories of that fateful day and I think this short does a wonderful job of setting itself apart from the rest. While we could've seen the montage of pictures set to Richie's voice with the sad music playing in the background, the lighthearted animation brings a different layer to the sad story and causes it to stand out in our minds. Kate also mentioned that there were parts that reminded her of an old Scooby-Doo cartoon and I think that's the exact light-hearted style the short was trying to accomplish and did quiet well.

Kate also originally posted that the film had a total of 92,718 views on YouTube and when I looked that number had jumped to 408,744 views. For the amount of content that is out there about September 11th, I think this short has really made an impressive impact and gained a lot of buzz for being just under 3 minutes long. With it's simple style but powerful message, this short remains very dear to my heart and I am so glad Kate shared it at the beginning of the year.

The Quintessentials: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

2011-12-08T22:26:00.001-05:00

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here (Version 2)
Directed by Marc Webb, United States, 2009, 4 Minutes.
Source: YouTube
Originally Posted by Haley Schattner (http://shortfilmsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/she-and-hims-why-do-you-let-me-stay.html#links)

This is a story about a boy and a girl. They dance in banks.

Haley's original post tries very hard to add some narrative, character interpretation, and purpose to this music video (Is this technically a music video? A promo bit for 500 Days of Summer? Both?) And I say there is nothing here. It is Joseph Gordon-Levitt being his same old dapper self and the always stunning Zooey Deschanel just being a little hipster temptress and shaking her hips. It is an obvious throwback to the 50s musical, and falls in line with JGL's obsession with being the next Fred Astaire or Donald O'Connor around this time (See his opening monologue when he hosted Saturday Night Live.) It's shot very wide, with very few cuts, allowing the actors to show off their moves. It's set design is even 50s, incorporating existing, old school LA architecture from the 30s that still rests in its downtown district (This, too, is an incorporated aspect to 500 Days of Summer.)

I'll lead the topic into this: This isn't a short film. This is a set piece; something to grab your attention. Just because it meets the time parameters of a short film, or has an "ending" (he successfully robs the banks in the final 5 seconds, no questions asked.) This is a test in style from director Marc Webb. Unless we're just going to go back to the basic definition of a short film, which in the U.S. is any moving image under, what, 45 minutes? 60?

We talked in class about Chapter 2 of Inglourious Basterds; the scene introducing the basterds. Many in class argued it was a short film, and I argued otherwise. Something that can simply stand by itself and be short does not qualify it as a short film. No one goes to the theatre to watch the first act of Glengarry Glen Ross, and if they were to only see that, they'd then think it was a A Death of a Salesman all over again--a statement on the plight of the everyday salesman--and not a story that turns into a mystery. As filmmakers, critics, historians, or audiences, we have to be critical of this difference between the arc of a scene, and the beginning, middle, and end of an actual story.

The Quintissentials: Bugcrush

2011-12-08T21:36:00.002-05:00

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9ganr_bugcrush-part-3_shortfilms
Bugcrush

Directed by Carter Smith

Jury Selection Winner - Sundance Film Festival 2006
(originally posted by Tyler Christiansen)

As I was perusing the wonderful world of instant netflix awhile ago, I happen across this short in the midst of one the 'Boys Life' compilations. I was astounded. I chose this film because my favorite aspect of film (feature and short alike) is cinematography, and I think this film does brilliantly in that respect. As the main character walks back to the barn in the last part of the film, the dark shadows and moments of blackness spell foreboding. The slow paced shots between the main character and his love interest build the tension and the fear, and the audience knows something is going to happen and waits anxiously. The green ambiance of the background and the tall dark spaces in the intimate shots of the boys faced show us their trepidation, and desire. As the scene begins to go south for the main character the fractured unevenly paced shots of his face show us the 'trippy' experience he is having and he simultaneous relaxation and fear. During the rape ( I think so?) scene, the violence isn't explicit but certainly present. By simply implying the rape with the jangled shots of the creepy crawlers we can sense the main characters confusion and lapsing consciousness. The films abrupt end does nothing to end the tension, and leaves the viewer frustrated but fascinated. Overall the pacing and the shots combine to display a disturbing and chillingly eerie scene, while still showing the main characters emotions throughout.

This film was so interesting to watch because it built the tension so effectively. The innocent beginning to the sinister the viewer can see the main character is walking into a trap, but we see how the trap is so strangely enticing that the film is gripping and raises the hairs on the back of your neck.

Quintessentials: Terry Tate Office Linebacker

2011-12-08T17:30:00.003-05:00

Terry Tate Office Linebacker

Dir. Rawson Marshall Thurber

United States, 2003, 3 Minutes

Throughout the course of the semester, our class has continually attempted to try and define what is and isn’t and short film. And although it can generally be stated that MOST youtube videos are not shorts, and MOST TV shows are not shorts, and MOST music videos are not necessarily short films (although this one is a little tougher), commercials like Terry Tate Office Linebacker are what make these sweeping generalizations a very subjective and partially inaccurate statements.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, the Reebok commercial documents in mockumentary style the hiring of an office ‘enforcer’ named Terry Tate (an enormous ex-NFL linebacker played by Lester Speight) to increase productivity and eliminate minor problems. Throughout the short, Tate roams the office, solving stereotypical office problems, including drinking the last coffee from the coffee pot, taking too long on breaks, not recycling, etc. He acclimates to the office environment, making office friends, and giving presentations during meetings. Although the commercial doesn’t necessarily provide anything but a snapshot of this strange office reality (the classic short film ‘slice of life formula’), the short is not only a fantastic advertisement, but it served as a precursor for the rise of the hilarious digital short.

The commercials greatest strength lies in the hilarious juxtaposition between football culture and office life, and what happens when those two worlds collide. Terry Tate’s stereotypical football machismo takes the oblivious office (for lack of a better term) douche bags to task, tackling pen-stealers, intimidating wrong-doers, and hurtling obscenities and his victims. Thurber, who also directed the 2004 comedy Dodgeball, expertly inserts the Reebok logo onto the powerful Tate, but leaves out any other unnecessary pandering and advertising that would distract/detract from the short. And like any successful film, Terry Tate is a brilliant and well rounded character who grows to become a part of the office lifestyle. An actual wide range of his emotions are explored in a little more than three minutes, which draws the audience in and helps us easily root for him.

A brilliant commercial, and ultimately one of the reasons why the lines between mediums can be blended and extremely subjective.

Quintessentials: Best Coast 'Our Deal'

2011-12-08T15:33:00.003-05:00

Best Coast - 'Our Deal' (Extended Version) - Directed By Drew Barrymore - Music - More Music Videos

Crazy For You

Dir. Drew Barrymore

United States, 2011 11 Minutes

The announcement of a Drew Barrymore-directed Best Coast video was greeted by the ‘greater indie blogosphere’ (or whatever) with sigh-inducing speculation and, in some cases, outright disgust. Bands such as Best Coast (who have oftentimes started out as blog-darlings and, upon receiving greater popularity, been rejected by trendier ‘authentic’ types), can come under more criticism than may be necessary simply because their image has become more co-opted by the more ‘mainstream audiences.’ That being said, they certainly aren’t helping themselves here with the extended cut of the video for the song ‘Our Deal’ (originally posted by Haley Schattner).

In a strange take on West Side Story (not really Romeo and Juliet; there’s a lot of references to ‘rumbling’), Chloe Moretz appropriately of 500 Days of Summer plays the ‘Juliet’ (Veronica) from the Night Creepers gang; Tyler Posey plays Romeo (Lucky) from the Day Trotters. The two gangs duke it out in typical Romeo & Juliet fashion, this time with strange up-dos and tacky denim jackets in an LA aqueduct. Predictably, the blossoming romance between Victoria and Lucky goes terribly wrong when he refuses to run away with her. And during the ensuing gang war, he attempts to hug her and she punches him over the side of the aqueduct, killing him. The end.

There are several glaringly obvious flaws with the video. Admittedly, it’s clear who the target demographic for the ‘Crazy For You’ short is, and I am not it. However, the cuteso dialogue that all takes place via middle-school-esque notes on scrawled on hands, when combined with the pseudo-dramatic acting and a playfully stereotypical cinematic style comes off much less as genre-bending and far more as genre-confused. And while only a minor annoyance, the casting of sensitive-teen-friendly actress Moretz and sensitive-teen-friendly rapper/actor Childish Gambino/Donald Glover comes off as gimmicky and manipulative. ‘Crazy For You’ is a strange hybrid of West Side Story, Grease, and the Step-Up movie franchise, featuring stylized dance-fighting, greaser-haircuts, and poor overdramatic acting that begs the question: how much of this is meant to be taken seriously?

Finally, the music rarely fits the mood or atmosphere of the video. I understand where the regular cut of the video is supposed to end, but even at that point it comes off as forced, as if it were simply an excuse for Barrymore to make this bizarre adaptation of West Side Story.

‘When I’m With You’ was a fairly perfect Best Coast video. The colors were grainy and over-saturated, the cuts were lazy and slow, there were the appropriate doses of California homages and sunshine, and it appropriately utilized Bethany Cosentino’s charm. And while I hate to be a music fan who disassociates a band not only because of a decline in the music (Best Coast’s debut was admittedly good but bland), but because of public image, I can’t help but wonder if Best Coast has begun to dig it’s own grave and embrace a demographic with the attention span and memory the size of a pin.

Quintessential: Prop 8 - The Musical

2011-12-08T13:09:00.002-05:00

PROP 8: THE MUSICAL

Directed by: Adam Shankman

United States, 3 minutes

Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition that eliminated rights for gay couples to marry. It passed in 2008 and was a personal event for me which I think skews my viewing of this video (in a positive way). I remember protesting in my town for people to vote No and getting bumper stickers for my car, etc etc. I couldn't vote at the time but I was doing all that I could in order to encourage people to read more about the Proposition and think about the vote. Gay rights are something that I've always been passionate about and I remember when I first saw this musical, I was amused by it but it also had this underlying tone of sadness, especially once the Proposition passed.

The musical makes a lot of sense for me. As much as this musical is about Proposition 8, I always found its religious message to be one of the most interesting aspects of the video. As an Atheist, I find its blatant calling out of hypocrisy and hyperbolic tendencies rather refreshing.

However, this short really is driven by its stars. It is one of the most star-studded internet-based videos out there. One of the most interesting theories I think this video speaks about is the Liberal Hollywood. There's a lot of generalization that Hollywood is full of liberals and people who live these fanciful lives doing scandalous and liberal things. To an extent this may be true as every star in this musical consciously knows what the musical is expressing and the point it's getting across. Not to mention speaking of who stars are and what their personal lives mean once they're on screen. The director of this musical, Adam Shankman, is openly gay, as is Neil Patrick Harris who appears near the end of the musical.

Allison Janney's role in the video is rather enlightening for West Wing fans when you realize the musical recalls a specific scene from the show where Jed Bartlet calls out some of the language in the Bible.

Besides some of the names that are openly gay, you have stars like Rashida Jones who's known for philanthropic work and Maya Rudolph who's gotten her name known in the world of comedy. As someone who agrees entirely with what the musical is trying to express, its politics are very clear to me and therefore a little less interesting than what the stars mean in the context of the film. I think that's a really fascinating subject to discuss in regards to this video.

Quintessentials: Hotel Chevalier

2011-12-08T01:17:00.003-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0Z4Vzw0yo8I
Hotel Chevalier, 2007, 13 minutes
Directed by Wes Anderson

Hotel Chevalier depicts Jason Schwartzman's character obviously still not over his ex-girlfriend, played by Natalie Portman. She insists on visiting him in the hotel, which does not help his attempt at getting over her.

I had heard about this short awhile ago, but I only just saw it at the end of Summer. I love Anderson's features, and I thought this short captured the character's emotions much like his other features do. I thought the colors of the sets made the short aesthetically pleasing to the audience, and made me appreciate the detail that went into creating the set. I thought the chemistry between Schwartzman and Portman was believable and they did a great job acting in this short. (If only I'd known about the iTunes free download!)

As Kelly predicted about other viewers, I, too, was interested in watching this mainly because I was on a Natalie Portman binge and was attempting to watch her filmography. While this film was posted during the Potpourri week, I think it would've worked as a film for the week on star-driven shorts. It's true, most people do want to watch this either because they love Anderson, Portman, Schwartzman, or all three. (I'm assuming if you like Anderson you're probably used to seeing Schwartzman's face.)

Earlier in this post I mentioned the set. To me, I don't think the class has really focused on the aesthetics of the shorts we've looked at very much. While the acting, cinematography, etc. of a short are important. I find it very interesting to look at the tiny details within a movie's atmosphere. Granted, we don't have all the time in the world to examine things that most viewers would miss, I think looking at set design is also important in getting something from a film.

The Quintessentials: THE CRUSH

2011-12-07T22:51:00.003-05:00

THE CRUSH

Directed and written by Michael Creagh

Ireland, 2010, 15 minutes

"The Crush" is a short about an elementary school (or "primm'ry school lad," as this is an Irish film) boy named Ardal who has a crush on his teacher. He buys her a ring, which she accepts, patronizing him kindly enough that he doesn't realize it. Later, we discover that Ardal's teacher has become engaged to her boyfriend who is something of a deadbeat who mistreats her (or at least doesn't treat her as well as Ardal thinks he could). Ardal pulls a gun on him and lets the teacher see her fiance's true colors, at which point the teacher thanks Ardal and Ardal decides he is over his crush.

Like Anastasia, who wrote the original post for "The Crush" on September 7, I first saw the film as part of a collection of Oscar nominated shorts at the E Street Cinema. I liked it at the time because I wasn't too impressed with the other four shorts. I liked two but disliked the others; this short was sandwiched between the two that I didn't like, and anything with some charm was going to win me over in that context. If you don't believe in the power of a well thought out curated sequence, watch shorts you've seen in a festival setting on their own.

I don't like it as much this time because the short is too invested in me agreeing with Ardal. I can't-- he pulls a real-looking weapon on a man because he doesn't deem him worthy of dating Ardal's teacher. And the teacher loves him for it. The short endorses Ardal. In this class we've watched one or two movies where the protagonist engages in questionable activities (i.e. Talk To Her), but the movie doesn't endorse the protagonist. In "The Crush," I can't help but feel like I'm being manipulated into liking it's young, psychopathic center, and for that reason I'm hesitant to like it.

The Quintessentials - Meshes of the Afternoon

2011-12-07T17:20:00.003-05:00

Meshes of the Afternoon. Maya Dern and Alexander Hammil.

USA. 13:30. 1943.

Meshes of the Afternoon is a formative experimental short film directed by husband/wife duo Maya Deren and Alexander Hammil. The plot vaguely follows the meanderings of a woman and splices shots of her with recurring thematic motifs- a loaf of bread, a flower, a key, and a hooded figure with a mirror where his face should be all make regular appearances. This all creates a feeling, as the title strongly suggests, of dreamy, hazy suggestion. The surreal quality of the images is enhanced by a stark and haunting soundtrack of what sounds like traditional Japanese music.

The film's obsessive focus on its woman protaganist in tandem with its surreal repeating imagery is obviously suggestive of a psychologically dense dream. Countless interpretations can be read here. Perhaps the falling flower is meant to symbolize the woman's perceived loss of agency of her sexual identity as a woman? Perhaps it's meant to symbolize her fear of aging? Death? If it does indeed symbolize death, then that idea is certainly bolstered by the presence of the mirrored grim reaper figure. What seems important here too is the fact that the images can be read so many ways. Their very vagueness seems to be central to the film, and allows it to defy a simply reading, choosing instead to favor something just a bit more mysterious.

Quintessentials: The Cat Piano

2011-12-06T15:35:00.002-05:00

Quintessentials: The Cat Piano

Directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson, Australia, 2009, 8 minutes.

Source: Vimeo

Just as a quick recap, The Cat Piano follows a beat poet in a city of singing cats. However, a darkness falls over the city as the city’s best singing cats are catnapped to be used in a cat piano. This musical instrument tortures the cats to make them scream certain notes and as the main character discovers this horrendous machine, he gathers an army. The army subsequently attacks the machine and the human operating it to free their fellow cats.

This short which was originally posted here by Marco Zamora discussed how this award winning short uses blank dark space and limited colors to emphasize different points and to set the mood tones throughout the movie. As video editor, I completely fell in love with this short the moment I saw it because of it’s amazing use of color to emphasize a already amazing story. The best example of this emphasis is the use of the color blue throughout the entire movie. The beat poet, who is the main character throughout the story, narrates the story through a poem. However, by making almost anything blue not only to you instantly give the viewer a much more relaxed feeling but it allows the animators to focus on important objects by simply changing the color of it. This can be seen as the female cat who the beat poet is interested in is white and stands out and draws attention to her.

Also, the use of green to show the beat poet when he is sick after he learns about the cat piano and finally the red overtone to express the anger towards the piano. Simply put, color allows for the narrator to continue his poet and to emphasize his slight changes in narration to fully express the mood.

However, the only thing that I did not like about this short film is this fat cat who is colored white. Simply put, when I watch the film, it distracted me and suggested to me that he was of some importance when really he isn’t. If he had just been some light blue I think that more emphasis would be geared toward the pure white songstress. But this doesn’t change my opinion that this is a very well put together short that deserves all of the awards that it has won.

Quintessentials: The Millionaire

2011-12-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

The Millionaire

Directed by V. Bordzilovski, Soviet Union, 1963, 10 minutes 18 seconds

Original post

The original post on this short discusses the film within the context of the Soviet Union and addresses it as a piece of anti-Capitalist propaganda. I think that for the purpose of this class, I think it would be much more interesting to look at this film within a group of self-aware and sophisticated animated short films. Every classic animated short we studied this semester had a very adult twist- from the very obviously politically charged "Private Snafu" to even "Duck Amuck", which has meta undertones and can even function as an experimental short.

This film captures the spirit of these politically and self aware animations that challenge the assumption that animations are simply for kids or that "cartoons" do not have artistic/historical/cultural value. "The Millionaire" has a definite style which might be enjoyable to children but a message that would only be truly meaningful to adults and is only fully understood with a knowledge of the political climate of the time. This film fits within a tradition of animations with an edge and more importantly, with a purpose, that helped to shape the world of short films.

Quintessential: "ARE YOU THE FAVORITE PERSON OF ANYBODY"

2011-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody
Directed by Miguel Arteta,Written by Miranda July USA, 4 minutes
Original Link to this post is Here

This film is a about a man (John C. Reilly) who is standing on the street waiting for people to walk by. He is not an innocent bystander, but a man geared with paper and pencil and looking for answers in life--in this case, specifically the answers to the question "Are you anybody's favorite person?" Though we are given little character development as far as why the man is standing on the street waiting for strangers to walk by and take his survey, we learn a lot about the man's personality through his reactions to people's responses.

We are introduced to three strangers, each different in both their sex, race, and comprehension of the question. The first stranger is a woman (the film's writer, Miranda July). She hesitates to answer the question, but due to vanity, she immediately finds an answer when she gazes at the man's mildly judging look. The second stranger to walk past is a man (Mike White), who, when bombarded by the question, answers immediately with a 'no'. After further questioning, the male stranger holds firmly to his beliefs that no one considers him their favorite person and, in return, receives three oranges from Reilly's character. It is at this point that we learn more about Reilly's character--that he has a wife, owns three fertile orange trees, and that he is sympathetic towards others. The third and final stranger to pass by is an immigrant man (Chuy Chavez) who does not have any interest in taking the survey, believing it to be a political vote. This passing character is important to the story line because he questions Reilly's character's existence. As Reilly's character tries to explain to the man that it is not an election vote, he exclaims, "No, that's not what it is about", to which the stranger replies "Yeah, but I don't want to be involved with this, sorry". What is this film about? And should we as viewers be involved? The film successfully makes us want to answer the man's question. Does someone favor me above all others?

I think the setting of this film is very important to the story. As Tyler mentions in his original post, this film is "an experiment in psychology", as the question the man poses is not an everyday question and might be right up there with "Why are we here?" That said, the street is an interesting location for the man to choose as his questioning location. Besides for the three strangers we meet, the street is empty and can be compared to a black hole. When we are introduced to Reilly's character, we see the street in the direction left of him, where all of the strangers enter from. We never see the direction the characters take, and the film just ends with the Reilly's character looking down the street in the direction the strangers head after they answer or block his questions. In many ways, the man's question is impossible to answer, and by not showing the street, we do not know where the characters are coming from or going to, just that they exist.

Although this film amazingly tells a story just by the responses of individuals, we still do not understand why Reilly's character is asking these questions, nor why he is standing in the street wearing a nice suit. We get the impression that he is a working man, who might possibly be in a midlife crisis--is he his wife's favorite person?--but we do not know why he has chosen this street or how far away he lives. His questions leave us wanting more answers. Because we learn a lot about his character through his interactions with the strangers, as well as learn about character traits of the three strangers through their responses, I wonder if a fifth character would provide more character development. The three strangers are all assured in their responses, whether it be 'yes', 'no', or 'I don't want any part in this'. It would be interesting to see a character who answers with an 'I don't know. How can one tell?' It would turn the table on Reilly's character.

Quintessentials - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

2011-12-05T19:38:00.005-05:00

Morgan's Original Post about "Marcel"

"Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is one of those quirky little films that seem to pop up on the Internet every day, that become an Internet sensation and skyrocket to Youtube-darling status, seemingly overnight.

In her post, Morgan argues that the random story and adorable voice place "Marcel" in a completely new and different category. She essentially says the film is in another league than your typical short film. I think she's correct in that the fact that we can't define what "Marcel" is (is it a comedy? a mockumentary? an animated film?).

The point is that these Internet-based videos, or short films, or whatever you want to call them are challenging the conventions of film and filmmaking. Specifically with short film, they make us question and debate the definition of a short film. I think if Internet-based films did not exist, we wouldn't have had as many debates over what a short film is as we did. Therefore, I think we have little basis on which to determine whether "Marcel" is or is not a short film.

I'm going to play devils' advocate for a moment and take the "Plot Girl" stance: because there is no narrative arc whatsoever, does "Marcel" count as a short film? What is the film trying to achieve with its dry, obscure humor? Are we supposed to feel bad for Marcel? Should we be laughing at or with Marcel? What is the point? According to Jenny Slate, the narrator and co-creator, the film was the brainchild of a voice she used to annoy her friends. The film really isn't about anything except a small slice of life, according to Slate.

Morgan also mentions Jenny Slate several times in her post. I think this says something about how much stardom affects the way we view and perceive film. Would she have mentioned Jenny Slate's name if she wasn't a "Saturday Night Live" cast member? I doubt that the film would have garnered as much attention and praise as it did had Slate's name not been attached to it. I also think that the quirkiness of the story wouldn't be as funny if a known comedian hadn't narrated it. Without Slate, I have no doubt that the film would be dismissed as hipster pretentiousness.

Quintessentially Sneezing Pandas

2011-12-04T23:42:00.000-05:00

The Short Films Blog: Sneezing Panda

Originally Caren makes the point in her blog that 'The Sneezing Baby Panda" is not in fact a short film. I feel it's worthwhile to play devils advocate in this case in defense of home movies as short films.

In reference to home movies I'm going to rope in some features. Short films have been discussed in our course as "experiments", ways to try new things with film without the cost of a full length movie. So in this way, we can expect to see full length movies emulate shorts when shorts prove successful at doing one thing or another. Enter movies like Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, which are filmed to emulate home movies. Part of the reason these films were reportedly scarier than normal was that people were uncertain of their status as fiction. "Home movies" (insert cheesy finger quotes here) make great horror movies because it gives the viewer the unsettling feeling that this happened to someone just like them, someone with a phone or a camera just like they do, who intended to film something for personal use rather than for theaters just like they have in the past. The technique ventured into TV shows too, proving its versatility. This widely successful technique originated with the use of home media like youtube, and yet the predominant genre on youtube is actually humor at this point.

Here's the thing:

If short films are experiments of new ideas or techniques and
'successful' shorts can impact full length media and
the idea of home video and hand recorded footage impacted (at least horror) movies

then aren't home videos short films?

So here's my question-
Why can't the same be said for humor?

For example, in a short I can't seem to find online called "Jack Jack Attack", Pixar character Jack Jack of The Incredibles does lots of funny things and generally terrorizes his babysitter with an array of yet undiscovered super human abilities. (side note: I finally found it online... but it's backwards and in Spanish. Sorry y'all. You get the idea though.) However, in some ways I find these to be funnier baby videos. (I just googled funny baby and this popped up, although after doing some 'research' I would argue this belongs in there too). On the same token, watch this and then watch this and tell me which one makes you crack a smile. Why? These babies actually exist somewhere, and that somehow makes them more amusing. For the same reasons the previously mentioned horror movies were scarier with 'home footage'. So if the youtube babies are funnier than Jack Jack, and the sneezing baby panda is funnier than Kung Fu Panda, how are these not 'successful' home videos and thus short films? Is it possible for the lesser genre to also be the more effective genre, and if so, how is it lesser?

Quintessentials- Drinking Out of Cups

2011-12-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

Original Post -> http://shortfilmsblog.blogspo t.com/2011/10/drinking-out-of-cups.html

The original post argued that Drinking Out of Cups is an experimental film. I disagree with this categorization. The original argument is that because Drinking Out of Cups has no narrative than it is experimental. I think that this is simplification of what an experimental film is.

If Drinking Out of Cups is experimental, than what is the experiment? An experimental film is trying to do something different with structure, technique or writing. Drinking Out of Cups is certainly not something that we would normally watch in a movie theater, but it is completely within the normal elements of its context.

Drinking Out of Cups is not an experimental film, it is just a meme film. For a youtube video that is intended to be funny, plotlessness is not only not experimental, it is par for the course. I do not find Drinking Out of Cups to be particularly odd for a youtube video. This makes it unexperimental.

School Portrait (2011)

2011-12-02T19:19:00.000-05:00

School Portrait (2011) from Michael Berliner on Vimeo.

England, 2:25

An ironic juxtaposition of contexts makes for the main conceit of this little short film. We see painfully adorable faces of British schoolchildren smiling for school pictures while the photographer berates them about the unpleasant realities of adult life (what he calls a "reality check"). The grumpy photographer makes the children repeat phrases like "the banking crisis means I'll never afford a home," and asking them if they've filled out their tax returns. Each time the photographer succeeds in wiping the smile of the children's faces, which appears to be his main objective. He meets his match in a girl with curly red hair who refuses to stop smiling. The photographer becomes visibly annoyed, shaking his head head and telling her, "Look, I'll go on all day," before explaining the painfulness of a divorce. But the girl eventually wins the little stand-off, and continues to smile. The photographer finally concedes defeat and takes the little girl's picture.

The film is adorable and memorable because it takes advantage of the specific pleasures allowed to short film: that a small, obvious conceit can become the subject of the entire film, and function as an effective punch line because of the short film's conciseness. It's impossible to imagine a feature that plays entirely on the tension between the innocent beaming faces of children and the cynicism of an adult with a chip on their shoulder, but here, in the span of two and a half minutes, the joke works. The way the children are shot too, where they are framed by the camera as if in a school photo, adds to the preciousness of their responses to the grouchy photographer.

Nuit Blanche

2011-12-02T00:00:00.006-05:00

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

NUIT BLANCHE
Directed by Arev Manoukian, Canada, 2010, 4 Minutes
Source: Vimeo

This film is about a man walking down the street and what happens to him when he sees a woman and instantly feels a connection. Also, this film is about a woman sitting in a cafe drinking wine when she glimpses a man outside and instantly feels a connection. We witness these two lovers as they charge obstacles to reach one another--the woman breaking through glass and reaching the sidewalk unscathed, and the man damaging a car and meeting the woman in the street in one piece. At the end of the film, we learn that the man and woman do not actually push cars or break glass, respectively, but we witness their emotion. We are left to wonder if they act on their promising future.

Once they get past staring at each other, the man and woman have a promising future, due to the events we witness. Both of them overcome obstacles of the same material. Time slows when the man steps into a puddle on the street the minute he decides to walk towards the cafe window where the woman is seated. Similarly, when the woman views the man's actions, she stands and drops her glass of wine, where it shatters elegantly on the pristine white table cloth. Both of them suffer with liquid. The second similar material is glass. The man experiences the shattering of glass when the car explodes around his form, and the woman walks through glass to meet him. These two material elements alert to the viewer that the man and woman have a chance--that they can overcome the same obstacles and come out unharmed.

The technique of this film is both interesting and detrimental to its viewing. Positives first. The formation of the puddle around the man's foot, the wine glass shattering on the table, the window glass shattering around the woman's face, and the car reacting to the man, are well done and enjoyable to watch. That said, the construction of this film is all fake and the man and woman are acting in front of green screens. Because it is more interesting to see then for me to explain, please click here to watch the 'Making Of' video (only requires a few seconds of your time to get the idea). This copy-and-pasting element to the film is what harms the film. When we are introduced to the woman, she is sitting in the cafe minding her own business until she looks up and sees the man. She is a bit too large for the window frame, and it becomes obvious that she does not belong there--that she is separate from her location. Viewing the 'Making of' video, we can see that in fact, she does not belong in the cafe because the cafe is completely constructed from cutouts. This leads to some confusion. If the location is pieced together around her, shouldn't the proportions be better? It is true that she is the dominant character of the shot and we need to see her and only her, because that is what he sees, but, just by sitting front row and center in the window, she is the main focus.

Arguably, this film is not a short, but a portion of a film, a scene more or less. That said, this film cannot be made into a feature, but instead, included in a number of feature film plots. For example, one story can be about a man consistently looking for love and constantly going on unfortunate dates throughout the film. This can be the last scene of the film--the man finally finding the right one. Or, this film can be an additive scene to a film about a woman who is constantly coping with men falling in love with her at first sight. There are a number of possibilities. This film is more of emotion and reaction, than a story. Short films can be emotional, but can they be emotions? This film is about a man and woman meeting and falling in love at first sight and their feelings. If this film had a brief clip of either the man or the woman having bad luck with love, then it would be a short film.

We understand how they are reacting, not necessarily why they are reacting.

West Coast Report: Fraternity Rush

2011-12-01T05:20:00.005-05:00

West Coast Report: Fraternity Rush
Written by: Jimmy Tatro
Filmed by: Jake Broido
Directed by: Jimmy Tatro and Jake Broido
USA 2011 4:49

Essentially, this film is a satire on the entire Fraternity rush process. It is narrated by the brother of one of the fraternities and outlines the various processes of Fraternity Rush such as talking to kids at Rush events and evaluating them afterwards in a closed meeting. It is perhaps one of the most hysterical videos I've ever watched simply because of its accuracy. I cannot speak for other fraternities but in terms of my own, this video closely resembles much of what the rush process is like for my fraternity. From the ridiculous questions asked to what happens behind "closed doors" this video is incredibly accurate in terms of what my fraternity looks for when looking for potential new members. Many of the personalities in the video are very close to those in my own fraternity. There are those who take things far to serious and highlight the fraternities philanthropic endeavors while there are many who view the fraternity as a means to get drunk and "pull" females.

Please watch this video, if not for its comedic value but for its authenticity. If you ever wondered what exactly happens during the fraternity rush process, this is a very accurate depiction. I'm not sure that that is a compliment to my fraternity, but it certainly supports the "frat boy" stereotype.

Heartless Potpourri

2011-12-01T01:37:00.000-05:00

HEARTLESS (Cover) by The Fray Official Music Video
Located on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE21NQckSmc&feature=related
Uploaded September 28, 2009

This music video is an excellent one for potpourri week, I think, because it so effectively blends multiple themes from this class. In a cover of Heartless, originally by Kanye West, this music video provides a glimpse into the life of a young boy in class (algebra, from the look of his notebook) who does not appear very pleased with the course of his love life, particularly as it pertains to one brunette student who looks way too old for him.

The reason I selected this video, besides being such an eclectic blend of animation, online-based media and music videos, is the way animation itself is used. The story line depicted in the animation contains one of the boys' drawings, a little anatomically-accurate heart, trudging along having terrible thing after terrible thing happen to him. I love the effect of what is essentially a short film within a short film, illustrating the sort of corny cliches that we would never accept if they were in live action. If, for instance, the boy were to walk under a cloud and have it rain only on him, we as the audience might be inclined to yell at the screen "OKAY, we get it, he's sad!" However, by using a child's doodles, it seems only fitting.

This also allows for other things that would be difficult on film, such as the 2 cameos by Kanye West where he is shown wearing those ridiculous glasses and bobbing his head, which add to the overall entertainment value of the film. They also, (although perhaps this just reflects how much I am the daughter of an English professor who never let me watch Barney because he plagiarized people's songs), seem to use those cameos as further acknowledgement of the songs' original artist. I appreciated the gesture, whether it was actually meant that way or not.

Ultimately, it's impressive that the secondary character line (the heart) is integrated it so fully that it never strikes a viewer as odd. I think it's important to note that whether for practical reasons, optimal entertainment value, the ability to provide animated in-text citations or just to provide variation and visual interest, the use of a short within a short is just plain cool.

Umbrellas Amuse Me: Observations from One Day in Munich

2011-11-30T16:13:00.002-05:00

UMBRELLAS AMUSE ME: OBSERVATIONS FROM ONE DAY IN MUNICH

United States/Germany, 2010, John Green, 3 minutes and 44 seconds

Given that the theme of the previous blog posts and the next several blog posts is potpourri which allows us to talk about any kind of short film, I decided to stretch the definition a little bit. This is a vlog by John Green (yes, that John Green). He and his brother Hank have a YouTube channel called VlogBrothers where they each film a vlog a couple times a week (alternating turns) and start off each vlog by saying "Good Morning ______, it's ______" and then talk about whatever they want to for that day. They're also some of the leaders of the NerdFighter community (DFTBA!).

In this particular vlog, they've created a playlist for certain vlogs they do that are about them being out of the house to film the vlog and giving thoughts/commentary on where they are. This playlist is called Thoughts From Places and in this particular episode, John's greeting us from Munich! In Munich John gets gifts for his wife and son, muses about church bells, and goes to a Children's Literature Festival (which is why he was there in the first place).

We've only vaguely touched upon vidoes such as these, better known as vlogs (and this one can perhaps be categorized under our discussion of home videos) and whether or not they can be considered short films (the dreaded topic). I myself think they can be. They're not particularly stylistic or have a narrative plot or 'characters' but they are short in length and a visual film that is available to all. Not to mention both John and Hank are incredibly hilarious and intelligent. I subscribe to a handful of vloggers on YouTube (VlogBrothers, Nerimon, Charlieissocoollike, etc.) and I find their videos to be a great source of entertainment and relaxation for a period of time out of the day. I'm not sure we want to get into the discussion of whether or not these are short films but given it's potpourri, I wanted to bring something mildly different to the blog and see how people might respond.

GIN & JUICE

2011-11-30T00:31:00.001-05:00

Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6TUhx2wX0M

Directed by Dr. Dre, 1994, 4:1

This music video for Gin and Juice is low budget but it helped the song blow up and become known worldwide. The basic story is about a Snoop Dog himself staying home when his parents go out of town. His father in the movie says snoopy doggy doggy, you need to get a jobby job”. His mother then reminds him to not let the dog pound in the house. There is a quick moment where it parodies the feature Home Alone. The text on the screen reads “ Homeboy Alone and snoop dog impersonates Macaulay Culkin by holding his hair and screaming. It is apparent that Snoop will be letting the dog pound in because he calls his friend to get ready for a party. Snoop is pictured riding on the handlebars of his friends bike. This was back in the day before Snoop was an international star. There is another mention of a feature film , as Snoop is rolling down the street smoking indo sippin’ on gin and juice, the camera briefly cuts to a billboard for a drive in theatre and the movie Menace II Society is playing. This was released in 1993 and is a very popular movie in rap culture. As stated in the songs lyrics , Dre brought some “ bitches from the city of Compton”, but as Snoop goes in the bedroom with the ladies it cuts to his parents pulling in the driveway. The videos end is predictable but hilarious. The parents come home and already know there is a party based on the cars lining the street. Everyone runs out because they are scared of the authoritarian parents. The video is very Hip hop, from the liquor, to the baking out of cars, to the rowdy rap house party everything screams rap music. The video reflects how humble Snoop Used to be. This video single helped Snoop dogs first album Doggystyle go quadruple platinum. It is a really funny lighthearted video and reflects the humor that Snoop possesses.

Animal Collective - Peacebone (2007)

2011-11-29T23:39:00.000-05:00

Directed by Timothy Saccenti, United States, 2007, 5 minutes 14 seconds

Peacebone is a freak romance about teenage lovers. The music video features a normal(ish) girl who is in love with an alien. He is forced into disguise most of the time, but reveals his true form when his love comes is around. The two run around and cause the typical teenage havoc until they are stopped by the police. If you are really searching for meaning in this video, it can be found. It is a story about being yourself around others and particularly the ones you love.

When I first saw this music video, for the "experimental psychedelic" band, Animal Collective, I hated it. I thought it was disgusting and weird. Even worse than that, I thought it was trying too hard to be disgusting and weird. I was completely turned off. Now, after becoming very well acquainted Animal Collective's music and other video work, I have a different opinion. I find the music video to be very funny, even sweet, but yes, still weird. What is great about this film however, is that it will always provoke a strong opinion, just read the youtube comments.

As a short film, Peacebone has a definite story line, but does not throw it in your face. Between the flashes of images and editing style, the plot does not seem to control the video. The montage of clips, which may appear to be random, serve a clear purpose within the music video. Layering images in this way mirrors the layering of sounds and styles that makes Animal Collective unique. Much of their music is all about energy, which the pacing of a montage flawlessly provides. Peacebone effectively features the strong suit of the artist while still adding another dimension of interpretation through a story line, simultaneously aligning itself as both a music video and a short film.

Lonny Goes Big Time

2011-11-29T19:41:00.000-05:00

“Lonny Goes Big Time”

Directed by Lonny

United States, 2011

About 4 minutes

This is an episode of “Next Time on Lonny” which is billed as a reality web series. However, it doesn’t show a whole episode. Instead, we only see the tail end which, in a parody of clichéd reality TV show endings, ends in a sweet moment. The turning point comes after the credits where we expect a small teaser of what will happen in the next episode. Instead, we are shown a complete story that is much more comparable to a film than a television show. This episode ends with Lonny making his girlfriend’s friends laugh. After the credits, Lonny completely changes and starts his stand up career in California. Another example includes credits rolling on Lonny on a date, and “next time on Lonny” aliens end up invading the world. The short becomes a comedy once we see this twist in the story.

Much of the humor also comes from the fact that the story after the credits is insanely different from the beginning that the audience can’t even be sure if the second part exists in the same reality as the first part. After all, Lonny becomes famous and kills somebody in order to huff his soul. Yet, we see him by the end of the episode again in front of the confessional camera coming to terms with his actions.

“Next Time On Lonny” begins as any other reality television show and, I know when I first saw an episode, I expected to see a parody of reality TV shows. But, instead what we see is more of a parody of movies.

Volkswagen-"Night Drive"

2011-11-28T12:54:00.001-05:00

Volkswagen-"Night Drive"
Noam Murro, United States. 2007. 90 seconds
Formerly available at www.night-driving.com. Found on www.youtube.com

I find commercials to be a rapidly progressing medium, following the lead of TV series in the efforts to being more "filmic" and meeting audience's expectations for emotional response; a bar set by feature-films. I could point to a variety of extremely well-made commercials (Everything Wieden+Kennedy produces for Nike, for instance) but I've picked this Volkswagen commercial about driving through the empty streets of a Los Angeles night because it is personal to me.

The commercial is simple: A beautiful minimal song, borrowed from Cliff Martinez's lovely score for Solaris, is overlapped with a recording of Richard Burton reading a Dylan Thomas poem. These sounds are over images of a neon lit LA, in all its vast loneliness and graphically beautiful grime. There's no apparent narrative; just driving and the experience. Which is what the tagline is: "When was the last time you just went for a drive?"

The most effective ad campaigns (or the most memorable ones at least) are the one's that don't just show glossy images, but communicate a very specific message that addresses the belief system of its core audience. "Just Do It" and "Think Different" come to mind. Simon Sinek's Golden Circle theory illustrates this: His theory shows three circles, one inside the other. On the outside is "What," the middle circle is "How," and the inner circle, "Why." Sinek states that most traditional marketing and advertising goes from outside to inside the circle, but the most effective forms go inside to out. Like a religion, you hit the audience at what matters to them: What makes them anxious, or happy, or nervous, what racks their brain. Once you have their attention at their core, you then reveal how to meet their needs, and how your product will do just that.

This commercial is operating under Sinek's Golden Circle theory. Yes, it features the Volkswagen Golf, but that is a secondary feature. The first focus of this is what the tagline states: Do you just ever go for a drive? Explore the landscape and just roam, contemplating your thoughts, dreams, hopes, desires. The Golf is just a tool that will help you do just that. And by speaking to a core belief, and trying to inspire emotion, is this commercial then allowed to be more artistic. (The commercial has the added bonus of being shot in LA at night, which is the core of my high school social life once I got a car.)

That's the sort of beauty of advertising that I'm fascinated with: That with artistic effectiveness also comes commercial success. Win-win. It is a medium, similar to TV, where quality work almost seems to reap more rewards than quality work within the realm of feature films does.

22 SHORT FILMS ABOUT SPRINGFIELD

2011-11-27T20:33:00.003-05:00

22 Short Films About Springfield [episode of The Simpsons]
Jim Reardon, United States, 1996, approximately 22 minutes
(not available online, but can be found in The Simpsons Seventh Season DVD box set)

22 Short Films About Springfield is an episode of The Simpsons that eschews a running-time length plot in favor of a series of 'short films' about minor characters in the Simpsons' universe. As some of the shorts are connected and all the episode is book-ended by a discussion between Bart Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten about what the citizens of Springfield are up to, it could be argued that this is not really a pure short film omnibus. Still, that pseudo-omnibus is 22 minutes long, so the whole episode itself qualifies as a short

I count 13 shorts in the episode, whose title is a reference to the film 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould and is not an actual tally of the short's mini-shorts. Many of these are only shorts because of this episode's specific concept-- a sequence in which Reverend Lovejoy instructs his dog to urinate on Ned Flanders' lawn, for example, would just be a joke in any normal episode of The Simpsons. Still, a few of the shorts could be standalone, self-contained pieces if released in a different context. I have trouble pinning down my favorite segment, but it's usually either Principal Skinner's 'steamed hams' fiasco or the Mexican Bumblebee Man's short, in which his personal life resembles his wacky professional life; these segments have full plot arcs, with conflicts and resolutions that are totally independent of any of the other shorts. (Sidenote: I feel horrible that I can't share this with you on the blog, but I will lend my DVDs to anybody who wants them. You can also find the episode online through illegal video streaming websites, but I don't endorse any of those and, I'm assuming, neither does this blog).

The best part of the short is unique to non-Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons-- in the final minutes of 22 Short Films..., Professor Frink directly addresses the camera and begs the director not to end the episode. As the scene fades to credits, Frink explains that he's late because of an incident with a monkey. He holds a title card and sings a theme song, but the episode ends regardless. I've always loved this moment for its ability to break The Simpsons' rules without doing so in an obnoxious way. Later episodes of the show would re-write character histories and replace heart with jokes about Homer falling on his butt, but this scene manages to break the fourth wall without making the audience groan. I think it's because, in this moment, we really want to see Frink's short, "The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink." At this point in its life, The Simpsons had made even its smallest characters likeable and this episode, specifically this scene, proved that while also creating as strong a half hour of television as I've seen (and I will seriously lend you the DVDs).

Extreme Sheep LED Art

2011-11-27T14:21:00.002-05:00

Extreme Sheep LED Art

Wales

Upload by BaaStubs 2009

Wales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D2FX9rviEhw#!

This video got me thinking about the amount of talent it takes to produce some of the stupid things on the internet. I think that this video had this effect on me, because it must have taken a monumental amount of ability and practice to create this incredibly silly video. I'm sure that must people could not train dogs to herd sheep in that close coordination with only whistle commands. It probably took these men years of working with dogs and sheep to become this skilled at herding.

And with that experience, they produced this. Which is an undeniably silly, but rather winning video. And I can't think of a better use for this ability. I don't think that raising sheep actually requires this level of precision, and there is not much else you could have done with a bunch of sheep.

I'm sure that people who raise sheep have been doing this in Wales for years. Entertaining themselves by making amusing patterns with sheep. But with the magic of the web, and widely available video cameras, we can now all enjoy the fruits of their extremely specialized labor.

We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris

2011-11-21T20:43:00.003-05:00

Rihanna

We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris, 2011

Melina Matsoukas

Rihanna premiered this song in September 2011 and it has been a worldwide hit ever since. The accompanying music video has an experimental feel to it, as there are multiple hip hop montages and quirky aesthetic qualities to it. The scenes with the diluting eye balls, bouncing pills, and rainbow cigarette ash was pretty trippy and reminded me of "Requiem for a Dream." The director of Requiem, Darren Aronofsky, has gained some notoriety for his usage of those hip hop montages -- rapid fire images flashing across the scene. I thought that they were executed very well here and definitely added to the general feel of the video.

From a cinematography angle, the lighting is very natural with little in the way of artificial lighting utilized. This gives the whole video a darker feel -- think David Fincher -- which fit the narrative of back-alley drugs and psychedelic love. I think that all elements of the video, including the imagery, cinematography, and editing, came together quite nicely to perfectly fit the narrative of the song. It's dark, edgy, and operates a bit outside of the box. This video seemed "different" compared to a lot of other music videos that are coming out these days, and the fact that it stands out from the rest is why I enjoy it so much.

Hotel Chevalier

2011-11-21T19:19:00.004-05:00

"Hotel Chevalier," 2007, 13 minutes

Written and Directed by Wes Anderson

Starring Jason Schwarztman and Natalie Portman

"Hotel Chevalier" is a companion short and prologue to Wes Anderson's film "The Darjeeling Limited." It was released on the Internet and as a free download on iTunes prior to the film's release (I know, because I'm always one to take advantage of free iTunes downloads).

In this film, we don't know the characters names, nor do we know much about their backstory - everything is in the now. The short follows Schwartzman's character, who is seemingly living out of a Paris hotel. He receives a call from a woman, whom we assume is a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. He cleans up the room before she arrives, and once she does, his submissiveness makes it clear that she, played by Natalie Portman, is an ex-girlfriend he has has been hiding from. Not much else happens in the short; the two talk about what Schwartzman is doing living in the hotel, they receive room service, engage in a little foreplay while discussing if they've slept with anyone else, etc. The short ends with a slow-motion shot of Schwartzman helping a naked Portman into a yellow robe, and leading her across the room to the balcony. The final shot is of the two staring looking out over the rail, then retreating back into the hotel room. The camera pans to the other building across the way.

I chose this short because I was reminded of it during today's discussion about the difference between a curated collection of shorts and an omnibus film. As stated above, "Hotel Chevalier" is a companion short and a prologue to Anderson's feature "The Darjeeling Limited." However, I think this film is unique in that the viewer does not need to have an understanding of the plot of "The Darjeeling Limited" to understand what is going on the short. I also think the the viewer doesn't feel obligated to watch "The Darjeeling Limited" after viewing the short (in fact, even though I haven't seen the feature, I don't think Portman is even in the film).

I also chose the film because it deals with something we haven't talked too much about: stardom. I will admit that the only reason I downloaded the film was because of Schwartzman and Portman. I think it is safe to assume that many others downloaded the short for that reason as well. We can also bring Anderson into the stardom conversation. He's a successful filmmaker and has a large fan following. Perhaps Anderson himself is a reason that the short was able to make it onto iTunes, which receives a great deal of traffic each day.

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

2011-11-21T10:14:00.003-05:00

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On and Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, Two
Directed by: Dean Fleischer-Camp
Voiced by: Jenny Slate
Written by: Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On tells about the life and stories of a shell that wears shoes named Marcel. From the small blunders of life, the big problems he faces daily, to the positive outlook he has on each and every aspect of his world, the film follows Marcel through it all. The adorable little shell makes us laugh out loud with his innocent quotes like, "Wanna see me lift this? (struggles for a bit trying to lift the crayon) Yeah, no... I can't... I can't lift anything at all," "You have to be pretty easy going to drive a bug because no matter where you want to go, you're going wherever the bug wants to go,", "I like to tie a piece of hair to a ball of lint and drag it around." You also have more serious quotes that do not become overkill because of the innocent nature of Marcel like, "I used to have a sister, but someone asked her to hold a balloon. (Later) I just pretend she's out traveling," "My biggest regret in life is that I'll never own a dog," "You know why I smile so much? Because it's worth it." These quotes and the entire film in general is really a big pick-me-up and refreshing couple of minutes.

I chose to include Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, Two as well because I saw the shorts back to back and felt that I could not talk about one without the other. The first time my friends showed me the video, they were laughing and rambling about how hilarious and great the short was while it loaded on my computer. I could see the shell standing on the couch and I expected myself to really not find it as funny as my friends. Then the video started, and the character voice of Jenny Slate gave the short life. The adorable voice that tells us each random story, comment, or fun fact makes this video stand out above anything else I have seen and catapults it into a category all it's own. Even though there really is no set plot in these films, the audience is still enticed throughout by just listening to Marcel talk to the interviewer (whose purpose is really to only say "what" when Marcel asks, "guess what?"). I think that these films, which have already had success as an AFI Fest Best Animated Short winner and an Official Selection at eight different film festivals including Sundance, are going to not only be great shorts but also have crossed into mainstream culture and will become much larger in the very near future. The happy-go-lucky and refreshing feeling that Marcel leaves the audience with is the last addicting component that will continue the success and demand of the little shell. I for one will absolutely appreciate as much Marcel the Shell as Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate wants to give us and look forward to more of his positive tone in the future.

Welcome to City 17!

2011-11-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Escape from City 17 Part 2

Directed by David and Ian Purchase, United States, 2011, 14 minutes

Source: Youtube

Welcome to city 17! This live action Half Life based short produced by the purchase brothers is the second part of this series of shorts. This series follows a group of soldiers as they partake in the events during the Half Life video game series. The basic story line is that a group of rebels are attempting to escape from the doomed city 17 that is going to blow up. As is typical of these sort of fan films, there is a love story and a lot of unexplained things going on.

The reason I chose this film was because I had stumbled across the episode 1 of the series and noticed they brought out a newer part of the series. If you take the time to look at the other Purchase Brothers films, the company that made the short, most of them are really well done and are full of great special effects. However, most are also not over the five minute mark besides this one and honestly that has helped them. While the special effects in this short are amazing, the story is atrocious and pathetic. While I love the beauty of the entire film the story and the occasional misfire of special effects really irks me to the point that I just can’t enjoy it. While the film was done on a 250 dollar budget if you are going to spend all that time on doing the models and special effects get a story writer and do things right.

However, in the video game world this video started a whole slew of fan based films most of which are going to be released later this year. While I know as a fact that most of these other fan films will probably end up having horrible story lines, this video is still important because of what it did. However this video should have set an example for a stellar story line with great effects so hopefully the purchase brothers can get their act together by part 3.

Faubourg Saint-Denis

2011-11-20T15:55:00.003-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fxilMv79zs&feature=related

Faubourg Saint-Denis
Directed by Tom Tykwer, Faubourg Saint-Denis, 2006, 7 minutes.
Source: Youtube

This short portrays the relationship between a blind student and his girlfriend Francine. It chronicles their apparent breakup and then flashbacks through the development of their relationship.
I think this short is so beautiful in the way that it shows the couple coming together and falling apart. Although Francine has not really broken up with the protagonist, it does seem that they have grown more apart. Tykwer really does capture the emotion of a relationship very well. I also especially enjoy the way that the flashbacks comprise of both still shots used to simulate motion and video clips.
I think the film is significant because it does say a lot about relationships. It's not cliche like the portrayal of relationships in most chick flicks. It's realistic, allowing its audience to empathize and relate to the characters in it. As we've discussed in class before, being able to connect with a film's characters is key in the success of a film. Without being able to empathize with the characters, an audience becomes lost and disinterested.

MANON SURE LE BITUME

2011-11-19T17:41:00.003-05:00

MANON SURE LE BITUME (Manon On the Asphalt)

Directed by Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont, France, 2007, 15 minutes, 20 seconds.

Source: Itunes

This short film is about a young French woman who is hit by a car while riding her bike. The film explores her last thoughts as she is about to die. She imagines how all of her friends will react, what they will be doing when they find out and what they will do to morn her death. She images her loved ones using her parceled up belongings and all the things she will never get to do, like have a child, be old or sing a duet with her favorite singer. She remembers the last time she felt rain, the last time she spoke to her mother, and the last time she had sex.

This film is one of my favorites. I believe it is perfectly bittersweet. The short explores death and loss while still leaving the audience feeling amazed about the little things and feeling refreshed.

Manon On the Asphalt was nominated for the Best Short Film Oscar in 2009. I believe the film's narrative is incredibly engaging. The concept is simple, but the film walks a number of lines- It is sentimental and thought provoking without being indulgent or sappy. It straddles happiness and sadness. While we may not all understand the reference to Julien Clerc, these emotions will not be lost on any viewer. This piece shows how the expression of human fears transcend cultures and languages.

2011-11-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

"Girl Panic" by Duran Duran

Directed by Jonas Akerlund, 2011

There are several things that I'd like to say about this music video:

1. The fact that it is a Jonas Akerlund video sets a precedent. He's known as a music video auteur and for his rather unique styling. Most often his music videos are more like short films. They tell a story. The story here: supermodels (specifically of the 90's origin) pose as members of the band, Duran Duran, and proceed to tell the tale that is Duran Duran. They're done up in supermodel glitz. They don plenty of black. Akerlund shoots the film in documentary style. The models tell the story, as they see it, and Akerlund shows off his film style with plenty of seduction and style.

2. This might be a perfect time to introduce the term narcissistic personality disorder, which is to say--thank you Wikipedia--"individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige, and vanity." Need I say more? The film is an expose on self- centeredness. The term "first" is thrown around, "We're the first supermodels"; "We're the first band to put supermodels in our videos"; and why not "We're the first band"; and on top of that Akerlund is emphasizing that he's the first, the number one, the go to guy for music videos. The film was a nice tribute, but at times I was lost as to whether this was a Duran Duran video or not.

3. I'd also like to address the issue of excess in this video. Occupy what? Does anyone else see a problem with this kind of excess? I mean seriously, the amount of money they must have spent on resuscitating Duran Duran's music/video career. I don't even want to know. You'll notice plenty of product placement, products that you and I and the majority of the world (the 99%) would never purchase, aside from the newsstand issue of Harper's Bazaar (Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabanna, the clothes those women were wearing, the free- flow of champagne, the Savoy hotel, and lets not forget-- these women have a day rate that's well above the minimum- wage).

4. How old are these women? They're like wax figures at this point. Naomi Campbell looks the same as she did when I was 12. Cindy has always been the real one.

5. Where was the music? It was a backdrop to the all of the rest of this stuff. Duran Duran is great. I've been in love with them forever and I love that their sound stays the middle ground. However, it was almost as if the sound had been turned down on the actual song and the narrative was pushed to the forefront. When the video shows snippets of their older videos I longed for the day.

"Zero"- Australia

2011-11-17T08:38:00.003-05:00

Zero from Zealous Creative on Vimeo.

Zero
By: Christoper Kezelos
Australia
Source: ShortoftheWeek.com

This Australian film tells the setting is that of a fantasy world of yarn people. In this world, when a yarn person is born there is a number inscribed on their chest. The numbers range from 0 to 9 and the higher your number, the better your quality of life you will lead. Our particular story begins with the birth of a Zero. From the minute he enters the world, he is forced into a life of ridicule, embarrassment, and loneliness due to the way the 1-9's treat him and his Zero companions. Zero's are also not allowed to multiply and therefore any relationship for a Zero is illegal from the start, so when our Zero falls in love with a beautiful girl Zero the tables are turned upside down. This romantic, adorable story about fighting against what society believes is sure to bring a smile to your face.

I have to admit that this film captivated me from the minute I hit play. The initial realization that these people are entirely made up of yarn brings a cute factor to a normally serious topic of social class. The twist on how social class in this world is assigned from birth seems like it could have come from a children's book. Also, the narrator channels an almost Dr. Seuss feeling to the film without the rhyming. Throughout the film, Kezelos entices the audience with the beautiful use of stop-motion and narration to bring these voice-less little nothing's to life before our eyes.

One part I particularly liked was after our Zero had tried to save the girl Zero from being beat up by bigger numbers. After the larger numbered yarns turned off of her and started attacking our Zero, the screen goes dark to represent his unconsciousness. The screen slowly flickers back to an image of what appears to be a Yarn angel against the Moon lit sky. The screen flickers back to dark and back to the same image, but instead the audience realizes that this is the girl Zero that our Zero just saved. The simple shot was so beautiful and spoke volumes without any words actually being said. I think that Kezelos did an incredible job with this film and displaying a "grown-up" story in such a innocent way created the ability for many audience's to enjoy it from start to finish.

Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief)

2011-11-16T05:48:00.004-05:00

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Directed by: Vittorio De Sica
Country of Origin: Italy
Year: 1948
93 Min

"The Bicycle Thief" is set in post-World War II Italy during the economic depression that followed the war. The main character is Antonio Ricci who at the beginning of the film is one of the fortunate few to be given a job by the city of Rome putting up posters around the city. However, he needs to own a bicycle to begin the job and his wife is forced to pawn their sheets in order to get a bike. On his first day on the job his bike is stolen by a thief. From that point on the plot follows Antonio and his son Bruno is their quest to find the thief and reclaim the bike. The story does not end well.

The thing that most impressed me about the film was the acting. Lamberto Maggiorani's, who plays Antonio, performance is simply fantastic, I truly felt sorry for him because his emotion was so real. There are very few films that I have watched that have the ability to affect me emotionally, and this was one of the precious few. The entire story seems so real and truly lives up to its neo-realist classification.

In my opinion, one the most significant thing about this film is the fact that none of the actors in the film are actual actors. Upon doing some research I found out that Lamberto Maggiorani was in fact a factory worker with no training of any kind. To be able to give such a performance with no training truly means that Lamberto was able to use his own emotions of the time period to portray his character. The critical acclaim this film received was also quite astounding after our conversation in class about the lack of quality films from many foreign countries. It won an Oscar, a BAFTA as well as Golden Globe. This film simply amazed me.

Zippo

2011-11-14T19:09:00.002-05:00

Zippo – ES GIBBT FÜR EIN ERSTES MAL (Zippo – there is a first time for everything)

Directed by : Christiane Scheibe, Janett Bergner, and Dagmar Ammon. Germany, 2009, 1:16

Source: Vimeo

Simply put, this film is about a blue dragon, who I believe is called Zippo, and a Christmas tree. After they meet, the dragon and Christmas tree decide that the candles on the Christmas tree should be lit however, they run into a problem when the reach the final candle on top of the tree. The dragon decides to just puff fire as hard as he possibly can and accidentally burns up the entire tree.

What originally attracted me to this film was when I was searching through Vimeo’s german short films group (link) and noticed a claymation work that was posted there. While I have never been a major fan of claymation I decided to take a quick look at it to see what it was about and fell in love with it. With it’s simplistic story yet great punch line, it keeps the viewer interested and doesn’t drag it’s simplistic storyline on too long. However, if there was one suggestion that I would have for it is that I think it should have been a bit longer than it was. While I don’t know what I would have added personally, I think that it could have been another 30-45 seconds long. Anyways, overall this video was something that I really enjoyed accidentally bumping into.

Something that I do think I should point out with this film is the fact that it is a claymation and that it follows one of my personal rules of short films. That rule is K.I.S.S. or Keep It Simple Stupid and I think that most short films that attempt to do complicated things can sometimes fall flat on their face. However with shorts such as Zippo, the simplicity in them create a short and fun joke that almost anyone can enjoy because of its simplicity.

GEOMETRIA

2011-11-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

Geometria
Guillermo del Toro, Mexico, 1987, Approximately 8 minutes

Geometria is a Spanish-language short film in which a boy goes to desperate measures (i.e. he summons Satan) to ensure that he will not fail his geometry class. Along the way his father is resurrected as a zombie, his mother is killed by zombie dad, and the boy is eventually undone by his basic understanding of shapes (he attempts to protect himself from the devil by drawing a pentagon around his body, but accidentally draws a hexagon).

This is del Toro's second short and the final film he would make before his feature debut, Cronos. That movie has funny moments, but is otherwise an intense, gory horror film, whereas Geometria has scary moments though is mostly funny. It strongly reminded me of an early Sam Raimi movie; the voice is not really del Toro's, or is at least a totally different voice than the one he would develop over the next twenty years. It's silly, which isn't something you can say about any of del Toro's later efforts. Geometria does not feel connected to other Mexican films.

Geometria is clever. The "your wish is a nightmare when taken literally" trope has been around forever and was already used to death on a dozen episodes of The Twilight Zone, so the zombie father gag falls a little flat. The idea that the protagonist's pentagram is incorrectly sketched, however, is brilliant. The fact that the boy promises his mother that he will not fail geometry and then instantly begins drawing his own blood in order to summon Satan is also hilarious. This is del Toro using another auteur's voice, but he is a strong enough filmmaker that he still leaves a mark in a wonderful way.

The Red Balloon

2011-11-12T18:58:00.002-05:00

The Red Balloon

1956 - 35 minutes

Albert Lamorisse

Available on Netflix insta-watch.

This 1956 French short by Albert Lamorisse takes us through the adventures of a red balloon in Paris. A young boy, Pascal, encounters the balloon and it soon becomes his best friend. The balloon appears to have a life of its own and follows Pascal as he goes through his daily routine. Although Pascal has a close relationship with the balloon, many others around him resent the balloon and want to separate the two. Pascal's mother won't let the balloon in the house and the school principal won't allow it in the classroom. Eventually, some local bullies destroy the balloon, killing Pascal's best friend. The short ends with a cluster of other balloons picking up Pascal and taking him on a ride across the city of Paris.

I think that the balloon serves as a life lesson for Pascal. It signifies Pascal's innocence and how he has to grow up and mature through his young adolescence. When the other boys destroy his balloon it serves as just another hurdle that Pascal must overcome. Lessons like this help Pascal to grow as a young boy into a man.

Spandy - Andy: Tight Bright & Fearless

2011-11-10T12:10:00.002-05:00

Spandy Andy

Directed by Courtney Barton; Vancouver Film School; 2010

Spandy Andy is a dance performer that "promotes positivity and acceptance through dance." Simple as that. I'd equate Spandy Andy to the purple childhood icon, Barney. The same concept goes, man in suit, man with a message, man acting out message through song and dance. Andy is a Canadian born actor- performer with quite an interesting story:

His background in computer programming ("I followed that career because that's what I should do"), working at IBM ("suppressing my Spandy - Andy"), and then leaving his career for the spandex. Andy makes an interesting statement at about 3:15 about, hiding. It goes on, "there's a reason I take the lenses out of my glasses and that's because it's scary when you look at somebody in a mask because they don't have an identity and they're hiding behind something." I ask, isn't Spandy - Andy also hiding behind something? He may not be wearing a mask, but the glasses themselves could be argued as mask- like, but he's in costume. Like Clark Kent and Superman. In addition, he describes Spandy - Andy as a character. Andy and Spandy are two very different people and that's what I think we see in this pair of documentaries: the duplicitous nature of living the life of a caped (spandexed--not a word) crusader.

The few documentary shorts that I have seen (Spandy - Andy, Bye Bye Now, a Banksy short called, "Printing Banksy") are interesting in that they are more like public profiles. Along the lines of record- keeping, these documentaries are records of the lives of interesting (debatable) individuals. Why is it even important for us to know about this guy, who dances around in public, in spandex? Who cares? Yet, there is also something terribly interesting, psychologically, about a man who gives up a career (a good one, at that) for the freedom to live out his days in spandex. I can't say if I believe that Spandy - Andy is truly happy or if that behind the outfit there's an untold story-- he talks about being bullied in the first one-- that might reveal to the audience the exact reasons behind the act. I wonder if a longer documentary, more research and more funding, might give us a better idea about who Spandy - Andy really is. Or maybe, he's just a guy who prefers spandex.

Ray: A Life Underwater

2011-11-09T23:28:00.003-05:00

Ray: A Life Underwater

Amanda Bluglass and Danny Cooke

United Kingdom, 2011

http://vimeo.com/28404579

In Ray: A Life Underwater, the filmmakers stumbled upon a fascinating subject. They found a man consumed by diving and collecting the things he found. And for the most part, they let him tell his story. It is the short of documentary that would praised by saying that the filmmakers, "did not put themselves into the story."

Many people complain about documentary filmmakers who insert themselves into their movies. The primary targets of these complaints are Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock. And while a documentary like Ray does not feature any of the filmmakers on screen like the films of these directors, does that make it any less driven by them.

Film is a medium controlled by those off-screen, in the case of a documentary, the director and editors. We have no idea how Ray would choose to talk about his life, or what in the interviews or footage collected of him got cut out. We are presented with a narrative that is only slightly less dominated by the filmmaker than a fictional product.

Look at the way this film chooses to spend so much time without Ray speaking, simply showing us the equipment he uses or the places he visits with no sound but music. Who is speaking to us in these shots? Why are they there? They exist to create a mood or atmosphere that does not seem to actually be in line with Ray's statements.

I think that documentary is a worthy enterprise and can reveal interesting and important things. But I do not think that any documentary can be separated from its maker. I do not think that we can praise them or criticize them based on how much presence they have in the story. I think we need to acknowledge that all documentaries are dominated by directors.

Twin Towers

2011-11-09T01:04:00.000-05:00

Twin Towers
United States, 2002, 34 minutes
Dir: Bill Guttentag & Robert David Port

Winner of the 2002 Oscar for Best Short Documentary, this resembles any other feature-length documentary, going to show that the short documentary resembles the short film, just as how the feature-length documentary resembles the feature-length fictional film. How? Because documentaries, while dealing with non-fictional material, are still dramas first and foremost. They present and build characters, they display conflict, they connect audiences emotionally.

The film follows two brothers who each served for the NYPD and NYFD. The set-up of these brothers and their family takes its time, providing in depth insight to the everyday duties for over half of the film: Family tradition, honor, heroism, duty. Despite its title, the major conflict of the World Trade Center is only presented past the halfway mark. On September 11, 2001, which coincided with the filming of this documentary.

Exposition, rising action, climax, conclusion. We are provided three-acts, condensed into 34 minutes. Is it a fitting length? Yes. The story is brief. But it still means the requisites of a dramatic story. It could almost be argued that this doesn't even resemble a short, but a feature-length, in structure. In class, both students and professor have difficulty pinpointing just what defines a short documentary. Yet one has to note that a documentary isn't much different from a fictional film, especially structurally. Each are designed to elicit emotion, even if it is using interview and archival footage. Short documentaries are just a sub-label for short films; to make the distinction of fiction versus nonfiction, nothing more.

"Glee" Behind the Scenes: Meet the Mini-Me's!

2011-11-07T23:29:00.003-05:00

"Glee" Behind the Scenes - Meet the Mini-Me's!

FOX, October 2010, 2 minutes 34 seconds

Every week Youtube releases a behind-the-scenes look at the most recent "Glee" episode, usually titled "Glee Behind the Scenes," followed by the episode name. These videos usually last between two and three minutes, and focus on either a particular character, featured song, dance number, guest star, etc.

The episode "The Substitute" is featured in this particular behind the scenes look. In the episode, the glee club teacher Mr. Schuester gets sick and imagines the other glee club members as toddler versions of themselves. This video introduces the viewer to those mini-versions of the cast, showing interviews with cast members, rough, on-set video footage, and a few short clips from the episode itself.

A disadvantage of this short documentary is that when out of context, this video does not make much sense. That is, viewers would have to know the major plot points and characters of the show "Glee" to understand these short behind the scenes look at the episodes.

While at first glance this video does not seem like a documentary, I chose it because behind the scenes looks at television series and films are very common on video-hosting sites like Youtube. Almost all films nowadays release a featurette, or behind the scenes look at the film alongside the trailer, or at least before the film is released. I think there's something to be said about the fact that these short documentaries, however non-thought-provoking they may be, are so common nowadays.

The Beatles: Making of Help!

2011-11-06T14:14:00.003-05:00

THE BEATLES: MAKING OF HELP!

United Kingdom, 2009, 3 minutes and 22 seconds

In the remastered box set of The Beatles albums, there are mini documentaries for the making of each of the albums. I remember absolutely devouring all of them. I think Help! is particularly interesting because it's not only the making of an album, but the making of their film of the same name as well. Furthermore, there's something rather innocently infectious about their earlier albums, as opposed to their more "genius" later albums. At this point they were well established as a band but still relatively young and excitable.

This short documentary isn't particularly innovative but for any Beatles fan, it's going to be interesting. It's a compilation of still photographs and video footage with voice-overs by all four of the band members, as well as George Martin. In talking about Help!, they discuss what went into making the film such as the Ticket to Ride sequence being a holiday for the band and the silly but lovable nature of the film. They also talk simply about some of the songs on the album such as Yesterday and Paul's original title for it (Scrambled Eggs), as well as Ringo singing the lead for a song.

All of the documentaries of the albums are structured the same way and each one worth the watch. I find this one particularly interesting partly because it's one of my favorite albums by them and also because I find the balancing act of this album standing on its own as well as providing the soundtrack for their film fascinating. Really, though, it's the unheard sound bites that this documentary provides and a nostalgic reflection on the band that shaped many people's childhoods (including my own) which makes this short documentary as enjoyable as it is. It is nothing particularly spectacular in terms of mise-en-scene but it is quite the pleasure to watch.

"Around the World" - Daft Punk

2011-11-04T00:02:00.000-04:00

Daft Punk’s “Around the World”

Directed by Michel Gondry

March 7, 1997

Daft Punk’s music videos are all gold! I highly recommend checking out videos for songs such as “Technologic,” “Robot Rock,” and really any song you can find if you enjoy this one. I find many of their videos to be oddly hypnotic working alongside the rhythmically repetitive lyrics. This is a music video that has no narrative or superfluous images that detract from the song. Instead, Gondry intends for the video to compliment the song by having the choreography match the instruments.

Watch the video again and notice how the dancers in the center follow the beats of the drums, the skeletons match the guitar, and the tall, weird-looking guys match the bass line. I think Daft Punk videos do a great job in adding imagery to the music without losing its focus.

She and Him's "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"

2011-11-03T00:05:00.000-04:00

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here (Version 2)
Directed by Marc Webb, United States, 2009, 4 Minutes.
Source: YouTube

This film is about a man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who enters a bank with the intent to rob it. Little does he know, the female bank teller (Zooey Deschanel) behind the counter is bored and looking for a little adventure in her life. In the first few seconds of the video, we are following the man, but the minute he meets the woman, she becomes the dominate character and so does the song, which, if we did not already know, the actress/singer Deschanel sings. The video becomes the dream world of the bank teller, her desire to dance and interact with this mysterious and handsome male customer. In the end, the man leaves with the money, and we are not sure if he has experienced her fantasy too, or if he fears she will confront him and alert the bank of his thievery.

This music video is the second one made for this song, and the higher quality of the two. Directed by Marc Webb, this music video was released to promote his film (500) Days of Summer also starring Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt (G-L)--also, Deschanel wanted to promote her band and their latest song. I like this video because it is whimsical, well-stylized, and a stand-alone yet additive for the feature film. Though the characters are different between music video and feature, they have similar character attributes. For one, Deschanel always wears the color blue in (500) Days and that is carried on to her bank teller who wears blue vintage style clothing. As for G-L, he is able to show off his dance moves in a dream sequence similar to the scene in (500) Days where he dances to Hall and Oats' "You Make My Dreams Come True". This music video short successfully develops Webb's directing style, and She and Him's image. Also, I like that this video compliments the song, and does not do a lyric play-by-play.

G-L's character has so much mystery to him. Why is the man robbing a bank? Does he want to? I pose these questions because I had never seen the first few seconds of the man's development until I found this longer version of the video. Starting the film in a bar and watching the man swig back a little more than a shot appears to me that he is about to do something that he does not enjoy. I love how the bank teller's fantasy is interrupted with reality throughout the video. When she and the man are dancing on top of the desks, they take turns, him first, then her, and while she is dancing, we get a shot of the man checking his watch. We can take this gesture to mean two things: either he is being playful and gesturing that her solo dance is taking too long, or it is his non-fantasy character telling her to hurry with the money and stick it in the bag. Furthermore, fantasies follow a different time pattern than reality. In retrospect, this 4 minute video is really about 3 seconds long--the bank teller's fantasy is occurring while she and the man are looking at each other, and he, now exposed without sunglasses, is discerning whether or not she will tell the rest of the bank about the robbery.

Real Estate

2011-11-02T15:58:00.001-04:00

http://youtu.be/dliJtbYeCkY

Real Estate- Suburban Dogs (2009)

Dir. Richard Law

Unquestionably one of the slower paced music videos to be posted this week, Real Estate’s video for Suburban Dogs is nonetheless an extremely accurate visual representation of the band’s sound and lyrics and acts as a reminder that music videos serve a purpose other than to create a spectacle.The video is relatively straightforward, a unique product of the internet age that doesn’t seek to dazzle or glamorize, but rather embrace the experience of spending seemingly endless lazy days in suburban New Jersey doing whatever it takes to pass the time.

The strength of ‘Suburban Dogs’ lies in director Richard Law’s focus on atmosphere, which purposefully channels the band’s focus on feeling, mood, and vibe rather than blatant in-your-face emotion. The video is split into two parts: half is clean digital footage of the band performing at a New Jersey real estate office christmas party (see what they did there?); half is a montage of images of the group wandering aimlessly around the backyards and suburbs of the garden state shot with grainy Super 8 film. Aside from a playfully authentic introduction by some heavily-accented office workers at the party, the video is shot like a documentary (or at least an artsy home video) with a focus on capturing office knick knacks, employee mannerisms, and the like. The camera lingers on the tiniest details of the party, capturing the lost moments that create atmosphere such as a slightly tapping foot, the shiny sheen of grease on the buffet, or the loving laughter of women whose hair never really left the 1980s.

A frequently voiced complain about Real Estate is their uninspiring live show. The band’s hazy indie-rock never really leaves the 120 BPM range, and rarely deviates from this practiced formula. However what these critics fail to recognize, and what this music video does best to illustrate is the muted realism that Real Estate very effectively conveys in its music. The reverb-drenched arrangements of twangy guitars and faraway vocals recall a suburban nostalgia illustrated by the vintage-looking Super 8 footage and the attention to detail with digital footage.

The Carter (2008)

2011-11-01T00:56:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbKpdsLspwo

The Carter is a documentary about Dwayne Carter Jr. It is one of the craziest music documentaries I’ve ever watched. Wayne gave full access to cameras and showed them intimate parts of his life. He refused to sit down for interviews for the most part. Although he started with full approval, he was not on board with the project and ended up cutting it short. The documentary is an hour and fifteen minutes long. Lil Wayne is insane, he is really a crazy character, he carries bundles of cash with him, along side porn, and of course Sizzurp. “ Weed and syrup till I die”. I suggest watching the first 10 minutes to get the feel for the film. Wayne basically, tours, drinks syrup, makes music, smokes weed, talks about philosophy, and acts a fool throughout the entire film. Watch it.

Map of Tasmania - Amanda Palmer

2011-10-31T22:56:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcoreV10hI8

This music video is festive mix of outrageous and catchy. Palmer blunty espouses her (hope I don't offend anyone here) pussy pride by turning the usually taboo subject of pubic hair into a fierce and vibrant music video. The visuals pop out at you and are very pretty, serving to contrast with usual perception of pubic hair as ugly and shameful. Shock, splash and empowerment are often themes of Palmers songs or music videos, and this one fits by taking an offshoot of feminist pride and taking away the shame of a certain subject.

While there isn't a strict story in the video there is a sense of narrative. Palmer starts of by singing about censorship and oppression - but we see everyone busting loose and rocking out in resistance. Then we hear her sing about showing off her 'map of tasmania' and slowly but surely all the people shown the video reveal their maps of tasmania and they are liberated. Palmer sings about the horrors of shaving and we keep seeing women revealing their flashy exciting 'maps of tasmania' - swirls of hundred dollar bills, flowers, decks of bards and so on. As the music video goes on all involved become full of pussy pride as well. Stylistically this music video is appealing, colorful and flashy which all serve to contradict the common perception of 'maps of tasmania' as a private shame.

The fact that the subject matter of this music video is so unheard of, if not controversial also adds to its appeal. The shock value inherent in the subject matter serves as a good draw, and then after watching makes one reconsider the subject matter altogether. This makes the message in the video very effective for its audience.

*Ironically (yes real irony) you can see that some of the women in the music video are mostly shaven. Shame Shame.

Michael Jackson's Thriller

2011-10-30T18:43:00.005-04:00

Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

Directed by John Landis

December 2nd, 1983

Starring: Michael Jackson, Ola Ray, Vincent Price

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was a music video that affected not only a generation, but also an entire culture and how music videos were perceived entirely. After selling 9 million units, Guinness World Records listed it as the "most successful music video" in 2006. In 2009, the video became the first music video ever to be admitted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. It received this honor for falling into the "historically, culturally, or aesthetically" significant category. Of course, the "Thriller dance" was instantly a pop culture icon and continues to make it's appearance in the media today.

The narrative of Thriller is truly what sets it apart from the normal music video. The beginning of the video has us spooked when we see Michael Jackson turning into a horrible werewolf right in the middle of his date. However, once it is revealed to only have been a scene from a horror movie that the "real" Michael Jackson is seeing with his date, the viewer takes a sigh of relief. As Michael's date gets scared, the two of them leave the theater and Michael begins to sing the Thriller song while teasing his date. Next, after the two pass a graveyard the voiceover of Vincent Price is heard and we see the graveyard monsters coming to live right before our eyes. With the spooky voice of Price still in the viewer's ears, we see Michael taken over by the zombies and turned into one himself. Alas, the infamous Thriller dance begins with a "human" Michael leading the pack. While they shake and shimmy through the moves we all secretly know by heart, the thrill of the film is kept in tact with a horrified date screaming about her new zombie boyfriend and running off into a haunted house. As the zombies finally are closing in on her she closes her eyes and opens to find herself sitting on Michael's couch back his house. After Michael's sweet smile assures her that it was all a dream and that he will take her home now, we see Michael begin to lead her out only to turn back and flash us his "monster eyes" to finish the film.

It is hard to describe such a cultural revolution when I was not around to experience the full effect of the actual experience. Thriller actually was one of the first music videos I had ever seen growing up which caused me to notice instantly that every music video I saw after that was not the same at all. This video is really almost just another short film and was even released alongside a special theater showing of Disney's Fantasia so that the video could qualify for an Academy Award. When we ask ourselves the question of what makes a short film, how does this video fit into that category? We have the narrative, we have a plot, and we have a genre. While most music videos do not extend the same length that Thriller does, we are still forced to ask ourselves if music videos could themselves be considered short films? I believe that a music video like Thriller is absolutely a short film because it does indeed provide me with a storyline and characters, all while giving me great dance moves to bust out at the next Halloween party I attend.

Rainbow Dance!

2011-10-29T01:48:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbkwZhQWuFs
Rainbow Dance
Directed by Len Lye, 1936, 3:50

In true Experimental film style, Rainbow Dance lacks narrative and seems to be a continuous acid trip. It shows a dancer with various objects, and switches between scenes of this man and other shapes such as fish, and diagonal lines.

I think after a certain point, all experimental films contribute the same thing to the film industry, and to the film audience. Its main purpose is to give the audience a strange experience that they can't get from typical genres of film.

One element specifically prevalent in these experimental shorts is the lack of narrative. I think it's important to note that this is probably the main purpose of experimental films. They're the anarchists of the film industry. Rather than conform to the typical narratives that the rest of the genres follow, experimental films say, "Fuck that" and get their point across in their own way. This is important because it gives filmmakers a way to express themselves in a more abstract way.

Fireworks (1947)

2011-10-26T20:13:00.003-04:00

Part 1
Part 2

Fireworks
Kenneth Anger
1947, USA
14 Min

Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" is a statement about the difficulty of being a homosexual in 1940's America as well as an exploration of the thoughts and feelings of a gay teenage boy trapped in such a culture. Anger's own synopsis of the film states: "A dissatisfied dreamer awakes, goes out in the night seeking a `light' and is drawn through the needle's eye. A dream of a dream, he returns to bed less empty than before." I believe the identity of this "light" is first revealed when the "dreamer" exits the place he had been sleeping through a door marked "Gents." "Light" symbolizes, in my opinion, the fulfillment of the boy's sexual needs. Thus, he goes out into the night looking for "light" and finds it in the form of a muscular sailor.

In the next scene, the "dreamer" is attacked by a group of sailors and beaten badly, cut with broken class and would have had his heart cut out if his heart had not been a gas gauge. Milk is then poured over the "dreamer", a sailor that is meant to seem larger than life then appears with a firework protruding from his pants. He lights said firework and a stream of sparks fly from its tip. The next scene is of a burning Christmas tree and the final scene is of the view of the "dreamer" in bed with a sailor with his face disillusioned by light.

In my opinion, the film is filled with a great amount of symbolism starting with the muscular sailor who I believe is the "dreamers" ideal man, the kind of man he wishes to pursue. The scene in which the "dreamer" is beaten and cut with glass could in fact be a scene in which the character is being raped by a group sailors, brutalized by them, and finally covered in semen (milk). This part of the film confused me and if I followed the train of thought that this scene was a rape scene then it might be an expression of Anger's own homoerotic sadomasochism. The image of the sailor with the phallic firework also led me to this notion as he appears to be "larger than life" and has "light" protruding from his metaphorical phallus. The final scene of the "dreamer" in bed with the sailor whose face is obscured by light leads one to believe that the dreamer found his "light" and that is the reason he returns to bed "less empty than before."

Overall, I believe this film is an exploration of being a homosexual in 1940's American and what it meant to attempt to fulfill the urges that one finds running through their mind at night.

Mongoloid - Devo music video by Bruce Connor

2011-10-25T17:13:00.004-04:00

Bruce Connor
1977, USA
3:37

This music video follows much of the same pattern as Bruce Connor's "Movie," the short film we watched in class: bizarre images from spectacles and popular culture smashed together into a whimsical weird montage. In that film, music often contrasted starkly with image to create a witty feel of ironic tension. (Witness men falling off jetskis while somber high-drama music blares on in the background). Much of the same technique is employed by Connor here. This time Devo's "Monogloid" makes up the entire soundtrack though. The song, with it's ironically simplistic chord progression and bleating vocals, makes the perfect contrast to 50's images of smiling men in lounge chairs, a man pulling a bus with his teeth.

Much of the video is filled with old imagery that looks like it could have come from a television special about how the brain works. We see people's heads attached to wired caps, animations of crossing lines perhaps meant to look like neurons, and a sketched cross section of the human brain's reaction to a plate of food. There are also recurring images of bucolic suburban life: waving to the post man, people wearing cardigans, reading papers happily behind desks, clips from cereal commercials, etc. While these images on their own might be difficult to assign meaning to, with the aid of Devo's self-conscious irony, they become instead witty commentaries on what it means to be really brain dead.

View the video here

DRINKING OUT OF CUPS

2011-10-24T23:13:00.003-04:00

Drinking Out Of Cups
Liam Lynch, USA, 2006, Approx. 2 mins.

Drinking Out of Cups is an animated short film about a misanthropic lizard who rants about people he is observing. As he talks, the backdrop fades in and out of random locations and oddly literal images from his rant pop up (the lizard calls somebody "Mr. Walkway" and then a walkway with legs strolls by). Short pieces of text occasionally appear to highlight things the lizard is saying.

This is technically a music video-- the audio was taken from musician Dan Deacon's 2003 album Meetle Mice and 3D animation was added over it three years after the fact with no input from Deacon. I mention this to give some kind of context-- I know that the first time few times I watched it I wanted any kind of background. You want something to grab onto that you can use to start to understand whatever this is.

It sounds like a field recording taken outside a bar at 5 am but it clearly is not that because nobody is unintentionally this incoherent. Drinking Out Of Cups can fairly be classified as an experimental short film because it was clearly crafted but it does not make any sense. There was a script written and the animation is of a high enough quality that somebody had to spend a significant amount of time working on the lip-sync and nonsense animations. But it doesn't really let the viewer into its world. It's like a postcard into a bizarro world. There is logic at work but the short doesn't feel like letting you in on that logic.

And I like it for that. It was initially difficult for me to find an experimental short to write about because, no matter how odd, most films have a beginning, middle and end. The difference between this and the art school projects I found online is that it's funny. The viewer is able to follow the nonsense because it's idiosyncratically hilarious. If "follow" isn't the right word, maybe "be pulled along" is a better phrase. It's an experiment that isn't trying to show off to the viewer or academically confound anybody.

Screen Test: Helmut

2011-10-23T19:27:00.002-04:00

Screen Test: Helmut

Andy Warhol, United States, 1966

Andy Warhol may be one of the most renowned and controversial artists of the mid to late 20th century. His work, while found in art galleries across the globe and heralded as groundbreaking and enormously innovative, is seen as hypocritically mainstream and pointlessly pretentious in some ‘more authentic’ modern artistic communities (how many times have you see the campbell soup picture on tote bags, stickers, and buttons on your entry-level artsy friend who has whole-heartedly embraced ‘post-modern-art’?). So of course Andy Warhol’s head-scratching journey into filmmaking deserves evokes the same sort of response. Among the films he shot, which include such rewarding gems as “Empire” and “Eat” are about 500 Screen Tests, video portraits that he shot of the attractive, the famous, or the interesting.

“Screen Test: Helmut” is a five minute silent black and white continuous close-up of a young man’s face. The face remains deathly still other than the occasional blink or involuntary bat of his eyelash. The film is slowed down to about 24-frames per-second to capture these slight movements a bit better, but other than this and the choppy fade-in’s and out’s at the beginning and end respectively, nothing changes throughout the film.

Unlike some experimental films, the Screen Test series is relatively straightforward: it’s Warhol’s attempt to use film and video to paint a sort of modern portrait which takes its cues from still photography. The Screen Tests were originally arranged by Warhol into compilations or sets such as “13 Most Beautiful Men” and “13 Most Beautiful Women,” which were projected onto the walls during some of his gallery shows. There isn’t really much deeper meaning in these portraits, other than to capture beautiful people in a modern way. Warhol believed that these Screen Tests demonstrated that beautiful or interesting people could hold an audience’s attention no matter what they were doing.

Although some critics still find merit in these ‘films’ (enough so to get one put on the Cinema 16 short film collection), they would be much more appropriately classified as video-art or even experimental photography. The films lacks narrative, sound, characters, and themes, which all-together create a series case against these portraits as films.

The Darkness Demo

2011-10-22T20:18:00.004-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA

The Darkness Demo (Fullyamblomatic review)

by Ben Croshaw

July 24, 2007

This short film is a 3 minute, 14 second review of the video game demo for "The Darkness." The whole video is done using static images and recorded speech. Through the images and accompanying narration, the director takes us through his first attempt at playing this particular game.

The narration and images are humorous throughout with the director making many references and allusions to people, events, and movies in popular culture. There is a definite tongue-in-cheek feel to the short as the gamer evidently did not enjoy playing this demo. It moves at a brisk paces as the narration is done rapidly and the images are cycled through quickly; I enjoyed this because it kept me engaged and on-my-toes.

I enjoyed this experimental short because of the humorous static images and the speed at which the narrator took the viewer through the events. It was well-paced, concise, and witty. The quirkyness of it reminded me of many similar youtube videos that fall into this genre --voiced over static images -- that are renowned on the website.

Good video, different, and funny.

Sintel

2011-10-20T19:10:00.002-04:00

Sintel

Directed by Colin Levy, Netherlands, 2010, 15 Minutes

Source: YouTube

Sintel is the story of a girl name Sintel who by chance comes across a wounded baby dragon. After taking the baby dragon in, healing it, and naming it Scales, a older dragon captures scales and takes it away. Sintel then goes on a perilous journey across the world in order to get her dragon friend back. However, when Sintel finally finds scales again, certain events lead to a sad and shocking ending.

When I first saw Sintel I was blown away by the graphics, cinematography, and the story. However, as I watched the short over and over again I began to realize that something was missing. That something depth meaning that this film gives off a feeling that your being rushed through a complicated story. In other words, Sintel feels like it should be a two and half hour epic instead of fifteen minutes of rushed mediocrity. While the various landscapes and shots are stunning, this movie is really disappointing because this deep and amazing story is rushed leaving the viewer wanting more.

However, Sintel is a different type of film than any of the other films posted so far on this blog. Sintel is a free open source movie created on a open source 3D program called Blender. The main purpose of this film was to raise money through DVD sales to help fund the Blender Foundation, which oversees the Blender 3D program. In fact, it's through my interest in the program Blender that I came across this movie and it stuck with me ever since. In case you are unfamiliar with what an open source movie is, it's a movie where by purchasing the DVD you receive all of the files used to make the movie. This unfortunately means that the main reason this movie doesn't stand up well is because it's meant to sell DVDs for the content instead of the story. By rushing the story and making it complicated, the Blender Foundation was able to create tons of content to put on the DVDs that makes them a better deal but at the same time kills the magnificent story.

This still isn't an excuse for ruining an amazing story and Sintel is still an amazing short film. However, in order to see it's beauty you have to really look deep into it's rushed story line and imagine what it would look like if it wasn't rushed. Hopefully at some point in the future, they decide to redo this short and flush it out so the story really gets a chance to shine.

Your post is stupid. My post. is. AWESOME!

2011-10-19T23:04:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsUlCH1xmC4

This was to be the original pilot for the show Adventure Time on Nickolodeon. However, it was never turned into a full time show, but was later picked up by Cartoon Network. This short tells the story of Pen and his dog friend Jake on a mission to save the Princess from the Ice King.

Personally, if any of you have seen the new episodes on Cartoon Network, I don't recommend it. This short is so much less trippy than the popular kids' show the public now knows as Adventure Time. This short has much better humor and doesn't heavily rely on the strange narration that the new show does. Maybe I'm spoiled by seeing this before the new show came out, but I still think this does a much better job of portraying Pen and Jake's adventures.

While the animation itself is not all that fancy or advanced, it does the job of creating an interesting world for Pen and Jake to explore. It's weird enough to make the show not too cliche, but it's not as bizarre as the newer version. This short is able to get across what it wants to without relying on overstimulating its audience.

Creature Comforts by Nick Park - 1989

2011-10-17T18:20:00.004-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihhq5_2kaWQ

"Creature Comforts" is a claymation short by director Nick Park based around the idea of a reporter interviewing different animals at the zoo to get their opinion on their living situation. Different animals are seen talking into a microphone about living at the zoo and what their take on the situation is. All this comes from Nick Park aka the creator of Wallace and Gromit.

I think that this film is ingenious. First of all the concept of interviewing animals at the zoo in the style of a human interest story for the news, and hearing them talk matter of factly how they would rather live somewhere else, or how they feel safe seems so ridiculous that in a way its hilarious. Their anthropomorphism - everything from rolling eyes, raising their hand, gesturing, wearing old lady glasses plays on stereotypical human characters, combined with their zoo animal situation and story is done brilliantly, and clearly underscored with this very dry humor that the director uses to mesh animal and human together.*** Their very human teeth are out of place, and yet work because they serve to further anthropomorphize the animals. The voices are also very important in that blending. Matching these blase british voices (that are very unlike the dramatic and exaggerated voices we often hear animals given in other films) with the human teeth really gives the viewer the feeling we are seeing people interviewed...but they just happen to be animals. In a bizarre way, it makes ones think about how unfair and absurd the concept of a zoo really is.

The humor in the film deserves to be mentioned in its own right as well. The nonchalant mood of the film juxtaposed with the absurdity of the story being presented is so dry and subtle in its humor that at the end you aren't even quite sure why what you just saw was so funny. The subtlety comes from the bits here and there that are so off the wall - and yet they aren't screaming at you to pay attention to them. For instance the polar bears talking about loving steak, or the eyes of the bushbaby really being glasses, or my personal favorite - when the the chicken is talking about the circus, and in the background you see one chicken snap another chickens beak off its face as if it were wearing one of those fake beaks on an elastic string around its head. All of this is presented as ordinary, but it is so far from that that it end up being highly humorous. Basically after I watch the film I just sat their shaking my head saying "What..." to myself and knowing that I loved it.

If for nothing else (psh) Nick Park deserves to be lauded for his animation technique. This entire piece is done so intricately and perfectly that he effectiveley creates that fourth wall, which is arguably harder in claymation. The voices, the motions, and the almost invisibility of the stop-cutting (sorry if thats the wrong term) all work in harmony and the piece appears seamless. The look of the creatures is also another aspect that adds to the humor of the film. The cuteness, or how some of the creatures are slightly cockeyed, or most noticeably how most of these creatures are much more bizarre looking than their real life counterparts is done just so that even the look of the film is hilarious.

This actually film ended up winning the Best Animated Animated Short Film award at the Oscars, and I believe it completely deserved it.

*** The director used street interviews for the voices of the animals.

Eating Sand

2011-10-17T02:17:00.002-04:00

Eating Sand

Aaron Stewart

Country Unknown

Uploaded in 2009

Sometimes you watch something that asks more questions than it answers. This short is one of those things. It begs questions like, what is this, who did this, and why? The information that the poster/creator gives you does not answer any of these questions.

But when you think about, your reaction to the short mirrors the plot (if you can call it that) of the short itself. You stumble upon a strange person doing a strange thing and begin to repeatedly question them. In the short the bird gets his answer in the form of an explanation that seems completely ridiculous to us. The viewer of the short does not get a ridiculous explanation from the short itself, but I think I may have provided one.

But this brings me to a larger point about animation, especially in short film. We have no real idea whether or not the explanation that Billy gave to the bird was ridiculous in the context of the world they exist in. All animated films, movies and shows create a world with rules that different than ours. As long as these rules are internally consistent then we simply accept the creative license that the animators are taking.

However, in a short film, there is no time for the rules of the world to be established. Eating sand is a great example of this because it is so short. We have no idea what if what is going on here is at all normal in this world. Do all of the things there speak in a series of horn notes? Could one house a civilization of sand castle building insects in his stomach? I have no idea, and neither do you.

Now this is not to say that animation cannot be successful in a short film. I love animated shorts. But I think to make them successfully, one has to understand that they work best when they are using surprise. Whether this surprise is unnerving, funny, or (in the case of Eating Sand) just odd, I think that if a short like this can come along and surprise us, then it is not a waste of time.

Hedgehog In The Fog

2011-10-16T22:47:00.001-04:00

Hedgehog in the Fog
Directed by Yuri Norstein
Animated by Yuri Norstein
Russia, 1975

We watched this short in a course I'm taking called Russia and the United States. While discussing the cultural discrepancies between the two nations, we watched this as an illustration of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's value orientations.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck broke culture down into a few categories including human nature orientation (do they think humans are innately good or evil?) and Man vs. Nature orientation (does nature dominate them or vice versa?).

This animated short addresses human nature orientation a few times, namely when our little hedgehog encounters the dog and the fish (or "stranger"). Although there are a few potential "bad guys", no character every actually does some thing bad- whereas numerous characters do kind things for the protagonist. This is a cultural value the US shares with Russia: a general belief that people are good at heart. On the flip side, you'll notice our pint-sized-pal gets knocked around a lot by good old mother nature. He's afraid the fog will choke the horse, afraid of the tree, and let's not forget 7:53 (possibly the most depressing line I've ever heard in a children's cartoon) where the Hedgehog calmly accepts that the river is probably going to drown him. This is a mentality that we don't share, preferring to dominate nature than admit submissiveness, which may be why it strikes me as so horrifying.

Aside from being an interesting take on Russian cultural values, this short also won "Number One Animated Film of All Time" in 2003 at the "All Time Animation Best 150 in Japan and Worldwide" competition.

Alma

2011-10-15T16:39:00.003-04:00

ALMA

Directed and written by Rodrigo Blaas

Spain, 2009, 5 and a half minutes

I had been planning on talking about Pixar's Geri's Game when this animated short by former Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas was linked to me. I watched this film and was absolutely blown away. I do want to say that you must watch the film before reading the rest of this entry as it is not a film you want to be spoiled for.

The concept of this film is a rather simple one. A young girl, Alma, is walking through the snow-covered streets of a town when she sees a doll that resembles her in the window of a shop. The door opens on its own and she goes in, her doll seeming to disappear and reappear until she finds it on a shelf. When she touches it, there is a flash of images and suddenly the only sound is her breathing and the view now from the doll's eyes, looking around frantically. Alma has become her doll. The end of the film is another doll slowly coming up in the frame of the window, showing the next victim.

When a friend initially linked this to me, she mentioned it was creepy but I could have never predicted this. This film flows nicely but is entirely incongruous within itself, leaving its ending entirely in the dark and surprising for the ending. It's one of the most satisfying endings I have seen in a film, short or feature-length, because I didn't seen it coming and it was appropriately terrifying in its simplicity and lack of explanation. The start of the film seems humble and charming with its airy, pleasant score to the sight of a young girl walking in the snow. There is nothing ominous at its beginning which gives the audience a false sense of security which, in turn, is what makes the subsequent scenes in the store so much more haunting.

For the animation itself, it is soft in its line and Blaas' past with Pixar is extremely evident. It's very charming in its fantasy-like European setting and wins over the audience from the very start of the film. Blaas does an excellent job at setting up the most simplest of scenarios but still making the scene that comes next unknown to the audience, leaving them in the dark. When Alma becomes the doll, the audience is entirely unsuspecting of it. There was, clearly, something strange about the shop but the audience, like Alma, could not have predicted what.

This animated short is absolutely now one of my favorites and I think it was executed in a very mature and meticulous manner. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Logorama

2011-10-14T10:00:00.007-04:00

Logorama

Written and Directed by: H5, France, 16 minutes

Released at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Source: Vimeo

Logorama is an animated short set in a new Los Angeles. From the street lamps to the main characters, the city is entirely comprised of corporate logos and advertisements. While the film follows the stories of a couple characters, the main focus is that of the police chase between the Michelin Men and the armed fugitive, Ronald McDonald, through the streets of the city.

The first time I came across this film I had no indication that it was anything more than a funny Youtube video. The satiric tone the film takes from the opening scene until the credits roll is what sets this film apart from the rest. The audience almost cannot decide what the film is poking fun at the most. Seeing timeless corporate logos as gun-slinging fugitives, lonely truck drivers, foul-mouthed waitresses, rebel children, and stereotypical police officers is what instantly captures the audience's attention. Then to see these characters engage in the over-the-top action and unimaginative story-line that Hollywood blockbusters are built upon keeps the audience laughing from start to finish. Throughout the entire film the audience is continually asking, "What next?" while watching the car chase ultimately turn into an unbelievable catastrophe.

The other side of this film is trying to locate all the logos creatively making up the entire city. The AOL instant messenger men act as civilians, coffee cups spill into the orange Nickelodeon splat, the E! logo stands as structural support and even holds a place in the LA skyline, Mr. Clean turns into a gay tour guide, and the list continues. Even when the entire city is flooded and the shot zooms out of the world and into outer space, we see that Earth is actually the Universal Studios logo, all the planets are famous logos, and that even the Milky Way is appropriately the Milky Way logo.

What made me ultimately enjoy this film the most was that every single aspect was done completely over-the-top: The language, the action, the story, the logos, and everything in between. The film would not have been the same experience had the characters only been logos or had the car chase been the only action. Obviously the Academy agreed that H5 had created something that stood apart from their competition because they awarded them the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2010.

Six Shooter: 2006 Live Action Oscar Winner

2011-10-13T23:13:00.001-04:00

Six Shooter

Directed by Martin McDonagh, Ireland, 2004, 27 min.

2006 Academy Award Winner for Live Action Short Film

Source: A CollectionOf 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (DVD 1328)

Six Shooter takes place in contemporary Ireland and beginswith a sequence of a man finding that his wife has died while in hospital. After seeing her body for the last time hegets on the train and sits across from a rather crude and loud-mouthed teenagerwho will not stop going on with his opinions and stories whether his audienceis interested or not. In the booth caddycorner to his is a sad looking couple; the kid asked what's wrong with them andthe husband reveals that their child has just died. Apart from the last scene, the rest of thefilm takes place on the train, depicting the confrontation between thecharacters as well as grief and sociopathic carelessness.

At first, I found the film disappointing for what I saw asits use of two conceits, one being death of a family member, which we see ofcourse from the opening, and then the death of the child that we learn of onthe train. The other conceit of course isthat of the six shooter; the two weapons the young man pulls when confronted by the police are revolversthat have 6 round chambers. (This isrelevant at the end of the film as well when the man takes one of the weaponsof the kids body so that he may commit suicide himself). Films of course use various conceits all thetime and they are a necessary tool. Aconceit used well however is one that is used to enable action, plot, etc. inways that make meaning. Six Shootermakes an attempt at this however by drawing upon the well of loss begun fromthe opening sequence (check which frame), deepens by the exposition of thecouples child step from SIDS and then turned violent upon the mother's suicide. That is to say, what may appear to be aconceit, which short film is often forced to rely upon more, is revealed to beso much more as the film (seemingly) rolls along down the train tracks.

I think pivotal moment for me was when the mother jumps fromthe train, or perhaps the moment immediately before when, after the young mansqueezes into the seat next to her and glibly accuses her of murdering her ownchild, she tries to step over him and out of the booth, tearing the picture ofthe child. It is here that the conceitof loss is shown to be of real meaning, dietetically and to the audience. McDonagh shows impressive craft in histreatment of the mother's suicide; it is neither explicitly violent or exploitative,nor does the audience even see much evidence of the act apart from the quick thudheard after she moves through the door connecting the train cabs and a spot ofblood on the window. Through neither music, character action nor any change incinematographic style, the tone changes quietly but sharply and quicklynonetheless. It is in this sequence that SixShooter shows its greatest strength: giving the audience access to thedespair of loss on the torture of survival without lengthy exposition orcomplex plot development. And yet thecomplexity of these meditations is immense; is this not the measure of asuccessful short film?

For more information, see cinema16.

Snap

2011-10-12T12:45:00.000-04:00

Snap

Director Monolo Celi

Film won award from "The Florida Industry Incubator"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmxX2r-uD8I

The short film was made for the contest that gives team 30 days to shoot and edit a 5-minute short while having a budget of 500 dollars. The film opens with Roberto Lequex , a photographer, sitting having lunch. He sees a family taking pictures and then runs over to help them. He ends up robbing the guy of his really nice DSLR and takes pictures of him as he robs him. I thought that was hilarious the way the actor got so angry and its incredible that Roberto Lequex was actually taking pictures during the filming. I like this film because it is very light hearted and simplistic. Although it has a very linear structure the end is a shot of the gallery with all of the pictures of the shoot! Very cool how the Director and photographer were able to collaborate into making a film and photo shoot into a single piece. I think the filmmakers executed the making of this short effectively and entertainingly.

Terminal Bar

2011-10-11T20:16:00.002-04:00

http://youtu.be/SqLNXH62Nbw

Terminal Bar

Stephan Nadelman

Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize 2003

It’s fairly apparent from the first minute of Stephan Nadelman’s documentary “Terminal Bar” why this film was so well received by juries and audiences on the festival circuit in 2003. The 22 minute feature, told entirely in black and white photographs with minimal live-action footage, is a first hand look into the lives of some of the roughest, slimiest, most interesting characters in New York at a time when the city’s reputation as one of the toughest in the nation was more than deserved.

The film tells the story of Sheldon Nadelman’s ten year bar-tending career at the Terminal Bar, formally located across the street from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown. The short has no dialogue besides narration from a 1982 New York Times article chronicling the bar’s history and ultimately closure, as well as interviews with Sheldon Nadelman (Stephan’s father). Nadelman Sr. took over 2500 photographs during the course of his tenure at the bar, and these photos are edited together stylishly to music to tell the story of the bar’s journey from its Irish working-class roots, to its unintentional rebranding as a predominantly African American gay bar. The short spends the majority of its time focusing on on the portraits that Nadelman took, as he describes the interesting stories of these incredibly eccentric characters, and their lives inside and outside of Terminal.

The strength of the documentary lies in its simplicity, both in delivery and of message. With period-appropriate funk and disco music throbbing in the background, Nadelman Jr. employs fast-paced and editing techniques (panning, tiling, zooms in and out) to keep the montage of gritty, beautiful photographs taken by his father moving at a speed that not only holds the audience’s attention, but reflects the mood and atmosphere of the city and its inhabitants as they passed through the Terminal. The narrator’s vivid anecdotes of the working-class alcoholics, homosexuals, and riff-raff that frequented the bar are as lively as they are depressing, and paint a portrait of the tough, yet fascinating lives of the middle and lower class of New York during the era.

There’s a particularly poignant moment towards the end of the film that serves as a sort of thesis for the short. In the Times article about the closing, Nadelman says “[People] come out there in the morning, step over the bodies, and go to work. And they step over them on the way back. And nobody says nothing. When one person’s lying in the street, everyone’s lying in the street.” The photographs that flash behind these words echo this sentiment, and show the harshness of the time, and help the audience understand why so many of New York’s dejected masses wandered into the bar, to enjoy the moment, and escape.

2011-10-10T16:32:00.002-04:00

Bugcrush

Directed by Carter Smith

Jury Selection Winner - Sundance Film Festival 2006

Bugcrush follows a young loner's fascination with the new kid in town. The kid just so happens to be every parent's nightmare, typical stuff right? No. It'd be fine if the fascination led him down the path of recreational drug use and teenage rebellion. In Bugcrush the fascination takes him down an unimaginable and frightening path or the new kid's barn where he keeps a bug that he claims made him sexually climax something indescribable.

The narrative, in many respects is typical in its regard to young boy has obsession with school rebel, like having a crush on the bad kid because we're not supposed to-- its an examination of desire and what lengths we'll go to as individuals for a sense of love and belonging. The bugs are what make this narrative singular. The idea that being infected, or being bitten by a poisonous bug in this case, is all part of the induction or the shared affection. In this particular scene notice the manipulation into a false sense of security until finally the loner has fully submitted. I empathize. I think we can all empathize. We've liked people we shouldn't like and this oftentimes has gotten us into precarious situations that we justify because we're in love and they'll never hurt me. Yet, in every way this situation is wrong. The pacing of this film is fantastic. We're led to this dark place and in the space of a short film Carter gets all of the details just right-- shows us the journey of these two boys to the point of climax where we think we're going to see something sweet and cliche and instead we are submitted to scenic dread to this horrifying experience. I'd even categorize this short as a horror film. The psychology is at play with these two characters and very real, human character vulnerability is drawn out in both of them. We fully empathize before we enter the barn and then Smith flips the switch. The cinematography gives rise to the tension and we get a sense of impending doom.

Six Shooter

2011-10-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

SIX SHOOTER
Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh, Ireland, 2005, 27 Minutes
2005 Academy Award Winner-Best Live Action Short Film
Previously Covered on The Short Films Blog by Ashley Joyce (Post Found Here)

If you click on the link to Ms. Joyce's previous posting on "Six Shooter," you will find a wonderful summary and critique on the film's theme of death, which she eloquently and accurately tackles. However, in following with this week's theme of award winning shorts, I'd instead like to focus on how unorthodox styles within the shorts category seem to have greater success during award season.

"Six Shooter" stars Brendan Gleason as Donnelly, a grieving widower returning home on a train from the hospital after his wife has passed away. There he runs into a delinquent without a filter and a couple grieving the loss of their child, and Donnelly faces a sardonically funny conflict that turns tragic. The film functions with a true dramatist's magic, infused with the dark absurdity that is trademark McDonagh; an Irish playwright behind works such as The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman, and would go onto write and direct 2008's In Bruges.

What I find fascinating is that this movie would go onto earn an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film, yet if its style were taken and transposed onto a feature, it's unlikely to have even earned a nomination for Best Picture. It isn't that McDonagh's style on display here couldn't be done as a feature (hence In Bruges.) But take 2005's Best Picture winner, the painfully preachy melodrama Crash. Nominees in the Best Picture category included that year's upset favorite, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, and Munich. The latter three were all based off of historical events, and all dramatic, lacking humor, and avoiding the label of "genre film."

Then take the films up against "Six Shooter:" "Cashback," "The Runaway," "The Last Farm," and "Our Time is Up." Admittedly, I have not seen "The Last Farm" or "The Runaway," but "Cashback" falls in the indie dramedy category while "Our Time is Up" is a suicide comedy. This trend of unconventional genre films winning the Best Live Action Short Film category is apparent when looking over winners from the last decade: Last year's "God of Love," or 2009's "The New Tenants," a sort of homage to Tarantino and David Lynch. Now albeit, we do see films and directors that are not traditionally "dramatic" get nominated. However, I think it is obvious that there is a lack of seriousness (or rather, suffocating pretentiousness) absent in these nominees and winners, as opposed to the Best Picture category, which has a tendency to picking tepid, slow moving dramas over bolder, stylistic films; notable upsets include Ordinary People over Raging Bull, Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction, or last year's The King's Speech over The Social Network.

There is almost a suggestion that the Academy views the short film as a gimmicky product; where clever situations and stylized dialogue over 10-25 minutes is rewarded. "Six Shooter" does not have a particularly strong dramatic arc. After spending about 22 minutes entertainingly watching some foul mouthed kid insult a mourning mother and give an anecdote about how he witnessed a cow explode, McDonagh does a good job using characterization as a means of illustrating the meaning of death, but in terms of entertainment value, of being engaging, it does so through vulgar pulpiness. This sort of style has made, what I think, some of the best films of the last 25 years: Any of Tarantino's films, Fight Club, Drive. But to the award givers? They might tolerate 20 minutes of such, but not 120 apparently.

Fight For Your Right (Revisited)

2011-10-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (Revisited)
Directed by Adam Yauch, USA, 2011, 30 minutes.
Source: Youtube

"Fight for Your Right (Revisited)" is all at once a comedy, a tribute to the Beastie Boys, a music video and a commercial for "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two," the rapping trio's latest album. The film picks up right where the iconic video "Fight for Your Right" leaves off, with Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen and Danny McBride starring as the Beastie Boys. Released the day after a normal-length music video for their single "Make Some Noise," this short follows the group as they steal beer, do drugs, cause havoc in the streets of NYC and eventually face off against the "future Beastie Boys" (Will Ferrel, John C. Reilly and Jack Black) only to be arrested by the real-life Beastie Boys. All of this happens while we are being introduce to the Beastie Boys newest beats.

What is most impressive about this short is the star power. Almost as entertaining as watching Frodo chugging beer and being a belligerent youth is watching the famous cast unfold. There are an almost overwhelming number of cameos in the film, it is impossible to guess what actor/comedian/musician/Steve Buscemi will appear next. Some of my favorite roles include Chloe Sevigny as a 80's hair-band chick, Orlando Bloom as a street car-window washer and Ted Danson as a flustered restaurant host. This video will require multiple viewings to catch and appreciate all the appearances, but in my mind it is fully worth your time if only just to inspire day-dreams about the hilarious chaos that must have taken reign on set.

Thinking about the number of things this film accomplishes could give a person whiplash. The Beastie Boys are memorializing their own legacy while advertising their newest product, and got every big name in Hollywood to sign on. This short embodies the variety of intentions a single film on the internet can have, but you would never notice because it is just that funny.

Crazy For You

2011-10-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

Get More: MTV Supervideo, Music, Best Coast, Best Coast, Music, More Music Videos

CRAZY FOR YOU
Directed by Drew Barrymore, United States, 2011, 11 Minutes
Actors: Chloë Moretz, Tyler Posey, Alia Shawkat,Miranda Cosgrove, Shailene Woodley

This film is a modern day retailing of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (R&J), or more specifically, its successor, West Side Story. This film follows two gangs. One is dressed in neon colors and called the Day Trotters, and one is dressed in black leather and called the Night Creepers. Within these two gangs, there is a boy, Lucky, from the Day Trotters and a girl, Veronica, from the Night Creepers who inevitably fall in love and want different peaceful lives. The two young lovers have a secret affair for a few days and only communicate through writing on their hands, and the tragic instance of graffiti on the wall. After a misunderstanding, their teen love affair comes to an end. When a gang fight erupts between the two gangs due to a brutal beating of the Night Creeper's female leader's sister, Veronica pushes Lucky accidentally off the roof, and learns of his true answer to her palm question too late.

I have never been a fan of Romeo and Juliet, but this film does do a modern adaptation of the play--and amazingly does it without dialogue. The only dialogue we get is from Night Creeper's gang leader, played by Alia Shawkat, and it is one of anger and hate, a very important and sad emotion that is exists in R&J. In addition to Alia Shawkat, this film is full of young up-and-coming stars: Chloë Moretz as Veronica, Tyler Posey as Lucky, Miranda Cosgrove as the beat up gang member, and many more. I am not sure this film would have been made if Drew Barrymore, a well-known actress herself, had not directed it. This film is characteristic of a Drew Barrymore piece. From Charlie's Angels to Whip It, Barrymore has a distinct 1980's clothing cut and colors styling. As far as quality, this film, partnered with MTV, is of high quality--high quality as both a short and a music video for the band Best Coast and their song "Our Deal". Also, I really enjoy how Lucky is a combination of both Tony and Bernardo from West Side Story, two males that greatly affect Maria and her view on society.

This film is a successful modern retelling of a classic play for the MTV/Reality TV age. It also follows the frustration of the play elegantly. In the play, you always want to yell at Romeo to stop taking the poison as Juliet awakes. This film evokes the same frustration when we watch Lucky, who is not lucky, write "I can't" and then disappear to the other side of the wall. Of course, Veronica does not notice the rest of the answer until Lucky is already on the pavement dying. Why does he have to be so dimwitted and write the two most disappointing and most misleading words to answer her question on the wall she is standing closest too? Also, playing on the similarities of its predecessor West Side Story, the fight at the end of the film is dance fighting, which also goes with the music. Furthermore, this film is effective because it promotes love, not violence--something every generation needs to remember. I think, though, that this film is ineffective because it deals with two gangs that control the same streets different times of day, so why is it necessary for them to fight? In West Side Story there is racial discrimination as well as youths trying to control the same streets the same time of day. Also, this is meant to be a music video. I did not realize this fact until I watched it for the second time. The film plays to the music, but the music gets lost in the film at the same time.

One last note: I am really happy to see Chloë Moretz in another film. She is great in both Kick-Ass and (500) Days of Summer. Also, without looking, does anyone recognize the actor who plays Lucky? That's right. He plays Jennifer Lopez's son in Maid in Manhattan. Crazy.

Prop 8 - The Musical

2011-10-05T18:12:00.004-04:00

Directed and Staged by: Adam Shankman
Conceived and Written by-Marc Shaiman
Stars: Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Craig Robinson, Sarah Chalke

This short satirical musical colloquially discusses the battle about gay marriage between liberals and conservatives; specifically the issue of Proposition 8. In a time when liberals could see their social agenda potentially being fulfilled (the election of President Obama), conservatives fought and continue to fight tooth and nail to block any gay rights laws from passing. This film humorously outlines this battle by depicting liberals as colorful "hippies" and conservatives as tight wads in suits.

While the musical is quite humorous, with such conservative one liners as "Obamanation" instead of "abomination", it in fact does an excellent job of outlining the main components of the conservative argument against gay marriage. One such component is the religious view in which the conservatives cite the Bible as saying gay marriage is "damnable." At this point in the film, Jesus (Jack Black) makes an appearance and stipulates that the Bible in fact says a lot of things that modern society, including the conservatives, ignore such as stoning ones wife if she is adulterous or that it is acceptable to sell ones daughter into slavery.

In much the same way that Drunk History Vol. 5 (previously posted on this blog) accurately portrays history in an incredibly humorous way, "Prop 8 - The Musical" accurately portrays the gay rights battle. While not only being very informative at its roots, it also shows the almost ludicrousness of many of the conservatives arguments. Choosing to ignore much of what the Bible says and acknowledging only the parts that help ones argument is hypocrisy at its finest. This film does an excellent job of making its viewers laugh while at the same time informing them of the situation. Though it may take several views as ones own laughter make stop the message from getting through.

2011-10-04T11:27:00.002-04:00

"Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody"

Directed by Miguel Arteta

Written by Miranda July

Stars: John C. Reilly, Miranda July, Mike White, and Chuy Chavez

4:04; USA

The film opens with John C. Reilly standing in an open walkway close to a street. He's holding a notebook and he polls three different people, "Are you the favorite person of anybody?" He doesn't stop there. He goes on, "Are you certain of this? How certain are you: Very certain, confident, you think so, not so sure, could be?"

Take a moment and think about the question. Ask yourself?

The film is an experiment in human psychology and characterization. It's an intense question. If you really think about it. And the setting. Something can be said for asking a stranger such a personal question on a side street. It doesn't lend its way to intimacy or privacy. In psychology one might say that Reilly's character lacks boundaries. Before we turn the heavy-handed finger on the three main characters, take a look at Reilly's character. He possesses a certain character pathology. He not only asks the initial question. He also asks the characters if they are sure of their answers? It appears as if he's judging their initial response. Who is he? He's really just someone out on a side street asking people a terribly personal question and trying to pawn off oranges that his wife has sent him to get rid of. A lot of details emerge from these people's lives in only four minutes. Additionally, when Mike White is certain that he's nobody's favorite person, Reilly's character seemingly feels bad for him. We see this when he offers him the oranges. He doesn't offer oranges to the July's character-- he doesn't feel bad for her. She's sure that she's somebody's favorite person.

Three different characters emerge. July's character appears confident, but introspective. She's optimistic of her fondness. White's character isn't contemplative at all, he knows that he's not anybody's favorite person. He's confident in that. And finally, Chavez's character is most people, someone who would see a guy like Reilly and do whatever it took to get around talking to him and as quickly as possible. We could guess that when he heard the question he didn't want to take the time to think about the reality of the question, but we don't know that.

The great thing about the writing here is that this one question reveals character depth in each of the actors. How might their reaction and answer to this one question translate into other aspects of these characters lives? All within such a short amount of time. July's writing is tight and concise. This is what writing in the short form is all about-- getting the most detail out of the shortest amount of space and time. Particularly for the short story writer. The same goes for the short filmmaker. When you break these stars down by their characterization it's easy to get past who they are and to dive into who they represent in the film.

We Were Once a Fairy Tale, Spike Jonze, 2011

2011-10-03T23:27:00.003-04:00

We Were Once a Fairy Tale
Spike Jonze, 2011. 11 minutes.

The whimsical surrealism of Spike Jonze and the megalomania of Kanye West combine forces in We Were Once a Fairy Tale to create a drunken fever dream of a short film.

The opening shot sets us in a dark club with flashing lights. The camera moves like a hand-held camcorder, ducking and weaving into different frames and constantly moving in and out of focus. The sloppy, hazy nature of the cinematography matches the drunken slump West finds himself in. Dapperly dressed in a white tuxedo jacket, he slurs his words as he tries to strike up conversations with women. West stumbles around and becomes overly excited when he hears one of his songs playing over the sound system. "It's my song!" he tells a pair of unimpressed women. "I made all the notes!" Proclamations like these play off the stereotype of West as a puerile, out of control egomaniac. It would seem West is in on the joke, and the tension the self-consciousness creates is a great example of star power importing extra meaning to a film. West's celebrity makes the film something of an inside joke we all feel privy to.

Things take a turn for the surreal after West has an encounter with a mysterious woman waiting for him in his hotel room. However, when he wakes up, he finds himself alone on a couch in the club, disoriented as ever. Visually, the film underscores his confusion by pairing the grinding drone of the club's music with blinking, multicolored lights that glow in eerie ways off of West's white jacket. West enters the bathroom to collect his thoughts, only to vomit (pieces of paper), and then stab himself to remove a tiny, rat-like creature from his belly. West then hands the tiny creature a miniature sword, and the creature sighs, then kills itself.

It's a superficial reading, but it seems like the tiny monster West pulls from his belly is meant to be a representation of his "demons," or whatever restlessness is in him that caused him to get belligerently drunk (perhaps the lingering memory of the mystery woman?). West's music often traffics in purple dramatics that would seem to support this idea, too.

Cowboys & FreddieW (ft. Jon Favreau)

2011-09-30T19:26:00.008-04:00

Cowboys & FreddieW (ft. Jon Favreau)

Directed by Freddie Wong

United States, 2011 (3 min 31 sec)

Freddie Wong is a popular Youtube filmmaker notable for his video game related videos and special effects. In this video, Freddie is accompanied by Jon Favreau on the set of a Universal backlot. A small western duel with some out of place gadgets and guns takes place.

This video is the result of Favreau contacting Freddie to do something related to “Cowboys and Aliens.” This video is clearly star driven as it deviates from Wong’s usual themes of video games. It seems to me that Favreau saw with as an opportunity to give a popular film maker more exposure while at the same time promote his new movie further. I think this video is worth looking at because I found it very interesting that a Hollywood actor and director would take notice of a Youtube star and provide him with a chance for more exposure. It's pretty shocking to see someone you follow on Youtube suddenly star in a video with a celebrity.

Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration

2011-09-29T02:44:00.002-04:00

TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE: A DECLARATION

Directed by Tim Grant, Written by Emilia Grant

United States, 2010, 3 minutes and 22 seconds

This short film fits not only the week's theme of online-based but it's also a music video and a satirical parody (something we've read quite a bit about for online-based videos). This music video is a parody of the video Apologize by Timbaland/One Republic which can be seen here. In the video I'm looking at, it takes the original lyrics and premise of the song and puts a historical spin on it. In this video by Soomo Publishing, the song is sung by Thomas Jefferson (backed by other famous Founding Fathers including John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin) and how colonial America will never forgive England.

Soomo Publishing is a group of people who create online videos, assignments, articles, etc. in order to promote learning and education. This music video was the first of its kind for Soomo, straying dramatically away from the documentaries and interviews they had been used to.

This film, in a word, is brilliant. At least for me. As a history major, with a particular fondness of this time period, and Thomas Jefferson being my favorite historical figure of all time, when I first saw this, it became one of my favorite internet videos. I have to admit that I don't even know the original song anymore! When I hear this music, these are the lyrics I immediately begin singing. This is one of those videos that I continually go back to and watch if I haven't seen it in a while or need some sort of pick-me-up. I think that's an important aspect about internet videos - for most of them, they're always there to go back to and people often do that. No matter how many times they've seen it, they watch it again and again either because they get so much enjoyment from it or they want to show it to all their friends. The word viral is constant in the internet world and it's typically how most internet videos gain their fame and acknowledgement. Indeed, I didn't just search Thomas Jefferson on YouTube (as I've done before) and stumble upon this, I had a friend link it to me, telling me I had to watch it because I would fall in love instantly (hint: she knows me well). It may not have kept up its viral life as long as other videos but there was a time I saw it everywhere and it certainly remains one of my favorites after all this time.

When looking at the original music video it's based on, it's incredible to see what a flawless parody this is. It follows the original almost to a tee while putting a new spin on it. It's a fun representation of history, appreciating it without coming off in any way condescending or ignorant. There is something extremely endearing about this video in its representation of our history. It's something people all over the world are going to have some knowledge of and be able to show appreciation for.

In terms of a short film, it is one I greatly admire. It was shot beautifully and with such respect for the original content that it drew upon. I love the use of focusing and re-focusing the camera, as well as the silhouette of Thomas Jefferson. One could perhaps argue that it's shot are not impressive because the shots are not original. I would argue, however, that they are just as impressive because they were able to be shot so seamlessly from the original and still work as their own pieces of film. The writing of this film is absolute genius. It's all at once entertaining and impressive since they could not adjust the music in any way and had to adapt brand new lyrics for the video and make them flow, which they absolutely did.

Overall, there were so many internet videos I had been considering writing about. When this one came into my thoughts, however, I knew I had to do it. This is the video I return to most often and has really brought me the most joy which is something I think is a staple in terms of internet videos.

EF - Live the Language - Paris

2011-09-28T23:04:00.002-04:00

EF - Live the Language - Paris

Directed by Gustav Johansson, 2011

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

This video is actually an advertisement for EF International Language Centers, but to me it plays out like a short film. All of the EF videos play out in the same way, as they all follow a student who is immersing themselves in an EF language program somewhere in the world. In this video, we follow a young girl as she navigates through Paris, on the subway, through the market, tries traditional French cuisine, gets lost, and all the while learning the French language. The fact that we see a character from the beginning of her journey, a little unsure of her surroundings, to the point where she's become comfortable in this new setting makes the video a short film to me. I think for anything to be considered a film it has to have a narrative arc, and this little film does.

What makes this film different from other "fish out of water"-type films is the quality of the images and the titles and fonts the director used. The titles are clearly there to advertise the language-learning aspect of the program, but I think they add a quirky element to the film, as if the audience is learning the language with the girl.

I highly recommend that everyone check out the Vimeo page for EF - Live the Language; they have several beautiful videos shot in Barcelona, London, Los Angeles, Sydney and Vancouver.

Boys Will Be Girls

2011-09-27T21:11:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gspaoaecNAg

The comedy sketch Boys Will Be Girls is made by the Harvard Sailing Team, and it is a group of four guys imitating girl stereotypes, hilariously.

I was impressed because the quality of video is very good and the quality of humor is even better. I appreciate when a group can make fun of stereotypes without being too offensive or hurtful. They were spot on and very accurate in their depictions.

The film is entertaining, because, hey, who doesn't love guys making fun of their annoying girlfriends? It's so much easier to realize the problem with behaviors when it's presented to you in a funny way. Why shouldn't we be able to laugh at ourselves?

Drunk History Vol.5

2011-09-26T15:36:00.005-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipV2u-MxlFc

Have you ever listened to a drunk friend try to tell you a story? Remember how they can't really remember the story, and get distracted by fun things like say... pants? Let's be honest you have, and it was hilarious. Well Jeremy Conner decided to take those stories and make them into short films. There's a twist - he gets bona fide historians, and then convinces A-list celebrities to act out the drunken story. The result is brilliant and extremely funny.

I think that this concept works because it is the opposite being singular (the concept Jacob mentioned in his previous post). That drunken friend is a universal story, and most people can relate to what they're seeing on screen. You aren't seeing one persons vision (or acid trip) you're seeing a societal experience. By 'interviewing' the historian, the whole concept of the interview becomes convoluted as well, and plays off of our expectation of a gray haired professor rambling on in monotone. Instead the audience sees an historical event as if it took place in the United States of Funny or Die. Simultaneously playing to and against our expectations works together to be surprising, ridiculous, and oh so funny.

Of course, the star power of this film can't be forgotten either. The production value is clearly high - the pantomime and acting is flawless, the music is perfect, and the editing is seamless. The big names and professional quality of this unknown filmmaker is pretty astonishing, and certainly is part of the draw. Will Farrel as Abe Lincoln? Don Cheadle as Frederick Douglas? The roles they play are hilarious own their own since we are familiar with their previous work, and the historical persons they are playing. The intersection of the two results in hilarity, once again because of its absurdity. The trashed narrator creating the scenario around all these characters, providing them with ridiculously inaccurate dialogue, further amps the absurdity, and is the icing on the cake.

The internet is the perfect venue for this film because it distinguishes itself. The majority of (legal) films and clips on internet tend to be of low quality, so films that have star power, high production value, and are well made stand out. This film has all three, and is made exclusively for internet, drawing attention to it.

An interesting side note: Although this films says 'funny or die exclusive' it was not originally on funny or die.

Also - Don Cheadles hair. That is all.

Salad Fingers

2011-09-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

Salad Fingers Episode 2: Friends

David Firth, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuCw5k-Lph0&feature=sh_e_se&list=SL&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshow%3Fp%3D8egJhsKOpsY%26tracker%3Dshow_av

The link leads you to the second episode of a series of web-based comics called Salad Fingers. It is not at all necessary to watch the first episode in order to understand the second, because Salad Fingers makes no real sense no matter how much of it you've seen. I choose this episode because I think it best encapsulates the tone and composition of the entire series, and also because it is the most disturbing episode.

The first question most people have when watching Salad Fingers is, what is this? The simplest answer is that Salad Fingers is process art. It is strongly implied throughout the authors materials that all of his works are made under the influence of acid. Salad Fingers is a trip through one man's bad trip. But why would a video that is a simulation of a bad trip get 8 million views on Youtube?

I think that Salad Fingers is interesting because it reveals the way the online forms of film distribution tend to reward videos that are singular. Salad Fingers, in spite of any critique you might make of it, is not really like anything else that the average viewer has ever watched. Its like a point of view video of someone who is completely insane. It is worth noting that this episode is the only instance in Salad Fingers where a person appears to be normal, and they get cooked. The video series asks us to accept a character in Salad Fingers himself you is obviously a complete maniac as our anchor in watching this. It makes no narrative sense, and most of the design is intended to be as off-putting as possible. This is not a film that should be popular.

But Salad Fingers is popular, because it is singular. It is one man's twisted vision and that makes it interesting. And in an internet environment that gives you a million options all competing for your attention at once, something truly interesting, something that you can not stop watching, becomes a masterpiece of the form. Whatever you think of Salad Fingers, once you start watching it is hard to look away, and in the environment that it was created in and for, that is a triumph.

Unforgivable #2

2011-09-24T16:27:00.004-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz1nQEQ6UAQ&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL9B08066D87E948F0

Uploaded by HodgeStansson on September 9, 2006

This is the 2nd installment in a 7 part series posted on youtube where in a black man chronicles some selected experiences and thoughts from his life. It is shot with a handheld camera and the footage is very raw and sloppily edited. On a few occasions the cameraman can be heard laughing. Since we have yet to come to a consensus on the exact definition of "short film," I have taken the liberty of labeling this youtube hit as a "short film."

In the film the man tells us about a night he spent over his girlfriends, and in doing so spares the viewer none of the more vulgar details and descriptions. The narrative has the feel of a guy bragging about his escapades to his best friend. The footage plays up to its homemade video billing and that element adds to the brilliance of this clip.

While some people may watch this and think "trash," I think "short film." The "Unforgivable" series is youtube at its best and has brought a smile to the face of millions. I believe that they tell a story and send a message, therefore qualifying them as short films. Unforgivable.

Online Only- Sign Language

2011-09-23T22:53:00.009-04:00

Sign Language

Directed by: Oscar Sharp

Source: Palm Springs Shortfest Online Film Festival page on www.shortoftheweek.com

Sign Language tells the story of Ben, a third-generation advertisement sign holder living in London. Ben's optimistic personality is apparent from the instant his smiling face and wide eyes appear on the screen. Even in a job that most would ordinarily look down upon, Ben finds the beauty in even the smallest everyday happenings on his street. He even talks about a close group of co-workers with high regards, especially one person in particular, Anya, that works across the street. As Ben last shift comes closer and closer to ending, he struggles with the excitement of his promotion and the heartbreak of leaving his familiar street sign family behind.

There is no better word to describe this film than "lighthearted". From beginning to end, we are forced to see the world from Ben's optimistic perspective and instantly feel connected to him. It almost has a quality about it that causes the emotions to sneak up on you. Slowly, you find yourself more and more intrigued about his world and the work that he does. You suddenly realize that you care very much about the relationships he has with the "co-workers" and Anya. There is even the moment of disappointment when he has the heartbreaking feeling that the guys didn't do anything to properly send him off. As soon as the doubt begins to set in that maybe his perception of reality might be different from what is really true, the other signs turn around to give a warm goodbye to their friend and the message of encouragement to finally talk to Anya makes the audience feel sheer happiness. With his face of determination leading to a cut of just the main title on screen, we feel the satisfaction of an ending. However, Ben's voice pops right back on screen and we hear his same optimistic voice answering our lingering questions of "What is his new promotion?" "Is he going to like it?" and "What happened with Anya?". Ben's cheery voice assures us that he still loves Mondays and the director shows us that Anya has taken over his old job while he flies the ever so fitting messenger airplane. This little bit of clip is about twenty seconds long but gives such a full circle ending to such a lighthearted piece of work. Never would I go out and say that this short film changed my life, but I think that it's cliche message of "always look on the bright side of life" is given such an unusual approach and creative delivery that it ultimately does make it stand out. It is definitely a "turn off your brain and smile" film and that is why it is so enjoyable to watch over and over again.

Night On Bald Mountain

2011-09-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN (part of Disney’s Fantasia)

Directed by Wilfred Jackson, USA, 1940, 8 minutes

This short, animated and made to Modest Mussorgsky’s classical score, is about dead souls rising from beneath the earth and coming to life. Skeletons and phantoms are called back to life by a gigantic winged demon with glowing eyes, and dance through the dark night sky and on the fiery sides of a mountain. In one part, they dance in the hands of the demon who manipulates their form from fire, to dancing voluptuous ladies to animals and then back to devilish creatures. A slew of disturbing yet gorgeous images continue as the evil spirits cause havoc until finally a bell is rung and dawn comes. Then the demons and ghosts slink back into the earth.

Disney’s Fantasia is a fundamental part of my childhood. I can picture exactly where the VHS is sitting at home and the weird yellow color the white case has turned. While, as a child, I loved all parts of Fantasia, that didn’t stop me from being scared as shit of them. While the possessed broomsticks in the classic “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is the image from Fantasia that haunts most, I think “Night on Bald Mountain” is the most terrifying. The fire surrounding the mountain and the colors that make up the dark night seem straight out of a nightmare. At the same time, it is captivatingly beautiful and a true piece of art. It is Disney at its best, truly visually stimulating. That it was still widely enjoyed by children and adults alike in the 1990’s, fifty years after it’s original release, says to me that it has staying power unlike Disney’s more modern projects. Will my children and grandchildren ever watch Prom, a recent Walt Disney Pictures release? I’m going to go out on a limb and say, no.

What is interesting about this film within the context of the short films world of today is its release and distribution. Fantasia is a collection of short films. Many don’t perceive it as so, considering its feature length and prevailing theme, but it is at its based, a compilation of animated, music based shorts. Shorts are struggling to find their place, especially in regards to finding an audience and in turn, funding. Maybe Disney got it right over fifty years ago. Instead of trying to find a totally unique space for shorts to be successful, maybe the solution, if not temporary solution, should be to just conform to the generally accepted idea of time and film by creating compilations that are feature length and can be more easily sold to audiences. Anyway, most people I know were first exposed to shorts through collections of Oscar Nominated or topical shorts brought to a movie theater.

These days, we can turn our original experiences with Fantasia on their head. When watched individually on the internet, it no longer becomes the marvelous and mystical world of fantasy and music we remember from our childhoods. When I recall watching Fantasia in its entirety, the stories are inseparable and form a big mass of music and animation in my memory. Now, they can be viewed and appreciated as single pieces, a little more manageable and interesting on their own. I definitely recommend looking a few up on Youtube and allowing yourself to get nostalgic and scared. But most importantly, do so being open to a new experience with an old classic.

Mobilier Fidèle (The Automatic Moving Company)

2011-09-21T00:08:00.005-04:00

Mobilier Fidèle (The Automatic Moving Company)
Directed by Emile Cohl, France, 1910, 4 minutes.

This film is about furniture that moves on its own, and therefore, makes moving into a new home quick and easy because everything knows where it needs to go--pictures go on the wall, mattresses go onto the already assembled bed frames and a broom and dust pan clean up broken dishes. There is arguably no story, but the furniture is given life with its ability to move and arrange itself. We can associate the film with a stage production--the actors and dancers know their places, props and scenes. We view a stage performance when the piano is getting up the stairs when boxes are coming down the stairs, and the boxes immediately go back up the stairs to allow the piano a place to move. I relate this scene to dancers bustling down stairs to get off stage but need to move in order for another actor to enter the next scene.

Emile Cohl is known as one of the first animators. When this film was released, it was a big deal because it used the new concept of stop-motion animation--moving inanimate objects slightly during each frame in order to give them the appearance of moving. This film is remarkable because moving the furniture up and down in place must have been heavy and taken a while. Also, as a new technique, the stop-motion is seamless. There are no unusual jerks in the movement of the furniture--the furniture does not start on the left side of the frame and then cut to the right side of the frame. Furthermore, this film can be argued as a test, not a short film, because it is lacking the narrator we often expect from short films. This film argues that story is not necessary and that testing a technique, in its own right, also creates a short. Or, because I can associate the film to real life, does that mean there is a story? It just may always be different depending on the viewer.

TELL YOUR CHILDREN ( REEFER MADNESS,1938)

2011-09-20T04:40:00.006-04:00

This short educational movie runs for 66 minutes. I really enjoyed the movie and found it funny. Although mostly none of the facts from the movie are based in legitimate the effects of the movie are far reaching. I am impressed with the movies cinematic qualities. One of the opening scenes of the movie depicts blocks of herion being burned in a fire as the narrator reminds the audience that marijuana is more dangerous than heroin...Wait what? This movie is more than the first stoner flick, it actually influenced America so much that to this day its still Reefer Madness in America. Under the controlled substances act Marijuana is schedule 1.

Schedule I is the only category of controlled substances that may not be prescribed by a physician. Drugs must meet three criteria in order to be placed in Schedule I:

The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.-(wiki)

Heroin, LSD , and ecstasy are in the same categorization as marijuana. Never mind the fact that in 2009 there were more Medical marijuana dispensaries in L.A than Starbucks and McDonalds combined. Reality Check: Marijuana is de facto legal in California and many other states for medical use.Back to the story though...

This is what I got from the plot. Smoking weed will make you hit people with your car and leave them dead in the street. It can also make you hallucinate your girlfriend is cheating on you, when she is really being sexually assaulted , then when you try to serve justice and save your girlfriend ( unaware of this maybe, but the intentions are good), drug dealers will accidentally shoot your girlfriend then swiftly frame you for it.
And then when your life is in danger and you kill in self defense you will be labeled as a murderous villan. So even though this story acknowledges that the innocent stoner is unjustly jailed , this still parallels for how marijuana is treated today. And dont forget you there is a high probability you will end up in an insane asylum for the " rest of your natural life" if you smoke weed. SO TELL YOUR CHILDREN : AMERICA IS STILL MAD ABOUT REEFER.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITYCb08olzg&feature=related
Start watching at 4:20 to see the scene I "reefer" to.

RED HOT RIDING HOOD

2011-09-19T19:40:00.005-04:00

Red Hot Riding Hood - The most popular videos are a click away

Red Hot Riding Hood
Tex Avery, USA, 1943, approx. 7 mins.

Red Hot Riding Hood is a cartoon that begins as a staid retelling of Little Red Riding Hood before becoming a completely insane version of the same story. The wolf is a lecherous would-be playboy, Red is a nightclub dancer, and Red's grandmother spends most of the short trying to jump the wolf's bones. The wolf successfully fights off Red's grandmother but never gets Red. At the end of the film he swears off dames and then, when Red shows up at the nightclub, he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head with two guns.

This short has aged as well as anything could hope to; the animation is still sharp and the jokes still hit. Episodes of Saturday Night Live feel sluggish and boring, but a cartoon from the early 1940s can make me laugh. This is because Tex Avery invented his own language and logic based on the foundations set by his cartoonist peers.

I've read arguments that cartoons follow dream logic, and that may be true for some cartoons, but this one doesn't subscribe to dream logic. In dreams, characters are faced with strange circumstances, but they generally accept those circumstances as their new reality (somebody tells you people only eat tires and you ask where the closest tire is). In Red Hot Riding Hood, the wolf is faced with strange circumstances, but he fights against them. He knows that he's living in a world where 40% of the doors lead to steep drop-offs, 40% lead to brick walls and 20% lead to new rooms, and he hates it. On top of this, the world mocks him. He opens a door and slams into a brick wall adorned with an "Imagine that NO DOOR!" sign. He falls from a skyscraper's penthouse and the building calls him a "sucker."

I love Looney Tunes shorts, but you generally walk in knowing exactly what you're going to get. It isn't surprising when Sylvester gets screwed over by Tweety. Even when Daffy is at his most unhinged, his world has rules. The rules of Red Hot Riding Hood change on the fly, with the only constant being how the wolf reacts to those changes. As a result, when you watch this short, you can't really predict what's coming, and that makes every second fun. In the end, this isn't even a riff on Little Red Riding Hood. It's just a very good time and an exercise in breaking and reforming the rules every thirty seconds.

The Great Train Robbery

2011-09-18T21:03:00.001-04:00

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY

Directed by Edwin S. Porter, USA, 1903, 10 minutes

Source: YouTube

“The Great Train Robbery” is probably one of the best known classical cinema shorts of the early nineteen hundreds. Directed by Edwin S. Porter this film depicts a daring train robbery by a group of bandits and the ordeal that follows. While this doesn’t sound like much of a story compared to most modern shorts, the ironic thing is that I chose this film because of its story. This film in my opinion is one of the best classical pieces of story telling out there.

“The Great Train Robbery” is able to tell a story in ten minutes that while simplistic follows my one major rule in film. This rule is that the film should to immerse the audience in a universe without them questioning it or trying to figure it out. For a film that was made in 1903, it does a spectacular job of creating a universe that is believable. Ironically the ability to immerse someone into another universe is one of my biggest complaints against many short films. While some do a great job at doing this, those who simply plop a audience someplace irritate me. Why should the audience have to think about what is going on, that’s the directors job!

Beyond that, for it’s time the movie is fairly typical when it comes to the over exaggerated acting and it’s piano soundtrack. The only really big complaint that I had is when one of the engineer’s attacks a bandit with a shovel and the bandit kills him, they jump cut from the same angle. While I know it’s so they can put the sack man in and try to disguise the switch, they really should have switched camera angles for a better effect. Finally, there were some scenes that really should have been cut out such as the engineer filling up the train with more water. It was unnecessary and removing it would speed things along a bit more. Overall, for its time “The Great Train Robbery” is a solid short film even if it was a feature film in 1903.

FRIENEMIES (DC Shorts Festival)

2011-09-16T22:14:00.003-04:00

"Frienemies"

Directed by: Anthony Brenneman

Length: 14 mins

Source: DC Shorts

Of all of the shorts shown at the free lunch showing last Thursday, "Frienemies" is the only film that has stayed with me. Perhaps it's because every girl my age has had a "frienemy" wreak havoc in her life, but what made the film resonating to me was how real it felt. From the costumes to the hair to the dialogue, the entire story felt like it was plucked out of an average high school in middle America.

"Frienemies" tells the story of two childhood friends, Tanya and Isabel, who have seemingly grown apart since attending high school. When Tanya, who has now become a part of the popular clique, asks Isabel to attend a party with her and a few of the popular boys, Isabel thinks that finally their friendship is mending. Once they're at the party, Isabel realizes that Tanya had no intentions of being friends again when she yells at Isabel for not drinking and hooking up with one of the boys. (SPOILER) As revenge, Isabel takes a picture of Tanya, passed out naked on top of one of the boys with one of the boys' phones. The "sext" gets sent around school and Tanya loses her status as a popular girl. One of the boys is arrested and charged with child pornography and statutory rape, while the other is suspended from school. Because all of her "friends" desert her, Tanya leans on Isabel for friendship, not realizing that Isabel caused the controversy in the first place.

At certain parts I thought the acting was a bit wooden and the premise unoriginal, like a old "7th Heaven" episode, but overall I enjoyed the film. The script was well written and it showed through the acting; when confronting Isabel at the party, Tanya scoffs at Isablel's tears and coldly sneers, "We're not friends." They're such simple words, but they're ones that are commonly exchanged between teenage girls. I appreciated the flat-ironed hair, Isabel's obvious discomfort and tugging at her party clothes, and the awkward silences between Tanya and Isabel - all were elements that made the story believable and the film real.

Stanley Pickle

2011-09-16T02:33:00.005-04:00

Stanley Pickle

Victoria Mather

2010, about 15 minutes

The embedded video is a trailer for Stanley Pickle, the full short is unavailable online.

I have an issue with Stanley Pickle. Its an issue that I think a lot of films share with Stanley Pickle. I find that Stanley Pickle does not recognize how insane its own characters are. The film treats what is arguably criminal insane as some sort of twee charm.

The main character in this film has taken all of the people in his life who have died (we can only hope that they died of natural causes), emptied out their organs and reanimated them as clockwork automatons to do imitations of what they did in life. if a real person was caught doing this, they would immediately be carted off to an asylum.

On some level, the filmmaker understands this, and Stanley does take on a certain evil tone at points. But all of these are clearly intended to be sight gags more than acknowledgement of how insane the entire proceeding is.

Over the course of the film, Stanley becomes obsessed with a strange girl but refused to contact her. Then he reanimates her dead pet and it attacks her. Then he decides to leave the little world of insanity he's built for himself. And this is all portrayed as a simple coming of age story.

It's a shame that this film has this problem, since their are several strong points in the film. The style of filming, which the director describes as animation, is a kind of live-action stop-motion. It is extremely cool and fits the world of the short well. But the entire thing is ruined by its refusal to make its tone match the insanity of its protagonist.

0507

2011-09-15T23:31:00.002-04:00

0507
Directed by Chris Blaine and Ben Blaine
2011, 2 minutes
Source: DC Shorts Festival

The entire two minute scene of 0507 takes place in an engaged couple's apartment. They are watching TV when the woman realizes that the guy needed to e-mail the venue to book it for the specific weekend they want to get married. He assures her that he did remember. As she gets up to go to the bathroom he asks to check his e-mail on her iPhone (implying to the audience he forgot). There's only one problem: the iPhone's password (her birthday). The rest of the two minutes is him trying to remember her birthday, when she finally comes out to announce that it was yesterday. The light-bulb clicks, he exclaims "AHA!" and the film ends, leaving the audience in hysterics.

What I really appreciated about the film was that, in only two minutes, the film was able to get across what they intended to and do it with humor. The audience was able to relate to the film because most understand the stereotype of the extremely forgetful boyfriend. I chose to write about this because I thought it really exemplified the art of making a short film effectively.

The film is entertaining because I can relate to a boyfriend not remembering my birthday or anything else for that matter. I find that a movie is much more enjoyable when it connects with the audience. Not that dramas with a good message aren't enjoyable, but there is less suspension of disbelief when it comes to a film that you automatically empathize with.

DER EISANGLER

2011-09-15T22:37:00.003-04:00

After my very interesting night trying to get back home from my DC shorts viewing in time to post this, I finally was able to sit down and really think about which film was my true favorite of the night. I had a very close tie between Sudden Death! and Der Eisangler (The Icefisher).

So for my post I have decided on Der Eisangler, really only because someone already talked about the hilarious Sudden Death!. I was very skeptical as Der Eisangler began because it was already in German with English subtitles, but as soon as the movie started I was intrigued. The movie opens to find a very young boy named Jonas sitting in the back of a car driven by his Mother. They are headed down a freshly shoveled street, but the rest of the area around them is blanketed within at least a foot of snow and ice. As they arrive at the destination, a beat up trailer home owned by Jonas' Father, we see the bickering begin between the two parents almost instantly. The little boy, whose innocence just radiates through his adorable face and deep eyes, just stares at them until his Mom leaves and he can ask his Dad about going ice fishing. His Dad tells him tomorrow morning they will go and that he should never, ever go ice fishing alone (instant red flag). So that night while they laid in bed together, the Dad reads the little boy a story. This story is basically about a Fisherman, His Wife, and an Enchanted fish. The Fisherman tells his Wife of the Enchanted fish he threw back into the water after she begins to yell at him for not bringing any fish home. After she hears of the wish, she orders her husband back to the water to make a wish to the fish. He reluctantly goes back and sure enough the fish grants her wish of a bigger house. As the story goes on, the wife is never happy and continues to order her husband back to the lake to make more wishes, each one granted. The story ends after one or two wishes for the night, because Jonas falls asleep.

The next morning, Jonas wakes up before his Father, took the story book, and ripped the picture of the Fish out of it. Then he took the fishing gear and headed out to the ice. He finally found a spot to his suiting and as he chipped away at the ice, he said the poem asking for the fish to come to him and grant his wish for his parents to fall back in love with one another. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that there was about an 82.7% chance I was crying at the end.

I really enjoyed this film because not only did it absolutely break my heart, but the actual set up of the film was immaculate. The director has such beautiful scenes with the massive amounts of white snow as the backdrop and doesn't try too hard with the contrast of color throughout the film. The simple color contrast of a little boy in his brown coat tugging fishing supplies behind him is already so beautiful in one frame alone that I was very relieved she didn't try and throw in some sort of loud, bright color. The other amazing set up that I loved was that since the story really ended early to the audience when Jonas fell asleep, the director used a voiceover of the Father continuing the story throughout the rest of the film. We'd hear more developments in the story as the day of fishing went on for Jonas. The climatic parts of the film were synchronized with the climatic parts of the story, all up until the very end when we learn that the moral of the fishing story is that "you cannot always have what you wish for," but at that moment it is too late for our precious Jonas to learn that lesson. That ladies and gentlemen, is when you find yourself looking for tissues because all of a sudden you are bawling your eyes out while the end credits run up the screen.

All in all, I definitely had a very pleasant evening at the DC short film festival and hope all of y'all did too!

Tattoo

2011-09-14T23:33:00.003-04:00

Paul Hellin, 20 mins, Finland

It was obvious to me that this film was the one to write about when at its end, the audience was too confused and disgusted to applaud for a good 15 seconds. The film does a remarkable job of creating tension at an excruciatingly slow pace - tension that is supported by eerie murmuring background music, close up reaction shots, dark cinematography, slow movements in camera, and terse, ominous bits of dialogue that complicate rather than clarify.

The film begins when a young girl enters a tattoo shop late at night to find a very ornery, quietly smoking tattoo artist who is in turn suspicious, mean, taciturn, and mysterious. He agrees to tattoo the girl all across her back, and gives her a shot to help ease the pain. The shot eventually makes the girl fall asleep, and when she wakes up, she finds she's gotten something very different than what she asked for.

Though the premise of the film is relatively simple, the slow pace really lends the film a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat quality. A noticeable total silence descended over the crowd during the scene when the girl starts getting tattooed, and lasted for nearly ten tension-wracked minutes. It's impossible to determine if the tattoo artist is merely grumpy or dangerous.

Interview Date

2011-09-14T21:21:00.003-04:00

INTERVIEW DATE - D.C. Shorts Festival

Directed by Mike Lemcke

United States, 2011, ~20 mins

The short “Interview Date” by Mike Lemcke is the tail of two meetings set up by two separate groups getting mixed up and having some hilarious effects. Simply put, the short follows the stories of a job interview and a online date coming together and getting mixed up. With one person from each appointment with a person from the other appointment hilarity ensues as both groups attempt to figure out what’s wrong. Without ruining the final plot twist, the ending wraps up the short with a funny scene that most people won’t see coming.

Overall this short was the best short in the showcase I viewed while at the D.C. Shorts Film Festival. While it was the first short, it left such a memorable impression that it was the short I wanted to write about. What set this short apart from most of the shorts that I saw was the way it ended and it’s hilarity. When it comes to how this short ended, it had a physical ending that left me satisfied while others in the show case such as “Sweetness & Art” left me wanting more. However “Interview Date” really set itself apart because it kept me interested throughout the entire short. While other shorts were great, some of them lost me very quickly or seemed to skip parts of a story. This doesn’t mean that there weren’t a few issues with the film such as spending too long in the apartment at the beginning however compared to everyone else it was by far the best. That’s why I was really happy to see that you got the DC Shorts 2011 Audience Honorable Mention and the 2010 DC Shorts Screen Play Competition. Congratulations on the awards and thanks for making such a great short film!

No Baque-Soatá

2011-09-13T21:27:00.000-04:00

TITLE: No Baque-Soatá (On the Beat, by Soatá)

GENRE: Animation, Music Video

LENGTH: 3 minutes

DIRECTOR: Carlon Hardt

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Brazil

No Baque is essentially a music video that tells a story, but nota narrative. It utilizes food, dance, color, to animate Brazilian culture and uses pop andurban influences to examine the musical trends in the song itself. In the linkabove there is a link to “the making of” video which explains a lot of theinspiration behind the artistic choices made in the video. The foods- beans,nuts, seeds, fruits, etc- are all local and beautifully arranged in each shot.

This short really worked to capture all the aspects of the song, and of the culture the song comes from, by combining urban, pop, and traditional influences. We move from drummer to B-boy to dancer to city to brightly colored pencils and we do so seamlessly because of the unity of the elements, the colors, the textures.

Cataplexy - DC Short Films Festival

2011-09-13T20:57:00.002-04:00

Cataplexy - 7 minutes - USA

Directed by John Salcido

This short was a fun comedy that had the majority of the audience laughing throughout, including myself. It starts off with a man ordering a call girl to his oceanfront apartment for a little late-afternoon delight. Upon her arrival at the apartment, both the call girl and man quickly realize that the two of them were old friends from school. The awkward tension during this scene was very humorous due to the shear ridiculousness of the moment.

The two reach a mutual agreement to order in a "replacement" girl, and to kill time chit chatting about the good ol' times until she arrives. During their conversation the man confesses that he suffers from cataplexy -- a rare disease that results in the loss of muscle function triggered by emotions. In his case, the feelings that accompany "love" trigger his cataplexy; because of this unfortunate circumstance, his only interaction with women is through prostitutes.

It becomes obvious half-way through the short how it will end, but I was nevertheless engaged and excited to see how the director would play-out the inevitable finale. Sure enough, the man falls for the women and collapses face-first in his bowl of broccoli soup at the dinner table -- much to the delight of the audience.

Again, I thought this was a solid short. It was paced very well, explored a unique storyline, and was very lighthearted and fun, making it an enjoyable viewing.

Bye Bye Now- DC Shorts Fest

2011-09-13T19:27:00.003-04:00

Bye Bye Now/DC Short Film Festival

Directors Aideen O'Sullivan and Ross Whitaker

15 Minutes/Ireland

This is a sweet little documentary about the phone box. The film starts with two young men narrating the story of a phone box that's about to be torn down (by them) and a woman who is telling them that they can't because of it's historical value. When asked the last time she'd used a phone box, she couldn't recall.

The advent of technology is both a curse and a blessing for the folks in rural Ireland. Some celebrate the phone box, like a sweet couple featured half way through the film who had been together for fifty years. He would leave (military, I believe) and then by letter, which she generally received on Tuesdays, he would tell her of his plans to call on Thursday. So she would travel, by foot, through storm to the closest phone box-- at least a days travel-- where she would wait for his call. Then, the two could only talk for five minutes because of the cost. They decided it might be smarter for them to get married, instead.

Another man, along with a friend, locked themselves inside the phone box in their little town in protest of demolition.

It's funny how the folks in this documentary are nostalgic for the phone box, but toward the films end, when asked when the last time they'd used a phone box was, the answer was years.

Not a lot can be said about a phone box, but in the fifteen minutes of this film, I learned a great deal, walked away feeling grateful for my cell phone and for modern technology, but swept up by the nostalgia created by these silly little telephone boxes. The film truly entertained! It's about letting go of the past, embracing the present, but it's also about how the past defines the present and tells the story of who we are. Think of going back to your hometown, wherever it may be, surely there stands a landmark of some kind that is a part of your life's history. Now, think for a moment if your mother called or in the news you heard that they'd torn it down, demolished it. Your heart skips a beat, just for a moment. That's what Bye Bye Now did for me.

FIRST DATES- DC SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

2011-09-12T02:03:00.006-04:00

Sam Wasserman, USA, 2010

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi979081497/

The film is about dating in the digital age and how awkward meeting people off the internet can be. The story has many different characters, all single men and women trying to date in a crazy world. The story seems to have a random structure following various people from one date to another but in the end it allows for a circular story and connects the characters. The plot was pretty shallow though ,the short snippets of dates were humorous but lacked real character and had little story development. Regardless of this I don't think a plot is necessary for this story and the short functions well. Everyone in the theatre including myself laughed many times throughout the screening of the film . I found it interesting that the directors cast two tv stars for the short film First Dates. Ryan Eggold from 90210, and Madeline Zima from Californiacation were two of the main characters in the movie. I feel like having the sitcom gave the whole film a more tv feel than cinema. Despite this I really liked the humor and think comedy is incredibly hard to write and execute well in film so I tip my hat to the director and writer!

Death of an Usher

2011-09-12T00:11:00.002-04:00

Death of an Usher from Michael Tamman on Vimeo.

DEATH OF AN USHER

Directed by Michael Tamman, Written by Seth Sinclair (who also plays our protagonist)

England, 2011, 4 minutes

This 4 minute short is the story of an usher, who's trying to be an actor. After a string of unsuccessful auditions, he gets a call from his agent while at work and finally has another shot. He has to run to his audition which turns out to be for the greatest and most intimidating directors of them all.

When I looked over the list of films I would be seeing at the festival, this was one of the ones I was most looking forward to. There quite a few that I really liked (including A Wink of the Eye, UnderCover, and Masks) and when I first saw this one, I must admit to be surprisingly and disappointingly unimpressed and rather indifferent. The short happens extremely abruptly. It seemed to write off what it was trying to say extremely quickly. I felt like I had gotten attached to Michael, only to have him ripped from my fingers in mere minutes. That was one of the things this short managed to do well right off the bat. It made its protagonist extremely likable right from the start. However, that was also its downfall at first for me. Liking Michael made this short extremely unfair and frustrating.

It was during the Q&A session with the filmmakers that it hit me. Both Tamman and Sinclair were present and I knew I needed to ask a question, to somehow resolve some of the disappointment and frustrations I had been harboring. Then I realized: Michael could have been on his way to the audition of his life, his big break, and he was so young. What was the commentary on someone dying so young and so unfairly? (To be fair and clear, this short does not treat the death sadly and in fact, the end is quite funny but I obviously had to take a more serious stance with it.)

Tamman answered my question and with his answer, that was when my appreciation for this film grew tenfold. He mentioned that we need to laugh at the dark times and appreciate what we have now. It was a bit of a carpe diem moment. I realized how right he was and it changed how I viewed the film entirely. He said he wanted to make people chuckle in a few minutes and he definitely accomplished that. With his answer to my question, though, he made me do a lot more than chuckle.

As for filmmaking, I thought this short was a very smooth film in terms of shots and angles and how the camera was positioned throughout the film. It flowed very well for me. I particularly loved the beginning of the film, with the staccato shots as an introduction to our protagonist for the very first time. Overall, I think this was the perfect example of jumping the gun upon a first viewing of a film and not taking the time to really think about it. Eventually, I really grew to love this film.