I just had to share this...

Usually I just "favorite" videos on the class YouTube Page when I find one that's relevant to what we're doing in class, or just stands out as cool or inspiring; and hope that you'll check them out, but when I came across this one, I wanted to make sure you had a chance to see it.

The short is called Tick Tock and was created by Ien Chi for a film festival at Emory. Chi says of his film: "Never have I put in so much effort into a single short film. This project is the result of hundreds of hours of work from many people. Originally made for Campus MovieFest, this film is definitely the biggest scale and most ambitious project I've ever done."

What's exciting about this video is its unique format, shot all in one take, then reversed for the final effect. Some more information about filming: "Filmed with a 5d mark ii camera with a 24-70mm lens on a steadicam merlin. We did 36 takes to get the right one. Morgan and I went running weeks before to get our cardio into shape for the shoot. Yes, the final film is all in one take. Everything was shot on the Oxford College of Emory campus."



What do you think? What are your initial reactions to the film? What can you incorporate into your productions? What do you think about the quote, did it surprise you in any way? How about the speaker of the quote? What critiques do you have? Compliments?

And for those who love to watch the movie extras on a DVD, here you will find the "behind-the-scenes":

Facebook Domination

If you haven't heard of Facebook, it may be time to crawl out from under that rock, dust off your 1993 Toshiba laptop and log in. In the past year, Facebook has reached an ultimate high - from it's Academy Award nominated "loosely based" film, to it's over 500 million active users - it has creamed it's competition and forced it's name into everyone's mouths. A place to showcase your vacation photos, check up on that ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, create "groups" that can organize thousands of demonstrators and overthrow governments or get funding to build statues in Detroit, play games, post your innermost thoughts, and yet you wonder... what else can Facebook do?

Good thing you asked! Introducing Facebook's newest venture...Video Rental Company! Er... ?? That's right, according to an article on businessinsider.com Facebook's movie rental experiment may be the future of media. As an "experiment" Facebook will be offering digital rentals of Batman: The Dark Knight through the site. Users can buy the rental with Facebook Credits, and Facebook takes a cut. This puts Facebook in direct competition with Hulu, Netflix, and other companies looking for a piece of the digital media pie.

The overall business strategy of Facebook is to have as much activity go through its social graph so it can take a tax on that activity, and give the businesses something back in return. For example: if games on Facebook go viral, Facebook takes a 30% cut of the virtual credits plus the millions in advertising for games.

So now it's your turn. I'd love to hear what you think about the Facebook Domination. With as many users as Facebook has, will it ultimately turn into a digital media GIANT that will gobble up the "lowly" competition? Have you seen the Blockbuster stores going out of business? Where do you think Facebook will "experiment" next?

The Power of Words

A teacher shared this with me a little while ago, and I just got a chance to watch it. What a fantastic video. This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world. He said "there is no better way to teach the importance of words than with this video." It is really beautiful how it is put together. Take a second and watch this short video and let me know what you think.

This short story winner of the 2008 Cannes Festival shows how the kindness of strangers can have a big impact. Film produced by Alonso Alvarez Barreda.

Subtitled Version (original)


English Version

Music by: Giles Lamb
Filmed by www.redsnappa.com
Director Seth Gardner

What did you think she was going to write? How did you feel after watching this? What other concepts like this can you think of? What message is this video trying to send? Why do you think now, more than ever, words mean so much? I'd love to hear from you!

Detroit Dog Rescue: Denied

Rapper Hush has reached over 50,000 views in just 4 days on a 4-minute video he posted to YouTube. His video documents the problem Detroit faces with stray dogs. With over 70,000 abandoned buildings, the city's stray dog problem has reached numbers exceeding an estimated 50,000 and continues to climb.

Teaming up with California producer Monica Martino (of Whale Wars and Deadliest Catch fame), the Detroit rapper intended to produce a 10 part series for the Discovery Channel that would shed light on this problem; raising awareness and funds to do something about this in a compassionate way. All of these intentions came to a halt when the city shut down the project.

Claiming the documentary series would shed a negative light on the city, the city also implied that dogs which should be considered dangerous and captured would be used as actors for the show. According to the Detroit Free Press, the proposed show would have spent $1.4 million in the city for production.

Hush and Martino now plan to continue to raise awareness through town hall meetings, and have set up an online site for donations and information at detroitdogresuce.com.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think. Is the city correct in their statement that the potentially dangerous dogs would be used to "get a good shot" rather than actually being rescued in the series? Do you think that the controversy surrounding the issue is actually working to raise awareness more than the series itself would? How does this infringe on the idea of the media's "freedom"? Does the city actually have the right to say no? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Remember to include your name when posting.

The Lens Skirt

Check out this new gear! The Lens Skirt is an attachment for your camera that will allow you to shoot shoot timelapses and video through windows without the reflective issues that often show up.



The LENSKIRT is a portable, flexible hood which you attach to the end of your camera lens. The LENSKIRT allows you to shoot pictures and video through glass without internal environmental reflections such as people movement, room lights, camera flashes, light leak from under a door, etc showing up on footage.



The LENSKIRT seems reasonably prices, totally portable and easy to use. Simply attach the four corners of the LENSKIRT to a clean glass surface via the heavy duty suction cups. Setup your camera and insert the lens through the flexible opening. Tighten the enclosure and you are ready to shoot.

What do you think? Cool idea or waste of money? What other ways might you eliminate reflections when filming through glass? How have you dealt with this issue in the past or what might you do in the future? Have you ever shot time-lapse video? When might you use that? Remember to include your name in your comment for extra credit.

Unity Studios in Allen Park

Part 2



Part 3



A movie producer promising 3,000 jobs and almost $150 million in investments. A downriver city eager to reinvent itself, and hungry for economic development. It seemed like a match made in Hollywood, but as Action News Investigator Heather Catallo tells us, this is a story that’s not following a script. Take a few minutes to watch the clip from Channel 7 News WXYZ and tell me what you think. Does this damage the film industry's reputation in Michigan? How did this situation get so out of control? Would you attend a film school that is so new it hasn't established its credentials?

I did an online search for any information on Lifton Institute for Media Skills and came up with little other than the school's website which didn't provide any tuition rate information and a comment that was left under the Oakland Press article:

Jimmy Lifton as well as all the other "film schools" that have mysteriously popped up in the last 2 years are just a bunch of scam artists. They use Michigan WORKS! tax payer dollars to line their pockets.
Jimmy Lifton charges up to $12,000 a class for "film training"- you will never see a true film camera in his classes- you will never be taught by an industry professional. He holds his "classes" in beat up abandoned automotive office space with free rental equipment that he has borrowed from local rental houses- the gaff house and william f white.
He is stealing power from the plant next door, clearly a fire hazard as well as thievery. (please investigate if you have the means)
only saving grace...
You will make a short video on a prosumer digi camera starring JIM LIFTONS DAUGHTER!!!- hope its worth 12 grand!

I'd love to hear your comments on this issue. How did you react to the news story?

The Arcade Fire Music Video

Click here for the Wilderness Downtown Video

When we had a visit from some representatives of Specs Howard School of Digital Media, one of the reps, Jason pointed out this incredible, interactive, new music video from the band Arcade Fire. Users can enter their home address and see video of their street incorporated into the music video. We tried this in class using the school's address and it was pretty impressive.
In order for the video to work you must download Google Chrome as your web browser. This idea links marketing with music, and it is not the first time this has been done. Click here to download Google Chrome.
What do you think about this? Jason mentioned in class that next you will be able to take your own picture, and put yourself in a music video. Where do you think this technology is headed? What did you think about the images you saw of your own house using Google Earth? Where does individual privacy end? I'd love to hear your comments after viewing this video. Remember to include your full name...