Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Aug 31, 2011
robopocalypse delayed
Robot apocalypticists often presume that artificially intelligent beings will be all-too-eager to cooperate to destroy humanity. Which is why this video is so reassuring.
[via Mark Frauenfelder]
May 15, 2011
Olympia Awesome Film Festival lives up to its name
The Rundown
Last night's Olympia Awesome Film Festival, the first ever, showcased the talents of twenty filmmakers from all over the U.S., with 24 low-budget short films in 5 hours--sci-fi, action-adventure, music videos, slasher parodies, documentaries, mockumentaries.
The festival's producers and attendees clearly loved all things cinema, bringing great energy to the evening. The event's sponsors also played a huge role in the festival's success, giving away hundreds of dollars in gift certificates, from pub fare to oil changes. (I'm not even mad that I didn't win one.)
The Subjectively Chosen Highlights
The audience favorite, Daniel Klockenkemper's Deathwalker, shot on Super 8 stock for an especially Carpenteresque look, had some of the best moments of visual humor. Apparently a foldable walker + a shotgun = comedy gold. (Couldn't find it on YouTube, sorry.) Accepting his award, Klockenkemper noted that the short was ten years in the making. Here's hoping the sequel comes out a little faster.
For its composition and overall excellence, the judges chose--and chose well--Never Been Used, a simple premise neatly executed, short and sweet. Unsurprisingly, it was 1st runner up at the Seattle 24 Hour Film Race in 2010.
Documentaries deserved their own award, but since there wasn't one, I'd pick Hamilton: Town at the Tipping Point, a thought-provoking look at "FEMA welfare."
The animation Asteraceae and the mockumentary (at least, I think it's a mockumentary) Rats also entertained.
The two biggest "WTF" moments* were the slasher Waffle, perhaps the festival's riskiest entry, and My Brother's Dog Helen, a documentary that, in a few painful and surprisingly poignant minutes, deconstructs notions of family and forgiveness.
The Suggestion Box
The following suggestions are offered in love, as I'd really like to see the festival become an Olympia tradition.
Speed it up a bit. The festival started close to six, and wasn't over until 11:00. A good chunk of the audience left early, missing out on the final raffle and the prize announcements, probably because that's a lot of seat time (in a fairly stuffy venue, which, to be fair, wasn't the organizers' first choice). Cut a few films (see below), shorten up the breaks, and count votes while the raffle's going.
Quality over quantity.
A small festival, starting out, is in a tricky spot. You want to attract a wide variety of talents, and you want to attract and retain an audience. You want your films to be good, but you don't want to be so picky that you entirely shut out amateur auteurs.
Limiting to one film per director might help--did we really need two "instructional" films, Let's Shoplift and Save and Hot Wiring Made Easy, where the joke and the execution were nearly identical?
Also, to keep quality high while simultaneously building buzz, why not include your potential audience in the selection process? Choose, say, five flicks you're not sure will make the cut, put 'em on the website, and let the Internet vote for their faves. The top choice makes it into the festival, while the other four at least get some exposure, without slowing down the action. Everybody wins.
The order matters.
Selection and arrangement are critical. The festival had great variety in tone and style, but ended, I thought, on a bit of an anticlimax, an actioner with great production values (and lots of fight sequences) but a thin storyline--and only Part 2 of a 3-part series.
Concessions
It's small, but important: if this is a film festival, let's have film-quality popcorn. Butter it up.
In Summary
The Olympia Awesome Film Festival has great potential. I hope there's another next year--and I hope to see you there.
*And I should point out that this is meant as a term of endearment.
Last night's Olympia Awesome Film Festival, the first ever, showcased the talents of twenty filmmakers from all over the U.S., with 24 low-budget short films in 5 hours--sci-fi, action-adventure, music videos, slasher parodies, documentaries, mockumentaries.
The festival's producers and attendees clearly loved all things cinema, bringing great energy to the evening. The event's sponsors also played a huge role in the festival's success, giving away hundreds of dollars in gift certificates, from pub fare to oil changes. (I'm not even mad that I didn't win one.)
The Subjectively Chosen Highlights
The audience favorite, Daniel Klockenkemper's Deathwalker, shot on Super 8 stock for an especially Carpenteresque look, had some of the best moments of visual humor. Apparently a foldable walker + a shotgun = comedy gold. (Couldn't find it on YouTube, sorry.) Accepting his award, Klockenkemper noted that the short was ten years in the making. Here's hoping the sequel comes out a little faster.
For its composition and overall excellence, the judges chose--and chose well--Never Been Used, a simple premise neatly executed, short and sweet. Unsurprisingly, it was 1st runner up at the Seattle 24 Hour Film Race in 2010.
Documentaries deserved their own award, but since there wasn't one, I'd pick Hamilton: Town at the Tipping Point, a thought-provoking look at "FEMA welfare."
The animation Asteraceae and the mockumentary (at least, I think it's a mockumentary) Rats also entertained.
The two biggest "WTF" moments* were the slasher Waffle, perhaps the festival's riskiest entry, and My Brother's Dog Helen, a documentary that, in a few painful and surprisingly poignant minutes, deconstructs notions of family and forgiveness.
The Suggestion Box
The following suggestions are offered in love, as I'd really like to see the festival become an Olympia tradition.
Speed it up a bit. The festival started close to six, and wasn't over until 11:00. A good chunk of the audience left early, missing out on the final raffle and the prize announcements, probably because that's a lot of seat time (in a fairly stuffy venue, which, to be fair, wasn't the organizers' first choice). Cut a few films (see below), shorten up the breaks, and count votes while the raffle's going.
Quality over quantity.
A small festival, starting out, is in a tricky spot. You want to attract a wide variety of talents, and you want to attract and retain an audience. You want your films to be good, but you don't want to be so picky that you entirely shut out amateur auteurs.
Limiting to one film per director might help--did we really need two "instructional" films, Let's Shoplift and Save and Hot Wiring Made Easy, where the joke and the execution were nearly identical?
Also, to keep quality high while simultaneously building buzz, why not include your potential audience in the selection process? Choose, say, five flicks you're not sure will make the cut, put 'em on the website, and let the Internet vote for their faves. The top choice makes it into the festival, while the other four at least get some exposure, without slowing down the action. Everybody wins.
The order matters.
Selection and arrangement are critical. The festival had great variety in tone and style, but ended, I thought, on a bit of an anticlimax, an actioner with great production values (and lots of fight sequences) but a thin storyline--and only Part 2 of a 3-part series.
Concessions
It's small, but important: if this is a film festival, let's have film-quality popcorn. Butter it up.
In Summary
The Olympia Awesome Film Festival has great potential. I hope there's another next year--and I hope to see you there.
*And I should point out that this is meant as a term of endearment.
May 9, 2011
Apr 18, 2011
Ondrej Smeykal, didgeridoo genius
This weekend, I was fortunate to hear--experience--the mastery of a twenty-year veteran of the didgeridoo, Ondrej Smeykal, at the Matrix Coffeehouse in Chehalis. Smeykal's music is impressionistic and multitextured, surging in volume and tempo. It echoes the sounds of crashing surf, passing trains, pulsing synthesizers. It washes over you in waves. It fills your heart and your belly with gladness.
It makes hippies dance.
It makes hippies gambol and whirligig and gyrate with abandon.
The video above is the briefest possible sampling of Smeykal's lyrical and rhythmic ingenuity, a pale shadow of his live performance. Smeykal is returning to the Northwest in August, so if you're in the area, seek him out.
And bring your hippie friends.
Mar 9, 2011
Feb 25, 2011
party fouls
Via the inimitable Dave Weigel, parliamentary procedure gets exciting in Wisconsin.
A few notes:
1. Some Americans are going to consider this the collapse of civilization, but this is pretty tame stuff by international standards.
2. If you're wearing orange shirts in the chamber as a show of solidarity, don't expect the other side to play nice.
3. Liked the guy who shouted "we love you anyways."
4. Never be the last person chanting.
Added: Weigel's diary of the scene inside the Capitol is worth a gander, too.
A few notes:
1. Some Americans are going to consider this the collapse of civilization, but this is pretty tame stuff by international standards.
2. If you're wearing orange shirts in the chamber as a show of solidarity, don't expect the other side to play nice.
3. Liked the guy who shouted "we love you anyways."
4. Never be the last person chanting.
Added: Weigel's diary of the scene inside the Capitol is worth a gander, too.
Nov 24, 2010
when it's icy in Seattle, stay home
Video of a street in Capitol Hill, where determined drivers vastly overestimate their skills on black ice. Steering out of a skid is not intuitive, even for a professional bus driver.
(About the videographer... usually I'm the kind of person who gets out and helps. But I guess they're performing a public service of sorts. And hey, no one was hurt.)
[via Cory Doctorow]
Jul 28, 2010
debating a fool
The best part of the entire book of Proverbs, in this debate coach's opinion, comes in the 26th chapter.
Yes and no.
Yes, because you have the chance to demolish the fallacies and point reasonable listeners toward the truth. And if you don't, someone less qualified (or capable) will try--and if they fail, they'll only make things worse.
No, because you'll fail anyway, not only because your opponent will use every trick in the book to "win" the debate (and your audience may not be able to tell the difference between a "win" and a win), but their mere presence on the stage will feed their PR efforts.
Of course, if you refuse to debate them, they'll accuse you of intellectual cowardice. Or you may come across as a bully. (Although that's subjective; I think Barney Frank is entirely appropriate dressing down a disingenuous opponent, but perhaps it's because I admire curmudgeons.)
So we're back to the paradoxical advice. Or, to paraphrase Yoda: Do, or do not. There is no win.
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,This, in essence, is the perfect answer to the question, "Should you debate an intellectually dishonest opponent?"
or you will be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.
Yes and no.
Yes, because you have the chance to demolish the fallacies and point reasonable listeners toward the truth. And if you don't, someone less qualified (or capable) will try--and if they fail, they'll only make things worse.
No, because you'll fail anyway, not only because your opponent will use every trick in the book to "win" the debate (and your audience may not be able to tell the difference between a "win" and a win), but their mere presence on the stage will feed their PR efforts.
Of course, if you refuse to debate them, they'll accuse you of intellectual cowardice. Or you may come across as a bully. (Although that's subjective; I think Barney Frank is entirely appropriate dressing down a disingenuous opponent, but perhaps it's because I admire curmudgeons.)
So we're back to the paradoxical advice. Or, to paraphrase Yoda: Do, or do not. There is no win.
Jul 8, 2010
May 19, 2010
May 7, 2010
Apr 6, 2010
breakfast sandwich piracy
"It's not that original, but it's only a buck."
I haven't decided whether Burger King's winking-but-honest approach is to be jeered or lauded. Maybe it's a form of post-ironic whiplash.
Apr 5, 2010
do The Census!
To the annals of horrific government-sponsored "rapping," we can add the Census Rap:
Warning: this blog is not responsible for eardrum- or taste-related injuries.
Although nothing tops the worst "rap" in the history of "rap."
Warning: this blog is not responsible for eardrum- or taste-related injuries.
Although nothing tops the worst "rap" in the history of "rap."
Mar 2, 2010
Nov 30, 2009
The Prodigal Fan
In case you doubted the inherent and insatiable sociality of the human species, or, at least, will cheer for anything: Improv Everywhere's Rob Lathan gets "lost" at a Knicks game.
Nov 19, 2009
the digital is the actual
I'm not sure I'm really sold on the idea that augmenting one's own reality makes one less of a machine. And I'm not sure the world needs more visual clutter as random folks project their desktops onto office windows and subway walls (tip for oblivious passersby: don't stare into the blinding beam). And don't we need a space where we can escape the noise for a time? ("Tell that idiot to quit watching YouTube on that cliff face already.")
But the idea of taking one's computation out of a plastic tower and into the wider world is otherwise pretty darn cool.
Oct 19, 2009
football for nerds, and nerds for football
1. Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy High explains his team's no-kick approach to football. The short story: it's all about the numbers, and the numbers say keep possession.
2. In an excerpt from his book Eating the Dinosaur, Chuck Klosterman explains why he loves football more at 37 than he ever did at 17. The short story: it's all about the game's radical/conservative duality.
Who says nerds can't love / rule sports?
Sep 26, 2009
the day the cell phone died
Via Cory Doctorow, a clever little video highlighting the cell phone failures that angst up the modern thriller. (Warning: salty language and excessive horror cheesiness.)
There's an element of verisimilitude to the cliché; in the summer of '08 my wife and I found ourselves stranded in the Olympic mountains, no cell signal. And there's nothing more frightening than mountains.
Jul 28, 2009
Jul 27, 2009
I never forget a face
Add one more faculty to the crow repertoire: the ability to recognize and remember human faces. As the video shows, though, the face is all that matters; crows in the experiment couldn't distinguish body shapes.
Thankfully.
[via BoingBoing's McLaren and Torchinsky]
Thankfully.
[via BoingBoing's McLaren and Torchinsky]
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