Watch this!!!

Please watch, rate and comment on this little short produced by some of my students for the Virgin Media Shorts film competition, by clicking on the picture above.

They have worked very hard in a very short amount of time to pull this off and deserve praise for their effort and achievement, especially considering this was all done at the busiest time of year for their course, and one of them was also directing a major TV show as well.

You need to register with virgin media shorts, but it only takes a short while. Please help us bring it up the charts. I’m not sure what VirginMedia did to it, but when uploaded, it is difficult to see the faces in some shots, and it’s quite jumpy. But this is not the case on the original.

Title: The White Devil Running time: 02′20″

Synopsis – Spaghetti Western/Horror short. Sheriff Nero is on the hunt for the Diavolo Bianco, a fugitive gunman. He is wanted on charges of murder: dead or alive. 5 weeks ago my tutor suggested we enter this Virgin competition. So we did and here’s what we made. Every stage of production was meticulously planned and executed. A dedicated work ethos was an essential ingredient to the project. We all had a good laugh and few beers though, despite on the day of the shoot it pissing down. The Hereford & Hell crew has worked successfully together previously and is assembled from talent residing in both Nottingham and Bristol. We are a tight, hard working and passionate group of film fanatics led by Hereford & Hell co-founders Cassidy Kirk and Matt Harradine. Crew: Cassidy Kirk Matt Harradine Trent Pyro Emily Bashford Louisa Vernon Josh Sibson

Nottingham – BAFTA Short Screenwriting

Just got word via the Bang short film festival about this.

BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum in Nottingham
Call For Scripts, Deadline 26 May 2009

We are accepting scripts submissions for the next BAFTA ROCLIFFE NEW WRITING FORUM taking place at the Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, as part of Broadway’s Festival of Screenwriting on 30 June 2009. Tickets to the event will be on sale at the Broadway Cinema, Nottingham from 25 May.

The closing date for submissions is 26 May 2009 @ 17.00 BST

Click here to find out more, and see pictures and a blog about our last event with Director, Mike Newell.

If you would like your script to be considered, please send a HARD COPY of the following to:
ALEX COOK
BAFTA ROCLIFFE SUBMISSIONS
BAFTA
195 Piccadilly
London W1J 9LN

Virgin Media Shorts Competition 2009

Do you have a short film under 2 mins 20 secs long? Why not go for this? It could be some exposure, and having your work included in a festival is a great motivator.

The following was taken from an EM-Media News Article.

Now in its second year, Virgin Media Shorts is the only short film competition to give British film makers the opportunity to have their work showcased to millions of people across the country through four mediums – on over 200 cinema screens, on TV, on mobile phones and online.

Last year, over 1,500 filmmakers showed off their work through Virgin Media Shorts. The competition was judged by a celebrity panel including: Kevin Spacey, Gurinder Chadha (director of Bend it Like Beckham), Daniel Barber (Oscar-nominated short film maker), Stephen Mangan (star of Green Wing), James King (Radio 1’s film critic), Lenny Crooks (UK Film Council) and Sir Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin Group).

A total of 12 films were selected and had their work blown up onto 35mm and screened across 214 cinemas in the UK. One film was picked as an overall winner and received £15,000 production funding from Virgin media with a chance to apply for up to £15,000 from the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund.

Virgin Media are looking for films up to two minutes 20 seconds running time, including credits.

Your film must be uploaded online at the Virgin Media Shorts website.

This year Virgin Media also have a Mobile Shorts Award for films shot on mobile phones. Films for this category can be up to 60 seconds including credits.

The judges will select the 12 best films from the main competition which will be screened on 214 cinema screens across the UK. Out of those 12 one film will be selected with a £15,000 prize from Virgin Media and the chance to apply to the UK Film Council for up to £15,000 funding. This is to shoot their next film which will be shown on Virgin Media platforms.

Virgin Media Shorts will also be awarding a prize for the best film submitted that has been shot on mobile phone format. This film will be distributed across Virgin Media platforms.

The final 12 films selected from the main competition are also eligible to take part in the People’s Choice award, voted for by members of the public online.

The winners from all three categories will be announced at a ceremony in central London on Tuesday 22 September.

For further information on how to upload your film, terms and conditions and guidelines, go to the Virgin Media Shorts website.

Deadline for submissions is midnight, Monday 22 June.

David O Reilly – Please say something.

I must be feeling bad about not updating the blog for a while, as I’m knocking out lots of posts in the last day or so, but just remembered that I’ve got to put this video on here. Saw it a week or so ago, I think linked from the Motionographer website. 

Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s not often that something this great comes along. I’m always impressed when people can put such strong characters together with animation. Especially in a pared down simple style like this. There’s no real facial expressions to rely on, but the sense of drama and emotion is very impressive. 

There’s a great sense of minimalism with the dialogue as well. I don’t only mean in the excellent soundwork by David Kamp, but in the scriptwriting, which catches you off guard and intrigues the viewer. 

David also has a great experimental style with heaps of innovation thrown in for good measure, and at the end of the day this is a film which works on all levels, from creativity, innovation and great storytelling which connects with the audience.

Watch it.  Click one of the images below.

Links - 

http://www.davidoreilly.com/     http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/27/bb-video-david-oreil.html    http://motionographer.com/features/david-oreilly-interview-please-say-something/

Watchmen – 80’s kids animation style

A great video which lovingly recreates classic moments from the Watchmen Graphic novel/ comic and puts them into a He man/Jem -style 80’s cartoon, complete with cheesy theme music. Very funny if you’ve read/seen watchmen, lots of great in-jokes. A real labour of love. Thanks to Ron for this one. As he said to me… Pure brilliance.

You’ve got it made! (now get it seen!)

Scottish Screen has produced a guide for all you budding filmmakers out there. Nicely put together by Nigel R Smith, it details the festival circuit , awards and digital distribution. Well worth a read for the serious filmmaker.

check out this link for general info 

http://www.scottishscreen.com/content/sub_page.php?sub_id=177&page_id=33

and this link for the download of the guide.

http://www.scottishscreen.com/images/documents/short_film_distribution_guide.pdf

Motion Graphics as a political medium

There is an increasing use of motion graphics as a political and educational medium. Short viral videos are produced and set out into the virtual world in the hope that they will inform and influence people. As we become more visually aware as a society, the video-makers have decided to use motion graphics to keep peoples interest levels up. This style is increasingly used along conventional documentary filmmakers as well who also include elaborate reconstructions of battles and other events in order to stimulate the viewer.

Knowledge – Alex Rudolph.

This aims to explain the middle east crisis in a short form. Based on research for his dissertation, where he has decided to impart a cooler look onto subjects potentially seen as boring by a younger audience. 

Also another few below as well. This is becoming an increasingly prolific format, so the examples are only a drop in the ocean – but good to give you a flavour of what is out there.

The Girl Effect, n. The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

 

What Barry Says.

Iran – a nation of bloggers

The Ship – Eglis Mednis

This is something that really shows what Machinima is capable of, and how it can be used as a viable filmmaking medium. I’ve not been overly keen on most that I have seen, but this really has a high level of emotional impact and it’s moody, minimal nature is great. It features a couple of characters in a bleak snowy landscape, but it is really the sound where this comes alive. A great deal of work has been put into the soundscape, and watchers of it should really think about this, and apply a higher level of sound design to their own work. In reality, very little happens, but by employing a few simple cinematic principles (albeit to a high level) this piece draws you in and takes you somewhere else. 

This has won the Best of the Fest Award at the Machinima FilmFest 2008, and as well as watching the film, you can also read an interview with the filmmaker by clicking on the picture above.

Thanks to SubmarineChannel for this, and remember to visit their site for lots of interesting creative video work.

Read my post on Machinima for a bit more info on what it is

Machinima

Machinima is the use of realtime 3d and game engines, combined with video editing equipment to produce dramatic ‘films’. These have a strong look, based on the 3d engines that they are originated on, and range from simply recording game footage, and dubbing over voices, to actually taking the 3d engine and making your own characters and environments. 

It’s been around for a while, and is developing as a concept. There are filmmakers also developing work in second life, the online virtual world. 

Molotov Alta is the first real celebrity filmmaker in the area, and HBO has paid a six figure sum for his second life film.

This is getting more and more interest from major media. Machinima adverts are being produced, and an episode of CSI is to have a second life killer.

to be fair, a lot of machinima are not very good, but it’s certainly an interesting development. 

Other places to look for more info

Second life documentary

Red Vs Blue

Machinima Festival Europe

illclan animation studios

Bloodspell

Don’t Forget about me – posts from the past

Ink Tank Experiments

Here are a couple of companies who have been doing really interesting things with the classic film technique of filming ink and other substances. By experimenting with this technique and then treating it in after effects or other post-production software you…

Pixilation 

Pixilation is a great technique for producing quick and fantastic looking animation. Based on stop motion, where the animator places clay figures or other 3d objects in front of the camera, takes a frame then moves the objects and repeats. The difference…

 The Action Cats

a group of designers, animators and filmmakers who use interesting experimental and traditional techniques to produce an innovative and dark look for their piece “The Experiment”. “The Experiment” was produced for Adobe’s “See what’s possible”…

David Anderson – Door

There is a great power in inanimate objects and architectural features, and exploited here is the door. A closed door is a very powerful image. Just seeing it places questions into the audiences mind, raising their emotional expectation. A closed…

Dangerous Parking

This shows some really interesting text, being deformed in a wispy, smoky way…

Rojo TV

Full of really interesting creative video work, this site really spans a wide range of artistic video and motion graphics work. This should prove to be a great source…

Richard Fenwick

Richard Fenwickis a designer/filmmaker/animator who works across a wide range of formats. He goes where the idea takes him, flitting between animation/design…

 

Mark Lewis

I saw his work at the BFI Southbank gallery in October 07. He often uses strong effects, like the ‘vertigo shot’ / dolly zoom (or whatever you want to call it)…

 

Rosie Pedlow / Joe King – Sea Change

A beautifully simple idea executed very well, Rosie and Joe’s film takes a seaside caravan park as its subject, and reveals through a series of smooth tracking shots…

 

Idents

Is there anything worth watching on TV anymore? Not a great deal, but there’s usually a lot of nice idents about. For a while BBC2 and Channel4 have been… 

 

 Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer is a real influence for me. Often miscribed as an animator, he should really be classed as a surrealist filmmaker as his work moves effortlessly between…