WhoMadeWho - "Every Minute Alone" - A New Song for the Day

I was just recently made aware of this band from Denmark and am somewhat smitten by the video.  It was released April 25th on Kompakt.  Follow the link to their Myspace page for more info and music: WhoMadeWho.

Billy's Balloon - Short Animated Film by Don Hertzfeldt

A good friend sent this animated short my way and it is worth a viewing. I have a real soft spot for this sort of primal, two-dimensional animation and the concept is quite funny though almost uncomfortably harsh at times - but i like that aspect as well.  Oh yeah, I apologize for the pop up ad - damn embedding from you-tube.  It can be closed out easily.

President Obama as Comedian - 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner - Video of Interest

He's even good at delivering punch lines - impressive - and then turns around to deliver tonight's address with, quite obviously, very little sleep but the utmost grace.  Impressive indeed - and may we appreciate the rare moment of national unity and communal alignment that will inevitably grow from today's news, only to fade too quickly.

Reason and Faith? - Image of Intrigue

Just a little thought for the day.  I could make a pretty strong, and logical, argument for the reciprocal of the above message, but who needs healthy debate and shared differences when you have religion? My friend sent this picture a while back from the South East and I recently rediscovered it.  It says so much with so little - take it as you please. For infinite interest, bewilderment, and occasional humor, just do a tour around the Southern states reading the church mini-marquees.  You will be amazed at what you find - and it would make one hell of a photography project.

Blank City - Featured Film of Interest/Documentary

Blank City is currently premiering at the IFC Center in New York. The website offers a list of other scheduled screenings around the nation as well as an impressive list of festival selections worldwide.  

Summary:  BLANK CITY tells the long-overdue tale of a disparate crew of renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. In the late 1970's and mid 80's, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that would go on to profoundly influence the development of independent film as we know it today.

Directed by French newcomer Céline Danhier, BLANK CITY weaves together an oral history of the “No Wave Cinema” and “Cinema of Transgression” movements through compelling interviews with the luminaries who began it all. Featured players include acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Hip Hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. Fittingly, the soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, The Bush Tetras, Sonic Youth and many more.

Blank City Official Trailer from Celine Danhier on Vimeo.

Link:  Blank City

Hoping for an Austin Screening announcement soon.  Thanks to arkhive. for bringing this one to my attention - it's always good to have aware and interested friends in NYC.

Resources for New Screenwriters & Filmmakers: Kurt Vonnegut at the Blackboard

Blog of Interest:  Resources for New Screenwriters & Filmmakers: Kurt Vonnegut at the Blackboard - Lapham’s Quarter...

Link:  "Kurt Vonnegut at the Blackboard"  -  Lapham’s Quarterly  

Anecdotal Humor - Troubletown by Lloyd Dangle

I can't really attest to the entirety of the satirical collection (or really any of the other cartoons posted) on this blog, Troubletown, but a friend sent this my way (i think via Ebert's blog) and I thought it was worth sharing - a bit heavy handed and blunt maybe, but it hits right on target - and, it's funny/painful. I have had to ask this very question to myself many times.

50 Years Later: Learning From The Bay Of Pigs - Article and Image of Intrigue - NPR

Members of Fidel Castro's militia gather in Cuba's Escambry Mountains during the ill-fated 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

Fifty years ago Sunday, a brigade of around 1,500 CIA-trained soldiers stormed the beach in Cuba's Bay of Pigs. It was the opening phase of a secret mission to overthrow Fidel Castro and, President John F. Kennedy hoped, halt the spread of communism throughout the world. 
Things did not go as planned.

For the full article follow the Link:  NPR

Miral, by Julian Schanabel - Featured Film of Interest - Trailer

From Julian Schnabel, director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before Night Falls, and Basquiat, comes Miral, the visceral, first-person diary of a young girl growing up in East Jerusalem as she confronts the effects of occupation and war in every corner of her life. Shnabel pieces together momentary fragments of Miral's world - how she was formed, who influenced her, all that she experiences in her tumultuous early years - to create a raw, moving, poetic portrait of a woman whose small, personal story is inextricably woven into the bigger history unfolding all around her. For complete details, follow the Link.


SYNOPSIS
Jerusalem, 1948. On her way to work, Hind Husseini comes across 55 orphaned children. She takes them home to give them food and shelter. Within six months, 55 have grown to almost 2000, and the Dar Al-Tifel Institute is born. At the age of 7, Miral is sent to the Institute by her father following her mother’s death. Brought up behind the safety of the Institute’s walls, she is naïve to the troubles that surround her. Then, at the age of 17, she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she is awakened to the reality of her people’s struggle. When she falls for a political activist, Hani, she finds herself torn between the fight for the future of her people and Mama Hind’s belief that education is the road to peace.


Miral by Julian Schnabel - Usa, France, Italy, Israel, 112'
language: English, Hebrew, Arabic - s/t Italian/English
Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, Willem Dafoe, Yasmine Al Masri, Vanessa Redgrave


Links: 
Miral Official Site 
Venice Film Festival

Radiohead - Lotus Flower - Song and Dance for the Day...

For the new album, The King of Limbs, and more from Radiohead, follow the Link:  Radiohead.com

Australian Outlaws, 1920's - Images of Intrigue

For more Vintage Images of Australian Outlaws (1920's) follow the Link:  La boite verte

Hank Hill - Quote for the Day

Season 8 » Episode #02 - Reborn To Be Wild - First Aired: Nov. 09, 2003

Summary: Bobby starts to hang out with a Christian Rock group. Hank is okay with it, but reconsiders when Bobby's attitude changes. 

Context:  First, note the aired date and try to remember (however painful) the scourge of christian "rock" bands that were hijacking the airwaves - weirdest and most uncomfortable rock trend ever, particularly when aligned with "new metal" (the second worse).  

Hank confronts Pastor K (covered in christian skin-art, long black hair, black/triangle soul patch, leather pants, and wailing god-praise from behind a screeching guitar) when he becomes a negative influence on Bobby and delivers this brilliant line:

"Can't you see you're not making christianity better, you're just making rock n roll worse."  - Hank Hill

I Laughed furiously upon hearing this for the first time recently, and highly encourage all christian rock bands to take note - great wisdom lies here.  And, I get the feeling that this is one of those pieces of dialogue that is directly from the mind of Mike Judge.  

Mike Judge has long had my full respect, since the earliest days of Beavis and Butt-Head and on through King of the Hill and his feature films.  However, upon moving to Austin TX, somehow King of the Hill has become twice as funny and satirically relevant.  Now I know why those Whataburger signs in the background are so hilarious. Oh yeah, Mike Judge is from Austin and the show is about as Texas suburbia perfect as it gets.

Bressonian Quote #18 - Notes from a Master Filmmaker

"The photographed theatre or CINEMA requires a metteur-en-scene or director to make some actors perform a play and to photograph these actors performing the play; afterwards he lines up the images. Bastard theatre lacking what makes theatre: material presence of living actors, direct action of the audience on the actors." 
 - Robert Bresson

NASA Provides First Continuous Look At The Sun In 3-D Report by NPR

by EYDER PERALTA

An artist's concept of STEREO surrounding the sun.

A 3-D Video Of The Sun

Rotating solar sphere made from a combination of imagery from the two STEREO spacecraft, together with simultaneous data from the Solar Dynamic Observatory.

For the full report, follow the Link:  NPR's News Blog

The Cure: Fire in Cairo - A Song for Today

CREO LA MEJOR PIEZA DE ESTA SESSION - THE JOHN PEEL SESSION SHOW ON RADIO 01.04.1978

From:  THE CURE - RADIO SESSIONS 
04 DECEMBER 1978 - LONDON, BBC MAIDA VALE STUDIOS (UK)
#BBC Radio 1 - John Peel Session #1

1. Killing An Arab
2. 10:15 Saturday Night
3. Fire In Cairo
4. Boys Don't Cry


Thanks to my good friend Brent for bringing this my way.

Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed. ROGER EBERT'S JOURNAL - A Letter from Walter Murch

Walter Murch

By Roger Ebert on January 23, 2011 
I received a letter that ends, as far as I am concerned, the discussion about 3D. It doesn't work with our brains and it never will.

The notion that we are asked to pay a premium to witness an inferior and inherently brain-confusing image is outrageous. The case is closed.

This letter is from Walter Murch, seen at left, the most respected film editor and sound designer in modern cinema. As an editor, he must be intimately expert with how an image interacts with the audience's eyes. He won an Academy Award in 1979 for his work on "Apocalypse Now," whose sound was a crucial aspect of its effect.

"Murch is widely acknowledged as the person who coined the term Sound Designer, and along with colleagues developed the current standard film sound format, the 5.1 channel array, helping to elevate the art and impact of film sound to a new level. "Apocalypse Now" was the first multi-channel film to be mixed using a computerized mixing board." He won two more Oscars for the editing and sound mixing of "The English Patient."

"He is perhaps the only film editor in history to have received Academy nominations for films edited on four different systems:

• "Julia" (1977) using upright Moviola
• "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "Ghost" (1990), and "The Godfather, Part III" (1990) using KEM flatbed
• "The English Patient" (1996) using Avid.
•  "Cold Mountain" (2003) using Final Cut Pro on an off-the shelf PowerMac G4.

Now read what Walter Murch says about 3D:

Hello Roger,

I read your review of "Green Hornet" and though I haven't seen the film, I agree with your comments about 3D.

The 3D image is dark, as you mentioned (about a camera stop darker) and small. Somehow the glasses "gather in" the image -- even on a huge Imax screen -- and make it seem half the scope of the same image when looked at without the glasses.

I edited one 3D film back in the 1980's -- "Captain Eo" -- and also noticed that horizontal movement will strobe much sooner in 3D than it does in 2D. This was true then, and it is still true now. It has something to do with the amount of brain power dedicated to studying the edges of things. The more conscious we are of edges, the earlier strobing kicks in.

The biggest problem with 3D, though, is the "convergence/focus" issue. A couple of the other issues -- darkness and "smallness" -- are at least theoretically solvable. But the deeper problem is that the audience must focus their eyes at the plane of the screen -- say it is 80 feet away. This is constant no matter what.

But their eyes must converge at perhaps 10 feet away, then 60 feet, then 120 feet, and so on, depending on what the illusion is. So 3D films require us to focus at one distance and converge at another. And 600 million years of evolution has never presented this problem before. All living things with eyes have always focussed and converged at the same point.

If we look at the salt shaker on the table, close to us, we focus at six feet and our eyeballs converge (tilt in) at six feet. Imagine the base of a triangle between your eyes and the apex of the triangle resting on the thing you are looking at. But then look out the window and you focus at sixty feet and converge also at sixty feet. That imaginary triangle has now "opened up" so that your lines of sight are almost -- almost -- parallel to each other.

We can do this. 3D films would not work if we couldn't. But it is like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, difficult. So the "CPU" of our perceptual brain has to work extra hard, which is why after 20 minutes or so many people get headaches. They are doing something that 600 million years of evolution never prepared them for. This is a deep problem, which no amount of technical tweaking can fix. Nothing will fix it short of producing true "holographic" images.

Consequently, the editing of 3D films cannot be as rapid as for 2D films, because of this shifting of convergence: it takes a number of milliseconds for the brain/eye to "get" what the space of each shot is and adjust.

And lastly, the question of immersion. 3D films remind the audience that they are in a certain "perspective" relationship to the image. It is almost a Brechtian trick. Whereas if the film story has really gripped an audience they are "in" the picture in a kind of dreamlike "spaceless" space. So a good story will give you more dimensionality than you can ever cope with.

So: dark, small, stroby, headache inducing, alienating. And expensive. The question is: how long will it take people to realize and get fed up?

All best wishes,

Walter Murch

Walter Murch is also author of a preeminent guide to film editing theory - In the Blink of an Eye (with a foreward by Francis Ford Coppola).  In lecture style (and a relatively short read), he offers seemingly simple conceptual guidance that proves as invaluable wisdom to the film editor as well as all filmmakers. I highly recommend the book to anyone aspiring to understand the essence of filmmaking.

Links:
Roger Ebert's Journal - Sun-Times 
NPR Audio Interview - Walter Murch
Sound Doctrine - An Interview with Walter Murch
In the Blink of an Eye - A Book Review

2011 Sundance Film Festival - Awards, Information, and Commentary

2011 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners:  

Happy, Happy, Hell and Back Again, How to Die in Oregonand Like Crazy Earn Grand Jury Prizes Audience Favorites Include Buck, Circumstance, KinyawarandaandSenna to.get.her Awarded Best of NEXT! Audience Award

The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to How to Die in Oregon, directed by Peter D. Richardson. In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. How to Die in Oregon gently enters the lives of terminally ill Oregonians to illuminate the power of death with dignity.

The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Like Crazy, directed by Drake Doremus; written by Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones. A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship.

The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Hell and Back Again, directed by Danfung Dennis. Told through the eyes of one Marine from the start of his 2009 Afghanistan tour to his distressing return and rehabilitation in the U.S., we witness what modern "unconventional" warfare really means to the men who are fighting it. U.S.A./United Kingdom

The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig), directed by Anne Sewitsky; written by Ragnhild Tronvoll. A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door. Norway

The Audience Award: Documentary was presented to Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl, for her story about the power of non-violence and master horse trainer Buck Brannaman, who uses principles of respect and trust to tame horses and inspire their human counterparts.

The Audience Award: Dramatic was presented to Circumstance, directed and written by Maryam Keshavarz,in which a wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession.

The World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was presented to Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia; written by Manish Pandey, about legendary racing driver and Brazilian hero Ayrton Senna, taking us on the ultimate journey of what it means to become the greatest when faced with the constant possibility of death. United Kingdom

The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic was presented to Kinyarwanda, directed and written by Alrick Brown, which tells the story of Rwandans who crossed the lines of hatred during the 1994 genocide, turning mosques into places of refuge for Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis. U.S.A./Rwanda

For a complete listing of the Awards follow the Link.

It seems that I have neglected to post updates on the Sundance Film Festival 2011 which just wrapped a few days ago - one of the U.S.'s largest film festivals. I usually try to include regular postings and updates from the major independent film festivals and realize that I have been remiss in reporting on Sundance this year, somewhat intentionally and somewhat by cause of a saturated, ridiculous award season. Let me explain, as typically I am a great proponent of the festival circuit.

It is true, I tend to neglect the "red carpet" season of pointless Hollywood dribble, gratuitous PR/politics, excessive fashion, and the cattle herding of "fame" and leisure class industry darlings that honestly appear to be vacuous puppets on a string - I would rather watch some quality stop motion animation (maybe Team America - "America, F@#% yeah"). Sadly, there are many legitimate artists and industry outsiders thrown into this mix by default (and the monopolization of Studio interests), and the atmosphere is even less flattering to them. They usually seem a bit uncomfortable and degraded by the senseless surroundings, while others swallow it whole as they do their rounds from camera to camera and Seacrest to Seacrest-look-a-like. All i can ever think is, wow, imagine how much philanthropy and causal success could be achieved with the funding that flows into these relatively banal award ceremonies - but most would rather wear the 6-digit monkey suits and dresses and merely mention these causes as they glorify themselves and thank god for their achievements. Now, I love actors (as all directors should), real actors, but some sense of perspective is necessary here - you are actors and filmmakers (mostly mediocre) and some artists - not gods, idols, or golden cows (well, maybe in a metaphorical sense).

I had the pleasure of meeting Zana Briski shortly after she received the 2004 Best Documentary Academy Award for Born into Brothels (an exceptional film by an exceptional woman and artist). She came to one of my classes in Film School for an intimate Q&A and was more honest and introspective than I ever would have imagined. To the bewilderment of many of the young film students with stars in their eyes that asked, "what famous people did you meet?"- she responded, with an obvious internal sadness, that such things (fame and leisure) were of no interest to her and refused to drop names - this is a real artist, a real human being. The class, excluding me and my professor, were disappointed. She went on to say that it was one of the most awkward, uncomfortable, and unrealistic environments that she had ever participated in and that she had no desire to repeat the affair. She held true to her promise as she retreated back to her work - you can follow the link for an update on the photography and minimal filmmaking that she has pursued since - it is honest art.

On a similar note, and with great admiration, Marlon Brando refused to accept his 1972 Academy Award for Best Actor in The Godfather as a statement on Native American rights - with a written rejection delivered by a young Native American activist that stated disapproval of the depiction of their culture in Hollywood cinema.

Unfortunately, it seems like every year more of these endless televised events seem to pop up, one after another - the Golden Globes (the worst of the bunch), SAG Awards, and of course the Academy Awards - I can't even remember the rest. I truly have very little time for any of them, and sadly (and perhaps partially unfair) I tend to throw Sundance Film Fest into this mix as the sweet "indie" darling of the market - though it actually hasn't been "indie" since the 90's when the word actually meant something - just another red carpet affair. Now, good films do come out of Sundance and old Redford seems to be making attempts to bring it back to credibility, but the industry grasp is tough to break.

So, to compensate on some level, and with all respect to the many valid independent artists that receive notoriety and opportunity from the event, I have at least posted the awards from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and encourage all to delve further to find a few gems. There are always some impressive works that come to light due to the festival, so perhaps I shouldn't be so harsh on the event. Follow the Links below for more information and, please, don't ever misperceive the mainstream awards ceremonies as a comprehensive collection of the year's best and most innovative cinema - they get a few right, but we must dig a little deeper to find many of the innovators and ground-breakers. If you are just catching that cinephile bug, Sundance isn't the worst place to begin. Above is a list of the awards.

Links:
Sundance Institute
2011 Sundance Film Festival Awards
Zana Briski.com

Arizona Gun Control? - Image of Interest... reflections and observations

People shoot their guns at a shooting range near the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 15. - image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Curious thoughts jangle through my head - thoughts of reason and ration and basic human comprehension and simple civil deduction and sympathy and heartache and bewilderment and the horridly painful, hopelessly burdensome desire for us to be just a little bit better, a little bit smarter, as the human race, as a community, as a collective of communities, as a species... And this image, in conjunction with its location, transforms into a landscape of absurdity - and my head hurts.
I'll leave you to your own deductions and considerations...

Links:
NPR - Obama Pushed To Address Gun Control
The Atlantic - The Geography of Gun Deaths (this article provides some intriguing, and disturbing, regional statistics and charts)

Out of Service - A Documentary by Andy Myers - Featured Independent Film and Artist

Funding for a Pertinent Doc on Freedom and Civil Rights:
This is a fascinating, heartbreaking, and socially imperative documentary currently under production - by Andy Myers, a filmmaker based out of UNCW Film Studies (the same program that i graduated from).  I have not personally had the chance to meet Andy, however, Shannon Silva, an associate professor of Film Studies at UNCW, an accomplished documentary and experimental filmmaker, and a personal mentor and friend, has sent this message:  "One last time for people in nosebleed seats!  40 hours left on this doc's fundraising. If you've got it, share it."

I tend to trust her opinion and support infinitely in matters of documentary filmmaking.

After further exploring the project, I couldn't agree more. It appears to not only be socially significant as exposure of a great injustice with far reaching implications, but also one that is being handled with grace and keen production. I offer my full support and encouragement to Andy as he tackles this ambitious project, and further encourage all that are able to get in some last minute donations. Below is a video sample of the doc in process and a link to KickStarter, an online resource for art fundraising - and all hopes that independent cinema and art continues to flourish with new resources of the sort. I have also included a Bio of the filmmaker and a summary of the project for those interested in exploring the film further.

Out of Service: A Documenary by Andy Myers



Bio for Andy Myers
Andy Myers is a documentary filmmaker earning his BA in Film Studies at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His main interests include the link between environmental injustice and societal welfare, gay rights issues, and innovative grassroots endeavors. He is a firm believer in the power of nonfiction film to enact social change and strives to make and support documentaries that serve as tools in the fight against inequality and discrimination.


ANDY MYERS - POSTED PROJECT UPDATE #1
GOODBYE to Don't Ask Don't Tell!
The bigoted, nonsensical policy Don't Ask Don't Tell has finally been thrown out. A lot of work and sacrificice from a lot of passionate individuals has payed off and our senetors and congressmen have finally listened to us, and have decided to do whats right. During the signing of DADT Repeal, Obama quoted Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying, "Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well."

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order for the military to start to see a change. There is a certification process happening now which the Pentagon does not know how long will take, and after this theres a 60 day grace period before repeal can take effect. Sara hopes to rejoin ROTC in the Spring of 2012 but is still appealing her debt of $80,000. Earlier she was told that EVEN IF DON'T ASK DON'T TELL WAS REPEALED, SHE WOULD STILL HAVE TO PAY BACK HER SCHOLARSHIP. This seems completely ridiculous to me and hopefully by getting Sara's story out to the public as much as possible, more attention will be directed to the absurdity in this logic.

Links: KickStarter

Out of Service - A documentary by Andy Myers - KickStarter

Silvacine.com - Shannon Silva Profile and Bio