Crumpled

The thing about Short Films is that they are always free on the internet. So if you haven't seen all the nominees in other categories, you can still try out your award predicting skills on the shorts.
Two of them have parts where they turn off a light and the room seems to get brighter. Four of them have digital 3D animation. One of them is Stop Motion. Two of them have 2D animation mixed into the 3D animation. One of them doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

1. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

2. French Roast

3. The Lady and the Reaper

4. A Matter of Loaf and Death

I can't find an embeddable version, outside of MySpace.
It is available to watch here: http://current.com/1mftq4c. I'll update this post if I find something else.

5. Logorama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been getting videos from specific directors from Netflix lately. I've been giving a lot of thought to music videos, I'd like to start a music video project with the Central Sierra Arts Council. We have bands up here, and we have young people who would really benefit from the experience of making a video. What I'd really like to see is a music video made for Every. Single. Band. up here.

Obviously that would be an epic project, but not impossible. It would encourage our musicians to get in the recording studio, and give them a way to promote themselves while developing the artistic skilz of our would-be directors, and visual artists.

This list of videos is limited to directors I've been watching lately, which is Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze.

Michel Gondry

Daft Punk - Around the world

This video is tight. By tight, I mean precisely planned and executed. This is a fine example of having a clear vision in your head and then actualizing it with an insistent artistic integrity.

Cibo Matto - Sugar Water

Michel Gondy said that he used to make a lot of flip-books. I think this video is like a flip-book where he made a story on one side of the page, and then wrote the second half of the story on the other side of the page, making sure that whatever he drew on the second side, correlated with the image he drew on the first side.

Spike Jonze

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Many musicians cite this video as the reason they wanted Spike Jonze to make a video for them. It's bad ass. The Beastie Boys said that they specifically don't have guns. I bet you've seen this video, and I bet you hadn't thought of that. The fake show that they made is actually on the air now, it's call Burn Notice. This show will always be on the air in different guises (McGuyver, Magnum PI). That's another reason why this video is so good. It demonstrates an understanding of a cultural phenomenon that was always lingering in the background, and impeccably illustrates it.

The Pharcyde - Drop

Spike hired a linguist to translate the backward version of this song into pheonetic "words" that the Pharcyde could memorize, and practice. They did thier homework, and this video turned out amazing. It probably inspired this high school to try the same thing.

Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice

Christopher Walken is a psychotic in so many movies. In this video he's completely lovable. That's enough of a formula to make any video work.

Björk - It's Oh So Quiet

Here are some examples where Spike Jonze made really good videos without really spending much money at all.

Fatboy Slim - Praise You

The Fatboy Slim video below, ridiculous and awesome, was shot guerrilla style and was awarded VH1's video of the year. The cast of the video was invited to perform at the MTV Music Awards.

Fatlip - What's up Fatlip

This was shot with a video camera, and a makeshift cast. The cheapness of the look compliments the song about Fatlip feeling bummed about himself. This isn't one of the "best videos ever" but it was done on the super cheap, and captures the essence of the song.


More to come in a later post.

So, I got this survey in my email:

At WildBlue, we constantly strive to provide the highest quality Internet service and support to you, our valued customer. To help us continually improve your service, we have partnered with CFI Group, a leading customer satisfaction research company, to gather feedback on our customers? experiences with WildBlue?s service and support.

So I get to vent. I filled it out, and because just thinking back on it all, my blood began to reheat, I thought I'd share my opinions with everyone here, as well.

Don't worry I won't share the whole tedious survey.

Q: Was the installation done right the first time?

No.

Q: What was the nature of the issue?

The installer lied about the installation requirements to increase the installation cost. The installer explained that when he dug the hole for a pole mount, he digs them 1 foot more shallow than standard and pounds it down an extra foot in order to let the earth hold it in the last foot instead of the concrete. The installer's girlfriend assembled the dish, and was seen throwing the parts onto the ground while unpacking it. The installer didn't pick up ant of the garbage that was created by the installation process. His name is David M***** [Not redacted in the actual survey], and he worked for LC Communications of Rocklin, CA. They were contracted by DSI Systems in W. Sacramento. I wanted to get him in trouble but was concerned about the installer retaliating, knowing where I live.

Q: If WildBlue could improve upon one thing, other than price, what would that be?

A more reasonable bandwidth limit, given today's demand for the internet, perhaps even offering peak and off peak bandwidth limitations for each beam. More professional standards for installer certification. Better ways to hold installers accountable.

People use WildBlue because they have to, not because they want to. If you can make it feel less like an anti-consumer company, you'll probably be able to retain customers beyond the point when their contacts expire or other services become available to them. If you can't do that, people might opt for less reliable technologies, like cellular, just to avoid you.

Personally I hope WiMax or another technology comes in and changes the game and ruins the business model of all satellite internet companies and cell phone companies. Unfortunately for me, I'll still be in your 2 year contract when that time comes.

Google Books ran a contest for ten days, which generated tens of thousands of entries. I'm proud to say that my essay was one of thirty winners.

Check it out:
http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2009/10/announcing-winners-for-10-days-in.html

It's a poem!

Labels: Yay

Here's me:

Well I'm not posting so much these days, but you can see where I am if you want.

My phone updates my location to a widget at the bottom of the page to show you approximately what city I am in in real-time. (unless I disable it or misdirect you.)

So if you are feeling like you need to know whats up, just scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Or you can revisit this post.