2008 July | Groovy Like a Movie

Great PSA for a great cause

July 28th, 2008

I recently came across this outstanding PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT(higher quality version than the embed). This is what a great PSA is suppose to do-provoke not only thought, but action. I love how the music works perfectly in delivering the message. I would like to think the music, “Rise” by Eddie Vedder, from the “Into The Wild” soundtrack was the catalyst for the creative idea. Either way it’s a great piece of work. It also doesn’t hurt when David Fincher directs and a slew of celebs appear.
Check out the organization, standup2cancer.org to learn more and get involved. There is a great vibe with this site and you’ll find other interesting and informative videos about what’s being done and what can be done in the fight against cancer.

Written by Brent Altomare

Categories: audio, giving back, inspiration, video Comments: 2 Comments

Videos without cameras or lights…? What?!

July 18th, 2008

There are lots of people in this industry who are trying to push the medium as far as it will go, not content with the status quo. These people try to incorporate the fridge technologies from other industries to see what they can do for filmmaking. This is the new Radiohead video for the song “House of Cards”; it’s a cool video on it’s own but it gets cooler when you learn they didn’t use cameras or lights. See what inspiration you can draw from this and then see if you can make it work!!

Radiohead’s House of Cards

Here is a corresponding video about the making of “House of Cards”
The Making of House of Cards

Written by Brent Altomare

Categories: cameras, groovy, inspiration, production.equipment, technology, video Comments: 2 Comments

Tell Me Baby

July 15th, 2008

IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m a big fan of documentaries because I love seeing real people and their lives playing out before the camera. It can be pretty intense and emotional. IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m also a huge fan of music. I feel that music can also be a very emotional thing. The other night I came across something that kind of combines the two.

My husband was watching Red Hot Chili Peppers videos online and he wanted me to take a look at one in particular. The music video is for Tell Me Baby. What I dig about this video is it starts out with people being asked what their dream is. These are aspiring musicians who are auditioning to be in a music video and they are sharing why they came to Los Angeles. Then the video starts up with music and we see these people auditioning. The whole time this video has a really neat authentic vibe to it. This doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t feel rehearsed and actedÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦it feels pretty genuine. As it turns out, it is genuine. These people are real and they have no idea they are actually starring in a Red Hot Chili Peppers video.

The video was directed by two filmmakers, who use real people, the element of surprise and the lyrics to Tell Me Baby, to make what is a unique and touching music video.

IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ve attached three links for you to view. The first link is the video Tell Me Baby. The next three links are Making of Tell Me Baby 1, Making of Tell Me Baby 2 and Making of Tell Me Baby 3. I love the behind the scenes interviews with the band members, the directors and the real people auditioning. ItÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s a very cool and fresh approach to music video making and I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Written by Brent Altomare

Categories: inspiration, video Comments: Comments Off

using video to explain complex ideas

July 11th, 2008

One of the advantages of video is it’s ability to help explain extremely complex concepts. Below is a movie from Semiconductor Films, which shows us visually how magnetic fields interact with the world around them. Had you just listened to the physicists describe the interactions, you’d be completely lost (unless you were a physicist yourself), but having the visuals makes it much more clear.

As an added bonus, the filmmakers incorporated actual VLF audio recordings as sound design elements. This sound design drives the visuals and ultimately creates a stunning, hyper-real mini-documentary.

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

Written by Brent Altomare