Earlier this year, Encyclopedia Britannica announced that it was shedding the fear of paper cuts and turning itself over solely to anxiety over internet access cuts. The now online-only encyclopedia of record further noted recently that they were looking to adapt a communal, almost wiki form of a community for it’s publication.
For those who grew up with one of their multi-volume sets, it marks an extraordinary end of an era. Despite the wonderment of Encarta95 and wikipedia, itself, the Encyclopedia Britannica was, at worst, one heck of a beauty on your bookshelf. My family still has our circa 1985 set at my parents home.
Nostalgia also struck one of my favorite TED speakers, the poet Rives. Below is his reaction to EB 2.0.
When I first came across this video, my reaction was much like some others: utter astonishment and a few questions as to whether or not it might have been photoshopped. Well, it wasn’t, it just is the majesty of the Earth from just beyond the thin blue line.
It’s also a stark reminder that while the Hubble may get the majority of the press for opening our eyes to both the visible and non-visible beauty of the electro-magnetic spectrum, sometimes the best images are self portraits. Last February, I posted my favorite still self portraits. After the jump, I’ve embedded a video that shares the beauty of that still imagery with the majesty of the time-lapse video.
The below animated short by David Wolter (a Dreamworks employee with a blog here) is beautiful, interesting and touching… all without a word spoken. This is how you do short form visual art.
I’m fond of the time lapse format. It has a level of detail and fineness that doesn’t come across in the most sharp of high definition videos. In the past, I’ve posted a New York City-specific time lapse by Mindrelic and one by by James Ogle.
Today, I’m posting one by Canadian Dominic Boudreault which features Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Chicago and, of course, New York. Brilliant choice of score and some fantastic shots. Really spectacular stuff.
There’s nothing really distinctive about this short film, but it excels at entertaining and being moderately funny. Besides the unrealistic nature of finding a $900 per month, two bedroom triplex within walking distance of the Grove, there were plenty of moments in the film that rang true.
Directed by Chris Akers, the film stars John Forest, Wesley Stiller and Katharine Brandt as Alex. Forest, in particular, is excellent as the beleaguered everyman with the occasional Zach Morris ability to speak to the camera. Enjoy if you’ve got 20 minutes to spare.
Mother’s Day is an occasion on which we celebrate the beauty of our mothers. So here’s a time lapse featuring the beauty of our collective mother earth. The artist is Terje Sorgjerd os TSO Photography.
Sometimes a short film is so gripping and well made that you get caught up in the action, character and vibe so much that your heart races as it would in a dramatic full length film. This is one such work.
Director Brandon McCormick, a veteran of the short film genre, wrote and directed this film for Whitestone Motion Pictures. It features two somewhat familiar faces in Justin Welborn and Sean Bridges in the primary roles.
It’s well acted, interestingly conceived (if not murky) and scored with a vengeance. Yes, the last three minutes are hardly traditional in their mix of acting and scoring, but it works and works quite well.
“Late Bloomer” is an acclaimed short film from 2004 that was an official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2004 Lake Placid Film Festival. Narrated by writer Clay Mcleod Chapman, it tells the story of a young boy (Sam Borenzweig) and his classmates as they experience their first sex education class.
Apparently based upon the works of HP Lovecraft (I don’t know enough about Lovecraft’s many novels to opine on any inspiration or comparisons), the short film is, at times, humorous and equally uncomfortable. It has a very grunge music video vibe, almost as if we’re being transported to a decidedly un-tragic, but still somewhat traumatized version of the classroom where Pearl Jam‘s Jeremy spoke (that epic music video is linked below).
Click through for more and to see the short film.Read more…
If one enjoyed the Ethan Hawke, Julie Delphy vehicle Before Sunrise, that person would likely be somewhat familiar with and perhaps enjoy the below short film by Italian Daniele Napolitano.
The truly intriguing part of the film is that it was shot using stop motion and a high-end retail Canon digital camera. The end result is a bit hard to gauge. The cinematography is, at times, stunning; however, the flow of the film is a bit jarred by the nature of stop-motion photography.
Click through to read on and watch the short film.Read more…
to opine on any inspiration or comparisons), the short film is, at times, humorous and equally uncomfortable. It has a very grunge music video vibe, almost as if we’re being transported to a decidedly un-tragic, but still somewhat traumatized version of the classroom where 
‘s Jeremy spoke (that epic music video is linked below).
, that person would likely be somewhat familiar with and perhaps enjoy the below short film by Italian Daniele Napolitano. 