In the Woods

INS HOLZ (IN THE WOODS) from mythenfilm on Vimeo.

Snow, sweat, testosterone and the sound of chainsaws. Every four years, over a period of three months in winter, wood is being cut in a steep mountain high above Lake Ägeri and prepared for log rafting. Neither economic change nor technology has been able to replace this traditional and sustainable craft in Switzerland.

I’ve watched this numerous times. As someone who heats with wood and processes my own wood, and having worked for a few summers on logging crews in Oregon, this piece has great appeal for me. Very well done.

Press Pause Play

PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.

This was originally posted on my old site in 2012. It’s a terrific piece, well worth taking the time to watch.

The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities. But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.

This is an amazing film, really worth making the time (an hour and 21 minutes) to watch. It’s well thought out, well shot, well edited, and the message is nuanced, not a slam dunk for digital or against it.

[via PetaPixel]

Notes on a Triangle

René Jodoin for the National Film Board of Canada

In this short animation film the triangle achieves the distinction of principal dancer in a geometric ballet. The triangle is shown splitting into some three hundred transformations, dividing and sub-dividing with grace and symmetry to the music of a waltz. The film’s artist and animator is René Jodoin, whose credits include Dance Squared and several collaborations with Norman McLaren.

I was a fan of Norman McLaren way back when I was in art school. This is amazing stuff given how it was done (like clay animation: step animation with still photography).

[via The Kid Should See This]

Afghanistan – touch down in flight

Afghanistan – touch down in flight from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

Note: This was originally posted on my old site on December 14, 2011. It’s a beautiful piece and worth zooming out full screen.

Lukas and Salome Augustin have made a beautiful portrait of Afghanistan.

Note that this was shot with Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D cameras and a variety of Canon lenses.

I’m posting this from the new WordPress application for Mac OS X to try it out. I doubt I’ll use it much, I’m a MarsEdit user and fan and have been for as long as it’s been around.

[via Mamen Saura]

Later That Same Life

This is one of the most creative videos I’ve ever seen, bar none. And, it’s so simple yet so profound. Oh my, this is really good.

“56-year-old (Peter) Stoney Emshwiller is interviewed by his own 18-year-old self from the year 1977. In the late 70s teenaged Stoney Emshwiller filmed several hours of himself pretending to interview his future self. Emshwiller went on to be an actor, novelist, editor, filmmaker and artist. Recently he released a sizzle reel – still on its way to being a longer film – of his older self answering some of those questions. Poignant and funny, this concept reminds us that the closest any of us can get to time traveling is still through the magic of recorded media.”

Here’s Stoney’s pitch:

And here’s the site to help fund the project. I just contributed, it’s one of the most interesting and original projects I’ve seen in years and I’m delighted to support it.

[via Devour]

A portrait session with a twist

Planting an idea of who someone is in a portrait photographer’s head can influence how they see and shoot the person. Six portrait photographers were asked to shoot one man, each of them told a different story about who he is. This is a fascinating video made by Canon.

Petapixel has deconstructed it in their blog post, so, watch it first, then check out their post: 6 Photographers Asked to Shoot Portraits of 1 Man… With a Twist.

Ringo Starr: Photographer

Very nice piece by Rolling Stone on Ring Starr’s photography. His images of The Beatles are fantastic and worth watching this or alone.

The Beatles… wow, what a group. And, if you never saw the Concert for George at Royal Albert Hall, I highly recommend it. It’s a tribute to George Harrison a year after his death with an incredible cast of characters. I’m amazed the full concert is now on YouTube.

Update: I forgot to add a link to Ringo’s book up at Amazon: Photograph. Apple also has this book in the iBooks bookstore: Photograph. $36 at Amazon for the hardback, $9 from Apple on the iBook store made for iPad. I just bought the iPad version. It’s big, downloading now.

[via PetaPixel]

The Ian knot

This is brilliant. I’ve been tying my shoelaces “bunny round the tree” method for more years than I care to say, and the Ian knot would have been a heck of a lot easier to learn. Spread the word, the Ian knot is the way to go and it produces the same knot as the bunny round the tree method.

[via The Kid Should See This]

John Oliver on Migrants and Refugees

This is a brilliant rant by John Oliver on the current immigration “event” going on in Europe. Watch this one to the very end. Made me tear up.

John Oliver is incredible, a national treasure (I’m glad he migrated to the US and is our treasure).

The Life and Death of an iPhone

The Life and Death of an iPhone

Sorry, I thought I’d be able to get an embed out of it. Follow the link to see the video, it’s well worth it.

This is a fantastic video from The Atlantic, shot on an iPhone about an iPhone. One of the best shorts on the use of smartphones I’ve seen in a while.

If anyone has any lingering doubt that compelling films can be shot on a phone, this creative short might squash it. Director Paul Trillo takes us through the life cycle of an iPhone from its perspective—from factory inception all the way to the screen-shattering end. Here, we get a snapshot of a young man’s life, and the mundane thrills and tribulations of being a young smartphone user. The short was filmed entirely on an iPhone and edited using the Vimeo app, Cameo.