Who Is Ann Arbor, And Why Are There So Many Movies About Her?
[ 5 Comments ]Posted on March 2, 2010 by admin in Popular Media
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Ann Arbor is a town, not a woman, and the 48th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival is coming March 23-28, 2010.
Someone actually asked me that once when I lived in San Francisco. For the uninitiated, Ann Arbor isn’t a woman, it’s a small college town in Michigan that at one time was as cool as say, Berkley, California, but has since slowly morphed into a dreary backwater of uptight Republicans and Liberal Elitists. Although it lays claim to being somehow hip and progressive, very little really happens here, and in spite of all the amazingly creative people in the area, nothing clever ever seems to escape the local scene. I jest a bit; I’m probably just being bitter because I’m tired of the place and too lazy to do anything about the fact. It’s actually a pretty cool town considering the fact that it’s only six square blocks surrounded by cornfields and strip malls. Aside from the University of Michigan’s overfunded and underperforming football team, one thing that has put Ann Arbor on the map over the years – and with good reason – is the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The festival began in 1963 as a 16mm film festival operated by the University of Michigan, and grew over the years until 1983, when it started operating on its own as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. The festival has definitely had its ups and downs over the last few decades. One of its high points was probably the 2006 festival, when Christen McArdle became executive director. McArdle not only seemed to bring a new level of professionalism to the festival (she was working for John Cusack’s New Crime Productions in LA prior to taking over), but the festival was lucky to have her at the helm that year, because she stuck to her guns when the Michigan Council for the Arts questioned the festival’s content and threatened to cut funding. The festival told them to keep their money, and managed to raise their own, showing that indy film is indeed alive and kicking. For a detailed account, see this NAMAC article by Jay Nelson. Although I barely met McArdle, anyone who questions her impact on the festival didn’t see her at the Judge’s Dinner her first year. I watched in amazement Read the rest of this entry »
I Need Some Nice Shorts
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on May 10, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Sunday, May 10th, 2009My ongoing search for quality short film and music videos is sated briefly by some Rob Dougan.
I remember clearly when MTV was new. I was in a trendy band comprised of artists who dabbled in visual art, fashion and film, and we were incredibly excited about the possibilities. We of course were quickly disappointed as the medium turned into an endless string of “hair bands with hot chick videos”. To me, the marriage of music and moving images still remains a vastly under-explored territory; although there are many full length films brilliantly married to their music (Betty Blue
Short Sites Worth A Long Look
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on October 26, 2008 by admin in Popular Media, Technology
Sunday, October 26th, 2008Another reason to cancel your cable service
I’ve mentioned before why my goldfish-like attention span is a perfect fit for the YouTube era of short media. That’s why I was especially excited recently to discover two new HD-quality sites that focus specifically on short films and music videos. The clip at left is the first episode of Emily Time, a weekly show delivered only via the web at historyandtheuniverse.com, along with another show called Big Book of Lies. Both programs were created by David Lampson, a 29-year-old television writer from Boston who produces the shows in Buenos Aires. Both shows are quirky, cinematically slick, and intelligent. Big Book of Lies, for instance, features a dryly absurd, on-going subplot about Noam Chomsky’s sons Buck (a struggling beatbox artist) and John (a cop). On a grander scale, Australia-based PortableFilmFestival.com has a broad selection of seriously high-quality shorts that are “curated” by independent film professionals, guaranteeing a certain level of quality of content. After a painless (takes about 10 seconds and they don’t make you jump through any hoops) account signup, you’re able to view AND download some of the best indy film out there.
Nice Shorts
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 29, 2008 by admin in Popular Media
Friday, August 29th, 2008And your birthday suit’s looking good too
Back in 2003, I became convinced (probably because of my own goldfish-like attention span) that the real future of film and video entertainment would be in any content that lasts less than twenty minutes. Around that time, Fox Searchlabs was launched, offering amazingly well-conceived and produced shorts created by up-and-comers at Fox Searchlight, usually shorts less than 10-15 minutes long. Even that recently, streaming video was a bit of a joke, but especially with the advent of streaming HD, this is becoming a really viable media (especially with services like Joost). Some favorites of mine from that pre-YouTube era include Hang Time, the video at left; Farm Sluts, about a guy who loses his job because of a porn-infected e-mail he receives at work; and The Birthday Suit, about a 50-year-old mom and businesswoman who has a little misunderstanding about her birthday gift. Fox Searchlab is still on line, but for newer high-quality shorts you can check out sites like NiceShorts.com or TheSmalls.com