Over the course of his campaign, Obama has managed to capture the attention of the online world through official and unofficial viral videos, articles and photos (he’s definitelyshown up on our blog quite a few times). Last month the campaign struck internet gold again by teaming up with Moveon.org to create the “Obama in 30 Seconds” video ad competition. After over 1,000 submissions and 4.7 million votes, 15 finalists are now being featured on the website for the last round of voting. The winning ad will appear on national television.
Here are some that I particularly liked, starting with the compelling ad by John Duerler and Blake Adams that depicts a life-long republican who is voting for Obama:
Here’s one with great production quality by More Dust Than Digital out of Seattle:
And a fun and creative animation by Reggie Schickel:
These days book authors are turning more and more to web video and social-networking to promote their work. The result is often a hit-or-miss encounter between “old” and “new” media but sometimes this collaboration creates wonderful new art. Take for example this little gem of a video inspired by the new book I Was Told There’d Be Cake, a collection of essays written by Sloane Crosley. While brainstorming for engaging ways to promote her book, Crosley decided to create dioramas centered around three of her essays and teamed up with Milk Products Media to make it come alive.
I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley from Book Videos on Vimeo.
Here’s the first in a series of three companion videos that make up “Diary of a Diorama”, a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating the film (with narration by Crosley):
I’m a big fan of the MediaRights e-newsletter created by New York-based Arts Engine and these days I’m particularly excited about their Media That Matters Film Festival which will be coming out with a new batch of short films this June. Until then, you can view last year’s winners on their YouTube site which is ranked the #8 all-time most viewed non-profit channel.
To get you started, check out the winner of the 2007 media literacy award, “POPaganda: The Art and Subversion of Ron English” about an artist who challenges capitalist messages by posting alternative billboards:
There’s always been something fascinating about Björk, that not-quite-comprehensible Icelandic queen of electronica music.
For starters, she’s got an umlaut in her name. (How hot is that?) Secondly, she’s got some of the most psychedelic songs and music videos in the industry.
And still, Björk managed to raise the bar with the online release of her newest video, “Wanderlust,” which features an abstract storyline involving yaks and river gods. Oh yeah, and it’s also in 3-D.
Wired.com unveiled the video’s 3-D version yesterday as part of an exclusive release, complete with instructions on how to make your own 3-D glasses, and a substantial set of behind-the-scenes pics and videos.
For the 98 percent of us who don’t want to make 3-D glasses, there’s an equally stunning 2-D version of the video. Otherwise, if you have Quicktime, you have to watch the original version here.
Believe it or not, the only computer-generated footage is the river flow; according to Wired, everything else was filmed in front of a green screen using puppets and basic post-production.
It all reminds me of Spike Jonze’s film adaptation of “Where The Wild Things Are,” which is supposed to hit theaters in October 2009. Check out this leaked test footage to compare.
I think that’s enough abstract stuff for one day.
The New York Times headlined today with an expose of the effort by the Pentagon to spread the Bush administration’s Iraq talking points by briefing supposedly independent retired commanders for television appearances. Examination by The New York Times has found that hidden behind an appearance of objectivity, “is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance”, and that “most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air”. The NYT is featuring an in-depth multi-media presentation titled “How the Pentagon Spread Its Message” which provides audio, video and primary documents that show how the military’s talking points were disseminated.
Here’s a clip we found of General Montgomery Meigs (one of the Pentagon’s “experts”) who appeared on Meet The Press on August 28, 2005. Notice his Freudian slip while making the case that this war is going far better than what the media is portraying.
Why are people drawn to social networking communities and sites like Wikipedia? Why do we want to share information and ideas for free? And what does that mean for the way we earn a living?
These are important questions that Charles Leadbeater examines in his new book We Think which was published in March 2008 by Profile Books. The book explores the web as a platform for mass creativity and examines the potential of the latest developments of the internet. His research focuses on how user driven innovation is reshaping organizations, with users increasingly co-creating products and services. He examines what these changes will mean for our culture, the way we work and how we run our governments and businesses.
Leadbeater, who has counciled Tony Blair, written for the Financial Times, and was ranked one of the top management thinkers in the world, posted the book online in a Wiki format before printing for everyone to view, edit, and correct. As if to prove his point, 91 people wrote emails with detailed suggestions for the book and about 150 comments were posted on the site. The first three chapters of the book are available for download here. And check out this cool short animation by Tim Cowie outlining the ideas of Leadbeater’s book:
Our host Paris takes a last look at the script while Hassan tests the camera.
The “Up To Speed” set, with webcams, computers, teleprompter and lots of cords to trip on!
Getting your video featured on YouTube’s homepage is a lot like winning the lottery but first time animator animuser has done just that. Her video “Dreaming Commuter”, which was posted a week ago, has already garnered 239,355 views. That’s an unusual number for any video, let alone someone’s first post. It just goes to show that despite all the junk popping up on video-sharing sites, sometimes the right people get noticed.
Check it out:
Animuser posted this short follow-up around the same time:
Making it in the film business is hard when you’re a “nobody” but the digital revolution has given aspiring directors a better chance to find an audience. Still, it’s difficult to bridge the gap from online fame to global distribution deals. That’s where FROM HERE TO AWESOME steps in with a discovery and distribution festival that helps unknown filmmakers get noticed.
The festival was founded by indie filmmakers who know a thing or two about getting their work noticed online, namely, Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), Lance Weiler (Head Trauma), and M dot Strange (We Are The Strange). Vote for your favorites during the month of April to have your say in which ten films will be screened globally! To get started, check out this selection from the festival titled “The Tragic Story of Nling” which was created entirely from paper print-outs:
Now, please give a warm welcome to documentary film lover extraordinaire, Ben Huffman, who reviewed Incident at Oglala in his first contribution to Fresh Cut.
Incident at Oglala (1992) is an account of the tragedy that occurred at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in 1975. [The entire film can be viewed on Google Video: part 1 and part 2.]
Two FBI agents and one Native American associated with the American Indian Movement (which was then considered a radical and subversive organization) were killed during an unexplained firefight. The film addresses the arrest and double life sentence of Leonard Peltier, a decision that has been widely disputed and protested because of the conflicting evidence that was presented during his trial (The band Rage Against The Machine was a strong supporter of the Peltier cause, devoting the song “Freedom” to the tragedy).
If nothing else, the film offers insight into Native American culture of the 1970’s, and Peltier’s story serves as a metaphor for the wider injustice suffered by Indian people during that time.
As a side note, pay attention to the way the news of the tragedy is delivered over the airwaves and through television broadcasts. I find it to be unsettling how the news was not only delivered, but how the majority of the United States most likely sided with our government almost immediately.–Ben Huffman