The Archives
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Animation, Short Films
Mario vs Spartan
Machinima. It all started with the infamous Red vs Blue. I think I’ve seen every episode of the series. When it first started I found myself pleasantly surprised! Watching video game characters act as “puppets” for film makers was a fantastic idea!
The idea has since evolved across most platforms and games. Although, to this day, I believe Halo is the game most used for Machinma videos. There are so many of them now finding a special one hardly ever happens.
And here we have Mario vs Spartan, a Machinima short that melds the worlds of, you guessed it, Halo and Super Mario.
It’s slow going and a little self indulgent, but fun nevertheless.
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Short Films
Half-Life — Escape From City 17 — Pt 1
I’m a big fan of First Person Shooters, but for some reason I’ve never played Half-Life. I haven’t a clue what the game is about.
But I can tell you this, after watching the first part of a Half-Life “fan film” created by the “Purchase Brothers”, I’ll be picking up the game on my way home from work today.
According to The Purchase Brothers, “Escape From City 17″ is a short film series adapted and based on the Half Life computer game saga by Valve Corporation. Originally envisioned as a project to test out numerous post production techniques, as well as a spec commercial, it ballooned into a multi part series. Filmed guerilla style with no money, no time, no crew, and no script, the first two episodes were made from beginning to end on a budget of $500.
Well done Purchase Brothers, well done.
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Animation, Short Films, Web Series
Afterworld — Episode 1
Afterworld is probably the best web series from 2008. It spans about 130 episodes and the story crosses the entire of the United States. It is by far no small feat, this isn’t a group of friends that just decided to make something… This is special.
Don’t start watching it unless you’ve got the time to watch all 130 episodes. If you do watch the first episode, you can find the rest of them HERE.
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Short Films
White Red Panic
In my last post I highlighted a short film that did a lot of things well. This film does the opposite. As I watched it I found myself itching to turn it off over and over.
So why is it here?
The music. The music in this short is fantastic. It almost makes up for the ugly actors, bad acting, bad editing, bad directing, bad writing, and bad camera work. The music was the salvation of this piece and just goes to show you how powerful music can be when used properly.
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Short Films
Saving Christmas
I found this short film right around Christmas and I’m posting it now because between then and now it hasn’t left my head. Saving Christmas is a perfect example of simple story telling.
As you watch it you’ll notice that there isn’t anything too grand about out it. It’s a simple, clean, well produced short that had absolutely nothing extraordinary found within it.
So why am I posting it?
I think it is a perfect example of what you can create when you don’t make any mistakes. Sure, this isn’t a special piece but there is nothing bad about it either. Writing is good. Acting is good. Camera work is good. Sound is good. Put all those together and you end up with something just darn good.
Enjoy!
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Blog Post, Short Films
Violence In Entertainment Is A Good Thing
Violence. It’s everywhere in Hollywood. Superhero movies, Cop dramas, sitcoms, even cartoons. If you’re watching something produced in Hollywood, chances are that you’ll find some violent element within it.I know a few people that can’t stand watching anything where bad things happen. They ask me, on a regular basis, why I would want to subject myself to “entertainment” where you witness murder and other atrocious acts. My answer:
Entertainment is inspired. Those who create entertainment have been inspired to do so. During the creative process it is impossible to make something without inspiration. We live in a sexually charged and violent world, which in turn is reflected in our entertainment.
These same people that have a problem with watching a show like 24 don’t have a problem watching a movie like Saving Private Ryan. To me that is a double standard. To them, it is important that you remember such atrocities that actually happened in the real world. My response:
If you take a show like 24 as an example, you can witness thousands of American lives go up in smoke because terrorists detonate a nuclear bomb in the middle of a California suburb. Although it hasn’t actually happened, there is a real possibility that it could. The show serves as a warning that we these dangers actually exist in our world and we need to do something about it. If we don’t, the terrible things we see on screen will become even more terrifying when we witness them in real life.
Above is a short film called The Echo created by Joe Shaw. I find it to be an incredibly violent piece, even though not a single drop of blood is shed.
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Short Films
The Twilight Before Christmas
I’ve spent hours in alcohol induced debates as to whether or not spoof films are representative of talent. For the record, I believe they are. I am sure we can all agree that movies like Meet the Spartans and Epic Movie are utter of garbage. But you can not deny that they make money. Lots of money. Much, much more money than they should. From my point of view, that in itself, is talent.
Then sometimes you have a film that was supposed to be good and ends up worse than those spoof movies. Twilight, for me, was one of those movies. Spoofs of those movies just make me happy the spoof genera exists, even if I have to suffer through another Date Movie.
With that in mind, enjoy The Twilight Before Christmas.
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