Independent Short Films
March 8th, 2012
APRICOT – Short Film by Ben Briand (sponsored by his incredible actors and crew) from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.
I really loved the storytelling technique in this independent short film. What do you think about it?
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Originally posted 2010-05-12 23:34:19.
March 1st, 2012
This Animated Short Film has become quite well known. If you are unfamiliar with it, you will note from the opening credits that it was a collaboration between surrealist painter Salvador Dali and animator Walt Disney. Production began in 1945 but the project was shelved indefinitely and all but forgotten. It was finally completed in 2003, combining traditional and digital animation techniques.
Enjoy.
Originally posted 2010-04-09 16:35:46.
February 23rd, 2012
Time Travel is a popular theme for Independent Short Films. And for feature films, of course.
Many people are fascinated by the concept of time travel, others could spend days discussing the various paradoxes. In fact, even fictional characters talk about them sometimes.
To be honest, sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about what I would do if I could travel through time. One of my favorite choices would be to record all the Top 40 songs from a given year and release them about 5-10 years earlier to see if they still would have become popular, to see if the original band still would have become famous, and to see how it would affect the rest of musical development across the industry in the following years. But that is very much beside the point.
This blog post has been a long time coming. I first saw many of these Independent Short Films a while back, but had to refind some of them, or search for an embeddable form, and in the meantime, I discovered several more.
Due to the numerous video clips, some of which are in multiple parts, this post will be quite long. Feel free to bookmark it and come back another time to catch the rest. Also, social bookmarking is always appreciated (as is subscribing, either by clicking the orange RSS symbol in your URL address bar, or by clicking on the words “Entries RSS” on the bottom of the column to the right)
Some of these Independent Short Films are funny, some are serious, some have controversial themes or dialogue. That is to say that you’ll probably enjoy at least one of them. So let’s have a look. And as the t-shirt says, if you are interested in time travel, meet me last Thursday.
Ad Infinitum
The Small Multiple
Sooner or Later
Hirsute
12:01
Unpossible
Time/Out
And if you haven’t seen it yet, in a previous post you’ll find La Jetée. So which one was your favorite?
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Originally posted 2009-06-06 16:41:59.
February 16th, 2012
I’ve been toying with the idea of posting this Independent Short Film for a while. With the possible exception of Validation, I don’t think I’ve seen any short film getting passed around as vivaciously as this one. Furthermore, 9 has gotten a lot of buzz among fans and enthusiasts of Tim Burton, who expanded this 2005 short film into a feature that is due in theaters later this year. It’s release date is 09/09/09. How’s THAT for clever marketing? Okay, maybe it’s not all that clever, but it IS convenient.
Anyway, I didn’t want its popularity to be the sole purpose for posting, but due to the fact that it fits so perfectly with the theme of my last post, at the request of numerous subscribers and guests to this blog, I humbly present the strangely intriguing Independent Short Film, 9.
A bit about the future-in-progress ignited by this piece, which was nominated for an Acadamy Award in 2006, 9 the feature has an ensemble cast which collectively has an enormous number of awards and nominations as well as decades of experience. This star-studded cast includes Martin Landau, known for his role on the TV show “Mission: Impossible” and the Hitchcock film North By Northwest, and the Role of Caiaphas in The Greatest Story Ever Told; Christopher Plummer, whose credits include Inside Man (can’t wait for the sequel!), 12 Monkeys, and perhaps most famously the role of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music; Elijah Wood, who you may remember from The Witness, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or of course, the Lord of the Rings trilogy; Crispin Glover, who is probably best known for playing George McFly in Back to The Future; John C. Reilly, who, with Crispin Glover, acted opposite Johnny Depp in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape also worked previously with Christopher Plummer in Dolores Claiborne; and Jennifer Connelly, who was in Blood Diamond, A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream, Dark City, and Labyrinth. Tim Burton has put his name on the film as a producer, but both the Independent Short Film and the feature were directed by Shane Acker. Focus Features is the production company and is distributing the film in the USA.
Meanwhile, my friends over at iReel.com have just posted a blog entry that describes the plot and some technical details of the feature a bit more, and truth be told, that blog post was the tipping point that caused me to decide to write this one. Don’t thank me, thank iReel.
I don’t want to make any predictions about the feature, but it does have great inherent potential. The teaser for the feature, which can be found in the blog post at iReel, was just as compelling as the Independent Short Film. The music for the trailer is the song “Welcome Home” by Coheed and Cambria, which certainly adds to the intensity of the teaser. Come September 9th, we’ll find out if the film delivers.
Here’s some further reading to tickle your fancy for animated short films:
Originally posted 2009-05-20 10:08:59.
February 9th, 2012
-YouTube Awards 2007 – Top Six Finalist, Best Short Film -WINNER: Fitzroy Short Film Festival (Melb, Aus) -WINNER: DearCinemaFest Short Film Festival (Int.) and more… Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being. What would you do? EDIT 1: Some people have observed a similarity in the premise of this film and an revival episode of The Twilight Zone in 1986. Please note (1) We had never seen the episode and only learned of it long after we’d finished the film. (2) The Twilight Zone weren’t the first to do it. There was a short story before that, which was in turn based on an old premise called the ‘Faustian Bargain’, around since the 16th century (deal with the ‘devil’). An almost identical premise exists in several cultures. Richard Kelly is (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) even making a film with this premise called ‘The Box’. (3) Our film is similar in premise, but different in plot, characters, dialogue, aesthetics, setting, moral meaning, religious undertone, twist etc. Each version, including ours, aims to bring something new to an old idea. Please have the respect to not accuse us of plagiarism. Additionally, we have no particular religious affiliation; this is a fictional work and its ideas are designed to encourage thought and debate, not comment on any particular theology. Our first Independent Short Film. We made it for $200 and shot it on the stage of our old school in Melbourne, Australia. Fortunately, professional actor Robert Grubb agreed to act in it for free after reading the script. This film took nearly a year to put together, working on it in stages and creating the ‘white’ effect on a home PC. Please note that the younger actor, unlike his father Robert Grubb, has no formal acting training whatsoever. The Making of “Black Button” is now on YouTube. Two of our other shorts have been released on YouTube, ‘Campsite’ and ‘The Window’. Click on our profile if you’d like to see them and subscribe for updates on new films. Thanks!
Duration : 0:7:6
Originally posted 2008-10-15 10:14:59.
Independent Short Films Feed