So this last week I enjoyed some time off to visit a couple of friends who happen to be Air B’n’B‘ing in Dieppe in the north of France: and that gave me an idea for my first post back… are there any nicely composed videos out there that show off Dieppe? Thank the heavens for Vimeo, because there is! So please enjoy this scenic journey through my holiday… taken by someone else… from a vantage point I didn’t get to personally check out… a few years ago… 🙂
Tag: Video montage
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Mashup: Elba as Bond in SPECTRE (Vulture Remix)
James Bond is a cinematic icon. And the fact is that for over 50-years now Bond has always been a suave, sophisticated,
whiter-than-white, chauvinist Brit that gets to sleep with beautiful women and play with a lot of cool toys.Of course, this has not escaped the attention of, well, the world. Thus for the last few years, pop-culture thoughts of Bond as a black man – or perhaps even a woman! – have been increasingly entertained. I mean – they could do worse right? For example, what if they decided to release a film where Bond was to encounter an evil splinter group he had already polished off in Diamonds Are Forever back in 1971?
Well played writers and producers. Anyway – back to the true topic at hand. What would a Bond of colour look like? I’m glad you asked… and this Vulture Remix gladly answers!
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Video Montage: A Retrospect Of British Cinema (Rhys)
If you have ever marvelled at an epic masterpiece on the silver-screen, there is quite a reasonable chance that it was made by the grand lady of American cinema, Hollywood. For those who reside in the USA, however – it might surprise you to hear that, “As we enter the twenty-first century, the study of the previous century’s distinctive art-form – the cinema – seems to have come of age… there is an almost palpable sense of intellectual excitement in the air – and at its heart lies the systematic and creative process of rethinking British cinema.“¹ (emphasis mine).
Yes, you read that correctly. British cinema. It has played an important role in global cinema over the years. So I was super excited to find that the aspiring writer-director Calum Rhys – who hails from England himself – had taken it open himself to montage some of the great elements of British cinematic history. Indeed, he writes that, “I set out months ago to create a short montage featuring the best of British cinema, however over time that montage transformed into a six minute film.” And what a job he has done (the list of films included is here)! You will love this, I am sure.
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Video Montage: Keeping The Distance (Between the Frames)
Last time I shared a video essay and an article that opened up on the whole idea of framing beyond the rule of thirds. Well today I want to continue in that vein with this great little piece by the Between the Frames channel over at Vimeo. As written in the description, “This video explores how director Bennett Miller consistently uses wide shots throughout Foxcatcher to highlight the physical and emotional distance between characters, their situations and how we, the audience relate to them.”
Honestly, the montage of all of these elements might leave you feeling a little cold: but it is well worth watching and seeing how much an effect celever framing can have.
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Video Montage: When Shadows Become Characters (Skorkin)
So today I was doing my usual perusal of Vimeo (come on now – you know that a key component of the twenty-first century creative process is random internet surfing, right?) when I stumbled on this fresh little piece.
If you are involved in creative video or film of any sort, then you know a little something about lighting. What I love about this piece is that it demonstrates a variety of ways that cinematographers have grabbed that simple (albeit in a profound kind of way) element of videocraft – ie, lighting – and twisted it into a character in it’s own right. I hope you enjoy it too.
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Video Essay: Directed By Christopher Nolan (Malko)
As I wrote recently, I have been reading William Goldman’s book, “Which Lie Did I Tell: More Adventures In The Screen Trade”… a consequence of the reading has been to dull the sheen of the apparent super-powers that directors like Christopher Nolan have always seemed to possess. With that being said – great directors are very much a Ring Master at the Cinema Circus. We all know that there is no show without the talent (everyone from the screen writers, the cinematographers, the sound designers, the actors, and everyone else in between). Likewise, the Cinema Circus must have a Ring Master that can pull it all together and offer the audience as seamless a production as possible.
Thus today I would like to share a video essay put together by a young Ukrainian videographer, Nikita Malko. Even though it falls into that trap of glorifying Nolan alone amongst his talented crew – it is still a fun little montage.
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Music Video Montage: Uptown Funk (Draper)
Okay, so what happens when a person takes 3 months to mix together a whole host – ergo, 280!!! – of Hollywood films and catchphrases with one of the hottest songs of 2014-2015? This awesome piece of mashup goodness – it’s gonna funk you up! -
Video Essay: How to Be Tom Cruise (Schneider & Britnell)
Today’s post is a link to a fun little video montage made by Burger Fiction that explores some of the tips and tricks that have gone into the making of US Government operative Ethan Hunt. It is very well done, and you’ll enjoy it I’m sure.
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Video Montage: Cinema in Cinema (Paredes)
Continuing my series of resource links, today I want to share a fun little video montage by Spanish videographer Eusebio Poveda Paredes – namely his homage to cinema in cinema.
Featuring an amazing 139 clips from 93 different films – there is not a whole lot to add to the joy of simply diving in – so please do, and enjoy this fun little labour of love.
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Video Montage: A Stock Homage to Directors
Continuing my series of resource links, today I want to share a video that is something of a lesson in styling. Now, you could ask almost any cinematographer in the world what they think of stock footage, and you most often find yourself on the end of a tirade against some element of the entire stock industry. Truth be told, it is easy to see why they feel that way. Invariably, stock shots look quite same-same, lacking in ingenuity and visual oomph. With that being said – I must protest the blanket hostility towards stock footage. With the development of fresh sites such as Dissolve and DeathToStock – the creative types are claiming back the unique elements that have been lacking in the great pool of stock footage and imagery – and it has been a breath of fresh air!
So, it was very cool to stumble on this video created by the ShutterStock team that is a stylised homage to some of the great directors… and it has been done using only stock footage. Now is it brilliant? Nah. Let’s be honest. But it is really good! And it is exciting to think that as an indie film-maker, or documentary producer, or whatever… we might very well be able to squeeze in a reasonable stock shot that isn’t going to raise the collective ire of cinematographers any more. And that is worth celebrating just a little.
You can also read about this whole process here.
Waiting 2B Scene 