Wednesday, September 26, 2007

World Famous since ages ago



I ran across this when I was obsessing over The Flight of the Concords. The narrator is Jermaine Clement from the show. Anyway, this commercial has a nice nostalgic feeling to it. As if one were flipping through a video scrapbook. There are shots of still photos (the girl who forgot to take off her glasses), shots of inanimate objects (mom's PTA key and the clock) and shots with hand written notes or cannonball instructions, which all lend to the feeling of looking through memorabilia someone has collected. As the commercial begins it looks like it is shot with a 7 millimeter camera from the 70's. This makes it feel like you are watching someone's home movies (again with the nostalgia) As the kids run to the pool the frame burns up like an old filmstrip, which acts as a transition to the next shot, the guy pouring chlorine into the pool. The burn in the strip is also appropriate because it mirrors the burning of the kids eyes after they jump in the over-chlorinated pool.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I wrote a hit play so Im not sweating it either

Im a big fan of Wes Anderson movies and this was the first one I ever saw. Some of the things I absolutely love about this sequence are the following:
While Bill Murray is enjoying his breakfast all is quiet except for the increasing buzz of more and more bees, then when he realizes whats happening and the camera zooms in on the tube of bees and thats when the music starts.
Next, the elevator opens, as if we were waiting in the kitchen for Max, and he struts out with his bees like he is in a Tarentino movie. (the gum on the wall is genuis-Max is a teenager after all)
Then you have Bill Murray sneaking over to the high school. I like how when he runs over the bike you cant see it. The shot stays with Bill as the car jerks and bumps over the bike.
When Max cuts the breaks. It is shot as if you are standing above him on a platform and you cant see his entire bike, car or even himself. In fact, if you weren't paying attention you might not realize what he did until the camera pans to Bill pumping the break to no avail.
The scene cuts to a new one and the music cuts out and you hear Bill giving a report to a police officer.
Finally, the camera has Max's hands in cuffs and the music comes back on.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Is this a vlog?

I'm guessing there is a difference between videos online and vlogs. I have lots of favorite videos I watch online via youtube or specific websites, but I dont think they qualify as vlogs and since this post is to comment on a vlog I will. BUT I thought I would include these sites just for fun because there is always stuff on them that makes me laugh.
channel101.com
funnyordie.com
mimiandflo.com

On to the vlog...
I chose Your Dress Would Look Better On Me, which I found at Minnesotastories (I think). Here is the link http://betteronme.blogspot.com/
I liked her vlogs because they were more like skits instead of a talking head or interview. They were funny and usually had some sort of Minneapolis connection. (airplanes, Sculpture Garden) She also incorporates music and text like you would find in a movie which works well since her vlogs seem like short films. I suppose her vlog would be appealing to young, urban people, but really anyone with a similar sense of humor might enjoy them.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Pressure!!

So you know when you are replying to an evite and everyone has these great quips and witty retorts for their RSVP.....its too much pressure! And now a blog. I will spend 20 minutes thinking about my evite reply for a BBQ-how much time am I going to spend on these posts! So please, kind readers, be gentle.

PS I was not an English major, therefore I do not have the exhaustive knowledge of grammar and punctuation that the rest of my classmates do. Again with the pressure.