Here's another choose your own adventure YouTube series that held my attention for about 41 seconds, mostly because it's in English. The videos that follow the first use the "Video Responses" panel to present you with choices instead of YouTube Annotations.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH- Find Sparta the Cat.
The creator, Cory Williams, is a paid partner at YouTube with videos pulling in 10 million+ views. His stuff doesn't really appeal to me.
But stop-motion LEGO animation? Yes, please!
CYOA: TERRORIST PLOT!
Other URCUZBOB lego work at his YouTube Channel.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
More CYOA Style YouTube
Tube Adventures
A group of dudes from Spain put together this interactive YouTube video using the annotations feature. I lost interest in about 40 seconds but it did stink of 'potential'. If anyone's up for writing something, I'm up for shooting it :cough Brant cough:
Try TUBE ADVENTURES
Note: This apparently only works via the YouTube site and not embedded videos. Hence the absence of another embed to slow your browser.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Earthquake!
That stupid earthquake got so much coverage yesterday. It's a little ridiculous but the video popping up on YouTube is amusing.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Atama Yama (Mt. Head)
After a stingy man eats some cherry seeds, a cherry tree grows on his head and he gets into a lot of trouble. This animated film is a modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese Rakugo story "Atama-yama" set in contemporary Tokyo.
Director: Koji Yamamura
Runtime: 10:00
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Changes
Chicks, man.
HIGH-RES Version
Director: Lorcan Finnegan
Runtime: 3:33
Official Site: www.lovelyproductions.com
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Oh my God.
(Warning: This thing will continue playing videos if you don't press stop...)
Band: Gnarls Barkley
Album: The Odd Couple
Director: Chris Milk
The Story of a Sign
"With a stroke of the pen, a stranger transforms the afternoon for another man..."
Director: Alonso Alvarez Barreda
Runtime : 04:50
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Things Are Not What They Stream
"Have corporate-sponsored Internet pranks gone too far?" Slate.com's article on "stealth viral" videos that've been spreading across YouTube. Some of these FAKE viral videos below:
Cell phones popping corn:
Catching Ray Bans:
More from Neverhide.
Guys jump into Levi's:
More from unbuttonedfilms.
The much parodied Kobe car jump:
Carmensita
Double-you, tea, eff? Natalie Portman in her boyfriend's new music video.
Band: Devendra Banhart
Album: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Jedi Gym
Former swordplay trainer to the stars and Star Wars fanatic Jeremy Flynn recently opened "Jedi Gym", a fitness center in Torrance, CA where members channel characters from the Star Wars film series to work out, meditate, and improve their lives.
"Star Wars is all about the Hero's Journey, and so is working out," says Flynn, " you leave home, battle your demons, and hopefully return home stronger."
Flynn is frustrated with his students' lack of commitment and focus, but when a 7-foot man in an incredibly authentic Darth Vader suit arrives at the gym, Flynn thinks he's found his dream student.
Instead, Flynn and his students learn, first hand, about how powerful the Dark Side can be...
Film by VanRoble
Food Party
This is bizarre. Think of Pee Wee's Playhouse as a cooking show. Except Pee Wee here is a Vietnamese girl named Thu Tran. Gotta support my peeps. Full episodes at Foodparty.tv.
A sample of the madness:
Part of the Christmas Special:
Created by Thu Tran
Directed by Zachariah Durr
Monday, July 21, 2008
Boink!
Saddam Hussein discussing his music on Boink, a NY cable access show.
Starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein
www.thunderant.com
Thursday, July 17, 2008
No News
I just woke up from a dream where I was a pallbearer at a funeral. But my friend's and I carried the coffin into a Kolova Milk Bar-looking joint where someone asked who the body was. I told them it was John Lennon and started crying. I think someone slipped a mushroom 'boost' into my Jamba Juice.
You may have seen a similar video with a musical soundtrack. I saw this one first, a couple of months ago and remember thinking, "I wish."
Black Market
This is a painful video to watch but it's obviously effected me today and motivated me to learn more about wildlife protection and conservation. It describes the black market trade of animal parts around Asia. [WARNING: Graphic images.] 
"Globally, the wildlife trade is the third largest illegal trade. A driving force is the ancient belief that animal parts contain "magical" properties. Although science has largely disproved these superstitions, the trade continues."
MUTO
I forgot about this awesome street art film I saw a couple weeks back, shot in Buenos Aires and Baden.
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Artist: Blu
Runtime: 7:26
1976
Cuba! I've been watching the video pieces on MediaStorm.org. A lot of the topics are pretty heavy (Death in the Congo, aftermath of Chernobyl, drug addicts in NY, etc.) I'll post some later. This one was a bit lighter and obviously reminded me of my own trip there. It's not incredibly compelling but it helped bring my mood back up after an hour of war, leprosy, and drug footage.
Music by: RJD2
Director: leftchannel
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Whatever We Do
(WARNING: Language and Sexual Situations, NSFW)
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Amanda Peet, Tim Roth, and Zooey Deschanel.
A newly engaged 30 something's plans for a romantic day are thwarted when the man's charismatic and crazy childhood friend arrives with an agenda to celebrate the pending nuptials via a drunken debauch, and the seduction of the new fiancee.
Director: Kevin Connolly
Runtime: 23:13
Strangers
Nice find, Brant. Remember when we were always on the lookout for boots and white laces in Berlin?
Directed by: Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv
Runtime: 7:11
White Red Panic
White Red Panic - SHORT FILM (HD) from Ayz Waraich on Vimeo.
A little thriller about two guys mixed up in the wrong side of life, and the toll it takes on their character and soul.
Director: Ayz Waraich
Runtime: 8:51
Official Site: dimeworth.com
Simon's Cat
Azad and I are cat-sitting next week.
TV Dinner
Let Me In
Cat Man Do
Official Site: www.tandemfilms.com
was pretty much the soundtrack to my first few months in Europe last year.Le Montage
Boy meets girl... in the style of every 80's movie you ever remember watching.
Produced by Handsome Donkey
Runtime: 9:00
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Xenogenesis (1978)- James Cameron
Via Binary Bonsai
James Cameron's first film, presented as a part of an ongoing series, and with hardly any plot to speak of. It showcases all things Cameron in a 12-minute robot vs. robot low-budget special effects demo.
Amblin' (1968)- Steven Spielberg
From Brant's blog:
Amblin' is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short story set during the hippy era of the late '60s about a young couple who meet up in the desert, become friends, then lovers and make their way to a paradisiacal beach.
Radiohead - House of Cards
"In Radiohead's new video for "House of Cards", no cameras or lights were used. Instead, 3D plotting technologies collected information about the shapes and relative distances of objects. The video was created entirely with visualizations of that data."
Band: Radiohead
Title: House of Cards
Album: In Rainbows
Directed by James Frost
Runtime: 4:32
Monday, July 14, 2008
Stylized Captions Arouse Desire
A different way of subtitling...
Director: Ben Collins
Can you tell I'm just watching all of the SCAD Shorts?
Weezer - Pork and Beans
Weezer's video that parodies viral video phenoms.
Higher Quality YouTube
Band: Weezer
Title: Pork and Beans
Album: (Red Album)
Director: Matthew Cullen
Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse
I read somewhere that this fake trailer is going to actually become a real feature. Seth Rogan and these guys must be making movies 24 hours a day. (Warning: Profanity, NSFW)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A Short Love Story in Stop Motion
Pff, love. Bleh.
A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.
Apparently a work in progress. Nice work so far.
Director: Carlos Lascano
Lo que tú quieras oír
This one's in Spanish. What's incredible is that this film has over 74 million hits on YouTube. There's an English synopsis below.
Sofia, a preschool teacher, returns home from her job to find a recording on her voicemail from her husband, Miguel, telling her that he has left and is not coming back. She stays at home depressed for a couple of weeks, before having the idea to take the recording and rearrange it to make Miguel say what she wants him to. After having him tell her he needs to come home and he loves her and other similar things, Sofia smiles and tells him, simply, "No."
Director: Guillermo Zapata
Runtime: 8:00
Barackula
Barackula, the Musical. Wha? How'd I miss this? (Aside from being in New Zealand when it was released)
Barackula from mark mannschreck on Vimeo.
Directed by: Mike Lawson
Official site: www.barackula.com
Skewered Citizens Amuse Demigod
I guess this is why love hurts so much.
Behind the Scenes, quicktime
Director: Christian Simmons
Electroshock Therapy
I remember being very moved by this video when I watched it several months back. It's hard to explain depression to people and when you try, they often dismiss you, thinking you've just got the blues. However, hearing a doctor discuss, especially one who has gone through it himself, seems to give it more legitimacy. (Warning: Very brief profanity, NSFW)
"Surgeon and author Sherwin Nuland discusses the development of electroshock therapy as a cure for severe, life-threatening depression -- including his own. It’s a moving and heartfelt talk about relief, redemption and second chances."
Runtime: 22:30
Sherwin Nuland is the best-selling author of How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter
Scribe Conjures Alternate Dimension
Also see the Behind the Scenes video.
Director: Christian Simmons
Scantily Clad Android Daughter
Savannah College of Art and Design: Shorts
Director & Editor: Christian Simmons
Grizzly Bear - Knife
If you enjoyed Wanderlust, then you'll probably dig Encyclopedia Pictura's video for Knife.
YouTube
Again, the Quicktime version's much prettier.
Band: Grizzly Bear
Title: Knife
Album: Yellow House
Director: Encyclopedia Pictura
Runtime: 5:49
Bjork- Wanderlust
The video for Bjork's "Wanderlust" came out a few months ago but it's worth a look if you haven't seen it. A total trip. Directed by Encyclopedia Pictura.
YouTube
Here's a 'Behind the Scenes' video:
YouTube's swell and all but I recommend you check out the Quicktime version of the video or if you've got a pair of 3D glasses, you can see the 3D Quicktime version, too!
Band: Bjork
Title: Wanderlust (mp3)
Album: Volta
Director: Encyclopedia Pictura
Runtime: 7:19
Saturday, July 12, 2008
William Lamson
I've been having some rough days lately so if something makes me laugh, I'm pretty impressed. I ran across the work of Brooklyn artist, William Lamson the other day. Someone mentioned his video art piece "Think Globally, Act Locally" in a blog. Imagine a man wearing a mask made of protruding bananas, each with a firecracker sticking out of it. Then imagine that this man has a lighter... Bang. That one just plain weirded me out.
What made me chuckle was "Vital Capacity". The look on this guy's face as he tries to blow balloons away from his pin-covered head piece. Maybe later I'll try to contemplate the meaning.
Clark and Michael
CBS ran this web series while I was out of the country last year. I've been catching up on some of it. If you like the Office and that type of "cringe-humor", you may get a kick out of this. Featuring Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad, Arrested Development) and Clark Duke (Clark and Michael, heh), the series follows two best friends as they try to make it big in Hollywood pitching a television series.
Watch 10 episodes at www.clarkandmichael.com
Walker Stalker
WATCH NOW: www.shortsnonstop.com/video_view.php?videoId=1495
Walker Stalker is a recent winner of the Shorts Nonstop mobile festival. The film follows a woman as she is taunted and pursued through the streets. From what I understand, it's one in a series of horror shorts designed for mobile phones in England.
Director: Keith Claxton
Runtime: 2:20
Official Site: www.walkerstalker.com
The site has some interactive previews of the other videos in the series
Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze Me
Flip book animation, hot!
YouTube
Band: Kraak & Smaak
Title: Squeeze Me (mp3)
Management: White Mountain
Production company: Pool Productions
Directors: Andre Maat & Superelectric
Post: Andre Maat & Henk Loorbach and Crabsalad
DOP: Eric Lor
Internet Party
It's a party and all of your favorite web sites came. [WARNING: Profanity/NSFW]
By: The Those Aren't Muskets! comedy troupe.
The Googling
Just ran across this clever little web series called "The Googling" from a comedy film troupe called the Vacationeers featuring Todd Berger, Kevin Brennan, Jeff Grace and Blaise Miller.
Part I: Google Maps
Part II: Google Moon
Part III: Google My Maps
Part IV: Google SMS
Directed by: Todd Berger
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/thevacationeers
The Danish Poet
"Kasper, a poet whose creative well has run dry, on a holiday to Norway to meet the famous writer, Sigrid Undset. As Kasper's quest for inspiration unfolds, it appears that a spell of bad weather, an angry dog, slippery barn planks, a careless postman, hungry goats and other seemingly unrelated factors might play important roles in the big scheme of things after all."
YouTube
The filmmaker came to screen this film at my work last year. I was happy to see that it's available on YouTube's Screening Room series.
Director: Torill Kove
Runtime: 15:16
Official Site: www.nfb.ca/thedanishpoet
School of Life
This short film made me a bit uneasy. I felt this tension with the main character who wants in on the big secret. It's funny what effects you when you're going through certain emotions.
YouTube
Director: Jake Polonsky
Runtime: 6:55
Friday, July 11, 2008
PES- "Western Spaghetti"
Brant's blog turned me on to this fantastic short by PES called Western Spaghetti. It's cooking as you've never seen it before. Visit PES's site for a cleaner quicktime version.
YouTube
Director: Adam Pesapane
Runtime: 1:41
Official Site: www.eatpes.com
Pyrats!
A few years ago when I used to work for Mickey Mouse, I ran across some amazing films from Gobelins l'école de l'image in France. The one short that absolutely blew me away was Pyrats (2006). Put together by five students for Annecy '06, it's the action-packed story of pirates coming to rescue one of their own from execution. Download it in several different formats from the official site below.
Directors: Yves Bigerel , Bruno Dequier, Ben Fiquet, Nicolas Gueroux, Julien Le Rolland
Runtime: 1:35
Official site: www.pyrats.net
Gobelins.fr has an animation gallery dating back to 2002. I'll feature some of my picks in upcoming posts.
Shorts Nonstop
Canadian Mobile company, Telus, and the Canadian Film Centre have joined together to present Shorts Nonstop, a year-round mobile film festival. You can submit short films up to 3 minutes in length for a chance to win $1,500.
Visit www.shortsnonstop.com for full details and a look at some of their recent winners.
Thai Ghosts
I spent some time in Thailand recently. There were some spooky nights sitting on the porch of my island bungalow, staring out into the dark jungle surroundings. I'm glad no one ever told me of the ghosts featured in this Thai ad for Sylvania light bulbs. I watched this a half a dozen times, tripping out over how creepy and funny it is at the same time.
via: YouTube
Credit: JEH United, Bangkok
P.S.- I did run into that Jackfruit ghost on Khaosan Road a few times.
Love and War: An Animated Opera
WATCH IT NOW: www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom?v=jiSu3YCDEuw
I've been digging some of the shorts on The YouTube Screening Room. Love and War (2006) is an animated Italian opera that I watched while mouthing, "WTF?" It's all sorts of amazing. Winner of the LA Film Fest's Best Animated/Experimental Shorts prize.
Directed by Fredrik Emilson
Runtime: 14:26
Official Site: www.loveandwar.se
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