shortfilms
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Giphy’s film festival turns GIFs into art
As I made my way into the Metrograph movie theater in New York City, I felt like I was attending a screening for the Tribeca Film Festival. There was a red carpet, people posing for professional photographers, an official film guide and, of course, drinks and popcorn. This isn't quite what I expected when I learned I'd be attending Giphy's first Film Fest. If that name sounds like an oxymoron, the event was a showcase of 118 videos of 18 seconds or less from five different categories: narrative, animated, stop-motion, experimental and wild card. Considering that most of my GIF consumption happens on a laptop or phone, I wasn't expecting this big a to-do.
Disney Channel to release 12 original short films online
In an effort to better engage with young audiences, Disney Channel is set to release 12 short-form movies online. The original content is part of a new collection called "Free Period," which will hit Disney Channel's website as well as its apps on mobile devices, connected TVs and set-top boxes like the Apple TV. Free Period (also the name of one of the shorts) will have a presence on YouTube too, where movies are rolling out daily now through August 21st. Disney Channel says these short films offer something for every kid, since they include comedy, mystery and more.
Amazon Studios now accepting short video bids for feature films
Amazon Studios is hell-bent on developing movies and TV series, and on top of script submissions, it's now asking filmmakers to send in 2-15 minute long shorts to pitch their feature-length film ideas. Those would serve as a foundation for your project and "express an idea that's begging to be seen on the big-screen, in full-length, full-budget form," according to the division's Hollywonk blog. Amazon Studios will spend 45 days evaluating each submission, and those added to the development slate will receive $10,000. After that, you'll get put into the development pipeline, which could get you paid writing and directing opportunities, guidance and feedback from partners like Warner Bros., and up to $400,000 if your baby hits theaters. Private submissions are welcome, but if you're feeling brave, you can also post it for the world to see -- hit the source or More Coverage link for more info.
Future Panasonic G camera's 72Mbps movie-making prowess teased through speedy drama (video)
If Panasonic didn't have attention from movie producers before, it just might as of this week. Joining the quickly developing tradition of camera makers producing elaborate short movies as technology demos, the company has let cinematographer Philip Bloom wield (and tease) a "brand new G camera" to record Genesis, a fast-paced mini-drama showing a man's race to meet his love before it's too late. While Bloom can't talk much about the hardware in question until the 17th, he's allowed to confirm that the upcoming Micro Four Thirds body relies on a "superb" 72Mbps All-I codec for video -- letting it capture a sprint through the streets without the compression artifacts of the AVCHD format used by most mirrorless cameras. Panasonic's upcoming shooter also touts "much improved" results in the dark, Bloom says. It all sounds very tempting, especially if it turns out that Panasonic's inadvertent leaks are for the same camera we see in action here. The full movie is available after the break, and Bloom has the behind-the-scenes details at the source link.
The drama! The suspense! The Leeroy!
It may be the "all your base" of the WoW world, but the Leeroy Jenkins meme will always be with us. Recently, the Worldwide Film Festival asked three directors to reimagine some of the world's most notorious viral videos as short films, and Finn O'Hara chose the Leeroy Jenkins video for his. O'Hara's version of Leeroy Jenkins, featuring the raid members as bank robbers and Leeroy as, well, a Leeroy, is certainly faithful to the dialogue of the original. Sadly, O'Hara chose to leave out "At least I have chicken," but one could see how it wouldn't really fit in with the rest of the film. Another entrant of note is Jeff Chan's Charlie Bit My Finger, which will result in flashbacks for anyone who's ever been overrun by zombies in a first-person shooter and totally ruined the cuteness of the original. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Sony bringing original HD short films to European PSN this month
Hancock may not see it's first run on the PlayStation Store, but Sony Europe's Shoot! project lined up six Hollywood producers to make a short film (in high definition, naturally) that "captures the essence of PlayStation." Jerry Bruckheimer's on the list, with PS3 & PSP formatted versions of the films due to hit the PS Store for free November 13, before hitting the film festival circuit. No word whether they'll be available outside the Euro store, but if the essence of PlayStation involves an attractive young crime scene investigator running fingerprints through a suspiciously user-friendly database while trance music pulses in the background, then we've seen at least one of them already.
Oscar-nominated short films in iTunes Store
There are two Oscar award categories with films that almost no one ever sees, and those are the live action and animated short films. Unfortunately, these films usually never make it past film festival circuits and don't receive wide distribution, and typically they are welcomed with a big "huh?" when they pop up during the Academy Awards ceremony. Anyway, this year's short film nominees are available for purchase in the iTunes Store, along with previous winners and nominees. Priced at $1.99 each, the videos are not much of a big investment and might be worth the price of admission, just to get a feel for what a Oscar-nominated short film looks like. The curious can scope them out here (warning: iTunes link).
AtomFilms to Go puts short film in your pants
Some will scream "old!" and others will be thankful for yet another source of videos to place in their PSP. If sources like the now-owned-by-Sony Grouper can't fill your video fix, you can head over to AtomFilms and get some short films to place on your PSP. Although the quality of the files aren't too great (and they aren't available in native widescreen), they can be quite entertaining. If you're a Japanophile like me, you'll love Drum Machine. Too bad the site's not formatted for the PSP.[Via Pocket Gamer UK]
