Sundance Channel

It’s you, perfected!

Em and Lo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:44 +0000

There are many reasons not to read women's magazines. One of the biggies? All the retouched photos. The genetic mutants we call models and celebrities can beat the shit out your average Jane's self image, but Photoshop can chop it up with chainsaw. This before and after cover of Red Book from a few years ago thanks to Jezebel.com says it all. In fact, Jezebel has made one of their crusades exposing the evils of Photoshop (here's their most recent "unveiling"). One of the funniest commentaries on how fucked up Photoshop is when it comes to setting impossible beauty standards is this recent parody of a beauty product commercial by Jesse Rosten on Vimeo: "Just one application of Fotoshop can give you results so dramatic, they're almost unreal...istic."

Watch Buzz on the Bus and get the skinny on Sundance 2012

Michelle Byrnes-Carney — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:23:26 +0000

Pop quiz: Where is the best place to get honest opinions on Sundance Film Festival flicks? Well, SUNfiltered, but the Park City buses are a close second. This mountain town has a free, killer public transportation system and it ramps up during the festival. It's the best way to get around and the best place to find out if that weird, Mongolian documentary is really worth braving the waitlist for. Don't believe me? Watch and learn, grasshopper:

Video: Joe Berlinger talks West Memphis Three and Oscar

Michelle Byrnes-Carney — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:49:32 +0000

Sundance Film Festival veteran, and Iconoclasts producer/director, Joe Berlinger stopped by Sundance Channel HQ right after he found out his film about the West Memphis Three, PARADISE LOST, had been nominated for an Oscar. Lucky us! Check out what Berlinger has say about some of the controversy surrounding the film, why the fight for justice isn't over yet and how the Oscar nomination might help:

Video: SMASHED–The funniest cast in a serious movie

Michelle Byrnes-Carney — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:42:38 +0000

You were probably expecting a laugh fest when you saw the names Octavia Spencer, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul for the film SMASHED. Sorry, it's a drama. But, that doesn't mean there were not laughs aplenty when they all stopped by Sundance Channel HQ for a chat. Check out the entire video of their conversation, but just a warning...it includes some off color jokes, in addition to more serious fare on how films are cast in Hollywood.

Rashida Jones & Elijah Wood talk CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER

Michelle Byrnes-Carney — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:13:24 +0000

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER tells the story of one couple whose relationship is managing to outlive their divorce. It's a sweet story written by one of the film's stars, Rashida Jones and her best friend/writing partner/actor/ex Will McCormack. Everyone always says how great it is to marry your best friend, but sometimes the relationship can tap out on the romantic level and settle in on that more comfortable territory. And that's the story behind the film. But, the story behind the making of the film might be even more interesting. Rashida Jones, Elijah Wood and Andy Samberg are definitely names that have some clout in Hollywood, but CELESTE AND JESSE is still a true indie. As Jones points out, there ain't no middle ground in Hollywood these days. Your movie is either big budget or DIY. But for Wood, who is used to big budgets and epic shoots, the indie process was really exciting. I guess there is something to be said for wearing stolen socks.

Kaleidoscopic Manhattan

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:00:56 +0000

I'm really digging the new video kaleidoscopic works from artist Anne Morgan Spalter. She captures video footage of urban landscapes such as Rockefeller Center or Fifth Avenue in New York City and then digitally transforms them using a decidedly 19th century concept. The resulting view is a constantly shifting but rigidly geometric patterned series of images as you can observe in the video above (my fave!), which I think is an interesting juxtaposition with the inherent symmetry of Manhattan's streets. If you are around the Big Apple you should check out her debut NYC show at the Stephan Stoyanov Gallery.

Watch typical Brooklyn scenes in super slow-mo

Blair Pfander — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:11:36 +0000

8 Hours in Brooklyn from Next Level Pictures on Vimeo.

Ever wonder what getting tattooed looks like in ultra slow motion? Me neither. But thanks to some clever Brooklyn-based filmmakers, you can now watch it at 2,500 frames-per-second. Next Level Pictures' Jonathan Bregel took a Phantom Flex camera (familiar to TV-addicts as the camera that gets all that crazy slow-motion footage of the world's fastest animals on the National Geographic channel) for a Sunday skateboard ride around Brooklyn. "I was DP-ing a commercial on a Saturday, but we technically had it for two days," Bregel told me. "Clearly I couldn't just let it sit there. My buddy, Mike Sutton from Rule Boston Camera, let us take it out the second day and we had some fun."

Queen Elizabeth’s kinetic mosaic portrait

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:07:43 +0000

Content is Queen from Sergio Albiac on Vimeo.

Barcelona-based artist Sergio Albiac created this digital kinetic mosaic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II titled "Content is Queen" by incorporating popular videos from the Internet. The artist explains:

Earth Week art: Matthew Moore’s Digital Farm Collective

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:55:46 +0000

Digital Farm Collective from Digital Farm Collective on Vimeo.

Matthew Moore work was featured at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival... but not on a traditional movie screen. Rather, Moore's "seed to market" videos of specific types of produce were shown at the Park City Fresh Market grocery store... directly above the bins of that produce. As with so much other recent food activism, the idea was to connect people with their food... and the journey it takes from farm to table.

Green tech finds (1/13/11)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:31:54 +0000

From green tech at the auto show in Detroit to a potential standard for eco cell phones... your green tech finds for the week.

Green tech in Detroit: Lots of green technology at the North American International Auto Show; The Street gives a run-down of seven developments worth watching...
Crowdsourced environmental video: Dialogue Earth, an organization tied to the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, has completed a pilot involving "crowdsourcing" environmental science video content (specifically on ocean acidification). See the winner above...

Vimeo of the Week: Water & Rocks

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:31:12 +0000

Water & Rocks, New Zealand from Metron on Vimeo. When posting my favorite Vimeo video of the week round these parts I find myself returning to moving, ethereal short films focusing on natural beauty. This week’s choice, Water & Rocks, is one of those types. As I have two friends in New Zealand now I [...]

High speed camera freezes the world

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:30:12 +0000

This person pointed his high speed camera at travelers waiting on the platform while his train sped by. The result is neat, and what’s cool is that anyone can do this with a relatively cheap camera. Read more details behind this video from the creator. The recap also explains how if at first you don’t [...]

A green Moore’s law? The Story of Electronics

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:19:58 +0000

Moore's law, the idea that computing power should double every eighteen months, may be the ultimate sign of progress for a techie... and there's no doubt that much good has come from our ability to process more amounts of information faster. But what's the environmental cost of this progress? Annie Leonard deals with that question in the latest video from The Story of Stuff Project: "The Story of Electronics."

Purdue University archives Gulf oil spill video

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:31:24 +0000

The BP oil spill's over right? Nothing more to see here... That certainly seems to be the mainstream narrative regarding one of the US' largest environmental disasters (even as new reports of large oil slicks reappear). But while the well is capped, the Gulf of Mexico region will be feeling the effects of this disaster for years... and scientists and engineers will be studying the spill to see what went wrong.

Connecticut teen promotes green driving to peers

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:48:35 +0000

While teenagers are less likely than ever to get a drivers license, there are still millions of sixteen and seventeen-year-olds that want to get behind the wheel. When they do, issues like fuel efficiency generally aren't always at the top of their priority list...

Sigourney Weaver narrates Google Earth tour of Belo Monte dam impact

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:40:30 +0000

In April, I took note of James Cameron's efforts to stop the building of the Belo Monte dam on Brazil's Xingu River. Actress Sigourney Weaver (a co-star in Cameron's AVATAR) joined Cameron on one of his trips to Brazil, and has now collaborated with Amazon Watch, Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre (Xingu River Forever Alive Movement), and International Rivers to produce a 10-minute video (above) showing the probably impact of the dam project on indigenous people in the region, biodiversity, health, and even climate change (which were outlined in the previous post).

Annie Leonard & the Story of Stuff Project take on the cosmetics industry

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:27:16 +0000

Lead in your lipstick? Carcinogens in your child's baby shampoo... even when it's labeled "natural" or "organic?" It turns out that cosmetics and personal care products have been on the voluntary self-regulation train for generations... so Annie Leonard and the folks at the Story of Stuff Project have once again teamed up with Free Range Studios to make another video: "The Story of Cosmetics."

The music of the Gulf oil spill

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:27:33 +0000

Last week, Lafayette, Louisiana crawfisherman Drew Landry brought a meeting of the White House oil spill commission to awed silence as he sang a song he'd written about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the economic environment in Southern Louisiana. Landry's become a bit of an internet sensation... watch the video above, and you'll see why -- but he's just one of numerous musicians that have tried to encapsulate the Gulf tragedy in song.

Robyn’s Bitch Track

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:48:39 +0000

Robyn, the Swedish disco-pop songstress, embarking on a tour with Kelis this summer has released her first of three slated albums this year already. I’ve highlighted the first single, “Dancing On My Own,” here already. The song “Killing Me” is equally as mesmerizing. The video is quite remarkable too. The song sees Robyn, repeatedly, saying [...]

Photoshop Cook

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:49:53 +0000

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo. Maya Rota Klein’s video tutorial demonstrates how if Photoshop existed for aspiring chefs, then baking cookies could be done with a mere click of the mouse button. Someone needs to greenlight and fast track this program ASAP. I’m also looking forward to Photoshop Clean.

And then there was one Yale screamer

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:19:38 +0000

Fraternity from Richard Mosse on Vimeo. In his strangely captivating and succinctly titled video “Fraternity,” artist and filmmaker Richard Mosse challenged members of the Yale branch of fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon-alumni, including five US presidents, Supreme Court judges, a vice president, senators, and captains of industry-to compete against one another in a screaming contest. Mosse [...]

Cap and trade: more of the same?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:54:15 +0000

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project on Vimeo. With the Copenhagen Climate Conference just around the corner, world leaders, environmentalists, and economists are all debating the best mechanisms by which we can combat global climate change while continuing to grow the world economy. Most of these discussions (though not all) center on the concept of "cap and trade." If you're a little fuzzy on the idea, or know it but have a tough time explaining it to others, you're not alone: it's fairly complex on its face, and presents policy makers with a range of choices for harnessing market forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Never being boring – Pet Shop Boys on tour

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:41:27 +0000

As stated in an earlier post Sundance Channel this month is all about Bruce Weber, the iconic American filmmaker and photographer. And while we love Weber’s images of perfect naked men, it is his iconic video for “Being Boring” by the British pop duo Pet Shop Boys that many a gay adores. I also happened [...]

Videos of total solar eclipse

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:30:10 +0000

Every now and then earth gets a little lonely, but on Tuesday this week people in Asia were able to turn around (with protected eyes) and view a total solar eclipse. Huffington Post collected some video recordings of this total solar eclipse, the longest of the twenty-first century. I found this video from Iwo Jima, [...]

SUNfiltered music videos

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:36:43 +0000

For this weekly entry, be sure to plug in your headphones or turn up your speakers. Here are five buzzy music videos circulating around the Internet that I found catchy and visually stimulating. Enjoy. 1. Popular mashup artist DJ Earworm's latest includes Kanye's "Heartless" and The Police, "Message in a Bottle," as well as some others.

Hard bodies and a hello

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:00:17 +0000

Hello there. I am Bradford Shellhammer and I am new around these parts. While my fellow SUNfiltered bloggers have done a bang up job finding unique culture, film and music stories across the globe I intend to shake things up differently around here. I’m here to gay it up. Bedazzle the blog. Bring a disco beat. So [...]

Story of Stuff called “anti-capitalist”

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:57:59 +0000

In internet time, Annie Leonard's The Story Of Stuff is relatively old. But the 2007 web video, produced by Free Range Studios and funded by the Tides Foundation and Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption (among others) has attained cult status in American classrooms. According to the New York Times, teachers around the country use the video to supplement environmental education textbooks that often lack information on recent scientific discoveries. Creative teaching, right? Not in Missoula County, Montana, where the school board responded to a parent's complaint about the video's "anti-capitalist" message with a decision that use of The Story of Stuff "violated its standards on bias."

American Idol meets organic food

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:41:36 +0000

If singing isn't your thing, and you'd rather not have Simon Cowell dress you down in front of millions of people, the Organic Institute and Organic Trade Association are holding a greener, friendlier version of American Idol. These organizations have taken their search for a consumer ambassador on organic farming and products to YouTube, and invite you to submit a thirty-second video "explaining the moment you realized organic products are worth it."

Social TV: Watch online with your Facebook and MySpace pals

Andrew Hearst — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:44:52 +0000

Mashable, the site devoted to coverage of the social-media industry, posted a cool report about SplashCast, a widget that adds revolutionary commenting capabilities to offerings from Hulu and other online video providers. It's easy to add a comment to the discussion thread on, say, a YouTube page, but SplashCast, or "Social TV," as they call it, is different.

Teenaged video artists tackle recycling

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:34:39 +0000

How do you get a teenager thinking beyond angst, driving, and the Friday night dance? Officials in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, answered that question with “Give them a video camera and production tools.” The county’s “Rev Up Recycling” contest challenged student teams from area high schools to create public service videos on recycling. The contest [...]

Earth Day TV: Simran Sethi on Oprah Tomorrow

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:24:33 +0000

While watching television may not be a major part of your Earth Day plans, we do recommend you take a hour tomorrow to check out The Oprah Winfrey Show. THE GREEN‘s Simran Sethi will be on to discuss how incorporating eco-friendly practices into your lifestyle can both help save the planet, and help save you [...]

Water (Re)Imagined: H.2O

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:50:17 +0000

The web team at the Sundance Channel is putting in some long hours getting The Green site ready for its third season (which launches on April 21st). Among the new web features: “H.2O,” a collection of animated shorts from artists around the world, interspersed with clips from the documentary FLOW: FOR THE LOVE OF WATER [...]

Music Video Spotlight: Amadou & Mariam, Sabali

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:15:05 +0000

Watch a quietly captivating unofficial music video concept for the catchy single, Sabali from Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. Their hotly anticipated album Welcome to Mali was recently released stateside on March 24. You can stream the entire album on their website. I’ll never look at two empty chairs the same way again! And here’s [...]