Paying Attention. This is the big one: the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the time of this posting, it had been viewed 30,000,000 plus times. Not only is the trailer itself very, very good (you’d expect as much from a J.J. Abrams film project) but the Force is still in the audience for Star Wars films as can be seen by the massive number of viewings the trailer (which is the second one to be released) has garnered. All that was required to get everyone revved up on Star Wars (again) was a closer adherence to the themes and the look that made the first 3 movies in the series so popular all over the world. How well did this particular trailer work? In addition to a massive number of internet viewings, the reaction boosted Disney’s market cap by $2.0 billion (Disney paid $4.0 billion for LucasFilms, George Lucas’ film production company, which owns the rights to the Star Wars franchise and the Indiana Jones series). And that is all before the film has been released (Christmas, 2015). If you’re going to bet big and think big, you’re going to be rewarded if you execute big. In the right hands, a big bet is a sure thing…and J.J. has the hands.
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of YouTube. Thanks, guys. StarWars is a LucasFilms production, directed by J.J. Abrams. All rights owned by their respective rights holders.
The Art of The Movie Trailer
Paying Attention. Movie trailers are among our highest media arts. We don’t tend to look at them quite that way–some would say they’re just commercials for a film and that is certainly their purpose, but in the right hands, with the right attitude, a movie trailer becomes an art form with an approximately two and one half-minute life span. How to communicate the drama, the excitement, the beauty, the comedy, of a 110 minute film in that short time period is the key skill required to produce a great movie trailer. These short films are created by editing and production houses who–like most production skills in Hollywood–are specialists. Their job is to sift through the movie and all of the movie’s various themes and scenes and pick the very best and most enticing, and then sequence it all into a single, compelling message. Not infrequently, the trailer version of a film is better than the film itself: quicker paced, to the point, dramatic, more tightly edited. This post is the start of a continuing series on The Art of the Trailer Film, and it’s from one of the most anticipated films of the year, “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”. Enjoy.
The Fine Print: Embed via YouTube, who we thank for their graciousness and Warner Brothers and DC Comics, who are producing/distributing the film. All rights belong to their respective holders.
Spartans on adversity
“The Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy but where they are..”
Required Reading: The Moral Bucket List
A compelling and very thoughtful essay by David Brooks from The New York Times, on the spirituality of life and correcting a few things that may need some polish before the earthly exit. Not as exciting as climbing Mt. Ranier and some other things you may have on your physical bucket list, but equally satisfying and it just might boost your standing among those who surround you now and who will remember you when……highly recommended.
RISI COMP ROARS TO 2nd AT LONG BEACH
(Long Beach, California)….The Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia shook off a tough break right before qualifying and took on a host of factory teams at the Tudor United Sports Car Championship Tequila Patron Long Beach Grand Prix to finish second, just 2.9 seconds behind the winning factory BMW team. Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer took advantage of great pit work and the spacing on the track created by a small 18 car field to take the team’s second straight podium. Full race report to follow.
The Weekend Concert Series: Ed Sheeran Live in Dublin on the Irish Leg of the Multiply Tour
Ed Sheeran is not just a massive talent, he is a very kind, very human artist, of the type we simply do not see enough of these days. This concert was filmed lived in Dublin and was part of Ed’s Multiply tour (you knew the X on the album meant “multiply”, not “x”, of course) . This is the full concert from that night and it’s one hour and 28 minutes and change long. You’ll like it no matter how you view and listen to it, but it’s best if you can view it on a big flat screen and run the audio through your hifi system. One night of very good music by one very good musician. The perfect kick off to the Weekend Concert Series.
The Brief on Brief Research
We’ve all been there–typically at about 2 or 3 in the morning before a big paper is due–and it’s never been a whole lot of fun. It’s the final polishing step in putting your thesis, term paper, position paper, whatever: citing the references and citing them correcting. At one time, it was done, rather tediously (at least on this end) with note cards and a typewriter. But we live in new times and isn’t it appropriate to enjoy some of the scholastic benefits that modern computer programming can offer? From Bloomberg, no slouches at research in any form, comes news of an app that that takes the misery out of writing term papers. The program’s free, the results are professional and–equally important–consistent. You have nothing to loose and plenty of time to save. Signing up is highly recommended.
Anchors Away
Do we really need news anchors anymore? Is it a position that is no longer required, given the multiplicity of news sources and the sheer velocity of information that is readily available? New York Magazine thinks the position needs re-thinking. Many media critics would take the position that today’s anchorman is more news reader than news reporter (perhaps that position hints at the credibility issues that took Brian Williams off the air at NBC), and every year it seems the evolution of the position is more in the direction of entertainment than in journalism.
What’s really needed is a vastly more modern concept of delivering the news–one that understands the reality of the digital immersion that surrounds all of us. Not so much a news anchor, as a news coordinator, who delivers some of the news and points to the direction of other news items that should/might be of interest. A modern network newscast is simply not fast–and often not current–enough to keep up with a Twitter newsfeed.
There is no doubt that we are in a new generation of news coverage, journalistic standards, technological innovation and news/information delivery. But we have yet to find the right medium(s) and the very best mix to take advantage of the opportunities available.
A new business and delivery model is necessary.
And it almost certainly will not involve an “anchorman”.
A.A.Milne on Disorganization
“One of the best things about being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries…”
The Last Race of Stirling Moss, Easter Weekend, 1962.
Racing. The 1962 Goodwood Tourist Trophy Race weekend, conducted over the Easter Holiday, was one of the most spectacular race meetings of all time, bringing together the top racing drivers of the time battling it out in the era’s greatest sports and F1 cars. The race featured a brace of legendary Ferrari 250GTOs (the Ferrari GTO has turned out to be the most valuable of vintage automobiles; one was sold at auction last fall for over $30 Million), battling against factory Aston Martins and Jaguars. There were accidents –it was racing in the 60s–and one accident was historically important, as it involved the charismatic English driver Stirling Moss, considered by many to be the top driver of his era (despite the fact that he never won an F1 Championship), who suffered an injury so severe that a few months later, he decided to retire from the sport. The article linked above came through Mashable, but it’s got serious legs and has been posted on several other sites. It’s a very good read for those who love the golden era of the sport–when it was more about sportsmanship and competition and less about money and sponsorship. The photos included in the article are terrific (and horrific). The race will always be remember as the event that brought a close to the amazing career of Stirling Moss, a driver who won in every form of racing he attempted, from rally cars to F1.