It might be weird that I find this incredibly hilarious, but I really do think this is great. The part at the end with the improvised flying in title is probably one of the greatest things I've seen in awhile. Great as in... "how the hell did they think to do it like that?" This is a great parody picking fun about how expensive movies look these days. ...Or at least just poking fun at TRON: Legacy. I never spoke to the filmmaker, Nick Murphy, so I'm not sure exactly what he had in mind, but all I know is that it's hilarious.
Some more...
The Legend of Zelda (1987) Trailer
I'm really loving this as well. I've always had the idea that if I ever get into film I'd make an 80s movie with all the right equipment, film, ...everything. Actually make it believable as an 80s movie. Maybe even have an option to distribute it on VHS. It could be great.
I love how this makes references to so many movies from that era. Check it out because it really is done well. "Age of Consent" by New Order works perfectly with this also.
I figured I'd start posting Kickstarter projects that i feel could be interesting. This one, Anomaly by Mark Kochanowicz and Wade Ballance, seems like it could be an interesting thriller film. Just the synopsis about it on the Kickstarter page seems intriguing...
"Using charts and medical history, actuary Wesley (Wes) Riemann can statistically predict how many years someone has to live. But it's only a prediction.
When he discovers the life insurance firm he works for has been cancelling policies weeks, sometimes days before the policy holder dies in order to avoid costly payouts, he comes to grip with the impossible - that somehow, they know the exact date when someone will die.
In order to prevent the firm from destroying anymore lives, including his own, Wes will risk it all to discover an unbelievable secret."
The other thing that caught my attention was that they were based out of Philadelphia, PA because that is local for me so I figured I'd give a shout out to someone local in this post. But, it's not just that. The clip of the film shown in the pitch video is pretty well done and I'd like to see more. Check out the kickstater page for Anomaly and decide for yourself if this project deserves some funding.
About my Kickstarter and crowd fund posts...
I am trying to find projects that need a bit of a push for funds. There are plenty of great "higher profile" ones out there, but there are lesser known projects that fail all the time on these platforms. They don't have the push of having connections with some more "famous" entities shown in the projects, so they are not featured as often on these crowd fund sites. These are also usually going to be shorter posts.
"On the edge of space, a mining ship, The Ezekiel, finds an uncharted
planet that reveals signs of a possible fuel resource. Two crew members
undertake a mission to the desolate rock to take samples for later
analysis. The mission goes well until they unearth a dark and terrifying
truth." -DalangFilms
This short film has got to be my favorites recently because of how well done it is. This is the type of stuff I'd like to see in the theaters more. This is the type of thing that inspires me to want to get into production in some kind of way, or even science in general. Dalang Films seems to be making a name for themselves, and I'd like to see them make a feature or two ...or ten.
Now I don't like the idea of reviewing films; I really just like to point people to films and media that I believe are made well or deserve recognition from the amount of effort that seems to be shown. So I'm not going to pick out technical flaws because I'm not a trained filmmaker, so I don't feel I have the authority to pick out too many flaws unless they are blatantly obvious. (I actually didn't really even see any in this particular film.)
I have no idea how they do stuff like this so well. (via DalangFilms.com)
Production companies like Dalang Films are the ones I would like to see making great sci-fi features. Oh, and you know those Syfy Original Movies you see on basic cable? A lot of those are just cheap "rip off" TV movies made to fill up time. Why not hire production companies like this to make those? (Well maybe Dalang Films wouldn't like to do something like that, but the quality of original TV movies would increase by a large margin if this is the sort of thing TV executives liked to see.)
That would ruin someone's day.
Don't get me wrong cheesy movies can be fun sometimes, but cheesy sci-fi has been done to death probably since the 1950s. Why not replace some of them with some quality story telling?
Back to UNEARTHED...
Like I said. The stuff Dalang Films is making are great examples of the type of science fiction I'd like to see more of. There is some of it out there in the main stream, but I don't think it competes nearly enough with other types of films in a respectable way like UNEARTHED does. It's awe inspiring story telling.
From even just the 22 minute 7 second run-time I felt invested in the characters and actually cared if something bad were to happen to them. They don't waste a lot of time with random scenery shots to show off photography and camera work like many short films tend to do. They get right into the story, and that makes it shine.
As for inspiring... I actually considered changing my major in college to Geology from watching this the first time a couple months back. If something gets me to consider changing my life I find it very well done and worth the time to watch.
Here is the description of Point Zero from their site...
"In the inhospitable, freezing ice cap
of the Arctic a team of civilian scientists and geologists are on a
routine supply run to the Numea Research Station. Little do they know
that at the top of the world the future of mankind hangs in the
balance.
Through the raging blizzards
they stumble upon a government secret that will plunge them into a war
between nations that will stop at nothing to retrieve the one thing
that will bring them ultimate power." -DalangFilms
I know I'm looking forward to this, and hopefully I have gotten you into something you may find interesting.
FYI: Again, I do NOT claim to own any embedded or linked videos, material, or information on this blog. I am just putting the information out there to hopefully help their owners find an audience and recognition.
Edit: Sorry, it seems that the links to the stills and images have been broken, but if you click the links you can check out the site for yourself. But, hopefully they will show up for you.
I loved Mass Effect since the first game. The depth of the characters and the story really made those games amazing and addicting. The art design for those games are also great and them unique.
I figured with the release of the new Extended Cut DLC for Mass Effect 3 coming out today I'd show you something some fans from the University of Advancing Technology have been cooking up for some time.
The thing that caught my attention was the star's name, Mark Meer. Now that might not sound familiar to you right away (unless you're as obsessed with IMDb as much as I), but he is actually the voice of Shepard from the games. That's right, Shepard himself is doing a fan film based on the lore of the games.
"Serving as a prequel to the MASS EFFECT game series,"Red Sand" is set 35
years before the time of Commander Shepard and tells the story of the
discovery of ancient ruins on Mars. Left behind by the mysterious alien
race known as the Protheans, the ruins are a treasure trove of advanced
technology and the powerful Element Zero, an energy source beyond
humanity's wildest dreams. As the Alliance research team led by Dr.
Averroes (Ayman Samman) seeks to unlock the secrets of the ruins, a band
of marauders living in the deserts of Mars wants the ruins for
themselves. Addicted to refined Element Zero in the form of a narcotic
nicknamed "Red Sand" which gives them telekinetic "biotic" powers, these
desert-dwelling terrorists will stop at nothing to control the ruins
and the rich vein of Element Zero at its core. Standing between them and
their goal are Colonel Jon Grissom (Mark Meer), Colonel Lily Sandhurst
(Amy Searcy), and a team of Alliance soldiers tasked with defending the
ruins at all costs. At stake - the future of humanity's exploration of
the galaxy, and the set up for the MASS EFFECT storyline loved by
millions of gamers worldwide." -UATDV
According to a comments made by UATDV on the trailer video on YouTube the film will be around 10 minutes in duration and should be released later this summer.
Here is the original teaser showing more of Mark Meer's character, Grissom...
Now I have to admit I thought this was just going to be about the drug called "Red Sand" that was referenced in Mass Effect 2 when I saw this teaser back in February and not actually based on stories alluded to in the games. The fact that I thought that shows how "well versed" on the lore I am. Oh well, I do understand it now though. If this ends up being done well I think it could prove that a Mass Effect film franchise is possible. I'm pretty sure there is an official one in the works based on the original game, but you never know what will happen. As far as I know there is just a script for now, it could be scrapped completely like the Halo movie was.
Hopefully they change the official Mass Effect movie to be about something else in the universe and not based solely on the original game's story because that can have several different outcomes. Maybe have it about completely different characters. I don't know... Time will tell. This is a topic for another time.
Hopefully I enlightened you to something you may not have seen before. This is my goal for this blog; to help people get their art noticed.
