In a ongoing attempt to get up to speed with new techniques in shooting HD video, this year I plan on posting more of the best of the best short films for your enjoyment. Here’s one of the best videos I’ve seen in awhile from Quarter Productions in Somerville, MA.

During the winter break I’ve been trying to get caught up with my non-blog reading. You know, the written word with a finite beginning and ending point, rather than my favorite endless RSS feeds of content and commentary typical for the web based reading experience.

If you’re traveling long distances via airport I cannot recommend MONOCLE enough. You can find it at Barnes and Noble or any legitimate newsstand. It’s dense, easy to carry like a Moleskine notebook, and pretty much an editorial cross between The Economist and Details magazine. Expect lots of detailed info on country specific culture, art, politics, and what to do with the passport in your pocket. For a budding world traveler it’s just the right nudge to get you looking at Priceline for a deal at least 9 timezones away.

All this brings me to consider the future of my lovely news magazine. With declining readership and the eventual rotation to web only format, what tools and user experience models will begin to dominate the sphere?  I’m betting it will most likely look alot like this conceptual video from Bonnier R&D above.

While waiting for the holiday season to hit its stride, it’s fair to say most cinephiles wait with baited breath for their favorite filmmakers to release their latest masterpieces. It’s soon going to be the start to the awards season, and screenings will be taking place in just a few days.

One of the films I’ve personally been waiting for is the Fantastic Mr Fox from Wes Anderson. Here’s a great rundown on Anderson’s visual motifs…

Note the nerdy and overly friendly photo. Now hire me today

It’s always flattering to find an article with your name and face in it, and this is no exception. This year I agreed to help out the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce as an ambassador, and so far it’s been very rewarding. Aside from my geeky picture this is a great and appreciated write up on me and my business.

Download this summer’s newsletter here (pdf).

Last Wednesday the LA Usability Experience Association hosted a quick informational field trip to the Microsoft Labs in Irvine. We got to see several demos on some of the products that MS is prepping to challenge Macromedia for interactive market share, including their new Surface table. The demo illustrates some of the interesting components to this new technology, and what in my opinion might be a deal breaker for consumers, and corporate customers alike.

Imagine being tasked with the responsibility to develop a “Minority Report” style interface table, and boring down on the specifics of what operating system will be used, including surface area specs and physical limitations with existing technology. Compound this with the need to create specifications for developers to use while crafting unique user experiences, without considering the multitude of environments that this tool could be used in.. either as a kiosk, or in the booth of a restaurant, placed flat horizontally, or canted at an angle.

The end result unfortunately doesn’t hold up compared to the iPhone for several reasons. First, the table costs a staggering $15K. (Consider that this means no developer can begin writing programs for the table with out making the initial investment, and you can see why it’s going to be difficult for Microsoft to succeed.) Moreover this it’s flat and very heavy, with clear response problems and no pressure sensitivity. It operates using 4 infrared cameras hidden below — resulting in a rather sluggish user experience, and compared to the iPhone this almost seems like a table from the past rather than from the future. (This tool should also clearly identify the difference between a thumb and a palm with ease, but in my tests it seemed to fail)

Still, I’m curious to see what this tool will evolve into over time.  Some of the early programs are really interesting and useful, but the barrier to entry is definitely the price tag.

In a former life (that wasn’t too long ago), I was a online publicist for the FX cable network. In fact it’s the reason why I sold most of my possessions and came to Los Angeles in the first place. That Fall (2007) while visiting San Francisco, I was interviewed by Eddie Codel at LunchMeet for my thoughts on social media and effective methods to reach the blogsphere. Enjoy.

The blogger Kevin Lee and critic Matt Zoller Seitz just posted a video essay on one of my favorite films, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Moreso than any other film that year, I remember being obsessed by how new and unusual it seemed to me that a story could dance around a single lead and then introduce new characters who are sometimes themselves, and sometimes simply figures that represent the lead’s emotional needs at the time.

What could have been a exercise in navel gazing (Think Synecdoche, New York), evolved into just the perfect mix of subjective narrative with the lead’s interaction in the real world left unbroken. Leading up to the well timed climax, the events in Joel’s head are just as important as his recovery from brain mapping within the story’s real life context. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t reccomend it more.

Download it now : DJ New Berlin

Of course if you enjoy the mix I only ask one thing — just remember to forward it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Digg below.

M83 – We Own the Sky from David Altobelli

Altobelli’s turning out to be one of my favorite video artists, and this short is works perfectly to illustrate the various emotions that french shoegaze can elisit. Note the series of glowing dots resembling a 3d version of the Unknown Pleasures Joy Division album cover. Breaking lightbulbs shot in reverse, A man swinging a lightbulb on a cord in front of a bluescreen, creating time delay shapes, which can technically mean anything to the viewer.

(BTW – Lately I’ve been thinking about scripting a few scenarios for a HD video art instillation, with similar conclusions — making the viewer make his or her own emotional and subjective conclusion of what they’ve seen on the screen. Check back for more on that later this year.)

So, let’s assume that it only took a day to capture the actor’s performance on greenscreen (2 hours max) and the dark room shots of lightbulbs. Most of the heavy lifting to make this video work is done by the effects team animating the glowing dots and the actor’s patterns (circles, squares, triangles) Working full time with an editor, this should have only take about 14 days to assemble and make broadcast ready. What do you think?