Clubland

I saw Australian film, Clubland this week. I laughed, cried, cringed and was enraged during the course of it. There were moments when I just wanted to leave the theatre. I'm glad I stayed for the cheery ending though. It was released in America under the title "Introducing the Dwights".

There was a lot of relationship drama and discovery packed into this film. All varieties of relationships and the range of behaviours and emotions.

Here's a link to an interview with the director Cherie Nowlan. I appreciate the job she did.

Testing TubeMogul

Today I am trying out TubeMogul. I read about it on the Revver Blog a week or so ago. It is a new service that allows you to upload your video and have it put on 6 sites (Revver, YouTube, Google, Yahoo, Metacafe, MySpace) all at once. Then it will track the statistics from those sites and you can look at graphs and get analytics from your video.

I have uploaded a video and although I generally only put my videos on Revver, I have accounts with all 6 places, for viewing purposes mainly. I have uploaded to all 6 for the purposes of checking out how this works.

The latest TubeMogul blog post:Universal Upload Creates Measurable Lift in Viewership shows a report on how a video maker has seen an increase in views using this service.

At this point I can say it is easy to use and get started. I haven't been doing much video lately. I could see this would be a great quicker and easier way to get distribution. I'll keep you updated as to how I find this service.

The Transformers

This week I went to see 'The Transformers'. It was highly recommended by my secondary school students as a must see! It was action packed and adventurous. It was long, however due to the non stop action and amusement, I didn't feel the time so to speak. There was nothing deep or meaningful here, it was a pure escapist time to be had.

Stranger Than Fiction

Emma Thompson is magic in Stranger Than Fiction, as an author struggling with the right ending for her character. This task becomes seriously challenging when the "character" arrives in person, having heard the author narrating his story in his head, to save himself. This is a must see film complete with succulent characters and pretty scenes. I loved it.

Revver Launches Preroll

Revver announced yesterday, it would be launching a new advertising option. Preroll and postroll advertising will be available to advertisers and content owners. Content owners have been asking for this for a while and as has been the case, Revver has listened and responded.
I have had an account with Revver for over 12 months now and have over 400 clips uploaded. I can't speak highly enough of the integrity of Revver and have found them to give great service and be honest and constructive in resolving difficulties and sharing information. They have constantly upgraded and improved their services in the time I have been with Revver. If you have video and are looking for a way to distribute it, I couldn't recommend Revver highly enough to you.

Babel

Babel tells a tale of connectedness between the characters who are mostly unaware of one another and spread across the globe. It highlights how different realities even the closest such as the parents and their children can be. It was an interesting film and I would recommend it.

The Queen

Stephen Frears has made some great films, yet I think 'The Queen' has to be his best. I totally enjoyed it. Great scenery and interesting perspective on historical phenomena most are familiar with.

Helen Mirren portrayed the Queen in an award-winning performance. The film was much better than I expected and I'm glad I watched it.

A Brief History of You Tube

Informative, Inspiring, brief........



I discovered this clip thanks to'How to Live Online'.

Tropfest and AFI news

I got an update today from Tropfest news. An Imaginary Life, the winner of 2007 Tropfest has been nominated for the AFI Best Short Animation Award. The AFI website has more details about the awards.

Entries for next years Tropfest close 10 January 2008, so less than 6 months to go if you intend to enter.

Do Something Real

The Age: Rich Pickings spreads the news of this great YouTube clip that highlights the divide in the world between the haves and the have nots.

Casanova

Director Driven Choice
'From the director of Chocolat' That line,splashed across the top of the DVD, drew my attention to this one. I had overlooked it quite a few times. I loved Chocolat. It was an amazing and beautiful story and the film managed to do it justice.
Romantics Delight
Casanova contained similar delicious moments. The legendary Casanova and the alluring Francesca have their moment of truth and intimacy in a hot air balloon, floating through a sky littered with fireworks over the city of Venice. Romance on a stick.
Action and Adventure
The film contains battles of wit and muscle as well as wild chases and escapades. I laughed and clapped with glee.
Heath Ledger
This is the second Heath Ledger film I've watched this month. Heath has effectively become both Ned Kelly (2003) and Casanova for me. Such diversity, such a delight!