From the category archives:

Film

The new episode of PBS Arts documentary series Off Book takes a look at the art of the title sequence. The designers of the titles for Blue Valentine, Mad Men, The Pacific, Se7en, and Zombieland discuss their work, and there’s a lovely bit at the end when they all talk about the influence of the mighty Saul Bass:

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Tops

by Dan on February 7, 2012

I finally saw  EAMES: The Architect and The Painter at the weekend. One of the many things that grabbed my attention watching it was a clip of mesmerizing short film called Tops made by the Eames studio in 1969. In the film, all manner of spinning tops and toys are wound and released. It is beautiful and hypnotic (thanks partially at least to the score by Elmer Bernstein). But there is also a moment about halfway through when a thumb tack is spun across an architectural drawing. It is a wonderfully understated metaphor for the creative process and it changes the whole tone of what you are watching. Lovely.

Here Tops in its entirety:

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The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

January 24, 2012

Inspired by the Wizard of Oz, Buster Keaton movies, and a whimsical love of books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is an award-winning 15 minute animated short by William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and Moonbot Studios: The film is one of five animated shorts nominated for an Oscar this year,  and there is [...]

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PressPausePlay

January 12, 2012

The full-length documentary PressPausePlay is now available to watch on Vimeo. The film, which somehow manages to be simultaneously both inspiring and melancholic, looks at the effects of digital technology and the Internet on the creative economy. Worth watching if you have a spare hour (although depending on your attitude to these things it might make you [...]

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Francis Ford Coppola at TIFF

November 24, 2011

You know, what was top of my mind when I was making ["The Conversation"] was I wanted to make the film as beautiful as “Blow-Up.” You know, I had seen “Blow-Up” by Michelangelo Antonioni and I said boy, that’s the kind of film I – those were the kind of films I want to make. [...]

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