Video Friday

Remember on April 1st when I said I would be taking a hiatus from Magpie Mondays until late May but that I would post some interesting bits in the meanwhile? Yeah, that all went down the drain. Not even a Video Friday last week! But I can see the light at the end of what has been a terribly long tunnel at work, and I’ll try to be better for the next couple weeks.

Today I offer a charming short film, The Last Bookshop. Here’s the official description from youtube (but also check out the website):

The Last Bookshop imagines a future where physical books have died out.

One day, a small boy’s holographic entertainment fails, so he heads out to explore the streets of abandoned shops outside. Down a forgotten alley he discovers the last ever bookshop. And inside, an ancient shopkeeper has been waiting over 25 years for a customer…

Produced by The Bakery in the South-East of England, filming took place in 2011, with post-production completed in 2012. The music was composed by Owen Hewson and performed by Arlet.

Veteran actor Alfred Hoffman stars alongside youthful co-star Joe Holgate.

It is written by Richard Dadd, who also co-directs alongside Dan Fryer.

We love bookshops. But we saw that many are going through tough times.

We wanted to contribute to the cultural debate with our own celebration in support of these glorious independents and their shelves of treasures. So with the help of some remarkable independent bookshops, and a lot of talented friends, we have been able to make our idea for The Last Bookshop into a reality. We hope you enjoy this film and share it with your friends…

So here I am, sharing it with my friends:

Posted in Video Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Video Friday

Here’s a real treat for you Whovians (or Wholigans, if you prefer). Recently, I posted the first Doctor Puppet short and now there’s a second. Presented together for your viewing pleasure:

Episode 1: The Red X

Episode 2: The Conjunction of Eleven

Need more of the good Doctor Puppet? Check out this tumblr!

Posted in Video Friday | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Video Friday

Paintwork is a short film based on Tim Maughan’s short story of the same name (which you can read here). The technique, as you’ll read in the official description below, is pretty neat.

New Scientist’s Arc Magazine and science fiction author Tim Maughan are proud to announce the online debut of the low budget, experimental short film Paintwork. Set in near-future Bristol—the British city known internationally for spawning Banksy—it follows augmented reality graffiti artist 3Cube as she illegally transforms an all-too familiar advertising billboard into a work of high tech street art, and poses questions about the relationships between technology, advertising and the control of public spaces.

Heavily influenced by Chris Marker’s seminal 1962 film La Jetée, Paintwork blends still photography by Laurie Eagle and computer animation by Alan Tabrett with audio from two stalwarts of the Bristol music scene in the form of narration by renowned MC Koast and an exclusive soundtrack from influential dubstep producer Forsaken. Based on the title short story from Maughan’s critically acclaimed collection, Paintwork was premiered in an early form in February as part of the arts festival Sonic Acts in Amsterdam….

Posted in Video Friday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Magpie Monday

Here’s the shiny stuff that caught my eye last week:

♦ In case you didn’t know, Japanese schoolgirls rock. Case in point: a new fad where the young ladies take photos of themselves imitating the Kamehameha, an energy attack seen in the anime Dragon Ball (and thus not to be confused with Kamehameha, the first king of the Hawaiian Islands). Blastr calls the trend “simultaneously funny and awesome,” though I would put more emphasis on the awesome. Click through to see more images in the Blastr gallery. Via.

Continue reading

Posted in About Writing, Magpie Monday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Video Friday

Here’s some fun for your Good Friday morning: Tempo, a short film directed and co-written by Seth Worley, about “a scientist [who] must prevent a new, powerful technology from falling into the wrong hands.”

Via.

Posted in Video Friday | Tagged , , , | Comments Off