:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Sunday, December 13, 2009 ::

I Am Lego

Just discovered the Lego Express blog, also via pied-a-terre.



"Brick for Scirocco" is the name given to the Lego styled radiator designed by Marco Baxadonne.

Labels: Design, Film, Humour, Lego

:: Dan 13.12.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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The Atheist Billboard Campaign


E&T chronicles some truly ingenious escapes over, through, across and underneath the world’s most sinister engineering structure - the Berlin Wall.

E&T visits Estonia, a former province of the Soviet Empire, to find one of the most technologically advanced and IT-savviest nations in the world.

There's Only One Sun | Wong Kar-Wai

There's Only One Sun | Wong Kar-Wai
by YforYerom

[thanks Natali]

Solar panels shaped like clay roof tiles


The Bigshot, a DIY digital camera designed for kids to build and use


Muji + Lego x-mas collaboration


In praise of the sci-fi corridor [via grom]

Z-DAY from Peter Thomas on Vimeo.
"In late October 2009 a meteor crashed into St Werberghs, Bristol U.K. While the initial damage was contained efficiently and promptly by the authorities, Solanum-based particles from the meteor quickly spread on the wind, infecting many of the local population and causing a class-2 zombie infestation/outbreak. Within hours, the walking dead had descended on Broadmead Shopping Centre in search of meat and brains... Few survived and many souls were lost that day, however a blood-stained video tape from a local underground film-maker was recovered from the wreckage... Following a press black-out, this film documents the fateful event (dubbed "Z-Day" by locals), and provides a rare and privileged insight into a full-scale zombie attack on a densly populated urban area."

Flavorwire » Blog Archive » DJ /rupture’s Favorite Cities and Songs
"Bristol is amazing, and it’s especially amazing for all sorts of different types of bass music. For a track, it’s hard to say, because there’s so much dub, dubstep, UK garage, reggae, as well… all this stuff coming out of Bristol. But my favorite spot in Bristol, I think it’s a Sunday night party, is at this place called Cosies."

Labels: architecture, Art, Atheism, Bristol, Environment, Film, Humanism, Lego, Photography, Sci-Fi, Technology

:: Dan 22.11.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Video release. This is a quick 10 min version of the 45min Databent UrbEx live set I played at Bash Out at the Black Swan, Bristol on 20th June 2009.

All photographs and image & audio manipulation by Dan Gusset.
Cover image courtesy of Lisa Furness

Source audio: Field recording of metal roof in the sun by Nick Adamson, MC Prof C and MC Doc G from Radio 4, Floreo De Lamas by Guamary, The Collier's Rant by Bob Davenport, Rubik's Cube: 10.56 seconds, Grow Grow Grow by PJ Harvey @ 33RPM, The Training of O, Mothers Talk by Tears For Fears @ 17RPM, White Chalk by PJ Harvey @ 33RPM.

Labels: BashOut, Databent, Film, Gigs, Gusset, Photography, Urban Exploring, Video, WEFT

:: Dan 4.7.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Plug in cinema say, "We're really pleased to offer the entire of our 2004 book, 'Plug In & Turn On: A Filmmakers Guide to the Internet' as a free PDF"



Direct download and torrent from the above link.

Labels: Film

:: Dan 6.6.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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main room: jungle & multi core

the outside agency
[aka dj hidden and eye-d - live bristol debut]

twinhooker & paulie walnuts
[mad dem sound usa: soldiers in the streets tour]

duranduranduran
[cock rock disco, planet mu - live birthday set!]

ely muff
[headfuk/deathchant - live]

boep
[aka schemeboy vs randomoidz - adverse camber]

bashout allstars
[resident badmen]

upstairs: staggering bass abuse

rogue state ft. mc deadman
[r8 recordings - bristol debut]

lief ryan
[growth recordings - bristol debut]

noyeahno
[rag’n’bone]

big d’s dancehall clearout

diode
[aka el kano vs magimix - adverse camber]

davey t
[dissident]

back room: the bashout lectures

dan gusset and friends

dubboy vs beavis inna rootstyle

& more tbc...

sat 20 june 2009
black swan, bristol
10 til 5,
£8 b4 11, £9 after...
tickets: £6 [plus booking fee]




The Bash Out Lectures with Dan Gusset and Friends

Dan Pope (aka Gusset) will be presenting an A/V performance of data bent versions of his urban exploring photos alongside a live drone/glitch soundtrack in room three of Bash Out at the Black Swan, Bristol on Sat 20th June (10pm – 6am).

Data bent images are intentionally corrupted digital images where the files have bits altered, cut around, have channels moved or filtered, and are otherwise bastardised to cause all forms of distortions and bizarre effects. Often the results are disappointing fields of black or images that refuse to open at all but persistence and luck can lead to intriguing results.

Like it's close relative circuit bending, where any electronic sound making device, usually a cheap children's toy, is dismantled and its circuitry randomly rewired, it's something that anyone can try. It may just be noise with occasional recognisable hints of what it once was, but there is a beauty to be found in there either by close study or by allowing it to wash over you.

Among the friends Dan has filled the rest of the line-up with will be a Dub Boy & Beavis - Inna Rootstyle, films from public space hijacker and Occasional Cinema organiser Badoni, and beatless soundscapes from Freq.

Labels: BashOut, Bristol, Databent, Electronica, Film, Flyer, Gigs, Gusset, Photography, Urban Exploring

:: Dan 3.6.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Defy them

Labels: Amnesty, Film

:: Dan 22.5.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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David Lynch Presents his 121-part 'Interview Project': An EW exclusive

On June 1, legendary movie-maker David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire) will present Interview Project, a 121-part documentary series featuring 3-5 minute portraits of a ordinary (and sometimes extraordinary) Americans from all over the country.

Commissioned by Lynch, and compiled by a team of filmmakers who criss-crossed the states gathering dozens of personal histories, the series -- to be premiered every three days throughout the year until next June -- is available only at interviewproject.davidlynch.com, but you'll find an exclusive first look at the very Lynchian project -- introduced by the man himself -- only here at ew.com.

Labels: Film, Lynch

:: Dan 16.5.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Well done, Chris! The film looks great.

Watch the LOTR fan pic The Hunt for Gollam

Labels: Film

:: Dan 9.5.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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[via claytoncubitt - "Even in a field of flowers, at sunset, set to Donna Summer, for a perfume ad, Cunningham manages to make it creepy."]

Labels: Advertising, Art, Film, Video

:: Dan 16.4.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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I'll be DJing at in Mina Park at sunset before the next Occasional Cinema event on Tuesday 21st April.



Map

Labels: Cinema, Film, Gigs, Gusset

:: Dan 3.4.09 [Arc] [4 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Charles and Ray Eames: A Communication Primer


[via smashing telly]

"The Eames’ showed that films could be approached as a design exercise and as such were the forerunners to much of today’s information design, which has had a resurgence as a result of the Web. Their best known piece is Powers of Ten [below], but this is another little beauty.

"The film is nicely self-referential since it deals with Shannon’s information theory. However, the astounding thing is that the Eames’ were savvy about Shannon’s groundbreaking work which was published only 5 years before. To put this in context, its as if Frank Lloyd Wright had written a book about Einstein’s Special Relativity in 1910, when it wasn’t fully endorsed by the physics community."

Powers Of 10

Labels: Art, Communication, Design, Film, Maths, Physics

:: Dan 15.3.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Mrs P, Slim and I attended the Ray Harryhausen book signing, Q&A and Jason and the Argonauts screening at the Watershed on Thursday. Seeing the film on the big screen was great. I maintain that it still looks better than most of the CGI fests that we see today. It’s a shame model animation is such a dying art. And seeing the man in person, still sprightly and chipper for his 89 years, was an inspiration.

It was a shame that the lip-sync was a couple of frames out. (Or was it always like that!?) I could also criticise the continuity, the colour matching, the acting and the characterisation, but that’s all irrelevant. I never thought I would quote Tom Hanks but as he said when presenting Harryhausen with a special Academy Award, "Lots of people say Casablanca or Citizen Kane is the greatest film of all time... no way, it's Jason and the Argonauts!" And he was right.

Labels: Animation, Art, Film

:: Dan 14.3.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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How accurate was Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” about the future?
[via lmg]



No PowerPoint

"Part of the reason that Dr Floyd has been sent to Clavius Base is to deliver a morale-boosting speech to a crew bemused by what they have unearthed on the moon.

"Frankly, there is no way that this would have been done in the real 2001 without the judicious use of PowerPoint featuring Excel charts and inspiring pictures of puppies, and probably some free branded goodies to take away and cheer everybody up."

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 11.3.09 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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'fresh signals categorical archives'
Stuff About Stanley Kubrick
[also via lmg]

Includes stuff like The Shining (with robots)

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 15.12.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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The beeb on The sexual revolution... in cartoon form



vs

Mark Kermode on Jason Statham [via natali]

Labels: Feminism, Film

:: Dan 11.12.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Bristol Indymedia Film Night: Taking Liberties, Introduced by Bristol No2ID
Monday 1st December 2008 8pm @ Cube Cinema, Stokes Croft, Bristol.
Entry £3/£4 (but nobody refused entry for a lack of funds.)

Taking Liberties is BAFTA nominated director Chris Atkins's film that uncovers the stories the government don't want you to hear so ridiculous you will laugh, so ultimately terrifying you will want to take action. Teenage sisters detained for 36 hours for a peaceful protest; an RAF war veteran arrested for wearing an anti-Bush and Blair T-shirt; an innocent man shot in a police raid; and a man held under house arrest for two years, after being found innocent in court. Law-abiding citizens being punished for ordinary activities, after a decade of dangerous laws have demolished the rights which we fought for over centuries.

The film will be introduced by by Dave Gould of the Bristol No2ID campaign.

www.noliberties.com
www.bristol.indymedia.org
www.bristol-no2id.org.uk

Map: Cube Cinema: Dove St South (off Kings Square), Bristol

Labels: Film, ID, Politics

:: Dan 15.11.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Great news!

"STOP PRESS!
We've had some good funding news which means we won't be asking you to back your generous offer with hard cash.
The huge surge in online support may even have helped cause this shift in fortune. Either way your encouragement has been a spur to action and hugely inspiring.
And of course you will still have a chance to be in the film.
watch this space...
CM"

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 1.11.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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According to a recent mailout from Chris Morris fan list Cook'd And Bomb'd, Morris' latest project, a comedy about Islamist jihadists in Britain, has been cancelled by Channel Four. The good news is that Warp Films, the independent arthouse film branch of the IDM/electronica label Warp, has picked it up, provided it attracts independent funding. To wit, Morris is asking people to pledge to donate £25, which might give them a chance to be an extra in the film:
"Following rumours in the press and online Warp Films can confirm that Chris Morris' comedy about british jihadis is being made by Warp Films as an independently funded cinema feature. The script has been written by Chris in collaboration with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain and is now ready to shoot. Production will begin as soon as we are fully funded. To that end we are running a number of investment schemes including donations which give you the chance to be in the film.
mail enquiries to: fundingmentalism@warpfilms.com
Please pass this on to ten people
[via dev.null]

Email query response:
Dear Lion
At the moment the detonator’s going off and you’re part of it but until the effect has gone exponential, your mails are being sorted by one person so bear with me.
Many people have asked us exactly what the Four Lions project is. Clearly we can’t launch the film before its been shot, but I’ve pulled together a few paragraphs from the paperwork that’s been flying around. Its shameless hype but its accurate – unlike almost everything you will have read in the press. No one who has read the script could disagree with a word here.
In three years of research, Chris Morris has spoken to terrorism experts, imams, police, secret services and hundreds of Muslims. Even those who have trained and fought jihad report the frequency of farce. At training camps young jihadis argue about honey, cry for their mums, shoot each other’s feet off, chase snakes and get thrown out for smoking. A minute into his martyrdom video, a would-be bomber looks puzzled and says “what was the question again?” On millennium eve, five jihadis set out to ram a US warship. They slipped their boat into the water and carefully stacked it with explosives. It sank.
Terrorist cells have the same group dynamics as stag parties and five a side football teams. There is conflict, friendship, misunderstanding and rivalry. Terrorism is about ideology, but it’s also about berks.
Four Lions is a funny, thrilling fictional story that illuminates modern British jihad with an insight beyond anything else in our culture. It plunges us beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien. It undermines the folly of just wishing them away or alienating the entire culture from which they emerge. It understands how terrorism relates to testosterone. It understands jihadis as human beings. And it understands human beings as innately ridiculous. As Spinal Tap understood heavy metal and Dr Strangelove the Cold War, Four Lions understands modern British jihadis.
As for your offer, we’re hoping to set up a one click pay scheme soon. We’ll let you know.
Hope that helps
Deirdre Steed.
PS Please pass this on to ten more people.

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 12.10.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Featuring Bill Murray
[via grom]

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 4.9.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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If you missed Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes, Jon Ronson's documentary about the 1000's of archival boxes on Kubrick’s estate, it's now on Google video.
[via lmg]
Previous post.

The letters of Stanley Kubrick

Labels: Art, Film, TV, Video

:: Dan 31.7.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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I attended the Phill, Bagpuss and Friends event as part of the Encounters short film festival at the Watershed yesterday.

Hosted by Phill Jupitus along with Loaf of The Dragons' Friendly Society and animator Brian Cosgrove the event celebrated the work of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin of Smallfilms.

It was great to sit in a room full of nostalgic 30 to 50 somethings and enjoy these great pieces on animation again. Not that there is anything technically spectacular about them; it's the story telling, the pacing, the eccentricity, the music and the general mood that make them unique. Not to mention Oliver's voice.

There were a few things I'd never seen before. Like the "terrifying" Pogles episode "King of the Fairies" (watch when the witch appears). And I'd never even heard of Pingwings, which is brilliantly funny and touching at the same time, not just in it's naivety as they hadn't thought about the lighting problems shooting animation outdoors.

The BBC 4 documentary "Ivor the Engine" and the story of "Smallfilms" is on YouTube in three parts.

Oliver is now 84 years old and is in a retirement home so the event was being recorded for him. Keen to send him a message about how much his work is loved Phill Jupitus insists on all of the camera equipment being rearranged at the end so the whole audience can wave to him and send him their love. It was a funny, fantastical and heart warming afternoon.

Labels: Animation, Film, Review

:: Dan 28.7.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Channel 4 recreates The Shining to promote its Kubrick season
[video]

"Channel 4 has painstakingly recreated the set of Stanley Kubrick horror film The Shining, complete with look-a-likes of the crew and cast members including Shelley Duvall, for a TV ad to promote a More 4 season of the director's films.

The 65-second promotional spot has been filmed as a one-take tracking shot through the recreation of The Shining set.

It promotes the season of 10 Kubrick films to be broadcast on More 4 from July 15. Jon Ronson's documentary, Citizen Kubrick, will air ahead of the start of the first film."

Labels: Art, Film, TV

:: Dan 9.7.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Filmed in Ashton Court, Bristol. Ah, I remember those tracks!
By Tom Mansfield

Jesus, how to give away too much personal information on the net! He really needs to edit that. Emailed.

Labels: Bike, Bristol, Film, ID, Video

:: Dan 4.7.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Excerpt from The Dogway Melody circa 1930

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 19.5.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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From my friend Keira,

"Hello !
Hope you're very well...all of you.
I wanted to share with you my latest (very short) film , where I typed a picture of Bournemouth Pier using my old typewriter. I recently showed this, and the picture/s at Aruba, the bar situated on Bournemouth Pier approach as part of an event called Muse Platform, you can see footage of this event here.
I will be doing more typing at events soon so please check my website for news.
Thanks!
Keira"

Labels: Art, Film, Typography

:: Dan 15.5.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Charles says, "had a bit of time on my hands with nothing to do so i made godzilla a city to destroy."

Labels: Animation, Film, Sci-Fi

:: Dan 12.5.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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"A little piece of trivia I didn't know, apparently Stanley Kubrick asked Roger Waters if he could use music from Pink Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother' for Clockwork Orange. Someone's re-imagined what the opening sequence would have looked like if he'd said yes and this is the result." [via grom]

Labels: Art, Film, Literature, Music

:: Dan 12.5.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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"From Dr Who to the Dark Side of the Moon, the members of the Electronic Music Studios used pioneering technology and ideas to create a radical new soundscape for the 20th century."



What The Future Sounded Like
Documentary, 27 minutes
HDV and Digital Betacam
16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound

"Post-war Britain rebuilt itself on a wave of scientific and industrial breakthroughs that culminated in the cultural revolution of the 1960’s. It was a period of sweeping change and experimentation where art and culture participated in and reflected the wider social changes. In this atmosphere was born the Electronic Music Studios (EMS), a radical group of avant-garde electronic musicians who utilized technology and experimentation to compose a futuristic electronic sound-scape for the New Britain.

"Comprising of pioneering electronic musicians Peter Zinovieff and Tristram Cary (famed for his work on the Dr Who series) and genius engineer David Cockerell, EMS’s studio was one of the most advanced computer-music facilities in the world. EMS’s great legacy is the VCS3, Britain’s first synthesizer and rival of the American Moog. The VCS3 changed the sounds of some of the most popular artists of this period including Brian Eno, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. Almost thirty years on the VCS3 is still used by modern electronic artists like The Emperor Machine.

"What The Future Sounded Like colours in a lost chapter in music history, uncovering a group of composers and innovators who harnessed technology and new ideas to re-imagine the boundaries of music and sound. Features music from Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Roxy Music and The Emperor Machine."

RIP Tristram Cary

Labels: Electronic Music, Film, RIP

:: Dan 27.4.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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unsubscribe-me.org

Labels: Amnesty, Film, Politics

:: Dan 23.4.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Rave-infected vampire flick, the first new movie from Hammer in almost 30 years



Episodes begin at MySpace.com/BeyondTheRave on April 17th.
Beyond the Rave is a vampire story set in England's underground rave scene. The movie follows the last hours of freedom of local soldier Ed, who is flying out to Iraq in the morning. With the help of his best friend Necro, he spends his last night in the UK tracking down his missing girlfriend Jen, last seen partying with a bizarre group of hardcore night-time ravers led by the mysterious Melech. But as he catches up with Jen at a party, Ed discovers that Melech's crowd, who are hosting the event, are looking for more than a night of fun, and that not everyone will make it through to dawn.

Labels: Advertising, Film, Horror, myspace, Video

:: Dan 15.4.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Spin (Double Edge Films)



[thanks rob]

Labels: Film, Humour

:: Dan 11.1.08 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Hammer Horror returns - on MySpace

"Beyond the Rave, the first horror movie made by Hammer Films since 1976, will be released not in cinemas but through MySpace, the world's biggest social networking site, on which it will be streamed in episodes next spring before being released on DVD.

"The studio said that Beyond the Rave would contain all the ingredients of a Hammer classic: “vampires, blood, death and suspense throughout”, but, as the name suggests, with a 21st century twist."

Sounds like it'll be a "twist" we've seen 100 times already, but good to see Hammer back nonetheless.

Labels: Film

:: Dan 14.12.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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"Electric December is an online advent calendar. Explore 24 days of short film treats created by young people from across the UK. This year Electric December is curated by eShed.net - a Bristol-based film website for 14-21yr-olds. Visit the archive to view eight years of presents. Pick it up, pass it on… Subscribe to the podcast, embed films in your own site, send your friends an ecard, or bluetooth to your mobile."


Gotta love the electro-sprouts!

Labels: Art, Film, Watershed

:: Dan 9.12.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Gearing up for the special edition directors cut Wired have this Q&A:
Ridley Scott Has Finally Created the Blade Runner He Always Imagined
via null device, who also pulls some pullquotes out of it:

J. Craig Venter
Geneticist
"The movie has an underlying assumption that I just don't relate to: that people want a slave class. As I imagine the potential of engineering the human genome, I think, wouldn't it be nice if we could have 10 times the cognitive capabilities we do have? But people ask me whether I could engineer a stupid person to work as a servant. I've gotten letters from guys in prison asking me to engineer women they could keep in their cell. I don't see us, as a society, doing that."

Doesn't this miss the entire point of the story. I don't think Dick ever intended any of his novels to be accurate representation of the future. He only wrote science-fiction because it was the only medium through which he could get his ideas published. The story is actually about the philosophical arguments about what is human.

From wikipedia:
Dick's inspiration for the central plot point involving androids which are indistinguishable from humans came from specific factors in his own life experience. First and foremost, he could not accept that the people who committed atrocities such as the Holocaust during World War II were truly human. He felt that they must be inhuman monsters who merely appeared to be human. While this was initially a figurative philosophical concept, Dick was a user of amphetamine, which he used to fuel his writing. As a result, he developed a high level of paranoia, and his notion about people appearing to be human when they were not became more literal.[citation needed]

Admittedly this is exactly the type of uncited reference that makes wikipedia unreliable, but having read it matches my understanding of it of the point he was trying to make.

Sci-Fi that tries to accurately predict the future is often boring. [cf. most Arthur C. Clark] Sci-Fi that asks 'what if?' is what is really interesting. The what if doesn’t have to be plausible, it's just a platform. It allows analysis of current thinking, be it scientific, philosophical, political, religious etc, from an outsiders point of view. That’s what makes it interesting as a medium.

Labels: Film, Literature, Sci-Fi

:: Dan 28.9.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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A very quick review, and no spoilers, I just have to say I loved this. I can't remember looking forward to a cinema release that much in ages, and when I do do that I'm usually disappointed, but not here. The Treadstone replacement project it revolves around Mrs P noticed was name dropped back in the closing scene of the first film. I like details like that. It all works very well. And there is plenty of Nicky* action and a great part for Albert Finney. The sound work is also pretty good, although too loud in the cinema, there's nothing worse than unrealistically loud foley. The scene with the fight in the bathroom, where Bourne's attacker is thought to be holding a blade of some sort (razor?) is so fast moving you can barely see a thing, but the knife sounds in it are great. Although, if you removed the visual action it would probably sound like the Goon Show.

[The Bourne Ultimatum is out now]

* I've just discovered that "Julia Stiles" is a dangerous Google Image Search.

Labels: Film, Review

:: Dan 18.8.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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"Will you look at me... and tell me if you've known me before?"

That was interesting. Pretty much what I expected. The Lynchian themes of identity swap, dream logic, and dark humour etc are all there. Maybe slightly less violence than one might expect. Having made the move to digital production Lynch has been freed of all of the restraints of traditional film making techniques (notably cost of film stock) and has let ideas run away with him. It seems to have brought out the worst in him.

It was well publicised that neither he nor the actors nor anyone else had any idea what this film was about and that there is no real story as such. It’s about a "woman in trouble" Lynch says. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad film. You haven't had the true David Lynch experience if you come out of the cinema not asking, "so what happened?" Part of the appeal of Mulholland Drive was unravelling the mystery, although I'm not convinced there actually is a solution to it. It was developed as a TV series pilot with the intension of replicating Twin Peaks success but when no network picked it up and extra half hour was whacked on the end and it got a cinema release. That final half hour didn't appear to make any attempt to close off the multiple story arcs that had been opened. INLAND EMPIRE has less excuses and seems to have sprawled into a three hour monster simply because Lynch couldn't contain himself.

Technically it's hit and miss. The sound design is wonderful; if you are interested in use of sound in film you sould watch this. The music too, is great, and to his credit some of it also written and performed by Lynch. There's some brilliant lighting, and intriguing sets (dark corridors adjoining garish pink rooms), and even some comedy dance routines. As many reviews have commented there is some very good acting, especially from Laura Dern. Her confessional scenes with the guy with the wonky glasses are riveting. However, some of the acting is also decidedly below par, like in the barbecue scene where pretty much everyone is poor (Dern included). The camera work in places is reminiscent of the most ill conceived, pretentious, student wank. The extreme close-up tracking of the coffee cup near the beginning is terrible. There is far too many facial shots held just slightly too close for the camera to be able to focus. The focus, in fact, is all over the place, sometimes it is used as a very effective artist tool (like when characters walk up to a fixed focus lens then move on again), sometime it just looks like Lynch hadn't yet learnt to work without a focus puller and wasn’t any good at doing it himself. With the exception of one good cut scene the footage shot in Poland and the footage in the US don’t really fit together at all.

As the image above shows, The Cube decided to put an interval in the middle of it. (After real four for anyone who cares.) This broke it up nicely and despite detracting slightly by interrupting the flow it didn’t take too long to get back into the swing of things. The first few minutes of the break were strangely quiet, as everyone stood around quietly introspective and unsure how to interact. I stood in the cold courtyard huddled around the glowing cigarette ends of Slim and Sam. After a few exchanged shrugged the silence was broken with a question of, "any idea what's going on?"
"No. And it's not going to get any clearer I'm sure," was the best response I could muster. Most of the rest of the conversation is reflected above, as it would appear the conversation caused me to galvanise my views at the half way point.

The second half seemed to include more humour, more dance, and more whores that the first. The final scene, under the credits, brought together some of the jokes very nicely. In all it's not one of Lynch's best films and although he seems to be very excited about the possibilities of digital cinema it's nothing for fans to get excited about yet. Hopefully over time that will change.

Others comments:

• Lynch on Lynch
  
• Wikipedia
  
• Rotten Tomatoes
  
• Fanny Magnate does a good job of pulling some meaning out of it.
  
• warm n easy on Hijack brilliant captured most of the audiences reactions:
  "no idea what went on - I think I was visually raped yet don't recall"
  
• Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian provides the perfect summary:
  "Unlike the plasma TV screens in Dixon's, David Lynch is evidently not HD-ready"

Labels: Film, Lynch

:: Dan 16.5.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Labels: Film, Freedom

:: Dan 11.5.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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"Singapore has said that it will ban a documentary about the detention of a former leftist activist because its "distorted and misleading" portrayal of events could undermine the government."

Trailer:

Labels: Amnesty, Censorship, Film, News

:: Dan 11.4.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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Hola!

Just back from a week in (initially) sunny (and latterly very windy) Spain. The gig over there went really well and Madrid is a great city. It's full of fascinating and exciting places and great food. More information and photos to follow.

Thanks to Dash for filling in in my absence. Although that link of live AFX sets isn't quite everything that's ever been recorded, there was that 3GB torrent last year. I'd link it again but I can’t find it now.

While I get my mind back on things here are some links to be going on with...

Etherhead's Notes on Breakcore documentary is now finished and on sendpace [111MB avi]

VUKZID
Janksy Noise says:
"Running alongside V/Vm Test, Vukzid is a new platform which allows me to make unrestricted audio available for you to download and freely distribute at non-profit.

"The music industry has changed beyond belief over the past few years and we are now at a very exciting stage of development in terms of being able to make high quality audio available online for fast download and free distribution.

"The traditional industry is pushing for paid and restricted downloads which goes against my own feelings and beliefs as it excludes more people than it includes when it comes to downloading and sharing audio files.

"Thanks to the kind people at Brainwashed all of the audio you will find here is free of charge. You can of course help me continue providing more free music by donating money to this project which helps take the financial pressure off me and/or by buying releases from the V/Vm Test shop."

Labels: Breakcore, Film, MP3

:: Dan 23.3.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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No, not the fetish, it's a film about The History of the Human Beat Box. Sounds like it does for beat boxing what Scratch did for DJing, but unfortunately music licensing problems have been preventing release for years. Shame. Would love to see it.

Labels: Film, Music

:: Dan 25.2.07 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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I went to see Underworld last week. (As Grom has already reported, Sony Pictures are being sued by White Wolf for 17 counts of copyright infringement and over 60 points of unique similarity between Underworld and their work, the official filing is here.) Now, you would think that any film featuring a raven haired vampiress in a rubber cat suit can’t really go wrong, right? Wrong. This films only redeeming feature is its costumes (see previous comment), the music is appalling, the effects and make up are a long way short of spectacular, and much of the action is laughable. I’m going to explain these three complaints in a little more detail to try and convince you not to spend any money on watching this.

Music: When, oh when, will the general public get tired of "Nu-Metal" soundtracks? The scene where one of the characters turns into a werewolf for the first time, in the back of a car, and the people in the front notice, say "oh, shit" unconvincingly, and turn the radio up so the transformation is accompanied by a less-than-thrashing guitar riff and some guy doing some girly screaming, is utterly pathetic.

Effects: I know effects are often over played and over used in movies these days, but just look at the make-up when Bill Nighy’s character, Victor, is first awaken, it looks some sort of Blue Peter make your own cardboard skeleton that turns into a vampire project.

Action: There is a scene where someone takes a sword and in some unrealistic half arsed flying spinning jumping movement is suddenly on the other side of the room. The person they were fighting then stands up and slowly turn around to see that the sword is now blood stained. A close up of the victims face then shows a small diagonal superficial cut appear across their face and a little blood oozes from it. The view thinks, oh, he’s got a minor cut there look, I wonder what the relevance of that is? A look of shock comes over the guys face and the top half of his head then slowly slides of sideways as his head had actually been totally, perfectly, cleanly severed through the middle, showing us the cross section of his brain which was apparently capable of thought as well as controlling motor movement and facial expression despite this somewhat major trauma. The audience hold their sides and shake with laughter so much they are rendered incapable of asking for a refund.

You have been warned.

Labels: Film, Review

:: Dan 13.10.03 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post] ::
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