NW Film Festival - Selfless

I attended the film showing for Selfless at the Portland Art Museum. I would recommend it to others and I thought it was very well made. There were even periods of humor, which was refreshing for a film about identity theft. The film was shot and cast in Portland and it had a very local flavor with characters that look like people I see walking outside my window in Portland. I would be open to seeing other independent films at the art museum after seeing this one.

Shorts I

I attended the 9pm viewing of Shorts I last night at the Portland Art Museum. You would have thought from the parking situation that there were a lot of people there. Much to my surprise it was for the film, Selfless, before Shorts I. In all there may have been about 20 people for the shorts. They were hit and miss for me, I found myself only enjoying about three of the shorts.
The highlight of the shorts may have been what the guy behind me said after the conclusion of one, "Are you kidding me?" My sentiments exactly.

Oh!

Highlight of my evening was crashing the Selfless After-party to see Storm Large. The snacks were nummy and even though it was a no-host bar, I did manage to get some pretentious film student to buy me a couple of vodka martini's.
Hurray for heels in Portland!
But having been a fan of Storm's for a couple of years, I was willing to smile and nod at the jerk of a film student.

Spring Atkinson

The Power of You Tube---True Norwegian Black Metal

While watching this five part documentary it's impossible to shake the feeling that it was made almost completely for YouTube. The ten minute long segments fit perfectly into the framework of the site itself, and the divisions alone are not something that would usually be done in a standard documentary.

Also, and perhaps the most 'special' element of YouTube, is its ability to make available that which would otherwise wallow in obscurity. I'm sure many of you have never heard of the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth, or of the man being interviewed, Gaahl; but here it is---I'm showing it to you.

Gaahl is very peculiar man. If you watch the entire documentary you learn some rather insightful things about the life of this Satanic hermit. "You don't perform black metal if you're not a warrior. Black metal is a war against... what everyone knows." Hahaha, great stuff!



-Bryce VanHoosen-

YouTube contest challenges users to make a good video

The Power of Youtube

This is a video I found a while ago and I thought that since we're focusing on video art that I would provide a different example of the art...Lego people performing Rammstein's Feuer Frei.



Derek Klayum

The Power of YouTube

Can everybody be an artist? I am not so sure but I have to say that I love this short film that is a response to Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal.
I do view it as art because video editing can be very artistic. In addition, Fred Astaire was an artist himself. So how is that for a double whammy?

Spring Atkinson

The Power of YouTube

I used to work near the Seattle Public Library and I was always a little nervous about the art installation as you come down the escalator. I found a short clip on youtube that gives you an idea of what it looks like. Basically, there are mirrors with faces and eyes on them that speak too in sort of "sim"-like language which doesn't really make sense. I like art installations, but I never really understood this one!