Mobile Movies Showcase – Week 40 – by Donna Donato
Welcome back to the fortieth article in the column, Mobile Movies. We at TheAppWhisperer have been inspired by the Flickr upgrade of 1 Terabyte of storage for everyone and have wanted to launch a mobile movie section for some time. Now seems to be perfect, the new Flickr upgrade will allow for a full three minutes of 1080p HD quality video per single film and you can have as many as you have storage space for. Each week I (you can find me on Flickr here) will curate the movie uploads to our new Flickr group MobileMoviesTheAppWhisperer – I will view all the videos uploaded and comment on the ones selected. ”The internet has created other crossroads for films and videos. Mobile devices have democratized not only photography but also video-making. The availability of apps that give digital video the appearance of analogy film, such as grainy black and white super-8, is exciting and important. Now anyone with the desire can make a home movie or ‘film’ and upload it to the web. It is interesting to see what stories and messages people are creating and disseminating.’
Donna Donato
‘The Carrousel of Manhattan’ – Yannick Brice
With the unplanned and/or intentional reshaping of the Manhattan skyline this piece exemplifies the city’s constant movement. Depending on the vantage point, the city can sometimes be hard to recognize. The composition of the piece reminded me of various picnic paintings created over the years.
‘Dancing bugs ‘ – Armineh_H
I watched this piece a number of times because it presented a ubiquitous, commonplace gathering in a new light; no pun intended. The dangerous, magnet like attraction, when set to music, became a cosmic dance of life.
‘One Day [part 2]’ – shirleyforsyth
A shadow with a cute ponytail leads the viewers on a journey through a town and rather alien looking beachscape to the sea where we ultimately gaze on what could be mistaken for two suns. Really liked the sound design with its suspenseful, cinematic music and various audio effects.
‘August the 28th, 2014 (The rose and the feather)’ – Vanessa Vox
Despite its title, this whimsical piece brought to mind the Capitano hats worn by the three musketeers. The droll music emphasized the attempt by either the plume to escape or the flower’s desire to help the wind dislodge the impaled visitor.
‘A Sow with Suckling Piglets’ – Aldo Pacheco
Watching these eight or nine piglets trying to feed I certainly understood the ‘runt of the litter’ concept. You had better get in there and eat as best you can. I’m sure every mother viewing this piece was glad she didn’t have a litter to nurse. The videographer’s music seemed to rally the ‘troops’ on.
‘Monhegan Island, Maine’ – Mike Ryan
I enjoyed the meditative quality of this video. The viewer ‘stands’ on a grassy cliff looking down at waves crashing on the craggy boulders far below, watching the white seabirds swooping in and listening to the soothing ambient sounds.
‘Jiminy Cricket – Left Hand Free’ – kimartino1 Hipstafiend_Kim Martino
Interesting to watch the persistence of this insect as it alternatively climbs up and slides down what appears to be a rather slick surface. After seeing where it was headed, I could only wonder what it would do once it got to what appeared to be a dead-end.
‘Mercury in Retrograde’ –Diane Nicholette Jeon
Great title and treatment of surf that could have been daunting no matter which way it came in.
‘Cinamatographdizzy in the Circus Tent’ – Ger Van den Elzen Photography
This piece with its spinning stripes is reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp’s “Anemic Cinema” albeit in color. The tinny, mechanical music re-enforces the dizzying effect.
‘Brave New World’ – DraMan_Roger Guetta
At first glance, the strobing light and people’s movement make one think of a rave. When the piece ended, however, I wondered if it was a fragment of a synchronized dance performance.
2 Comments
Diana Jeon
Very interesting mix of videos. Thank you for including my work, Donna and Joanne.
Mike Ryan
Thank you Donna for including my Monhegan Island video among these interesting works!