The Lake County Film Fest Strikes Back

Proud to announce that The Mercury Men will be premiering at this year's Lake County Film Festival in Libertyville, IL. (And before you ask, no, the film isn't done, but I sent out a rough cut in time for the deadline. We are in the last few weeks of post though.) It will be screening both during the Shorts and Children's programs. Captain Blasto played there in 2006 and A Great Disturbance in 2007. Along with TMM, The Nintendo Office will be screening ahead of one of the features, Last Stop for Paul, which actually screened just after Captain Blasto at the 2006 Newport Beach Film Festival. (Last Stop is a pretty unique concept for a film and has picked up and INSANE amount of awards. You can check it out at: www.laststopforpaul.com). On top of all that, Captain Blasto will be screening again this year.

The Lake County Fest was easily one of the best experiences we had during our run with Blasto. Libertyville is very reminiscent of Munhall, the town in which Blasto was shot, so we really seemed to connect with audiences. And they had some great bars around town for after parties and such. Looking forward to another mid-west outing.

You can read more about the festival at: www.lakecountyfilmfest.com.

Oakland Film Festival Wrap-up

Attended the first North Way Oakland Film Festival last night. I was pretty impressed with many of the films. Of the ones that I can remember, Robin Rd., a black and white film noir, had nice framing and lighting. Wanted, which won best short film, was a neat concept. (It also featured Shawn Smith, who I previously worked with on the Assassin's Creed video.) Erie, which may be my personal favorite of the night and won best documentary, featured two friends riding their bikes 130 miles to Lake Erie in the middle of a 19 degree winter weekend. Although the filming wasn't particularly spectacular you'd be hard pressed to find a cinematographer that could achieve much better in a gray Pittsburgh winter. The story and it's stars were funny and endearing.

The night also included a handful of self-portrait pieces that featured 45 second stories by each director who were not able to maintain a shot longer than a few frames. They were frantic, sometimes funny, and captured a wide range of hobbies, experiences, or beliefs.

One of my fears of a church holding a film festival is that they are going to limit what's being shown to clean, G rated, 7th Heaven style stories. North Way however, showed films with a whole range of subjects that you'd be surprised to find in a church. There was a documentary on a father hoping to win custody of his child and a short film featuring a guy who has been sleeping with a girl for months and is terrified to discover she loves him.

The general tone ranged from serious to very serious, so my only critique is that a bit more lighthearted selections would have been appreciated. Nintendo Office ending up taking home a prize in the Misc. category. That makes the quickest video I've ever made now the most successful, which is hysterical.

Great job done by Lindsey, Mike, and the gang down at North Way Oakland.

Oakland Film Festival

Just wanted to let y'all know about a short film festival that's happening in Oakland next week. (That's Oakland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for you out of town readers.) It's all going down Friday, September 7th from 8:00 - 10:00 PM at North Way Oakland, 120 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Cost is $3.00. All the films will be screening on a large widescreen HD projection screen.

The first year festival will feature short films from local filmmakers, primarily Art Institute students. I've got three films screening, including The Nintendo Office and a short animated piece from a year or so ago. I encourage y'all to come check this first year festival.

New York

The Nintendo Office played up here...

In this room...
On one of these HD flat screen TV's...

But our video wasn't in HD, or any of the other shorts for that matter, so it just looked normal.

The observatory is called Top of the Rock. It costs $20 (yes, we had to pay to see our own movie) and is based around a tour of the construction of Rockefeller along with NBC's long residence there. So in between gazing out at New York and listening to fun facts from Tom Brokaw people would walk past some short films. It's basically filmmaking's equivalent of a guy playing a saxophone in the subway. He may be good and you may like, but you aint stoppin' to listen. Especially when all of Central Park is sprawled out before you.

All in all a good trip. Caught Lovedrug/Sparta show with Eric, Em, and Bradstreet. Lovedrug is RIDICULOUSLY good. I suggest you give the guys a listen.

Trib Article

Here's the link to the article about The Nintendo Office which ran yesterday in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's evening edition, Trib P.M. (That title sounds kind of naughty.)

"Making a Game of It"

And here's an interview with Jack Paccione, director of the winning entry "Good vs. Wiivil."'

Joystiq Interview

The Nintendo Office

Vote for our video, "The Nintendo Office"

If you've got a second, please head over to http://www.nintendoshortcuts.com and vote for The Nintendo Office, out entry into the Nintendo Short Cuts Showcase contest.

Thanks!