Toronto based designer Ibraheem Youssef just published a series of incredible posters inspired by Scorcese films. His poster for Casino (below) shows all the flashy suits worn by DeNiro in the movie. Last year, Youssef did a whole series of Wes Anderson inspired posters. He is an amazing designer and everybody should take a little break from work to browse through the blog on his website. 
Archive | October, 2011
Ibraheem Youssef’s Scorcese inspired film posters
31 Oct“Oldboy” director pushing iPhone 4 limits
27 OctTimes Entertainment just did a feature on a movie called Night Fishing that was shot completely on an iPhone 4. The film was directed by Chan-wook Park, the director of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, who won the award for best short film at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. It was also screened as part of last weekend’s Creator’s Project in New York.
The movie is a creepy tale about a wandering fisherman, filled with corpses and ghosts. The entire film was shot for less than $150,000. We always love to see filmmakers pushing the limits of the iPhone. The quality of this film highlights the way technology is lowering costs for smaller filmmakers looking to make professional quality work.
Lua put to work on set in Branson, Missouri
25 Oct
Our Co-founder Jason has departed for Branson, Missouri. Huh? That’s right, Branson, Missouri. He’ll be out there on set for the next 5 weeks as the Assistant Director on a film called “Awful Nice.” The hilarious film is written, produced, and directed by our good friends over at Rangelife Entertainment – their last movie, Box Elder, was an absolutely hilarious cult classic “comedy about dudes, bros, and dudebros.” You can Check it out on Netflix. ”Awful Nice” is also pee-in-your-pants funny.
They are currently in pre-production and begin principle photography in two days. Jason is putting together the schedules and dealing with all of the outdated and user-unfriendly technology that is standard in the film industry. The entire production will be using the Lua platform for their on-set communication. In fact, this marks the first Lua Beta test since the development of our new communication platform, and will be the first time Lua has been used on a project from pre-production through post-production.
We’re very excited both for Jason and our buddies over at Rangelife Entertainment. We’ll post a couple updates as the production moves forward.
21st Annual EMA Awards
18 Oct
On the last day of our trip to LA last week, we attended the Environmental Media Association, also known as EMA (pronounced like Emma), held at the Warner Brother’s lot. The awards were hosted by three vivacious cast members of Entourage: Emmanuelle Chriqui, Perrey Reeves, and Constance Zimmer.
EMA is the only non-profit working within the entertainment industry to effect environmental change through role models. EMA promotes sustainable production methods and identifies those in the industry who’ve made a significant effort to reduce their productions’ environmental impact through a range of programs. At the 21st Annual Environmental Media Awards, EMA honored film and television productions, as well as individuals who have made an impact.
Honorees included Justin Timberlake, who recently founded Mirimichi, a sustainable golf course in Tennessee, and one of ten golf courses worldwide recognized and certified by the Golf Environmental Organization. One of the most fascinating parts of the night was the waterless urinal presented by EMA Board of Directors and early investor Marc Nathanson. This waterless urinal has the ability to save millions of gallons of water per year; traditional toilet flushes equate to around an astonishing 1.6 gallons per flush. Furthermore, in California, a fifth of the electrical output was consumed by processing and pumping water. The PGA Green, who we’ve been working with closely, was also an honoree, winning the Green Production Award.
Other nominee categories included feature film, documentary, television episodic drama, television episodic comedy, reality television, and children’s television. The awards were followed by an tasty organic dinner and a silent auction. All in all, it was a wonderful event and we were proud to be a part of it. Big thank you to our beloved Adviser and President of EMA, Debbie Levin, as well as the EMA as a whole. We hope to work with the EMA to green sets in the very near future.
Evolution of the web
13 Oct
Came across this awesome interactive representation of how the web has evolved over time. It shows how different browsers have evolved and interacted with each other, and its presented in a super cool way.
Check it out HERE.
Make infographics with Visual.ly
11 Oct
We recently came across an awesome new design tool called Visual.ly. Visual.ly is a tool for creating awesome infographics, and we love infographics. They are one of the most effective and fun ways to communicate information. The site provides “a tool that will allow everyone to quickly and easily create professional quality designs with their own data.”Visual.ly also maintains an awesome library of infographics created by users. We love browsing through them and will occasionally post a cool film/tech related one to the blog.
PS. If any of our readers go on to make an infographic on Visual.ly, please send us the link!
Filmmakers react to Steve Jobs’ death
6 Oct
As the internet is flooded with tributes to Steve Jobs’, the depth of his effect on people can be seen clearly. The Moviefone blog published an interesting piece highlighting the responses of filmmakers to the tragic news of Jobs’ death. Jobs’ had an intimate relationship with the film world – in addition to building Pixar into the force it is today, his software made digital editing and filmmaking more accessible to aspiring filmmakers. Below are selections from the piece:
“The magic of Steve was that while others simply accepted the status quo, he saw the true potential in everything he touched and never compromised on that vision,” director George Lucas said in a statement. “He leaves behind an incredible family and a legacy that will continue to speak to people for years to come.”
Those thoughts were echoed by director J.J. Abrams. “There are so few people who are undeniably, brilliantly inspiring,” the ‘Super 8′ director said in a statement. “Steve Jobs, a man who changed the way we create, the way we communicate, the way we live, was one of those people. I already miss knowing he is out there.”
“Steve Jobs was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend and the guiding light of the Pixar family,” Pixar’s John Lasseter and Ed Catmull said. “He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined.
Continue reading
Pixar engages fans with photo clues about next film
3 Oct
Pixar has found an interesting way to utilize social media in marketing its next film. Through a blog started by Lee Unkrich, a director and member of Pixar’s creative team, Pixar will be releasing a single photo every day as a sneak peak for it’s fans. Lee’s twitter account has already been tweeting out a daily link to the photo.
The first published picture was an image (left) showing a Mac keyboard. Pixar often takes years to complete a project, so the number of photos released may end up in the thousands. Since Toy Story (1995), Pixar has earned an extremely loyal fan-base that will surely be grateful for this increased form of engagement with the Pixar process. Many fans are speculating about whether the film could be an addition to the Cars or Toy Story franchises.
Full story at Mashable.
