First and Final Frames

What can we learn by examining only the first and final shot of a film? This video plays the opening and closing shots of 55 films side-by-side. Some of the opening shots are strikingly similar to the final shots, while others are vastly different--both serving a purpose in communicating various themes. Some show progress, some show decline, and some are simply impactful images used to begin and end a film. MUSIC: "Any Other Name" by Thomas Newman Films used (in order of appearance): The Tree of Life 00:00 The Master 00:09 Brokeback Mountain 00:15 No Country for Old Men 00:23 Her 00:27 Blue Valentine 00:30 Birdman 00:34 Black Swan 00:41 Gone Girl 00:47 Kill Bill Vol. 2 00:53 Punch-Drunk Love 00:59 Silver Linings Playbook 01:06 Taxi Driver 01:11 Shutter Island 01:20 Children of Men 01:27 We Need to Talk About Kevin 01:33 Funny Games (2007) 01:41 Fight Club 01:47 12 Years a Slave 01:54 There Will be Blood 01:59 The Godfather Part II 02:05 Shame 02:10 Never Let Me Go 02:17 The Road 02:21 Hunger 02:27 Raging Bull 02:31 Cabaret 02:36 Before Sunrise 02:42 Nebraska 02:47 Frank 02:54 Cast Away 03:01 Somewhere 03:06 Melancholia 03:11 Morvern Callar 03:18 Take this Waltz 03:21 Buried 03:25 Lord of War 03:32 Cape Fear 03:38 12 Monkeys 03:45 The World According to Garp 03:50 Saving Private Ryan 03:57 Poetry 04:02 Solaris (1972) 04:05 Dr. Strangelove 04:11 The Astronaut Farmer 04:16 The Piano 04:21 Inception 04:26 Boyhood 04:31 Whiplash 04:37 Cloud Atlas 04:43 Under the Skin 04:47 2001: A Space Odyssey 04:51 Gravity 04:57 The Searchers 05:03 The Usual Suspects 05:23 Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

A fantastic supercut by Jacob T. Swinney. Structurally speaking a good story begins at the end and ends at the beginning, keeping a cycle going: 

What can we learn by examining only the first and final shot of a film? This video plays the opening and closing shots of 55 films side-by-side. Some of the opening shots are strikingly similar to the final shots, while others are vastly different--both serving a purpose in communicating various themes. Some show progress, some show decline, and some are simply impactful images used to begin and end a film.

The Shadow Ballet: Dancers & Drones

Artistic direction and Choreograph: MIKIKO(elevenplay) Music: Ametsub Dancer: Kaori Yasukawa(elevenplay) Artistic direction and drone+light programming: Daito Manabe (Rhizomatiks) Light drone design and development : Motoi Ishibashi,Tomoaki Yanagisawa Light drone development : Tomoaki Yanagisawa, Youichi Sakamoto, Katsuhiko Harada, Momoko Nishimoto Drone support : Enroute Support: Rhizomatiks, elevenplay and P.I.C.S.

Wired: 

DRONES WILL CHANGE how we ship goods! They’ll revolutionize search and rescue! We hear about these futures all the time. It’s less often that we’re asked to consider how autonomous flying machines might be used for more poetic ends. But, as with any technology, drones can be just as invigorating for art as they are for commerce. “Shadow” is the just the latest example.

Photoshop Experts Using Photoshop 1.0

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Adobe Photoshop, CreativeLive asked 8 Photoshop experts to try their hand at Photoshop 1.0. http://cr8.lv/clpsw15yt Big thanks to Dave Cross, Jared Platt, Ben Willmore, Chris Orwig, Julieanne Kost, Aaron Nace, Tim Grey, Matt Kloskowski, and Jason Hoppe! And thank-you Adobe for 25 years of igniting creativity!

In honor of the 25th anniversary of Adobe Photoshop, CreativeLive asked 8 Photoshop experts to try their hand at Photoshop 1.0.

"Old/New" - Narrated by Patton Oswalt

Old/New is the story of Drew McHugh, a man whose penchant for the new -- new devices, new fashion, new friends -- is challenged when he discovers the rustic appeal of old-fashioned things. He quickly becomes obsessed with the reclaimed and well-worn - plummeting face-first down the rabbit hole of novelty and nostalgia.

Old/New is the story of Drew McHugh, a man whose penchant for the new -- new devices, new fashion, new friends -- is challenged when he discovers the rustic appeal of old-fashioned things. He quickly becomes obsessed with the reclaimed and well-worn - plummeting face-first down the rabbit hole of novelty and nostalgia.

A fantastic short film that serves as a promo reel for Red Giant. 

Red Giant, Seth Worley and Aharon Rabinowitz take you behind the scenes of Old/New below:

In this episode of Red Giant TV, Seth Worley and Aharon Rabinowitz take you behind the scenes of Old/New, the latest film from Red Giant. Watch the film, narrated by Patton Oswalt, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIOwi5Mv8E

Neil Gaiman presents lifetime achievement award to Ursula K. Le Guin at 2014 National Book Awards

FULL VIDEO - In recognition of her transformative impact on American literature, Ursula K. Le Guin is the 2014 recipient of the Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the Foundation's twenty-seventh award recipient.

For more than forty years, Le Guin has defied conventions of narrative, language, character, and genre, as well as transcended the boundaries between fantasy and realism, to forge new paths for literary fiction. Among the nation’s most revered writers of science fiction and fantasy, Le Guin’s fully imagined worlds challenge readers to consider profound philosophical and existential questions about gender, race, the environment, and society. Her boldly experimental and critically acclaimed novels, short stories, and children’s books, written in elegant prose, are popular with millions of readers around the world.

In recognition of her transformative impact on American literature, Ursula K. Le Guin is the 2014 recipient of the Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She is the Foundation’s twenty-seventh award recipient.