Each week that I post these articles I’m careful to include embedded links to the different subjects I talk about, so that while you read the blog posts you can click on the links (highlighted in blue) to learn more about the individual people or companies mentioned. While I have metrics that show how many people open my emails and how long they stay open, I have no idea how many of you actually click on the links.
To get the most out of this post, though, you really need to open the links, at least the first one that says, “click HERE.” Perhaps it’ll seem like a bother and take a little longer than usual but I promise the interactive exercise will be worth the effort.
Fellow art director Steve Saley turned me onto a terrific three-minute film called The Porcelain Unicorn. The film is the brainchild of American director and producer, Keegan Wilcox, the winner of the Tell It Your Way short film contest sponsored by Philips. To watch this wonderful film, click HERE. I’ll see you again in a few minutes. No, don’t worry about me, I’ll wait.
Welcome back. Was the film as good as I promised it would be? Besides being moved by the touching script and great storytelling, did you notice how beautiful the high-definition footage was? While Wilcox is clearly very talented, this filmmaker also had the benefit of great actors, lighting technicians, musicians, editors and prohibitively expensive professional equipment, right?
Not exactly.
The entire film was shot on the new Canon 35mm SLR with HD video, a $1,600 camera that looks exactly like the camera you carry on vacation! You can learn more about the camera by clicking HERE. You can even buy one at Amazon by clicking HERE.
This line of new Canons has been revolutionizing the filmmaking business. A slightly more expensive model, the 5D Mark II, was used to shoot the entire House season finale (and yes, you can read more about that HERE). As they say in the article, “May 17 (the date the finale airs), [is] the date when the grumpy doctor you wish you were and the snazzy camera you wish you owned will join forces on American network television.”
To quote late-night television, “But wait, there’s more…” This same Canon 5D was used to film behind the scenes at this year’s Emmy intro with Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Betty White, Jon Hamm and Kate Gosselin (to watch the sneak peak, click HERE). Not only that, but the segment was edited on a MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro, the same type of laptop that this blog post was written on.
Moore’s law, first published in Electronics Magazine on April 19, 1965, states that technology (specifically semi-conductors installed on silicone chips) will double in power and halve in price every two years. Think about what this means for the future of creativity. Equipment expense, once a barrier for all but the most well heeled creative types, will no longer be a consideration. Soon, the next Bergmans and wannabe Hitchcocks will be able to create their visions with equipment that they might already have at home. And because Internet sites such as YouTube and Vimeo eliminate distribution expense, the process of creating and sharing high-quality content will become entirely democratic and open to all.
That means that the future started yesterday and the brave new world is already here. Creative expression is available to everyone at a very low cost and that everyone includes you. The time has come for you to write your great American novel, shoot your movie, produce your album or express yourself anyway you like. When you do, send me a link and I’ll post it right here for everyone to enjoy.