Last Wednesday was Open Screen Night for February 2007. We had an amazing number of submissions (32 to be exact) from lots of pretty people. If you missed it, here's a recap of what was played. Note: These are not listed in the order they were played. We're not that organized.
1. "I Wanna Be A Soldier " Submitted by May Flam Length: 3 min. This charming short is the tale of a young girl who can't wait to join the Israeli army so that she can spice up her life. 2. "Everything For the Baby" Submitted by Frankie Perrone Length: 3 min. 47 sec. A couple of robot parents show their true feelings towards their young offspring in this stop-motion music video. 3. "Up" Submitted by Larry McMahan Length: 6 min Some lovely hand-drawn animation shows the effects of industrialization on the world around us. 4. "Earl" Submitted by Charlie Brigane A little man has an insatiable appetite as long as he's listening to badass music in another well-done stop-motion effort. 5. "Egg" Submitted by Aaron Capps Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch someone de-consume an egg sandwich? I know I had, and now I finally know. 6. "French Toast" Submitted by Megan Reilly
A slice of sad Franco-style toast ponders his existence and questions the world around him. (In French with English subtitles)
7. "Tracy Bloom" Submitted by Charles Rogers TV personality Tracy Bloom shows viewers how to be an effective and competent working woman in a post-9/11 America for just three easy payments of $99.99. 8. "2001: A Bee Odyssey" Submitted by Frank Salinas A plush bee goes on an odyssey of self-discovery. 9. "Dale and Donny's Do's and Don't Do's" Submitted by Joe Parsons Length: 3 min. An instructional video on the wonders of a first date. 10. "Nature's Cure" Submitted by Brian Morgan Length: 12 min. 30 sec. A short film about an eco-terrorist. 11. "War on Christmas" Submitted by Jeff Turner and Hunter Warren Two guys have an argument in a motel about something in the bathroom. 12. "Joe Busolt's Graduation Party" Submitted by Steve Uptay An experimental film about people in the seventies playing horseshoe and the effect one George W. Bush quote had on them all. Sounds intriguing, right? I wouldn't know, it got gonged before I found out. 13. "Scorpio Sitting Still" Submitted by Phillip Duncan Length: 7 min. 30 sec. A music video for the band Ribeye. The makers of this video warned that there was a minute-and-a-half of non-musical content before the actual movie started. We all expected this to be static or color bars or something of that ilk. Instead that silent space in the video changed us all forever. 14. "Backstage Mayhem" Submitted by Stazie Engel Stazie drove all the way from Dallas for the second time (her vid was unplayable last month) just to show us all some footage of her being carazy backstage at a high school play in which she wasn't cast. 15. "18 Wheels of Death" Submitted by Mario Pena A trailer made for the SXSW Grindhouse competition in which truckers take on ninjas...finally. 16. "Carmen Teases and Pleases" Submitted by Miranda Carmen Electra and friends show the average out-of-shape woman how to be a stripper in this delightful workout video. 17. "Palate Cleanser" Submitted by Christina Hernandez Do you know how to put on a leg brace? Do you know that your knee caps have creases? What the hell have you been doing with your life?!!! 18. "Sack Lunch" Submitted by Sean Whitemen A young man attempts to talk some sense in to the world. Today the world finally responds. Too bad the OSN audience didn't...not kindly, at least. 19. "Badass Bandits of Rollertrash" Submitted by Simon Victor In a time called the 80s, there existed men who proudly wore thick moustaches and tiny shorts. They convened in a place where grown men looked forward to a good game of red light/green light...the roller rink. 20. "Britney's Secret" Submitted by Ben Bartley Length: 2 min. Britney Spears finally responds to all of the nasty rumors about her...well... actually, her vagina does. 21. "The Basement of the Alamo" Submitted by Michael Lucas This shocking film finally reveals what goes on in the bowels of the legendary Alamo Downtown. 22. "Your Darkness is My Playground" Submitted by Skum Missile Length: 2 min. 30 sec. A tear-jerker about a man who finds his long-lost blind father. Oh yeah, and then he rapes him. 23. "Pedro Gets New Boots" Submitted by Hunter Length: 40 sec. A puppy gets some new kicks for Christmas. Caution: This film should not be viewed by anyone who doesn't find puppies adorable. 24. "Dead Men Walking" Submitted by Francisco Garcia A fake trailer for a film about a man hunting down the bastards who killed his brother. Tagline: "You know you're gonna die, right?" 25. "B Boy City 13" Submitted by Graham Hutchis The Masters of Mayhem take on The Jive Turkeys in a dance-off. Someone gets served. 26. "Jam Sessions" Submitted by Jason Tobias Length: 10 min. A documentary short about the nature of jam sessions. 27. "Slashback" Submitted by Clark Richards Length: 2 min. 30 sec. A group of slashers gather for a weekly meeting of Slashers Anonymous to discuss their feelings about dismemberment addiction and to maybe, just maybe, make another step towards a life without brutal killing. 28. "The Ruins" Submitted by Aaron Haskins A couple's argument comes to a head over a suitcase full of money, a gun and the corpse of a tennis pro hopeful.
There were four movies which we were unable to play due to time constraints. We apologize to those whose films weren't shown and encourage you to come back next month.
February 2007 OSN Champion: "I Wanna Be a Soldier" by May Flam Other Finalists: "Everything For the Baby," "Up," and "Earl."
This one has been to some pretty big festivals, and last month, it came to OSN. Shot on location in Puerto Rico, it tells the story of Samuel and Death (disguised as a mango).
Alright, so this is a crazy documentary about two towns that have an annual turkey race to find out which turkey is the best in the world. The film focuses on Ruby and her bid for turkey trotting supremacy against some other turkey from Minnesota.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Garage Skating 1986
May's winning video, "Garage Skating 1986," is a movie is about... rollerskating. In a garage. In 1986. As such, it is the Snakes On A Plane of garage rollerskating films.
Tiny James and the Regular Sized Peach
Current mood: chipper
In our new OSN myspace format we'll be updating one video to the mainpage and others to these handy blogs! That's great because now everyone can leave a comment behind like "Wow, this video sucks!" or "Hey, my girlfriend made that video and I think it's a piece of art!". Either way, comments should reflect what you would say at the real Open Screen Night where you're allowed to boo and scream all you want.
And, without further ado, Tiny James. Take it away.
chipper