25 of the Best Short Films Online →

Short filmmaking has always been an understated component of cinema. It contains all of the magic, escapism, and even technicality that goes into making full length feature productions. In fact some may argue that it is even more difficult to master given the short amount of time that one has to work with to get all of the aspects of filmmaking into the right gear.

This list serves not only as a compiled source of recommendations that we hope helps to gain more attention and recognition to this compact pieces of brilliance but to also highlight some of the best short films ever created. Reasons being vary, from inspirational causes, new age inventiveness, boundary pushing material, or overall well rounded superb examples of filmmaking.

The same focus should be applied to short films as featured since they are comprised of the same foundation and our goal with hopefully at least a few of these is to prove the worth of short filmmaking and their potency to even stand up next to some of the greatest feature length films.

Follow the link to the article:

http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/25-of-the-best-short-films-you-can-watch-online/

The Rules of Film Noir

Film noir, in its classical sense, existed in Hollywood from the 1940s to the late 50s; at the time, though, film noir wasn't a term, and when these movies were referred to as a genre, it was as melodrama. Influenced by the novels of the “hard-boiled” crime fiction authors who gained popularity during the Great Depression, film noir is a profoundly modern genre, in that it is rooted, at its base, in existentialism. Hence, the term film noir is, not surprisingly, of French origin, and was indeed applied after the fact by the Gallic film critic Nino Frank.

The term was used to classify films which, in the main, used low-key lighting (rather than the evenly exposed 3-point lighting of classical Hollywood cinematography, film noir used harsh shadows and contrasts of black and white, an influence taken, in large part, from the German Expressionist cinema of the 20s and early 30s, e.g., The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Fritz Lang’s M) and which featured deeply cynical views of human nature.

Genres come and go, but 70 years after its birth, the “rules” of film noir have become part and parcel of the conventions of modern cinema. Why do filmmakers come back again and again to this bleak landscape? And why are these films still popular? And just what, precisely, are its rules — rules so skilfully subverted by modern directors? A documentary from the BBC, originally aired in 2009, seeks to answer just that, shining a light on the dark corners of film noir.

Skirill's Soundless Horror

Russian illustrator Skirill creates masterful, detailed works that could be described as something between the masterful etching and lithograph work of Gustave Dore, H.R. Geiger's gruesome portraits and a metal-worshipping modern day graphic artist.

Floating City of the Future

A British and Chinese-based design firm called AT Design Office has developed a concept for an incredible floating city of the future as a sustainable alternative to land-based cities in order to meet the demands of our ever burgeoning global population.

AT Design Office was commissioned by the Chinese construction firm CCCC to design this futuristic ocean city that would be built using the same technologies used to produce a 31 mile long bridge that connects Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai. “Part of that bridge is an underwater tunnel, which is joined by a 150-meter-long precast concrete box,” said architect Slavomir Siska. “The mega box is cast on a nearby island and floated to site before being connected. We were appointed to work with the engineer to come up with a masterplan for a 10-square-kilometer floating island that can be built with the same technology.”

The floating city is comprised of hexagonal modules that have both underwater and above water layers. The aim of the project is to be as green as possible; the main modes of transport around the island will be submarines through interwoven canals and electric cars. The city will have a large dock for big ships so that the island remains well connected with the outside world. The dream is that in the future, numerous floating cities will exist that are arranged in interconnected clusters.

 With sustainability in mind, the team has included vertical farms and fish hatcheries in the plans so that food can be produced on the island.  The floating city will also be fitted with trash disposal and recycling systems that will deal with waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

If you fancy paying the island a visit, it will even have an underwater hotel and huge amusement complex. It transpires that one of China’s largest property investors is actually in the process of reviewing the proposal with plans to trial this project next year, albeit on a smaller scale.