Archive for Movies

Letterboxd: Revolutionizing Film

Posted by Reed Oakes 
· Monday, December 9th, 2024 
· 4 Comments

It is very rare that I interact with an app that changes my life. Instagram and Snapchat were amazing in their prime, back in middle and high school. However, now that I have grown up, games and social apps just do not do the same thing they used to do. In 2021, some friends recommended an app called Letterboxd, which is a movie cataloging service that also involves a social aspect. Because of my love for movies, I was able to jump right in and start reviewing my first films, and it made me feel like a serious movie critic.

Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow invented Letterboxd in 2011, which completely shook the world of movie critics. Before, critics would hide behind sites such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and create reviews that were far different from audience reviews. With Letterboxd, there are millions of different reviews for each film, and there are so many different ways to write reviews.

In conclusion, Buchanan and von Randow changed how movie reviews are written and read today, and as an avid movie lover, I am so grateful for these entrepreneurs changing a market that I never thought would change.

4 Comments
Categories : App, Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Movies

Dreadhead Films

Posted by bonaquistmr23 
· Saturday, October 12th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

Meet brothers Julien and Justen Turner, young entrepreneurs in the film industry who do short narrative films, just at the ages of 25 and 21, respectively. Starting close to us, they have their business in Columbus, Ohio. Their inspiration started at an early age, where their parents had VHS cameras. They had the opportunity to use their mom’s old MacBook to play around with iMovie, where they got to play with special effects. They practiced their work first in the Midwest (Illionois), instead of the big cities like Hollywood.

Some of their inspiration flows from Tyler Perry, who made Atlanta a big film city. That’s their goal for Ohio. They don’t plan to move out of Ohio as they build their film industry. Another of their inspirations was The Karate Kid, where they got to see a black kid in a blockbuster film, and with a big afro, which inspired Justen to grow out his hair, which was the reason for the name of their film business.

Though young, their success has been noticed by many. They’ve been featured on platforms like Good Morning America, The New York Times, CNN, and MTV. They’ve also partnered with some big names, like Beats by Dre, Nike, Amazon, Air Jordan, and Adobe. They also received awards such as the Forbes Under 30, Webbys for the Best Video Campaign in Advertising and Best Video campaign for their Nike x Social Status campaign, as well as the gold award for New Director of the Year at 2023’s The Shots Americas Awards.

Their goal is to show their own journey and experience through their filmmaking life, by putting in some type of commentary in their work. At such young ages, they’ve been blessed with many opportunities, but due to their age, they’ve also been limited in what they can do. As they grow their business, they hope to bring longer-film narratives to the area. While they continue to pursue this career, they also want to be an outlet for others in the industry, by supporting other Midwest filmmakers.

 

1 Comment
Categories : Animation, Art, Business::Entrepreneurs, Challenge, entertainment, Film, Movies, Sci Fi Inspiration, Television

The 14 year-old who Animated a Movie Scene

Posted by schlemeierej23 
· Monday, October 2nd, 2023 
· 4 Comments

If you like movies and animation, you’ve likely heard the name “Preston Mutanga”. Or, if not, you’re at least aware of Sony Animation’s most recent cinematic venture: Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse. The Spider-verse movies have revolutionized the world of animation, but I’m here to talk about one person in particular: Preston Mutanga.

A young man stands in front of a poster

Preston Mutanga in front of a Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse poster. Photo courtesy of Sony Animation.

Preston is a self-proclaimed lover of animation and an animator himself, but not in a “traditional” (and I use that term loosely here) sense. At 14 years old, Preston has found his niche in the world of Lego animation and is well on his way to mastering it. On his Youtube channel, LegoMe_TheOG, one finds multiple clips with Lego animated versions of movie scenes and trailers, among other things. As the sound on his videos is generally copyrighted, it is unlikely that his channel is monetized, but that is not to say that there are no future business prospects for Preston. When the second official trailer for Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse came out, Preston saw an opportunity for a fun video and got to work making a Lego version of the trailer (linked here). Within hours of posting, the video blew up on the internet (it is currently at 3.6 million views), and even caught the attention of Sony’s animation team. Through this, Preston was actually given the opportunity to animate a scene in the movie (which you can find here) itself! Information on the third Spider-verse film is very limited, so there’s no saying if we will see more of Preston’s work in it, but I have no doubt there are many things in store for him in the future!

In case you aren’t getting it, here’s the gist: A 14 year-old who loves animation was given the chance to animate a scene in the biggest animated movie of 2023 yet after reanimating the trailer for fun. Ultimately, I think there are some things we can all learn from this: 1) You are never too young to pursue what you love, and 2) Follow your passions! Don’t be afraid to start and be bad at something; if you keep with it, just like with a language or instrument or any other skill ever, you will improve and master it! God made us each with a specific purpose in mind, and it would be a waste of our lives not to pursue it.

Article: Elise Schlemeier

4 Comments
Categories : Animation, Movies