Film Essentials: Rube Goldberg Machines

I have to say I have a weakness for what are commonly known as “Rube Goldberg” machines. The name refers to an American comic artist who created crazy contraptions to do ordinary things. Here is the official Rube Goldberg web site, if you’re really interested.

Of course, there is the wildly popular music video (8 million + views on YouTube as of this month) by OK Go, “This Too Shall Pass” which is based entirely on a Rube Goldberg machine that provides the visual thread for the song. I like the way it gets bigger and more out of control as the song progresses. And it must be fun to destroy pianos, TVs, etc. It lost some of the purity of the machine as it got more crazy; you lost some of the actual mechanical connection and they could have faked lots of it if they wanted to. This is just one recent example.

I also loved the Honda Accord commercial from 2003. While not as wild as the OK Go video, it has a more pristine, controlled, elegant feel to me. When I saw it for the first time, I was blown away. Wikipedia has a complete description of the commercial, its production, and impact for Honda. 606 takes over 4 days to complete; that’s insanity.

There’s a cool parody of the Honda spot, just for fun.

The Newtons' Workshop DVD

The ones I’ve seen tend to be in commercials or music videos, but what about such machines in narrative films. I cant remember one off-hand. I wrote a Rube Goldberg machine into a script I did back in 1996 or so. It was for an educational video series I wrote and directed for Moody Video called, The Newtons’ Workshop. The main character was an eccentric inventor or sorts, with a passion to teach his grandkids about science. My production designer had a fun time constructing a mail delivery system for Grandpa’s house. We were not skilled, well financed, or patient to make it all work perfectly in real life, so we used creative edits to make Grandpa’s machine work on film. I don’t have a clip, but I’ll post it sometime when I can get it digitized.

Anatomy of a Scene: Mother – Interactive Feature

Watch a short clip from a film with the Director’s commentary. In this case, South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mother”. I love these NYTimes interactive features. I think they really take advantage of the potential for electronic publishing, especially for cool things like film analysis.

Click here to watch and listen: Anatomy of a Scene: Mother – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com.

Of course, this is a film that almost nobody has seen, but I like the way the director tells the story and builds the tension in creative ways with interesting camera angles and pacing. What do you think?

THE ENEMY GOD – Movieguide Review

TEG Poster

“This is one of the great stories. It is a highly recommended movie.” – Dr. Ted Baeher, Movieguide.org

Read the whole review here: ENEMY GOD – Christian Movie Review.

Dr. Ted Baehr of Movieguide is a fan of the book Spirit of the Rainforest. That book recounts some of the same historical events found in our film, Yai Wanonabälewä: The Enemy God. The same community of Yanomamö in Venezuela came to us almost ten years ago to ask us to make a film about  their lives and the spiritual freedom that they have found.

It is very gratifying to us to have his official, public, review of the film. We feel he did a very honest and insightful review of the film, from a specifically Christian point-of-view. What I like about Dr. Baehr’s reviews is that he digs deep in any film, secular or “Christian”, and examines worldview and the context for content that may be challenging or offensive to some.

As always, we are looking for ways to spread the word about the film. The world is crowded with content. Some of it is worthy, other, not so much. If you read this and read the Movieguide review, help us spread the love!

[Of course, you can buy the DVD for yourself right here: BUY THE DVD]

A chance to see a film that will open your eyes!

Dr. Ted Baehr says, “The Enemy God is captivating. This is one of the great stories. It is a highly recommended movie.”

The Enemy God is captivating. This is one of the great stories. It is a highly recommended movie.

– Dr. Ted Baehr, Movieguide

Yai Wanonabälewä: The Enemy God is a film that will challenge your view of the spiritual and physical world, through the eyes of an indigenous shaman. It tells the true story of the freedom that came to his people when he began to question the spirits who had taught him their traditional ways.

We have some new screenings of this award-winning film scheduled for this spring. If you live in Ontario, Canada or in Southern California, you will want to catch these showings. Click the link below for more details.

The Enemy God web site: Upcoming Screenings Post

We are adding more screenings as we are able. If you would like to host a screening, please let me know.

What if your film became an interactive event?

I think this article poses some interesting possibilities. Films that are intended to be highly participatory rather than passive activities, sequences of a film with interaction in-between rather than a linear experience, etc.

RT @tkhaz: What if your film became an interactive event? Event Screenings & Alternate Releasing: http://ow.ly/1pMQcR

Festival Invitation for The Enemy God

One of our alternate posters

It’s always nice when someone invites you to submit your film to a festival. We have not been submitting The Enemy God since late 2008, but are feeling that some more festival exposure might help get the word out and give us something to talk about! Waiting for distribution deals from our sales agent is an exercise in perseverance.

I got an e-mail today from the First Nations Festival in Montreal, Canada. They are looking for indigenous-themed and/or produced films. We have enjoyed the indigenous festivals we have been in so we thought this sounded like a good opportunity.