Shane Rock Nelson on This Was The Scene Podcast

Shane Nelson talking to punk rock podcaster Mike Doyle to prove he’s not actually dead.

SHOW NOTES

Omni-Fusion.com

Harvesting The Crust - Shane Nelson Section

Harvesting The Crust - 1995

NOFX - Seeing Double at The Triple Rock

The New Pornographers - High Ticket Attractions

Foo Fighters - Back & Fourth (Official VIdeo)

Farewell Continental - Capybara

Against Me! - Stop

Justin Courtney Pierre - "In The Drink"

Limbeck - Let Me Come Home

Limbeck - Big Drag

Vinnie Fiorello of Less Than Jake / Patrick Stump fall out boy / Junkshow Cinema Podcast / Mark Hoppus +44 / Epitaph Brett Gurewitz / Nofx Bad Religion Rich Kids On LSD Jawbox or jaw breaker / Ryan Jacklone / Dave Kollasch / Adam Turman logo / Glen Plake / Sled Dogs / / Paper + Plasick / Bouncing Soles / / Fat Mike / Dillinger Four / Paddy Costello / Rick Fuller / Phil Harder / Kool Keith / Dr Octagon / Dj Spooky

Like A Lion - The True Story of Legendary Skier Tanner Hall

Ring The Alarm - Ski Movie - 2016

WSKI 106 - Ski Movie 2004

Pop Yer Bottlez! 2005

Doppler Shift Mix by Omni-Fusion

Made this DopplerShift mix in the pandemic trying to pitch a record label on a collaboration. It didn’t work out but lots of bangers on here and some super obscure stuff too.

Track Listing:

0:00 - JCP - Undone remix

0:43 - Bright Eyes - I will Be Grateful For This Day

2:40 - Electric President - Good Morning Hypocrite

6:39 - Metro Station - Shake it

8:45 - Clor - Magic Touch

9:44 - Foals - Astronauts & All

10:26 - eDIT - Ashtray

11:38 - Jamiroquai - Do You Know Where You Are Coming From - ft M Beat

13:56 The Broker Dealer - Sophmore Slump by Mr. Projectile ft Craig Finn

16:08 - Profuse 73 - Shitslime Garbage Can Vs My MPC

17:46 - Dr Octagon - Blue Flowers - DJ Hype Remix

19:32 - Ghostmayne - Mercury

20:37 - POS - POS Is Ruining My Life

22:36 - Venetian Snares - All The Children Are Dead

23:05 - Venetian Snares - Ongyilkos Vasarnap

25:14 - Sigur Ros - Hun Jor

28:07 - Royksop - What Else Is There

30:54 - The TV Sound - 0636 Bynd

33:13 - DJ Paper Tiger - Digging For Fire - Ft Kool Keith

34:29 - Snow Pease ?? Need artist name ??

35:56 - Cave Town - This Is home Remix ft Mounika

37:50 - Built To Spill - The Weather - Skny Jeans Mix Remix

41:46 - Electric President - Insomnia

45:15 - Square Pusher - Red Hot Car

46:46 - Apex Twin - Boy Girl Song - Remix of Girl Talk Remix

48:28 - Wolf Eyes - Stabbed In The Face

48:33 - Plaid - Itsu

49:41 - Sean Annnonymous - Read Through The Lines

51:30 Mum - Green Grass Of Tunnel

53:28 - Cranes - Driving In The Sun Dimitry Tikovoi remix

56:23 - Secede - Outran

57:31 - Secede - Bye Bye Gridlock Traffic

58:40 - Crystal Castles - Crimewave

59:57 - Jascha Ephraim - Momma Why You Always Gotta Get With My Girlfriend?

1:01:34 - Atmosphere - Future Shock Remix

1:02:347 - Bassnectar - Nice & Easy ft Rodney P

1:06:41 - The Faint - Dust Ft Conner Oberst

1:08:46 - Fischer Spooner - The 15th

1:11:46 - Cex - Fallout

1:12:39 - Elliot Smith - King’s Crossing

1:14:51 - Cloud Cult - May Your Hearts Stay Strong

1:18:12 -Motion City Soundtrack- Lose Control

Charles Schulz Stole My Likeness! by Shane Nelson

I was working one weekend and my phone started blowing up. My friend (and amazing artist) Larry Fagan had found a 1997 Charles Schulz cartoon “It Was The Best Birthday Every, Charlie Brown” that had seemingly used a bunch of footage from our 1995 rollerblading movie Harvesting The Crust to help animate Linus as he skates around town with his iconic blue blanket.

Screen Shot 2021-01-25 at 10.16.45 AM.png

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D5R9pjXttU&t=3m18s

Screen Shot 2021-01-25 at 10.14.53 AM.png

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBHSdyU9-ds&t=16m34s

&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=NBHSdyU9-ds&t=17m0s

At first I didn’t understand, because Larry Fagan (being a true artist) had made this super trippy reedit and I didn’t realize that this was from an ACTUAL PEANUTS cartoon so I liked it an moved on with my day… it wasn’t until later, when I reread the thread I realized what was going on and I was suddenly awash with a mix of confusion and wonder.

Growing up I LOVED to watch the classic Thanksgiving and Christmas Charlie Brown TV specials. It was a sign that my favorite time of the year was just around the corner and even today, I long to share that nostalgia with my 2 kids.

Several people have commented that I should sue the estate of Charles Schulz but that just seems gross and it is just kind of a fun moment that reminded me of a bygone era and memories with great friends that I will always treasure.

Anway,

Just wanted to post this to the annals of the interwebs.

-Shane Nelson

TOP 10 SCRAPPED FILMS

by Eric Forsman

In the wild world of Hollywood,  for every movie that’s made, dozens of other ideas are rejected. It’s interesting to think about some of the “what if” scenarios – such as Tom Cruise as Tony Stark or John Pertwee as Willy Wonka. Here are 10 films that “could’ve been…but never were.”

10. Ghostbusters 3: Hellbent 

Before the official sequel of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the all-female reboot, Ghostbusters 3 was in development hell going over a plethora of ideas that ended up not working with the cast. One of these ideas was literally set in hell as the Ghostbusters would walk into another dimension known as “ManHELLton” where everyone is evil and ruled by Lou Siffler aka the devil - with a Donald Trump-esque personality. The Ghostbusters would form a corporation and start training some new recruits. Overall, I feel this film could’ve been an interesting new element to throw into the franchise along with passing the mantle to a new set of ghostbusters without it going through a retelling of the first movie.

 
Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 10.54.55 AM.png
 


9. Popeye (Sony)

There have been many animated films scrapped over the years, but this one was probably one of Sony’s bigger mistakes. This would’ve been a Popeye movie directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the man behind Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania, etc. Aside from date delays, the film seemed to go in a smooth progress with even an animation test footage shown online with Tom Kenny (Spongebob) as Popeye, giving some massive praise from audiences. Sony however scrapped this film for The Emoji Movie, a film that got quite the opposite reaction and was hated by masses and brought up as one of the worst movies of all time. Luckily Sony is getting back on its feet thanks to Into The Spider-Verse but that’s a lesson in pop culture banality, maybe they shouldn’t have scrapped a classic cartoon character for Emojis.

8. The Muppet Man

Coming in at number 8 is a strange Jim Henson biopic called The Muppet Man by Christopher Weekes that topped The Hollywood Black List in 2009. A ton of people were interested in the role of Jim Henson such as Jim Carrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Hugh Jackman but it would eventually go to Donnie Darko himself, Jake Gyllenhaal. The film would contain an alcoholic wasted Kermit The Frog who is mad that Miss Piggy is with another muppet, which is a strange addition, given Jim Henson was never an alcoholic. The project ended up not going anywhere due to various inaccuracies and the idea of an alcoholic Kermit is about as much fun as all the edgy jokes in The Happytime Murders.


7. James Cameron's Spider-Man 

In the 90s, James Cameron rose to Hollywood prominence with many great films like Alien, Terminator, and Titanic so logically a man of such talent and box office success was approached to create a Spider-Man movie. This film starred Leonardo DiCaprio as the web-slinger battling Arnold Swartzeneggar as Doctor Octopus. Overall, due to budget and probably superhero films being box office poison at the time, the film was scrapped but this won’t be the last you’ll hear of scrapped Spidey content. Read on!

 

6. Jack Nicholson’s Grinch

We return to the 90s with a scrapped remake of the Christmas classic, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The film would’ve been animated by Berkely Breathed (Bloom County) and would’ve had Jack Nicholson as the holiday grump. Storyboards of this concept were posted online containing a unique design of the Grinch that looks rather creepy. While i’m not a fan of the Jim Carrey variation of The Grinch I can at least be thankful it didn’t turn into a festive nightmare that was Jack Nicholson’s Grinch.

Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 11.47.54 AM.png
Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 11.48.09 AM.png

5. The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made

We would like to welcome back The Muppets and Jim Henson to the #5 spot on our list. In the mid 80’s, Henson teamed up with Jerry Juhl, and Frank Oz to create The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Henson realized they would have to cut the budget on their next Muppet movie so the idea was that Gonzo would direct a movie about a chase around the world but he spends the entire budget on the opening titles and the film gets cheaper and cheaper as it goes on. Every street corner from different places of the world end up being the exact same. The quality would also get worse as it would change into a black and white super 8 film, then a slide show, and at some point, just storyboards, until Gonzo gets some corporate sponsors at the very end to make it a super high quality ending.

 

4. Tim Burton's Superman

Tim Burton is known for some great films, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and even enjoyed big action hits with Batman and Batman Returns. In the 90s, DC logically thought if Burton could do Batman, then maybe he could do DC’s other big hero Superman. The movie ironically known as Superman Lives would be written by Kevin Smith and star Nicolas Cage as Superman going up against the alien villain, Brainiac however due to budget troubles and overall difficulties on set, the film ended up scrapped though Nicolas Cage would eventually become the man of steel in the animated film, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies.

 
Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 10.38.15 AM.png
 

 

3. Batman VS Godzilla

Many people know about the legendary rivalry between Godzilla and King Kong thanks to the 1962 film but what a lot of people don’t know was that another potential crossover was developed in the 60s featuring Godzilla vs. Adam West’s Batman. Given both series 60’s style, the film probably would’ve contained a lot of fantastic cheesy and campy moments: A mad scientist is controlling Godzilla but complications arise when Batman can’t simply stop the monster with Godzilla Repellent Spray. Instead of movie fans getting this awesome 60’s film, 2021 is slated to bring us Adam Wingard’s reimagining of the original: Godzilla vs. King Kong  

2. Michael Jackson’s Spider-Man

You read this right, the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson, wanted to do a Spider-Man movie where he got to be Spider-Man. In the late 90’s, Marvel was nearly bankrupt and Michael Jackson was so desperate for this to happen that he almost bought Marvel Comics, just so he can play Spider-Man. Thankfully, it never happened or we would’ve seen Spider-Man moonwalking around New York yelling “Shamone!” at The Green Goblin.

 
Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 10.36.18 AM.png
 

 

1. Beatles/Kubrick Lord of the Rings

#1 on the scrapped film list features one of the best directors of all time (Stanley Kubrick), one of the best bands of all time (The Beatles) and one of the best novels of all time (The Lord of the Rings). All of these are widely praised for their artistic impact around the world and are an important part of our shared history. I am both disappointed, and thankful that they never ended up coming together. During the mid-60’s John Lennon approached Stanley Kubrick about doing a movie based on the Lord of the Rings book starring the Fab Four. The casting would’ve been Paul and Ringo as Frodo and Sam, George as Gandalf, and the weirdest of all, John as Gollum. The movie would also contain original songs, so imagine a Stanley Kubrick stylized Lord of the Rings film starring the Beatles singing Hobbit music in this weird experimental fantasy movie. This film feels like it would’ve been a fever dream/trippy disaster and yet I’m so curious about this weird fusion that it makes me anxious wondering how unbelievably strange and amazing this film and music would have been.  

-Eric Forsman, August 7th 2020

Eric is a filmmaker and fan of comics, movies all things nerdy. Dragonsblood23@hotmail.com




Everyone Should Wear A Mask

We had a busy week trying to make this PSA video as fast as possible for epidemiologist Dr. Christian Schrock.

The video makes a case for why EVERYONE should start wearing masks in public as a normal part of life during the CoronaVirus Pandemic. It also shows step by step instruction for how to make a DIY mask from common household items with no sewing. Website: www.MaskBuilders.com

Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

Sponsor: www.LpaCARE.org - a 501(c)3 public charity Hospital Epidemiologist: Dr. Christian G. Schrock MD Mask Design & Project Manager: Mary H. Schrock Spokesperson: Megan Kelly Hubbell Director: Shane Rock Nelson - www.shanerocknelson.com Production Company: www.Omni-Fusion.com Cinematographer: Jonny Stuckmayer Assistant Camera: Justin Bruellman Audio: Nick Wright (www.ConduitSound.com) Editors: Richard Pizarro & Shane Nelson Motion Designers: Jeremy Krzmarzick & Shane Nelson Music: John Sammels (Desk2) a.k.a. Paper Tiger (www.DoomTree.net)




Brose Farm

We were so excited to be able to use this beautiful property as a location for a music video! I knew of the farm ever since I had been there once as a kid with my friends Matt & Nick Logelin and quite a while back attended my friend Josh’s wedding there.

It’s really picturesque and was perfect for the style of this Perry Project music video.

Here is a video we quick cut together as a thank you to the Brose family for the hospitality!

-Shane Nelson - www.omni-fusion.com

The Mark Muller Ramp Jam

Had blast the other night while my old friend Mark Muller broke in his new ramp with all his friends. One of neighbors moved out and needed to get rid of a vert ramp. Mark cut down the ramp and gave it a new home! We quick threw together this vid to commemorate the party! Thanks for a great time Mark. -Shane Nelson, Omni-Fusion

Shelved

Every so often, a filmmaker will work really hard on a video that is never released. So much $ spent, so much time invested and it can seem like a huge waste. The reasons can be anything: Client doesn't love the video, the Director shelves a passion project - unhappy with the work, client switches ad agencies or CEO kills the entire marketing campaign just prior to launch. Regardless, this can be a frustrating nightmare for all involved.

Frightmares - Fear Is Fun (2011) - Link to previously unreleased spot below.

Frightmares - Fear Is Fun (2011) - Link to previously unreleased spot below.

This is NOT a post to complain about an inevitable part of PROFESSIONAL filmmaking. This IS a post to discuss our creative process and our thoughts & reaction when this happened to us on a spot we were very proud of way back in 2011 called "Fear Is Fun".

As filmmakers we try our hardest to control as many variables as we can, but this is almost impossible: budget limitations, unexpected weather, last minute client requests -- we become very good at reacting to these wild card factors without negativity. But this can be very hard when a project get's shelved.

Look at any part of professional filmmaking:  Unless we financed the project, we are working FOR someone else servicing their goals. We do not have legal control of the property, script or say over the final cut. Often, we do not control the editorial or post production and almost never have any say in the placement and/or implementation.

As long as the client pays all the filmmakers a reasonable rate and unless the filmmaker's usage rights are addressed in the contract, the client deciding to shelve something should not elicit our public scorn or contempt as filmmakers. If you are worried, we strongly suggest adding in a line in your contract and/or deal memo covering how you and other filmmakers can use the footage and finished videos.

We are hired to come up with and/or execute an idea. The company, brand or client who writes the checks have many smart people making tough decisions around roll-out and implementation. And when something is shelved many professionals in those organizations are experiencing the same frustrations as the filmmakers. Marketing Directors, Brand Managers, the Writers at the agency who were super excited too. Everyone is doing the best they can with a tough situation and some will often be concerned about losing an account, relationship or even their job.

Shane Nelson, Bo Hakala & Rich Kronfeld filming "Red Carpet" Spot

Shane Nelson, Bo Hakala & Rich Kronfeld filming "Red Carpet" Spot

Although it's disappointing to have a piece of work you we are proud of just sitting idle on a hard drive, it's very important to remember that properly navigating this situation comes with the territory.  Our reaction as filmmakers interfacing both in person and on social media after a video gets shelved will define us as professionals. 

1. Do not pout or post anything negative to social media.

2. If it's not part of your agreement, or you don't own the rights, ask written permission to use the video on website or social media.

3. When explaining the tough situation to collaberators, remind them that it's frustrating for EVERYONE and they need to stay positive as an extesion of the production.

This happened to us recently. We produced a FANTASTIC commercial Directed by Dan Huiting featuring great agency writing, amazing special FX makeup by Oscar winner Crist Ballas, stylish cinematography by TJ Schwingle & the edits were pretty damn good too. The spots elicited laugher and many compliments from Agency, Client & those in our filmmaking network who we asked for notes on the rough cuts. However, we were informed that the spot would likely never traffic due to unforeseen circumstances out of everyone's control. 

We'd like to post the spot referenced above, simply to showcase the amazing work of so many great filmmakers and creatives and to give more insight, but that's not possible. I'd like to think we handled this situation in a way that we can be proud of but the whole process reminded me of another great commercial that was never released that WE CAN post highlighting the same scenario.

The year was 2011 and one of my favorite clients (Buck Hill) had just unveiled a new seasonal business endeavor meant to bolster their seasonal recreational offerings. Each fall a series of creepy haunted attractions called Frightmares would be set up at the base of the ski area. We had been hired to create an ultra low budget spot in year one (2010) and it was very well received allowing for a bigger budget in year 2.  

We set to work on ways to achieve the clients goals for year 2 pitching 6 unique concepts that would communicate the offerings and elicit the desired response from viewers on TV and social media platforms. 

The marketing lead loved several of the concepts, especially the "Red Carpet" & "Fear Is Fun" concepts but were only able to move ahead with the "Hector" spot which more closely matched the tried and true "see and say" ad format the marketing team had used in year one. 

Our pitch for this updated commercial matched that exact ask -- a feature benefit spot featuring the main character Hector Cromartie defiantly describing all the fun things to do and see over the course of the evening. The main idea to communicate was that Frightmares offers full night of fun, food and entertainment. We were happy to do this but typically these "see and say" spots do not elicit an emotional reaction that is linked to viewers taking action, but are good for keeping brands top of mind and simply making sure people know the core offering or value proposition of a new entity or business. i.e. Nike sells quality shoes. Our version would add in some fun humorous writing & visual flourishes and package it with dynamic design conscious motion graphics. 

We also pitched several spots that had WAY more production value and higher end concepts but were designed to elicit an emotional response. 

The Red Carpet spot also included much of this bullet point marketing info but in a less salesy way using an organic POV news video concept, complete with fun unexpected train-wreck ending. 

The final spot was a stylish high end slow motion spot expertly crafted by ultra talented writer Jon Nowak showing the value proposition that you could stay all night experiencing scare after scare and the fantastic tagline encapsulating this perfectly "Fear Is Fun."

The concept pitches were appreciated but unfortunately were cost prohibitive. A few days after the pitch session, we got a call saying that since the meeting, they client couldn't stop thinking about how great the concepts could be for business and after a breif negotiation decided to pull the trigger on all 3. 

We set to work with our legendary cinematographer friend Bo Hakala and the amazing producer Brian Stemmler planning out all the details of the shoot. A few weeks later the spots were shot and edited.

Reviewing the spots with the marketing team, they decided to traffic The see and say "Hector" spot and "Red Carpet" spot years 2 & 3 and save the "Fear is Fun" spot for a future campaign. 

The spots did well on TV and social media and later we were informed that the Red Carpet spot was used as a great example of advertising as art in one of the classes at world renowned art school MCAD.

The the following year, the business was sold to company in Texas and we were informed there was obviously no need for the "Fear is Fun" spot to air. We contacted the new owners hoping to sell them the ad but was unable to make a deal and this great little ad has sat dormant on a hard drive for 6 years.

We were certainly disappointed that the spot would never air, but intrinsically knew our role in supporting our clients decision. Because of our arrangement with the client, we could use the spot and footage in reels and pitch sessions or whatever and it's a perfect example the client needing to do what was best for their business.

So anyway, just in time for Halloween here is the previously unreleased "Fear Is Fun" commercial. 

Written By Jon Nowak / Produced by Brian Stemmler / Directed by Shane Nelson / Cinematography Bo Hakala / AC Nathan Armstrong / Gaffer Dave Underhill / Grip Matt Muegge  Hair & Makeup & Costumes by Desiree Forget & Frightmares / Sound by Conduit Sound  

The New Pornographers - High Ticket Attractions Music Video

By Shane Nelson

The process of making a music video is always a crazy ride... but as you may guess from the image below, this video was particularly insane. 

It all started when my long-time friend Dan Huiting reached out in mid December with a unique opportunity to possibly destroy a school as part of a music video. Dan's friend choreographer John Mark was involved with the Hopkins School Of Performing Arts and they had just purchased a new school and were planning a big renovation. Seemed like an awesome opportunity and I happily attached to the speculative project saying "..Even if we don't end up making a music video we should just go smash some stuff!".  Dan agreed.

(Story continued below the video)

Dan mentioned on another shoot we were doing that The New Pornographers were interested in his treatment and the wheels were in motion. A few weeks later, I got a sudden burst of texts from Dan saying that the shoot (which I thought was about 2 weeks out) had to be moved up because the school had changed the demolition day. The band was ready to pull the trigger but I couldn't respond right away because I was recording my Junkshow Cinema Podcast, but at about midnight, I texted back saying unfortunately I was already booked on an edit that Monday & likely Tuesday, but we quickly tried to figure out how Dan could still pull it off in the next 48 hours. I reached out to a ton of other producers and no one was available. About 2pm the next day I did my conference call for my other project and found out an early edit we had just submitted was approved... (which almost never happens). I quickly called Dan back and jumped back on the crazy train to Yorkville Sr. High School.

We had a ton of stuff to figure out and went to work on the master checklist of all the tasks and delegated everything. Thanks to our awesome collaberators, less than 24 hours later we were shooting. Everything was going along pretty smooth, but suddenly on the 1st night Dan started feeling sick. Several days of non-stop work and sleepless nights had taken it's toll and I ended up taking over the directing role, so so he could get some much needed rest. Dan had developed a detailed shot-list and we all went to work picking off shots and smashing up the science room. We were pretty far behind on the schedule so we decided to break off into 3 units so we could get catch up. The talent John Mark had cast were really fantastic and patient while we did take after take.

The next day Dan returned refreshed and we kept shooting in 3 different units. We knew we had to get caught up on our shooting schedule before the fire sequences with Brian Denny's stunt and fire team. We had created a process of "safe zones" so no one would get hurt or hit with any debris but still had some actors and crew slip and were fortunate no one got hurt. Later, during the sink smash our amazing Wardrobe Stylist Jessica Zerby (who was also cast to play one of the "Smoking Girls", was hit with a chunk of the sink while smashing it. My heart leapt into my mouth... but our awesome cinematographer TJ Schwingle quickly made sure she was ok, and thankfully she was! When things like this happen, I always feel really bad. I have had people get hurt while filming for our action sports movies and we always want to make it as safe as possible, but there are always risks when dealing with sports, stunts and of course fire. I felt like I was holding my breath though this entire shoot. The last 2 scenes with all the fire went off without a hitch thanks to the actors, John Mark and our safety and fire teams led by Harry Reynolds! I let out a huge sigh of relief when all the fires were finally out. All that was left to do now was clean up the 700 gallons of debris and silage we left in our wake. We know the number because we filled up an entire 660 Gallon Bagster.

Super proud of how this turned out, especially under the unique circumstances. Thanks to Dan for forging ahead in the face of adversity and pulling the trigger on such a short turn time. Thanks to the band for taking a chance on a once in a lifetime opportunity and thanks to all the amazing crew and talent listed in the youtube credits. We have a fun Behind The Scenes video coming out with more on this soon.  Super happy I was able to re-attach and make something so epic with my friends!

-Shane Nelson 

Update: Watch the Behind the scenes video!

Sound Unseen Film Festival

Sound Unseen combines two of our favorite things in one seriously cool package. 

Films are being shown November 11-15th at various locations. Check out their website for more information.

http://www.soundunseen.com/

We will be checking out the US premiere of a documentary about the RIOT GRRRL movement on November 15th at the Bryant Lake Bowl. See you there!


Mondo - Not your everyday prints

        I live with a graphic designer and so I get to see all sorts of interesting and cool prints. Many of the illustrations that he was fascinated with came from Mondotees.com.  The inspiration behind their illustrations usually arise from film or television shows. Some of my favorites came from their Batman 75th Anniversary Exhibition they had a little over a month ago.

        Their latest print was a homage to the christmas classic  'Home Alone'.   Check out these great pieces of art. See if you can find your favorite film. If you like them as much as I do and would like to own one stay on top of it. You'll need to make sure to keep a close eye on the site and possibly follow Mondo on twitter for updates on when new prints come available, as they sell faster than anything.  Either way, Mondo has a great archive to sift through.

http://mondotees.com/

-Nicholas LD Korokidas,  

Omni-Fusion Media Production

'Interstellar'- The battle between Science and Narrative.

 

     We just recently got to watch 'Interstellar' in theaters. I personally enjoyed the film very much and was quite impressed with those involved. Being a writer and a rather scientifically minded person myself, it got me thinking about the balancing act that is Science Fiction narrative.

      There has always been an interplay between Science and Narrative. This is especially exemplified in the medium of cinema. With Christopher Nolan's latest film 'Interstellar' we have a new subject to analyze this relationship.  I will try not to go into too much depth on Nolan's script as to not spoil anything. Instead I will pose several thoughts that you can chew on after the credits roll.

        The scripting of 'Interstellar' began with the desire of several scientists hoping to create a story that is as scientifically accurate that it can be.   From draft to draft the piece took form. Yet, was it sacrificing its' scientific footing for the sake of narrative? Yes and no. The more narratively minded the group became the more taxing it became to keep it within the realm of scientific/theoretical 'reality'.  


     This article from The New York Times goes into further detail on the process

'Interstellar': The Cinema of Physics

   The further we delve into the theoretical side of science and science fiction the more we bend the suspension of disbelief.  This may be due to the fact that the cutting edge of theoretical cosmic science is harder for the average to movie goer to follow without the full lead up. Without a full scientific lecture (that I wouldn't mind) beforehand it is rather hard to reach the sweet/fun ideas that Nolan plays with, quite liberally, within the generous 3 hour movie timeframe.  It isn't surprising he would have to skip a few steps for the sake of time and boredom of his audience. This may, sadly, cause more entertainment than sense.

     The question then becomes; is there a sweet spot between Science Fiction and Science Realism in Cinema?  Does it matter?   Scientific knowledge influences our ideas in Science Fiction and our viewing of Science Fiction media definitely influences our perceived knowledge of Science.  It may as well be that the two cannot be fully mixed or fully separated.

  Do you think that Interstellar found that balance or tipped the scale too far one way or another? 

Though I can get wrapped up in discussion an talk of theory beyond the film; I still think that the film stands among the best of the year and is definitely worth a watch. The visuals are impressive and the settings are immersive. Like several of Nolan's other films it definitely will make you think. Which, in my opinion, is never a bad thing.


-Nicholas Lee Demetrius Korokidas

Omni-Fusion Media Production