Featured Video: Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR
Enjoy Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR. Since the movie was down for a while, a few changes were made that improve it in subtle ways. Now it's here to stay, and it's this month's feature.
Be sure to watch in 720p, there is, in fact, a difference, and it's well-served by maximum quality.
News
*10-6-11
A Brief In Memoriam: Steve Jobs 1955-2011
I never owned an iPod, and all I ask my phone to do is make phone calls, maybe show the current time as well. That said, I wanted to say a few words about the passing of Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs.
What I admire about Apple is the impression that they care about the consumer. Their customer service seems personal, their products show an eye for aesthetics as much as functionality. Turns out that when it comes to a music player or a cell phone, most people only need one button.
As we read the articles and retrospectives, it seems that all these qualities can be credited to Steve Jobs, who made Apple such a prominent part of people lives.
Whether we like it or not, he was someone who truly changed the way we think about media, and when I consider the risks needed for success, I sometimes note chapters from his life.
He was one of the first people to put momentum into Pixar Animation Studios, back when it was just a novel curiosity that made Listerine commercials. You can see his name in the opening credits of Toy Story, as Executive Producer. Perhaps Toy Story's a fine example of his business philosophy: changing the animation industry by creating a product that was groundbreaking in its visuals, while working on a basic level of story and emotional weight. A flashy exterior, and interior functionality.
I've been using a MacBook for the past few years, and it's been the most trouble-free laptop I've ever owned. With Apple, I sensed that at least some people from the company were on my side, and I thank Steve Jobs for that approach. He could count me as a satisfied customer.
This article uses the photograph Rest in Peace, Steve Jobs by Stephen J. Luke. Licensed under Creative Commons Atrribution 2.0 Generic.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en*7-14-11
New Article & New Video
End of an Era
By Nicholas Bernhard
When I was ten years old, I managed to convince my schoolteachers to take the entire class out of school for the day. Two dozen screaming 4th-graders got onto the school van to a theatre twenty miles away to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on opening day. Enamored by J.K. Rowling's colorful vision, it was something that we could share a common joy in, and it was a day I'll never forget. Read More >>
In Hot Water
In Hot Water was a video from April of this year, made to compete in CU Boulder's Green on the Screen contest for recycling advertisements. Made with Ryan Ela and Josh Glassman, it won 4th place. You can find it in the Miscellaneous Section of the site.
Insight, the documentary produced for the 2011 BFD Film Festival, should be online by the end of summer.
*4-15-11
BFD 2011: Still Going Strong
In these scenes from Insight, Don Yannacito (left) discusses the importance of experimental film, while Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz (right) talks about the elements of story structure.
The 2011 BFD Film Festival was another success, as the student-run festival entered its fourth year. I got the dubious honor of Best Bad Movie with the stomach-turning Meat Bunny. Don Yannacito later told me, "I was laughing and repulsed at the same time."
Also at the festival was my short documentary Insight, produced exclusively for the BFD. I interviewed several faculty from CU Film Studies for their perspectives on the craft, from their earliest experiences with movies, to the worst films they can remember. The piece was shown in segments before each category. The audience reception was very positive, with consensus that it was an asset to the event.
Among the changes in format for this year was the elimination of Photo Essay, now replaced by the category of Music Video/Miscellaneous. Also, the number of nominees in each category was lowered from three to two.
For fun, here's what the CU Film faculty and staff thought were the worst movies they'd seen:
Denise Larson (Academic Advisor): The VanJacob Barreras (Lead Projectionist): The Room, Catch and Release
Pablo Kjolseth (Head of the International Film Series): The Room
Chris Osborn (Production, Post-Production): Avatar, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Don Yannacito (Film Theory, Beginning Filmmaking): No comment
Jeanne Liotta (Production, Film Theory): Italian Horror in general
Junior Burke (Film Theory, Screenwriting): The Lonely Lady
Chris Pearce (Animation): Vampire
Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz (Director of Film Studies, Film Theory): Black Swan
Insight should be available online soon, more info on where to look later.
*3-14-11
Original Scoring for Any Project
I've changed the page for Board Game, currently postponed, for one on my scores. As a composer, I am available for hire on any project, and the Music tab includes samples of work for my own movies, and excerpts from the scores of other people's projects.
Please feel free to contact me at NDHFilms@gmail.com for more information on scoring. My standard work is with keyboard, but I can arrange for additional instruments and live recording if the project calls for it.
*3-5-11
Intergalactic One-Two Punch
As promised, so delivered. I'm very pleased to present two new shorts to add to this site's collection. First is Zenith, a documentary on manned space flight, with two very illuminating interviews and a score par-excellence. Second is Cosmonaut 433R-1, an animated piece about a space pioneer's final moments before launch. I was immensely pleased with both, you can see them on the Misc. Page, along with my other works under ten minutes. However, Zenith is substantial enough that I briefly considered giving it its own page.
The return of JOR
Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR is back online, it will be featured on its page on this site, as well as being the featured video on the NDHFilms YouTube channel. It can be viewed all the way up to 720p, looking quite good.
Normally I would never take down a video while preparing a new version, but there was a special circumstance here that I decided to accommodate. I am still in a long-term project of refurbishing old movies, improving things here and there, but from now on the old versions will remain online for viewing until the very last second, when they're replaced.
So far, there's been new versions of Meat Bunny, Return, and JOR, while in the coming months you might see revisions to The Greatest Gift and Glava, the most ambitious. But none will interfere with anyone's ability to enjoy them as they are now.
*2-21-11
Return, recolored and re-released
Return is my second project to see revisions, and I think the improvements show well. It now has much more of the dark, gloomy feel the piece deserves, although I don't intend it as a piece that should be taken too seriously. Again I collaborated with Van Wampler on the color correction, and this was a relatively simple project that was fun to visit once more.
Meanwhile, Beyond the Spotlight is on track to be up by the end of the month, and I'm very excited about a couple short films coming up for release. One is fully complete, just waiting on a little wrangling, the other is in voice recording and color correction.
*2-6-11
The Demon Bunny of Meat Street
Meat Bunny has been re-released, part of a long-term plan to get all projects up to speed. With the great help of Van Wampler, cinematographer for Beyond the Spotlight, the animated short has undergone color-correction and a sound re-mix. Now the folds of ground meat look that much less appetizing, and every squish and squash can come out that much clearer.
This collaboration will continue with a re-release of Return and the premiere of Cosmonaut 433R-1 sometime this month. And that's just the beginning.
*2-1-11
Under Maintenance
Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR is currently undergoing a color-correction process, during which we will be making a few cosmetic changes. This is nothing major, and I think everyone will agree the changes make for an improvement. We're very sorry for the interruption, JOR will be up again within a month.
In the meantime, I'm beginning work to see if I can't get Glava, our other recent work, up on YouTube. As always, it's available on Vimeo, but I like everything centralized.
*1-29-11
To Great Worlds Beyond…
Above is a still from the upcoming animated short Cosmonaut 433R-1, which, as mentioned, will premiere sometime in the next month or so. Tentatively, I hope to soon premiere a short documentary, currently untitled, about modern spaceflight. Both are undergoing reshoots and color correction to bring them up to speed.
Same Deal, Still Real
I am very pleased to announce a new documentary being produced for the BFD, the premiere student-run film festival of CU Boulder. In its third year, the Big Freakin' Deal has celebrated the filmmakers of CU Boulder in all genres, and continues to gain popularity.
After writing dialogue for award presenters last year, for the 2010 awards I am producing a series of short films shown before each awards category. These documentaries will include interviews with faculty from CU Boulder Film Studies, some of the more insightful, wise, and funny people I've met over the years. It will premiere in sections at the BFD in early April, and be available to the public the next day. More info as it becomes available.
*12-31-10
Looking Towards a New Year: Updates and Debut Article
By Nicholas Bernhard
This year saw the release of Glava in April, and Beyond the Spotlight in December. Beyond this, the short documentary The Greatest Gift got nods at the BFD Film Festival, and two short animations were added to the mix. Genre films are the cream in my coffee, so to release both a silent horror film and a baudy mockumentary gives me great satisfaction. Read More >>
*12-3-10
Here They Come To Save the Day
Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR premieres today, an excellent short mockumentary made between NDH Films and Dream Vault Creations. It follows the brief career of Boulder punk band JOR, from inauspicious beginnings to ignominious decline. Here it's available from YouTube, it can be viewed all the way up to 720p. The movie's about 12 minutes long, and reflects the hard work of a dedicated cast and crew. Visit the movie's page for more information.
*11-22-10
It's Alive!
Now presenting the short film Meat Bunny, about what happens when Cable Access programmers get the incorrect dosage. It was shot using stop-motion animation and some hand-drawn work. Not for the queasy.
*11-15-10
JOR: 2 1/2 Weeks and Counting…
We are less than three weeks away from the premiere of our latest short film, Beyond the Spotlight: With JOR. As a mockumentary that parodies TV "Where are they now" segments, it follows short-lived punk band JOR as they rise, fall, and repeat.
Support for the film comes in part from Van Wampler of Dream Vault Creations, a talented musician and cinematographer, who knew his way around photographing performances. Gavin Rose, as a first-time actor, gives a strong performance as lead singer Daylan Demoine, quiet in his speech, snide and angry in his vocals.
The movie premieres at a free screening on Friday, December 3rd, at 6 PM. The screening is being held at the Atlas Building, Room 102, on CU Boulder campus. Check out the JOR Page for more details and driving directions.
Return: Animation Ghost Yarn
On the moonlit lake,Rising from the depths below,
Her vision haunts him.
Return, a short animation from NDH Films, is a Victorian ghost story for the impatient among us. It uses the multiplane camera setup among its techniques, where layers of action are separated by sheets of glass and moved independently.
This adds a sense of depth to animation, and is also helpful on a logistical level, because you can move one layer without moving the ones above it. The process was pioneered at Walt Disney Studios, employed for over five decades on every feature-length animated film they produced, until 1989. It's now done with programs such as Toon Boom, which allows an even greater freedom of movement.
*10-18-10
Glava on Halloween
As promised, so delivered. A Halloween screening of Glava is being offered at the Astroland Club in Boulder. This fine venue, run by CU students Chad Warden and Zack Roif, promotes local bands, filmmakers, and artists through the DIY ethic.
On the 29th, the venue will host the DIY OR DIE Halloween Superfest, featuring local musicians such as The Omens and School Knights. Projectors will be showing local, independent horror films, collected by myself, all night long.
It's not certain yet, but I hope Zack Roif will be showing one of his class projects. It's one of the better student films I've seen, and excellently creepy.
Thursday, October 28th (8 PM)Friday, October 29th (5 PM)
$5 cover charge
Astroland
4415 North Broadway
Boulder, CO
"For fancy feats that can't be beat. . ."
YouTube silliness
Meat Bunny, a short animation film produced for class, will be available online in a few weeks. Quick, entertaining, and very queasy to view, it's worth a look.