AFV Halloween Gumby Kid

This cute kid decided to dress up as Gumby for Halloween, resulting in one of my favorite America's Funniest Home Video clips. I think we all have memories of childhood costumes that made us somewhat immoble. I recall being a red crayon in grade one and not being able to sit down. Anyway, he's Gumby! Happy Halloween!

Inspired Singles: Science Fiction/Double Feature

Inspired Singles Issue 11: Science Fiction/Double Feature by Richard O'Brien


This staple of Halloween mixes is a lyrical history lesson cleverly showcasing some really crazy B movies. From Flash Gordon to Forbidden Planet to Doctor X, there are a surprisingly large amount of character and plot references from projects not unlike Rocky Horror.

Science Fiction/Double Feature is the title track of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and has been made iconic not just because of its association with the movie and stage show, but because of Patricia Quinn's red lips. Now that's how you lip sync!

It's a tune that instantly reminds me of all those childhood Halloweens and the late nights after trick or treating. It's funny, it's weird, it's a classic.

Inspired Singles: New Format

Over the last year I've written 10 issues for my Inspired Singles column here on Editing Luke. The series has actually been quite popular, but it's also a lengthier post for me to put together and I feel that a lot of the singles go overlooked because they aren't easy to search for.

Hence, it seems like a good time to change things.

From now on, Inspired Singles will feature a single track per post. This means less work, and as a result, more posts and singles in the long run. Singles will also be easier to find by title, and results from the Linkwithin widget should appear more diverse and descriptive - not just an issue number.

I know there have been quite a few clicks through to these columns when they go up so I just thought a bit of a heads up was due. If anything, you can look forward to a lot more Inspired Singles popping up very soon!

Montana Joyride

Across the US border we continued our drive south through Montana. The sun began to set casting a golden yellow across the fields, rolling hills, and mountains. This was merely the beginning of our road trip to California and the views were already spectacular. It was early September and the days were shortening, but by the time we crossed into Idaho we had put the top of the car down and were ignoring the chill in the air for the starry sky overhead.

Butte, Montana

Amazon Kindle Commercials

When it comes to creating a great advert you need something eye-catching. Amazon Kindle has successfully done this by incorporating some clever stop motion to emphasize the imaginative aspect of reading. I'm not sure they've convinced me that a book is better on a tablet, but at least I'm talking about it. Check out this cool series of adverts below.

Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie

It's easy to get hooked on a good music video, and even easier if you like the song. To tell the truth, it was the stop motion that pulled me in before I actually started to like the track. I've come across several stop motion shorts lately that are nothing less than amazing examples of skilled editing. For starters, check out the music video for Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie below.

Sketches of Frank Gehry: Documentary #3

Creating something is one of the boldest forms of expression. It leaves something to be discussed, critiqued, and interpreted. It also takes guts to do.

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) is a documentary about the famed modern architect from a very open and relaxed perspective. From structures like the popular Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the film is successful at diving into Gehry's design and creative processes, his achievements, and the humour that often surrounds creating buildings that make people stare. It's not a history lesson or lecture. There's actually something quite poetic in hearing Gehry and Pollack's open discussions about the form, lines, and overall impressions of the designs.

Why did you do this? Why is this shaped like that? Director Sydney Pollack injects himself into the documentary with his casual questioning, and seems essential for bringing up the every-man opinion.

As a creative guy myself I'm always fascinated by the process that other artists go through. Artist seems to be the right description of Gehry. The way he sketches, bends paper for his models, and works his ideas through seems very tactile. In fact, he admits that he's not very good with a computer.

Personally I find Gehry's buildings to be really engaging (especially) against a backdrop of squares and cubes. That's the beauty of this documentary to me. Architecture has always seemed like so much math, and it is, but Sketches of Frank Gehry pulls the art to the surface - mixing form and function as they say. We're given a chance to explore urban space for the emotion it conveys, for the whimsical and expressive way that shape can change our perception, and ultimately shown how exciting and challenging it is to literally be out of the box.

Having seen this documentary prior to purchasing it for my 9 Docs Project, I can say that I was just as inspired the second time around. This film isn't meant to be hard hitting or confrontational. Instead it's exploratory and pensive, showing how one man has decided to challenge convention. Matched with some beautiful images of Frank Gehry's buildings, I found it easy to get swept up in the creative chaos. 8/10


Sketches of Frank Gehry Trailer

Morocco & Spain by Mike Matas

I'm a huge fan of constructing my own travel edits, so it was without hesitation that I latched on to this really clever and unique edit by Mike Matas. Shooting several thousand photos on a trip through Morocco and Spain, Mike combined them to create a vivid and fast-paced slideshow of the experience. The texture and depth is impressive. You'll probably find yourself grasping for some lengthier shots, but the technique is undeniably well-executed. Well done Mr. Matas!

Buick to the Future Snapshots

I was going through some of my old photo CDs and came across some of the snapshots that I took when trying to come up with a poster for my first Buick to the Future short. I remember we did this at the end of the afternoon after the footage had just been shot. It's the kind of campy project that I seem to enjoy even more as nostalgia improves it. You can check out the Buick to the Future shorts here.

Alberta Sunrise

I shot this on Friday morning coming into work. It's true a web company can be almost anywhere! The contrast between our location and the creative work we do is always a topic of conversation for visitors. It's like we're in the middle of nowhere, a modern office just minutes outside of the city.

When I pictured the types of video jobs I might do after film school I never imagined my day to day setting looking quite like this. The novelty of the prairies, and of being surrounded by open landscape for that matter, is quite literally a breath of fresh air.

Stream Media Shout Out

In the several years that I've been working as a videographer and editor with Stream Media I have had the opportunity to see and participate in a lot of really cool projects. This summer in particular was full of several larger edits that occupied much of my extra time outside of the web company I also do video work for.

I wanted to give a shout out to Stream Media for being recognized by the EDA (Economic Development Alliance of Southern Alberta) after they received top honors at the 2010 National Marketing Awards for several projects produced by our team.

One of the edits I did this summer was mentioned specifically in the press release, which is really cool after all the work that went into it. You can see the press release and a link to the video here.

Congrats go out to EDA and Stream Media! I'm very proud to have been able to play a role in this success with you.

Snapshot Singapore: Part 1

Rich history and modernity seem to collide in beautifully ambitious ways in Singapore. Through the lens, cracks of identity appear against the backdrop of a global city. There's something big happening here, and it's too new to fully understand. Everywhere you explore your senses seem temporarily heightened. It's an amazing place to get lost.