Vintage Calgary Stampede Posters

From the colours and fonts to the varying depictions of western culture, there are some real gems in this vintage collection of posters from the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta. 

85th Oscars Poster

Have you seen the poster designed by Olly Moss for this year's 85th Academy Awards? It's probably one of my favorites in recent memory and that's because it references all of the Best Pictures winners since the Oscars began in 1927. Click the poster to enlarge. How many of the films do you recognize?

Minimalist Pixar Posters by Wonchan Lee

In tribute to some of the finest animations ever created, Wonchan Lee took it upon himself to design a series of minimalist posters each highlighting a Pixar film with a single, but instantly recognizable, graphic.  These feel reminiscent of the minimalist Oscar movie posters I shared last year.  See more of Lee's Pixar posters here.

Office Propaganda Posters

I recently came across some original artwork by Steve Thomas.  He designs a variety of vintage and propaganda style posters that highlight everything from space travel, battling sea monsters, and scenes from the movies.  He also created a cool series of vintage themed Star Wars travel posters.

These office propaganda posters are what first caught my eye.  It's a fresh perspective on those familiar workplace signs, playing on a style often used for much heavier themes.  You can view more of Steve's work on his site HERE.

Minimalist Oscar Movie Posters

Showcasing the 10 Best Picture Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards, David Lopez created a series of minimalist posters.  I love his idea of breaking each film down into a symbol, and in a stylized way putting each movie on an even keel.

I think it can be debated for every one of these films what the best symbol should be, but it's an intriguing exercise in simplicity and categorization.  How would you sum up an entire movie with a single image?  It's a great work out for the brain and certainly made these worth sharing.

A Chill in the Air

Shot in 2006, I made this short for a National Film Board of Canada contest by mixing footage of WWI soldiers with stark winter imagery. The focus was on creating a symbolic representation of the recovery, healing, and scares left by war. However, to approach the subject in a less traditional form,

I opted to create this video poem. To read more on this project, the results of the contest, and the story behind it click here.

Star Wars (1977)

"Luke, I am your father".

As though growing up hearing that phrase countless times wouldn't have some influence on my love for Star Wars.

Truth is, as much as I got the Luke Skywalker comparisons, quotes, and references, I didn't really get into Star Wars until they re-released it on VHS in the nineties. I was born in 1984. That was one year after the last film from the original trilogy was released, and although I use this as the reasoning as to why I was named Luke in the first place (my parents deny this), like so many kids after me I wasn't born yet to experience Star Wars the first time around.

Nowadays, Star Wars seems to have become a milestone in growing up. Inevitably the first showing of Star Wars to any kid becomes an event. And why wouldn't it be? It's a movie that's over 30 years old and you can still find full sections of toy stores dedicated to its merchandise.

I can't remember the first time I saw it, but we had the toys in our house before I knew exactly what they were. I was 12 when Star Wars was re-released and at the time it seemed there was no better age to cement the notion in my mind that I would be an awesome Jedi. Again, I believed this held twice as much weight because of my name.

There are a lot of reasons to like Star Wars. It's an epic story about the battle between good and evil, it's a universal adventure with amazing special effects, there's a cast of memorable and diverse characters, and on top of all of that there's the Force. Who wouldn't want to be able to move things with their minds?

I think the reason that the movie and saga have been so well received though is because Star Was is about an obscure kid who unwittingly (in the beginning anyway) ends up playing a key role in changing the galaxy. It sounds ridiculous when put into that scale, but the truth is we all dream of having our own legacy and this is one for the ages.

Even now that the franchise has been merchandised to hell and back, Star Wars still beams with originality. It's no wonder the toys sell so well, where else can you get a Wookie or an Ewok, or a lightsaber? The fact that there are so many facets to the series is another substantial strong point. It's gone to the point where you could research details on these fictional planets or characters back stories. Personally, I wouldn't, but it's impressive that the movies have spawned so much material.

Lucas argued that the special editions helped further complete what the original vision for the trilogy was, but read any review from a critic or fan who saw those first films. Star Wars was groundbreaking then because it did something that no other movie had done before in its technical execution. CGI is an incredible asset to modern filmmaking, but it's so overused now that there's something romantic about watching the original trilogy and knowing that they actually had models and puppets and scenes built. That fake world was actually real. Someone constructed those scenes and costumes and had to make them come to life in person. I get the same rush when watching old war movies, knowing that the scenes actually had to be filmed like that.

Ok, so the technology is pretty cool too.

What I also like about Star Wars is that even though it's a futuristic saga that employed so many new techniques at the time, the basis of the plot is incredibly traditional. The lines between good and evil are clearly drawn, you have an obvious hero and villain, and there's an elaborate and well established challenge to overcome. Even though there are twists along the way, mainly surrounding Luke's family members, there really is no doubt that in the end Luke Skywalker is going to save the day. It's just like a serial from the 1930's or 40's, or a fairytale that your parents would tell you as a kid. This one just had lasers for extra punch.

 
As a filmmaker/editor I find George Lucas an interesting person to study considering that he went from obscurity to widespread fame himself following a film school path. Ultimately I think it comes down to imagination. He had a big dream, and he put the time and effort into it to make it work. Star Wars wasn't immediately fast tracked by a studio, it took a lot of convincing and a lot of guts (think about how many lame sci-fi flicks are out there, and how Star Wars might seem if you only knew it as words on a page). Lucas put a lot of time into planning and writing and re-writing until he had what he wanted and then he pursued it. And it didn't hurt that he acquired merchandising rights before studios really took advantage of them. His personal story says just as much about determination.

In the end, despite the marketing, the remakes, the remasters, the overwhelming heap of Lucasfilm pop culture, it's in that first film, Star Wars: A New Hope, with it's great characters, epic scale, and awesome adventures that you're quickly convinced you're witnessing something unlike anything else that's out there - including Star Trek, which has its own list of merits. Should anyone even attempt to produce a movie in the hopes that it will reach the same level of success, a movie that will resonate for generations between critics and fans alike, a film that will define and advance an entire genre, or a movie that will continue to make millions upon millions of dollars in merchandising decades after it was released, what can you possibly say? May the force be with you.

New Kinda World (2002)

In my first semester at the University of Regina everything was heavy. I was on my own for the first time, living in a city where I previously didn't know anyone, and just learning to balance my personal responsibility with my desire to let loose. It was memorable.

New Kinda World was just a short edit that I put together before Thanksgiving to take home and share with family and friends. It's basically just a brief look at the campus, but it gave a sense of my new surroundings. Little did I know at the time, but this footage would become dated fairly quickly. Just a year after this was shot, construction began on a brand new residence and phys. ed complex that would cut the campus green space in half and re-define the centre of the entire school. Check out the follow-up university edits that I made in 2006/2007 to see what I'm talking about.

While on the surface this footage is little more than a home-video of a few buildings, to me it's a reminder of those first few months when everything changed. I look at this and remember being on my own in my dorm, the walks around campus to try and figure out where my classes were, and all the new people I met in those first few weeks. I can't help but get a bit of that anxiety and energy from thinking about just how different all this was in the moment.

If nothing else, New Kinda World is a great piece of nostalgia.

Singapore: Edits (2010)

To find yourself a world away in a foreign country for the first time is surreal. You quickly forget just what it took to get there when you're won over by the spectacle around you. For me, this was Singapore.

When I was asked in February if I'd like to go on a business trip with my co-worker Stephanie, I was elated. Not just because I'd be paid to travel, but because Singapore was a destination that I never really saw myself going to.

I'm fairly well travelled around North America, but this was to be my first time putting my feet in the other side of an ocean. It was my first time travelling for over a day in the air (combining all my flights that is). It was the first time I answered 'business' to the 'are you traveling for business or pleasure' question.

Singapore was a mix of welcome and unexpected surprises. Never did I think that we'd be able to see and do so much while still working during our days. Somehow, we still managed to cross all of the big highlights off of our list, leaving us both feeling like we were truly able to explore the variety and individuality the country/city had to offer.

From eating exotic seafood along the coast of the South China Sea to taking in the view of the city from the Singapore Flyer, from cruising up the river through the heart of the financial district to an afternoon in the sun at Universal Studios on Sentosa Island, to the Red Dot Design Museum, the famous Merlion landmarks, the Night Safari at the Zoo, exploring an ornate Hindu temple, raising our glasses of Tiger beer at restaurants and clubs, and shopping on Orchard Road - we managed to play just as much as we worked.

I hoped, but never knew it would have turned out this good.