Somewhere between the Myspace phenomenon and UTube, mini films have become more than just a documentation of memories. They are now a shining beacon of art and the beauty in the moments that we take for granted on a daily basis.
Visionaries Charlie Roderick and Josh Ippel have taken this idea and turned it into an underground society of artists who collaborate and submit their own mini movies and exhibit them all over America.
The project is called Hideous Beast. On Thursday, , DU’s Shwayder Art Building hosted a “mini movie fest” honoring their own art, but also many DU students, online submissions, and other movies they have accumulated from around the nation.
The subject for this particular set of films was capturing “beauty”. Everyone has a different perception of beauty, and the movies showed vast diversity on the subject. There are no rules or criteria for this project, but “all the movies are taken on camera phones and digital cameras”, says Roderick. No video cameras. No editing. Simply life, at it’s finest, au natural. Some of the films were funny, some artsy, and some very abstract. But they all had one thing in common: originality.
In the media world today, it is easy to get caught up in the cut-and-dry methods of Hollywood and movie making. These films gave tiny glimpses of real life from when we open our eyes in the morning to when we hit pillow at night. Ever think you had a boring day? Try filming the world as you see it, and see how beautiful and comical everyday wear and tear can be.
Bobble head animals at a pet shop, for instance. Interesting? Not really. However, get a video up close with all the heads bobbing at the same time…now there is a movie. Things like getting gas, tall-walking shadows, handshakes, beached kayakers, and even, yes, boob tassels were featured on film. The DU campus showed up in the background of some of the films and the hot dog stand man on East Asbury Avenue received his two minutes of the silver screen limelight.
Not that this needs mentioning, but pizza was a major perk and we later watched a candid video of, us, the audience eating the pizza just seconds before. “I’ve never been much of an art guy, but this was one of the highlights of my week,” says DU Alum Corey Murray ’06. “I was always intimidated by the art world, but who knows? I could be a mini film maker tomorrow if I wanted.” All in all, the festival was a major success urging everyone to take time to appreciate the little mini moments that make life what it is.
