Fast Forward

Update (07/07): Since this was first posted, Filtr is now a registration-required publication.

Filtr.tv, described as "a way for serious artists to reach new audiences and for those audiences to be rewarded with great art," is a Brightcove-based video publication that plans to roll out weekly play-lists. Films are hand-picked, shown in a small series like a film festival for each "issue" of Filtr, and filmmakers are given brief profiles just like contributors in a magazine. Their first edition is up at Filtr.tv.

"[It's] interesting. Different. Which is nice. A video site that just sort of takes you on a series of little journeys. … I love the way they talk about it … feels like it has a genuine point of view. I like the stuff that has a note of humble to it as well, which this does," notes Simon Law on a blog post about Filtr. Law is a group planning director of WCRS and veteran of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

As a reminder, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is the agency that created the Budweiser lizards, that handled Saturn and Isuzu for years, that created that fantastic Hewlett-Packard spot of a few years ago with people in picture frames, that consistently is considered one of the best creative shops in the world–and, not coincidentally, was named Agency of the Year in 2006 by both Creativity and Adweek, an honor it has won several times.

Flickr.tv has a five-person staff for "filtering" a selection of decidedly good short films, music videos and animations. Founded by Sheila Y. Shidnia, a young musician, "the staff, comprised of creative professionals, handpicks the content for this artist-friendly station…so no hacks allowed," notes Creativity Magazine in their weekly e-mailer.

With complimentary aspirations, Filtr.tv has editor-picked artists with their best film (as streams) and a brief profile, whereas FWDlabs.com has artist-invited artists with their best projects (as micro-sites) and their own comprehensive professional profile. We hope some of the films here will filter into their next issue.

Thanks to Jack Feuer, former ADWEEK national news editor and current Mediapost.com columnist, for contributing.

As a headstrong cinema studies grad of Suny Purchase, Eric Szyszka calls it like he sees it and knows what he wants; but for some collaborations, when he believes in his work and the people around him, means he's the type to pulling the extra shifts to save up to help fund and fly out to Los Angeles, just to get his next short film made with the right players.

Like N. B., Eric started with do-it-yourself — when miniDV surfaced in the late 90's as a low-cost medium — and have since trimmed the fat of glam expectations, ending up with a realistic and confident picture of the kind of cinema we want to pursue.

I have yet to actually meet Eric, but he and I have known each other for years. We share a unique interest online, beginning with a collaboration via the Star Wars character Boba Fett before discovering a shared passion for filmmaking.

1. What are you most proud of and what do you want to do next?

I'm most proud of my feature length script Bad Reception: "On the trail of a lost television set, an aging private investigator finds himself embroiled in the seedy world of snuff film and realizes that without any help, he might become the star of the next production."

The script has become an obsessive passion project of mine as it started with a short 19-page script. In 2005, I expanded it into a 105-page feature that was very low-key, like if About Schimdt had been about a detective. In 2006, I decided to rework the entire script, throwing out nearly 80 pages. Now, it's a lean 90-page noir/thriller. I really amped the drama and raised the stakes. While the script previously went down slice of life roads, it now just hits you one page after another until the end.

I'm currently working on a first draft of a war film which is coming along surprisingly well. It's along the lines of all those classic '60's and '70's war films: Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare. But the hook is, it doesn't take place anywhere you might imagine.

2. What working a regular job taught me about art.

Day in and day out, it has shown me that art is the most precious outlet for my emotions. The major problem is that there never seems to be enough time for art during the daily grind and routine. I struggle each night to create something. In a way, while having such a structured life limits the freedom to create, it also gives you a constraint, giving myself a routine to say, this block of time is the time to write. Seize the day, everyday.

3. What real or imaginary technology in emerging media would you want to explore and why?

I think the biggest new force in filmmaking and television is definitely the internet as even the major networks are going the way of the web, i.e. displaying entire shows online. I would love to try and get in on this. I'm positive some show will hit it big on a network originating from viral video popularity. I have some of my short films on YouTube which have gotten some good attention there.

A short comedy TV show — YouTube series, excuse me — would be really fun to create and explore, say on a monthly basis. One season would be a year long — a 12 episode run, like some of the smaller TV orders that exist. (Shows like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia average about 10 episodes/season.)

4. With whom and how do you collaborate with best?

Unfortunately, I haven't collaborated with enough people. I was the director, writer, DP, and editor on most of my short films. I really want to collaborate more and I think starting to focus more on writing will help me do that more in the future. It would be especially interesting to see how someone else would direct my words.

My first feature script, "Skits-A-Lot Bandingo," was written with a co-writer, Chris Mead, which was so much fun because it was a comedy. We talked and scribbled on notepads. The piece became a really unique surrealist comedy. I think that was the best collaboration I've ever had because we kept it fun.

In general, collaboration is so essential to make something work. In 2004 I was an intern for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and I remember Conan pitching an idea to head writer Mike Sweeney. I actually thought it was a bad idea, which surprised me, "how can Conan come up with an idea like this?" But it turned out through collaborating with Mike, the director Alan, and everyone on the show it turned out to be pretty amazing and most importantly: funny.

It really taught me that every idea starts small and gets built up. This happens in the production of anything. During the creation of my short film Unsent, my lead actor Robert Lincourt pitched me an idea for a shot of him walking across a baseball field smoking and drinking. This was after we wrapped, but I thought he had a great concept, so we hit the road and shot it. Just the two of us. It turned out to be my favorite shot in the film. It really summed up the film and what I wanted to do by really presenting us with this pulpy tragic figure in the center of picturesque wholesome America.

5. Your top five regular influences for creative ideas

• Film Noir – This type of filmmaking has really consumed my life in the amount of time I've spent watching the movies, writing about it critically for my Cinema Studies degree, and writing in its style for my screenplays. It made me want to make movies.
• History – I know if I didn't do film I would be some broke historian writing books about little known Eastern European occurrences that the rest of the world had since forgotten. When I read about just one insane thing that have happened in our time on Earth, I think: "This could be a movie!" I could probably come up with 10 or more historical events or people I would love to create a film around off the top of my head.
• Errol Flynn – I never thought I'd become so interested in an actor. This guy changed my life. A lot of people have seen his 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood, and after reading a little bit of his crazy life, I saw many of his other films. He plays such a wise-cracking lovable rogue that he makes me laugh, feel alive, and even gives me confidence. Flynn is also a great source of material for a writer having lived such an allegedly outlandish life and had been in some of the best films ever made, which seem like precursors to the blockbusters of today, that modern studios could never live up to such as Raoul Walsh's collaborations: They Died With Their Boots On, Desperate Journey (co-starring Ronald Reagan), and Gentleman Jim.
• Everyday Life – There's nothing better than walking down the street and seeing or hearing something and making a mental note. This is a great place to capture little character quirks through the time-tested art of people watching.
• Happiness – I can't write, create, or do anything constructive if I'm not in a good mood. It is a major creative influence because I can't function without it. My girlfriend, friends, and family are the source of this. Even through tough times they can manage to cheer me up enough to push forward.

Think about the under-popularized satellite photos of genocide: that is where film is headed. Feel the sense of community through the under-appreciated moving images of film festival favorites: this is the web’s new digs. Flip traditional media around with under-read transparencies on social issues: this is how design is communicating new kinds of excitement. In some cases, film, web and design in cinema creates social advocacy, a conscious push emphasized here throughout FWD:labs.

Here are four degrees of social advocacy that can make the Washington Post, win Webby Awards and get friended on YouTube. They all relate to one another, one way or another, and definitely drink the same Kool-Aid:

Eyes on Darfur

The site — a collaboration between Amnesty International and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) — launched on June 6, 2007 with a bold approach, centered around satellite-image monitoring of atrocities in Darfur. Visitors can compare before and after photos, learn more about the conflict and the environment, as well as easily sign petitions and send the site virally by e-mail or social network. In the Washington Post's coverage, Mona Younis, director of the Science and Human Rights Program at the AAAS, noted how "[this] initiative is an example of how science and technology can be applied to expose human rights violations." The site is designed by Citizen Group.

Ironweed Film Club

Ironweed pays independent filmmakers for DVD distribution with their film club. Filmmakers can submit their films to their office in San Francisco for consideration. Ironweed also encourages public screenings of their films "with anyone, anywhere: cafes, living rooms, libraries, communal centers, classrooms and even small theaters." The web site, designed by Citizen Group and powered by the Drupal CMS, which provides their members with blogs, profiles and messaging. In the April 2007 issue of Good Magazine, Ironweed Films was included in their Marketplace column: "It’s like having someone sending you the best products of all the film festivals you don’t have the time or money to attend."

Good Magazine

Good is the kind of magazine you really look forward to reading. One noteworthy subscriber blog'd her satisfaction on Have Fun - Do Good: "(t)he photos from the Border Film Project taken by migrants and minutemen were pretty cool, I appreciated the 8-page visual guide to the midterm elections, and the No Senator Left Behind chart comparing US Senators' educational background and salary with the average person's educational background was fascinating."

Good Magazine also has regular video presentations, including "Nuclear Weapons Transparency" (embedded above) and "How the Government Spends Your Tax Dollars." Their YouTube channel has over 850 subscribers. Their site is branded and built by Area17; Al Gore Jr. is an associate publisher of the magazine.

Current.TV

Ex-vice president Al Gore's pet project, Current TV, just won a 2007 Webby Award. "Current is a global television network that gives you the opportunity to create and influence what airs on TV." This network — broadcaster of pod-like user-generated video content that goes from online voting through to cable television — is a key player in interactive television, alongside Joost and Apple TV, notes a film student from UC Santa Cruz. At the 2007 Webby Awards, other film-related web site nominations included:

2007 Webby Awards - Television

• * Winner: Current TV (site by Current TV)
• * People's Voice: The Office (site by NBC)
• Discovery Atlas (site by Discovery)
• P.O.V. | PBS (site by PBS)
• Saturday Night Live (site by NBC)

2007 Webby Awards - Film

• * Winner + People's Voice: Pan’s Labyrinth (site by Picturehouse / Deep Focus)
• A Scanner Darkly (site by Warner Brothers Online)
• AtomFilms (site by AtomFilms)
• Shortbus Official Movie Site and Salon (site by Crew Creative)
• The Show: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (site by DHAP Digital, Inc.)

Back in February 2007, I met N. B. Khuu on the day of production for Peter Phan's short film, "This Will All Make Perfect Sense Someday," as an eleventh-hour swap as gaffer, instead of my usual crew. Throughout the three days of hustle and flow, I quickly became aware of a content vibe that, beyond rigging solid lighting setups, N. B. was well-versed as a true filmmaker. His energy and follow-through for cinema, even small pick-up projects that might shoot for YouTube instead of the big screen, is impressively high-charged.

1. What are you most proud of and what do you want to do next?

On every one of my productions there is always that moment, that one singular take, shot, movement, line delivery… etc., that makes my heart (and head) swell to magnificent proportions. When the culmination and fruition of oh-so-much time, effort, and collaboration fills me with the belief that somewhere along the way I made the right decision in my life. I guess what I'm most proud of is that, once upon a time, I was privy to those moments.

"Make Up" (which is very close to its theatrical edit), along with my previous short "Persuasion" and upcoming project "Date", is part of my "love on a string" series. I think this series of shorts, though not connected in plot or characters, are connected in theme and emotion. "Persuasion" deals with infatuation and idealizing of the opposite sex. "Make Up" deals with the intimacy between a lovers’ spat, the subsequent make up and the two mirror each other in pace and emotion. "Date" is about infidelity and two people finding the harmony in that relationship.

When I set out to make these films I decidedly wanted to experience the spontaneity and organic feel of D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) filmmaking. I've worked on many sets with many hard-working people but for these films I wanted my very limited crew (usually with just a camera person) and I to be utterly consumed by the experience of film. There’s only a slight plan of attack: everyone does everything — actors included — and it's almost like a commune! And the sense of living, building, and growing on the production works itself into the film. On the set it's as though I'm not making or shooting a movie, but more so, feeling my way through one. In the end you're just so physically and mentally exhausted, but you see the footage and it's beautiful and it reinvigorates your desire to keep making films.

This series of film has shown me that you don't really need permits, lights, a grip truck, money, or the top of the line camera. All you need is something you want to say, conviction as you say it, and a few dedicated companions.

Currently: I have just sent my feature script "Wet Works" to the Library of Congress for copyright. The first 10 pages are up on FWD:labs . I'm currently writing the script that will become "Date" as well as a fantasy/sci-fi feature tentatively titled "Seal". A friend of mine and I are co-writing a comedic love story involving a cannibal love interest which will probably be my next directing project. Other then that I'm just working - lighting and shooting myself a living.

2. “What ___ Taught Me About ___”

What 26 years of life has taught me about the opposite sex:

Absolutely nothing. Most of the films I've directed remain dedicated to the relationships between men and women. I must admit that I really dislike writing scripts that are based on relationships, but they are just so easy to produce: 1 part man + 1 part woman + 1 part conflict = film. What I've learned, however, is that, though I have amassed no applicable knowledge of women, I can't deny my utter infatuation of them.

3. What real or imaginary technology in emerging media (mobile, web) would you want to explore and why?

Can you imagine the summer’s hugest blockbusters in full, 3D?

Until recently, as the business of theatrical films was waning and the emergence of digital film was becoming more prominent, people asked my opinion on the matter. I personally never thought it was a question of film vs. digital or even DVD piracy, but quite simply: video games and the internet. More and more people are saving less time and money at the theaters and more at home in front of their computers and video game consoles. I don't know if 3D will solve anything, in the end it probably won’t, but I believe there is a shift in entertainment towards interactivity in media. 3D has come a long way since the era of red and blue paper glasses - it's all lasers and holograms now. Though I think that once there is interaction in film it ceases to be film, there has always been a drive for increasing immersion in the medium. 3D might be that next step of immersion.

4. With whom and how do you collaborate with best?

I'd like to think that I could work well with almost anyone. I collaborate best with people who want to make films. The majority of people in this business seem to be more interested in trying to become a filmmaker rather then actually making a film.

5. Your top regular influences for creative ideas?

• Music plays an important role in my life and provides a lot of inspiration. There is something to be learned from the ability to convey a specific emotion, idea, story, concept, mood and so on in a 5-minute song.
• Women. I love them and their constant ability to mystify, frustrate, and captivate me.
• Questioning. Every day we are told of how things are and/or should be and every day we consciously and subconsciously accept those rules and boundaries. Why?
• The constitution of life: we all die a little each day. What's your poison?
• Family — my younger brother is a big inspiration to me though, as well as my father, grandfather and mother — friends, people: a billion and one humans, each their own protagonists, who are all living the same stories in different ways. And, of course, my colleagues in this odd excursion we've decided to pursue, especially those with the balls to look under the surface of things for their art.