Former SheSays LA panelist, filmmaker Jessica Sanders directed this compelling and evocative short film for Sony’s make.believe campaign about her life story as a filmmaker and coming from a filmmaking family.

Sanders recently completed MARCH OF THE LIVING, a feature documentary about the last generation of Holocaust survivors going back to the sites of the Holocaust in Poland with teenagers from around the world. The film was shot in Brazil, Germany, Poland, Israel and the US, and will be released in 2010.

Remember the first time you were chased by a sprinting T-Rex on an island off the coast of Costa Rica? How about the last time you had an epic battle with an undead skeleton warrior? Can’t remember? You mean you’ve never seen Jurassic Park or Jason and the Agronauts?

That’s what Visual Effects do. They transport us to places that would be otherwise too expensive, too dangerous, or too impossible to ever visit.

I remember my jaw hitting the floor when I saw that Brontosaurus go up on it’s hind legs to get the leaves at the tippy-top of that tree. I remember the terror when I saw the T-1000 dispatching innocent bystanders in liquid metal form. I remember my first jump to warpseed and the iconic hum of an ignited lightsaber.

Do you remember the first time you felt the magic of the silver screen?

If not, here’s a quick look at the past 100 years of movie magic. Enjoy!

“More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.”

For more information and updates on the film’s release, visit their website.

ART & COPY Trailer from ART & COPY on Vimeo.

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray, it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.

Get your Kleenex, because this depiction of the hisotry of Soviet Ukraine (with sand) on Ukraine’s Got Talent brought tears to the entire audience (including this poster). The gritty lines created in the sand creates beautiful monocromatic animation that recalls historical film. Watch as this artist tells a heartwrenching, evocative story without uttering a single word.

In the wake of the latest summer blockbuster G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra (in Theaters today!) I remembered the impact that G.I Joe had in my life. As anyone whose watched the animated series knows, at the end of every show you’d be treated to a G.I. Joe themed PSA. During these PSA’s, a Joe would inform us of a particular danger that occurs in everday life ending the segment with the now iconic phrase, “and knowing is half the battle.” 

Certain episodes featured very special PSA’s on poignant topics like, “never hide in a refrigerator.”

Thanks to Recondo, I now know to never hide in an abandoned fridge. No matter how awesome the hideout may seem. Perhaps Indiana Jones could learn a thing or two from watching this powerful message.

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Maybe we could get the Ninja Turtles to tell me what the other half is?

extra credit: For a bonus PSA click here. Check out the G.I. Joe’s uniform in that one. Can someone please tell me how that outfit is tactical?

Remember when you used to take your mom’s post it notes from her desk to make flip book animations? This video takes that concept to a whole new level of awesome.

New York artist, Devorah Sperber, is recreating masterpieces by arranging spools of thread hanging from string. She starts with a pixelized jpg of the artwork and maps out the colors/thread pixel by pixel. Watch her in action.

…I would want these guys to film the ceremony. Stillmotion Photo + Cinema are three really talented guys from Toronto; armed with HD cameras, 35mm lens adapters, some good glass and a steadicam.

While they certainly have the skills and eye to be working on major film or TV projects, these guys specialize in wedding videos. For the past three years, they have been steadily revolutionizing a traditionaly unappreciated and underimpressive niche of the video industry.

Although I promised myself (and my wife) that I’d only get married once, the production value and cinematic quality of these guys’ productions can have just about anyone saying, “I do”.

With less than a year to go, national census planning is in full swing. We only have once every 10 years to get it as right as possible, and is a tremendous endeavor on an organizational level (and has turned into a slight obsession for me, especially as it applies to information design). Required by law, it calls upon everyone in this country to take part. Christopher Walken and SNL help remind us, once again, that the data’s only as good as the information we provide. Garbage in, garbage out!