Culture :: Andean Gold

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I believe that some of the best things in life are worth waiting for- and the this beautiful video says just that.

The Inoue Brothers

I visited Peru about three years ago now and had the privilege of seeing these animals roaming the mountain side, but never a ceremony like this.  However,  I did see the community spirit that is the Peruvian culture.  Each community is very tightly knit and everyone helps with the survival of everyone else.  I think that’s what I like about Latin culture- that the community is more than just a group of people living amongst one another, but they are one large family.

Culture :: Skateboard

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Choose your favorite activity, and then think about how much time in an hour you actual work on that activity.  How much time do you sit there thinking about what you’re going to do?  How much time do you spend hyping yourself up?  How much time do you spend daydreaming about something else entirely?

Now if you were a skateboarder, how much time would actually spend on the board:

Sebastian Linda

Skateboarding is a culture that I know little about, but it seems from this short film that perhaps it’s just like any other activity or culture we are in.  It revolves around relationships and planning and not really doing anything for the majority of the time that we dedicate to it.

And on a more technical note, I think the editing in this is pretty awesome.  Just saying.

Culture :: Black Rock City

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Do you remember how in college you end up making up ridiculous games that you found absolutely exhilarating and were the perfect excuse not to write papers or study for tests?  You know, like sock wrestling, or hallway jousting or indoor slip ‘n slides that ran the whole length of the boys 3rd floor wing.  Wouldn’t it be fun to try those out now, to let some of that stress of every day life feel silly again?  I think I’ve found the place that lets you do those things again:

Anders Christian Rasmussen

This place looks wild and un-inhibiting.  I think the dust would probably bother me, but there’s something about this festival that makes you wonder how do we go from the silliness that we can so easily create at one point and then slip back into the practicality of work and every day life?

Travel :: The John Muir Trail

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The Muir Project

This is trailer is something closer to home, figuratively and physically, than the previous videos that I’ve posted this month.  This is only a thousand or more miles south of where I live and looks relatively familiar.  I like to spend weekend up in the mountains hiking and being away from city life, which is a whole other experience all on its own.  Sometimes you only have to go as far as your backyard to experience something new.

I think what I like most about this film is the combination of art and the outdoors.  These are two things that I’m passionate about (can you tell?) and I like the blend of the two.  It also brings back memories of taking a travel photography class in college while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.  The scenery was very different, but the idea of documenting your journey on camera and in journals makes the experience very different from a day hike.  You notice more about your surroundings and reflect more about what you are going through emotionally and physically.  It also takes your mind off things when you feel like curling up in a ball and giving up for the day.  Documenting the the journey through art is a very powerful thing.

Travel :: On the Map

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I’m just going to say it.  I’m a nerd, I love books and there is nothing you can do to make me feel otherwise.  I like to peruse book stores, spend hours with my nose in a book, and get lost in the narrative.  I’m veering away from film for a day to talk about a book about maps.  Yeah, I said it, a book about maps.  Who woulda thought?

My best friend gave me this book for my birthday: On the Map: A mind expanding exploration of the way the world looks

simon Garfield

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Travel :: BiPoland

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A note from the filmmaker: Please wear headphones for the best sound experience.

Matty Brown

Traveling is just as much about learning about a new place as about learning about yourself.  Just watching the first few minutes of this film is enough to learn not only about a very dark period in our history, but how we react to the images of a place that tormented thousands of Jewish people in the early 1940s.

This film, BiPoland begins as a reminder of the Holocaust and surpasses the history lesson to go on to demonstrate the strength of the Polish people and their ability to move on even with such a dark history that remains solid and real within their borders.

Beyond the emotion that this video brings to me, I really, really love the editing.  I know I usually discuss the camera work and the light, which is something that I really do admire, but editing is actually more my forte.  Bringing images, music and graphics together to tell a story and to move the viewer through the video is what I really love to do.  I’m one of those dorky people that gets a rush when I finally get a sequence right and the music and the footage sync perfectly to get the desired effect.  That is what this film does for me.  It’s a perfect blend of beautiful cinematography, vintage recordings and powerful music.

Travel :: Vive la Mexico!

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Andrew Julian

Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world- I’ve been going there since I was six and I’ve lost count of how many weeks of my life have been spent there.  So although this isn’t an area that I usually go to, I couldn’t help but share this video because it highlights some of the things that I love about the place: color, history, food, SUN, the people and I can’t help but love the warm waters on the coast.

Travel :: Ice Hotel

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I was twelve when I heard about the ice hotel.  My dad saw it in a travel magazine and I’ve wanted to stay in one since.  Most people that know me well would find this very ironic as I’m always cold, but there is something spectacular about staying in something that seems so strong and permanent, yet very fragile and dependent on frigid temperatures.  I would only want to stay a few days if that, but the experience itself is a once in a lifetime thing.  For now I will have to settle with the experience of having a drink in the Ice Bar in London.

HENNING SANDSTRÖM

I realize that this video is more about the river than the ice hotel itself, but if we are to appreciate the hotel and all the work that goes into its design and construction each year, we need to appreciate where it all comes from in the first place.