Some Serious Trash Tracking!

Saturday's Seattle Times featured a front page story on an MIT study to track the flow of our refuse and recyclables. Guess out of sight no longer means out of mind. Turns out Seattle volunteers are attaching tiny transmitters to their garbage and helping chart the journey and final resting places for their trash and unwanted items - which makes us wonder where the old Evil Knievel doll and plastic motorcycle we discarded in the 1970's might be today? Or the Hello Kitty pen from just a few years back? Sadly, they're still out there...somewhere...as is most everything else non-biodegradable that has ever passed through our fingers and our lives. We think it's a fascinating study that could lead to greater individual conservation, if we're willing to face the realities of consumption and our own denial that surrounds it. Heavy stuff, for sure. Kind of like that washing machine you dumped over the embankment down that side road in 1986. It's holding up quite nicely by the way.

Check out the Seattle Times article for yourself, as well as the Trash Tracking site, and a GOOD magazine article on the study.

Seattle Times
Senseable MIT Trashtrack
Good Magazine

A few good videos!

Many thanks to some friends of little films who have steered us toward some great video lately.


Jeff Arnim shared a terrific piece titled Man in Van, created by Sean Dunne, a superb, young NYC filmmaker - a fascinating portrait of a man living a life with few regrets...in a van in Manhattan. Very hip, and packs a social/emotional punch without being obvious or overbearing. And beautifully composed and shot by Ed David. We appreciate these guys (and Jeff) for sharing it.



Next up, Kelly Evans shared a trailer at lemonademovie.com - a piece that truly speaks to this moment in time. Facing the realities of unemployment and a possible career shift, a growing number of folks are choosing to see the glass half full, realizing that this may actually be the opportunity of a lifetime. Produced by former (future?) advertising professionals, the actual synopsis reads "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." Beautifully shot and edited, it's just a start - the team of Erik Proulx (writer) and Marc Colucci (director) continue to work on their full length piece.



And finally, we have to thank Lacey Lybecker for sharing an incredible video with us. Chances are you're one of the millions who've already seen it - which makes us feel way behind the curve since we hadn't! It's "Where the Hell is Matt?" - an amazing (and amazingly simple) piece that brings the world together, all while allowing the creator (Matt) the opportunity to create smiles and dance poorly across the entire globe. Turns out Matt's been doing this for some time and seems to be making a career out of it, even though he denies any desire to hold a job or work steadily. Makes no matter to us at little films - we salute Matt and would welcome the opportunity to not work steadily with him anytime!

VillageReach Delivers!

It never fails to amaze us - there is good (and greatness) all around us. Just this morning we picked up the Seattle Times and were introduced to VillageReach, a non-profit located just down the road from us in Fremont. Call it entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropy, or even social capitalism (all are fitting), the point is these folks have figured out a way to truly deliver. In fact, delivering health care and related supplies to remote villages is exactly what VillageReach is all about. And they're finding innovative ways to do this, significantly improving access to health care in some of the most remote areas of the world. Thanks VillageReach! We would be honored to partner with you if we can ever be of service. In the meantime be sure to check out their site and the Seattle Times link!

The Langleyburg Address

It's a blessing and a curse to be a professional in the business we're in. When our friends and family need 'that little video which will be really easy to put together', we're first in mind. So it was at the end of the last school term as the parents of Erik's son's 5th grade class wanted to make a 'thank you' video for their teacher, Mr. Langley. With summer winding down and school right around the corner, we thought it appropriate to show this small 'thank you' to one of the many unsung heroes who teach our kids. Worth noting that Mr. Langley is a huge Civil War buff, and that plays a big part in his lesson plan. We apologize to Ken Burns if he's watching.

What are we doing without thinking? And how do we change?

This seems to be the driving message behind the powerful work of Seattle-based photographer/artist Chris Jordan. He's been effectively opening eyes for some time now and he certainly inspires us to pay better attention to our actions. We also understand that he's a neighbor to us here in Ballard and we hope to cross paths with him someday soon. In the meantime, check out his TED presentation from last year and be sure to visit his site as well - www.chrisjordan.com.

Revolution

Revolution from christine heine on Vimeo.

Saving the world means reducing greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. Here's our own take on how fun it can be to leave the car at home for a change! Worth noting there wasn't a single video camera on set - just a gazillion still images shot by Donna and Chris, and then a ton of video post by Erik and Christine and some nice audio sweetening courtesy of our good friend Nick Denke. Thanks Nick! You can check out more of his work at victorystudios. And hey, have you joined the Revolution?

Coalition of the Willing

F5: Simon Robson and Tim Rayner from F5 on Vimeo.

"Coalition of the Willing" is a fascinating collaboration Simon Robson and Tim Rayner have in the works. And they need all of us on board - either to help them bring their creative vision to life, or else to swarm together once it takes shape. To understand that last sentence you'll want to check out their presentation from the recent F5 Conference. The short story - they believe that the fight against climate change needs to waged using modern day media and social networking. Check it out, and spread the word. Please!

Trey Ratcliff's HDR photography

A friend recently sent us a link to this blog. His work is AMAZING. He's an HDR photographer, who's photos look more like surreal paintings. How fun would it be to work with footage like this!! Look him up when you have a sec and check out all his beautiful work!

Inspiration

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

SURFACE : A film from underneath from tu on Vimeo.

It's always fun seeing what others are doing out in the world. Here are just a few inspiring videos we liked from a top 12 Vimeo page we found @ mashable.com. So go check out the rest. They are all uniquely inspiring!

Evolution Press

Got the new business cards! Our friends at Evolution Press just down the road helped us out with authentic letterpress on super thick 100% recycled chipboard. We like them and hope you do too!

BikeSport

BikeSport is the bomb! A great bike shop in Ballard. They let us use an awesome bike for our recent fun project Revolution. Go check them out @ www.ilovemybike.com, get a bike and stop driving!

Revolution

We just finished a shoot for Revolution, a fun project we just decided to do! Check back with us soon to see the final piece! And THANK YOU for all who came and helped out! You're amazing!!

GOOD Magazine is awesome!

GOOD is great! We're just totally inspired by GOOD Magazine and you'll likely see regular posts and links related to them here. Intelligent, timely, thought-provoking, refreshing and entertaining - always a great read. We visted their LA office last year and this is one incredibly sharp and overcaffeinated team. Please visit their site - www.good.is - and be sure to subscribe, because 100% of your fee will go to support a social action project.

B Corporation

B Corp's story

What's a B Corp? B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. And we love them! It's a great idea, and an involved certification process. We've been quietly working behind the scenes to attain our B Corp status, so stay tuned and we'll have an update soon. In the meantime be sure to check them out at www.bcorporation.net.
And check out their other videos at: http://www.bcorporation.net/B-Media/Videos

littlefilms is going good!!

littlefilms good montage

Big changes for little films! We've gone good! After many years producing straight-up, corporate media we've decided it was time to wake up and do more. So today, after a year of development, we are relaunched and entirely focused on making a difference, leveraging our skills to help forward-thinking firms and folks make our world a better place. Sound too dreamy? Well, get over it! Thanks for checking out our blog and be sure to visit our brand new site as well. And stay in touch!