Issue 019: Film Frame Archive, Black Cartoon Characters, Toss Up Governors & Feminist Bride Of Frankenstein
Hi, Y'all. I'm joining you from the halls of the Los Angeles Superior Court, where I might be one of the few people excited about jury duty. It looks like a set piece from Better Call Saul, but there's definitely something patriotic about it.
Also, the building has some pretty great art deco typography... that I'm not allowed to take photos of. Anyway, please rise for the honorable weekly newsletter...
A Searchable Index Of Movie Shots. Recently, a social 'chain letter' (is there a better term for this?) has people sharing 10 still frames from films that made an impact on them. This reminded me of an old idea of mine that wasn't possible with the technology of the time but might be now.
I'd like to make a free service where you can search through every movie and tv show released to see how shots were framed.
Anyone could upload a movie file, which should be allowed through fair use / criticism / educational purposes. (As a side note, film usage for criticism and educational purposes is losing a significant battle to giant corporations and algorithmic copyright claims right now.)
Then, you could search by type of shot, the number of people in the frame, color palette, and more – all of which would be supplied with a combination of machine learning and crowdsourced tagging.
Some example searches could be:
How did films in the 1970s depict loneliness?
How do the Coen Brothers frame singles?
What differences are there in how male and female directors or DPs frame women?
I wish I knew a developer to partner with this because it's a resource I'd love to have and I think would be broadly useful to filmmakers, students, graphic novelists, and many other artisans. Whadya think?
Some of the most interesting things I've read or watched recently:
VIDEO: Turkish Villagers Use Bird Whistles To Communicate
This feels like a mockumentary. It also feels stupid that we don't all do this.
PODCAST: Katie Hill on Saving The World
The CA-25 congressional candidate joined comedians Barry Rothbart & Lucas Neff in one of the most candid interviews I've ever heard from a political candidate.
BUZZFEED: This Artist Reimagined Cartoons With Black Characters
Tyron Handy wanted to inspire the next generation of black artists. As BuzzFeed says, 'it's everything.'
I've been talking a lot about getting involved physically (calling, canvassing, voting) during the midterm elections AND I've almost exclusively promoted House and Senate candidates.
BUT, voting rights, redistricting, and a whole lot more are decided by Governors, Secretaries of State, and Attorneys General – here are five gubernatorial candidates who are worthy of your $5.
Mark Begich for Alaska Governor
This weekend, the current Governor of Alaska, Independent Bill Walker, suspended his re-election campaign and threw his support behind the underdog Democrat, Begich, who now might seriously have a shot.Stacey Abrams for Georgia Governor
Democrat Stacey Abrams' race is a toss-up, but she's an incredible candidate and is the first black female gubernatorial candidate for a major party in the U.S.Richard Cordray for Ohio Governor
A crucial swing-state, it is crucial to have a Democratic state legislature in Ohio ahead of 2020 redistricting. Cordray is a 5-time Jeopardy! game show champion. His opponent, Mike DeWine, is accused of using his power to silence sexual harassment allegations against his friends.Andrew Gillum for Florida Governor
Gillum is a slight favorite but, especially in Florida, we can't take anything for granted. Gillum would be Florida's first black Governor AND having a Democratic Governor ahead of Florida's 2020 redistricting will be super important.Laura Kelly for Kansas Governor
Kelly is running against Trump acolyte and enemy of voting rights Kris Kobach. She's also been endorsed by 28 Republican lawmakers, many who have never endorsed a Democrat before, but believe it's that important to support her.
The New York Times made an interactive map of every building in America. The patterns that emerge are both beautiful and telling, and, the article muses nicely on the sense of discovery we're losing by only using GPS to get from point A to point B. (Thanks to Ben R. for the tip!)
Let America Vote recently highlighted a few apps you can use to get involved in the upcoming midterms and I wanted to signal boost:
Crush The Midterms helps you make the biggest impact in the midterm elections. Enter the issues you care about most, where you live and how much time you have to spare, Crush the Midterms develops a custom plan for how you can take action.
Vote With Me is an app that matches your contacts with public voting history so you can remind them to vote in the midterms. It's pretty mindblowing and super easy to use. Side note: here's an interesting article about how they made the app.
Riding out the Halloween theme for the rest of this month with another old Tremendosaur sketch. This is one we did for Comedy Central Digital featuring Alex Berg, Dave Theune, and one of my favorite endings to a sketch.
I do an improv comedy every Friday night at UCB Franklin with Bangarang! We've sold out weekly for the last 9 years – come see why.
SMALL TOWN: A fully improvised show based on real articles from your hometown newspaper. Second Mondays at UCB Sunset.
Thanks for reading! I'd love to get your feedback. Favorite segment? What's working? What's not working? What do you want to see more of?