I have seen the future

..and it is Cold. Tonight was the second evening of the Banff Film fest World Tour, and like last year we only made it to one of the two programs. Whether by trend or chance, this years selections were much better than last.

Last year I wrote that portraying the psychic content of adventure, i.e. that which is interesting about it, would be the greatest challenge of film making in the youtube era. I’ve also written here, on numerous occasions, that the great benefit of digital adventure media is that the doers have become the tellers, and that the great challenge will be to rise above the incestuously parallel realms of adventure music video and outdoor porn. Cold did all of this is spectacularly poetic fashion, mixing authenticity with sophisticated presentation.

It’s too bad the entire 18 minute film isn’t online. A third of the films we saw tonight were, and Banff will find it increasingly challenging to be relevant. I hope they stay ahead of the curve.

Spoil is entirely online, and worth checking out, though it has all the good and bad of a NatGeo special. The 16 minute Banff edit of Solitaire was good too, though I’d like to see their expressive repertoire expand beyond slow motion (which made up 98% of the film, no exaggeration). Other stuff was good too (esp. Sketchy Andy), but Cold points the way to the future, and I’m glad I saw it.

DaveC

November.16.2011

Cultural critique, Videos

4 responses to “I have seen the future”

Eric

November 17, 2011 at 9:43 am

wow, that looks awesome.

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James Castleberry

November 18, 2011 at 8:04 am

Thanks for the links. I watched most of Spoil and was unaware of proposed pipeline and supertanker route through that area. The number of turns and maneuvers required for tankers would seem to guarantee accidents. I’ve followed our energy/economic predicament for several years and come to understand not only the unsustainability of it all but also some of the psychological and emotional drivers that are compelling us to do these things (such as put a pristine ecosystem at risk) which are obviously insane from a long-term survival point of view. Obviously a complicated issue with many facets that the film ignored, but still worth watching. Your comments regarding the challenge facing people who are making outdoor videos were also thought-provoking. Definitely can be a tool for raising consciousness and helping us to regain some sense of harmony with nature, which I believe is our only real hope.

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1. DaveC
  
  November 18, 2011 at 11:23 am
  
  Agreed James. I think the accesibility of digital media, allowing folks without enormous economic means to gain wide exposure for their story, is hugely important. Be in for environmental issues (Spoil, the Red/Gold film about Bristol Bay, etc) or political ones (the Arab spring).
  
  Reply
Banff 2012: the death of the spectacular « Bedrock & Paradox

November 14, 2012 at 11:26 am

[…] came to town this week demonstrates that more clearly than ever. As I’ve said in previous years, the task of contemporary adventure film makers is to go beyond visual pornography, to identify and […]

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