If a movie had a bad trailer would anyone even watch it? Film trailers are what inspire someone to press play, so obviously they’re important. Did you know that there’s even an awards show for the best trailers of the year? So before we plunged into making our very own trailer using the footage we gathered in Liberia earlier this year, we took a second to examine the very best documentary sneak peeks. What did we find? Take a peek for yourself at our ten favorite trailers, in no particular order, here:
Contributed by: Franny Mestrich
If a movie had a bad trailer would anyone even watch it? Film trailers are what inspire someone to press play, so obviously they’re important. Did you know that there’s even an awards show for the best trailers of the year? So before we plunged into making our very own trailer using the footage we gathered in Liberia earlier this year, we took a second to examine the very best documentary sneak peeks. What did we find? Take a peek for yourself at our ten favorite trailers, in no particular order, here:
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Did our misspelling make you think of these? It should come as no surprise that that is NOT the type of dog earring we’re talking about this Favorite Quote Friday! No sir and no ma’am… we’re talking about dog-earing, which is what we at p.h. balanced films have been doing to the pages of Origin Magazine – a/k/a The Conscious Culture Magazine, which we’re loving for its focus on good business practices and the (often famous) consumers who support them! Our quote for today’s Favorite Quote Friday comes from the dog-eared page below (consider this our 2012 shout-out to grandma, who would clip out articles of interest and mail them). The fine print reads: “If we can change the corporations, we can move the planet forward. Corporations control this planet. Of the world’s 100 largest entities, fifty-one are corporations. Walmart, for example, is bigger than Norway. Virtually every major corporation is awakening to the fact that traditional advertising is no longer sufficient for building a world-class brands. A fancy jingle or slick digital ad campaign can’t get people to buy crappy products from an unethical company. Because of Internet search and social media technologies, corporations are now defined by what they do, not what they say.” As if that weren’t already a perfect fit with our mission, we note that this article is by a fellow documentary filmmaker, Jeff Rosenblum, whose doc, “The Naked Brand,” focuses on the advertising industry and the impact of consumer power (e.g., Nike and Apple) – check it out! And happy Friday, all! People sometimes ask us, “Why are you using film to tell people about the impact they have through the products they buy?” We ask you, “How many of people would you guess skipped right over this text and clicked play below?” In today’s quote, Niyati Shah, one of our Board Members, gives a more in-depth answer: NOTE: Regular readers of this blog know that we at p.h. balanced films believe strongly in the power of film to make a real impact in the world. Today, we bring you thoughts from one of our interns on an important example of this change-through-film phenomenon. Contributed by: Jason Gaines In this election season, we can’t help but note that documentaries can be clearer than politicians in getting a message across. After all, doc films are not aimed to please the masses, but more often are a method of showing a reality in our world. For this upcoming election, the state of our economic recovery has become one of many hot topics. And while it’s hard to say what plan is the right one to boost our economic recovery, there’s a film that made some real-world impact in addressing what got us into the current economic mess in the first place. In its exploration of the current recession, Inside Job, the 2011 Oscar winner for Best Documentary, uncovered several contributing factors and, as a result, many of those factors were later addressed, including academics who put their own economic interests above their integrity. *Tagline and image are from a fantastic teachers guide that accompanies the film. Contributed by: Lindsey Sitz From www.nytimes.com NOTE: Regular readers of this blog know that we at p.h. balanced films believe strongly in the power of film to make a real impact in the world. Today, we bring you thoughts from one of our fellows on a fantastic example of this change-through-film phenomenon. Half the Sky, a two part docu-series that aired on PBS earlier this month, opens with George Clooney’s face. Smart way to pull your audience in—give the people what they want—a BEAUTIFUL talking head. Typically when a gorgeous man speaks, I blackout and fall into elaborate fantasies about said man feeding me grapes. This time, I listened. He, along with a number of other celebrity-activists, spoke about the oppression of women around the globe—how serious it is, and how absolutely “no country can get ahead if they leave half their population behind.” (In fact, the title comes from a quote that “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” – and we all know that half the sky falling down would not be a good thing.). Readers of our blog know that we believe in the power of documentary film to make a real world impact and we love seeing that power in action. This week, we bring you the story of how a film caught the attention of a number of high level military folks and members of Congress, and, in turn, made a real difference for those who are serving our country. Contributed by: Rachel Pafe The Bad News
Contamination. High levels of cancer. Don’t tell anyone. Sounds like a conspiracy theory only seen in the movies? Correct about the movie part, wrong about the paranoid conspiracy part. Sometimes reality is scarier than the most outlandish fiction. The documentary Semper Fi: Always Faithful, exposes the very real situation in which the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC, experienced immense levels of water pollution that resulted in high cancer levels. Up to one million people were exposed to tap water, drinking water and showers, which were polluted due to underground storage tanks, industrial spills and irresponsible waste disposal from an off-base dry cleaning company. (Read on for the good news…) As a research and film organization that believes in the power of film to make a real impact in the world, we love bringing you stories about films that have made a real impact in the world! This week, we’re sharing a blog written for Women in Film and Video (thanks, WIFV!) regarding the recent Guggenheim Symposium at the 2012 SilverDocs festival in Silver Spring, MD. (Check out other blogs in “The Power of Docs” category for more examples of powerful films.) Contributed by: Lindsey Sitz (written June 20, 2012) After 25 years of extraordinary filmmaking—18 of which were spent filming the plight of three innocent men accused of murder—Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s friendship is still going strong. “We love each other,” remarked Bruce during Tuesday night’s Guggenheim Symposium. Whether it be the remarkable chemistry they share as filmmakers or their intense passion for storytelling and advocacy—Joe and Bruce have successfully moved mountains with their films. By 2011, after almost two decades wrongfully serving life sentences in prison, the West Memphis Three were to be set free and acquitted of all charges. “I owe [Joe & Bruce] my entire life,” Jason Baldwin, one of the West Memphis Three, said on Tuesday night. So I watched a documentary with a group of friends last night about the pharmaceutical industry and its quest to develop the first FDA-approved Viagra equivalent for women. Notice how I tell you the background before I tell you the title? Yeah, I learned to do that after I got some funny looks at work when I told my co-workers that friends were coming over to watch Orgasm, Inc. I talk about the movie and then a podcast for a bit here, so if you’re reading for the corporate connection, jump down to the bottom.
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