Magic, Tycoon, Dominoes, Courtroom, Cave

Trump, QAnon And The Return Of Magic

Kirby Ferguson | Vimeo | 4th August 2020

Deep dive into QAnon, Pizzagate and the Illuminati, the world's biggest conspiracy theories. Because "magic comes pre-installed in the human mind," in confusing times it resurfaces as a way of "connecting the dots" – but "in a world where there are untold trillions of events each day, and virtually infinite ways to connect them, you can always connect the dots in any way you want" (43m24s)

Wandaland

Richard Noble | Vimeo | 18th August 2020

Short film –  a mixed-media biography of John Wanda, a mysterious animation tycoon modeled after Walt Disney, and his doomed theme-park Wandaland. "He would make one change, then another, then another. Meanwhile, the company was hemorrhaging cash, and Wanda seemed to not even notice." A visual delight, recalling the potent nostalgia of Welles's "Magnificent Ambersons"(6m07s)

History Of The Universe In 13,799 Dominoes

Kurtis Baute | YouTube | 4th January 2018

Each domino = a million years. As the dominoes fall, the history of the universe is laid out. The Big Bang, supernova explosions, galaxy expansion, the collapse of proto-planetary disks, moon volcanoes, two Ice Ages, multicellular life ("animals develop eyes;  now the Universe can see!"), and everything else leading up to the crucial last three dominoes, which represent all of human history (13m21s)

How To Film A Courtroom Scene

Now You See It | YouTube | 21st August 2020

Every courtroom scene must answer this question – "how do you film such a large space with so many different characters in it?" Good examples, like "O.J.: Made in America" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," respect the "imaginary lines" between the characters, and gracefully balance the perspectives of defendant, audience, prosecutor, judge and jury (9m55s)

Unique Video Of The Week

Orson Welles narrates a 1973 animated adaptation of Plato's Cave allegory

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