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Sundance 2012: Ideas vs Entertainment

Bob Davidson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:19:04 +0000

Why do we go to the movies? This is a question I have been pondering over the last week as both myself and Justin settle back from what has now become an annual trip to the Sundance Film Festival – seeing 18 films in 4 days. I know. It sounds exhausting. It is. To sit and watch movie after movie after movie is hard work. But before you scream foul, let’s consider the real question – “Why?” Why immerse yourself into what is seemingly an over-hyped, celebrity infused, celebration of entertainment (other than getting our pictures with Chris Rock and Ty Burell of course)?

Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s because it’s not about entertainment.

Sure, this is not the case for all movies. Anything being released from the Big 6 (studios) is ultimately banking on you buying an experience in “entertainment”. But for a significant portion of the independent filmmakers that find themselves at festivals such as Sundance, it’s about something else. And it better be, as out of the 10,000+ films submitted and the 114 films that make it into the festival each year, less than half get acquired for distribution (45 films in 2011). Actually, the percentage of films being sold has historically been more like 10% (14 in 2010). All this to say, if filmmakers are creating films with the hopes that they get bought, they are better off playing their local lottery.

Fortunately, this is not the drive for most. Filmmakers are artists. They are ultimately about expression. Expression of an idea and form. An idea that happens to get disseminated through a visual medium such as film. An idea that’s tethered to a passion. And whatever the angst, in a space such as Sundance, the ideas emerge via story form. Stories about social change. Stories about life’s complexities. Stories about relationships. Stories about what could be.

This is why we (continue to) show up. These are the conversations that we hope to be in. We hope to not only become better storytellers ourselves, but continue to place ourselves in environments where we can experience ideas that help shape the world.

For those of you reading this and simply looking for a few films to be on the lookout for, here is a brief summary of some of our favorite films from Sundance 2012.

Beasts of the Southern Wild. Beautiful, captivating, and truly independent (no one you’ve ever heard of). Our favorite film of the fest. It not only won Sundance’s top prize (Grand Jury Award), it got acquired (Fox Searchlight) and expected to be in theaters in 2012.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. A documentary about China’s most famous artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. Although the film revolves around Ai’s life, this is more about social change and how to enable it. Ai’s primary method? Art and Twitter. Our favorite documentary of the festival and one that might eventually get an Oscar nod.

Indie Game: The Movie. If you like docs on niche communities, this is the one. This story follows some of the industry’s top independent game developers and their devotion to the craft. A close second midst the documentary competition. Will eventually make it into Netflix’s (instant) documentary category, we’d assume.

Liberal Arts. Did you see happythankyoumoreplease? Same feel. Same director. Same actor. (both Josh Radnor) Different story. Elizabeth Olsen is great in this throw-back to college piece. Should make wide distribution.

The Surrogate. A wonderful (true) story about Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), who’s life is largely confined to a iron lung and absent of frequent human contact. Mark seeks advice from his priest (William H. Macy) on whether or not it is appropriate to meet with a sex therapist, or “surrogate.” (Helen Hunt) This is not a story about sex, but one about acceptance, love, and connection.

Sleepwalk with Me. Here’s the bottom line on this one, we’re huge “This American Life” fans at R29. And there was really no option on being at this premiere. If you’re a regular listener, you’re likely familiar with the “Fear of Sleep” episode, arguably the funniest story on TAL right now. Directed by (and starring) Mike Birbiglia and produced by one of the greatest storytellers of all time, Ira Glass, Sleepwalk with Me is an innovative fusion of fiction and reality, earning it the “Best of NEXT” Sundance award. (And yes, we both, here and here, were determined to get our pictures with Ira.)

Goats. When you’re seeing multiple (serious) films-a-day, it is nice to curb them with a little humor. Goats offered its share of comic relief and and outstanding performance by upcoming actor Graham Phillips. Rounded out by a cast of Vera Farmiga, David Duchovny, and Ty Burrell, this one will eventually find its way to a theater near you.

2 Days in New York. If you’ve seen 2 Days in Paris, this is its follow-up and worthy of the sequel. Starring writer/director Julie Delpy and Chris Rock, we get an intimate look at the chaos and dysfunction when family visits. In this case, it’s Julie’s actual father, Albert Delpy, who plays the familial figure-head that comes to visit from France. Actually, Albert seem to upstages Chris Rock a bit (in terms of humor). But, this is a good move for Rock, who delivers a sound performance worthy of the indie film scene.

If interested in some of our other picks, I wrote a more detailed review and summary of our experience for CT earlier this week.

Designs that Changed the World

Kerri Liu — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:43:44 +0000

We often say on this blog that design can change the world and we frequently encourage our designer & non-designer friends out there to use their talents to do just that. In this post we wanted to take a look at designs that have in fact changed the world, specifically graphic designs that have had a large amount of influence either on our day-to-day experience or our view of the world.

In our search we have made a couple realizations. First, graphic design, while it can be a means to its own end, can have extraordinary power when used as a vehicle for communicating an idea. Considering this, we have found that the most influential designs are born from a very potent idea that resonates with a large or influential group of people. This is not to say that these designs cannot take on a life of their own outside their original purposes, as many of these designs have done just that. Second, when you encourage people to go out a make a difference, you are taking a risk. Not all design that has had impacted the world has been for good. And not all creators of these designs have understood their potential.

The Stop Sign
Simple and memorable, this design has had huge impact across the globe. This 97 year old design, originating in Detroit, Michigan, has made its way to all corners of the world. The field of bright red and hexagonal shape has become a staple for traffic laws, and lives a life of it’s own in parody. This design ultimately saves millions of lives and millions of dollars in property damage each year.

Coca-Cola logo
Like many brands, the flourished flowing type of this logo can be seen all over the US and Europe. Step outside this boundary though, into less developed areas across the world and you will see this logo there as well. Carrying the hope of Western wealth and prosperity, the Coca-Cola logo adorns the walls of bodegas and small stands in the slums and remote regions of the world. It can be argued that this energetic type treatment is a thin thread of hope that connects people in these otherwise forgotten places to the rest of the world.

Helvetica
This font, created in 1957 in Switzerland by Max Miedinger along with Eduard Hoffman at the Haas type foundry, helped to usher in a new era of modern design that has been adopted around the world. Love it or hate it, this font has done much for bringing well designed typography to the masses and changed the way the world views design.

The Swastika
Not all design has a positive impact on the world, the Nazi’s use of the swastika is the perfect example. Hitler’s regime understood the power of good design and utilized it to their advantage. The style guide for the Nazi regime is hauntingly well executed reminding us that in the hands of certain people design can be a dangerous tool. Even the swastika itself, originating over 3,000 years ago, had been used to promote a myriad of positive things such as life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. But like twisting words, the Nazi’s adoption of this symbol in its white circle on a red field will forever be understood across the world be a symbol for inconceivable evil.

Wave of Peace
Designed by McRay Magleby in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Wave of Peace is considered the world’s most memorable poster. And for good reason, not only is the artwork beautiful, but the message of peace it conveys transcends language and race. Prints of this poster can be found around the world and reworks are prevalent giving this design a life and meaning of its own.

This is just a small sampling of influential designs. What others come to mind when you think of designs that have had a large impact on the world?

New-Fangled Giving

Kara Ayaram — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:00:05 +0000

As 2011 drew to a close, you probably had giving on the mind. Not just with holiday presents and host gifts, but combined with the many requests for your year-end donations, it all conglomerated to form a whirlwind package of year-end generosity. But of course, giving doesn’t stop when January first rolls around. It’s the more subtle giving that lasts throughout the year that, perhaps, makes the bigger difference for both us and the community and world we live in. As we settle into the blank and fresh 2012, we’d like to take note of changes in the way the world gives, and perhaps write this year’s story of giving a little better than the year before.

There have been three major shifts in how we give. The first is an turning from a one-way donor-to-recipient model to a community-oriented, grassroots partnership model. Instead of giving toward large, multifaceted undertakings, projects are smaller, and communication between donor and recipient is increased, and sometimes even tangible. Therefore, gifts aren’t seen as much as donations, but more of a support partnership. It’s been around for a while, with the likes of microfinance-oriented sites you’ve heard of like Kiva and Kickstarter.

The second big shift, which smaller microfinance projects automatically lend themselves toward, is the connecting with an experience or story. People who give, especially during the upswing of a recession, want to feel connected with their recipients and know their support is making a difference. They want to actually feel a part of a not-so-happy beginning turning into a happy ending. Kiva and Global Giving (among many others) allow supporters the luxury of hearing from recipients first-hand. A more recent evolution of experience-oriented support, specifically in the innovation community, is Quarterly Co. This is a whole new arena that plays off of a subscription model, supporting the work of creative thinkers who send a story-driven gift every three months in the mail. It’s a new (and tangible) way to think about connectedness and support of innovators (and the USPS – check it out).

The third shift is that giving is social. Take ONE, Pepsi Refresh, text message giving, Twitter campaigns, etc. Giving today is more social that ever. It’s a duty, it’s something we take part in together. 52 x 52 is just one of many new platforms that get people together to give more abundantly, and we spoke about the Leap Year Project a few posts back. More than ever, people are able to band together to create positive change.

But underlying it all, there’s a more subtle twist in the giving storyline. The line between giving and consumerism is blurring. Today, conscious consumers purchase with purpose. They are motivated by the story and buy into products with the intent to create positive change. Buying is giving. According to Slavoj Zizek, you are not just buying something, you are buying into something bigger. (Although Zizek goes into a fascinating discussion of consumer motivation of purchasing these goods, that is a discussion for another post. See the full video.) This idea of course started with the likes of (RED) and other charitably-based product lines, which multiplied into grassroots story-driven companies you see everywhere today.

We love giving, and it’s interesting to see how it continually evolves in our culture. Recognizing these shifts has affected the way we as designers think about messaging, how we communicate those messages, and how we give ourselves. The best part of all of this is that there are more ways to be a part of supporting others than ever before. So get out there in 2012 and start giving, and share with us what you do or what you see.

Top 29 Memorable Moments of 2011

Bob Davidson — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:31:11 +0000

Lists. Lists. Lists. It’s that time of year and we’re not scared to contribute to the pool. For in many ways, in a world with an (over)abundance of accessible information, year-end-lists seem to an organized space for reflection. Kind of an… “Oh yeah, a lot has happened.” The good. The bad. The absurd. Each year, the Rule29 team complies a list of memorable moments via our team. Here is 2011′s.

Top 29 of 2011 (in no particular order)

1. Our (former) governor Blog-o gets sentenced to 14 years in prison.
2. Natural disasters devastate. Tsunami. Tornados. Earthquakes.
3. Kate Middleton allows young girls everywhere to continue dreaming.
4. Wall Street. Occupied.
5. Osama. Done. Obama. Up.
6. The world said goodbye to Steve Jobs.
7. The world didn’t end.
8. The world meets Siri.
9. Chicago gets Snowpocalypse’d.
10. We said goodbye to the Space Shuttle(s) (and @timmit watches at STS-133 – watch video).
11. R29 plays with wood type (at Hamilton).
12. Justin Bieber cuts his hair.
13. Charlie Sheen wins. Popular culture loses.
14. Egypt revolts. Facebook/Twitter actually serve a purpose.
15. John Galliano makes anti Semitic statements. Fired as head designer by Christian Dior
16. We all get Life Kerned.
17. Terrance Malick comes out of hiding and graces us with “Tree of Life.”
18. R29 introduces GIVE. Stories Matter. Matters to You.
19. Cloud storage (finally) gets noticed.
20. R29 helps out at Turning Point with Grip & Faust.
21. Libya revolts. Gaddafi ousted.
22. Justin speaks at TEDx.
23. Alexander McQueens introduces us to “Savage Beauty” at the Met.
24. Arcade Fire wins the Grammy’s. Indie fans stunned. Katy Perry fans ask “Arcade who?”
25. Netflix believes themselves to be invisible. Gets put in their place.
26. Joe Patterno exits Penn State. (Some) college fans realize there are more important things than football.
27. AIGA Pivot. R29 helps design the “Perfect Pair“. For kicks.
28. Science progresses. Discovery of evidence of the Higgs Boson at CERN. Discovery of particles faster than the speed of light.
29. Steve Buscemeyes.

What is on your list?

Tired of Resolutions? Let’s Try Leaping…

Justin Ahrens — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:25:01 +0000

I’ll admit it…I’m a sucker for the end of the year. I love the concept of one thing ending and something fresh starting right around the corner. I make a list of things every year that I’m looking to change, be purposeful about, etc. And for the most part, I’m not too bad at following through on them. I think in life we all need to step out, make a change, pursue that dream, make a difference.

As most of you know, Rule29 tries to make some level of difference by being purposeful with our time and our impact – Africa, Story Telling, and What Matters, to name a few. We strive to do our part and explore ways to pursue wonder and be aware. I hope, as a leader at Rule29 and a fellow creative, this is something that is not only making a difference outside our walls, but inside as well. To be transparent, though, in a lot of ways it’s easier to make changes at work. It’s just something we have built in to our day to day. But there are still some areas I feel I’m lacking…

For me, this is most evident in my family. I have four amazing kids and a wife that loves me for some weird reason. I want to make an impact in the world with them, so this year, as a family, we decided to do something together. A new friend of mine, Victor Saad, is starting a project called The Leapyear Project. It’s an initiative to get a group of people stepping out to make a difference. The concept of the Leapyear Project is simple: What risk will you take to change your life or the lives of others? What risk will you take to impact the world for the better or improve the community you live in? It encompasses an endless variety of forms, sizes, and concepts … it’s all up to you. Go to the site and check out the Risk page. This page really inspired my wife, Sarah, and I to try something together with our family.

We went to our four kids and talked to them about it. We asked them what they cared about in this world and what they wanted to help change. Next, we decided that, starting officially this February of the Leapyear, we will each take two months and pick something all six of us can do to challenge, sacrifice, or push ourselves to take a risk and make a difference. Each family member has to research, set up, and choose two times this year what to do (with some help from Mom and Dad where necessary). The other months they will be doing what another member has chosen. We’ll then, as a family, document our experience and thoughts. So we have ages 39, 37, 11, 9, 7 and 6, all working together to accomplish positive change.

I will post now and then, and tweet with the #LYPROJECT hash tag, on what we are doing and how it is going because I think it will be incredibly interesting (At least I hope it will). So now I close with a question to you: What are you going to do to risk something this year? Don’t think that it has to be curing cancer (even though that would be awesome); it can take any shape or size. Maybe it’s just sitting with your grandma at the nursing home twice a month and having a conversation. Maybe it’s pursuing that crazy idea you keep putting off. Whatever it is, be purposeful and record your thoughts and what happens. I think you will be surprised at the outcome. What do you say? Let’s not make a resolution – let’s leap together for a year…. You in?

TEDxNaperville – See Different, Do Different

Katrina Strich — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:28:17 +0000

We are big TED and TEDx fans at Rule29. And we are excited to share Justin’s first TEDx talk – See Different, Do Different. As people who wonder, we are built to see the world differently than most. It’s one of our unique, innovative traits. We all say we want to be a part of changing the world, but how do you actually accomplish this? Watch his TEDx Naperville talk and the other great speakers too.

Thankful.

Bob Davidson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:16:54 +0000

There is a reason they call it Thanksgiving. It’s not about Turkey. It’s not about football. And it’s not about Black Friday Eve. Simply put, it’s about being thankful. And while the idea might seemed played, or even a bit cliche’ this time of year, there is something about the creating space to be thankful. To thank.

Historically, Thanksgiving is tied to the harvest. Our lives look different today. Our harvest is different.

If you read our previous post, you’ll know that the Rule29 team has been attempting to instill space to reflect on the things that matter. We’ve done this here. And we’ve decided to share a few below. All in all, we’d like to thank YOU for being a part of our lives, whether loosely, or closely. And for those who are on the closer side… can you guess who is thankful for what?

From Andy, Bob, Dawn, Justin, Kara (The Cheech), Katrina, Kerri, Sarah, Susan, and Tim (not in this order):

My husband and dog.
My fam & friends
My wonderful home
That I get to work here with good people
Free time
Hugs
Happy and sad music
Butternut squash and sweet potatoes
Grace

Family
Sweet Rental Cars
Green Bean Casserole

Coffee
Yoga
Family
Friends
Quality H2O
The bag of pretzel M&Ms I found hidden in the kitchen
Socks *Ironic since I dont like feet

Llamas
Scrap paper
Peppermint mochas
Paddington Dog
A freshly changed oil supply in my car
Flat boots that feel so nice on my feet

Tacos
Theo Epstein
The Solar System

Right side of the brain
Trying to SEE different
The 64 Crayola box with built in sharpener

R29 Team
Family
Music
Kona pup
Friends
Turkey and mashed potatoes

My family
My home
DVR
KitchenAid mixers
Brightly colored sticky notes
Stain removers
Non-stick pots and pans

My wife
My children
Conversations
My vacuum sealed coffee mug
This American Life (App)
The unknown
Grace (too)

What Matters to You?

Kerri Liu — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:17:25 +0000

What matters to you?

I’ve noticed that we ask this question to other people a lot around here. Whether it’s our clients, friends or family members, we are really interested in what matters to others. It means something to us, helps us to understand and live in harmony with each other. Why is it then, that we ask ourselves this question so infrequently?

In the spirit of the season, we would like to change that. So we are posing this question to ourselves and to you.

What matters to you?

We encourage you to take some time to stop and really wonder about it. Don’t be intimidated. Start small. What matters to you today? Is it getting to work on time? Making sure you get through your to do list? Spending a couple quality hours with your family tonight?

Recently we created a space to collect the things that matter to us. It’s a site that holds the words and images that represent what is important to us (take a peek here). We’d love for you to take a look and if you’d like, take those ideas you’ve come up with and add to this collection of things that matter (you can also submit via the #matterstoyou hash-tag on Twitter).

So, try to set aside a moment to pause and consider what matters to you. It could be what’s in front of you right now.

Join us in sharing what matters to you!

It’s Time To Get Your Hand Turkeys On!

Justin Ahrens — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:56:16 +0000

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since our third annual hand turkey extravaganza ended with these great winners. The time is here once again, our friends, to charge up the tryptophan motivation and be a kid with some hand turkey works of art. Please check out our updated Show of Hands site, download the form, read the rules or check out the 2010 entries, and be among the first to enter the 4th annual Show of Hands competition. Remember outside of the sheer glory of being named champion, we enhance the sweet taste of victory with some iTunes gifts to go with it.

PLEASE NOTE – part of your jury selection will be based on tweets, likes and comments. So enter early and enter often. Let everyone know about it and get some social networking love. Get your office into it, break out the crayons or oil pastels, make Grandma bust one out and your kids (oh yeah, we pick a kids winner too). Bottom line: Have some fun.

We are excited to see your tasty turkey creations, let’s get it rolling!

Helping Hands & Purple Porcupines

Susan Herda — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:16:55 +0000

As stated by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, approximately 25% of all women will experience an act of domestic violence in their lifetime. This type of behavior is often repeated, and stems from the abuser’s desires of power and control. It is not always physical, nor is it always directed towards women. It affects all ages and people of every social status. The worst of all—it is silent. Humiliation often prevents victims from coming forward and speaking out against their abusers. How can the community help a silent, yet incredibly damaging issue? One solution is to raise awareness.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As our way of showing care to the victims of this issue, Rule29 spent a day up in Woodstock, Illinois volunteering at Turning Point, a 24-hour crisis intervention and response center. In order to maintain the facility and allow it to continually serve the community, Turning Point relies on the community to provide whatever contribution they can. Through various types of donations, the organization is able to supply shelter and supplies, counseling, education, and advocacy to those in need.

In a group effort with our friends at Grip Design and Faust we were able to take a break from our busy schedules to lend a helping hand. (Read more about our serving adventures here.) From brightening up a dreary stairwell with a cheerful mural to organizing a cluttered supply closet and lots of yard work, we were able to make a big difference in just a few hours. (For a closer look at the day, check out our Flickr set.)

We started off our day in the basement, where they normally conduct counseling for young children. The artwork and collages that hung on the walls illustrated the ranges of emotions the young victims experienced. It was obvious that Turning Point was making a positive difference in these children’s lives. The empowerment was strongly evident. We learned that our main task for the day would be to help make the space more visibly pleasant—the dark stairwell was somewhat frightening for the younger visitors. We didn’t waste any time and broke out the paint and brushes to create a cheerful and colorful nature scene, complete with adorable animals. Nothing says happiness like a bunch of purple porcupines rolling down a grassy hill.

Since a lot of the adolescent counseling uses techniques children are familiar with, art supplies and toys are brought in to help them find their voice. Unfortunately, the storage room for all these supplies was dusty, dirty, disorganized, and crawling with creepy crawlies. In a couple of hours, we transformed the space with a vacuum and some elbow grease. It is now an organized storage area where employees can easily locate exactly what they need for their counseling sessions.

Others in the group helped to beautify the facility—painting trim, spreading grass seed, pulling weeds, and chopping down trees (that’s right, Tim got to bust out the chainsaw). They mentioned that due to the weather, many of their summer volunteers were unable to assist in landscaping maintenance. Lucky for them we offered lots of helping hands to get the job done!

It was a great experience to see how much fifteen individuals could accomplish (all before lunch), and there was an overwhelming reception by the Turning Point employees. Throughout the day, people would come up to us and were so genuinely grateful for what we were doing to help them. They explained that they wouldn’t be able to provide aid without outside volunteer help and generous donations from the surrounding community.

For more information on Turning Point, including how you can volunteer, please visit their website. This resource also provides education on how you can identify the warning signs of domestic violence—valuable information to keep you or someone else you know from becoming a statistic.