Tag: Video

This is the tag page for articles featuring videos on Cultrface.

Adverts for defunct brands and discontinued products

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90's UK TV Adverts - Defunct Brands/Discontinued items.
90's UK TV Adverts - Defunct Brands/Discontinued Items (Part 2)

As a way to feed my nostalgia habit (and an act of self-care because the world is always on fire in some way), I watch old adverts from the 90s. It reminds me of my childhood and I can revisit adverts or products I’ve not heard of for decades. They also act as mini time capsules for brands and products that are no longer with us.

The above videos show some of those defunct brands and products from the UK, ranging from one2one (originally Mercury One2One, then becoming one2one, then rebranding as T-Mobile UK, then merging with Orange as Everything Everywhere, and finally becoming EE. Phew!) to Dollond & Aitchison (the opticians), the Goldfish credit card (later bought by Barclaycard), and Tandy.

Peter Sellers as Laurence Olivier as Richard III reciting lyrics from The Beatles's 'A Hard Day's Night'

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Peter Sellers was a classic character actor but this took it a step further. In 1965, on an episode of a Beatles-tribute variety show called The Music of Lennon and McCartney, Sellers did a rendition of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ in the style of Laurence Olivier’s Richard III.

Watch Olivier’s original performance for a comparison of this meta-acting delight.

Classic Frasier

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HILARIOUS bit from "Frasier" - '95

If the writing and acting are still as good as this, the return of Frasier is sure to be a hit (for me at least).

Here, Frasier is trying to get some sleep but external forces (Eddie and Niles’s starter’s pistol) are getting in his way. My favourite line has to be this:

Niles: And there’s no need to get snippy; accidents happen, you know.

Frasier: Oh I’m sorry, was I snippy? I didn’t realize it was too much to ask that there not be GUNPLAY IN MY LIVING ROOM!

No one does acerbic wit and sarcasm quite like Frasier Crane.

Slate's interview with the "MORTAL KOMBAT!" guy

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The dude who shouts “MORTAL KOMBAT!” in the movie and video game advert, Kyle Wyatt, spoke to Slate about how it all came about and how it affected his life. But if you were thinking it catapulted him to stardom in some way, you’d be mistaken:

So had you played Mortal Kombat at the point that you were recording the commercial? Did you have any idea what the commercial was for?

Had no idea, bro.

So they didn’t even tell you why they wanted you to specifically yell the words Mortal Kombat?

Oh, no, no, no, man. It was a gig. I was able to pay my rent that month.

Deep down, isn’t everything just a gig or a moment in our lives?

Mortal Kombat "Mortal Monday" TV Commercial

The history of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

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DefunctTV: The History of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

I LOVED ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?‘ and I’m happy that Defunctland made an in depth video about it. The show had an a cappella vocal group, taught kids geography and problem solving, and a cool cartoon to boot. It also had interesting—and thematically relevant—ways of funding:

The show was primarily funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the annual financial support from the viewers/stations of PBS (1991–1995). Toyota funded the show for its first three seasons with Holiday Inn co-funded for the second half of the first season and all of season two. Delta Air Lines provided funding for the show’s final two seasons (1994–95).

Another funny video about Daniel Day-Lewis's acting

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Living With Daniel Day-Lewis

There is/was(?) something so intriguing about DDL’s acting, allowing for some very funny parodies. This one imagines Daniel Day-Lewis as a frustrating roommate, involving his portrayals of:

Goddamn it, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Hilarious video from The Onion picking holes in Daniel Day-Lewis's acting in Phantom Thread

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'Phantom Thread' Producer Points Out All The Times Daniel Day-Lewis Fucks Up At Acting

We stayed wide for this entire scene so we could avoid drawing too much of the audience’s attention to Daniel’s lifeless embodiment of his character.

And if you want to read a serious review of the movie, check out Cultrface fave Dom Griffin’s for Baltimore Beat.

Flying fish doing what they do best

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Flying Fish Picked Off From Above And Below | The Hunt | BBC Earth

Although I’ve eaten flying fish before, I’d never actually seen them “fly” until recently (easily accessible to me but not something I’ve ever gone out of my way to find). The above video, filmed for BBC Earth, shows a glide of flying fish soaring through the air. Truly majestic.

They’re also a significant part of Bajan culture (I ate them in Barbados while visiting my dad’s family):

Many aspects of Barbadian culture center (sic) around the flying fish; it is depicted on coins, as sculptures in fountains, in artwork, and as part of the official logo of the Barbados Tourism Authority. Additionally, the Barbadian coat of arms features a pelican and dolphinfish on either side of the shield, but the dolphinfish resembles a flying fish. Furthermore, actual artistic renditions and holograms of the flying fish are also present within the Barbadian passport.

Tom Karangelov skating on 16mm film

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Filmmaker Matt Payne shot footage of Tom Karangelov skating on 16mm film and it looks really cool. Then again, everything looks good on 16mm. Matt also did an interview with Jenkem about the film and his techniques

How much did u guys spend on 16mm film to make this?
Not that much! Tom lands everything first try!

Just kidding, it was expensive and when we rolled on a trick we really had to make it count.

But we made this project on the side over a couple of years and got some deals with Kodak / Pro8mm so it didn’t hurt my wallet all at once. And I may or may not have used it as a tax write-off and sold some b-roll.

How do we know you didn’t just film this all on iPhone and use a 16mm filter or app?
I might have. The apps are that good. What if I told you this was all a marketing rouse to unveil the newest Kodak filter for iPhone 12 Pro Max? [laughs]

How much money would it cost to make a ~10 minute skate video on film?
I would say probably $2500 – $3000 on the cheap side. Maybe upwards of $5000 if you do it proper with good transfers and real cinema cameras.

(via Jenkem)

Black Art: In the Absence of Light on HBO

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Black Art: In the Absence of Light (2021) | Official Trailer | HBO

Inspired by the late David Driskell’s landmark 1976 exhibition, “Two Centuries of Black American Art,” the documentary Black Art: In the Absence of Light offers an illuminating introduction to the work of some of the foremost Black visual artists working today.

Featured artists include Kara Walker, Jordan Casteel, and Kerry James Marshall.