It used to be that if you wanted to be a film-maker you take courses at a college with a decent film program. But then you have guys like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino who had no formal schooling in the field, but have found success in the medium. I mention this only for that fact that it is getting to a point now where a video that goes viral can pay dividends for the creator. Who needs school when you have passion.
Modern Times is the title of this short and it comes from a 37-year old Scottish art director named Ben Craig. Heat Vision, where I first noticed the film (though it was posted on Vimeo back in mid-December), indicated it was the British Film Institute’s restoration and archiving of old movies that got Craig thinking about where and how these old movies would be viewed. This one idea gave birth to an ambitious little short that Craig says was shot over a weekend and took two months of post-production, when he had time, to complete.
And the cost? Because of the goodwill shown by friends, costs went to the supply of sandwiches and pints of ale.
Over at Vimeo the short film has been picking up momentum and now Hollywood has come calling. Craig has been fielding inquiries from every major studio including Warner Bros., Fox, and Paramount.
Check out the short below. I dug it a lot and I think you will too.
