Life in a Day, the surprisingly brilliant documentary completely cut together from Youtube users' footage, has just been made available completely free to watch (legally) online. Directed by Kevin Macdonald, who I recently heard talk at the London Film Festival (about the blurring boundaries of fact and fiction), it is a strangely moving piece of cinema history. Please check out my full review here. Depending on your view, this must have been an editor's dream job or nightmare. Sorting through 4500 hours of footage to create something intelligent, coherent and unforgettable. It is quite an achievement. a day in the life of the planet Earth and it's wierd and wonderful residents.
But I'm not just here to encourage you to watch this great film for absolutely nothing. I'm also here to encourage you to get involved with the (sort of) sequel, Britain in a Day. Ewan McGregor, Ridley Scott and more are all here to encourage you to get involved. Film your day, Saturday 12th November 2011, make it personal and upload it to Youtube to be a part of an amazing social experiment and hopefully a big part of British cinema history. Go here for more information. If you own a camera and ever wanted a shot at making or being in a movie, this is your goddamn chance!
For now, get inspired by watching Life in a Day below:
I'm very excited for Britain In A Day; I'm getting my media studies teachers to give out cameras for it so we can take part.
ReplyDeleteLife In A Day is also on on tonight (3-11-11) at 9 on BBC2
(By the way, I'm having trouble commenting on *my own blog*, which is ridiculous, but this is what I was trying to reply to your question on Contagion: "Thank you! I've not seen 'Traffic' but from what I've read on Wiki it seems that many elements are shared in both: the interwoven characters and their status, the use of a mostly A list cast, the composer etc. I can't speak for the directorial style, though I see that 'Traffic' is 147 minutes whereas 'Contagion' is only 105 which may mean that it has more pace. The subject matter is quite different and there's not really much to 'get'; yet, you probably won't be 'missing out' as I don't reckon it an awards contender. I liked it 'Contagion' as a friday night movie - almost a B movie with A listeres - but it's nothing particularly special. I wish I'd seen 'Traffic', but I hope that what I've put helps! Let me know what you think if you do see it.")
ReplyDelete@Matthew What did you think of Life in a Day? any plans for Britain in a Day or just see what happens on the day? And yes your comment helps a lot. I do remember thinking that Traffic seemed very slow (no pun intended) so maybe Contagion will be an easier watch. I suppose I'll wait for the DVD.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!