Dual Film Festival debut of "Cell Phone of the Future"

Good news!  A little project we did a while back is being recognized by some pretty cool film festivals.  The "Cell Phone of the Future" is an examination of what our phone technology will look like a decade from now.  It's surprising…

Good news!  A little project we did a while back is being recognized by some pretty cool film festivals.  The "Cell Phone of the Future" is an examination of what our phone technology will look like a decade from now.  It's surprising yet logical at the same time. 

This commercial will be shown at the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival this weekend and at the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival of Pheonix in April.  I couldn't be prouder.  This wouldn't have happened without Cinematographer Bill Bennett and our awesome crew.  Featuring Andrea Bogart as the Woman Transcending Time.

See Behind-The-Scenes from the shoot here.

Day 9 of 100 Days of Inventions - Grandma Zombie

Never let a good mind go to waste.  Everywhere we look, we find idle retired folk just basking in the sun, contributing nothing to the nation's bottom line.  Sure they worked hard all their lives and probably deserve some R&R, but a few hours a day of work can't hurt.  Especially if the work involves nothing more than donning a pair of Virtual Reality goggles and playing some fun games.

VR Granny

Florida can look very different in 2024, with plenty of new Relaxo-Cafes popping up.  This is where patrons go to get paid for hanging out.  The games grandma gets to chose from are all designed to entertain her while secretly solving some other problem.  Imagine a game based around Captcha, where she identifies difficult-to-decipher words that were last used when she was a child. The VR computer remembers her answers and compares them to a vast database of answers from all the other old people hooked into the system.  Using this info, it can translate old scanned newspapers accurately without having to hire a team of experts to bore themselves at the task.

The power of the collective minds will be utilized in ways forms beyond mere information gathering.  As grandma gets excited about all the difficult words she is getting right, her brain activity goes bezerk and she starts to give off significant amounts of electrical impulses.  These impulses are gathered by sensitive probes that recover this spent energy much like regenerative braking in your Prius.  This energy might be minuscule, but with so many retired old people hooked into the system, the electricity adds up.  Now there is more than one way to efficiently suck everything good out of old people brains.  

Day 8 of 100 Days of Inventions - Portable Cookies

When you visit most websites, they end up depositing these dirty little HTTP Cookies onto your device.  You are carrying around those buggers all day, unbeknownst to yourself.  Do you realize that when you search a Google Adwords enabled website, it remembers you visited by dropping a cookie onto your iPhone. Then when you're on the bus, innocently reading a blog that was Facebooked by your friend, an ad pops up and it's the same dildo you were browsing last night, FROM THE SAME WEBSITE!  You quickly try to scroll past the ad before your lover sees it, but she wants to read the blog too.  Oh no!  

privacy-cookies.jpg

Did you know that these cookies can travel with you and jump from device to device? Yup, if you have your phone set to synchronize your bookmarks and search history to your computer and iPad so that your overall browsing experience on any device is seamless; well then you already have a horde of cookies making round trips through your electronics.

Imagine that in the future, it's your implants that will have the HTTP Cookie infestation. As soon as you look at the logo of a clothing store, your internal micro-computer will search the web and find the appropriate data source.  Then it will interface with the shop at your current location and look up inventory.  This inventory will be cross-referenced with your size and shape.  If there are any suitable garments available, the computer will recommend some options and ask you if you would like to try something on.  You just think about it, and the computer knows you answered with an affirmative. By the time you walk in the door, the hostess is leading you to the trail room where the chosen garments will be brought to you.

Sounds great, right?  But imagine the abused brick and mortar, mom and pop shops that would go out of business if you could walk into such a boutique, get amazing service, walk out with nothing and instantly order though Amazonian.com and get same-day delivery in select locations without anything going towards the people that actually helped you look hot.  Well they found a solution for that... 

As soon as you scan the logo and poll the store computer, it drops a bunch of Cookies onto your implant. These Cookies identify the store owner as the agent who turned you onto that new outfit you want to purchase.  So even if you order online, the manufacturing company will know where you saw the clothing so the shop owner will get a cut of the profit.  This happens no matter how long you decide to wait before buying or where you ultimately get it from.  Every agent of the garment manufacturer will get a piece of the pie no matter where they exist in the chain of event which ultimately results in you looking fine as heck during the weekend. 

So go ahead and splurge away with your PayPal account.  Stretch your credit to the limit buying online, knowing that you're not going to kill the real shops you can walk into at the mall.   The side effect: stinking Cookies know everything you're doing at the mall.

 

Day 7 of 100 Days of Inventions - Extreme Plastic Surgery

In the near future, most of the world will pass laws preventing an individual from undergoing plastic surgery that allows them to change their look to the point where they actually look exactly like other people.  Imagine how many Elvis impersonators would go all the way.

Elvis Before and After

In 2023, a celebrity look-alike wins a Los Angeles county court case allowing her to retain the super expensive plastic surgery which transformed her into the spitting image of J-Lo during the time she was dating P-Diddy. Since she is a professional imitator and her income depends on her ability to look exactly like J-Lo, the judge rules in her favor.  

It only takes a few weeks before Hollywood walk of fame is overrun with fake celebrities that look exactly like the real thing.  Only in L.A. baby.

BTW - please excuse the periodic lulls in the postings on this particular Blog.  Improvements are on the way.  We will fix this machine!

Day 6 of 100 Days of Inventions - Stainless Clothing

I know this happens to me about twice a week - I spill something on myself.  A lot of times, the soiled shirt is lying around in a basket for a couple of weeks before it's put through a wash cycle. By that time, a stain has formed, quickly taking root in the organic fibers...never to leave it's adopted home.  No matter how many washes I put the poor garment through, the stain is never coming off.  

Stainless

Until now!  It's 2019, and every designer worth their salt is rushing to get their hands on as many bolts of stainless-fiber they can find. It comes in limited colors, the cloth shimmers in just about any lighting condition imaginable and it's only made in Taiwan. Engineered from the thinest stain-less steel fibers possible, this cloth is infused with a new hydrophobic chemical and colored with phosphorus paints. It's a bit heavier than your typical rayon or silk material, but "Stain-F" retains its shape no matter what temperature you set your washer. Besides, IT NEVER STAINS! 

By 2021, this stuff will be in every department store across the world. Place your order now and get in on the ground floor of this fashion phenomenon.  

Day 5 of 100 Days of Inventions - Disposable Nanobots

Nanobots attack

Do you have a damaged kidney? What about a clogged blood vessel?  Put away that scalpel Doctor! You're not slicing anyone up today. Just inject your unconscious patient with a shot of Abultec's Repair-a-Nano serum.  A specially programmed army of nanobots will find their way to the damaged part of your body and get to work. Utilizing the latest in medical technology, the bots: cut, stitch, sew, repair and medicate you back to good health. And when their job is done, they slowly dissolve into your bloodstream and eventually come out with the rest of your body's waste products.   

There has been talk of Abultec's technology being used by the military to push the limit of human endurance and pain. Turns out some "volunteers" have a continuous stream of the serum injected into them while "doctors" blow away chunks of the poor soldiers. The newer serums repair the saps before the wounds do them in, but the first round or two of volunteers weren't so lucky. 

My thoughts on Kickstarter Campaigns

Most are useless wastes of money. I've been fooled into supporting a dozen such campaigns over the last year. Some in very small ways: a few bucks here, a dime there. In return I get loads of email marketing, updates and pleas for more money. Granted, everyone believes very strongly in their product so they really try hard to meet their goal. It's not bad that I'm asked to post about it or maybe donate a bit more closer to the last date. I'm happy to do it. But where's the accountability? Let's take for example a film campaign. How many Kickstarter films have actually been delivered? Feature or short film. Heck even webs series or pilot for a web series. 

Achieving your fundraising goal is not last step in the process, but the first. You must deliver what you promised. Otherwise us investors are getting the short end of the stick. Do you realize that every kickstarter campaign which meets its goal, gets to keep most of the money (minus fees) and spend it any way they see fit. There is no contract with anyone. Just the promise in those emails after emails that still exist in everyone's inbox. Some people will balk at my use of the term "investor" but yes, that is what I am. I invested in your idea, so give me the goods. We are all investors when we donate. It's no different than your Uncle financing your student film project. He had no expectations of getting his money back, just of coming to the premiere with Auntie and your two crazy cousins.

I like the idea behind Kickstarter, I think it's brilliant that we can raise money for ideas amongst our peers and fans. Just realize that it's difficult for a lot of people to keep their obligations and promises they made to you. Choose wisely. Demand what you are due, politely of course. Expect your deliverables (those cute packages they put together: DVDs, tickets to the premiere, signed posters, cupcakes) on time and definitely expect the film. Make sure the people stay true to their promises and use the funds wisely. If I see another piece of uh uh where I know for a fact they spent 1/5 of their donations in making their product and the rest on who knows what, well I'll...

So here's an idea: why not donate to a campaign for a film done be a professional? Like, I don't know...maybe that Spike Lee guy? The one that makes all those amazing feature films. Delivers them on time, get's them distributed and in the theaters, gets critical acclaim, blows my mind, etc. ect. 

Check out his campaign. The deliverables are kinda cool. It will definitely keep him pretty busy fulfilling all those promises and will cost a chunk of change to handle, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Although I am a bit disturbed by that PA workshop where people can pay to fight for a spot as a peon on the film. I would chose the premiere tickets over that any day. Who would have thought that the day would come when any ole person could invest in a Spike Lee Joint and help make it happen? Exciting stuff.

Oh, and don't forget those lesser known independent filmmakers with an actual track record. Believe me, if they can make awesome content with their own dough time after time, it's worth investing in them. Art needs patrons. If you are looking for such a project, try the Miss India America campaign.

Now, I gotta follow up with that NoodleMaker Kickstarter campaign. Its sounded like a good idea at the time: hamster powered noodle maker. Uses no electricity so very good for the environment. I got the hamster part done a while ago but he's been waiting for his machine so he can get busy.

 

Day 4 of 100 Days of Inventions - Protecto Gloves

Liquid Glove

Imagine you dip your hand into a vat of shiny liquid and slowly pull it out again.  Hey!  The liquid has hardened and form a glove on your hand.  Looks pretty cool, feels natural.  Fits like a glove (wink wink). 

But oh, the magic has just begun because this is no ordinary liquid glove.  This is the professional-grade solution to five-finger protection.   It's embedded with new electro-polymer technology that has the ability to instantly harden any section of the glove, making it rigid enough to withstand damage and enormous amounts of pressure.  No longer will you accidently drive a nail through your hand or crush your finger under some heavy machinery.  

Macross Pinpoint Barrier System GO

The Protecto Glove can sense when there is a pinpoint of high pressure or a crushing blow and in a matter of nano-seconds, the glove will divert energy to the contact point.  This energy excites molecules that harden the soft gloves in a way that provides the best type of protection - either on both sides if your hand is being crushed in a metal press or concentrated at a very small point if you are poking yourself with a sharp stick.  It's kind of like the Macross Pinpoint Barrier System, but for your hands.

 

Day 3 of 100 Days of Inventions - Tattoo IDs

Soon, you won't have to carry around that fat wallet of your ANYMORE, because the next new thing is identification is tattoos.  That's right, get inked once and you have all your information linked together.  This info can be accessed by a simple scan just about anywhere you go.   

10801360-finger-id-identification-with-fingerprint-and-tattoo-barcode.jpg

At the bank, you scan and all your bank accounts are displayed automatically.  Scan yourself at the self-checkout stand of your local grocery store and not only can you pay with your linked bank account, but you can also activate your personalized discounts and reward points. 

If there is some criminal activity, suspects can be scanned and so can the victims.  That way the case can move forward at a quicker pace, helping justice take its course.

Yes, there will be people trying to counterfeit, but it will be much harder than making paper money or stealing credit card information with wireless card readers.  

The tat doesn't have to be visible either. 

Day 2 of 100 Days of Inventions - Drive-In Buzz

Park & Charge Coffee Shops will be all the rage in about seven years.  Think 50s drive-in with electric cars charging in the parking lanes and waitresses who float around on hover-skates, carrying trays of piping hot coffee creations by robot baristas.  Gasoline and Gas Stations will be soooo passé.  

When you pull into a parking spot with your shiny new Nissan Leaf 2.0, inductive charging units embedded in the cement will automatically be activated.  Your on-board battery will get a nice buzz while you sip some java and get a buzz of your own.  

In the few minutes it takes for the charge to finish topping off your car's batteries, you can order up the double mocha latte with extra foam and a side of muffins. 

Inductive Highway

Inductive charging can also be used at campsites, where your electric motor home can get a good night's electro-bites.  If the physics can be figured out, we can have inductive current embedded in our highways too.  It won't be so bad being stuck in traffic if you get a free charge-up in the process.

 

Day 1 of 100 Days of Inventions - HoverCam

We're starting an on-going project to bring you, our good readers, one hundred days of new ideas from the future.  These concepts, thoughts, mulling and hypothesis exist only for your viewing pleasure.  Some might come to pass and others may never see the light of day.  I guess that's up to ALL of us.  

For our first installment, we introduce the hovering film camera.  Cameras that are used for high end film and television production are always built out to be much larger than any other kind of image acquisition system we have.  You have quite a bit of extra bits and pieces added to make it work for the filmmakers: monitors, matte boxes, electronics, measuring devices, tripod, dolly, etc.  

What if this rig can be mounted on a floating platform that can be configured, with the help of add-on devices, to do just about any camera move you can think of.  I know what some of you n00bs are thinking. "Won't cameras just be integrated into tiny drones?"  

Sure, for the small stuff and things like paparazzi photography (which will be completely automated in a dozen years with the use of annoying drones that replace the equally annoying actual human beings), but NEVER for filmmaking.   

You see, for filmmaking, we take pieces of reality and exaggerate them with the use of glass lenses.  These lenses are precision devices that project a certain range of image sizes which has universally been accepted as the size of image we have all come to love when projected.  Physics dictates what type, size and quality glass is needed to create lenses that work for our film (or digital film-style) cameras. Yes, that good ole' glass will determine just how small a rig can be built.  

Another principle of physics that filmmakers exploit is weight.  The heavier the camera rig, the steadier the image.  Even Steadicam setups benefit from hefty cameras.  It's keeps things smooth.  So a floating dolly or platform for the camera would help keep the picture steady.  Small floating devices or drones would not have the same benefits provided by gravity.  You're better off climbing onto the contraption pictured above.    

 

 

Cell Phone of the Future

A commercial for the lastest product aimed at the tech-hungry public.

It's 2025 and everyone is looking for new ways to connect.  They want to talk to their friends, send photographs and video clips, surf the web, interact virtually and interface with social networks.  Sound familiar?  But what if they want everything to happen faster then the speed of thought?

Cellular devices have evolved over the last four decades to become the primary means of communication between two individuals anywhere on the planet.  With the advent of advanced computational networks, large amounts of data are efficiently channeled across wires and airwaves in a manner of milliseconds.  The only bottleneck in this interaction is the speed at which a person can input commands into their device.

A handheld phone device is no longer in fashion.  Why hold a device when you can wear it?  

The task seemed simple - instant communication.  The creation was imperfect, it had function but was lacking form.  The solution will always be a challenge.  Yet, now it comes to fruition.  Introducing total integration: be safe, secure, connected.

With the NoMoto E-36, You have instant access to everyone you care about, plus you can record your history as you make it.

Featuring Electro-n technology and Organic Storage. The NoMoto E-36 is the best iteration of a good idea.

Commercial Credits:

Featuring Andrea Bogart as the Woman Transcending Time
Director & Editor-- Snehal Patel
Cinematographer -- Bill Bennett       
Producer -- Kris Baumgartner
Production Designer -- Djeneba Aduayom
Wardrobe -- Desiree Castro
Makeup Artist -- Chika Takahashi
Hairdresser -- Kathryn Fernandez
Custom Prop Designer -- Ryan Puckett
Props Master -- Tiffany Smith
Phone Props -- Mahendra Patel & Motorola 
1st AC -- Eric Reining
Camera Utility -- Duncan Ballantine
Key Grip -- Devin Daily
Grip -- Lexa Payne
Gaffer -- Andrew Fairbank
Electrician -- Isaac Han
PA -- Jennilynn Ulanday
DIT & PreEditor -- Bryan Tanori
VFX Artist -- Nathan Koga
Voice Over Artist -- Rachel Lewis
Composition & Sound Mix -- Bruce Chianese

Equipment Provided by:
Arri Inc.
Illumination Dynamics
J.L. Fisher

Editing Software Courtesy of:
Adobe

Special Thanks -- Kailas Patel for the shipments

Concept by Snehal Patel of FearlessProductions.tv

 

Visiting Mexico City

Mexico city is full of good food and great people.  It's full of traffic too!  Lots of it.
I was there to show off the Alexa M to TV Channels, Production Companies and Rental Houses.  We demonstrated the M in lightweight configuration with cage accessories and lightweight hand grips.  I also brought a cage system for the smaller cameras and new LMB-25 Lightweight Matte Box which was quite popular.
One restaurant we visited had it's own Bull Fighting Ring!  No kidding.
Oh and I caught a bilboard for SkyFall in Espanol!  So that's the language they speak in Mexico...