Brionne Olsen

Lights! Camera! Dance!

Dance is an ancient art. But because its practitioners constantly innovate, dance is forever new. Filmmakers have long played a role in the development of this art. In 1894, for example, Thomas Edison filmed modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis performing her “Skirt Dance.” The decades that followed features a variety of memorable dances such…

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“Assimilate” Chosen as the Mobile Movie of the Year

Twenty twenty-one was grim in many ways. But on the bright side, during the past 12 months we watched numerous films that advanced the art of mobile moviemaking. Selecting one as the Mobile Movie of the Year was challenging. That said, for the editors of MobileMovieMaking, “Assimilate” made the strongest case for bringing home the…

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Guerilla Music Video Exploits the Urban Landscape

All the world’s a stage, especially with music videos. Locations we’ve seen include alleys, beaches, and busy urban neighborhoods. Brionne Olsen’s “Incremental”—is set on an outdoor basketball court, with players in the background adding to the energy. The video starring South African rapper Teshxn was shot on an iPhone using the FiLMiC Pro camera app…

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Prize-winning Short Challenges the Melting Pot Metaphor

The metaphor of the melting pot is usually seen as something positive. It refers to people with various backgrounds being mixed together in order to create a strong, unified population whose members are more alike than different.  But there is a hidden assumption in the process, namely that the transformed individuals will abandon their previous…

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