What started out as a spec piece directed by Klaus Obermeyer of Aero Film, Santa Monica, is slated to become a real-world TV PSA–with the possibility of a cinema release–for Oceana, a global public service advocacy organization dedicated to reduce pollution and to prevent the collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life.
Featuring striking underwater photography by DP Pete Zuccarini, the spot shows us varied forms of aquatic life ranging from dolphins to whales to vegetation to jellyfish to varied fish species. Woven into these scenes featuring marvels of sea nature are several supered messages, which read, “The oceans have been healthy and full of life for millions of years….”/”…until now.”
At this point we sea fish tangled in a deep sea net.
The supers continue: “Scientists predict that life in our oceans is quickly approaching an irreversible collapse…”
Scenes of whales and other sea life appear and then the supered sentence concludes, “…unless we do something now./Help Oceana make a difference.”
An end tag carries the Oceana logo and mission, “Protecting the world’s oceans,” accompanied by the website address www.oceana.org/yourocean.
Bob Jenkis of Aero Post edited “Oceana.” Colorist was Stefan Sonnenfeld of Company 3, Santa Monica.
The visuals unfold to the accompaniment of music composed by Walter Werzowa of Musikvergnuegen, Hollywood.
Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?
Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.
"When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.
And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.
No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."
At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.
After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More