Finite Films takes your idea for movie constraints and turns the favourites into short films. For example: "One character must use refrigerator poetry magnets to leave a note/message for another character", "One character loves vacuuming naked", or "One used to drive a moped until it was stolen".
posted by divabat on Feb 20, 2012 - 9 comments

Plot Device - A man obtains a device that makes life more like the movies (SLVP)
posted by The Whelk on Jul 12, 2011 - 18 comments

"My name is Blinky, and I just want to be your friend!" A well-crafted short film by Ruairi Robinson (slightly gory CGI ending may be NSFW).
posted by killdevil on Mar 20, 2011 - 25 comments

"Elevated" (part 1, 2), a short film about three people trapped in an elevator, by Vincenzo Natali, director of Cube and Splice. With bonus Spanish subtitles.
posted by gottabefunky on Sep 29, 2010 - 5 comments

Shinya Kimura likes motorcycles. (A short film about a custom motorcycle engineer.)
posted by dobbs on Aug 31, 2010 - 11 comments

I'm Here is a 30-minute short film written and directed by Spike Jonze. [via]
posted by churl on Mar 25, 2010 - 10 comments

He invented or popularized a startling array of the fundamental elements of film: the dissolve, the fade-in and fade-out, slow motion, fast motion, stop motion, double exposures and multiple exposures, miniatures, the in-camera matte, time-lapse photography, color film (albeit hand-painted), artificial film lighting, production sketches and storyboards, and the whole idea of narrative film.

By 1897, in a studio of his own design and construction – the first complete movie studio – his hand forged virtually everything on his screen. Norman McLaren writes, "He was not only his own producer, ideas man, script writer, but he was his own set-builder, scene painter, choreographer, deviser of mechanical contrivances, special effects man, costume designer, model maker, actor, multiple actor, editor and distributor." Also, his own cinematographer, and the inventor of cameras to suit his special conceptions. Not even auteur directors such as Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, John Cassavetes, and Stanley Kubrick would personally author so many aspects of their films."

Inside: 57 films by Georges Méliès, the Grandfather of Visual Effects. [more inside]
posted by Paragon on Feb 3, 2010 - 31 comments

Never ever borrow a friend's mobile, trust hitch hikers or strangers in furry costumes, never get distracted, worry about the first time or about your young son not being manly enough, and most of all never, ever forget stuff. Also, remember to always be nice to your enemies, your granny and policemen, but don't be too nice to your neighbours, and don't forget to get the car washed. Lots more brilliant short films viewable online from UK's Channel 4 Film (Real/WM streams).
posted by funambulist on Mar 31, 2006 - 4 comments

Copy Shop   is a 12-minute dialogue-free film by director Virgil Widrich about a guy inadvertently duplicating himself over and over (320 x 240 streaming Real format download link). The most interesting aspect of the short, however, is that it was made frame-by-frame of photocopies, manipulated for jarring visual effects and then shot with a camera to put together the final cut. (Mentioned previously by film aficionado pxe2000.) Also see Widrich's photocopied short Fast Film with even more calamitous, unraveling effects. Get this guy toner refills for his birthday.
posted by planetkyoto on Mar 21, 2005 - 14 comments

When little girls rub their eyes, the face of the man to whom they're destined will become visible in the swirling eddy of light. (a short film from Doc Hammer of Venture Bros. fame)
posted by buriednexttoyou on Dec 18, 2004 - 26 comments

Sure, you've seen Tie-Tanic, Troops and American Jedi, but is there room for another short spoof? Why yes, and I feel like I can watch them all day.
posted by plinth on Apr 10, 2001 - 3 comments