Welcome to The ScreeningRoom.

The ScreeningRoom provides a venue for short subject work produced by or with Digital I Productions. It is intended to provide a rotating view of past work for the general public and not be an inclusive portfolio.

The videos are set to begin automatically, so be sure to have your popcorn and drink ready when you click, and, of course, set your cellphone, pager and/or PDA to silent.

Now Showing

Theatre A

 

This spoof was originally written for the 2008 Houston Press Club Gridiron Show, before the fourth Indiana Jones movie was released. The version here is an "improved Director's Cut" (in the finest tradition of Lucas and Spielberg) featuring some additional destructiive effects from Detonation Films, as well as some visual stylizing to make it look more like the original movie.

As with many of these projects, the whole was scripted to include other actors and other scenes from the original movie, but time and availability of the cast meant that some sections were to be sacrificed. As it is stands, the piece is fairly complete, and is a fair testament to the skill of the technical staff. This is the first project shot with the new greenscreen equipment and HD cameras and designed from the beginning to be produced as HD(the version here is 720p, but the master files are capable of producing full 1080p output).

The music is quite obviously the original by Mr. John Williams. The version running on Youtube will even link you to Sony Music so you can buy it for download, and since that seems to be the only restriction in that venue, its inclusion here is represented as "fair use for purposes of parody".

Theatre B

 

Dancing with Dinosaurs comes closest to being defined as a cult classic as anything Digital I has done. It was originally submitted to the Discovery Channel Spoof Content in 2006, where it was not even selected for web review. It was posted on Youtube in November 2006 with the disclaimer (included here) that this was originally submitted as a parody to Discovery Channel and that music cues, etc. were used in accordance with that contest rules. Since that time it is approaching 74,000 viewings and qualified for has commercial coop status. As it was originally a contest entry Digital I has declined the opportunity to make money off it, but feel the numbers of hits it continues to get justifies the original faith in the concept.

The first script was to feature cut-ins from a "prominent paleontologist" commenting on various segments, but these were canned due to time constraints. Apparently these features were added to the U.S. version by Discovery anyway, as they don't feature on the BBC DVDs of the series. At one point the paleontologist bits were seen as a possible starting point for a "DVD extra piece" but as they were never shot, attention quickly passed to other projects. The version here is essentially the one seen on Youtube, but it has been remastered with a bit less compression and hopefully will allow the audience to enjoy the content without the distraction of fuzzy images. The video is in 4:3 aspect ratio as it's backing plates predated the accquisition of HD equipment.

Theatre C

 

Silent was our first entry into the 48 Hour Film Project. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the 48 Hour Film Project is a competition which takes place in various cities around the world over weekends. Entrants draw a film genre out of hat on Friday evening and have until the same hour on Sunday to write, cast, shoot, edit, and master to media a film of 1-7 minutes. To add to the challenge, each film must contain the same specific prop, line of dialog, and specified character.

While it's difficult to say whether or not 48 Hour Film Project makes for better filmmaking, it certainly is great for developing comradery and collaboration amomng a crew. A number of the same faces show up in 2008's Legacy, where Digital I provided technical staff and post.

The version of Silent seen here is essentially identical to that on Youtube and 48 Hour TV. with the same caveat that compression is set to a minimum and hopefully the experience will be better for the viewer. Silent is in 4:3 aspect ratio.

Theatre D

 

Legacy is the second time and, to date, final time Digital I was involved with production for the 48 Hour Film Project. This short was produced in 2008, with Digital I providing on-set equipment, crew, and technical staff, along with editing, post production, and final output services.

These various services are non-credited due to the production company's decision to show solidarity with the writer/producer who, due to contractual issues with his primary employer, was unable to put his name on the project.

This version of Legacy has been remastered with less compression. It is in 4:3 aspect ratio.