Category: Film
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They Caught Me Off Guard
A few months ago, I watched stand-up comedian John Mulaney on YouTube making fun of the show ‘Law & Order – Special Victims Unit‘. It made me curious, so I started watching. I was not prepared for what I found.
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Our Second Official ‘Purpose’ Trailer
We made a second trailer for our film ‘Purpose’ in autumn of 2024, but only posted it on LinkedIn — where it got some nice traction. Now it’s on YouTube, too.
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Mixing Sound & Making Subtitles. Or: How A Film Project Seems To Never End
During the first half of 2024, I kept a somewhat steady publishing rhythm on this site. But then, over the summer, that ended. That’s because finishing the film ‘Purpose‘ became an all-consuming project. Here is what it took to finally get that film done.
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I’m on Instagram — without being on Instagram
I have been paying attention to the political leanings of those who operate social networks for a while. That is why Instagram was never an option for me. Now it kind of is — but not really.
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The First Official ‘Purpose’ Trailer
Yesterday, we published the first trailer for our film ‘Purpose‘ on YouTube. Very excited. We also made a 10-minute making-of about how the filming, post production and premiere went which has been online a bit longer.
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My Only Comment About AI, the US Elections, Putin & Globalisation in 2024
Here is my latest animation film on MOPALAB. I think it will be the only public comment I will make about all these things. What else is there to say?
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My Latest Time-Lapse Drawings
In the background — behind all the work that is currently going on for our documentary feature film — my animation channel still doesn’t rest. Here are the latest time-lapse videos I uploaded. Each of them is one scene or drawing from an animation short film that I am working on.
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Inventing Indiana Jones
I found a wonderful little treasure — at least for all film buffs: A transcribed conversation from 1978, in which George Lucas is pitching Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan his ideas for a new movie character and a new movie. The character would later become ‘Indiana Jones’, and the movie ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc’.
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My latest Animation Film: Italian-German Culture Clash
I couldn’t even say what triggered this — but one day I thought I had to deal with the horrible German notion of putting pineapple on pizza, from an Italian point of view. The result is the latest animation film on my YouTube channel MOPALAB.
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A First-Time Filmmaker’s Rollercoaster Ride
When I decided to go to Iceland for the premiere of my first feature-length film, I realised that I had to document that journey. Here is the video about what a rollercoaster ride it all was — both the production of the film and the trip to Iceland.
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When a Japanese Monster Movie Gives Hollywood A Sucker Punch
While a lot of Hollywood’s so-called “blockbuster” fare is beginning to feel incredibly stale, others pick up the pace and do their own thing. Like this Japanese film that shocked the Oscars.
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Feedback for our Film ‘Purpose’ in Iceland
I’ve been back from Iceland for over a week now, and I’m still terribly excited about the great feedback we received at the premiere of our film “Purpose”. Just check out the quote we got from Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-President of the Club of Rome.
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Incredible Iceland
I just spent two weeks on a trip to Iceland, to present my first film ‘Purpose’ there for its premiere at the Wellbeing Economy Forum. It turned into one of the most memorable trips of my life.
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Uploading my first film to a server in Iceland
Today is a big day. I uploaded a 33 GB file to an online space which is managed by the people at Harpa venue in Iceland — because that is where my documentary feature film “Purpose” will have its premiere on June 11th.
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My Latest Animation Films
In the past weeks, I have posted a few more MOPALAB films. After ‘The Meet’, which I believe to be a highlight so far, I have added ‘L.A. Cannonball’. It’s probably the most political (?) of my animation films to date.
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The Last Leg of A Filmmaking Journey
I am typing this on the train, en route to Amsterdam, to see my filmmaker friend Martijn Veldhoen. He will help me with the final sound mix of my film ‘Purpose’. Martijn has made many documentary (mostly short) films, many of which have won prizes at film festivals. He is a unique filmmaker; he does…
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‘The Meet’ — a 40-Second Film Noir
Here is the latest film on my animation channel. I am quite fond of this one, the old man took a while to draw, and animating those hands wasn’t easy either. I am quite pleased with the final result though.
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Presenting My New Animation Film Project: ‘MOPALAB’
Visual creativity matters a great deal to me. It always has. I love the drawing style of Hergé. I was also very influenced by the early cover designs of the German youth book series “Die drei ???” by Aiga Rasch. I’ve been drawing all my life, on and off, starting when I was two years…
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“Causeway” vs. “Dune 2”
I know this is most likely a minority opinion. And some will consider what I’m saying ridiculous. But here it goes: I did not like “Dune 2”. I thought “Causeway” was much better. Bear with me. Last weekend, I watched Causeway — a 2022 drama starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry — on Apple…
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The Anguish of Streaming and Apple TV+
Some time last year, I decided to turn my back on streaming services — Netflix and Disney+ in my case. There were two main reasons. Reason one: The quality of the offering was no longer the same. What had drawn me to Netflix back in 2012 (!) was that they allowed me to watch good…