So long, Ray…

One of my heroes, Ray Harryhausen, died yesterday.

Here’s a link to my tribute on Cinema Arete.

God bless you, Ray…

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New film from Overactive Imagination Studios

My son Sam and his creative partner in crime Sean Newton have finally posted their short film “Torched”.

The folks who’ve seen it are universal in their praise.

Find out why…and discover two young film-makers with a very bright future.

Michael Bay, your days are numbered.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/62587166″>Torched</a&gt; from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/overactiveimagination”>Overactive Imagination Studios</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

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Cliff Burns: In Performance

At long last it’s done.

My son Sam completed final edits on the film he shot of my reading back in October, 2012.  The official launch of New & Selected Poems (1984-2011) and Stromata: Prose Works (1992-2011).

It was a huge file and he had to combine footage from a couple of cameras, synch sound, touch-up glitches and try to make an author reading as visually interesting as possible. No mean feat. But he’s done a fantastic job. The kid has an amazing eye and even if you don’t think much of the prose (or performer), I think you’ll agree that this effort is striking to look at, cut and trimmed and shaped with precision. All credit to my son, Sam Burns.

Here’s the reading, in its entirety.

Sit back and hit that play button…

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My review of “Silence is Golden”

Be sure to pop over to my film blog and check out coverage of this year’s edition of Silence is Golden.

The format is a cineaste’s dream:  a classic silent film is chosen for screening, with live accompanying music from the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. This time around, it was Douglas Fairbanks in the 1920 adventure “Mark of Zorro”.

An evening to remember…

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“Storm” (New Short Film)

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Technical diffculties will be rectified soon

Maddening.

I completed a new short film yesterday, had everything edited, the soundtrack perfectly synched and then…things went south on us.

The soundtrack, which I thought was flawless, still contained a hidden track of the original audio. I removed this annoying track umpteen times and thought I’d finally nailed it, with a big assist from Sherron. But last night, when we watched “Storm” on YouTube, that hidden track loudly announced itself yet again and we had to yank the flick from YouTube and both my blogs.

Bloody hell. iMovie is a strange, tricky program; sometimes it works like a dream and then there are the occasions when it behaves so irrationally, it’s like it has a mind of its own. I fear this could be one of the last efforts made with iMovie around here. Think it’s about time we switched to Final Cut—hopefully less annoyances, more satisfaction.

Regardless…we’ll give “Storm” a good going over today, see what we can do. I’m turning the whole thing over to my son, Sam, film-maker extraordinaire. If Sam can’t solve this, it’s time to call Stephen Hawking.

Sorry for the SNAFU and we should have the film re-posted later.

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“First Contact” (short film)

I’m a lifelong fan of science fiction. A space geek and proud of it.

Here’s my latest short film, “First Contact”, and, as the title suggests, this piece is about a close encounter with a distant, alien world, evidence of advanced, intelligent life. Abstract, indisputably odd…with accompanying ambient music.

A tip of the hat to Stan Kubrick…

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’76 Corral (the short film)

You read the poem…then you heard the audio version…

Now ’76 Corral, the short film. Created with some help from my son, Sam.

Shot and recorded on location in Grasslands National Park (Canada).

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An essay on why I love westerns

As previously mentioned, I’ve been asked quite a few times why I decided to write a western.  Even old pals were left scratching their heads. Not only a western, a traditional western, featuring a gunslinger who might have been played by Gary Cooper or Randolph Scott.

Well…

As some of you know, I also keep a film blog. I spent most of the last couple of days composing a lengthy personal essay on my love of western movies. I think the piece perfectly sums up my attraction for the genre and I hope you’ll click on this link, pop over and give it a read. I don’t often write non-fiction of this length but I’m really pleased by how this piece came out.

Don’t be shy about contributing your thoughts, opinions and reminiscences, perhaps offer your own roster of all time faves.

Always looking for tips on great films…

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A writer remembers

One more short flick, this time a personal reflection on the power and impact of the printed word on my life.

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