Visual Communications: Art & Copy Screening

February 22, 2010

Art & Copy Screening

Come and join film editor Philip Owens as he presents a film screening of Art & Copy on Monday, March 1, at 6:30 PM in Violette Hall 1000.

PRESENTER PHILIP OWENS

Philip has worked on documentaries and commercials with directors Doug Pray, Alejandro González Iñárritu (AMORES PERROS, BABEL), Steve James (HOOP DREAMS), Guy Ritchie (LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, SNATCH), Tony Kaye (AMERICAN HISTORY X), Rob Devor (ZOO), and Ondi Timoner (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC), among others.

Iñárritu and Brad Pitt came to Owens to create a series of quirky Japanese jeans commercials. For Quiksilver he designed the video signage for their Times Square, NYC store. And President-Elect Barack Obama’s team picked him to cut the candidate’s half-hour network broadcast in November 2008. With a deep production background, he’s cut on on the beach with Guy Ritchie, on stage with choreographer Vincent Paterson in Toronto, and supervised visual effects at 15,000 feet on Mont Blanc.

Philip Owens began his film-making career in Ireland in 1986 as the first digital artist in the country. In 1992 he was a key member of the design team on U2’s revolutionary “Zoo TV” tour. Over time, a desire to get closer to the narrative drew him away from the world of visual effects and by the mid-nineties he was exclusively focussed on editing.

Philip has at various times been a director, visual effects supervisor, CGI and stop-motion animator, satellite imagery analyst, DJ, music journalist and hydrologist. Currently, he is editing a feature documentary on the influential life of filmmaker Roger Corman."

ART & COPY

For better and for worse, advertising infiltrates our modern society, becoming an important factor in the fiber of our culture and point of reference. Sometimes perceived as white noise, advertising can manipulate consumers into acting according to the wishes of corporations. In fact, it has been stated that about 98% of today’s advertising is trash.

The film Art & Copy explores the other 2%. It speaks of the great creative minds that have convinced brands (and society) to become more. In the words of the film’s director Doug Pray, “Art & Copy inspires artists and writers to strive to make more meaningful, more entertaining, or more socially uplifting ads.” The film reveals the work that resulted from the creative revolution of the 1960s; it reveals the work that was created to rise above the association of mediocrity or manipulation. In the documentary, creatives such as George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, and Hal Riney explain their motivations and inspirations for campaigns such as “Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," and "Think Different.” Art & Copy explores the connection between communication, art, commerce, and human emotion in an effort to make a difference.