One Day on Earth is a community that we at Vimeo are very proud to be a part of. Spanning every country in the world, it serves as an annual video snapshot of humanity and this amazing planet we call home. We were lucky enough to chat with the founders, Kyle Ruddick and Brandon Litman, to discuss this global project, how it all got started, and what lies ahead for One Day on Earth (ODOE).

Kyle Ruddick

Brandon Litman

VVS: How did you two meet and begin collaborating?

BL: Over 10 years ago, in my dorm room at USC, Kyle and a mutual friend from the film school forecasted that we would all make a movie together. Kyle shared the idea of ODOE with me a few times, but it wasn't until a trip out to his office that I got the full picture and knew that together we could make this huge.
KR: This is our first collaboration actually. I always saw Brandon, who was in business school at the time, as being a talented producer. It took many years to link up on a project, but we had tabs on each other’s work for a long time.

VVS: How was the ODOE project conceived?

KR: I was at a concert watching musicians from very different cultural and geographic origins play a fusion of music unrehearsed. The immediacy of their communication made me want to strive to create something similar for cinema. As I listened and watched those brilliant musicians perform my mind and heart raced as the idea fully developed in matter of a couple minutes. Creatively speaking, I feel we are always having tons of ideas flowing through us. Picking the ones we actually execute on is the biggest challenge. In this case, from the moment I had the idea I knew I was very much all in, and that the direction of my life would change to serve it. Funny how an idea can be compared to love at first site or something, but it almost feels that way.

Continue reading…

Category:

Behind The Scenes

Difficulty:

beginner

A ring light is a handy multi-use tool for all types of shoots, from a sharp music video to a portrait of a ladybug. They provide uniform light coming straight from the camera's point of view, which is great for even light, and helps eliminate shadows. You've seen the results, but you may not have known what was behind —or should we say "around"— the lens!

Images courtesy of Stellar Lighting Systems.

Continue reading…

Category:

Lighting

Difficulty:

beginner

Designer turned director Greg Barth has been impressing us with his vibrant, colorful, simplistic aesthetic for quite some time now. His stop motion series for the Russian TV channel 7TV wowed us with its fantastical precision, his music video for Passion Pit's "I'll be Alright" shocked us with its glittery exhibition, and his personal project "Essays on Reality" provoked our thoughts with its subtle subversion. We caught up with him to discuss his design background, the process behind his videos, and how he manages personal projects and commercial work.

Continue reading…

Category:

Behind The Scenes

Difficulty:

beginner

I recently attended a Doc-A-Thon panel titled Get the Money: Tap into Crowds at the 2012 DOC NYC Film Festival. The discussion, moderated by Indiewire's Bryce Renninger, featured filmmakers Gary Hustwit (Helvetica) and Cheryl Furjanic (Back on Board), and Indiegogo founder and CEO Slava Rubin. They discussed strategies and approaches to using crowdfunding resources such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Whether you’ve already completed a crowdfunding campaign, you’re looking to launch one, or you’re just looking to build a greater following for your work, you're bound to find their insight helpful. Don’t worry, we took notes:

The lovely panelists! Renninger, Furjanic, Rubin, and Hustwit. Image by Riley Hooper

Continue reading…

Category:

Behind The Scenes

Difficulty:

beginner