Oscar Nominated Shorts on iTunes

[jstaub]

Hey all, just in case you hadn't seen them, most of the animated short nominees (and the live-action ones too) are available for viewing at iTunes now. They'll cost you $1.99 each, but they're well worth it (well, at least a few of them). Pixar's Lifted isn't up there yet :( , but No Time for Nuts (Blue Sky), One Rat Short, and Little Matchgirl (Disney) are all great IMHO.

Oh yeah, and while you're there don't forget to view The Mantis Parable (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=185731393&s=143441) too if you haven't already! ;)

[Zensho!]

Cool! But why no Lifted?! Curse you Jobs!

[TeviH]

thanks for the tip - eagerly awaiting lifted, though! Looks real different from the previous pixar films.

couldn't resist the plug, huh? ;)

Guess if I made a film like yours, I wouldn't either. :p

[lmartell]

They're also playing all of the shorts in theatres around the country. In addition to the 5 nominees they're including some of the short-listed ones as well: One Rat Short, The Passenger, Gentlemen's Duel, Guide Dog, etc. I just got back from the theatre and it was definitely worth it!!! Especially since some of them might not make it onto iTunes.

http://www.magpictures.com/profile.aspx?id=7bbddf08-5843-42cb-b62a-16eb7f38fa36

[AnimWatch]

I wonder why they won't put all of the films out on iTUNES? They've gotten their nominations now. They don't have to hide anymore, right?

And hey, yeah, Josh... way to go with Mantis up at iTUNES. You must be very proud of yourself.

[TeviH]

The Passenger is in theaters??? :eek:

WHERE???

[jstaub]

Thanks Og!

Well, in the sake of Lifted I'm sure it'll end up on iTunes eventually...but they're probably waiting to screen it with Ratatouille first. Just have to wait a bit longer! :)

Glad you got a chance to see the Magnolia shorts program Lucas. Eventually I think most of those will end up on iTunes, but it may be weeks (or months) - Guide Dog for one is a likely candidate considering it's Bill Plympton's and he's already got a couple on there...for example, The Fan and the Flower is really charming, very un-Plympton-like, but really nice. I would also expect to see Gentleman's Duel up there too, considering Gopher Broke is another Blur short and it's been up there for a few weeks now.

[TeviH]

looking forward to gentleman's duel, too. Blur seems to have devamped their site... They no longer have all their films up there; just teasers for some of them! :(

I guess GD will only be available on iTunes, and only whenever they feel like putting it there.

Has anybody here purchased shorts from iTunes before? I'm a little nervous about portability of the file, as well as the resolution of the video. Anybody know about it?

[jstaub]

Uh yeah, I've done it a lot. It's actually exceptional video and audio quality. Check out the free "view trailer" for each film to take a peek.

Enjoy! :)

[AnimWatch]

I buy them a lot, too, Tevi, and enjoy it quite a bit. The only downside you may find is that the videos only play in iTUNES or on an iPOD.

For me, that works fine. But for some reason, it makes a segment of the population horribly angry. I don't know why.

[TeviH]

That is annoying, and precisely what I was afraid of, though it wouldn't be so bad if it has good resolution - what is the resolution?

[AnimWatch]

The ones I've bought are TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and I believe they are 720x480. Actually, one thing I do wish they'd do at iTUNES is tell you what the resolution is so you know what you're buying. One other downside is that on some files, compression artifacts are a bit severe.

Not sure how the shorts hold up. I'm sure Mr. Staub can tell you more about that.

On the positive side, it's a buck or two at the most. *shrug* Certainly worth a viewing, Apple Irrational Anger notwithstanding.

[TeviH]

well i have an apple irrational anger management problem.

:)