407 results found

1. Big Boy (1954 educational film)

   A terrible educational folksy short on steam engines. I mean truly terrible, it starts with the narrator insulting the lead's wife and talking about how normal him loving an engine is. This has Kevin Murphy written all over it
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8gnK9JaU7Y

   18 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

2. Blocks, A Medium for Perceptual Learnin

   It's a film called 'Blocks' from the same production company who brought us 'Setting up a room' it lasts for 17 mins, i don't know what this film contatins but i do know where it should be
   https://www.worldcat.org/title/blocks-a-medium-for-perceptual-learnings/oclc/4273161/editions?referer=di&editionsView=true

   This is the document we found a refrence to it https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED112378.pdf
   It's on page 98

   11 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

3. Christopher Crumpet

   A weird little UPA cartoon about a spoiled kid who turns into a chicken when he throws a temper tantrum. His dad even calls him "a real ****-a-doodle-do."

   19 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

4. Furby Island

   Because we need more animated nightmare fuel for the riffing.

   Furby Island (2005) short
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKCL0fudTMA
   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498908/

   13 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

5. Any old 80s fast-food training video you can get the rights to

   There's a lot of great cheesy 80s fast-food training videos out there, like for Wendy's and McDonald's. It's a riff goldmine.

   17 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

6. Paddle To The Sea

   28 minute short I had to watch in elementary school.
   A boy carves a canoe out of wood and sends it on it's greatly improbable way to the ocean.
   Along the way, the canoe meets people and has adventures.
   The canoe does.
   Yes.
   Really

   25 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   2 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

7. "This Is Coffee" - An instructional short about how you're making coffee wrong.

   An alternate title for this short could be "Go to Hell French Press"

   At first, this 12 minute short celebrates the diverse styles of coffee and the many ways to enjoy it.

   But then it insists that there's only the one Coffee Brewing Institute approved method to make a cup of coffee using one of three types of coffee pots. Anything else doesn't count as coffee.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phFqsRd6Sxo

   32 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

8. Heil Honey, I'm Home

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kg21j4ARBY
   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259776/reference

   An amuse bouche of an idea of what this nonsense pilot episode of a failed sitcom that lasted ... one episode is about:
   In Berlin, 1938, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun have a love-hate relationship with their Jewish neighbours in this bizarre spoof of 'fifties American sitcoms.

   3 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

9. Janet and the Food Genie (1967)

   Janet may as well be Henry Slinkman's daughter. Her mother has sent her to the grocery store but she doesn't know what food grades mean!

   Fortunately, she can count on the help of an animated Food Genie. He takes her on a whirlwind tour of food processing plants and laboratories where she learns all about how food is graded. She must have been collecting the groceries during her factory visits because the film ends with her putting the groceries away.

   The genie is barely animated, and those animations are recycled a lot. Location shots are intermingled with stock fotage. An men are constantly touching meat in one form or another.

   Janet may as well be Henry Slinkman's daughter. Her mother has sent her to the grocery store but she doesn't know what food grades mean!

   Fortunately, she can count on the help of an animated Food Genie. He takes her on a whirlwind tour of food processing plants and laboratories where she learns all about how food is graded. She must have been collecting the groceries during her factory visits because the film ends with her putting the groceries away.

   The genie is barely animated, and those animations are recycled a lot. Location shots are intermingled with stock fotage. An… more

   25 votes

   Vote Vote Vote

   We're glad you're here

   Please sign in to leave feedback

   Signed in as (Sign out)

   Close

   Close

   Vote

   We’ll send you updates on this idea

   0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

10. Farm Family in Autumn

    Hi,
    I’m a big fan of Bridget and Mary Jo, especially the Farm Family series. I recently completed the set by purchasing Farm Family in Autumn and became curious about what happened to the Markham kids (Heaven’s Gate cultists? DeLorean investors? Sec. of the Interior?) That’s when I stumbled upon this interesting tidbit! Hopefully this is new to you guys. P.S.- Mary Jo, you were right! Grandpa was a fraud!

    Sincerely,
    Patrick Sandberg

    from
    http://www.afana.org/2001chrono.htm

    Tom Smith, who would later achieve his greatest critical success as the General Manager of George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, was the creator of probably the most moving portrayal of American farm life in the classroom academic film genre, with his ‘Farm Family’ series of 1967-1968, comprising four films comparing the impact of seasonal changes upon the Red Markham farm and family of Whitewater, Wisconsin.  Each film chronicles daily and seasonal life of the family and farm, contrasting the seeming simplicity of daily chores with the impact of major events, such the birth of a calf, the harvesting of a crop, or the coming of the summer county fair.  With the exception of 'Summer', each film is narrated in first person by a different family member.  We think these are important films that are almost ethnographic in their approach to documenting the life and work of a rural family unit, and present them here consecutively, in a unique viewing context (we're not sure these films have ever been screened together, in one sitting).  The films are:
    'Farm Family in Summer', the only film told in 3rd person narrative, offers a fascinating look at the rural county fair culture, from preparing exhibits to friendly country huckstering, to harness races, to carny rides. 'Farm Family in Autumn' is son Steve’s first-person story of going back to school, sneaking a taste of mom’s fresh-made jam, carving jack-o-lanterns, and the arrival of the tanker truck which collects the dairy farm’s output. 'Farm Family in Winter' is told by Grandpa, who wrestles the hard-starting, gas-powered "snow-buggy" into action, then fetches the vet, who is prevented from reaching the farm road due to adverse conditions, in order to doctor a sick calf. 'Farm Family in Spring', narrated by son Dale, describes a trip into town to buy feed in country store, and a LaGrange 4H club meeting in which the children discuss the progress of their respective projects. The affection that the filmmaker had for the family is apparent, and seems to be evident in the family’s approach to the filmmaker as well, who made four visits to the farm to make these films, and who remains in touch with Dale Markham. The easygoing attitude the family has toward the camera is largely responsible for the charm of this series, a fascinating and refreshing look at a subject that was all too often didactic in the hands of other filmmakers. 
    Tom wrote to us in early June, reminiscing about the events surrounding the making of these films:

    "The Farm Family films were planned as 2nd Editions. There had been a 'Farm Family...' series made in the 1940s in black and white. They were extremely didactic films guaranteed to put you to sleep as quickly as a stiff shot of pentothal. So I was asked to replace them with a new series in color. The first trick was to find a farm where I could film. Headquartered in Chicago, I set out to look in nearby Southern Wisconsin - a two hour drive from my home in Palatine, Illinois. I needed not only a good looking farm but one with kids in elementary school - the age of our target audience. It wasn't easy to find a combination of the two. I consulted with Farm Bureau Agents in several counties. I recall one farm we visited looked great from the outside. The Agent told me they had kids the right age. Then I met the farmer, a handsome, husky fellow - perfect type. We shook hands and it felt strange. Turned out he was missing two fingers on his right hand. I didn't want to have to explain the missing fingers in every film. I knew a lot of shots in the movies would be close-ups of the farmer's hands at work. So this farm was out.
    "It took me weeks of looking. I drove past 100s farms of farms and visited more than 30. I ended up in Walworth county in southern Wisconsin, a country where I had lived for one year when I was a kid. As we drove up to the Markham dairy farm, it looked pretty good. I met farmer "Red" Markham and his wife. Red had all his digits, a good smile was a very tall and strong-looking fellow. His wife Eloise seemed to be all in one piece too. The kids were the perfect age but Red wasn't sure he trusted a city slicker like me promising to pay him some small fee to film his kids on his farm for a year. He had heard lots of sales pitches and figures this could be like one of those "free vacation" offers where they really only want to sell you a condo. We sat in his kitchen over coffee and I tried to persuade him but things weren't going well.
    "To make a connection I mentioned that I lived in nearby Whitewater for one year when I was seven years old. That didn't make much of an impression on him. Then I added that my brother-in-law was from Whitewater too. Maybe he knew him - Bud Ardelt. Red put his cup down and broke into a smile. "Bud Ardelt is your brother-in-law?" Turned out that Red and Bud played for four years on the Whitewater football team together and in High School were buddies. He shook my hand - we had a deal. (Incidentally well-known historian Steven Ambrose was also on that same football team.)
    "It was only my second year at EBEC and the four films were made while I continued to make other films on other subjects. I normally made about five or six, 12 to 18 minute films a year. We began filming with Fall. Then followed each season as it came along. Summer was the last. As you know from having seen the films, there was usually a thin plot running but what carried the show was showing the farming activities during that particular season. Fall was harvest, Winter not much happens but the kids have lots of fun in the snow and they cut their own Christmas tree. Spring is planting time and Summer there is the county fair. I don't recall why we didn't have a first person narration for the summer movie. No one in the films was an actor and to get someone to read a narration was very difficult. I had to do it line by line and often would not let them see the words but rather read it to them and have them repeat it...
    "I've stayed in contact with the Markham family over the years. They have now retired from farming but the parents still live on the farm. The kids are all grown-up and most have kids of their own. None are farmers. As I mentioned "Red" was a big guy - over six foot- five inches tall. His sons grew to be taller than he. One of the boys seen in the film - Dale, went on to be a college football star and briefly played for a pro team. He is now in his 40s. I think he works for a seed company. Pam studied nursing but now is raising her own family. We get Christmas cards from them every year and ten or fifteen years ago I stopped at the farm, unannounced. They were just as friendly as they could be. We laughed and talked of the old days and funny things that happened during that year when I made the films.
    "The film crew was normally about four or five people. I served as cameraman on a couple of the films but don't recall which ones. Arthur Bothham was the cameraman on the others including the "Fall" film. I second unit on all of them - running up to the farm to shoot one specific scene for a day with my Bolex and then returning home. There was no real "Grandpa" on the farm. The fellow who played "Grandpa" was actually our film's grip - Stanley Wallega. Stanley died about 15 years ago."

    Hi,
    I’m a big fan of Bridget and Mary Jo, especially the Farm Family series. I recently completed the set by purchasing Farm Family in Autumn and became curious about what happened to the Markham kids (Heaven’s Gate cultists? DeLorean investors? Sec. of the Interior?) That’s when I stumbled upon this interesting tidbit! Hopefully this is new to you guys. P.S.- Mary Jo, you were right! Grandpa was a fraud!

    Sincerely,
    Patrick Sandberg

    from
    http://www.afana.org/2001chrono.htm

    Tom Smith, who would later achieve his greatest critical success as the General Manager of George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, was the creator of… more

    3 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

11. Catweazle

    I'm an American/Dutch dual citizen, living in Holland for ten years and the US west coast for fifty years before that.

    My Dutch husband called one of our kitties "Catweazle" this evening, and I asked him what on earth he was talking about. It turns out that "Catweazle" was a British-made children's show from the early '70s that he watched on TV as a small child.

    I watched Season 1, Episode 1 of "Catweazle" (oh, I never get tired of typing that name!) on YouTube, and it was fifteen minutes of riff-worthy delight.

    I had never heard of this show before tonight! Now I'm wondering why American children didn't get to watch this gem... Maybe the TV heads thought it was too "complicated" for us kids in the States.

    If you can secure the rights, "Catweazle" would make a choice short to riff on.

    Check it out... You won't regret it!
    ~Hildita

    I'm an American/Dutch dual citizen, living in Holland for ten years and the US west coast for fifty years before that.

    My Dutch husband called one of our kitties "Catweazle" this evening, and I asked him what on earth he was talking about. It turns out that "Catweazle" was a British-made children's show from the early '70s that he watched on TV as a small child.

    I watched Season 1, Episode 1 of "Catweazle" (oh, I never get tired of typing that name!) on YouTube, and it was fifteen minutes of riff-worthy delight.

    I had never heard of this show… more

    24 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

12. Operation: Deep Freeze

    Or, a history of my dating life.

    Just kidding, it's a short from the '50s about Antarctica! Starring some overly adorable penguins.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA-1F5NSjsU

    25 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

13. The Christmas Light (1995) and The Christmas Brigade (1995)

    The Christmas Light
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784186/reference
    and its sequel ... or soft reboot(?), The Christmas Brigade.
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9467594/reference

    11 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    2 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

14. A Day at the Magic Kingdom and A Day at Epcot (1991)

    Magic Kingdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwFkpZgYaOo

    Epcot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOEnWRfPlZU

    Videos sold at the parks back in the early 90s that followed various families around. Presents lots of prime riffing fodder both from an early 90s kitch and promotional Disney standpoint.

    12 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

15. Raggedy Ann and Andy (1941)

    This Fleischer cartoon gives "Fun in Balloonland" a run for its money in the sheer insanity department. There's a character with a pair of scissors for a head, and Ann and Andy are SEWN TOGETHER at the end.

    18 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

16. DragonStrike

    It's a 30 minute video tape that came with a board game back in the 80s. It's really cheesy and perfect.

    20 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

17. Depending On Weather

    Adverse weather conditions are a hazard for the unprepared driver. Motoring writer and race driver, David Mckay, gives his check-list for reliable motoring with safety during extreme weather. (NFSA Films)

    1. thrill as what is meant to be a joyful drive gets a man muddy

    2. marvel at adverse weather

    3. enjoy the process of changing a tire

    25 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

18. Dungeons Dragons TV Series (1983-1985, 27 Episodes)

    Dungeons Dragons TV Series (1983-1985, 27 Episodes) There are several episodes that would make great riffing material. And 24-minute run times make them perfect shorts!

    5 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

19. Crystals 1958 Alan Holden - Bell Laboratories

    I ran across this short on youtube. A teacher at Bell Laboratories talks about the Physics of Crystals and their Cleavage. It's perfect Riff material!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YW0wjYdUPw

    18 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

20. Metrics for Primary: How Big is Big?

    This educational short teaches kids about metric measurements in liters and volume; which sounds like a nice idea, if not for the fact that this short contains puppets that would make Jim Henson shake his head in disgust (or scream in horror).

    Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70k9gBICVQU and skip to 32:11.

    5 votes

    Vote Vote Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Close

    Close

    Vote

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  Short  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →