Ali Sabet

the changing faces of WHALE

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i remember when ye (kanye w) iterated on a finished piece of work. maybe it was the life of pablo, can’t recall exactly but the timeline was full of mr west being lauded as the first artist to treat work as iterative, instead of absolute, like software (SaaS).

this came mostly from the VC techo-sphere, a top down propaganda arm that related everything to “software eating the world”.

of course, this was not the first case of this. it might have been the most public version, because of the sheer reach & influence of Mr Ye, but artists have iterated on finished works since cave paintings.

it’s of course a very different thing when said item is all digital. it’s much more difficult after you shipped out a million CD’s/DVDs but we are living in a different era altogether, where we leave no trace but 1/0’s behind.

my version of this iteration process occurred in 2009. i had finally finished my first feature film, WHALE, and released the work on DVD. this was a painstaking ordeal and had taken several years to finally get to the point of release. i felt somewhat relieved.

but, nearly right after we started both selling and sending out screeners, I couldn’t get rid of an itch, in fact I couldn’t sleep. i felt i had given up on the edit too soon, and knew that something was missing but i couldn’t work out the problem & i didn’t have the energy to face it (also, the tech issues at the time, with my PowerPC G5 giving up and project files being corrupted was part of this defeat).

in this fog of insomnia, on one of those nights i was taking nyquil just to fall asleep,i had a dream, and this dream was a direct solution to the problem, sound and visual. so, i went back to the edit room and came back several months later. now, it felt truly finished and i could sleep soundly again.

the other thing that’s changed over the years has been the keyart of the film, with the most recent refresh done by artist/designer Ali Sabet for the HD-re-release that went live in 2019 . this HD version of the film also has one or two tiny changes (i had to fire up a PowerPC mac running final cut pro 5 and this was a whole nightmare and another story). so, this new streaming version is in fact the finished version of the film, a v2.44 version as it stands.

below is some of the art over the years, including the rare OG DVD design.

WHALE keyart redesign done with the help of artist/designer Ali Sabet for HD re-release - 2019

WHALE DVD coverart for current in circulation DVD’s - 2010

WHALE original DVD front cover design for released, but scrapped version of the film - 2009

WHALE original DVD back cover design for released, but scrapped version of the film - 2009

THREE WORLDS pre-order is live!

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Our second feature film for 2018 (Three Worlds) is now available for pre-order! Please show your support by committing early & locking into our lovingly easy pre-release rates. 

Available on Vimeo On Demand (worldwide) starting Sept 7th, 2018. (i think we'll let it drop Thurs ;) )

Premieres on Amazon Prime Video in the latter half of Sept, with a full digital rollout in the following months.

The full OST (soundtrack) by Julian DW Brink premieres on all music platforms Sept 14th, 2018.

This release marks the conclusion of the "Three Marks, Too Many Signals" series of works. 

PS: If you haven't yet watched MAN yet, now is a good time, after you pre-order this! 💚

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Synopsis

Three Worlds is a psychological science fiction drama that explores the three lives, or 'worlds,' of a man who undergoes an experiment that triggers haunting memories and alternate life 'memories.

Credits

Written & Directed by Amir Motlagh
Produced by ANIMALS, Amir Motlagh, Charles Borg
Director of Photography: Amir Motlagh

Starring:
Amir Motlagh
Samantha Robinson
Rey Deegan
Keaton Shyler
Gregory Linington

Editing: Bryan Tuck, Amir Motlagh
Original Score by Julian DW Brink

Sound Designer & Re-Recording Mixer: Stephen Holliger

Media Quotes

“It’s always exciting whenever a distinct new voice makes itself heard on the indie landscape. Amir Motlagh is such a voice.

honest and soulful.. ”

— Adam Schartoff FILMWAX RADIO

“It’s rare to mix rawness with beauty.”

— Pinnland Empire

““These unique experiences are made even more exceptional for their Iranian-American perspective.” 

...the experience of both films (MAN + Three Worlds) is one that any film connoisseur must have. To sit with an awareness of the film, and, an awareness of how you are watching it, is a surreal act that can only be described as “art.” Motlagh’s work is definitely a piece of art in the medium of film.”

— Jonita Davis THE IRANIAN

“there is without a doubt a definitive boldness to “Three Worlds”, both in its tone and aspirations, and it will certainly require viewers to lean in a little closer, which is never a bad thing…..a curious and fascinating watch.”

— David Fowlie KEEPING IT REEL

WHALE HD Re-Release Season

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While MAN just launched, ANIMALS secretly re-released WHALE in HD. While I'm generally against revisionism in art, some very slight modifications have been made to the 2010 release. We are in the software eat world age after all, where things get continuously updated. Nothing is ever finished until it ceases to exist.

The project is available for $2 to rent, $7 to buy and is available in all territories on Vimeo. The original SD version has been and still is available on Amazon (along with a few rare DVD's), though the new HD version will be available soon and free to Prime subscribers. If I could dictate your direction, I would say, use the Vimeo route for now.

before.

before.

after.

after.

KEY ART REFRESH

Typography redesigned by Ali Sabet

Typography redesigned by Ali Sabet

CANYON is live

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We launched the MIRS project CANYON on 09-06-16, All the info about it can be found here. I'm relieved that it's done, but very much enjoyed this particular process with the help of my collaboration with Nima Rezai. 

The record is available to stream or buy at iTunes, Bandcamp, or at our very own store which includes a PDF version of the CANYON Artbook here. 

We are also selling a very limited number of CANYON Art Prints here, signed and numbered by the incredible artist, Ali Sabet.

This was a SABET + MIRS collaboration with its own very unique process, some of which is detailed in the video below.  

Updates to the Static Website 1.0 to a 3.0 World.

It's apparent that I hardly ever update this website. With all these platforms vying for your attention in exchange for tools, the old web 1.0 website is a lonely place. My last post was in Oct. 🙄

However, I think it's time to share some information.

A) CANYON, a project under MIRS Is coming in several mediums. Very, very soon. We locked a date, but I won't say.
B) Feature film MAN is in the final stages of Post Prod
C) Feature film THREE WORLDS is shortly behind but rushing to completions.

Several other projects are in various stages of development with one going up soon.

For CANYON, we teamed up with the incredible Ali Sabet who is painting five original works of art as part of the CANYON package. The original paintings, plus a very limited number of prints are available to own.

Pricing/availability is coming shortly.

With that, I'll leave you the first two trailers for this special collaboration.

Sabet + MIRS collaboration video campaign shot by Mahyar Alahyari  . Series produced by ANIMALS.

 

 

The Good Girl.

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She was a good girl.  Full of the ethereal and effortless.  An experiment, named one of Darwinian's favorites.  A winner as far as any society was concerned.  

But, she had secrets.  And without a pass into the frontal lobe, the rest looked just like a lizard.  

"Even the best ones look convoluted on the insides", said a grizzled beast downing his tall can inside a black hole, once.  

"Not always, but sometimes", I fancied.

Be careful when you envy perfection.  

​Image courtesy of the artist, Ali Sabet © 2013

​Image courtesy of the artist, Ali Sabet © 2013

Take Away artwork for MIRS new single.

We just signed off on the cover art for Take Away, MIRS newest, and final single of the summer.  The artwork was a collaboration between Ali Sabet and myself.  We did a little art direction together, he did the illustration and layout.​  We still haven't decided which will represent the single on the commercial end, so, send us a shout and help us decide.  You got about a week before we drop it on all the usual suspects.

Now Ali is no stranger to ANIMALS​ (or AYA FILMS).  He did some of the illustrations in both 35 Year Old Man and KHOOBI.  And we are in post on another collaboration, Writers Block in B Minor that is scheduled for a last quarter 012 release. 

MIRS - Take Away

MIRS - Take Away

KHOOBI release along with the ANIMALS slate.

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With a block of time set, and some good luck in the form of music licensing and decision making, it seems that I can finally release Khoobi before the month of June is over.

My plan involves a straight to web release under a CC copyright.  This means that you will be free to download it, show it to your friends  and even screen it (as long as you hit me up first).  I've not yet decided if it should be under the remix able license yet, but maybe?

Curators, if you are interested in screening the film, please contact first.  Since this is a non-commercial release, you must first get permission son.

The official date has not been decided yet, maybe I'll slip it under you while you sleep.

This is the first of several ANIMALS collaborative projects I will be releasing this year, with the climax being my next feature film (Reza the Camel) which is in development at the moment.

In other news, I'm featured in the next issue of DNA Recordz Magazine, which highlights the work of the next generation of Diaspora artist.  Here is a photo from the shoot.

DNA Recordz, Amir Motlagh