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watch Do Not Disconnect (and a comment re: super bowl ad, motorola)

D

Do Not Disconnect

Hi all,

In 2009, I shot a short film about a girl who tries to break out of a world where everyone is plugged into their headphones. A world with no interaction. A lot of people were excited about the concept of the film and volunteered their time to get the film made.

I was horrified when Motorola and the Anomaly New York ad agency have made their Super Bowl ad for 2011 with an identical concept. As indie filmmakers, I'm sure you can imagine our dismay when, while still submitting to film festivals, we saw their commercial.

I'm the director. I worked at an A-list commercial production company and was asked to pitch several treatments for short films, including this one. After the concepts were passed over, I funded the idea myself, which became the film Do Not Disconnect. Casting notices were posted on the internet, and the film has been submitted already to several film festivals. So the plot and concept have been floating around for two years. But even if nothing was lifted, this is a terrible situation for a indie short filmmaker to be in.

All we’re asking is that people please take a few minutes of their day to watch how this idea was first done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmRsfnZJh0c

We're really proud of the short film. We feel it's a fun, heartfelt story with a truly unique take.

I'm asking my fellow filmmakers and cinephiles to please watch the film. And if you do like it, my cast and crew and myself would love if you'd share it with others via Facebook, twitter, or whatever. I know you all have your projects to promote, but this would mean the world to us because we want to show that we made this film, with this concept, before we ever saw the Super Bowl and their multi-million dollar advertisements.

Thank you for watching and all your time reading this huge post.

- Michael Sarrow
 
Good little movie. I doubt that too many people would make a connection to the Xoom commercial, as it does not explore the "disconnect" like your movie does. I'm sorry that they may have stolen your idea, but I think your short can stand on its own, without viewers being reminded of the commercial.


Anyway, it's scinteresting to compare your movie to the Motorola commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmRsfnZJh0c



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBUoLYOWR8I
 
Scoopicman said:
Good little movie. I doubt that too many people would make a connection to the Xoom commercial, as it does not explore the "disconnect" like your movie does. I'm sorry that they may have stolen your idea, but I think your short can stand on its own, without viewers being reminded of the commercial.


Anyway, it's scinteresting to compare your movie to the Motorola commercial:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words about the film. For people who had seen the film, the commercial certainly reminded them of it. I was getting texts and calls throughout the Super Bowl. I think the end is really quite similar and what bothers me the most.

As a pure exercise in film criticism, I do agree that it's an interesting study to compare the two, though. :)
 
That's a shame, they are really similar in concept, but i think as Scoopicman said, i don't think that many people would make the connection without having it point out to them.
 
Very nice movie, well shot, looks technically very clean !
Regarding your 'problem': I think the trick is to not let pass too much time between the idea and the execution of that idea. The longer the concept floats around, out there, the bigger the chance that somebody picks it up. You can never prove that it was your idea. I know somebody who claims that Universal stole his script for the movie Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray. He got absolutely nothing out of it. To be honest, I don't think you even want to get involved in these kind of conflicts.
I would agree with the other posters, the resemblance is remote at best, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
Cool movie. I like it. I don't watch TV, so I wouldn't have ever made the connection had you not pointed it out. So, maybe you just pretend the commercial doesn't exist (they are pretty similar).















P.S. That girl's hot.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies and for watching the film. I might be overreacting, but I just can't shake how similar the endings are. I'll do my best to keep on trucking though.

If you did enjoy it, I'd really appreciate any reposting you could do, whether to Facebook or Twitter or just sharing with someone who might like it. Every post counts.

Thanks again to everyone.
 
The idea of technology obstructing interpersonal communication is nothing new. In that respect I don't believe Motorola/Anomoly snatched *your* idea. However, in execution, there are certainly some very similar formal elements between the two works. As said above, your short stands as quality on it's own.

You'd be surprised at how many similar ideas/styles could be considered archetypal, and bound to surface in other's works. All you can do is be true to your vision....and don't show your cards too early. :)


Edit: Oh, also I just noticed you said you worked for the ad agency you pitched this idea for....was this intellectual material, then, not bound to this agency? Maybe this is where the fault lies?
 
Last edited:
bird said:
The idea of technology obstructing interpersonal communication is nothing new. In that respect I don't believe Motorola/Anomoly snatched *your* idea. However, in execution, there are certainly some very similar formal elements between the two works. As said above, your short stands as quality on it's own.

You'd be surprised at how many similar ideas/styles could be considered archetypal, and bound to surface in other's works. All you can do is be true to your vision....and don't show your cards too early. :)


Edit: Oh, also I just noticed you said you worked for the ad agency you pitched this idea for....was this intellectual material, then, not bound to this agency? Maybe this is where the fault lies?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I definitely agree this could be coincidental. The problem is that I may never know.

I worked, not for an agency, but for a commercial production company, a major competitor to Smuggler, the company that produced this ad. The ideas I generated were my own and not owned by the production company. I pitched them for an independent short film campaign, not for a specific advertisement at all. I bring that up merely to state that the idea has been "out there" in some capacity, particularly in this corner of the industry.
 
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