Kines submitted The Closest Thing to Time Travel, which depicts an invention that enables people to witness past events. The entry was selected from 28 works that made it to the final round of the competition for online peer voting.
The Closest Thing to Time Travel and nine finalist films recently premiered at the annual AIGA Movies gala in New York City and can now be viewed at: www.gettyimages.com/thenextbigidea.
The competition’s rules are simple: explore the one thing that links all creative work – “the big idea” – and produce a :60 film with at least half of the content originating from the vast collection of digital film and still imagery available at www.gettyimages.com. Participants had access to more than 1.4 million still images and over 100,000 film clips. The grand-prize winner would receive $10,000.
“The massive Getty Images library allowed me to tell a story I wouldn’t otherwise have had the means to: about a mirror that could capture past moments from world history and even from our personal lives,” explains Mark Tapio Kines. "It wasn't just great fun to work with such a huge arsenal of visuals – it actually felt like a new art form.”
In 2005, Getty Images launched “The Big Idea” which challenged seven of the world’s most innovative filmmakers to create works expressing their personal artistic vision. Responding to the enthusiastic feedback from the film community, it was reconceived for 2006 in a new, interactive format that would engage not only entrants but other creatives interested in exploring ideas through film and photography.