SHOOT selected writer/director unsigned Varda Hardy to be part of the 2010 New Director’s Showcase following her viral success “What Kind Of Planet Are We On?” a PSA promoting equal rights. The extraordinary success of “Planet” produced by LiveTribe Productions (DP: Daron Keet, Prod. Designer: Robert Fox) inspired Varda to redefine herself as a “content creator” reflecting her capability to deliver compelling projects from concept to completion.rnrnVarda’s newest viral video created for Samsung, produced by Thomas Bannister and Larry Laboe of SXM, features James Franco directing a commercial for the new Samsung Galaxy Camera. Samsung launched the video on their Samsung Mobile’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page. rnrn
rnrnThe Samsung piece arrived on the heels of a series of notable projects for Varda. In 2011, her branded video “Ode To Los Angeles“, a LiveTribe Production produced by Marina Viscun (DP Daron Keet) and created for LA INC, won a Grand Prize valued at $100,000 at the New Filmmaker/LA “On Location Project”. rnrnAt the start of 2012, Varda received a Silver Telly Award for her PSA “Journey To Safety” produced by Lisa France and Marina Viscun (DP: Nic Sadler, Prod. Designer: Bill Horbury). MZA Events hired Varda to write/direct a 3D animation promoting cage free hens for the Humane Farming Association. A tight budget made this approach prohibitive. Her idea to combine puppetry with 2D animation proved powerful. She collaborated with animator Jimmy Ahlander and puppeteer Mary Nagles to create “A Cage is A Cage” which went viral, screened nationally in New Zealand, lives on the HFA homepage and continues to spread its poignant message in significant ways.rnrnSpirit of America hired Varda to create a video announcing their 68,000 Campaign. She used social networking to connect with filmmakers in different parts of the country and invited them to capture unique scenarios utilizing the words “68,000 Remember“. Varda wove these diverse sequences into one compelling piece accompanied by a moving score by David Babich. The video aired during a New England Patriots game, Fox News, launched on YouTube and lives on the SOA website.rnrnMelcher Media hired Varda to make “We Can Be Heroes” (DP: Daron Keet) produced by LiveTribe Productions and featuring “Heroes” creator Tim Kring. She had less than two weeks to deliver the Kring piece which was received with enthusiasm at Melcher Media’s Future of Storytelling Summit. Following the event Varda flew to Washington State where she captured the poetic story of the authentically artisan Finnriver Cider. “A Taste Life On The Land” (DP: Varda Hardy) launched on Vimeo, YouTube and lives on the Finnriver Farms & Cidery website.rnrnVarda shared “Taste Life On The Land” with SXM producer Larry Laboe. When he discovered that she shot, edited and finished the film herself, Larry came up with the idea of asking Varda to make the Samsung video. Varda’s unique talent to create a visually compelling tale with an emotional pull that authentically expresses a brand’s story and to deliver it quickly suited the project that Samsung wanted captured on the Galaxy Camera.rnrnCreditsrnDirector/Cinematographer/Editor; Varda HardyrnProducers, Thomas Bannister & Larry LaboernProduction
Contact Varda via Andrew Press of Flutie Entertainment at 310 247-1100.
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Boris FX Continuum, the acclaimed visual effects plugin collection, introduces its 2026.5 release. The latest version of the Emmy Award-winning software delivers a new AI deinterlace tool, four updated AI models, a new compositing workflow in the FX Editor, overhauled warp and displacement effects, upgraded wipe transitions, and greater creative control in Particle Illusion. “As we continue to leverage internal AI technology to build new tools, we always keep the needs of Continuum’s editors, artists, and content creators at the forefront,” states Boris Yamnitsky, CEO and Founder of Boris FX. “We carefully choose which types of tasks benefit from AI workflows, such as image restoration and masking. Accordingly, the 2026.5 release adds a new deinterlace tool that uses AI to instantly transform archival, analog footage into progressive-scan frames and also includes more accurate models on our popular face segmentation and license plate masking tools, as well as our motion blur and up-res effects.” AI Tools Continuum’s AI-assisted capabilities grow with a new image restoration effect, updated masking, motion blur, and upres models, and additional flexibility.
- BCC+ Deinterlace ML: Automatically, precisely converts interlaced video, including analog TV, VHS tapes, etc., into progressive-scan frames.
- Updated AI Models: Improved accuracy on Face ML, License Plate ML, Motion Blur ML, and UpRes ML.
- BCC+ Face ML: Adds new nose and neck segmentation.
- BCC+ Motion Blur ML: Adds a prismatic colored blur trails feature.