A "before hours" discussion at Marco's Supperclub in Belltown. Dave Rosencrans, Barbara Thomas and Sandy Cioffi talk about the economy, individual artists, who's taking it on the chin, and why?

Cioffi, 44, a professor in Seattle Central Community College's film and video communications department, visited Nigeria's southern coast in August to shoot a documentary on the people of the Niger Delta. She had first visited Nigeria in 2005 when she was hired to film construction of a library there.

Two small-budget films at the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival contain provocative social agendas for youth.

His and Hers tales of this low-budget indie prove nothing beats a good script and a hell of a lot of determination

At some point in the filmmaking process, every director must ask him or herself what soundtrack will best capture and/or set the tone of this magnum opus. In my case, the question was how to audibly evoke the feeling of a hankerin' for ham. Though nothing came immediately to mind, I felt certain the perfect ham song was out there somewhere.

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." So said Leonardo, or Picasso, or George Lucas, depending which Google search results you choose to believe. No matter who said it, it's a wise maxim, whether you're creating a virtuoso painting, a blockbuster film, or an amateur three-minute movie about ham.

To kick off our Three-Minute Masterpiece digital movie contest, we asked Brangien Davis to create her own short movie. This is the second of three installments in her filmmaking saga.