Brad Pitt Ain’t a Zombie-Killer

June 27, 2013 / / No Comments

Technically, he’s killing a virus that spreads itself through human hosts.

WorldWarZ

“But wait,” i hear you ask, “those zombies in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, they went through the same thing. Why aren’t you picking on them?”

Well, they did, and I am, and those weren’t really zombies either.

Call me a traditionalist, but true zombies get infected and/or are dead already, reanimate, and SLOWLY make their way toward your still-beating heart (and brain).

That’s the difference. You might think it’s splitting hairs, but ask yourself: is there such a thing as bad jazz? Or could what you’re listening to be classified as uptempo contemporary adult?

Listen, anything or things moving that fast may as well be robots or sharks or bears or aliens or coordinated groups of mass murderers: it ain’t the same as the slow, plodding actualization of your worst fears about death and mortality, come to remind you that humans can have a REALLY hard time getting along even in the best of times.

But I’ve made a whole presentation about this, years ago, and I stand by George Romero’s viewpoint:

July 13, 2010, Inside the Artist’s Studio Interivew with Molly Matlock.

However, I give massive props to Mr. Pitt and his whole production team for getting a movie like “World War Z” made in the first place, and getting it released as a PG-13 feature.

There are some interesting themes raised in the film, and it’s visually stunning, and parts of it quite intelligent. And I generally like Brad anyway.

But he ain’t fighing real zombies, is all I’m saying.

Wesley Wolfe: “Only Ray of Sunshine”

March 31, 2011 / / No Comments

First the clip, then the story (but for this one, I recommend clicking on the “Vimeo” link in the bottom right, so you can see this video in its full glory. There are a lot of moving parts…):

The song is “Only Ray of Sunshine”, from Wesley Wolfe’s Storage album (Odessa Records, 2010).

Wes is a really nice guy — soft-spoken, polite, and hard working.

Why, exactly, would his video have a lot of bad cops doing a lot of bad things as one poor couple sat there bound (and the female, hooded)?

Because we talked him into it. Half-kidding — it started from a germ of an idea about this sweet little love song and how to shake up the visuals. Showing a couple in the park holding hands wasn’t going to cut it. The project needed the Creato Destructo Imagery edge.

“It started out as a concept about a guy tied up in a trunk being dropped off mysteriously in front of a woman already tied up — basically the action at the core of the produced video,” said director Jerry Stifelman. “Then we had a creative session with Wes, who came up with the idea of making everyone cops, based on the lyric, ‘We are all criminals disguised as cops.’  Then we all came up with having all the cops being as uncoplike as possible… I love working with an artist to bring the video even closer to the essence of the song.”

As producer, it was a great moment when we really connected with the talent on the concept. Truly, this was an idea that hasn’t been done many times over in a music video.

But also as producer, I began tugging at what hair I have left — there were so many questions:
– Where are we going to find all these people?
– How are we going to find (and pay for) the cop uniforms and accessories (badges, caps, etc.) for all these people?
– WHERE can we pull this off?
– We’re in a small town. This really has to be done in public to visually “sell” the concept. What will our REAL cops think?

The good news is Wesley is well liked, so we were able to draft a lot of his friends, fans and family. And the good folks at Odessa Records also joined in. Then, we worked our own lists of good-humored friends, and supporters of Creato Destructo, and got enough bodies to approach a visual critical mass the video scenarion needed.

In terms of the uniforms, accessories, and other things that were needed — hire us and we’ll tell you all about it. (But one thing that worked in our favor was Halloween.)

We also benefitted from the great talent at Playmakers Repertory Company and the affiliated UNC Department of Dramatic Art. Not only were we able to “seed” trained actors into the bad-cop group — we also found standout talent Kelsey Didion, who earned my undying loyalty to her acting skills by sitting there, for hours, bound and hooded on a cold and windy day. (Kelsey, I hope someday to see you win an Oscar…)

And for location, well… we’ll have to protect the names of innocent property owners.

But enough from me. What does Wesley Wolfe think about the video?

“Jerry, James and Tracy are the kind of people I love to work with. People that have the need to create, and find any way possible to do so,” Wolfe said. “They let no obstacle — especially the all-mighty one, budget, stop them. Through ingenuity and resourcefulness they have found away to put on bigtime productions with little budget…

“I feel fortunate to be a part of their collection of work. I have only heard great thing from people that have seen it. My closest friends we’re blown away by the video. The production value speaks for itself.”

So far, so good. How did he feel about the process of taking his song (a highly personal thing), and handing it over to others, to translate it into a video that wasn’t necessarily… his?

“Another thing I admire is how open and flexible Jerry was to ideas and changes in post production. He truly treated this project as a collaboration. I have no doubts that my ideas and thoughts were taken into consideration, and not just tossed to the side. Something rare in any art project,  especially when all I had to do was just show up for the shoot,” Wolfe said.

Aren’t those some production values? Damn right!  Even though I personally was still anxious on shoot day — because we had so many extras to manage — it was an amazing experience to watch as each person put on a uniform shirt, pinned on a badge, and donned headgear. They became bad cops right in front of our eyes, and it went from concept to stunning reality in just a few minutes.

The experience is well described by our own Tracey Oliveto:

“This shoot was really fun because once everyone was dressed and given their marks, it was like a big outdoor party. I couldn’t stop smiling at the image of 30 or more people dressed in uniforms, doing their thing in the sunshine and it definitely makes you stop and think about the roles we all play in life,” stated Oliveto, Creato Destructo’s associate creative director. “It was quite a spectacle and drew curious attention from passersby. Of course, James gave our Carrboro (police department), a heads up – after all,  it could have looked like some kind of conspiracy.”

Tto be honest, we had a few uneasy weeks as the local police tried to figure out if we were making fun of them, or cops in general, or if it was some kind of weird art project. This being Carrboro/Chapel Hill, it appears they settled on “weird art project” and decided not to pursue the matter any further…

All that said, the last words belong to Wolfe:

“I was nervous at first about being on camera. I really don’t like posing for pictures or seeing video of myself. They talked me into it, I trusted them fully, and I don’t regret it one bit… All in all, a great experience.”

We’ll be happy to do it again, Wes!

Wes Snaps Pic

Wesley Wolfe (left) photographs the anarchic chaos.

Sundance 2011: Day 5, the YouTube Connection

January 24, 2011 / / 1 Comment

First, a couple clips, then some stories:

But I concede that — apart from Virginia being impossibly cute, adorable and brave — this teaser doesn’t say much about the “Life in a Day” feature. Let’s try one more:

As mentioned earlier, if you live in Ann Arbor, MI; Brookline, MA; Brooklyn; Chicago; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; Nashville; San Francisco or Seattle — you can attend a special local screening of a Sundance 2011 film.

For the rest of us, YouTube will make it possible to collectively share the world premier of the “Life in a Day” documentary as it’s screened in Park City, Utah.

All you need to do is go here, by 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 5pm PT on Thursday, Jan. 27: http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday

Following the screening there will also be a live Q&A with the documentary’s director, Kevin MacDonald, along with a small group of specially-invited contributors to “Live in a Day”. (Impressive stats: this project drew more than 80,000 clips, and uses 1,125 of them. I’m sure the project probably shortened the lives of about 10 editors…)

Note, though, that the film WON’T be freely available on YouTube after that (it still has a theatrical run coming up this year), although you’ll be able to see a re-broadcast 7pm on Friday, January 28, in your local time zone.

But Sundance and YouTube have worked out something else that can keep you captivated through the rest of the long winter months.

Check out The YouTube Screening Room, which is showing a total of 12 shorts from Sundance 2011, plus four “career-starting” shorts from past festivals (!), and four shorts from the Sundance Directors Lab* (*no guarantee these won’t suck…). And they’ll add more on January 27 and February 3.

Meanwhile, here’s a loving tribute to 8-bit video game heros:

Want something a little more significant from your short films?

Okay, fine, check out skaters in Kabul!

Tomorrow, on the ground in Park City.

Sundance 2011: Days 3 & 4

January 23, 2011 / / No Comments

First, a clip, then a few stories:

Oh, and full disclosure — I’m not at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival YET. We get there Tuesday, and I prefer to avoid the insanity and overhype of the opening weekend blitzkrieg, and focus instead on the week that follows (including the awards). I feel compelled to note this because Friday I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in several years, and the first thing he said was “What are you doing in town? I was reading your blog and thought you were already at Sundance.” I have no idea how his wife and kids are doing, but my bad — I’ll slap up a dateline when I’m in Park City.

Five feature films with early buzz:

All that said, early word of mouth — which still has to be filtered through the reality of aggressive publicists pushing and tugging to get their spin out before multiple screenings and hundreds, even thousands of festivalgoers have had a chance to separate the good from the merely well-publicized — is placing a few feature films into the spotlight. (I’ll have something on docs next time.)

Again, early going. This could be laughable in one week, but here we have it:

Red State —
I’m still holding out hope for Kevin Smith. I love the guy, but I don’t think he’s honed his directorial skills in terms of cinematic eye and character motivation.

But I will stand on Ben Affleck’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and declare that “Dogma” is not only Smith’s best film, it’s also a great film, period. My many reasons are a whole other discussion, but at the core I believe Smith loves the idea of all the good religion can do, and is horrified by how we mere mortals actually use religion for our petty power/control issues. This passionate belief might also make “Red State” stand out from his usual work. Here’s hoping.

Oh, and JOHN GOODMAN!! Melissa Leo! Kevin Pollack.  The acting talent is there.

Higher Ground —
I previewed this earlier —  it’s Vera Farmiga’s directorical debut, and she’s acting in it as well. (She starred next to George Clooney in “Up in the Air”, and played the counselor/girlfriend in “The Departed”.) This film has a good pedigree.

Like Crazy —
Directed by Drake Doremus (“Douchebag”,  2010), it’s a dramatic romantic about first love. Awww.

But the buzz is far less about the film itself, and far more about the female lead, British actress Felicity Jones. She’s been in Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest”, Stephen Frears’ “Cheri'” (with Michelle Pfeiffer), and a lot of BBC productions. But word is she burns up the screen.

The Future —
It’s a “quirky” “offbeat” romantic comedy written, directed and starring Miranda July, who did “Me and You and Everyone We Know” (2005). Which I liked, and I didn’t expect to.

One of the twists of “The Future” is that the couple in the story are brought together by the woman’s cat — who also narrates the film. And, wait for it — Miranda July also provides the voice of the cat.

Yes, I know. On paper, enough to have me running screaming out of the theater. But this is Miranda July. I like her work. She might nail this one.

And please God, let’s just hope it’s not a misfire on scale with Cindy Sherman’s “Office Killer”… speaking of cool artists that completely failed on film.

Martha Marcy May Marlene —
I also previewed this earlier, as another Sundance Institute “homegrown” project in this year’s competition.It stars a THIRD Olsen sister, Elizabeth, who by all accounts does pretty well. It could be the next “Winter’s Bone,” down to a shared actor, the always-good John Hawkes (I know; great name for an actor!). He’s also been in “Deadwood”, the previously-mentioned “Higher Ground,” and was in “You, Me and Everyone We Know.” That dude is all over this year’s Sundance.

Anyway, another religious-folks-gone-bad theme, which is yet another current of the 2011 festival. Keep an eye on this one in terms of jury voting, but it may not make it through the clutter of the audience award.

Also keep in mind not all these films are in competition. “Red State” and “The Future” are premiers, so the only awards they’ll be going after are distribution and ticket sales this year, but they may arrive at your local arthouse sooner than the three on this list that are in competition.

Next time, documentaries with heat.

“One True Thing” – the documentary starts

December 7, 2010 / / No Comments

First, the clip, then the story:

There are a lot of projects on my short list, but it’s the usual excuses of too long a list, and not enough money or time.

But excuses just don’t cut it anymore, so my plan to get this documentary project going is to just do it — and structure the plan in such a way that all the shooting can be done on incredibly flexible schedules, and the budget can remain miniscule (for now, at least).

So here’s “One True Thing”.  The idea is that our team sits down with someone at their preferred location, and once everything’s set up, all we do is ask for your first name, and to tell us one true thing.

It can be anything, from trivial to profound. So long as it’s true to you.

We also have some ground rules for ourselves/the project:

— First name only

— We won’t edit your response once you start on your true thing. That means once you being, we’ll run until you stop. So, no edits to make you look better, worse, or more concise.

— You can have more than one thing to say. We’ll just treat them separately.

— Don’t pressure yourself. We don’t expect Dalai Lama-league answers, so no worries. Something about your cat is acceptable…

What do WE get out of all this? Good question.

Expectations:

Sure, the first clip is three guys of various ages working in various levels of seriousness.

The real payoff should be when we reach a certain critical mass and broader themes emerge. Personally, I fully expect this to start focusing on religion, relationships and philosophy — but I could be completely wrong.

Maybe folks hone in on sports and cosmology, who knows?

If I were to point to an existing model for how I expect this to turn out, I’m going to reference one of my all-time favorite books and life guides: Directing the Film: Film Directors on Their Art, edited by Eric Sherman.

Yes, you’ll find a lot of practical advice on nearly every aspect of filmmaking by some of the greatest in the field — but that’s essentially a bonus.

What I find great is that within Sherman’s 352 pages of collected wisdom, you can read one absolutely sterling, profound and compelling piece of advice put forth by an absolute master of their craft — and on the next page, there’s another absolutely sterling, profound, and compelling piece of advice from yet ANOTHER master, completely and absolutely contradicting the first.

Example: Think about rehearsing your actors. There are a number of directors that weigh in on how their actors must be absolutely well rehearsed and prepared, so there’s no doubt about the lines, nuances or inflections before the cameras roll.

And there are a number of directors that talk about why anything beyond nominal rehearsal kills the energy and dampens the creative sparks from fresh discovery.

Who’s right? They all are. And that’s the point — the truths within this book are the truths that work for each person.

So that’s where I personally see “One True Thing”‘s potential. But we’ll see.

Technical Points:

As we add in clips, we’ll update the master video, and keep individual clips for easy reference.

We’re also COMPLETELY OPEN AND ENCOURAGING of outside submissions. So feel free to crank up your webcam or video recorder, work up a segment, and send it on.

Contact me at OneTrueThingDocumentary@gmail.com, or visit the project site at OneTrueThingDocumentary.com .

And of course, a special shout-out of thanks to my Creato Destructo compatriots, Jerry and Shay Stifelman. (Tracey, let’s get you taped!)

– James

It’s an HD World

December 3, 2010 / / No Comments

Had a new studio shoot this week — as in, a new studio space and a new project.

Viewfinder view

The clients didn’t have a huge budget, but recognized the need for video, and they were willing to move around some priorities to make sure this was done in high definition.

I’m amazed that some groups still ask for or even REQUIRE  480-based origination video. There are a lot of ways to shoot in HD as your source and downconvert from there if necessary. Even if you need a final 4:3 product. Even if this is “just for the web”. Even if you’re not sure how the project will evolve.

If you think your project can’t be done on HD… seriously, we need to talk.

James Hyatt

Fin.

Epic Video, Underground Band & Lessons Learned: Part 1, Reasons Why

November 16, 2010 / / No Comments

First the video, then the story. (You may want to grab a beer first; this is 11 minutes long):

The name of the band is Shit Horse. Two words.

Yes, that’s basically a no-go at most American radio stations. Yes, it’s harder to advertise gigs or be listed in event directories. Yes, it’ll difficult to have CDs in stores (Wal-Mart, I’m looking at you…).

For Shit Horse, though, that’s missing the point. More precisely — that’s EXACTLY the point.

Background:
They came together… not as a joke, more like a conspiracy.

Part of the formation was planned: the first members came together to play the XX Merge fest in 2009.

Part was purely accidental, possibly even a twist of fate: because someone else was sick, the first three members grabbed lead vocalist Danny Magic, pretty much off the street*. (*Possibly apocryphal)

Their first release is cassette-only, in June 2010. Let me make this clear: not June 1990. Cassette only, 2010. The band held to a strict “no digital” discipline all the way through the recording process, staying analog as long and as far as possible.

The first run of cassettes sold out, and they’re spooling a new batch. But many of their fans are overseas (Shit Horse is huge in the UK; check out the mania here, and Culture Deluxe’s postings; and some proof BBC Radio 6 likes them), and shipping individual tapes is both a time-consuming pain and relatively expensive. So the band and their label, Odessa Records, have relented and produced a digital album download — primarily to make it easier for non-US fans to get their music.

Hype Factor:
The real question is: Are they the real thing?

Yes.

And like most real, authentic things, they’re far from perfect. Half their live shows are so great I’d swear we were witnessing the rebirth of rock, blues, soul, funk, punk and maybe a little jazz — all at once. They’ve made me wonder if this is the start of a new-millennial return to Americana music, with a fully aware, multi-racial, and multi-generational  group (members are in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s) .

During those shows, I get my hopes up and think: the Delta blues were the call. The Rolling Stones were the response. Is it possible these guys are the fully realized testimony?

But then other shows can end with at least one band member storming offstage, swearing he’s gone for good. And if you’re in the audience, holding some hope in your heart, there’s a bitter tang of disappointment, as the band plays the soundtrack to every major letdown of your wild dreams and impossible hopes.

But they keep reuniting, and keep playing blistering, brilliant shows. At least for now.

What Happened:
And that should help explain why our Creato Destructo video team (helmed by Jerry Stifelman) would spend most of the summer and burn through many personal favors to crank out a three-act tribute/showcase/document — for a group of musicians that might not be playing together in the new year.

Some things, you do for the love of something bigger than money, free time, and air conditioning.

Sometimes, you just have to commit.

And so we did.

Preview: How I Spent My Summer Vacation

What about the “how” of what it took? That’s coming in another post.

– James

Video: Your Online Image Versus Your Resources

September 20, 2010 / / No Comments

First, the video:

Background, thoughts and observations:

I’m biased. I love “Garden & Gun” magazine, and have been a subscriber since their second issue. (And then, only because the first issue snuck past me and managed to sell out on newsstands). As a Southerner by birth and now by choice, I love how they blend a lot of different elements of Southern culture (high, low and all around) into an interesting mix, issue to issue.

The name’s also deceptive, since there’s usually incredibly little about gardening (breathes sign of relief), not so much about guns (awww…), but a lot about lifestyle — music, history, travel, food, drinking, etc. etc. etc.

The magazine also has a decent online presence, and the roots to really flourish from here.

This video is one example:  Justin Townes Earle is Steve Earle’s son, and he now lives in Brooklyn, NY. He hasn’t yet been profiled in G&G’s print version  (it’ll be the Dec/Jan issue), but this type of video profile is incredibly savvy for several reasons:

1. You can push content out far ahead of traditional print schedules. (Now, versus Dec/Jan issue delivery).

2. You can benefit from the work of other people (not just yourself or your staff). Earles obviously isn’t G&G’s in-house musician. And this piece was directed by Tim Sutton, who’s an art director in NYC — although he’s worked on a handful of G&G videos.

3. This external/different work (different aesthetics, different subjects and themes, etc) can bring in different, new, fresh audiences. You never want to be stagnant in terms of outreach, so a foray into music video can make great intuitive sense for a print publication — even though it may not make a great deal of short-term, direct-path business sense.

4. Your site needs a wide variety of content, period. Remember, your website is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It’s like 7/11, always open. And that being the case, you want to offer a variety of content for a variety of content consumers, in a range of media types.

5. Sometimes, you just need to connect with bourbon-drinkin’, chain-smokin’, tattooed Southern musicians. Trust me. (Although you should red-flag any thoughts about a Ryan Adams profile. Again, trust me on this.)

All this said, you should now be thinking about what kind of video profiles might liven up your website.

— If you’re a college or university MarComm rep, you’ve got a wealth of alumni,  donors, faculty, staff, students and community supporters out there. Why not go for some color?

— If you’re in the pop-culture/entertainment-media industry, you should be way ahead of this. If not, call me.

— Even for more traditional industries, there are a lot of great ideas that would be completely fun and help burnish your image while reaching into new demographics.

I’m also willing to hear the counter-argument, from those who might want to play it safer or more traditionally. So let’s hear what you have to say…

Lost in the Trees – “Walk Around The Lake”

August 20, 2010 / / 1 Comment

First, let’s just get to it. Here’s the new video for Lost in the Trees, the single “Walk Around the Lake”:

Second, some background. This is the latest from our music-video production team, aka Creato-Destructo Imagery.

It’s directed by Jerry Stifelman, and AD’ed by yours truly. Edited by Jerry and Shay Stifelman, with help from Trace Oliveto and myself, and a lot of support and encouragement from Lost in the Trees creative force Ari Picker and his fellow bandmates.

But the REAL story is we shot this in North Carolina, late one January evening, hoping we’d get some great nighttime footage, illuminated by just hand-held lights, lanterns, candles, etc.

Our first set-up was around 6pm. It started snowing about 6:30. And not just “North Carolina snowing” — these were real, fat, heavy flakes coming down in a hurry.

So we thought about that, and discussed it for a while. Our options were to either stop, because there’d be NO WAY to match any snow scene on any other day or night in North Carolina; or keep going that night until we had everything in the can. Yes, continue shooting in a snowstorm.

…So we went for it, with the full support of the band. I believe we wrapped up about 11pm that night; wet, shivering and frozen. But heck, Ari did most of the shoot without a jacket (he wasn’t wearing one during the first scene, so…) , a lot of the band members had to keep holding their instruments (including a very large, cold, snow-covered tuba), and people had to keep running up and down a very dark trail just to keep up with the set-ups. In the snow. Did I mention that?

And personally, I think it looks great. The snowfall looks fantastic and has production values we couldn’t have bought with Jay-Z’s platinum card.

Hats off to Jerry and Ari for making that call and sticking with it, and for the creative vision we now have with this music video.

For even more background, here’s Jerry’s description:

“The concept of is simple — Ari leaves his cabin in the night, walking through the forest, picking up members of the band along the way. Unlike many music videos, this one was as much about mood as concept. We wanted to convey a vibe that was appropriate to the song and the band. There is a feeling of timelessness to Lost In The Trees’ music. We wanted to be true to this by shooting under the light of the full moon supplemented only with candles — and by keeping the band dressed in simple vintage clothing. The idea was to make the “walk” to feel like it could have taken place 100 years ago. This made things hard for band members, many of who had to carry both their instruments and a candles while walking in the freezing snowfall. (This was especially hard for Mark, since he had a tuba to carry around). Another aspect of Lost In The Trees that makes them special is the genuine sense of family. Filming the whole group singing the song was an important part of this, and it turned out so special that we added the live audio of the band singing to backing track of the final video. If you listen, you can hear Ari laughing as he sings. The extreme cold and snowfall made even the most simplest things, like turning cameras on and off, became a challenge, but everyone hung together. Originally, we were going to film Ari actually walking into the lake, but it was so cold, we were afraid he might not come out alive. But ultimately we think the video’s open-ended finish is better leaving it up to the imagination of the viewer.”

Oracle’s Ellison Pledges Billions

August 5, 2010 / / No Comments

Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle, has pledged to give away “at least 95%” of his $28 billion fortune to charity.

Oh, and in the same announcement, George Lucas said he’d do the same. But few people ever doubted that Lucas’ heart was in the right place. With Ellison, it was less certain.

During the 1990’s tech boom, I worked for a nonprofit that doubled as both a (free, open) news and information service, and as a service provider to nonprofits — we went around the country teaching 501(c)3 groups of all stripes how to use tech to further their missions (and that covered a lot of ground).

It was a great job — even after 60-hour weeks living in hotels far across the country from my own bed, I always felt my work had helped people in specific, quantifiable ways.

It was also an exciting time to be reporting in that sector, because fortunes were being made overnight. (Looking back, we now know most of these fortunes were only on paper, but still, it was exciting.)

And it was particularly exciting because many of these tech entrepreneurs were giving away big chunks of their new fortunes in very public ways. The attitude at the time was that the people drawn to the tech/start-up culture were more in touch with their core values through their work, more in tune with how social networks can bring real benefits to society, and that the type of people working in that field were driven primarily by the thrill of innovation and discovery; not simply greed and profit.

I believe a lot of these (positive) stereotypes were true, although it would have been interesting to see how these newly rich folks would have held on to their values if the tech crash hadn’t removed most of their fortunes.

But I digress.

I was reminded of that time by Ellison’s announcement. He apparently was motivated by the VERY public appeal by Bill & Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett, as part of their “The Giving Pledge” effort.

And during the time of the tech boom, the three biggest tech bazillionaires that HADN’T publicly pledged much of their personal fortunes (as opposed to corporate gifts and donations) were Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs.

Melinda Gates and Bill Gates Sr. went first, announcing plans were underway to create a massive foundation that would funnel the trio’s fortunes into specific areas of global health initiatives, global development (economic aid to the poor), and tech/access and education initiatives in the U.S.

They got off to a roaring start in 1999, and have grown the Foundation’s outreach ever since.

Ellison, not so much. At the time, he was fairly closed-mouth.

It turns out he has been giving away millions, but in a quieter, far less public way. Okay, there was that little dust-up with Harvard University, where he rescinded a $115 million gift because of their ousting of Lawrence Summers. (But Ellison also stated he’d increase his other giving to medical research.)

The reason he’s coming forward and signing this pledge now is that his example may lead other wealthy folks to give and/or make other commitments to the social good.

“Warren Buffett personally asked me to write this letter because he said I would be ‘setting an example’ and ‘influencing others’ to give.  I hope he’s right,” he stated in his pledge.

Maybe one measure will be when (rather than if) Steve Jobs announces plans for HIS vast fortune, and how exactly he plans to give it away. That should be fascinating.