Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Vincent Laforet's NYC at night, Giphy's logo design, Akira Kurosawa's 100 favorite films and more in our weekly look at the web

1. Spike Lee for Vimeo On Demand After first taking to Kickstarter to fund his new film “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus,” Director Spike Lee has decided to release the feature via Vimeo On Demand before it hits theaters. So far, Lee is the new streaming platform’s highest profile client and it’s clearly becoming an attractive option for filmmakers not keen on the customary box-office …

Next-Generation Drones

Ex-MIT and Google X engineers, who now form the startup Skydio, are developing a way to keep drones from crashing. In a short online video, the team demonstrates a drone’s auto-pilot system that uses real-time 3D mapping of its surroundings to avoid collisions. A “magic wand” app also turns your iPhone into a controller, giving you the ability to direct the drone simply by pointing …

A Photographic Journey of Ancient Arbor

For 14 years, photographer Beth Moon has journeyed to some of those most secluded landscapes to capture photographs of the world’s oldest trees. Whether they’re a few hundred or even a few thousand years old, the trees featured in Moon’s new book “Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time” are no doubt the world’s rarest. Check out a few of the photographer’s jaw-dropping images via The Atlantic.