Ah, GIMP. Any creative who's ever balked at Adobe's pricing will have a fondness for the ridiculously named GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP for short, the free, open-source program has endured as one of the best Photoshop alternatives for those who want to edit images without forking out for a hefty monthly subscription fee.
The software was built as a class project in 1995 by Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis. Originally for Unix-based systems, it now runs on Windows and Mac as well as GNU/Linux and offers a full array of painting, colour correction, cloning, selection and enhancement tools. It even has AI capabilities through third-party plugins and extensions.
Article continues below
Dustin Grissom is a filmmaker from Indiana now living in Los Angeles. For the past three years, he's been blending his twin passions of film and puppets through the creation of an Instagram account about the life of Pork Johnson, a puppet pig with his own backstory.
Pork moved to Los Angeles hoping to achieve his dream of becoming star like Alf or one of the Muppets. Alas, things didn't quite work out for him. On his Instagram account, we see his frustrated pursuit of stardom, from unsuccessful auditions to gigs as a presenter and ventures into directing.
Finally, he's making his bid for Oscar glory with an unlikely starring role as Spencer Kimball, creator of the legendary GIMP software. Dustin says he was inspired to make the trailer as he used the software himself when he was getting started in graphic design and photo editing and couldn't afford Photoshop.
"It's a parody trailer that plays itself seriously – this is Pork Johnson's big Oscar push!," Dustin says, adding that people are already praising Pork's "chilling" and "memorable" performance.
Dustin designed Pork with his partner and then had him made by the Missouri puppet studio What If? There was no big idea initially, other than to make friends laugh, but Dustin suspected that Pork would be a catalyst for him to do something creative – “sort of like how downloading GIMP as a kid is a tool that opens your mind to so many
new creativity opportunities (and a huge step up from Paint!)”.
Dustin describes his work on Pork's Instagram and Youtube as a "meta" experience as we see the frustrated actor and auteur doing anything he can to try to gain relevance and popularity on social media. And his following is growing.
Buy why GIMP? “I think Pork and GIMP share a lot in common, actually,” Dustin says. “I would say they're both underdogs in a way! I think Pork would relate to a personification of that program. Also, the name is really funny.”
GIMP The Movie might have a niche audience – it reminds me of Saturday Night Live's obsession with the Papyrus font, but the fun blend of puppetry and humor is a beat-perfect tribute to "the guys who make the canvas" for digital creatives. And many will agree: keep it free, man!
You can follow more of Pork Johnson's adventures in his bid for Hollywood stardom on his Instagram account (see his 'auteur' Comic-Con documentary below)
Also see our Photoshop vs GIMP and Krita vs GIMP comparisons.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
