It's Film and Technology

Welcome Back Post

2010-11-01T19:54:00.001+01:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome me back from my lengthy absence from the internet, too lengthy if you ask me. Due to personal issues i've had well over a week without internet, or well limited internet, email and such was luckily still available through my cellphone. Sadly blogging on your cell, doesn't quite work.

Now, as Halloween has passed its time to get ready for everyone's favourite: Christmas! Ah yes the trees and the fat guy in red, but most of all the presents is what we really expect. As your film blogger, I'd like to take a look at some Christmas films that aren't all about the generic christmas carol. So no spirits of the past present and future here!

The Polar Express
This movie tells about a little boy who does not believe in Santa until he is given the chance in a life time, a train to go to the North Pole and Santa's home. The Polar Express is a story of self discovery and mystery to keep the whole family happy from start to finish.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
This film tells about the Grinch who lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep mountain just north of Whoville. Because he hates Christmas festivities in Whoville, he plans to steal all of the presents from the Whos down in Whoville to prevent Christmas for coming this year. Will the Grinch realize Christmas is more than gifts and presents? A great film that can teach kids a valuable lesson. Played by comedian Jim Carrey as the Grinch, this film offers fun for your family.

Home Alone
This film is played by Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left home alone by his family while they fly off to France for Christmas vacation. Besides enjoying his freedom, in fact he is forced to defend his home from a team of burglars. It is a great Christmas film if you are looking for humor film that can make you laugh based around the Christmas season.

"Hold it Marv.. My feather senses are tingling"

Jingle-All-The-Way
This film is about a workaholic dad, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger as Howard who will go to any length to make sure his son gets what he wants for Christmas. As you know that in every Christmas, there is always a toy that every kid wants and the toy that his son wants in this year is a Turboman doll, the toy of all toys for that year.

And many more are to be named, but this will do don't you think?

3D Films: A history

2010-10-21T12:43:00.000+02:00

Three-dimensional film has an interesting history. It has both waxed and waned in popularity over the years, briefly being one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Now, with the development of the modern "megaplex", 3D film is enjoying a renaissance that likely will not go away.

The Early Days: 1900s-1940s
3D technology actually dates back to the very beginning of film. The earliest 3D film was produced in France in 1903 and was called "L'arivee du train". It included, as one might expect, the arrival of the train. It took advantage of three-dimensional photography technology from the nineteenth century called "anaglyphic" technology, which uses overlapping blue and cyan colors and glasses to create a three-dimensional illusion.
However, for the first fifty years of film, three-dimensional films were never commercially viable. The process for making them was very expensive and the audience never warmed up to them. Rather, the developments in film technology focused on developing sound and then color, rather than three-dimensionality.

The Fad: 1950s
For about three years in the early 1950s, three-dimensional movies became a craze. The boom years after the Second World War created a great deal of interest in new technologies, and 3D movies found a way to satisfy that interest. Dozens of films were produced during this period, perhaps the most popular being Bwana Devil. Unfortunately, the technology used involved the use of two film projectors, greatly increasing the cost of showing the movies. Therefore, once the fad died out, there was simply no incentive to show 3D films anymore and they died out almost as quickly as they began.

The Dark Ages: 1960s-1970s
After this, 3D films were basically dead. However, in the 1960s, a method was developed for producing color anaglyphs, which enabled filmmakers to produce 3d color films on a single reel. Unfortunately, the "faddiness" of 3D movies from the 1950s and the cultural revolutions that portrayed the 1950s as backwards and tacky never allowed for a renaissance of the medium. A few, low-budget 3D films were made, but nothing was ever commercially viable.

We all recognize these right?

IMAX: 1980s-2000s
Three-dimensional technology was almost single-handedly revived by the company IMAX in the 1980s. IMAX technology focussed on producing films that would completely envelop the senses of sight and hearing of their viewers. They decided very quickly that three-dimensional technology would be a part of their technology, but they did not like the anaglyphic technology, which tends to distort color. Instead, they used polarized lenses, where two simultaneous images are projected on the screen, and polarized lenses block one of those images from entering each eye. Perhaps ironically, their technology was closer to the technology of the 1950s than the 1970s.

The Megaplex: 2000s to Present
To draw people away from their VCRs and DVD players, movie theaters became increasingly spectacular in the early part of the millennium. They increased the size of their theatres and their screens. Along with this came the willingness to experiment with more advanced technology in terms or projection and sound systems. As a result, these megaplexes were willing to include the same polarized 3D technology that IMAX used. In recent years, some films, such as Superman Begins, included 3D segments. In April 2010, the film The Clash of the Titans was released with a full 3D version that was widely released. The release was a commercial success and we can expect more 3D films to be released in the future.

-original article by: Alexander Rorty

Film Editing -Repost

2010-10-19T21:45:00.000+02:00

Gone are the days when film making was generation based and you could only be a film maker if your generation is into it and you are a son/ daughter of so and so. Now a day the scenario has changed very much with thousands of aspirants taking up film making courses to carve a niche for themselves. Although there are a handful of institutions which proffer professional film making courses, it is always advisable to do some research on the requirements, eligibility criteria and other in sights on the World Wide Web before plunging into this vocation.

One thing is for sure that pursuing such a specialized course may burn holes in your pocket. This can further escalate when other aspects such as accommodation, travel, food charges and study materials are concerned. The equipments associated with such courses are pretty expensive and one needs to be very precise about all the facets of getting admitted into a film making institute. Among other eligibility criterion, it is imperative to submit a short film or clip you shot to the management to make them convinced about your creative skills. Documentaries, short stories and low budget movies are definitely a cost effective alternative but can not compare to the feeling that ensues after a movie is officially declared blockbuster.

Not all are born with traits that define a super movie maker but one can get acquainted with such attributes by pursuing media courses such as film making courses and film editing courses. The repute of the film making school is of utmost importance as the superior the stature of the school, the better your prospects at making it big. One can see this course as a way of learning how to tell a story to your audience with a glint of emotion in it. Film Editing courses are also in vogue because an editor is responsible to make the original master piece a more perfect one. In earlier times, editors used to do their chores manually. But with advancement of technologies and advent of avant-garde gadgets and software; everything related to film editing has gone digital. Any one with a strong desire to become a film editor can now take up professional Film editing courses and can gain apt recognizance among the high flying ones.

But one necessitates the traits of high level of craftsmanship and ingenuity to do extremely well in this profession. A film editor has got great responsibilities on his/ her shoulders which is why they are also refereed to as second directors. Their functioning pertains to maintaining a flow in music, rhythm, pace, transition and all that stuff in a movie. This can make all the difference as excellent digital editing will draw more audiences to the movie thereby grossing affluence. One need to research the expertise and experience of faculties, infrastructure of the film school, intensity of exposure, hands on experience before choosing a right institute to pursue film editing courses. Rest no more and find a right film school to pursue your dreams.

-Original Article by: V. S. Rathi

2010-10-18T08:24:00.000+02:00

Film schools are any accredited institution that teaches or focuses on certain aspects of film making. The schools usually teach both the history of film and hands-on training regarding lighting, camera operation, and editing equipment. For prospective film makers, directors, and even actors, getting into film school is a mandatory step.

Spend your free time researching different film schools. Whether you want to attend one that is far away from your hometown or close by, you should look through their pamphlets and websites. Pay close attention to the types of courses that are offered and the credentials of the professors. You should also determine whether or not the institution is accredited as well.

Work on bulking up your resume. Most admittance committees will be looking for people with the most impressive film experience. Everything from volunteering on a movie set to directing your school play will be appreciated.

You could also write screenplays or short scripts in your free time and hire your friends and family to perform them. Purchase and install a decent editing software onto your computer and use it to refine the videos. Showing potential schools that you are capable of both creative writing and shooting your pieces will be very powerful.

Find out what each school's requirements are as far as applying. Most will ask you to provide a portfolio of all your completed creative works and others may require that you have a number of hours of experience.As with most other colleges, you will most likely be asked to submit a formal application and pass an interview.

Next, assemble your portfolio. Include all of your completed written projects, from screenplays to movie reviews. These will show admission people that you're dedicated to learning more about the film industry. You should also include your finished films and videos as well as a list of all your movie related work experience. It may help to have your film projects edited professionally by an experienced friend or family member.

When it comes time to apply, make sure to take the time to write a top notch essay. Yours should both demonstrate an intense passion for film making and explain why you, if accepted, would bring something new to the table. Remember, film schools receive thousands of applications each year, a well written and passionate essay will help yours stand out.

If your portfolio and application essay were good enough, you will hopefully be asked to go in for an interview. College interviews are some of the most stressful experiences a young person can go through, but there are a few ways to ensure that they go well. First, dress appropriately, the easiest way to determine if an outfit is right for a school interview is to pretend you are wearing it to a conservative family member's wedding. You shouldn't have to go out and purchase a new dress or suit, just be sure you look professional. During the interview, make eye contact with everyone in the room and speak clearly when answering their questions.

Games to Films, Films to Games

2010-10-16T20:13:00.000+02:00

If you ever see the name "Alan Smithee" in the credits of a film, it means the real director thought the film was so bad, they didn't want their name in it.

Gamers know that a lot of video games are based off of films, such as Fantastic 4, Chronicles of Riddick, Batman, Superman--the list can go on and on. But what about films based off of video games? How did they do? Below is a list of games turned into films over the past ten years, how they did and a prediction of game-to-film projects in the future.

The first of these was Super Mario Brothers. Made back in 1993, it is a weak interpretation of the game in which Dennis Hopper plays King Koopa, an evolved dinosaur. There was not much of a plot line and the film was an agonizing 140 minutes long. The audiences felt the same way too as the film bombed in the box office.

"Dont-a worry my brother, the package saida that the glue will only last for five-a hours!"

This however didn't stop Hollywood from producing many more video game-to-film adaptations such as: Final Fantasy The Spirits Within, the Mortal Kombat series, the Tomb Raider series and the most recent Doom. In 1995 the Mortal Kombat series was next to hit the big screen. Based much more on the fan based games it still had no real plot and seemed more like an old fashion kung fu film then a big budget film.

Next came Tomb Raider in 2001, based on the game back in 1996. This film was a very good interpretation of the game, which included exploration, treasure, monsters and, most importantly, Lara Croft, played by Agelina Jolie. Jolie looked the part of Lara Croft as well as any human could, hence a huge reason the film did well is that it had a watchable character and a good story line. Because of these aspects, the Tomb Raider films set a new trend for future video game-to-movies.

Final Fantasy The Spirits Within, made in 2001, was not really based upon the games but more the philosophies behind the games, namely parallel universes and the existence of spirits. However the reason the movie lost $120 million dollars was not the plot but the CGI animation. True, the character mapping and texture shading was revolutionary for its time in the film industry, but because of the use of CGI it failed to induce emotion with the characters' eyes and faces, which in turn equated to bad acting and a flop in the box office. Yet, who knows how far we'll be able to go there's already been massive improvement with regards to realistic CGI in the more recent years.

Resident Evil, in 2002, tried a different approach in its adaptation in which it tried to have many different subplots to capture the viewer's attention. Did it work? No. The problem here was that Resident Evil turned into more of an action film then a horror/thriller like the games where. The film itself was really not that scary, had only zombies, mutant dogs and the Licker (the only real monster in the film) so it is needless to say how this film did in the box office.

Then there was Doom. Not the 1st of 1st person shooters, but it was the baddest. The Doom series has been scenario time and time again. You are a space marine on mars with a mission to close Hell's portal along with a massive arsenal of weapons like the rocket launcher and chainsaw.

"Can you smeeeeeelllll... what THE ROCK.. is.. what? what do you say? Oh wrong set? This isn't wrestling?"

One would think the producers could generate a decent script from the material in the video games, but I guess the producers must have been out to lunch because there was no reference to Hell in the movie. Instead it was DNA experiments gone wrong on Mars. Instead of killing demons, the marines killed zombies. Civilians by the hundreds were killed, whereas in the video game only monsters were killed. Another flop we will have to wait and see.

In Silent Hill a key scene is when the heroine is told to memorize a map and the directions are simply left, left, right, right in nature to navigation through a maze within the movie. What made the video game so popular was the ability for the player to make his or her own choices within the game, whereas in the film there is only one choice when diminishes the games flare.

As a closing gift, I would like to present to you, the marvelous mario brothers.

Who are these 'Film Editors?'

2010-10-16T13:11:00.000+02:00

How many times have you been in a movie theater and when the title "film editor" came up, you had no clue what that meant? In the old days, film editors were rarely given solo main title credit and most people thought they were more of a pair of hands that pieced the film together.
As the decades have passed, the role of film editor has become increasingly more publicized and with the invention of computers and digital editing, more and more of the general public is aware of what it takes to edit a movie.

Film editors are the people who take the raw footage shot on a movie set, and select
which shots, angles, performances and more to use, and then cut them together to
form a cohesive and interesting story. The key to film editing is that there are a
million choices of how to cut a scene, but a good editor will have a strong feel for
pacing, rhythm, and storytelling. Editors also add music, visual effects, and sound
effects to their cut sequences to add even more depth to a scene. Usually an editor
will work closely with directors, writers, producers, and composers to finish a film to
perfection.

Film editing is not something that can be automated and done completely by
computers. Many people assume that if they purchase an editing software program
that they will become an expert in film editing. Similar to how a word processing
program will not make someone a best-selling author, digital editing programs like
Avid or Final Cut Pro take not only technical skill but creative talent. While learning
the technical part of the software will help you to cut a project, there is also valuable
knowledge that comes only with experience and practice.

If you are thinking about a career in film editing, I would suggest finding a school or
university that offers both theory classes AND hands on production, with editing
equipment available to learn on, free if you are a student. I have found that having
a technical background, in addition to being educated about the classic forms of
cinema, where the rules of film language were born, and the history of film, has
always given me an extra advantage that a lot of people don't have. I have several
friends who have attended film programs at Columbia, UCLA, USC, NYU, and more,
and all have loved their schools.

If you are not sure which area of production that you would like to go into, you
might consider getting a very broad education in film and then if you decide to
specialize in film editing, you can supplement your knowledge later with continuing
education or Avid training camps or Final Cut Pro courses. Digital editing has
become the norm for cutting films, and there are many programs available to
practice with right at home on your own computer. You can purchase Final Cut Pro,
Avid Express, and more simple programs like iMovie and others to get started on
your editing career.

If you don't want to spend 4 years in a university or college setting, there are
specialized film editing schools that you can attend through various editorial
companies and training camps. These programs can be costly, so if you can manage
the tuition, you can usually get a very quick hands-on training in a short amount of
time. The downside to these types of training "camps" is that they teach a lot of
technical basics that can't compensate for the actual reality of how a cutting room is
operated. Sometimes, there is no comparison to cutting room experience! If you do
decide to be a film editor, ask to sit in with professional editors to get an idea of
how films are cut!

- Original article by Janelle Ashley Nielson

Top 5 Films - Halloween

2010-10-16T04:11:00.003+02:00

Obviously, scary films are the type of films for Halloween

but it's not just about the screams - plenty of films can give a cheap thrill. The 5 scariest films of all time are all about establishing a haunting, terrifying atmosphere that will linger in your dreams for years to come. Not for the weak of heart, here is the top 5 I recommend.

1 - The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - More realist than many of the movies in this list, The Silence of the Lambs delves into the crime genre with more flair than has been seen since in film. One of the many films on this list that was originally considered a box office failure, but it's popularity grew exponentially from its pure excellence.


"Don't worry sir, I'm sure nobody will even notice the braces"

2 - The Shining (1980) - If you're a horror fan, and you haven't seen The Shining, go watch the film now. The Shining is better known for the Steven King book, but the movie tackles horror in its own uniquely terrifying way.

"Ma'am, you seem to have a slight draught issue, don't worry I'm a professional."

3 - Alien (1979) - The film that spawned an entire franchise.

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Before the Alien vs Preditor prequels films, Alien was a landmark horror film that stunned both critics and audiences with its sci-fi undertones and terrifying horror scenes. and believe it or not back then the technology used in the film was very very impressive, and even if you watch it today the film's style just adds to the atmosphere. It was a tremendous success in sales, but its popularity has died off after so many sequels. Still, everybody recognizes this guy and that's all that matters.

"Don't worry! I can fix it!"

4 - Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - An all-time horror classic, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is still embedded in popular consciousness. It's 2003 remake failed to capture the same film audience, and this remains a landmark film in many ways. Just because the 2003 version has a higher technological edge, as often as remakes go they never quite meet the atmosphere of the original film.

5 - Paranormal Activity (2007) - Paranormal Activity is one of the most uniquely horrifying films ever released. The fact that this film was produced for such a low budget (less than $200,000 USD which is extremely low budget for a film these days, even with today's technology available) just makes the film even more impressive. They quite cleverly made use of their budget, and made sure that they stayed true to their objective and not go overboard on special effects films often have. The way it's set up makes it a quiet and brilliantly timed horror.

Even though this one is number 5 on my list, you should watch the trailer so you can see what I mean.

Obviously there are plenty more amazingly good scary films, but just in case you haven't seen one of these I'd advice you to watch one this Halloween and you won't regret it. Especially if you haven't seen ANY of these.

Introduction

2010-10-15T11:30:00.004+02:00

Greetings fellow internet participants,

If you were expecting a long winded introduction linked to an impressive life story then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. You see, I'm no good in introductions and I'm even worse at giving reasons for the things that I do. That is why you shouldn't interest yourself in me, but rather in my blog!

I know I should probably give out what kind of blog this is, but really, its about Films and Technology (mostly games, software, and technology having to do with them)... What else is there to say?

I'd advice you to simply read my posts and decide for yourself whether or not this blog will interest you, that is when there's more than simply a half-baked supposedly introduction post. It doesn't even contain any software related mentions!

However I can tell you that you will interest yourself at least to some extend in the things that I post, after all a world without technology or screenplay... can you still imagine it? I certainly can't, just think about it; all this software we have and use, it's not just film.

And whether you're a fan of drama or action films, or more the type that enjoys seeing the technical brilliance used in films won't matter, in fact even if you don't like films you'll probably still listen to music, play games or even use any kind of software.

There will be interesting topics for anyone here, regardless of who you are. (Alright, I'll admit; maybe if you are 80 and hate the present and technology then you'll not like this blog.. then again, what are you doing using a pc and software, silly elderly person)

Regarding games and film, have you guys ever noticed how much these two concepts are starting to overlap, I mean some games technically are films that you play in as the user.
But enough on that for now! I'll be going into that topic at some point in the near future. As well as more general on the topic software and technology. Since games and films are but a small part of our wonderful ingenious inventions.

I hope this introduction wasn't too extremely boring and I hope you'll come back to visit again, and if not then at least I hope you'll enjoy watching where the future goes.