World Wide Angle

25 Filmmaker Quotes

2009-09-30T09:28:37Z

As filmmakers, we can show where a person’s mind goes, as opposed to theater, which is more to sit back and watch it. –Darren Aronofsky
You see so many movies… the younger people who are coming from MTV or who are coming from commercials and there’s no sense of film grammar. There’s no real sense of how to tell a story visually. It’s just cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, you know, which is pretty easy. –Peter Bogdanovich
Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee. –James Cameron
Most people don’t know what they want or feel. And for everyone, myself included, It’s very difficult to say what you mean when what you mean is painful. The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to… As an artist, I feel that we must try many things – but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be bad – to be willing to risk everything to really express it all. –John Cassavetes

The funniest thing is that all the things every director goes through, I thought I could shortcut, but there was no getting around those issues. –George Clooney
I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians. –Francis Ford Coppola
In the future, everybody is going to be a director. Somebody’s got to live a real life so we have something to make a movie about. –Cameron Crowe
And I don’t think I’m giving away any secrets here, but there are a lot of terrible scripts in this town. –Frank Darabont
The camera lies all the time; lies 24 times/second. –Brian De Palma
My old drama coach used to say, ‘Don’t just do something, stand there.’ Gary Cooper wasn’t afraid to do nothing. –Clint Eastwood

Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it’s not an art. The main thing about directing is: photograph the people’s eyes. –John Ford
Movement should be a counter, whether in action scenes or dialogue or whatever. It counters where your eye is going. This style thing, for me it’s all fitted to the action, to the script, to the characters. –Samuel Fuller
A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order. –Jean-Luc Godard
I’m a storyteller – that’s the chief function of a director. And they’re moving pictures, let’s make ‘em move! –Howard Hawks
The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world. A picture is made. You put a frame around it and move on. And one day you die. That is all there is to it. –John Huston
A film is – or should be – more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later. –Stanley Kubrick
A lot of times you get credit for stuff in your movies you didn’t intend to be there. –Spike Lee
For any director with a little lucidity, masterpieces are films that come to you by accident. –Sidney Lumet
I studied English Literature. I wasn’t a very good student, but one thing I did get from it, while I was making films at the same time with the college film society, was that I started thinking about the narrative freedoms that authors had enjoyed for centuries and it seemed to me that filmmakers should enjoy those freedoms as well. –Christopher Nolan
I mean, certainly writing, painting, photography, dance, architecture, there is an aspect of almost every art form that is useful and that merges into film in some way. –Sydney Pollack
Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out. –Martin Scorsese

People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning. –Steven Spielberg
I steal from every movie ever made. –Quentin Tarantino
I think it’s a very strange question that I have to defend myself. I don’t feel that. You are all my guests, it’s not the other way around, that’s how I feel. — Lars Von Trier
If two men on a job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, then both are useless. –Daryl F. Zanuck

Post from: World Wide Angle

25 Filmmaker Quotes

iPhone Apps For Lighting Professionals

2009-09-16T11:12:13Z

I came across several applications for lighting professionals while researching our recent post iPhone Apps For Filmmakers. Lighting engineers can enjoy a full array of sophisticated apps to assist in their work.

PowerCalc by West Side Systems, LLC (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

PowerCalc performs basic electrical power calculations with watts, volts, amps, and motor power factor. More Info

Luminair (DMX Remote) by Synthe FX, LLC (Cost: $99.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

Luminair enables you to wirelessly control, view, record and manage intelligent DMX lighting fixtures, consoles, media servers and other software directly from your iPhone or iPod touch. Using Artistic License’s Art-Net protocol over your device’s built-in Wi-Fi connection, Luminair communicates with other compatible hardware and software nodes on your network. A gorgeous user interface provides desktop-calibre features and performance, all on a mobile platform. Use Luminair as the ultimate remote focus tool, for advanced architectural lighting, or simply as the centerpiece of your intelligent lighting rig. Video Demo

User Manual

More Info

DMXCalc by West Side Systems, LLC (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

Entertainment lighting equipment uses a control system called DMX512. DMXCalc is a simple and elegant calculator which does address arithmetic for DMX equipment. More Info

DMXtoolSet by Holger Blümler (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

Most features and functions of this app require external hardware interface at docking connector. This hardware receives audio output signal that carries the DMX data. This works like a modem via FSK (frequency shift key). But the app also works without external hardware. In this case you can use the DIP-switch tool. It calculates DMX channels to DIP-switch settings. The DMX hardware interface may be purchased separately at hmb-tec.de or futuresoundfactory ebay shop.

iSwitch DMX by Michael Zinman (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

iSwitch DMX is an easy to use binary DIP switch utility for stage lighting electricians, technicians and programmers. Selecting a DMX address updates the DIP switch graphic with the correct DIP switch settings. You can also select an offset for your next DMX device to display the next subsequent address & DIP switch settings.

iSwitch by Michael Zinman (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

iSwitch is an intuitive binary DIP-Switch calculator for engineers, technicians and programmers. Selecting a Device address updates the DIP switch graphic with the correct DIP switch settings. You can also select an offset for your next device to display the next subsequent address & DIP switch settings.

Light Calc by Michael Kohler (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshot

Light Calc is a photometric calculation tool for professional lighting designers and theatrical electricians. It allows you to carry a pocket database of commonly used theatrical lighting fixtures that you can quickly access in the field. Light Calc allows a user to select a type of lighting fixture, choose one of several lamp types, and set a throw distance. The calculator will then return a beam diameter and field diameter, in feet, as well as center field illumination, in footcandles.

Light Calc Lite by Michael Kohler (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshot

Light Calc Lite is a simple beam calculator application for Lighting Professionals. Simply enter a beam angle or a field angle and a throw distance to calculate the expected diameter.

PocketLD by Michael Zinman (Cost: $19.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

PocketLD is a photometric database and calculation tool for theatrical and TV/Film lighting professionals. Simply enter your throw distance, than select manufacturer, fixture and a lamp to calculate beam/field diameter and fc/lux. More Info

ML Finder PRO by Michael Zinman (Cost: $39.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

For lighting designers, stage electricians, programmers and techs, ML Finder PRO is the perfect companion to any toolkit. ML Finder PRO is a complete list of parameters and channel assignments for over 500 lights, LEDs and media servers. For the tech addressing a light plot, a designer determining the functionality of a moving light, or a programmer building a profile for their lighting console. This information is nicely integrated into one app. More Info

ML Finder by Michael Zinman (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

For the stage lighting tech addressing a light plot. ML Finder displays the DMX footprint for over 500 moving lights, LED’s and media servers. Know how many DMX channels each device uses, in any mode. Simple to navigate and FREE to download!

GelCalc by Michael Zinman (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

iSwitch DMX is an easy to use binary DIP switch utility for stage lighting electricians, technicians and programmers. More Info

Gel Swatch Library by Wybron, Inc. (Cost: $19.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

The Gel Swatch Library by Wybron, Inc., lets lighting production personnel browse, search, and compare more than 1,000 gel color filters. More Info

CXI Color Calculator by Wybron, Inc. (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

The CXI Color Calculator from Wybron helps lighting production personnel find and program colors for the CXI dual-gelstring color changer. Scroll through two overlapping gelstrings of cyan, magenta, and yellow to blend the ideal shade, then plug its numerical values into your lighting control console to have a CXI color changer move to that color. The Color Calculator also gives you the values needed to replicate several colors from the GAM, Lee, and Rosco collections of theatrical filters.

ShowTool LD by Daniel Murfin (Cost: $3.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

ShowTool LD is an easy to use, yet powerful suite of utilities for Lighting Designers and Electricians.. More Info

BeamCalc by West Side Systems, LLC (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

Use BeamCalc to calculate the geometry of spotlight beams. Enter the height of the fixture above the focus point, the horizontal distance between the fixture and the focus point, and the fixture’s beam angle. BeamCalc displays the resulting throw distance, elevation angle, and beam width at the focus point. Adjust the position to achieve a specific elevation angle. Adjust the position and beam size to achieve a specific width. For use in architectural, display and entertainment lighting design.

ProjectorCalc by Michael Kohler (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

ProjectorCalc is a program for professional lighting technicians and projectionists. Its primary purpose is to determine the size of a projected image given various information about the projector and it’s location. ProjectorCalc allows users to enter details for a projector and its location in relation to a projection surface.ProjectorCalc will calculate image width, image height, diagonal length, brightness in Nits, total projected area, and how many pixels per inch the projected image will be. Additionally, ProjectorCalc can give you an estimate of how much keystone distortion will occur by calculating the length of each side of the distorted image.

Moiré Gobo Library by Wybron, Inc. (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

The Moiré Gobo Library from Wybron, Inc. lets lighting production personnel browse, search, and experiment with more than 3,600 different A-size gobos. More Info

iGobo by Richard Williamson (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshots

Rosco iGobo for iPhone and iPod Touch is the perfect tool for lighting designers, technicians and creative directors on the go. Containing the entire Rosco gobo library of more than 2300 images, iGobo makes it easy to browse, compare and select steel, glass or effects gobos, black and white or color, no matter where you are — in your studio, at the tech table, in a design meeting or even in transit. More Info

Black Steel Gobo Catalogue by HILLA Limited (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

GOBOLAND is an independent, specialized manufacturer of high quality glass and steel gobos for all lighting fixtures.Easily browse the award winning Black Steel Collection™ gobos. The App doesn’t require an internet connection while you browse the 1200+ gobo patterns available in high quality Black Steel or Glass.

Light by Digital Film Tools (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

Light can be added to a scene where none existed before just as if you were adding light at the time of photography. Realistic lighting and shadow is introduced using digital versions of the gobo library created by Gamproducts. More Info

Protective Cases

Accessories & Combo Packs

Data & Connectivity

iPhone Books

Create your own apps or learn how to better use the iPhone.

iPod Touch

If iPhones are still not supported by your service provider or you are looking for an additional device, the iPod Touch might be for you. It works the same way as an iPhone, but lacks some of the features. Buy Now

Video Demo of the iPod Touch (Large Small)--Requires Quicktime--

Post from: World Wide Angle

iPhone Apps For Lighting Professionals

iPhone Apps For Filmmakers

2009-10-11T14:08:09Z

One of the hottest commodities on the market today is the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is expected that Apple will have sold 80 million iPhones by 2012. The uses for this mini computer are growing everyday. Currently there is over 65,000 official applications available at iTunes for the iPhone. At the current growth rate this number could top 100,000 by the end of the year. This is not counting a vast amount of web based applications, over 1700 alone registered with Apple.

iPhone apps exist in many flavors, everything from simple games to complex software for professional task. Most apps are very affordable, if not dirt cheap or free. Filmmakers have not been left behind in the app frenzy. While searching the web for some tools to help us, I was astonished by the amount of software available. Here is a list of apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch apps I was able to dig up.

**Opera web browser users: If you have difficulty with the “get app” function working properly with iTunes, see this fix

Native Apps

A native app is a software that is installed directly to the iPhone. The iTunes store host all the apps approved by Apple.

Hitchcock by Cinemek inc (Cost: $19.99)

(iPhone, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

Cinemek® Hitchcock for iPhone and iPod Touch is a mobile storyboard and pre-visualization composer designed for Directors, Directors of Photography, Producers, Writers, Animators, Art Directors, film students and anyone who wants to be able to visualize their story. More Info

pCAM Film+Digital Calculator by David Eubank (Cost: $39.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1or later) Screenshots

A Motion Picture and Still Photography calculator for Directors of Photography, Photographers, Camera Operators, Camera Assistants, VFX Supervisors, Script Supervisors, Gaffers, Grips, Editors, Production Designers, Art Directors, Film and Photography Students. Created by the same Hollywood Camera Assistant who created the widely used Palm version. More Info

iTC Calc by KPL Production Services, Ltd. (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

iTC Calc is the perfect companion for any producer, post-production producer, editor, Flame or After Effect artists and everyone who need to deal with timecode and frames. More Info

iTC Calc Light by KPL Production Services, Ltd. (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshot

iTC Calc Light is the perfect calculator for any producer, post-production producer, editor, flame or After Effect artists and everyone who need to make quick timecode calculations. More Info

TCCalc – Timecode calculator by Jean-Luc Pedroni (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

TCCalc is a powerful time code calculator. With its two views, horizontal and vertical springboard, you can choose between basic timecode operations, or more sofisticated operations and features. More Info

TimeCodeCal by Daniel Maskell (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshots

TimeCodeCal is the most flexible time / timecode calculator available. With it’s user configurable frame rate from 1 to 100 frames per second, plus hexadecimal mode it is aimed at anyone performing time based calculations, from the casual user to professionals in the broadcast industry. The hex mode was included with developers in mind looking at memory dumps of data. More Info

FreeTime Pro by Javier Hernanz Zajara (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

A powerful timecode calculator. Conversion and editing modes. Formats include NTSC, Drop Frame, PAL, Film edgecode (3:2 pulldown), and real-time. User preferences control behavior with field overflows, illegal (dropped) frames values, and key click sound.

TC Calculator by Javier Hernanz Zajara (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshot

TC Calculator is a simple calculator for operating with TC’s (Time Codes) and frames. It can add, substract and convert TC’s between different speeds. It may be very useful for people working on video or film. Currently not available in iTunes US Store.

EditCalc by Brad Brooks (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

EditCalc is a frames, footage and timecode calculator app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. More Info

time:calc by WattenEarth (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshot

time:calc is a time calculator that does conversions and calculations of time. It also works with timecode enabling calculations of frame rates for TV and film. More Info

timecoder app by zinc Roe Inc. (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

Timecoder converts video timecode between two different frame rates, from timecode to frame number and from frame number back to timecode. You can leave out the hours, minutes or seconds when they’re not necessary. You can also use large values that will “roll over”. For example, you can enter 90;00 (90 seconds) and Timecoder will automatically convert it to 00:01:30;00 (1 minute and 30 seconds). You can choose from a list of common framerates (frames, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30), or enter any framerate you like. Timecodes and framerates are rounded for display, but the conversions are accurate to more than three decimal places.

Film Editor’s Calculator by Michael Koperwas (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshots

The Film Editor’s Calculator is a valuable tool for any film editor which allows you to calculate feet and frames for 35mm motion picture film. The calculator’s database also gives you information such as manufacturer and film stock based on the keycode’s prefix. The keycode calculator interface is very simple to use and is helpful when working with film at the bench or working with telecines on an editing system.

Film Calculator by Noah Harlan (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

The 2.1 Film Calculator is a multi-purpose tool for filmmakers to aid in common tasks of film conversion and counting in pre-production, production and post-production.** On Sale! Now only $.99 until we release the new version in a couple weeks. Enjoy! ** More Info

Action Log Pro by Andris Ltd (Cost: $29.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

Action Log is a film and television logging tool, designed for use on location or in a studio with up to 25 recording devices. At the touch of a button the logging system keeps track of all reel names and timecodes for each recorded piece of action. More Info

Action Log by Andris Ltd (Cost: $5.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

Action Log is a film and television logging tool, designed for use on location or in a studio with 1 recording device. At the touch of a button the logging system keeps track of all reel names and timecodes for each recorded piece of action. More Info

Movie★Slate by PureBlend Software. (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

Movie★Slate is a digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and shot notepad— designed for use with film, television, documentaries, interviews, and home movies. Movie★Slate provides an easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time later when you capture and edit the footage on your computer. More Info

FilmSlate by Idea Engine, Inc. (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

FilmSlate puts a portable “Smart Slate” in your hand. FilmSlate was developed by professionals, for professionals, and is designed to be used on set as an insert slate, a run-and-gun slate, or a portable backlit slate in your pocket. More Info

iSlate by ibuiltthis (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

iSlate is an easy to use portable digital clapper board that can help video enthusiasts add a touch of hollywood magic to their videos. Possible uses include video blogs, online video postings, and various video projects. More Info

iSlate Lite by ibuiltthis (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshot

Free Lite version of iSlate the portable digital clapper board.

AClapBoard by Rolf-dieter Klein (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

A digital clapboard/Slate and client time measurement system. New features: timecode calculator and color charts, 2-pop sync. The application combines many functions useful for film makers but also in general for free lancer. More Info

ClapBoardLT by Rolf-dieter Klein (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

A digital clapboard and client time measurement system. ClapBoardLT is the smaller version of AClapBoard which has more features like color chart and timecode calculator.
More Info

LlamaSlate by Scott Lawrence (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

LlamaSlate is a filmmaker’s tool to help with the editorial process. LlamaSlate is a simplified digital version of a traditional “clapper board” or “slate”, which is used to mark the beginning and end of every shot filmed. LlamaSlate can also help you to sync multiple cameras easily. More Info

Pocket DIT by Clifton Production Services LLC (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

RED Camera users, this is your cinematography “cheat sheet”. More Info

iSee4K by Edward Watkins (Cost: Free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

With this nifty little app spend your time ‘getting the shot’, rather than pouring over manuals and reference tables. Although primarily developed to aid users of the RED® Digital Cinema Camera, iSee4K is highly configurable and allows users to calculate DoF, FoV and Lens equivalence for virtually any camera and lens. More Info

DoF by Michael Neuwert (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

DoF is a small utility for Photographer or Videographer allowing to calculate the depth of field. More Info

DOFMaster by Donald Fleming (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshot

Use DOFMaster to calculate the depth of field in your photographs. You’ll be able to select the lens and f/stop combination that provides the zone of sharpness you need. Use it to calculate the hyperfocal distance for landscape photography. More Info

DOF Ruler by Devin Hartman (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

DOF Ruler is a Depth of Field calculator with a unique sliding ruler interface. It is a quick and easy way for Photographers to calculate Depth of Field. More Info

f/8 DoF Calculator by Thorsten Kramp (Cost: $3.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

Photojournalists have a saying, “f/8 and be there,” meaning that being on the scene is more important than worrying about technical details. Yet with f/8, the depth-of-field and hyperfocal distance calculator for the iPhone and iPod touch, you’ll be there with the depth of field spot-on, too! Anywhere, anytime! More Info

MatchLens by D Matthew Smith (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshots

This calculator computes the equivalent lens focal length to produce the same field of view between two cameras with different aperture/sensor sizes. It will do a “Match Lens” calculation, and produce the closest equivalent angle of view lens, in millimeters, for both vertical and horizontal frames, between the original camera’s focal length and the current camera’s focal length. More Info

ShootPad by David Brewster (Cost: $6.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

Made for the guy shooting home video or the videographer shooting with their own camera. As the professional video guy is pausing and starting his video camera, he’s supposed to make notes for the starting and ending of cuts for later editing. More Info

Animation Timer by Randy Cartwright (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2 or later) Screenshots

Animation Timer is a simple stopwatch designed for animators. More Info

FrameTime by Patrick Spizzo (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

FrameTime is a simple animation timer that lets you time events down to fractions of a second. Use the simple controls to start the timer, then add keyframes based on the action you are timing out. Once you are finished, the timer controls conveniently move out of the way so you can see as many of the keyframes as possible. More Info

FPS Calculate by Wes McDermott(Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

An animation timer is being added so that you can time movement and convert that into a given frame count! More Info

Screenplay by Black Mana Studios (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

Black Mana Studios’ Screenplay is the world’s first fully-functional mobile screenwriting application. It allows professionals and hobbyists alike to write complete movie and television screenplays directly on the iPhone or iPod Touch. More Info

HollywoodHelper by differential enterprises (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

For actors, Hollywood Helper / Broadway Buddy helps you learn the lines of your scripts without lugging around printed scripts, whether you aspire to screen or stage. More Info

Sync Points by Jon Lay (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshot

Sync Points is a calculator for composers for film, video, or any medium where precise synchronization to picture or SMPTE timecode is needed. With this app, you can calculate hit points from tempo or beats, generate an exact tempo in BPM and FPB for a given number of beats or timing, and compute a number of beats given a tempo and timing. More Info

FiRe – Field Recorder by Audiofile Engineering, LLC (Cost: $5.99)

(iPhone, OS: 2.2.1 or later) Screenshots

FiRe is the world’s first professional field recorder built exclusively for iPhone and iPod Touch.. Combining powerful, elegant and uncluttered audio utilities with unparalleled technical support. More Info

PowerCalc by West Side Systems, LLC (Cost: $0.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

PowerCalc performs basic electrical power calculations with watts, volts, amps, and motor power factor. More Info

LightMeter by Frank Bauer (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

Turn your iPhone 3G-S into a exposure meter.More Info

Helios Sun Position Calculator by Chemical Wedding (Cost: $29.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) Screenshots

Helios is a Sun Position Calculator that graphically represents the position of the sun from dusk to dawn, on any given day, in any given place. More Info

Focalware by Spiral Development Inc (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

Focalware calculates sun and moon position for a given location and date. Use the interactive compass to determine the path and height of the sun or moon. Photographers and filmmakers who are always asked by their clients for the sun, moon and stars, can now deliver. More Info (with Video Demonstration)

MagicHour by Vela Design Group (Cost: $3.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) Screenshots

MagicHour™ (formerly VelaClock) is a world clock that can quickly display the time of sunrise, sunset, three kinds of twilight (civil, nautical, astronomical) for dawn and dusk, moonrise, moonset, duration of daylight, current phase of moon, date and times for the next four moon phases, countdown to the next sunrise or sunset and next moonrise or moonset, and more. More Info

iFilmmaker Pro by Katha Films LLC (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

For the movie making beginner, expert filmmaker or “been-there-done-that indie enthusiast”, iFilmMaker is loaded with 1500 questions, tips and tricks of the film making trade, presented in a very entertaining, and educational manner. With iFilmMaker application, you can learn about different aspects of filmmaking like editing, directing /producing, scriptwriting, acting, and cinematography with easy to answer questions, and click to live web links for detailed information about the particular subject. More Info

iFilmmaker Pro Lite by Katha Films LLC (Cost: $1.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

For the movie making beginner, expert or “been-there-done-that indie enthusiast”, iFilmMaker is loaded with hundreds questions, tips and tricks of the film making trade, presented in a very entertaining, and educational manner. With iFilmMaker application, you can learn about Editing, Directing/Producing, ScriptWriting, Acting, and Cinematography with easy to answer questions, and click to live web links for detailed information about the particular subject. More Info

Clz Movies by Bitz & Pixelz BV (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) Screenshots

This app is a supplement to Movie Collector software by Collectorz.com. Movie Collector is a must have for anyone with a large film collection. It is by far the most complete and versital database software available on the market. Clz Movies application for the iPhone allows your to take your movie collection with you on the go. More Info

Web Based Apps

Web applications (or web apps) combine the power of the Internet with the simplicity of Multi-Touch technology, all on a 3.5-inch screen. iPhone and iPod touch let you easily flick through news on Digg, play Sudoku or Bejeweled with a finger tap, and quickly check movie times, train schedules, and favorite blogs.

When you find a web app you like, you can put it front and center on your Home screen. Just open the web app on your iPhone or iPod touch, tap the plus sign, and then tap “Add to Home screen.” A Web Clip will be added to your Home screen automatically for easy, one-tap access. You have up to nine Home screen pages for all your Web Clips and you can organize them however you like.

Footage Calc by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

Enables you to calculate the amount of disk space required for various video codecs at varying frame rates. It offers an easy-to-use interface that allows you to quickly and easily view the required information whilst on the move – perfect for those awkward on-the-spot questions from clients. Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version. Also available as an offline application.

Film Rate Calc by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

Calculates the relationship between film reels and shooting time. Use this calculator to work out how many rolls of film are required for a certain shooting ratio, or alternatively calculate how many minutes have been shot for a certain number of rolls. This is a useful tool for any script supervisor or producer. Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version. Also available as an offline iPhone application.

Aspect Ratio Calculator by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

Allows you to calculate the aspect ratio, width or height of an image or video. Also displays extra information such as the film or video format that the aspect ratio is normally associated with. This enables you to work out the correct frame size to use when creating CG shots that will be broadcast or intercut with live action footage. Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version.

Depth of Field Calc by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

This tool will calculate the depth of field for a given sensor or film type, aperture, focal length, and subject distance (the distance from the camera to the person or object you are focusing on). A lower number means that a large proportion of the background will remain in sharp focus and a higher number means that a smaller proportion (if any) will be in focus. It also includes presets for popular video cameras. Selecting a preset will automatically change the sensor type to fit your camera. Please be aware that this tool is designed for cinematographers, not still photographers. Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version.

Pixel Aspect Ratio Calculator by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

This tool will help you calculate pixel aspect ratios (PAR) of video formats. It also enables you to work out the proper resolution for a still image placed into a non-square pixel timeline. The source resolution is the square pixel resolution (ie. the dimensions of the still image) and the target resolution is the non-square resolution (ie. the final resolution of the image upon adding it to the timeline).
Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version.

Lens Angle Calculator by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

Use this calculator to calculate the lens angle or focal length for a given sensor size. This is useful for planning out camera placements in advance, which is particularly invaluable for visual effects work. Along with the iPhone Version there is also a full browser version.

Power Load Calculator by Digital Rebellion (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshot

RED StrorageCalculator by Alex Boerger (Cost: free)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: All) Screenshots

This calculator is specifically for Red Camera users. With it you can determine how much storage (in gigabytes) based upon your desired Redcode, Resolution, Aspect, Framerate, and time. Goto the iPhone Version.

Protective Cases

Accessories & Combo Packs

Data & Connectivity

iPhone Books

Create your own apps or learn how to better use the iPhone.

iPod Touch

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iPhone Apps For Filmmakers

DV Shoot Equipment Shopping List

2009-09-05T14:11:37Z

As I read the Down and Dirty DV Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide which I reviewed last week, I took notes regarding the equipment we shall need for our projects. I came up with a list of things to have and a number of notes for each item such as “what features to look seek”, “what price range to expect”, etc. I also done my best to prioritize the items. For each item, I also listed the reference page in the book. I then added a small mark in front of each item we already have. Obviously, we don’t have it all covered yet but I’m happy to say that we are a lot closer to having our gear ready than 6 months ago and also, that what we bought so far, fits the bill pretty well. Anyway, here is the list.

Buy Now

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DV Shoot Equipment Shopping List

The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide

2009-08-31T11:20:03Z

Desiring to move up from short videos to the documentary format we have been searching for a book that would layout the basics of documentary making. We found the Shut up and Shoot Documentary Guide on Amazon. It turned out to be the very book we were looking for. We both read it, from cover to cover and feel a lot more knowledgeable already. Our next steps will be to shop for a few more tools (basically we’re still out of a light kit) and practice setting up in the most usual situations (day light, interior light, low light, etc) while we work on getting one of our documentaries ideas going.

The author, Anthony Artis, has 15 years of experience in video making. He knows what he is talking about. But what makes the book stand out is his obvious love for teaching and passing on knowledge. He obviously enjoys sharing what he so hardly learnt himself, often by trial and error. By doing so, he spares the rest of us a lot of failures and wasted time. The book is also as exhaustive as can be covering all the steps from the pre production to the promotion and distrubition. If you feel these pages will not be of interest to you, we found out that there were as important and as rich in information as the ones about more technical phases of the project. The post-production is the only area the book doesn’t cover in such details. It is assumed that the documentary maker will either already be a competent editor himself or hire someoen to handle the technical aspect of it.

I must also add that the book is well presented and enjoyable to read. The illustrations are well picked and very explantaory. A lot of effort was also put into the preparation of sum up pages, almost cheat sheets, ready to turn into a quick reference book when in a tight spot. A double page for example details all the steps in getting your sound mixer up and running or the do’s and don’t's in low light situation. I’m currently working on an electronic document gathering some of these quick tips and cheat sheets for us to carry around at all times as well as a clear and explanatory shopping list since we try to pick up the geatest tools when the need arises. Our latest acquisition was a shotgun mic that I think we picked well. We will soon be looking for a light kit.

What you will find in the book:

how to research your documentary subject
how to apply for funds either from private people or from orgaisations
where to look for a crew and how to pick it
select locations (private or public)
select an equipment package and draw up a budget

image control and camera work
video lighting
sound recording and mixing
how to conduct a crew on set

conduct an interview
prepare a subject (wardrobe/makeup)

finding the right combination for your post production

promoting the movie (both online and through festivals)

and a lot more valuable knowledge and tips like how to deal with archive footage centers, interviewee walking out on you, insuring a location for shooting, and so much more. Actually, Anthony himself sum up his book and his intentions on his website, see for yourself what this is all about.

Down and Dirty DV

Anthony Artis, the author, is also the webmaster of downanddirtydv.com, a website, blog and newsletter about guerilla filmmaking I recommend you to visit. The book comes with a DVD full of extra resources for the young filmmaker (release forms, budget templates, cheat sheets and other practical documents). The extra alone are invaluable to young filmmakers who have no idea where to start looking for information like “how to draw up a release form?”.

One last thing

The book is also very well written which makes the read even more enjoyable. The tone is straight forward, and makes you feel like Anthony is speaking directly to you, sharing his errors and the solutions he found to them. And to add even more fun to it, the man also has a good sense of humor. The way he explains not to use dryer sheets as diffusion, from obvious first hand experience, ensures none of his readers will reproduce that mistake. Though i guess that’s the basic of guerilla filmmaking, try to make do with what’s at hand.

If you have a documentary project in mind, you won’t regret reading that book. Good luck to you.

Buy Now

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The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide

Lens Cleaning Tips

2009-08-26T21:11:37Z

When shooting video or taking photos a clean lenses and filters are a must. Rather you shoot digital or on film, or have consumer or pro camera, you are not immune to the dirty forces of nature. I can tell you, little is more disheartening than coming home from a shoot and finding your images are corrupted by a dirty lens. There is no remedy for this foolish, yet easily avoidable mistake. You can not rely on the view finder or LCD screen, the resolution is just not good enough to show most small smudges.

What is worse than a dirty lens you might ask? Well it is improper or obsessive over cleaning of the lens. Most of the lenses we deal with have a special coating on them which helps reduce flares, or light reflected by the surface of the lens. In addition the coating allows in more light than an uncoated lens. Typically on a glass to air surface 4% of light is naturally reflected away. A coating can bring this level down to about 1%. Lens coatings can usually be noticed by their red-purple or green appearance. Lens coatings can be rubbed away from over cleaning and applying too much pressure on the lens as you clean.

Preventative

The number one way to have a clean lens is using preventative measures.

Always use lens caps when not shooting.
Keep your fingers off the lens.
Use caution when changing lenses.

Use extra vigilance when shooting outdoors. Dust can come from a plethora of sources. Be especially aware around pollinating trees, salt water, and sandy areas with a lot of wind. For example during our recent vacation in Tunisia, we stopped to take photos at some sand dunes. I step out of the vehicle with my camera in hand ready to take a shot and was immediately blasted by a whirlwind of sand.

Removing Dust

Simple dust particles: A little dust on the lens doesn’t really hurt a lot, as the end of the lens will be out of the focal depth of field. Problems could arise though when shooting against a strong light source, where reflections off the dust can intrude. Dust particles can be easily removed with a light brush or air. Avoid using any kind of compressed air cleaners, which could leave a residue on the lens surface. The essential and primary tool for the job is a bulb type air blower. It is simple and easy to use, just avoid contact with the tip of the blower and the lens as to not scratch the lens surface.

For more aggravating dust use a fine brush to gently knock off particles. A great tool that should be in everyone’s equipment bag is a brush style lens pen. They offer a quick and easy method for dust removal as well as other deposits on the lens. One end of the pen will have a retractable brush, the other will have a non liquid based cleaning pad. These gizmos have become extremely popular and are in wide use around the world.

First use the brush tool to remove all abrasive deposits then use the cleaning pad lightly in a circular motion. These pens are usually marketed to clean both lenses and LCDs. I recommend having a different pin for each use. Also these pens can not be cleaned and will have to be replaced from time to time, which is no problem considering how cheap they are. Similar type pens are also used for sensor cleaning, which I will cover in a future post.

Liquid Based Cleaning

Liquid based cleaning methods have long been the standard method and are necessary for stains like grease from your fingers. Apart from the liquid a cloth is also required. Avoid cheap dime store wipes that may be too abrasive. Use a good microfiber cloth specially made for lens cleaning. Before attempting to clean your lens with a liquid and cloth, use a brush to knock off any dust particles. One of the best liquids you can use is your own breath. It contains no chemicals that may eat away at the coating on the the lens. Breath hard on the lens surface leaving a fog of moisture on it. Then using a the microfiber cloth, gently wipe in a circular motion from the center of the lens to the outside(without rubbing). In other words, leave off the elbow grease. If a problem area still exist a stronger cleaning solution will be needed.

Many products exist for lens cleaning. It is important to chose one that will leave no residue on the lens surface, such as those commonly sold for eyeglasses cleaning. One possible solution is pre-moistened cleaning pads especially designed for camera lenses. Use these pads one time and dispose off, they should not be recycled. Your other option is to use a cleaning liquid in conjunction with a dry cloth. The procedure here is the same, just be aware that it only takes a little bit of liquid. A small amount will go a long way and decrease the possibility of leaving any kind of residue on the lens surface.

A full line of top quality cleaning products can be found at the B&H photo and video store. Keeping your lens clean and dust free is one of the most essential parts of coming home from a shoot with usable material. Make a habit of checking your lenses before shooting and periodically throughout. With a little care and proper handling, your lenses can give you years of beneficial service.

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Lens Cleaning Tips

10 Alfred Hitchcock Quotes

2009-08-20T20:56:13Z

In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.
Self-plagiarism is style.
A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake.
There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.
What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out.
If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.
Actors are cattle.
I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.
A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it.
Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.

Post from: World Wide Angle

10 Alfred Hitchcock Quotes

Spotlight: Wilco

2009-08-20T12:49:31Z

Once upon a time in the American Midwest there existed a band. They didn’t seem like anything that came before and captured the hearts of fans hungry for an alternative to downward spiral of the music industry. They and called themselves Uncle Tupelo. Named from a drawing of Elvis by a friend, from randomly picked words in the dictionary. The roots of the band were as varied and sporadic as the sound they produced. In their music folk and country are shamelessly intertwined with rock and punk. Though band members might humbly dispute the claim, they have been credited as being the founders of alternative country. Jason Ankeny of allmusic wrote,

“With the release of their 1990 debut LP, No Depression, the Belleville, IL, trio Uncle Tupelo launched more than simply their own career — by fusing the simplicity and honesty of country music with the bracing fury of punk, they kick-started a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground. Thanks to a successful online site and subsequent fanzine which adopted the album’s name, the tag “No Depression” became a catch-all for the like-minded artists who, along with Tupelo, signaled alternative rock’s return to its country roots — at much the same time, ironically enough, that Nashville was itself embracing the slick gloss associated with mainstream rock and pop.”

The original lineup consisted of Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Michael Heidorn. The band would be managed by Tony Margherita, who met Jeff when he worked in a record store in St. Louis. Between 1987 and 1994 the band would embed itself in music history, though without knowing commercial success. Four albums were recorded: No Depression (1990), Still Feel Gone (1991), March 16-20 (1992), and Anodyne (1993). 89/93: An Anthology was released in 2002 as a retrospective of the band’s work. As the Band grew, so did that of the alternative rock scene. Rather than being associated with the MTV frenzy and commercialization of ‘anti-commercialization’, they dug deeper into the roots of country and folk. The band would grow in members as well. Future members would include Bill Belzer who replaced Heidorn, who was then replaced by Ken Coomer. Max Johnston and John Stirratt would also being added to the band, giving them a much richer musical range. With their increasing artistic developments, so did come tensions between Farrar and Tweedy. Eventually Farrar would leave the band and form Son Volt. Jeff Tweedy would take the remaining members to form Wilco with Margherita as manager..

Wilco “I will comply” in CB jargon, would release their first album A.M. in 1995. The album featured Brian Henneman on guitar, a long time friend and collaborator with Uncle Tupelo. Though the album didn’t receive commercial success or many favorable reviews, I always felt it was underrated and an essential step of closure in Tweedy’s breakaway from being labeled. With labels come limitations, through the years Wilco has proved itself to be above categorization. When you think of Wilco, you have to think of Tweedy. He is the heart, soul and leading visionary. Their evolution as a band is like any true artist, growing and experimenting through the years. Rather it be in the style of Boy Dylan or Pablo Picasso, Tweedy is reaching out to expression.

After A.M. would come multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, Bob Egan, and the departure of Johnston. As a guitarist and keyboardist, Bennett brought a new dimension to the sound Wilco was trying to create. The next album, Being There (1996) showed the most significant step in Wilco’s development. The album began to stray from the Uncle Tupelo sound with a harder edge and experimental dive, both musically and lyrically. Another important aspect is that Tweedy convinced Reprise Records to sell the double album set at a single album price. In so doing, the band lost their share of royalties. Though this decision might seem foolish to the business minded, it was a beginning of a special relationship with their fan base. In later years similar actions would fortify them as a band of destiny.

Wilco now had credibility and a life of its own outside of Uncle Tupelo. The next album to be released would be Mermaid Avenue (1998), collection of unknown Woody Guthrie lyrics. The album was a collaboration with Billy Bragg. Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, requested that Bragg put the songs to music. Bragg, being a fan of Wilco, convinced them to participate in the project. The album is a milestone in music history, putting Woody Guthrie in perspective to a whole new generation. The story of this collaboration is documented in Kim Hopkins film Man In The Sand (1999). After Mermaid Avenue Egan would be replaced by Leroy Bach. Simultaneously, Wilco was working on their third album. Summer Teeth (1999) would produce yet a whole new sound, strong and depressing lyrics and rich in overdubbing. After completion would come the second installment to the Woody Guthrie Project Mermaid Avenue Vol II.

During this time Tweedy was also branching out to other collaborations. By this time, Tweedy’s song writing prowess had risen to a level beyond that of the ordinary. I first heard him on the Golden Smog album Down By The Old Mainstream (1996), which lead me to Wilco. He then appeared on the following album Weird Tales (1998). He would join again with Golden Smog in 2005 on Another Fine Day. Tweedy would also do the soundtrack for Ethan Hawke’s 2001 film Chelsea Walls. After another collaboration, with Jim O’Rourke in 2000, the direction of Wilco would change once again. O’Rourke introduced drummer Glenn Kotche to Tweedy. An immediate friendship and compatibility emerged. The trio performed as Loose Fur, with the self titled album Loose Fur (2003) and then Born Again In The USA (2006).

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) would be the album that put Wilco over the top. Kotche was brought into the band on drums, replacing Coomer. During production, tensions in the band began to grow with Bennett and Tweedy’s artistic vision for the band. Bennett would then be fired after the album was completed. When the album was finished came what what could have been devastating blow to the band. Reprise records dropped the album and the band. Fortunately Wilco was able to leave with a finished album in hand. This produced an incredible freedom in how the Band could enter the next stage of its development. Remarkably this whole incident was captured for prosperity in Sam Jones Documentry I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco (2003).

During the time between labels, Wilco made a bold move. During a time when online downloading of music was soaring, the music industry was in panic mode. Rather by legal action or other, they were gunning down music lovers. Artist like Metallica battled Napster, bringing down a community of 26.4 million users. Wilco took a different approach. Fans were eagerly awaiting the new album, that was now in delay, the band took the decision to stream it from their website for free. The fans loved them for it. When Wilco finally signed with Nonesuch Records, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot became the band’s best selling album. Ironically enough, Reprise and Nonesuch are both subsidiaries of Warner Brothers. So basically in the end, Warner Brothers bought the album twice. Before the release of the album Wilco would collaborate with Scott McCaughey on the Minus 5′s Down with Wilco (2003).

The following album, A Ghost Is Born (2004), once again experimented and explored musical possibilities. The songs were created first with Pro Tools, before being performed live. Again the album would be streamed free online before the actual release. Bach would leave the band to pursue other interest, making way for the current lineup. Jeff Tweedy (lead singer, guitar), John Stirratt (bass), and Glenn Kotche (percussion) were joined by Mikael Jorgensen (Piano), Nels Cline (Guitar), and Pat Sansone (multi-instrumental). The new lineup debuted with the album Kicking Television: Live In Chicago (2005). Ever since the beginning days of Wilco, Tweedy would embark on solo tours with acoustic guitar and harmonica in hand. In 2006 the film Jeff Tweedy – Sunken Treasure – Live in the Pacific Northwest was released. It displays the special nature of his solo performances, which put the music of Wilco into a whole different light.

The next album Sky Blue Sky (2007) would show a whole new collaboration and arrangement of the members talents. Yet again Wilco streamed the album prior to release and even offered a free MP3 download with the song What Light. The album sold an amazing 87,000 copies in the first week alone. The latest installment in the Wilco catalog is Wilco (The Album) (2009), again streamed from their website prior to release. The album has already produced their first #1 spot in the charts with the single You Never Know.

To date Wilco has won 2 Grammy awards and 2 nominations. Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album. A Ghost is Born won Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package. Sky Blue Sky was nominated for Best Rock Album. Their success is nothing less than hard work and commitment to artistic expression mixed with a rare relationship with their fan base. I was lucky enough to meet the current lineup and attend the sound check during a show here in Paris a few years ago. Despite their fame and success, they are very approachable and generous. The true highlight of Wilco as a band is seeing them live. The unique manner in which Tweedy and the crowd interact is reminiscent of smokey bar room nights like those in Saint Louis when Uncle Tupelo plowed the grounds of musical development. Check out the official Wilco website wilcoworld.net for more information on the band and to listen to their albums.

Books relating to Wilco

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Spotlight: Wilco

Aquatic Photography

2009-08-19T14:46:56Z

After just coming back from vacation in Tunisia, it is now time to sort out and process all of our pictures. Our primary camera is the Canon EOS 350D (known as the Canon Digital Rebel XT in the United States). Our trip was to a seaside resort. Knowing we would be spending a lot of time doing water based activities, we thought it would be nice to be able to take some photos in the water or from the boats. Since we only wanted something to experiment and play with, we chose to find a compact camera suitable for the job.

A search on Amazon landed us with the Easypix Aqua W311. At an affordable price we got a pretty nice compact camera for our needs. It seems this particular model is sold only in European markets, the American equivalent is the SVP Acqua DC-1231. Both are pictured below.

Easypix W311 Technical Specifications

The camera performed above our expectations. It can be used with or without the water housing. There is no problem loosing it with the included wrist strap, not to mention it floats nicely. Here are some photos we took at the Club Med Djerba la Fidèle (Thanks to Samantha’s siblings for being great models). The photo links have been scaled down from (2048 x 1536 landscape) to be more appropriate for this website.

Some amazing examples of aquatic photography can be found on the WaterHousing Surf Photography Group on flickr.

Digital water photography has finally went mainstream and affordable to the average consumer. There is a wide variety of compact as well as professional rigs available. B&H Photo Video carries a complete line of gear to make your existing cameras waterproof, as well as waterproof cameras. There you can also find complete instructional and buying guides. The following are some nice examples of what you can find on today’s market.

Liquid Image Digital Underwater Camera Mask

Pentax Optio W80 Digital Camera

Snap Sights SS02 35mm Underwater Camera

SVP Acqua DC-1231 Digital Camera

GoPro Digital HERO 3 Sports Wrist Camera

Nimar NI303D Underwater Housing (Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT / 350D)

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Aquatic Photography

Tataouine – Tatooine

2009-08-19T14:48:41Z

Star Wars fans know well the planet of Tatooine, the boyhood home of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Recently we had an opportunity to visit Tunisia, and to my surprise we found the city of Tataouine. Many of the Tatooine scenes from Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode I: The Phantom Menace were shot on location in this region. One day we took an excursion in the areas surrounding Tatouine to what seemed to be a different planet in itself. Situated on the rim of the Sahara Dessert, it is a hot, dry, and barren place. For what it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in beauty and mystery. The terrain varies from sand dunes to picturesque landscapes typical of a John Ford western. If I had realized the potential of seeing Star Wars sites, perhaps I would have planned the trip a bit different. For information on how you could plan your own trip, check out Tunisia.com. Mark Weller, a filming location enthusiast, has put together a nice page on Star Wars in Tunisia.

The only actual location my tour included was the Ksar Hadada. It was once a fortified grainary used by the Berbers. George Lucas used it for some of the slave quarters scenes at Mos Espa in The Phantom Menace. Our tour guide was actually an extra during the shoots here.

Mos Espa Scene from The Phantom Menace

Photos taken August 2009

Aside from the Star Wars attractions the area is rich in scenery and history. The following are some more photos taken during the trip.

Amazing One Piece Dinning Room, Benches, Table carved out inside a mountain.

All Photos took with our Canon EOS series Camera

Buy Posters at AllPosters.com

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Tataouine – Tatooine

Batch resize your photos with Apple Script

2009-08-14T19:14:36Z

We usually take a lot of photos when traveling. After we return, the photos go through the following work fow:

Copy the photos from the Compact Flash or SD cards to the computer.
Sort/Edit them manually to keep only the greatest ones
Archives the raw material (all the photos before editing) and the selected ones in a folder (which is later on backed up)
Resize the selected photos for Internet sharing (with family and friends only on a private website)
Select and tag some of the above photos for upload to Flickr.

We are probably not the only ones wanting to share photos with our non geeks mothers via a photo gallery online and the resizing step is usually necessary to make their browsing experience more comfortable. We use Simple PHP Gallery Manager for Internet sharing. I use an Apple Script to automatically resize the photos for the Internet Gallery (thanks to MacOsX Hints for sharing the code)

Simple PHP Gallery Manager

Batch resize photos Apple Script

The script is located in my Library/Scripts folder. To resize photos, I only have to select them in the Finder and drag them on the script file. The script will then generate an image called export_<Name_of_the_original>.jpg for each selected photo. Of course, Apple Script is Mac only. I have a similar script for Windows/Linux laying around (based on nconvert). If interested, please leave us a comment and I’ll post a follow up to this article.

The interest of Apple Script resides in its ability to pilot other applications (like the Finder in the following example) to automate tasks (in the same way as Photoshop tasks). And the power of the Apple Script Editor is the ability to record what we are doing and turn that into a script (using Automator for example).

The code

on open some_items
repeat with this_item in some_items
try
rescale_and_save(this_item)
end try
end repeat
end open
to rescale_and_save(this_item)
tell application “Image Events”
launch
set the target_height to 600
– open the image file
set this_image to open this_item
set typ to this_image’s file type
copy dimensions of this_image to {current_width, current_height}
if current_height is greater than current_width then
scale this_image to size target_height
else
– figure out new height
– y2 = (y1 * x2) / x1
set the new_width to (current_width * target_height) / current_height
scale this_image to size new_width
end if
tell application “Finder” to set new_item to ¬
(container of this_item as string) & “ex” & (name of this_item)
save this_image in new_item as typ
end tell
end rescale_and_save

Use the script

Open Script Editor (in Application or using Spotlight)
Copy/Paste the code in the editor
Edit the target_height variable to whatever you need (in pixels)
Save the script to your Library/Scripts folder

Download

The script is available for download.

Thumbnails

Some Internet gallery (inclusing SPGM) also need a thumbnail file. It is of course possible to modify this script to generate two pictures (one for display, one as thumbnail) for each selected photo.

Apple Script

Apple scripting allows you to automate most recurring tasks and customize your Mac OS X experience. I’ve recently spanned through an Apple Script Book I got at our local library called “The Missing Guide“, it seems very powerful. For more information on Apple Script, check out there resources:

developer.apple.com guide
iScript (french)

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Batch resize your photos with Apple Script

The Film That Could Have Been – Legal Matters In Production

2009-08-12T17:24:18Z

As many other inspiring filmmakers, we have several ideas for projects we want to work on. Recently an opportunity came up for us to work in conjunction with someone else to make a documentary. Early on it became evident that the film had great potential. The prospects of a lucrative film can definitely get one’s hopes up. Most importantly for us though, was the chance to get solid recognition for our work. After most of the pre-production was finished, we were forced to drop out of the project. There is nothing or no one to blame but our own mistakes. Unfortunately we went into the project excited and with blind trust to find out later that our partner was not on the same wavelength as us.

We decided that we needed assistance in a very important filmmaking skill, that of people skills. On this particular project, the other person proved to be a good talker, which had us feeling pretty confident that we were going in the right direction. Because of our partner’s personal connection with the subject of the film, we all thought it was only smart to use them as the front person for the project. Little did we realize at the time, this would undermine the partnership we had invisioned.

Gradually a feeling of tension began to rise about how the profit and credits should be distributed. There were also questions of differences in artistic opinion. Finally, the inevitable confrontation came to a head. Needless to say it did not go well. Our partner had decided that they should receive virtually all the profit and credit for the film. We were merely employees working on wages of promises and a slight mention in the credits. This was a slap in the face when we had done most of the work up to this point. So with no way to even come to a compromise, we felt it was best for us to take the lesson as learned and move on to other projects. I am happy to say within two days, two more projects came to us that we are very excited about and look forward to start talking about on this blog.

With the creation of these new projects hopefully we have learned better to put our ducks in a row. Where did we make a mistake to begin with? I believe it was by not deciding how the partnership would work at the time of the project’s creation. We had actually discussed it briefly, just saying “lets not worry about this yet, lets see if we can do it first”. It was mentioned that we would not try to take advantage of the other and so on. Well as they say, talk is cheap.

It seems to be a common mistake of new filmmakers, to put the art in front of the legal aspects. Unfortunately this is something we have to deal with. Legal matters have to be delt with precisely and comprehensively. The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers By Thomas A. Crowell is a good starters guide for diving into the legal issues surrounding the entertainment industry.

Consult entertainment attorney before taking any important steps.

Some But Not All – Legal Issues to Consider:

Partnerships and collaborations. Have a proper contract from the very beginning so all parties involved know exactly what to expect and to avoid potential problems.
Creation. Protect your story or other creative ideas. Obtain proper rights from other’s creative work you incorperate. Such as books, songs, films, etc. If you plan to depict actual persons, be aware of defamation and their right of privacy. A lawyer should be consulted for your own protection.
Contracts for all cast and crew.
If you plan to use Union workers, you might have to deal with organizations like the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, or the International Association of Theater and Stage Employees.
Releases. Personal Releases. Have a proper release form when you film or photograph anyone. Location releases. Some specific locations, such as businesses, buildings, and monuments may require a release. Products and personal property are also subject to needing a release.
Distribution. To be able to distribute the film, make sure you have all the proper rights to do so, and all releases are cleared. Know what rights you give up through any method of distribution.
Copyright might be important for the finished product and script.
Insurrance. Protect yourself. You don’t need it unless or until the enevitable happens. If it does you better have it.

Recommended Books From Amazon.com

Post from: World Wide Angle

The Film That Could Have Been – Legal Matters In Production

RØDE VideoMic

2009-08-19T14:52:23Z

For sometime now, we have needed to extend our sound capabilities with a better microphone. Our Canon GL2 came equipped with a direction accurate omni-directional microphone. In most situations it works great, but of course as we began filmming more seriously a better mic was needed. Our first step was to add a shotgun mic that we could use off the camera’s shoe mount or attach to a boom pole. After reading reviews, blogs, and forum post we decided on the Australian made RØDE VideoMic. This is a studio quality microphone for a very affordable price. As the story goes Peter Freedman, the founder and Managing Director of RØDE Microphones, went out looking for a shotgun mic for his MiniDV camcorder. Much to his dismay, the only affordable choices were cheaply made mics with poor sound quality and performance. His mission then became to build an easily mountable mic with pro quality sound and low noise affordable to a wider range of consumers. Thus, RØDE Microphones turned out the VideoMic with great reception from customers. It is noted to be a great microphone for amateur and beginning filmmakers alike. It easily mounts to accessory shoes, tripods, and microphone stands. The integrated shock mounting is also a big plus. From the RØDE Microphones Website: The RØDE VideoMic is a professional grade shotgun microphone. Based on the latest ‘Film industry’ technology, the VideoMic is designed specifically for use with high quality Digital Video Cameras. The microphone exhibits low noise and an unusually wide bandwidth for its size. It is ultra lightweight, yet rugged due to it’s ABS construction. The VideoMic is powered by a standard 9V battery and offers a Low Battery LED status indicator and a switchable high pass filter to reduce unwanted low frequency rumble. The VideoMic attaches to any Camcorder that has the standard camera-shoe fitting and utilizes a stereo mini jack for audio output. Features:

Studio recording quality
Condenser microphone
9V battery powered
Integrated shock mounting
Two step High-Pass Filter – Flat or 80Hz
Three step PAD – 0, -10, -20dB
Rugged reinforced ABS construction
Windshield included
3.5mm mini-jack output
Integrated cold shoe mount, 1/4″ and 3/8″ thread

Specifications:

Power: 9V battery powered
Acoustic Principle: Line gradient
Directional Pattern: Super Cardioid
Frequency range: 40Hz-20kHz, selectable HPF @ 80Hz/12dB/octave
Output impedance: 200Ω
Signal noise ratio: 74 dB SPL (A – weighted per IEC651)
Equivalent noise: 20 dB SPL (A – weighted per IEC651)
Maximum SPL: 134dB SPL (@ 1kHz, 1% THD into 1KΩ load)
Maximum output voltage Sensitivity: -38 dB re 1 Volt/Pascal (15 mV @ 94 dB SPL) +/- 2 dB @ 1kHz
Weight: 176gm
Dimensions: 65mmH x 250mmW x 102mmD

RØDE VideoMic

RØDE VideoMic Installation

RØDE VideoMic Stereo Jack Connection

RØDE VideoMic Polar Pattern

RØDE VideoMic Frequency Response

Optional Accessories Deadcat windshield, Boompole, Mini-boompole, VC1 stereo extension lead, VXLR XLR to 3.5mm stereo converter, DS1 desk stand and Tripod

Post from: World Wide Angle

RØDE VideoMic

DIY: Camera Shoulder Rest – Part 2

2009-08-19T16:30:04Z

Several people have requested that I give a better explanation of how to construct our Camera Shoulder Rest. It has been several years since I built the device, but I will try to explain the best I can out of memory.

The frame was constructed of flattened steal. I bough a piece with pre-drilled holes. I cut the steal into two pieces, one being the camera arm and the other for the shoulder support. The shoulder support was then bent in a curved shape. Be sure to allow plenty of extra space for the padding to be added later.

The camera arm was then attached to the shoulder support with a nut and bolt. To give added support to the arm, I was able to find a curved bracket and bolted it between the camera arm and shoulder rest. The device is now ready to paint.

The handle was made from a small rubber-handled plastic flashlight. The light head was cut off using a hacksaw. Then with a long bolt and washers it can be fixed to the end of the camera arm.

I purchased some padding from a cloth shop and fashioned it around the shoulder support. Then secured it with needle and thread. Now with some cloth I sewed a sleeve that would fit around the shoulder support. This process proved to be very difficult. In hindsight it may have been easier to fix the padding and sleeve before bending and attaching the shoulder support the camera arm.

To make the design hands free I had to devise a belt system. I used nylon strapping that can be found in most hardware stores or cloth shops. On each end of the shoulder rest I made a loop, similar to a belt loop. After this another strap can be threaded through the loops to act as a belt around the wearers chest. A plastic buckle was used to fastened the belt around the chest. It also allows for easy adjustment. This will hold the camera rest down on the shoulder. To keep it from sliding off and making it a totally hands free design another strap was used. It was attached near the top of the curve of the shoulder support and running diagonally across the back, then attached to the belt strap.

The last step is to fix a method of attaching the camera to the camera arm. I used an extra plate from quick release tripod mount, then with a bolt and wing nut it can be moved and removed easily. I provided a diagram below to hopefully illustrate my design and meanings better.

I would like to add that there are also several good camera rest available for purchase for those not wanting to attempt your own model. Use the link below for a nice selection from B&H.

S-800 Super Pro Shoulder Support

Post from: World Wide Angle

DIY: Camera Shoulder Rest – Part 2

Mobile version of World Wide Angle Blog

2009-03-29T09:14:28Z

I came accross a WordPress plugin to offer a mobile interface for iPhone/iPodTouch visitors called WPTouch. If you visit this blog using such a device, here is what you will see:

World Wide Angle blog as seen on the iPhone

You can always deactivate the Mobile theme option in the page footer to see and browse the full browser version.

Post from: World Wide Angle

Mobile version of World Wide Angle Blog

Let’s go to the movies

2009-03-11T19:44:13Z

Max Linder Panorama

I’ve talked before about my discovering of Cinema and the way I tried to see as many movies as I could and slowly shaped my taste and my understanding of Cinema History. Several people lent me VHS tapes of movies they liked, I also subscribed to a satellite tv offer for a couple of years and watched probably 40% of the TCM France catalog of that period. I would also got to the theaters a lot. For several years, I would go to the theaters between once and three times a week.

Eventually, I had caught up with most of the movies I could afford to buy and went through all of the tapes in my friends collections. I was also a bit more demanding with the movies that came out and would not go to the movies to see yet another action film especially if it was going to be dubbed in French. Still, as soon as a movie by a director on my watch list would come out, I would rush to the theater.

Last year, we bought a projector and a screen that hangs proudly in our living room. We are frequent goers to the local public library where we can rent movies – for free. We subscribe to several VOD services and are rarely out of an old movie to watch (Anthony Mann, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder rank amongs our favorite). We watch between six and eight movies a week! Because I work late and going around in Paris is time consumming, we do not go to the theaters more than twice a month. I would love to go more as I strongly believe cinema should be enjoyed on the big screen, in a dedicated room, with an audience. Yet, the last few times we went, it has been a total disapointment.

About three weeks ago, we went to the theater in Nice. We went to the only theater in town that plays foreign films in their original language. The room was minuscule -and full. The screen was only barely bigger than the one we have at home (and believe me, our living room is not that big). Even worse, the copy was not all so clean. And the whole thing cost some 9.50 euros a person. But that was not so bad…

Last night, we went to the Grand Rex, right in the heart of Paris. The Grand Rex is a big concert Hall where I was lucky enough to see Joan Baez. The concert hall is beautiful with a wonderful accoustic. Sometimes, the concert hall is transformed into a theater. They pull down the biggest screen I’ve ever seen and this is where I saw the Departed with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Di Caprio personally introducing the film. A ticket at the Grand Rex costs 10 euros even and when you see the size of that screen, you know it’s worth it. Yet, last night, for the Telerama Festival, the screening took place in a small room below the concert hall. The seats were old and unconfortable but that doesnt bother me (I’ve sat in screenings in Cannes on the floor because that’s all they had left). The walls were purple. Purple! Is this a theater? The screening was about 20 minutes late and as we waited they played the most horrible music I’ve heard lately. The worse thing was that they never turned off the emergency exits signs which were places way too close to the screen and would bright up the already not dark enough walls. For the first five minutes of the movie, that bright little green light was all I could see.

So, why do we go to the movies? I think theater managers should remember that a DVD costs about 15 euros (and sometimes we buy packs like 7 films for 42 euros), a low end projector costs 400 and a small screen is worth 110. If am going to go to a movie, I expect a theatrical experience. I want film posters in the hall of the theater, I want complete darkness in the room, film soundtracks playing while we wait, a crystal clear copy, perfect sound and an audience that switches off their cell phones. If you can’t deliver, I will watch movies at home.

MK2 Bibliotheque, photo by Bert Kommerij (Flickr)

Little tips for Parisians

The greatest cinema in Paris is the French Cinemathque at rue de Bercy. The big room has a wonderful huge screen and of course they have an amazing program. It’s also extremly cheap. If you want to see a new release and that it plays at Max Linder Panorama, that’s the place to go see it. It’s 10 euros a seat there too but when the film starts, you will know why. Of course, an event in the big room of the Grand Rex is a wonderful experience. Other than that, our theater is the MK2 Bibliotheque. The two big rooms (A and B) are fantastic. If I’m not going to the Max Linder, I will be going to a MK2. I refuse to enter a UGC theater since 2005. Another tip, if you want to reserve the whole cinema room and invite all your friends over, it’s possible at the Entrepot in Paris 14 district. And of course, Paris real treasure are the art and essais theaters like Grand Action, Action Ecole, Action Christine. If you have time to go see some classics over and over and wish to debate all night with hard core cinephiles, Paris is just the greatest place to be.

Post from: World Wide Angle

Let’s go to the movies

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2009-08-10T15:18:10Z

Last night, we went to the “catch-up on the good movies you missed” screening of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Every year, the Telerama Festival schedules the screening of the top 10 movies of the previous year in theaters throughout France. Tickets for these screenings cost 3 euros. It’s a great opportunity to catch up on a movie you might have missed when it first came out.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen (2008)

I have seen Match Point and loved it. I have seen Scoop and thought of it was the comedy remake of Match Point. I thought remaking one own’s film on a different mode was a wonderful idea but I felt Scoop never came close to Match Point as a movie. Anyway, I agreed with most critics I read that the change of location (from NYC to London) had been extremly beneficial to Woody Allen. He seems to have found there new characters that he could play with, new sets to inspire his shots and a totally new, younger cast to renew his work.

As the titles implies, his latest (to date) takes Vicky and Cristina to Barcelona and it looks like Spain was another great new playground for Woody. He found two beautiful locations for the house of Vicky’s relatives and the house of artist Juan Antonio. Another sequence takes us to Oviedo with another series of beautiful shots. Since the movie took place in Spain, the cast now includes spanish speaking actors : Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. It is very hard not to think of Almodovar who also used Bardem and Cruz and shares with Allen his taste for Spanish Guitar. I didn’t expect Woody Allen to succeed so well at portraying Spanish characters like he did with British characters but after seeing the movie I think it worked out even better. It seems like filming in Spain allowed him to be more dramatic while remaining believable (what’s possible around the mediteranean see is not under the English gray sky). The constant switch of languages was source of comedy but also of more subtelty in the screenplay. ANd then of course, you get the colors of Spain… Congratulations, Mr Allen. The movie was released on October 8, 2008 and on August 15, 2008 in America. I wonder how that one was left out of the nominees of this year Academy Awards?

Post from: World Wide Angle

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

A WordPress Index Page Template

2009-08-19T15:54:00Z

After a few weeks of writing content for our blog, quite a bit of information has accumulated. Sometimes, we find it necessary to look at our pasts posts in order to get a piece of information. Browsing back in time has become more and more tedious as we have more content archived. On the very same day, Derrick and I both had the idea that we needed to create an Index page allowing instant access to any posts.

I worked on a template page for WordPress over the weekend in order to display such an index. Our main goal was to simply display a list of posts by date, but as I started to work on this I realized it could be a nice feature to also offer a list grouped by categories and tags. Since the list of posts was bound to grow, I decided to make each section title collapsable while still offering a view all link to display every posts title if so desired.

Before going ahead with the code, I did a quick Google search to see if anyone had worked on this before. What I found was an impressive graphical view of a blog past developped by Vladimir Prevolac based on the default archive page of Tumblr called Snazzy Archives. I really liked Vladimir’s work and decided to integrate that option as well in my Index page.

As I started working on this, I decided that I would make my work more valuable by making it generic enough to be used by other people. To do so, I knew that I had to make sure of the following:

Use WordPress core functions
Not rely on the pre existence of the Snazzy Archives plugin as not everyone would want to use i
Test my index page with at least three different WordPress installations

It was the first time I tried to extend WordPress, and after a quick Google search I found this function reference page on the WordPress Codex. The documentation, though still being worked on by the community, is easy to read and understand and makes it quite enjoyable to work with the WordPress code. In the end, the only function I had to write was the one returning me the list of months during which at least one blog post had been written. Still, I found the code I needed within WordPress, I just had to adapt it to what I was doing.

Like I said, I really liked Snazzy and wanted to add it to our blog but my Index Template Page couldn’t rely on it to be installed as it might be temporarely disabled or some other user might not want to show it. I simply tested the existance of the plugin before placing the link to the Snazzy Archives in the page.

In order to test, I tried my template on three installations of WordPress. Two running WordPress 2.6 and one running 2.7. I also ran some tests enabling or not the permalinks options as it changes the url handling quite a bit. Regarding this question of URL, I decided not to use Ajax as WordPress front-end doesn’t use it, I decied to make my Index page match the rest of the blog engine on that aspect as well.

All in all, after a few hours of coding and experimenting with WordPress, I had completed my own template page. So far it has worked fine for us, but feel free to report any bug or share your comments with us on this page.

Live demo:

You can see the result in action by visiting our archive page. You can also see it running on my other blog World Gone Web.

Download:

You can download the template here.

Installation process:

Download the template
Upload the template archives.php to your theme directory (i.e. <wordpress>/wp-content/themes/<theme_name>
Make sure your script file can be read
Adapt the page structure of the template to match your blog theme structure (i.e. copy the beginning and th end of your blog theme index.php page like the content div and sidebar declaration)
Enter your wordpress administration and write a new page
Enter the title you wish to see in your menu (be carefull, “index” might generate problems, choose another name)
Do not enter any content
Find the page template menu and select “Index Page”
Publish this new page
You’re done, go to your blog and test it

If you wish to use Snazzy Archives as well, you also need to:

Download SnazzyArchives and upload it to your plugin directory
Go to your administration page and enable the plugin
Refresh your blog archive page, the link to snazzy archives should appear

We hope you like it!

Post from: World Wide Angle

A WordPress Index Page Template

Spotlight: Gary Cooper

2009-08-19T01:41:42Z

Sergeant York (1941)

This month TCM France (Turner Classic Movies) spotlights famed actor Frank James (Gary) Cooper. Each day will air a film from Cooper’s long and fruitful career. In nearly 40 years he played over 100 roles in some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Though known for his dashing appearance, quite demeanor and restrained emotion, he was capable of powerful portrayals and a very unique sense of humor. He was born in 1901 in Helena, Montana, where he had a tough time making a living as a young man. After several failed attempts he would move to LA with his family in 1924, where he thought it was better to starve and be warm than to starve and freeze also. Eventually he would try his hand in the film industry and appeared as an extra in several films. Cooper, or Coop as his acquaintances called him, eventually broke through a major Hollywood star with The Virginian by Victor Fleming in 1929. Which coincidentally was his first talkie. Throughout the remainder of his career he would work with many of the great directors, such as: Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Cecil B. DeMille, William Wyler, Robert Aldrich, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Delmer Daves, Fritz Lang, Raoul Walsh, Anthony Mann, Michael Curtiz, William Wellman, and John Ford to name a few. He would portray such real life characters as Lou Gehrig, Marco Polo, Wild Bill Hickok. Famed World War I hero Alvin York would only allow a film of his life’s story provided that he would be portrayed by Cooper in Howard Hawk’s Sergeant York. I look forward to seeing some Cooper films absent from our collection. As a general rule, when we get one of his films it is always pushed to the front of list on the shelf of movies to watch. Thanks TCM.

One Sunday Afternoon (1933)

The Virginian (1939)

Meet John Doe (1941)

High Noon (1952)

Man Of The West (1958)

Post from: World Wide Angle

Spotlight: Gary Cooper

My Introduction to Cinema

2009-08-10T16:01:00Z

The Godfather part III

For the past 15 years, my interests has been going back and forth between Cinema and Computers. My passion for cinema goes back to my high school days. I have always had a dislike for TV and rarely went to the movies, as it was not something my family would do much. On the other hand, I would read a lot, and around that time, I was mostly into theater. I had just read several plays, including the famous Shakespeare tragedies. One night, being alone at home, I turned the TV on while the Godfather part III was playing. It was like nothing I had seen on TV before (I only knew of children films and action flicks at that point). I was amazed by the story telling, through the acting, the filming, the soundtrack, the costumes and the setting. It was so theatrical, such a powerful tragedy, almost classical. This is when I realized that Cinema was probably the most powerful artform. After that night, I started looking around for other films of that kind.

The Godfather part III

Back in 1996, I was also discovering the Internet. This immediate access, straight from my bedroom, to such a wide knowledge was fascinating to me. I started browsing the Web for cinema information. Up to that point my computer had been nothing more than a game console, but with the Internet, this quickly changed. As DVDs came around,my computer also became my own personal movie theater. Suddenly several hundreds of movies, in their original language and with subtitles, became available.

Still, it was hard for me to know where to find more movies as inspiring as the Godfather part III. I tried going around and asking neighbors and friends to tell me (and lend me) their favorite movies. The results were strange. I got to see Pulp Fiction, 12 monkeys, Totall Recall and Casino. I got to see such movies as North by Northwest and Citizen Kane too. I started recording movies on TV and watching different genres of films from different countries and time periods. From all this, I started to find what I liked and disliked and followed my own path. I discovered Sergio Leone on “Cinema de Quartier” on Canal+ one night and Jean-Pierre Melville on LaCinquième. At some point Arte also broadcasted the complete filmography of John Cassavetes, it was a revelation. Around that time, I got hold of Martin Scorsese’s Pleasures as a Cinephile and started using the films he named as a hunting list:

The Searchers
Duel in the Sun
Force of Evil
Citizen Kane
Umberto D
The Red Shoes
On the Waterfront
Vertigo
Bad Lieutenant
Senso
movies by Bunuel and Kurosawa
french movies by Renoir, Tavernier and Téchiné
and a lot many more!

As I would discover a new movie, I would look it up and try to find related titles. It could lead me to watch movies by the same director or starring the same actor. It could also bring me to discover another director who had dealt with the same genre or subject. Little by little, I learned to recognize genre and styles and got a perception of cinema’s history and – as it is related to me – of History, especially History of the twentieth` century.

Addicted to Cinema and attracted to the Internet, I created my first website in 1998. It was dedicated to Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes (actually, this is still online at http://samcinema.free.fr/ though it’s not been updated in several years). But the real merger between Cinema and Computing took place when I decided I could do my own videos. My father bought me an Ati Rage 128 all in wonder card which allowed me to capture images from a VCR. Using Premiere 4.2, I edited my first videos which were all short TV shows about cinema. I would splice together trailers and photos with a few voice overs.

Eventually, I wanted to film my own images. I got my first DV Camera in 2000, I used it to film my family’s trip across the Southwest of the USA. The resulting movie was an hour and forty minutes long! My only knowledge about filming or editing came from experimenting with my camera and watching movies, a lot of movies. I have often heard that reading is a good way to improve one’s writing. I believe this is also true with images. Watching photos, paying attention to the images around us teaches us how to frame and compose and watching movies teaches us how to film and edit in order to tell a story. Some of us remember the family photos or 8mm films that could be painful to go through. I’ve even seen photos with cut off heads before! Recently, everybody has become a photographer and videomaker by uploading images on Facebook and videos to youTube. It seems everyone has become more aware of images. Amateur photographers skills have increaed significantly in the digital age. I believe this is what happened to me. I didn’t learn to film in school or from a book, I learned framed and filmed trying by imitating what I had seen.

After filming in the American West, I decided to build a mini set inside a cardboard box I had painted to look like a Western set. I used it to film toy figures reinventing (without knowing it) the stop-motion films. I wanted to practice framing and try my hand at camera moves. None of these expirements lead to any complete project but it was a lot of fun to try and reproduce some camera moves I liked in so many movies I had seen.

André Bazin: Qu'est-ce que le Cinéma

After two years of watching 7 or 8 movies a week I was seriously adicted. At that point, I started reading about movies. I read Andre Bazin’s “Qu’est-ce que le Cinema” and the History of Cinema by Georges Sadoul. I also started reading theorical books about film editing and film lighting. As I was coming close to graduation, I started thinking about going into a film school. I decided I wanted to enter one of the two public film schools in France: either la Fémis or Louis Lumière. After pasing the first step of the Louis Lumiere entrance exam (maths, physics, chemistry and cinema culture), I failed at the second step: film analysis. Having followed an all scientific school path, I was totally unprepared for such an exercice.

This was a tough break but I didn’t give up. Having been an early adopter of the Internet, it seemed obvious that Multimedia would be more and more important. I knew that as time went by, there would be more and more images, sounds and videos on the Web. I felt by combining computing and films I could do interesting things. I went to computing school and used every opportunity to pick courses related to multimedia. I took classes in photo, video, 3D animation and web design.

Ten years later, videos are everywhere on the Internet. Of course, professionaly produced content found its way online. Either as paid on demand broadcast or as a commercial broadcast. Most impressively, self produced videos are everywhere on the Net. People share their videos on youTube, they also share how to videos on several other websites. Some people use videos to record their resume and send it to rectruiters. As the numbers indicate, people use the Internet to watch video content and are starting to leave their TVs behind. The demand for video online is increasing. We are witnessing a revolution in communication, information and entertainment. Cultural Labs, among others, claim that the trend for video watching online will increase and that new artforms will appear with the arrival of low budget and creative video productions. There are opportunities for people like us, filmmakers and computer oriented, to make the films we want, the way we want and find our audience.

Our film watching Tumblr

I still believe that the best way to learn about movie making, second to experimenting, is to watch movies. We try to watch between 5 and 8 movies a week, from different time periods and genres. We learn from the best. Since September, we also keep a list f the movies we watched together. Just like I take notes when I read books about Cinema, Derrick is taking notes when we watch movies in order to remember the shots we like and would love to mimic in our own videos. By watching movies and talking about them, we try to understand the art of story telling and get an opinion about what does and does not work in filming and in editing. Everytime we get a chance, we go out there to film and edit and see what we get. The next step for us is going to be to complete a screenplay and go ahead with it.

Post from: World Wide Angle

My Introduction to Cinema