The 34-year old entrepreneur has taken his vision from the meeting of social minds and has applied it to the new social platform, Square, but this time it serves as a way to simplify things in a business scenario and has the ability to, once again, revolutionize the way people go about doing the most fundamental of tasks.

Square’s main focus is to allow any individual, merchant or business to accept credit card payments instantly through any mobile device without the monthly fees, contracts or required merchant accounts, only furthering the need for everyone to climb aboard the recent trains of technology.

The Los Angeles Times notes that 90% of Americans carry credit cards, but more than 27 million businesses don’t allow them. Square could very well be the machine that moves cash-only stores into the undeniable future of innovation.

Square will begin to truly affect the smartphone and tablet world, because now everybody, whether starving artist, mobile coffee shop barista, high-end clothing shop owner or CEO of a futuristic invention, can sell their product to anybody, anywhere at anytime.

Dorsey is known as one of the original programmers and former CEO of Twitter, an idea stemmed from working with dispatch in which he had high hopes for the startup to be used as a simple, real-time information highway. Since his departure from his CEO chair, Dorsey has gone on to provide the world with his newest creation, an idea that is more likely to change the face of the finance world, as opposed to your daily gossip.

Dorsey’s Square mails each person who downloads the free application a free card reader as well, whether the person is looking to sell handmade jewelry or some old baseball cards found collecting dust in the attic. In addition, the camera phones allow users to take photos of the items being sold, sign off on the card and the Internet capabilities allow for receipts to travel to the user’s email.

The great thing about Square is that the card reader works through the audio port on its devices, so Square is not limited to just smartphones, but also has the ability to work on laptops, desktops and virtually any mobile device, especially the new iPads, which are rapidly flourishing.

Dorsey was quoted, “Our main focus is not just to speak to iPhone or iPod Touch users, but to allow one to take payments from any mobile device.”

Since this seems too easy to be true, there has been skepticism with how safe the practices are with Square. The original ideas of taking pictures of the credit cards to complete transactions were thrown out, along with the any other fraudulent or insecure practices. Dorsey assures people that Square meets all the safety regulations and practices required.

Although Square is new to our eyes, the application has been tracked as gathering nearly 100,000 merchants each month and approximately $2 million in transactions daily, making Dorsey’s newborn baby not such an illusion after all.

The application is also taking the extra step towards societal consciousness. A penny per Square transaction goes to Charity Water, and as people slowly all gather toward Square, those contributions will become a considerable amount.

The future of Square may be likely to bring some surprises as this new wave of technology spreads and we become even more of a paperless society, but the biggest surprise could very well be how quickly everybody catches on.

What is Narrowbanding?

In an effort to promote more efficient use of spectrum, the FCC mandated all VHF and UHF Public Safety and Industrial /Business licensees using 25 kHz land mobile radio (LMR) systems migrate to narrowband 12.5 kHz efficiency technology by January 1, 2013.

What is spectrum efficiency?

Currently the UHF and VHF frequency bands are congested and often there is not enough spectrum available for licensees to expand their existing systems or implement new systems. This mandate requires licensees to operate more efficiently, either on narrower channel bandwidths or increased voice paths on existing channels. This will allow creation of additional channels within the same spectrum, thereby supporting more users.

What does Equivalent Efficiency mean?

The FCC does not mandate channel width, it mandates spectrum efficiency. FCC rules require 12.5 kHz or equivalent efficiency. Any of the following meet the 12.5 kHz equivalent efficiency requirement:

• One voice path in a 12.5 kHz channel
• Two voice paths in a 25 kHz channel
• Data rates of 4.8 kbps per 6.25 kHz channel, such as 9.6 kbps per 12.5 kHz and 19.2 kbps per 25 kHz channel

Does Narrowbanding require me to implement digital equipment?

No. Licensees can operate in either analog or digital formats as long as you operate at 12.5 kHz efficiency.

Does Narrowbanding require me to change frequencies or obtain new channels?

No. Narrowbanding does not require moving to another frequency band or different channels. Licensees stay on the same channel center(s), but reduce the bandwidth of the channel(s) currently used, from 25 kHz to 12.5 kHz and change the emission designator on the license. Alternatively, licensees stay on the same 25 kHz channel but implement a 12.5 kHz equivalent technology on that channel.

Will I receive two 12.5 kHz channels when I change from my currently licensed 25 kHz channel?

No. As noted above, you remain on the same 25 kHz channel center, not splitting the channel into two 25 kHz channels. If you need additional capacity, you will need to apply for additional 12.5 kHz channels to the FCC through your frequency coordinator.

What will happen if I fail to comply with the FCC Narrowbanding mandate? Can I continue to operate at 25 kHz efficiency on a secondary status after January 1, 2013?

No. The FCC will prohibit licensees from operating 25 kHz efficiency equipment on a secondary basis. Non-compliance will be considered a violation subject to FCC Enforcement Bureau action, which may include admonishment, monetary fines and loss of license.

How can I tell if my radio equipment is 12.5 kHz capable?

All radio equipment certified by the FCC since February 14, 1997 is 12.5 kHz efficiency capable. If you are unsure if your equipment falls under this mandate, call your local two-way radio dealer and ask them  to assist you in this matter.

How do I upgrade my existing 12.5 kHz capable equipment?

In most cases, the Programming Software can be used to reprogram the subscriber and base station radios to operate at 12.5 kHz. Typically, infrastructure site equipment (duplexers, multicoupler, window filter) does not require any changes. Contact your radio local two way radio dealer if you need assistance or call us here at Skye Rentals

Has the FCC established a schedule for mandatory migration to 6.25 kHz efficiency?

No. The FCC has not set any date by which licensees must operate in 6.25 kHz efficiency. The current mandate only requires users to migrate to 12.5 kHz efficiency by January 1. 2013. Based on the 12.5 kHz migration time line, we believe that any potential future FCC decision to require users to migrate to 6.25 kHz efficiency will take a considerable number of years.

- Rick Gamboa

Each year, for 20 years now, the FIDM exhibits costumes from many of the previous year’s best films to coincide with awards season. This year’s Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition not only includes the five nominees for best costume design — the winning The Artist along with costumes from the nominated films Anonymous, Hugo, Jane Eyre and W.E. — but also works from 15 other films.

These encompass more than 100 costumes from films released in 2011. Indeed a gown from last year’s winner, Alice in Wonderland, greets visitors entering the galleries.

The exhibit runs through April. The pieces on display are the actual costumes decorating mannequins designed to match the actors’ figures. (What, you were expecting Jean Dujardin to model his Twenties outfits, were you?)

As an added attraction, the 20^th exhibition will showcase classic film costumes from the FIDM Museum collection along with the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks department’s Historic Hollywood Collection. The exhibit is free and group tours are available.

(Exhibit on view February 14 – April 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, 919 South Grand Avenue, downtown Los Angeles)

- Kirk Honeycutt

The man who started the late 20^th century Titanic craze is historian Don Lynch, whose 1992 publication, Titanic: An Illustrated History, inspired Cameron to make his 1997 movie in the first place. At the moment, Lynch is heavily involved in a new documentary and book about the tragedy as well as promoting Cameron’s 3D launch.

“A documentary with National Geographic will look at what we have learned from the different explorations,” says Lynch. “On three separate expeditions, Jim has personally dived over 30 times to the wreck. He did so for (the original) movie, then Ghosts of the Abyss [a 3D Imax movie released in 2003] and a 2005 live broadcast, Last Mysteries of the Titanic, on the Discovery Channel.”

The latter utilized a fiber-optic tether, as that is the only way to broadcast when you’re 3 ½ miles straight down in the ocean!

“There was a lot of stuff from the 2005 dive that wasn’t shown on TV so I’m working on a new book now that Inside Editions will publish,” says Lynch. “Ken Marschall is doing the illustration, Parks Stephenson some of the other visuals and sidebars, and I’m doing the text.”

Lynch played a role in Ghosts of the Abyss and has himself dived to the wreck on two occasions.

The first Titanic movie, he relates, Saved From the Titanic, came out a mere month following the tragedy. The one-reeler starred Dorothy Gibson, an actress who had actually been aboard ship. Among other film versions, a 1953 British movie, Titanic, featured a fictionalized plot involving Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb, and in 1958 came A Night To Remember, a documentary-like film based on Walter Lord’s book of the same name. Until Lynch published his book, Lord’s was the best source for all things Titanic.

- Kirk Honeycutt

Post 911, law enforcement agencies, certainly the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) are not taking any chances with security checks.

Typical Problems

Though the X-ray scanner is not the only reason for the film fogging, an x-ray scanner fogging is characterized by:

• 1-1.5cm wide soft edged bands.
• Depending on the placement of the film, the bands may be linear or wavy running vertically or along the length of the film.
• Fogging occurring at a particular place in multiple laps of the film. Damage may be directly proportional to the strength of the x-ray machine.

Precautionary Steps

You need to extremely careful under circumstances when:

• You are carrying a film with exposure index (EI) of 400 or higher capacity
• Carrying or using underexposed film
• Film that you intend to push-process
• If you know beforehand that the film will be passed through X-ray scanners five times

How the Damage can be Prevented?

Security checks are inevitable; however, you can undertake a few safeguard steps to prevent the fogging problem of the film which can be:

• If the baggage that has the film in it has to be passed through the X-ray scanner, ask the TSA agent if you can remove the film for the time being. Again, ensure that you explain the problem lucidly to them so no issues arise at a later stage.
• Always put the unprocessed film in a clear or meshed bag so that security personnel can examine it without touching it or passing it through the X-ray scanner. The TSA may not be that understanding though.
• FAA regulations stipulate that photographic film and equipment can be hand-checked by security personnel. You can make a request to have the baggage or film hand-checked should the need arise. You may make the request at U.S. airports, but this situation could increase in complexity when in another country – language barrier is just one of the issues likely to arise.
• Lead lined carrying cases are permitted for safeguarding films. However, if the baggage is passed through a high-performance X-ray scanner, a lead box would be required anyhow. Use lead boxes for carrying 35 mm film.

Professionalism and Patience

Being professional at any airport is certainly helpful. Acting calm and being patient is certainly conducive to receiving an affirmation in regards to your requests and needs. If TSA blatantly disregards your rational request, you may have to leave the airport, postpone the flight, and find another route. Canceling your flight could put pressure on the airlines to use the appropriate channels regarding TSA stifling and unyielding policies.

Who’s going to win it all on Sunday?

Picture

The Artist

Comment: It would be fun to pick an upset winner but even with nine nominees this is pretty much a sure thing.  The Help is the most likely upset winner but may be too middlebrow for Academy tastes. Also remember, these voters love movies that celebrate movies.

Director

Michel Hazanavicius

The Artist

Comment: See above. The most likely upset winner is Martin Scorsese for Hugo, which is also a movie that celebrates movies. Academy members every once in a while like to split their best picture/best director vote.

Foreign Language Film

A Separation

Comment: Since its debut in Berlin over a year ago, this film has been a consistent winner in all areas and this should include the Oscars.

Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

The Descendants

Comment: Academy voters want to acknowledge this film and its director, Payne, in some manner so this seems to be the most likely way since it won’t win best picture.

Original Screenplay

Asghar Farhadi

A Separation

Comment: Two awards for an Iranian film? Okay, I’m out on a limb here since most pundits have tapped Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. That wouldn’t surprise me, but don’t you be surprised if Farhadi steps up to the stage.

Actor

Jean Dujardin

The Artist

Comment: While not a sweep, this picture has unstoppable momentum.

Actress

Viola Davis

The Help

Comment: A long overdue accolade to one of Hollywood’s top performers who for too long has labored in minor roles.

Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer

Beginners

Comment: He’ll be the oldest actor to win this one so think of this as not only a well-deserved award but a salute to an old pro.

Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer

The Help

Comment: This was inevitable from the very first screening in the middle of last year.

Editing

Thelma Schoonmaker

Hugo

Comment: Unless of course even I am misjudging The Artist juggernaut.

Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki

The Tree of Life

Comment: The movie was all about cinematography.

Costumes

Mark Bridges

The Artist

Comment: See what gorgeous black-and-white can do for you?

Art Direction

Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould

The Artist

Comment: A possible upset may be Hugo but, again, momentum is on this film’s side.

Sound Editing

Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty

Hugo

Comment: This and the picture’s sound mixing were truly superior

Sound Mixing

Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

Hugo

Comment: See above.

Music

Ludovic Bource

The Artist

Comment: And the beat goes on …

- Kirk Honeycutt

One very real question though is how does a nascent screenwriter, after having digested the book’s lessons, make his or her way in a trade remarkably adverse to originality?

“Writers face a huge challenge in the resistance to originality that unfortunately pervades American mainstream filmmaking today,” McBride admits. “With the bloated costs of production and the studios’ desire to reach the widest world audience with potential blockbusters — reducing films to their lowest common denominator in the process — the tendency is overwhelmingly to go with what is seen as the safer bet of a tried-and-true story, a remake of another movie or a TV series.

“Of course, the key line about the film industry was written by William Goldman: ‘NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING.’ Anyone who thinks he or she has a sure bet is deluded. Most of the films that win the best-picture Oscar have been rejected by studio after studio. By definition, if a film wins that award it has some quality that makes it stand out from the pack, and hence it is a dangerous bet to greenlight.

“Taking a risk on such a project requires the kind of guts

that is in short supply today. So writers tend to think they have to copy other films and television shows in order to sell anything. There may be some truth in that, but as I argue in Writing in Pictures: Screenwriting Made (Mostly) Painless, and as all the best filmmakers will tell you, the best writing comes from the heart, not from the calculator or the pocketbook. That’s not an easy path to take, but it’s by far the most rewarding emotionally if not always financially.

“Writing formulaic projects out of a craven desire to succeed or out of poor taste due to a lack of familiarity with the genuine classics of film history is the biggest mistake a screenwriter can make today. Writing to a formula is virtually a guarantee of a bad movie. As Frank Capra advised young filmmakers, “Don’t follow trends. Start trends.”

- Kirk Honeycutt

Want to write a screenplay but don’t know how?

“You’d face better odds taking your dollars to the corner liquor store to buy lottery tickets than to follow the mechanical formulas advocated in these books,” he says with a smile.

Lacking any decent text to teach screenwriting at San Francisco State University, where he is an associate professor in the Cinema Department, he finally did the logical thing: He wrote his own.

Writing in Pictures: Screenwriting Made (Mostly) Painless is being published this month by Vintage Books. Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich calls it an “impressively readable, unpretentious, and remarkably useful handbook on how to, and how not to, write a screenplay.” At $15, it can also save you hundreds of dollars in course fees charged by the self-appointed screenwriting gurus.

“I’ve read many of the screenwriting manuals out there, and while every one of them has something to teach you, I didn’t find any book of this kind worth using as a textbook when I started teaching screenwriting in 2000,” McBride remarks. “Most of the books preach formulaic writing as a way to strike it rich.

“I thought I would write my own guide to the craft. Aside from not wanting to mislead students about how they will strike it rich … instead I wanted to give them straight talk about the realities of the business, I wanted to focus on the step-by-step craft of writing a script, to take the reader by the hand and show him or her each step of how to put together a screenplay, from conception to outlines to treatment to screenplay. I walk the reader through all these steps while showing them how I adapt a classic short story, Jack London’s To Build a Fire, into a short screenplay.”

The strategy behind using an existing short story is an intriguing one.

“At first I let my beginning screenwriting students try original stories. But the stories generally were bad and often were not very original,” he says. “I must have read twenty scripts about three roommates at San Francisco State University, two of whom suspect the third is a serial killer. I began to wonder where they got that plot.

“So I thought, ‘What would Jean Renoir do?’ I remembered that he once suggested that the way to cure the problems of the movie business was to have every director in Hollywood or Paris make the same story (a Western) for a year. Each film, he said, would turn out very differently, because they would reflect the personalities of their authors.

“So I thought, I will follow Renoir and give the students a choice of two short stories to adapt as an exercise, Ernest Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River or Flannery O’Connor’s A Late Encounter with the Enemy. We study these stories together and discuss in detail how to adapt them.

“I promise my students at the start of each semester that if they do the assignments and show up (Woody Allen says, ‘Eighty percent of life is showing up’), they will be professional-quality screenwriters by the end of the semester. They are surprised to find that this is actually true.

They may take a while (as I did) to start selling scripts, but their scripts will be of professional quality. And I urge them to immediately write a script they can make on their own as a no-budget calling-card picture.

“So when I wrote Writing in Pictures, I followed that method with To Build a Fire. I make the same promise to the reader, that if she follows the assignments in the book by adapting a story of her choice, she (or he) will be a professional-quality screenplay in a few short weeks. It seems hard to believe, but it will happen.”

Tomorrow, Part II we continue our discussion with screenwriter Joseph McBride.

- Kirk Honeycutt

Well, there are a few companies and devices that can do so. An $80 device by Honestech, the VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe, connects your VCR to your computer, thus turning videotapes into DVDs. Ion Audio’s Quick Play Flash, which costs $70, converts vinyl records to digital files without connecting to a computer. You simply plug in a USB thumb drive to save your music.

The drawback here, however, is in time consumption. That is to say all conversions occur in real time. To convert that old Frank Sinatra LP, which runs roughly 80 minutes, takes, yes, 80 minutes. You must play the entire LP or cassette tape as you record the music. The same goes for video.

One alternative, if you dare to part with your precious heirlooms, is to ship them off so somebody else has the headache. ScanCafe of Burlingame, Calif., and DigMyPics of Gilbert, Ariz., accept almost any photograph or video format: snapshots, videotapes, slides, film negatives, even Super 8 film. Along with scanning those images, the companies will try to correct flaws by balancing colors, removing scratches and undoing red eye.

After they’ve scanned the images, you may look at your photos one by one online so that you can discard the ones you really don’t want. (That one of Aunt Mamie in the ill-advised bikini, for instance.) No charge for scanning the rejects — unless you reject more than 20%.

ScanCafe is significantly cheaper than DigMyPics since it outsources some of its labor to Bangalore, India. DigMyPics keeps things in the good old U.S.A. So if you’re patriotic, you will pay 10 cents more per image at 39 cents. Which can add up.

- Kirk Honeycutt

Action Log Pro

Use it in a studio or on location, this logging tool allows you to connect up to 25 recording devices at once. Simply with the touch of a button, the logging system is activated enabling you to keep a track of reel names and time codes for every scene recorded on the connected devices. It also allows you to make comments and select clip names that either are predefined or input manually. The clips can easily be converted into XML or ALE formats for quick and easy distribution, and HTML formatted logs can also be produced.

Other important features include:

• No cap on the number of projects
• You can connect up to 25 cameras simultaneously
• Cameras can be synchronized either using free running time-code or regular clock time
• Avid and Final Cut Pro formats supported

Cinemek Hitchcock

Cinema Hitchcock is an app designed for anybody connected with storyboarding. This pre-visualization composer enables you to visualize a story or a scene within the touch of a few buttons. The first mobile storyboard application, it paves the way for the user to take pictures via the iPhone or iPad and then add to them conventional markups such as pan, zoom, track, and dolly. Your own stand-ins can also be added on an ad-hoc basis. The duration for each storyboard can be preset and later can be played back to obtain the determined time needed for pacing and framing. Some other critical features include:

• Auto-save feature ensures that the storyboard feature always remains up to date
• Camera moves can be marked using the multi-touch interface
• Audio, dialogue, or audio clips can be added to each panel
• Scene description can be added to each panel for future reference
• Convert the completed storyboard into a PDF or HTML formats and email them to the appropriate channels

Movie Slate

Movie slate essentially is used as an iPad-or-iPhone-based shot notepad, clapper board, digital slate, and shot log during the film making process.  The main features include:

• Slate - Production information can be directly inputted onto the slate. You can also include the information like cameraman names, the history of the movie slate, or a director which can be directly loaded from contacts.  Supports custom as well as variable frame rates.
• Clapper – Multiple clapper designs are imbedded. Font, time code, and slate color are also customizable.  Motion sensors enable you to clap the scene just by shaking the device which is accompanied by real sounds and animations.
• Shot Log History – The logging system is easy to navigate. Multiple time code stamped notes are possible to take for a single shot. The GPS location of the shot is also saved automatically. Can export the data in CSV or HTML format for future references. Unlimited projects supported.

Other Apps to Think About

The diversity of the iPhone platform has also allowed for a variety of apps that, while not specifically designed for the entertainment industry, can be extremely helpful in a variety of situations.

IMDb – Need to see what actor played the part in that indie flick from last summer you really liked? Have a bet with one of the sound guys about the name of the dwarf from Willow?  IMDb’s mobile app makes it easy to find any film and television related facts you need.

Red Laser – Red Laser is an app that allows you to scan any product’s barcode and compare prices online. This can be especially helpful to anyone who needs to purchase props or any other production equipment, while stretching the budget as far as it will go.

Skype – Most people are familiar with the VoIP provider’s computer application, and the mobile app is largely the same.  It is excellent for making international calls on the cheap, and just chatting in general.

Pro Camera Guide – Great for individuals who are just starting in production, this app helps teach individuals the basics of movie making.

Angry Birds – OK, I’ll be honest; this game is not even close to useful when it comes to tackling production issue.  That said, its damn fun to play, and makes downtime go by a lot faster.

Making a production will always be stressful, but knowing how to use the appropriate software can make your job easier.