I enjoy film. I appreciate special effects. I enjoy compiled stuff like this.
It made me think. CG looks great and realistic, but the mystery of “How did they do that?” is kind of gone. Remember the first time you saw this or this? You craved to know how it was done. It was clever when George Lucas had to adapt his special effects around his budgets. Now all you get is the simple answer, “It’s CG.” The new Star Wars kind of sucked for that reason.
Perhaps I am being too nostalgic?
Anyway, it’s also worth checking out the ‘related to’ videos from the above as well if you teach film.
If you thought Tom Cruise’s character in “The Last Samurai” represented a real figure from history, you were wrong. But don’t feel ashamed. A new study shows that even students, with facts staring them in the face, tend to substitute Hollywood fiction for historical fact in their minds.
Civilization, a video mural created for the new Standard hotel in New York City, depicts a journey from hell to heaven interpreted through modern film language using computer-enhanced found footage. This epic video mural contains over 300 individual channels of looped video blended into a multi-layered seamless tableau of interconnecting images that illustrate a contemporary, satirical take on the concepts of Heaven and Hell.
Following on the heels of my previous post on using video in the classroom, I thought now would be a good time to post this. I am getting married this summer and since I am an art/ICT teacher, I am very picky with photographers and videographers. Prices are expensive and I want exactly what I want. I would prefer raw footage and simply edit it all myself.
A co-worker passed this video gem onto me (thanks Luke). Perhaps? Perhaps not. I will hang onto this clip though as an example to use with future classes when doing video. There’s so much here to discuss – transitions, music, delivery etc. At least they used a green screen. But I am not so sure about the inclusion of Ogopogo at the end. However, the more I watch it, the more I am intrigued and drawn in. It is so bad, that it is good. Sharon, bless you.
(To be honest, I am tempted to use them for a ’secondary’ video.) They have become rather popular as a slight Internet phenomenon. I wonder if the prices and demand for their services have gone up? Their YouTube channel is here and it is also worth checking out.
Remember reading this? Spike Jonze has made the film adaptation and it is slated for an October 2009 release. Watch the trailer below (which also features music from Arcade Fire)
RiP: A remix manifesto is a documentary film about copyright and remix culture. You can contribute to the film, and follow the conversation on social networks.
I have grade 4s researching how mass media can affect their decisions. They are looking at a few techniques and mediums. As part of their formative assessment, they are creating commercials to sell products from our school store. They are using iMovie and came up with some pretty good ideas for only two days of work. They scripted, story-boarded and filmed. I wish I stressed more camera work with them though. Several did vary their angles and perspectives, but a few were also static.
I could have let them play with xtranormal first. This may have been a good experience for them. I decided to create the above intro video for the next group I will have to emphasize this point. xtranormal is kind of fun but the hurdle I had was shortening my script. I was over the allowed space and had to make several adjustments to shorten it. Below is a screen shot outlining the process. You simply type in your script and then drag the action icons into it. Give it a try. It’s free but requires email registration. Other film info, resources and lesson ideas can be found on my wiki here.
(I will be on holiday for a week so I’ll also give your RSS feed a rest. Most likely no posts next week.)
UPDATE: I imported the video into Screenflow to add some titles and have placed it on YouTube here.
Here’s a right-brained way to explain the current credit crisis. It’s well designed, presented and informative. From the site:
The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. For more on my broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of a increasingly complex world, visit my website here. or email me at: jonathan.jarvis@gmail.com
The NFB.ca launches today and has hundreds af animated films and documentaries available for free. “The Sweater” by Sheldon Cohen was an old childhood favourite of mine.
In this animated short, Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice “Rocket” Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, he was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton’s. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team. This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.
If you have seen the excellent documentary “Helvetica,” you may also enjoy this one. This is short documentary about the font Comic Sans.Or click here to watch. Personally, I am not a Comic Sans fan.
From Adobe: Click the above photo (or here) to view a demo that,
“…illustrates our research to bring interactivity to video editing: Our system analyzes videos using computer vision techniques, enabling interactive annotation, browsing, and even drag-and-drop composition of new still images using video footage.
This is a joint research project of Adobe and the University of Washington.”
