november 30, 2007

Town and Turia



After a catastrophic flood in 1957 which devastated the city of Valencia, the river was divided in two at the western city limits (Plan Sur de Valencia). The water has been diverted southwards along a new course that skirts the city, before meeting the Mediterranean. The old course of the river continues, dry, through the city centre, almost to the sea.
The old riverbed is now a verdant sunken park that allows cyclists and pedestrians to traverse much of the city without the use of roads. The park, called the 'Garden of the Turia' (Jardí del Túria/Jardín del Turia) boasts numerous ponds, paths, fountains, flowers, football pitches, cafés, artworks, climbing walls, an athletics track, a zen garden and more. The many bridges overhead carry traffic across the 

park.



 

The Best of Freiburg





One of the famous old German university towns, and archiepiscopal seat, Freiburg was incorporated in the early twelfth century and developed into a major commercial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical center of the upper Rhine region. The city is known for its medieval university and minster, as well as for its high standard of living and advanced environmental practices. The city is situated in the heart of a major wine-growing region and serves as the primary tourist entry point to the scenic beauty of the Black Forest. According to meteorological statistics, the city is the sunniest and warmest in Germany and holds the German temperature record of 40.2 °C (104.4 °F).



 

Around Trasimeno



The Cinema of Italy comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Since the development of the Italian film industry in the early 1900s, Italian filmmakers and performers have, at times, experienced both domestic and international success, and have influenced film movements throughout the world. As of 2014, Italian films have won 14 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the most of any country, as well as 12 Palmes d'Or, the second-most of any country.

november 29, 2007

Famous Sunny Madeira



Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator in 1419, and settled after 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
Today, it is a popular year-round resort, being visited every year by about one million tourists, noted for its Madeira wine, flowers, landscapes and embroidery artisans, as well as for its annual New Year celebrations that feature the largest fireworks show in the world, as officially recognised by the Guinness World Records, in 2006. The main harbour in Funchal is the leading Portuguese port in cruise liner dockings,[ being an important stopover for commercial and trans-Atlantic passenger cruises between Europe, the Caribbean and North Africa.

mountains of Madeira

Pikes Peak


Pikes Peak (originally Pike's Peak) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains within Pike National Forest, 10 mi (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America.

Originally called "El Capitán" by Spanish settlers, the mountain was renamed Pike's Peak after Zebulon Pike, Jr., an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. The Arapaho name is heey-otoyoo’ ("long mountain")

At 14,115 feet (4,302 m), it is one of Colorado's 54 fourteeners, mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) above mean sea level, and rises 8,400 feet (2,600 m) above the city of Colorado Springs. Pikes Peak is a designated National Historic Landmark.



november 28, 2007

Siena in Italy


 


Schrader used his new project, a 10-episode web series called Life on the Other Side inspired by Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, to discuss a new era in the filmmaking business. "If Fellini were alive today, he’d make La Dolce Vita as a web series, because maybe that’s a better way to make it than a three hour movie,” he said.

“We’re entering into a new era when so much of the old rules are changing. We don’t know how long a film is no more. We used to think a film was somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours. But now it’s somewhere between 3 minutes and 70 hours. You know, Mad Men is a movie. And we’re seeing the rise of new concepts. The film studios of the future are going be called Amazon and Google — and they are already called Netflix. This is where filmmaking and film-going is headed,” he stated.

Altenburg Castle




Rule of thirds A good guideline for composing your shots is the rule of thirds. This means that you should imagine your frame (the image your camera takes) divided into thirds, with actions and objects placed at the intersections of the vertical and horizontal thirds. This is far more interesting to the eye. Don’t place people you are fi lming in the middle of the frame simply because they are important. It’s far better to have the horizon either two-thirds from the top of the frame or two-thirds from the bottom. And if you are fi lming someone standing in front of a wider scene it’s good to have him or her standing slightly to the left or to the right of the frame. This permits the person to speak into the empty part of the frame—it gives them “nose-room.”

 




november 27, 2007

Panorama of Florence



In photography, panning refers to the rotation in a horizontal plane of a still camera or video camera. Panning a camera results in a motion similar to that of someone shaking their head from side to side or of an aircraft performing a yaw rotation. Or to that of an opening door if the door stays facing one way.

Filmmaking and professional video cameras pan by turning horizontally on a vertical axis, but the effect may be enhanced by adding other techniques, such as rails to move the whole camera platform. Slow panning is also combined with zooming in or out on a single subject, leaving the subject in the same portion of the frame, to emphasize or de-emphasize the subject respectively.

In still photography, the panning technique is used to suggest fast motion, and bring out the subject from other elements in the frame. In photographic pictures it is usually noted by a foreground subject in action appearing still (i.e. a runner frozen in mid-stride) while the background is streaked and/or skewed in the apparently opposite direction of the subject's travel, similar to speed lines, and is often used in sports photography, primarily of racing.




november 26, 2007

Walking into Valencia



The role of the filmmaker is changing, from one who records images through a lens to one who curates images from an existing database of footage. Does that sound like hyperbole? Consider these recent phenomena:
Russian Car Crash Videos. One of the stranger robotic camera phenomena, videos taken with cameras on Russian car dashboards have flooded YouTube. The cameras are apparently there for potential insurance cases, which suggests the institutional forces that will propel camera pervasiveness.
A New American Picture. Many artists use Google Street Images as source material,
Drone Videos. In combination with CCTV, drones are already equipped to record images that our eyes cannot.

 


 

The painting Dutchman




In 1888, Van Gogh decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. At The Yellow House, van Gogh hoped like-minded artists could create together. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. Van Gogh’s nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to ultimately leave Arles. Van Gogh pursued him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.


november 24, 2007

Perugia




The antique market of Perugia (Italy)Perugia today hosts two main universities, the Universiti degli Studi and the Foreigners University(Universiti per Stranieri), and are melting pots for students from all over Italy and the world. Stranieri serves as an Italian language and culture school for students from all over the world. The city also hosts the Umbra Institute, an American school for students studying abroad in Perugia. The Universiti dei Sapori(University of Tastes), Accademia delle belle arti (Art Academy), and Scuola di giornalismo radio televisivo (a radio-television journalism school owned by RAI) are located in the city as well.Stagecraft is the art of building, attaching, and rigging scenery as well as other technical aspects of performance including sound, costuming, makeup, and lighting.It comprises among the many other disciplines * Scenery, which includes set construction, scenic painting, theatrical properties, theater drapes and stage curtains, and special effects. * Theatrical properties, or props, which includes furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small which cannot be classified as scenery, electrics or wardrobe. Props handled by actors are known as handprops, and props which are kept in an actor's costume are known as personal props. * Costume design, or costume construction.* Makeup, or the application of makeup to accentuate an actor's features.Though there are existing companies where much can be rented, it often can be a wise thing to look around interesting (street)markets



november 22, 2007

San-Gimignano



Federico Fellini

“A person’s clothes make up part of his character. I draw the character with his costume. I suggest it to the stylists with my drawings; the drawings translate some of my emotional impressions. For me elegance happens when there is a correspondence between a person’s personality and how she dresses herself. Finally, don’t forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication. Dreams teach us that a language for everything exists — for every object, every color worn, every clothing detail. Hence, costumes provide an aesthetic objectification that helps to tell the character’s story.”





november 20, 2007

Quai and Caviar.


The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed in the Soviet Union and in the years following its dissolution, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognized. In the 21st century, Russian cinema has become popular internationally with hits such as House of Fools, Night Watch, and the popular Brother. Moscow International Film Festival is held in Moscow from 1935 and Nika Award is the main annual national film award in Russia.

The first films seen in the Russian Empire were brought in by the Lumière brothers, who exhibited films in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. That same month, Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia, recording the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin.

november 19, 2007

Monarch Colorado



The pass is located on the Continental Divide at the southern end of the Sawatch Range along the border between Gunnison and Chaffee counties, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the town of Salida. The pass carries U.S. Highway 50 over the Sawatch Range, providing a route between Tomichi Creek in the upper basin of the Gunnison River on the west and the South Arkansas River, a tributary of the Arkansas River, on the east. The pass can be traversed by all vehicles under most conditions and is generally open year-round; however, 7% grades exist, and the area is prone to heavy winter snowfall, often resulting in temporary closures during severe winter storms. Ramps for runaway trucks are located about halfway down both the eastern and western sides of the pass.



november 15, 2007

Varmland




A warm welcome to Värmland generously provides a never-ending supply of experiences where you will encounter a kingdom of adventure in the deep forests, over thousands of lakes, along rivers and out on the wide waters of Lake Vänern. A safari straight out into the wilderness searching for game will awaken the nature lover in you and provide a much needed break from everyday life. Led by our dearly beloved Selma Lagerlöf, this is a place with strong traditions and a rich cultural life. Spoil yourself with fantastic food prepared from the riches of Värmland’s forests and waters. If you are after something more lively, then you can indulge yourself in motor sports and during the summertime, a host of festivals and events. Värmland is a place to which you will always long to return!

Valencia, the beach


 

Valencia  is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 809,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Valencia is also Spain's third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million. The city has global city status. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the largest on the Mediterranean Sea.

Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC. The city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula,




november 13, 2007

Tour d'Amsterdam


About Film in the Netherlands: EYE.nl
This website sketches a picture of the developments in Dutch film history beginning with the first film exhibited in the Netherlands (on 12 March 1896) up until today. There are also many films and photographs from the EYE collection available online.
At present, the website covers the introduction of film in the Netherlands and the first decennia thereafter. Soon the site will be expanded with much more material, including the history of the feature film, experimental film, animated film and films from the Dutch East Indies. Altogether, these will provide an extensive image of Dutch film and cinema culture.
The Film in the Netherlands website currently features information about close to 2,300 early films. Many of these films have been lost; it is estimated that approximately 500 films have been preserved and more than 270 of these can be viewed on the website. In addition to this, there are fragments from nearly 50 other films that can be watched through the website.

november 05, 2007

Winterpalace Hermitage 2



The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items (the numismatic collection accounts for about one third of them) including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors.




november 04, 2007

B&B: Crecy golf club



A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits" but what is more appropriate than 10 minutes.The term featurette originally applied to a film longer than a short subject, but shorter than a standard feature film.

november 02, 2007

Tasting Madeira




Madeira is a fortified wine, produced in the Madeira Islands; varieties may be sweet or dry. It has a history dating back to the Age of Exploration when Madeira was a standard port of call for ships heading to the New World or East Indies. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added. However, wine producers of Madeira discovered, when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip, that the flavour of the wine had been transformed by exposure to heat and movement. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Most countries limit the use of the term Madeira to those wines that come from the Madeira Islands, to which the European Union grants Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status.


november 01, 2007

Westphalia panorama



The present state of North Rhine-Westphalia was created by the British after World War II from the former Prussian province of Westphalia, the northern half of the former Prussian Rhine Province, and the former Free State of Lippe. North Rhine-Westphalia is subdivided into five government regions (Regierungsbezirke), so Westphalia today consists of the Regierungsbezirke of Münster, Detmold and Arnsberg. Inhabitants of the region call themselves Westphalians and call their home area Westphalia even though there is no governmental unit by that name.

Lisboa Belem


Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet or other controlling body. It can be done by governments and private organizations or by individuals who engage in self-censorship. It occurs in a variety of different contexts including speech, books, music, films, and other arts, the press, radio, television, and the

Internet for a variety of reasons including national security, to control obscenity, child pornography, and hate speech, to protect children, to promote or restrict political or religious views, and to prevent slander and libel. It may or may not be legal. Many countries provide strong protections against censorship by law, but none of these protections are absolute and it is frequently necessary to balance conflicting rights in order to determine what can and cannot be censored.

German corner: Koblenz


Modern video cameras have numerous designs and uses, not all of which resemble the early television cameras.
Professional video cameras, such as those used in television production and sometimes filmmaking in digital cinema; these may be television studio-based or mobile in the case of an electronic field production (EFP). Such cameras generally offer extremely fine-grained manual control for the camera operator, often to the exclusion of automated operation.
Camcorders, which combine a camera and a VCR or other recording device in one unit; these are mobile, and are widely used for television production, home movies, electronic news gathering (ENG) (including citizen journalism), and similar applications