december 04, 2010

Churches in St Petersburg



In filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a film frame or video frame is one of the many still images which compose the complete moving picture. The term is derived from the fact that, from the beginning of modern filmmaking toward the end of the 20th century, and in many places still up to the present, the single images have been recorded on a strip of photographic film that quickly increased in length, historically; each image on such a strip looks rather like a framed picture when examined individually.



The term may also be used more generally as a noun or verb to refer to the edges of the image as seen in a camera viewfinder or projected on a screen. Thus, the camera operator can be said to keep a car in frame by panning with it as it speeds past.


november 29, 2010

Nature teacher of art




Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of art"), is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo of the Netherlands. In addition to the zoo, Artis has a planetarium, a geological museum and a zoological museum.

The zoo was founded in 1838 by Gerard Westerman, J.W.H. Werlemann and J.J. Wijsmuller (also known as the three Ws). It is commonly referred to as Artis, because the zoo has three gates with Artis Natura Magistra written above them (as shown on the picture). Usually only the first gate was open, so people who walked through that gate, looked what was written above it and saw 'Artis', thinking that the zoo was just called Artis. Soon few knew it as Artis Natura Magistra.

 


november 28, 2010

Analysis of The Shining



The Shining is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining.

The initial European release of The Shining was 25 minutes shorter than the American version, achieved by removing most of the scenes taking place outside the environs of the hotel. Unlike Kubrick's previous works, which developed audiences gradually through word-of-mouth, The Shining was released as a mass-market film, initially opening in two cities on Memorial Day, then nationwide a month later. Although contemporary responses from critics were mixed, assessment became more favorable in following decades, and it is now widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made. American director Martin Scorsese ranked it one of the 11 scariest horror movies of all time. Critics, scholars, and crew members (such as Kubrick's producer Jan Harlan) have discussed the film's enormous influence on popular culture






november 26, 2010

A grand man: Tolstoy


Filminfo:

The Cinema of the Russian Empire roughly spans the period 1907 - 1920, during which time a strong infrastructure was created. From the over 2,700 art films created in Russia before 1920, around 300 remain to this day.

In April 1896, just four months after the first films were shown in Paris, the first cinematic apparatus appeared in Russia. The first films seen in the Russian Empire were via the Lumière brothers, in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. In the same month, the first film was shot in Russia, by Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf, a record of the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin in Moscow. The first permanent cinema was opened in St Petersburg in 1896 at Nevsky Prospect, No. 46.



Staying in St Petersburg



A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, an elaborate subculture that engage in repeated viewings, quoting dialogue, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term cult film itself was first used in the 1970s to describe the culture that surrounded underground films and midnight movies, though cult was in common use in film analysis for decades prior to that.



november 24, 2010

Apes in Artis





A Documentary film is a great way of exploiting cinemas potential for observing life. It is a visual expression that strives to document reality. It is also often regarded as a filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception. A good short documentary film in the form of a multimedia presentation can leave the most powerful impact on the viewers mind.

With time, documentary films have evolved from being short movies shot on film news, to include video and digital productions made for a television or video series. Some of the media and visual solutions companies produce quality driven creative media tools in the form of films and multimedia.



november 18, 2010

Jumbo's in Artis



Videographers are not just storytellers, they're also the keepers of our memories - which is an amazing responsibility. While a director producing a fictional piece can reshoot a scene again and again until it's captured perfectly, real life doesn't afford us the ability to go back and do it again.

For this reason, many videographers capture important events with multiple cameras - this not only ensures that if one camera misses some critical action, it will be caught by another, but it also makes for much more enjoyable viewing.
Multi-camera shooting can be done in several ways, some complex and expensive, some easy and (relatively) cheap.



november 12, 2010

Arrival of Sinterklaas




Sinterklaas traditionally arrives in the Netherlands each year in mid-November (usually on a Saturday) by steamboat from Spain. Some suggest that gifts associated with the holy man, such as mandarin oranges, led to the misconception that he must have been from Spain. He parades through the streets on his gray horse Amerigo, welcomed by cheering and singing children.[ This event is broadcast live on national television in the Netherlands and Belgium. His Zwarte Piet assistants throw candy and small, round, gingerbread-like cookies, either "kruidnoten" or "pepernoten," into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. Sinterklaas visits schools, hospitals and shopping centers. After this arrival, all towns with a dock usually celebrate their own "intocht van Sinterklaas" (arrival of Sinterklaas).

november 11, 2010

The sound of Artis



Filmtips:

Of course, camcorders and photo cameras are purpose built. The camcorder has features that the still camera hasnt and vice versa. For starters, DSLRs lacking a power zoom, LCD viewfinder and exposure aids like peaking and zebra you find with professional camcorders. Last but not least there are no adjustments to the resolution and frame rate, which is important when you have to match and mix your footage.



november 09, 2010

Court of the Marquis




A Flip-style camcorder comes in a MP3 player-like package with a digital zoom lens one on/off Record button, a basic audio microphone, and the ability to record to internal and/or external flash memory. The videos are usually downloaded using a built-in USB that plugs into your computer. From there, you can burn them to DVD or post them directly to YouTube. At around $200 or less, Flip-style camcorders are fine for fun shots, but not for serious videography.



november 05, 2010

Nice la belle



Film thoughts:
We get our ideas from what Im going to call for a moment our unconscious the part of our mind that goes on working, for example, when were asleep. So what Im saying is that if you get into the right mood, then your mode of thinking will become much more creative. But if youre racing around all day, ticking things off a list, looking at your watch, making phone calls and generally just keeping all the balls in the air, you are not going to have any creative ideas. ~ John Cleese






november 03, 2010

Filmcity Cannes




Filminfo:
The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals. The private festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France.

<">The festival has become an important showcase for European films. ; Cannes is extremely important for critical and commercial interests and for European attempts to sell films on the basis of their artistic quality



oktober 31, 2010

Green Amsterdam



Filmtips:
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called blue screen, green screen, chroma key, and other names.
Today, most, though not all compositing, is achieved through digital image manipulation. Pre-digital compositing techniques, however, go back as far as the trick films of Georges Méliès in the late 19th century; and some are still in use.







oktober 29, 2010

Magical Scotland tour



The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing.

The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate "production numbers".

The musical film was a natural development of the stage musical after the emergence of sound film technology. Typically, the biggest difference between film and stage musicals is the use of lavish background scenery and locations that would be impractical in a theater. Musical films characteristically contain elements reminiscent of theater; performers often treat their song and dance numbers as if there is a live audience watching. In a sense, the viewer becomes the diegetic audience, as the performer looks directly into the camera and performs to it.


oktober 28, 2010

Little Amsterdam




Filmtips:

The 3-Act Structure is the basis of all stories . There is a beginning, middle and end. There is an inciting incident, which kicks the story into gear and sets up the premise. This is followed by a main turning point at the end of Act One which sets our Hero on their path and usually sets up the antagonist. The mid-point is a mini-climax in which our hero might possibly fail. Then, its two steps forward, one step back on his or her journey. At the end of Act Two is the all is lost moment another vital turning point in which our hero must make the ultimate decision and either go for it, or not. Whatever the decision is for that character, it will lead to the climax the ultimate confrontation with the antagonist usually resulting in our hero winning Act Three, theres the denouement; the resolution and the aftermath of the climax in which we see the outcome of the climax and the story resolve itself.


oktober 26, 2010

Holland Hurray


A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by professional filmmakers as film school class projects or as demonstration reels. Fan films vary tremendously in length, from short faux-teaser trailers for non-existent motion pictures to rarer full-length motion pictures.
 



 

oktober 22, 2010

Haarlem Holland




In film, a storyboard artist is hired at the beginning of a project. When a storyboard artist is hired by a motion picture company, the artist must break down the scenes of the script into shots which can be filmed. This is done under the supervision of the film's director in order to insure the director's vision from the start of the project. Therefore, it can be helpful for the storyboard artist to know the mechanics of filmmaking when assisting the director. As the production proceeds, the storyboards are presented to the cinematographer who is then responsible for bringing that vision to the screen.




oktober 21, 2010

Les Chateaux de la Loire



The adventure film reached its peak of popularity in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, when films such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro were regularly made with major stars, notaboy Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, who were closely associated with the genre. At the same time, Saturday morning serials were often using many of the same thematic elements as high-budget adventure films. In the early days of adventure films, the protagonists were mainly male. These heroes were courageous, often fighting suppression and facing tyrant



oktober 19, 2010

the Harbour of Nice



A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering

Sound editing developed out of the need to fix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of early talkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with sound editors implementing the aesthetic goals of motion picture sound design.

The essential piece of equipment used in modern sound editing is the digital audio workstation, or DAW. A DAW allows sounds, stored as computer files on a host computer, to be placed in timed synchronization with a motion picture, mixed, manipulated, and documented.


oktober 18, 2010

Amsterdam light (district)



Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Daylighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants.



Indoor lighting is usually accomplished using light fixtures, and is a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscape projects.

Dreaming on Peace



Movie tips:
Movie scenes, especially action sequences, are influenced by the sound effects added in post. For example, in a fight scene the punches can be off by a foot or more but what really sells the illusion is the sound effect of a hard, fleshy hit.

Lots of research has gone into placing the right sound effect at the right time, but what if a completely different sound effect was applied? Would it change our perception of what we see on the screen? That is what scientists sought out to answer. What they found was that depth perception is influenced not only by visual phenomena such as shadows, binocular disparity, and object size, but also by sound. Good to know especially for those action scenes.




oktober 15, 2010

Game: Au pied des remparts



Conceptual photography as a part of conceptual art is a photography genre in which the artists makes a photograph of a concept or idea. Usually the conception of the idea precedes the realization of the photography. ; This kind of photography often involves use of computer editing, to achieve the desired effects, but a lot of artists are working without the computer, they "put in place" the things and the beings will be the subject of the final photograph, and the placement of those things and beings "build" the concept, the idea, and the final outcome



oktober 07, 2010

Streetsmarkets in Amsterdam




iMovie '09


iMovie '09 ; was released January 2009 as part of the iLife '09 package. It introduced some new features and restored some features from previous versions of iMovie, including basic video effects (such as fast/slow motion and aged film) and image stabilization as well as travel map functions for marking locations where a video was shot. iMovie '09 also introduced simple implementations of more advanced features such as picture-in-picture and greenscreening. It also improved editing (with a precision cut editor and a clip trimmer), some new titles and transitions, now has Full-Screen Library Browser via which you can find and examine all your video in one place.



september 30, 2010

Bodegraven in the middle of Holland



Indie films, also known as an independent filmmaker, is much more creative than Hollywood productions and short films. The majority of indie film-making projects to bring in social issues and documentary-style projects that are less fictional or at least reality-based fiction of a kind.

An independent film can be anything you want it, and you need an inventory of your personal creative goals to meet in order to succeed in the film production. Low-budget films need not be bad films. In fact, several of the best movies ever made be made with a small budget. 


 


september 28, 2010

Gebroken wit


 

Elly Nieman | Gebroken Wit



How nice a super 8mm film still can be.
Certainly in combinatie with the selfmade song and music


 

Dutch manege Amsterdam




Does a Combocam obviate the need for a video camera? Should commercial photographers adding video capability to their repertoire just use one of these, rather than also working with a Camcorder?


It's feasible, but I would advise against it. For all of the reasons listed above, a Combocam, as good as it can be, is limited in its features and capabilities, and therefore there will remain a great many things that they simply can't do, or at least can't do all that well.



september 26, 2010

Belgrade Serbia




In a common technique among makers of documentaries on subjects where principally still material is available, Burns often gives life to still photographs by slowly zooming in on subjects of interest and panning from one subject to another. For example, in a photograph of a baseball team, he might slowly pan across the faces of the players and come to rest on the player the narrator is discussing.


This effect, present in many professional and home software applications, was affectionately named "The Ken Burns Effect" in Apple ; iPhoto and iMovie


september 22, 2010

Portugal Lisboa



Collage film is traditionally defined as, “A film that juxtaposes fictional scenes with footage taken from disparate sources, such as newsreels.” Combining different types of footage can have various implications depending on the director’s approach. Collage film can also refer to the physical collaging of materials onto filmstrips.

The use of CGI, or computer-generated imagery, can be considered a form of collage, especially when animated graphics are layered over traditional film footage.


september 21, 2010

Exploring Amsterdam



Psychology of the Camera are the visual meanings of shots and angles. In other words, where you put the camera can either enhance or detract the audiences
understanding of what the scene is really about, and what the characters are feeling. There are three angles of view for the camera:

a. Objective: The audience point of view. (The camera is
placed outside the action.)

b. Subjective: The camera acts as the viewers eyes. (The
camera is placed inside the action.)

c. Point of View: What the character is seeing. (The camera is
the action.)

september 20, 2010

We are the Champions



Zero sum game implies winners and losers. If somebody wins, somebody gotta lose ... I don’t agree with that. Because all boats can rise on a rising sea. Good films help other good films. Different psychology. If you’re overly competitive, you say it is exclusionary, a zero sum game: I must win so he must lose. That’s not true. We can all win without forcing the other guy to lose.

— Oliver Stone



september 19, 2010

Butterflying



DSLR camera's,
Think probably the most popular reason why people buy these cameras is for video. In video production, one thing that has been absent, until recently, is a shallow depth of field. Now that we can finally play with this filmmaking tool, it seems everybody is clamoring for it. Tons of people are jumping on the DSLR bandwagon, and a bunch of other people are building and/or purchasing 35mm adapters for their HDV cameras.





september 14, 2010

Almhouses in Haarlem





In cinema, a making-of - also known as behind-the-scenes - is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program.
Feature length documentaries on the making of other films has become a film genre in its own right.
The making-of film may ultimately be more important than the film itself. Shorter making of documentaries are often used as a bonus on DVDs, as it offers more insight into the film, how it was made, and to credit the film crew. 
 

 

 

september 10, 2010

Oberammergau



Every once in a while, there are so many changes in current video technology that ; it is worth the time to imagine what the future with this technology will be.
We truly live in an advanced age in which camera companies are putting video functions in their DSLRs. With this revolution, camcorders suddenly went from sensor sizes of 5 mm or less, to sensor sizes of 24-35 mm or more not to mention the addition of interchangeable lenses. While this has been a real boon to image quality and shallow depth of field capabilities



september 08, 2010

Panorama Mesdag



Panorama Mesdag gives you a 360 degree vista of the sea, the dunes and the fishing village of Scheveningen as it was in 1881. Step back in time and experience a unique view of our cultural heritage – the oldest 19th century panorama in the world on its original site. This cylindrical painting, more than 14 meters high and 120 meters in circumference, was painted by one of the most important painters of the The Hague School, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, with help from his friends.

Welcome to Panorama Mesdag.


september 07, 2010

Vondelpark in Amsterdam



While you constantly hear about how downloading movies is illegal, there are numerous free legal movies you can download. ; Sure we arent talking about the latest summer blockbusters here, but there are some great films out there on the Internet that can be had for free.


The Internet Archive works to bring together anything and everything that resides in the public domain, and that includes movies.




september 02, 2010

Flowermarket in Nice



Videos in the public domain are no longer subject to copyright laws, and you may use them freely without permission and without fear of legal repercussions. You may remix public domain videos into new works. When a video creators copyright expires, that video automatically becomes part of the public domain. Also, anything produced by the U.S. government is automatically in the public domain. Sometimes videos become public when the original copyright holder fails to complete the necessary paperwork to renew the copyright.



augustus 30, 2010

The Moselle




The origin of the term "footage" is that early 35 mm Silent film has traditionally been measured in feet and frames; the fact that film was measured by length in cutting rooms, and that there are 16 frames (4-perf film format) in a foot of 35 mm film which roughly represented 1 second of silent film, made footage a natural unit of measure for film. The term then became used figuratively to describe moving image material of any kind.



augustus 18, 2010

Loekie Leeuw making of





Stop motion is an animation technique that physically manipulates an object so that it appears to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Stop motion animation using plasticine is called clay animation or "clay-mation". Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation.


 

augustus 17, 2010

Carcasonne



The 20th century is not the first to create images of life during medieval times. The Middle Ages ended over five centuries ago and each century has imagined, portrayed and depicted the Middle Ages through painting, architecture, poetry, music and novel. In the 20th century, film has defined Medieval history perhaps more so than any other medium. While the conclusions of academic research and findings of archeology have advanced knowledge of the Middle Ages, nothing has had more widespread influence on more people than the images created by film. Just as most people's perceptions of the American Wild West were drawn from cinema, versus source material or academic research, so too most peoples perceptions of the Middle Ages were influenced by the powerful narratives and images of film.



augustus 14, 2010

Frans Hals in Haarlem



Filmtips:
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black and white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black and white films, or to restore color films. Examples date from the early 20th century, but colorization has become common with the advent of digital image processing.

The first film colorization methods were employed before effective color film processes was developed: each projected copy was individually colorized. The process was done by hand, sometimes using a stencil cut from a second print of the film.

With computer technology, studios were able to add color to black and white films by digitally tinting single objects in each frame of the film until it was fully colorized





augustus 10, 2010

Famous shower scene



When originally made, the film was seen as a departure from Hitchcock's previous film North by Northwest, having been filmed on a low budget, with a television crew and in black and white. Psycho initially received mixed reviews, but outstanding box office returns prompted reconsideration which led to overwhelming critical acclaim and four Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Leigh and Best Director for Hitchcock. Psycho is now considered one of Hitchcock's best films and praised as a work of cinematic art by international film critics and film scholars. Ranked among the greatest films of all time, it set a new level of acceptability for violence, deviant behavior and sexuality in American films, and is widely considered to be the earliest example of the slasher film genre.



greetings from Bavaria




In film and video, footage is the raw, unedited material as it had been originally filmed by movie camera or recorded by a video camera which usually must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or similar completed work. More loosely, footage can also refer to all sequences used in film and video editing, such as special effects and archive material (for special cases of this, see stock footage and B roll). Since the term originates in film, footage is only used for recorded images, such as film stock, videotapes or digitized clips on live television, the signals from the cameras are called sources instead.


Holy place of North Spain






Covadonga is a name which designates a reality. This reality contains several meanings. Covadonga is in Asturias. Its physical dimensions are contained within the natural evolution of this land. Its historical and cultural dimension is integrated in the millenarian progress of this society. More than that, Covadonga is at the very origins of what has been and still is Asturias. From this seed Christian Spain grew and developed into a wall which stopped and defeated the Islamic invasion. Thus it was here that Europe was saved as a universe of rational enlightenment, liberty, humanism and transcendence. It is therefore well worth coming with open eyes to this place where nature and history, height and depth, strength and beauty, intimacy and universal projection all merge.


 


augustus 08, 2010

Corniche and coast tour




filmtips:

basic framing options


Its all a question of balance, really. If a person is looking directly at the camera, then its normal for him or her to be in the centre of the frame. If, however, the shot requires the subject to be looking out of frame right or left, then its necessary to modify their position in the frame. A centuries-old framing convention known as the thirds principle then comes into play.

The trick is to divide up the image with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines; unless your subject is to look straight into the lens and placed centre of frame youll find it more aesthetically pleasing to position your subject on one of the vertical lines.

This is particularly important where the subject lets say an interviewee or an actor is in conversation with somebody out of shot. Its important to position them in such a way as to have space between their eyes and the right (or left) of frame.



augustus 07, 2010

Alpes Maritimes




Filmtips:

In film editing, a dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. In film, this effect is created by controlled double exposure from frame to frame; transitioning from the end of one clip to the beginning of another.

The cut and the dissolve are used differently. A camera cut changes the perspective from which a scene is portrayed. It's as if the viewer suddenly and instantly moved to a different place, and could see the scene from another angle. Obvious hard cuts may startle the viewer. For that reason, a dissolve is often used in continuity editing to "soften up" jump cuts or similar problematic cuts.


Jour de fête de Jacques Tati

Jacques Tati (French: [tati]; born Jacques Tatischeff, October 1907 – 5 November 1982)[1] was a French filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. Throughout his long career, he worked as a comic actor, writer, and director. In a poll conducted by Entertainment Weekly of the Greatest Movie Directors, Tati was voted the 46th greatest of all time. With only six feature-length films to his credit as director, he directed fewer films than any other director on this list of 50.



augustus 06, 2010

Northern Light (Estonia)

 

A cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the chief over the camera and light crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image. The study and practice of this field is referred to as cinematography.


augustus 03, 2010

Aquarium




Filmtips:
Color correction by using color gels, or filters, is a process used in stage lighting, photography, television, cinematography ; and other disciplines, the intention of which is to alter the overall color of the light; typically the light color is measured on a scale known as color temperature, as well as along a greenmagenta axis orthogonal to the color temperature axis.


Without color correction gels, a scene may have a mix of various colors. Applying color correction gels in front of light sources can alter the color of the various light sources to match. Mixed lighting can produce an undesirable aesthetic when displayed on a television or in a theatre.

Conversely, gels may also be used to make a scene appear more natural by simulating the mix of color temperatures that occur naturally. This application is useful especially where motivated lighting (lending the impression that it is diegetic) is the goal. Color gels may also be used to tint lights for artistic effect.