I am a Dutch amateurfilmer and homevideo-enthusiast, as well as producer, director, editor of "C'est le Toon". This video-blog is a communication-tool sharing news, documentaries, family videos, interviews, travelogues, visual arts and filmmaking. It also contains tips about and examples of how-to make interesting homevideos, travelogues, ipodsfilms vacationfilms and vodcasts etc. Search the site for worldwide video's and movies! Enjoy.
februari 04, 2020
Louvain in Belgium
februari 03, 2020
Lovely Teruel
With the advent of digital editing, film editors and their assistants have become responsible for many areas of filmmaking that used to be the responsibility of others. For instance, in past years, picture editors dealt only with just that—picture. Sound, music, and (more recently) visual effects editors dealt with the practicalities of other aspects of the editing process, usually under the direction of the picture editor and director. However, digital systems have increasingly put these responsibilities on the picture editor. It is common, especially on lower budget films, for the editor to sometimes cut in temporary music, mock up visual effects and add temporary sound effects or other sound replacements. These temporary elements are usually replaced with more refined final elements produced by the sound, music and visual effects teams hired to complete the picture.
februari 02, 2020
Ironfoundry
Projection mapping, similar to video mapping and spatial augmented reality, is a projection technique used to turn objects, often irregularly shaped, into a display surface for video projection. These objects may be complex industrial landscapes, such as buildings, small indoor objects or theatrical stages. By using specialized software, a two- or three-dimensional object is spatially mapped on the virtual program which mimics the real environment it is to be projected on. The software can interact with a projector to fit any desired image onto the surface of that object. This technique is used by artists and advertisers alike who can add extra dimensions, optical illusions, and notions of movement onto previously static objects. The video is commonly combined with, or triggered by, audio to create an audio-visual narrative.
februari 01, 2020
Riverside
A mashup (also mesh, mash up, mash-up, blend, bootleg is a creative work, usually in a form of a song, created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another. To the extent that such works are "transformative" of original content, in the United States they may find protection from copyright claims under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law.
januari 29, 2020
The first Multinational
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same fictional universe as an earlier work, usually chronologically following the events of that work.[
januari 28, 2020
Moving Amsterdam
An open content film is much like an independent film, but it is produced through open collaborations; its source material is available under a license which is permissive enough to allow other parties to create fan fiction or derivative works, than a traditional copyright. Like independent filmmaking, open source filmmaking takes place outside Hollywood, or other major studio systems
januari 27, 2020
The sea also rises
Poetry film is a subgenre of film that fuses the use of spoken word poetry, visual images, and sound to create a stronger presentation and interpretation of the meaning being conveyed. This fusion of image and spoken word (both independent and interdependent) creates what William Wees called the "Poetry-film" genre. He suggested that "a number of avant-garde film and video makers have created a synthesis of poetry and film that generates associations, connotations and metaphors neither the verbal nor the visual text would produce on its own".
januari 21, 2020
WITNESS 2019
Dutch Wadden Sea
The Dutch Wadden Sea, one of the most beautiful landscapes of Europe, and one of its ecologically most important nature reserves, a UNESCO World Heritage site in its entirety. Here life is at every level. Millions upon millions of migratory birds, with many populations depending on these feeding grounds for their survival. From a tiny hermit crab to the system itself, alive as it breaths, as it flows, floods and settles and forms – forms the most beautiful art of nature, only to redraw it all the very next day. Land is taken here, and land is formed. On those ridges that are dry long enough for the wind to catch the sand tiny dunes are formed – kept in place by marram grass, one of the bravest little plants of our planet, collecting fresh water from the rain and making a soil from nothing but sand. Furthest from the gullies clay is deposited in salt marshes, adding greens to a landscape of greys, browns, ochers, blues and white – and offering a shelter and spawning ground to many types of fish. In other words, the Wadden Sea is vibrant – it is wild, it is strong, and it is very much alive.
januari 16, 2020
Oscar for a projector
Film producer Michael Todd, the husband of film actress Elizabeth Taylor, asked Philips in 1954 to develop a film projector for his Todd-AO widescreen film. Jan Kotte, head constructor of the Philips Cinemagroep, went to work with his team and developed the DP70. This film projector was suitable for both the normal 35mm and the 70mm widescreen films. "The projector became legendary because of its ingenious construction, ease of operation and image quality," says curator Sergio Derks. "The projector remained in use for decades at cinemas around the world. Because of the great success, the DP70 quickly got the nickname 'Dollar Princess'. The Oscar was the crowning achievement at work. "
januari 15, 2020
Amal Photoalbum
Non-linear editing is a form of offline editing for audio, video, and image editing. In offline editing, the original content is not modified in the course of editing. In non-linear editing, edits are specified and modified by specialized software. A pointer-based playlist, effectively an edit decision list (EDL), for video or a directed acyclic graph for still images is used to keep track of edits. Each time the edited audio, video, or image is rendered, played back, or accessed, it is reconstructed from the original source and the specified editing steps. Although this process is more computationally intensive than directly modifying the original content, changing the edits themselves can be almost instantaneous, and it prevents further generation loss as the audio, video, or image is edited.
januari 14, 2020
Trollhattan Falls
Experimental filmmakers generally begin as amateurs, and some used experimental films as a springboard into commercial film making or transitioned into academic positions. The aim of experimental filmmaking is usually to render the personal vision of an artist, or to promote interest in new technology rather than to entertain or to generate revenue, as is the case with commercial films.
januari 13, 2020
Work in last century
Dubbing, mixing, or re-recording is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production in which additional or supplementary recordings are "mixed" with original production sound to create the finished soundtrack.
januari 09, 2020
Blue Whale Requiem
I had to watch this short film more than once before I could lift my jaw from the floor. Directed by Sil van der Woerd and Rutger Hauer (who also stars), Requiem 2019 takes the last remaining blue whale and takes it eye to eye with its nemesis – us. What can a single individual say to the last surviving member of a species which has been around for millions of years? Requiem 2019 is a melancholy demand that we take individual responsibility for preserving the largest animal to have ever lived.
Despite restrictions in hunting it still continues. In the Antarctic it is estimated that the population of blue whales is at one percent of its pre-hunting levels. What would become of human kind as a species if 99% of us were wiped of the face of the earth is, of course, conjecture: I sometimes wonder if we should even be classified as a species – virus seems a more appropriate term!
januari 07, 2020
IJ-river Amsterdam
Observational documentaries attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked in this subgenre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. The first observational docs date back to the 1960s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lightweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. Often, this mode of film eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and music, or re-enactments. The films aimed for immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations.
Alicante
A great movie is the one with the best quality sound. That is the sole intention of having this iMovie sound effects to differentiate between professional movies from amateurs. You will find out that the audio captured by cameras for movie is always of poor quality and you will require boosting that for your movie to look good. External microphones effect is used to accomplish that since without a good audio, very few people will appreciate your movie.
januari 06, 2020
Streetview middle ages
COMPOSITION
Composing your scenes carefully in the viewfinder enhances the quality of your movies. You're already far ahead of the game if you can keep the background uncluttered, concentrate the camera on one center of interest at a time, and keep the horizon straight.
An uncluttered background helps focus attention on the subject. By filming from a low angle and using the sky as a background, or by shooting from a high angle toward the ground or water, you keep a lot of distracting elements out of your backgrounds. This is especially effective with close-ups of people.
januari 05, 2020
Drive in avant la letrre
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches.
The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white, or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish. Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, which were attached by wire. These systems were superseded by the more economical and easier to maintain method of broadcasting the soundtrack at a low output power on AM or FM radio to be picked up by a car radio. This also allows the soundtrack to be picked up in stereo by the audience on an in-car stereo system which is typically higher quality and fidelity than the simple speakers used in the old systems.
januari 04, 2020
Japanese gardens
In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. By keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character. Moving the camera over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round.
The 180-degree rule enables the audience to visually connect with unseen movement happening around and behind the immediate subject and is particularly important in the narration of battle scenes.
januari 03, 2020
VOC an early Dutch company
Film is considered to have its own language. An example of the language is a sequence of back and forth images of one speaking actor's left profile, followed by another speaking actor's right profile, then a repetition of this, which is a language understood by the audience to indicate a conversation. This describes another theory of film, the 180-degree rule, as a visual story-telling device with an ability to place a viewer in a context of being psychologically present through the use of visual composition and editing. Another example of cinematic language is having a shot that zooms in on the forehead of an actor with an expression of silent reflection that cuts to a shot of a younger actor who vaguely resembles the first actor, indicating that the first person is remembering a past self, an edit of compositions that causes a time transition.
januari 02, 2020
Kyoto in Japan
Bad sound: Any seasoned filmmaker will tell you that having good sound is more important than having good images. So, if you're in the market for a new, fancy camera, you might want to consider funneling some of that investment into audio instead.
Not enough sound effects: This is a classic mistake. Sound effects help convince your audience that what they're seeing is real (not a staged exercise in filmmaking) and add depth to what should be the lush soundscape of your project. Add rich, appropriate, and high-quality sound effects to your film.
december 25, 2019
Beautiful Varna
december 23, 2019
Merry Christmas
In photography and cinematography, available light or ambient light refers to any source of light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer for the purpose of taking photos. The term usually refers to sources of light that are already available naturally (e.g. the sun, moon, lightning) or artificial light already being used (e.g. to light a room). It generally excludes flashes, although arguably flash lighting provided by other photographers shooting simultaneously in the same space could be considered available light. Light sources that affect the scene and are included in the actual frame are called practical light sources, or simply practicals.
december 17, 2019
City wall of water
When using the sky as a background, make sure the subject is frontlighted or sidelighted if you're using a camera with automatic exposure control. Don't use the sky as a background on overcast days because it will turn out dull and gray in your movies. Before you start filming, if necessary, try shifting your camera position or the subject to get a better background. Although it's possible to eliminate a lot of unwanted background distractions, you can't do so every time - your camera must follow the action even if it sometimes moves into an area where the background is a bit cluttered.
december 16, 2019
Dutch Edammer Cheese
A camera stabilizer, or camera–stabilizing mount, is a device designed to hold a camera in a manner that prevents or compensates for unwanted camera movement, such as "camera shake".
For small hand-held cameras, a harness or contoured frame steadies the camera against the photographer's body. In some models, the camera mount is on an arm that protrudes in front of the photographer; beneath the camera is a handle grip. Another variation positions the camera atop a fulcrum braced against the photographer's chest or abdomen.
december 11, 2019
Saarland images
The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source. For example, 2001's Ocean's Eleven is a remake of Ocean's 11, while 1989's Batman is a re-interpretation of the comic book source material which also inspired 1966's Batman. In 1998, Gus Van Sant produced an almost shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.
december 10, 2019
Dusseldorf: the city
In photography and cinematography, available light or ambient light refers to any source of light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer for the purpose of taking photos. The term usually refers to sources of light that are already available naturally (e.g. the sun, moon, lightning) or artificial light already being used (e.g. to light a room). It generally excludes flashes, although arguably flash lighting provided by other photographers shooting simultaneously in the same space could be considered available light. Light sources that affect the scene and are included in the actual frame are called practical light sources, or simply practicals.
december 09, 2019
Dutch Whaling
Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the design aspect of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. It is also commonly used to refer to single scenes within the film to represent the film. Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term".
december 06, 2019
Korea Harbour
Time-lapse photography is a technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much more spread out than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. For example, an image of a scene may be captured at 1 frame per second, but then played back at 30 frames per second; the result is an apparent 30 times speed increase. In a similar manner, film can also be played at a much lower rate than at which it was captured, slowing down an otherwise fast action, as in slow motion or high-speed photography.
Volendam: 1950
An open content film is much like an independent film, but it is produced through open collaborations; its source material is available under a license which is permissive enough to allow other parties to create fan fiction or derivative works, than a traditional copyright. Like independent filmmaking, open source filmmaking takes place outside Hollywood, or other major studio systems.
december 05, 2019
Klosters: Switserland
In filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a 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.
december 03, 2019
Dutch military at that time
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war films often end with them. Themes explored include combat, survival and escape, camaraderie between soldiers, sacrifice, the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and the moral and human issues raised by war. War films are often categorized by their milieu, such as the Korean War; the most popular subject is the Second World War. The stories told may be fiction, historical drama, or biographical. Critics have noted similarities between the Western and the war film.
Tulle
It's one of cinema's greatest ironies that editing can make or break a film, but few moviegoers understand what an editor actually does. Editing involves taking shots and assembling them in the right order, yes, but what makes an order — all the transitions from moment to moment and scene to scene — "right"? Even if we can't explain good editing, we know bad editing when we see it, and even more so when when we feel it. The hard-to-pin-down sensation of a movie being "off" or "wrong" often comes out of incompetent editing, and by breaking down the bad editing in a variety of recent pictures, these three videos throw into contrast what it takes for editing to be good.
december 02, 2019
Whale oil
An uncluttered background helps focus attention on the subject. By filming from a low angle and using the sky as a background, or by shooting from a high angle toward the ground or water, you keep a lot of distracting elements out of your backgrounds. This is especially effective with close-ups of people.
When using the sky as a background, make sure the subject is frontlighted or sidelighted if you're using a camera with automatic exposure control. Don't use the sky as a background on overcast days because it will turn out dull and gray in your movies. Before you start filming, if necessary, try shifting your camera position or the subject to get a better background. Although it's possible to eliminate a lot of unwanted background distractions, you can't do so every time - your camera must follow the action even if it sometimes moves into an area where the background is a bit cluttered.
december 01, 2019
Beemster: beautiful polder
Docufiction (or docu-fiction), often confused with docudrama, is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in narrative in order to strengthen the representation of reality using some kind of artistic expression.
More precisely, it is a documentary mixed with fictional elements, in real time, filmed when the events take place, and in which the main character or characters—often portrayed by non-professional or amateur actors—are essentially playing themselves, or slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, in a fictionalized scenario. In this sense, docufiction may overlap to an extent with some aspects of the mockumentary format, but the terms are not synonymous.
Swiss Chalet
Key Frame: In some forms of digital compression, uncompressed frames (key frames) are placed at regular intervals (eg. every 6th frame is uncompressed). Each subsequent frame exists as variations on the keyframe, until a new keyframe is introduced. The further apart the keyframes, the worse the overall picture quality.
november 28, 2019
Image on Phone
At the dawn of its commercial deployment from the 1950s through the 1990s, videotelephony also included "image phones" which would exchange still images between units every few seconds over conventional POTS-type telephone lines, essentially the same as slow scan TV systems. The development of advanced video codecs, more powerful CPUs, and high-bandwidth Internet telecommunication services in the late 1990s allowed videophones to provide high quality low-cost colour service between users almost anyplace in the world that the Internet is available.
november 21, 2019
The power of silent movie
The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the intertitle cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the video did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience. The term is also frequently used to describe sound-era films that have a recorded music-only soundtrack without dialogue, such as City Lights and The Artist.
november 18, 2019
Wet feet
november 14, 2019
A'dam Museum
Visual artists are no longer limited to traditional art media. Computers have been used as an ever more common tool in the visual arts since the 1960s. Uses include the capturing or creating of images and forms, the editing of those images and forms (including exploring multiple compositions) and the final rendering or printing (including 3D printing).
Computer art is any in which computers played a role in production or display. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditional disciplines are now integrating digital technologies and, as a result, the lines between traditional works of art and new media works created using computers have been blurred. For instance, an artist may combine traditional painting with algorithmic art and other digital techniques. As a result, defining computer art by its end product can be difficult. Nevertheless, this type of art is beginning to appear in art museum exhibits, though it has yet to prove its legitimacy as a form unto itself and this technology is widely seen in contemporary art more as a tool rather than a form as with painting.
Computer usage has blurred the distinctions between illustrators, photographers, photo editors, 3-D modelers, and handicraft artists. Sophisticated rendering and editing software has led to multi-skilled image developers. Photographers may become digital artists. Illustrators may become animators. Handicraft may be computer-aided or use computer-generated imagery as a template. Computer clip art usage has also made the clear distinction between visual arts and page layout less obvious due to the easy access and editing of clip art in the process of paginating a document, especially to the unskilled observer.
november 12, 2019
Bavarian Nature
Montage is the technique by which separate pieces of film are selected, edited, and then pieced together to make a new section of film. A scene could show a man going into battle, with flashbacks to his youth and to his home-life and with added special effects, placed into the film after filming is complete. As these were all filmed separately, and perhaps with different actors, the final version is called a montage. Directors developed a theory of montage, beginning with Eisenstein and the complex juxtaposition of images in his film Battleship Potemkin. Incorporation of musical and visual counterpoint, and scene development through mise en scene, editing, and effects has led to more complex techniques comparable to those used in opera and ballet.
Filming down under
Docufiction (or docu-fiction), often confused with docudrama, is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in narrative in order to strengthen the representation of reality using some kind of artistic expression.
More precisely, it is a documentary mixed with fictional elements, in real time, filmed when the events take place, and in which the main character or characters—often portrayed by non-professional or amateur actors—are essentially playing themselves, or slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, in a fictionalized scenario. In this sense, docufiction may overlap to an extent with some aspects of the mockumentary format, but the terms are not synonymous.
november 11, 2019
Zaandam Golden Age
Crossing the Line (Reverse Cut)
Crossing the line is a very important concept in video and film production. It refers to an imaginary line which cuts through the middle of the scene, from side to side with respect to the camera. Crossing the line changes the viewer's perspective in such as way that it causes disorientation and confusion. For this reason, crossing the line is something to be avoided.
november 09, 2019
East India Company
Maritime art, especially marine painting - as a particular genre separate from landscape – really began with Dutch Golden Age painting in the 17th century. Marine painting was a major genre within Dutch Golden Age painting, reflecting the importance of overseas trade and naval power to the Dutch Republic, and saw the first career marine artists, who painted little else. In this, as in much else, specialist and traditional marine painting has largely continued Dutch conventions to the present day. With Romantic art, the sea and the coast was reclaimed from the specialists by many landscape painters, and works including no vessels became common for the first time.
november 07, 2019
City of Malaga
In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. By keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character. Moving the camera over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round.
The 180-degree rule enables the audience to visually connect with unseen movement happening around and behind the immediate subject and is particularly important in the narration of battle scenes.
november 06, 2019
Burger weeshuis Amsterdam
In combination with other aspects, theatrical costumes can help actors portray characters' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality, and even information about the historical period/era, geographic location and time of day, as well as the season or weather of the theatrical performance. Often, stylized theatrical costumes can exaggerate some aspect of a character; for example Harlequin and Pantaloon in the traditional commedia dell'arte.
Usually, in costume, historical accuracy is combined with a certain vision. The character that the costumer is dressing is also an important aspect, and a lot of the time the attitudes of the character is not exactly in line with the time period. For example, they may be more bright and colorful, or they may be more dull. A movie or stage production which emphasize the use of correct clothes and settings for a specific time period is called a costume drama.
Industrial Heritage Zaanregion
The Zaanstreek/Zaan area is possibly the oldest industrial area in the world. It flourished in the 17th century, when there where about a 1,000 wind mills processing food products and wood. That pre-steam development was made possible by technological improvements of the windmills (like the patenting of crankshaft applications in 1592) and the need for the produce of the mills for neighbouring Amsterdam.
Large quantities of wood and rope where needed for the big wooden merchant ships that were built in de Zaanstreek to provide the Amsterdam merchants (early capitalists) with the means to plunder the Dutch colonies (Indonesia, the Caribbean). Also paper industry flourished, and it is believed that the Declaration of Indepence (USA) is written on paper from the Zaan area. Also, many food products that were imported, where processed with the windmills in the Zaanstreek, like cocoa, rice and wheat. Chocolat, bread, cooking rice, roasted coffee, vegetable oil, pastry, animal food, etc. where produced in large quantities, providing for much of the Dutch population.
november 05, 2019
Broekerveiling floating auction
A Dutch auction is one of several similar kinds of auctions. Most commonly, it means an auction in which the auctioneer begins with a high asking price, and lowers it until some participant accepts the price, or it reaches a predetermined reserve price. This has also been called a clock auction or open-outcry descending-price auction. This type of auction is good for auctioning goods quickly, since a sale never requires more than one bid. Strategically, it's similar to a first-price sealed-bid auction.