14 feb 2012

Old and young artists in Amsterdam



A good, sturdy tripod will let you get smooth pan or tilt movements, but for any other movements you could benefit from a home-made steadicam or another type of weight. I like to use the pendulum metaphor – if you think about what makes a pendulum continue to swing, it’s because from a physics perspective, adding weight to the bottom of an object stabilizes it and lowers its center of gravity.



The simplest way to do this with a camera is to fold up or retract the legs of your tripod and keep the camera mounted on it. This gives you a good amount of weight beneath it and will prevent it from wobbling around to as great a degree as it would otherwise. Using your grips we learned earlier, your support hand goes around the legs of the tripod instead of resting underneath the camera. I’ve written some other tips for things you can use to achieve smooth camera movement.



 

13 feb 2012

Dutch winter





Collage in Film


Definition: 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.

Applications: Historical and archival footage is often used in documentary films as a source of primary information, giving the viewer a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Director and cinematographer Ken Burns is famous for his use inclusion of archival footage in his films.

To collage different types of footage exposes the hand of the editor in the production process. This awareness of human intervention detracts from a film’s objectivity, and requires the viewer to consciously interpret the connotations of the deliberately arranged footage.




9 feb 2012

the Home Movie Factory



For this you need a few rules. Otherwise it brings anarchy or the law of the one with the loudest voice . And too many rules is another death knell for creativity.

The Home Movie Factory shows that everyone is creative. Since adults no longer tinker and signs as they did as a child, does not mean they have lost their creative abilities.

The exhibit traveled elsewhere, including the Pompidou Center in Paris, before landing in a former match factory in Aubervilliers, France. “It’s kind of perfect because there are exterior streets within the factory, so we can do interior, exterior, like a real mini-studio, a back-lot,” Mr. Gondry said.



7 feb 2012

Esnoga Amsterdam synagogue


On December 12, 1670, the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam acquired the site to build a synagogue. On August 2, 1675, the Esnoga was finished.

The inscription above the entrance is from Psalm 5:8: "In the abundance of Thy lovingkindness will I come into Thy house".
The building rests on wooden poles and the foundation vaults can be viewed by boat from the water underneath the synagogue. Around the main edifice a row of low buildings house the winter synagogue, offices and archives, homes of various officials, the rabbinate, a mortuary and famous Etz Hayim library.

During the 1955-1959 renovation, the former Etz Hayim seminary auditorium was redesigned as a winter synagogue with central heating and electric lighting.

The floor is covered with fine sand, in the old Dutch tradition, to absorb dust, moisture and dirt from shoes and to muffle the noise.