High Speed Bullet Photography
Penguin July 24th, 2009
Digital Picture Zone has 30 colorful shots of high speed bullet photography. Photos by alan_sailer
Via: BrianJKim
-Penguin
Related postsArchive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Paraphernalia tees and contest
Ninja December 3rd, 2008
The charming Ms. Vanda is expanding her Paraphernalia empire. Not only does she make some of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry, she’s adding tees to her resume, too.
+ Women’s Botanica Cinq Shirt, $22
+ Women’s Occulta Dorian Shirt, $22
+ Men’s Occulta Fire Rain Shirt, $25
As if that wasn’t enough, Ms. Vanda is also launching her very first Paraphernalia competition!
All you have to do is write a short story about one of the ladies from her new Victoriana Collection. If your story is selected, you’ll receive a $30 gift voucher to her store. Entries are due this Saturday, December 6.
To enter, leave a comment on her Flickr page or send an e-mail to bonmots@paraphernalia.nu.
Cheers & bonne chance,
Ninja
Rules for Editing
Penguin September 10th, 2008
FreshDV has a great article on Edward Dmytryk, an American film editor, who wrote On Film Editing
- Never make a cut without a positive reason.
- When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.
- Whenever possible, cut in movement.
- The fresh is preferable to the stale.
- Substance first—then form.
- Cut for proper values rather than for proper matches.
- All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.
“The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.”
“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.”
“Creating a ‘diversion’ of sorts … is also the principle at work in the action cut.”
“In art, the obvious is a sin.”
“Technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.”
“The film’s dramatic requirements should always take precedence over the mere aesthetics of editing.”
“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.”
I think the best rule is this following guideline:
The best film actors act from there eyes. Use the eyes to guide your cuts. Cutting dialogue sequences is much more difficult because it’s not just cutting words: You’re cutting the emotion. You are cutting lives connecting. Attitudes, moments, emotions. And the actors have to look good; they have to be cherished and they have to be honored.
-Carol Littleton
The important thing about editing is the story. And stories are carried by characters and characters are built by emotions.
+ Buy On Film Editing
-Penguin
Related postsMovies Have to be Believable
Penguin June 25th, 2008
Everything in movies is fake. That’s understandable considering the nature of the medium. But in order for a story to work, it needs to be believable. That’s where knowledge comes into play. This is especially true when you look at your premise.
Take Iron Man for example. The key to powered armor is energy. The solve this problem early on with the mini arc generator. They don’t even bother explaining how the arc generator works because if they did, all the engineers would be able to poke holes in it. Just by telling us, and then showing us that it generates massive amounts of energy is enough. We buy it.
Then you look at something like Untraceable. The premise is a killer who can’t be traced through the internet. Even basic understanding of how the internet works would show that it could never happen.
But “reality” is different in every movie. Something that could work in Star Wars may not work in Apollo 13 because they have different rules because they exist in different universes. Certain things like physics, math, etc, are still true because we accept them as universal. But there are aspects that we believe because we understand that Star Wars is a fantasy.
The moment your audience says, “No way!” with disdain, you’ve lost them. Any credibility you’ve built is out the window and they’ve written off the entire film. This is especially true with your premise. If no one will believe your premise, you’re fighting them the whole way.
So do your research. Make sure you stuff makes sense so your audience will believe the lie.
-Penguin
Related postsFirst Kiss Loves Ireland
Penguin May 3rd, 2008
Went to the USPS to drop off First Kiss this morning and I’m glad to say that it’s on its way to a new home in Ireland. 
After a few hiccups yesterday about 24 inch tubes, everything went smoothly.
Thanks, Thomas and enjoy the print!
-Penguin
Related postsJohnny Lee: Wii Remote Hacks
Penguin April 13th, 2008
If you haven’t seen Johnny Lee’s hacks to the Wii remote, this is a great summary of what he’s accomplished. Johnny Lee is a PhD grad student at Carnegie Mellon University. He’s also the one who came up with the poorman’s steady cam. He’s around 30 and he’s already presented at TED. How cool is that?
-Penguin
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