PVC: Shure SM58 microphone celebrates its 50th anniversary.
How many I’ve wired up over the years. Huzzah!
NY Mag: Ballerinas Hate This Kendall Jenner Video for Vogue España
“Speaking from experience, ballet is much less about ‘running around’ and ‘just not caring’ and much more about broken toenails, blisters, and the grueling pursuit of perfection.” When you get to be 56, as I am, the great span of years between myself and being 20 makes itself manifest. So there is that filter. The other is, the whole concept of this video is ill-advised. The narrative is 16-year-old fluff, the visual acting 8-year-old mannerisms - not a 20-year-old ‘top model’ narrative. Or at least I hope not. It’s ... uncultured, even. I’d had four different jobs by 20, working to get through school, to make a living. Life gets real. Fast. Hers is unreal, and Vogue’s framed it in disrespectful ways. People should act their age, don’t you think? You don’t buy ballet slippers - you earn them. She’s been terribly ill-served by the director here.
DP Review: The Slingshot by Syrp wants to bring a new look to your time-lapses.
Vimeo: Cinesite Captain America: Civil War VFX Showreel.
So much work. And this is only a small fraction of the film.
Youtube: Eagles away! Dutch police unveil latest recruits against drones.
Hmmm. As I’ve mentioned before, drone operators (after many crashes) tend to upgrade the propellers to lighter, stronger carbon fiber. Those CF blades are sharper than a conventional steak knife. The eagles, unless they have stronger feet than I imagine, could end up severely injured.
edelkrone Wing.
Camera slides, without rails. Pricey, but if engineered well, worth every penny.
Youtube: Akademia Szermierzy - Fior di Battaglia (medieval longsword techniques).
A bit precious, but as you’ll see, accurate to the historical book.
Youtube: Hot Wheels Road Trip.
Some clever edits. You’ll see ‘em. Tunnels. Reminds me of why I got bored with Hot Wheels so fast. A couple of races, “been there, done that”. I’d head outside to go have real adventures.
Dazed: Everything you need to know about Werner Herzog.
YT: Massive Attack - The Spoils ft. Hope Sandoval.
Cate Blanchett, melting looks.
The Verge: Tronc threatens a nightmare hellscape of video in new warning to employees.
A little old, but holy crap.
Guardian.UK: Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon: ‘It puts a spell on people’.
When Lyndon was released, it seemed to never leave the theatres it occupied. I swear it felt like for half my youth, I’d walk up to the Hobby Shop past Lyndon movie posters at The Garden theatre in Princeton. A few years ago, I deigned to watch it, and was enchanted. It’s a must-see.
Little White Lies: Why do women make better film editors?
“Men tend to be a bit fragile when it comes to creativity and women have a tendency to be calm and steer things in the right direction.” A bit sexist, no? ‘Maternal guidance?’ Am I missing something here? Article sounds British. I believe both sexes bring different talents to the table - not based on tired stereotypes.
YT: Bon Jovi sings with Lourdes Valentin on a private wedding in Miami (4K).
He was a fluff-haired punk kid when I used to frequent Englishtown’s flea market. Now he looks like a dignified correspondent.
At 56, I feel old ...
Cinema 4D now has short-term licensing available.
Still one of the best packages that combines the ease of the old Strata StudioPro line, and the speed of rendering of Electric Image rendering packages. I used to do well with Form•z -> Cinema 4D.
Youtube: Selfie Shoes.
Truth-in-journalism request.
If a speaker’s using a teleprompter, it should appear in any videos taken. Likewise, kickback monitors (video screens at the foot of the stage, a la Steve Jobs fictional ‘ad libbing’) should be cut to occasionally, so viewers know the source of the rhetoric.
Anything else is fiction. Journalism isn’t supposed to be perpetrating fiction.
Guardian.UK: Lonelygirl15 - how one mysterious vlogger changed the internet.
“The thing is, Bree wasn’t real. Lonelygirl15 actually had a small team of writers. Bree and her best friend Daniel were played by actors.” This has occurred in so many of the internet’s niches. A popular blog goes viral. Turns out, the long posts, the artful photography, the well-produced videos ... are the results of an uncredited team of people. And, more often than not, wealthy sponsors pushing brands. Bottom line tends to be if it’s too good to be true, if it looks perfect ... it’s a ruse.
Fubiz: The Art of Titles in Movies.
Less compelling than one would expect.
YT: How to Fly the North American B-25 “Mitchell” Medium Bomber (1944).
Love old instructional videos. The accent’s even better.
Youtube: Why is Jesus white? - Muhammad Ali.
If you never got to experience him. RIP, Muhammad.
ProVideo Coalition: How I Learned Composition at 12 Years of Age by Art Adams.
From the greats! Rockford Files, Space: 1999, The Prisoner. Excellent.
Vimeo: Bullshit!, with philosopher Harry Frankfurt.
Mostly agree. I think we cannot do without a certain amount of bullshit in our lives; what of the enormously entertaining ‘tall tale’, for instance? How dull life would be, without having someone pull our leg from time to time.
Hyperallergic: Why Museums Are Granting Google Free Access to Their Collections.
Of note. I wonder if this won’t actually depress museum visitation; Americans already consider ‘authentic fakes’ acceptable. Digital reproductions are the next best thing ... they won’t have to lift a finger to actually experience art. I suppose I’m a Luddite (once again). There’s a numinous feeling in the great museums.
