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Stills from The Avengers with cinematography by Seamus McGarvey

Right now, the memeisphere seems to be abuzz with folks talking about where we are at with the state of the actual stuff called “film” and how media industries have become a digital game overall.  Here is a discussion (“Film is Dead?  Long Live Movies”) between the two chief movie critics for the New York Times, A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis about what has been gained, what could be lost, and where things stand between practicality, economics, creativity, and other factors nestled between the pixels and emulsion of moving images.

In this interview, Irish cinematographer Seamus McGarvey talks about his work on the biggest hit of this moviegoing year, The Avengers.  He discusses shooting digitally, including significant use of greenscreen, and there are excellent perspectives on the use of 3D, particularly its limitations.  He has mentioned elsewhere that some shots in the movie were recorded with an iPhone 4.

Joss Whedon, Captain Avenger (Image credit: Zade Rosenthal)

Speaking of inventive use of the new landscapes of our fluxing world of moving images, here is where you can find some of the most recent mischief of the director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon (along with Ira Glass of This American Life and Mike Birbiglia, the star of Sleepwalk with Me).  As usual, great fun – and inspiration too – can be had when exploring Joss Whedon’s work as he messes around with genres and platforms and finds new ways to explore character, story, emotions, and creative expression in the rapidly evolving worlds of contemporary media (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Firefly to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – and its inventive DVD – to, of course, The Avengers).  And here is a revealing perspective from Samuel L. Jackson about his work with Whedon on The Avengers.  

One last note: yes, it’s the start of a new school year!  So, fellow teachers, here’s a promise: I will be back SOON with new support and ideas concerning Chapter 1 of Moving Images.