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Archive for November, 2014

Invention of Sound in Movies

Posted in Chapter 3, Music & Sound Design, tagged , , , , , , on November 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Pioneer director Alice Guy directing a Chronophone sound film in France

Pioneer director Alice Guy directing a Chronophone sound film in France

Looking for further resources on the invention and development of sound recording?  Here is an excellent half-hour video by John P. Hess on that subject (covering such topics as optical sound and Vitaphone and pioneers like Lee DeForest) by filmmakeriq.com, which is an exceptional resource for film students and developing filmmakers.  For additional info on sound, here are earlier posts on Sound Design, Foley Effects, and the fine art of Dubbing.

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Media Business and Criminology

Posted in Chapter 5, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

NinjaVideoAs noted in earlier blog posts on mediateacher.net, one of the the most popular veins of cross-curricular planning is between business and media literacy studies.  The effect of economics on movies, television, gaming, and other media-related activities (even visual effects, such as in this visit with VFX supervisor Greg Butler) is discussed in Chapter 5 and other areas of Moving Images.  An important area to explore with students is that of legal use of media and understanding and respect for copyrights, intellectual property, and fair use standards.  This article from the New York Times – The Unrepentant Blogger – concerning both a specific case involving streaming pirated movies (“NinjaVideo”) and the pursuit of illegal activity by various American criminal investigation agencies can be an interesting starting point or reference for discussion.  Some might be surprised to learn that jail time has been seen by some bloggers and uploaders of pirated materials.

And meanwhile from another spot on the Business pages, to attract more young viewers some theaters find they need to move past even 3D to explore further dimensions in the moviegoing experience…

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Storyboarding Revisited

Posted in Chapter 1, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Storyboard example from "The Hanging Tree" by writer/director/artist Delmer Daves

Storyboard example from “The Hanging Tree” by writer/director/artist Delmer Daves

One of the primary preparatory methods available to mediamakers working through pre-visualization techniques is storyboards.  This concept is presented in the initial chapter of Moving Images and has been discussed numerous times in mediateacher.net blog posts (such as through the work of Alex Toth or Saul Bass).  For filmmakers and educators wishing to explore further a wide range of methods and historical uses of storyboards, the following post (with the caveat of “please be forewarned!” some of their examples are gruesome, such as from John Carpenter’s The Thing) from the exceptional site cinephilia & beyond is a superb resource.  The cases from such classics as Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, Ridley Scott’s Alien and Blade Runner, among others, are extremely informative.

And this year’s deluxe boxed-set blu-ray release of Jerry Lewis’s The Nutty Professor has provided one of the most unexpectedly thorough resources concerning storyboarding that has ever been released to the public.  In addition, for more information on the image at left and its creator Delmer Daves, check this post out on this inspiring American creator.

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