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Archive for March, 2016

Digital Cinematography Resources

Posted in Chapter 4, Resources, tagged , , , , , , on March 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

DP Ed Lachman with Cate Blanchette and Rooney Mara

Ed Lachman with Cate Blanchette and Rooney Mara

In earlier posts, mediateacher has highlighted resources for screenwriting, editing, sound, and much more, and of course there have been discussions of cinematography, such as upon the release of the documentary Side by Side.  Here are some excellent cinematography resources: this 20-minute film and accompanying tutorial by John Hess of filmmakeriq.com about color and digital cinematography; the “Through the Lens Film School” blog by Chris Weaver that offers pretty easy-to-follow lighting tutorials and general tips; and, finally, an interesting “food for thought” page from Deadline magazine prompted by statements by DPs Robert Richardson and Ed Lachman (who shot Carol on 16mm!) about what is really happening these days in the world of VFX-driven cinematography.

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New Business and Business as Usual, Part 2

Posted in Chapter 5, Media Literacy, tagged , , , , , on March 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

c3po r2d2It is certainly no coincidence that books on virtually the same topic by two of the leading contemporary writers on digital media and communications — Robert McChesney and Douglas Rushkoff — are released within a week of each other.  People Get Ready, by Robert McChesney and John Nichols, and Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, by Douglas Rushkoff, both address the effects of digital technologies and media on national and world economies and possible consequences for a wide range of issues related to work and human interaction.  And how C3PO and R2D2 might not be your best pals after all.  At least if you have to work to get by (and are not simply funded by the Jedi interstellar trust fund).  You can also check out related earlier posts from mediateacher.net: New Business and Business as Usual, Media Business and Criminology, and VFX and the Art & Business of Moving Images.  

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Uncanny Expectations

Posted in Visual Effects, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2016| 1 Comment »

ILLUSIONISTS-card-02

Documentary from Media Education Foundation

From Uncanny Valleys to CG’ed faces and bodies (in Photoshopped Values), discussions of the effect of digital technologies on how our media shapes our views on the human form and how people view and judge others have been highlighted a number of times in these pages.  In the Washington Post article Hollywood’s secret beauty trick: The special effects facelift, Stephanie Merry highlights the well-hidden world of visual effects with actors and how they are used to alter the ways we see people on the screen and how they shift expectations of the general public relative to how all of us look — from small and big screens to real life.  The recent case of Pee Wee Herman’s return to the big screen and his transformations by makeup wizard Ve Neill (of SyFy’s Face Off as well) along with the digital sheen by CG artists is employed as a rare example of truth telling in a field built on deception.  Along with the article, the video from Flawless FX that accompanies the piece will be a real eye-opener to many students.  Or most anyone else outside of the well-guarded vaults (or servers) of raw footage and VFX production houses.

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