The National Aquarium in Baltimore has upgraded it’s facilities to provide a new “immersion theater” for it’s customers. I was there a few weekends ago to give it a try, luckily without any cameras ruining the film, and was able to experience a montage of “Planet Earth” best-of moments.
Filmmaking Tips and Advice
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American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Releases ‘Best Of 1998 – 2008’ Winners List
The American Society of Cinematographers, the honor guild of cinematographers, has released the results of an online poll of the “best shot” movies from 1998 – 2008. There were over 50 nominees from the past decade that were dwindled down to the top 10 winners.
Useful Cinematography iPhone Apps to Have on Set (Part 2)
A couple of months ago, I did a post that featured three useful cinematography/camera assisting iPhone apps to have on set. In my introduction, I stated that “the Apple iPhone is undoubtedly one of the most powerful phones out on the market today” and that “there are plenty of apps to help you become more efficient on set and make the iPhone one of your essential tools.”
My Trip to the Aquarium: Or How Imagination is Lost Through the LCD Eye of a Camera
This past holiday weekend I went to the Baltimore inner harbor to visit the National Aquarium. It’s a place I’ve been countless times both as a child and in my adult years. I love going to watch all sorts of exotic fish and animals. But this time I noticed a nasty habit forming around me – cameras, lots of cameras. Flashes. Red lights. And it bothered me.
RED Epic and Scarlet Cameras By End of 2010?
Reading off Engadget, found at the comprehensive Reduser.net forums, Jim Jannard (founder of RED) has apologized for the “embarrassingly late” production delays on the Epic and Scarlet cameras. He explains the cause of the delay was a bug that took months to find and put a “bullet in the back of it’s head.”
Toolkit: USB Lens Light (Perfect for RED one)
Luckily, if you’re shooting on RED or any camera with a USB port (though I don’t know of many), you can purchase a much cheaper USB powered lens light. Designed for laptops, most of these lights are flexible LED’s powered through the USB standard.
Arri Alexa Pace 3D System Steadicam Rig for Hugo and Transformers 3
With the Arri Alexa cameras, Pace has rigged an updated system to shoot 3D with the newest digital cinema camera. It’s the same system that Scorsese used/is using on his entry into the third dimension, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
The Subtleties of the Slate Video
Slating can be tough. It’s not enough just to do it OK – you have to perfect all sorts of nuances and tricks. With that in mind, this video, “The Subtleties of the Slate,” is a welcome tutorial in the more advanced methods of master clappers.
Review: ‘Toy Story 3’
I grew up with the Toy Story films and was hesitant to get too excited at the prospect of the third installment – the last one in the series. These films meant a lot to me, so it took some time to let this third film marinade and cook before I wrote this spoiler-free, completely biased review.
The “Frankenstein” Steadicam
A couple of weeks ago I was called for a short film being shot entirely on a Steadicam with a RED One camera. The RED One is a heavy camera, so I was prepared for a bit of tweaking during our prep, but I wasn’t expecting the amount of DIY we’d really have to do.