I come across a lot of film related sites/articles of interest all the time, but instead of becoming a link blog and making a new post for each one, I’ll just post a weekly summary of things I’ve found that might be of interest. And since Wednesday is our day off between thesis sets, it will be known as the Mid-Week Coffee Break.
The Poor Man’s Jib – For the DIYers out there, this is right up there with the skateboard dolly.
After Effects Compositing in Hollywood – It’s amazing how even the most contemporary films can have complex special effects. For the ultra-low budget filmmakers, with some well shot location plates you can set your film almost anywhere. My favorite hack – rotate the camera 90 degrees to get the maximum amount of resolution.
How to turn your photo into movie-like effect using Photoshop? [Lifehacker] – Useful for pre-visualization. This tutorial could probably be adapted to work with After Effects.
Imitating A Scanner Darkly – Illustrator tutorial to get the A Scanner Darkly look. If you’re looking to do this effect to your movie you’ll probably need a lot of time and enjoy rotoscoping.
Artificial Sound Effects – Water – Short and sweet list of tricks you can do to make your own water-related sound effects.
The Zaz Comedy Glossary – Every type of joke you can think of and what they’re called.
The 10 Best Computer Generated Films of All-Time – Not really sure I agree with the list, but a Film School grad wrote #3.
Confessions of an A-List Blogger – Mostly concerning the blogosphere, Steve does have a nice list that can easily apply to trying to get a meeting with an executive.
My investment – If I say yes, how much time/money/effort will this require? Is this a one-shot time investment, or will it create an ongoing commitment? Is this investment congruent with my goals, or will it take me off course?
Person making the request – Does this person seem like someone I’d want to work with? Is this just a cold call, or has s/he been referred by someone I trust?
Personal or generic – Is this a personal request addressed to me specifically, or is it a generic request that’s probably being made of others?
Interest – Does this request actually interest me? Is it something I’d enjoy doing? Will it challenge me in new ways?
Top Directors See the Future, and They Say It’s in 3-D – I’m not really a fan of 3-D movies, mainly because I have convergence insufficiency and I’ll get a headache if I have to focus that much for two hours. I think this latest 3-D technology is cool and I’d like to experience it, but only for about twenty minutes. I just hope Avatar will still have some old fashioned 2-D screenings.
Michael Moore’s Sicko – Long time, no see Mr. Moore.
How To Shoot a Network Pilot With the Panasonic HVX-200 – Haven’t had a chance to read the entire post, but seems to present a detailed work flow if you’re using the HVX-200.
The Spinal Tap Reunion [Tropist] – Taking it to an eleven, Spinal Tap reunites for this 15 minute documentary.
Behind the Scenes with Universal Search – Google actually listened to me (and some other people, I suppose).
How to Make Lattee Art [Lifehacker] – Not really film related, but this is Coffee and Celluloid.