Posts Tagged documentary
The Known Universe
Posted by Shareef in animation, documentary on December 25th, 2009
The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.
Amazing, but terrifying at the same time.
Where the Wild Things Are
Posted by Shareef in documentary, movies on October 20th, 2009
Spike Jonze, director of upcoming novel-to-movie Where the Wild Things Are speaks about Max Records, the young boy who plays Max in the film. With it being Max’s first acting job at the age of nine, Spike had to come up with unique ways for him to bring his emotions to the surface, including having members of the set stage lightsaber fights off screen.
10/GUI – Next Generation Interaction
Posted by Shareef in documentary, technology on October 18th, 2009
Robert Clayton Miller has devised a brand new concept for human-computer interaction with the invention of 10/GUI. He has identified the potential in multi-touch screens and has addressed the health and safety aspects that currently plague users today. This is achieved through separation of the touch surface from the screen itself (01:45), opting for a multi-touch surface on the desk where the fingertips are naturally positioned.
He has also devised new gestures (05:54) that are both local to programs and global to the operating system. This allows the user to performing tasks quickly and seamlessly with no effort.
His con10uum concept attempts to organise program windows into a 1D plane (03:45) in order to facilitate the new gestures, but this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Power users have often devised their own ways/habits of laying out window tiles to group processes together, so being forced into a rigid workflow might be a turnoff. Robert’s concepts have addressed all the needs of the project, but he must ensure the system is as customisable as possible.
Bullet Impacts (1million fps)
Posted by Shareef in documentary on October 14th, 2009
Bullet impacts in super slow-motion. At one million frames per second, both the power and weakness of a bullet can be seen. It pierces through vulnerable materials as if nothing is in its way (00:13) and completely liquefies on impact of resistant materials (06:20). Perhaps the most interesting is when piercing glass – even before the full diameter of the bullet is passing through the sheet of glass, an explosion of cracks appears creating an instant firework effect (03:03).
The Cinematography of Mad Men
Posted by Shareef in documentary on September 23rd, 2009
Winner of 2009 and 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, Mad men has received critical acclaim since its premiere in 2007, and this mini documentary by the guys at FilmFreakCentral.net showcases some examples of the cinematography techniques used by Matthew Weiner and his directors.
Being a period drama set in the 1960s, the directors avoided steady-cam and hand held cameras, opting for dolly shots, as these newer methods did not feel appropriate to the show’s time period.
The use of the pull-outs and push-ins are used heavily to fit the characters into the context of the scene, especially so with the main character Don Draper. The pull-outs are used quite often to box the characters into the angles of the set, such as door frames, walls or mirror reflections, giving a sense of loneliness.
Perhaps the most effective are the numerous shots from behind Don Draper, where the camera is looking over his shoulder at the rest of the scene. This shuts the audience out which builds on his mysterious character, only revealing his face in full camera in times of chrisis.
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