Perspective: "Why studying film in college is still a good idea after all"

Filmmaker and cinematographer Nino Leitner posted on his blog recently about what he feels is the true value of a film education:

A film or media school will get you together with people from other fields in filmmaking that you are unlikely to meet otherwise. It will also bring you together with more experienced people (tutors, teachers) that are unlikely to be available as online mentors as well as people who are in a very similar life situation to yours (same age, same aspirations).

We couldn't agree more, Nino. Read the rest here.

Cinemetrics: A "Senior Innovation Project" from The Royal Academy of Arts

Here's something that should inspire our DV students that are beginning their Senior Innovation Project: "Cinemetrics." It's a "bachelor graduation project" by a student named Frederic Brodbeck at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. In other words, their version of "SIP."

cinemetrics is about measuring and visualizing movie data, in order to reveal the characteristics of films and to create a visual “fingerprint” for them. Information such as the editing structure, color, speech or motion are extracted, analyzed and transformed into graphic representations so that movies can be seen as a whole and easily interpreted or compared side by side.

Here's a demonstration video:

More info can be found on Frederick Brodbeck's site.

The Visual Language of RAGING BULL

FreshDV has begun publishing articles focusing on the "Visual Language" of cinema. They kick it off with a detailed discussion of one of the masterworks of modern cinema, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull.

This is not intended to be a comprehensive look at the language of the film, as there is a lot there to unwrap. Rather we will limit our discussion to a few select elements. We will look at how Scorsese uses shot composition, lens choice, and, surface division to enhance the tone and mood of the film.

Read the whole article on FreshDV's website.

15 Stunning Demo Reels

German visual arts blog Cromoart recently posted their "15 Absolutely Stunning Showreels," and they're worth looking at if you're thinking about your portfolio. Here's the first one:



Check out the rest on the Cromoart blog!

Trim Clips Faster with Avid's "Top" and "Tail"

Here's a quick tip for you Avid editors out there, courtesy of yTips.net.


There's a new Sheriff in town, and he's got Top & Tail from yTips on Vimeo.

DV Job: MillionaireSeries.com

MillionaireSeries.com
Video Technology Part-time Job
Tempe, AZ

MillionaireSeries.com is a source for solutions to elevate your business and life.  We provide training, education and support for individuals and companies in service industries.  We are dedicated to helping businesses be successful and individuals grow and prosper.  We are located one block east of UAT on Baseline.

We have a part-time position open for someone skilled in audio/video technology.  We support our products and sales with audio and audio/video recordings that require edit and post production.  The ideal candidate will be fluent in Adobe Premier, Camtasia, Photoshop and Adobe Soundbooth.  Prior experience editing video is required.  Hours are flexible but work must be performed in our office.  Salary DOE.

Responsibilities

• Edit video and audio including green screen and banners.
• Mix video with audio.
• Maintain / create procedures consistent with the work accomplished.
• Assist with website maintenance.
• Special projects as required.

Skills

• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Proficient in Adobe CS5 Production Premium.
• Proficient in Camtasia, MS Word, MS Powerpoint, MS Excel and Outlook (Goldmine a plus)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, sense of humor.

Please send qualified resumes to jimkenehan@millionaireseries.com.

IFP/Phoenix Offers Assistant Director Workshop

Tired of working 18-hour shoot days? Frustrated with watching time being wasted on set, wishing the crew could be more efficient? Do you wish you had more time to be creative on-set so that your films could be BETTER? Then you need to know the ins-and-outs of being a quality Assistant Director. Come and learn from professional AD Kevin R. Phipps, in an afternoon workshop dedicated to help you manage and operate your film sets more professionally, and get a better quality result.

When: Saturday, September 10
Time: 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Registration: $50-Non IFP/PHX members, $35-IFP/PHX Members
Where: IFP Phoenix/PFF Offices
1700 North 7th Avenue
Suite #250 Classroom
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602.955.6444

This workshop has been purposely timed to coordinate with the start of the Breakout Film Challenge. IFP Phoenix has taken a lot of effort to line up a whole series of seminars and workshops specifically designed to help you create a better film over the 7-week period of this challenge. The Assistant Directing workshop will give you skills to help start your production with the right preparation mindset.

More Details

FALLOUT Named a Semifinalist in Adobe Competiton

Our year-in-the-making digital video short "Fallout" has been named a Semifinalist in the category "Innovation in Motion and Video in Education" in the 2011 Adobe Design Achievement Awards.

The Adobe® Design Achievement Awards celebrate student and faculty achievement reflecting the powerful convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition - which showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software - honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from the world's top institutions of higher education.

"Fallout" would not have been possible without Adobe tools such as After Effects and Photoshop. To be recognized by Adobe for using their software in an innovative way is a real honor!

Later this month, the semifinal round will be judged and three Finalists in each category will be named. Finalists will be flown to Taipei to participate in the ADAA awards ceremony at the 2011 International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) Congress.

CAPTAIN AMERICA Action Shots Captured with Canon 5D Mark II DSLRs

From DV.com:

Canon U.S.A. has announced that the highly anticipated feature film, Captain America: The First Avenger, used Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR cameras to capture many of the movie’s action shots. Throughout the super hero action picture, the 5D Mark II was used to shoot motion sequences that were seamlessly integrated with the production’s 35mm film footage.



Read the full article here.

From The Script Lab: Breaking "Free" Into Hollywood

The folks over at TheScriptLab.com have published a very insightful article that all film students need to read.

The irony is that if you graduate from med-school, you're a doctor, but when you graduate from film school, you're just a dweeb – qualified to brew coffee or make movies. But nobody hires a recent grad to make a movie. That's why so many film grads are so good at brewing a killer cup of Joe.

Read the full article here.