'Ol Skool 3-D

Dixon crossing Niagara below the Great Cantilever Bridge, U.S.A. 1895-1903

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

From TPM:

This week, NYPL Labs launched Stereogranimator, a project that draws on the library’s massive archive of stereographs, a classic 19th century form where two nearly identical images are viewed side-by-side through a stereoscope to create the illusion of depth. 

The Labs project uses the very old form and allows users to turn images into animated GIFs, a classic internet form. The rapid animation creates that same illusion of depth. The Labs unit itself is also a sort of collision between classic library archives and digital tools.

“We think this is a really fun and unique opportunity to play with the conventions of what was 3D then and what is 3D now,” NYPL Labs Product Manager David Riordan told TPM. 

As Riordan points out, 3D isn’t a new concept, but it’s become a recent trend in movies and television. The New York Public Library still has the physical stereographs and the device to view them at the library. The viewing experience is “unlike anything on the site,” he said. “You can see why, in the 19th century, people became so excited about them, so obsessed with them.”

Acrobats far from their mountain home -- grizzly bears in a street at Jacksonville, Florida. [1905] 1870?-1906?

Sometimes...

...life is this black.

And like that it's gone...

No... seriously... Scott Bourne continues to make the case for why the DSLR will eventually be phased out and answers the critics.  

Never one to shy away from controversy, I want to point to a well thought-out and well-written piece by my pal Trey Ratcliff.  He says he doesn’t plan to buy any more DSLR gear. He thinks the future is mirror-less cameras.

Trey believes – as do I – that within five years, most people won’t need a DSLR to get great images. His reasons are well stated and match some of the things I’ve said about the Olympus micro 4/3 cameras here, here. and  here.

Soon I gotta say bye bye Canon 5d, just when I was getting to know ya...

Directing Actors - The Basics

Ingmar Bergman directing actors

In a concise and clear essay, Gregor Schmidinger breaks down the basics of directing actors on film with useful applications for directors:

• Know where your characters come from and what they want.
• Key line: " The best scenes are those where the goal of one character is the obstacle of the other."
• Silence is where the good stuff happens.
• Key line: " Tell them not to say the next line or move until they feel the urge to say it or move and if they never feel the urge to say the next line or move then you need to look into the script again and make some changes concerning the goals and obstacles."
• Anchor your actors in the moment.
• Key line: " The goal of every director should be to create a working environment where an actor can be attentive and concentrated."
• Create an environment of trust.
• Key line: "It’s your job as a director to create an environment where the words right and wrong do not exist."

Go ahead and read the whole post, it's worth reading and applying on your next rehearsal and shoot.

Making Moves in 2012 - Muay Thai Combo

A favorite combo of mine. - Hook, Cross, Body Hook, Low Rear Kick  Going down the ladder with strikes.

My training book is coming soon this year, keep an eye out for it.