❄️Since 1992❄️

Potterholic, tech-lover, filmmaker, food lover.

[Joseph Kahn @JosephKahn]

I know this is the most hatery post, but 99.999% of the audience won't be able to tell if it was shot in IMAX film or full frame digital camera. Also printing in film creates resolution loss each step of the process, even IMAX, while digital stays as sharp as the initial capture. Over ten years ago they tested film vs digital footage for well known cinematographers and they all failed to differentiate which was what. IMAX is a marketing gimmick, that's why it's plastered all over ads for the Odyssey. For decades shrinking and reducing the costs of cameras led to an explosion of new filmmaking voices, but now film culture is yearning for an elitist and impractical format that takes five men to move. If this performative ludditry is how we think filmmaking will be preserved, prepare to answer to your eventual AI overlords.

[patrick. @imPatrickT]

Why digital cameras used to look more like film

[Vashi Nedomansky, ACE @vashikoo]

MAN ON FIRE (2004)

Tony Scott utilized an old hand-cranked film camera built in 1910 to make movie magic. No CGI needed.

DP Paul Cameron built a "merry-go-round" rig that spun Denzel Washington and the camera 360 degrees to create a hyper-kinetic visual effect.

[big magnet @bigmagnetjim]

Conrad Hall's system was to first light for black and white, and then light for color. The single clearest approach for making images that resolve. Study everything he did.

[Joseph Kahn @JosephKahn]

Young filmmakers have it in their head the only pathway to become a working director is to make a low budget movie. No doubt that's a path, but that's not the ONLY one. Over the years there's been trends of different pools directors were scooped from: film schools, music videos, commercials, television, cinematographers, ADs, Scandinavians.

When a 20 year old like Kane Parsons or 25 year old like Curry Barker skyrockets to success, there is a panic that grips young filmmakers that it's now or never, and they have to score their $100 million film in their 20s or it's over. But movie director careers are the rarest of birds in filmmaking, and you can have a great career making ads, episodic, moving up an established chain and gaining tons of expertise.

Granted, it's not an easy path either. Commercials might be even more competitive on a certain level because once people gauge where your talent level actually is, once the door shuts it SHUTS. But that's the business. Your talent is the deciding factor, and even AI is not going to change that.

Nevertheless, the business is much bigger than movies, and the hyperventilating from film twitter that you have to make movies at the expense of unpaid crew labor is impatient and somewhat twisted. You CAN movie up a structure but it takes time. Even the path to directing ads can come from crew. Eventually you might be finally directing movies in your 40s and 50s like Ridley Scott, but he came into it armed and dangerous.

As to trends, they're overhyped and exaggerated. Let's remember amongst the film school brats, Steven Spielberg was NOT one of them. He made a short film funded by a dentist, got Mike Medavoy to pass it to Sid Sheinberg, and then unlike Lucas and Coppola spent years in television purgatory. Steven Spielberg, the most successful director in history, cut his teeth directing Columbo episodes. Only after years paying his dues, he broke through with Jaws.

Pateince. As a famous teacher once said: wax on/wax off.

[Adam Hlaváč @adamhlavac]

Keep seeing people post that IMAX 70mm is just 4:3 TV or that the extra top and bottom of the frame doesn't add anything. You just have a misunderstanding of IMAX photography.

To accomodate other formats, Chris Nolan and Hoyte Van Hoytema use ground glass (Pic 1) etched with guides to appropriately frame every shot. This ensures Nolan can mostly center punch for every deliverable.

That's also why IMAX tends to be center-framed (Pic 2). The filmmakers want you looking dead center at what's happening while the rest of the image melts away into your peripheral vision. The idea is that when you're watching IMAX 70mm on a massive 60-100' screen, all you see is the movie. No masking, no screen frame, nothing. It's meant to fully immerse the viewer.

The size of the film negative and use of wide open lenses supports this in intimate moments because of the shallow depth of field. The image is tack sharp exactly where your eyes should be.

For wider shots and action sequences, there will usually be an important object(s) close to center frame that helps guide your eyes to surrounding parts you need to focus on (Pic 3). This is also why Nolan's movies translate well to widescreen formats like 70mm, 35mm, and other 2.39:1 screens.

He's not thinking about the height or width of the image independently, but as one giant canvas.

There's negative space above peoples heads because if you pushed their heads to the top of the frame and the next shot had an important action in the lower third, you'd spend the majority of the movie pivoting your head up and down and across the massive screen (Pic 4). Exhausting.

This is also why Nolan and other filmmakers crop from 1.43 to 1.78 for Blu-ray. The idea with the IMAX sequences is that they expand and use every inch of screen real estate. Pillarboxing 1.43 footage when intercut with 2.39 scenes makes the IMAX images appear smaller since they don't take up the full width of your screen. Footage should expand vertically, just like in theaters.

I get that tons of people watch stuff on their phones and laptops these days, but you have to understand the original intention - the theatrical experience - and not you sitting at home watching the movie on your 15" Macbook, 6" phone screen, or TV that's probably 5 ft too far from your couch.

Apologies for the long rant. 🤘🎞️

[Joseph Kahn @JosephKahn]

The problem with Spielberg's style, which I love, is that music telegraphs a lot of the emotion. Modern audiences find this old fashioned. They like no underscore and definitely no leitmotifs, yet they want a faster pace. So in camera blocking gets dropped for more edit based filmmaking - Nolan/Villeneuve. I like the latter too, but as a child of the 80s I die for Spielberg's classical blocking.

[mono 🏳️‍⚧️ @monopurplee]

i don't mind the more skeuomorphic design macOS leopard had onwards, but i really believe the first few macOS X releases had a PERFECT and clean UI. it has such a good balance of the glossy aqua interface and the clean interface newer macOS versions have.

[Basic Apple Guy @BasicAppleGuy]

Happy 20th Anniversary to the OG Apple MacBook!

[Basic Apple Guy @BasicAppleGuy]

Happy 23rd anniversary to Apple’s finest iPod.

[❄️Since 1992❄️ @DatPotter]

@kungfupete Call @CorridorDigital

[Simon Franglen @simonfranglen]

This barely touches the surface of what the editorial team have to deal with. Having sat in the room watching the editors work is awe inspiring
#AvatarFireAndAsh

[James Cameron Online Website @JamesC_Online]

I love this story about Sam Worthington.
James Cameron saw something in him that made him perfect for Jake Sully, and he was right.

via kevinmccarthytv on Instagram
Full interview: https://t.co/ddtyr9Tpid

[Private Talky @privatetalky]

Apple in 2012: iPhone 5 The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.

[Avatar 3: Fire and Ash @avatar3news]

The Making of Avatar: Fire & Ash | Behind the scenes

[StemSlayer #SaveIDSoftware @steusmotus]

There's not a single thing on this planet that looks as good as when Larry Fong and Zack Snyder work together.

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

the best Avatar 3 promo is definitely James Cameron talking about the human visual cortex and the camera technology he created over past 25 years with that scientific knowledge to get the ideal 3D effect

[Zack Snyder Film @ZackSnyderFilm]

Warner Bros. didn't understand Zack Snyder's pitch for 300. They thought it was too similar to other recent sword and sandals movies like Troy.

So he convinced them to let him make this proof of concept.

"Then they said 'ok, we're going to give you some money. Not a lot. A small amount. To go and film a scene from the movie.' I really just wanted to show them the style of the world rather than a specific moment from the script to say 'this is the world it takes place in,' so we did this little sort of 360 degree shot of a Spartan fighting some Persian soldiers."

[🍂 @Lovandfear]

After you get married, you’re going to meet ‘better’ people than your spouse. You’re going to meet more good-looking people; kinder and more romantic people; more intelligent and funny people. You will meet people who have in abundance what your partner lacks. The mushy and romanticized idea that your partner will be everything to you, and will satisfy all your needs and wants is idolatry. Contentment in marriage is a virtue not often spoken about.

You must wake up every day appreciating everything your partner is to you, everything they have, their beauty and the things that made you marry them because if you focus on everything they don’t do well, you’ll always meet better people. Protect your heart! See their best part, and always remember that your commitment to marry is more of a duty than it is of mushy feelings. You have to stay committed even on the days you feel your spouse is no longer the best fit for you…

-Buchi

[Holly - I like tech @AnxiousHolly]

iPods were so cool