If you can type you can make movies

Sort of...

Here's a fun site. You type the script, choose the characters, the voice, music, sound effects, setting, and camera angles. Then the site creates (an admittedly rather crude) animated film.

It works well for creating animated storyboards. Here's the first scene of the film we're shooting this weekend: http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6206583/

Encyclopedia of Color Correction

I've been working through this book off and on for awhile now and it's one of the best books I've read on editing. (I'm not even sure where I got it. It just showed up in my studio one day.) It contains mostly tutorials and is fairly technical but it's a fantastic resource. It was published in 2007 so it's a little dated but still excellent information.

More info. 

Broken Embraces now screening at Cherrydale

From the Upstate Film Society 

Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar brings us his newest, Broken Embraces, starring his long-running inspiration, Penelope Cruz.  If you’re familiar with the director’s previous films, you’ll know just what to expect from this lightly Hitchcockian, visually sumptuous fable about a woman in trouble.

Here’s all you need to know:

Japanese Film Series at Furman starts Tuesday

Japanese Film at Furman - Film Series

Click here for a full description of all films

All films will begin at 6pm and will be followed by a short lecture. 

The first 3 films will be shown in the Patrick Lecture hall in the Townes Science Center. The April 20th screening will be held in the Burgiss Theater in the Univ. Center. 

All screenings are free and open to the public.

Feb. 2, 2010 - The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

Mar. 2, 2010 - Departures

Mar. 30, 2010 - Dear Pyongyang

Apr. 20, 2010 - Ghose in the Shell: Mobile Armored Riot Police

We need a montage

Today we're discussing the theory of montage in class.  Unfortunately the word montage has been reduced to refer to something much different from the way it was described by Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin. (Their ideas can be found here: A Montage of Theories.) Today it's primarily used in films that are running short on time and need to show a quick passage of time. (Think of Rocky's training sequence presented to the tune of Eye of the Tiger.) Several years ago, South Park ran an episode mocking this cliche form of storytelling. It can be seen here. 

TV that converts 2-D to 3-D

from CNN.com

Toshiba on Wednesday unveiled a "smart" TV the company claims will convert 2-D signals into high-resolution 3-D programming.

The ZX900 Series Cell TV models, available with 55-inch and 65-inch screens, will go on sale in the United States later this year. Pricing was not announced.

Toshiba says the LED TV will have the capability to take any 2-D content, including sports broadcasts, movies and video games, and convert it into 3-D in real time.

"It's unlike anything that's out there," said vice president of marketing Scott Ramirez during Toshiba's press event at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show. "This is the new 'it' TV. It's the one everyone is going to be talking about."