Waiting 2B Scene

Tag: 2015

  • How To: 20 Premiere Tips in 20 Minutes (Jeff Greenberg)

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want share an informative how-to video clip presented by Jeff Greenberg on behalf of Future Media Concepts – and as the title suggests, today’s how-to is for the proud Adobe Premiere Pro users.

    I understand that many of us will know these tips and tricks – nevertheless you might be surprised to find one or two gems that may have forgotten about. Or better yet, you will learn something altogether new – such as having the capacity to adjust the gain on an entire bin of music. That was news to me!

    I will warn you though: while the content is definitely informative, the presentation of the how-to is somewhat dry. If you can handle that – then jump on in to some of this Premiere Pro trickery with the rest of us!

  • Video Essay: Hitchcock’s Cuts in ROPE

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want to take a look at a short video essay. In it, this clip succinctly explores just one of the myriad of cinematic techniques that were employed by the film maestro of thrill and suspense – the “eloquent, suspenseful, quirky, and eminently entertaining”1 Alfred Hitchcock.

    In this, Hitchcock’s first colour film (and first use of James Stewart) – audiences the world over became somewhat convinced that the 1948 thriller was a single-take wonder. Now don’t get me wrong: these have been done since this film. But in Rope we find Hitchcock employing an especially creative use of framing to create and maintain an illusion of continuity (as in practice, reels only had either 10 minutes or 20 minutes to film on). By 2015 standards it may seem passé, but I would strongly suggest that any of the techniques employed by a technical master of cinema such as Hitchcock is worth considering in any age. Ergo, I hope you enjoy this video essay by Vashi Nedomansky.

  • Interview: The Directors (The Hollywood Reporter)

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want to do another throwback. This time, I want to take you back three years to an extraordinary round-table style interview with a few of Hollywood’s great directors: Quentin Tarantino, David Russell, Ben Affleck, Ang Lee, Tom Hooper, and Gus Van Sant. Be warned though, it is an hour-long! With that being said, if you are something of a cinephile like me, then let me assure you that it is an hour well spent. Especially when we get insights such as this gem from Tom Hooper:

    “There’s a very curious and complex relationship between time pressure and instinct in that we all hate the time pressure… It’s the hidden narrative of most films. The audience when they’re watching it don’t realise that most of the decisions have been made in relation to time pressure, and that you’re fighting this battle with a ghost that the audience never see. And yet, it’s the time pressure that means that the only thing you can do is work on instinct…”

    Anyway, in terms of film stock – these are a group of better people than me, and they are waiting to spend the next hour with you! So quit wasting time with me, jump on in, and enjoy the rarefied air that these Hollywood directing alumni have on offer!

  • News: Blackmagic Design Show Off at NAB (13-mins)

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – I needed to get this additional post out today as it was too good not to share immediately. Anyone involved – and/or interested – in video production will have already heard the news out of NAB (come one, why wouldn’t you keep abreast of the NAB happenings?) that once again Blackmagic Design has shifted the world of camera production with the announcement of their new 4.6K and 15-stop URSA Mini which is due for release later this year.

    If, like me, you are kind of itching to get a look under the hood of this new toy – then you will be pleased to check out this interview with the BMD Director of Sales Simon Westland as he takes us through some of the new camera’s functionality. Enjoy!

  • Video Montage: Everything is a Remix (Wilson)

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want to take a jump back in time – to do a remix, if you will. If you aren’t concerned with the violence and blood-letting that has become something of a trademark for Tarantino’s work, then join me in revisiting an excellent video montage by editor Rob Wilson that explores Tarantino’s 2003-2004 masterpieces, Kill Bill 1 & 2.

    Over the years, my own anecdotal evidence has highlighted an interesting recurrence. There are most often two fields of thought when it comes to Quentin Tarantino: people either love him, or hate him. It seems that the rarest of the Tarantino consumers is someone like myself however – and that is one who is neither a lover, nor a hater. In my own case, I have enjoyed his work overall – though, I can’t just chow down on some Tarantino… I must be in the right frame of mind to choose to watch his work. The exception to that rule is Kill Bill. I unexpectedly fell in love with it!

    I had a recurring sense of déjà vu throughout the whole piece: “I’m sure I’ve seen (something like) this before!” But why? Like the montage below, watching the Making of Kill Bill revealed a lot. Tarantino went to extraordinary lengths to echo genre cinema. It is quite fair to say that almost every element of the film was used to both tell Tarantino’s story, and simultaneously pay direct homage to various forms of genre cinema (such as martial arts, spaghetti westerns, anime). And that is why I loved it. I have not seen anything come of Hollywood that quite matches Tarantino’s attention to so many cinephilic details as this. That is why I am happy to revisit this classic Tarantino film today – and I hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane too.

  • News: Exciting Adobe Premiere Pro CC Update

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want to share with you a news update that was released yesterday by the Adobe team regarding the latest updates to Premiere Pro. As a CC user myself, I have no doubt that I will find the additional functionality of great use – but for the sake of brevity, I will share just one of the updates that have been made – and that is the inclusion of a Lumetri Color workspace! If you want to see a larger view of what Adobe has in store, then check out the official release for details.