Waiting 2B Scene

Tag: Film

  • HIMM: Kingsman Finale, Visual Effects (BUF)

    This morning I want to launch something new – kicking off a series of Monday-specific video-shares that explore a variety of film and TV behind the scenes clips: so welcome to the very first edition of How It’s Made Mondays!

    Founded in 1984 as one of the few pioneers of CGI, BUF has been creating content for over 30 years – providing some stunning visual effects for more than 100 films and 850 commercials. One of those films was the 2014 film, Kingsman: The Secret Service.

    This short clips highlights some of the impressive work that went into developing the visual effects for the films climatic finale. With that being said, consider yourself warned, as this will obviously make for a massive spoiler if you haven’t yet seen the film.

  • Short Film: The Foley Artist (Feast Films)

    If you are an amateur videographer, you may never have heard of Jack Foley. In our digital age, we seldom have to consider making sound effects for ourselves. This has not always been the case, however. In a time before you could download unlimited audio files off of the Internet – sound effects for radio dramas, films, and television actually had to be created.

    This shouldn’t surprise you, but props and sets don’t usually react the same way acoustically as their real life counterparts. Jack Foley understood this, and it was where his genius shone. In an effort to lend a more realistic sound-scape to a production, he developed a process whereby authentic sound effects could be created in real time alongside the footage. It also proved to be an excellent means of supplying the more nuanced sounds that microphones would miss anyway (the rustling of clothing, or the slight squeak of a saddle when a rider mounted his horse). Such was his aptitude, fellow workers say that the results of a Jack Foley session were as good as editing together twenty audio tracks.

    Jack Foley has been dead for almost 50-years, but the technique he developed is still a popular option for professional productions. And in a lovely homage, those who employ his technique are still known as foley artists. Thus we finally make it to the crux of today’s post. While informative (hopefully), it is a chance to share an excellent short that takes us on a little journey with a fictional foley artist. I am sure that you will enjoy it.

  • Short Film: Light & Shadow (Weiss)

    Wow. That is the best place for me to begin talking about this piece. Just wow.

    Commissioned by the film-making camera accessory giant Zacuto (and shot simultaneously with Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout 2012), this 20-minute Emmy-winning piece by director Steve Weiss – Light & Shadow delves into the creativity and passion of more than 30 of the most legendary cinematographers of our time.

    If you are interested in film, television, online video, or pretty much any kind of visual storytelling – then you need to have this in your life. You really do. It is seriously inspiring.

  • FBF Video: Spielberg vs Hitchcock (ERB) (NSFW)

    Although I have an interest and passion for film and TV, there are some days where I just want to share something that is a bit funny. Today is one of those days, and I want to do a #FBF that merges my passion with some humour. Be warned though, there is a bit of swearing so it may be deemed NSFW.

    Most people have heard of the Epic Rap Battles of History. If you are one of the few that haven’t, you are missing out on some funny stuff! Well in today’s flashback, the ERB team made a battle that pits directorial giants Spielberg and Hitchcock against one another. But it then took a surprising twist! Such fun.

  • Video Essay: Echoes of Mad Max (WhoIsPablo)

    Australian Director George Miller decided that he did not wish to do a remake or retell the Mad Max story – rather, he wanted to update the universe and the wasteland. He even asked his wife Margaret Sixel to edit the film, even though she had never edited action before. his logic was that, “… if a guy did it, it would look like every other action movie.”

    Even though 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road is technically an independent movie in the series, it was always a matter of time before someone put in the effort to see whether there were visual echoes between the original Australian New Wave trilogy (1979, 1981, and 1985) and the 2015 release. The good news for fans of the original series is that despite 30-years between drinks, as well as all his intentions to give the world something fresh in Fury Road, a Miller film is a Miller film – and there are echoes in abundance. I hope you enjoy the comparisons as much as I did.

  • Video Essay: The Hero’s Journey (Animation)

    Joseph Campbell wrote a classic cross-cultural study of the hero’s journey back in 1949, and since then it has inspired millions. Like Star Wars, the film it helped inspire, the book was an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. And this theme has enabled it to remain as relevant through the years as when it was first released (it hit the New York Times best-seller list in 1988 after it had become the subject of a PBS television special, The Power of Myth).

    For me, stumbling upon a re-run of the PBS series was the first that I had heard of it. It’s kind of eye-opening stuff, and it has keys to wonderful narrative-developing principles that transcend culture… and yet, whenever I ask people about it, what is apparent is that it is still very much unheard of.

    Well for my circle of friends and followers, today that changes. You won’t need to read the whole book just yet (though you should). You won’t even need to watch the PBS special (though it is worth while!). Start here: this fantastic little cliff-notes animation work by Iskander Krayenbosch will break the ice for you. And trust me – it is just the kind of teaser that can get you interested in finding out more.

  • Interview: Kevin Spacey Does Impersonations (ITAS)

    It seems like celebrities are doing impersonations all the time. Co-actors try to mimic each other, vocalists mimic other singers. Such is its popularity right now, that just last month the top-ten-list juggernaut WatchMojo even gave us a top ten list dedicated to this very phenomenon. [Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it yet].

    At the top of that particular list sits the indomitable Kevin Spacey. Now I don’t know if you realise it or not… but Spacey has actually been impersonating other celebrities for a good while now! As such, today I would love to share with you a kind of ‘from the vault’ moment from the television programme, Inside the Actors Studio.

    I quite enjoy the show – and I think that the key to its 21-year success (as at 2015) is that it offers viewers a genuine interview: all of the guests (actors, directors, writers, and such) have the opportunity to actually discuss their craft and their particular approach to it. Thus was the case in an episode with Kevin Spacey that aired in July 2000.

    In the middle of this particular interview, however, host James Lipton throws in an unexpected twist. With zero lead-time, he calls on Spacey to do some of his impersonations – and what came next was truly amazing. I hope you enjoy.

  • Top Ten: Wilhelm Scream (WatchMojo)

    Since the 1950’s, there hasn’t been a cinematic sound cliché quite like the wilhelm scream. It has made an appearance as a sound-bite in over 300 movies and television programmes. Today, I want to pay a humorous homage to the scream with this fun top ten list by the great team at WatchMojo.

  • List: 129 Of The Most Beautiful Shots In Movie History (Buzzfeed)

    Buzzfeed is usually the haunt of Internet jokery and inane quizzes: and yet today I was pleasantly surprised to see a list of stills that is quite magnificent… a list they have deemed, “129 Of The Most Beautiful Shots In Movie History.”

    It is a pretty reasonable list – but you will need to be ready to scroll waaaaaay past the fold on this one! As an additional pre-warning, as is always the case – there will be plenty of stills that make you go, “What the?”

    Want to see what they have on offer: click on this image below (picture is number 51 on the list, and harkens back to a recent blog post of mine).

  • How To: Get the Hollywood Greenscreen Look (KINETIC)

    Alrighty, I have had my fun for a while – so today I want to come back to one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place… to share tools, tips, tricks, and generally correlate a whole bunch of resources for those who are still “waiting to be seen” (waiting2bscene… get it?) .

    One of the biggest tools around for amateur and professional alike is having the capacity to pull a key: and to do so well. In this excellent tutorial, director and cinematographer Matthew Rosen shares five of his tricks and secrets on shooting and compositing chroma keys. This one is definitely worth the look!