All posts by Like Tangents In The Rain

Ten Ways The iPad Could Enhance The Film Scoring Process

January 30, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

[Editor’s Note: Mark Northam at FilmMusic Magazine has written the only interesting article that I’ve seen about the iPad. In reference to this 3rd idea, porting something like the Lemur or Dexter App to the iPad would be very cool.]

TrackPad – … laying at roughly the same angle as your computer keyboard does now and functioning as a huge trackpad …

DemoPad – Imagine sitting down with a director and playing a demo of your latest cues on your iPad, …

ScorePad – Imagine a world where recording musicians brought their iPads to the session and their parts were downloaded electronically to the iPads, or maybe even …

SpotPad – One of the most important events in the creation of a film score is the spotting meeting the composer has with the director …

PracticePad / TunePad – Imagine the ability … “monitor” the player’s practicing. …

SpeechPad – … Imagine “telling” your sequencer to “stretch the time in bars 48 through 52 so that bar 53 begins art 01:20:35:15, or to “change the g sharp in bar 80 to a d”…

NotePad – …During a film scoring project, a composer will receive a great deal of feedback, notes and other information, and recording those notes into an iPad …

[Editor note: One thing that I would add is an easy to use GPG encryption and/or watermarking tool. The nature of sending scores back and forth via mail and wireless is going to be a big temptation for letting something ‘cool’ onto the intertubz.]

Read the entire article at:

Ten Ways The iPad Could Enhance The Film Scoring Process
by Mark Northam

Alternative Content

Better than Avatar, live big-screen opera

January 27, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

In the wake of a successful initiative by the New York Metropolitan Opera, national opera companies are increasingly relaying live performances to cinemas across Europe. Svenska Dagbladet waxes lyrical about the new technique which will boost accessibility to high culture.

On 14 January, an opera performed in Stockholms Konserthus was broadcast via live satellite to cinemas throughout Sweden. The event was marked by an exceptional request from the concert hall CEO, Stefan Forsberg, who asked celebrated singer Malena Ernman to invite the public to sing. The result was the spontaneous creation of the largest opera chorus in the history of the country. All of the seats in the Stockholms Konserthus had been sold out for weeks, but most of the audience watched the performance from a network of 30 cinemas across the country, which projected live high-definition footage with Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

In Sweden, the trend for the live broadcast of cultural events to networks of remote venues was launched last winter, when nine concerts at the New York Metropolitan Opera were relayed to 83 cinemas. The scheme was a runaway success, to the point where audiences for performances at the Metropolitan were larger in Sweden than they were inside the prestigious Manhattan opera house. For example, on 16 January 2009, a performance of Carmen at the New York Met, which has a maximum capacity of 3,800, attracted an audience of 7,000 in Sweden — and Swedish music lovers have already purchased 53,000 tickets for this year’s Metropolitan programme.

20 euros a seat

Stockholm’s Royal Opera, which is also taking advantage of the trend for satellite broadcasts to remote cinemas, relayed performances of Falstaff and Cinderella from the People’s House venue last spring. The experience proved to be so successful, that it is now planning to retransmit four further performances to cinemas this year. “The Royal Opera House can seat around 1,000 people, but we had three times that number at venues around the country. Our mission is to encourage popular appreciation of opera, so we are planning to continue the transmissions,” explains the Royal Opera’s technical director Kurt Blomquist. Audiences in small provincial towns across Sweden will now be able to experience the thrill of live performances from capital cities around the world for the relatively affordable price of 20 euros a ticket.

Better than Avatar, live big-screen opera

Johan Hellekant

A Few Moments Sorting Quantum Entanglement

January 26, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

The original September ’09 Scientific American article is here, and important in itself, but not as important as someone holding hands with the non-physicists who want to know more of this topic.

Quantum Entanglement, Photosynthesis and Better Solar Cells: Scientific American

A May ’09 article with more detailed thoughts from Foresight.org is here:
the Foresight Institute » Quantum entanglement in photosynthesis?

A pdf of the original Berkley article:

Quantum entanglement in photosynthetic light harvesting complexes

CGI

3D Ethics–Imagine Imagina 2010

January 25, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

Officially, it is designed to create a shared ‘operating manual’ for all product developers and users, defining the context, aims and criteria for the use and representation of 3D data. In reality, the ethics tool is aimed to create an authorized use for a ‘3D OK’ logo, so that if you hire an architect (for example), they will certify that all the drawings that they create will originate from other 3D OK derived documents. The docs will have metadata associated with it, and if the project is 3D OK, all the metadata will say 3D OK as well.

In an age when anyone can bring data into Google Sketch-up, it is clear that professionals need an ethical framework in territory management, that 3D data can allow realistic digital mock-ups to be created with a policy for implementation. Thus, communication, public consultation and project management tools can be relied upon as they correspond to actual sites and that can be used in urban, countryside and transport infrastructure projects. This helps put governmental bodies on a par with corporate levels of funding, which helps bolster long term planning for communities.

The link is only in French: 3DOK.org

A horrid english translation can be gotten at Google. The originators expect to have official German and English documents in é weeks from the signing.

HI/VI Standards and Best Practices

Court Hears Audio Description, Captioning Argument

January 21, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

Simplified Summary of this Document

Jump to Comments by the Judges

Jump to other resources about the Harkins case. “Do the Right Thing”

The three appellate judges hearing the case demonstrated a keen interest in the issue and grilled the lawyer for the Harkins movie chain about why his company didn’t just “do the right thing” and provide the technology to allow people with visual and hearing impairments to enjoy movies. Harkins’ attitude, said Judge Alex Kozinsky, “does not strike me as a generous approach.”

The rest of this article is at:
Court Hears Argument about Audio Description and Captioning –
Law Office of Lainey Feingold
Posted January 14th, 2010 —

[Update Article: 9th Circuit Court Returns Harkins]

Articles and News

How to Find a Captioned Movie

January 21, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

It’s almost fanciful, like trying to catch Santa in your chimney on Christmas Eve. Movie chains say they don’t want to disrupt their hearing audience, so they tend to run captions on just one or two new films — of their choice — each week, often at odd hours.

For example, where I live in Connecticut, the closet theater with captions is playing Invictus this week. That’s it. If I wanted to see Ninja Assassin with captions I’d have to drive to Westbury, N.Y., and it’s only playing once a day, at 4:10 p.m.

People who are deaf and hearing impaired would also benefit from a complete, searchable list of what’s playing around town. Forget the movie chains’ rambling hotlines or their websites, unless you want to spend hours hunting for films on their “accessibility” pages and finding very little.

A great new website, Captionfish.com, does the work for you. Captionfish is a captioned movies search engine that finds Open Captioned and Rear Window captioned movies showing in theaters across the U.S. It was founded in 2009 by three deaf professionals, who are based in Seattle.

Please read the rest of this article at:
How to Find a Holiday Captioned Movie December 18, 2009, 3:13 pm
By Suzanne Robitaille

From: abledbody.com; where can-do is done different.

Philanthropy

Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief

January 21, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

All Performances to be Available for Purchase from Apple® iTunes® Store
with Proceeds Benefiting Select Haiti Relief Funds

More than One Hundred of the Biggest Names in Film, Television, and Music
to Appear on “Hope for Haiti Now,” Along with Wyclef Jean in New York City,
George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Haiti

Additional Television, Online, and Mobile Partners Make “Hope for Haiti Now”
the Most Widely Distributed Global Telethon in History

NEW YORK, NY; LOS ANGELES, CA; and LONDON, ENGLAND (JANUARY 19, 2010) — “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” today announced its lineup of superstar musical performances. The global telethon will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting in New York City; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna in a newly added London location.

All musical performances will be available for purchase for $.99 per song through the Apple® iTunes® Store beginning Saturday, January 23, with all proceeds benefiting Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities.

In addition to musical performances, Wyclef Jean in New York City, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper reporting from Haiti, “Hope for Haiti Now” will feature more than one hundred of the biggest names in film, television, and music supporting the cause with testimonials and by answering phones during the telethon.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and United Nations World Food Programme have joined the list of relief organizations that will benefit from “Hope for Haiti Now,” which also includes Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, and Yele Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from “Hope for Haiti Now” will be split evenly among each organization’s individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will be the most widely distributed telethon in history, both internationally and across media platforms. The two-hour telethon will air on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, and CMT on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT. “Hope for Haiti Now” will also air on newly added networks including PBS, TNT, Showtime, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic, and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide.

“Hope for Haiti Now” will be the first U.S.-based telethon airing on MTV in China. Facebook and Twitter have signed on as official social media partners to help drive donations and tune-in to the telethon.

Based on production needs and venue sizes, all “Hope for Haiti Now” studio locations will be closed to the media. Photos, pool video footage and talent interviews from “Hope for Haiti Now” will be serviced to news outlets immediately following the event.

“Hope for Haiti Now” is produced by Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, in collaboration with Viacom’s MTV Networks and George Clooney.

Contacts:
Carole Robinson 212.846.8760 [email protected]
Mark Jafar 212.846.8961 [email protected]

For Anderson Cooper:
Shimrit Sheetrit 310.788.6796 [email protected]

For George Clooney:
Stan Rosenfield 310.407.3444 [email protected]

Philanthropy

DCS | Haitian Relief Fund

January 21, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

The Digital Cinema Society – 50% of Subscription fee to Haiti fund

If you were thinking of subscribing to the DCS, now is the time:

In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, the Digital Cinema Society is pledging to donate 1/2 of each annual membership renewal that comes in between January 15, 2010 and January 31, 2010 ($15 of each $30 renewal) to the American Red Cross Haitian relief fund. Just renew your DCS membership, either via PayPal using the link below or by sending a check to the DCS offices, before the end of the month and we will make the donation in early February. Paypal Annual Renewal Link – $30US: click

Cameras

RED Studios Hollywood Announced

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

In a surprise move, RED announced that they have purchased the property formally known as Ren-Mar Studios (Website History Page) and have (will?) renamed it as RED Studios Hollywood.

Jim Jannard says, “There are 5 stages at RED Studios Hollywood. RED will take one for demos, etc. and the others will remain as working stages for various productions.” And to the question of, “Why RED Studios Hollywood. Why not just RED Studios. Are you suggestiong more acquisitions in the future?” he answers, “So as not to confuse with RED Ranch in Las Vegas.”

The RED Ranch in Las Vegas was announced last year. Current news is that the site has yet to be built upon, but that doens’t mean that work isn’t being done on the design and permitting side.

Meanwhile, the famous lot that was at one time the DesiLu Studios at 846 N Cahuenga Blvd, and which has long been used for everything from movies to TV shows to music videos and band rehearsals, appears to be on its way to being a showcase for the new line of RED cameras, while generating income as a normal lot.

The Lake Forrest facility that now manufactures and repairs the RED cameras will also remain open.

Here is a link to the property map

CGI

7 classic Improvs

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

This had to be placed somewhere, so that it didn’t get lost in the internet:

The Top Seven Classic Movie Moments You Didn’t Know Were Improv

Tangential Art and Science

Knoting Laser Light

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

Read the entire article at: Physicists Tie Beam of Light Into Knots at the Universe Today site.

This article originated as a paid article with a lot more depth at: Isolated Optical Vortex Knots in nature magazine.

At DailyGalaxy.com we learn of superluminal speeds, anomalous dispersion, and

…, a brilliant young Spanish physicist, João Magueijo, has been pondering the heretical question: What if the speed of light—now accepted as one of the unchanging foundations of modern physics—were not constant?

Magueijo, a 41-year old native of Portugal, puts forth the heretical idea that in the very early days of the universe light traveled faster—an idea that if proven could dethrone Einstein and forever change our understanding of the universe. He is a pioneer of the varying speed of light (VSL) theory of cosmology -an alternative to the more mainstream theory of cosmic inflation- which proposes that the speed of light in the early universe was of 60 orders of magnitude faster than its present value.

Other interesting stories with great shots at today’s UniverseToday.com

Are We Just ‘Lucky’ to See Activity on Enceladus?

Annular Eclipse Photos, Videos From Earth and Space

The Coma Berenicid Meteor Shower Peaks

Astronomy Without A Telescope – Getting Orientated

Alternative Content

Hump | Not Black Eyed Peas

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

{youtube}is9A7hJfHA&aq=f{/youtube}

Audio Processing

Avatar in Spanish, or French, or German-Slate

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

Avatar in Spanish, or French, or German

While Americans generally associate dubbing with out-of-sync martial arts B-movies, the technique is no joke for audiences around the world, where most of the big-budget films are from the United States. How does dubbing work?

First, pick your languages. Big Hollywood movies are always dubbed into French, German, and Spanish, since those respective countries all have sizable film-going communities. There are often two Spanish versions, one for Spain and one for Latin America. Otherwise, the decision depends on the type of film and its perceived market value in a given country. Animated films are dubbed into more languages than live action, since animation is primarily aimed at children who may not be able to read subtitles. Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, for instance, will be dubbed into 38 languages, while the studio’s live-action offering The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is only scheduled for nine.

Read the entire article:

Avatar in Spanish, or French, or German

Cameras

Separating Worlds through Color – StudentFilmmakers Magazine

January 19, 2010 Like Tangents In The Rain Leave a comment

David Zanit writes a nice piece in StudentFilmmakers Magazine which brings out points that one doesn’t think of until they need to be handled.

“…I wanted the shot to start calm, and then, with no warning turn chaotic. The point was to illustrate how our characters had to live in a constant state of unease never knowing when the next attack would be. I suggested we try to cover the scene in one moving take. The shot started handheld high up on a crane looking down into the camp. After a moment, the explosions started. As the explosions moved through the camp, the crane lowered, and the camera stepped off the crane and moved quickly forward through the camp.

To achieve this, the grip department had to get a special “walk around” platform for our crane. I stood on the platform wearing a safety harness that was attached to the crane. Another grip went up in the crane with me to help safety me and help with the camera before we started rolling. When the crane lowered to the ground, several grips had to step onto the crane to make up for the lost counterweight when I stepped off (to make sure the crane arm did not shoot back up into the air). They also had to unfasten me from the crane. All of this had to happen very fast; it was absolutely crucial that I did not step off early.

Standing on the crane with a mask to protect me from the dust.  Once off the crane, I still had to run forward into the camp with our very skilled pyro technicians making sure I was always safe from the explosions. My team did a great job pulling off this very difficult shot.

Read the entire piece at:
Lighting Period War Film, Shades of Hope |  Separating Worlds through Color