Three Point Lighting November 17, 2008
Posted by videoandsound in : Theory, Video , comments closedThree Point Lighting is essential if you are planning on working with actor or presenters. Here are some useful tutorials to get you started.
Risk Assessments November 16, 2008
Posted by videoandsound in : Theory, Video , comments closedFor all location shoots it is essential that you fill out a risk assessment form and consider carefully all hazards both to the actors and crew but also the general public.The latest version of the AUCB risk assessment document for location shooting as used by the Film course will be available soon.
“Filmmakers wishing to shoot in London should read their short publication, Location Filming in London Code of Practice, from which the following is an extract.”
Also check out the Film Office, click on the image below:
The iPhone comes into it’s own. November 13, 2008
Posted by videoandsound in : Sound, Theory , comments closedThe new iPhone has been causing a stir for a while now but here are a few new applications that show how our conceptions of interactivity and human computer interaction are going to be seriously challenged in the next few months.
Brian Eno & Peter Chilvers Bloom
This is a really beautiful simple interface for creating minimalist sequenced music.
iPhone - Google Earth application
This technology was first shown on Jeff Han’s Multitouch Screen a couple of years ago but now it is a reality.
iHologram - iPhone application
“The application works by assuming a constant viewing angle (35-45 degrees), typical for when the device is placed on a tabletop.
The 3d scene’s perspective is then warped using anamorphic perspective, making the object appear to jump off the screen.”
http://www.vimeo.com/1496857
iPhone Guitar 1
This is such a good idea.
iPhone Guitar 2
Another variation.
Phil’s abridged history of popular music. November 12, 2008
Posted by admin in : Sound, Theory , comments closedIn this week session we looked at the development of popular music over the last century. This was to give you a broader understanding of different genre’s of music and how they have developed. Today we put music into many different categories, can or should we put labels on our music? Music can often have many influences and fall into several categories, what do these titles really mean anyway? In my opinion they just restrict our understanding and appreciation of something that relies on personal taste and appreciation. Free the Music!
I have been asked by lots of you to put the links to some of the videos we looked at the other day. So ere they are:
The first thing we looked at was the Library of Congress web site and in particular the section on music archivist Alan Lomax. Click below and follow the links to work songs and field hollers, the foundation of Blues and Jazz music.
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/lomax/
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lomaxstategenre.html
Robert Johnson
Perhaps the most mysterious of all blues musicians? “Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, much as a popular folk legend has it he once stood at Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar-playing prowess. He became the first modern bluesman, linking the country blues of the Mississippi Delta with the city blues of the post-World War II era. Johnson was a songwriter of searing depth and a guitar player with a commanding ability that inspired no less an admirer than Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones to exclaim, “When I first heard [him], I was hearing two guitars, and it took me a long time to realize he was actually doing it all by himself.” (www.rockhall.com)
Louis Armstrong
“One of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, Louis Armstrong was responsible for innovations that filtered down through popular music to rock and roll. Armstrong himself put it like this: “If it hadn’t been for jazz, there wouldn’t be no rock and roll.” If it hadn’t been for Armstrong, popular music of all kinds - from jazz and blues to rock and roll - would be considerably poorer. As a trumpet player, Armstrong was a pioneering soloist and one of the first true virtuosos in jazz. As a singer, he was one of the originators of scat-singing, and his warm, ebullient vocal style had a big impact on the way all pop music was sung. As an entertainer, his charismatic presence allowed him to break through race barriers to become one of the first black superstars - a figure who would eventually become known as America’s Jazz Ambassador.” (www.rockhall.com)
Cab Calloway
Bandleader and vocalist Cab Calloway will always be remembered for his outrageous stage antics and wild lyrics. Consistently ranked among the top bands of the 1930s and 1940s, Calloway’s orchestra entertained millions during its heyday, and the bandleader himself continued thrilling audiences up until the time of his death in 1994.
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington is one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music and is widely considered as one of the twentieth century’s best known African American celebrities. As both a composer and a band leader, Ellington’s reputation has increased since his death, with thematic repackagings of his signature music often becoming best-sellers. (www.dukeellington.com)
Miles Davis
Probably the best known jazz player of all time, his Kind of Blue Album from 1959 is the best selling jazz record of all time and continues to sell in huge numbers today. His music continually evolved and changed taking on new influences and structures. This clip of “So What” from Kind of Blue with John Coltrane on tenor sax typifies his development of the style “modal jazz”. Using modes or musical scales for the structure the compositions were all about overlapping melodies forming chords within the music in an improvised manner.
John Coltrane
After leaving Miles Davis’s group in 1961 Coltrane formed his own quartet that pushed the boundaries of modern jazz. Long improvised musical interludes and sheets of sound typified his approach to music at this time. He also developed a circular breathing technique which meant he could play continually for several minutes at a time without having to stop to take breaths. Here he takes the popular song of the day “My favourite things” and explodes the melody.
Pink Floyd
This clip of Pink Floyd from the sixties demonstrates how popular music of this period was taking influence from minimalist composers like Terry Riley and combining them with light shows and projections.
Terry Riley
Born in 1935 in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California, Terry Riley launched what is now known as the Minimalist movement with his revolutionary classic In C in 1964. This seminal work provided the conception for a form comprised of interlocking repetitive patterns that was to change the course of 20th-century music and strongly influence the works of Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams, as well as rock groups like The Who, The Soft Machine, Curved Air, Tangerine Dream and many others. (http://www.otherminds.org/shtml/Riley.shtml)
Steve Reich
Stephen Reich (born 1936) is an American composer who pioneered the style of minimalist music. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns (examples are his early compositions, It’s Gonna Rain and Come Out), and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts (for instance, Pendulum Music and Four Organs). These compositions, marked by their use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons, have significantly influenced contemporary music. (Wikipedia)
John Cage
John Cage (1912 –1992) was an American composer. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde and, in the opinion of many, the most influential American composer of the 20th century.
The following piece is probably Cage’s most famous piece 4.33. It consists of the pianist going to the piano, and not hitting any keys for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. (He uses a stopwatch to time this.) In other words, the entire piece consists of silences — silences of different lengths, they say. http://interglacial.com/~sburke/stuff/cage_433.html
Bob Moog
In the mid to late 1960’s electronic engineer Bob Moog developed his first synthesizer. It’s arrival received mixed feelings. many musicians adopted it into their music viewing it as a new instrument and offering a new range of sounds to their musical palette. others saw it as the death of music where session musicians would be replaced by a machine. Here he talks about the Mini Moog synthesizer:
Kraftwerk
Early exponents of the synthesizer sound were German band Kraftwerk.
Herbie Hancock
After spending most of the 60’s in Miles Davis’ band Herbie Hancock set about defining a new direction for jazz with a fusion of rock and funk music. Here is his 1980’s hit Rockit a big influence on future hip hop musicians.
Jimi Hendrix
Another musician who was a huge influence on music in the late 60’s was Hendrix. his approach to guitar playing has never been equaled since. Using virtuosity, showmanship, raw emotion and improvisation he produced a new style of rock music that questioned everything and led him in many new directions. In the first clip he destroys his guitar, what sound does a dying guitar make? You’ll find out here.
This second clip from the Woodstock Festival in 1969 features Hendrix playing America’s national anthem the Star Spangled Banner. This was at the height of the Vietnam War and Hendrix plays the tune in a highly ironic way coaxing sounds of explosions, machine guns and dive bombers from his guitar before ending the piece with the Last Post. A highly political and emotional statement of its time.
To finish off this clip of Blues man Son House from the early 60’s doesn’t seem too far removed from the following piece The Message by Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five from the 1980’s. From field hollers to the Blues to the birth of Hip Hop.
Son House - John The Revelator
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
Final Cut Express August 28, 2008
Posted by videoandsound in : Final Cut, Theory, Video , add a commentApple’s Final Cut Express will be the main editing software used on the course. “The first choice of professional editors worldwide, Final Cut Pro 6 delivers high-performance digital nonlinear editing, native support for virtually any video format, and facility-class extensibility and interoperability. Its workflow extends through the other Final Cut Studio applications for even more power.”
A good starting point for learning this application are the tutorials on the Apple site.
Click the image below.
Here is a really useful page with in depth info on how to set up your project
click here
The Language of Film & Video August 28, 2008
Posted by videoandsound in : Theory, Video , add a commentIt is really important to have a good understanding of the Language of Film & Video. This includes how to frame shots, camera movements and putting shots together into a meaningful narrative. The sites below are a good starting point for learning the basics of Film Language.
Click here
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