Tag: film

Introduction to Claymation

While you were attending online film school, you took many different courses in animation. One of them should have been claymation. Although this method is not used much today, learning the skills and techniques are just as important as the rest of your course. Claymation, at some point in your career, may come into play with the other techniques you use.

Claymation is the method of taking clay figurines, posing them in different positions, filming them different films. When the film is run at the right speed, the clay figures appear to be moving. When this method used to be done with photographed frames, there are now computer enhanced programs that allow it to be done digitally.

Stop motion involves the creation of photographed frames, each one a little different from the previous one. Other frames that are masked so they aren’t double exposed. Stop motion, when done right makes the images and characters appear to be moving and interacting. Claymation is another form of using stop motion animation.

The technique used in claymation is the creation of images or characters made of clay. Plasticine clay is the most often used type. It is malleable, yet sturdy and allows the model to be readjusted many times. Then photos are taken of each change, played back at 10 to 12 frames per second, thus creating the illusion of movement by the figures. This is another course offered by your online animation school.

The Sculptors Welsh Rarebit Dream was produced in 1908 by Edison Manufacturing. This was the first film where claymation was used. Eight years later Helena Smith Dayton and Willie Hopkins combined their talents and produced films on many subjects using the technique of claymation. For several years this method fell to the wayside while other animation techniques survived. It was revived in 1921 in with the release of the film “Modeling”.

The Wallace and Gommit claymation productions, claymation once again became popular in the early 1970’s with their creations of “Closed on Mondays”, “Creature Comforts” and “Sand Castles” that were created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. Nick Park was also well known for his claymations creations of “The Presentators” which were created for Nicktoons.

Going to a good film school and getting your animation degree, will bring you a giant step closer to that career in animation and films.

Film Studies A Focused On Critical Appreciation Of Film And Cinema

Film Studies is the name given to an academic field of study that analyzes the critical appreciation of cinema as an art together with the role it plays in society and culture. Film theorists argue that the discipline concerns itself with how best to view movies and understand all their meanings. The subject forms part of the larger disciplines of media and culture studies.

The discipline is a relatively new one dating back to the second half of the twentieth century. The growth of cinema studies as a discipline following the end of World War II has spawned a number of academic peer-reviewed journals. Examples include the influential British journal Screen, Cinema Journal and the Journal of Film and Video.

Academic cinema journals have introduced many important concepts in film theory over the years. For example, prominent cinema theorist and British academic Laura Mulvey (1941-stillliving) published her famous 1975 article titled Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema in Screen. That influential article adopted a Freudian psychoanalytic analysis of the portrayal of women in cinema. It is one of the earliest articles to combine cinema theory, psychoanalysis and feminism and remains widely read today.

The Hollywood studio and star system have operated to dominate movie making and marketing in terms of its influence on pop culture. Given this commercial success, some people may perhaps be surprised at the prominent early historical influence that Europe and Russia have had on both the technical aspects of filmmaking and cinema theory. The clearest example of this point is perhaps the Moscow Film School. Founded as early as 1919, the school was the first organization to focus on the technical aspects of movie making.

Similarly, the first serious cinema theorist is widely acknowledged to be Frenchman Andre Bazin (1918-1958). He started writing on the subject in 1943, during the World War II, and was a co-founder of the prominent magazine Cahiers du cinema in 1951 (together with Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca). His writings remain a major force in cinema theory and criticism today.

A 4 volume set of Bazin writings was published and released after his death. Those volumes were titled Qu’est-ce que le cinema? (What is Cinema?) and released over the years 1958 to 1962. A selection of those essays was translated into English and published as two volumes, the first in the late 1960s and the other in the early 1970s.

Bazin also favored films that presented an objective reality rather than indulging in blatant fake manipulations of reality. He supported documentaries and films crafted on the lines of Italian neorealism. From a technical viewpoint, he encouraged directors to render themselves invisible in their films; he supported advocated deep focus shots and wide shots; he discouraged adding meaning through montage favoring instead continuity via mise en scene.

Bazin argued that the best objective for films was to attempt to present an objective reality. He therefore favored documentaries and films in the style of Italian neorealism. From a technical perspective he argued that directors should seek to make themselves invisible; advocated the use of deep focus or large depth of field (favored, for example by Orson Welles) and wide shots (Jean Renoir). Bazin also supported lack of montage, that is, extended continuity through mise en scene rather than montage editing and special effects. All of these Bazin viewpoints are challenged by the modern film studies community. Bazin is nevertheless celebrated as having been an original thinker in his time.

Tarintino had to start somewhere. Film school can open the door to a lucrative and enjoyable career. The industry requires hard work and long hours so get started at a Canadian Art Institute. If film does not interest you then try taking web design courses or photography courses.

Royalty Free Footage – 5 Great Uses

Producers are always looking for affordable ways of incorporating quality into their film projects and royalty free footage is the perfect way to do that. From movies, commercials, websites, and any other video project, stock video footage is a great way to get professional clips for not a lot of money. Producers and editors alike use stock video clips to make an awkward scene transition much smoother. The great thing is, you can’t tell the stock footage from the original footage.

But where do you see these clips? You may be surprised.

Here are a few examples and uses for stock video clips:

1. HD video clips are used all the time to demonstrate the capabilities of consumer electronics including phones and HDTVs in stores and commercials

2. If your story line needs a TV on in the background, royalty free clips are a great way of finding a story that works with the production

3. Producers use royalty free video and news clips to establish a location or time period within a production

4. Add excitement or a certain emotion by incorporating stock video clips into your production or presentation

5. Royalty free clips are often used in documentaries when there is a gap in the scenery or a specific shot is needed that could not be gotten

The next time you are watching a movie, pay attention to the credits. Can you spot the royalty free clips or stock footage library being mentioned? It might surprise you to find your favorite explosion or nature scene was not original to the movie. The best news? It is easy to do and there is no reason for you not to utilize these clips to make your own production stand out from the rest.

Before starting your next film project, take a look at the cost with and without stock footage. You may find that instead of spending the bulk of your budget on re-shooting a scene because of the weather, you are able to use these video clips and save your money to tell your story the way you want.

Bret Hodge enjoys video production. However, the end product is not always what he envisioned. Royalty free footage smooths out the rough edge. Using raw footage to complete projects saves time and money.

Eight Types Of Audio Engineering

Audio engineering is only a part of the science of sound that deals with recording and remaking sound through mechanic and electronics. A person who wants to get into this field much be proficient with different types of recording equipment and will often simply choose one aspect of the process to master. There are 8 basic branches that an engineer can choose from.

Studio engineers work in a studio either alone or with a producer that assists and manages them. They must take different tracks and mix them together to create a balanced and appealing sound. They must be able to recognize the musical and technical aspects of any track and manipulate them so that they sound good together. This is useful for when they have a voice on one track and the music on the other.

A recording engineer uses a mixing board to manipulate different sounds from music, television, and radio. They may also install sound effects and speed up and slow down tempos depending on what sound they are attempting to create. They are most responsible for adjusting the audio to please the customer.

Different tracks can be mixed together by a mixing engineer.This can be useful when you have two different sounds or tracks that need to be mixed. It can be used in any kinds of media that people listen to. It can be used with any kind of sound and works best when several different tracks are utilized.

Games need sound engineers, too. These people work exclusively on games to enhance the enjoyment and realistic appearance and sound of the games as they are being played. They may be required to add the sounds of sword fights, impacts noise, and to manage all the sounds so that they are not overwhelming to the player.

Bands and other live performers often have a live sound engineer that travels with them. This person can be responsible for setting up and managing any and all of the sound equipment used. They often have a mixing board so that they can enhance and perfect certain sounds so the the performer sounds their best.

Fold back or monitor engineers monitor the sounds at live performances. They are responsible for making sure that they audience only hears what the performers want them to hear. They may be required to enhance certain sounds and to make others fade away entirely.

PA systems can be difficult to set up and manage. System engineers specialize in doing this. They must design the systems so that they can be used efficiently for the purpose that they are most needed. They will be responsible for making sure that the systems enhance and mute any sounds that are picked up by them.

Films and television shows often have an audio post engineer on staff. These people are responsible for managing all the sounds that come with this type of media. They must be able to correctly balance and enhance the tracks so that the effects are not too overwhelming but are believable to the audience.

Anyone who has a degree in audio engineering has several choices on what they want to do with that degree. These are just a few of the more common careers that the could enter. The person should carefully consider there interests and abilities to determine which field would be best for them.

Ready to channel your inner creativity? Enroll in a film school for film studies or one of the many fine art schools in Canada. The career you dreamed of may be just around the corner.