Art Supplies
Making some ART ! I got a new “Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K”, name is too long, wow. I decided to test it out while doing a new art project and see what it could do, and how easy it is in practical use. Also to test out the Raw capability of the new BRAW codec / file format etc. I have to say I’m really happy with the options and capabilities of this camera, while it might not be a RED or an ARRI camera it is exceedingly capable. It does put those kinds of pro features in the hands of many more filmmakers. It is a super affordable camera that hits well above its price point.
James Avery Mothers Day Charm Event ..... 2019
Last year we had the opportunity to create four :15 second spots for Texas based James Avery Artisan Jewelry, celebrating mothers day. We produced the spots using stop motion animation which featured their Necklaces, Bracelets and most importantly their Charms. This year they came back to us at ATKPLN to do four more mother’s day spots! So I am are excited to share this news now. Here are a couple of the spots along with a Behind the scenes look at how we did them. These are so much fun to put together and do, stop motion is a favorite medium I like to work in. It works really well for these spots, as it is hand crafted and singular, it speaks to the artisanal quality of their jewelry, which is hand crafted by their artists.
Enjoy !
Here is the behind the scenes for this years ( 2019 ) shoot of the James Avery Mothers Day Charm event.
Philos Pholly
In 1927 Philo Farnsworth invented and realized the worlds first electronic television. This was a device that would go on change the world. It permeates society today. "Tele-vision" the ability to see at a distance, as it is sometime described, or more etymologically (Tele) far (visio) sight.
Far Sight, it's anything but that, in the fullness of time, sure it technically fulfills that definition, but on just about every other level it is not farsighted. It is also possibly the most misused, underutilized, piece of technology we have. This was an issue for which Philo had not planned or forseen. Many times we see a need and then fill that need but without considering or understanding the full implications of what we have created, or how it will be used.
It was this kind of thinking that got me on to the subject, and I thought would it be funny if the guy who invented television, while he was first testing it, got interrupted by an ad! Something we get entirely too much of now. What would that look like and how would that play out? So I decided to do a short "spec spot" or commercial that illustrated this. It started out as a spec spot but during production it became something else. It became more of a short film, and while I did do an edit that was a commercial I abandoned that idea and just went with the short film. The reason for this was that during research and production, I discovered that Philo had great expectations for his new invention. He expected this technology to be used for the betterment of humanity, however, reality intervened. If you read the wiki page linked above you can see how this played out. This piece now plays out like a microcosm of his experience with the invention of the television. So here is my short film "Philo's Pholly"
This film just won an Award of Recognition from the IndieFest film festival in La Jolla ! Whoop !
Crew photo - unfortunately we are missing Justin Issac, our Camera Op and lenser extraordinaire. :-(
War of the Worlds "Dallas" or SciFi Dallas
"War of the Worlds" 1953 is one of my all time favorite movies, and the 2005 version is not too shabby either. Many of you who, may or may not follow my flickr photo stream, (if you don't you should) will know is that one of my projects is photographing toys in an appropriate environment. So for my latest photographic endeavor I decided to build some "War of the Worlds" models and photograph them in and around iconic Dallas locations, another of my favorite subjects. So what if the Martian war machines rolled through our city......
These models were photographed in situ, at the time of capture, that is to say at the same time as the locations, it is a forced perspective trick that has been in use for many many years. This was a factor that I was unwilling to compromise on. This way the light is correct, thats the single most important thing for work like this.
A fair number of people who have seen these, asked where I got the images of the war machines, suspecting that I found them on the web and just photoshopped them in to existing pictures or built and rendered them in a 3D application, like Maya or Softimage. Nope.
I shot two sometimes three images, one for the Model in place on a stand and then move the model out of the shot and shoot a "clean" BG plate, and occasionally shoot a smaller model or move the model and shoot that as well. Once I had the images I removed whatever was holding the model via photoshop and using the "clean" BG plate to aid in cleanup then add smoke, fire, debris etc. I wanted a considered approach. I wanted to travel around a look through the lens and see the model in the frame, at the location and see if it told a story or had impact, not to mention just basic line up. This was for me a much more fun way to do this. I have made prints of these 18"x24" and hope to do something interesting with them soon. If your interested in a print let me know. lyn.caudle@gmail.com
Above I said I hoped to do something with these images soon, well soon is now, I have 4 of the 18"x24" prints in the summer salon show at Kettle Art, in the heart of Deep Ellum for the next few weeks, the rest of the series of larger prints are currently at the Get Reel Goods store on Elm in Deep Ellum. I also have smaller 8"x10" ish prints available at Makers Connect in East Dallas. So send all your Sci FI Dallas Art loving friends and family to these places and check it all out.
War of the Worlds Dallas - On Flickr
Below are a couple of progressions as an example of how these came together.
The Models under construction in my shop.
Here you can see the "BG" image then the model with its support, and then the final image.
Here you can see the "BG" image then the model with its support, and then the final image.
Here you can see the "BG" image then the model with its support, and then the final image.
This series has been recently published on the DIY Photography and Faith is Torment websites, thanks tons to those guys and gals for posting this.
Fell free to comment and tell me what you think of the series.