The dream-like photography in the 2005 film "The Girl from Monday" is anchored in real-world locations in Manhattan and Jersey City.
The modern science-fiction film is synonymous with CGI wizardry, clever gadgets, and elaborate sets. While those are some of our favorite things, it's all too easy to lose sight of the human story among the whooshing, 'sploding, and transforming.
One way to focus on the people is to place them in an all-too-familiar future that looks a lot like now. There's a fascinating strand of sci-fi cinema that does just that, with auteurs such as Traffaut, Godard, and Kubrick creating the future by filming in real locations.
Science fiction has a slippery definition, but for this article Robert Heinlein's definition is spot on: "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present." Architecture provides suitably futuristic locations for many sci-fi films: the famous Bradbury Building at 304 South Broadway, Los Angeles, is an atmospheric location for Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner," while the dramatic Dallas City Hall, at 1500 Marilla, acted as the headquarters of evil corporation OCP in RoboCop.
Some films use such locations more extensively, both to evoke an unfamiliar future and to connect the themes of the film with the world we live in. The effect is often disconcerting and lends itself to the dystopic. We've highlighted the films that deliberately make as much use of existing buildings as possible.
Read more of The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations at Crave UK.
NFB Films streams over 1,000 shorts and feature-length films to your iPhone.
Like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Ho, boy, have I got an app for you: NFB Films lets you watch over a thousand movies on your iPhone. For free.
The "NFB" stands for National Film Board, a kind of Canadian PBS. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.
All the movies are streamed to your iPhone, but there's also an ingenious "watch later" option that downloads a selected movie for later viewing. However, these downloads expire after 24 hours, not unlike App Store movie rentals, but that hardly seems unfair.
NFB Films includes a Channels section where you can browse various categories, including Documentaries, Kids Cartoons, History & War, and Environment. There's a search option, natch, and you can add movies to a favorites (sorry, "favourites") list for easier access.
If you come across a film you want to share with friends, the app lets you send an e-mail that includes a link to the Web version.
A while back I went to see 10 Oscar-nominated short films--five animated, five live-action. They were all tremendously entertaining. Since then I've been a lot more open-minded to non-mainstream movie fare like this. So for me, NFB Films is pure iPhone gold. I reckon you'll love it, too.
(Credit:
Polaroid SX-70 image by Adriano Antonini, royalty free)
After an incredible response to the passing of Polaroid instant film, the new licensee of the Polaroid brand has decided to relaunch some of the most popular instant cameras.
Endeavors like The Impossible Project, a scheme to reinvent Polaroid instant film after the company ceased its manufacture, has proved that there's still interest and demand for the film.
The Summit Global Group, which licensed the Polaroid brand, has enlisted The Impossible Project to produce limited-edition Polaroid-branded instant films for the new cameras, to be released in mid-2010.
Read more of "Polaroid relaunches instant cameras" on CNET Australia.
(Credit:
Fujifilm)
With Polaroid killing off its instant-film business in favor of its Zink printing technology, Fujifilm saw a hole it could fill with its instant-film cameras. The first Instax camera arrived in November 2008, and Wednesday the company announced the arrival of the Instax Mini 7S.
The 7S features:
- Automatic built-in flash for low-light shooting
- 1/60-second electronic shutter
- LED exposure indicator
- Silken white finish
- Measures 5 inches by 5 inches by 2.5 inches (HWD)
The camera uses Fujifilm's Mini Instax 2-inch by 3-inch film with a printed area of 1.8 inches by 2.4 inches. It's an ISO 800 speed with a glossy finish and, at that size, hopefully very little visible graininess. A 10 pack runs $19.99, though, which is kind of prohibitive for regular shooting.
I'm pretty sure it's the same camera that was being sold at Urban Outfitters earlier this year, but regardless, this one will be available at more than one retail location in September for $95.99 (which again seems like a steep price for a niche market).
(Credit:
Twine)
Polaroid Instant Film may be defunct (though a group of enthusiasts is aiming to resurrect it), but the influence of this medium can be clearly seen. Previously, we reported on the Polaroid candle, but it's a pity to light that thing up. If you want a more lasting remembrance of the iconic camera, the Ceramic Polaroid might be a better choice.
For $62, you can get the Ceramic Polaroid from Twine. This handmade representation is crafted from glazed earthenware, and its heft makes it suitable for a paperweight. However, we're sure Polaroid fans would never do that.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Velocity Art and Design)
For $39.50, you can buy a candle shaped like a Polaroid camera. Why would anyone do that, you ask? Well, the instant Polaroid cameras and film as we know them have been discontinued, so it feels right that this product will eventually burn out after 40 hours of use.
That said, we suspect camera enthusiasts won't ever light it up, which is fine, too. We imagine it would make an awesome conversation piece sitting prettily beside your family photos.
(Source: Crave Asia via book of joe)
Brendt Barbur, founder and director of the Bicycle Film Festival.
(Credit: Justin Yu/CNET)As a longtime fan and patron of the Bicycle Film Festival, we're proud to welcome its founder and director, Brendt Barbur, into the studio for a sit-down interview about the international filmfest. The BFF is a celebration of everything that encompasses cycling: joyrides, casual trips, long-distance journeys, trick sessions, racing, and so much more is captured by the unique program offered.
Brendt tells us about the bike accident that motivated him to immerse himself in bicycle advocacy and the production of bikecentric movies. Eventually, the wheels started turning, more people submitted videos, and nine years later, the festival reaches tons of people across the world in dozens of cities including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and Melbourne, to name a few.
Most of the movies are independently shot and produced with innovations in helmet-cam technology and mixed-media design. To further promote cycling, Brendt and the BFF team also host an annual art show that features both established and independent artists who use bikes as inspiration. If you have a chance, we highly recommend checking out at least one of the programs as the festival comes around to your city. By the end of the show, I think I might have convinced Wilson to actually buy a bike! Much thanks to Brendt and the Bicycle Film Festival for all that they do for the cycling community.
If you watch today's video (coming soon, check later today), you'll notice some serious changes to the introduction. We're very proud to announce that The 404 is now sponsored by Beck's Beer, so a big thanks to them for supporting the show. We're also going to be debuting several new weekly segments over the course of the next few months, so be sure to listen to tomorrow's episode for the first of many new changes coming to The 404 Web show. And don't forget that we'll have Blake Stevenson, the winner of our logo competition, on the show tomorrow to talk about his design. See you then!
EPISODE 374
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First we said good-bye to Polaroid, now it's Kodachrome. What's a film sentimentalist to do? After 74 years of making the color film used by many of photography's greats, Kodak announced Monday that it's ending Kodachrome's production.
(Credit:
Kodak)
Kodachrome makes up less than 1 percent of Kodak's total sales for still film, according to the company. Digital cameras are obviously the main culprit contributing to Kodachrome's demise, but photographers are also using newer kinds of color film that are easier to process. Only one photofinishing lab in the world still processes Kodachrome--Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan.
Photographers like Kodachrome for its warm colors and fine grain, which are perfect for shooting portraits. The famous portrait of the Afghan refugee girl with the bright green eyes that graced the cover of National Geographic in 1985 was taken with Kodachrome film by Steve McCurry. But even McCurry has moved onto digital and other still film.
Even though Kodachrome is largely known as still film, it has also been made for movie formats, including 16mm. In the past three years, Kodak has come out with several new professional still films and motion picture films.
Kodak is donating its last rolls of Kodachrome to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, N.Y. One of these last rolls will be shot by McCurry, with the photos donated to the museum. Dwayne's Photo said it will continue to process any leftover Kodachrome until 2010.
The Typhoon HD4 camera
(Credit: photobucket.com)The world as you see it can be so much more amazing in slow motion. It's then that you can really take time to appreciate the forces of nature.
With that in mind, Australian underwater cameraman Bali Strickland, and Dylan Longbottom, an Australian world-class surfer, teamed up to capture the waves of Micronesia's Caroline Islands. With the help of the BBC's Natural History Unit, they were able to capture the stunning vortexes created by the monster 12-foot waves--and Longbottom riding through the barrel.
The task was done in advance of the BBC's new documentary "South Pacific" with a special camera called TyphoonHD4. This $100,000 high-speed cam can operate in super slow motion and can shoot in high definition at 20 times the speed of a normal HD camera.
The camera had been specially modified for the job, requiring a special housing unit designed for high-speed filming by Rudi Diesel, a German high-speed cameraman/technician. This was the first time this type of camera has been used for underwater filming.
Technically, the TyphoonHD4 camera features an advanced CMOS sensor with ultra high light sensitivity of 1,000 ASA and an HD resolution of 1,280x1,024 pixels (720p). It support max frame rates up to 200,000 frames per second.
Obviously, this is not some HD camera you can get at Best Buy and operate by yourself, but take a look at the gorgeous footage below and you'll wish you could.
I'm not convinced that Blu-ray will ever be as successful as DVD.
I believe that the players are still too expensive, the media costs too much, and there isn't enough of a jump in quality between DVD and Blu-ray to force people to jump to the new format. Plus, streaming video is slowly but surely becoming a force in the entertainment space.
There's another issue holding Blu-ray back: it's not portable. Unlike DVD, you can't bring Blu-ray with you. And you certainly can't run into Blockbuster, pick up a Blu-ray movie, and play it in your car to keep the kids quiet on a road trip. That's been a contributing factor to DVD's staying power.
Until now.
Though it went largely unnoticed, Panasonic announced last week that it was bringing an in-car Blu-ray player to store shelves. The two-part system also features a "7-inch display, GPS, a CD/DVD player, Bluetooth, a 40GB hard drive, and iPod/iPhone compatibility." So far, no price has been announced.
It's an important step forward for the format.
... Read moreDon Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
