Princess Leia Costume

For all those guys who enjoy sci fi, the best costume ever has to be the Princess Leia outfit from Return of the Jedi. Looks like there are a lot of women out there who also agree.

Blue Screen Hanging

Blue Screen Plate

Background Plate

Final Composite

Recently I did a little blue screen shoot with my visual effects students over at CSUN. We did 4 set-ups in 4 hours which I think is pretty amazing. We picked blue screen over green screen for this particular shot due to the fact that we were lighting the screen with Kino Flo K55 tubes which are rated at 5500 degrees Kelvin. This color temperature combined with the blue screen provided a well saturated blue screen.

This type of shot requires a heavy dose of keying, rotoscoping, motion tracking & color correction. These techniques are the bread and butter for all visual effects artists and this one shot will use them all.

The really fun part of the shoot was hand holding a fully extended monopod thirty feet in the air while connected to a new $4,000 camera. Priceless.

RED Scarlet 3K Camera Announced at NAB 2008

Today at NAB, Red Digital Cinema showcased the long-awaited Scarlet, a compact model capable of shooting 3K video for under $3,000. Film and video enthusiasts flooded the show floor, clawing to catch a glimpse of the Scarlet's rectangular upright body and unconventional architecture. The Scarlet is equipped with a new 2/3-inch Mysterium sensor and supports 1-120fps with a 180fps burst mode. The Scarlet can capture video up to 100Mbps in REDCODE Raw format and RGB recording to dual compact flash.

Red's latest compact addition has a 4.8-inch LCD screen, 8x optical zoom lens, and full Auto or Manual shooting modes. The Scarlet's connectivity includes HDMI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800, and USB2. A still mode and compatibility with many Red One accessories is available.

Scarlet Preliminary Specs:

* NEW 2/3″ MYSTERIUM X SENSOR
* 1-120 FPS (180FPS BURST)
* UP TO 100 MB/SEC REDCODE RAW AND RGB RECORDING TO DUAL COMPACT FLASH
* 4.8″ LCD
* 8X T2.8 RED ZOOM LENS
* FULL AUTO OR FULL MANUAL SHOOTING MODES
* HDMI and HD-SDI
* FIREWIRE 800 and USB2
* STILL MODE
* COMPATIBLE WITH MANY RED ONE ACCESSORIES
* WI-FI CONTROL

Adobe Photoshop Express Beta

Adobe recently announced it's beta version of Adobe Photoshop Express. This FREE flash based application has a look and feel very similar to it's bigger and more expensive brother, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. For basic photo editing chores such as; exposure correction, red eye removal, image cropping, and simple touch ups, this software might be all you will ever need. For more advanced editing that requires layers, masking, and other professional tools, you will still need to plunk down some greenbacks for the industry standard Photoshop CS3.

Cool features like it's slide show function, that resembles Apple's "cover flow", makes watching the content of your photo albums much more enjoyable. It can be viewed in either standard 2D or in pseudo 3D.

The main thing missing from Photoshop Express is it's inability to resize the pixel resolution and consequently reduce the file size of your photos that you wish to email. This would make sending your friends and family a copy of your latest pix much easier than having them download a large 1 or 2MB file.

Picassa, a FREE little iPhoto like application has been around for quite awhile and has a loyal user base, appears to be the only competition against Adobe's latest creation.

Pros: Elegant Interface, Photo Cataloging, 3D Slide Show.

Cons: No Image Resizing.

Price: FREE!

Panasonic Retro Headphones RP-HTX7PP

I remember listening to Paradise Theater by Styx on my brother's Puke Green headphones while lounging in a bean bag chair as I played Asteroids on my Atari 2600. How's that for a run-on sentence? The bean bag chair and the Atari 2600 went to the city dump many, many years ago. Not really sure what happened to my brother's headphones, but they must have met the same fate. Thanks to Panasonic I can Rock the Paradise once again in retro style. The RP-HTX7PP Old School Stereo Headphones will transport you back to a much simpler time.

Providing a nice round sound that makes your digital mp3's sound a little less brittle and gives you more of an analog experience. They are much lighter than they look, which will make longer listening sessions less fatiguing. The earpieces are a bit on the smaller size, so those of you with Spock like ears might want to look elsewhere.

You can take your pick of Green, Blue, White, Cream, or Black.

Pros: Retro Design, Round Sound.

Cons: Not for Vulcans.

Price: $59.99

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Rasterbator

Okay, when was the last time that you rasterbated? What? You swear you never ever have? Well isn't it about time that you started? Homokassu.org has a pixlelicious piece of software called the Rasterbator that will help you turn any photo or graphic into a Roy Lichtenstein inspired work of art.

This ingenious piece of software turns any image into a series of halftone dots that when viewed from afar appear to be a continuous tone. You choose how large you want the final image to be, if you want it to be in color or b&w, and then just sit back as the software transforms your image into a PDF document that you can easily print on your latest ink jet or laser printer. Gather up all your prints, arrange them on your wall, and you have instant pop art!

So forget all about what your Mom use to tell you about going blind, and start Rasterbating!

Pros: Simple Interface, Excellent Results.

Cons: Doctor, I See Spots Before My Eyes.

List Price: FREE!

Drop.io Private Exchange

Let's say you have some files that you would like to share with your friends or colleagues but they are simply too large or too personal to attach to a basic email, what is a pixelphile to do? Thankfully the geniuses over at drop.io have come up with a quick and easy web based solution.

Step 1: Name your drop (the master name of the file or files that you are going to share). This will give you a unique url for this file.

Example: drop.io/pixelphile

Step 2: Upload your files from your computer. Up to 100MB.

Step 3: Choose a password if you want the file protected. Pick how long you want the file to be available. Set if the recipients can view only, view & add, or view, add & delete.

Step 4: Drop it. Your file has now been uploaded and is ready for whoever you want to download it.

It's just that easy. Give it a try and start creating your own drops today!

Pros: Quick & Easy Private File Sharing.

Cons: 100 MB File Limit.

List Price: FREE!

Panasonic HDC-SD9 Pocket Size HD Cam

Panasonic has the world's smallest and lightest full HD Camcorder, the HDC-SD9. This pocket size cam features a 3CCD sensor that records at 1920x1080. For the independent film maker in all of us, you will appreciate the 24p mode that shoots at the same frame rate as motion picture film.

It records to SD/SDHC memory cards with the AVCHD codec. Which means, no more tapes. You will need a rather new and fast computer, preferably a dual core machine, if you want to have a chance at being able to edit the footage.

There were some compromises made in order to make this cam so dang small. Panasonic got rid of the viewfinder that is traditionally located on the back of the unit. You must now use only the LCD screen to frame your shots. This isn't such a big deal, since most people only use the LCD screen, and forget all about the viewfinder. If you want to plug in an external microphone to improve the audio quality of your recordings you are in for a big surprise. You can't. You are stuck with the built-in mic that is located on the camera. My biggest complaint is that the HDMI port is located in the battery compartment. If you want to use the HDMI, you have to take out the battery, and run on AC power. This is a big pain in the ass. Hopefully Panasonic will wise up and fix this on future versions.

This little cam also features "Face Detection" which had previously been available only on still cameras. This new function, which can detect up to five faces at once, automatically adjusts the exposure and smooths skin tones according to the ambient brightness, so faces are bright and easy to see.

This is an amazing HD camera that you can literally fit in your pocket.

Pros: Full 1920x1080 HD, 24p Mode, Leica Lens.

Cons: No Mic Input, No Viewfinder, HDMI Port Location.

Price: $799.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Analog TV Dead at 68 Years Old

On February 17, 2009, the television broadcast spectrum that we have been using for the last 68 years will no longer be used for the transmission of television content. On that day, the analog spectrum will be dedicated solely for the use of consumer electronics. The FCC has mandated that all future television broadcasts will only be receivable via digital transmission.

If you want to continue receiving "Over The Air" television programs, and you are using an older model t.v. that does not have a built in ATSC tuner, you will need to purchase a digital converter box in order to view the broadcast signal.

Luckily the U.S. Government has decided to help ease the cost of the transition. Until March 31, 2009, all U.S. households will be able to request two $40 coupons that can be applied to the cost of buying a digital-to-analog converter box. This will enable older non-digital televisions to continue receiving over the air programming.

Cable and Satellite customers will not be affected by this transition.

Now run and tell Grandma and Grandpa so they don't miss one exciting episode of "The Price Is Right".

Saul Bass Star Wars

What if Saul Bass did the opening title sequence for the movie Star Wars? Saul Bass, 1920-1996, was a graphic designer and Academy Award winning filmmaker. But he is more well known as the godfather of motion graphics and motion picture title sequences. Bass has designed the title sequences for Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese.

So what if Star Wars came out in 1957 instead of 1977? Would it have looked something like this? Maybe, maybe not. But it's something to think about.

Saul Bass was the Mac Daddy of graphic design and his influence is still felt today.

Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus Hard Drive

There is an old computer adage, it is not a question of if a hard drive is going to fail, but when? Just like death and taxes, hard drive failure will eventually happen to all of us. Protect yourself by backing up all your important data to another hard drive. If one drive fails, you have another copy of your important and irreplaceable files.

I have been recommending the Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus line of hard drives. These drives feature a five year warranty, much better than some manufacturers who only offer a one or three year. I also like the look of the brushed metal and black enclosure and the cool white indicator light. Running at 7200 RPM, with 16 MB of cache, this drive has enough performance for most of your needs. More importantly, it can be connected with either Firewire 400 or USB 2.0. This makes it a perfect cross platform drive for both mac and pc users.

Currently they are available in 250GB, 500GB, and 750GB.

Pros: Quiet 7200 RPM , Heavy Duty Case, Cool White Light.

Cons: No Firewire 800 or eSATA Connection.

List Price: $199.99

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.