All Around The World

"All around the world, you've got to spread the word. Tell them what you've heard. We're gonna make a better day." - Oasis

Okay, so it's not exactly Shakespeare, but it does rhyme. Nice going Noel.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been visiting my blog over the last eight months. You guys are the best. If you look close you might even see your city represented by a nice little red push pin. I hope by this time next year to have the map covered in a sea of red.

If anyone out there is a friend of Bjork, please tell her about Pixelphile. Iceland looks so lonely without a pin.

AirPort Express Airtunes

As many of you know I just recently relocated to a Mid Century Modern house in Woodland Hills. I had only one small problem. How to get the music that was playing off my iTunes in the living room transmitted out to the area by the pool. It was my dream to have the same soundtrack playing as my guests migrated from the inside of the house to the outside. Steve Jobs must have had the same dream, and the savants at Apple have built that functionality into the very small and affordable Airport Express. With Airtunes, I am now able to wirelessly stream my music from a host computer to any room or outside location. All it takes is a wifi connection, a couple of AirPort Expresses, and powered speakers.

I can now sit back by the pool and enjoy the sweet sounds of my iTunes library. Now if I could only find a way to get my drinks delivered just as easily.

Pros: Easy setup, extended wifi signal, Airtunes audio streaming.

Cons: No Video streaming.

List Price: $99.99

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

Google Maps Is The Best - Double True!

Recently I decided that it was time for a change.  Even though I really enjoyed living in Pasadena, with all it's fine eateries, tree lined streets, and low crime rate, it was time for greener pastures.  Not to mention that the neighbor whose internet connection I was stealing, I mean borrowing, had just moved out, thereby leaving me without my precious wifi for over a month.  So what's a pixelphile to do?  Hit up craigslist and google maps to find a new abode.

In most areas, google maps will be able to show both a street view and an aerial view of a house or an apartment.  This is great for checking out a neighborhood before you even step foot outside your door.  I was able to find a mid-century modern ranch with a much coveted black bottom pool.  All thanks to craigslist, google maps, and a bottle of Merlot. 

Now if I could just find a nice nude beach:)

Bloody Omaha BBC

More than 60 years ago, the fate of World War II turned on five beaches in Normandy, France. ‘D-Day’ was the greatest amphibious invasion ever attempted. History remembers it as a great victory. But new research reveals that on Omaha Beach, it was very nearly a disaster. German defenses there were far more ferocious than expected. A massive air strike intended to take them out, was a total failure. For the troops charged with this mission, it would become a killing zone.

In this behind the scenes documentary, Richard "Hamster" Hammond of the hugely popular British show "Top Gear", shows us how with current digital technology and a little British ingenuity they were able to create an epic war scene for very little money and without a thousand extras.

This is from the the BBC's "Bloody Omaha", which is part of their history series "Timewatch".

Brilliant.

Paloma & Mary

Over the Memorial Day weekend I did a photo shoot for a corporate client. I used a Nikon D80 and a Dynalite M1000DR strobe pack. The great thing about shooting in Los Angeles is that if you pick up your rental gear after 4:00 p.m. on Friday and return it by 11:00 a.m. the following Monday, you are only charged for a one day rental. Since it was a holiday weekend, I also got an extra bonus day, and was able to keep the gear until Tuesday. So what is a photographer to do with great gear and a couple of extra days? Doggie Photo Shoot! I wanted to volunteer to help out with a Playboy centerfold shoot, but for some reasons they wouldn't return my calls. Damn you Hugh Hefner!

Here is a photo from that session that features Paloma & Mary. Both of these dogs have been rescued from an animal shelter. They are two of the sweetest and most cuddly dogs I have ever known. If you would like to find out more about shelter dogs, please check out the Shelter Animal Advocacy Fund.

If you are shooting in Los Angeles be sure to stop on by Samy's Camera for all your photographic needs. Tell them the Pixelphile sent you.

Crank 2 - Shot With Canon Consumer Cameras

Crank 2 - High Voltage, the sequel to the 2006 film Crank, about an assassin played by Jason Statham who learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops, is being shot entirely with consumer level Canon video cameras.

Primarily being shot hand held with a $3,500 XH-A1 that is mounted onto a Manfrotto Fig Rig (see photo above featuring Amy Smart and Corey Haim) , which was invented by director Mike Figgis while making his 2000 film Timecode. For point of view, car mounted, and crash cams, they are using the less expensive HF10's which records to removable SDHC memory cards. Reportedly they will be using up to 12 of these $1,000 cameras with plans of destroying most of them during the filming process.

Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have said that the Canon XH-A1 and Canon HF10 will be used as “moving the camera in outrageous ways and being able to destroy cameras without blinking an eye is more important to us than, you know, sort of having this filmic image” says Taylor. Nevedine says “With the cameras we’re using we literally can point and shoot and we have the same image quality that we had on Crank 1“.

With camcorders though won’t it look pretty crappy? “It doesn’t look like Cloverfield. It’s not supposed to look like home video. It’s going to look like a movie, but it’s going to look like a movie you’ve never seen before.“

Crank 1, was previously shot with the Sony F950 that carries a price tag of well over $100,000. So it's refreshing to see that the directors have decided to take an entirely different approach.

Just goes to show you that you don't need a really expensive camera to make a Hollywood movie. All you need is a hot actress with a really short dress.

MUJI Cardboard Speakers

Ever wanted to fold up your stereo speakers and put them in your suitcase while you are traveling? .... Me neither. But if someday I do, at least I know I can with these cool, lightweight, collapsible speakers made of cardboard. MUJI is from the Japanese phrase "Mujirushi Ryohin", meaning "No Brand Goods". They are the creative force behind these environmentally friendly speakers.

MUJI's emphasis on high quality but inexpensive raw materials, including remnants and otherwise disposable materials, results in products that are economical and environmentally friendly. These ideals are upheld in MUJI's manufacturing systems as well, in their attempt to streamline the design process and eliminate over-manufacturing.

You can pick these up, as well as other works of art from The Museum of Modern Art's online store.

Pros: Eco Design, Collapsible.

Cons: Sounds Like Cardboard Speakers.

List Price: $42.00

Blackle - The Black Google

Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

To quote Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, "It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."

Pros: None More Black.

Cons: It's Not The White Album.

Price: FREE!

BlueAnt Supertooth Light

For those of us who are lucky enough to live in California, or unlucky enough, depending on your viewpoint, a new law goes into effect on July 1, 2008 that will prohibit the use of a handheld wireless device while operating a motor vehicle. I personally think this is a great idea, but can we also outlaw women, and even some men (this is California after all) from applying their make up while they drive? Dare to dream...

In order to keep away from the $20 first time offense ticket, and $50 subsequent offense convictions, pick yourself up a BlueAnt Supertooth Light hands-free device. This neat little device will provide you a hands-free driving experience, leaving your hands free for more important things, such as smoking, drinking, eating...and oh yeah, driving.

Pros: Small Ergonomic Design, Clips To Sunvisor.

Cons: Pull Out Antenna.

Price: $99.99

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

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.