Scientist Turned Comedian

Tim Lee was a scientist that couldn't stand academia and so he took up comedy instead.

Read about him in this NYTimes article.

TERRA 448: Frog, Chemical, Water, YOU!

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Amphibians are indicator species. Because of their sensitive permeable skin, scientists use amphibians to gauge the overall health of the worldwide ecosystem that we all share. So with nearly half of the world's amphibian populations in decline, we're all potentially in big trouble. But there are simple things you can start doing today to help.

TERRA 528: Angels of the Forest: Silky Sifakas of Madagascar PART ONE

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In this program produced by Sharon Pieczenik, Erik Patel, a PhD Candidate at Cornell University, discusses his efforts to save silky sifaka lemurs in Madagascar. Ninety-eight percent of Madagascars mammals, including the rare silky sifaka lemurs, exist nowhere else on Earth. Because of their white fur, and their amazing ability to fly through the forest, silky sifaka lemurs are called angels of the forest. But silkies are one of the worlds top 25 most endangered primates. If silky sifaka lemurs were to disappear from Madagascar, then they would disappear from our world. International scientists and local Malagasy conservationists are fighting for the survival of this exceptional species and its irreplaceable habitat.

Compact Flash specs for Canon HDSLR cameras.

Cine Technica posted a blog entry where they show the speed requirements for CF cards for the Canon 7d and 5d M2 with a chart showing what speeds to look for when purchasing cards.

The latest from Red

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=38274

Shooting a film on the 7D in Colombia

Hello All - This is a short trailer we cut for the natural history doc we are shooting in Colombia about the critically endangered Cotton-top Tamarin and the conservation efforts to save it.

Shot on the Canon 7D in November of 2009 - look for the full length movie in May of 2010
Thanks!

To Shoot a Titi from Daniel Schmidt on Vimeo.

The Linguists

This is a film about two linguists traveling around the world looking for the few people who speak many of the languages that barely remain.

Rachel Pike: The science behind a climate headline

I thought this was interesting.

Food Inc

The only thing more disturbing than a documentary about the Japanese slaughtering dolphins for food is a documentary about the US food industry. I'm going vegan.

Oscar Documentary Short list

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just released the short list of documentaries under consideration for an Oscar. Here the list and the press release. It's nice to see The Cove on there.

* “The Beaches of Agnes,” Agnès Varda, director (Cine-Tamaris)
* “Burma VJ,” Anders Østergaard, director (Magic Hour Films)
* “The Cove,” Louie Psihoyos, director (Oceanic Preservation Society)
* “Every Little Step,” James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, directors (Endgame Entertainment)
* “Facing Ali,” Pete McCormack, director (Network Films Inc.)
* “Food, Inc.,” Robert Kenner, director (Robert Kenner Films)
* “Garbage Dreams,” Mai Iskander, director (Iskander Films, Inc.)
* “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” Mark N. Hopkins, director (Red Floor Pictures LLC)
* “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, directors (Kovno Communications)
* “Mugabe and the White African,” Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey, directors (Arturi Films Limited)
* “Sergio,” Greg Barker, director (Passion Pictures and Silverbridge Productions)
* “Soundtrack for a Revolution,” Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, directors (Freedom Song Productions)
* “Under Our Skin,” Andy Abrahams Wilson, director (Open Eye Pictures)
* “Valentino The Last Emperor,” Matt Tyrnauer, director (Acolyte Films)
* “Which Way Home,” Rebecca Cammisa, director (Mr. Mudd)


This is an article criticizing the choices for the list.

"The passionate, adventurously crafted, and highly praised movies that were left off the list are, in every case, not about well-meaning social and political themes — and that, I believe, is what really doomed them. They fell victim to a kind of self-defeating aesthetic of granola documentary correctness."

Interview Project: Vernon from Keene, New Hampshire.

Take a look at David Lynch's Interview Project. He's been traveling around the country interviewing ordinary people and posting the interviews on his website. They're pretty interesting. Interview Project: Vernon from Keene, New Hampshire.

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_debevec_animates_a_photo_real_digital_face.html

A Time Comes - The Story of the Kingsnorth Six

"In this nineteen minute short Nick Broomfield goes back to look at a group of Greenpeace activists who decided to climb the chimney of Kingsnorth power station in protest of government plans for the first new coal-fired power station in Britain for three decades. The protest made national news and the activists were arrested. The resulting court case gained support from the world’s leading scientists and their subsequent acquittal was historic and changed government policy."

A Time Comes - the story of the Kingsnorth Six from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.

Red

There are a bunch of new updates from Red about the new Epic and Scarlet cameras.

Have a look.

TERRA 527: Climate Change in the Caribbean, Part Three: Taking Action

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The most important thing to remember when it comes to climate change is that you can help, and there is still hope. This animated series reminds us that while the problems are dire, we have to remain hopeful, and even have a bit of fun from time to time. Produced for broadcast throughout the Caribbean, this is Part Two of a three-part PSA series/awareness campaign on climate change, its effects on the Caribbean, and action that people can take to help the situation. The series combines animations and footage from Trinidad with explanations from climate change experts from Trinidad & Tobago. Funded by Trinidad & Tobago's National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in association with University of Trinidad & Tobago.

Sound Design

Sound Design for 'Video Art' by Gyu Kim from Johannes Oesterle on Vimeo.

Can't keep up with the technology?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usUtpNLSZGU

Grading

http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/categories/color-correction/magic-bullet-colorista/

Snow leopard

http://www.9to5mac.com/snow-leopard-64-bit-32-bit-firmware-efi

Coming..

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36238

3D animation

http://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks#5442611

The tallest tree and picture on earth...

NatGeo just published in their October issue one of the "biggest" pictures ever taken. Check out the NPR article

here

and the little video clip on how they did it.

Panasonic 3D

I checked out Panasonic's 3D setup at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Generally I was impressed but I think they still have a way to go before it really becomes accepted technology or anything more substantial than a niche product. It did well in creating depth away from viewer but objects that were closer to the viewer were distracting and gave me a headache as my eyes tried to focus at different depths. The main problem that I had was how it handled objects very close to the camera. The problem in my view has to do with the fact that these images are recorded on two cameras. An object that might be in front of one camera may not be visible on the other or may be in a completely different location on the screen. This seems to create some kind of a 3D ghost as the image isn't fully there or as my eyes try to refocus on a distracting close image.

Filmmakers For Conservation

Filmmakers for Conservation

This is an organization that I ran into in Jackson Hole. It seems to be a fairly active community who are willing to give advice or help to other members on any green project

Climate Change: Part One

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TERRA 524: The Barge That Wouldn't Budge

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In March 2009, a group of NOAA scientists and marine debris experts gathered on the shores the Potomac River to tackle a problem left ignored for the last 25 years. Abandoned during the construction of a local yacht club since the 1980's, a barge stuck in the mud poses potential environmental and navigational hazards. Yet, no one knows who left it, and no one has been able to remove it. NOAA and the Alice Ferguson Foundation have banded together to sort the problem out. This first installment traces the mounting effort through the silent perspective of the The Barge That Wouldn't Budge.

2/3" Red Scarlet Footage, Red Reel, and Epic

Some footage released by Red shot on the not-quite-released-yet-but-I-hope-it-will-be-soon Scarlet with 2/3" sensor.

"pulled straight from a 3k movie ( and scaled down of course )... Shot at T5.6, 100mm, Izzy was about 4-5 feet away from the camera."

This is the new RedReel sample footage shot on a Red. It's a big damn file 1080P so don't download it unless you have a fast connection.

And here's a photo comparing the size of the new Epic to the Red One

Doing the Rounds

First I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to be around like-minded filmmakers; kindred spirits full of curiosity, ambition and zeal. My hopes are to provoke, nurture and learn from each of you over the years to come.

I've been hit hard, in the face, many times. Though my nose doesn't show it, I clawed through the racial rancor and adversity of age to fight in the amateur boxing's world equivalent of Sundance - the Golden Gloves boxing tournament. But even after an undefeated tournament not even the best in the ring could've prepared me for the prolonged sparring match with the gatekeepers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

My friend Leonard, by his accounts, slept with thousands of men. As the AIDS epidemic began to decimate even his most chaste friends he couldn't understand why he went unafflicted. Though he tested positive during the first wave of the epidemic his CD4s (an early marker of HIVs pathogenesis) went unchanged, sparing him the opportunistic infections caused by AIDS. Almost thirty years later his viral load is undetectable – no meds, no disease.

NIH calls them Long-term Non-progressors (LTNPs). Many in the AIDS research community believe that by reverse engineering the immunological gifts that Leonard and many like him have, the missing link to vaccine would be found. NIH researchers just happen to be leading the charge.

AIDS didn't spare my family. Nor is the crisis at an end. The corrective terror of the 80's and 90's is dissipating. With all of the new drug therapies, no one actually dies of AIDS any more. Fertile territory for a documentary right?

All press and media inquiries (independent filmmakers are categorized as journalists) regarding research at NIH are funneled through their media department. I call up completely stoked about the proposal, give a hard pitch and pant on the other end awaiting my contacts feedback.

“Send it to me in an email and we'll talk,” she said. A day after sending the proposal I get a call back.

“I'm sorry, but at this time I can't give you my approval.”

“Can you explain why?”

(Dramatic pause.)

“When you can prove to me that you know what you're talking about then maybe I can arrange for an interview.” Honestly, I wish I could've recorded the Monty Pythonesque conversation.

“How much more can I know about the research without speaking with the researchers?”

Her voice hit the depths of monotone, “Mr. Minard I'm in no position to bother the researchers with your request until you're more acquainted with the research performed here.”

“The research is only a part of the personal stories that these LTNPs have to share.”

“Well then I guess you'll have to focus on their side of the story. Thank you very much. Goodbye.”

Crestfallen and battered my head spun. I called Leonard. He growled, “If the bitch doesn't want to let you in I'll just take you myself."

And he did.

During his bi-annual visit he escorted me into the Clinical Center and sat me down in front of the researchers. I pitched them for an hour. They a made a few phone calls after we left. Days later I get a call from NIH media with a begrudging approval for a tentative shoot date. The collaboration was on!

The researchers became my biggest collaborators. Doors were open at all times to help educate my team. Other LTNPs came out of the dense veil of obscurity. Over the next two months we interviewed ten different LTNPs from all walks of life. We honed our shooting set-up and distilled provocative interview questions. We revisited the NIH campus to pre-interview the researchers. Hell, I went down to the blood bank in the basement and gave blood. The passion for the documentary had suffused all of the participants and all the folks at NIH.

All except one.

(Look for Part II in two weeks)

The Antarctica Challenge

http://www.polarcapproductions.com/