As we continue to grow our streaming video collection, the world of digital media continues to evolve. Video service UltraViolet took a bold new step in that direction today by opening a first-ever DVD-to-digital copy program. That sounds crazy – how can they put every DVD in the cloud? – but it makes more sense […]
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Big names in cinema compete at Cannes 2013
Today marks the start of the Cannes Film Festival, widely considered one of film’s most elite and prestigious events. Despite some concerns about the festival’s secrecy, ballooning size, and demographics, Cannes is still the gold standard for festivals, and its top prize, the Palme d’Or, remains one of the highest awards a filmmaker can receive. […]
Continue readingDig in: A comprehensive list of film’s greatest greasy eats
For a university community, the end of the academic year means more time to relax, stay outside, and giving in to some less-healthy foods. There’s nothing wrong with indulging once in a while. We wouldn’t have guessed that there’s a particularly great history of greasy food-related moments in film, but lo and behold, pop culture […]
Continue readingWatch Steven Soderbergh’s extra-long speech about the state of film
It looks like filmmaker Steven Soderbergh wasn’t kidding when he said he was retiring. A few day ago, Soderbergh gave a keynote speech at the San Francisco Film Festival. It was exactly as upbeat as you might expect from an auteur who left Hollywood in disillusionment. For nearly 40 minutes, Soderbergh delivered a rambling assault […]
Continue readingGraphic designer breaks films down by color
For those with an interest in film and composition (which probably describes most of our audience), this is the coolest thing you’ll see all day. Roxy Radulescu, a graphic artist from Los Angeles, started Movies in Color, a blog that breaks iconic film stills down by color. In addition to showcasing the most prominent and […]
Continue readingSick of super heroes? 10 low-key movies to watch for this summer
Summer movie season unofficially kicks off this coming Friday with Iron Man 3. We have four months of slam-bang action and high-budget adaptations to look forward to, with a new major blockbuster coming out seemingly every week (the upcoming Iron Man–Great Gatsby–Star Trek trifecta looks like it’ll wreak havoc on the box office). But a […]
Continue readingNew resource: Films for Teaching School of Communications Topics
Our Media Librarian, Chris Lewis, has been hard at work on a new sources for faculty (and students!) in the School of Communication. His new subject guide, “Films/Videos for Teaching School of Communication Topics,” compiles lists of useful films on over a dozen communication topics, including political communication, public speaking, and dissident media. This is […]
Continue readingArtist pushes Photoshop pushed to weird limits, turns rust into planets
The New Media Center is getting busy as we head into the second half of the semester, and a good number of our patrons are using Photoshop. The average user might use it to touch up a photo, add text, or do some graphic design work. But then there are the extreme outlier users like […]
Continue readingToday’s reminder to read: Even Jedis are illiterate
Media Services primarily deals with films, so even though we’re part of the American University Library, we don’t often get to talk about literacy and books. But once in a while, we get an opportunity to talk about both. Ryan Britt, an author at science fiction blog Tor.com, wrote a funny-but-deeply-concerning essay pointing out that […]
Continue readingA salute to “breaking the fourth wall”
“Breaking the fourth wall” is one of the riskiest tools in a filmmaker’s bag. As recently exemplified in Netflix’s version of House of Cards, taking a moment to recognize the audience or the limitations of the visual medium can work like gangbusters for comic or dramatic effect. It can also backfire and distract the audience […]
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