SOC Professor Greg Smith has previously provided the AU Library with an expansive sound effect library free for anyone free for anyone to use – AU community member or otherwise. It’s a very useful resource, especially for people working off-campus who are looking for sounds for one of their projects. Today we added over 400 […]
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Small-run theater raises questions: can film stick around?
Over the summer, we put most of our 16mm film collection into storage. Some might argue that film is a richer and more expressive medium than video, but you don’t have to be plugged into the industry to realize that digital video is quickly replacing film. Movie theaters remain one of the last bastions of […]
Continue readingThe New York Times breaks down Oscar trailer timelines
The art of the crafting a movie trailer has recently become a science. Every smash cut, cliffhanger, fade to black, and fancy shot of an actor’s name has been reduced to a formula that seemingly every studio follows. The New York Times adds a new wrinkle to that analysis by splitting apart trailers for this […]
Continue readingToday’s film oddity: The Kidnappers Foil
Here’s a piece of film history so unusual that it must be shared. For forty years, con artist and filmmaker Melton Barker traveled across the United States, roping in small towns to produce a short film titled The Kidnappers Foil that would star local children and premiere in a local theater. As you could imagine, […]
Continue readingIs the special effects business in trouble?
Common sense dictates that special effects sell movie tickets. If you look at a list of the most successful movies in the world, 18 of the 20 highest-grossing live-action films are notable for their high-quality CGI. Big, splashy effects drive people to seats, get them to buy DVDs, and frequently win critical acclaim. One recent […]
Continue readingVery Short post for a Very Short film contest
In the spirit of yesterday’s post, here’s another off-kilter student film competition that’s too entertaining not to share. British newspaper The Guardian recently teamed up with Oxford University Press to host the Very Short Film competition for movies less than 60 seconds long. The Guardian recently narrowed down their finalists, all of which are available […]
Continue readingLynda.com branches out with new tutorials
American University has a subscription to Lynda.com, a video tutorial website that can teach you skills ranging from high-end multimedia software like Photoshop to office programs like Excel. Any active member of the AU community (current students, faculty, staff, etc.) can access these tutorials through american.edu/lynda. But Lynda.com isn’t just for production software. The site […]
Continue readingWebsite reveals widespread movie screener piracy
Movie piracy is a major issue, but it can be easy to attribute it to overzealous hackers or teenagers who sneak cameras into theaters. Turns out this isn’t the case: even members of the film community are prone to leak new movies onto the Internet. An amazing new spreadsheet compiled by the author of Waxy.org […]
Continue readingBlu-rays are growing, but is it enough for physical media?
It’s no secret that many movie studios rely on DVD sales to make films profitable. Some smaller companies with a direct-to-video model rely exclusively on them. Despite Hollywood seeing record box office returns this year, Bloomberg reports that DVD sales are noticeably declining. High-definition Blu-rays are becoming more popular, but the total amount spent on […]
Continue readingArchivist finds a lost film from… 1980?
In the last few years, film historians and collectors have found prints of famous lost films, including the earliest surviving Hitchcock and an extra-length version of Metropolis. These early silent films almost carry an expectation that they’ll be missing or damaged in some form. You would never expect to lost a film made in, say, […]
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