Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Delay in the new film "Killer Raine"
Lost my windows "Movie Maker" files in a PC crash. Now I have a new PC, faster and more reliable...Linux, not Windows!
I'll soon have a video camers and my own still camera to add shots to my web enhanced photos. Thank god they made "Audacity" in Linux!
Back to work.
12-18-10 Today completed the Audio Mix segment for "Killer Rain"
I'll soon have a video camers and my own still camera to add shots to my web enhanced photos. Thank god they made "Audacity" in Linux!
Back to work.
12-18-10 Today completed the Audio Mix segment for "Killer Rain"
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Quick & Dirty Halloween Avatars
I thought I'd make some "Halloween Avatars" for my Facebook page and Twitter accounts. It was so quick and easy, I thought I'd pass on some basic information. Each Avatar took about 10-15 minutes, tops!
First you need MS Paint and or a photo editing software like Photoshop, Gimp or some clone...I use Serif Photoplus.
Choose a photo of yourself, full face is the easiest. Then choose a clown, scary face, or draw your own. Adjust the color tone of each photo so they are close in color and tint...a few mouse clicks will do this.
Then bring up the first photo in MS Paint, expand the 'canvas' by dragging the bottom right corner. Then 'past from' in the edit bar the second picture into the larger canvas. Adjust the size of the 2nd photo with the 'stretch/skew command. Now both photos should be same basic size and color tone.
Using the 'select' tool, split one photo in half (you be join one right side and one left). In 'edit' click on 'cut'. Then paste and drag off to the side of the enlarged canvas. Repeat cut command on the second photo, opposite half. Past and drag this half and join it with the first. Voila a combined avatar!
Now save and then open this 'avatar' into your photo editing software. Chose the 'smudge' tool, and blue the connection 'line' of the two halves. How detailed you want to get, determines the final product, but remember Avatars are usually about 100 X 100 Pixels in size.
Here is the final product of my four Avatars...not Hollywood quality, but not a lot involved to create. So practice, have fun, and create!
First you need MS Paint and or a photo editing software like Photoshop, Gimp or some clone...I use Serif Photoplus.
Choose a photo of yourself, full face is the easiest. Then choose a clown, scary face, or draw your own. Adjust the color tone of each photo so they are close in color and tint...a few mouse clicks will do this.
Then bring up the first photo in MS Paint, expand the 'canvas' by dragging the bottom right corner. Then 'past from' in the edit bar the second picture into the larger canvas. Adjust the size of the 2nd photo with the 'stretch/skew command. Now both photos should be same basic size and color tone.
Using the 'select' tool, split one photo in half (you be join one right side and one left). In 'edit' click on 'cut'. Then paste and drag off to the side of the enlarged canvas. Repeat cut command on the second photo, opposite half. Past and drag this half and join it with the first. Voila a combined avatar!
Now save and then open this 'avatar' into your photo editing software. Chose the 'smudge' tool, and blue the connection 'line' of the two halves. How detailed you want to get, determines the final product, but remember Avatars are usually about 100 X 100 Pixels in size.
Here is the final product of my four Avatars...not Hollywood quality, but not a lot involved to create. So practice, have fun, and create!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
"Clowns" (working title) is coming for Halloween!
I am working on the soundtrack and film "Clowns", trying to get it ready for Halloween 2010 and make it as creepy as possible. After all, we all hate or are scared of clowns, right?
I find it interesting if I think of a tile, it has already been used at least 2X before. What is up with that? i guess I could call it something not having to do with clowns, like "Dew Drops" or something? Uh huh.
I find it interesting if I think of a tile, it has already been used at least 2X before. What is up with that? i guess I could call it something not having to do with clowns, like "Dew Drops" or something? Uh huh.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Working on Projects
I have been working diligently on my two latest projects, "Clowns" and "Killer Raine". Basic layout is pretty complete, a few animations to go, sound track synchronization is a chore, but fun when it works.
As I work, I get new ideas and sometimes re-work sections. Like last night at 1:30 AM a fix for an animation problem occurred to me.
I need a microphone and/or head set because I want to try narration in part of the film and/or subtitles. I have also been looking for ways to add actual film clips into the production in parts. Once I have an actual digital video camera, that part may be moot. Well, that's how things stand as of today. Projects release date will be Christmas 2010.
As I work, I get new ideas and sometimes re-work sections. Like last night at 1:30 AM a fix for an animation problem occurred to me.
I need a microphone and/or head set because I want to try narration in part of the film and/or subtitles. I have also been looking for ways to add actual film clips into the production in parts. Once I have an actual digital video camera, that part may be moot. Well, that's how things stand as of today. Projects release date will be Christmas 2010.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Original Google movies moved to You Tube!
The original "films" of Revision 13 Productions are now all on you Tube in one place. Please enjoy, 2 additional films coming by Christmas 2010.
"Alone"
"Black Obscurity"
"God is God"
"The Warning"
"I Hate Clowns"
"Alone"
"Black Obscurity"
"God is God"
"The Warning"
"I Hate Clowns"
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Obsession and Desire in Film Noir
by: Laura Eggers
What makes a good film noir romance? And how is it different from, say, a romantic comedy or romantic drama?
A romance in any genre surely must have plenty of trouble and complications to create enough tension to captivate audiences.
The difference in classic film noir lies partially in the universe which the characters inhabit. Whether it's a seedy dive bar, a stuffy New York apartment, or a fancy house on Russian Hill, the noir ambiance pervades.
But film noir lovers are different too. They're not just two schmucks in love trying to make it work.
Instead, our protagonist is usually overcome with an obsessive and/or fatalistic desire. And, it's usually the male (except in Joan Crawford movies), who is the one haunted and driven.
And that's why the femme fatale is so prevalent in noir. She may be consciously or unconsciously seducing him into her web for her own desperate needs or she may be merely using him to further her own position in an underground world of crime. She often "belongs" to some more powerful, even evil kingpin.
Problem is, she usually falls for the very guy she set out to use and then the two of them are really in trouble. So, either she follows her heart and goes with the ever-suffering protagonist, thus incurring some form of mortal or legal danger for both of them, or she nobly sacrifices her own happiness to save her beloved.
Either way, it generally doesn't end well. But oh, how we love identifying with those fierce passions run amuck.
Other variations of the classic film noir love triangle involve a real sweet girl or wife, our male protagonist and the femme fatale.
Another common characteristic of film noir lovers is that our main guy knows he's going down, but just can't help himself. One or both of the lovers may be headed towards self-destruction, yet feels powerless or lacks the will to stop it.
Why are we so fascinated with film noir romances? Perhaps it's the irresistible fatalism these characters are caught up in, where the fragile promise of desire consummated is supplanted by an inner torment taken to the nth degree.
And for our voyeuristic pleasure, here are five examples of some favorite doomed-from-the-start film noir love affairs:
1. Johnny (Glenn Ford) and Gilda (Rita Hayworth) in "Gilda" (1946). The pain is palpable in this complex love triangle. Johnny's best friend and boss is Ballin (George MacCready), a man whose new bride happens to be Johnny's ex flame. He can't bear the way she treats his friend, but is also tormented by his own rekindled attraction to her and vice versa.
2. Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyk) and Earl (Robert Ryan) in "Clash By Night" (1952). Mae Doyle tires of her new nice- guy husband and goes after his dark and moody friend Earl. They embark on a torrid, unhappy affair.
3. Mark (Dana Andrews) and Laura (Gene Tierney) in "Laura" (1944). Quietly intense detective Mark McPherson falls hard for the beautiful woman in a portrait who is supposedly dead. His obsession grows as he investigates her things and the men in her life.
4. Helen (Claire Trevor) and Sam (Lawrence Tierney) in "Born to Kill" (1947). He's a killer and she knows it, but Helen and Sam are fiercely attracted. She tries to avoid him since she's already engaged, so he goes after her rich sister instead. This only incites their passion and things get lethal.
5. Jeff (Glenn Ford again) and Vicki (Gloria Graham) in "Human Desire" (1954). Jeff's the nice-guy train engineer who gets sucked into murder and mayhem by the irrepressible Vicki, whose husband Carl (Broderick Crawford) is obsessed with jealousy and suspicion.
As these films illustrate, a film noir "romance" is rarely a just a sweet love affair which happens to be set in a dark alley. Rather, it's usually a desperate attraction between two otherwise alienated souls who find a rare kinship in one another. But due to circumstances of their noir universe (whether external or internal), it seems their union can only lead to destruction, whether to themselves or to others.
About The Author
What makes a good film noir romance? And how is it different from, say, a romantic comedy or romantic drama?
A romance in any genre surely must have plenty of trouble and complications to create enough tension to captivate audiences.
The difference in classic film noir lies partially in the universe which the characters inhabit. Whether it's a seedy dive bar, a stuffy New York apartment, or a fancy house on Russian Hill, the noir ambiance pervades.
But film noir lovers are different too. They're not just two schmucks in love trying to make it work.
Instead, our protagonist is usually overcome with an obsessive and/or fatalistic desire. And, it's usually the male (except in Joan Crawford movies), who is the one haunted and driven.
And that's why the femme fatale is so prevalent in noir. She may be consciously or unconsciously seducing him into her web for her own desperate needs or she may be merely using him to further her own position in an underground world of crime. She often "belongs" to some more powerful, even evil kingpin.
Problem is, she usually falls for the very guy she set out to use and then the two of them are really in trouble. So, either she follows her heart and goes with the ever-suffering protagonist, thus incurring some form of mortal or legal danger for both of them, or she nobly sacrifices her own happiness to save her beloved.
Either way, it generally doesn't end well. But oh, how we love identifying with those fierce passions run amuck.
Other variations of the classic film noir love triangle involve a real sweet girl or wife, our male protagonist and the femme fatale.
Another common characteristic of film noir lovers is that our main guy knows he's going down, but just can't help himself. One or both of the lovers may be headed towards self-destruction, yet feels powerless or lacks the will to stop it.
Why are we so fascinated with film noir romances? Perhaps it's the irresistible fatalism these characters are caught up in, where the fragile promise of desire consummated is supplanted by an inner torment taken to the nth degree.
And for our voyeuristic pleasure, here are five examples of some favorite doomed-from-the-start film noir love affairs:
1. Johnny (Glenn Ford) and Gilda (Rita Hayworth) in "Gilda" (1946). The pain is palpable in this complex love triangle. Johnny's best friend and boss is Ballin (George MacCready), a man whose new bride happens to be Johnny's ex flame. He can't bear the way she treats his friend, but is also tormented by his own rekindled attraction to her and vice versa.
2. Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyk) and Earl (Robert Ryan) in "Clash By Night" (1952). Mae Doyle tires of her new nice- guy husband and goes after his dark and moody friend Earl. They embark on a torrid, unhappy affair.
3. Mark (Dana Andrews) and Laura (Gene Tierney) in "Laura" (1944). Quietly intense detective Mark McPherson falls hard for the beautiful woman in a portrait who is supposedly dead. His obsession grows as he investigates her things and the men in her life.
4. Helen (Claire Trevor) and Sam (Lawrence Tierney) in "Born to Kill" (1947). He's a killer and she knows it, but Helen and Sam are fiercely attracted. She tries to avoid him since she's already engaged, so he goes after her rich sister instead. This only incites their passion and things get lethal.
5. Jeff (Glenn Ford again) and Vicki (Gloria Graham) in "Human Desire" (1954). Jeff's the nice-guy train engineer who gets sucked into murder and mayhem by the irrepressible Vicki, whose husband Carl (Broderick Crawford) is obsessed with jealousy and suspicion.
As these films illustrate, a film noir "romance" is rarely a just a sweet love affair which happens to be set in a dark alley. Rather, it's usually a desperate attraction between two otherwise alienated souls who find a rare kinship in one another. But due to circumstances of their noir universe (whether external or internal), it seems their union can only lead to destruction, whether to themselves or to others.
About The Author
Laura Eggers operates Film Noir Alley, a site which is a resource to help film noir fans find books, music, dvds and posters. Also delves into specific psychological aspects of film noir, such as strangest scenes, passions, obsessions, oddball characters, deviant relationships, and more. http://www.film-noir-alley.com. This article may be reprinted with this "About The Author" box included.
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