When you first begin using your digital photography
camera be sure you have got the correct equipment you
will need before you set out. Owning the proper equipment
is essential whenever you would like to make it
successfully wether you are a beginner or a professional.
If you're going to become a professional with your
digital photography then you had better be willing to
spend a good deal more on equipment than simply somebody
wanting to do this as a hobby. Depending upon what you
would like to do with digital photography it's entirely
up to you as to how much equipment you're going to be
checking out in buying. A professional career in digital
photography might not be what you are looking for do if
you don't have the money for these kinds of equipment
that you will need to have.
Then, if you are merely wanting to enjoy digital
photography as a hobby then I should be able to assist
you out in letting you know what you may require for your
digital camera, accessories and all. For your first
digital camera the important thing is to not spend overly
to much on it. There is no call for in purchasing an
pricey digital camera until afterwards down the road once
you get a good deal more experienced with it. On several
digital cameras you could be capable to even utilize them
as a manual camera. You will merely have to work out how
to adjust all of it's operations. You'll be able to go
out and buy a book for dummies on digital photography as
well, those are always handy to own. They have them for
virtually everything you want to know. Just keep in mind
that owning the proper software for your digital camera
is really significant, it will help you organize all of
the images you have created.
You will need to purchase a bag or case to keep your
digital camera safe and all or any accessories that you
may have bought as well while you're active. Purchase the
camera that you feel best suits your needs and remember
you only require a basic one for beginners. They will
have all of the features you will need just to get going
and with this camera you'll even be able to take truly
great photographs.
Spending more doesn't all of the time mean that you're
buying the better product. If there's not a photographing
equipment store in your city then I suggest you will be
able to simply go online and look up anything you may be
interested in purchasing. You will be able to discover a
couple of really good deals on the internet if you're
wanting to save a little money, who would'nt like to do
that? Or you can ask around, you might have a friend that
can assist you out with your first time purchasing needs.
If there's a local store where you can go in and purchase
digital cameras for digital photography there will be
somebody in there that can help you with any questions
you could have about the product.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Warner Brothers
There was a great segment of "American Masters" on PBS last night on the Warner Brothers Film Studio. The family appeared to be a eclectic mix of personalities and a major factor in the evolution of Hollywood.
I enjoyed it and was amazed at the number of folks of that era still alive, although I have no idea when the segment was filmed.
American Masters
I enjoyed it and was amazed at the number of folks of that era still alive, although I have no idea when the segment was filmed.
American Masters
Monday, June 22, 2009
Get Perfect Job with Video Resume
Now here is something I thought of in the early 1990's while in Grad School at age 50. I used video for many projects in college, and thought this would be a good idea at that time.
by Adityasnv Bannatwala
Have you ever heard about the video resume? Video resume is great resource for job seeker who wants to show their abilities beyond the capabilities of traditional paper resume. Now the prospective employers can see, hear and get feel for how the candidate presents themselves.
First video resume was introduced in the 1980s but it was not successful because for use and distribution it needed the hard drive. Now the situation is completely different with the modern capabilities of transmitting streaming video via the internet, video resume become very popular. Now video resume are widely accepted by companies throughout the world for selecting the employee. 4quz7a52cn
Video resumes are mainly use by the people who wants to participate in singing and dancing competition. They can easily show their certain skills, such as leadership, presentation, and creative abilities with the help of video resume. But now it is successfully used in more fields such as information technology. Some IT professional make their video resume as a way to showcase both their soft skill and technical skill (such as graphic design, animation, and programming projects). One common mistake that many people make in their resume is to underrate the value of non-technical skills, such as the ability to communicate and work with co-workers. Soft skill is very important it made the first impression on the employer.
How to Create a Video Resume You needs to be very careful when create a video resume, making a video resume has never been easier. As with a traditional resume, a video resume should concisely explain your skills and accomplishments as they relate to a prospective employer.
• The first thing you should do when creating a video resume is found out how you want to present yourself on camera. In other words, what do you want employers to take away from your video? You are in the performing arts; you will probably want to showcase your talent. If you are in business, you may want to demonstrate your leadership or speaking skills. If you are an IT professional, you will probably want to show your soft and technical skill. • Clearly tell why employers should hire YOU over other applicants. Prepare your "elevator pitch" before you sit down to record your Video. Know what your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is, and deliver it with confidence. • Body Language: A large percentage of human communication is non-verbal, so be aware of what your body language is telling Employers about you! A Video Resume can be unique and professional at the same time, so relax, have some fun and show your personality. You want to project your professionalism and personality with enthusiasm, so smile and deliver your message with confidence.
The novelty of video resumes can provide an advantage over traditional paper resumes. They are best used in two situations: to open doors to a select few employers who you are targeting, or to move forward a stalled phone interview process. Whereas a hiring manager may spend 10 seconds scanning a resume looking for a reason to reject a candidate, a video resume is something different, and therefore could hook a hirer's attention. But, there are disadvantages that you should be aware of before using a video resume. The video resume should not be viewed as a replacement for the traditional resume but as a potential complement, especially if you have strong communication skills and impressive work samples that are sought after by IT employers. A well-executed video resume can provide advantages to certain job seekers, including IT professionals who are looking for a way to highlight soft skills, technical abilities, and portfolio examples not accurately reflected on traditional resumes.
by Adityasnv Bannatwala
Have you ever heard about the video resume? Video resume is great resource for job seeker who wants to show their abilities beyond the capabilities of traditional paper resume. Now the prospective employers can see, hear and get feel for how the candidate presents themselves.
First video resume was introduced in the 1980s but it was not successful because for use and distribution it needed the hard drive. Now the situation is completely different with the modern capabilities of transmitting streaming video via the internet, video resume become very popular. Now video resume are widely accepted by companies throughout the world for selecting the employee. 4quz7a52cn
Video resumes are mainly use by the people who wants to participate in singing and dancing competition. They can easily show their certain skills, such as leadership, presentation, and creative abilities with the help of video resume. But now it is successfully used in more fields such as information technology. Some IT professional make their video resume as a way to showcase both their soft skill and technical skill (such as graphic design, animation, and programming projects). One common mistake that many people make in their resume is to underrate the value of non-technical skills, such as the ability to communicate and work with co-workers. Soft skill is very important it made the first impression on the employer.
How to Create a Video Resume You needs to be very careful when create a video resume, making a video resume has never been easier. As with a traditional resume, a video resume should concisely explain your skills and accomplishments as they relate to a prospective employer.
• The first thing you should do when creating a video resume is found out how you want to present yourself on camera. In other words, what do you want employers to take away from your video? You are in the performing arts; you will probably want to showcase your talent. If you are in business, you may want to demonstrate your leadership or speaking skills. If you are an IT professional, you will probably want to show your soft and technical skill. • Clearly tell why employers should hire YOU over other applicants. Prepare your "elevator pitch" before you sit down to record your Video. Know what your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is, and deliver it with confidence. • Body Language: A large percentage of human communication is non-verbal, so be aware of what your body language is telling Employers about you! A Video Resume can be unique and professional at the same time, so relax, have some fun and show your personality. You want to project your professionalism and personality with enthusiasm, so smile and deliver your message with confidence.
The novelty of video resumes can provide an advantage over traditional paper resumes. They are best used in two situations: to open doors to a select few employers who you are targeting, or to move forward a stalled phone interview process. Whereas a hiring manager may spend 10 seconds scanning a resume looking for a reason to reject a candidate, a video resume is something different, and therefore could hook a hirer's attention. But, there are disadvantages that you should be aware of before using a video resume. The video resume should not be viewed as a replacement for the traditional resume but as a potential complement, especially if you have strong communication skills and impressive work samples that are sought after by IT employers. A well-executed video resume can provide advantages to certain job seekers, including IT professionals who are looking for a way to highlight soft skills, technical abilities, and portfolio examples not accurately reflected on traditional resumes.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Free Movie Channel
I have the DTV converter box and get 22 channels, free over the air, broadcast in HD. One is a Movie channel called THIS, a subscript of the ABC channel. It shows movies from the 1960’s to 80’s in a wide range of genres. Beach party, horror, westerns, comedies, and many others. Many are kind of campy, but some are major pictures and stars, but 30+ years old. It is entertaining and did I mention, FREE!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Film Noir And The Femme Fatale
Femme fatale—is defined as “an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into danger or disaster”. To me the most engaging semblance of a “femme fatale” is the stunning image of Lana Turner, as the camera pans from her ankles upward in that breathtaking shot from The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946.
Extremes
The most consistent aspect of film noir, apart from its visual style, is its protagonists. If a usable definition of the noir protagonist is to be formulated, it must encompass its most intrinsic character motif—alienation. The undercurrent that flows through most high noir films is the failure on the part of the male leads to recognize the dishonesty inherent in many of noir’s principal women. This tragic flaw destroys the central male characters in films as diverse as Scarlet Street 1945, The Locket 1947, and Angle Face 1953. It's embodied in the John Dall character in Gun Crazy 1949, whose youthful fascination with fire arms eventually leads him into a relationship with a woman who not only shares his gun craziness but who also introduces him to the parallel worlds of eroticism and violence. A more extreme example of this confusion is exemplified with Dana Andrews in Laura 1944, and Edward G. Robinson in Women in the Window 1944. Robinson and Andrews are fascinated initially not by the flesh and blood women, but merely by paintings—images of them.
The overtly Freudian aspects of such relationships function as a foundation on which to construct a sequence of narrative events that typify the noir vision. Many of these male “victims” are not trapped exclusively by sexual obsessions. Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity 1944, initially considers whether he is capable of committing murder for a woman. Then he thinks about effecting the perfect crime (his entanglement with Phyllis’ phony insurance claim), “It’s beating the house”, he thinks “sort of like the croupier that bets on the turn of the roulette wheel, when he knows the numbers to play”.
Detour
Edgar Ulmer’s Poverty Row cult-classic, Detour, 1945, is fraught with outrageous coincidences that in most accounts would be far too absurd to confront, but in Ulmer’s skilled hands are accepted as legitimate premises. Tom Neal plays Al Roberts, a disgruntled piano player in a New York night club. When his fiancée walks out on him for stardom in Hollywood, he decides to fellow her, and sets out to hitch hike west to join her. He gets picked up by a oddball character played by Edmond MacDonald who is carrying a large sum of money and happens to be driving all the way to California. MacDonald relates a story to Robert’s about a female hitch hiker he picked up earlier. In a blundering attempt to ravish her, she viciously attacked him, her finger nail marks clearly discernible on his face. As Roberts takes a turn driving, the MacDonald character mysteriously dies. Roberts thinking that the police will not believe his innocence in MacDonald’s bizarre death, hides the body and drives on alone. The next day Roberts picks up Vera, played with absolute aplomb by the very underrated Ann Savage.
Ultimate Femme Fatale
Out of the Past, 1947, while not a perfect example of the best of the noir cycle, contains many of the elements of the genre. It is best remembered as the film that introduced the erotic and lethal Jane Greer. The beautiful dark-haired Bettejane Greer came to Hollywood in 1945, a B player, she appeared in such obscure notables as Dick Tracy 1945, and The Falcon’s Alibi 1946. Out of the Past was one of only three noir films in which she appeared, the others being, They Won’t Believe Me 1947, and again opposite Robert Mitchum in the Big Steal 1949. Greer appeared in nine additional films through 1957. She took a brief hiatus until the mid-1960s, and has appeared off and on since.
Jane Greer was the “real deal”, unlike many of the frivolous noir semi-goddesses (Lauren Becall, Martha Vickers, Jane Russell, or Laraine Day), her sexiness was derived from sheer cunning. She did not rely on the parodistic flirtations so common to the counterfeits of the genre—while entertaining actresses, they lacked the appeal and darkness of the authentic femme fatale. A fine actress, I’ve always wondered why Greer did not become an icon of the genre in the mold of Gloria Grahame or Lizabeth Scott. She possessed the perfect on-screen persona of a post-war desolation angle. When Robert Mitchum firsts encounters her in the Mexican café, in an early scene from Out of the Past, she describes the complete night spot where he might feel more at home, and as she turns to walk away she tells him, “I sometimes go there”. At that moment we sense the hero’s ultimate calamity. Later we witness her brutally kill two men, and as Mitchum watches in terror, we cannot be confident that in the end he will not wind with her, such is the power of her sexuality.
Later Femme Fatales
Robert Siodmak’s, The Killer’s 1946 and Criss Cross 1949 are fine examples of Universal’s contribution to the noir cycle. In both films it’s the deadly female who topples the hero. Another Siodmak offering is the much downplayed, The File on Thelma Jordon 1950. Barbara Stanwyck portrays a different type of femme fatale than her Phyllis Dietrichson character in Double Indemnity, whom Thelma resembles in method and motivation. This time she ensnares Wendell Cory, playing assistant district attorney Cleve Marshall. Marshall is much more innocent that Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff, who admits trying to beat the house, well before he meets Phyllis. From the beginning Thelma loves her victim, whereas Phyllis was not smitten until the very end in Double Indemnity. Where Phyllis and Walter are chillingly logical in their scheme, Thelma and Cleve are guilt-ridden, and clumsily romantic. In the end Cleve is not completely ostracized, or dead as was his counterpart Walter Neff. He is however, scarred immeasurably—an emotional Sisyphus, he must now forever bear the weight of his misdeeds.
What Happened
The archetypal model of film noir had run its course by the mid-1950s. The requisite entry of that period, at least among most film critics of the day, was Robert Aldrich’s take on Mickey Spillane’s Kiss Me Deadly 1955, by then though Spillane had moved from the hard boiled pulp hero of the post-war years to the new antagonists of cold-war America, the new great fear of the moment—the “Commies”. Kiss Me Deadly was a greater influence on the French “New Wave” movement, than a further definition of film noir.
By the late 1950s and into the 1960s, strong, tough, independent women were being replaced by coadjutors and consorts. “Leading Ladies” who, though portrayed as capable and self-reliant had, however, moved well into the background. A prime example is Doris Day in Pillow Talk 1959. And so to the male protagonists, who were now being portrayed as gallant Don Juan’s or attentive Casanova’s, a fashion that was to reach it zenith with the James Bond films.
To me, the “classic noir period”, spanned the interval just after World War II, until the early 1950s. The central figures portrayed in these films, were too often caught in their double binds, filled with existential bitterness. They were drowning outside of the social mainstream. They came to represent America’s stylized vision of itself, a cultural reflection of the mental dysfunction of a nation in uncertain transition. And often these characters were women, the femme fatales of a film style distinctly original, and wholly American.
¹Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward, “Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style”
Extremes
The most consistent aspect of film noir, apart from its visual style, is its protagonists. If a usable definition of the noir protagonist is to be formulated, it must encompass its most intrinsic character motif—alienation. The undercurrent that flows through most high noir films is the failure on the part of the male leads to recognize the dishonesty inherent in many of noir’s principal women. This tragic flaw destroys the central male characters in films as diverse as Scarlet Street 1945, The Locket 1947, and Angle Face 1953. It's embodied in the John Dall character in Gun Crazy 1949, whose youthful fascination with fire arms eventually leads him into a relationship with a woman who not only shares his gun craziness but who also introduces him to the parallel worlds of eroticism and violence. A more extreme example of this confusion is exemplified with Dana Andrews in Laura 1944, and Edward G. Robinson in Women in the Window 1944. Robinson and Andrews are fascinated initially not by the flesh and blood women, but merely by paintings—images of them.
The overtly Freudian aspects of such relationships function as a foundation on which to construct a sequence of narrative events that typify the noir vision. Many of these male “victims” are not trapped exclusively by sexual obsessions. Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity 1944, initially considers whether he is capable of committing murder for a woman. Then he thinks about effecting the perfect crime (his entanglement with Phyllis’ phony insurance claim), “It’s beating the house”, he thinks “sort of like the croupier that bets on the turn of the roulette wheel, when he knows the numbers to play”.
Detour
Edgar Ulmer’s Poverty Row cult-classic, Detour, 1945, is fraught with outrageous coincidences that in most accounts would be far too absurd to confront, but in Ulmer’s skilled hands are accepted as legitimate premises. Tom Neal plays Al Roberts, a disgruntled piano player in a New York night club. When his fiancée walks out on him for stardom in Hollywood, he decides to fellow her, and sets out to hitch hike west to join her. He gets picked up by a oddball character played by Edmond MacDonald who is carrying a large sum of money and happens to be driving all the way to California. MacDonald relates a story to Robert’s about a female hitch hiker he picked up earlier. In a blundering attempt to ravish her, she viciously attacked him, her finger nail marks clearly discernible on his face. As Roberts takes a turn driving, the MacDonald character mysteriously dies. Roberts thinking that the police will not believe his innocence in MacDonald’s bizarre death, hides the body and drives on alone. The next day Roberts picks up Vera, played with absolute aplomb by the very underrated Ann Savage.
Ultimate Femme Fatale
Out of the Past, 1947, while not a perfect example of the best of the noir cycle, contains many of the elements of the genre. It is best remembered as the film that introduced the erotic and lethal Jane Greer. The beautiful dark-haired Bettejane Greer came to Hollywood in 1945, a B player, she appeared in such obscure notables as Dick Tracy 1945, and The Falcon’s Alibi 1946. Out of the Past was one of only three noir films in which she appeared, the others being, They Won’t Believe Me 1947, and again opposite Robert Mitchum in the Big Steal 1949. Greer appeared in nine additional films through 1957. She took a brief hiatus until the mid-1960s, and has appeared off and on since.
Jane Greer was the “real deal”, unlike many of the frivolous noir semi-goddesses (Lauren Becall, Martha Vickers, Jane Russell, or Laraine Day), her sexiness was derived from sheer cunning. She did not rely on the parodistic flirtations so common to the counterfeits of the genre—while entertaining actresses, they lacked the appeal and darkness of the authentic femme fatale. A fine actress, I’ve always wondered why Greer did not become an icon of the genre in the mold of Gloria Grahame or Lizabeth Scott. She possessed the perfect on-screen persona of a post-war desolation angle. When Robert Mitchum firsts encounters her in the Mexican café, in an early scene from Out of the Past, she describes the complete night spot where he might feel more at home, and as she turns to walk away she tells him, “I sometimes go there”. At that moment we sense the hero’s ultimate calamity. Later we witness her brutally kill two men, and as Mitchum watches in terror, we cannot be confident that in the end he will not wind with her, such is the power of her sexuality.
Later Femme Fatales
Robert Siodmak’s, The Killer’s 1946 and Criss Cross 1949 are fine examples of Universal’s contribution to the noir cycle. In both films it’s the deadly female who topples the hero. Another Siodmak offering is the much downplayed, The File on Thelma Jordon 1950. Barbara Stanwyck portrays a different type of femme fatale than her Phyllis Dietrichson character in Double Indemnity, whom Thelma resembles in method and motivation. This time she ensnares Wendell Cory, playing assistant district attorney Cleve Marshall. Marshall is much more innocent that Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff, who admits trying to beat the house, well before he meets Phyllis. From the beginning Thelma loves her victim, whereas Phyllis was not smitten until the very end in Double Indemnity. Where Phyllis and Walter are chillingly logical in their scheme, Thelma and Cleve are guilt-ridden, and clumsily romantic. In the end Cleve is not completely ostracized, or dead as was his counterpart Walter Neff. He is however, scarred immeasurably—an emotional Sisyphus, he must now forever bear the weight of his misdeeds.
What Happened
The archetypal model of film noir had run its course by the mid-1950s. The requisite entry of that period, at least among most film critics of the day, was Robert Aldrich’s take on Mickey Spillane’s Kiss Me Deadly 1955, by then though Spillane had moved from the hard boiled pulp hero of the post-war years to the new antagonists of cold-war America, the new great fear of the moment—the “Commies”. Kiss Me Deadly was a greater influence on the French “New Wave” movement, than a further definition of film noir.
By the late 1950s and into the 1960s, strong, tough, independent women were being replaced by coadjutors and consorts. “Leading Ladies” who, though portrayed as capable and self-reliant had, however, moved well into the background. A prime example is Doris Day in Pillow Talk 1959. And so to the male protagonists, who were now being portrayed as gallant Don Juan’s or attentive Casanova’s, a fashion that was to reach it zenith with the James Bond films.
To me, the “classic noir period”, spanned the interval just after World War II, until the early 1950s. The central figures portrayed in these films, were too often caught in their double binds, filled with existential bitterness. They were drowning outside of the social mainstream. They came to represent America’s stylized vision of itself, a cultural reflection of the mental dysfunction of a nation in uncertain transition. And often these characters were women, the femme fatales of a film style distinctly original, and wholly American.
¹Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward, “Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style”
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Defining The Film Noir Movie Genre
The Film Noir is an unusual movie genre in the movie world because it is so hard to define. It is not like comedy, sci fi, western or romance, which have obvious and definable characteristics. Some might say that the boundaries of noir are very tight comparatively speaking, particularly those who confine the entire genre to twenty years, 1940-60, and a certain country, the United States.
The term was coined by French critics, first by Nino Frank, who in the immediate post war years noticed a darkening of mood in the Hollywood crime film. The term Noir by itself is used to describe films that contain specific elements and techniques, both technical and literary. Movies within this category are often gangster films, police procedural, or detective films, or films that deal with social problems of the day.
This movie genre is probably the most popular of the genres that sell on disc. Its films come in mostly well-priced and attractive boxes in bright colors and fun typefaces, they seem to epitomize classic Hollywood, which is interesting because at the time that the movies comprising the genre were made, the term film noir was unknown.
Most critics agree that the first film of this genre was Stranger on the Third Floor, which starred relatively unknown Hungarian actor Peter Lorre in his first major lead role. The Production Codes of the day forbade any character from literally getting away with murder, and forbade any characters who were not husband and wife from being filmed sharing a bed with one another.
This did not stop writers and directors from coming up with some risque plot lines however. One of the most famous movies of the Film Noir genre, Double Indemnity, starring Barbara Stanwyck, revolved around an insurance salesman who becomes infatuated by Stanwycks character and agrees to help her murder her husband so that she can collect the money from the insurance policy in her husbands name.
Other notable films of the genre include The Maltese Falcons, Shadow of a Doubt, Mildred Pierce, Detour, The Big Sleep, Out of the Past, Force of Evil, The Naked City, White Heat, Gun Crazy, Sunset Boulevard, In a Lonely Place, The Night of the Hunter, Sweet Smell of Success, and Touch of Evil.
The evidence of film noir can still be seen today in the popularity of detective films, mysteries, psychological thrillers, and other crime related dramas.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/defining-the-film-noir-movie-genre-534470.html
The term was coined by French critics, first by Nino Frank, who in the immediate post war years noticed a darkening of mood in the Hollywood crime film. The term Noir by itself is used to describe films that contain specific elements and techniques, both technical and literary. Movies within this category are often gangster films, police procedural, or detective films, or films that deal with social problems of the day.
This movie genre is probably the most popular of the genres that sell on disc. Its films come in mostly well-priced and attractive boxes in bright colors and fun typefaces, they seem to epitomize classic Hollywood, which is interesting because at the time that the movies comprising the genre were made, the term film noir was unknown.
Most critics agree that the first film of this genre was Stranger on the Third Floor, which starred relatively unknown Hungarian actor Peter Lorre in his first major lead role. The Production Codes of the day forbade any character from literally getting away with murder, and forbade any characters who were not husband and wife from being filmed sharing a bed with one another.
This did not stop writers and directors from coming up with some risque plot lines however. One of the most famous movies of the Film Noir genre, Double Indemnity, starring Barbara Stanwyck, revolved around an insurance salesman who becomes infatuated by Stanwycks character and agrees to help her murder her husband so that she can collect the money from the insurance policy in her husbands name.
Other notable films of the genre include The Maltese Falcons, Shadow of a Doubt, Mildred Pierce, Detour, The Big Sleep, Out of the Past, Force of Evil, The Naked City, White Heat, Gun Crazy, Sunset Boulevard, In a Lonely Place, The Night of the Hunter, Sweet Smell of Success, and Touch of Evil.
The evidence of film noir can still be seen today in the popularity of detective films, mysteries, psychological thrillers, and other crime related dramas.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/defining-the-film-noir-movie-genre-534470.html
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