EMBRACE THE GIFS

Apparently my gif powered blog is freaking some people out! I apologize if it does, but this is one of the last frontiers in the dataverse to embrace the gif.




Cat Solen told me that Mike Jittlov is the reason she started making movies and that his website is gif crazy just like mine. I had no idea!

Check it out: www.wizworld.com

Mike Jittlov is the genius behind the WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME. Mr Jittlov thanks for the wizardry. Your life is a special effect!

ILLUSION OUT OF ELECTRONS

Tom DeWitt, Vibeke Sorensen, and Dean Winkler discuss their process.

LOVE IS THE BEST THING WE'VE GOT

"Im not going to be conditioned to be a person afraid and I'm not going to make others afraid. I'm going to be vulnerable and I'm going to stand for vulnerability because that is a great virtue. I'm not going to make you afraid of me and I'm also not going to be afraid of you." Judith Malina while sitting on the couch talking to Ryuichi Sakamoto filmed by Nam June Paik.

LYNN HERSHMAN ON COMPUTER CHRONICLES

Artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson has been internationally acclaimed for her pioneering use of new technologies. Her work often deals with identity in a time of consumerism, privacy in an era of surveillance, interfacing of humans and machines, and the relationship between real and virtual worlds.

Lynn,can you do a studio visit with me, PLEASE?

P.S. Bring back the show Computer Chronicles

HISTORY OF LISBERGER STUDIOS INC

This documentary is really inspiring. NEVER GIVE UP!

WHERE IS JA-MA-CIA?

I love this video so much that I have been keeping it a secret, hoping nobody else would discover it. Today I realized that was ridiculous and that everyone NEEDS to see the pioneering efforts of MIT students who were developing new ways of communicating with computers through gesture, voice, and collaboration.

COMPUTER REALITIES - TRON 1982

As passionate as I am about analog effects, model making, and puppetry, I admit there have been occasions where I have exclaimed "Tron (1982) is the most beautiful movie ever made"!

After viewing Computer Realities: The making of Tron, I can't help but feel the anxiety of the special effects people of that time. To them, here comes The CRAY 1 Supercomputer, parallel with the plot of TRON,here comes MASTER CONTROL. Their fears are right on. 28 years later, computer graphics have not only taken over the movie industry, their impact on viewers have rendered the work of these special effects pioneers as "cheesy" or worse yet "campy".

Simultaneously, I find the CRAY 1 Supercomputer an amazing tool and can understand the excitement and the inspiration of the programmers working with it.

So when does technology go too far? How do we go from TRON to BEOWOLF (2007)? Is TRON the exception because it's self aware,as it is a movie about computing itself?

That said, I'm looking forward to TRON LEGACY, even though they ditched the old look. I trust Steven Lisberger, more than let's say, George Lucas. We shall see!

BON VOYAGE, ARI UP

Ah man! Really? You left us? This sucks! Now what are we going to do? I almost wore my underwear on the outside of my pants today in your honor. You will always be new age steppin' in my heart. I love you.

Video: The New Wave

BACK TO THE FUTURE / THE RIDE

Douglas Trumbull, a true pioneer in the field of Special Effects, known for films like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and Blade Runner (1982). Made his biggest effort to push the theater experience with the Universal Studios "Back to The Future" Ride. This was recently removed and replaced by The Simpson's ride, which is actually the most post-modern ride in history. More on that at a later date perhaps. Today lets pretend we're in a Delorean with hydraulics and praise Douglas Trumbell for his efforts in pushing the limits, especially when technology wasn't in sync with his vision.