A beginners picture taking adventure !

My group ( Roshni, Payal and Stephen) and I recently went out and took some pictures. So that we could get a better understanding of aperture, ISO, shutter speed etc..

It maybe helpful to you, and help you understand what to do and what not to do, by taking a look at our photographs !

there the link ..

And if your like mea beginner and still confused about , the basic concepts of photography, check out this site it explain the relationship between :the ISo, aperture and shutter speed.

Dish, Dang, Boom IT's Sound Effect Time !

Hello to all,
My very first assignment is tech this year is about changing the audio on a trailer of a movie/video game. Exciting right ? Well I'll tell you more about that later. So any ways for this assignment I would like to make a few sound effects my self. I have never done so before, but I think I'll give it a shot! So I have been doing some research, to find out what can be done...

I came across some interesting videos, that I thought would be helpful and a few sites too.

Here is a video about how to record your own voice on GargeBand, which I want to give a try!

This is another video I found, it's really interesting. It explains how sound effects are created for movies, It kind of breaks down how the "magic" is created...

There are two web pages, I really liked one is about making sound effects and the other about the art of Foley, be sure to take a look.

ArcSoft ShowBiz® DVD 2

look what I found.!

ArcSoft ShowBiz® DVD 2 is a simple yet powerful software application that has everything you need to edit home videos and create professional looking DVDs. The software features a simple storyboard view for basic video sequencing and a more advanced timeline view giving you greater control over your movie clips, audio tracks, and transitional effects. What's more, the program includes a powerful photo slide show wizard and a full set of DVD authoring tools for turning your video productions into great-looking DVDs ready for enjoying on TV.

The program lets you assemble photos and videos onto the "Storyboard," then combines everything together and puts your final movie on DVD

Video sequencing is the foundation of every video story. Video sequencing is a scene broken down to a short clip, while still delivering the same message. Instead of a 4 minute video of a person parking the car, it would be a 10 second video. In addition to Video sequencing you can add special effects, animated text, ongoing commentary and music.

Other Technologies offered by Arcsoft:

Definitely check this out !

Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade, America's most collected living artist, is known as "Painter of Light". The left handed painter from California, emphasizes simple pleasures and inspirational messages through his paintings. A devout Christian, Kinkade says he gains his inspiration from his religious belief. His goal as an artist is to touch people of all faiths, and to bring peace and joy into their lives through the images he creates.



Wanted to share with you all, the famous 'Rain' paintings by Kinkade which I received through E-Mail.

Stop at the picture for a second, and watch the Rain...



We all wish we could paint like Thomas Kinkade so below are guidelines I found on the internet that shows his style and technique.
The sixteen guidelines for creating the "The Thomas Kinkade Look".
1) Dodge corners or create darkening towards edge of image for "cozy" look. This may only apply to still imagery, but is useful where applicable.
2) Color key each scene to create mood, and color variation. When possible, utilize cooler tones to suggest somber moods, and warmer, more vibrant tones to suggest festive atmosphere. In general, create a color scheme for each scene that can be accentuated through filtering, DI treatments, or through lighting. Most of my paintings feature an overall cool color envelope, into which warm accents are applied.
3) Create classic compositions. Paintings generally utilize a theme and variation compositional motif. Heavy weighting of the image towards one side, with accented areas of interest balancing it on the other side. Allow the eye to wander into the scene through some entry point. Be aware of where the viewer is standing at all times. Utilize traditional eye levels for setting the shot -- that is, no high vantage points, off-kilter vantage points, or "worms eye view" vantage points. Generally focus on a standing adults viewpoint of the scene at hand.
4) Awareness of edges. Create an overall sense of soft edges, strive for a "Barry Lyndon" look. Star filters used sparingly, but an overall "gauzy" look preferable to hard edge realism.
5) Overall concept of light. Each scene should feature dramatic sources of soft light. Dappled light patches are always a positive, glowing windows, lightposts, and other romantic lighting touches will accentuate the overall effect of the theme of light.
6) Hidden details whenever possible, References to my children (from youngest to oldest as follows): Evie, Winsor, Chandler and Merritt. References to my anniversary date, the number 52, the number 82, and the number 5282 (for fun, notice how many times this appears in my major published works). Hidden N's throughout -- preferably thirty N's, commemorating one N for each year since the events happened.
7) Overall sense of stillness. Emphasize gentle camera moves, slow dissolves, and still camera shots. A sense of gradual pacing. Even quick cut-away shots can slightly dissolve.
8) Atmospheric effects. Whenever possible utilize sunset, sunrise, rainy days, mistiness -- any transitory effect of nature that bespeaks luminous coloration or a sense of softness.
9) A sense of space. My paintings feature both intimate spaces and dramatic deep space effects. We should strive for intimate scenes to be balanced by deeper establishing shots. (I know this particular one is self-evident, but I am reminded of it as I see the pacing of the depth of field in Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon".)
10) Short focal length. In general, I love a focal plane that favors the center of interest, and allows mid-distance and distant areas to remain blurry. Recommend "stopping down" to shorten focal lengths.
11) Hidden spaces. My paintings always feature trails that dissolve into mysterious areas, patches of light that lead the eye around corners, pathways, open gates, etc. The more we can feature these devices to lead the eye into mysterious spaces, the better.
12) Surprise details. Suggest a few "inside references" that are unique to this production. Small details that I can mention in interviews that stimulate second or third viewings -- for example, a "teddy bear mascot" for the movie that appears occasionally in shots. This is a fun process to pursue, and most movies I'm aware of normally have hidden "inside references". In the realm of fine art we refer to this as "second reading, third reading, etc." A still image attracts the viewer with an overall impact, then reveals smaller details upon further study.
13) Mood is supreme. Every decision made as to the visual look of each shot should include the concept of mood. Music can accentuate this, use of edges can accentuate this, atmospheric effects accentuate this, etc.
14) The concept of beauty. I get rid of the "ugly parts" in my paintings. It would be nice to utilize this concept as much as possible. Favor shots that feature older buildings, ramshackle, careworn structures and vehicles, and a general sense of homespun simplicity and reliance on beautiful settings.
15) Nostalgia. My paintings routinely blend timeframes. This is not only okay, but tends to create a more timeless look. Vintage cars (30's, 40's, 50's, 60's etc) can be featured along with 70's era cars. Older buildings are favorable. Avoid anything that looks contemporary -- shopping centers, contemporary storefronts, etc. Also, I prefer to avoid anything that is shiny. Our vintage vehicles, though often times are cherished by their owners and kept spic-n-span should be "dirtied up" a bit for the shoot. Placerville was and is a somewhat shabby place, and most vehicles, people, etc bear traces of dust, sawdust, and the remnants of country living. There are many dirt roads, muddy lanes, etc., and in general the place has a tumbled down, well-worn look.
16) Most important concept of all -- THE CONCEPT OF LOVE. Perhaps we could make large posters that simply say "Love this movie" and post them about. I pour a lot of love into each painting, and sense that our crew has a genuine affection for this project. This starts with Michael Campus as a Director who feels great love towards this project, and should filter down through the ranks. Remember: "Every scene is the best scene."
The list above is not all-inclusive, but is a good starting point for internal dialogue. These guidelines are not listed in order of importance, but are dictated off the top of my head. After painting for nearly 40 years, I still wake up every morning daydreaming about new ways to make paintings. Creating a movie is a natural extension of the picture making process, and hopefully my catalog of visual paintings, along with my visual guidelines in this memo will provoke dialogue, experimentation, and a sense of over-arching visual purpose.
By Thomas Kinkade.

Back in the Day ...

My Mom, cousin and I were talking about how animations have become so advanced and technical now and how simple but cool they were back in the day and I think we talked about this in art class but anyways. My cousin was telling me all about this and I thought I would Google it, because in todays world we rely on our technology and have forgotten about the good old days!

The praxinoscope was an animation device, the successor to the zoetrope. The praxinoscope improved on the zoetrope by replacing its narrow viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors, placed so that the reflections of the pictures appeared more or less stationary in position as the wheel turned.

Someone looking in the mirrors would therefore see a rapid succession of images producing the illusion of motion, with a brighter and less distorted picture than the zoetrope offered.

How it works:

A band of pictures is placed inside a shallow outer cylinder, so that each picture is reflected by the inner set of mirrors. The number of mirrors is equal to the number of pictures, and the images of the pictures are viewed in the mirrors. When the outer cylinder rotates, the quick succession of reflected pictures gives the illusion of a moving picture.

What became of it:

Using this principle, Reynaud found a way to project the series of pictures onto a screen. He called this the "Theatre Optique." A standard praxinoscope, like the one above, can only accomodate a second or two of animation because of the limited number of pictures it contains. Reynaud's "Theatre Optique" used a long roll of paper to increase the number of pictures, and was therefore able to create a much longer show for an audience.

So here's a thought stop and smell the flowers !

Website Cirtique The DO's and Don'ts

Ever go on a website and just get thrown off by how busy the page is ? Have you ever just left a web page because of it's annoying flashy advertisements or flashy/loud colour scheme? All this bugged me, but I never knew why? When I learned the 10 Principles of Effective Web Design, I began to understand. There are some key elements that make a website appealing and unappealing for the user. Through this critique I will explain a few key factors that make a website successful and unsuccessful.

A good example of a website design that isn't very visually pleasing is msn.com, Although there is a good use of negative space and white space, there are way too many buttons and lists. (it's a little to much to take in all at once) The advertising is in the smack dab middle of the page, this attracts the attention away from the side news feed. If it's your first time on the site it can be a little confusing. At the top left hand corner there is a MSN logo, and beside it is a search box. On the right side there are three large icons for: hotmail, messenger and my msn and above that a bunch of options for your search. Everyone knows the msn logo because it's very popular, but if I didn't know what msn was, I don't think I would stick around much longer. Below that there are like a zillion options: autos, entertainment etc, for the latest news. Directly underneath that on the left is a list of the top stories and in the center there is a a large advertisement with these large letters popping out! It's extremely overwhelming and frustrating to navigate around the site. It's hard for the brain to understand and process, which area of the site you want to visit. It's difficult to remain patient because of the complicated layout of the site, the worst part is that all the information advertisements and the search engine are all crammed together. Once you vistit the site several times it tends to get a little less confusing.

Now here is an example of a site that is slightly more effective and visually pleasing

Ken Gangbar Studios

This website is great example of an effective use of the principals of web design. As soon as you arrive it's self-explanatory. The most brilliant thing about this site is that is has been designed in a Z pattern with the most important content in the top right and left corners and in the bottom left corner.(this makes it easy for the visitor to quickly scan for what they are looking for) Upon entering the site, On the left hand corner the logo appears in a clear white font, on the right hand side there are three simple categories: about, client list and content, In the center is a large image of a piece of art work by the artist, on the bottom left, to side of the image is a brief description of the art work, on the very bottom on the site there are three categories once again (if you move your mouse to the bottom of the screen a gallery appears). The site has used the space very well. I like the format it's easy to scan through the site. It's completely user friendly, the information is easy to access, the font is clear and easy to read and I like the way the background is black and the font is white, the two colours contrast well together and it looks smart and professional.

I hope that this will help you, when you are designing a website for your self, or even when you are designing a blog, or an advertisement or even something else, you can take into consideration the Do's and Don'ts of web design.

Flash CS4 Tutorial: How To Motion Tween

Hey Guys,

I wish I would have discovered this a few weeks ago, when I was struggling to deal with the change from using Flash mx to Flash CS4! I just discovered something very useful this video is great ! It shows you how to create a motion tween in Flash CS4, if you're new to Flash or have used an older version in the past. This video is extremely helpful (in case your new to Flash it shows you how to create a symbol, a motion tween and explains everything clearly) There is a new tween in Flash CS4 the "classic" tween and it can be difficult to understand which tween to use, between the motion tween and the classic tween and which is best. There is also a new motion tween engine that I wish I knew about. I was slightly confused at first when I started using Cs4, I would have had seen this video it would have helped a lot. What I liked about this video is that it clearly explains the differences between the different versions of tweens. Well it's to late for me, but I wanted to share this with you. Hope this helps !! -Rali

Lomo effects !

Hey !!

I was looking through a few tutorials to see if there is any special tricks, I could use for my self portrait assignment and I found this amazing YouTube video. There are a couple of great things about this video; the tutorial is explained very well in a clear voice, at a good pace and it is super easy to follow along. The video also explains how to create "actions"(like a recording), I thought this was super cool, because I was unaware you could do such things! Overall I am impressed by this and I thought, I should share this video tutorial!

4 Easy steps to convert you Ipod to a Flash Drive

Have you ever wondered what to do with your old iPod ?

I just discovered a cool new trick, by which an iPod can be transformed into a storage device !!!

Step 1: start by connecting your iPod to your computer, then open your iPod in iTunes.

Step 2: click on the iPod icon in the Source pane on the left side, then click on the summary tab.

Step 3: Under Options select "Enable disk use" this will allow you to use your iPod as a hard drive.

Step 4: The iPod disk icon will appear on your desktop and in the Finder window, or in My Computer in Windows. Click the icon and drag files into the iPod's window to copy them ( as if you are using a normal flash drive).

It worked for me, good luck with yours !

Check out apple support for more information.