Google added a neat feature called “Face Movies” to its Picasa photo software last week. This feature uses facial recognition technology to help you create a movie slideshow where a person’s face is aligned in each photograph. An example of something you can do with this feature is to create a slideshow of your child growing up (like in the example Face Movie above).
Here’s a stunning time-lapse video by Dan Eckert shot in the California and Arizona deserts. Aside from the fact that seeing the night sky spin in time-lapse is usually pretty darn cool, Eckert employs some interesting techniques that we haven’t come across before.
For example, in one shot Eckert paced across the desert, aiming at a particular mountain in the horizon and snapping a single photograph every time he took a step. If you have a few minutes, this’ll definitely make for a relaxing and awe-inspiring break.
HBO posted this interesting behind-the-scenes video that gives a glimpse into the kind of special effects that went into filming the popular miniseries John Adams. It’s pretty crazy how they construct entire realities around the actors using CGI.
This is a 17 minute video showing Kai over at DigitalRev (the same guy that painted a Nikon D90 pink) putting a Canon 400D and Nikon D70 through various torture tests. The tests include stabbing them with knives, dropping them down escalators, smashing them with elevator doors, using them as stilts, and more.
It’s painful to watch, and not just because beautiful cameras are being abused — the video is much too long. However, it’s interesting to see how much damage entry-level DSLR cameras can take and still remain functional.
This music video by YouTube celebrity Joe Penna (AKA MysteryGuitarMan) shows him dancing in various locations while the world around him moves in slow motion. What’s even cooler is that he also published a behind-the-scenes video showing how you can do the same thing. Check it out! Read the rest of this entry »
A good majority of news and documentary photographers tend to shy away from capturing video footage on DSLRs, owing to the cameras limited HD clip length. However, here’s a really fantastic example of a documentary-style story shot with a 1D Mark IV, directed by photographer Austin Walsh in Kansas City.
Interestingly, Walsh and his creative team normally do advertising work, but the resulting piece has the feel of a New York Times One in 8 Million project. Walsh, who created the piece for a PhotoShelter lecture on passion projects, also produced every component of the video from scratch, including its own soundtrack. Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve heard the term “photographic memory” before, but have you ever heard of someone who actually has it? Meet Stephen Wiltshire, a UK-born autistic savant with an extraordinary memory that has given him the nickname, “The Living Camera”. The above is a short video showing his abilities that will make your jaws drop.
Wiltshire can draw incredibly accurate pictures of scenes that he examines only briefly. Here’s a quote from the video:
[...] when he was only eleven, he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only helicopter ride. Even the number of windows in all the major buildings was correct.
For the rest of us, we’ll have to be content with shooting gigapixel panoramas.
Freddy Wong’s YouTube channel is a must-subscribe if you’re interested in video editing and home-brewed CGI. A couple months ago we featured an amazing video they made where an entire action scene was done using light-painting techniques. What’s neat about their channel is that they also create behind-the-scenes clips explaining how each one was made. Read the rest of this entry »
UK-based filmmaker Philip Bloom created this beautiful video of Monument Valley, Utah. Blending regular video and timelapse footage, Bloom builds a serene and powerful portrait of the place. Bloom used a plethora of gear to capture the footage, including five cameras – one Canon 5D Mark II to capture video, another 5D Mark II, two Canon 7D, Canon 1D Mark IV, and a Nikon D3s for timelapse. Whew!
You can read more about the photo shoot, see behind the scenes photos and listen to a commentary on Philip Bloom’s blog.
