Enigmatic O2 ads October 6, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips , 2commentsThey’ve been around for a few weeks, these ads for the mobile phone network O2, with the variable number of tower blocks in a blue city. It was when I was riding an esacalator that it suddenly appeared to me as stopped frames which the escalator motion made into a movie for me. That’s when I twigged what the tower blocks represent.
Here’s a movie I took of an advertisment installation on a station which is made up of two pictures sandwiched between directional plastic so the picture moves as you walk past. ( Just like the little action slides which came free with cornflake packets about 40 years ago )
Do you get it yet?
Valentines Park October 3, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, wildlife, London , 3commentsValentines Park, Ilford. The lovely Long Pond, coots’ nest, mistle thrush, grotto bridge and a duck movie.
Some history…
By the 1890’s Ilford was growing rapidly, the population rose from 7,645 in 1881 to 78,188 by 1911. This increase in bricks and mortar spread eastward over the fields of Essex. The large private estates with their own farmlands began to sell up and move out.
In 1899 the Cranbrook Estate, to the west of Valentines, was about to be sold for housing. The northern boundary of development was the areas south of the Valentines Estate. The Council had acquired its first section of parkland in 1898 and was keen to enlarge its size, as land became available. The farsighted local officials realised that unless an area of ‘relaxation and pleasure’ was retained for the growing urban population, all traces of a rural undeveloped Ilford would be lost.
Latest news….
The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced the award of a grant of over
Bridge Revisited September 27, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : soundvideo, transport, movie clips, learning , 3commentsReturning from Cornwall means crossing the Tamar in the opposite direction over Brunel’s bridge again. I think the twin ferry ports of Torpoint and Saltash look quite pretty from above. ( Note the genuine accent from the train manager, not much like the people on Doc Martin )
<< view brunel-m.mov quicktime movie >>
The picture quality is an improvement on “stepping stones” through using the following process:
*DVcam records onto DV tape
*Capture to ‘Image mixer’ software which comes with camera. - rough edit to retain only usable footage
*Exports only as mpeg ( mixed sound and video )
*input to Cleaner, export as .dv ( takes hours, but only way to retain the synchronous sound )
*import to iMovie - further editing
*export as quicktime movie in DV quality ( big file )
*open in Quicktime Pro - tiny edits for finishing
*compress and export using setting “DSL medium quality”
Final copy is 4Mb+ , 2 minutes video with sound at size 320X240 without much pixellation or blocky compression patches.
The process involves 4 pieces of software, which is one more than would normally be necessary if using more compatible kit such as a camcorder which can be captured straight into iMovie or Final Cut.
Stepping Stones September 19, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : soundvideo, movie clips, wildlife , 3commentsThis is a short film I made last holidays, in Penpol creek, Cornwall. It has taken ages to find a way of producing a compressed film with sound in quicktime format from the original muxed mpeg with the equipment available to me. The final result has poor quality video for the file size, and the sound drops in one or two places but I’m publishing it anyway because I feel it demonstrates progress in other ways.
I decided to experiment with this technique of talking through the camera after viewing Linda Hartley’s “the tasting garden”
( For those on dialup, there’s a slightly smaller version here )
the trouble with iMovie September 9, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips , 3commentsThe trouble with iMovie is that it’s much too easy to do silly things like this…
Transitions should be avoided like metaphors in the plague, and scenes should nearly always be joined using the straight cut. Even the simple crossfade needs to be used very sparingly, as it tends to suggest a break in the continuity of time, or a movement from dream to reality and vice versa.
What happens to Waste? September 2, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, London , comments closedI live in Newham, so everything I put in my wheelie bin is collected once a week, taken to a plant at Jenkins Lane where it’s crushed into solid bales which are then put onto the back of a lorry, driven to Essex and dumped in a hole in the ground. This is called “Landfill”.
In Lewisham where I work however, waste is taken to this place with a big chimney and burned - “Incineration”.
I can see smoke or steam emmissions from the window occasionally, and I sometimes wonder which is the least bad solution.
Brunel’s Bridge August 29, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : transport, movie clips , comments closedIt’s my first blog entry for a couple of weeks I think, but I’ve been acquiring digital material like a loony. A forthcoming meeting on 31st August requires that the cameras be relinquished, so the blog will change character after that in some ways, although there are plenty of unfinished projects left to edit.
Anyway….
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous Victorian engineer designed this unique railway bridge, completed in the year of his death 1859.
The bridge spans the river Tamar, which marks the border for crossing from England into Cornwall. This is the point where the rain usually starts, but not always of course. Sometimes it begins in Devon. Here’s a short movie clip from that part of the journey.
The harbour and village on the Cornish side is Saltash. Try to ignore the upstart 1960s road suspension bridge, it’s the double span compression arches which carry the Great Western Railway.
Hibiscus August 11, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, wildlife , comments closedToday’s movie clip stars a flower:
I’m so glad I chose this particular variety of hibiscus just a few years ago when I wanted something a bit special for that end of the garden.
Also starring:
a bee
an ant
Tree Surgery August 6, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, wildlife , comments closedIt all happens outside my house, which is just as well really. I’ve got a bad foot and can’t get about very well at the moment, so open to visitors..
The sycamore tree is thought by some to be inappropriate in a residential setting, and it does cause a regular precipitation of undesirable substances in volume at certain times of the year what with the tiny flowers and pollen falling, the sticky stuff, the helicopters and then all the leaves.
But I do like the shade, and wouldn’t want it cut down. So the other day professional tree surgeons arrived to thin out the lower branches and give the tree a bit of a trim. I caught some of this procedure on video, just as I was setting off for the jellyART Social ( pictures after that event here )
I’m very pleased with the result, the tree looks nicely balanced and lets in a little bit more light. Good for another 5-10 years.
Changing a Light Bulb August 5, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips , comments closedHow many men does it take to change a streetlamp bulb?
I found out recently when this bright yellow van drew up opposite and I happened to have the DV cam ready. The interesting thing to watch is where he tries to put the lamp back together and the catch breaks off or something, so he holds it in place with a roll of sticky tape. Perhaps a frequent occurence, but I wonder how long it will remain adhesive in the rain?
Thanks for reading Andy Roberts articles about movie clips
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