Best Film Schools to Choose From

September 30th, 2010

All schools can offer many different things. That’s the reason why schools have varied identities and characteristics. You must have heard from different people how the school is blamed for a certain image that an individual projects to the public. For example the statement: “Well, he acts that way since he is from the Blank Wall University. All students who come from that school act the same way”. And this inference is not devoid of logic. That particular culture and characteristic in a certain school is often caused by peer pressure.

So, determining the best film school is easy. The answer is: it actually depends on what you hope to become in your film school experience. Each film school has its specific attributes and features that the best thing to do is to figure them out first. The country where this school is found plays an important role in finding out the character of a specific film school.

There are a lot of aspects to consider: the type of courses offered, the length of time each subject is covered, the number of written modules versus the number of actual practice, the incorporators of the college and the course itself, guests appearing in certain key lectures, and the reputation the school exudes and whether that would really matter in the end of the course. I always believe that it does. It supports you in your movement in the world, whether it is up or down. But, in the real film world, degrees don’t hold much weight as that of track record and experience. No amount of argument can win against track record and innate talent. A few examples of schools of impeccable status and reputation are:

American Film Institute

New York University

California State of the Arts

University of Southern California

University of California – Los Angeles

Outside of the United States, there are two notable film schools that anyone who’s interested can choose and these are: Australian Film, Television, and Radio School and the United Kingdom’s National Film and Television School. Not too belittle the capacity of other international schools to teach ably the art of filmmaking but rest assured that there are those that can come at par with these schools mentioned. What one needs to do is run a deep research on his aspirations in the film industry, the culture that he wants to inculcate on himself, and where he would be most comfortable in.

Top Film Schools – Are You Geared For Success?

September 27th, 2010

If you have a special interest in films and also would like to become a Michael Bay or a Steven Spielberg, then you should start considering film school. In fact, you can find many options. You only have to figure out which one will bring you to winning an Academy Award.

However, choosing which school to attend can get a little complicated. You have to collect as much information as possible about film schools for you to select and come up with a wise decision. Don’t you just wish that you can have a site or a book that would inform you of the right school to pick for yourself. It is too bad that there is not really one source to do that for you. A solution to this would be checking out the school rankings since these can provide you with useful information.

There is a quantitative analysis of various indicators of excellence involved in school rankings. The following are included: faculty resources, graduation rate and also retention. In reality, film school rankings seem to depend more on qualitative measures like the industry’s reputation or a student’s experience. The end result is that film school rankings all boils down to schools that have made a great name in the show business or those that have come up with big-name and promising directors.

Degrees and top certification on film production and cinematography can be offered by top film schools which can start off your career as a director, producer, cinematographer, scriptwriter, or a film critic. Top film schools offer programs in film production and cinematography will you have a professional certificate or a degree in associate, baccalaureate or masters in the fields of film editing, media history, camera use, ethics, digital film production and other subjects that are related to film media and motion pictures.

Courses in this field are also offered at vocational schools, community colleges, or four-year colleges and universities with top film schools as they try to blend vision with technological expertise. Undergraduate students attend classes that involve film history, acting, directing, editing, scriptwriting, production, animation, audio production, and film criticism. Production programs are also included in graduate school opportunities and may lead you to having a Master of Fine Arts (MFA). Such degrees as Master of Fine Arts in Film Production or a dual MFA or Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Production may be achieved by any graduate student. These programs would require MFA students to make at least 5 movies and also work as camera operators and crew members all at the same time.

New York University and the University of Southern California have prestigious top film schools. They offer undergraduate and graduate courses for students who are interested to join the movie business as producers, filmmakers, scriptwriters and film critics as well.

Internet TV Viewers Love The Ads So Much They Want Twice As Many

September 10th, 2010

Social Media Websites such as Facebook and Bebo are not as popular to the internet enabled public as watching TV online, so says a new prospect. An ever increasing number of users are leaving cable and watching the same shows on their internet enabled PC or other device, and now it has been habitual that more users watch live internet TV than watch popular social media sites.

The study by Pew Internet and American Life Project who surveyed over 2250 people also came up with some other interesting online tv facts:-62% of fully grown Internet users watched a goggle box or tv show online, up from just 33% in December 2006, and online video use is near superior general by people younger than 18.

TV shows online are gaining popularity as 35% of Internet users say they now watch favorite shows online, up from just 16% in 2007.
The percentage of aged viewers (65 plus) watching video online is nearly 30%, up from just 10% in 2006. At this rate, around half of the older generation over 65 could be viewing internet video very soon.

 The percentage of men vs women watching online tv has changed as well. Men have always watched more online tv and video than women. However the gap has narrowed. The share of women who visit video sharing sites has grown from 46% in 2008 to 59% now. Among men, 65% now watch online video, up from 57% in just last year.
 

In the real world viewers will do anything to avoid watching advertising, but the online hearing are happy to see even more. So says Comscore who told the Advertising Research Foundation’s Annual Convention in New York that internet tv viewers are willing to wasee around twice as many ads than they currently do.

Tania Yuki, director of cross media and video products at comScore said:- “We are leaving money on the table (by not carrying a heavier ad load in online videos),” . She said that only 38% of the 2,000-some people surveyed said they watch online video to avoid ads, whilst around three living quarters of viewers who watch TV shows on the web (71%) do so to sweep over up on episodes they missed and 67% said they watched online video because it was more convenient.

Which Ad do i want to watch today?
Yuki said Hulu generally runs around four minutes of advertising each hour and could easily addition it to seven minutes without impacting viewer valuation reserve. The news is neat for Hulu, who are still to make any money off their online venture. Instead of turning into a subscription based model, just double the number of ads.

Other findings from the survey respondents showed that 71% watched traditional tv only, whilst 29% watched both on and offline tv.

The Ins And Outs Of Film Production Equipment

August 18th, 2010

With the advent of new technologies, film production equipment and the existence of digital video as an acceptable medium for film art anybody has the privilege now to become a film director virtually overnight. Although film production cost is ridiculously high, some of these video production equipment are still easy on the pocket and they can be mastered without any delay. Although the focus should still be the art of film over having the right kind of equipment, the easy access of video production equipment has encouraged a lot of amateur filmmakers to try and give it their best shot. These recent advances in inexpensive film making equipment have now allowed independent film productions to prosper. The first step in making yourself a Steven Spielberg is to understand completely the basics of video production equipment.

It is significant that you take stock of your film production equipment that is important in filming as you start to set up the video to ensure everything is ready. In creating a professional-looking film, the most fundamental video production equipment you need to have are professional video cameras, stabilization equipment and also film lighting equipment as well as microphone or audio system. Dollies, tracks, jibs, tripods, cranes, booms, and lifts are also some of the camera support equipment that you might be needing. Also you might need to take into account the trucks, cars and other vehicles that are required to transport the cameras and other equipment required for filming. There are also times when specialized equipment may be required for enhancing audio and video effects. In some instances, climate control machinery is also needed to create the appropriate effects for a movie.

When you are done in the film production on video, there are still more video production equipment needed to edit and finalize the video to come up with your masterpiece. Through using professional quality editing equipment, you can give your video the kind of polished quality that sets it apart from home video or amateur production. Some of these video editing tools are video editing software, the sound mixing tool, and also the video duplication equipment.

Nowadays there are a lot of providers for production equipment such as camera, video, lighting and for film processing. You should also research on film equipment vendors who can provide movie production supplies that are suited to your needs. Look for those that can provide quality service, technical excellence and reasonable pricing. You won’t have to buy these video production equipment now since there are many that can be rented. But if you intend to have your own gear, there are a lot of used items that you can buy as well.

Setting up an HD video studio for less than $200

August 17th, 2010

In my previous article at Effective Media, I looked at the approximate funds needed to start up a video studio. Please note this update is for those interested in using cameras and not PowerPoint/Camtasia productions. That will need a separate topic. Instead I will assume that you would like to make selling videos at decent quality but you have under $200 to start with.

Clarity and sound run hand in hand. Need I elaborate? If you are selling a product or service, you will need to sell it in the best possible environment which will illuminate your product and not make it look like it just came out of someone’s dirty cellar.

The good news is that HD is coming down in price rapidly and more and more of the cheaper cameras are adding features which two years ago, none of regular users of more expensive cameras could have dreamed of. Take external sound for example. If you’ve ever had a cheap video camera, you’ll know that the vision can be ok but the sound tends to let the whole thing down.

So your baby’s first words were drowned by a whirring in the background due to camera noise right? The technology, you will be pleased to know, is becoming smarter and more portable too.

I have three recommendations for purchase which I will stake my reputation on, you won’t be disappointed with.

1) The Kodak zi8 is a point and shoot camera which shoots in HD and will do nicely on a bright day or well lit room. It will do badly in low light. And don’t bother with the zoom at 1080. At 720 zoom away. I could do a whole review on this but that’s basically the story. You will need just $125 to secure one. Perfect for vlogging. Look no further and no I am not leading you to an affiliate link here.

2) A Hama Star 61 Tripod retails in my own country (UK) for less than $25 on Amazon. For a light camera it will do the job perfectly. If you are shooting in high wind for get it. I have had one for a few weeks now and my professional cynicism soon wore off when it did the trick for my own vlogs.

3) An Audio Technica ATR-3350 is a lavalier mike which fits perfectly into the external mic socket of the Kodak zi8 nicely.

Total budget? Under $200. I can assure you that this is what I use for any daytime vlogging. It saves alot of precious set up time having to faff with more expensive cameras. I am not ignoring those but assuming that it’s quality budget solution your are looking for.

Obviously do some test video to start with. Find a place which receives a regular “glow” of natural light (not direct sunlight) and adapt this location for your studio.You need to be comfortable with your environment too. If you demonstrating a product by all means use a table and either stand or sit at the table. Many of the cable TV channel presenters stand because it looks more immediate and dynamic. But don’t rule out seated demos. People want to see what you’ve got NOT whether you can present.

Above all, enjoy the experience. Contact me at my blog at Effective Media if you need advice on what to do with the video once you’ve made it. OR it might be an idea to find out the potential before you buy the kit above.

 

Top film schools – start your career in cinematography by attending the top film schools

August 17th, 2010

Top cinematography schools are certified to provide the best accredited Cinematography and film production certificates and give you the launch for a career as a cinematographer, producer, director, scriptwriter or film critic.  Attending the courses of Cinematography and Film Production at one of the top film schools will make you become able to earn a professional certificate or degree at the associate, baccalaureate or master’s level in media history, camera use, ethics, digital filmmaking, film editing or other domains connected to film media and motion pictures.

These types of programs, which bring together creativity and technology, can be offered by community colleges, vocational schools or four-year colleges and universities.It is a little problematical to decide on a suitable film school, and figuring out as much as possible the possibilities they provide can help you decide quicker.

The University of Southern California in Los Angeles (USC) includes the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the United States first film school and one of the top film schools in the state, established in 1929. Its branches encompass production for film and television, criticism, animation, screenwriting, producing and interactive media.

Apart from producing, all departments provide degree programs for undergraduates, resulting in either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA). Production programs are integrated in the graduate alternatives and can lead you to a Master of Fine Arts (MFA); at the same time, students that choose the Critical Studies program are able to obtain a Master of Arts or PHD.

The University of Southern California has been ranked in 2010 as the 26th best university in the United States, by the U.S. News and World Report, and its School of cinematic Arts is one of the top film schools in the U.S. overall, with many alumni nominated for the Academy Award.

One of the highest rated film schools in US is Tisch School of Arts, part of the New York University (NYU), and its Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television provide best film programs. Film history, production, animation, directing, acting, editing, scriptwriting, film criticism, audio production are the main programs given to undergraduate students.

A graduate student can achieve a degree at the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Filmmaking or a dual MFA and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Producing. While in this course MFA students ought to create at least five movies and as well work as crew-members and camera operators on their classmates’ works In 2010 as well, US News and World Report ranked NYU as the 32nd best university in the state.

Also amid the top film schools, the University of Chicago’s Committee on Cinema and Media Studies in Chicago, IL offers top-rated degrees in Film and Cinematography, at the Bachelor of Arts level in Cinema and Media Studies to undergraduates and a Doctor of Philosophy of Media Studies to graduate students.

US News and World Report rated it as one among the best-ranked film schools in US, hosting the Film Studies Center, including a collection of over 10,000 films, discs and videos. Its programs are designed for video production, history, theory, criticism, Film and various other sections.

The University of Chicago is a private four-year institution, with a total student enlistment of more than 14,000, organizing around 2,000 units in the around neighborhood for students and college .

Video Marketing is Dominating Now and Have More Share in the Future

July 17th, 2010

Marketing on the Internet requires you to target the right audience and to get the word out about your product. You’ll find some online methods are more effective than others for getting that done. There’s quite a variety of marketing strategies available for getting that done. However not all methods produce targeted traffic, while others can get pretty expensive like PPC. You can use the power of video marketing to brand yourself as well as reach your market. A good video can mesmerize people, so the relationship building aspect it potentially powerful. You can have a powerful marketing campaign in place with effective use of video. The basic idea is you want to presell your product or service in the video. We’ll discuss just a few of the many benefits and uses of video marketing in your business.

A new course is causing quite a buzz in the Internet Marketing community and you can find more information about it at The Leading Articles page.

Video marketing, done right, can and will make you an expert on your chosen topic and drastically increase your traffic with little to no out of pocket monetary expense. It’s unbelievable that so many internet marketers are not using videos to promote their niche markets, this means that you can come in and have lots of hungry searchers waiting for your information. Presenting quality and informative videos to the online public is the quickest way to get your name noticed in whichever niche you are tackling. Experts never have a problem appealing to people because people are always on the lookout for expert advice and opinions. Another good thing about becoming an expert is that you do not have to sell so aggressively anymore because people already want what you are selling. I know that many people hate the word guru but if you pay attention, they use video marketing a lot.

Unless you just arrived from Jupiter, you should know how blogging can be used in business. As you know, you can embed videos in your blogs, but you can also create Vlogs – video blogs. You can create your own video blog and position it in your niche market.

You can always find people who like video so much they’ll visit your vlogs. The one important thing you’ll need to do is regularly create videos to keep the content fresh for your visitors. It would be no problem to make several videos a week, then you can just notify people that a new video is up. Vlogging has not caught on in a huge way, yet, but even a smaller scale would be unique.

A new course is causing quite a buzz in the Internet Marketing community and you can find more information about it at The Leading Articles page.

Videos are flexible, and you can test many different approaches and strategies. It allows you to work with unique content every time, while you test and track people’s response. If you can understand your market well, your videos should be deadly effective in your marketing. Online marketers have not completely embraced video marketing, but it’s becoming a force to reckon with. It’s a smart move to explore and use all that this has to offer – as you know.

Internet TV Has Finally Arrived To The Masses

July 13th, 2010

The BBC have given a prowler view of the Project Canvas Live Internet tv standard, and its looking good. Erik Huggers, the BBC hereafter Media & Technology conductor showed a demo to the C21Media conference in London today.
The demo showed a the new IPTV standard in all its interactive, cross-platform resplendency and showed how the Beijing Olympics would look on Canvas.

Also announced was the reabsorb of the iinstrumentalist with social content-sharing features, a newly developed Nintendo Wii player app and an intuitive multimedia search facility for bbc.co.uk.
  If Canvas fails, he argues, broadcasters would shoulder additional costs of reformatting new devices. “There could be a horizontal level playing field of operations for everyone and I think that’s worth fighting for.” Update: The BBC contacted us to point out that this is only a demo of what inhabit could expect from a Canvas product and is by no ways the ruined article.
 
Canvas looks great and whether it continues in its present incarnation or not, the technology will live on in other forms.

Although we and other websites of repute have been impressive everyone that the great public will soon be watching and surfing the Internet in their living room/ Many have been skeptical.
Despite the efforts of many including AOL TV and WebTV Networks for many get on, there has never been a big take up of the new technology.

The biggest TV manufacturers including Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Vizio say that they’re poised to revolutionize television this Christmas shopping season: They’re about to launch the first major selling push for a new generation of sets that can easily integrate Web content with traditional TV news and entertainment — without the fuss of connecting the TV to a set-top box.
 The run could be risky. Consumers may balk if TV sets become too computerlike and complicated. Manufacturers are in a race with cable companies and gadget providers — including makers of DVRs, Blu-ray players and game machines — who offer alternative ways to blend the Internet with TV.
 

 As they catch on, television will become “a completely new ballgame,” says Matthew McRae, general theatre director of ripe technology products at Vizio. software system developers will stack to the new platform, making Web TVs “the next area of innovation” following computers and cellphones, he says.
 

With the financing of so many big names and the fact that as with nicam stereoscopic photograph and widescreen. Soon every tv will come internet enabled, this has to be the time of internet tv’s coming.

How to Create Stunning Paintings With Large Canvas Art

July 8th, 2010

Art is an incredible method in which you’ll show yourself by innovative means. Creating totally different pieces of artwork in different types of format is something that offers people an amazing amount of pleasure, and any art that you make is one thing that may live in your natural life and beyond. One of the most popular varieties of artwork that regular individuals get pleasure from is painting on canvas. If you wish to produce large canvas art, you’ll have to contemplate numerous key factors before you begin.

Of course one of the main things you have to to consider would be what kind of canvas you will be utilizing. Different sorts and completely different dimensions of canvas are available. You need to decide on the right type and size of canvas based on the sort of artwork you need to do.

In addition to this, you also need to choose the correct paint. There are several types of paint that you could use to paint on canvas, most notably acrylic paints and oil paints. Again, you will also have to consider your level of ability and your degree of experience when understanding what kind of paint you must use. Both of these sorts will have their very own distinct benefits and drawbacks based on the way by which they are used.

For instance, acrylic paints would dry up a lot more quickly and as such are probably greatest used by those who have a little bit more experience. If you regularly make mistakes when using acrylic paints then these are very hard to alter and as such this may damage the general look of your own work of art. Nevertheless, these paints are really simple to wash out of your own brushes, and as such you will not need to be replacing brushes quite so often.

On the other side, oil paints would take a lot longer to dry and are therefore much more appropriate for individuals who have little expertise at painting on canvas. When you first begin painting it is going to certainly be a case of trial and error, with error being the main word.

You’re more likely to make plenty of errors, and as such you’ll want to try and rectify these as soon as you can. Because of the fact that the paint needs so much more time to dry up, you will have ample time to iron out any errors.

The draw back, nonetheless, of utilizing these paints is simply the fact that they’re very tough to wash. Not only will this mean you’ll be spending a lot of time washing out colors you’ve applied in order to reuse the brush, but you might also discover that any paint deposit that is left may cause streaks to appear on your painting where they aren’t wanted.

One final factor you’ll have will be how long the product will be and what you’ll paint. Due to the fact that you’ll want to paint large canvas paintings, the project that you engage in may well be something that can take you quite some time. As such, you must have the dedication to persist and see it out to the end.

At Oil Paintings Art.org, you’ll find products, information, and resources on wall art oil paintings, old oil paintings for sale, and oil paints for sale.

Where Can I Find Extra Material on Photography

June 28th, 2010

There are three easy ways to find material on Photography.  Researching in all areas helps give you and your family a well balanced view on the material area and you will be fully informed.

 

The first place you may want to look is encyclopedia type starting points. You can now find this kind of information on sites like Wikipedia. These sources assist give you an unbiased view of Photography. This assists give you and your family a base of material when you go to learn more about Photography.

 

Another starting point of material is blogs and websites like this one. These give you other people’s point of view. These can be helpful resources and reviews, since they are more often than not written out of experience.  One thing to keep in mind when browsing the web for facts is to consider the starting point. Someone who is also selling a product related to Photography^&* may be extra biased in what they tell you and your family.

 

A 3rd point of information of information would be books. Books are a great resource when trying to learn further about Photography.  However they can consistently be relatively expensive. One fantastic way to find books on your subject area for an affordable price is nonprofit used book sales. These are usually held by libraries and AAUWs. They offer books for a fraction of the cover price. This assists you and your family learn additional on Photography without breaking the bank. To find book sales, search google, your local library website or stop in at your local library.

 

If you are looking for specialty books, check out Amazon or other online used book markets. You can consistently find a book for a deep discount (maybe not as much as book sales but still for a great price). This will assist you gain some extra knowledge on Photography without staring at a computer monitor for long periods of time.

 

If you and your family learned from all three points of information you will become well informed on Photography. This will aid you develop your own options on the material material and aid you and your family when you and your family deal with this thought in the future.