Happy Halloween!

Digital Still Photography Transforms Ordinary Video

One of the benefits of making films in the digital age is the ease and speed in which ordinary video can be dynamically transformed into something more. Scenes that at one time may have required major set dressing and a team of matte painters to create, can now be designed in the computer with the use of composited still images.

Above: four photos taken from our backyard. These won’t find their way into any of our films.

 

Above: a mist-covered lake which may very well be used as a backdrop for a scene in a developing project, The Edwardian Full Moon Encounter.

But there is no lake. The four pics from the backyard are stitched together and then manipulated in Photoshop to create a body of water where there was none. The result…an establishing shot perfect for setting the tone in our period story.

This still image manipulation is being used in a number of scenes in our upcoming Mad City Chickens film, especially those scenes which involve a giant chicken set loose in the city.

Mad City Chickens Nearing Completion

The Mad City Chickens movie was set in motion back in the summer of 2005 outside Madison, Wisconsin when we attended a gathering hosted by two of the founding members of the Mad City Chickens group, Alicia Rheal and Brian Whiting. It was a conversation with them and other backyard chicken owners that hatched the idea for the film–a short film–no longer than ten minutes.

Now over two years later, the feature-length project (approx. 90 minutes) is nearing completion. A finished, although not final, version will start the submission process to film festivals before the end of the year.

African Chicken Stories in the Studio

Gambian-born Sankulay Jallow, now a resident of Madison, WI, is the producer of the popular local television show, West Africa Experience: Music From the Continent, which airs on channel 4, WYOU. He took some time out of his busy schedule today to join us in the studio and tell us a few humorous “chicken” stories from his childhood back in Africa.

The Red Fairy Escapes Recall and Execution

In a public statement made earlier today from her southern California residence, the Red Fairy, star of the Tarazod film, La Fe’e Rouge, reassured her adoring fans that she was indeed safe, sound, and in no way involved in the Chinese recall and military execution of millions of Barbies. She was quick to remind media hounds that she is no longer a Barbie, but is, in fact, now a mythical being.

Thanks to Leslie Stephany for the news tip on this late breaking story.

Isthmus Daily Page write-up on Not Docs TV show

Isthmus Daily Page writer Kristian Knutsen is back as he takes a peek at Robert’s cable television show Not Docs, a program that showcases short films by independent filmmakers.