Forget the cheap DIY steadicams for a second. For some shots, all it takes is a bit of string, a washer, and a bolt. This interesting counter-tension idea looks like it might work well, and even if it doesn’t, the parts list will only set you back a buck.

Beautiful and eerie. Music by The Chief Smiles

I rode the L train into Canarsie and then the F train to Coney Island and back in an effort to document how two empty bottles naturally roll around a subway car.

If you ride the subway in New York City, you will often see empty bottles moving freely about. No one ever picks them up. No one notices when the bottles bump into their feet. No one minds the sound of glass banging into metal poles. In terms of visual phenomena, I think the way empty bottles interact with commuters offers a great insight into how New Yorkers’ deal with irritation/distraction. Also, I think the bottles look like sad little beings, banging into ankles, essentially tugging at their pants leg for attention, and being persistently ignored and abandoned.

I shot this footage and didn’t know the right way to phrase it until I heard a song that I thought best complemented the bottles’ lonely experience.

[via BoingBoing]

Weird screen test of “colormation”, dating to some time around (I’m guessing by content) the early 1960s 1962. David Pescovitz of Boing Boing writes, “The technique, similar in look to rotoscoping, appears to involve a combination of live actors, high-contrast cinematography, and hand-drawn backgrounds and foregrounds.”

A quick Google search turns up a bit more context. Cartoon Brew put together a few interesting details surrounding this weird find back in September.

The clip is credited to Leon H. Maurer, who has quite an impressive resume, and is apparently related to Norman Maurer (comic book artist, film director, Moe Howard’s son-in-law), who used a similar process (called “Cinemagic�) in his 1960 feature film, The Angry Red Planet. In 1955 Leon started Illustrated Films, Inc. (with Norman) and they co-invented Artiscope, a “full animation-by-automation� system (per Leon’s resume, “Realistic character animation without artists - world’s first practical “real-time motion capture� system�).

Slightly disturbing, but really cool; This short film made entirely with public domain footage is a promotional meme for a magazine article on, well, killer parasites. Killer use of stock footage, mixing many scenes from many movies together to create something with that creepy vibe only the 1950’s could do just right.

I would have given bonus points if they’d done some notch filtering on the audio and added some crackle and pop to give it that antique recording equipment feel. The visuals are wonderfully produced, but the audio snaps the suspension of disbelief a little by being too good for the period.

[via Boing Boing]

Slick pixelmation created with a still camera. The stair sequence has a really creepy steadicam feel to it.

Cute animated short on shooting video for the web. It covers the basic points, but don’t look for any groundbreaking ideas. Hey, what do you expect in a minute and thirty seconds?

The original crankygeek John C. Dvorak talks video blogging with several panelists. The discussion is a little dry, but there are a few gems of info contained deep within. Trust us, it’s worth the 8 minutes of your life; If only just.

This isn’t the greatest explanation of the Rule of Thirds I’ve ever seen, but it’s quick and simple. You’ll get the point.

Rule of Thirds - Wikipedia