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March 27, 2018
The Roto Brush from Adobe After Effects Makes Rotoscoping Painless
Use rotoscoping to place text behind a person, help with color correction, or to just be super cool.Rotoscoping is a tedious task that involves …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed
March 27, 2018
Illustration Process: Battle by Thomas Rohlfs
Illustration Process: Battle by Thomas Rohlfs
Thomas Rohlfs is an illustrator from Amsterdam, Netherlands with a very unique style. He shared a illustration post on his Behance profile showing a bit of his process from sketches to the final piece. The most amazing thing for me is the sense of movement added by a quite aggressive perspective. In addition to that, the color scheme and textures are top notch.
Illustration Process
abduzeedo
Mar 27, 2018
Source: Abduzeedo Illustration
March 26, 2018
How to Maximize Your Story’s Impact by Celebrating Your Customer Objections
It’s one of the easiest things to fix, yet most marketers are either not aware or don’t know how to do it right.
When you think of the classic 3-act story structure, we typically talk about Setting, Conflict, and Resolution. This is a core DNA of any good story.
Setting covers your hero=customer’s life before she came across that nagging problem your product/service solves.
Conflict describes that problem or challenge that prevents your customer from getting what she wants.
And Resolution is where you – the mentor=guide comes along with your product/service and saves the day.
Naturally, this is the classic narrative sequence. Advanced business narratives test diverse story sequences and outcomes (i.e., positive, neutral and even negative).
In our workshops and my online interactions, I find that most marketers are not aware of this classic narrative structure, and worse they tend to briefly touch on the conflict and 95% of their message is dedicated to the Resolution part – singing the praise of their widget.
And you know how does that feel? No one is interested in self-aggrandizing messages.
Why?
Simple. Because what really happens here, is that you, the brand is, in essence, taking away the role of the hero from your customer. If you are the hero what role do you leave for your customer? The adoring fan?
Guess what? Your customer at the top of the funnel is just getting to know you. She’s not ready yet to play the adoring fan, just yet. So, good chances she’ll intuitively classify your message as advertising noise and ignore it.
You see, the role of the Evangelist comes much later – at the bottom of the funnel – after you won your prospect’s business, she loved your service experience and can’t wait to tell the whole world about it.
That’s why it’s super critical that wh
en you develop your story the hero’s role is always reserved for your customer. And you – the brand – play the mentor or guide, helping your hero gets what she wants at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Another visual metaphor I use to underscore the importance of narrative roles is to think about stories as “mirrors.”
They work best when they can authentically reflect your customer’s authentic world and key problem.
The moment your customer can see herself in your story, your story stops being YOUR STORY and becomes YOUR CUSTOMER’S STORY:
“Hey, that’s my pain you’re talking about here! “
A great “narrative mirror” will serve as a fertile ground for generating audience empathy and trust.
Now that you have the basic foundations of a great story, let’s go back to the importance of creating a good Setting. The first part of your story.
In this part, you describe your customer life before coming across the core problem your product/service aims to solve.
So, you want to be super descriptive and address details such as time, location, moods, and emotional state. The more details you can provide the crispier, believable, and relatable your story will mirror your audience real world.
To maximize your story’s impact, you want to ensure that your hero’s starting point is as far remote from where she lands at, at the Resolution.
That’s why after you authentically describe a detail-rich world of your customer, the core conflict she encounters, you want to delay the transition to the Resolution with real-life customer objections.
Customer objections could range from budget, timing, trust, competition, decision avoidance, internal politics, etc.
When you place your customer objections in your narrative, it allows your audience to a) find an answer to a similar doubt they carry – so it’s a seamless pre-empting exercise b) builds up authenticity and humanizes your message as the transition from non-believer to a believer is not trivial. And c) a great makeover story offers empathy hooks to transform your story from an easy-to-ignore ad to a relatable human story.
In conclusion, make sure that the narrative seams that connect your customer’s problem to your product resolution reflect your customer decision process and doubts. This sliver of imperfection and vulnerability will boost your story’s authenticity and trust.
***
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Source: Visual Storytelling
March 26, 2018
Architecture Photography: Financial Tombstones
Architecture Photography: Financial Tombstones
I am a fan of architecture and high-rises. If you follow me on Instagram you would probably know that by now. So it’s inevitable that I would feature any photographer or post that shares the same passion of mine. That’s the case of the post that Carsten Witte featuring a set of beautiful architecture photography of buildings titled Financial Tombstones.
There are a lot of things to love about this set of photos. From the perspective to the color treatment, it sometimes feel almost unreal, like a computer generated image. It’s a testament of the quality of the work of Carsten Witte, a photographer based in Hamburg, Germany with work featured in so many amazing publications like Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, GQ, EIN, Leica S-Magazine and many more. For more information make sure to check out http://carstenwitte.myportfolio.com/
Architecture photography
All rights reserved to Carsten Witte.
For more information check out:
abduzeedo
Mar 26, 2018
Source: Abduzeedo Photography
March 25, 2018
‘Aquaman’ Director James Wan Explains Why There Still Isn’t a Trailer: ‘It’s Me’
Much to the consternation of fans, “Aquaman” has yet to receive a teaser trailer despite being scheduled for release later this year. This has naturally led to speculation among those same fans, which director James Wan has apparently had enough of. The “Saw” and “The Conjuring” filmmaker took to Twitter to dispel any rumors about the delay, explaining that the problem is simple: “It’s me.”
“Hey friends, I usually do my best to avoid internet noises (especially fabricated distractions) but a teaser-trailer going out this weekend was never in the books — despite what some claim. It’s not because of anyone or any nefarious reason holding it back — IT’S ME.,” Wan wrote in the first of three tweets.
“I am simply not ready yet to share. This movie is filled to the gills with VFX, and the process is as slow and laborious as a sea-slug!” he continued. “Yes, even shots for the trailers take forever to do, and I refuse to put out anything that might be construed as subpar.”
He then concluded, “I know it seems like nothing much is brewing above the surface, but I can assure you, we’re working nonstop under the waves.”
Jason Momoa stars as the eponymous superhero in the film, which takes place in the same shared universe as other DC Comics films like “Justice League” and “Wonder Woman.” “Aquaman” will be released theatrically on December 21.
Hey friends, I usually do my best to avoid internet noises (especially fabricated distractions) but a teaser-trailer going out this weekend was never in the books — despite what some claim. It’s not because of anyone or any nefarious reason holding it back — IT’S ME. (1/3)
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) March 25, 2018
I am simply not ready yet to share. This movie is filled to the gills with VFX, and the process is as slow and laborious as a sea-slug! Yes, even shots for the trailers take forever to do, and I refuse to put out anything that might be construed as subpar. (2/3)
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) March 25, 2018
I know it seems like nothing much is brewing above the surface, but I can assure you, we’re working nonstop under the waves
(3/3)
(Ps: And yes, I plan to use oceanic puns/references every chance I get)
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) March 25, 2018
Source: IndieWire film
March 25, 2018
‘Isle of Dogs’: Stream Alexandre Desplat’s Score to Wes Anderson’s Stop-Motion Film
Not one to rest on his laurels, Alexandre Desplat is back in theaters mere weeks after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” As fate would have it, his latest score is for the same filmmaker he won his first Oscar for: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” director Wes Anderson, who’s made his second stop-motion film with “Isle of Dogs.” Listen below.
Set in near-future Japan, “Isle of Dogs” follows a group of canines who’ve been exiled by the villainous mayor of fictional Megasaki City, whose anti-dog agenda is rooted in centuries of family history. Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Kunichi Nomura, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, and Harvey Keitel all lend their voices to “Isle of Dogs,” which has earned widespread acclaim but also faced criticism for its depiction of Japanese culture.
Also featured on the soundtrack are the Toho Symphony Orchestra, David Mansfield, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Kaoru Watanabe, and the West Coast Pop Experimental Band. Desplat has two more projects slated for release this year: “Operation Finale” and “Kursk.”
Source: IndieWire film
March 25, 2018
‘Isle of Dogs’ Roars as Wes Anderson’s Box Office Winning Streak Continues
If there was any doubt about Wes Anderson’s continued draw as a contemporary auteur, “Isle of Dogs” removes them. His latest stop-motion epic boosted the dragging post-Oscar specialty market, opening in 27 theaters in six markets to a massive $1.5 million with a mighty per theater average of $58,000. The result came from a range of upscale theaters, not just core art houses. Fox Searchlight has a breakout.
On its third weekend, IFC’s comedy “The Death of Stalin” continues its strong run with over $1 million. Audiences that were flocking to award season contenders are carrying over to these two new releases. As the rest of the indie pack with more niche appeal play to more routine numbers, these box office breakouts are critical to the health of the specialized film community.
Opening
Isle of Dogs (Fox Searchlight) – Metacritic: 80, Festivals include: Berlin, South by Southwest 2018
$1,570,000 in 27 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $58,148
Wes Anderson has achieved levels of specialized limited release performance as impressive as any director, but “Isle of Dogs,” his latest film (the animated follow-up to “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”) ranks among his highest. Instead of a traditional New York/Los Angeles four-theater platform run (which brought per theater averages over $200,000 for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”), this opened in six markets at 27 theaters.
The grosses are massive. These include:
1. The four core theaters for a standard platform run grossed by themselves an average approaching $150,000, which by itself would have been among the biggest ever. Searchlight clocked those numbers despite having to compete with numerous New York and Los Angeles outlying theaters.
2. The PTA for these theaters ranks ahead of nearly all limited openers in multi-city runs, falling behind only high-end sensations like the first weekend of “Precious” and the 70mm runs of “Hateful Eight.”
3. This first-weekend gross in 27 theaters is about the same as third weekend of “The Death of Stalin” in five times as many theaters.
What comes next: 22 new markets open this Friday ahead of a planned maximum national break on April 13.
Final Portrait (Sony Pictures Classics) – Metacritic: 75, Festivals include: Berlin 2017, South by Southwest 2018
$28,214 in 3 theaters; PTA: $9,405
Directed by Stanley Tucci, Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer costar in this 1960s story of a friendship between a portrait artist and his subject, a famous author. The drama opened in New York and Los Angeles with top theaters and average results.
What comes next: It’s Sony Classics, so expect a maximized art house run to get this to all top markets over the next couple months.
Ismael’s Ghosts (Magnolia) – Metacritic: 63, Festivals include: Cannes, New York 2017
$19,000 in 2 theaters; PTA: $9,500
French director Arnaud Desplechin’s films usually land limited domestic releases. This latest Cannes entry with an all-star ensemble cast including Marion Cotillard and Mathieu Almaric as a troubled filmmaker opened in New York to credible results in two locations.
What comes next: Los Angeles among other initial cities open on April 6.
Summer in the Forest (Abramorama)
$8,660 in 1 theater; PTA: $8,660
This marks an impressive gross for only 120 seats in Manhattan’s Village East theater for this documentary a pioneering doctor who changed the way institutions deal with those with intellectual disabilities. With support from church groups and others, the initial result suggests interest in the subject.
What comes next: Los Angeles on April 6 begins a national release.
The Last Suit (Outsider) – Festivals include: Santa Barbara, Miami 2018
$28,127 in 6 theaters; PTA: $4,687
Following in the pattern of Menemsha films, “The Last Suit” opened initially in Miami (with an additional date in Buffalo). This story focuses on an elderly Jewish tailor in Buenos Aires who embarks on a quest to return to his native Poland. The result is in the same range as Menemsha’s “Dough” and “The Women’s Balcony” which each got to over $1 million.
What comes next: These results will generate likely additional dates.
Back to Burgundy (Music Box) – Metacritic: 48
$12,060 in 4 theaters; PTA: $3,015
French director Cedric Klapisch (“L’Auberge Espagnole”) has been a familiar arthouse figure over the last two decades. His most recent film — a family drama set in wine-making country — opened in New York’s Angelika as well as three Northern California wine country locations. The initial figures are modest, with a decent Saturday increase.
What comes next: Los Angeles is among the several theaters opening this Friday.
Also streaming:
I Kill Giants (RLJ/Toronto 2017) – $(est.) 7,500 in 11 theaters
“Flower”
Full Metal Mullet LLC
Week Two
Flower (The Orchard)
$125,767 in 57 theaters (+54); PTA: $2,206; Cumulative: $190,679
Zoey Deutch as a precocious suburban teen continues as the draw for this dark comedy as it quickly expanded to multiple major markets in its second weekend. The result is a total that looks good enough to sustain further expansion.
Seven Days in Entebbe (Focus)
$655,000 in 836 theaters (-2); PTA: $786; Cumulative: $2,919,000
The average theater grossed under $800 for the second weekend of this recounting of the Ugandan airport hostage rescue. Second weekend grosses fell over 60 per cent from their already soft initial totals.
Journey’s End (Good Deed)
$14,250 in 9 theaters (+7); PTA: $1,583; Cumulative: $30,035
This remake of the oft-filmed World War I novel added a handful of cities with the same marginal result seen in its initial dates.
Ramen Heads (FilmBuff)
$11,769 in 6 theaters (+4); PTA: $1,962; Cumulative: $22,870
The second week for this documentary about Japanese soup and the master chefs who make it expanded from its initial dates to modest results.
“The Death of Stalin”
Nicola Dove
Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000)
The Death of Stalin (IFC) Week 3
$1,060,000 in 140 theaters (+108); Cumulative: $2,091,000
A major increase for this Russian political comedy shows continued interest in the first 2018 specialized hit. The grosses aren’t at the level of non-awards seasons successes of last year “The Big Sick” and “Wind River,” which expanded more quickly, but this remains a strong performer with considerable potential ahead.
The Leisure Seeker (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7
$315,427 in 110 theaters (+61); Cumulative: $717,024
Quietly showing some strength as it widens, this senior road trip movie with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland sustained close to last weekend’s averages despite more than doubling its theater count.
The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) Week 17; also streaming
$250,000 in 236 theaters (-522); Cumulative: $63,278,000
It looks like the post-Oscar haul for the year’s big winner in theaters will be around $6 million, parallel to home viewing choices. The total worldwide take is over $175 million.
“Thoroughbreds”
Courtesy of Sundance
Thoroughbreds (Focus) Week 3
$160,000 in 117 theaters (-447); Cumulative: $2,747,000
The delayed release of this suburban young female noir lost most of its wider release dates, with remaining theaters pushing this closer to a minor $3 million result.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight) Week 20; also streaming
$110,000 in 125 theaters (-357); Cumulative: $54,130,000
Two acting Oscars have sustained the successful run of Martin McDonagh’s film, which has passed $150 million worldwide.
A Fantastic Woman (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 8
$100,454 in 121 theaters (-69); Cumulative: $1,700,000
The Chilean foreign-language Oscar winner has played wider than normal because of its win. Theater totals are now declining, with those remaining grossing on average $1,000. Still $2 million — the lower end among recent winners in the category — looks doable.
Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 18; also streaming
$69,713 in 61 theaters (-57); Cumulative: $17,884,000
Another post-awards end-of-run film still shows some theatrical interest, with $18 million in sight.
I, Tonya (Neon) Week 16; also streaming
$63,715 in 102 theaters (-58); Cumulative: $29,884,000
Much additional revenue is coming from home viewing choices as this inches towards $30 million in theaters.
“Foxtrot”
Foxtrot (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4
$76,529 in 26 theaters (+14); Cumulative: $270,056
Still in its early stages, this Israeli film continues to show above average results for a subtitled film.
Also noted:
The Party (Roadside Attractions) – $47,930 in 70 theaters; Cumulative: $677,064
Itzhak (Greenwich) – $41,760 in 29 theaters; Cumulative: $115,608
Loveless (Sony Pictures Classics) – $31,799 in theaters; Cumulative: $445,186
Lady Bird (A24) – $30,200 in 46 theaters; Cumulative: $48,913,000
The Insult (Cohen) – $18,359 in 11 theaters; Cumulative: $964,758
Source: IndieWire film
March 25, 2018
Aki Kaurismäki on Why He’ll Never Make a Digital Film: ‘I Am a Filmmaker, Not a Pixel-Maker’
Conventional wisdom suggests that 35mm film is going the way of the dodo, but Aki Kaurismäki has never been conventional. Long a favorite among arthouse audiences, the Finnish filmmaker has made an unsurprising — though not unwelcome — pledge: never to make a digital film.
“I will die with my boots on. I won’t make a digital film in this life,” he tells the Sydney Morning Herald in a wide-ranging interview. “Cinema is made from light. I am a filmmaker, not a pixel-maker.”
He doesn’t plan on making a movie about the wealthy anytime soon, either. “Of course, the working class is not such a sexy and commercial subject, I understand from the popcorn audience,”Kaurismäki continues. “But I couldn’t write dialogue for upper-class people because I wouldn’t know what they say. I don’t know if they talk at all. Maybe they are just shopping. And selling and buying stocks. Stocks and stockings. I find rich people boring.”
Also unsurprising to anyone who’s seen films like “Drifting Clouds” and “The Match Factory Girl”: Kaurismäki’s droll sense of humor is paired with a cynical worldview. “I never had very high hopes of humanity,” he adds. “I had hope 20 years ago, but not now. Greed will kill us – and maybe that’s OK for the planet. Because it all goes back to money. Everything goes back to money.” Read his full interview here.
Source: IndieWire film
March 25, 2018
‘Suicide Squad’: David Ayer Reveals How the Joker Almost Became ‘King of Gotham’ in Cut Scene
“Suicide Squad” is not a good movie, but it is one that continues to provoke discussion among fans — much of it about what could have been. David Ayer, who directed the critically panned (but financially successful) comic-book movie, has added to the post-mortem by describing a scene revolving around the Joker that never made it into the final film.
“After Joker dropped HQ [Harley Quinn] from the help and crashed, Enchantress made a deal with him,” Ayer revealed on Twitter. “He was going to take Harley home and be ‘King of Gotham’ Harley stood up to him and refused to betray her new friends. The Squad turned on him and he escaped.”
He added, “That was her arc. Growth and empowerment.”
Jared Leto played the Joker in the film, though his role was less substantial than fans (and the actor himself) were expecting. David Ayer followed up “Suicide Squad” with the Netflix movie “Bright,” and “Suicide Squad 2” — which will be written and directed by “Warrior” helmer Gavin O’Connor — is due out next year.
After Joker dropped HQ from the help and crashed, Enchantress made a deal with him. He was going to take Harley home and be “King of Gotham” Harley stood up to him and refused to betray her new friends. The Squad turned on him and he escaped. https://t.co/unnOewEYBQ
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 24, 2018
That was her arc. Growth and empowerment. https://t.co/4EancRBaHl
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) March 24, 2018
Source: IndieWire film
March 25, 2018
Watch: What’s the Difference Between A-Roll and B-Roll Footage?
A-roll and B-roll footage are both important pieces of the filmmaking puzzle.
What is A-roll and B-roll? If you’ve just embarked on your filmmaking journey, you may have never heard of these terms before, but these two fundamental concepts in filmmaking are important for every new filmmaker to recognize as well as implement in their work because of the crucial roles they play in the storytelling process. This video from Pond5 will help get you up to speed on what they are and why they’re uniquely important. Check it out below:
The fundamental difference between A-roll and B-roll is this: A-roll, or principal photography, is the footage used to tell the story, and B-roll, or supplemental footage, is used to support or add depth and context to A-roll.
Source: NoFilmSchool