Okay, okay, before I have to hear about it again....if you don't have QT7 loaded, try this link to an mp4 version of the video....

http://ia300127.us.archive.org/1/items/Obsolete_Technologies/ObsoleteTechnologies.mp4

I just think the other compression codes significantly degrade the image. It doesn't look too good in mp4, but so it goes....watch in QT7, if at all possible.

QT 7 link is http://ia300142.us.archive.org/0/items/planetEproductionsincdirMErsoz_21/Obsolete_TechnologiesH264.mov

It is a much cleaner image.

My goal last challenge in DVC2 (my first) was to learn a bit about web delivery. My goal this challenge was to conceptualize, shoot, and deliver my video in a single day (because basically, I only had one free day last week). How very remarkable that we live in an age where this can be done!

Meryem,
It's not QT 7 so much as the H264 codec you used from QT 7. You could use QT 7 but choose Sorenson3 or some other Codec and it would be great too. I think the difference is that when you are playing it off your hard drive, that plays great for you. I had to download the nearly 97 Meg file to play it out. For some folks, that download might take a few hours. And you are right about MP4. I find it tough to make a good looking MP4 with decent file size for the web. I normally use Windows Media but for compatability, we sort of settled on QT for the judges using Macs I think. I did some tests with Real and they look very good at the same file sizes.

Despite that issue, the video was good. I liked it. I loved the use of the old music throughout. I would have to watch it again to see how much of the content was actually related to cameras but this was a nice piece. You seem to have access to lots of historical items. I wish I had that sort of access. Clever end title too. It may have been a bit long as we got the idea it was the end slate pretty quickly. Cleverly brought into the frame however.

Overall, I think it came across as almost a silent film but with modern technology used to make it. I give it a thumbs up.

Sean

The XL HD1 shot made me smile - nice touch!

Thank you for providing the other link, Meryem. I hate what happens to all the hard work with the compression, too, but with the other link my Explorer kept shutting down!

This was a fun look at the past (and the irony with all this "new" stuff). You've got some interesting treasures stashed in your basement and I'm glad you dug them out for us! Thank you. Nice camera work, too. :)

I love the opening. The recordplayer and that plant and that bright light. It just seem to be taken from an old 20s movie or something. Then of course... kissing the old Canon goodbye... and then the new Canon.. :)

I figure that you went to an "old stuff" musuem? If it is, where is it? Oh.. and those dancing people.. love them!

Very nice nostalgy trip. :)

Dear Meryem,

I really enjoyed your film and taking a trip through what felt like a small museum. I take it you are a collector of such things? That music! Fantastic! Now there's a piece of tunage one won't hear every day...lol ;)

I too laughed very hard with the new Canon HD photo. I'm sure anyone on this board will totally relate. I gather that moving from Edison to the modern age of visual recording suggested both a throw away society and that while we thirst for the newest and best out there...we shouldn't forget our roots.

Am most impressed that you completed this film in one day. What an accomplishment!

Other comments- maybe "the end" could have been cut down a bit. That shot with the dancing people was wonderful and imagine it must have taken a while to set up? I think there was some lens/light flare in there but might have been the only angle you could have used to get that one to work.

A very interesting short. Thanks for showing us the past, present, and future. The only thing is 'The End' is a tad bit too long, but other then that, it was good.

the shot with the "dancing people" is actually my personal favorite. they are actually dancing demons, not people, a fact which is probably hard to distinguish in the down-sized web version.

19th-century viewers perceived many of these early experiments with moving images as uncanny, and lots of the associated imagery is strange and magical. the "toy" that i'm playing with in that shot is a replica of a 19th-century parlor entertainment called a phenakistiscope. that lens flare you noticed, bradley, does not appear on the full size version, so i'm not sure what that little white anomaly is.....

all the stuff is stuff i actually own. i used to use some of it when i was teaching university early film history courses.

names of the stuff which appear in the film:

gramophone
revere 8mm projector
stereopticon
chase's electric cyclorama
triple-bodied magic lantern
magic photoret
phenakistiscope
flipbook
shadowgraphy
XL2
XL H1


my intent was to make a "the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same" type of movie. with all of the complicated, highly technical stuff that we do, all we are really doing when you come right down to it, is playing with light and shadows with a shutter. at its core, the XL H1 is just a highly-evolved phenakistiscope. the basement shadowgraphy ending was also supposed to allude, however vaguely, to plato's cave allegory.

francis ford coppola, who named his own production company american zoetrope, is a real student of film history, actually. (i used to have a replica of a zoetrope, but one of my students broke it....)

also, i think aesthetically, i have a very different view of video than many of the folks who post here. i'm not too interested in thrillers, aliens, blood, zombies, or guns. my analogy for video is miles davis, the pioneering trumpet player who tried to use space, quiet--the absence of sound and noise to create the most beautiful, sacred sounds to ever exit a trumpet. most of what i create (though not all) is inspired by the idea of quiescence, by the idea of capturing something essential. maybe even sacred, if i ever get good at this.....

we can talk easily about sacred music, sacred art, sacred literature. but you never hear anyone link the terms "sacred film." why is that? is there such a thing? can there even be such a thing? what would that even mean?

these are the things that interest me. i don't think i'll win any prizes for bringing my somewhat strange or unusual beliefs about video into our little forum. but i just might help one or two of you transform how you think about what you do, which has always been my one true calling.

we are all just really alchemists here, masquerading as videographers...

...that's kind of the point of my modest little video, i suppose.

thanks for watching and listening.....

I too enjoy the more off-beat side of video. Things I especially like that aren't mainstream:

Videodrome
Brothers Quay (everything they do - such dedication to stop motion)
David Lynch (Eraserhead - very creepy, Blue Velvet)
The Wall (actually the sadest film I ever saw - I see things differently)
Spider (the new sadest film ever, except Sophies Choice, and Adam)
Lori Anderson (except swimming to Cambodia. Never go into that one)
The Magic Christian (not what you think)
Elephant Parts (What happened to Mike Nesmith anyway?)

and so on.

Sean

i love the brothers quay, sean, have you ever checked out jan svankmeier. highly twisted! visually stunning!

Meryem:

Bravo! I loved your film--the pace, the imagery, the allegory. I for one enjoyed the long "The End". It reminded me that no matter how simple a technology is, we can still have problems with it!

I haven't found any Jan S. locally. Had to send off for the Quay Brothers compilation. I'm still learning things, everyday. It's a good feeling. I'm very nearly 45 now and plan to keep at it till I die. I'll get crusty like Burroghs I suppose. Still, he's interesting. He still alive?

Sean

Forgot, Pennsylvania's forgotten son, Andy Warhol. That leads me to Lou Reed and John Cales CD for Andy. Great party music, depending on the party.

SMM

thanks for the kind words, jeff (and everyone else). i'm glad you got the joke of why "the end" kind of ran on....the other part of it was supposed to be that we're still just kids playing with toys. just our toys have gotten pretty dang expensive!

anyone remember the *talking* GAF Viewmaster (obsolete technology of my youth. those were the days!

Dear Meryem,

Am very interested in your recommendations for these filmmakers. Would you suggest the following?

The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer
The Brothers Quay Collection (1984-1993)

Also, could you throw in one more jewel of "must haves"...something you feel is in keeping with your philosophy? Would love to know...

hi bradley:

actually, i list a page of personal "must haves" on my website at:

http://planeteproductions.net/_wsn/page4.html

with the exception of "grass," which is the first full-length adventure documentary (shot by Merion Cooper, who later went on to direct "King Kong,") these are all little-known films by indie filmmakers/videographers that i think are striving to explore deeper meaning through the medium. they are mostly available only through the film/video makers' websites (listed, though not linked, on mine).

i am a big fan of supporting other indies whenever possible, especially when they are doing something so profound....

these aren't animation, like svankmeier and the quays--they're more documentary films, though not limited to that categorization, because my personal tastes run that way.

hope this is a start.

Dear Mereym,

Thank you very much for the link to your page. These look like some excellent works!

I purchased "Genghis Blues" and "Sinners". Am very excited to see these two films and when the pocket book is feeling heavy again, will probably go with "Ring of Fire" next.

Also just ordered "Brothers Quay Collection - The Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993"

Broke again...lol

i'm jealous, bradley, that you get to watch "genghis blues" for the first time. it was such a surprise to me, that it even got made. i would say it is the video that inspired me to make video.

those are all great picks, you should be happy whiling away the hours.

but when you get a few bucks, pick up "ring of fire." what's cool about that film is that it is a real-life search for magic and mystery. these two brothers with 16 mm cameras wander off to the farthest corners of the world and actually find it. none of this canned hollywood stuff, these guys find the real deal. part three in particular seems to blow people's minds. this one guy watched this movie, then quit his job at a large multinational to go find the healer portrayed in the movie to study at his feet. he wrote about how that film transformed his life in a book, "magus of java" which is, itself, an oddly fascinating book.

you'll also dig the brothers quay collection. if you really want a walk on the wild side, dig into svankmeier's "faust." weird, poetic, and vast.

Yeah, Brothers Quay is probably like nothing you have ever seen. If you like Tool (the band) videos, you'll understand. Although created by someone else, these are quite similar, only better.

I love their work because it is so studied. That is, their dedication to stop motion is amazing. To think about the frame rates and the speed of the motion on the final film for actions of characters, if you can call them that, very well done. Probably the best ever. If you are thinking Gumby and Pokey, this aint it.

Their use of depth of field, in a stop motion is truely amazing. You will love it, or it will creep you out.

Sean

Dear Mereym,

This says so much: "Genghis Blues - it was such a surprise to me, that it even got made. i would say it is the video that inspired me to make video." I cant' wait to see it.

Yes, I will definitely pick up "Ring of Fire" soon as it sounds like it will be in line with some of my inner most tweaks. Joseph Campbell anyone? Follow your bliss? Seems to be solid advice and now that I have come back to learning and creating with video...I feel "right" again.

Thank you again Mereym...I'll let you know when they come in and I have had time to let them wash over me.

Sean- thanks for the description on the Brothers Quay. A while back, had tried only a few mini sequences with sop motion on an old Bolex 16mm and was blown away by the amount of time it took. Even though I did my level best...it still came out shaky. Can't wait to see these pros in action!

I must admit to also blowing a fistful of dollars to buy "Once Upon A Time In The West" and "Memento" -Have definitely seen these before but wanted to add them to a strange and wonderful collection.

that's interesting. chris nolan, who made "memento," grew up with the two brothers (adrian and roko belic) who made "genghis blues." they were all little child film/video prodigies together. kinda cool.

lemme know what you think of those films, if you get a chance. so few folks have seen them (generally only when i sit them down and say, "you've gotta watch this one!") that i don't often get to listen to responses to them. i'd really love to know what you think.

If you like Memento, look for the Machinist also. American Psycho is also on my list.

I used to hate Magnolia. The opening killed Three Dog Nights song. It must go on for about 10 minutes in the open. Still don't like that but after watching it again recently, it ain't so bad after all.

Sean

What a great history piece. There is a store in hollywood that has all of those items in glass cases. It was nice to see them in action. Your short has inspired me to finish my old 1920's RCA Victrola that has been sitting in a bonus room for the last 3 years. Well done!

that's interesting. chris nolan, who made "memento," grew up with the two brothers (adrian and roko belic) who made "genghis blues." they were all little child film/video prodigies together. kinda cool.

lemme know what you think of those films, if you get a chance. so few folks have seen them (generally only when i sit them down and say, "you've gotta watch this one!") that i don't often get to listen to responses to them. i'd really love to know what you think.

That is interesting Meryem!

I'll be sure to let you know what I thought of these films. Thank you very much!

thanks, sean b., for your kindness. it's true that, if you get to see these objects at all, they are in a museum or illustrated in some film history textbook. they're so much cooler in motion. and have such magical, wonderful names...

i think Canon should maybe name their new HDV camera the Zoetrope XL. it would be so much more retro-cool.

as for you, sean m., i'm having none of that Machinist or American Psycho on this thread! can't you see i'm trying to keep things spiritual and profound around here??!! the brothers quay are welcome, but you're gonna hafta find somewhere else to peddle your psycho-killer-freak aesthetic! i'm the voice in the peace love magic mystery wilderness in these parts, and i aim to keep it that way!

draw, sheriff!

Mereym...lol

I like the way you keep the thread clean, pure, serene and spiritual...

then draw a gun on Sean!

Priceless!

Meryem,
I loved your short. Completely different from any of the entries in just about every way, but I completely understand what you mean by the 'sacred' concept as applied to video - and in a sense I believe you captured some of that.

I loved the blend of the music with a very mystical sense of magical presence in the 'ancient' technologies you showed - what an amazing private museum collection.

The sacred element is something along the line of what I provide for a number of my clients - personalized video with an element that shifts perspective, captures people's hearts, or taps into a dormant emotion in a very good (and sometimes cathartic) way.

Just to note - none of that is included in my own short at all - by contrast you may find it quite blasphemous - but I was stretching.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you how much I loved your short. Great job.
-Jon

thank you so much, jonathan. "ancient" technologies, indeed! one of the things that's so amazing about these old toys is how new they actually are, if charted along an historical timeline. it'll be interesting to see what revolutionary invention lies ahead.....

i'm glad you liked it...it is always a pleasure when a piece of creative work speaks to anyone out there.

Dear Mereym,

Just a quick update. I received a call from the people who handle Genghis Blues DVD's and they said they were out of stock. The new shipment would arrive in two weeks and "was that ok?". I said no problem.

Thought I'd let you know. I take this as a good sign that their sales are going well.

that's pretty good news, bradley. wouldn't it be cool to make an independent video and then run out of available copies?? like a dream come true....

actually, "genghis blues" was nominated for an academy award, so although it's not exactly a household name, i'm not the only one who thought highly of it....

come to think of it, i probably bought half of their stock two years ago! every year, my friends know what they're getting for christmas....it's my annual indie film/video of the year pick. i get to support the indie producers, and my friends get to see something they can't rent themselves. this year, everyone is getting either a copy of "sinners" by bill heath or "the collective" by the collective. one is the greatest ski film ever shot, and the other is the best mountain-biking film ever shot.

the latter has shots from a guy riding through the air on a sky-cam, meaning he is hooked into a harness by a pulley riding a line strung between trees, doing overhead tracking shots of high-octane mountain bikers below. he's flying through the woods. with a 16mm camera. pretty amazing stuff. when i saw these shots on the big screen at a film festival, i really wondered how they captured these shots. freaking peter pan with a film camera. very cool.

Yes- "Sinners" was one you recommended and I just got the notice that it shipped today. YeeeHaaa!

Given that I love to go snowboarding at least 1-2 times a year, this film will be a blast. My buddy Wally (Iris the Killer in my film) is a major ski bum. Great idea for a Christmas present for him.

Thanks Mereym!

i love wildlife/sports/travel films, and this was one of the best at telluride mountainfilm festival last spring, i think is where i saw it (the festivals do tend to run together after awhile). i'm always on the lookout for films which are simultaneously action- and outdoors-oriented and deeply profound, and "sinners" fits the bill. it is loaded up with ski porn (meaning insane ski antics, the usual jumping, big powder, nuttiness, etc.) in the warren miller-ish sense, but it also delves into the mystery of being alive as well, as it incorporates an interview with a 100-year-old man who has been skiing his entire life. i think you'll have fun with it. let me know.

Well, if I can't talk about those, you won't want me bringing up Outer Limits or Millinneum again either. That's it, if I can't talk about the dark side of human nature, I actually have nothing left to talk about. I think Meryem is the Yin to my dark Yang.

(Evil, dark brooding) Sean (think Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner)

Ooooooo....


Blade Runner- One of my favorites!

Watch out Sean- She might pull out a secretly developed weapon designed by Edison in the early 1900's. (jk)

Sean (think Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner)

Hey!

Who says Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner is the evil shadow in the film? :)

Actually, I believe that one of the reasons that threw Blade Runner into cult was the fact that Roy Batty (Rutger's character) stood out as as noble as Deckard himself.

Cheers,

Hugo

the original outer limits is fine. anything photographed in black and white won't be censored, because the era in which they were photographed usually brings with it an inherently campy quality. anything that makes me laugh is in!

anyone ever seen an old british B&W film entitled "psychomania?" now THAT'S the good stuff! i should suggest that to dylan, his tastes seem to run towards quirky, campy horror. motorcycle punks who find the secret to returning from the dead and then go around committing suicide so that they can come back and really rip things up without regard for the consequences. irresistible! look, my darkside unleashed!

yin to your yang, sean, you crack me up!

"I've done, questinable things."

Excellent character. Especially in the death scene. The little twitches, excellent. When he rams his head through the wall...

And Edward Almos and the cop. "If you're not cop, you're little people."

"Time to die."

Sean

okay, boys, enough with the head-ramming. take it outside, please!

with all the guns and aliens and soul-stealing and murder and mayhem floating around these parts, you would think that we could keep one tiny little corner devoted to beauty and truth. sheesh.

throw 'em one little bone in the darkside direction, and they're on it like a pack of dogs!

okay, boys, enough with the head-ramming. take it outside, please!

with all the guns and aliens and soul-stealing and murder and mayhem floating around these parts, you would think that we could keep one tiny little corner devoted to beauty and truth. sheesh.

throw 'em one little bone in the darkside direction, and they're on it like a pack of dogs!

I agree with you 100% Meryem. I love the rare movies about more than just dark things. People always say that's life, dark, depressing things. But I know for a fact there are just as many light and happy things and you can choose to contribute to either one. I liked your movie quite a bit, but even more I enjoyed your views and opinions in this thread, especially the movie recommendations! Thanks for that too.

He's right. I feel bad now. Back to the sunny side of the street.

Sean :)

wow, mitchell, i'm inspired that you were following my indie film picks. if i can have sold one little indie DVD (and i guess bradley has already picked up a couple), then i will have done my good deed for the week. thanks for chiming in...

Dear Mereym,

I can assure you that I am the subject of your good deeds (yes...that is plural).

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Brothers Quay, Sinners and Genghis Blues (2 weeks till they get more in). Can't wait!