Archives: Filmmaking Post

Scientist and Communicator Think-Tank (Sweden)

Deep Winter. Deep Connections. Solar Maximum.

If you are reading this, then it means you’re halfway towards taking one of the most incredible trips to the most incredible places on Earth.

Here is the problem: Most of us work in offices. We work in the hustle of the modern world. It is surprisingly hard to find time to connect in wild places, in wild environments. But those wild environments are where our species evolved. We’re best when we spend a bit of time in them!

Real connection happens here. It happens in wild, beautiful places while doing hard things together, just like we have done for our entire evolutionary history.

We tested this in 2019 with our first “Snowcamp.” Eight people. Three days. Deep snow. The result surprised us: everyone left with collaborations brewing between them, friendships formed, and a level of mutual support we’d never seen come out of a musty hotel conference center in one of the big cities. 

It Does Work

Don’t just take my word for it. Here is Alex Dainis, Stanford scientist, and master communicator summarizing her experience:

“This was truly an incredible experience. I came home rested, refreshed, and immediately planning my next outdoor adventure… I also came back with some new friends :)”

WHERE: The Best Aurora Spot on Earth

We aren’t just going to Sweden. We are basing this years meetup in Abisko, Sweden, widely considered the single best place on the planet to witness the Northern Lights.

Why Abisko? Abisko sits in a unique geographical sweet spot known as the “Blue Hole.” While the rest of the Arctic circle might be blanketed in clouds, the massive mountain range along the Norwegian border (just 25 miles to our west) acts as a shield. It breaks up incoming weather systems, leaving Abisko with consistently clear skies.

The result: If the lights are active, you are statistically more likely to see them here than almost anywhere else.

The Landscape: Our playground is Lake Torneträsk, a massive, ancient lake that freezes solid in the winter. This open expanse serves as our classroom, our hiking ground, and our open-air studio. You are deep in the frozen north, well above the Arctic Circle, yet getting here is surprisingly easy via train or plane via Kiruna.

WHAT: Survival Skills & Shared Wisdom

The itinerary is built to get you out of your head and into your body. We use winter survival skills as the vehicle for our connection. By the end of the week, you will be capable and confident in the cold in addiction to the bonds you make and the extra vigor you get. We will cover:

  • Snow Travel: We’ll drop you at one location and let you navigate to a frozen lake and back deep in the Scandinavian forest.
  • Fire-Making: The essential art of creating warmth in frozen conditions.
  • Ice Fishing: Seek and find fish under lake Torneträsk.
  • The Cold Plunge: You will become a convert, thanks to our unbelievable sauna setup right on the frozen lake. There is nothing like the rush of the plunge followed by the heat of a Swedish fire.

The Phenomenon (Why 2027?): We are currently at the peak of a 11-year Solar Maximum. The sun is going through a cycle of intense activity, which means the Northern Lights are predicted to be active and widespread. If you have ever wanted to see the aurora rip across the whole sky, this is the perfect time to be here.

WHEN: February  2027 – TBA

Mark your calendars. We lead 5 day trips between late Jan and 12th. Contact us for more info.

Professional Development

In many ways this is a trip to help you connect and collaborate with others. After every trip, everyone returns with connections that help them throughout the rest of their year.

Logistics

This is a shared experience so I’ve organized vans, lodging and food mixed into the experience

Cost: 3000 per person. Everything included once you land in Kiruna.

 

WHO: Your Guides

Now that you know what we are doing, here is who you will be doing it with.

Rob Nelson: A behavioral biologist with a masters in behavioral ecology. He also has an MFA in Science Filmmaking at Montana State University. He is a professional science host with 30 TV s hows and now runs StoneAgeMan on YT. He spent his career bridging the gap between the public and the natural world. This trip is a once a year activity he does to connect with others on an intimate basis.

Jonas Stenström:  A biologist with a masters in ecology who has specialized in arctic environments in Sweden. He is a wilderness survival expert and will lead much of this trip as our Swedish guide connecting us to the far north.

The Cohort (You) We are looking for people who want to experience the most incredible location on Earth, in a way almost nobody does. It’s perfectly safe if you let us guide you through it and say yes, when you could otherwise stay at home.

READY TO JOIN?

Trips this year are limited and we keep every trip intimate. Reach out to us so we can make something memorable.

Want a few quick trip primers?

Both of the following two videos were shot at SnowCamps in the past 10 years, and provide a bit of a primer for things you’ll see and do there.

Top 5 Easiest Apps for Your First Product Video

We live in times of extreme digital growth when everyone is using videos for selling their products. If you try to promote your product or services on social media like Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook, you should produce top-quality content only.

There are multiple editing services and software that will facilitate the process and allow you to edit your video yourself. You don’t even have to hire specific professionals. Just keep in mind that adding subtitles to videos would help you boost your visibility and, therefore, bring you more potential customers. You can do it with the help of services like Transcriberry.

If you need to stand out from the crowd of the modern market, a top-quality video is a must for your product. People prefer watching videos over just viewing photos. Check the list of these video editing apps that will facilitate your life and work. Increase your conversion rate by making great video content and transferring your video to text. 

Blender

Blender is one of the greatest free video editing tools available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The fact that it is free is definitely its biggest perk. Initially, it was not intended to be a video editor but a 3D animation suite. Its video editing abilities are enough for the majority of the editing needs of any beginner.

Cutting and splicing your videos is easy with Blender, as well as all basic actions. However, completing more complicated tasks isn’t a problem for this tool as well. You can easily do video masking. The editor is quite flexible and is suitable for both proficient users and beginners. 

Its features include:

  • Live preview;
  • Chroma vectorscope;
  • Luma waveform;
  • Histogram displays;
  • Syncing;
  • Waveform visualization;
  • Audio mixing;
  • Scrubbing;
  • Up to 32 slots to add video, audio, effects, and images;
  • Adjustment layers;
  • Filters;
  • Speed control;
  • Keyframes;
  • Transitions, etc. 

The editor can be great both for the profis and beginners. If you check the tutorial, though, it will be difficult for you to learn because most of them are covering 3D modeling and animation. You will hardly find some good video editing tutorials for this tool.

Shotcut

This is another greatest free video editing tool created for Windows, Linux, and Mac. Just like the previous app, this one is an open-source tool, and to access all the best features, you won’t need to pay a single penny. There are no subscriptions or upgrades.

The editor suits perfectly for HD, 4K, and 1080 video projects. Unlike Blender, this tool has enough tutorials that will teach you to work with all its features. Originally, the app was designed for Linux, so if you use it on Windows, the interface might seem a bit weird to you.

Apart from that, the editor works perfectly well. The best features included in Shotcut are:

  • 4K HD resolution;
  • Timeline editing. 

Not many video editors (especially free ones) can boast these features. Moreover, you don’t have to import the video into the app; therefore, if you deal with large video files, it saves a lot of time. 

If you are in search of a 1080p editor, this one would be perfect for you. It supports such videos at 60 frames per second. You can transfer videos with no loss in 3 formats with this editor. You cannot make an audio transcription with its help, though.

Avidemux

Just like two previous editors, Avidemux is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. The interface of this app is very simple, so if you are a newbie in video editing, you can still create top-notch content. All basic tasks can be completed with its help, for example:

  • Filtering;
  • Cutting;
  • Encoding.

Of course, if you need a more proficient tool and have some basic skills already, you might need a more advanced app. If you are a beginner, though, Avidemux will be a perfect choice because it is extremely simple; you do not even need any tutorials or technical docs to learn how to use it.

For a start, it is a great video editor. It doesn’t offer as many features as other editors, though. If you need to transcribe audio, you might need to pick another editor for that purpose.

Soapbox

This app is available on any OS since it is web-based. You can record a combination of your screen and a webcam with its help. It can be presented in a single frame or split-screen. Of course, it is not a proficient video editing app, but it can be perfect for reviewing your videos and adding your personal touch.

The best thing about this tool is that it allows you to create subtitles, unlike many other apps. This will help attract your customers’ attention and show that you care for them. Subtitles or proper transcriptions always boost your visibility and engagement with your audience.

In general, you do not have to be a proficient video editor to work with this tool. It allows you to create simple videos very easily. If your users have hearing problems, adding subtitles with the help of this available editor will be a big benefit. 

Magisto

If you take care of your social media and try to market your product there, mastering an Instagram video editor is a must. Magisto is one such app that will help you edit and upload your video to Instagram very quickly and efficiently.

The app can be available for iOS, Android and simply used as a web-based app. It is not totally free, but you can still use a free version successfully. This video editor enables video automation. 

Magisto is owned by Vimeo, by the way (you can also use a Vimeo video editor). With its help, you can create amazing videos right on your smartphone. Here is how it works:

  • Select the style for your video editing;
  • Choose the photos and videos you want to include in your video clip;
  • Pick music for your video (There is an in-built music library in Magisto).

This app is AI-based and arranges the footage in the best way to deliver the message you think about. All these features are available for free. However, you can also upgrade to Premium or Professional versions to enjoy all the range of features. The monthly fee is rather nominal. 

Magisto is a very simple app and allows creating videos hassle-free. It is very user-friendly and perfect for beginners. Its online version is available for both Mac and Windows laptops users. If you purchase a Professional or Business plan, you get a Vimeo Pro subscription for free. The tool is perfect for videos less than 3 minutes long. 

 

Digital Footprint: Your Photos, Your Rights and The Law

Today, pretty much everyone thinks they’re a photographer. Many people have smartphones with better cameras than the top-of-the-range digital cameras from just a few years ago. With good quality cameras in such abundance and within such easy reach, questions arise over the legalities of taking photos, and the ownership of those images.

It’s important to know your rights as a photographer, and to understand the regulations around taking photos of other people, and private places. It’s also important to know how to protect your images in a world that allows people to share images far and wide with the click of a button (or the tap of a screen).

Let’s start with protecting your images:

Important Terms To Know 

1. Copyright

Copyright is the legal protection of any work of an artist and is recognized globally. If your photo has been registered, or can be proven to belong to you, then no one is allowed to print or publish it without your permission. In particular, if you discover that someone else is making money from your image, you’re allowed to sue them for punitive damages.

It’s important to note that copyright laws cover only the image. The technique used to capture the image, and the subject matter are not covered. Therefore, someone can go out and replicate an amazing photograph that you took exactly, without being subject to copyright regulations. This is even the case if you were to come up with an entirely original technique to capture the image. You cannot copyright that, and someone could learn the technique and use it for commercial gain.

You can copyright your images several ways. By law, anything you have created—the photographs you have taken—all belong to you automatically, and are covered by copyright regulations for 70 years. You can go further by putting a copyright symbol and your name on the image itself to prevent others from using it without crediting you automatically. Finally, you can officially register your image through the Registrar of Copyrights to get the highest level of protection.

2. Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a non-profit group that came up with a range of licensing options for creative works that allow people to use your photos in different ways. It’s not legally binding, not in the same way that copyright law is. However, it’s a nice way to share your work and allow people to make use of it.

Their licenses include Attribution, Non-Commercial, and other options. Attribution and Non-Commercial are the most common two. The first requires the user credit you on their publication, but they don’t have to pay to use it. The second allows people to use the image for free, but only for non-commercial projects.

3. Public Domain

Public domain refers to when a creative work is widely available, and anyone is allowed to use it for free for any purposes. Images that are older than 70 years fall into the public domain because the copyright on them has expired. 

Another way that photographs can fall into the public domain is if you give up your copyright. An example of this is if your image is used without your permission on a number of websites, but you don’t make any efforts to have the image taken down, or request that you be credited.

Your Rights When Shooting In Public

Knowing your rights about shooting in public spaces is essential, especially if you want to take your photography seriously as a business. 

1. People

If a person is in a public space, you’re legally allowed to photograph them and use their image for financial gain. However, if you want to sell that image for commercial use (advertisements and other such uses), you must have model release forms. You can sell those images for editorial use (news items, etc.), without any release. This is how paparazzi work, by taking photos of famous people in public spaces, and selling the images to tabloids. You can also use these images in your online portfolio or in print to show potential clients your work.

For many photographers, it’s just a case of using common sense and common decency to not overstep the boundaries of privacy. If you can see someone is uncomfortable with you taking their photo, it’s best to ask if they mind, and possibly to let them know what you intend to use the photo for.

2. Private Property

You need permission to photograph the inside and outside of any public building. If you want to sell an image for commercial use of something like the White House, you need a permit to take the photo. However, if the White House merely forms part of the skyline of the city, and is not the only focus of the image, you’re allowed to sell that photo for commercial use.

Businesses tend to not allow photographs or video to be taken of the inside or outside of their premises. A family photo or a 3D shot of you outside a designer shop on 5th Avenue is not likely to get you into trouble. However, if you try to take a professional shot of the company’s branding or the products inside, you may get asked to leave. It’s all about having the right permits to take photographs. While these can be difficult to obtain, they are necessary if you want to stay on the right side of the law. 

3. Ticketed Events

Any event that requires you to buy a ticket to attend falls under the same restrictions as private property. This includes concerts, sporting events, and expos. If you are invited as press, you’re allowed to sell images of the event for editorial purposes, but not for commercial use.

The laws surrounding photographs and photography are clear, and if you are not sure what you are doing is legal, it’s always best to check. Ignorance is no excuse, and shooting in restricted spaces or reproducing another photographer’s work can get you into legal trouble.

Restoring Your Old Films for Your Site

If you’re like most people, you have a collection of films and videos you recorded years ago. You keep them around because their contents are valuable to you. However, you can’t use them since they’re not in a modern format.

Transferring your films to a digital version enables you to preserve your valuable footage, according to those at Just8mm.com. You can then utilize these movies on your site. Keep reading to learn how the restoration process works.

Should You Do It Yourself?

Film restoration is a complex process involving many details. Depending on the quality you require, you might choose to capture and edit the video on your own or pay a specialist to do the work for you.

Software

If you opt to restore your movies at home, you’ll need a software program to improve the video quality after scanning. These applications can repair issues like:

  • Stains
  • Graininess
  • Noise
  • Scratches

They can also stabilize a shaky image. Many programs are available for download, each with a slightly different process for restoring your film.

Restoration Companies

If you search online, you’ll find several businesses that offer restoration services. They specialize in cleaning and scanning the movie and optimizing the output video.

Unless you have extensive experience with film and video editing, this is likely the best choice for you. Compare prices and methodologies to select the service that’s ideal for you. It’s also an excellent idea to examine samples of the company’s products before deciding to work with them.

Capture Methods

Whether you decide to transfer your films on your own or pay someone to do it, you need to understand the capture methods available. We’ll take a look at the efficiency of each.

Real-Time Recording

Real-time transfer is the cheapest and lowest-quality method for turning films into digital video. The process is straightforward: You project the movie on a screen and record the image on a modern device.

There are several potential problems with this method:

  • A projector typically lights the center more than the edges, leading to a “hot spot” in the middle of the image.
  • Differences in frame rates can cause a strobing effect.
  • Standard projectors block the image’s edges, causing a loss of up to 20% of the area.
  • Distortion can occur if the device that’s projecting or filming isn’t at a right angle to the screen.
  • The sound of the projector may interfere with the audio of the new video recorded.

In general, this isn’t the best method because it produces a low-quality final product. If you can afford it, opt for a more advanced transfer technique.

Frame-by-Frame Capture

This approach is a bit more sophisticated than real-time transfer. It uses a modified projector to advance the film one frame at a time. 

A sensor captures each image separately and sends the data to a computer. The equipment can typically record about ten frames per second.

This method eliminates the risk of flickering. The capture quality is much better than real-time transfer, and computer software can do additional processing as explained above.

Frame-by-frame capture costs more than real-time, but the results are also significantly better. If you choose this approach, make sure the equipment is of high quality. The team also needs to be competent.

If you’re an avid do-it-yourselfer, you may even consider building a telecine machine for frame-by-frame capture. By searching online, you can find accounts of other people’s experiences with such projects.

High-End Scanning

Film scanners are machines built for transforming old movies into digital videos. Production companies first used them to transfer professional motion pictures to more modern formats.

These scanners can capture images in greater detail than frame-by-frame telecine machines. They achieve this by using a high-quality sensor that typically scans one row of pixels at a time.

Film scanning machines take longer to process each image, with some requiring over one second per frame. They continuously advance the movie without using sprockets.

High-end scanners provide the following advantages over frame-by-frame capture:

  • Higher output quality
  • Reliable scans of films with splices, shrinkage, or damaged sprocket holes
  • Built-in mechanisms for dust removal
  • Superior tolerance for warped film

The main drawback is the cost, which is higher than other methods due to the specialized equipment necessary.

Details to Consider

The restoration process involves several specific activities. You can learn more about each step below.

Cleaning

Old films typically accumulate dust and dirt while in storage. For the best transfer results, you need to clean the film before scanning.

There are two options you may be able to perform at home:

  • Passing the film between soft brushes to try to remove dust
  • Using sponges with a mild cleaning solution

Physical Repair

Hollywood movie restoration teams rely on a scratch repair technique called a wet-gate scanner. It puts the film through a chemical bath using a substance with the same refraction index as the plastic. The liquid fills in surface scratches, so they aren’t visible during scanning.

Image Capture

As explained above, there are several different transfer methods. For the best quality output, the ideal choice is high-end scanning.

Digital Fixes

In this phase, technicians use software to improve image quality. For Hollywood film restorations, professionals dedicate hours to repairing tears and deep scratches.

Movie restoration experts even have ways to substitute missing frames. However, this level of sophistication isn’t usually available for amateur films.

Color Correction

A film’s color tends to degrade over time, which is why restoration services typically have tools to re-establish the original balance. The objective is to make the digital version look as similar as possible to the film at the time of recording. 

This process starts during scanning when an automatic optical system stabilizes light and color. If problems remain, colorists can make corrections manually.

The Takeaway

If you have old films at home and want to use them on your site, you can restore them by converting them to digital media. You may choose to perform a low-quality transformation on your own. However, if you need professional-looking results, it’s best to find a service that uses an advanced film scanner.

The restoration process is complex and involves cleaning, physical repair, image capture, digital fixes, and color correction. A specialized company with high-end equipment can provide excellent results. Now that you understand the methods available, you can choose the best way to restore your films for use on your site.

You might also like…

If you enjoyed this article about restoring old film, you might like this short we made on how to color old photographs:

Frankenstein’s Movie History: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Assembled from strange chemicals and old body parts, and brought to life by a mysterious spark, Frankenstein’s monster enters life as an enormously strong, eight feet tall creature, possessing the mind of a newborn.

Confused and abandoned by his creator, Victor Frankenstein, he tries very hard to integrate into society but faces universal disgust and is shunned from society. Mary Shelley’s amazing novel is about how we fail to humanize those who look different and don’t resemble us.

Image Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/LJcdYoYU2qg

The screen history of Frankenstein’s monster also comprises many disparate parts, much like the monster himself. From great screen adaptations to ones that are a waste of time, money, and energy, Frankenstein’s monster has seen it all.

Let’s take a brief look at various Frankenstein movies and see which ones are actually worth watching!

Frankenstein’s Movie History: The Good

Frankenstein (1931)

Directed by James Whales, this is one of the best screen adaptations of the book. It is an impressively stylish movie, and we get to see a great performance by Boris Karloff. With the use of his limpid eyes only, we can see the mutation of the monster from candor to chill savagery, and we love every moment of it.

Who hasn’t felt misunderstood and misplaced at some point? We can relate to the sorrowful, non-speaking Frankenstein’s monster, and we can feel where he is coming from. This is indeed one of the best screen adaptations of the monster so far.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

With its dramatic lighting and exquisite pictorial composition, this movie is indeed a worthy successor to the 1931 Frankenstein. It is not surprising that the movie is heralded as one of the best sequels in Hollywood.

The use of light and shadow creates an eerie atmosphere, which enraptures the minds of the audience amidst the mist-covered moors and excellent performances from the actors. James Whales turned the original movie into a superior sequel. The movie swings between the serious and the cleverly iconic, and keeps the audience strapped to their seats.

Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

This movie featured Frankenstein in color for the first time, and it took the classic story to the next level. It was pretty violent, and you could see the organs in jars, human remains, the movie had all the blood and gore. The performance of Christopher Lee as the monster was on-point and had the audiences glued to their screens.

Frankenstein’s Movie History: The Bad

Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)

This was an Italian-French version of Frankenstein, and it was an X-rated movie featuring violence, sex, disembowelments, and a lot of bloody gore, which was definitely not something that Mary Shelley would have intended when she wrote The Modern Prometheus.

Quite frankly, the movie is over-the-top with a bad script and mediocre acting. This is a gross-out oddity and is simply an elaborate spectacle of gore and sex.

Frankenstein General Hospital (1988)

This is another one of the adaptations of Frankenstein’s monster with its tongue firmly in its cheek. Due to profanity and nudity, the movie has an R rating. Leonard Maltin, the famous film historian, calls it one of the worst movies ever made in English. Half of the movie is in color, and half of it is in black, and this is a not-so-clever gag, which gets annoying pretty quickly.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

With an impressive cast, it seemed as if the director Kenneth Branagh had a great thing on his hands, with the likes of Robert de Niro, John Cleese, and Helena Bonham Carter starring in it. However, this screen adaptation was a complete misfire. The idea was to make the film a gothic romance which doesn’t quite fit with the Frankenstein franchise.

Even though the performance of de Niro as the creature is on target, the rest of the film is frantic and manic. With de Niro as the monster, we thought that the movie would be watchable at least. However, what we get is a bizarre romantic tale that doesn’t even frighten the audience.

Frankenstein’s Movie History: The Ugly

I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)

In the looks department, the Frankenstein’s monster depicted wins with its ghastly patchwork face and its large one eye. Unfortunately, this is all that the movie has to offer. With a lot of clunky dialogue and mediocre performances, this is not a Frankenstein movie you should have on your list.

Lady Frankenstein (1971)

This movie is a little crazy and frankly, over-the-top. After the death of Dr. Frankenstein, his experiments are continued by his lab assistant and his daughter, who fall in love. Odd, with a loopy plot, it is a sleazy and lurid variation on Frankenstein’s tale.

The Bride (1985)

This is not the adaptation of the Frankenstein myth but rather a spin on the Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Though not entirely terrible, with nice costumes and sets, there is something lacking in the movie, both in the script and the acting. This remake pales in comparison to the original movie and is not something worth your time.

Final Word

We all love a great, chilling horror movie. With so many screen adaptations of Frankenstein’s monster out there, it gets really hard to see which one we should watch. We have reviewed a few of them for you above that will help you pick up a good movie and have a great time!

Happy watching, people!

You might also like:

We actually attempted to recreate this famous scene in one of our first science films here at Untamed Science. Take a peak.

Books worth Reading

There are many grievances students have with the modern education system. One of the major ones is its inability to quickly adapt to progress. It mostly applies to STEM fields that have to deal with new breakthroughs nearly every day. But other majors have gotten their fair share of criticism as well. Literature specifically is one of the biggest points of contention.

Some of the books that have been at the core of any college’s program have been losing the public interest with the time. Even though literature has it much easier than technical fields, some materials fail to adjust to the context of the modern environment. So here are the books you will most likely encounter throughout your years in college that are actually worth your time.

Lord of the Flies

‘Lord of the Flies’ can often be found up there, close to the top of any literature program’s list. In fact, you might have bumped into it already as it sometimes is studied by high school students. 

Revisiting this piece in a couple of years is no less exciting and raises a lot of new questions that you might have not even thought of during your first read-through.

On the other hand, returning to it too soon may get you stuck in a dead-end. Writing an essay on this particular novel can be hard when you’ve already burnt out discussing the problems raised in this book. 

So if you’re having trouble coming up with fresh material to turn in for your ‘Lord of the Flies’ assignment, consider having an online writing service like essaywritingservice.com provide you with a different perspective.

A Clockwork Orange

‘A Clockwork Orange’ never fails to leave an impression on its audience. Both the book and the movie have this sort of atmosphere that stays with you long after you are finished with viewing or reading. The book doesn’t hold its punches, which is probably why it received mixed reviews back when it was first published. 

Yet, this initial shock you receive perfectly highlights the ideas the author tries to convey.

The story is set in dystopian England. Instead of blurring and skipping through the worst parts of life in that place, the reader is forced to look at them through a magnifying glass. It’s mesmerizing, almost hypnotic. And it makes it very hard to miss out on any detail of the plot which raises questions of free will, subjective sense of right and wrong, and many more.

1984

‘1984’ is another classic that you will absolutely come across at some point during studies. And for a very good reason. 

Orwell was a master at creating dystopian worlds like professional domyessay writers. When the protagonist sees, hears, or feels something, you do so as well. The world described on the pages of this book feels absolutely real. The struggles of people that live in it feel the same. But that’s not even the most impactful part of the novel.

It was written as a cautionary tale. It depicts what the author thought could really happen in the future with some sci-fi sprinkled in (mind you, that’s sci-fi in the 1940s). And you just might recognize some of the features of that fictional reality in today’s world. 

It feels like the author might’ve lived among us. But when you realize how long ago this book was written, it opens up a whole new perspective.

Hard to Be a God

Strugatsky brothers have many great writing pieces to their name. ‘Hard to be a God’ can’t even be called the best one of them. But it still warrants some special attention. 

It is widely considered as a novel overburdened with philosophical and existential probing. But it still reads as a very entertaining science fiction piece.

The pace might feel a little slow at first. But it picks up exponentially the closer you get to the end. You follow the protagonist’s trials and tribulations as he can’t catch a break with one problem falling onto him after another, never allowing himself to relax. 

The book is rich in events and has all the things you need and more to have a great reading session. Here are some of the themes:

  • Politics;
  • Drama;
  • Sword fights;
  • Friendship;
  • Betrayal.

You won’t get bored for a second reading through it, which is a big plus for college students that can get tired of practical literature. And once you have binged through this adventure, you’ll find yourself wanting to return to it to examine the underlying ideas the authors ingrained into it more closely. 

It’s a great entry point into the worlds of Strugatsky brothers. And they are the ones you will find yourself wanting to return to again and again. And these ideas make this book a perfect foundation for any essay. 

You have a lot of questions to choose from and lots of material to work with. Address the global problems of totalitarian politics, weak rulers, and mass hysteria on one end of the spectrum or take on the personal scale problems of the inability of one man to stand against the machine that’s way too bigger than himself.

Final Words

This list can hardly be called a complete one. There are plenty of decent books that are being published today. Spotting their value right away is not easy since they haven’t been studied as thoroughly as the classics of the past. 

Some of the older books may be just as relevant now as they were decades ago. Maintaining a critical mind doesn’t mean giving up on literature altogether.

Writing is one of the oldest ways of creative expression. Just like any form of art, it can hold value beyond simple entertainment. Keep looking for great writing pieces, analyze them, look at them from different angles, make up your own opinion. 

Top Films Featuring Gambling

There is a lot of drama and risk involved in gambling films, making them even more fun to watch. Characters in these films constantly throw caution into the wind and wager their last coin for the big score. It is always interesting to watch a character in a desperate bid to win bucks while doing irrational things.

Whether you are a gambler or only looking for a gambling movie to watch, you have come to the right place. These top gambling films are a great way to get some knowledge about your favorite casino game. Pop some corn and bring your friends and enjoy these top five gambling flicks. 

The Gambler (2014)

The Gambler is a film that features Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg. It is a remake of the 1974 classic directed by Karel Reisz and featured The Godfather star, James Caan. Wahlberg plays a literature professor who lives a very simplistic life. 

He lives by the words that he either has everything or nothing at all. It is these philosophic words that he carries with him to the casinos. 

The professor who is addicted to gambling gets into debt with an infamous loan shark and a gambling ring. It is interesting to watch as professor finds ingenious ways of finding money, including getting his students to help him. The Gambler is a good movie but still a far cry from the original classic.  

Molly’s Game (2017)

This is one of the most recent top gambling films that you will want to add to your watching list. Molly’s Game is a flick directed by Aaron Sorkin and based on life of former Olympian skier turned underground poker player after suffering from an injury. 

Jessica Chastain plays the cocky Molly and takes us through the illegal but very addictive world of high-stakes gambling.

Poker lovers who are looking to play high-stakes games legally can head over to Trustly casinos and place their bets. Their payments are trusted by best of the gamblers, so there’s nothing move-like in it.

Molly’s Game will take you through a rollercoaster of emotion as you watch Billy Camp fade away in his hopeless gambling life. It is even more thrilling to feel Molly’s rush and watch some fascinating poker and betting games.

Mississippi Grind (2015)

Mississippi Grind is another blockbuster gambling film that features one of the best names in Hollywood. It features Ryan Reynolds who plays as Curtis, a backslapping character that befriends Gerry, played by Ben Mendelsohn, a troubled poker lover. 

The film tells the story of Gerry, who does not seem to have much luck at playing poker and Curtis, who seems to bring luck to Gerry. But it’s not  same with everyone as you can head over to best payout online casino if you are feeling lucky today and start playing your favorite poker game or jackpot city. 

The film revolves around depression, addiction, and regret as you follow these two characters gambling non-stop. Mississippi Grind is a great comedy-drama that also has that melancholic pull to trigger your emotions.  

Uncut Gems (2019)

Uncut Gems is a nerve-wracking and intense gambling thriller directed by the Safdie brothers. Adam Sandler wonderfully plays role of Howard, a New York City jeweler who takes great risks to survive as his debts keep mounting and angry collectors start closing in. 

If you are not the risk-it-all gambler and love wagering your money safely and still get the best stakes, Gamblerzz.com is the site for you. In the movie, though, the fast-talking Howard is a desperate gambling addict that will suck you into his sickness. 

You will back Howard as he tries to pull off one of his concocted schemes and hope that he wins. The film does have a tragic finale that will want you to get right back into it. 

Casino Jack (2010)

If you have watched any of Kevin Spacey’s movies, you know he gives it his all when playing a character. That is exactly what he does in one of his most underrated films, Casino Jack. 

Directed by George Hickenlooper, it follows Jack Abramoff (Spacey), a hotshot Washington DC lobbyist, and his protégé Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper) as their attempt to peddle influence leads to corruption and murder. 

The comedy-drama thriller film based on real-life story of Jack Abramoff will immerse you into underground world of political dealings and corruption scandals.  

How far has live streaming come?

Back in the early days of the internet, ‘live streaming’ typically involved a cheap web-cam hooked up to a computer which broadcast low quality images. By today’s standards, the quality of streaming available even just two decades ago looks more like CCTV footage rather than something you might want to watch for fun. But with most of the world limited to painfully slow dial-up internet at the time, even this seemed like cutting-edge stuff.

Those days are long gone and today live streaming accounts for a sizable chunk of the total volume of internet traffic across the globe. With that said, it’s clear that live streaming video has taken the world by storm – something recent internet usage statistics clearly support.

The most interesting aspects of these figures relates to how live streaming is supplanting traditional media channels. And according to a survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, not only are 47% of the respondents to the survey watching more live streaming video than they were a year ago, but 44% were saying they are watching less live TV as a result of live streaming. This is a startling statistic, suggesting that in order to keep pace with the sorts of technologies younger generations are using, traditional media companies will have to find ways of branching out into the live streaming world.

One of the most disruptive companies in the live streaming space is Twitch—a brand that has now become synonymous with this new type of media content. Following an acquisition by the internet behemoth Amazon for just shy of a billion dollars, Twitch have established themselves as one of the main players in the live streaming space – currently boasting 3.8 million live streamers, 15 million daily viewers, with the total number of monthly viewers sitting at 140 million. This is just one platform however, and with Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube all featuring live-streaming features, competition is clearly beginning to heat up. These four tech titans are not the only popular streaming services in the Western market however, with many Asian equivalents such as WeChat posting numbers that blow Twitch well and truly out of the water.

But when it comes to what exactly people are watching on these streaming services, what sort of trends can we notice? The most popular category by far is online gaming. This covers everything from live video game tournaments to live casino games – and if you fancy, you can find out more about live casino sites on Playcasinos.ca live casino page.

In fact, competitive gaming has become so popular that live tournaments are held in sports stadiums which attract thousands of fanatical fans all screaming for their favourite teams as they compete for million dollars prizes. The fact that live streamed virtual sporting events are now being played in sports stadiums to thousands of fans, while also simultaneously being broadcast online across the globe, shows the extent to which live streaming has become the new normal. And with the numbers growing exponentially on a month by month basis, we can only expect things to increase.

How To Study Filmmaking Online for Free

The film making industry has picked up a notch in the last couple of years. YouTube has changed the landscape forever and has allowed the everyday Joe to become an overnight sensation. 

Needless to say, there is a difference between a fad and garnering a following and you still need the skills to make a decent film. Not too long ago, if you wanted a degree in film, you had to go to an expensive school, but the internet has changed that as well. Studying for free in just one of the online education benefits.

Getting an overview of the business

Some institutes offer introductory course that give you an overview of the film industry. You will be looking at everything from the complexities of development to distribution and finance of it all. 

You can pick a course from some leading provider of studio services for the global screen-based industries. They have ample experience and they give you top tips from the experts. If you have a burning question about the industry, you are sure to get the answer here. 

Giving screenwriting a go

Some well-known institutes have a great course on screenwriting if you lean more towards the tory side of the screen. 

They are usually short two-week course on the basics of screenwriting and you are introduced to a bit of theory and then explore the basics of writing a professional script. 

To manage your writing work for scripts and stories, you can seek help from an expert essay helper. The online writer can also help you with other academic work like thesis, dissertation and term papers even for any other course you are a studying. The course is intense with a lot of information, but the creative writer will soak it up like a sponge. 

Exploring animation

For those of us who enjoy the fictional side of the screen a bit more, there is always animation. Things have come a long way and with modern CG, the possibilities of animation are endless. 

This course is nothing short of a masterclass course. Within a few weeks, you’ll go from knowing nothing to being having your mind blown at the things that you can do. 

The courses are usually presented by top animators who will guide you through their favorite animation techniques. Every week, you’ll delve into a new technique like you do when you check speech ideas on Topics Mill. The options are many as you’ll explore everything from stop motion animation, 2D animation, real-world animation to CGI or computer animation. 

Cinematography

The film industry is so diverse that there is a place for anyone who has an interest in the business. You don’t have to be an actor or screenwriter, but you might have the eye that is needed to take that stellar shot. 

Cinematography is all about the appearance of your films. If the acting sucks, you are the one who can turn the tide and wow the audience with breathtaking visuals. 

Haley Chamberlain Nelson

There is no shortage of cinematography courses out there and you’ll have your hands full in picking the right fit for you. A good place to start would be to get a grip on the basics and work from there. You’ll soon find your niche and become a master in the field if you practice those creative muscles.

Film distribution

Film distribution is one of the more technical and sometimes daunting elements of the industry, but the Film distributors association has you covered in their online course. They will demystify the whole process in their four-week course and shed some light on the processes involved. 

You will be looking at the target audience and the ad campaigns that run to promote the film and also how the target audience influences the advertising. 

The other key aspect that will get a lot of attention is the distribution budget and how funds are allocated for the different aspects of distribution. This is a course you want to spend some time on if you want to stay within budget.   

Conclusion

The film industry is one of the most complex and ever-changing industries. With the development of technology and new filming techniques, you have to be on top of your game. 

It makes for one exciting career if you feel pulled towards it, but if you have what it takes, you’ll be treated to job satisfaction like no other profession. If you still need to test the waters and see if this is the field you want to go into, then the free courses that are available are a must. 

Contributed by Emma Ruddle:

Emma Rundle is a university teacher and also an online tutor working with college students to master them the subjects she teaches in. She also has a great passion for writing and to keep that going she provides assignment writing help to research students. In her free time, she practices yoga, cooks for her family and plays basketball. 

7 Of The Most Common Mistakes Made By Filmmakers

Filmmaking is difficult. For any of the uninitiated out there, you only need to look at the end credits of a film in theaters to realize that it takes an army to make a film, and some of those films aren’t even good! Most filmmakers don’t have the money for big crews with lots of complicated gear, and find themselves doing a hundred different jobs themselves. Whatever level of filmmaking you’re operating it at, you’ll know how easy it is to make mistakes. Mistakes can be trivial or they can be entirely project-ruining. And it’s not always clear what are the most important to avoid. Here are 7 mistakes that filmmakers always make, so you can avoid them.

Haley Chamberlain Nelson

Being Too Gear Focused

When you start out in filmmaking, or even when you’re a seasoned pro, it’s easy to be dazzled by the lenses, rigs, cranes, jibs or whatever else it might be. “You have to be really strict with yourself as a filmmaker and remember that the thing that really matters is your story. Don’t start a project with a $10,000 dollar camera set-up and think ‘Hmmm, what shall we shoot with this?’ Start with the story and keep that at the heart of the project always”, advices Chris Jameson, filmmaking blogger at BoomEssays and Assignment Writer.  You can also achieve a lot without needing all of the gear, as you can see in this video where a steady shot is achieved without an expensive steady cam.

Not Taking Time Over Audio

Audio can be the element of a film that, unless it is spotless, can completely degrade a project from professional to amateur. It’s not the most instinctively interesting area of the film set, which is not helped by the fact that it’s not the easiest to understand either. But that is no excuse. Audio needs to be give a massive emphasis in your prep work, or you could find yourself in a real mess down the line.

Forgetting Battery Backups

Batteries are one of those small things that can cripple a film set. Batteries will run out! It’s inevitable! Always remember to charge primary and back-up batteries before a shoot so that you’re never caught short.

Forgetting the story

Everything in a film must have a reason for being there. “There’s a saying about films that if a viewer doesn’t leave a scene with more than it arrived with, the scene shouldn’t be there. Really this speaks to a constant need for filmmakers to justify the presence of every shot, every line, every character, every scene from the first page of the screenplay to the final cu”, says Lola Kaminski, art writer at PaperFellows and PhD Thesis Writing. Make sure that anyone who questions something can be given a full, valid justification at all times.

Generic Music

Music is a really tough one, particularly for new filmmakers. You don’t want to be in breach of copyright but you also really don’t want audiences to think less of your film because its music is from a free online library. The best solution in that situation is to look around for musicians who you know, or can easily contact and see if you can either use their music or hire them in for the soundtrack.

Breaching Copyright

Speak of the devil! Breaching copyright is a really serious issue that you need to be careful of no matter where in the industry you are. For new filmmakers music is quite often the issue and you need to be sure that your film doesn’t get disqualified from festivals or removed from the internet because you thought no-one would notice. Similarly, be careful not to thieve any intellectual property. There’s a difference between a homage and straight up stealing.

Giving Up

As mentioned at the start, filmmaking is very hard. You will experience a bunch of failures. That’s part of the process. Don’t quit the second it goes wrong, just keep pushing and believing in yourself and eventually you’ll find your feet.

Conclusion

Hopefully this list will give you an idea of a few of the most common critical mistakes that filmmakers make, so that, when it comes to your turn, you don’t find yourself in a similarly bad situation. No-one told you it’d be easy, but these mistakes can make it a whole lot tougher than needs be.

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Article by Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter is a professional film writer at Coursework Help and Write My Research Paper writing services. She tutors in writing for the EssayRoo website and spends her spare time with her three children, traveling and reading.