Friday, June 30, 2006

New service: podcast news service

The Library now loans out iPods loaded with a variety of news podcasts. Get information from sources worldwide including CNN, NPR, BBC, and CBC. Over 24 hours of programming updated daily.

iPods can be checked out at the Library's Copy Center by AU affiliated students, faculty and staff.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Zero-cost digital video editing tools online

There's a new breed of websites that enable a user to upload his/her digital video, edit it, add effects, transitions, and titles, and share it with others. Obviously these tools will not be in league with programs like Final Cut Pro and Avid but for shoestring producers who are honing their chops, they're worth a look. The services available now are Eyespot, Grouper, Jumpcut, and Videoegg. Another highly-touted program, to be released soon,is Motionbox.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Guilty Pleasure: Hawaii Surf Session Report

Stuck in Washington this summer and in need of a mental escape? Try this site. I've never surfed but I have a weakness for watching surfers at work, gliding along through crashing walls of water. This kinda primitively designed site includes frequently updated "session" videos compiling footage of surfing conditions at the major surf beaches of Oahu, usually set to a reggae beat. They have a video podcast (vodcast) version too.

MIT World - on-demand video of significant public events at MIT

An extensive set of lectures, events, readings - heavy on the science topics but there's probably something here for everyone. Things that caught my eye included readings by Margaret Atwood, Russell Banks, Robert Pinsky, Maurice Sendak, and Seamus Heaney. Lectures by Noam Chomsky, Eric Foner, Thomas Friedman, Frank Gehry, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Dean Kamen, Helen Thomas, Howard Zinn and many others on current topics in a broad variety of fields.

link

National Archives Video on Google

This is a link to about 100 public domain newsreels produced by NASA,United Newsreel, and Department of the Interior. They range in length from 10-30 minutes. There's a lot of interesting stuff here. Examples include 1930s titles from the Dept of Interior, 1940s war newsreels, and "Who's out there?" a 1975 film narrated by Orson Welles on the likelihood of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Must-see film: Powers of Ten now viewable online

This is a really cool film that illustrates the size of the universe in powers of ten - starting with a couple having a picnic in Chicago zooming out to 100 million lightyears away - and then all the way back in to the man's hand and on down to a single proton, .000001 angstroms. It was originally released in 1977 but has stood the test of time. The narrator's rapid-fire descriptions are a fitting complement to the amazing visual images. It was produced by Charles and Ray Eames for IBM.

link

Friday, June 09, 2006

Cool website: indieWIRE.com

From their website:
"Celebrating its tenth anniversary, indieWIRE is the leading news, information, and social networking site for the international independent film community, including comprehensive coverage of indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews, and movie reviews. It includes special sections for high-profile film festivals, the new indieLOOP community site, filmmaker and industry weblogs, as well as resources and tools for emerging and established filmmakers. Awarded the Webby for best film website, indieWIRE was lauded as a "must read" by Variety, branded the "online heartbeat of the world's independent film community" by Forbes, and dubbed "best indie crossroads" by film critic Roger Ebert."

link

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Obit: Shohei Imamura, 79, Japanese New Wave filmmaker

Imamura was one of the icons of Japanese New Wave cinema, twice winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Concentrating on gritty social issues, he frequently raised eyebrows with his work, which included a piece based on the September 11th terrorist attacks as part of the 2002 short film compilation 11'09''01 (DVD 1329). Cause of death was liver cancer.

Other Imamura films in Media Services:
The Eel DVD 438
Black Rain VHS 954

Wikipedia article on Imamura