February 3, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmCostume: "Tom Sawyer" hat proves too much of a distraction The choices made by a costume designer can reveal much about a film character through costume. A character’s social and economic class, for example, can be represented through the style and quality of her or his clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and whether those clothes are clean and fresh or tattered… read more
February 2, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmSpecial Effects: Norman Dawn creates earliest techniques Special effects in film are most often associated with monsters and space aliens, explosions and gunfire. While such features certainly fit into that category, more often than not special effects are used to make something look real and normal that would otherwise be too difficult or expensive to photograph. Fair… read more
February 1, 2010, Filed Under: PhotographyMagnum Archive Collection Comes to the Ransom Center Ransom Center Curator of Photography David Coleman shares his thoughts on the Magnum Archive Collection coming to the Center. At that same link, view a video of Magnum Director Mark Lubell discussing the significance of the Magnum Archive Collection. The roster includes more than 95 photographers who would, on their… read more
February 1, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmFilm editing: How the script supervisor tracks and controls the editing process Film editing is the selection, arrangement, and combination of shots into sequences, sequences into scenes, and scenes into the final film. Editing is where a motion picture takes its final shape. The editor controls and often enhances the emotional and narrative aspects of a motion picture. Through the selection of… read more
January 29, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmMusic: Composing the score for "Duel in the Sun" Music has been an integral part of motion pictures since the earliest days of filmmaking. While full orchestral scores were written especially for select major productions such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and The Thief of Bagdad (1924), most early films were shown accompanied by a pianist or… read more
January 28, 2010, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmProduction Design: Alfred Junge’s Oscar-winning design for "Black Narcissus" Arguably Britain’s greatest production designer, Alfred Junge was born in Germany and spent his teenage years working as an apprentice to a painter. At eighteen he was “kissed by the Muse” and began working in theater, painting sets, designing costumes, and operating special effects. In the late 1920s he began… read more