Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Video: Everything is a Remix: Fair Use



In this episode of Everything Is a Remix, host Kirby Ferguson explains Fair Use and offers three provocative questions to ask yourself before using copyrighted material.
"I recommend using this three-step test. For each clip you want to use. Number one: Is the clip you are using illustrating a point? …Number two: Is this point clear to the average viewer? And lastly number three: Did you use only the amount that was reasonably appropriate to make your point? …if you can answer yes to all three you have a strong case for Fair Use."


Video: Mr. Robot: The Art of Framing



In another thought-provoking video essays, filmmaker Karsten Runquist considers the unusual framing employed by Sam Esmail in the first season of the television series Mr. Robot.  In particular, he notes that the director's unique perspectives leave audiences room to draw their own conclusions independent of the series' cinematography.

If you haven't seen this series yet, I can't recommend it highly enough.  Watching this video won't spoil this series, but it will give you a good taste of what makes Mr. Robot so special.
"Now the thing about Mr. Robot is, given the fact that the show is like I said, a show about society. Elliott’s emotions and desires while yes, pretty important, aren’t the main focus of the series and when emotions coming from a single character aren’t the main focus and one of conventional framings main purposes is to enhance the emotions of a character there’s no point in using conventional framing."

Quick Pic: Princess Leia Corn Maze



Goebel Farms is currently home to an incredible corn maze with the image of New Hope Princess Leia carved into it in what has to be the largest Carrie Fisher tribute ever.  If you want to walk the maze yourself, it’s open on weekends at 4745 W Boonville New Harmony Road in Evansville, Indiana. Visit the Goebel Farms website for more information
"Jeremy Goebel, of Goebel Farms in Indiana, designed the corn maze himself. He said to the Courier Press, “I’ve always been a Star Wars fan, and I just wanted to pay tribute to Carrie Fisher.” He actually was able to plant the maze in just 40 minutes, using Photoshop to design it and then inputting it into the tractor’s GPS. “It tells the planter to leave rows on and off as it drives down the field,” he said."

Crafts: Star Wars Scarf



I found this excellent scarf while browsing Imgur.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a blog or Facebook page for the artist, which is a shame, because I'd love to see what else she's created.  Still credit where credit is due.  If you like this scarf, make sure to stop by Imgur and give this piece the upvote it so richly deserves.


Metalwork: Leviathan Hobo Nickel


"Leviathan" Hobo nickel hand engraved by J.H.Ranger on a 1936 Buffalo Nickel
Coin currently up for auction on Ebay.  Current bid: US$810


Posters: Jurassic Park


"Jurassic Park" by Ryan Brinkerhoff
Limited edition prints available for purchase from The Movie Gang. US$20


Posters: It




Illustration: The Night’s King


"The Night’s King" by David Hitchcock


Illustration: The Night King


"The Night King" by Hong Kong-based Michael Chang


Illustration: Jon Snow



As one Redditor comments, "It's like renaissance etching meets black metal album cover." Without color or even shading, JustAnotherJuicyLime has captured both the mesmerizing horror of season six's fight beyond the wall as well as Jon's silent dignity. This would make a wicked velvet blacklight poster.


Illustration: Game of Thrones Characters



When I first saw these climbing the ranks of the Game of Thrones SubReddit, I thought that they were Photoshoped illustrations. It turns out that they're actually the hand-drawn character sketches of an incredibly skilled artist.


Link Round-Up: September 13, 2017


"Nemesis" by UK-based Martin Simpson

News: IDW is launching Full Bleed: a hardcover, 200-page quarterly magazine about comics and culture. The content in the first issue is wide-ranging, from interviews with Neil Gaiman and Stephen King to new short fiction to historical articles.

3D Printed Translucent Building Façades Let the Light In

6 Larger Than Life Art Projects Coming to Maker Faire New York

7 Alternative Abodes You Can Build From the Ground Up

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Lego Creation: Star Wars U-Wing


"U-Wing" by Mirko Soppelsa of Star Bricks


Posters: Stranger Things


"Stranger Things" by Mexico-based Trockz


Posters: The Dark Tower


"The Dark Tower" by Orlando Arocena (Mexifunk)


Mash-Up: My Neighbor Poporgo


A My Neighbor Totoro / Star Wars: The Force Awakens Mash-Up

It's months until the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but people are already talking furiously about the latest edition to the Star Wars universe, the Porgs. Some people are calling them the new Ewoks. Some people are calling them the new Jar-Jar. Given Lucas Film's increasing concern with younger demographics since its acquisition by Disney, I'm not surprised by the addition of more cuteness. I am holding out for some Tribble-style humor, though.


Fresh Take: Krusty the Dancing Clown


"Krusty the Dancing Clown" by Ryan C. Brock (RCBrock)
Prints available for purchase from TeePublic. US$20

Krusty the Clown as Pennywise from Stephen King's It.


Fresh Take: Anakin’s Triple Self-Portrait


Star Wars version of "Triple Self-Portrait" by Norman Rockwell


Sci-Fi Round-Up: September 11, 2017


"ET The Extra-Terrestial" by Jonathan Burton
Limited edition prints available for purchase from Mondo on September 12. US$50

Interviews

Always the captain: Star Trek legacy lives long and prospers, William Shatner says
Classics Professor Benjamin Stevens Gives His Take On Not-So-Classic Films
Daniel H. Wilson interview: The Clockwork Dynasty
Geeky Q&A: Jade Tailor, co-star of The Magicians
Interview With Mortal Engines Author Phillip Reeve About Peter Jackson'S Upcoming Film
Special-Effects Legend John Knoll On Copying The Cosmos In Star Wars...
The Orville Interview: Mark Jackson Reveals Exciting New Details...
Seth MacFarlane Discusses "The Orville," Star Trek, and the Struggle to Make Sci-Fi Funny

Link Round-Up: September 11, 2017




Beautiful and absorbing four minute video of Cassini's life one week before it burns into Saturn.
Nightmare fuel: Photos from the Alamo Drafthouse's All-Clown screenings of It.

Friday, September 8, 2017

Video: Game of Thrones Pallette



Fans of Game of Thrones will know that it is hardly sunshine and daisies in the ‘Seven Kingdoms’, but what fans might not know is how the show’s color palette has been subtly been growing less fiery and more icy to convey that message through the episodes.

Vox recently put together a video color chart featuring the color palettes of every single episode of Game of Thrones. The palettes were achieved by taking the average color of every ten seconds of screen time throughout the show.

It was discovered that the first episode was the lightest and brightest, before turning progressively darker and icier. As winter encroaches upon ‘Westeros,’ the show has become less saturated and the average hue much cooler. The bloodiest battles of the series also make up the darkest episodes.

While the Game of Thrones crew is renowned for its attention to detail, the meticulousness that goes into the color palette adds on to its line of remarkable and impressive feats.


Crowdfunding: The Electric State


The Electric State is a new narrative art book, created by sci-fi artist Simon Stålenhag, about a girl and her robot in the 1990s traveling west across the USA in an alternate reality. After a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, Simon is now finishing the remaining pieces of art and writing text before he and the team at Free League Publishing get to work on book production. The progress of Simon‘s amazing looking book is available to view on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and his website.


Fan Art Round-Up: Pennywise from It


"That" by Dave Correia DaveCorreiaArt
A gallery of fan art featuring Pennywise of Stephen King's It.

After twenty-seven years, the clown that haunted the dreams of eighties kids everywhere returns today to strike fear into a whole new generation. If there was ever a film better designed to strike fear into the hearts of children than It, I've yet to see it.  Personally, I think Bill Skarsgard will give the great Tim Curry a run for this money.  I've already read that his performance is one of the best screen presences in recent horror film history.

To celebrate the release of the remake of It, I've compiled a gallery of the best Pennywise fan art to be found on the web.  As usual if I've miscredited any illustration or if you know of a stand-out piece of fan art I've missed, drop me a link in the comments below.


Link Round-Up: September 8, 2017


"Starlord!" by Brice Garlick

News: Locals outraged after beloved mural is painted over to advertise new Jennifer Lawrence movie

News: Woman Stripped of Prizes After Using Public Domain Photos to Win Contests: Sasin Tipchai is a talented photographer from Thailand who shares many of his amazing photos on Pixabay. As he designated the images as public domain, technically anyone can use his photos for any purposes. What Tipchai did not expect was that someone would steal his photos to enter international photography competitions. According to Khaosod English, a Swiss photographer by the name of Madeleine Josephine Fierz won first prize at the Moscow International Foto Awards and grabbed a second place award at the Fine Art Photo Awards earlier this year using Tipchai’s work.

10+ Times Kids Came Up With Amazing DIY Inventions

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Announcement: TV Premiere Dates 2017


Fall 2017 is looking to be a good season for television.  If you're a geek, I suggest you empty your  DVR, because its hard drive is about to fill up quick.  Not to mention that you Netflix queue is about to get a lot longer.

Whether you’ve been counting down the returns of Game of Thrones without the Dragons (Outlander) and Waffle Quest (Stranger Things) or eagerly anticipating the arrival of Young Sheldon and Star Trek: Discovery, you’ve got a lot of shit to sift through first, so here's a little help navigating your fall television schedule.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Link Round-Up: September 6, 2017



55 of the best free fonts for designers. Sometimes in the world of free fonts, you get what you pay for. But Tom May (at art and design blog Creativebloq.com) has found the best free fonts by professional designers from a range of countries including Spain, Argentina, Indonesia, Brazil, Sweden, Greece, Latvia, the UK, Uruguay, Finland, the US, Ireland, and Canada. The fonts are arranged into eight categories: serif, sans serif, handwriting, vintage and retro, brush, tattoo, graffiti and "unusual".

Castle-themed sundial installed at Berkeley Castle

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Posters: Dracarys


"Dracarys" by Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Nicolas Alejandro Barbera


Monday, September 4, 2017

Woodwork: Dragon Bench


Dragon Bench by Estonia-based Igor Loskutov

If the Targaryens had park benches, they'd probably look something like this handcrafted beauty.


Merchandise: Millennium Falcon Lego Set


LEGO 75192 Ultimate Collector Series Millennium Falcon

Lego has announced it's single largest set ever, a New Millennium Falcon for their Ultimate Collector’s Series line. Tipping the scales at 7,541 pieces, it measures eight inches high, thirty-three inches long, and twenty-two inches wide.  Of course, at a whopping US$800, it's also going to be the single most expansive Lego set on the market.  I don't think that the price tag is going to be an issue, though, because the finished product is glorious.  The Ultimate Collectors Series has a reputation for going above and beyond in terms of accuracy, but this version of the Millennnium Falcon takes the cake.  Here’s Lego designer Hans Burkhard Schlömer cradling the assembled model in his arms.” [More images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

The set comes with ten minifigures: Han, C-3P0, Leia, Chewbacca, BB-8, Old Han, Finn, Rey, and two porgs, plus a Lego mynock.

The first deluxe Falcon set released in 2007 contained a measly 5,195 pieces, and remains one of the most sought-after sets in Lego history.  If this set is any indication, I suspect that if they release a second version of the Death Star, it'll be Lego's feature first four-figure price tag.

Paintings: Cassian Andor


Cassian Andor from Star Wars Rogue One by Yann Dalon


Paintings: Rogue One




Posters: A Song of Ice and Fire


"A Song of Ice and Fire" by Colin Morella


Posters: Winter’s Here




Posters: Daenerys


9" x 12" oil painting available for purchase from Every Day Original. US$400

"I started watching this show recently, some of you may have heard of it. Well, it has a cast of many amazing faces to draw and paint, Daenerys is definitely one of those faces worth painting. Doing this painting with the show playing in the background definitely helped to capture the personality. This is done in oil on a primed panel exactly 9 x 12″."


Posters: Vader


"Vader" by Indonesia-based Yellow Mushi


Posters: Rogue One


"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" by Paul Ainsworth


Posters: Going Rogue


"Going Rogue" by Scott Park
Prints available for purchase from Dark Ink Art for Force Friday II. US$40


Posters: Attack Pattern Delta


"Attack Pattern Delta" by Dan Mumford
Prints available for purchase from Dark Ink Art for Force Friday II. US$55


Sci-Fi Round-Up: September 4, 2017


Star Wars: The Last Jedi promo art by Brian Rood


Interviews

Cat Rambo on The Nebula Awards, Game Writers, Sfwa, Cats In Sf, And More.
Epic Space Battles, Deadly Equations: Yoon Ha Lee of NineFox Gambit
Geeky Q&A: Wes Chatham
Seth Macfarlane Talks Mission Of 'The Orville'
Stephen King reveals what he REALLY thinks of new Pennywise adaptation
Stephen King’s IT – Exclusive Interview With Director Andrés Muschietti

Link Round-Up: September 4, 2017


"Akira Time" by Brazil-based Robson Gomes
An Adventure Time / Akira Mash-Up

Back in May, it was announced that Netflix would be producing a limited series prequel to the classic Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal. And in keeping with the spirit of the original, the new series will feature all new puppetry and animatronic characters. For fans of the original film who also have an artistic bent, the filmmakers have decided to hold a very unique contest: Design your own creature for the series and Jim Henson's Creature Shop will bring it to life.

Fake War Photographer Gets Exposed After Fooling the World: "Right now, a conflict photographer named Eduardo Martins is supposedly driving around in a van somewhere in the Australian outback. And you probably won’t see any new work from him anytime soon: he’s in hiding after pulling off one of the craziest cons in the history of photojournalism."

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