The Sci-Fi Boys

 

The Sci-Fi Boys is a great an awesome documentary to show your students who and what inspired the greats . . .  I have watched it, way too many times and I am watching again as I type this post  .  .  .  I am a bit geeky.  Here is my suggestion; buy the DVD!  You can get it on Amazon really cheap, for under $2.  Now if you do not believe me, you can also watch a super low resolution full version of the film on Youtube, see link below.  It is also free right now on Comcast right now, just search for ‘Sci Fi Boys’ and it will pop right up.  Either way, just watch it.    ~Cornell

 

Peter Jackson, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Ray Bradbury, Rick Baker, Roger Corman, Ray Harryhausen, Forrest J Ackerman, Stephen Sommers, and other legendary all-stars of cinema bring to life the evolution of science-fiction and special effects films, from the wild and funny days of B-monster movies to the blockbusters of today, including KING KONG.

This is the story of the Sci-Fi Boys, who started out as kids making amateur movies inspired by FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine and grew up to take Hollywood by storm, inventing the art and technology for filming anything the mind can dream. The DVD has the 80 minute feature, plus over one hour of bonus features of rare sci-fi treasures, described below.

 

 

On Comcast

 

Amazon Sci-Fi Boys

The Industry: Color Grading vs Color Correction

(Color Correction vs Color Grading, by Justin Troyer)

I have worked in industry for a number of years, but I have spent most of my time teaching and experimenting with my own work.    I love playing and am always experimenting with new techniques.  Sometimes I used the wrong terminology, but is it terminology that important?  Well, it will not make you a better artist, but it is always good to know.   In the past, I haven’t always used the terms Color Correction & Color Grading correctly.   Here are a few examples and explanations.  ~Cornell

 

Color correction vs. grading | 30 Second Film School

 

Color Correction vs Color Grading

August 12, 2014 at 12:35pm by Justin Troyer

Working with color is an important aspect of video production that many people grow into, at least cursorily. As part of being a novice in post-production terminology frequently gets misused or interchanged. While color correction and color grading use some of the same tools and processes they serve different purposes and are done in different parts of the workflow.

Color correction is used to alter footage across a project so that its appearance is consistent, creating an accurate portrayal as it would be viewed by the human eye, making sure whites look white and blacks look black. Typically this is compensating for inaccurate camera settings, leveling color temperature, or adjusting contrast, brightness, and saturation. The human eye will view white under varying lighting as white. However, with cameras you have to tell the sensor what white is. If done improperly your image will have a red, blue, or yellow cast. In addition, if you are shooting outside over the course of an entire day the color of the light will change as we move from sunrise to mid-day to dusk. Even passing clouds will change the color.

Color grading (color timing in reference to film) is altering the image for aesthetic or communicative purposes to enhance the story, create a visual tone, convey a mood, express emotion, or carry a theme. Typically the alterations in color grading are more extreme than with color correction. Rarely color grading can even be used to salvage problematic footage that color correction is incapable of fixing. Usually at the end of editing the editor will begin color grading, give the project to a dedicated colorist, or when quicker turnaround is required the footage will be sent off to be graded while editing is being done.  (Color Correction vs Color Grading, by Justin Troyer)

 

The House on Pine Street Color Correction Reel Graded and Edited by Taylre Jones

Check out the dramatic work done on this film, the changes are completely amazing. The color work was done on DaVinci Resolve.

 

Also Check out this ‘tutorial’ . . .

Color Correction/Grading Tutorial

By Swageberg Productions

Michael Grab and his Gravity Glue

What is art? And when does obsession become art? . . . Check out this video of Michael Grab’s work “Gravity Glue”  . . . Very Cool!!! ~Cornell

 

 

http://www.gravityglue.com/

The Mini Metal Foundry

I want to make one of these . . . a mini metal foundry.  Think of all the cool thinks we can make . . . Check out this video . . .

Here is how you actually make it . . .

 

IMPORTANT!!! Here are some safety considerations.

 

Can youth sports foster creativity? It depends . . .

My children are both involved in organized sports, gymnastics, and I agree it is all about perfectionism with no creative outlets.  I also feel that the skills gained from being in competitive gymnastics out way the non-creative environment it promotes.  With that said, it is all about what they do the rest of their time.  I feel that both of my kids are very creative, coming from an creative person, but we fostered that environment in our house, particularly allowing independent down time.  I think the most important factor is that children need time to get BORED! 

Here is an interesting article regarding organized sports and creativity, Written by Matthew Bowers Assistant professor, University of Texas at Austin.  ~Cornell

. . . Organized sports, on the other hand, tend to replicate hierarchical and militaristic models aimed at obedience, replication, adherence to authority, and a number of other qualities that, on a theoretical level, would be unlikely to be conducive to creative development . . . 

As someone who researches youth sports, I find this distinction to be particularly encouraging. It suggests, at least to me, that parents interested in fostering more creative development for their children don’t have to necessarily forgo traditional organized sports. They simply need to be aware of the importance of a balanced distribution of their children’s time between organized and unstructured settings . . .  <<  MORE  >>

https://theconversation.com/can-youth-sports-foster-creativity-it-depends-35074

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: I am Not a Jerk . . . I am Just Creative

Is there a ‘standard’ creative process or is it different for everyone?  With that said, can anyone be creative?  Psychologists Guillaume Furst, Paolo Ghisletta and Todd Lubart define three personality  “super-factors” that can predict ones creative prowess: Plasticity, Divergence, and Convergence.   They define divergent thinkers as non-conformists, impulsive, not very agreeable, not being very thorough, and come across as jerks.

Hmmm, I have to think about that one . . .  ‘Mirror mirror on the wall . . .’ ~Cornell

Check out the recent Scientific American article, The Messy Minds of Creative People By Scott Barry Kaufman which discus their work.

 

The Messy Minds of Creative People

The creative process– from the first drop of paint on the canvas to the art exhibition– involves a mix of emotions, drives, skills, and behaviors. It’d be miraculous if these emotions, traits and behaviors didn’t often conflict with each other during the creative process, creating inner and outer tension. Indeed, creative people are often seen as weird, odd, and eccentric.

Over the years, scientists have attempted to capture the personality of creative people. But it hasn’t been easy putting them under the microscope. As psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who has interviewed creative people across various fields points out, creative people “show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an “individual,” each of them is a “multitude.”  << More >>

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2014/12/24/the-messy-minds-of-creative-people/