The Visual Story, Second Edition: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media

If you can't make it to one of Bruce Block's legendary visual storytelling seminars, then you need his book! Now in full color for the first time, this best-seller offers a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film, video, animated piece, or video game. You'll learn how to structure your visuals as carefully as a writer structures a story or a composer structures music. Understanding visual structure allows you to communicate moods and emotions, and most importantly, reveals the critical relationship between story structure and visual structure.

The Visual Story offers a clear view of the relationship between the story/script structure and the visual structure of a film, video, or multimedia work. An understanding of the visual components will serve as the guide to strengthening the overall story.

The Visual Story divides what is seen on screen into tangible sections: contrast and affinity, space, line and shape, tone, color, movement, and rhythm. The vocabulary as well as the insight is provided to purposefully control the given components to create the ultimate visual story. For example: know that a saturated yellow will always attract a viewer's eye first; decide to avoid abrupt editing by mastering continuum of movement; and benefit from the suggested list of films to study rhythmic control. The Visual Story shatters the wall between theory and practice, bringing these two aspects of the craft together in an essential connection for all those creating visual stories.

Bruce Block has the production credentials to write this definitive guide. His expertise is in demand, and he gives seminars at the American Film Institute, PIXAR Studios, Walt Disney Feature and Television Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic and a variety of film schools in Europe.

The concepts in this book will benefit writers, directors, photographers, production designers, art directors, and editors who are always confronted by the same visual problems that have faced every picture maker in the past, present, and future.

* Now in full color!
* Written by a renowned producer, visual consultant, and teacher
* The material in this books applies to any kind of visual story, including films, animated pieces, video games, and television

Price: $34.95

Click here to buy from Amazon

Star Trek (Three-Disc Edition) [Blu-ray]

STAR TREK - Blu-Ray Movie
Price: $39.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

The Animator's Survival Kit, Expanded Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators

The definitive book on animation, from the Academy Award-winning animator behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Animation is one of the hottest areas of filmmaking today--and the master animator who bridges the old generation and the new is Richard Williams. During his fifty years in the business, Williams has been one of the true innovators, winning three Academy Awards and serving as the link between Disney's golden age of animation by hand and the new computer animation exemplified by Toy Story.

Perhaps even more important, though, has been his dedication in passing along his knowledge to a new generation of animators so that they in turn could push the medium in new directions. In this book, based on his sold-out master classes in the United States and across Europe, Williams provides the underlying principles of animation that every animator--from beginner to expert, classic animator to computer animation whiz --needs. Urging his readers to "invent but be believable," he illustrates his points with hundreds of drawings, distilling the secrets of the masters into a working system in order to create a book that will become the standard work on all forms of animation for professionals, students, and fans.

Price: $35.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

The Lord of the rings extended edition Blu-ray review

Finally after a highly anticipated waiting period, the Lord of the rings is extended edition Blu-ray available for the US rabid of Middle-Earth of fans of Tolkien! If there ever were a trilogy only begging on Blu-ray are updated, it must be the Lord of the Rings trilogy hands down. The brilliant cinematography by Peter Jackson films are nothing short of stunningly spectacular, without Blu-ray! In this fantastic technology show, a treat that is almost too good to be true is easy.

Why is the Lord of the Rings trilogy to expanded desires?

With the enhanced versions of Peter Jackson's the Lord of the rings films, comes the greatest trilogy of in film history, bar - no. 1954 Published a true love story of gutsy determination, undeniable endurance, undying friendship and eternal love, the Lord of the rings vibrate in any way with the idea of the human spirit... and what it has made an instant classic since the days of the brilliant story-weaving, high fantasy, words by j.r.r Tolkien. To experience the brilliance of j.r.r Tolkien's magical stories to life with magic of Peter Jackson's film, is a wonder to see and with the additional Blu-ray, it is a fascinating technological pleasure for the senses! I grew up reading Tolkien and was absolutely blown away when these epics hit the big screen. Blu-ray is extended edition the Lord of the rings can have something that absolutely thrilled me.

The Lord of the rings extended edition enables a much more comprehensive item on the entire development of history by expanding much more characters. To display the advanced version will you questions about how you were satisfied with the versions of theatrical. The characters are developed to a higher level, where their background, their "stories", you know, or who they are and many other scenes that bring such fullness and completeness, that you only from the original, unexpanded versions do not receive. To view the enhanced version, the story is just so much more sense. Bad Peter Jackson... He must be fought by anxiety attacks, because he so many shots from the films so that they first were released to fit on the theatre as they.

The first film, "the Fellowship of the ring" has added another thirty minutes additional footage and brings this film to end after three - a-a-half hours. The second film, "The two towers" is expanded to 43 minutes and comes to the conclusion, after 3 hours 42 minutes. The last and "grand final" film "The return of the King" is stretched by a mind-boggling fifty minutes and keeps a, literally: spell-bound in their seats for an ending tingle in the popular Tolkien trilogy meaning after 4 hours 11 minutes! Add all the above, you have 11 hours masterfully created entertainment pleasure and in Blu-ray to boot! This is the greatest trilogy of all time by no stretch of the imagination and no other even close competition.

But these are the types of epics, which you in lost go, and they were 5 or 6 hours, she would still too quickly at the end and we would be, would be for advanced versions of them!

With this impressive trilogy 5 out of 5 stars rated feels as I do it wrong in any way... it's easy, well!

Here are a few answers to questions, which advanced the Lord of the rings Blu-ray people are questions:

Official release date is 28 June 2011 there are 6 Blu-ray discs with 3 movies. The films are available on 2 discs. It is an additional "special properties" CD for each movie. The advanced Lord of the rings Blu-ray Edition includes downloadable digital copies for each movie. There are subtitles in: Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish.

Where can you find in this classic Tolkien trilogy?

I know you probably with anticipation at this point all over, trembling and question me, go how much more you wait, your hands on the Lord of the rings extended edition Blu-ray. Well, have they just been released! Read to discover where you can buy it

To an incredible deal to receive please Blu-ray on the Lord of the rings extended edition, visit the Lord of the rings extended edition blog and get this epic high fantasy trilogy in the film library today!

View the original article here

Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

ALADDIN: SPECIAL EDITION
Price: $29.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

The Little Mermaid (Fully Restored Special Edition) (Disney's Masterpiece) [VHS]

From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list and was responsible for ushering Beauty and the Beast to theaters. A modern Disney classic. --Keith Simanton
Price: $26.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Worry not, Disney fans--this special edition DVD of the beloved Cinderella won't turn into a pumpkin at the strike of midnight. One of the most enduring animated films of all time, the Disney-fied adaptation of the gory Brothers Grimm fairy tale became a classic in its own right, thanks to some memorable tunes (including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," and the title song) and some endearingly cute comic relief.

The famous slipper (click for larger image)

We all know the story--the wicked stepmother and stepsisters simply won't have it, this uppity Cinderella thinking she's going to a ball designed to find the handsome prince an appropriate sweetheart, but perseverance, animal buddies, and a well-timed entrance by a fairy godmother make sure things turn out all right. There are a few striking sequences of pure animation--for example, Cinderella is reflected in bubbles drifting through the air--and the design is rich and evocative throughout. It's a simple story padded here agreeably with comic business, particularly Cinderella's rodent pals (dressed up conspicuously like the dwarf sidekicks of another famous Disney heroine) and their misadventures with a wretched cat named Lucifer. There's also much harrumphing and exposition spouting by the King and the Grand Duke. It's a much simpler and more graceful work than the more frenetically paced animated films of today, which makes it simultaneously quaint and highly gratifying. --David Kronke

DVD Features

For another of its classic films, Disney delivers another dazzling DVD with a gorgeous, razor-sharp picture and 5.1 sound. (Note: the 1949 film is properly presented in full-screen format, 1.33 aspect ratio, because widescreen films weren't made until the '50s.) The best part of the supplemental features is the archival material, the absolute highlight of which is two unused songs, "Cinderella's Work Song" (in which Cinderella imagines multiplying herself a la the Sorcerer's Apprentice) and "Dancing on a Cloud."

Bippity-boppity-boo! (click for larger image)

Because these numbers were never animated, they're accompanied by stylish illustrations from the Disney artists, and they're simply marvelous to look at. The artist of much of that material, Mary Blair, gets her due in a 15-minute featurette, while the better known "Nine Old Men" are the subject of a round-table discussion among some of today's top animators. In addition, a 38-minute documentary covers their contributions to specific characters of Cinderella as well as the film in general and the vocal cast. Also on the historical side is "The Cinderella That Almost Was," tracking the development of the project through decades of original Disney concepts, characters, and songs, including the 1922 silent "Laugh-o-Gram," which is also included in its entirety.

The pumpkin transformed (click for larger image)

Additional musical material includes three radio programs and a short promo of the movie by Perry Como, in which he summarizes the plot amid some songs by the Fontaine Sisters, star Ilene Woods, and the host himself. Seven other unused songs (17 minutes total) are available in audio-only. The material for kids is on the sparse side, consisting of two music videos, Disney Channel personality Sally (from "Mike's Super Short Show") learning how to become a princess with the help of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew and others, a minor dancing-princess feature, and a DVD-ROM design studio. Oddest extra: ESPN's "top Cinderella stories," including the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and Joe Namath's New York Jets, although stories on Mia Hamm and tennis's Williams sisters should appeal to the film's primary target audience of young girls. --David Horiuchi

Cinderella Throughout the Years

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production)	Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965)	The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
Faerie Tale Theatre - Cinderella (1982)	Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)	Ever After - A Cinderella Story(1998)

Price: $29.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

ALADDIN: SPECIAL EDITION
Price: $29.99

Click here to buy from Amazon