What is open science?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Many people predict that the open science movement could be every bit as far-reaching to the future of humanity as the scientific method, first articulated by Roger Bacon in the 13th century.That raises a question: What is open science?Open science can be interpreted in several ways, but it essentially can be described as an effort to make scientific research more open, more public. Open-science proponents argue that the Internet has made this possible. As a matter of fact, many of them contend that the old, traditional approaches to scientific inquiry and discovery are antiquated and even hinder the advance of science.Likewise, many supporters of open science contend that the lowered transaction costs that have accompanied Web 2.0 have rendered scientific research far less expensive. The huge corporate and government-funded laboratories that were once required to secure major breakthroughs, such as vacuum tubes and the atom bomb, are no longer as essential in many cases.Opening up research, making it as available for input from as many players as possible would not only speed up scientific inquiry and discovery, but would also render it far more efficient.The idea essentially began with famed Cambridge University mathematician Timothy Gowers. Gowers (pictured right) got the idea to solve a handful of highly complex mathematical problems by posting them to his Weblog and inviting people to offer suggestions for solving them. He dubbed it the Polymath Project and initially had no idea how far-reaching this effort would turn out to be. In fact, it ended up producing a series of new ideas and insights as well as several collaborative papers published under the pseudonym DHJ Polymath.In one respect, the Polymath Project is not new. It’s already been foreshadowed in other areas of science, including The Human Genome Project, the pioneering effort to map and share DNA.It also parallels much of what already is unfolding within the computer software industry.Science, it seems, is proving no more immune to the effects of Web 2.0 than any other facet of modern life.The economic downtown has contributed too. Open science may prove a cost-effective alternative as governments around the world slash conventional research funding, proponents contend.It may be instructive to look at the Innocentive website to see how one organization is using the concept of challenge prizes and crowdsourcing to allow companies to solve their most difficult problems. Innocentive has had more than 31,000 solutions submitted, of which, more than 1,200 were accepted and awarded prize money, ranging from $1,500 to $1 million, from the sponsoring agency. They tout a success rate of 57% for solving the submitted problems (source). By bringing different perspectives and experiences to a challenge, solvers are able to come up with innovative solutions that are often not apparent to the teams of experts already working on a problem.To be sure, open science has garnered its share of critics. Many of them argue that genuine scientific achievement is not possible without traditional research methods, which often require immense investments of time and manpower. Likewise, hundreds of years of experience have underscored the importance of sharing and refining these research findings among scientific peers, typically within accredited scientific journals.For their part, many open-science advocates concede that there will still be a place for more rigorous research methods. On the other hand, they stress that some of the greatest scientific and technological strides in human history have been made by unconventional individuals, often employing unconventional methods. Examples of some of history’s most notable and unconventional scientific and technological innovators include Robert Hooke, Charles Darwin and Benjamin Franklin.Author: Jim Langcuster
This photo was found on U. S. Navy’s Flickr page.This post was uploaded by Anne Adrian, Social Media Strategist for the Military Families Learning Network.
Next week, Community Capacity Building concentration area of Military Families Learning Network will be joining the Personal Finance concentration area of MFLN for an event. Join us on Tuesday, March 27th at 11:00 am EDT for a 90-minute webinar, Getting to Know You: Introducing Personal Finance Managers and Cooperative Extension to Each Other, hosted by the Personal Finance concentration area of the Military Families Learning Network.The webinar will focus on building community capacity among financial educators working with military service members; discussing programs and resources available to service members and families through each Military Services’ financial readiness programs and the Cooperative Extension System.Representatives from each military branch of service’s financial readiness office will speak about the best practices their PFMs are using in the field to educate service members.Dr. Barbara O’Neill will give an overview of resources available to PFMs through the Cooperative Extension system.For more information and to register for this free webinar, go to this page.
Bibliography:Cottle, George F. 1938. “Medical Care of Naval Families.” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings (October): 1431-1432.Defense Health Board. U.S. Department of Defense. 2017 Pediatric Health Care Services. (December).Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC). 2015. Final Report (January 25).This MFLN-Military Caregiving concentration blog post was published on May 25, 2018. Written by Christopher Plein, Ph.D. West Virginia University and MFLN Caregiving Team As a university professor, one of my main responsibilities is to teach courses on healthcare policy and administration. An underlying theme in most of my lessons is that what we think of as new or novel questions or issues are likely not so. Instead, it is most often the case that similar issues or comparable challenges have been faced in the past. As the old saying goes, “there is nothing new under the Sun.” This rang startling true to me when I recently read an article entitled “Medical Care of Naval Families.” Published in the October 1938 issue of the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings – a journal dedicated to wide array of issues in the service that continues to be published – I was struck by similarities between now and then.Written by Captain William Cottle, the article identifies issues relevant 80 years ago that still resonate today. One deals with the transient nature of military family life. Cottle notes that “Navy families move from one community to another. They lose contact with the old family physician or the physician in the home town” (p. 1431). He explains that the Navy’s emerging practice of providing medical services to families helps to alleviate this challenge. Yet, resources are scarce and stretched thin. He notes, “A few, very few, doctors, nurses, and hospital corpsmen have been drawn from duty with active naval personnel to meet the demand. The demand has already outstripped the capacity of assigned personnel.” For him, the solution involves help from Congress and constructive criticism, tolerance and patience from all of those involved as the system evolves. In short, “The time has come to give this service the recognition it deserves and the backing it needs” (p. 1434). Sounds familiar doesn’t it?Cottle makes broader observations about healthcare delivery in the 1930s that are worth considering today. He notes, that “Today the number of physicians whose individual knowledge and ability is sufficient to permit them to practice successfully alone is very small.” He also considers the popular idea that the patient should be “guaranteed freedom of choice” (p. 1431). For the nascent Navy medical program, the message here is the need for coordination of care across specialties and services. There is also a message to patients and their families that in an age of systemization and specialization, choice must be balanced with the needs and capacities of the delivery system. In other words, you can’t always get what you want. Again these echoes of the past are heard clearly today whether one is in the civilian or military health systems.In a recent blog, I discussed the priorities placed on family readiness and its evolution over time. The idea is that family readiness, achieved through support programs and personnel, contributes to force readiness. I should not have been surprised when I found these sentiments expressed by Cottle. Allowing for the more gender-specific times of his day, he justifies investment in family medical services by observing, “When officers and men are separated from their families by seagoing, their morale is heightened and their efficiency maintained if they know there is a reasonably adequate medical service for which their families may apply while the head of the family is at sea” (p. 1433).Dipping into history is no idle academic exercise. It gives us practical insight on the issues that we deal with today. For example, an appreciation of the past gives us new insights on more recent studies and reports relating to the military health system (see for example, Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission 2015, Defense Health Board 2017). It also gives us a greater sense of appreciation for those who have served and sacrificed for our country. It’s a fitting thing to consider on this Memorial Day weekend.
Use this sleek and modern text animation to make your video intros more dynamic!In the following video tutorial I’ll show you a trick for creating a text reveal in After Effects that’s totally in vogue right now. Whether you’re creating a motion infographic or simply need a clean, yet dynamic title for your video project, this AE write on effect will do the trick.We’ll create this text animation using only tools within After Effects (no third party plugins). Essentially, each letter is revealed through several layers of colors (in the tutorial we used multiple shades of the same color but you can certainly experiment with different color palates).In this After Effects text write-on tutorial we’ll:Create text using AE’s default text toolPrecomp the text layerUse the pen tool to create shapes in the form of the lettersAdd trim paths to shapes to give motionChange the mode to “stencil alpha’ to only show the letters (not the shapes) animating onNow give each of the letters a modern, multicolor write on:Offset the layers for each letterDuplicate the shape layers and make subtle changes to the fill colorThe text effect takes a bit of legwork (drawing each of the shape layers) but when finished it’s a great look – clean and modern.[color-box color=”gray”]Video Transcript:This is Evan Abrams for premiumbeat.com, and today we’re going to take a look at creating a fancy, multicolored, multi-layered write-on effect that takes your write-on effect to the next level when bringing on text and other elements. It’s quite simple to do, it just takes a number of layers. We offset them in time, so let’s get to it.The first thing to do in After Effects is to create a new composition as the size of whatever you’re going to be exporting. We’re using HDTV 1080, 24 frames a second, with a duration of 30 seconds. Now we’re going to be using a lot of pre-comps here, but on this comp we’re going to go ahead and create a new text layer. This will serve to have our text on it. It’s important at this stage to align your text and to kern your text as you’d like it to appear. What we’ll be doing is making use of the character palette over here to alter the size, perhaps up to 300. We’ll alter the spacing, change it from perhaps metric to optical. That looks good for me. For our purposes we’re just going to use the word “text”. I’m going to use the Align panel, window-align. You’re going to pull that up somewhere, and just stick it dead center of the composition.We’ll be using the text here to write it on. The first thing to do is to pre-compose this text element. We go Control-Shift-C to pre-comp it. We’re going to call this “write on”. That way, if we go and put other elements around the write-on, it’s not going to interfere with what we’re doing. We go inside and we have text here. I’m going to rename this to be the stencil. I’m going to duplicate it, and call the duplication of it “guide”. The guide we’re going to change to have a nice, bright red color to it. The stencil we don’t need to look at at this point.What we’ll be doing with the text here is using the pen tool to draw shapes over top of the letters. I’ll just go ahead and begin clicking. As you can see, it creates a shape layer that has a path on it, and then we can do things like key-framing the path and the size and the stroke. What we’re going to do is set the color to be white. We’re putting white over red, and we’re going to toggle off the transparency grid so that we are looking at these colors. We’re going to see very clearly when things are covered, when they are not covered, and so on.We want to try to get this to be as accurate as possible. You don’t want it to be spilling too much over into other shapes, because what we’re doing with this first shape is we just want to cover up the top bar of the T. That looks about good. Then, selecting the same layer, take the pen tool and then draw the next part of that shape. A nice vertical bar like so. Move it over a little bit, and then increase its stroke size to fill that up. We’re going to rename this to be the “T” layer, and we’re going to put it below the stencil layer.Then we are going to go in here and add trim paths. That trim paths will determine how long those lines are. We’ll just key-frame the end at the beginning to be zero percent. Move ahead thirty frames, crank it up to 100 percent. Take both of those key frames, easy ease them. Go into their graph editor here, take the handles, and give it a new shape by pulling the end handle towards the beginning to have an influence of 100 percent so that they come on with a different type of motion, accelerating and then decelerating out of the curve. Basically we have created something that we will reuse to create the rest of these.The next thing to do here is to use your stencil. Change it to something like “stencil alpha”, such that the only parts of the line or anything below this layer that are going to be visible are going to be the things that fall within the bounds of that text. When we take away the guide, and then we take away the blackness and just look at the transparency grid, you can see we have the shape writing on.We’ll continue this process by doing the rest of the letters, ensuring that our shape layers are individual to each letter. Starting the E, you’ll just take the pen and draw the line across. Then that will be it, and you can adjust down as needed and fill in the rest of the shapes. Draw the first couple here, and then we will skip the rest because watching me do this would be very boring.When you have the outlines on the letter, you can go back to original here. You can just pull up the trim paths, copy it making sure the play head is at the beginning, and then paste it. Then you have those lines coming across. Now we just need to drag that below the stencil, and it makes perfect sense. You’ll continue this for each of the letters, making sure you animate them all fully and completely using the same timing for each. I’ll just accelerate through that right now.All of your text is now animated with a wipe-on. We need to take this to the next level. We’re going to first cascade the wipe-on by going into the letters here and we’re going to offset them. The first one we’re going to offset by one frame; the next one will be offset by two frames; and the next one by three frames, or four frames, or whatever you’d like. So one comes on, and then the next, and then the next. That could change. You could change that for yours. This is just one way of doing it.Now we take all of these, because we want to preserve that timing and impart it to all the other layers. Then we are going to pre-compose this. We are going to call this “text write-on shapes”, which will give us a composition. We will now apply a fill to that composition, which will then give it a new color other than white. We are going to go with perhaps something like 225, saturation of 50, and perhaps a brightness of 25. We are then going to duplicate that layer. We’re going to change the fill to be something new, perhaps with a brightness of 50. Duplicate again, go ahead and change this again, give it a brightness of maybe 75. Duplicate the layer a fourth time, and now we’ll go with a brightness of 100.We are now going to take these layers we’ve created and we offset them by two, four and then six, getting rid of the guide on the back. Then we play through what we’ve created, and it looks quite wonderful. In order to go in and tweak this, all you have to do is go in here and edit these layers. What I would advise you to do is to make sure that collapse transformation is on for everything, and that again in these layers collapse transformation is on for everything.So then, when you go back to your main comp here and press collapse transformations, you’re then able to scale this up as you’d like. However, one word of warning: Do note that when you collapse transformations, the stencil from this layer is going to come through onto this layer. What you may wish to do instead is to do all of your scaling in this part by taking these layers, parenting them all to that stencil, and then simply scaling up the stencil as need be. That way it will not negatively impact what’s going on outside of this comp. Then we are just going to arrange this into the center again, so when we go back to this comp everything is all good.From there, it’s just a matter of stylizing everything and applying the techniques that you’ve learned to create the rest of the title elements, specifically horizontal bars that wash across. I’m sure you are smart enough to get that going.This has been Evan Abrams for premiumbeat.com, showing you how to make a slightly more advanced and very fancy write-on technique that I think is very popular right now. Come to premiumbeat.com and check out our blog for all sorts of tips, tricks and tutorials in not only After Effects but a bunch of other terrific programs. And, of course, always come to Premium Beat for all of your royalty-free music and sound effects needs. There’s quite an extensive library here, so I would recommend you check it out, because no write-on technique is complete without an amount of whooshing and noise to go with it. Of course, mine didn’t have any, but that’s just because I’m a little bit lazy today. Anyway, thank you so much for watching. I’m Evan Abrams. Come to premiumbeat.com and I’ll see you around the internet.[/color-box]
Media storage in FPCX has never been so easy.The newest 10.1 update of Final Cut Pro X makes managing media more customizable than ever before. The update combines Adobe Premiere’s ability to point libraries to media and Avid’s option to use external media referencing.In the following video tutorial, media storage options in Final Cut Pro 10.1 are presented by the guys from MacBreak Studio. The video covers:The updated unified camera import windowImporting footage into new eventsChoosing media storage locationsManaged Libraries vs. External Media ReferencingThe leave file in place optionThe external media referencing is especially helpful for editors who work with a team…and is giving a unique advantage to using FCPX over other similar editing software. A good understanding of media storage will insure that your next project is well organized (and of course, better organization equals more efficient editing).This tutorial was created by MacBreak Studio. MacBreak Studio features training across many Apple programs. Thanks for sharing MacBreak guys!
Considering making a gaming video? Keep your viewers hooked with this curated playlist of some of our royalty-free music picks.Cover image via Makalo86.Fun fact: in 2017, out of the top five most subscribed-to channels on YouTube, two of them specialized in gaming videos. That’s pretty impressive, but seeing as the gaming industry itself makes around $100 billion a year, accompanying gaming videos were always bound to be popular, too. For video editors who are passionate about gaming, creating game-related content could be a potentially lucrative project.In the world of gaming videos, there are a number of common formats. There are “Let’s Plays,” which edit together gameplay clips, often with narration. There are also walkthroughs that show players exactly how to navigate difficult sections or entire games. There are thousands upon thousands of game reviews and reaction videos out there, too.It’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to holding viewers’ attention, your soundtrack goes a long way. The right music provides a consistent through-line that ties multiple gameplay clips together. It can also lend your video a level of professionalism and polish.To help out, we’ve put together a varied playlist of royalty-free tracks. For your walkthroughs, we’ve included a mix of cinematic instrumental music. For game reviews, we’ve got more low-key (but no less effective) cues. For good measure, we’ve added in a handful of retro 8-bit inspired tracks too.Getting a license for one of these tracks is super-simple and super-affordable. With one license, you can use your track in as many online videos as you need. A standard license goes for just $49 per track.So listen to our handpicked selection of royalty-free music for gaming videos, and give your next project a professional, high-quality soundtrack. What are you waiting for? It’s time to get playing.
Thinking of posting your latest film or video content to Instagram? Follow these rules to get the most return for your efforts.Cover image by rzoze19.As of 2018, there are now over 25 million business profiles on Instagram, all competing for the attention of over 80 million personal users. As Facebook faces privacy concerns and Twitter becomes more polarized, Instagram has become one of the most powerful social media platforms for people and brands alike to share meaningful content.For brand content creators, video professionals, and those just looking to share awesome personal Instagram video content, we offer these seven rules to create sleek, likable videos on Instagram.1. Newsfeed vs. StoriesImage by Mary_ART_S.First off, in the post-Snapchat era, there are now two types of content on Instagram. The first is the newsfeed, which is the traditional algorithm-based up-and-down scroll similar to other newsfeeds like Facebook and Twitter. The other is “stories,” the new click-through-style that presents friends’ stories in up to 15-second bursts that last for 24 hours.If you aren’t familiar with the latter, take some time to get acquainted, as the two are vastly different types of content, each with its own rules and styles.2. The Instagram BoxImage by travellight.When working with video in the newsfeed mode, you’ll notice the famous Instagram box. While Instagram is no longer strict about it, the app still favors its iconic 1×1 ratio layout and encourages its users and brands to at least be aware of its roots.When creating newsfeed video, you certainly don’t have to stick to 1×1 when shooting, editing, and uploading. You can shoot landscape or vertical, depending on your output. Here are the stats for maximum and minimum ratios and resolutions:Maximum aspect ratio: landscape (1.91:1), square (1:1), vertical (4:5).Minimum resolution: 600 x 315 pixels (1.91:1 landscape) / 600 x 600 pixels (1:1 square) / 600 x 750 pixels (4:5 vertical). 3. 60-Second MaxImage by Yulia Grigoryeva.According to The Verge, Instagram is considering adding long-form video options to its app, but until then, they’ve been gracious enough to expand their newsfeed videos up to 60-seconds. While this may seem frustrating, it does keep the content short, sharp, and fresh. So, create content that excites from the get-go and doesn’t bottom out.4. ThumbnailsImage by Bogdan Sonjachnyj.Perhaps the most important element of any good Instagram video is a good thumbnail. Videos will live on on your Instagram page in the same boxes as photos, so your video thumbnail will be all that users see (at first) from then on. Even when scrolling, the thumbnail gives your viewer a first taste of the content. When uploading, Instagram allows you to scrub through and choose your thumbnail, so put your video in its best light!5. Auto-Play ReadyImage by Foxy burrow.Also of note, Instagram, like Facebook, plays videos automatically when users scroll across them. However, they all automatically play on mute. This means a couple of things for creators and producers: one, you have to have strong visual information at the very beginning (so no long fade-ins); and two, text becomes your friend for things like exposition or subtitles.6. Mind the LoopImage by Bon Appetit.One cool thing about Instagram that other social media platforms have yet to adopt is the Instagram-loop. At the end of your content, Instagram doesn’t close your video, it just starts it over — similar to the now-defunct Vine app. This becomes especially fun when you have very short, bite-sized content, where you can play off the short motion. It also means you need to be mindful of your beginning and ending sequences so that they don’t transition awkwardly.7. Exporting from Premiere ProImage by Joan B.Exporting edited footage into Instagram used to be a chore, but as the app has embraced video and brand content, the process has become easier. Here are the latest specs to keep in mind when working on your edit:Supported video codecs: H.264 and VP8.Supported audio codecs: AAC, Vorbis.Maximum file size: 4GB.Maximum frame rate: 30fps.Bitrate: no limit when using two pass encoding with files under 1GB. 8 megabits per second for 1080p, 4 megabits per second for 720p.For PremiumBeat’s full exporting-and-uploading workflow, check out our comprehensive breakdown. And for more Instagram filmmaking tips and tricks, check out these resources:Create and Animate the UI of Instagram with Adobe After Effects8 Cinematographers to Follow on InstagramHOW TO MAKE CINEMATIC INSTAGRAM STORIES – PREMIERE PROInstagram Filters for FCPX, Premiere Pro and After EffectsHow to Edit and Encode Videos for Instagram
Establishing shots should be subtle, not only communicating location in time and space but also setting the tone for the story about to take place.How did establishing shots develop, and what can they do for the narrative in your film? Let’s take a look.Early establishing shots in silent films were just a silhouette of a city with a name card. Orsen Wells’s Citizen Kane (1941), the source of many modern cinema conventions, added some live footage of monkeys in front of its ominous painted castle.As film evolved, each successive generation of filmmakers pushed the envelope, and a visual language emerged for situating the audience as artfully as possible in the world of the film without communicating more information than the audience can absorb.Image via Citizen Kane.A densely layered cityscape or an architectural wide shot can both be overwhelming if they appear in a straight cut — the eye doesn’t know where to look. A device emerged in the ’70s and ’80s whereby a camera could tilt up or down, slowly revealing the city or building, which changed how filmmakers could transition into these shots.This has become a trope — a helicopter flies over the water, only showing reflections as the opening credits roll, then slowly tilting up to reveal the shining lights of a city. This has become a trope for a reason. It gives our eyes time to adjust and anticipate the coming vista. It allows us to arrive in the world of the story.Some films take this to the next level by pushing into a specific building (or window) of the city, then cutting to that office. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight pushes in on the rooftops of Gotham, and later of Hong Kong, to find the Dark Knight himself standing guard over the city.These shots work by threading together different elements, slowly introducing us to how they are related. Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983) has some incredibly stylish establishing shots, none more so than the one when Tony visits his mother for the first time in America. It starts on a neon pink sky, punctured by industrial towers. A shiny white Cadillac drives into the frame. The camera cranes down, revealing a small-but-well-maintained house, as the car pulls up and Tony gets out.Image via Scarface (Universal).In just ten seconds, we understand that a criminal son is visiting his poor-but-upstanding mother on the wrong side of the tracks. Each element is introduced in turn, and we make the connections as they appear. It’s an incredibly artful, stylish piece of filmmaking, even more surprising since only twenty minutes before — in the same movie — we were watching a guy being dismembered with a chainsaw.Great establishing shots not only tell us where we are, they connect the characters to the location in a way that let us consider those connections.Skyfall.Consider these two shots: one from Trading Places, the other from Skyfall. One starts a scene, the other finishes a scene. Trading Places shows us the town we are in, craning down as a car comes to a halt to reveal our characters and begin the dialogue. In Skyfall, the scene develops after a conversation between our characters and their journey — the camera cranes up as the car turns into a driveway, revealing the name of the film and the setting for the final act.Both shots reveal elements slowly, building the atmosphere in a way a straight cut couldn’t. Establishing shots work best when they’re not standalone shots but, rather, a sequence of frames linked in a single shot, releasing critical information at a pace the audience can follow.Cover image via Skyfall (Columbia Pictures).Looking for more on cinematography? Check out these articles.Is the GoPro 7 Black the Best Action Camera on the Market?6 Slow Motion Cameras You Can AffordProduction Tips: Working With a Color Checker on Your Next ShootAdd Flavor to Your Footage by Implementing Color ScienceCamera Insights: The Best A-Cam and B-Cam Video Setups
Unit stills photographers shoot the majority of promotional material and behind-the-scenes stills, but many people don’t know much about their role.It’d be a fair assessment to say that the unit stills photographer is perhaps one of the most overlooked roles in film production.Unit stills photographers seem to be everywhere on set, but you don’t see them. One tool that helps them stay so stealthy is the sound blimp. It’s a camera housing that’ll significantly reduce the sounds of the mirror folding up and shutter firing.However (as you can hear in the video above) it doesn’t mute the sound entirely. 90-95 percent of the time, though, the blimp enables the photographer to shoot unnoticed while the camera rolls.The majority of mirrorless cameras also have an electronic shutter, and as such, people have long wondered if mirrorless cameras would one day render the sound blimp obsolete. Of course, without the mirror reflex and the option to disable the mechanical shutter, the mirrorless camera is (on paper) the perfect, silent tool. At the beginning of what we could consider the Mirrorless vs. DSLR war, it didn’t seem likely that the mirrorless format was going to kill this tool any time soon. There were sensor limitations, continuous shooting wasn’t as fast, and autofocus points were lacking. They, quite simply, couldn’t measure up to the standard of professional DSLRs.Fast forward ten years, and, well, things have changed.Sound BlimpsLast year, longstanding blimp manufacturer Jacobson Sound Blimps announced it would be ceasing operations as the company CEO, Mark Jacobson, would be retiring:He writes:After fifty-two wonderful years, Jacobson Photographic Instruments wishes to happily announce our CEO, CFO, Head Technical Designer, and Chief Floor Sweeper Mark Jacobson’s retirement to the beautiful Ojai valley. Before I ride off into the sunset, I want to make sure all of the Amazing Photographers who have given me such a great life will have everything they need to get through their transition into the quiet, mirrorless camera world. If anyone needs a new blimp body, lens tube, repair, or tune-up of any kind, I’m keeping the office/shop open through August 25th, before closing the doors forever. Also, if you know of anyone interested in the machine shop equipment, it will all be available after I finish filling everybody’s orders, so come by early and take a look. I would especially love to see the equipment continuing on in Hollywood, helping to make that Hollywood Movie Magic for another lucky person’s lifetime.Thanks Everyone,Mark JacobsonThe Jacobson Sound Blimp reduces the sound caused by the shutter.The interesting tidbit from Mr. Jacobson’s announcement was the mention of the “quiet, mirrorless camera world.” Pushing into 2020, it’s now a different story regarding the functionality of mirrorless cameras, when compared to the DSLR. Ten years later, we have Sony releasing the A7R IV, a full-frame mirrorless camera that has a whopping sixty-one megapixel sensor, making it a somewhat faux medium-format camera, that can deliver photos with 9504 x 6336 pixels. And then, the likes of A9 line boasts 20 fps continuous shooting.Given that these cameras shoot in strict silence, without the need of a clunky shell, the sound blimp for the DSLR has become a dated device. I was looking to link a couple of manufacturers throughout this article. As of today, most websites are now defunct (Jacobson, Fatboy) or if the brand is still in operation — such as AquaTech — their sound blimp is no longer stocked.Shutter SpeedBased on interviews and comments online, while some have fully jumped over to mirrorless cameras, for many, a mirrorless camera and a blimped DSLR are a go-to setup. There are still a few instances where the electronic shutter doesn’t work well, depending on the model of camera. For example, banding under artificial lighting. Fluorescent lights run at a frequency of either 60 Hz or 50 Hz, if in a PAL region. Although, we typically associate anything electronic to be faster than the mechanical counterpart, the electronic shutter for most mirrorless cameras (save the Sony A9) has a slower readout speed than a mechanical shutter. As a result, banding will occur when pushing for faster shutter speeds.You want to be mindful of your shutter speed when shooting in artificial light.You can work around this problem by merely shooting at a shutter speed that correlates with the AC frequency of the host location. Either 1/60 or slower for 60 Hz, and 1/50 or slower for 50 Hz. The primary issue with these shutter speeds is that they’re not generally going to pause fast action, and any movement is going to cause motion blur.Likewise, a Unit Stills Photographer will capture an immense number of photos per day — a number like 500 photos would be on the low end. Yet, when compared to the number of photos you can capture per charge on a mirrorless — say comparing the Nikon D5 (DSLR) to the Nikon Z6 (mirrorless) — you’d be looking at a tremendously different output. The D5 can capture 3780 shots per battery charge, whereas the Z6 will capture around 310 shots per charge.The Pros TakeIn the video discussion below, Vanguard has a lengthy thirty-minute discussion with esteemed and legendary stills photographer Jasin Boland.At one point, a viewer from the live show asks if he’s using mirrorless cameras, and Jasin replies as follows:A lot of guys have started to go mirrorless. I’m a Nikon guy, as some may know . . . The reason why I’m still on the DSLR and blimped cameras is because I use D5s. I need that 12 fps, and I need my focus to be accurate.However, this interview was from 2017. Since then, we’ve seen the Nikon Z line — a mirrorless full-frame line that represses a number of those concerns. Jasin did go on to say that he’d be ready for mirrorless in a year, and I recently reached out to him via Instagram, and he did confirm that he now shoots with a mirrorless system and a blimped camera.RelicWhile it’s likely you’ll still be seeing blimps on sets for the next year or two, I’d wager that mirrorless will soon deal the final blow, truly making the sound blimp a relic of film production.If a mirrorless camera — with the needed functions for onset photography — is out of your budget range, and you can’t find a blimp on the market, many creatives have taken to making their own with excellent results. Cover image via Jacobson Photographic Instruments.Looking for more articles on filmmaking equipment? Check these out.Learning Curve: Using a Steadicam for the Right ShotWhy Tungsten Lighting in Filmmaking Is Still Alive and Thriving How to Build and Use the Swiss Frame Book LightBuilding Your Own Car Rig — Commercial Insider EditionWill an Electronic Viewfinder Help You Get Better Shots?
America isn’t a country so much as it is an idea.America is an idea about freedom, and freedom is man’s natural state and disposition. The first people to find their way here came from different places, but they were all chasing the same idea.America is the idea that one should be free to pursue their version of happiness, whatever they believe that to be, as long as they don’t infringe on anyone else’s rights.It’s the idea that you mostly govern yourself, instead of being governed by those who believe they know what’s best for and how you should live (or those who believe they had an absolute right to tell you what you will or will not do). You still mostly govern yourself in America, even if the Federal Register grows larger and more obtrusive every year.America is the idea that one can have a better life and provide the same to their families. It’s never been the guarantee of a better life, as many who have pursued it and failed have discovered. But America has always been the place where a better life could be pursued and mostly found.There is a reason more people still show up on these shores in numbers far greater than any other country on Earth. It’s because they recognize themselves in the idea that is America. They weren’t born In America, but some part of the idea was born in them. They recognized themselves as American long before they ever arrived in the United States. There are still Americans who happened to born in other countries waiting for a chance to come home for the very first time.America is still the only country where you can show up and change your national identity by simply saying so, regardless of where you were born or how long you’ve lived here. If an American man moved to France, he would always be an American. But if a Frenchman moved to America, all he would have to do is speak the words, “I am now an American,” and no one would believe the statement untrue. We’d recognize that he is an American, regardless of the place of his birth.Wanting to be American is almost all of being American. That is what America means. Essential Reading! Get my 2nd book: The Lost Art of Closing “In The Lost Art of Closing, Anthony proves that the final commitment can actually be one of the easiest parts of the sales process—if you’ve set it up properly with other commitments that have to happen long before the close. The key is to lead customers through a series of necessary steps designed to prevent a purchase stall.” Buy Now
Distancing itself from coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) recent approach in Kashmir, ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday said it “will work towards holding a dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan.”“Resolution of the Kashmir issue is an article of faith with the PDP. It forms the core of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision as he believed neither war nor any machinations were substitute to dialogue and reconciliation,” said PDP vice-president Mohammad Sartaj Madani.He warned that the “people of Kashmir were agonised by the confrontationist politics and provocative voices”.“There are many who spoil [the atmosphere]. In such a situation, the crisis will only worsen. There will be endless violence wounding the paradise beyond healing,” he said.Referring to the statements made by the BJP leadership on Kashmir, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Mr. Madani said: “Mr. Singh’s statement that ‘the government was making efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue at the earliest’ assumes significance. The PDP has forged an alliance with the BJP to see that the State comes out of instability and will ensure this objective is accomplished.”The PDP leader said there was an urgency “to give the suffering people much-needed relief by setting the stage for reconciliation and dialogue with all stakeholders, including Hurriyat and Pakistan.”The PDP’s push for dialogue comes as senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Ram Madhav and Jitendra Singh, ruled out any dialogue with the Hurriyat in their recent statements.Admitting that Kashmir was again in a crisis, Mr. Madani, considered very close to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, called for “clarity on both the approach as well as the objective” of the Centre in J&K.The PDP made it clear that “any delay in implementation of the agenda of alliance will have the region back to the vicious cycle of violence.”“The PDP is in alliance with the BJP on a clear agenda of peace and dialogue on Kashmir. It was agreed upon by both [the parties] as part of the agenda. Our party will follow this with fidelity and against all odds,” said Mr. Madani.Claiming that the voices in favour of a solution “are bound to become louder”, he said, “Honesty demands that people’s sufferings end and their genuine aspirations are met, which is not possible without a sincere desire for gaining the trust of all stakeholders.”He said a spell of reconciliation from 2002 to 2005 between India and Pakistan “showed the way.”“Mr. Sayeed earned goodwill across the borders for his ideas and agendas,” said the PDP leader.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi kicked off his party’s Meghalaya campaign with a two-day trip to the State on Tuesday.“Huge crowds, excitement and energy here in Meghlaya where we launched our campaign today [Tuesday] for the Assembly polls. My family and I have had a special bond with the people of the northeast and I enjoy renewing and strengthening it with every visit,” tweeted Mr. Gandhi.On Day One, he addressed a meeting of Congress workers at Jowai, about 70 km from Shillong, and later attended a music festival in there to mark the completion of five years by the Congress government.Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is the only Chief Minister in the recent past who has completed a full five-year term, as the hill State had a history of leadership change and defections in quick succession before him. But the Congress faces stiff anti-incumbency and an aggressive BJP and its ally National People’s Party in these elections.On Saturday, the Congress released 57 names for the 60 member assembly.
Former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was declared winner from the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency after his lone rival withdrew his nomination on Monday.This is the second such victory for Mr. Rio, currently Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha member, in the space of 20 years. He won uncontested as a Congress candidate in 1998 when a boycott call made other parties shun the election.Pre-poll allianceThis time, he contested as a candidate of a new regional party, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), which stitched together a pre-poll alliance with the BJP.“The NPF [Naga People’s Front] candidate withdrew his nomination today [Monday] and the only other candidate of the NDPP was declared winner,” Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha said.NPF spokesperson Sebastian Zumvu said the party was surprised by Mr. Angami’s decision. “But he must have realised his chances were very slim,” he said.BJP elatedLeaders of the NDPP and the BJP said Mr. Rio’s victory augured well for the alliance. “I did not expect victory to come so early. This has fuelled our confidence of a good show on February 27 [the day of polling],” Mr. Rio told The Hindu.He won the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 after serving as Nagaland’s Chief Minister for 11 years since 2003. But he made several attempts to return to State politics after anointing T.R. Zeliang as his successor.A power struggle saw Mr. Rio quit the NPF, the party he had formed along with Kewekhape Therie, now the State Congress president, and join the NDPP a few weeks ago.In 1998, Mr. Rio and Mr. Therie were among 43 Congress candidates who won the Assembly election unopposed. A similar situation happened in Arunachal Pradesh too. Of the 42 Congress candidates who won the 2014 Assembly elections in that State, 11 won it uncontested.
The Haryana Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a Bill which provides for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less. After Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Haryana has become the third State where the Assembly has approved the provision of capital punishment for such sexual offenders, the House was informed. The Criminal Law (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2018, moved by the State’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, was passed on the last day of the budget session. The Bill was passed unanimously with INLD and Congress members also lending their support. A few Congress members put forth some suggestions, with senior leader Kiran Choudhary suggesting death penalty and harsher provisions for all rapists irrespective of the age of victims. “After Section 376-A of the Penal Code, the following Section shall be inserted, namely 376-AA,” the Bill stated. Under section 376-AA, in case of rape of a girl up to 12 years of age, there will be a punishment of death or rigorous imprisonment of not less than 14 years which may extend to imprisonment for life that is for remainder period of persons natural life, according to the legislation. A provision 376-DA has also been added after section 376-D of the penal code. Under section–376-DA, if a girl upto 12 years of age is raped by one or more persons constituting a group, each of those persons shall be deemed to have committed the offence of rape and will be punished with death or rigorous imprisonment for a term which will not be less than 20 years, but which may extend to life along with a fine. The Bill also provides for making the existing criminal laws related to other sexual offences more stringent. The punishment under Section 354 of the IPC (Assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty) will not be less than two years (earlier not less than one year) but may extend up to seven years (earlier up to five years).Provision of fine The new additions also include provisions of fining the convict and any such fine will be paid to the victim. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, during his speech in the House, expressed anguish over recent incidents of rape in the State. He rejected charge levelled by some Opposition members that politics was the reason for bring the tougher law.
Ahead of elections for urban bodies, State Assembly and Lok Sabha, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has started building up direct social media links with party workers in his home district Ganjam.The think tank of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is using social media platform WhatsApp for the purpose. To educate grassroot-level workers about use of social media to remain in regular touch with their party high command, the BJD used professional trainers to train party workers about it. Training camps were held in all the 13 Assembly constituencies of Ganjam district from May 20 to 23.According to sources, the target is to link around 5,000 BJD workers from each of these Assembly segments with a WhatsApp number of the BJD chief completely dedicated for Ganjam district. All the 13 Assembly constituencies in Ganjam district are represented by BJD MLAs and the CM. Feedback receivedSpeaking to The Hindu, former State Minister and Ganjam district president of the BJD Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy said, “Within a few days we have started to receive feedback related to satisfaction of party workers regarding this direct link with our party head. He hoped that this will motivate party workers to strengthen the party organisation in Ganjam district further.” Because of it party workers are able to send messages to the CM and BJD chief directly and are also able to get his messages immediately, he added.
Congress MLA from Manipur Yamthong Haokip was arrested on Friday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a missing arms case, according to an official statement. The NIA is probing the case pertaining to theft of 56 pistols and 58 magazines from the Director General (of Police) pool armoury located within the premises of 2nd Manipur Rifles Battalion, Imphal. These weapons went missing between 2016 and early 2017.“Yamthong Haokip was arrested on Friday for his involvement in procuring police pistols illegally and distributing them to different terrorist groups to wage war against the State,” the NIA said in the statement.Remanded in custody Haokip, a member of the Legislative Assembly from Manipur’s Saikul, was produced before a special court in Imphal. He has been remanded in judicial custody, the probe agency said. “Owing to his recent illness, the NIA judge ordered jail authorities to admit him in a government hospital,” it said.During the investigation by the NIA, one of the missing pistols was recovered at Mantri Pukhri in Imphal on July 30, 2018, during the search conducted at the residence of Haokip, besides other incriminating articles, the statement said. During the investigation, sufficient material and other evidence was collected which established the complicity of the MLA in the case, it said. The NIA has recovered 14 weapons till date in the case and the investigation is continuing.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s three-day Kolhapur tour last week saw bonhomie between him and Swabhimani Paksha leader and MP Raju Shetti, leading to rumours about new alliances against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before elections. During a closed-door meet, Mr. Shetti reportedly invited Mr. Pawar to join him in another farmers’ protest on November 29-30 against the Modi government’s “anti-famer” policies in New Delhi.Mr. Pawar has allegedly backed Mr. Shetti’s candidature from the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha constituency in Kolhapur for the 2019 Parliamentary election. The move, however, has upset candidates within the NCP as well as the Congress in the Kolhapur-Sangli belt.Mr. Shetti, a two-time MP from Hatkanangale, was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally, who exited from the NDA in August last year. After winning the Shirol Assembly seat as an Independent in 2004, he trumped the NCP’s MP Nivedita Mane to win the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha constituency in Kolhapur in the 2009 Parliamentary poll. He defeated former Congress MP Kallapa in the 2014 Parliamentary election. “Ms. Mane and Mr. Awade have expressed their disapproval to Mr. Pawar in person over backing Mr. Shetti for the Hatkanangale seat,” said an NCP leader from Kolhapur. Before the last Parliamentary election, Mr. Shetti had hoped that allying with the BJP would help shake off Mr. Pawar’s yoke from the sugar belt.In February, Mr. Shetti had met Mr. Pawar in New Delhi. Mr. Shetti has launched milk blockades against the State BJP government and cranked up the pressure on sugar mill owners by demanding they pay up due arrears to farmers.A parallel rift within his own party ultimately led to the ouster of his one-time close aide, Sadabhau Khot from the Swabhimani Paksha in August last year. Mr. Khot, who is Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Marketing in the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet, floated his own outfit, the ‘Rayat Kranti Sanghatana’ in Kolhapur. He has already announced his candidature for the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha seat.
A cold wave swept through Delhi on Wednesday morning as the minimum temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter, the Met office said.“The minimum temperature was recorded at 3.6 degree Celsius, four notches below the season’s average. It is the lowest temperature recorded so far this year,” it said. Delhi has been reeling under a cold wave for the past a few days. On December 23, the minimum temperature was recorded at 3.7 degrees Celsius. It is expected to dip to 3.0 degrees Celsius after December 28. The weatherman has predicted clear skies throughout the day on Wednesday and the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius. According to the Met department, humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 97%.On Tuesday, the minimum temperature had settled at 5.0 degrees Celsius.Water supplies freezeThe cold wave has resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar, and residential water supply pipes in Srinagar and other towns of the Valley.Leh town in Ladakh region recorded the lowest temperature this winter as mercury plummeted to minus 17.1C last night, a Met department official said.The nearby Kargil recorded a low of minus 14.4C, he said.Srinagar — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — which recorded the coldest night in 11 years on Monday at minus 6.8C, experienced a similar minimum temperature last night at minus 6.7C, the official said.He said Qazigund — the gateway town to the Valley — in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.9C, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 5.4C last night.Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.4C. The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir, settled at minus 7.9C, the official said.The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest place in the Valley at minus 9.4C.Himachal hits minus 11.1The minimum temperature also dropped by a few notches in most parts of Himachal Pradesh. The lowest temperature in the State was recorded in tribal district Lahaul and Spiti’s administrative centre Keylong at minus 11.1 degrees Celsius, Director of the MeT Centre, Shimla, Manmohan Singh said. Besides Manali, Solan, Chamba, Kalpa, Seobagh, Sundernagar and Bhuntar were shivering at sub zero level during the period, he added The minimum temperature in Kalpa was recorded at minus 4 degrees Celsius, Manali at minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, Seobagh at minus 2.7, Sundernagar at minus 1.3, Bhuntar at minus 1, Solan at minus 0.7 and Chamba at minus 0.4 degree Celsius, he added. However, the minimum temperature in Shimla was 2.7 degrees Celsius and in Dalhousie it was 1.6 degrees Celsius during the period, he added
Lalu calls the shots from hospitalNotwithstanding the fodder scam conviction, opposition politics coalesces around RJD chief Amarnath TewaryPatnaRashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad has been in prison for over a year now after being convicted in fodder scam cases, but he continues to be the biggest electoral glue for the opposition parties in the State.The government hospital in Ranchi, where he is admitted for medical attention, has lately become the epicentre of the seat-sharing confabulations among leaders of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance).“One may take Lalu out of Bihar, but no one can take Bihar out of Lalu… for nearly three decades he has been at the centre of State politics,” said senior RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari.After the party’s parliamentary board meeting in Patna recently, RJD leaders authorised Mr. Prasad to take a final call on party candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as also seat-sharing arrangements with the party’s alliance partners.“Lalu’s vote bank has increased since his imprisonment as was reflected in the Assembly and Lok Sabha bypoll results,” said political anayst Ajay Kumar. “It has also given him an opportunity to create a political base for his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav.”“Despite all the opposition voices, there is no leader in Bihar today who has mass support like Lalu. He is the political pulse of the State,” said Mr. Kumar.State RJD leaders believe that Mr. Prasad would be able to finalise seat-sharing arrangements with the party’s alliance partners soon. “Leaders of almost all alliance partners have met Laluji at the Ranchi hospital and an announcement on seat sharing would be made soon,” said State RJD chief Ram Chandra Purve.However, BJP leaders refuse to accept the political and electoral invincibility of Mr. Prasad. “Lalu is no more a mass leader but a caste leader… what happened to his invincibility in the 2005 Assembly and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls? His vote share too is decreasing,” a senior State BJP leader said.“Lalu is now a spent force. He is in jail in corruption cases and several of his family members too are facing charges. We all know very well what the previous RJD regime was all about…everywhere there was loot and crime,” said Janata Dal (United) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.His party leaders, however, are hopeful that he would get bail and come out to campaign in the upcoming polls. In the 2015 Assembly polls, he addressed nearly 300 rallies and public meetings. “The bail petition was filed in Supreme Court in the last week of February. We hope Lalu gets bail and comes out of jail to campaign,” Mr. Tiwari said.