Media

Khan!!!

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[VIDEO] Click through to the main Loop post. If you are at all a Star Trek fan, watch all the way to the end, well worth it.

These are the 61 best documentaries of all time

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Vogue:

Documentaries can be a hard sell, but it’s one that’s getting easier all the time. Once viewed as something stiff and obligatory, documentary film has, in recent years, risen to the top of the heap—thanks in no small part to some of the earth-shaking, needle-pushing, and ultimately world-changing films that are listed here, which find their focus in war, love, sex, death, and everything in between. And as for this list—its only qualifier is that these are the critically acclaimed, historically important, and pivotal films that a person who cares about film (and in doing so, often cares about humanity, in general) should really get to know.

It’s a list, with all that is good and bad about such things, but a pretty good list.

Note that it’s in alphabetical order.

Director Steven Soderbergh secretly shot new horror movie ‘Unsane’ entirely on Apple’s iPhone

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Neil Hughes, Apple Insider:

Details on “Unsane” have slowly trickled out in recent months, including the fact that the film was shot in secret and entirely on Apple’s iPhone, according to Entertainment Weekly. The film stars Claire Foy, Juno Temple, and Jay Pharoah, with Pharoah describing the picture as “reality-horror type” with some similarities to Jordan Peele-created smash hit “Get Out.”

The movie was filmed this summer, meaning the best iPhone it could have been shot on was the iPhone 7 Plus.

I’m looking forward to seeing this movie in the theater, at the very least to get a sense of the look of an iPhone shot movie on the big screen. It will be interesting to compare the look of this film with future films shot on an iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X.

Also, I loved Get Out and am a big fan of Claire Foy, Jay Pharoah, Steven Soderbergh.

Ohio State has a bit of fun with Apple

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Before you click to start the video in this tweet, realize that the card turning crowd caught at the end of the video usually spells out O-H-I-O, while chanting the same.

Too funny! […]

Face ID’s Innovation: Continuous Authentication

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[VIDEO] Rich Mogull, writing for TidBITS:

Put simply, Face ID is the most compelling advancement in security I have seen in a very long time. It’s game changing not merely due to the technology, but due to Apple’s design and implementation.

And:

I believe Face ID is slower at actual recognition than Touch ID, but it’s nearly impossible to notice due to the implementation. In the time it takes to move your finger to the Touch ID sensor, Face ID could have already unlocked your iPhone.

That’s the real Face ID revolution. Since you’re almost always looking at your phone while you’re using it, Face ID enables what I call “continuous authentication.”

This is a fascinating article, worth the read. But even better, if you’ve not yet seen it, is the video embedded in Rich’s piece, which I’ve embedded in the main Loop post.

In it, Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern tries her best to defeat Face ID using siblings, triplets, and a well crafted theatrical mask.

The iPhone X versus a professional video camera

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[VIDEO] FStoppers ran a long, side-by-side comparison test, shooting various video modes (including 4K/60fps) on both an iPhone X and a professional video camera.

The video (embedded in the main Loop post) is worth watching, all the way through. In a nutshell, for most use cases, the iPhone X looks every bit as good, if not better, than its bigger, bulkier, more expensive counterpart.

The 100-megapixel Moon

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SyFyWire, on an epic image of the moon created by artist Seán Doran:

I have seen the Moon countless times through my own telescopes in the past, and it’s never looked as breathtaking as this! Mind you, I had to shrink this shot considerably to get it to fit here; this is about 2,000 pixels wide.

And:

But then, this isn’t a single image: It’s a mosaic composed of images taken using the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA mission that has been circling the Moon since 2009.

And:

To get the correct perspective for the Moon as a globe, Doran took the images, along with altimeter data, and mapped them onto a sphere. That way features near the edge look foreshortened, as they really do when you look at the entire Moon. He also used Apollo images to make sure things lined up. So the image isn’t exactly scientifically rigorous, but it is certainly spectacular.

You can download a 16 MB version of the image here. Or go here and pan and zoom on a much larger version.

[Via Kottke.org]

Austin Mann’s detailed iPhone X camera review

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[VIDEO] One thing I love about Austin Mann’s reviews is that they focus on real-life scenarios, as opposed to numbers and grades.

Read the review, check out all the images, watch the embedded videos. You’ll definitely get a sense of what Austin sees in the iPhone X display and camera.

One particular video to make sure you watch is the one embedded in the main Loop post. It shows the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X displays side-by-side. The difference in the black-point for each display is obvious and, to me at least, surprisingly far apart. That iPhone X display is gorgeous.

Trailer for soon-to-be-released movie, “App: The Human Story”

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[VIDEO] From the App: The Human Story web site:

With the launch of the iPhone and subsequent devices, developers found themselves with a worldwide market hungry for their innovations: apps.

Yet, a renaissance needs cultivation, not exploitation. Ten years in, is the opportunity gone? Will artists find a way to create tools that elevate the human experience, or will the market be valued even above the impact to the future of the industry?

I am really looking forward to seeing this. Enjoy the trailer (embedded in the main Loop post).

[VIDEO] Apple’s official iPhone X guided tour

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[VIDEO] Thinking about getting an iPhone X? This is a well crafted guide to the iPhone X, with particular focus on gestures. Bravo, Apple. This is really helpful. Video embedded in the main Loop post.

Fantastically abstract ad for Apple Music

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[VIDEO] I absolutely love this Apple Music ad (embedded in main Loop post). Beautifully constructed, lots of eye candy, one of those videos that’s worth pausing just to get a sense of all the pieces.

Anyone know the origin of each of these elements? Ping me.

[VIDEO] Tim Cook on NBC Nightly News

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[VIDEO] This is relatively short (a bit over 3 minutes), worth watching in spite of its brevity. Tim Cook talks social media, why Apple is different than other companies, iPhone X, Face ID, and privacy. The video is embedded in the main Loop post.

View from on-board the fastest RC jet ever built

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[VIDEO] This video (embedded in the main Loop post) is really cool. Note that this is a point-of-view shot, lots of rolls, steep turns, so don’t watch if that sort of thing bothers you.

And if you have animals, turn the sound down, some pretty high pitched engine whine.

I love the setup at the beginning, priming the turbine, getting the jet started. Terrific fun.

Chopsticks

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[VIDEO] This is super old, but ran into it yesterday, thought it was worth a share (watch the video on the main Loop post).

  1. Spiderman as Emcee? Wonder what that was about.
  2. That’s a pretty solid list of musical borrowings. Scroll down in the comments for a liszt (sorry).

Enjoy.

VIDEO: Tim Cook and Angela Ahrendts, chatting at the new Chicago Apple Store

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[VIDEO] The video, embedded in the main Loop post, is only about 6 minutes long, worth the time. The questions are interesting, there’s some terrific footage of the new Chicago riverfront Apple Store, and there’s the chance to see Time Cook and Angela Ahrendts together, get a sense of their comfortableness with each other. Not something you can see in print.

One interesting bit about 5:27 in: Tim was asked about rumors of Angela being slated as the next CEO. Perfect deflection, and good response on Tim’s part.

Apple, Spielberg, and Bond

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Steven Mallas, Seeking Alpha (free regwall) on Apple and Steve Spielberg inking a deal to bring the series of Amazing Stories to Apple TV:

The plan is for there to be 10 episodes at a cost of $5 million each. That’s nothing to Apple, a drop in the bucket.

And:

Spielberg could shift some of his slate over to streaming services that are aching to differentiate themselves from the pack, primarily the alpha Netflix. Again, here’s where Apple and its cash hoard and its enormous market cap and its platforms that need to be programmed come in – they could help Spielberg distribute concepts that might not find a place elsewhere. Netflix arguably already does this. Think the recent Stephen King adaptation Gerald’s Game. On Netflix, it stands out. In theaters, maybe it wouldn’t have. There’s no way that Cook and Spielberg don’t understand that.

The whole article is interesting, especially when Mallas chews on the possibility of Apple buying the rights to James Bond, both existing movies and the rights to new content:

Comparison was made to Disney and its purchases of Marvel/Lucasfilm; Lucasfilm was all about Star Wars, and that cost billions of dollars to consummate. If either Amazon or Apple won the rights to Bond, then those companies could release new films and episodic series on their respective platforms, as well as release movies to theaters on a worldwide basis.

And:

Bond, though, doesn’t necessarily, in my mind, lend itself to capital investment in the same way that Star Wars or Marvel do. I’m not sure about how valuable a merchandising program for Bond would be, as an example.

Interesting comparison. Not sure Netflix thinks about merchandising at all.

Paper is not dead

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[VIDEO] When Apple launched the Mac, back in 1984, Steve Jobs said, “The paperless office is about as likely as the paperless bathroom.”

You have to wonder if the creators of this commercial, embedded in the main Loop post, had that quote in mind.

Enjoy.

Goodbye Uncanny Valley

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[VIDEO] This is an amazing look at the state of the art in computer graphics, movie CGI. The video is embedded on the main Loop page.

From the Vimeo page:

It’s 2017 and computer graphics have conquered the Uncanny Valley, that strange place where things are almost real… but not quite. After decades of innovation, we’re at the point where we can conjure just about anything with software. The battle for photoreal CGI has been won, so the question is… what happens now?

I found the whole thing riveting. We are so very close to a world filled with conjured realities that are indistinguishable from real life. When that becomes our reality, what then? [H/T Kottke]

Snap, NBCUniversal form joint Hollywood Studio dedicated to app-centric content

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Todd Spangler, Variety:

Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, is teaming with NBCUniversal to bring scripted programming — like short-form comedies and dramas — to mobile screens. The companies have established a studio joint venture to produce programming exclusively for the social-messaging and media platform.

And:

The companies have recruited Lauren Anderson, who has served as NBC Entertainment’s senior VP of current programming, to be the JV’s chief content officer. “Lauren was a great get for us,” said Mills, who has worked with Anderson on the NBC shows created for Snapchat. “She has tremendous experience, and instantly got what we were going for.”

Yet another twist in the unfolding story of what we’ll be watching in the future and who will hold the puppet strings. This is an industry in the midst of disruption. At some point, the models will settle down and we’ll see who is making money, long term, determine who survives, prospers.

The more companies that jump into the soup, the more chaotic the model. Might be an advantage for Apple to wait before jumping in whole hog just to let the new model form more fully, to let the money find its path. I find this whole thing fascinating.

VIDEO: Tim Cook on stage at the University of Oxford

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[VIDEO] Tim Cook was a guest at the launch of the Oxford Foundry, an entrepreneurial venture founded by the University of Oxford to channel startup efforts by the student community.

Tim’s intro starts at about 28:56. I’d start watching there. The interview starts at about 30:52.

Lots of interesting topics, including Tim’s start in life, his decision to take a role at Apple, and lots about Steve Jobs.

Compelling, worth your time to watch. The video is embedded at the end of the main Loop post.

Why Blade Runner is called Blade Runner

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Saw Blade Runner over the weekend. Very impressive movie, but it does beg the question. What the hell is a Blade Runner?

Abraham Riesman, Vulture:

Though the viewer is told in the opening text of Ridley Scott’s 1982 original that “special Blade Runner units” hunt renegade replicants — and though the term “Blade Runner” is applied to Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard a few times in the film — we’re never given an explanation of where the proper noun comes from. “Blade?” Deckard uses a gun, not a knife or sword. “Runner?” Sure, he runs at times, but not more than the average person might. Blade Runner 2049 has a few scenes that prominently feature scalpels, but they’re not wielded by a Blade Runner. The novel upon which Blade Runner was based, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, offers no clues: Deckard and his ilk are just cops, never referred to as Blade Runners. The term is impressionistic at best and nonsensical at worst.

Read on for the backstory on the origins of the term and how it found its way to director of the original, Ridley Scott. Fascinating story.

Deadline: Apple terminates deal for Weinstein Company Elvis series amid scandal

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Nellie Andreeva, Deadline:

I have learned that Apple has pulled the plug on an Elvis Presley biopic series from The Weinstein Company in light of the controversy that has engulfed TWC since last week’s explosive exposé about its co-founder Harvey Weinstein.

The article has a gossipy tone, this falls under the category of “a little birdie told me”, but it is both interesting and believable. The Weinstein Company is doing everything they can to distance themselves from this scandal.

If this story is true, Apple is bailing early in the life of the series, and pulling the plug on something that predates their deal with Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg (the team they brought in to run the Apple video division).

Coming to Apple Music: Bang! The Bert Berns Story

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[VIDEO] This looks to be a well crafted love letter to an unsung hero of the music industry. This could be a sweet spot for Apple Music, something I’d normally associate with HBO. A bit of a niche documentary, but foundational, something that adds value to my Apple Music subscription, something I can’t get on Spotify.

The film was produced by Bert Berns’ son and premiered at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival to great acclaim. Here’s a review.

Watch the trailer embedded in the main Loop post. Drops on October 24th. My calendar is marked.

A-Ha, live unplugged performance of Take On Me, last week

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If the headline means nothing to you, take a moment to immerse yourself in this (at the time) groundbreaking video, listen to the musical earworm that took over the world in 1984, the year the Mac was born.

Back? OK, now fast forward to last week, when A-Ha got together to perform an unplugged version of the song, slow enough that you can actually follow the lyrics. That video is embedded in the main Loop post.

Such a voice! Want a version with the original beat and a bit more falsetto? Here ya go.

The amazing story of an emerging GIF empire

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Nicole Laporte, Fast Company, on GIFs and the Emmys:

Then came the night’s biggest, and most controversial, moment: Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer rolled a faux presidential podium onto the stage to deliver a send-up of his infamous “largest audience” speech he gave the day after President Trump’s inauguration. Immediately, the Giphy crew began to splice the scene into GIF form. Part of Giphy’s genius lies in not posting the obvious clip, so Spicer himself wasn’t of much interest. Rather, they surveyed the sea of shocked and bewildered faces in the audience, looking for gold. They found it in Veep‘s Anna Chlumsky, her entire body contorted into an OMG expression—eyes bulging, neck veins popping—as she craned out of her seat for a better view of the strange performance. Within minutes, the editors had the three-second clip uploaded onto Giphy. It began to trend almost immediately. A week after the show, it’d been viewed more than 13 million times.

This is one corner of the future. Keep your eye on Giphy. I predict big things in their future.

In the meantime, this is a fascinating read, all the way through.

Studio Ghibli in real life

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[VIDEO] If you are a fan of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle, you will definitely recognize the style of this video (embedded in the main Loop post). Beautifully done.