Synopses & Reviews
The Eyes Have It explores those rarified screen moments when viewers are confronted by sights that seem at once impossible and present, artificial and stimulating, illusory and definitive.
Beginning with a penetrating study of five cornfield sequencesandmdash;including The Wizard of Oz, Arizona Dream, and Signsandmdash;Murray Pomerance journeys through a vast array of cinematic moments, technical methods, and laborious collaborations from the 1930s to the 2000s to show how the viewer's experience of andquot;realityandquot; is put in context, challenged, and willfully engaged.
Four meditations deal with andldquo;reality effectsandrdquo; from different philosophical and technical angles. andldquo;Vivid Rivalsandrdquo; assesses active participation and critical judgment in seeing effects with such works as Defiance, Cloverfield, Knowing, Thelma and Louise, and more. andldquo;The Two of Usandrdquo; considers double placement and doubled experience with such films as The Prestige, Niagara, and A Stolen Life. andldquo;Being Thereandrdquo; discusses cinematic performance and the problems of believability, highlighting such films as Gran Torino, The Manchurian Candidate,and#160; In Harmandrsquo;s Way, and other films. andldquo;Fairy Landandrdquo; explores the art of scenic backing, focusing on the fictional world of Brigadoon, which borrows from both hard-edged realism and evocative landscape painting.
Review
andquot;For an understanding of the impact and consequences of digital visual effects in the movies, this book is essential. Prince knows his stuff, and his perspective is wise and compelling.andquot;
Review
andquot;Whereas many books have debated the merits of digital effects in cinema, few of them truly explore the many layers of cinematic experience that are made possible by all kinds of technology.
Digital Visual Effects in Cinema is one of the exceptions to this trend in that Prince examines the various levels at which digital effects can be integrated into a film, giving a rich understanding of the range of possibilities and their implications for the production and consumption of a film. An eyjoyable, informative read. Highly recommended.andquot;
Review
andquot;Cristina Venegas's well-researched and highly original work brings to the forefront an important and under-researched topic.andquot;
Review
andquot;This book will make an important contribution both to Cuban studies and to Hispanic media studies.andquot;
Review
andquot;A nuanced analysis based on careful research and firsthand experience. This work will benefit readers interested in Cuba's recent transformation and also those seeking to understand the emergence of new media in Latin America and the challenges digital culture poses. Highly recommended.andquot;
Review
andquot;Pomerance's sound scholarship, provocative readings of classic films, and meticulous archival research make this beautifully written work both pleasurable and illuminating to read.andquot;
Review
andquot;Real history and technology cling to Pomeranceandrsquo;s boots in his delightful, instructive romp through acres of films in our 'Field of Dreams.' Enjoy this down-to-earth study of illusion.andquot;
Review
andquot;Pomerance explores how the mechanics of cinema create engaging and irrationally persuasive illusions of reality. Thanks to [his] technical expertise and command of historical context, the book is constantly bringing new light to familiar material. Pomerance summons films arty and pop, classic and current, major and forgettable, with a unique combination of tecnical savvy, theory, and analytic sensitivity. It is exciting and delightful to read.andquot;
Review
andquot;Fresh and intriguing, Hidden in Plain Sight offers a wealth of fascinating historical information on the myriad ways and contexts in which moving images have evoked experiences of wonder from audiences. Williamsonandrsquo;s interest in the material is infectious.andquot;
Review
andquot;Williamsonandrsquo;s superb book is a broadly conceived and thought-provoking reconsideration of the consanguinity of magic and moving images that obliges us to contemplate the special sense of wonder magic induces.andquot;
Synopsis
Stephen Prince argues for an understanding of digital technologies as an expanded toolbox, available to enhance both realist films and cinematic fantasies. He offers a detailed exploration of each of these tools, from lighting technologies to image capture to stereoscopic 3D. Integrating aesthetic, historical, and theoretical analyses of digital visual effects, Digital Visual Effects in Cinema is an essential guide for understanding movie-making today.
Synopsis
Avatar. Inception. Jurassic Park. Lord of the Rings. Ratatouille. Not only are these some of the highest-grossing films of all time, they are also prime examples of how digital visual effects have transformed Hollywood filmmaking. Some critics, however, fear that this digital revolution marks a radical break with cinematic tradition, heralding the death of serious realistic movies in favor of computer-generated pure spectacle.
Digital Visual Effects in Cinema counters this alarmist reading, by showing how digital effectsandndash;driven films should be understood as a continuation of the narrative and stylistic traditions that have defined American cinema for decades. Stephen Prince argues for an understanding of digital technologies as an expanded toolbox, available to enhance both realist films and cinematic fantasies. He offers a detailed exploration of each of these tools, from lighting technologies to image capture to stereoscopic 3D. Integrating aesthetic, historical, and theoretical analyses of digital visual effects, Digital Visual Effects in Cinema is an essential guide for understanding movie-making today.
Synopsis
The contentious debate in Cuba over Internet use and digital media primarily focuses on three issuesand#249;maximizing the potential for economic and cultural development, establishing stronger ties to the outside world, and changing the hierarchy of control. A growing number of users decry censorship and insist on personal freedom in accessing the web, while the centrally managed system benefits the government in circumventing U.S. sanctions against the country and in controlling what limited capacity exists.
Digital Dilemmas views Cuba from the Soviet Union's demise to the present, to assess how conflicts over media access play out in their both liberating and repressive potential. Drawing on extensive scholarship and interviews, Cristina Venegas questions myths of how Internet use necessarily fosters global democracy and reveals the impact of new technologies on the country's governance and culture. She includes film in the context of broader media history, as well as artistic practices such as digital art and networks of diasporic communities connected by the Web. This book is a model for understanding the geopolitic location of power relations in the age of digital information sharing.
Synopsis
During the 1980s, American cinema underwent enormous transformations. Blockbusters like
Raiders of the Lost Ark,
E.T., and
The Empire Strikes Back grabbed huge revenues for the studios. At the same time, the growth of home video led to new and creative opportunities for independent film production, resulting in many of the decade's best films. Both large- and small-scale filmmakers responded to the social, political, and cultural conditions of the time. The two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan spawned a new Cold War with the Soviet Union, which Hollywood film both embraced and critiqued. Also during this time, Hollywood launched a long-awaited cycle of films about the Vietnam War, exploring its impact both at home and abroad. But science fiction remained the era's most popular genre, ranging from upbeat fantasies to dark, dystopic visions.
Bringing together original essays by ten respected scholars in the field, American Cinema of the 1980s examines the films that marked the decade, including Ordinary People, Body Heat, Blade Runner, Zelig, Platoon, Top Gun, Aliens, Blue Velvet, Robocop, Fatal Attraction, Die Hard, Batman, and sex, lies and videotape.
Synopsis
The Eyes Have It explores those rarified screen moments when viewers are confronted by sights that seem at once impossible and present, artificial and stimulating, illusory and definitive. Murray Pomerance takes readers on an illuminating filmic journey through a vast array of cinematic moments, technical methods, and laborious collaborations from the 1930s to the 2000s to show how the viewerandrsquo;s experience of andldquo;realityandrdquo; is put in context and willfully engaged.
Synopsis
What does it mean to describe cinematic effects as andldquo;movie magic,andrdquo; or to say that the cinema is all a andldquo;trickandrdquo;? To answer these questions, Colin Williamson situates the cinema within a long tradition of magical practices and devices of wonder that combine art and science, involve deception and discovery, and evoke both awe and curiosity.
Hidden in Plain Sight shows how, even as they mystify audiences, cinematic illusions also encourage them to learn more about the technologies and techniques behind moving images.
About the Author
STEPHEN PRINCE is a professor at Virginia Tech. He has written or edited numerous books, including Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 1930andndash;1968; The Horror Film; and American Cinema of the 1980s: Themes and Variations, all published by Rutgers University Press.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Acronyms
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Inventing, Recycling, and Deploying Technologies
2 Media Technologies and "Cuban Democracy"
3 Tourism and the Social Ramifications of 3 Media Technologies
4 Film Culture in the Digital Millennium
5 Digital Communities and the Pleasures of Technology
Conclusion