News From Here & There

YouTube Changes It's Copyright Violation Policy
It used to be that if you had three "strikes" against your YouTube account for uploading copyrighted material, then they would remove the account permanently. YouTube has now changed the policy,  and re-vamped their "Copyright Education Center." They also now require users who receive takedown notices to go to "copyright school."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation applauds these changes, though they think they could do still more:
As an initial matter, if YouTube is going to ask users to learn more about copyright when they get a takedown notice, they should require the same of rightsholders whose takedowns are disputed. As we have been reminded all too often, many content owners are badly in need of copyright education.
Electronic Frontier Foundation: YouTube Sends Users To Copyright School: Will Content Owners Have to Go, Too?



Roger Deakins Continues His Move To Digital
Cinematographer Roger Deakins has been talking about going to digital for the past year, so it's not really news to see that Roger just finished Now using the Arri Alexa, and that "I'm probably going to use Alexa on my next shoot — it seems very likely." What is interesting is that it appears that movie is the next James Bond movie.

There are some holdouts though, and the article reports that The Dark Knight Rises will be shot on film because director Christopher Nolan prefers "to shoot on film."

But Deakins says about the movie Now:
"I did a test on Alexa, and it looked right for the movie. We were doing a lot of night shooting in downtown L.A. It wasn't a big-budget film, so we were using existing streetlights and boosting with a practical light. I wouldn't have had enough exposure or the range or shadows with film."
Hollywood Reporter: Cinematographer Roger Deakins Switching From Film to Digital Camera
LATimes: Sony and MGM finalize James Bond, co-financing partnership



Title Design: Saul Bass
Saul Bass designed some of the most iconic movie titles sequences. Christian Annyas has a website where he has assembled still sequences showing many of these sequences.
The Movie title stills collection: Saul Bass

I came across the above after seeing Steven Heller's article at The Atlantic which highlights the fact that studios aren't using Bass movie poster designs for their DVD releases.
TheAtlantic: How Hollywood Butchered Its Best Movie Posters



Edward Burns Invites Fans Music For His Next Movie
For his latest indie movie, Edward Burns first invited fans to submit movie poster designs (to be used at the Tribeca Film Festival) and that went so well that he's now looking for music:
Edward Burns' upcoming film Newlyweds is looking for a song for placement in the film. Submissions open on April 12, and will close on April 20 at 9:00 am PST / 12:00 pm EST. Edward Burns will listen to and select the winning track by end of day on Friday, April 22. 
Soundcloud: Newlyweds Song Contest

indieWire talks to Burns about the low budget film, and how he came to invite fans to submit work for it.
indieWire: EXCLUSIVE: Edward Burns Wants You to Choose His Movie’s Poster and Song



Canon 5D Mark III Rumor
CanonRumors reports on DIGIC V, the next iteration of the Canon processor, and which will probably be in the next 5D Mark III.
CanonRumors: DIGIC V [CR1]



Why Cisco Killed The Flip
Margueriite Reardon at CNET tries to explain why Cisco killed the Flip:
The business unit's sales fell 19 percent versus the prior year, and its market share dropped to 17 percent, NPD's data shows. But NPD analyst Stephen Baker attributes the decline in Flip camera sales to "strategic marketing missteps, and more aggressive competition, as opposed to any evidence of an underlying fall in demand."
CNET: Why Cisco killed the Flip mini camcorder



The Hobbit
Peter Jackson has posted the first behind-the-scenes, making-of video for The Hobbit.
Facebook: THE HOBBIT Start of Production

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