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Applying a rule from Pixar with a camera from 1961
- pininja 4y agoWhere can I learn more about this Pixar concept? Fun photos!
- yottabyte47 4y agoAndrew Stanton talks about it in this TED Talk from 2012: https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story/ https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_grea...
- Wistar 4y ago"Unifying Theory of Two Plus Two" https://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/pixar-andrew-stanton-equation-make-audience-care https://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/pixar-andrew-stanton-equati... See also Inc's writeup: "This Hollywood Director's 2+2 Rule Will Make You Instantly More Persuasive and Charming. This incredibly simple rule for better storytelling is also incredibly powerful." "We would call this the unifying theory of two plus two. Make the audience put things together. Don't give them four; give them two plus two. The elements you provide in the order you placed them in is crucial to whether you succeed at engaging the audience." https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/storytelling-pixar-two-plus-two-rule.html https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/storytelling-pixar-two-...
- scubbo 4y agoThanks! This (to me) was way more interesting than the rest of the article :)
- Wistar 4y agoAnd also, somewhat related: Aerogramme Writers' Studio: "Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling" https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/03/07/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling/ https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/03/07/pixars-22-rules-...
- Cerium 4y agoI like that first escalator shot. It really embodies the 2+2 concept. At first I didn't get that the photos were related, but then it snaps that you are going to the focal point in the first photo.
- foolproofplan 4y agodiptych has existed before pixar
- mezentius 4y agoA small point: "Don't give the audience 4, give them 2 + 2", as articulated in that way, does not originate with Pixar and Andrew Stanton. It comes from the film director Ernst Lubitsch, as told to his disciple, Billy Wilder.
- zimpenfish 4y agoMinor nit: [1] cannot find any citation that it came from Lubitsch. [1] https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/05/04/two-plus/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/05/04/two-plus/
- mezentius 4y agoAside from Billy Wilder saying repeatedly--both in print and in person from 1976 onward--that it did? This is picking a nit on a nit, but I'm not sure that qualifies as 'quote investigation,' as by the same reasoning, we can't attribute anything to Socrates because his teachings were only later articulated by his students. You have to remember that we're talking about a pre-TED-talk era--that is, prior to the boom in independent cinema and 'the democratization of film'--in which émigré directors who worked within the studio system had no real incentive to lecture in public about how they did their work, particularly if, like Lubitsch, they never achieved fluency in English and retained a heavy Germanic accent. Since Lubitsch never produced any written instructive material about his process, it's not mysterious that it would be hard to find a citation for this idea. And while it's possible that Wilder made it up, there's no real evidence to suspect he did. After all, nearly all of the anecdotes we've heard about Lubitsch come from his colleagues. The quote is usually attributed to "Ernst Lubitsch, as told to Billy Wilder," which is entirely accurate as far as anyone knows, and was good enough for the fact checkers who reviewed the New Yorker's recent profile on Lubitsch [1]. [1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/ernst-lubitsch-made-the-hollywood-comedy-sublime https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/ernst-lubitsch...
- quickthrower2 4y agoAs someone not really into photography, I got a real sense for why people are passionate about it from this article and an insight into the mindset. That's a good skill!
- rayshan 4y agoDidn't know half-frame film cameras were a thing, really cool! Here's a diptych of a salt mine I shot when I visited Peru: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsjB07glcXs/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BsjB07glcXs/
- chakalakasp 4y agoBest half frame camera I've ever seen was designed by the same guy mentioned in the article: the Olympus Pen F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Pen_F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Pen_F
- rayshan 4y agoYea fascinating to read about Pen's history. I only knew it as a low cost mass market digital camera model.
- EZ-Cheeze 4y agohttps://www.instagram.com/p/Bu1sSM0lvjz/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu1sSM0lvjz/ this is a BALLER shot amigo
- rayshan 4y agoThank you!
- lahvak 4y agoI actually really like the Before/After example. In the second one when the guy and the bus are gone, all that is left is the light.
- bambax 4y agoOne thing one can do with a digital camera and some post-processing is to have a character move in the frame; here's one image of France's first lady walking in a public park for example: https://i.imgur.com/sC31sEf.png https://i.imgur.com/sC31sEf.png Or roller skating in front of the Musée d'Orsay: https://i.imgur.com/2kIlWSK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2kIlWSK.jpg
- malshe 4y agoThese look amazing! Particularly, the skater's picture is fascinating
- bambax 4y agoThanks!
- illwrks 4y agoWhat I would love is to have all of this all done in-camera. It would be great for children to get them interested without having all of the boring 'complicated' computer stuff afterward. Imagine a camera with a three-way switch, mode A, mode B 'normal', and mode C. Flick a switch to ModeA and then stack multiple exposures until I flick the switch back to normal at which point the camera composites the images into a single photo. Or Flick the switch to mode C and then take a slices of photos and then arrange them as diptychs, triptychs etc etc. until I flick the switch back to normal at which point the camera composites the images into a single photo. With screw on camera filters for IR, colour tints etc.
- bambax 4y agoGreat product idea. Cameras already have panorama & HDR modes, it's not super far-fetched to imagine selecting an object present on different frames and having the camera compose it, or even having the camera choose the relevant object automatically. The problem would be to put this in a camera for kids. If I judge by my own, kids are expert at breaking things. So the camera would have to be super strong, and super cheap, so that replacing it when it inevitably breaks isn't too painful. Interesting constraints...
- QuackyTheDuck 4y ago> While watching her, he realised the pictures would be out of focus because of the settings. He then decided to design a camera that won't let you make a mistake. This camera is the Olympus Pen ee series. I’m a bit surprised that the author doesn’t explain how the camera prevents out of focus photos (but mentions the auto exposure feature instead).
- random314 4y agoLooks like the camera has fixed focus. So the distance from the subject is fixed.
- hoseja 4y agoAh, the good old "the plebs sometimes make mistakes so we take away their choices. For their own good!" Fun to see it somewhere else than computers.
- woodruffw 4y agoI think it’s a little different in the analog camera world: it’s common to buy lenses or bodies with “fewer” features, since there are mechanical and image quality tradeoffs to stuffing everything into a single component. For example, it’s common to buy a “prime” lens, i.e. one that doesn’t zoom. But you wouldn’t describe that as taking away choice; it’s an intentional choice to prioritize size and other parameters (sharper images due to fewer elements, faster apertures).
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- sosull 4y agoI don't think the analogy quite carries over. With computers there are only a few major operating systems, so the simplification of design directly reduces choice. Cameras are different. There are a vast range of bodies and lenses to combine, all creating different possible images. And people can easily understand the difference between an automatic and a manual camera, or between autofocus, manual and fixed focus. That's just one more choice.
- tosh 4y agoBrings back fond memories of frontback, an app where you juxtapose 2 images (typically from the front camera and the back camera, hence the name). It had a ton of interesting content thanks to that concept. https://www.businessinsider.com/frontback-app-shuts-down-2015-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/frontback-app-shuts-down-201...
- flxflx 4y ago"I remember as a kid looking at the images on the back of video game cases and wishing I could explore these worlds". Same here. Love the idea and execution.
- woodruffw 4y agoAlso known as a diptych :-) I own a Pen F (the SLR version of the author’s camera), and they are indeed wonderful little bodies (and lenses, given their size). Having 72 (80 if you’re careful) frames per roll makes shooting on film a little interesting — it’s still fundamentally scarce, but not nearly as scarce as 24/36.
- shoaloak 4y agoA warning for those interested in the camera. I recently got a bit interested in photography and bought myself... an Olympus Pen EE2! However, selenium expires with exposure and mine was a dud. (Couldn't test since bought online). If you want to buy one make sure the selenium is still working. And yes, I took it apart to look for other faults. even tried a recipe to reionize the cells, but it was completely dead. If you buy one a good sign is if it still has the cap.
- Kaibeezy 4y ago“selenium expires with exposure” I can see the rabbit hole expanding before me… Would travel to Tokyo. Would spend excessive time in vintage camera shops. Would buy this camera. Would be disappointed if selenium is expired. How to be sure? How to fix? How to replace? What else to buy? OG LED watch shop! Sony/Tektronix o-scopes!
- scajanus 4y agoMine -- EE3 -- came without a cap but still works! I've been storing it in a case that blacks it out, but this is something that's good to know regardless.
- tiborsaas 4y agoWhat does selenium do in the camera? Can it be replaced? How to know it's working?
- jacquesm 4y agoIt's a little photovoltaic cell, the voltage output is proportional to the amount of light received. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium_meter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium_meter
- Finnucane 4y agoThese days it would probably cost less to buy a decent used handheld light meter than to fix an old built-in meter on a camera like the Pen. For years I've used a Gossen Luna Pro with 'spot' attachment.
- Linda703 4y ago[dead]
- ciroduran 4y agoDuring lockdown I wanted to start taking pictures in film again. After going through 2 disposable cameras I wanted something a bit more permanent. So I went to Amazon and searched for the cheapest film camera I could find. That was the AgfaPhoto Analoge 35mm, which costed £30. I've had so much fun with this camera! The plastic lens produces a noticeable vignette, along with a chromatic aberration on the edges. This means that this camera will never produce high-quality results, but that's absolutely fine! People also react in a different way when I present the camera for taking a picture. Some examples here: https://imgur.com/a/AyyZNDB https://imgur.com/a/AyyZNDB Of course it's more expensive than digital photography. Each film roll costs around £6-8, and it's costing around £17-20 to develop each one. The cool thing about film these days is that labs will scan the negatives, so you still get digital images ready to print.
- Jaruzel 4y agoAt those developing prices, is it now just cheaper to self-develop, and take advantage of bulk buying the chemicals and paper?
- tialaramex 4y agoIt depends if you also want a developing hobby. If what you enjoy is, say, walking about and taking photographs of natural stuff, then "Ooh, and I get to spend hours in a darkened room developing the photographs" might not be what you like about that.
- ghaff 4y agoAnd you're mostly constrained to B&W. (Yes, you can do color but it requires a lot tighter control of temperature and processes generally. I tried it and wasn't worth it even as someone who did B&W processing/printing for many years.) As you say, darkroom work is a whole other--and largely different--hobby.
- lm28469 4y agoFor development you don't need paper, that's the next step, printing. Color printing old school style basically disappeared though.
- xchip 4y agoThe rule is "Don't give the audience 4, give them 2 + 2." If you google it you will see it is not from Pixar, it's a common story telling approach.
- ChrisRR 4y agoMaybe it's my lack of artistic background but I don't really understand what point they're trying to make. I had to look up what this "Don't give them 4" was referring to, and it sounds like it means Don't give the audience the answer, give them context and let them figure it out. But even given that knowledge, I'm still not sure what point they're trying to make and how their photos relate to giving the audience context and what the camera has to do with it
- jhvkjhk 4y agoInstead of shoot one picture, the photographer shoot two connected pictures and let the audience figure out the connection. The man entering subway is an example, one picture is static but two pictures means an action. I'm not familiar with cameras but the author claim the Olympus Pen ee3 can compose two pictures into one, which is good for the 2+2.
- chris_st 4y agoIf I understand the article, the author says that the camera, instead of filling the full 36mm frame on each shot, only fills half. Regular processing, then, takes these pairs of half photos and prints two on each "regular" print, producing the paired effect. Clever choice of what will go in each frame determines the outcome.
- JKCalhoun 4y agoI think you're correct (but it's 35mm). I think mentioning the film size was an oversight by the author, or maybe since the camera was from 1971 we were supposed to assume.
- mauvehaus 4y ago35mm is the width of the film itself. The size of the exposed image is 36mm x 24mm in normal use. The camera in the article exposes frames of (roughly) 18mm x 24mm. Roughly, because of the space between the images that shows up as a black bar in the images in the article.
- xtiansimon 4y agoShort fun little piece with pictures. Edit: now I remember what it reminds me of—stock photo books. Where the most graphic and interesting photos are buildings and garages or toys and this has nothing to do with anything that’s a Non-Stop server. LOL or Service and Support packages…
- paulcole 4y ago> Using something entirely mechanical feels magical. One of the more oblivious grass-is-greener statements I can imagine.
- armadsen 4y agoI agree with both statements. I'm an electrical engineer and a programmer in my late 30s. I have a pretty good handle on how complex electronic devices are created, because I've worked on them myself. On the other hand, if asked to create a fully mechanical camera, I'd have a long way to go to figure out where to start. There's so much clever engineering and ingenuity that went into them that is mostly gone now, that they indeed feel magical to me. That said, modern devices feel magical in their own way, which is why I'm an engineer!
- lm28469 4y agoYou should give it a try, it's freeing in ways you can hardly describe by text
- paulcole 4y agoYou can say the same about non-mechanical devices. You can also say that mechanical devices (and non-mechanical devices) are limiting in ways you can hardly describe by text. It's like how every other tech-bro thinks they want to become a woodworker. But if you offered my dad (a woodworker) $300K a year to not breathe sawdust and hurt his back, he'd do it.
- nicbou 4y agoSometimes people want a little of something because the novelty is nice. You really don't need to point out that its impractical and can't be had all the time, because that wasn't the point. Let people enjoy things.
- lm28469 4y agoBut this has nothing to do with hard work or even physical work, it's a hobby. People do woodwork with hand saws for fun, pottery with their hands for fun, &c. for office dwellers the extra work is the appeal, the end product might not even be relevant. Lots of car enthusiasts prefer manual shifting even though it offer worse performance. Watch lovers will buy a rolex over a casio quartz watch even tho the casio will be infinitely cheaper and more accurate. Art people will buy a physical painting over a NFT, &c. Mechanical cameras always have been regarded has magical, you press a button on a box made of coils, gears and springs, and you get a picture. It's a technical marvel that make people dream in a way a "made in china" pcb based camera doesn't In a world that is completely parasited with electronics it's a breath of fresh air
- edpichler 4y agoThis simple, clean and objective article inspired me very much. This is the good Internet. The type of content that nowadays I will not be find in the first page of a Google search result.
- jamestweed 4y agoThank you this was exactly what I was going for! May I ask if I can use your comment as a testimonial?
- edpichler 4y agoyes
- lupire 4y agoYou can combine two photos outside the camera, pretty easily.