NoFilmSchool » phone

Android 4.0 Adds New Video Features, and Part of 'The Avengers' Was [Update: NOT] Shot on an iPhone

Ryan Koo — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:21:06 +0000

If Google and Apple were politicians — and if this blog were actually a legitimate news site — I’d have to give each of them equal time. So, since I mentioned the improved video and photo capabilities of the iPhone 4S, I would be remiss if I did not also mention Google’s demonstration of Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” last week, which, to contextualize things, will make most mobile phones higher resolution and more feature-laden for shooting video video than the first digital video camera I used a dozen years ago (which retailed for $3,500 at the time). And if you think this doesn’t relate to filmmaking at all, it turns out DP Seamus McGarvey used an iPhone to shoot parts of The Avengers — actually this has since been debunked, but the Android headline still stands: (more…)

Helpful app: PdaNet

Ryan Koo — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:53 +0000

File this under “too good to be true, therefore it probably won’t last.” PdaNet is an application that allows you to use your phone’s data connection on your laptop. It connects iPhone, Palm, Android, Blackberry, or Windows Mobile phones to Macs or PCs (in my case, it’s an Android phone connected to a Mac). This means you essentially have internet everywhere; if you’re on a decent 3G connection it’s surprisingly fast. I ran a speed test and got 2.5 megabits/second (Time Warner cable internet in NYC typically peaks out at 5 megabits). Considering many carriers are soon going to charge you for tethering, the $30 one-time fee for PdaNet is more than worth it if you find yourself working on the road a lot (or in coffee shops and airports, where free Wi-Fi is still rare). While the connection is sometimes finicky, PdaNet has more than paid for itself; I’m writing this from an internet-free house in Queens, yet I’ve been able to FTP large video files to clients.

Link: PdaNet

The Google Phone will be free

Ryan Koo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:22:33 +0000

UPDATE: It seems I was wrong, but not before others picked up on this idea. As it turns out, the Google Nexus One isn’t nearly as disruptive as a VOIP-driven, ad-supported device could be. I still maintain that the below is possible, and hopefully we’ll see it one day soon.

This isn’t specific to film, but considering mobile devices today are much more than just phones — they’re connected computers that serve as our digital, personal assistants — this has bearing on how all of us will be interacting with each other (and content) in the future. So I thought I’d throw around some unqualified and totally speculative speculation about What’s Next when it comes to mobile platforms. (more…)