Aug 29, 2012 2:00AM

http://now.msn.com/michelle-obama-is-depicted-as-a-slave-on-magazine-cover

Uh-oh, what say you?

So the context is that the Spanish magazine is saying The First Lady represents a long-time coming for black women and the Feminist movement. So… is this racist because blacks don’t want to acknowledge their own past (those who are indeed descended from black American slaves) or is it because it is inappropriate in some other way? Is this the only way they knew how of showing black women in a respectable light?  Would this be of any concern outside of America?

National Geographic does something similar, but I’ll post something about that another time.

Aug 23, 2012 11:26PM

Let’s talk about casting. Even among the B-Movie giants, these elaborate “low-budget” straight-to-video films are still able to book almost well-known Playboy models or Playmates to play cameos or actual starring roles in their films. And once you see these models in a string of similar films, then you know these b-grade films must be funded by the same people representing the model herself.

If you keep up with Uncle Terry Richardson’s blog, you’ll start to realize that the people who hire him to take pictures of their people toss him the same people to photograph over and over and over. If you’re looking at this from a professional viewpoint, yes, this is job security. But if you’re talking about creativity, it’s really lacking.  However, what I’m talking about is not how making money works.  And these people make money because there is a formula.  Which is why they make money, and I’m not.

Aug 17, 2012 1:54PM

http://aericmg.com/

http://www.modelmayhem.com/6791

aeric meredith-goujon

A photographer/artist you should pay attention to in art circles.  Possibly this generation’s Mapplethorpe.

It’s not like the subject matter is anything new.  But the technical mastery enhances it.

Aug 10, 2012 3:30PM

Olivia Thirby in the upcoming action film “Dredd”. Looks like we’re seeing some changes in standards of what the “female” sidekick looks like, a little anime influence mayhaps?

Looking like Deunan from Appleseed.

Aug 9, 2012 10:47PM

Aug 8, 2012 12:40PM

Barbie vs. Lisa Simpson

You got two very popular fictional characters in main stream media and Pop Culture, Barbie and Lisa Simpson.  It didn’t matter until The Simpsons television show actually made fun of the whole Barbie phenomenon in the episode where Lisa gets a doll made based on her. So these two stereotypes, for young women, stick out at the top of my head, at most up to the late 1990s and starting in the 1960s when Barbie became a household name.

If you update these stereotypes, Barbie would actually be Martha Stewart but with Diane Sawyer’s looks.  Lisa Simpson would be Alison Brie from NBC’s TV show “Community” and she would be all up in anime fandom with pink hair and stuff, and she’d have a nerdy Asian boyfriend like YouTube’s Freddie Wong.

Alright. So now that the definitions are up-to-date. Let’s see if they stick.

Aug 6, 2012 3:14PM

Jul 26, 2012 12:31AM

Amy Jo Johnson as the Pink Ranger and Anne Hathaway as Selina “Catwoman” Kyle are essentially the same archetype.  One’s in high school, one’s in college.  So, who can explain why one franchise makes a kazillion dollars while the other fades into obscurity?  Think. It’s staring right at you in all it’s tightness.

Jul 25, 2012 12:35AM

For those who watched “The Dark Knight Rises”, did you like Marion Cottilard’s death scene as Talia al Ghul?  I thought she phoned it in. She’s like, “eh”, and dies.  But she could have made a scene like The Wicked Witch.

Jul 19, 2012 12:25AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talia_al_Ghul

Talia al Ghul

The femme fatale archetype of the Batman myth

Yeah, it’s misogynistic, but this character has been depicted as a woman that truly loves Batman and at the same time wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.  She represents the danger of women who lead the adventurous, adolescent male (represented by Batman) into a life of marriage and family reunions and boring stuff.  It’s a constant motif whenever Ras al Ghul is around in the comics.  He wants Batman to take over his League of Shadows and wed his daughter Talia.  But Batman always refuses, which usually ends with Ras getting insulted and the two fight to the death with swords… er, shirtless and sweaty (that’s some Freudian stuff right there).

What does this dynamic really represent?  Well, seeing as how Ras al Ghul was a metaphor for some real figure in politics at the time, maybe some Middle Eastern dignitary, it’s American comic book writers’ way of fueling the xenophobia.  Batman has evolved to symbolize the CIA and the USA, so Batman’s reluctance to take on a foreign wife and abide by their customs reflects American attitudes.  But that’s not to say he won’t take some tang to go, or leave a little deposit.  Wayne irresponsibly knocks Talia al Ghul up in some storylines.

Talia al Ghul represents the average white male’s lust for exotic women, who bed them because of their “irresistible white male presence” but also want to kill them, therefore making it impossible to commit to a foreign she-devil.

Is this good, or bad?

Some actresses in Hollywood that might fit the typecast would usually be like Rachel Weisz, Eva Green, Eva Mendes, Leonor Varella, Vivian Wu, Marion Cottilard.  Ultimately, Cottilard was chosen to depict her in the latest Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

Again, Cottilard has an exotic but ambiguous ethnic look, which is exploited to bring across a sense of sensuality but caution.  A literary character known as a black widow spider, seductress, dragon lady, siren, medusa, etc.

Jul 14, 2012 1:00AM

Jul 9, 2012 11:25AM

Jul 7, 2012 9:01PM

I wonder if I should start listing models on here manually (the ones I think are particularly profitable or are currently hip). At the least, it’ll get some hits in search traffic.

Jul 7, 2012 3:05AM

While teaching myself the Nikon D3200, I realized that my cheapo $200 camera actually takes better pictures faster.  With a DSLR, you need to make all the calculations yourself (if using manual) and it’s still not enough light.  I’m using a two point basic lighting setup, and once the sun started setting outside, I lost a lot of fill light.

When you light a woman, you want that fill light to bounce all over the room, off the white walls.  You want the woman to have a soft, delicate look, even if she is kinda masculine physically.

For men, you can use very harsh, dramatic lighting. Maybe even one light source. This usually creates a dominating presence. Of course, if you’re not trying to make the male subject look like a macho man, they you’ll have to use some fill light and other techniques.

Jul 6, 2012 5:49PM

Jul 6, 2012 2:19PM

http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/dress-made-50-000-gummy-bears-wear-183800294.html

Jul 6, 2012 3:01AM

Jul 4, 2012 1:35AM

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1466A

So you can’t show a shot of a horse dick as a visual gag?  But it says explicitly that it would have to be engaging in a sexual act?  So why did the context of Seth McFarlane’s Calvacade of Cartoon Comedy have to pixelate the animal dongs?  Know your laws if you want to push the boundaries of expression, artists.

Jul 1, 2012 11:17PM

Jul 1, 2012 10:46PM

Jul 1, 2012 12:13PM

Olivia Munn apparently does a topless seen in Channing Tatum’s male stripper movie “Magic Mike”.  Here’s a perfect example of a celebrity whose career was pretty safe and that nudity probably doesn’t do anything to change her typecast.  Is she the new Marisa Tomei?

Jun 30, 2012 2:31PM

Jun 26, 2012 11:07PM

Jun 24, 2012 11:29AM

Jun 21, 2012 1:18PM

Jun 20, 2012 3:38PM

Jun 19, 2012 3:22PM

Jun 19, 2012 12:49AM

Jun 19, 2012 12:41AM

If you’re just getting into the Internet modeling game, how much money should you be charging paying clients (ie, photographers, artists, etc)?

You need to be incredibly reasonable. If you don’t have any experience (that includes your looks) and are not in demand, then you can’t go charging true professional rates like Playboy Playmates or something.

You’ll usually want to start by doing trade-shoots with photographers/artists for content in return.  That’s how you build a solid, presentable portfolio. It also shows that you are dedicated to the game, and that you showed up and followed through with shoots.

If you’re not full-time modeling, I’d say $10 to $50 an hour is incredibly reasonable.  As long as you have a real day job that pays the bills, those rates won’t turn off paying clients.

But even if you go full-time, you shouldn’t test the waters unless you have a strong market willing to pay your rates. Just because you are willing to pose nude doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to get constant work at $100 an hour.  The key word is “constant”.   Some JoeBob might pay those insane rates, but your average client won’t be able to.  If you use some simple math, get 2 gigs from 2 clients who only play $50/hour at 2 hours each is actually more than JoeBob’s $100 for only an hour.

In the end, it’s about repeat business. If you can milk some poor sap for a higher rate, by all means do it. But the reality is it won’t look good in the long run if you can’t sustain it (you let your looks go, your rates fluctuate, you have an unexpected bill to cover, etc).  It’s better to be reasonable and keep those business connections tight by charging reasonable rates.

Jun 15, 2012 6:44PM

Jun 11, 2012 8:25PM

Jun 10, 2012 5:59AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-list

Developed in 1997 by entertainment journalist James Ulmer, the Ulmer Scale is a 100-point rating that aims to quantify a star’s value to a film production.^[2] The scale predicts value in terms of getting a movie financed and in production based solely on an actor’s attachment to the project; score is based on their historical box office success, versatility, professional demeanor, and ability and willingness to travel and promote movies.

Ulmer’s Top 10 list in 2009 (in order of ‘bankable’ value):^[2]

1. Will Smith
2. Johnny Depp
3. Brad Pitt

…

Source: Wikipeda

Yup, I’ll have to agree on the definition and list for 2009.

Also defined by Ulmer is the “D-List” celebrity.  At the least, D-Listers still make appearances in mainstream media despite their “obscurity”.

So what does that make YouTube celebrities? Y-Listers?

Jun 8, 2012 10:11PM

Jun 7, 2012 7:04PM

Jun 6, 2012 7:03PM

Jun 5, 2012 10:30AM

Jun 5, 2012 12:46AM

Jun 4, 2012 9:03PM

Jun 4, 2012 1:24AM

Doesn’t Kristen Stewart look like an 80s anime girl? No wonder if you’re going to be favored to play Kei in Akira, you gotta look like a cartoon character.  Wonder if she’s into La Blue Girl?

Jun 2, 2012 2:56PM

Jun 1, 2012 2:32AM

Jun 1, 2012 2:05AM

Jun 1, 2012 1:21AM

Ooooh, this is confusing. Having to re-learn photography. Didn’t pay too much attention in school, naw mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number

Yup. I shot that, on film, in black and white. Just scanned it today.

Jun 1, 2012 1:14AM

If anyone’s wondering when Nikon is shipping out their red DSLR Nikon D3200, the customer service rep over at the official Nikon forum is saying in a few weeks. That means some time in June 2012, hopefully.

May 31, 2012 12:30PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_clothing

This is the future of fashion trends, where we literally become something out of an 80s sci-fi flick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-paper

Think about it. Walking billboards. If you fancy yourself an attractive person, why not parade around a mall or business district advertising on your clothes. Sure looks futuristic and hip compared to

It’s been done before, but it has to be modernized to catch on. Someone has to put the lasers into the weaving, then it’s on.

Luminex.  Ooooh, sexy.

May 29, 2012 8:20PM

Dave Hill’s work reminds me of those cigarette ads from the past.

Nothing new, except instead of having to airbrush or repaint assets, now it’s at incredibly high-resolution and you can do 3D things them and truly create virtual worlds.  So, that leads to the question of whether Dave Hill actually has real skill or just exploited the Star Wars ILM compositing technique at the right time and place?  I think he used the technology at the right time and place.

May 29, 2012 8:06PM

May 27, 2012 1:34AM

May 27, 2012 1:04AM

May 27, 2012 12:29AM