FilmBuff

In what has become a seasonal tradition of both minor tweaks and major surprises to their famed devices, Apple has once again unleashed headline-making updates to their iPhone. One that every filmmaker should tuck in their back pocket is the news of transforming Apple's iMovie application into a mobile experience, where anyone can capture and edit footage on the fly. [READ MORE]

Geraldine Brezca proves that every position on set can be a source of inspiration and creativity. Enjoy!

One of the biggest and most obvious hurdles in the globalization game is language, and the barriers it often creates. That's exactly why many companies are scrambling to create new technology that could help break down the wall in all its forms, be it video, text, or the spoken word.

Microsoft is developing the telephone translator, which will allow two individuals to speak in their native tongue and have their words translated in real time. Check out the article and a video demonstration over at Gizmodo.

Here's the first FilmBuff Sizzle Reel, ready for your eyes and ears to enjoy. It features titles that are currently making the rounds on broadband sites as well as cable providers on demand. More of these to come soon! For more clips and trailers, visit our YouTube site.

Matthew Porterfield, director of HAMILTON, will premiere his second feature PUTTY HILL this month at the Berlinale as part of the 2010 International Forum For New Cinema. Matthew laid out the processes by which PUTTY HILL was made over at Hammer To Nail. Check it out.

The black holes observed during the iPad presentation are the focus of a recent New York Times article. Have a read and learn what may be in store for everyone's internet friend (Flash) and its upstart competitor (HTML5).

Like most people I've more or less given up on CDs when it comes to purchasing music, heading instead to online destinations such as iTunes or the new download service lala. I managed to shed all unwanted CDs in recent years before it became impossible to even give them away. But when there's an album new or old that just has to be seen to be believed, I will visit the local High Fidelity-ish haunt and dig up the LP (or uuuuulp). Yes, the rather large black dinner plates with better sound than your average mp3 are still manufactured, and are surprisingly making a modest comeback according to some recent reports. [READ MORE]

Long ago I had the pleasure of being the local video store clerk/jerk, dishing out the latest releases to my community. Among the standard questions was the infamous classic, "This doesn't have those black bars on it, does it?" Being the FilmBuff that I am, I went into the details of what those black bars really mean. It hardly ever mattered of course, as just about everyone would opt for the full screen and/or pan-and-scan experience so that they could have what they said was the "whole film" on their TV.

Thankfully, that painful conversation is quickly becoming a thing of the past. [READ MORE]