Bluff Bounce: A new diffusion fabric for lighting scenes
A new bounce fabric for lighting scenes.
I’ve seen a couple of these types of light fabrics before but have never heard specifically of this company, Bluff Bounce.
I’m not convinced that it’s “better” on skin tones, but weirdly, it looks great in the reflection of objects as seen in the video below. It’s just that subtle effect that makes the background seem a little more real (something that a CG scene actually does quite well).
Check out the different Bluff Bounces you can buy for all types of real-world reflections. Would love to eventually add this onto the grip truck!
AXPONA 2025: What’s it like to listen to a $1 million sound system
Want to see the most expensive sound systems ever made?
I’ve never been to Axpona 2025 and I don’t think I’ll ever find myself at this convention in the future, so it was entertaining to travel there with Danny Pops as he listened to some of the most expensive home stereo systems ever made. Cables off the floor? I’ve never heard of it!
A rare all-black 6” Matthellini clamp
A great grip deal!
Not only is this 6” Matthellini cheaper than the standard color variant, it’s also all-black which is kind of nice for some sets. Get it here for $38!
A history of the AT&T Long Lines Building in NYC
The secret communication building located in Lower Manhattan.
Tribeca is home to at least 2 incredible feats of communication engineering, one of which lives at 33 Thomas Street. This monolith is known as the AT&T Long Lines Building and it was purpose-built for long distance communication. In recent years, the building was center to alleged mass-surveillance of Americans by the NSA via the TITANPOINTE program.
Hacking into a bowling alley computer
A journey to bring back an old bowling alley computer from the dead.
So much good vintage and retro stuff in this video above showing an old bowling alley computer being bought at auction.
A grip head with a fixed baby pin
First grip head I’ve ever seen with an attached baby pin.
Every once in a while, I come across something that I’ve never seen before and I think Man, where was this thing when I needed it last week?!
This is the Kupo Grip Head with fixed baby pin. As far as I know, it’s the only grip head from a major manufacturer to feature this attached baby pin design which makes for mounting a light and a modifier a single-stand ordeal. The modifier can rest on the boom arm while the whole setup can be moved easily up and down. I kind of love it.
Censored videos can now be reverse engineered to reveal what’s hidden
Censored videos are no longer safe.
This is pretty wild and yet, I’m not surprised that this is how it all works. Computers can’t really generate randomization so the mosaic patterns often seen covering videos for censorship or sensitive areas are just algorithmic patterns.
Apparently, the best way to censor is actually by putting a black mask over the area/object.
How to prove you are not AI
AI audio is getting really good.
This is the first time I’m hearing of NotebookLM from Google and it is kind of mindblowing. Somehow I had completely missed this announcement from Google about a research tool that can literally generate a very convincing “podcast” about the topic you are researching. Set aside for a second that NotebookLM seems to be a great way to organize ideas and sources, the really crazy thing here is how it can “read” and utilize those sources to create wholly new content that is audibly on par with an actual human.