Incredibly Photorealistic 3D Characters

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Making a realistic and lifelike human character is one of the hardest tasks in 3D graphics. For a long time it was known as the 'Holy Grail' among 3D artists in the community. The reason why this skill is so desired, is the possibilities it gives you in the movie or advertising industries.

Imagine you could create fully artificial digital actors and make the audience believe they are real. So real that there would be no questioning it. We are all familiar with the best examples out there - Gollum in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean or the alien species in Avatar.

(thanks Cora)

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Lotte Reiniger, German Silhouette Animator

Lotte Reiniger (1899 - 1981) was a German silhouette animator and film director. As a child, she was fascinated with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry, even building her own puppet theater so that she could put on shows for her family and friends. As a teenager, Reiniger fell in love with cinema, first with the films of Georges Méliès for their special effects, then the films of actor and director Paul Wegener.

The first film Reiniger directed was Das Ornament des verliebten Herzens (The Ornament of the Enamoured Heart, 1919), a short piece involving two lovers and an ornament that reflected their moods. The film was very well received. She made six short films during the following few years, all produced and photographed by her husband Carl Koch.

Here you can see a Lotte Reiniger silhouette film called Snow-white and Rose-red from 1954.
And here's a documentary about Lotte Reiniger.

(thanks Jimmy)

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100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs

Some laughs are good, some are bad, but they're all insane.



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(thanks Cora)

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The 10 Most Horrifying Apparitions In Film

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Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, there's no way you'd ever want to run into any of these terrifying apparitions. Check out some of the most frightening ghosts in film.

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10 Movies You Didn't Realize Were Based On Books

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Often people totally miss the books in favor of the movies that spring rom them. With film adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories like Total Recall, which tend to veer so wildly that you might not recognize even if you had read the source material, it's understandable. But as it turns out, there are a lot more movies that we didn't realize were based on books.

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Dawn Of The Flick: The Doctors, Physicists, And Mathematicians Who Made The Movies

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Early optical toys from the 19th century are expressions of our almost primal urge to animate the inanimate. Or so believes Richard Balzer, one of the foremost collectors of optical toys, magic lanterns, camera obscuras, and other objects that play tricks on the eye.

For Balzer, these early optical toys, as well as our continued fascination with flipbooks, are part of a continuum that has culminated in the movies.

(thanks Lisa)

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The Full Names Of 26 One-Name Celebrities

Did you know that Bono's real name is Paul Hewson? Or that Charo's real name is Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza? That Enya's name is Eithne Ní Bhraonáin?

A rose by any other name probably wouldn't smell as sweet, at least not in the cases of some of these one-named celebrities. From A-Z, here are the full names of some of your favorite mononymous stars, and the reasons they dropped the rest of their names.

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The Batmobile Documentary

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Brothers and DC Comics have released information on an upcoming documentary about the Batmobile.



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Top 20 Best Movies Of 2012... So Far

We're half way through the year so here are Movie Moron's picks for the top 20 best movies of 2012 so far. It hasn't been a great half year for mainstream film, but there are a few highlights. Here's the super-definitive guide to 2012's best movies.

(thanks Sheridan)

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Fauna In A Galaxy Far, Far Away: 10 Awesome Creatures From Star Wars

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Ever wondered how many non-sentient critters live in the Galaxy Far, Far Away? All of the 'animals' presented here are (for the most part) considered non-sentient. Wookiees, Ewoks, Hutts, and the like will not be covered as they are intelligent, sentient beings - though some are definitely smarter than others. Here are some amazing creatures from Star Wars.

(thanks Kat)

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Big Five Glories - Classic Movies Online

The goal of Big Five Glories is to offer a real 'jewel-case' to classic movies, and create best conditions to watch them online. Big Five Glories refers to major picture production companies during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s, the 'Big Five': 20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

However they are not only offering productions from these studios, but more widely movies commonly called B-movies from many others companies or independent producer.

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11 Authors Who Hated The Movie Versions Of Their Books

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Disney's Mary Poppins might be a cherished childhood memory for a lot of us, but for author P.L. Travers it was a complete slap in the face. Despite having script approval, Travers' edits were largely disregarded. Travers loathed the movie's animated sequences and was perturbed that Mary Poppins' strict side was downplayed. Some of the most beloved movies ever were based on books. But just because we loved them doesn't mean the original author did.

11 Authors who hated the movie versions of their books.

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24 Most Frustrating Movie Facts Of All Times

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It does not matter if someone is outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, his enemies will wait patiently to attack him one by one until he has knocked out their predecessors. No matter how fuzzy the photograph, it can be enlarged and enhanced to show the finest detail. When someone turns out the light to go to bed, everything in the room will still be clearly visible.

24 Frustrating Movie Facts Of All Times.

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Top 10 Coolest Mystical Animals In Movies And Television

Animals are always either cool or scary in movies. But fictional creatures are awesome and we all pretty much want them to be real. Here are 10 of the coolest mystical animals in movies and television.

(thanks Kat)

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The Complete History Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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If you were a kid in the 1980s or 90s, you probably spent some time reading, watching, or playing with four adolescent reptilian martial arts experts with irregular DNA. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists.

From their home in the storm sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil megalomaniacs, and alien invaders, all while remaining isolated from society-at-large.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles initially appeared in comic books before being licensed for toys, cartoons, video games, films, and other merchandise.

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Nicolas Cage Gifs

Are you a fan of Nicolas Kim Coppola? I mean Nic Cage? Then here's a tumblr blog for you.
An endlesss stream of Nicolas Cage Gifs.

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Lord Of The Rings Movie Set Now Houses Sheep

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When Peter Jackson spotted the Alexander Farm during an aerial search of the North Island in Matamata in New Zealand for the best possible locations to film 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy, he immediately thought it was perfect for Hobbiton, the village where the Hobbits live.

Today, only 17 of those hobbit houses remain and they have been taken over by sheep. In 2011, the set was completely rebuilt for the feature films 'The Hobbit' and now remain as permanent exhibit and tourist attraction for fans.

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Who Invented Chaplin's Tramp?

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Charlie Chaplin's most famous role was that of the Tramp, which he first played in the Keystone comedy 'Kid Auto Races at Venice' in 1914. The physical attributes of the Tramp include a pair of baggy pants, a tight coat, a small bowler hat, a large pair of shoes, a cane and the famous small mustache.

Chaplin claimed he invented the Tramp alone, but who freed up Chaplin to be the Tramp?
Who Invented Chaplin's Tramp?

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33 Things You Didn't Know About The Movie Titanic

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In celebration of Titanic's return to theaters, here's a collection of facts about the movie you probably didn't know.

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Muppets Finally Recognized With A Star On The Walk Of Fame

The Muppets finally got a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame. Shouldn't this have been done a long time ago? Check out Kermit the frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, Pepe, Sweetums and Walter posing for their big Hollywood moment.

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