Slowing down time (in writing & film) - Aaron Sitze
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Certain moments in our lives seem to last forever. Whether it is a first kiss or a car crash, time can seem to stretch...or even stop. Aaron Sitze explains how this sensation is conveyed in cinema and how the same conventions can be used to slow down time in your writing.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slowmo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger.
Professor August Musger (February 10, 1868 - October 30, 1929) was an Austrian priest and physicist who is best remembered for his invention of slow motion.
The Sound of Music (1959) is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.
SlowMotion Films: We are a production company with a taste for the extreme specializing in super slow motion cinematography. Armed with a Phantom High Speed Camera and a myriad of toys to move it around with, we are always searching for that next challenge, embracing extreme environments and locales. These videos are our test shoots as we play with the functionality of the camera in a variety of atmospheres and light conditions. We are sorta like little kids with a new toy, so dare us to film something in slow mo and we would probably do it.
Here's a collection of super slow motion video clips. The video clips below were filmed with a special high-speed camera. The super slow-motion playback lets you visualize effects that cannot be seen with the naked eye or with a standard video camera.
There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life -- how are you going to remember them all? Director Cesar Kuriyama shoots one second of video every day as part of an ongoing project to collect all the special bits of his life.
Other lessons about writing:
Never underestimate the power of an intriguing start. When analyzing the literary greats like Charles Dickens and Kurt Vonnegut, be inspired by their craft and learn how to write a tantalizing introduction and strong thesis.
You need social skills to have a conversation in real life -- but they're quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few "anti-social skills," like eavesdropping and muttering to yourself, that can help you write an effective dialogue for your next story.
Learn how to identify and avoid passive voice in writing.
Professor August Musger (February 10, 1868 - October 30, 1929) was an Austrian priest and physicist who is best remembered for his invention of slow motion.
The Sound of Music (1959) is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.
SlowMotion Films: We are a production company with a taste for the extreme specializing in super slow motion cinematography. Armed with a Phantom High Speed Camera and a myriad of toys to move it around with, we are always searching for that next challenge, embracing extreme environments and locales. These videos are our test shoots as we play with the functionality of the camera in a variety of atmospheres and light conditions. We are sorta like little kids with a new toy, so dare us to film something in slow mo and we would probably do it.
Here's a collection of super slow motion video clips. The video clips below were filmed with a special high-speed camera. The super slow-motion playback lets you visualize effects that cannot be seen with the naked eye or with a standard video camera.
There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life -- how are you going to remember them all? Director Cesar Kuriyama shoots one second of video every day as part of an ongoing project to collect all the special bits of his life.
Other lessons about writing:
Never underestimate the power of an intriguing start. When analyzing the literary greats like Charles Dickens and Kurt Vonnegut, be inspired by their craft and learn how to write a tantalizing introduction and strong thesis.
You need social skills to have a conversation in real life -- but they're quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few "anti-social skills," like eavesdropping and muttering to yourself, that can help you write an effective dialogue for your next story.
Learn how to identify and avoid passive voice in writing.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Aaron Sitze
- Director Biljana Labović
- Animation Artist Godfrey Hibbert, Lisa LaBracio
- Narrator Aaron Sitze
