Stuff that occurs to me: films

Showing posts with label films. Show all posts

Thursday, 23 October 2025

I've just noticed the 'teal and orange'-ness of some AI images & realised films might be to 'blame' (training data)

I googled to find something about the highest helicopter flown and read this article ('How high can helicopters fly?') which includes an image that I'm certain is AI generated (Ctrl+F as explained to jump straight to it)*. It's very "teal and orange" and I was suddenly struck by how many other AI images I'd subliminally noticed that also have this colour arrangement, though I'd not really elevated the notion to conscious thought until now.

Back in 2010 my friend @jjsanderson shared on Twitter an article called 'Teal and Orange - Hollywood, Please Stop the Madness' (March 2010) which explained the reasoning behind and overuse of these colour tones in film. It introduces an interesting artificiality to film which is visually arresting, but sometimes a bit too much.

Briefly: human skin tones are in the orange spectrum (pink to brown) and colour theory puts blue as the 'opposite' so enhancing orange and blue tones brings out skin tones and shadows in contrast.

Squares of teal (left) and orange (right)

Wondered if others had noticed this appearing in AI images - yes. A year ago ;)

This color scheme shouts that your image was AI-generated
(April 2024 or March 2024 - date given as 03/04/2024)
This specifically references film as possible training data and also suggests, for those who wish to generate their own AI slop on Midjourney etc, some ways of getting round the 'teal/orange bias in AI generated images'. (It also pointed me to a TV Tropes article, Orange/Blue Contrast (date not given), which gives further examples of teal/orange use in film and television).

Here's a Reddit post asking the same question: Anyone else notice that some AI images look sort of yellow? (April 2025)

I'm sure there are plenty of other examples.

*Ctrl+F is a keyboard shortcut for Edit / Find on a computer. On a Mac it's Command F (press and hold the ⌘ then tap the F key).

Saturday, 2 April 2022

Open air cinema screenings in London 2022

https://www.flickr.com/photos/krancien/3044291838/ "Cinema Paradiso" by La Tête Krançien

Open Air Cinema Screenings in London, 2022 edition
http://bit.ly/OpenAirCinemaLondon2022

1. List of film screenings
2. Advice for film-goers

1. List of film screenings

This list is as accurate as I can make it but there will always be smaller events that are advertised locally that I may not hear about. Grateful for any tip-offs :)

1. Version for mobile phones (scroll up/down or left/right)

2. Wider version for desktop / web (scroll up/down or left/right)

The original embedded sheet was a bit cramped. The embed code didn't include anything for height and width that would let me improve this but I found out where to add it from this post.

2. Advice for film-goers / things to bring

1. ➡️ If seeing a film in a park check if you'll be leaving by a different exit (parks often close during the film and everyone's shuttled out of 'not the gate you came in by').

2. ⏰ Check timings - most screenings have to start at dusk because you just can't see the screen until it's dark enough. Some events use LED screens which can work fine in bright sunlight. Dusk happens pretty late in June and July.

3. 🎟️ Tickets! Make sure you print in advance, or have the e-ticket visible on your device - and make sure you know where the venue actually is (!)

4. 🧥 Something warm to wear (even if it's boiling hot in the day it can be surprisingly cool when sitting outside at 10pm).

5. 💺 Something to sit on (plastic bag as a minimum, blanket or cushion better, or shower curtain / tarp) as you could be sitting on damp grass or hard stone / concrete or pavement
-- Some organisations let you bring camping chairs but many other venues don't (some venues already have seating). Some organisations hire blankets and cushions.

6. 🧢 Something to avoid rain (umbrellas are generally a bit of a no-no, I'd recommend rain hat or one of those 'pac a mac' things)

7. 🥤 🍜 Something to eat and drink and something to eat it off / drink it out of (most films are in public spaces so you can bring your own picnic, check though as some venues might not, always check the website's FAQ) - don't forget a bottle opener if you need one

8. 🎒 A bag to take away rubbish.

9. 🚽 Loo roll (public toilets being as they are...)

10. 🔦 A torch

11. 🦟 Something to put the midges off their feed.

12. 📱 Download the What3Words app to your phone (free). Some venues are starting to use this to help people find the entrance location, e.g. www.thelunacinema.com/venue/lincolns-inn/ (scroll down the page or use Ctrl+F to search for what3). Also in larger venues you can use it to tell friends where you are. The app lets you share three words which give a very precise location. Citymapper is one of several fabulous apps for public transport wrangling and finding your way around.

13. 🎧 Some screenings are done as a 'silent disco' where everyone wears headphones. Others just use speakers.

🎬 📽️ 🎞️ 🍿

Thursday, 1 July 2021

Film quiz - "Match the aircraft to the film it appears in" edition with answers

Here are the answers (below) to an earlier post called Film quiz - "Match the aircraft to the film it appears in" edition.

Note that some aircraft are ‘acting’ as well (eg in one film a Yakovlev Yak-52TW was modified to resemble a Supermarine Spitfire, but this is listed here as the intended Spitfire) or CGI and other sneakery might be used. Information is correct according to the internet; I welcome arguments :)

First, the original quiz questions

Match the aircraft to the film it's in

Number and film	Letter	Letter and aircraft
1. The Silence of the Lambs		A. Bell UH-1 Iroquois 'Huey' helicopter
2. Jurassic World		B. Supermarine Spitfire
3. The Dam Busters		C. Thurston TSC-1A Teal
4. Quantum of Solace		D. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber
5. Apocalypse Now		E. Boeing 707
6. North By Northwest		F. Douglas DC-3
7. Independence Day		G. Avro Lancaster B.VII
8. Memphis Belle		H. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
9. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation		I. Airbus A320-214
10. Airplane!		J. Boeing-Stearman Model 75 PT-17 (Kaydet)
11. The Wicker Man		K. Lockheed C-130 ‘Hercules’
12. Dunkirk		L. Airbus Helicopters H130
13. Top Gun		M. Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canary & a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (Kaydet)
14. Sully: Miracle on the Hudson		N. Airbus A400M Atlas

And now, for the answers...

Here's the Google Docs version.

Answers

1K, 2L, 3G, 4F, 5A, 6M, 7J, 8D, 9N, 10E, 11C, 12B, 13H, 14I

More detailed version in the table below.

Number and film	Answer (Letter and aircraft)
1. The Silence of the Lambs	K. Lockheed C-130 ‘Hercules’
2. Jurassic World	L. Airbus Helicopters H130
3. The Dam Busters	G. Avro Lancaster B.VII
4. Quantum of Solace	F. Douglas DC-3
5. Apocalypse Now	A. Bell UH-1 Iroquois 'Huey' helicopter
6. North By Northwest	M. Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canary & a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (Kaydet)
7. Independence Day	J. Boeing-Stearman Model 75 PT-17 (Kaydet)
8. Memphis Belle	D. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber
9. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation	N. Airbus A400M Atlas
10. Airplane!	E. Boeing 707
11. The Wicker Man	C. Thurston TSC-1A Teal
12. Dunkirk	B. Supermarine Spitfire
13. Top Gun	H. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
14. Sully: Miracle on the Hudson	I. Airbus A320-214

Evidence, with which you are welcome to disagree
because it mostly comes from Wikipedia :)

14. Sully: Miracle on the Hudson - Airbus A320-214
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549
“Several major airlines, including American Airlines and British Airways, did not include the movie in their onboard entertainment, since it could upset viewers. Virgin allowed it, "to celebrate the fantastic skills, training and dedication of airline pilots".”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sully_(film)

Film quiz - "Match the aircraft to the film it appears in" edition

Yes of course it's a bit niche, what did you expect :)

Below is a table with the films in one order (Number and film column) and the aircraft (Letter and aircraft) in the wrong order. If you were playing along and printed this out then the middle column (Letter) is where you would write the correct letter depending on which aircraft is the correct one.

Eg if you thought The Silence of the Lambs featured a Thurston TSC-1A Teal you'd write 'C' there. A clue is that you'd be wrong ;)

Answers in the next post which, once I've written it, will be linked here.

A copy of this table is here in this Google Doc (or if you'd like a plain text version here it is as a .tsv [tab separated variables with which you can recreate a spreadsheet for sharing]), and here's my previous 'Film quiz - logos edition' post.

You are welcome to use this quiz round in your own quizzes, no permission needed. (I'd be amazed if anyone wants to though!)

Match the aircraft to the film it's in

Number and film	Letter	Letter and aircraft
1. The Silence of the Lambs		A. Bell UH-1 Iroquois 'Huey' helicopter
2. Jurassic World		B. Supermarine Spitfire
3. The Dam Busters		C. Thurston TSC-1A Teal
4. Quantum of Solace		D. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber
5. Apocalypse Now		E. Boeing 707
6. North By Northwest		F. Douglas DC-3
7. Independence Day		G. Avro Lancaster B.VII
8. Memphis Belle		H. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
9. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation		I. Airbus A320-214
10. Airplane!		J. Boeing-Stearman Model 75 PT-17 (Kaydet)
11. The Wicker Man		K. Lockheed C-130 ‘Hercules’
12. Dunkirk		L. Airbus Helicopters H130
13. Top Gun		M. Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canary & a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (Kaydet)
14. Sully: Miracle on the Hudson		N. Airbus A400M Atlas

Sunday, 20 June 2021

Open air cinema screenings in London 2021

https://www.flickr.com/photos/krancien/3044291838/ "Cinema Paradiso" by La Tête Krançien

I'm a bit late with this post (usually publish these annually in April) but I have been diligently and enthusiastically collecting film listings of open air screenings taking place in London and adding them to this Google Sheet: http://bit.ly/OpenAirCinemaLondon2021

If you know of one I've missed please let me know.

As of 20 June 2021 there are over 400 films still to come, several free screenings and 220 already done. There are over 200 unique films being screened and some sing-alongs of Grease, Bohemian Rhapsody and The Greatest Showman. There are a few drive-in screenings too (these increased in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic).

Advice for film-goers
List of film screenings
Organisations screening films in London

1. Advice for film-goers / things to bring

Before setting off check that the screening is going ahead (weather / pandemic advice)
Tickets! Make sure you print in advance, or have the e-ticket visible on your device (download / open PDF while you have signal)
Venue - make sure you know where it actually is (!) and note that the exit may be different from the entrance (particularly in parks). If it's a large park and you're trying to meet people, What3Words may be useful to pinpoint you.
Something warm to wear (even if it's boiling hot in the day it can be surprisingly cool when sitting outside at 10pm)
Mask - and spare (plus any hand sanitiser and things to keep used / spare masks in)
Something to sit on (plastic bag as a minimum, blanket or cushion better) as you could be sitting on damp grass or hard stone / concrete or pavement. Some organisations let you bring camping chairs, most don't - check (many venues have their own seating anyway, some are just sit where you find a patch of grass / ground - some places hire picnic blankets)
Something to avoid rain (umbrellas are generally a bit of a no-no, I'd recommend a rain hat or those 'pac a mac' rain poncho things - sometimes these are available to hire / buy)
Something to eat and drink (if you're allowed - check) and something to eat it off or out of. Don't forget a bottle opener if you need one. You may be able to buy food onsite (in which case you may not be allowed to bring your own picnic)
A plastic bag to take away rubbish / and for sitting on grass
A torch - some places are not that well lit, phone's torch is better than nothing
Loo roll (public toilets being as they are...)

2. List of film screenings

This list is as accurate as I can make it but there will always be smaller events that are advertised locally that I may not hear about. Grateful for any tip-offs :)

1. Version for mobile phones (scroll up/down or left/right)

2. Wider version for desktop / web (scroll up/down or left/right)

The original embedded sheet was a bit cramped. The embed code didn't include anything for height and width that would let me improve this but I found out where to add it from this post.

3. Organisations screening films in London in 2021
(some may be screening in other cities too)

Note that Somerset House is not hosting an open air film festival in 2021.

Stuff that occurs to me