iPhone users capable of entering the world of cinematography
It is no secret, and most Apple users already know, that their devices are capable, being equipped with the latest technology, to take great photos. Beautiful works of art and photography have been created not from a professional DSLR camera, but rather, on an iPhone.
More surprisingly, is the ability to create top level fully professional videos using only on Apple devices, and now, various megastar and upcoming singers are starting to use this method for their music videos. Including Selena Gomez. In her “Lose You to Love Me” video, the monochromatic shots are interwoven with transition effects, produced in shooting and editing by iPhone.
The newest iPhones (including the upcoming iPhone possible to be called the “iPhone 13”) and iPads that use Apple silicon are making huge strides forward in video production and editing capabilities.
There’s AI, machine learning, neural networking and all kinds of software under the hood that is being extended and improved constantly (in some cases via AI), and all that tech mumbo jumbo adds up to more creative potential and less costs to get in the game at a very high level. No limits.
Lady Gaga’s music video for “Stupid Love“was also shot on an iPhone and Olivia Rodrigo’s latest single “brutal” was made on an iPad.
From her music, her sense of fashion and all the inspiration that came after her death like makeup lines, Barbie dolls, musicals, tribute albums, movies (with Jennifer Lopez) and television series. The latest, coming from Netflix’s Selena: The Series” about the iconic Tejana singer proves her presence still very much lives on even after all this time. Even after 25 years when she was tragically killed at the young age of 23, her memory and music live on and will be continue to be entrenched in our popular culture.
If you want to read in detail about Selena, the Quintanilla family and more, we have compiled the few select titles that chronicle her life, the best, in my opinion, being from her husband, Chris Perez.
One of the most compelling and adored superstars in Latin music history, Selena was nothing short of a phenomenon who shared all of herself with her millions of devoted fans. Her tragic murder, at the age of twenty-three, stripped the world of her talent and boundless potential, her tightly-knit family of their beloved angel, and her husband, Chris Perez, of the greatest love he had ever known.
For over a decade, Chris held onto the only personal thing he had left from his late wife–the touching and sometimes painful memories of their very private bond.
Now, for the first time, Chris opens up about their unbreakable friendship, their forbidden relationship, and their blossoming marriage that was cut short.Click here to see “To Selena, with Love” and help Independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Selena – Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits is a collection of most of the English songs by American Tejano-pop singer Selena. It contains all of her English songs from her Dreaming of You album, as well as both regularly and posthumously released English songs she had made throughout her career. “Don’t Throw Away My Love” is a remix of “My Love”.
Selena’s Secret: The Revealing Story Behind Her Tragic Death
There is no doubt that Yolanda Saldívar pulled the trigger and killed Tejano superstar Selena on March 31, 1995. But does anyone know what really happened in Room 158 of the Days Inn, moments before the crime took place?
María Celeste Arrarás has many answers, and her unrivaled coverage of the murder, trial, and aftermath made her the undisputed expert on the case. Arrarás shares firsthand information about the crime and the people involved–including details of her headline-making jailhouse interview with Saldívar, who repeatedly spoke of “Selena’s secret”–a powerful hidden piece of information that she refused to reveal in court but that she shared at length with Arrarás.
Many questions were raised and not all were answered…until now. Click here to see “Selena’s Secret” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Selena – starring Jennifer Lopez
In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla (Jennifer Lopez) is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham (Edward James Olmos), realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues.
She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez (Jon Seda), who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.
Dreaming: A Tribute To Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
Click to see “ Dreaming” and help bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Dreaming brings together lyrical renditions, little boys dancing “the washing machine,” prayers over velas, and odes to purple, sparkly hips swaying to cumbia beats.
There’s thirty-three works of poetry, prose, and fiction on these pages that provide such narratives: “For Selena” by Timothy Daily-Valdés, “One of Us: Selena Quintanilla-Pérez” by Nancy de la Zerda, “La Milagrosa Selena” by Rubén Degollado and plenty more pieces showing the world the impact she continues to make on the dance floor and across generations.
Click to see “ Dreaming” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Two huge and highly awaited projects are live this weekend and offer a varied experience. They also have nearly nothing directly to do with each other, or the holidays. Perhaps that’s a plus as we still have weeks before the full-on holiday festivities hit a peak.
Another two are also non-holiday but each of these projects has something special, perhaps for a different audience, and are also each highly anticipated, by the appropriate group of fans, nonetheless.
Alien Worlds (Season 1) is here for anyone that imagines humanity as a Multi-planetary species (looking at you, Elon)
Applying the laws of life on Earth to the rest of the galaxy, this series blends science fact and fiction to imagine alien life on other planets. The 4-episodes of this docuseries approaches each episode like a separate chapter focusing on a different world a.k.a. exoplanet and explores the likelihood of life being present on any of them.
This explorative and visually stunning exercise in “what if” takes on the idea that, with at least thousands if not millions of planets in the universe potentially harboring some form of life, what form might that life take? Taking this leap of faith into the question of, not only are there aliens somewhere in the universe, but positing the follow-on query; “where are they and what might they be like and even look like”.
This may not be a journey everyone is ready to take. But if you enjoy stimulation for your imagination and want to join in the speculative scientific thought experiment, maybe this series if perfect for you!
Selena continuation digs into the drama of a superstar destined to shine only briefly, but who will never be forgotten
The first is, of course, Selena: The Series, which has been in the works for an incredible two years. Fans of season one have been looking forward to this, of course. The possibility for new fans to watch both seasons is also a tantalizing binge option as well.
The continuation of the story Selena Quintanilla, and in particular her rise to music-super-stardom is being played by Christian Serratos – yes, The Walking Dead star (who is also a Twilight cast member extraordinaire).
Mank: The movie behind the making of the greatest movie ever made
Second huge release is the Mank which is directed by David Fincher of Social Network and Fight Club fame. It’s hard to imagine awards shows passing up the chance to laud this legendary director taking on a story about, well the most legendary film production and film script ever: Citizen Kane.
Herman “Mank” Mankiewicz, played by Oscar-winner Gary Oldman, is a journalist-turned-screenwriter and as the titular character we see how the tortured genius behind Citizen Kane grappled with the drama of filmmaking during Hollywood’s golden age. The project gives Fincher a chance to make a movie inside another and reference what’s been called the greatest film in the history of cinema.
New series debuts today: Detention (Season 1)
On Saturday, December 5 we’ll be able to see a first glimpse of this high school horror drama, based on the eponymously titled videogame.
Made by Netflix in collaboration with the Taiwanese broadcaster Public Television Service, Detention is the first Mandarin series that Netflix has collaborated on and will be aired first on an episodic basis by PTS before streaming live on Netflix.
The synopsis for Detention has been provided by Netflix:
Detention: The Series starts at Greenwood High School in the 1990s. Yunxiang Liu (played by Lingwei Lee), a transfer student, steps into the forbidden area on the campus by accident, where she encounters the ghost of Ruixin Fang (Ning Han). Fang later unveils the hidden history and trauma over the past 30 years, and how a group of young students and teachers were persecuted as they fought for freedom in the era of censorship. Their stories keep coming back to the school like haunting nightmares, waiting to be told and revealed.
The series will be available to stream on a weekly basis each episode becoming available shortly after the original airing on PTS.
