Streaming Italian horror cinema in the UK: Lovefilm Instant.

This article investigates the distribution of Italian horror cinema in the age of video streaming, analyzing its presence and categorization on the platform Lovefilm Instant UK, in order to investigate the importance of ‘niche’ in what is known as the long tail of online distribution and the online availability of exploitation films. I argue that looking at the streaming presence of Italian horror and comparing it to its prior distribution on home video formats (in particular VHS and DVD) we can grasp how distribution and access have shaped the understanding of the genre. In particular, I address the question of the categorization of the films made by the S-VOD services and the limits of streaming distribution, such as lack of persistency in availability and the need of enhanced curatorship.

DISSERTAÇÃO - Cinema na Educação: uma forma inovativa para compreender literatura brasileira no ensino médio

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação da Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul para a obtenção do título de Mestre em Comunicação.

Hemeroteca digital temática: socialização da informação em cinema

MEDEIROS, Rildeci; MELO, Erica S. F.; NASCIMENTO, M. S. Hemeroteca digital temática: socialização da informação em cinema.In:SEMINÁRIO NACIONAL DE BIBLIOTECAS UNIVERSITÁRIAS,15.,2008,São Paulo. Anais eletrônicos... São Paulo:CRUESP,2008. Disponível em: http://www.sbu.unicamp.br/snbu2008/anais/site/pdfs/3018.pdf

An active vision system integrating fast and slow processes

[EN]This paper describes an Active Vision System whose design assumes a distinction between fast or reactive and slow or background processes. Fast processes need to operate in cycles with critical timeouts that may affect system stability. While slow processes, though necessary, do not compromise system stability if its execution is delayed. Based on this simple taxonomy, a control architecture has been proposed and a prototype implemented that is able to track people in real-time with a robotic head while trying to identify the target. In this system, the tracking module is considered as the reactive part of the system while person identification is considered a background task.

O cinema, o jogo e a cultura

práticas artificiais, que incluem a experiência midiática, numa negociação/conciliação permanente entre a cultura objetiva (social) e a subjetiva (do indivíduo). A mediação cotidiana e fundamental é a comunicação do real com o imaginário. Para além do ato ou efeito de mediar, de estar entre, as mediações são a articulação entre práticas de comunicação e movimentos sociais; são as modalidades da comunicação dentro das quais se inserem os meios e que estão ligadas ao sensorium dos modos de percepção e da experiência social. O cinema reflete esse quadro como produto de uma experiência coletiva de fascínio mágico, um lugar de participação afetiva. Comporta elementos do jogo não competitivo e também apresenta elementos do sagrado pela alimentação e divulgação de mitos, pela ritualização convertida em periodicidade e pelo extraordinário evocado em êxtase profano.

Towards an Asynchronous Cinema: how can the asynchronous use of sound in artists' moving image underpin the creation of dialectic tension between the audio, the visual and the audience?

This PhD by publication examines selected practice-based audio-visual works made by the author over a ten-year period, placing them in a critical context. Central to the publications, and the focus of the thesis, is an exploration of the role of sound in the creation of dialectic tension between the audio, the visual and the audience. By first analysing a number of texts (films/videos and key writings) the thesis locates the principal issues and debates around the use of audio in artists’ moving image practice. From this it is argued that asynchronism, first advocated in 1929 by Pudovkin as a response to the advent of synchronised sound, can be used to articulate audio-visual relationships. Central to asynchronism’s application in this paper is a recognition of the propensity for sound and image to adhere, and in visual music for there to be a literal equation of audio with the visual, often married with a quest for the synaesthetic. These elements can either be used in an illusionist fashion, or employed as part of an anti-illusionist strategy for realising dialectic. Using this as a theoretical basis, the paper examines how the publications implement asynchronism, including digital mapping to facilitate innovative reciprocal sound and image combinations, and the asynchronous use of ‘found sound’ from a range of online sources to reframe the moving image. The synthesis of publications and practice demonstrates that asynchronism can both underpin the creation of dialectic, and be an integral component in an audio-visual anti-illusionist methodology.

Cinema horror: storia ed influenze. Proposta di sottotitolaggio di due cortometraggi di Rubin Stein e Aitor Uribarri.

In questo elaborato verrà discusso il sottotitolaggio sia nella sua forma teorica, sia pratica. e verranno presentati due cortometraggi in lingua spagnola di genere horror, “Tin & Tina” di Rubin Stein ed “Horizonte” di Aitor Uribarri e ne verranno proposte le traduzioni sotto forma di sottotitolaggio. Nel primo capitolo verrà trattato il sottotitolaggio e le sue varie tipologie e caratteristiche, con particolare attenzione al sottotitolaggio interlinguistico, utilizzato per i due cortometraggi precedentemente elencati. Nella seconda parte saranno presentati i due cortometraggi ed i rispettivi autori, contestualizzandoli all’interno del cinema del cinema horror attraverso una analisi storico-tematica del cinema dell’orrore spagnolo e internazionale; concluderò il capitolo con un confronto con il cinema horror italiano. Nel terzo capitolo verranno analizzate le difficoltà riscontrate nella traduzione dei sottotitoli, la metodologia utilizzata e le tecniche di sottotitolaggio utilizzate.

A Hint of the Lavender - The Gay Gangster in British Crime Cinema

This chapter traces the image of the gay gangster in British cinema. It draws upon film history and Queer theory to attempt to understand the fascination of this marginal character.

Slow Oscillations in the Mouse Hippocampus Entrained by Nasal Respiration

Different types of network oscillations occur in different behavioral, cognitive, or vigilance states. The rodent hippocampus expresses prominentoscillations atfrequencies between 4 and 12Hz,which are superimposed by phase-coupledoscillations (30 –100Hz).These patterns entrain multineuronal activity over large distances and have been implicated in sensory information processing and memory formation. Here we report a new type of oscillation at near- frequencies (2– 4 Hz) in the hippocampus of urethane-anesthetized mice. The rhythm is highly coherent with nasal respiration and with rhythmic field potentials in the olfactory bulb: hence, we called it hippocampal respiration-induced oscillations. Despite the similarity in frequency range, several features distinguish this pattern from locally generatedoscillations: hippocampal respiration-induced oscillations have a unique laminar amplitude profile, are resistant to atropine, couple differentlytooscillations, and are abolished when nasal airflow is bypassed bytracheotomy. Hippocampal neurons are entrained by both the respiration-induced rhythm and concurrent oscillations, suggesting a direct interaction between endogenous activity in the hippocampus and nasal respiratory inputs. Our results demonstrate that nasal respiration strongly modulates hippocampal network activity in mice, providing a long-range synchronizing signal between olfactory and hippocampal networks.

May the Giant Be With You: Twin Peaks Season Two, Episode One and the Television Auteur

The premiere of Season Two of Twin Peaks garnered some of the highest ratings of the series, with celebrated filmmaker and co-creator David Lynch stepping back into the director’s chair. Yet, within this episode many traditional television conventions are flouted, and in response the following week the ratings dropped dramatically. From its slow-paced opening scenes in which an old man admonishes the wounded, bleeding protagonist to drink his warm milk before it gets cold, followed by a vision of a giant speaking in riddles, this episode not only tested its audience’s patience but also seemed to set out to deliberately confuse them. In this essay I will explore how this episode is an example of auteur television, an episode in which the director expresses a consistency of style and theme that is similar to their other work, as well as examine how Lynch’s approach to televisual aesthetics has influenced the way that contemporary film directors have crossed over into the television medium. However, when taking into account the differences in the two media of film and television notions of authorship, with regards to the position of the director, become complicated, especially when considering contemporary television and the rise of the showrunner as key creative force. Even when looking back at Lynch’s contribution to Twin Peaks it becomes clear that the series was deeply collaborative, with Lynch absent during parts of the filming. Yet, when examining the extensive material that has been written about Twin Peaks there is still a continuing tendency to place Lynch as the sole author. The placement of Lynch as author can be argued in relation to the episodes he directed (as will be explored below in relation to the first episode of Season Two), but cannot be attributed to him alone when considering the series as a whole. Finally, I will discuss how the figure of the television auteur has become a central element of television reception rather than production, an integral part of a viewer’s search for narrative meaning in a medium where complexity and mystery are now expected and enjoyed. Just as fans scrambled to uncover the many secrets and mysteries of Twin Peaks by looking to Lynch’s other works for answers, a similar process is experienced by fans of television shows existing today.

O cinema como recurso didático no ensino-aprendizagem de espanhol como língua estrangeira

O presente relatório final de estágio insere-se no âmbito das unidades curriculares de Prática de Ensino Supervisionada I - II e do Seminário de Investigação em Didática das Línguas Estrangeiras I – II, e tem por finalidade apresentar um projeto com contornos de investigação-ação desenvolvido com o intuito de estudar as potencialidades didáticas do cinema e de perceber em que medida este recurso poderá ajudar os discentes a desenvolverem e melhorarem competências de expressão oral, além de outras aprendizagens. Na primeira parte deste trabalho, e tendo por base um conjunto de bibliografia especializada sobre o tema, elaboramos o enquadramento teórico que expõe a temática das potencialidades do cinema como recurso didático. Numa segunda parte, numa abordagem mais prática, são apresentadas propostas didáticas com o propósito de comprovar e aplicar os pressupostos teóricos apresentados. Para o efeito e como instrumentos de recolha de dados, fizemos uso de inquéritos por questionário e da análise documental de manuais e de trabalhos realizados pelos discentes. Estes dados foram tratados através de uma análise de conteúdo e de procedimentos metodológicos quantitativos e qualitativos. Este projeto de investigação revestiu-se de grande importância ao justificar que os benefícios proporcionados pelo uso do cinema em contexto didático contribuem para o sucesso da aprendizagem dos alunos. A título de conclusão, recomenda-se uma maior utilização do cinema como recurso didático, consciencializando os discentes e docentes das suas potencialidades enquanto promotor de aprendizagem.

Thalamic modulation of the cortisal slow oscillation

Il est bien établi que le thalamus joue un rôle crucial dans la génération de l’oscillation lente synchrone dans le cortex pendant le sommeil lent. La puissance des ondes lente / delta (0.2-4 Hz) est un indicateur quantifiable de la qualité du sommeil. La contribution des différents noyaux thalamiques dans la génération de l’activité à ondes lentes et dans sa synchronisation n’est pas connue. Nous émettons l’hypothèse que les noyaux thalamiques de premier ordre (spécifiques) influencent localement l’activité à ondes lentes dans les zones corticales primaires, tandis que les noyaux thalamiques d’ordre supérieur (non spécifiques) synchronisent globalement les activités à ondes lentes à travers de larges régions corticales. Nous avons analysé les potentiels de champ locaux et les activités de décharges de différentes régions corticales et thalamiques de souris anesthésiées alors qu’un noyau thalamique était inactivé par du muscimol, un agoniste des récepteurs GABA. Les enregistrements extracellulaires multi-unitaires dans les noyaux thalamiques de premier ordre (VPM) et d’ordre supérieur (CL) montrent des activités de décharges considérablement diminuées et les décharges par bouffées de potentiels d’action sont fortement réduites après inactivation. Nous concluons que l’injection de muscimol réduit fortement les activités de décharges et ne potentialise pas la génération de bouffées de potentiel d’action à seuil bas. L’inactivation des noyaux thalamiques spécifiques avec du muscimol a diminué la puissance lente / delta dans la zone corticale primaire correspondante. L’inactivation d’un noyau non spécifique avec le muscimol a significativement réduit la puissance delta dans l’ensemble du cortex étudié. Nos expériences démontrent que le thalamus a un rôle crucial dans la génération de l’oscillation lente corticale.