Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

One of my early artist's books...'Bikers' Mardi Gras' (maquette) Get it while it is hot...Vimeo may shut it down. Strong NSFW content. Noteworthy as it has examples of some of my earliest infrared flash photography. (If Vimeo takes it down I will send in a link for the Internet Archive.)

I would laugh at the photogs on the forums that always asked why doesn't my printed photo look like my computer screen image? The people on the forums would tell them they needed to calibrate their monitor. But no one ever told them that seldom does a transmitted light image match the reflected light image...calibration or not. If you want to make prints you have an inkjet printer at your side and keep refining prints as you make changes. In short, you let the printer tell you what to do and not the screen. Well, I'm in the same boat as the camera fondlers that I used to poke fun at, but my problem is with post processing video clips. I'm making a video of an old book I did called Bikers' Mardi Gras. I'm on the 17th version of post processing. Just terrible. When I PP the video clips to look good on the computer, they look bad on TV. They are too contrasty, too saturated and some have exposure issues. When I view the clips on the computer, the clips that look good on the TV look flat and poor on the computer. My monitor is calibrated fine for still photography. The TV must be boosting the image. I've tried it on a couple of TV's and had similar results, although one TV was a little worse than the other. My PP setup is a mess. I got to watch a Blu-ray of the video on the TV, jot down PP notes, then run into a different room where the computer is to make (guess) at the adjustments on it. Then when done with 150 clips I burn a new Blu-ray and take a look see as to how it looks. I guess the karma god is getting back at me for making fun of the camera fondlers all those years with their printing problems. I will need to have at least 2 sets of files for the project. One for Blu-ray DVD and the other for internet use. And maybe a 3rd set for regular DVD? I've only tested Blu-ray so far. Do you view your post work on a TV before finalizing? If so, what type of setup do you have for real time PP work combining TV with computer? Thanks

This post is from Photrio Forum. They are a mainly analog, still film forum. They don't like me posting there any longer...the mods didn't like my photos. But I still check in periodically and read it to keep up with the film devotees. The title of this guys post was entitled. 'EXPOSING WITHOUT A METER FOR MENTAL SOLACE' Really it should have been termed 'Exposing without a meter for ego sake.' Some photogs like to make photography a game. I've read all sort of things online..."street photography does not count unless you look the subject in the eye"..."never crop a photo, if you crop it, it was not meant to be taken,"... "don't use a screen on your digital camera so you can concentrate on the subject be surprised later like the film era"...and on and on. Here is his post: Tuesday at 9:03 AM #1 David Lyga Member Ads Enabled Messages: 2,792 Joined: Nov 25, 2007 Location: Philadelphia Shooter: 35mm End of post When Leica first came out with a custom, screen-less digital camera, they charged almost triple what the camera with the screen cost. Some camera fondlers were trying to justify in their mind how paying 3X times the price of a camera with a screen not to get the screen was worth it. They felt the screen was a distraction and the root of all their problems....without the screen they would magically take great photos. Personally I almost never use a meter with digital photography, but I do use the screen extensively to get an exposure dialed in. I shoot manual about 90% of the time, when snapshot shooting I may use auto exposure. In the old days we used $$ polaroid backs on view cameras to get dialed in. I view the digital screen as a gift from God. Now, in the film era I almost always used a meter, although when fast shooting much of my street work was a guestimate...no time for a meter. That is where experience helps. In the digital era sometimes I can't shoot a test shot for exposure. You got one shot to get it and experience is needed for success. Here was a tough guestimate I shot a while back. 'Christmas 2017' NYC Infrared Flash (Candid) from 'Living in a Cardboard Box' project. Click to view. (This is a low-res version, hi-res photo looks better than this.) This was taken while walking by at night with the camera at my side, swinging my arm and shot at the apex of the arm swing, blind - aka shooting from the hip. The bright white foam insulation was a foot from the camera flash and the main subject matter was about 6 feet away. Focus was zone estimate, exposure was a guesstimate of splitting the difference of 1 foot to 6 foot and was worked out in post. Sure, there is excitement when getting a shot like this. But it is not a game. I put the shot first, not my ego. I use every available tool to get the shot.

Was it as good as regular dvd?

Very nice, although didn't like the lines on the side of frame. I am an archivist. Lots of my film is naturally distressed. I try to make it look better and not worse. But that is just me. Maybe kids like it. Sound is very good. No expert on cloning, but looks good to me. Good luck!

I got this email from Leslie-Lohman Museum. (NY museum that specializes in homosexual material.) I had emailed earlier offering a donation a number of rare DVD's that are up their alley, but I never got a reply. Well, at least they are trying. But first step is to answer your email. -------------------------------------------------------- Calling all queer collectors, media makers, artists, and hoarders! It’s time to get your old tapes out of the closet...and over to the Leslie-Lohman Museum so you can get those tapes digitized! CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS Community Digitization at the Leslie-Lohman Museum August 21 - August 25 SIGN UP HERE Do you have home movies or art projects trapped on audio or video tapes? Maybe you wish you could watch that video you made of that performance your best friend organized in 2000? Or the one you shot at a protest you attended in 1995? Or that experimental video art project you edited in 1987? SIGN UP SIGN UP to participate in XFR Collective’s week at the Leslie-Lohman Museum as part of the exhibition Arch during the month of August. Or just stop by our exhibit! See us at work, watch selections from our collection of digitized community videos, poke at old media hardware, or hang out and chat with us about media archiving. Too often, works created by and offering documentation of queer communities get trapped on hard-to-play, degrading, magnetic media in basements, under beds, and (yes) inside closets because the cost to store, preserve, and transfer media is too high. It is vital that independent, queer, low-income, experimental, community based artists and artists groups have the tools and knowledge to preserve their own work. If we don’t lead to take care of our own work, it’s likely that no one else will. XFR Collective, an all-volunteer archiving and education group, is hosting a video and audio transfer station in the Fritz Lohman Gallery at the Leslie-Lohman Museum. In addition to offering free digitization services by appointment, the station will also offer a space to discuss strategies for preserving personal and community media. Visitors will be invited to watch tapes as we transfer them, and to seek advice from XFR Collective members about preserving AV materials. We believe that it is important to include “preservation” as part of the conversation around queer visual history - we believe that archiving, preserving, and making accessible community media that lies outside of the mainstream is essential for the creation of a more inclusive understanding of our past and present. Appointments. All appointments are facilitated by XFR members and volunteers trained in digitization and preservation. Transfer appointments are intended for both the process of digital transfer, and also as an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about the content of each tape and the question of how to care for digital files. Participants should be aware that the works they bring for transfer will be publicly viewable during the transfer, and they are expected to remain present for the duration of the appointment (approximately two hours). Visitors to the exhibition are also welcome to watch and ask questions while we work. If you are unavailable or unwilling to make a public appointment, XFR collective offers small scale digitization services. Learn more on our How We Work webpage. To apply for an appointment please complete the following form: https://forms.gle/NSErN5bcvuxhX2Pe7. Completing this form does not guarantee an appointment. An XFR member will follow up with a confirmation email. Formats. All media submitted must be original material that was created by the participant, or original material that the creator agreed to allow the participant to have digitized. All rights and permissions to material must be attended to by the participant. The following media formats can be accommodated: Video (NTSC only): VHS, Hi8, and MiniDV Audio: Compact audio cassette Process. For each appointment, XFR members will advise participants on best practices for preservation and transfer. Appointment times include both inspecting the tape, gathering necessary information, and digitizing the tape. To determine what work to select for digitization, participants are asked to consider a 2:1 ratio of digitization to assessment time. For example, two hours of tape transfer necessitates one hour of preparatory or troubleshooting time. Since old tapes can be susceptible to deterioration or mold, participants are advised to select the media you would most like preserved, but also to bring back up material in case your first choice of tape requires more in-depth conservation work than we will be equipped to perform at your appointment. Storage and distribution. All materials that are digitized by XFR Collective will be made publicly available on the Internet Archive, a nonprofit institution whose mission includes offering “free and open access to all the world's knowledge” and providing permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public to cultural heritage collections. All participants will be able to download preservation-grade digital versions of their materials from the Internet Archive. Selections from the digitized content posted on the Internet Archive may be informally screened at future XFR Collective events. Since access is an important part of XFR Collective’s mission, appointments will be prioritized for those that agree to online access. However, if you have concerns regarding access to your content on the Internet Archive, we are happy to discuss this in advance of your appointment. More information regarding XFR Collective’s use of the Internet Archive is available upon request. What is XFR Collective? XFR Collective is a non-profit organization that partners with artists, activists, individuals, and groups to lower the barriers to preserving at-risk audiovisual media – especially unseen, unheard, or marginalized works – by providing low-cost digitization services and fostering a community of support for archiving and access through education, research, and cultural engagement. At its core, our collective aims to support the inclusion of all peoples in the preservation, and circulation of media created by artists, individuals, and organizations. For more information about XFR Collective visit our website. The exhibition. Arch is an exhibition that presents new opportunities for liveness, audience engagement, collectivity, worldmaking, and preservation. During the exhibition’s four weeks, visitors will have the chance to interact with the work of four different collectives/artists — Savannah Knoop, micha cárdenas, XFR Collective, and Memory Foam — each of whom will occupy the Fritz Lohman Gallery for one week. From digitizing analog archives to excavating institutional histories to storytelling and time traveling, the exhibition focuses on practices that dually emphasize collaboration and temporality. Images: (c) XFR Collective, 2019. Wednesday - Sunday: 12-6 PM Thursday: 12-8 PM LeslieLohman.org ‌ ‌ ‌

Over the last year I've been in the process of making my photo books into movies as another way to document them and share the material online. Here is an early movie I did of an early book I made. It is a short history and presentation of my artist's book entitled 'Cutters: There is nothing I hate more than myself. ' It is also a good example of how an underground archivist may work. The book / film documents banned material on self harm that Yahoo removed once they acquired Tumblr in 2013. https://archive.org/details/CuttersSelfHarmD.D.TeoliJr.1280x7208m50s I got interested in this subject years ago when a lady told me her friend had to go to the emergency room to get stiches because of a cut. I asked her how she got cut and she said the girl cut herself. I thought to myself, "Jesus, what the hell is wrong with her." So, I looked into it, not by reading about it, but initially by studying the subject in found photography. (I'm one of those guys that does not like books without photos!) Later on after I digested enough photos I looked at a little of their art and writing to round things off with my knowledge search. I have 80+ websites on WordPress, some up and running, some under construction. But I can't take a chance putting up material like this at WordPress. WordPress has almost never censored my work, other than when I made a post about eBay and they thought it was SPAM. But their rules and many other sites look at self harm as just a step below kiddy porn. And actually, I've had more trouble at the Internet Archive than on WordPress, but the Archive has been good with about 99.9% of whatever I throw at them. Supposedly my artists' book I made on 'Cutters' is one of the few, if not only pictorial photo books, on this subject in the world. Lots of books on cutting at WorldCat, but nothing that I can see with the range of photos my book has - they are all text. When you think about it, it would be a very hard subject to shoot I've read about 2%-3% of the young girls are cutters. So what would an old guy in his 60's be doing knowing thousands of young teen girls in order to be able to find the few cutters among them to photograph. Then he would have to get them to let him photograph them while cutting. Beside ethics, and even if he was successful, what would they say about the old guy in his 60's shooting 14 year old girls nude in the bathtub while they cut themselves? I bring up this backstory to you to underscore this fact...that as rare as this material is and possibly being the only / few photo books of its kind in the world, I had a 80%+ rejection rate for donating hand-printed copies of the book to special collection libraries around the world.

Thanks. I have trouble watching em all myself...and I made em! Sometimes when I review films sent in here, I complain it may be too boring for my ADD. And I don't mean to hurt the filmmakers feelings, but just how my mind works. And while my material is not boring to me, it requires too much concentration for me after about 10 minutes. That was one of the reasons I got into speed films, so I could watch long films faster. And really by the time I finish the film I've shot some prelims, looked over the content photos a lot, shot it, maybe shot it again due to some screw ups, then edited it, maybe edited some more and by that time I'm sick of it. So that is the issue with making films and having ADD. Filmmaking requires lots of concentration. This version of the film is an early one. I changed a few things in it, but it is more or less about 98% the same as the current version.

Good idea Phil. I'm using a mini HP desktop. I used to use a laptop on my lap in the old days while watching TV. The heat felt like it would burn me sometimes. I gave up on it after I read they give off radio waves or some such thing that are bad for your privates. Now I only use a laptop if traveling. I much prefer the little mini desktop. I used the laptop as a desktop back then too. I added a big monitor and closed up laptop to use on the big screen. They worked pretty good too. But they cheapened the laptop up (less USBs, no DVD writer) so I gave up on them and went for a small desktop.

Nice job for your first film. You got all the basics down. Keep at it and make some more. Sound varies, I'd say improve on the sound for some shots. It is kinda long for me, maybe some tighter editing. Lighting could be better on a few shots. Music was good. Good luck!

Nice... glad it work for ya!

Wow! I read a still photog's computer took 15 minutes to process 1 photo. Guess it all varies. My little computer feels like a blow dryer when I walk by it when it is processing big runs. I got a mini fan to blow air into it to help cool it down.

It is like that in art, photography, writing, poetry and possibly music too. All unrealistic dreamers. (Although, some may get teaching credentials and end up 'teaching art' instead of doing art.) There is an old cruster on this forum (I guess he is old, he sounded old from his thinking) that chewed me out when I complained how YouTube banned me for content I tried to put up. He said the rules were clearly stated, so why did I complain? (Oh, I'm an old cruster too!) Well, if you are into the arts, you have to be able to dream. Sometimes the dreams are unrealistic. Many times you see no reason why you cannot succeed, it is not in your scope of thought to think of failing. If you don't think like that, then you may not have much creative / artistic ability in your blood. In short...you don't follow the rules. If you’re dedicated to your art, you MUST produce and keep producing, whether you have an outlet or not to make $…or even have any practical use or job for your output. In a 1979 interview entitled Inside New York’s Art World, artist Louise Nevelson said: “I think that when someone is willing to live and die for something…that means it is in the genes.” That pretty much sums up the sacrifices that many an artist will go through in order to do their art – they are willing to live and die for their art. Whether painter, draftsman, photographer, writer, musician, sculptor, actor or poet, artists use their art as a way to see, interpret and make sense of their world. In an intro to his review on Amazon of Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939 by Virginia Nicholson, Lleu Christopher distills what fuels the bohemian life.“Nicholson has a genuine appreciation for the bohemian spirit, and acknowledges the sacrifices made by many obscure artists, poets and others existing (often marginally) at society’s fringes. For some, the idealistic decision to forsake conventional society for a life dedicated to art, romance, poetry or perhaps a vaguer idea such as beauty or authenticity was never rewarded with any kind of material success. Was there any compensation for those living such marginal lives? Nicholson makes the case that for many, a life dedicated to art, romance and freedom is its own reward. For those who embody the bohemian spirit, material comforts and security are not worth the price of suppressing one’s creativity and individuality.” But sadly, dreams cost $$ and it takes lots of $$ to live. Lots more $$ than in the old days when they had coldwater flats for the monthly price of what it costs to part for a day or two in NYC. Dunno if this guy is an artist or not, but he had a stack of different signs behind him. He said if one sign was not producing he would try another one. So he had some creativity around his begging. That is how you have to do it with the arts, just keep trying. There may be a good chance you wont succeed, but just maybe you will get some small successes. And if not, try to have a stable wifey or hubby or some form of plan B.

So if my film had 173 individual digital files or movie clips I would be correct in saying I post processed 173 reels for the movie?

I'm processing 6-3/4 hours of digital content composed of 174 separate files. To upscale it and spit out a finished file it takes 3+ hours. Does that sound right or is my computer way behind? It is a new desktop, albeit lower end model with added RAM.

What about digital files. Are they still called reels?

What are the individual film shorts used in post processing that are combined to form the final film called. Are they called 'film clips' or is there a more proper terminology? Thanks

Now, Perry will tell you upscaling loses sharpness. And that it does...if you use a microscope. I've done lots of upscaling with still photos. It has its use, but it not a magic bullet. https://danieldteolijrarchivalcollection.wordpress.com/2019/04/27/to-upscale-or-not-upscale/ But the question here is not how upscaling works for the pixel peepers, it is how does upscaling work in the real world for TV and the big screen when viewed at normal viewing distances. When I shot 'Offshoots...' I had to use a relatively low res camera. It produced a 1280x720 file. When I used higher res cameras I got too much moiré while shooting the tablet's screen. nsfw I made standard def DVD and Blu-ray 1080 of 'Offshoots...' The upscaled Blu-ray looked very good. Much, much nicer than the standard def DVD. I also made an upscaled file that was 3840x2160. When I burned a Blu-ray of it, the 3840x2160 looked basically the same as the 1920x1080 version on a 70 inch TV and I didn't see any benefit to it one way or the other, even when viewed a few feet from the screen. (I was mainly looking to see if it was less sharp and that is was not.) But my question is this... I don't have means to project it bigger. Has anyone upscaled for the big screen? Would there be any benefit in the 3840x2160 image over the 1920x1080 for projection on big screens? (And if you have not upscaled for the big screen, then what are you basing your opinion on?) Thanks

With the naked young boy dangling his penis for a good chunk of the beginning, I wonder if Jodorowsky's 'El Topo' could be made today in the USA? Or would his ass get canned by the kiddy porn police? The other night on the news they hauled someone in. Beside kiddy porn they said he had child erotica. First time I had heard of child erotica. But I have heard that parents got in legal trouble for taking photos of their kid naked in the bath / shower. Someone told me back in the day the laws were different. It might boil down to 1970s = OK 2019 = not OK. Although if made in a different country, then it may not be any problem.

Finally finished film. This is the 'FAH' version. (FAH = **(obscenity removed)** a Hater) Original film was about 6-3/4 hours long. I sped it up 10X and got it down to 43min5s. I'm sick of social documentary (people) work for a while. Spent 2018-2019 on IG documentaries making 67 films by looking through 200,000+ IG posts on thousands of accounts. But I got nowhere to go...I'm not a sunset shooter. Short backstory is at end of film. I'd like to put a hi-res version on Blu-ray. Still trying to figure it out. All my software does in standard DVD. I will have to make a non 'FAH' version for those that don't like the FAH. But I think if they don't like the FAH because of language, they wont like the film because of the content either. So maybe I will just leave it FAH. Gotta be true to your art when you are underground. There is no $$...no notoriety...so if you can't be true to your art when underground...what do you have??

I haven't read the post that caused the hubbub as I like to read threads backwards sometimes. Maybe it is an ADD thing. So, I hope to eventually get to it...if I don't get bored! They got all types in the world...+ and - , we just got to make do best we can dealing with the + and -. On a photo forum that banned me, and just a short time after joining, someone PM'd me. He/they said they worked at an art school that had some of my hand-printed artist's books and photos in their collection and he/they thought my books didn't really mean much since they were self-published, donated and not critically reviewed. He/they were a proff at the school. He/they said only purchased photos and commercially published books 'counts.' And while he/they is generally right, Twentysix Gasoline Stations was in a similar boat and sells for... https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30035858856&searchurl=an%3DEd%2BRuscha%26sortby%3D1&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title4 I can only hope the proff was more encouraging with their students. Luckily there are no photo police to demand an accounting...we only have to please ourselves. If you approach art as a job, then $$ is everything. If you approach art as your life, then $$ is a side issue. A true artist uses their art to make sense of the world and must do it irrespective of $$, fame, success or notoriety.

Yes, concur. I can only be an experimental filmmaker. Producing on schedule and $$ demands ruins it for me...that is WORK! Agree on health. Gained 60 pounds working on computer PP. Sleep goes too!

Yes, good advice. Kerouac may have said it best.."you've got to stick to it with the energy of a benny addict.” Expose yourself to as many areas of inspiration as possible. You never know where success may sprout from. Good luck!

OK, will check them out...Thanks!

Why do you say optical is dead? Use it all the time. Only issue I have with optical is the amount of data they hold. OK, now who uses floppy any more...but you can still get lots of USB floppy drives in 2019. So tech seems to stick around a little longer than many think. The reason I brought up CD's earlier was in response to Perry saying the hardware will be gone in a few years. 34 years later and no shortage of CD readers...with no end in sight. Personally I keep my material on HDD, a very few SDD and DVD's. I'd like to add LTO, but the cost is prohibitive as of now. It is all magnetic media so to speak. The closest thing to film is optical, not magnetic. (Not in terms of film look, in archival qualities.) Although I have some early reel to reel tape from the 50's that is still good. So tape may offer good archival qualities as well, but I think 'M' discs are more stable.