Week 30: 22-28 July 2019

A very active week – despite no classes! I spent almost two full days with my highschool friend A, who came to Berlin with his wife and kids. This included going to Sommerbad Neukölln and playing Mariokart at our place. The six year old was not very good at it though (despite loving it) and the three year old lost interest almost immediately.

After much research I bought Sony’s 16-35 f4 Zeiss lens – it was expensive but Sony offered 100 euro cashback until last of July, so it was a good opportunity. I considered the Zeiss Batis 18 mm f2.8 prime lens, which is supposed to be super crisp, but the fact that it doesn’t have optical stabilisation put me off, and the 16-35 lens is supposed to be very similar image quality, but with stabilisation and the two extra mm wide angle. I want the wide angle for certain shots in Tokyo that I have in mind. But still no reply from the shop I asked for permission to film in. I should contact more shops.

I’m now trying out my camera + lens setup on the Ronin-SC gimbal. At first I couldn’t even mount it without taking off the eyecup, but in the end I could put it on again. I’m watching lots of Youtube tutorials now on how to actually use a gimbal, or use it in the best way.

The weekend was very exhausting: Together with S I did a full critical mass on Friday, a full CSD plus aborted alternative CSD on Saturday, and the three hour city walk In Search of the Miraculous with Mark Curran today – a part of the “collective happening” Interiors to Being organised by Picture Berlin.

Despite all the social activity I managed to pin down a “shitty first draft” of my essay for Media Activism, but I plan to rewrite and restructure quite violently. I’m afraid I’m not very inspired for tomorrow’s presentation in the Space and Place colloquium though. I wonder if I should switch subject. I always find it hard to be passionate about different things.

I went to the dentist and will go back next week.

Readings

Space and Place

My essay

• Technologiestiftung:
  • • Data Dive: Cycling data in Berlin
    • Assessing open bike sharing data in Berlin
    • The rhythm of the road

Japanese

Apps

• Memrise: 48,000 (jōyō kanji, 小6)
• Nextbook 漢字:
  • 小3 writing level 12–24 (so hard – I miss about half of them!)

Other

Articles

• The Economist:
  • The unlikely rise of book fairs in the Gulf
  • Germany’s far right: strong in the east, weak in the west
  • Saudi Arabia weighs loosening more controls on women
  • Japan’s dull election is a sign of ailing politics
  • Politically correct cross-dressing in China
  • Taking sides in Hong Kong’s protests presents opportunities for firms
  • Johnson: The internet is changing language less than curmudgeons fear
  • Youngsters are avoiding Facebook—but not the firm’s other platforms
  • Obituary: Pierre Mambele died on June 8th
  • Leader: Heatwaves are killing people
  • Leader: To stop no-deal, Tory MPs must be ready to bring down Boris Johnson
  • How the Jewish Museum Berlin fell out with Jews
  • Ethnic separatists are challenging Ethiopia’s unity
  • Banyan: Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Japan ponders what it means to be Japanese
• Der Spiegel: Apples Kameraautos sollen deutsche Straßen fotografieren
• Siegessäule: Blechlawine (Juli 2019, Stadtautobahn A100 stoppen)
• Aktionsbündnis A100 stoppen:
  • Kostenexplosion am 16. Bauabschnitt der A100 von Neukölln bis Treptower Park! (No date!)
  • CDU möchte Teile der Stadtautobahn zurückbauen! Weiter so! (January 2019)
• Tagesspiegel: Aus Plänen wird Beton – später und sparsamer (2003)
• Namehero: Why You Should Avoid Adding CSS In The Theme Customizer In WordPress
• Spiked/James Heartfield: Tom Watson: time’s up for the paedo-finder general
• MUO: What Is The Imbecilic Art Of Vaguebooking? (2012)
• N-TV x 2

Videos

• Kaiman Wong:
  • DJI Ronin SC Hands-on – Possibly the Only Gimbal You’ll Need
  • Sony RX100 VII Hands-on – Compact With a9 Performance?!
• Vu Nguyen: DJI Ronin-SC Impressions VS Zhiyun Weebill Lab & Ronin-S | Balance Sony a7iii 16-35 GM
• Camera Jabber: Controlling the Sony A7 III with the Ronin-S
• Peter McKinnon: Get HOLLYWOOD style footage with this GIMBAL! – Ronin-S Review!
• Indy Mogul:
  • How to Shoot Cinematic Interviews | 10 Easy Steps
  • 9 Things You Actually Need for Filmmaking
• Life Where I’m From: Japanese Public Bathing Explained
• Spiegel TV: Vor 20 Jahren: Zugunglück in Eschede
• Matti Haapoja:
  • 10 MISTAKES EVERY BEGINNER FILMMAKER MAKES
  • NEW DJI RONIN-SC – smaller, lighter, smarter gimbal???
  • How To Use A Gimbal Properly
  • MOST CINEMATIC GIMBAL MOVES + TIPS
• Brandon Li: Gimbal Movements: Learn the Basics
• Jeremy Thorgaard: Hamburg at Night | Sony A7 III Cinematic Test Footage (Low Light) / Sony 16-35 f4 / Sony 55 f 1,8
• Peter Lindgren:
  • SONY 16-35mm F4 | SONY Wide Angle REVIEW
  • ZEISS BATIS 18MM F2.8 | SONY FULL FRAME WIDE ANGLE LENS REVIEW
• Distantmedia: Land And Skye : Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f4 + Sony A7Rii / Cine4 Footage
• Jason Vong:
  • Sony Full Frame Lenses BUYING GUIDE – Sony a7 III a7RIII a7RII a7SII a9
  • Zeiss Batis 18mm vs 25mm in Video Production! (Ultra Wide Angle Lenses for Sony E-Mount)
• Christopher Frost: Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens review with samples (Full-frame & APS-C)
• Mauro’s films: Best Wide Angle for Sony A7 III | Sony Zeiss FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens | LONG-TERM REVIEW
• Chris Brockhurst: The only lens you need for the Sony A7III? Sony 16-35 F4 
• Cody Blue: APS-C vs FULL FRAME lenses on your full frame SONY Camera.
• Christopher Burress: Sony A7III + 10-18mm f/4 – Better than you would think!
• Marques Brownlee: The Last (and First) Folding Phone!