Video: SNAP featuring Brooklyn

by Elizabeth Seward on

SNAP from andrea gise on Vimeo.

Agise & dancers is a Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based dance company headed up by a talented lady, Andrea Gise. Gise is a dancer/choreographer who has been releasing videos of her work lately. Agise & Dancers recently released an amazing video, titled SNAP. The video work for SNAP was done by Philip Knowlton.

Why am I telling you about this video? Because it features Brooklyn in a beautiful way. Shot in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, these guys did well with their location-scouting because the Brooklyn backdrop for this video is so very Brooklyn. And I mean that in the best way possible.

Check out the video for some excellent dance and beautiful Brooklyn moments captured on film.

Video of the Day – Make your travel photos Hollywood-worthy

by Stephen Greenwood on

Vacation photos can sometimes be disappointing, or at very least, a little less ‘epic’ than how you remembered them. But as Youtube user postjhb shows us in today’s Video of the Day, all it takes to turn those summer vacation stills into moving masterpieces is a Photoshop tutorial and a little creative energy.

If you need some inspiration for this summer’s big getaway, hit play & check out postjhb’s technique. It boils down to 4 simple steps; taking two good photos (one with the subject & one without), extracting the subject from the background in Photoshop, and then using a video editor to cause the two layers to move against each other. The full process is outlined here.

If that’s a little too complicated, try some of Gadling’s easy Travel Photo Tips so that you’re all ready to shoot like a pro as this summer kicks off! If you already have a shot (or video) you’re proud of, submit it to Gadling’s Flickr Pool or leave a comment below & it could be our next Photo/Video of the Day!

Making Cars in the Great Lakes: Inside Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant

by Paul Brady on

Before I left Chicago for points east, I had a chance to tour Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, a complex that finishes about 1160 vehicles a day. A great majority of those are Ford Explorers, pieced together by line workers wearing safety glasses and headphones, working pneumatic tools in a hypnotizing ballet of endless repetition. Whir, whir, whir.

Walking the floor, following pedestrian pathways marked by bright yellow paint, I watched linemen and women raise engine assemblies into vehicle bodies, hang doors and bolt wheels, as conveyor belts ceaselessly inched the unfinished machines ever forward. (A tip: When touring the plant, one steps over the drive-chains running through channels in the floor.)

My tour guide Larry, a dead ringer for Jesse Ventura, even let me jump in a just-finished Explorer the moment it rolled off the line. Videographer Stephen Greenwood, who’s riding along for this part of my ride, captured the mesmerizing shots after the break.

Traveling the American Road – Ford Assembly Plant Tour


Frommer’s Jason Clampet dishes on top vacation destinations of 2011

by Grant Martin on

Double take! Is that our good friend Jason Clampet over at Frommer‘s on the live telerobot? In fact it is! A senior editor over at Frommer’s, a slideshow and SEO wizard and an all around great guy, we spotted Mr. Clampet over on ABC news talking about top vacation destinations and tips for 2011. Could this be the beginning of travel punditry for Mr. Clampet and the Frommer’s squad? If so, we’re looking forward to it. Let us know what you think of the video below and how you think that travel world will be when we’re all subservient Clampites.


VIDEO: Istanbul in 1967

by Meg Nesterov on


As an expat in Istanbul, I enjoy seeing anything Turkey-related, and this vintage video of the former Constantinople is especially fun to see. Narrated by a droll British commentator, you travel over and around Istanbul, checking out some of the big sights such as Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, as well as life on the Bosphorus before the bridges were constructed to provide alternate access between the European and Asian sides of the city. Not too much has changed in 45 years, though the traffic seems lighter and the city less crowded than with today’s populate of 13 million (or perhaps more) people. I’d like to say that the Galata Bridge is no longer a “man’s world,” but fishing is still mostly men-only even if women are not only “veiled or hidden away”.

They do miss out on some correct terminology: the “different and delightful” bread ring is a simit, best accompanied by some Turkish cheese or with a full breakfast spread. The “hubble bubble pipe” is a nargile, found at many cafes and bars around the city and savored with a hot glass of çay (only tourists drink the apple stuff) or a cold Efes (if your nargile bar happens to serve alcohol). Barbeque remains a national pastime of the Turks and yes, “any old tin” will do. As in 1967, Istanbul is still the place to savor a fish sandwich fresh from the water, hop on a ferry between continents, and admire your newly shined shoes.