Camouflage Videos

There are two other posts on camouflage on this blog already, but I thought I'd add another in order to show two videos on the subject. They are a bit "lightweight," yet there's a thing or two that might be learned from them, and they are at least entertainingly presented by an amiable BBC correspondent. I think maybe they (one program, I think, split into two videos) emphasize the entertainment aspect a bit too much considering what military camouflage is used for, but here they are anyway -- I've seen them twice myself.

If you haven't seen the other posts on camouflage, take a look at the long list of topics at the right side of this page and look for "camouflage," then click on it to see the posts.

FIRST OF TWO VIDEOS
See 2nd video below.

James May - 20th Century Military Camouflage
Optical and Thermal Military Camouflage
TIME: 3 MINUTES, 57 SECONDS

NOTES I TOOK WHILE WATCHING THIS: The first thing we understand is why things are seen.....The Rule of S's: shape, shine, shadow, silhouette -- also surface color, texture, movement. The basic principles of camouflage haven't changed....Try and pick out some objects and tell why you see them...What do you not normally see in the circumstances, that's probably not supposed to be there -- shine, straight lines, etc. But we can no longer rely on greasepaint and twigs -- There are thermal imaging cameras now, for instance. A thermal imaging camera detects infra-red radiation and turns it into a visible picture on a screen - It can't be camouflaged, but there are suits designed to blur the body's thermal image.

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SECOND VIDEO - James May again

Dazzle Camouflage (for warships)
TIME: 3 MINUTES, 33 SECONDS

NOTES I TOOK WHILE WATCHING THIS: Warships camouflaged with Dazzle camouflage. Inspiration from the art galleries of Europe. Cubism. You're not sure what's where or in which direction the ship is traveling. The outline and direction and speed at which it's going are not clear.

PHOTOS:

Camouflaged Marine, Afghanistan, 2005

HMS Furious in 1918 - Dazzle Camouflage

Permalink to this post: http://thinking-about-art.blogspot.com/2008/06/camouflage-videos.html

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