So this past weekend was a terrible bore for me aside from filming on sunday. Friday and Saturday I watched a whole bunch of movies. I figured I'd blog on each one. Here I go;
Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas: This was one of my favorite movies growing up, created by Jim Hansen and his muppets. I hadn't watched it in year and noticed that it was on Netflix so needless to say I watched it with out hesitation. I even found myself almost unfamiliar with the story line. I also giggled several times at the silly lines said by characters in the film I think my favorite characters were: Chuck Stoat and Wendell Porcupine!
Untold Stories of Columbine: This was just a TV coverage of Darrell Scott (Rachel Scott's Father). Rachel Scot was the first to die on Columbine. Darrell told of his daughter's story of her life and her death and covered some of the events prior durring and after columbine, how his family dealt with the loss and how they believe God was preparing them for this unfortunate event in their lives. He also Covered how his son was also there on the say his sister died as he witnessed Isaiah Shoels, and Cassie Bernall's deaths. The two kids on either side of him were both shot but he was spared by pretending to have been shot. On his way out of the building he passed his sister's body and never knew it was her. The stories he shared were heart warming and very touching. I cried a couple of times. Especially at the part where he mentioned them being on Oprah.
Columbine: Understanding Why: This was a date line show about the events of columbine as detectives began searching out answers to all the questions. I didn't necessarily agree with their up-bringing of the media because It almost had nothing to do with the media they consumed (it wasn't their influence as much as it was just their way of expressing violence to hold them over until their planned date and times.) I think what got them was the bullying more than anything, the stupid thing is that they killed all the kids that were being bullied not the bullies themselves. (Not that anyone SHOULD have been killed) Their "cause" was a failure because they killed kids who were just like themselves but perhaps this wasn't by accident. Who knows I'd rather not be inside their heads. However I'm all for preventing this kind of thing from ever happening again.
Nosferatu: This was a 1920's horror flick about the vampire Nosferatu and his victims. I thought it was very interesting not only to see a silent film from the 20's but also to see the evolution of vampires in film. The acting was also adorable!
Zero Day: This was also a film about Columbine. So I went on a Columbine kick after this movie. I would certainly recommend this film if you enjoy feeling your heart pound out of your chest. I don't believe they used any real footage at all from Columbine but they certainly made you feel like you were there to see the entire event. It also touched on subjects that were of fact in the true story. Such as the fact that they had made underground videos, they never planned on killing themselves, their first plan failed, and in the underground footage of this event they told their parents "this wasn't your fault we love you". By the end of the film I was at the edge of my seat and my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it. In my book, If a film can do that to you it's a success. This film is now number 68/ 89.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly: This was a hoot! I love MST3!
this is just a sample of MST3000!
Scream: Silly and a terrible Horror film but it was kind of a classic for our generation so I watched it for a little laugh. I don't think this one's in my fav's list.
Over thanksgiving break I had the opportunity to watch to watch an indi-film starring Jesse Eisenberg. It was very witty and clever and made it to my favorites list at number 35. The story is about a man who is dying of an incurable name-less disease and and his doctor tells him the very specific time for him to die. The story is set on his last day on earth. He sets out to find the answer to why his father left him and his mother when he was very young and he later finds his father and he tells him all the resolving facts to the story and brings him to his death. The story certainly keeps you intrigued and interested while taking you on a journey to see the last day of his life and the sadness of his only friend as he carries him to his grave most literally. The story weighs heavily on its characters and their development.
A year of two ago I read, wait no, I should say watched a book, called Hugo! This book was not written but drawn. On every page was a new illustration telling a story about a boy and a mystery after the death of his father and the discovery of something his father was working on when he died. Over the Thanksgiving break I saw a trailer for the new movie "Hugo" produced by Martin Scorsese. I'm specifically excited to see this one mostly because I loved the new form of book media and the story as well. I also trust Martin Scorsesi's work and the animation in the trailer looks wonderful! I really hope I get the chance to go see this. If any one sees it before I do let me know how you liked it!!
A little while ago my friend Maxwell told me about a little app called Voxer! Ever since I downloaded it I have been hooked. As much as its cool for friends It is also extremely useful for filming!
The App is used to voice text people you can connect it to facebook to see you is also on Voxer with your friends! You can group some of your friends. Film wise this is very convenient since you can make your crew into a group and during filming you can press the button down and tell everyone in the area that may not be able to hear you say "action" and "quiet all around". The entire crew will get the message (assuming they're all on iphone's, or ipods with wifi.) The App is also available for Android phone users but that version is much more buggy than the Ipod/Iphone app. You can also do a one-to-one chat with just one of your friends! And when you're not on set and you just happen to be a props master, you can ask "Hey does anyone happen to have this prop that I need for the next shoot?" I love it mostly because it is so much more exciting to voice text people and a lot faster than just texting them. NOW, say if you're in a class room and someone Voxers you. Hopefully you have your volume down! You can listen to the message later or if it's an immediate situation, you can text them right there on Voxer in the same window and just ask them to text what they just said to you. If you're in a crowded room full of loud people you can switch it to the ear piece built into your iPhone and listen like your listening to a voicemail. The only thing I didn't like about it at first was that you have to train yourself to wait a second and listen for the beep before you talk otherwise it will cut you off. It's also created a sort of new polite behavior, you also have to train yourself to text the person first and ask them if they're in class or if you can voice them, just a polite thing to do for your friends. Other than those tiny issues, it's really a very useful app! I love it and encourage others to try it too!
Appropriate title for the timing. As most of you knew I was watching Thankskilling recently and it was extremely funny. I looked it up on IMDB and it said (the ultimate low budget experience which is exactly what it was.) All of the "bad parts" of it are meant to add to the funny aspect of it. It is listed under comedy thriller horror. So, if you like all three you should watch it. It had me laughing all the way through. I think it is especially funny to those of us wo appreciate production because of its featured bad acting, terrible lighting, horrible scripting, and terrible camera work. I also noticed that it's budget was "estimated $3,500". Probably only including the guns and amo, fake blood, camera and tripod. I even found the theme song to be catchy. I especially liked the echoing turkey gobble in the background! R-rated for good reason, but not unbearable. So while you're all enjoying some turkey this thanksgiving you should plop down to watch Thankskilling this season.
I'm hoping the link above worked! The market is what I've been so busy on my last month or two's weekends. I wanted to share this with you since much earlier in the class Arturo introduced us to Indi Go Go. The Market has started using it and we're hoping to raise $6,000 with in the next 31 days. So far after a couple of weeks of this project being on Indi Go Go we've raised 3,000! It's very exciting! Between the fourty or so of us working on the project adding it to our facebooks emailing it to people and asking people to personally donate the rates have been pretty successful! You can also check out the original promo we made!
Maybe some of you will be compelled to help us out! The money will be going toward new equipment and food for the crew among other silly expenses like damaged property. Just Kidding! (but not really)! ;-)
Honestly, it's an awesome cause and we're all very enthusiastic about where our little film crew can go with this on our resumes!
Protecting your work is extremely important! Here's a little story that stresses how important. One of my professors from my old school (Carey Eidel) lived in LA for a short period of time as an actor. He and his friends wrote a skit. The skit was that they had replaced the door man of the Ritz hotel with the decaf coffee crystals. At the time, coffee crystals were being advertised like crazy I guess, so they decided to make fun of it. In order to shoot this they wanted to ask permission of the Ritz hotel to film outside of the hotel. When they asked I think they were denied so instead of changing things around they decided to wait for the door man on his shift to go inside on a bathroom break. Once he did so they placed and can of the coffee crystals where he was standing, filmed it, and then interviewed people walking in if they had noticed that they had replaced the door man with coffee crystals. I think they may also have filmed each other being interviewed with some funny lines. When they put everything together and edited it and presented it and pitched it to SNL they said they liked the idea but they didn't want to buy it. The next up and coming Saturday Carey and his friends sat down to watch Saturday night live, this is what they saw: (not mirrored of course)
They knew immediately that they had stolen their idea. They contacted a lawyer and he said to them that basically there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. It would cost them more to sue them than what they'd get back if they won their case. So Carey and his friends took a punch. I personally loved the skit and am glad it was produced, however I do wish for my professor that their skit had been payed for even if it were a fraction of the price they usually payed, just for the idea. This was the original commercial that they were making fun of at the time.
I actually think I would have liked to have seen them replace the door man and have peoples same reactions. It would have been just as funny. Especially if SNL went the step further with Chris Farley's reaction to it.
This is a film my friend Jeff Newell. I met him over the summer at the film festival in Auburn Ny. When I saw this film. I knew his unique artistic ability and knew I would certainly enjoy it. This little film only lasts about 3 minutes but establishes so much. The deep interaction between two so-called friends and how well they both know each other. Not only do they have the same taste in girls but they knew each others next move. In the beginning it reads out a vast list of explicit warnings. I wondered how on earth did they establish that in such a short amount of time. It certainly amazed me! The surprise ending is certainly disturbing and isn't meant for a weak stomach. The sound is also very disturbing. What I appreciate the most is that if you go to watch it again, you begin to understand the short lines that mean so much more than what they would in a normal everyday conversion. Completely, unnoticeable until you realize the end. Also, the acting was done wonderfully! Not much was required of it but simplicity is beauty and can also imply complexity. I love it when films really reach out and grab you by the mind and heart. That is why I live!
The Princess Bride is one of the biggest hits of my childhood and will forever remain on my favorites list. As of right now it is ranked 15/72. It's hard to beat that! The first time I saw the movie I was very young and it immediately became one of my favorites. My best friend in grade school and I always used to quote the movie and I and much of my family still do. If you haven't seen it. Go SEE IT RIGHT NAHHH!! *swift kick in the rear*. At first the movie wasn't a big hit, but once it took off it made history in my life. It is actually based from a book there are at least two versions of the book. The story was a very old one passed down from generation to generation. The man who the young boy in the movie is supposed to be portraying, rewrote the story and released it to be made as a movie, his name was William Goldman. His grandfather read it to him as a boy and his great grandfather read it to his grandfather etc. When he re-made the story he shortened it by a lot because the original book was excruciatingly long and bogged down with unnecessary dialogue. The story was originally written by S. Morgenstern. Goldman finally read the entire book with out the cuts and discovered that when his uncle or grandfather was reading it to him he left out a lot of the story.
If you're not convinced that it is an awesome movie yet then I dont Know what to say you must be some kinda of non-movie-going-......thing.
