Tuesday, November 8, 2011
WAKE UP! - 8tracks playlist
Just thought I'd share with you the playlist I made to help me wake up in the morning. I shuffle the order every morning so it doesn't get old too fast, and so far it's really helped me get ready for the day.
I have a couple other mixes on 8tracks, in case you wanted to check them out. I may embed a couple of them here in a blog post every now and then as well.
Monday, November 7, 2011
"Dumb Luck"
It was my entire life for over a third of my junior year. I eat, slept, and breathed "Dumb Luck," and as a result I'm very proud of it. Yes, I tend to see imperfections rather than focusing on the pluses when I re-watch my films, but what I realize is how much effort I put into Dumb Luck, and how that effort translated into a successful 30 minute short film, the longest film I have ever completed.
It started with the idea that I wanted to do a project for Video Production that would take up the whole third trimester of my junior year. I wanted to make one collective project, instead of a series of smaller projects, as had been the precedent set previously. So I discussed it with Mrs. St. Clair, got the okay, and began to come up with a story.
As I've mentioned a number of times previously, I believe Mike and I were a decent team, and we had already done the "Linden Eagle News Gone Wrong" video, so I began with the thought that it would be the two of us in the lead role. I in particular wanted a large role for myself because up to that point I had done relatively little acting in my videos, despite acting being an interest of mine. I wanted to get a chance to be a main part of a larger project.
Instead of putting the two of us at odds, however, I decided that Mike and I would be working together to reach a goal. I had to be reasonable and choose something that we could feasibly film, and I decided that we would be trying to catch a robber. The comedy would come from the idea that we were "secret agents," and that catching the robber was an important mission of ours.
I wrote the actual script in just a day or two, and then revised it only a little, before it was ready to go. I showed it to St. Clair, and she said that I would need to get approval from the principal. So I sent him the script too.
It started with the idea that I wanted to do a project for Video Production that would take up the whole third trimester of my junior year. I wanted to make one collective project, instead of a series of smaller projects, as had been the precedent set previously. So I discussed it with Mrs. St. Clair, got the okay, and began to come up with a story.
As I've mentioned a number of times previously, I believe Mike and I were a decent team, and we had already done the "Linden Eagle News Gone Wrong" video, so I began with the thought that it would be the two of us in the lead role. I in particular wanted a large role for myself because up to that point I had done relatively little acting in my videos, despite acting being an interest of mine. I wanted to get a chance to be a main part of a larger project.
Instead of putting the two of us at odds, however, I decided that Mike and I would be working together to reach a goal. I had to be reasonable and choose something that we could feasibly film, and I decided that we would be trying to catch a robber. The comedy would come from the idea that we were "secret agents," and that catching the robber was an important mission of ours.
I wrote the actual script in just a day or two, and then revised it only a little, before it was ready to go. I showed it to St. Clair, and she said that I would need to get approval from the principal. So I sent him the script too.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Incorporating Structure Into Your Life
The past few weeks have been pretty brutal on me. Exams, papers and a lack of both studying and sleep put a huge toll on me physically and mentally, and I'm finally feeling like I'm back on track and in control of what I'm doing.
See, I did a pretty big over-haul today. First I made a list of homework that had to be done this week, and I resolved to actually do the homework even if it was only reading an article or chapter from the textbook (which I have learned the hard way is very important to do). Once I finished the homework list I added to it things that I wanted to make time for this week, such as TV shows, soccer games, and birthday dinners. I figured out which days this week I should be doing each thing in order to keep stress levels down and to stay on top of my course work. Then I added other non-priority items to the list that I wanted to do this week but could wait on, such as reading a few leisure books, exercising (and as I write this I realize I may need to move exercising into the priority column), movie watching, and, unfortunately, this blog.
As much as I'd love to be able to put a ton of effort into this blog, I'm realizing now that on my list, it's a pretty low priority. However, another thing I'm realizing is that as long as I manage my time wisely, I should still have plenty of time for adding in some of my non-priority items. It's just a matter of figuring out how much time I have for everything. I believe they call this time management, and it's definitely a useful skill to master.
Lastly, I added a column of things that I had coming up or things I wanted to do in the near future, such as school projects, papers, exams, and other things such as selling my football ticket for Thanksgiving Break (Cancun, here I come!).
Then here's the real kicker: I'm sticking to it. Of course, it hasn't yet been a day but I'm confident in my ability to stick to something once I set my mind to it. And the fact that my performance in school could be better is a pretty big motivator.
Other things I have done or will be doing to help myself be healthier physically and mentally are watching my diet and incorporating more vitamins and water into it and establishing better sleep habits, which for me involves two things I have trouble with: falling asleep and waking up.
I have trouble falling asleep because I tend to start thinking about everything before bed. This is no exaggeration. I will literally jump from topic to topic for sometimes hours, all the while becoming more and more frustrated with myself for not being able to stop thinking. There are a couple remedies I'm going to try, like taking melatonin before laying down and not over-stimulating my brain before sleep. There are different methods for everyone but I tend to find that TV and music nurtures my thinking habits instead of squashing them.
When I started to think about what I could possibly write about today, I realized that what I had done was develop a structure, a plan, and to set goals to accomplish, and this can be incorporated into your creative endeavors. The world is naturally chaotic, but many people, myself included, find that they are more productive when there is some sort of structure to what they are doing. Maybe there's a deadline, maybe it's a roadmap or an outline, or maybe it's just a to-do list. But it never hurts to be prepared, and establishing structure in your life only prepares you for what you want to accomplish in your life. So I encourage you to think about what you want from life or from your creative project and come up with a plan that suits your goals. It can only help you.
I plan to discuss this concept of "planning" more thoroughly tomorrow when I talk about my short film, "Dumb Luck." So check back in for more updates, and thanks for reading this whole thing! (It's a bit on the longer side, but I had a lot to say). Adios!
See, I did a pretty big over-haul today. First I made a list of homework that had to be done this week, and I resolved to actually do the homework even if it was only reading an article or chapter from the textbook (which I have learned the hard way is very important to do). Once I finished the homework list I added to it things that I wanted to make time for this week, such as TV shows, soccer games, and birthday dinners. I figured out which days this week I should be doing each thing in order to keep stress levels down and to stay on top of my course work. Then I added other non-priority items to the list that I wanted to do this week but could wait on, such as reading a few leisure books, exercising (and as I write this I realize I may need to move exercising into the priority column), movie watching, and, unfortunately, this blog.
As much as I'd love to be able to put a ton of effort into this blog, I'm realizing now that on my list, it's a pretty low priority. However, another thing I'm realizing is that as long as I manage my time wisely, I should still have plenty of time for adding in some of my non-priority items. It's just a matter of figuring out how much time I have for everything. I believe they call this time management, and it's definitely a useful skill to master.
Lastly, I added a column of things that I had coming up or things I wanted to do in the near future, such as school projects, papers, exams, and other things such as selling my football ticket for Thanksgiving Break (Cancun, here I come!).
Then here's the real kicker: I'm sticking to it. Of course, it hasn't yet been a day but I'm confident in my ability to stick to something once I set my mind to it. And the fact that my performance in school could be better is a pretty big motivator.
Other things I have done or will be doing to help myself be healthier physically and mentally are watching my diet and incorporating more vitamins and water into it and establishing better sleep habits, which for me involves two things I have trouble with: falling asleep and waking up.
I have trouble falling asleep because I tend to start thinking about everything before bed. This is no exaggeration. I will literally jump from topic to topic for sometimes hours, all the while becoming more and more frustrated with myself for not being able to stop thinking. There are a couple remedies I'm going to try, like taking melatonin before laying down and not over-stimulating my brain before sleep. There are different methods for everyone but I tend to find that TV and music nurtures my thinking habits instead of squashing them.
When I started to think about what I could possibly write about today, I realized that what I had done was develop a structure, a plan, and to set goals to accomplish, and this can be incorporated into your creative endeavors. The world is naturally chaotic, but many people, myself included, find that they are more productive when there is some sort of structure to what they are doing. Maybe there's a deadline, maybe it's a roadmap or an outline, or maybe it's just a to-do list. But it never hurts to be prepared, and establishing structure in your life only prepares you for what you want to accomplish in your life. So I encourage you to think about what you want from life or from your creative project and come up with a plan that suits your goals. It can only help you.
I plan to discuss this concept of "planning" more thoroughly tomorrow when I talk about my short film, "Dumb Luck." So check back in for more updates, and thanks for reading this whole thing! (It's a bit on the longer side, but I had a lot to say). Adios!
Monday, October 31, 2011
"When the Lights Go Out" - An Exercise in Suspense
Happy Halloween everyone! And what better way to get your day going than with a short horror film? I made this video with a couple friends last year in the winter, essentially because I wanted to make a scary movie. I love scary movies because, in my opinion, a film's job is to make it's audience feel something, and the horror genre is one the most successful genres in that respect.
I didn't want to try to use a lot of effects or monster masks or makeup or anything, I just wanted a simple idea that I could play around with. See, I've tried making scary movies before, and I've never quite succeeded at making one that I thought was good enough. All the others have come out cheesy or stupid and funny, not scary. So with this film I wanted to try and use suspense to build fear, and as a result of this I decided to do a giant one-take.
So the most important scene in the film, the one that takes up a few minutes by itself, is all one take, and it was the first take we did. We ran through it a couple times, then filmed it once and thought it was good.
I took a basic idea - a kid home alone for the night starts to think that he may not actually be alone - and played around with it. Yes, I know story-wise it's not very original, but I consider this film more an exercise in suspense than anything else. I didn't want a very complicated or distracting story because I wanted to focus on what the camera should be doing and what the actors should be doing to make it scary. Where should they be in relation to each other? These are the things I focused on, not plot or story.
This was filmed one weekend while I was home visiting, so when I came back to school I edited the footage and put the video together, and for once I was really happy with a horror film that I had created.
I still have a lot to learn, but I love the genre and I thought anyone reading this might get a kick out of seeing this (I mean, it IS Halloween). I hope you have a good one, and I hope you stay safe tonight!
I didn't want to try to use a lot of effects or monster masks or makeup or anything, I just wanted a simple idea that I could play around with. See, I've tried making scary movies before, and I've never quite succeeded at making one that I thought was good enough. All the others have come out cheesy or stupid and funny, not scary. So with this film I wanted to try and use suspense to build fear, and as a result of this I decided to do a giant one-take.
So the most important scene in the film, the one that takes up a few minutes by itself, is all one take, and it was the first take we did. We ran through it a couple times, then filmed it once and thought it was good.
I took a basic idea - a kid home alone for the night starts to think that he may not actually be alone - and played around with it. Yes, I know story-wise it's not very original, but I consider this film more an exercise in suspense than anything else. I didn't want a very complicated or distracting story because I wanted to focus on what the camera should be doing and what the actors should be doing to make it scary. Where should they be in relation to each other? These are the things I focused on, not plot or story.
This was filmed one weekend while I was home visiting, so when I came back to school I edited the footage and put the video together, and for once I was really happy with a horror film that I had created.
I still have a lot to learn, but I love the genre and I thought anyone reading this might get a kick out of seeing this (I mean, it IS Halloween). I hope you have a good one, and I hope you stay safe tonight!
Friday, October 28, 2011
How to Survive Halloween!
Halloween weekend is upon us! I would have to say, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. For some reason, I love the idea of being someone (or something) else. I'd like to think that that makes me predisposed to be an actor, but that may just be my own arrogance talking.
But for some reason, I also love scary stuff. I love scary movies and haunted houses, hayrides, mazes, etc. In fact, the past few days I've been trying to watch a few scary movies in preparation for Halloween, including The Thing, Jaws, and Drag Me to Hell. I'm hoping the horror movie fest continues into the weekend.
So one year my friends and I decided we'd make a Halloween-themed video. We wanted to include a variety of different Halloween stereotypical characters in a funny way, so we decided we'd make a "how-to" of sorts that deals with how to avoid or deal with these Halloween horrors. We had a lot of fun making this video; so much fun, in fact, that we made a bloopers video out of the extra footage we shot.
Watching these older videos always make me feel so nostalgic, because to be honest I miss the days when we used to get together to make a video just because we were bored and wanted something to do. They weren't projects (they turned into projects but they weren't assignments), they were just something we did because we enjoyed it. And I miss doing this.
But since we're getting close to Halloween, I figured I'd post these videos today. Next Monday, on Halloween, I'm going to post a recent short horror film I made to hopefully get everyone in the mood for some scares. But for now, here's some light Halloween-themed fun!
But for some reason, I also love scary stuff. I love scary movies and haunted houses, hayrides, mazes, etc. In fact, the past few days I've been trying to watch a few scary movies in preparation for Halloween, including The Thing, Jaws, and Drag Me to Hell. I'm hoping the horror movie fest continues into the weekend.
 |
| By the way, what was up with the movie's fascination with mouths? |
Watching these older videos always make me feel so nostalgic, because to be honest I miss the days when we used to get together to make a video just because we were bored and wanted something to do. They weren't projects (they turned into projects but they weren't assignments), they were just something we did because we enjoyed it. And I miss doing this.
But since we're getting close to Halloween, I figured I'd post these videos today. Next Monday, on Halloween, I'm going to post a recent short horror film I made to hopefully get everyone in the mood for some scares. But for now, here's some light Halloween-themed fun!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Music Tuesdays: Coldplay - "Mylo Xyloto"
It's a late post tonight. Now I know this album only recently came out, and this morning I hesitated about whether or not I should devote this post to "Mylo Xyloto." After spending the day listening to it, I finally decided to write the post.
First of all, I'm generally a fan of Coldplay. I'm not familiar with everything in their catalogue, but I really enjoyed "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," and I enjoy a few other songs by them. I wouldn't say I'm a superfan, though.
That being said, I'm really enjoying this album. I think it helps that it has a strong "fall" vibe to it, which helped as I was walking around outside today. The album has a lot of upbeat, anthemic songs that delve into synth territory a little bit. Sometimes while listening I likened the sound to Passion Pit a little bit (by the way, "Manners" is also a phenomenal fall album.
In addition to the upbeat songs there are a couple slower, guitar-centered tracks with a little string accompaniment. Now, I've only had a chance to listen to this album a few times through so it's tough to draw any conclusions as of now. The reason I decided to write a blog post about it is because it gave me a sudden burst of creativity earlier today. As I was listening, I let my thoughts swirl around in my head and suddenly had a couple ideas that, as soon as I got on a bus, I wrote down into my creative journal. Granted, they were only a few line fragments, but this music inspired me. And that's why I decided to share it with you.
Regardless of whether or not you consider Coldplay to be the poor man's Radiohead or for whatever reason you can't stand the band, please give this album at least one listen through. If it does nothing for you, then what can you do? Some things work for some people and not for others. But if it doesn't help, how much worse off would you be? If it does help, wouldn't it be worth it? I guess this paragraph comes from people who dismiss bands without giving them a proper listen based on expectations or on supposed knowledge of the band.
Anyways, I'll leave you with one other song I enjoyed from this album, and I hope you have a good night!
First of all, I'm generally a fan of Coldplay. I'm not familiar with everything in their catalogue, but I really enjoyed "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," and I enjoy a few other songs by them. I wouldn't say I'm a superfan, though.
That being said, I'm really enjoying this album. I think it helps that it has a strong "fall" vibe to it, which helped as I was walking around outside today. The album has a lot of upbeat, anthemic songs that delve into synth territory a little bit. Sometimes while listening I likened the sound to Passion Pit a little bit (by the way, "Manners" is also a phenomenal fall album.
In addition to the upbeat songs there are a couple slower, guitar-centered tracks with a little string accompaniment. Now, I've only had a chance to listen to this album a few times through so it's tough to draw any conclusions as of now. The reason I decided to write a blog post about it is because it gave me a sudden burst of creativity earlier today. As I was listening, I let my thoughts swirl around in my head and suddenly had a couple ideas that, as soon as I got on a bus, I wrote down into my creative journal. Granted, they were only a few line fragments, but this music inspired me. And that's why I decided to share it with you.
Regardless of whether or not you consider Coldplay to be the poor man's Radiohead or for whatever reason you can't stand the band, please give this album at least one listen through. If it does nothing for you, then what can you do? Some things work for some people and not for others. But if it doesn't help, how much worse off would you be? If it does help, wouldn't it be worth it? I guess this paragraph comes from people who dismiss bands without giving them a proper listen based on expectations or on supposed knowledge of the band.
Anyways, I'll leave you with one other song I enjoyed from this album, and I hope you have a good night!
Monday, October 24, 2011
YKWIH? 6 - Florida Edition
After "Competitive People," which was released at the end of January, a couple months passed without any videos. This was our senior year of high school, and we were racing towards graduation, so it was difficult to find time to get everyone together to film another video. Finally we had our opportunity in (I believe) April. Most of us were taking a road trip down to Daytona Beach for Spring Break, so we figured we'd film a video while we were there.
It worked out really well that on the way down, at one of the gas stations, I won a Flip camcorder from a prize machine, and we used that camera to film this video.
I know we were anxious to film a video, but at the same time we wanted to enjoy ourselves, so we took our time coming up with clips. We started with the idea that the video would be beach vacation themed, so we included things such as the water, sandcastles, hot tubs, pools, etc. Mike Zurek, who was in the New Years video, came along with us to Florida and had the idea (I think) of coming back to the underwater breathing contest guy, who would still be underwater.
The Wendy's baconator scene actually took place, and at one point I just decided to take the camera out and film it. We thought Matt and Ross in pain was funny so we threw that into the video. And like I said in an earlier blog post, we also included Matt freaking out on the beach when Ross kicks over his sandcastle.
Since it had been so long, and because we had such a good time in Florida, we wanted to make this video special. As a result we shot a lot of stuff and used all the time we had. The clip in the bedroom where Matt is terrorizing Mike was shot literally right before we walked out the door to check out. When we finally got back home and started organizing everything, we decided to throw in some of the bloopers too because we thought they were hilarious.
It took another couple months to have this video released because once we got back from vacation it was difficult to get everyone together to finish it, but we finally did and at the bottom of this post you will see the result of that.
THE MISSING YKWIH VIDEO
In between the Florida video and the "Competitive People" video, we took a school trip to New York City and filmed a couple clips there. However, because of our busy schedules this video was never completed, and half of the footage is lost. It is doubtful that this video will ever be completed.
AND THAT'S A WRAP!
Well, there you have it, the whole series. Yeah, it's short, and I wish we could've done more, but I am really happy with this collection of videos and I hope you enjoyed watching them. Starting tomorrow the posts will be back to the normal schedule (which I'm still tweaking), but check back in tomorrow to see what's new, and I hope you have a good week!
It worked out really well that on the way down, at one of the gas stations, I won a Flip camcorder from a prize machine, and we used that camera to film this video.
I know we were anxious to film a video, but at the same time we wanted to enjoy ourselves, so we took our time coming up with clips. We started with the idea that the video would be beach vacation themed, so we included things such as the water, sandcastles, hot tubs, pools, etc. Mike Zurek, who was in the New Years video, came along with us to Florida and had the idea (I think) of coming back to the underwater breathing contest guy, who would still be underwater.
The Wendy's baconator scene actually took place, and at one point I just decided to take the camera out and film it. We thought Matt and Ross in pain was funny so we threw that into the video. And like I said in an earlier blog post, we also included Matt freaking out on the beach when Ross kicks over his sandcastle.
Since it had been so long, and because we had such a good time in Florida, we wanted to make this video special. As a result we shot a lot of stuff and used all the time we had. The clip in the bedroom where Matt is terrorizing Mike was shot literally right before we walked out the door to check out. When we finally got back home and started organizing everything, we decided to throw in some of the bloopers too because we thought they were hilarious.
It took another couple months to have this video released because once we got back from vacation it was difficult to get everyone together to finish it, but we finally did and at the bottom of this post you will see the result of that.
THE MISSING YKWIH VIDEO
In between the Florida video and the "Competitive People" video, we took a school trip to New York City and filmed a couple clips there. However, because of our busy schedules this video was never completed, and half of the footage is lost. It is doubtful that this video will ever be completed.
AND THAT'S A WRAP!
Well, there you have it, the whole series. Yeah, it's short, and I wish we could've done more, but I am really happy with this collection of videos and I hope you enjoyed watching them. Starting tomorrow the posts will be back to the normal schedule (which I'm still tweaking), but check back in tomorrow to see what's new, and I hope you have a good week!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
YKWIH? 5 - Overly Competitive People
I don't quite remember how the idea came about for "Overly Competitive People," but I know that we started with the idea that we wanted to have a lengthy monopoly scene where everything would go wrong. We figured we couldn't do a video with only that one scene so we threw a couple more clips in too.
After Lee's successful guest stint, our friend Connor wanted to help us out with a video, and I think he did an awesome job in this. In general, this may be my favorite YKWIH video, but at the same time there are a couple issues I have with it.
Most of them are small, but the biggest issue for me is that we could have done the first clip a little better. I feel like the idea of what was going on during the air hockey scene was there, but we didn't carry it out as successfully as we could have. But what can you do...
Also, in general it's just hilarious to see Matt freak out. He freaked out at the end of the New Years video, he freaked out here, and in the next video we have him freaking out in Florida. It's awesome.
So tomorrow is the last of this series of videos. When I post tomorrow I'll also put up a page just for the "You Know What I Hate"s. Starting Tuesday I'll be back into the swing of things talking about music that's inspiring me lately, and I think that since it's getting close to Halloween there will be some themed posts about that.
Until then, have a nice, lazy Sunday!
After Lee's successful guest stint, our friend Connor wanted to help us out with a video, and I think he did an awesome job in this. In general, this may be my favorite YKWIH video, but at the same time there are a couple issues I have with it.
Most of them are small, but the biggest issue for me is that we could have done the first clip a little better. I feel like the idea of what was going on during the air hockey scene was there, but we didn't carry it out as successfully as we could have. But what can you do...
Also, in general it's just hilarious to see Matt freak out. He freaked out at the end of the New Years video, he freaked out here, and in the next video we have him freaking out in Florida. It's awesome.
So tomorrow is the last of this series of videos. When I post tomorrow I'll also put up a page just for the "You Know What I Hate"s. Starting Tuesday I'll be back into the swing of things talking about music that's inspiring me lately, and I think that since it's getting close to Halloween there will be some themed posts about that.
Until then, have a nice, lazy Sunday!
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