Alright so its been a week since seeing Avatar and I've had enough time now to really let the film sink in. Almost any other movie I would give my opinion right after, but I felt like this movie in particular needed some downtime so that I could digest what it really is as not only a movie, but really an experience.
Let's start with the main problems of the film first.
1. 3D Eye Strain.
This is more of a personal issue than anything else and because every one's eyes are different I can't fault the filmmakers or the technology for this.
The entire requires you to wear 3D glasses and while they are much more comfortable than they were in the past it's still very uncomfortable for me to wear. There are also quite a few instances where I wasn't sure what I should be focusing on and some of the picture became blurry, which hurt my eyes even more. Overall after the film I did have a headache, and with a run time of 2 hours 41 minutes, plus 3D previews, it was a lot to sit through.
2. Not Being In Kansas Anymore.
Although just a 2 second line, the "we're not in Kansas anymore" line is one that kills me every time. Hollywood needs to STOP metaphorically leaving Kansas! I realize it's from one of the greatest movies of all time, but it should stay with that movie. Stop putting it in movies, it's cheesy and very stupid.
3. Cliche Romance.
This is a main part of the movie and unfortunately it follows the typical romantic plot points. It can be seen coming from a mile away and because of the way its been setup you know how it will evolve. Don't get me wrong though, James Cameron did a fantastic job writing this movie and even though the love story is cliched it still kinda works on some levels.
Now the good.
Overall the movie is one of the top 3 films of the year, maybe even number 1. I'll have to refer back to other movies.
Cameron deserves some big time credit here because he created a world that no one has ever seen. It's gigantic, gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking and it's an environment that no one has ever seen before. Every tiny detail is picture perfect and I have never seen a movie look this good. James Cameron does for Sci-Fi what Michael Bay does for explosions.
The action scenes are some of the best CG/Live Action I've ever seen, they're absolutely spectacular and when the 3D is in full effect, the scale of the scene is intensified tenfold. 3D is something that is rarely done right in my opinion, it's a very difficult thing to get right without it being called a gimmick. It is certainly not a gimmick here, as I actually found myself wiping off my glasses because I thought there were drops of water on them. Turns out, it was all in the movie. That is the mark of well done 3D.
The Na-Vi themselves are an amazing race of aliens, or actually humans are the aliens in this aren't we? They stand 10 feet tall are blue and so agile it makes your heart stop. The flying scenes are unlike anything I've ever experienced and just amazing to watch. The way that the motion capture works to perfectly, and I mean perfectly, capture every last detail of expression on the actors faces is phenomenal. It is as close to perfect as anything like that has ever been.
Without giving away too much of the story, I'll just say that it's a pretty well written story, the dialogue is all good and the overtones of politics, war and environment are certainly a driving factor. The story works well with everything and it all comes together nicely at the end. There are a few thins that don't make a lick of sense, but they're not really important in any way.
Overall I'd give this movie a 4.5 out of 5 and it's one that everyone should check out.
I'll be seeing it again when it goes to IMAX and I recommend doing that as well if you feel you can wait for a few weeks, because the experience on that screen in IMAX 3D will be awesome!
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Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Avatar - Part 1
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge movie fan. I live and breathe film and almost every aspect about it. It's my dream to become one of the elite Directors someday. In this medium my hero's include. (In order)
1. Martin Scorsese- Martin to me, is one of those rare filmmakers that always has a perfect vision of the end product. He storyboards every single scene of his movies before filming so that he knows exactly what he wants us to see. His ideas are usually small to begin with, but as the story progresses everything becomes larger than life. Just recently he was FINALLY awarded with his first Best Director Oscar for the 2007 film The Departed which also received three other Oscars for Best Picture, Best Writing and Best Editing. Scorsese has rarely made a film I don't like and I'm very excited for his next film, 2010's Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio.
2. James Cameron- James Cameron can go to his grave knowing that he has made two of the best movie sequels of all time, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Terminator 2 is, in my opinion, the best movie sequel of all time. Not only does he have those under his belt but he also is the man responsible for the largest grossing movie of all time Titanic which raked in a ridiculous $600,788,188 domestically and a whopping $1,242,091,767 in the foreign market. That makes a grand total of $1.84 BILLION dollars world wide. To put that in perspective the film in second place world wide is 2003's The Lord of The Rings; Return of the King which has made only $1.1 Billion.
3. Stanley Kubrick-Kubrick is a brilliant filmmaker with the way ever single shot has to be 100% perfect. I remember listening to an interview with Jack Nicholson about filming The Shinning with Kubrick and he said that they had to scrap three days of shooting because there was a picture in the background that wasn't the right amount of crooked. That is the mark of a man who demands absolute perfection from his films. Unfortunately Kubrick passed away in 1999 but has left his stamp on cinema with classics like Dr.Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Full Metal Jacket (1980) and his last film (arguably his best) 1999's Eyes Wide Shut.
The real reason I decided to write this blog is because in just three days time a movie will be released that has the potential to go down in history as one of those movies that shapes cinema for years to come. James Cameron has been working for 15 years with concept and design, he wanted to make it directly after Titanic in 1997 but the technology wasn't available. After seeing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings Cameron knew the technology was ready to be utilized. Of course the movie I'm talking about is Avatar.
If you haven't heard, Avatar is a movie about a Marine who is a paraplegic that is sent to the newly discovered Pandora to help with the collection of a resource earth desperately needs. The largest deposit of this resource however sits smack dab in the center of a large group of indigenous peoples called the Na'vi. They are 10 foot tall blue creatures that live in harmony with the planets otherwise hostile inhabitants. The Na'vi obviously don't want the marines raping their planet so they put up a fight (enter conflict) so the marines and scientists develop a way of infiltrating the Na'vi. They use bio-engineered bodies made to look and move and speak exactly like the Na'vi and a CT scan like machine to transport the mind of the paraplegic marine into this body so that he can convince the Na'vi to let the scientists have the ore they crave. They call this method Avatars.
James Cameron had a linguist come in and develop a language for the Na'vi much like Peter Jackson had one come in and develop a language for the Uruk-Hai in The Lord of the Rings. The film also uses some revolutionary 3-D tech that Cameron says will heighten the experience.
Watch the trailer in HD here.
Anyway so as you can tell I'm obviously going to the movie opening night and I'm very excited. My next blog will be my review of the movie.
If you want to know what my favourite critic rated it as click here.
Follow me on Twitter for regular updates.
-JW
Friday, December 11, 2009
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
The semester is over and we're all exhausted. I honestly don't think I've ever been this tired or busy in my entire life. And I'm actually grateful that there has been this much work, because it's going to make the break seem so much better.
We've all been working so hard and the camaraderie has been unbelievable. Our class rallies like no other class I've ever been in. Even with all the work we have on our plates we're all more than willing to help one another.
We always deserve a good long break and I hope everyone has a blasty blast!
I do plan to blog during the break, but they will be most likely video blogs.
I look forward to next semester and even look forward to the truckload of work.
We've all been working so hard and the camaraderie has been unbelievable. Our class rallies like no other class I've ever been in. Even with all the work we have on our plates we're all more than willing to help one another.
We always deserve a good long break and I hope everyone has a blasty blast!
I do plan to blog during the break, but they will be most likely video blogs.
I look forward to next semester and even look forward to the truckload of work.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Best Burger in Winnipeg!
Some people search their entire life for a plate of food so amazing, that they bestow it with the title of ‘the best’. Who would have thought that the best burger you’ll ever eat was in Winnipeg all along, at Billabong Bar and Bistro.
Billabong, located at 121 Osborne street, has many things to offer. From down under crab cakes, and calamari, both $8.75 to the uluru ribeye, which is a broiled ten oz ribeye topped with an Australian peppercorn spiced Jus at $23, and even the odd yet satisfying barbecued kangaroo. With three different menus for different times of day there is something for the non-adventurous types and kangaroo tacos, $14, for those looking to step outside the box.
Our waiter, John, a very nice and courteous man walked us through the menu choices explaining the different items and what they closely resemble in taste, a key factor when deciding on the barbecued kangaroo at $27.50. We started off our night eating the surprisingly tasty kangaroo tacos, $14 for 6, thinly sliced kangaroo with thai-red chili dressing and mango stacked in crispy shells. John directed my attention to a burger that I ‘have to’ try. Being a very picky eater I was hesitant, but I decided that every burger is the same so how could I not like it.
They call it “the legendary aussie burger”, $11.50, and that title is well deserved. What came to my table was the Everest of the burger world. A huge 1/4 pound sirloin patty topped with smokey bacon, already off to a good start, aged cheddar cheese and hot pepper beet relish. That may not seem like that big of a deal, but this is where the burger get’s ‘aussie’. A thick slice of barbecued pineapple sits on top of the cheese, sweet and juicy with all the sugars on the outside perfectly caramelized. Right on top of the pineapple sits a fried egg, yolk not yet popped.
At first I didn’t know what to do, I was in awe at how good it looked, although when you put these ingredients down on paper it doesn’t sound all that appealing. My first bite was like being reborn, reborn a carnivore. The beef was so perfectly done on the grill, with just the right amount of char. The relish, spicy yet sweet, the perfect contrast in the same bite. The cheddar cheese and the smokey bacon set each other off perfectly with a great balanced flavour. Finally the fried egg and pineapple, the egg providing the perfect texture in an unbelievably great burger. Everyone of these items combining so perfectly to create the Da Vinci of handheld food, not to mention the side of crispy, thinly sliced, perfectly seasoned chips.
Billabong Bar and Bistro may have some odd items, somethings you would never consider eating. For those who want a great atmosphere, friendly staff and literally the best burger I’ve ever eaten, look no further than Osborne village.
4/5 stars.
Billabong, located at 121 Osborne street, has many things to offer. From down under crab cakes, and calamari, both $8.75 to the uluru ribeye, which is a broiled ten oz ribeye topped with an Australian peppercorn spiced Jus at $23, and even the odd yet satisfying barbecued kangaroo. With three different menus for different times of day there is something for the non-adventurous types and kangaroo tacos, $14, for those looking to step outside the box.
Our waiter, John, a very nice and courteous man walked us through the menu choices explaining the different items and what they closely resemble in taste, a key factor when deciding on the barbecued kangaroo at $27.50. We started off our night eating the surprisingly tasty kangaroo tacos, $14 for 6, thinly sliced kangaroo with thai-red chili dressing and mango stacked in crispy shells. John directed my attention to a burger that I ‘have to’ try. Being a very picky eater I was hesitant, but I decided that every burger is the same so how could I not like it.
They call it “the legendary aussie burger”, $11.50, and that title is well deserved. What came to my table was the Everest of the burger world. A huge 1/4 pound sirloin patty topped with smokey bacon, already off to a good start, aged cheddar cheese and hot pepper beet relish. That may not seem like that big of a deal, but this is where the burger get’s ‘aussie’. A thick slice of barbecued pineapple sits on top of the cheese, sweet and juicy with all the sugars on the outside perfectly caramelized. Right on top of the pineapple sits a fried egg, yolk not yet popped.
At first I didn’t know what to do, I was in awe at how good it looked, although when you put these ingredients down on paper it doesn’t sound all that appealing. My first bite was like being reborn, reborn a carnivore. The beef was so perfectly done on the grill, with just the right amount of char. The relish, spicy yet sweet, the perfect contrast in the same bite. The cheddar cheese and the smokey bacon set each other off perfectly with a great balanced flavour. Finally the fried egg and pineapple, the egg providing the perfect texture in an unbelievably great burger. Everyone of these items combining so perfectly to create the Da Vinci of handheld food, not to mention the side of crispy, thinly sliced, perfectly seasoned chips.
Billabong Bar and Bistro may have some odd items, somethings you would never consider eating. For those who want a great atmosphere, friendly staff and literally the best burger I’ve ever eaten, look no further than Osborne village.
4/5 stars.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Drum Videos
It's been a while since I posted a drum video, so I figured now would be as good a time as any.
This is a song I've been trying to master all summer. I've had troubles getting the slower parts memorized and some of the fills (which I still have trouble with as you will see) and transitions.
The song is Decode by Paramour.
Yeah it's the song written for the first Twilight movie, I know, blasphemy. But I just really like playing the song.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy listening to it.
This is a song I've been trying to master all summer. I've had troubles getting the slower parts memorized and some of the fills (which I still have trouble with as you will see) and transitions.
The song is Decode by Paramour.
Yeah it's the song written for the first Twilight movie, I know, blasphemy. But I just really like playing the song.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy listening to it.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Twitterific
I've been tweeting regularly now for almost 6 months. I've become completely addicted to twitter since then and have been tweeting everything from what I'm doing at that given moment, all the way to posting pictures of things I find funny in my daily travels.
Honestly I can't even begin to understand my own fascination with twitter, I just can't go a day without having at least one tweet, and if there is a day I go without I feel bad. (completely insane, I know)
For those just getting started, twitter is something to be valued, especially if you want insight into peoples lives that you wouldn't normally get.
Also I recommend following Roger Ebert (ebertchicago) for those who want some of the best reporting on movies and culture. Ebert is an incredibly smart man and one of the best to follow on twitter.
Follow me on twitter here
Honestly I can't even begin to understand my own fascination with twitter, I just can't go a day without having at least one tweet, and if there is a day I go without I feel bad. (completely insane, I know)
For those just getting started, twitter is something to be valued, especially if you want insight into peoples lives that you wouldn't normally get.
Also I recommend following Roger Ebert (ebertchicago) for those who want some of the best reporting on movies and culture. Ebert is an incredibly smart man and one of the best to follow on twitter.
Follow me on twitter here
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Remembrance Day is never over.
Ok so last week all us CreComms did our Remembrance Day assignments. I've been struggling with Journalism for quite some time now and really needed to do well on this one. I worked very hard (as I'm sure everyone did) and came out with an A and a B which I was very happy about, and still am.
But because I'm actually quite proud of myself I figured I'd let everyone else read what got me the A.
Note: Sandy Klowak(Journalism Hero) helped me edit this story, she probably saved me from getting a C. Huge props!
On the day that we remember our fallen soldiers with a moment of silence, the ceremony at the Manitoba legislature honors them with a 21 gun salute.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we stand to remember the sacrifice that those brave men made serving their country.
Three C3 Howitzers stand in wait, a single 105 mm shell is loaded into each one. The command to fire is given and by the pull of a “fire rope”, the name given to the rope that triggers the charge, the blank round is fired producing a concussive bang and a large amount of foul smelling smoke from the barrel, that for a moment blotted out the sun.
The powerful feeling you get from being there and feeling the shock wave run right through you, makes you feel as if you were in the trenches about to rush Vimy Ridge, or on the boat about to storm Juno beach. Warrant Officer Robin Everette, the man responsible for putting this year’s ceremony together, explains why Remembrance Day is so important to him, “it’s important to come down and remember everybody before us that made a sacrifice, and to also remember those making sacrifices today.”
Many people, from all different walks of life, came down Wednesday to pay their respects to those lost, and to those still fighting, “todays turnout was fantastic, the good weather certainly helped. Roughly 300 people came out today, I even spoke with a few families who are starting to make this a tradition and I think it’s great,” explains Everette.
With every passing year more and more of our Veterans are passing on, leaving stories untold. As Officer Everette said, “they gave us their tomorrows, for our today’s.”
But because I'm actually quite proud of myself I figured I'd let everyone else read what got me the A.
Note: Sandy Klowak(Journalism Hero) helped me edit this story, she probably saved me from getting a C. Huge props!
On the day that we remember our fallen soldiers with a moment of silence, the ceremony at the Manitoba legislature honors them with a 21 gun salute.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we stand to remember the sacrifice that those brave men made serving their country.
Three C3 Howitzers stand in wait, a single 105 mm shell is loaded into each one. The command to fire is given and by the pull of a “fire rope”, the name given to the rope that triggers the charge, the blank round is fired producing a concussive bang and a large amount of foul smelling smoke from the barrel, that for a moment blotted out the sun.
The powerful feeling you get from being there and feeling the shock wave run right through you, makes you feel as if you were in the trenches about to rush Vimy Ridge, or on the boat about to storm Juno beach. Warrant Officer Robin Everette, the man responsible for putting this year’s ceremony together, explains why Remembrance Day is so important to him, “it’s important to come down and remember everybody before us that made a sacrifice, and to also remember those making sacrifices today.”
Many people, from all different walks of life, came down Wednesday to pay their respects to those lost, and to those still fighting, “todays turnout was fantastic, the good weather certainly helped. Roughly 300 people came out today, I even spoke with a few families who are starting to make this a tradition and I think it’s great,” explains Everette.
With every passing year more and more of our Veterans are passing on, leaving stories untold. As Officer Everette said, “they gave us their tomorrows, for our today’s.”
Monday, November 9, 2009
Will Smith IS a true Actor!
I've heard for quite some time now that Will Smith is a terrible actor, that he isn't worth the money studios spend on him and that he should even quit acting.
These comments are ridiculous. Most of which is for the 2007 movie I Am Legend where Smith plays the character Robert Nevil previously played by the magnificent Charlton Heston in The Omega Man (1971) which was a twin, if not a remake, of The Last Man on Earth where the always creepy Vincent Price played the character Dr.Robert Morgan. Which was all based on the
1954 novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, a fantastic book by the way!
Smiths character Nevil, is a virologist and the only man alive who is immune to the vaccine that was made to cure cancer. This vaccine however turned people in "vampire like creatures" that now prowl the streets of Manhattan at night looking for humans to feats on.
Now Will is completely alone for the first 2 acts of the film, other than his dog, and is left to act alone. He speaks to mannequins to keep his sanity and even develops a little crush on one of them. Acting in a movie with no one to play off of is one of the most difficult things you can do as an actor, and Will does an amazing job. Watching him react to his own surroundings and being alone is fantastic. Probably the most heartbreaking scene in the movie (No Spoilers, for those who haven't seen it) comes close to the end of the second act where Will keeps a promise to his "friend" by talking to the girl at he video store. It's remarkable how well he plays the scene off of no one.
Eventually in the third act he meets up with 2 survivors and struggles to communicate with them seeing as these are the first people he has interacted with in 3 years.
The movie is great if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
What I really wanted to talk about though is where Will got his big break.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a landmark show for him, it's what set his career off.
As anyone who's watched the show knows it's full of humour, jokes and genuinely funny moments throughout the series.
However there is one particular scene in which Will father, who abandoned him at a young age, comes back to try and rekindle the father son relationship by taking Will on a summer road trip. The scene that follows is probably one of the best acted sitcom scenes in history. I don't say this lightly, but it really makes me sad to watch it, no matter how many times I've seen it. Will does an unbelievable job of making me believe that he is truly crushed, and I can't help but feel bad for him. I personally know what it's like to loose a father(but not in this way) so maybe that's why this scene carries a little more weight with it for me but it's still heartbreaking to say the least. Look for a great supporting performance by James Avery as Uncle Phil. It's also important to note Will's entry into the scene, he's very excited to get to spend time with his dad and his demeanor changes so subtly but naturally you really feel like he's devastated. His body language is that perfect fidgety/natural way of moving, that clearly shows he's trying fight back emotions. The way he speaks with a quiver in his voice and even stutters a line. It's all just so real. Anyway watch below and you'll know what I'm talking about.
If you watch that and don't feel bad for Will I'm shocked.
I think this is a pivotal scene for Will Smith and for me, is probably one of his best acted scenes.
Every time I watch it, it makes me feel something, and if an actor can take words on a page and create an emotion in someone watching it on TV, that's EXACTLY what a great actor is supposed to do.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Comic Con 09!
Wow so this was literally one of the busiest weekends I've had in a long time.
First off with Comic Con being in Winnipeg it brings with it tons of great talent and interesting people. This years marquee name being Adam West.
However the event also brought some big names in the Comic Book industry that I was not expecting. The biggest being Tommy Castillo. On Wednesday his plane landed in Winnipeg and he rushed over to the Park Theater and hosted a screening of the original Night of the Living Dead(1968). Tommy had worked with George Romero on a comic book called Toe Tags, so Tommy had a bunch of great stories from the man who literally pioneered his own genre of horror.
Friday night was without a doubt HEAT!
My girlfriend and I went to the premier of a horror-documentary called Cropsey. It was shown in a warehouse on the 5th floor in the exchange district. As we were walking down the street towards the building there was a creepy old guy standing outside who looked at me and asked, “you here to see a movie?” I thought briefly about whether or not to call the police but then decided to go inside. We took a disgustingly small and frightening elevator ride up the 5th floor, where I expected to see some level of decorum. I was surprised to see that the place looked very refined for your average crack den. We sat down and watched the movie, which was actually pretty wicked. I highly recommend picking it up if you can.
Saturday was the first real day for the Con(Khaaaaaaaaaaan!) My girlfriend and I got there around 2ish that afternoon, and of course the first person I run into. Giacomin. Who apparently later got into a heated conversation with the ex pro wrestler Virgil. Heat!
On Saturday I picked up some nerd items, the first being a film cell from The Matrix Revolutions, the scene just as Smith and Neo punch each other in the face. Very cool.
The second being an autographed picture of Sean Connery and a film cell from Goldfinger, which is amazing!
That night we went to see Mode 7 play at the Park Theater. For those who don’t know, Mode 7 is a great video game cover band. They play music from all the classic video games, and they really brought the house down Saturday night, play some new tunes and finishing it off with Ghostbusters, which was actually very well done.
I had planned to spend at least $60 on Sunday at the Con(Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!) but every time I would go around looking at stuff I would just put it back down. I bought a Lime Lemonade for 3.75 which was delicious.
Comic Con this year was a great time, there was more to do and to buy and I think just put together much better. My only complaint was the Adam West autographs were too expensive. $40, yeah no thanks.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Future of Blogging
To me there is no end to blogging. As long as the Internet is around blogging will be there. However the future of blogging, to me, seems to be going in a visual direction.
More and more people are taking their camcorders and recording events in their day, and posting them as a video diary or blog. YouTube is filled with video blogs and journals, daily updates and even specific channels devoted to an entire year of your life, doing one video every day.
This is why for my last two posts I’ve been experimenting with the video blogging idea. So far it’s been decent, I try to treat it like it’s a stand up routine and play off an invisible crowd. It’s not as easy as I thought it was. To be able to hear laughter after telling a joke is how a comedian can tell if it’s funny or not, but while I record myself talking and ad-libbing there is no one laughing.
I love making people laugh and can do so very easily, but trying to write or perform a blog that you want to be funny is a completely different animal.
Back to video blogging though, it’s a completely different game than writing. In some ways it’s more involved, you can be more creative and for me (if I’m being honest) it’s less work, but only because I’ve been shooting and editing video for so long now.
The steps to shoot a video blog are as follows.
1. Writing a point form script.
-This is so that I can remember on the fly what I want to talk about, I can also create breathing room to improve a different joke into a certain take. This way I’m not bogging myself down with a script I must follow.
2. Shoot supporting footage/ Find supporting footage (Optional)
-Now it’s not 100% necessary to have supporting footage, but I’m a big proprietor or “Don’t tell me, show me” I want to see what you’re talking about, not look at you talking about it.
3. Film Monologue
-Really the backbone of the video blog, this is where you set up the camera (in this case my webcam) and start reading your script. It usually takes me 30 minutes to an hour to get the right read that I want to use. Of course changing up the background scenery is a good idea so that when the camera does cut back to you it’s not the same ugly location. (You can also just record your voice if you have enough supporting footage to go the entire time)
4. Editing
-For me editing is the fun part. It’s where you get to be the most creative. Importing video into your choice of editing software. (I recommend iMovie or Windows Movie Maker for first timers) and start filling in the blanks. I always think that it’s better to see video of what you’re talking about than your face, however some people are really good at speaking and having no video reinforcement which is also fine.
YouTube is the best place to post your videos and then just hyperlink or embed them into a blog post on blogger. That way you can easily track all of your views, comments and ratings. Plus YouTube has a great feature called “Insight” where it lets you know some very specific demographics about your audience so you can then cater to them more in your videos.
More and more people are taking their camcorders and recording events in their day, and posting them as a video diary or blog. YouTube is filled with video blogs and journals, daily updates and even specific channels devoted to an entire year of your life, doing one video every day.
This is why for my last two posts I’ve been experimenting with the video blogging idea. So far it’s been decent, I try to treat it like it’s a stand up routine and play off an invisible crowd. It’s not as easy as I thought it was. To be able to hear laughter after telling a joke is how a comedian can tell if it’s funny or not, but while I record myself talking and ad-libbing there is no one laughing.
I love making people laugh and can do so very easily, but trying to write or perform a blog that you want to be funny is a completely different animal.
Back to video blogging though, it’s a completely different game than writing. In some ways it’s more involved, you can be more creative and for me (if I’m being honest) it’s less work, but only because I’ve been shooting and editing video for so long now.
The steps to shoot a video blog are as follows.
1. Writing a point form script.
-This is so that I can remember on the fly what I want to talk about, I can also create breathing room to improve a different joke into a certain take. This way I’m not bogging myself down with a script I must follow.
2. Shoot supporting footage/ Find supporting footage (Optional)
-Now it’s not 100% necessary to have supporting footage, but I’m a big proprietor or “Don’t tell me, show me” I want to see what you’re talking about, not look at you talking about it.
3. Film Monologue
-Really the backbone of the video blog, this is where you set up the camera (in this case my webcam) and start reading your script. It usually takes me 30 minutes to an hour to get the right read that I want to use. Of course changing up the background scenery is a good idea so that when the camera does cut back to you it’s not the same ugly location. (You can also just record your voice if you have enough supporting footage to go the entire time)
4. Editing
-For me editing is the fun part. It’s where you get to be the most creative. Importing video into your choice of editing software. (I recommend iMovie or Windows Movie Maker for first timers) and start filling in the blanks. I always think that it’s better to see video of what you’re talking about than your face, however some people are really good at speaking and having no video reinforcement which is also fine.
YouTube is the best place to post your videos and then just hyperlink or embed them into a blog post on blogger. That way you can easily track all of your views, comments and ratings. Plus YouTube has a great feature called “Insight” where it lets you know some very specific demographics about your audience so you can then cater to them more in your videos.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Making of Torches of Freedom
So since Jeremy, Jordan and myself did our presentation in Tuesday's PR class a lot of people have been coming up to use and asking, how long it took, how did we put it together and so forth.
I figured I should probably blog the events and answer the questions people have been asking.
So we got our assignment in last Thursday's PR class and were given the hour to think about how to present. We didn't want to do a power point thing because we didn't really know how to use the program so we immediately defaulted to doing a skit. That in turn led to us asking Melanie if we could do a video instead which she said was fine.
After brainstorming we decided that it would be a better idea for a slideshow/video type of thing after remembering how funny those old skits on Conan O'Brien where he tells a story with pictures he took that go over the nights events. They were hilarious but unfortunately I can't find a video of it.
So Jordan and I met up at J Jack's house on Sunday and we started got out our story boards and started setting up all the Edward Bernays and George Hill scenes, we used his dinning room
We also had to "carefully" draw on Bernays mustache with a smelly marker.
After getting the scene set up we took pictures of each other with different facial expressions and different physical expressions. We had Jordan dress up as Phillip Vogelman and hold Jeremy's dog "chicken". Oh and the "phone" is actually just a lamp and it's glass shade that was on the coffee table.
After all of the guy scenes were finished we then looted Jeremy's moms closet for all her old dresses, Jordan got the nicest one but let's not get into that.
The dress I wore went on quite easily, unfortunately It was a pain to get off, I was about to ask Jeremy to cut me out of it and I actually think I ripped it a little getting it off.
Here are some pictures that really should never see the light of day.
So after that we went down to the edit suites on Monday after school and recorded the voice over you heard. Everyone did their best 30's mobster impersonation and we decided that mine was the best one. My throat was really sore after all that recording, we spent roughly 3 hours in that edit suite writing and laying down tracks.
Now the song Jeremy sang was actually recorded the day before and we were going to make a video montage of Bernays with the song playing in the background, unfortunately I don't know how to use Pro Tools to save my life and lost that file along with some others. Jeremy sang it live instead which I think was a better choice, but we're going to record the song soon just because it was awesome.
We have plans to possibly start writing an entire series on Bernays and profile his life, depending on how much spare time we have.
Anyway I think the last thing I should mention is the picture of Bernays is ACTUALLY him, yes he does look a lot like Jeremy but that was just pure luck on our part. After the mustache and the tie Jeremy looked so similar some people have asked me if I photoshopped one of the pictures. I didn't that's just how lucky we got.
Well that's it, it was a fun project and I hope we got a good mark on it. We probably put too much effort into it but I think it was worth it to make people laugh.
Follow me on Twitter
- JW
I figured I should probably blog the events and answer the questions people have been asking.
So we got our assignment in last Thursday's PR class and were given the hour to think about how to present. We didn't want to do a power point thing because we didn't really know how to use the program so we immediately defaulted to doing a skit. That in turn led to us asking Melanie if we could do a video instead which she said was fine.
After brainstorming we decided that it would be a better idea for a slideshow/video type of thing after remembering how funny those old skits on Conan O'Brien where he tells a story with pictures he took that go over the nights events. They were hilarious but unfortunately I can't find a video of it.
So Jordan and I met up at J Jack's house on Sunday and we started got out our story boards and started setting up all the Edward Bernays and George Hill scenes, we used his dinning room
We also had to "carefully" draw on Bernays mustache with a smelly marker.
After getting the scene set up we took pictures of each other with different facial expressions and different physical expressions. We had Jordan dress up as Phillip Vogelman and hold Jeremy's dog "chicken". Oh and the "phone" is actually just a lamp and it's glass shade that was on the coffee table.
After all of the guy scenes were finished we then looted Jeremy's moms closet for all her old dresses, Jordan got the nicest one but let's not get into that.
The dress I wore went on quite easily, unfortunately It was a pain to get off, I was about to ask Jeremy to cut me out of it and I actually think I ripped it a little getting it off.
Here are some pictures that really should never see the light of day.
So after that we went down to the edit suites on Monday after school and recorded the voice over you heard. Everyone did their best 30's mobster impersonation and we decided that mine was the best one. My throat was really sore after all that recording, we spent roughly 3 hours in that edit suite writing and laying down tracks.
Now the song Jeremy sang was actually recorded the day before and we were going to make a video montage of Bernays with the song playing in the background, unfortunately I don't know how to use Pro Tools to save my life and lost that file along with some others. Jeremy sang it live instead which I think was a better choice, but we're going to record the song soon just because it was awesome.
We have plans to possibly start writing an entire series on Bernays and profile his life, depending on how much spare time we have.
Anyway I think the last thing I should mention is the picture of Bernays is ACTUALLY him, yes he does look a lot like Jeremy but that was just pure luck on our part. After the mustache and the tie Jeremy looked so similar some people have asked me if I photoshopped one of the pictures. I didn't that's just how lucky we got.
Well that's it, it was a fun project and I hope we got a good mark on it. We probably put too much effort into it but I think it was worth it to make people laugh.
Follow me on Twitter
- JW
Thursday, October 1, 2009
When I grow up I want to be............A 12 year old Tony Royster Jr.
I started playing drums when I was 13.
I had no intention or even desire to play, the reason I got into it was my High School Concert Band at GP.
I had played the Clarinet until midway through Grade 8 and after getting braces I couldn't play it anymore.
I still wanted to be in band because I loved the class so the teacher stuck me in the Percussion section.
That move has had a big change on my life.
For my 14th birthday my Dad bought my my first drum kit, which is the one I still play on to this day.
It was(is) a Pearl Export 5 piece drum kit with flecked metallic grey wrappings.
It was literally the first time I fell in love.
I have since bought better hardware and drums skins, different pedal, beaters, cymbal stand and even some high end cymbals
(I have a big crush on my 14" Zildjian A Custom
That cymbal cost me $300!
In short I love playing drums, it's really the biggest stress reliever I can think of. Just sitting behind a big shiny drum kit and beating the hell out stuff that makes noise? Yeah awesome!
When I first got into drums my influences we Neal Peart from RUSH (Obviously) because of how amazing he is, that man can play anything. Then I came upon this video of 12 year old Tony Royster Junior who is now 25 playing one of the most amazing drum solo's I've ever seen, and I'm not even taking into account that he is 12!
Phenomenal!
One day I hope to play as good as he can.
Just one final video because this is my favourite drum battle of all time.
It's Buddy Rich, one of greatest drummers whoever lived and Animal from The Muppets.
The puppeteer on Animal is very impressive.
Follow me on Twitter
JW
I had no intention or even desire to play, the reason I got into it was my High School Concert Band at GP.
I had played the Clarinet until midway through Grade 8 and after getting braces I couldn't play it anymore.
I still wanted to be in band because I loved the class so the teacher stuck me in the Percussion section.
That move has had a big change on my life.
For my 14th birthday my Dad bought my my first drum kit, which is the one I still play on to this day.
It was(is) a Pearl Export 5 piece drum kit with flecked metallic grey wrappings.
It was literally the first time I fell in love.
I have since bought better hardware and drums skins, different pedal, beaters, cymbal stand and even some high end cymbals
(I have a big crush on my 14" Zildjian A Custom
That cymbal cost me $300!
In short I love playing drums, it's really the biggest stress reliever I can think of. Just sitting behind a big shiny drum kit and beating the hell out stuff that makes noise? Yeah awesome!
When I first got into drums my influences we Neal Peart from RUSH (Obviously) because of how amazing he is, that man can play anything. Then I came upon this video of 12 year old Tony Royster Junior who is now 25 playing one of the most amazing drum solo's I've ever seen, and I'm not even taking into account that he is 12!
Phenomenal!
One day I hope to play as good as he can.
Just one final video because this is my favourite drum battle of all time.
It's Buddy Rich, one of greatest drummers whoever lived and Animal from The Muppets.
The puppeteer on Animal is very impressive.
Follow me on Twitter
JW
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What was I thinking?!?! (I'm sorry)
Ok so today I had my first experience with bad personal PR.
The Facts:
- PR class was directly after lunch today, it was a one hour slot.
- While I don't think I want to major in PR I do find it to be a great class for some heated discussions.
- I wasn't taking a very active role in today's class, partly because my mind was in another place, my back hurt and I was just tired overall. (No excuse though for what happened)
The Story:
Ok so about 15 minutes into today's class my instructor Melanie handed out some information on the IABC Code of Ethics and the Canadian Public Relations Society, Inc.
We discussed (and by we I mean almost everyone but me) some of the differences between companies who use a team of in-house PR people who are on the payroll all year round and companies who hire freelance PR people. After that was finished Melanie had us all read the info on the IABC and everyone did (and by everyone, I mean everyone but me). I instead decided to draw things in my notebook and to not read the info. Not because I thought I was better than it, or because I think it's stupid, but because I was being stupid. I pretended to flip through the pages and continued doodling on my page.
It was clear that Melanie knew exactly what I was doing and then asked me what the differences were between the IABC code of ethic and the CPRS code of ethics. I obviously didn't know because I didn't read what they were. I think she expected me to lie and maybe try to make something up on the spot. However what my instinct told me to do was to just tell the truth. So I did and it couldn't have come out anymore rude.
My Exact Words:
"To be perfectly honest I didn't read it" (It was said in a very dismissive and arrogant tone)
I then realized as I was walking to my next class how much of an asshole I came off as. If I was watching myself say that, I would have said "what an asshole".
It wasn't my intent to be that rude I was just telling the truth, but they way I said it made me look like a dick.
Now I owe two apologies here.
The first to Melanie.
I showed a huge amount of disrespect to you today and really made myself look bad. I make no excuses for not reading the papers you handed out. It may not have been my intent to come off so rude, but that's most certainly how it sounded and for that I sincerely apologize.
The second goes to my classmates.
I would like to apologize for making myself look like an asshole and an all around idiot for decide to NOT do what you all had no problem doing. For whatever reason I made a choice to "just not do it" and I was wrong in that.
What I did today was stupid and rude but most of all just plain selfish. I'm not better than anyone else in the class and certainly don't want anyone thinking that that's what I think. I now view myself as being one step below everyone else because of the way I acted today.
To everyone, I'm sorry.
JW
The Facts:
- PR class was directly after lunch today, it was a one hour slot.
- While I don't think I want to major in PR I do find it to be a great class for some heated discussions.
- I wasn't taking a very active role in today's class, partly because my mind was in another place, my back hurt and I was just tired overall. (No excuse though for what happened)
The Story:
Ok so about 15 minutes into today's class my instructor Melanie handed out some information on the IABC Code of Ethics and the Canadian Public Relations Society, Inc.
We discussed (and by we I mean almost everyone but me) some of the differences between companies who use a team of in-house PR people who are on the payroll all year round and companies who hire freelance PR people. After that was finished Melanie had us all read the info on the IABC and everyone did (and by everyone, I mean everyone but me). I instead decided to draw things in my notebook and to not read the info. Not because I thought I was better than it, or because I think it's stupid, but because I was being stupid. I pretended to flip through the pages and continued doodling on my page.
It was clear that Melanie knew exactly what I was doing and then asked me what the differences were between the IABC code of ethic and the CPRS code of ethics. I obviously didn't know because I didn't read what they were. I think she expected me to lie and maybe try to make something up on the spot. However what my instinct told me to do was to just tell the truth. So I did and it couldn't have come out anymore rude.
My Exact Words:
"To be perfectly honest I didn't read it" (It was said in a very dismissive and arrogant tone)
I then realized as I was walking to my next class how much of an asshole I came off as. If I was watching myself say that, I would have said "what an asshole".
It wasn't my intent to be that rude I was just telling the truth, but they way I said it made me look like a dick.
Now I owe two apologies here.
The first to Melanie.
I showed a huge amount of disrespect to you today and really made myself look bad. I make no excuses for not reading the papers you handed out. It may not have been my intent to come off so rude, but that's most certainly how it sounded and for that I sincerely apologize.
The second goes to my classmates.
I would like to apologize for making myself look like an asshole and an all around idiot for decide to NOT do what you all had no problem doing. For whatever reason I made a choice to "just not do it" and I was wrong in that.
What I did today was stupid and rude but most of all just plain selfish. I'm not better than anyone else in the class and certainly don't want anyone thinking that that's what I think. I now view myself as being one step below everyone else because of the way I acted today.
To everyone, I'm sorry.
JW
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I Got Blisters On Me Fingers!!
First order of business is to post my new drum videos.
The first one is a cover I did for Carly, she really like the song "You know what they do to guys like us in prison?" by My Chemical Romance and as fate would have it it's one of the few songs I can play well by that band so I figured I'd give it a go. The only part of this cover I don't like is closer to the end I start to play almost half a step faster than the song, hopefully it's not as noticeable to you.
The second is another System of a Down song that I've loved playing since their album "Mesmerize" came out, however I've never felt comfortable enough to record myself playing it. There is also some really heavy double bass in it so I figured that if I record me playing the song I'd had to set up another camera to record my pedals on those double bass parts. I really like how this one turned out, it's definitely one of my best covers. The only downside is I recorded this as the last song of a long night of playing and I was tired so I didn't beat on the drums as much as I would have liked, my arms and legs were just too damn tired.
School so far hasn't been as rough as I had thought but I assume that things are going to get much more intense the further we get into it. We've had some homework and a few quizzes and one test for Grammar which I think I bombed but other than that it's been pretty easy to keep up. So much so I've gone back to my old job at Auto Extreme polishing and driving cars, I need to make some extra money because parking downtown is obscene!!!! I'm not taking the bus either, no offense to anyone who takes the bus, but I just HATE it so much. Plus I'm not going to spend $200 a month in insurance for my car to then take the bus to school. The only downside of school so far is I haven't been able to see Carly as much as I would like. People have been calling CreComm the "relationship killer" but I like a challenge and being the exception to the rule so that will NOT be the case.
That's all I have to write about now.
Follow me on Twitter.
-JW
The first one is a cover I did for Carly, she really like the song "You know what they do to guys like us in prison?" by My Chemical Romance and as fate would have it it's one of the few songs I can play well by that band so I figured I'd give it a go. The only part of this cover I don't like is closer to the end I start to play almost half a step faster than the song, hopefully it's not as noticeable to you.
The second is another System of a Down song that I've loved playing since their album "Mesmerize" came out, however I've never felt comfortable enough to record myself playing it. There is also some really heavy double bass in it so I figured that if I record me playing the song I'd had to set up another camera to record my pedals on those double bass parts. I really like how this one turned out, it's definitely one of my best covers. The only downside is I recorded this as the last song of a long night of playing and I was tired so I didn't beat on the drums as much as I would have liked, my arms and legs were just too damn tired.
School so far hasn't been as rough as I had thought but I assume that things are going to get much more intense the further we get into it. We've had some homework and a few quizzes and one test for Grammar which I think I bombed but other than that it's been pretty easy to keep up. So much so I've gone back to my old job at Auto Extreme polishing and driving cars, I need to make some extra money because parking downtown is obscene!!!! I'm not taking the bus either, no offense to anyone who takes the bus, but I just HATE it so much. Plus I'm not going to spend $200 a month in insurance for my car to then take the bus to school. The only downside of school so far is I haven't been able to see Carly as much as I would like. People have been calling CreComm the "relationship killer" but I like a challenge and being the exception to the rule so that will NOT be the case.
That's all I have to write about now.
Follow me on Twitter.
-JW
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Drum Covers Aplenty
Mike is now back at Fanshaw in London and Drumfest 09 is finally done.
Our kits were broken down and mine shuttled home in my car.
I had been thinking of selling it for the longest time, I had taken pictures, got it appraised and was almost ready to put the ad up, but then as Mike, Jackson and I played our few final songs I remembered how much fun it was to play drums. Right then and there I said, screw it, I'm not selling this kit even if I can't play it until I get my own place.
After getting home and unpacking my car, taking everything downstairs into my room and only then realizing how much space I actually had. After planning carefully about how to feng shui my drums around, and after moving some stuff around in my room I found a setup I like.
It's a 4 piece but it's the only way I could get that huge 20' ride cymbal in there. I have plans to buy a rack kit and hang my smallest tom off of the crash cymbal stand and then put my 8' tom in it's place.
It took a while to get used to, having to do fills without a middle tom and have a ride cymbal instead was very different. Especially the big ammount of space my hands have to move to get from my high tom to my low tom, but I'm getting the hang of it.
So these past few weeks I've been playing like crazy, practicing a bunch of songs and starting to play some I've never tried before. I've also started filming covers again and I figured I'd post some here.
This is the first video I recorded since putting my drums back together, it's a cover of Toxicity by System of a Down. Pretty easy song for the most part, made a little more complicated with less toms to work with but I really like how it came together.
I'll be posting more as they come, I've 2 videos in waiting right now so in the next few updates I'll post them. I figure I should get in as much drumming as possible before school starts to really kick into high gear.
Speaking of which school is awesome, I clearly made the right choice by coming to CreCom, I'm finally in a class where everyone is smart, there isn't one dumb person in my class and that's great. Plus there is always great discussions going on and everyone is contributing and it makes coming to school very exciting. Right now the only class I'm not enjoying is "The Writers Craft" because it makes me feel retarded. It's going to be a struggle to maintain a good grade in that class, but hopefully I'll get it. If not there are tons of people in the class who are fantastic at it and I'm sure they'll lend a hand.
That's all for now.
Follow me on Twitter
-JW
Our kits were broken down and mine shuttled home in my car.
I had been thinking of selling it for the longest time, I had taken pictures, got it appraised and was almost ready to put the ad up, but then as Mike, Jackson and I played our few final songs I remembered how much fun it was to play drums. Right then and there I said, screw it, I'm not selling this kit even if I can't play it until I get my own place.
After getting home and unpacking my car, taking everything downstairs into my room and only then realizing how much space I actually had. After planning carefully about how to feng shui my drums around, and after moving some stuff around in my room I found a setup I like.
It's a 4 piece but it's the only way I could get that huge 20' ride cymbal in there. I have plans to buy a rack kit and hang my smallest tom off of the crash cymbal stand and then put my 8' tom in it's place.
It took a while to get used to, having to do fills without a middle tom and have a ride cymbal instead was very different. Especially the big ammount of space my hands have to move to get from my high tom to my low tom, but I'm getting the hang of it.
So these past few weeks I've been playing like crazy, practicing a bunch of songs and starting to play some I've never tried before. I've also started filming covers again and I figured I'd post some here.
This is the first video I recorded since putting my drums back together, it's a cover of Toxicity by System of a Down. Pretty easy song for the most part, made a little more complicated with less toms to work with but I really like how it came together.
I'll be posting more as they come, I've 2 videos in waiting right now so in the next few updates I'll post them. I figure I should get in as much drumming as possible before school starts to really kick into high gear.
Speaking of which school is awesome, I clearly made the right choice by coming to CreCom, I'm finally in a class where everyone is smart, there isn't one dumb person in my class and that's great. Plus there is always great discussions going on and everyone is contributing and it makes coming to school very exciting. Right now the only class I'm not enjoying is "The Writers Craft" because it makes me feel retarded. It's going to be a struggle to maintain a good grade in that class, but hopefully I'll get it. If not there are tons of people in the class who are fantastic at it and I'm sure they'll lend a hand.
That's all for now.
Follow me on Twitter
-JW
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
End of Summer/Beginning of School
Expect more regular updates now that apparently more people are going to be reading it, well that and I'm now being marked on it.
So summer 09 is pretty much over, school has started and very excited about the prospects that Creative Communications is going to bring me. I knew that I wanted to major in TV Broadcasting in second year, but now after getting into advertising I may want to try that. It for some reason is really fun, but it may just be because of the wackiest of instructors Kenton Larsen.
PR is also a good class too (and NOT just because Melanie is going to be reading this) however sometimes I think that most PR is needlessly complicated and could stand to be much simpler. In everything though the more money involved the more complicated things get.
Quick side note The Bonus Stage just aired it's 15th episode here and we've started filming a new format. I've gotten tired of having to edit 30 minutes of video as a whole and cut episodes to 10 minute segments for YouTube. So what Tom and I have decided to do is film each review as a standalone segment. Think of it as a TV show you'd watch on cable and between each review is a "commercial" that separates the reviews. So technically you don't have to watch the previous part to find out what we were talking about although we hope you watch all three parts anyway. So far since January of 09 we've had almost 10,000 total views and just over 2,000 channel views with 87 subscribers. Please check it out here and you can also follow The Bonus Stage on Twitter and get regular updates on what is coming next for the show.
I just finished reading the brand new compilation issue of The Walking Dead from Image Comics.
This is honestly one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. It's so well written by Robert Kirkman that it feels like you know ever single character like they're in your own family. It's all penciled and shaded and there is no colour, so if you only like to read comics that have colour you may want to stay away.
The story really has very little to do with the zombies as characters, it's more about the human struggle going on where you're never safe. Everyone is at risk at all times and the interactions between people are so realistic to crisis situations that I feel like it's almost a window into what would happen if a zombie outbreak came about. If anyone who is like me and LOVES zombies I recommend picking up the book "The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks.
He is a comedy writer but he writes this book like it's a completely legitimate survival guide. It's taken on a huge cult following and I highly recomend it for any zombie fan. To that end there is also a great website about surviving a zombie apocalypse with a very helpful forum with discussions about how to survive the worst.
That's all that I can think to write about now.
Follow me on Twitter
Things you should check out.
Starship Amazing
Happy Video Game Nerd
Cinemasacre
- JW
So summer 09 is pretty much over, school has started and very excited about the prospects that Creative Communications is going to bring me. I knew that I wanted to major in TV Broadcasting in second year, but now after getting into advertising I may want to try that. It for some reason is really fun, but it may just be because of the wackiest of instructors Kenton Larsen.
PR is also a good class too (and NOT just because Melanie is going to be reading this) however sometimes I think that most PR is needlessly complicated and could stand to be much simpler. In everything though the more money involved the more complicated things get.
Quick side note The Bonus Stage just aired it's 15th episode here and we've started filming a new format. I've gotten tired of having to edit 30 minutes of video as a whole and cut episodes to 10 minute segments for YouTube. So what Tom and I have decided to do is film each review as a standalone segment. Think of it as a TV show you'd watch on cable and between each review is a "commercial" that separates the reviews. So technically you don't have to watch the previous part to find out what we were talking about although we hope you watch all three parts anyway. So far since January of 09 we've had almost 10,000 total views and just over 2,000 channel views with 87 subscribers. Please check it out here and you can also follow The Bonus Stage on Twitter and get regular updates on what is coming next for the show.
I just finished reading the brand new compilation issue of The Walking Dead from Image Comics.
This is honestly one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. It's so well written by Robert Kirkman that it feels like you know ever single character like they're in your own family. It's all penciled and shaded and there is no colour, so if you only like to read comics that have colour you may want to stay away.
The story really has very little to do with the zombies as characters, it's more about the human struggle going on where you're never safe. Everyone is at risk at all times and the interactions between people are so realistic to crisis situations that I feel like it's almost a window into what would happen if a zombie outbreak came about. If anyone who is like me and LOVES zombies I recommend picking up the book "The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks.
He is a comedy writer but he writes this book like it's a completely legitimate survival guide. It's taken on a huge cult following and I highly recomend it for any zombie fan. To that end there is also a great website about surviving a zombie apocalypse with a very helpful forum with discussions about how to survive the worst.
That's all that I can think to write about now.
Follow me on Twitter
Things you should check out.
Starship Amazing
Happy Video Game Nerd
Cinemasacre
- JW
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Summer 09 Part Deux.
Wow so I've pretty much neglected writing anything here for almost 2 months, yeah I got kinda lazy / busy with other projects. But here's whats been happening since I last wrote.
The Bonus Stage has been gaining some ground these last few weeks, mostly in part to our Video Games Live coverage with the biggest hit being a Michael Jackson tribute video, gamer style seen here.
Sidebar: How weird is it that he had to die on my birthday! Jeeze way to take my thunder Mike.
In all seriousness I'm a pretty big fan of his music and have now found myself listening to more MJ than I care to admit.
Anyway back to TBS, we've been gaining roughly 5 subscribers a week now and have had almost 5,700 views total with almost 2,000 people looking at our channel. Now it may not seem like much but to be honest I never thought we'd do this good so it's all very surprising we've had this much positive feedback.
Even better being that the show might be picked up by a local production company to be on CCTV sometime in the next year, so we're really jacked about that. We're starting to really bring the show full circle and the quality shows, we now have game footage in HD and are recording on my new camcorder I bought from Mike in full HD so it's pretty great.
You can check out the show here and please subscribe if you like it.
So onward to other things.
While at VGL this year I happened to meet a new girl, her name is Carly.
She is Tom's girlfriends best friend.
She was very quiet when I first met her, she's just one of those people but immediately when I saw her I knew I had to get to know her better. After hanging out a few times we eventually started dating and are now together and to be perfectly honest I don't think I could be any happier. We seem to have a really good balance personality wise and with what we like. Food especially because I'm such a picky eater, anything I don't like she usually likes, so I can give it her and vice versa. For those of you who watch "How I Met Your Mother" it's the "Olive Theory".
I've been filling my time lately with her and I've been seeing a ton of movies, now I don't want to get into detail about all of them but I haven't seen a terrible movie this summer, and yes I did like GI: Joe, it was a fun movie to watch. Dumb as eff though.
This past weekend a movie I had been looking forward to for quite sometime District 9 came out and Carly and myself went to see it friday night.
First impressions: This movie is unbelievable, from start to finish it's captivating and the plot is so thick with undertones of racism and hatred for the "prawns" that it makes you feel like you could be watching stock footage of the jews in concentration camps. This movie has some of the best special effects I've ever seen, and not because they were over the top, but because they were done right. So often in movies today the special effects are cool looking but don't have the same charm as miniatures or the organic special effects of old. This movie however had the perfect blend of organic and CG. Interactions with the prawns are filmed so well that it's hard to tell if they're CG or animatronic. The whole movie has such a grit to it that you may as well be watching the events unfold on CNN or the BBC because everything is so real.
Now that I've had a few nights to think about it and really understand what the film is about, it's even more mind blowing than I could have ever thought, obviously I'll go see it again but not right away. It's a fantastic movie and by far the best movie of the summer hands down.
Ok lastly I wanna talk about my new project. I've been working and writing for about 2 months now and I'm almost ready to start filming. Now I don't wanna give to much away because I kinda want it to be a surprise but at the same time it's one of those things that would probably be alot easier to finish if I had feedback. Anyway the readers digest version is I've planned on doing something called The Jeff Ward Show, basically 3-5 minute videos, Monday, Wednesday, Friday about all the things that I encounter in daily life that piss me off. Things in the news, government, stupid people and anything else that puts me off. I have the YouTube channel already set up and if you want to subscribe go ahead, however there are no videos up yet, but I'm thinking of starting filming possibly Monday August 24th.
Channel
So that's it for now, I'm making a point to update this thing a little more regularly, however I have no idea how many people read this other than Mike sooooooooooooooooooo that happened.
Follow me on Twitter
-JW
The Bonus Stage has been gaining some ground these last few weeks, mostly in part to our Video Games Live coverage with the biggest hit being a Michael Jackson tribute video, gamer style seen here.
Sidebar: How weird is it that he had to die on my birthday! Jeeze way to take my thunder Mike.
In all seriousness I'm a pretty big fan of his music and have now found myself listening to more MJ than I care to admit.
Anyway back to TBS, we've been gaining roughly 5 subscribers a week now and have had almost 5,700 views total with almost 2,000 people looking at our channel. Now it may not seem like much but to be honest I never thought we'd do this good so it's all very surprising we've had this much positive feedback.
Even better being that the show might be picked up by a local production company to be on CCTV sometime in the next year, so we're really jacked about that. We're starting to really bring the show full circle and the quality shows, we now have game footage in HD and are recording on my new camcorder I bought from Mike in full HD so it's pretty great.
You can check out the show here and please subscribe if you like it.
So onward to other things.
While at VGL this year I happened to meet a new girl, her name is Carly.
She is Tom's girlfriends best friend.
She was very quiet when I first met her, she's just one of those people but immediately when I saw her I knew I had to get to know her better. After hanging out a few times we eventually started dating and are now together and to be perfectly honest I don't think I could be any happier. We seem to have a really good balance personality wise and with what we like. Food especially because I'm such a picky eater, anything I don't like she usually likes, so I can give it her and vice versa. For those of you who watch "How I Met Your Mother" it's the "Olive Theory".
I've been filling my time lately with her and I've been seeing a ton of movies, now I don't want to get into detail about all of them but I haven't seen a terrible movie this summer, and yes I did like GI: Joe, it was a fun movie to watch. Dumb as eff though.
This past weekend a movie I had been looking forward to for quite sometime District 9 came out and Carly and myself went to see it friday night.
First impressions: This movie is unbelievable, from start to finish it's captivating and the plot is so thick with undertones of racism and hatred for the "prawns" that it makes you feel like you could be watching stock footage of the jews in concentration camps. This movie has some of the best special effects I've ever seen, and not because they were over the top, but because they were done right. So often in movies today the special effects are cool looking but don't have the same charm as miniatures or the organic special effects of old. This movie however had the perfect blend of organic and CG. Interactions with the prawns are filmed so well that it's hard to tell if they're CG or animatronic. The whole movie has such a grit to it that you may as well be watching the events unfold on CNN or the BBC because everything is so real.
Now that I've had a few nights to think about it and really understand what the film is about, it's even more mind blowing than I could have ever thought, obviously I'll go see it again but not right away. It's a fantastic movie and by far the best movie of the summer hands down.
Ok lastly I wanna talk about my new project. I've been working and writing for about 2 months now and I'm almost ready to start filming. Now I don't wanna give to much away because I kinda want it to be a surprise but at the same time it's one of those things that would probably be alot easier to finish if I had feedback. Anyway the readers digest version is I've planned on doing something called The Jeff Ward Show, basically 3-5 minute videos, Monday, Wednesday, Friday about all the things that I encounter in daily life that piss me off. Things in the news, government, stupid people and anything else that puts me off. I have the YouTube channel already set up and if you want to subscribe go ahead, however there are no videos up yet, but I'm thinking of starting filming possibly Monday August 24th.
Channel
So that's it for now, I'm making a point to update this thing a little more regularly, however I have no idea how many people read this other than Mike sooooooooooooooooooo that happened.
Follow me on Twitter
-JW
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Summer 09, Epic Drum Kit, Transformers 2 and The Kings of June!
Ok so it's clearly been a long time since my last update, quick update The Bonus Stage is now at Episode 10!
Ok so Summer 09, as you know my Bro Mike is back from Fanshaw for the summer and we've been broing out quite a bit and it's mostly been good times. Every once in a while we've found ourselves in situations that were less than favourable. For the most part it's be Legen...... wait for it......Dary!
So far a big part of our summer has been drumming. Mike and I each have our own kits and as you've read from my last update we've been rocking out in his basement. Now however we've combined our drum kits with the help of The Jackson Valdeze to become an EPIC 10 piece drum kit with 8 cymbals and 2 sets of Hi-Hats.
It's a blast to play but I prefer my 5 piece because it's much easier to move around the kit. All 3 of us are still brainstorming on how to create different configurations with less drums and different ways to have both kits separate. Believe me I will post pics of any kits we come up with.
So Transformers is well Awesome!
I was a huge fan of the cartoon growing up and had the toys and everything like I'm sure alot of you did. When the first movie was announced I, along with many others were very skeptical of how well they would transcribe this to cinema. When people realized it was live action we got even more nervous. However what we got was probably one of the best action movies of the past few years, and my top movie of that year. When the sequel Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen was announced pretty much right after the first one came out I was jacked! The first movie did a great job of fleshing out the most important part of the Transformers universe........the Transformers, even down to how Megatron is always getting mad at Starscream. The special effects were great and the voices were amazing but my favourite part was the SFX when they transform. The first scene in Qatar with Blackout is one of my favourite movie scenes ever. The Sound of him transforming is just incredible!
Anyway I was having a hard time figuring out what to get Mike for his birthday so I figured midnight premier of T2.
So last night we went and saw it.
I was the most excited I've been for a movie in a long time.
This movie was amazing, it had EVERYTHING you could want in an action movie.
Explosions, car chases, destruction, fire, guns, hot girls and some of best looking sets I've seen in a long time.
Now as a piece of cinema this is a terrible movie, the plot although deep, is very thin at times and can drag for too long while things are being explained. A big problem I had with it was that at some points where everything is happening a mile a minute and your on the edge of your seat and then they stop dead and explain what happening in a scene that could have been cut down by quite a bit. There were a few problems with how many Decepticons were absent in the movie and how many nameless robots were in it, my biggest disappointment was with a Decepticon that I've wanted to see for a while being in the movie for only a few scenes. But no spoilers yet because I don't wanna ruin for you.
The best parts about this movie.
A. Michael Bay, this guy knows action and knows how to make a summer blockbuster movie.
The Rock
Armageddon
Bad Boys 1 and 2
The Island.
Explosions are all this guy has on his resume and he does them right.
B. The cast was kept the same and that helps with continuity and makes the movie very enjoyable, I'm a big Shia LeBouf fan ever since watching him on "Even Stevens" on the family channel when I was younger, I thought he was hilarious. He's definitely someone I would want to work with if I ever become a director.
C. The Transformers are even more amazing this time, their in it the whole way through and I swear you can see so much detail on everyone these artists should be getting paid top dollar. Sidebar, why is that Optimus Prime can look all shiny and look like he was just polished but his windows always have streaked mud on them?
Anyway they are all awesome and there are a few new ones that are Gargantuan and really and quite amazing. Along with the best special effects I've seen in a movie, it's amazing. Another thing this is one of those movies where you go in wanting to see good effects and their put together so seamlessly with everything else it's hard to tell sometimes, at points you think is it so insane to believe their actually a 80 foot robot standing on set?
D. The writers clearly watched alot of Transformers because you can tell they put alot of thought into how to make this an authentic experience and keep it engaging for non cartoon fans. The squabbles between Megatron and Starscream, Bumblebee's voice not working, Primes epic way of speaking.
All in all this movie needs to be seen and if you can, go to IMAX because that would be a wicked experience. Hopefully it comes to IMAX here along with Star Trek so I can go again.
Lastly The Kings of June.
Grade 12 year at Grant Park Mike and I became the good friends we are now, and because we have so much in common.
1. Moms have the same name.
2. His middle name is my first name.
3. I was born on the same day as his Dad.
4. He was born just a few days before me.
5. We're awesome.
We decided to create something called the Kings of June.
Which basically is the month of June being literally the best month ever.
First off its' summer, last month of school, and our birthdays are in it, what else could you want.
If you want to apply to be an honorary King of June please send your full resume and awesome quotient to kingsofjune@gmail.com
The Kings of June uphold the highest if Brocations and being a Bro. It takes many years to become KoJ Bros or have your birthday in June and read The Bro Code once.
Corollary: Jackson Miller is such an awesome bro that it feels like he was born in June.
Anyway that's all I want to talk about for now, I'll try to update more frequently.
Follow me on Twitter
WU
- JW
Ok so Summer 09, as you know my Bro Mike is back from Fanshaw for the summer and we've been broing out quite a bit and it's mostly been good times. Every once in a while we've found ourselves in situations that were less than favourable. For the most part it's be Legen...... wait for it......Dary!
So far a big part of our summer has been drumming. Mike and I each have our own kits and as you've read from my last update we've been rocking out in his basement. Now however we've combined our drum kits with the help of The Jackson Valdeze to become an EPIC 10 piece drum kit with 8 cymbals and 2 sets of Hi-Hats.
It's a blast to play but I prefer my 5 piece because it's much easier to move around the kit. All 3 of us are still brainstorming on how to create different configurations with less drums and different ways to have both kits separate. Believe me I will post pics of any kits we come up with.
So Transformers is well Awesome!
I was a huge fan of the cartoon growing up and had the toys and everything like I'm sure alot of you did. When the first movie was announced I, along with many others were very skeptical of how well they would transcribe this to cinema. When people realized it was live action we got even more nervous. However what we got was probably one of the best action movies of the past few years, and my top movie of that year. When the sequel Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen was announced pretty much right after the first one came out I was jacked! The first movie did a great job of fleshing out the most important part of the Transformers universe........the Transformers, even down to how Megatron is always getting mad at Starscream. The special effects were great and the voices were amazing but my favourite part was the SFX when they transform. The first scene in Qatar with Blackout is one of my favourite movie scenes ever. The Sound of him transforming is just incredible!
Anyway I was having a hard time figuring out what to get Mike for his birthday so I figured midnight premier of T2.
So last night we went and saw it.
I was the most excited I've been for a movie in a long time.
This movie was amazing, it had EVERYTHING you could want in an action movie.
Explosions, car chases, destruction, fire, guns, hot girls and some of best looking sets I've seen in a long time.
Now as a piece of cinema this is a terrible movie, the plot although deep, is very thin at times and can drag for too long while things are being explained. A big problem I had with it was that at some points where everything is happening a mile a minute and your on the edge of your seat and then they stop dead and explain what happening in a scene that could have been cut down by quite a bit. There were a few problems with how many Decepticons were absent in the movie and how many nameless robots were in it, my biggest disappointment was with a Decepticon that I've wanted to see for a while being in the movie for only a few scenes. But no spoilers yet because I don't wanna ruin for you.
The best parts about this movie.
A. Michael Bay, this guy knows action and knows how to make a summer blockbuster movie.
The Rock
Armageddon
Bad Boys 1 and 2
The Island.
Explosions are all this guy has on his resume and he does them right.
B. The cast was kept the same and that helps with continuity and makes the movie very enjoyable, I'm a big Shia LeBouf fan ever since watching him on "Even Stevens" on the family channel when I was younger, I thought he was hilarious. He's definitely someone I would want to work with if I ever become a director.
C. The Transformers are even more amazing this time, their in it the whole way through and I swear you can see so much detail on everyone these artists should be getting paid top dollar. Sidebar, why is that Optimus Prime can look all shiny and look like he was just polished but his windows always have streaked mud on them?
Anyway they are all awesome and there are a few new ones that are Gargantuan and really and quite amazing. Along with the best special effects I've seen in a movie, it's amazing. Another thing this is one of those movies where you go in wanting to see good effects and their put together so seamlessly with everything else it's hard to tell sometimes, at points you think is it so insane to believe their actually a 80 foot robot standing on set?
D. The writers clearly watched alot of Transformers because you can tell they put alot of thought into how to make this an authentic experience and keep it engaging for non cartoon fans. The squabbles between Megatron and Starscream, Bumblebee's voice not working, Primes epic way of speaking.
All in all this movie needs to be seen and if you can, go to IMAX because that would be a wicked experience. Hopefully it comes to IMAX here along with Star Trek so I can go again.
Lastly The Kings of June.
Grade 12 year at Grant Park Mike and I became the good friends we are now, and because we have so much in common.
1. Moms have the same name.
2. His middle name is my first name.
3. I was born on the same day as his Dad.
4. He was born just a few days before me.
5. We're awesome.
We decided to create something called the Kings of June.
Which basically is the month of June being literally the best month ever.
First off its' summer, last month of school, and our birthdays are in it, what else could you want.
If you want to apply to be an honorary King of June please send your full resume and awesome quotient to kingsofjune@gmail.com
The Kings of June uphold the highest if Brocations and being a Bro. It takes many years to become KoJ Bros or have your birthday in June and read The Bro Code once.
Corollary: Jackson Miller is such an awesome bro that it feels like he was born in June.
Anyway that's all I want to talk about for now, I'll try to update more frequently.
Follow me on Twitter
WU
- JW
Friday, May 8, 2009
Star Trek, Wolverine, Summer Movies and DrumFest 09 part deux!
First off just letting everyone know that Episode 7 of The Bonus Stage is now on YouTube here:
The Bonus Stage
So summer movies are now in full swing and wow they're not disappointing........yet.
First off saw Wolverine last week, gotta say its got some awesome action scenes in it and Hugh Jackman is an animal. It's funny to see how he transforms from one of the nicest people around into this monster on screen when he steps into the roll of Logan(Wolverine). The script in this movie was lacking but the action made up for the sub par story. See for me the thing about Wolverine and why the first X-Men movie was so good was because when you introduced to Logan for the first time you know as much about his history as he does...nothing. That was the charm of the character, both the audience and him were trying to figure out how he became to be, although if you read the comic books you have a pretty good idea anyway. Bottom line this movie is got some great action and wicked special effect......well except for the claws. Yeah so Wolverine's claws in some scenes (particularly the one scene in the bathroom look horrendous, im not sure who was in charge of animating the claws for this movie but wow are they needing some work done to them, they look like they were attached to his hands using MS paint. Hopefully we'll see some better quality on Blu-Ray.
Now this movie I went to see on Thursday at a midnight premier.
Star Trek.
J.J Abrams who I LOVE (although I hate Alias) is a genius.
The guy basically had me sold on anything he writes after the screenplay for Armageddon, then with his film directorial debut of Mission Impossible III which blew me away! Then LOST to which i'am a die-hard fan of, I have more DHARMA Initiative merch than I care to count.
The to Cloverfield which although was given a cold shoulder by alot of critics renewed my hope for new and exciting ideas in film.
But lets talk about Star Trek, and honestly right off the bat I can't think of one bad thing I can say about this movie. It's just, dare I say it? Perfect?
Maybe not perfect if you nitpick, but it's damn close.
From the superb casting, to the solid script, great acting, gripping action and mind blowing special effects. Oh yeah and the best end credits i've ever seen!
This movie never once left me bored, although there was one odd moment when seeing Spocks mother for the first time and both me and my friend Mike looked at each and asked, is that Winona Ryder? Yeah it was.
I also must say that Eric Bana as Nero was awesome, not only did his makeup transform him physically but he played the part great. Damn Romulans!
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN.(not a Romulan)
Lastly, my friend Mike is back from London on summer vacation. So as is no the custom I brought my entire drum kit over to his house and we set up dueling drum kits.
These pics were taken with my iPhone so the quality isn't very good, i'll get better ones next time. My drum kit is the black charcole one and Mike's is the red one.
If you have twitter you can follow me here
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Blog the first
So much to do and so little time.
After finishing the first part of school I assumed things would settle down a bit but I was wrong.
Practicum at Video Pool
The Bonus Stage filming editing and posting
Trying to fit work in somewhere so I can still make money
And now a BLOG?!
Well this shouldn't be so hard although keeping up with it regularly might be.
If you love video games as much as I do and want to know what I think about some of them here is the link for The Bonus Stage, a show hosted by myself and Tom Higgins where we review the latest games and consoles.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBonusStage09
Leave me comments here or there and let me know what you think.
Follow me on twitter here.
Sites to keep you in the loop.
Engadget
Gizmodo
Gametrailers
FailBlog
After finishing the first part of school I assumed things would settle down a bit but I was wrong.
Practicum at Video Pool
The Bonus Stage filming editing and posting
Trying to fit work in somewhere so I can still make money
And now a BLOG?!
Well this shouldn't be so hard although keeping up with it regularly might be.
If you love video games as much as I do and want to know what I think about some of them here is the link for The Bonus Stage, a show hosted by myself and Tom Higgins where we review the latest games and consoles.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBonusStage09
Leave me comments here or there and let me know what you think.
Follow me on twitter here.
Sites to keep you in the loop.
Engadget
Gizmodo
Gametrailers
FailBlog
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